Recaps

Gu Sheng defeated Ye Changling’s forces and spared him so he could continue toward Boundless Ancient City. He agreed to travel with Zhao Boyang, while Ye Changling was left embedded in the mountain rock.

• Gu Sheng caught a Grandmaster’s saber barehanded, killed him with one punch, and overwhelmed the attackers who surrounded him.
• Ye Changling ordered the remaining Grandmasters to form the Black Fiend Formation, but Gu Sheng broke it with a stomp.
• Gu Sheng defeated the two peak Grandmasters guarding Ye Changling, then spared Ye Changling and ordered him to leave.
• Zhao Boyang apologized and offered to guide Gu Sheng toward Boundless Ancient City, and Gu Sheng agreed to travel with him.
• As Gu Sheng walked away, Ye Changling was left embedded in the mountain rock.

Gu Sheng killed Ye Changling despite Zhao Boyang’s warning about the Ye Family’s retaliation, then set out for Blackwater City on the route toward Boundless Ancient City. Zhao Boyang’s group cleaned the battlefield and handed Gu Sheng the spoils, while the Heavenly Demon Vine’s attempted transformation was suppressed.

• Ye Changling begged Gu Sheng for mercy and threatened him with the Ye Family, but Gu Sheng killed him after Zhao Boyang failed to persuade him to spare his life.
• Gu Sheng took Ye Changling’s storage ring and learned from Zhao Boyang that Blackwater City lay three days east and had a teleportation array toward Boundless Ancient City.
• Zhao Boyang gave Gu Sheng a route-map jade slip and a Hundred Herbs Pavilion token, and Gu Sheng left for Blackwater City.
• Zhao Boyang ordered his subordinates to erase traces of the battle, while Gu Sheng suppressed the Heavenly Demon Vine as it absorbed the fallen martial artists’ essence.
• Zhao Boyang offered Gu Sheng the gathered storage rings, which Gu Sheng accepted, then stated that he had killed Ye Changling in self-defense and that their survival had been incidental.

After killing Ye Changling, Gu Sheng learned that the Sacred Academy and Ye Family would seek revenge, then reached Boundless Ancient City to search for someone possibly trapped in its depths. Gu Yuan sold him a map and reports of dangerous areas, and Gu Sheng set off toward the Hall of a Thousand Souls.

• Zhao Boyang warned Gu Sheng that Ye Changling's father was a powerful Sacred Academy elder and that the Ye Family would investigate his death.
• Gu Sheng left Zhao Boyang's group, who agreed to conceal what happened and claim they had been attacked by a demonic beast.
• Gu Sheng reached the camp outside Boundless Ancient City and met Gu Yuan, who shared reports of recent disturbances and a possible illusion array near Meteorite Pit.
• Gu Sheng paid Gu Yuan ten low-grade spirit jades for a detailed map and information about dangerous regions and routes.
• Gu Sheng entered Boundless Ancient City seeking the person trapped within and told Gu Yuan to take him to the Hall of a Thousand Souls.

Gu Sheng hired Gu Yuan to guide him to the Hall of a Thousand Souls and visited the camp market, where he discovered an ancient spatial artifact at a stall. At Linlang Pavilion, Gu Sheng revealed the Pavilion Master Token, and Shopkeeper Xia recognized him as a Special Envoy and begged him for a transfer back to Great Desolation City.

• Gu Sheng offered a High-grade Spirit Stone to hire a guide to the Hall of a Thousand Souls, and Gu Yuan accepted after warning him about the route's dangers.
• Gu Yuan advised leaving at dawn, accepted the Spirit Stone as a deposit, and led Gu Sheng to the camp market.
• Gu Sheng sensed an ancient spatial fluctuation in a black compass-like object at a one-eyed vendor's stall.
• Gu Sheng entered Linlang Pavilion and rebuked Shopkeeper Xia for neglecting the shop, prompting Xia to attack him with late Realm Sect pressure.
• Gu Sheng protected Gu Yuan from the pressure and showed Xia the Pavilion Master Token.
• Shopkeeper Xia knelt, identified Gu Sheng as a Main Pavilion Special Envoy, and begged him to arrange a transfer back to Great Desolation City; Gu Sheng told him to stand and speak.

Gu Sheng secured information and supplies for exploring the depths of Boundless Ancient City, then took Gu Yuan to a guarded inn. There, Gu Sheng saw through Gu Yuan’s unusual cultivation technique and exposed the secret behind his strength, leaving Gu Yuan terrified.

• Xia Wuyou mistook Gu Sheng’s Pavilion Master Token for proof that he was a Special Envoy, then agreed to prepare information and supplies for Gu Sheng to collect the next morning.
• Xia Wuyou pleaded for Gu Sheng to help him return to Great Desolation City and asked to accompany him, but Gu Sheng refused.
• Gu Yuan explained that Laifu Inn was guarded by a Heavenly Martial Realm expert, so Gu Sheng booked two rooms there and ordered food and three days of provisions.
• As Gu Yuan ate, Gu Sheng deduced that his family lacked a martial inheritance and that he had raised his cultivation with medicinal resources.
• Gu Sheng recognized that Gu Yuan’s cultivation technique carried a cold, deathly aura and likely came from a dangerous place in the ruins, shocking Gu Yuan into dropping his chopsticks.

Gu Sheng exposed Gu Yuan’s hidden bloodline and offered to help awaken it in exchange for her future aid, while she struggled to process his revelations. When more than twenty thousand powerful Ancient Martial Artist Remnant Souls attacked the camp, Gu Sheng used the chaos as an opportunity to head deeper into the ruins with Gu Yuan.

• Gu Sheng revealed that Gu Yuan had hidden resources near the Hall of a Thousand Souls, practiced a dangerous incomplete technique, and disguised herself as a man.
• Gu Sheng offered Gu Yuan cultivation resources and help awakening her Primordial Spirit Body in exchange for her help with an undisclosed task, and gave her until he left Boundless Ancient City to decide.
• Gu Sheng recognized Gu Yuan’s rare constitution and decided to keep her by his side, while a vast black cloud of remnant souls approached the camp.
• The camp raised the alarm as the remnant souls attacked, and martial artists panicked, fled, or formed defensive lines.
• Gu Sheng told Gu Yuan to prepare to enter the depths of the ruins amid the chaos, then left to collect something from Linlang Pavilion as Gu Yuan packed her belongings.

Gu Sheng fled the remnant-soul assault with Gu Yuan and watched the town be consumed, prompting her to ask to become his disciple. Just as he caught a Heavenly Martial Realm remnant soul attacking her, the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron erupted with a terrifying aura.

• Gu Sheng refused Gu Yuan's plea to save the town, explaining that its defenders could not withstand the remnant souls, and took her with him as they fled.
• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuan escaped the town, evaded remnant souls ahead of them, and watched from a mountain hollow as the black tide devoured the settlement and its defenders.
• Gu Yuan accepted Gu Sheng's offer and knelt to ask him to take her as his disciple; he told her they would complete the formal ceremony after returning to Great Desolation City.
• A Heavenly Martial Realm remnant soul appeared behind Gu Yuan and attacked her, but Gu Sheng seized its head and blocked its sword with his arm.
• The Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron trembled within Gu Sheng and unleashed a terrifying aura that ground the mountain hollow's stones, grass, and trees to dust, halting Gu Sheng's movement.

Gu Sheng discovered that the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron could refine remnant souls into Soul Beads that strengthened his chaotic spirit embryo, so he returned to the ruined town to gather more. After absorbing sixteen Soul Beads, he brought the embryo close to complete fusion, just as three powerful figures arrived.

• Gu Sheng used the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron to refine a Heavenly Martial Realm remnant soul into a Soul Bead, which the chaotic spirit embryo absorbed.
• Gu Sheng seized four Earth Martial Realm remnant souls and refined them into Soul Beads, then told Gu Yuan they were returning to the town to gather more.
• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuan returned to find the town destroyed and its inhabitants dead or fleeing, with remnant souls devouring the remains.
• Thousands of remnant souls surrounded Gu Sheng and Gu Yuan, but the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron drew them in and refined them into sixteen Soul Beads.
• Gu Sheng absorbed the sixteen Soul Beads, bringing the chaotic spirit embryo close to complete fusion.
• Three powerful figures emerged through the smoke and Death Qi and landed before Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng rejected the three gang leaders’ demand for the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron and effortlessly defeated them, then used a drop of his blood to empower Gu Yuan. As Gu Yuan collected the gang leaders’ belongings, Gu Sheng turned the cauldron toward the gathering remnant souls and unleashed an even greater suction force.

• Tie Kuangtu, Old Ghost Zhen, and Shui Wuhen tried to seize Gu Sheng’s cauldron, but he refused and warned them to leave.
• The three leaders attacked together; Tie Kuangtu’s fist shattered against Gu Sheng, who remained unmoved.
• Gu Sheng sent a drop of his blood into Gu Yuan’s mouth and summoned the Heavenly Demon Vine to drain and kill all three gang leaders.
• Gu Sheng ordered Gu Yuan to collect the dead men’s belongings while he focused on the remnant souls gathering above the town.
• Gu Sheng awakened the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron and unleashed a stronger force to devour the remnant souls.

Gu Sheng devoured the remnant souls in the ruined town, then used the Heavenly Demon Vine to drive away the survivors and teach Gu Yuan that strength determined survival in the martial world. Gu Yuan revealed her true name, Gu Yuanyuan, and begged Gu Sheng to accept her as his disciple as they prepared to travel to the Hall of a Thousand Souls.

• The Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron absorbed the remnant souls across the ruined town and produced hundreds of Soul Beads, which Gu Sheng used to complete the fusion of his divine soul and Chaos Spirit Embryo.
• Gu Yuan returned with three storage rings, but the survivors accused Gu Sheng and Gu Yuan of causing the disaster and killing the gang leaders, then surrounded them.
• Gu Sheng unleashed the Heavenly Demon Vine, killed a defiant Realm martial artist, and ordered the survivors to flee, blaming Xiao Beixuan of Great Desolation City for the gang leaders' deaths.
• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuan set off toward the Hall of a Thousand Souls, while the Heavenly Demon Vine killed survivors who failed to escape before the countdown ended.
• Gu Sheng told Gu Yuan that weakness invited death, and Gu Yuan accepted his teaching, revealed her true name as Gu Yuanyuan, and begged him to accept her as his disciple.

Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan reached the core ruins and encountered Zhao Boyang’s group, who proposed joining forces to explore the Hall of a Thousand Souls secret realm. After Gu Sheng effortlessly neutralized the entrance’s curse restriction, he sensed something unnatural about Jin’er and demanded that she swear an oath before the alliance could proceed.

• Gu Yuanyuan offered to lead Gu Sheng to a hidden place of opportunity after they dealt with the Hall of a Thousand Souls.
• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan encountered Zhao Boyang, Jin’er, and their injured companions near an ancient square.
• Gu Yuanyuan explained that the mass gathering of remnant souls might signal a treasure or inheritance emerging in the Hall of a Thousand Souls secret realm.
• Zhao Boyang proposed a temporary alliance, and Gu Sheng agreed to explore the secret realm together.
• The secret realm entrance activated and its curse restriction struck the group, but Gu Sheng dispelled it with a hand seal.
• Gu Sheng sensed an abnormal deathly fluctuation in Jin’er and demanded that she swear an oath not to become his or Gu Yuanyuan’s enemy inside the secret realm.

Gu Sheng and his companions entered the Hall of a Thousand Souls secret realm and learned that academy disciples, including Junior Sister Bai, had been trapped near the Soul Burying Tower. After portals opened and the Boundless Sect tried to bar their way, Zhao Boyang forced them to yield, and Gu Sheng’s group entered a portal whose destination seemed random.

• Jin'er swore not to initiate hostilities against Gu Sheng and his disciple, and the group entered the Hall of a Thousand Souls secret realm.
• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan sensed something strange about Jin'er, while Zhao Boyang explained that Junior Sister Bai and other academy disciples might be trapped near the Soul Burying Tower.
• Zhao Boyang warned that the Boundless Sect might be involved in the trap, and Gu Sheng considered whether Xiao Beixuan or Xia Furong could be connected to Nether River Venerable.
• Several portals opened around the Soul Burying Tower, drawing martial artists from across the ruins, and Gu Sheng led the group toward the nearest one.
• Boundless Sect disciples tried to block the group, but Zhao Boyang revealed his late-stage Heavenly Martial Realm cultivation and made them stand aside.
• Gu Sheng and his companions entered the portal, which transported them toward an uncertain destination.

Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan reached the Hall of a Thousand Souls, where Gu Yuanyuan’s metal fragment opened the ancient doors and awakened Yue Shen Gong’s remnant will. Yue Shen Gong revealed that the hall housed a sacrificial array, leading Gu Sheng to suspect the Nether River Venerable planned to use Xiao Beixuan or Xia Furong as its controller.

• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan were separated from their companions by teleportation and found the ominous main hall of the Hall of a Thousand Souls.
• A monstrous head rose from the swamp and attacked them with a soul-shaking roar as they approached the hall.
• Gu Yuanyuan recognized her fragment as the key to the doors and identified a nine-colored beast as the creature that had once saved her.
• Gu Yuanyuan placed the fragment in the door’s groove, opening the hall as Yue Shen Gong’s phantom appeared in Gu Sheng’s sea of consciousness.
• Yue Shen Gong explained that the hall contained the Thousand Souls Sacrifice Array, which sacrificed a thousand martial artists to empower and eventually consume its controller.
• Gu Sheng suspected the Nether River Venerable planned to use the array and concluded that Xiao Beixuan or Xia Furong might be its chosen controller.

Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan explored the Hall of a Thousand Souls, where he discovered that contaminated Spirit Stones had poisoned Gu Yuanyuan’s cultivation and ordered her to rebuild her foundation. Unable to open the inner treasury, they sensed someone approaching and hid as a blue-robed young man brought a shackled young woman to the hall.

• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan entered the Hall of a Thousand Souls and followed Gu Yuanyuan’s memories to its treasury.
• Gu Sheng found sinister Death Qi in the Spirit Stones and warned Gu Yuanyuan that absorbing them had endangered her cultivation and divine soul.
• Gu Yuanyuan discarded the remaining contaminated Spirit Stones, and Gu Sheng told her to change her cultivation method and cleanse her foundation after they returned to Great Desolation City.
• Gu Sheng learned from Yue Shen Gong that the inner treasury required a complete key token and could not be opened by force without triggering its mechanisms.
• Gu Sheng sensed two approaching auras and withdrew with Gu Yuanyuan to conceal themselves near the hall entrance.
• A blue-robed young man escorted a shackled, battered young woman toward the Hall of a Thousand Souls.

Gu Sheng discovered that the Boundless Sect was preparing a Thousand Souls Sacrifice Array and rescued Bai Zhi from her captors. After killing the guard, he learned that the sect’s evil chains had sealed Bai Zhi’s powers, leaving her unable to move.

• Bai Zhi secretly told Gu Sheng that the Boundless Sect planned to sacrifice imprisoned martial artists and lure more victims to the Hall of a Thousand Souls.
• Bai Zhi identified the blue-robed guard as a third-level Human King and warned that two more Human Kings were nearby and sect experts were hunting throughout the secret realm.
• The blue-robed guard detected Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan, and Gu Sheng stepped out to confront him while protecting Gu Yuanyuan.
• Gu Sheng endured the guard’s punch and killed him by burning away the dark-red threads that were reconnecting his severed head and body.
• Gu Sheng examined Bai Zhi’s shackles and learned that the Boundless Sect’s Evil Spirit Bind had sealed her Sea of Consciousness, meridians, Dantian, and True Essence.

Gu Sheng rescued Bai Zhi from the Boundless Sect and sheltered her in the Divine Craftsman's Maze Hall as the secret realm began collapsing under the Sacrifice Array. Trapped behind a Space Law barrier with pursuers closing in, he prepared to fight, while a Boundless Sect patrol became suspicious of him and Gu Yuanyuan.

• Gu Sheng recognized Bai Zhi's Evil Spirit Bind, carried her toward the exit, and had Yue Shen Gong transport her into the Divine Craftsman's Maze Hall.
• The Sacrifice Array began draining the secret realm's Source Power and causing it to collapse, so Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan searched for a way out while Xiao Beixuan discovered Bai Zhi was missing and ordered a search.
• Xiao Beixuan used a blood compass but could not locate Bai Zhi, then revealed that the exits were sealed and that he intended to use her as the array's vessel.
• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan reached the secret realm's boundary but found it sealed by a powerful Space Law barrier as Boundless Sect pursuers approached.
• Gu Yuanyuan refused to hide in the Maze Hall, and Gu Sheng allowed her to stay beside him as they flew toward the fighting and encountered three Boundless Sect-affiliated cultivators.
• A black-robed evil cultivator suspected Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan were concealing their strength and urged his companions to capture and interrogate them.

Gu Sheng feigned weakness against the Boundless Sect disciples, then trapped Black Snake’s soul when the evil cultivator tried to search his memories. More than a thousand Boundless Sect disciples surrounded Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan, while Gu Sheng continued crushing Black Snake’s soul and revealed he knew the origins of the soul arts.

• Gu Sheng pretended to struggle as Black Snake and another Boundless Sect disciple attacked him, while Gu Yuanyuan stayed close behind him.
• Gu Sheng agreed to Black Snake’s soul search in exchange for Gu Yuanyuan’s safety, and Black Snake entered Gu Sheng’s vast sea of consciousness.
• Gu Sheng imprisoned Black Snake’s soul and began tearing it apart, leaving Black Snake rigid and unresponsive in the outside world.
• The leading Boundless Sect disciple noticed Black Snake’s condition and called for help, bringing more than a thousand Boundless Sect disciples, including Steward Wang, to surround Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan.
• Gu Sheng opened his eyes as Steward Wang demanded he release Black Snake, while Gu Sheng told Black Snake that he was an Emperor Venerable and crushed his soul further.

Gu Sheng used Black Snake’s body to deceive the Boundless Sect and escape the secret realm with Gu Yuanyuan, but Black Snake’s true consciousness exposed the ruse at the camp. Gu Sheng fought back and delivered a crushing blow, then prepared to stomp on Black Snake’s head.

• Gu Sheng tore apart Black Snake’s soul, absorbed his memories, and learned that Black Snake knew little about the secret realm’s sacrifice plan.
• Gu Sheng controlled Black Snake’s body and convinced the Boundless Sect disciples that Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan were harmless captives, with Gu Yuanyuan being offered to the Young Master.
• Gu Sheng and Gu Yuanyuan passed Captain Wang’s inspection and exited the secret realm through the teleportation gate.
• At the Boundless Sect camp, Gu Sheng sent Gu Yuanyuan toward a stone house and had the escorts leave him alone in a secluded corner.
• Black Snake’s consciousness revealed that it knew Gu Sheng had killed its true body and attacked him with four blood hands.
• Gu Sheng severed the blood hands, struck Black Snake in the chest with a powerful punch, and raised his foot to crush Black Snake’s head.

Gu Sheng killed Black Snake and confronted the Boundless Sect disciples, exposing Xiao Beixuan’s plan to sacrifice a thousand martial artists. After Senior Brother Chen took Gu Yuanyuan hostage and tried to flee with her, Gu Sheng used the Heavenly Demon Vine to kill him and the other peak Heavenly Martial Realm disciples.

• Gu Sheng killed Black Snake, then went to rescue Gu Yuanyuan as Boundless Sect disciples rushed to investigate the disturbance.
• Gu Sheng entered the hall and accused Xiao Beixuan of colluding with Nether River Venerable to activate the Thousand Souls Sacrifice Array and sacrifice a thousand martial artists.
• When several disciples attacked Gu Sheng, his aura killed them, causing the others to flee in panic.
• Senior Brother Chen seized Gu Yuanyuan and threatened to kill her, so Gu Sheng left the hall to avoid putting her at risk.
• Senior Brother Chen refused to release Gu Yuanyuan and tried to escort her out of the encampment, while Gu Sheng sent the Heavenly Demon Vine toward the side exit.
• The Heavenly Demon Vine killed the two peak Heavenly Martial Realm disciples and Senior Brother Chen before he could harm Gu Yuanyuan.

Gu Sheng escaped with Gu Yuanyuan after the Heavenly Demon Vine killed their attackers, then investigated an abandoned palace and found a Boundless Sect emblem that triggered a hidden mechanism. While secretly controlling Blood Jade, he turned against the Boundless Sect’s evil cultivators to rescue Zhao Boyang and his companions, ending with Blood Jade punching through one attacker’s chest.

• The Heavenly Demon Vine killed three peak Heavenly Martial Realm disciples, and Gu Sheng reassured Gu Yuanyuan before they fled to a remote palace ruin.
• Xiao Beixuan ordered the search for Bai Zhi intensified and commanded the Sacrifice Array activated in three days, while Blood Jade concealed his true intentions.
• Gu Sheng found a winged broken-sword emblem matching the Boundless Sect’s badges, and touching it triggered a faint light and tremor.
• Gu Sheng used Blood Jade to reach Zhao Boyang, Jin'er, and their companions as they struggled against Boundless Sect disciples and three evil cultivators.
• Blood Jade suddenly attacked the evil cultivator wielding ghostfire and punched a hole through his chest.

Gu Sheng, controlling Blood Jade, helped Zhao Boyang and his companions kill three evil cultivators and escape, while Xiao Beixuan struggled to locate Bai Zhi and learned that Blood Jade had gone missing. Xiao Beixuan kept the Sacrifice Array on schedule and ordered elite squads to search the eastern district and kill Blood Jade if he had betrayed them.

• Gu Sheng used Blood Jade to kill Black Bat and attack the two remaining evil cultivators, giving Zhao Boyang, Jin'er, Old Xiong, and Old Zhen a chance to counterattack.
• Zhao Boyang used a Spirit Purification Talisman to weaken one evil cultivator, then joined Gu Sheng, Old Xiong, and Old Zhen in killing the last two.
• Gu Sheng revealed his identity to Zhao Boyang and told the group to clean up the battlefield and relocate before the Boundless Sect noticed.
• Xiao Beixuan learned that Bai Zhi remained missing and that the eastern district had lost contact with Blood Jade, but he insisted the Sacrifice Array would be activated in three days.
• Xiao Beixuan ordered three elite squads led by Human King Realm experts to search the eastern district and kill Blood Jade if he had betrayed them.

Xiao Beixuan ordered his shadow guard to find Bai Zhi as he prepared to advance his sacrificial scheme. In the eastern district, Jin'er revealed overwhelming soul power, severed Gu Sheng’s control of Blood Jade, and forced him to flee; Gu Sheng then sent Shen Qingtian and Gu Yuanyuan toward Great Desolation City with the Divine Craftsman's Maze Hall.

• Xiao Beixuan ordered the shadow guard to find Bai Zhi or take her place as the primary array core, while vowing to kill him if he fled.
• Gu Sheng told Zhao Boyang, Jin'er, Old Xiong, and Old Zhen that Xiao Beixuan and Nether River Venerable planned to sacrifice a thousand martial artists to create a Soulless Shell and break the ancient seal.
• Jin'er unleashed golden soul pressure in the cave, knocked Old Xiong and Old Zhen unconscious, and used a rune to destroy Black Snake’s remnant soul and sever Gu Sheng’s control of Blood Jade.
• Gu Sheng returned to his true body, warned Gu Yuanyuan that they had been exposed, and left the abandoned palace ruins after sending an urgent message.
• Gu Sheng gave Shen Qingtian the Divine Craftsman's Maze Hall to deliver personally to Miss Tantai of the Linlang Pavilion in Great Desolation City.
• Gu Sheng ordered Gu Yuanyuan to go with Shen Qingtian to Great Desolation City and seek Miss Tantai’s protection.

Gu Sheng entered the Hall of a Thousand Souls’ core region and discovered that Xiao Beixuan and the Nether River Venerable were draining more than a thousand captured martial artists for a sacrifice array. After finding Bai Zhi among the prisoners, he unleashed the Heavenly Demon Vine on the captives, and the chapter ended as Xiao Beixuan sensed that every sacrifice had been destroyed.

• Gu Yuanyuan left the ruins with Shen Qingtian, while Gu Sheng entered the core region alone.
• Gu Sheng found over a thousand soul-imprisoned martial artists serving as fuel for the Thousand Souls Sacrifice Array and discovered Zhao Boyang, Old Xiong, Old Zhen, and Chen Zhen among them.
• Gu Sheng searched the plaza for Bai Zhi and found her protected by a faint halo and a crescent-shaped jade pendant.
• Gu Sheng sent the Heavenly Demon Vine to slaughter the captives, whose life force nourished the vine as their bodies were destroyed.
• Xiao Beixuan saw every point of light representing a sacrifice vanish from his black compass.

Xiao Beixuan discovered that the sacrifices had been destroyed and ordered the secret realm searched, while Gu Sheng fled and was intercepted by three Human King Realm experts. At the hidden cave, Jin'er revealed that she had been disguised as Chen Zhen and ordered her controlled martial artists to attack Zhao Boyang and the others.

• Xiao Beixuan learned that all the sacrifices were dead, struck his backup array core, and summoned the Boundless Sect to search for the culprit.
• Gu Sheng suppressed the ravenous Heavenly Demon Vine and fled the sacrificial plaza, but three Human King Realm squad leaders blocked his path.
• Gu Sheng avoided the core region and changed course toward the cave where Zhao Boyang's group had hidden.
• Jin'er killed Blood Jade with a golden finger strike, prompting Zhao Boyang to order Old Xiong to protect her and confront the suspicious Chen Zhen.
• Chen Zhen revealed himself as Jin'er, who admitted she had wanted to keep playing and then took control of her martial artists.
• Jin'er ordered the controlled martial artists to attack Zhao Boyang, Old Xiong, and the others in the cave.

Jin'er revealed that she was Nether River's daughter and proposed an alliance with Gu Sheng to kill Xiao Beixuan. With the secret realm sealed and escape impossible, they planned to draw Xiao Beixuan and his allies out, though Gu Sheng would need to face the powerful Xiao Beixuan himself.

• Jin'er abandoned Zhao Boyang and Old Xiong in the cave, sealing its entrance with poisonous black mist as controlled martial artists attacked them.
• Gu Sheng found Jin'er near the cave and learned she was Nether River's daughter, opposed his plan, and sought to eliminate him.
• Jin'er revealed that Xiao Beixuan's formation would consume his soul and played a communication from him reporting that Gu Sheng had destroyed over a thousand corpse puppets and the backup formation core had escaped.
• Jin'er killed the attackers in the cave and offered to ally with Gu Sheng against Nether River; Gu Sheng agreed provisionally if she killed Xiao Beixuan.
• Xiao Beixuan's forces sealed the secret realm's exit, trapping everyone inside, and Jin'er proposed letting Xiao Beixuan find them.
• Jin'er said she could hold off Xiao Beixuan's three Human King Realm guards, but Gu Sheng would need to keep Xiao Beixuan occupied.