Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• The Beast Tide races toward Monte City, while a strange black vortex and the sudden arrival of people from the Kabu Continent suggest a possible connection to a larger threat.
• Ye Chuqi warns Bai Fenghua of her suspicions. He reassures her and notes that Monte City has powerful defenders, though their full strength has not yet been revealed.
• Ye Chuqi reaches the City Defense Army as the Adventurers’ Camp’s defensive line collapses. Most adventurers retreat, while the soldiers stay to slow the beasts and protect the city.
• Seeing the soldiers prepare for a likely futile last stand, Ye Chuqi rebukes them and takes command. She orders them to retreat or use coordinated flanking attacks rather than charge head-on.
• Ye Chuqi releases Big Black Fish, now a powerful, nearly recovered High-Rank Magic Beast, and sends it into the Beast Tide to hunt and disrupt the advancing creatures.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows both concern for the wider threat and practical leadership. She respects courage but rejects needless sacrifice, taking charge when the soldiers hesitate.
• Bai Fenghua offers Ye Chuqi calm reassurance, though she privately insists she is not afraid.
• The City Defense Army initially accepts death as part of its duty. Its highest-ranking soldier readily entrusts Ye Chuqi with command, and the troops obey her orders.
• Big Black Fish demonstrates how much it has grown: its defenses and abilities have strengthened, and it is ready to fight despite recent strain.

Significant themes

• Duty versus pointless sacrifice: The soldiers’ commitment to protecting the city is honored, but Ye Chuqi argues that bravery must be paired with sound strategy.
• Leadership and trust: The soldiers quickly recognize Ye Chuqi’s authority and follow her under pressure.
• Cooperation and responsibility: Adventurers retreat to survive, while the army holds the line; each group acts according to its role in protecting others.
• Uncertainty and looming danger: The vortex, the Kabu Continent connection, and the approaching tide hint that the crisis may be more than a routine monster attack.

Chapter 76: “I Can” — Summary

Key events

• Ye Chuqi withdraws from the Beast Tide after Big Black Fish charges into it and scatters Demon Beasts.
• Near Monte City, Big Black Fish grows increasingly excited, and a red glow appears in his eyes. San San struggles to call him back, but Big Black Fish eventually snaps out of the influence and returns to Ye Chuqi.
• Ye Chuqi realizes that a Demon Beast is using a force from the Black Vortex to confuse Beast Companions and potentially turn them against their masters. She warns Bai Fenghua, who alerts the Beast-Tamer Guild.
• The force reaches Monte City despite its Protective Barrier. Some Beast Companions resist it, while those with weaker bonds attack their masters.
• Ye Chuqi suspects the Demon Beast behind the influence is using another Demon Beast’s Black Vortex to project its power from the Lost Forest. The vortex appears to be expanding, and the beasts emerging from it are growing stronger.
• Demon Beasts gather around Monte City’s barrier, and a huge flock of flying beasts arrives from the Lost Forest. The dark center of the vortex continues to deepen, suggesting a greater threat is forming.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi acts quickly to protect others, warning Bai Fenghua and trying to understand the source of the danger.
• Big Black Fish’s close, informal bond with Ye Chuqi and San San helps him resist the mind-altering force. His lack of a formal contract does not make him vulnerable in the same way as a poorly bonded companion.
• Xiaojiu recognizes the danger to Big Black Fish and urgently calls for his return. His own companion, Gungun, remains unaffected because they also have no contract.
• Bai Fenghua responds to Ye Chuqi’s warning by contacting the Beast-Tamer Guild, whose many housed companions could pose a serious danger if controlled.

Significant themes

• Trust and genuine bonds: A companion’s loyalty depends on closeness and trust, not simply a formal contract.
• Hidden vulnerability: An enemy can exploit weak relationships and turn allies into threats.
• Escalating danger: The expanding vortex and arriving flying beasts signal that Monte City’s crisis is far from over.

Chapter 223 Summary

Plot points and events

• Bai Fenghua and other powerful experts guard Monte City’s watchtowers and keep the Demon Beasts near the Black Vortex from advancing rashly.
• Once no more beasts appear to be falling from the vortex, the City Defense Army finally surges through the Protective Barrier and attacks the beasts around the city’s walls and gates. After being forced to wait while others fought, the soldiers unleash their pent-up frustration.
• The army meets the incoming tide of Mid-Rank Magic Beasts. A collective force—identified by Xiaojiu as a battle spirit—halts the charge. Ye Qinglan has united the soldiers, giving them a shared fighting spirit and greater strength.
• Ye Chuqi recognizes that the force is only a rudimentary battle spirit, but is impressed by her brother’s achievement. She warns that if the powerful Demon Beast behind the Black Vortex emerges, Monte City could be destroyed, though Bai Fenghua and the other experts would fight it.
• With the city’s main forces holding the line, Ye Chuqi, Xiaojiu, and Big Black Fish attack the edges of the Beast Tide, taking down Mid-Rank Magic Beasts alongside soldiers and Adventurers.
• The threat remains severe, but the chapter suggests the battle is manageable for now: the tide’s attack has been concentrated into a single day, and the Lost Forest cannot send every beast—including its rare High-Rank Magic Beasts—at once.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qinglan demonstrates his ability to inspire and unite people, awakening a battle spirit among the City Defense Army.
• Ye Chuqi is proud of her brother, but stays alert to the danger posed by the Black Vortex and the unseen force directing the beasts. She also reflects on how a spatial talent disrupted her investigation of the Lost Forest.
• Bai Fenghua and the other watchtower experts remain a critical line of defense against a possible high-level threat.
• Xiaojiu, bloodied from fighting, joins Ye Chuqi and asks where they should contribute. Their brief exchange highlights her confidence in the city’s leadership and his practical concern for the battle.
• Soldiers who previously acted awkwardly toward Ye Chuqi greet her politely, then fight with renewed determination. Adventurers, meanwhile, strike the Beast Tide in smaller groups wherever they find openings.

Significant themes

• Unity and collective strength: Ye Qinglan’s battle spirit shows how shared purpose can turn a group into a more powerful fighting force.
• Courage after frustration: The soldiers’ enforced restraint gives way to fierce resolve once they are allowed to fight.
• Threat and uncertainty: Monte City can withstand the current assault, but the Black Vortex and the possible emergence of a powerful Demon Beast keep the danger unresolved.

Chapter 224 Summary

• Ye Chuqi decides to investigate the black vortex. She reasons that the Demon Beasts able to pass through it are limited by the spatial creature’s ability, and that the beasts affected by its confusion may not be especially intelligent. She suspects the vortex leads to the beasts’ lair—and potentially to the creature responsible for opening it.
• She asks Big Black Fish to carry her toward it. Though he initially protests in terror, Ye Chuqi reassures him and rubs his head. His slime has disappeared, leaving his skin smooth and pleasant to touch. Delighted by her affection, he eagerly lets her climb on his back.
• Ye Qinglan joins her. Seeing Ye Chuqi head for the vortex, he immediately flies up beside her, silently making clear he will stay with her. She accepts, jokingly considering that she could put him in her space if things go wrong.
• Ye Chuqi expands the plan to bring others. Big Black Fish’s ability to pass through the vortex is limited, so he cannot carry someone as powerful as Bai Fenghua. Bai recognizes the plan as their best option and sends Red Beard and Bone Wolf to accompany them, while warning Ye Chuqi to prioritize her safety.
• Big Black Fish transports the group. Ye Chuqi greets the returning Red Beard and Bone Wolf warmly. After confirming Big Black Fish can carry them, he swallows Ye Chuqi, Ye Qinglan, and the two men, then quickly transports them and spits them out on the other side. He retreats into Ye Chuqi’s space afterward, unwilling to face the danger himself.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows initiative and risk-taking, acting on her theory about the vortex rather than waiting passively. Her growing affection for Big Black Fish is evident in her touch and teasing.
• Big Black Fish shifts from fearful reluctance to eager cooperation once Ye Chuqi shows him affection. His pride and mischievousness surface as he anticipates the others’ reactions to being swallowed.
• Ye Qinglan demonstrates quiet loyalty by following Ye Chuqi without hesitation.
• Bai Fenghua supports Ye Chuqi’s judgment, even while emphasizing her safety.
• Red Beard and Bone Wolf reunite warmly with Ye Chuqi, though both react uneasily to Big Black Fish’s unusual transport method.

Significant Themes

• Courage and calculated risk: Ye Chuqi’s plan is dangerous, but she acts on reasoned deductions and seeks capable companions.
• Trust and loyalty: Ye Qinglan follows without needing an explanation, while Bai Fenghua backs Ye Chuqi’s decision.
• Affection changing relationships: Ye Chuqi’s small gesture transforms Big Black Fish’s attitude toward the mission.
• Humor amid danger: The group’s discomfort at being swallowed—and Big Black Fish’s delight in their reactions—lightens the tense journey.

Plot points and events

• Big Black Fish refuses to fight the Demon Beast and instead adjusts the group’s arrival point so they don’t appear in midair.
• Ye Chuqi’s companions—Ye Qinglan, Red Beard, and Bone Wolf—move to protect her, but she quickly steps out of the way and lets them confront the creature.
• The Demon Beast is a strangely uneven, scorpion-like creature with one enormous pincer. Ye Chuqi suspects the pincer’s base is a weakness.
• She attacks that spot with Spiritual Power, marking it for Ye Qinglan and Red Beard to strike. Their coordinated assault begins, while Bone Wolf reacts a moment later.
• After withdrawing, Ye Chuqi warns them about the beast’s spatial abilities. The creature opens a Spatial Rift behind her and lunges, but she dodges.
• Ye Chuqi senses greed and despair in the beast. San San suspects it is drawn to her Spiritual Power, though her attacks are too weak to do more than trouble it.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows initiative and tactical insight despite her injuries and reduced strength: she identifies a possible weak point, signals her brother, and avoids the beast’s surprise attack.
• Ye Qinglan and Red Beard respond instantly to her cue, revealing how well they understand one another and work together.
• Bone Wolf feels excluded from their unspoken coordination, then recognizes that Ye Chuqi has found the beast’s weakness.
• Big Black Fish’s extreme caution provides a contrast to the group’s willingness to fight.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and belonging: The trio’s smooth coordination contrasts with Bone Wolf’s feeling of being left out.
• Courage amid vulnerability: Ye Chuqi contributes through observation and strategy even though she is far weaker than her companions.
• Uncertainty and hidden motives: The beast’s malformed appearance and strange interest in Ye Chuqi raise questions about its nature and intentions.
• Power’s limits: Ye Chuqi’s Spiritual Power is unusual and attracts the creature, but her damaged meridians and the beast’s tough shell limit its effectiveness.

Plot points and events

• The Demon Beast focuses entirely on Ye Chuqi, drawn to the unusual power in her earlier attack, while Ye Qinglan and the others strike it.
• San San discovers that a crude Formation beneath the beast is pinning its body in place. Its spatial ability lets it attack Ye Chuqi, but cannot free it.
• Ye Chuqi suspects people from Kabu Continent created the Formation, though their purpose remains unclear.
• With the beast distracted and immobilized, the group eventually severs its Giant Pincer. The spatial attacks stop, and the creature collapses.
• Ye Chuqi realizes the beast has not fully advanced: its Demon Beast aura came from the pincer alone. She tests the wound with Spirit Spring water, which releases a foul-smelling white mist shaped like a fusion of several Demon Beasts.
• She captures the mist in a specially made bottle, seals it, and asks San San to monitor it.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi stays alert under pressure, uses her observations to explain the creature’s unusual nature, and takes the initiative to preserve the mysterious mist for study.
• San San’s knowledge of Formation Patterns proves crucial to understanding why the beast cannot move.
• Ye Qinglan and the others capitalize on Ye Chuqi’s role as bait, steadily wearing down the beast despite its shell.

Significant themes

• Hidden forces and mysteries: The Formation, the Kabu Continent group, and the strange mist point to a larger, still-unexplained threat.
• Unusual cultivation and transformation: The beast’s partial advancement challenges what the characters understand about Demon Beasts.
• Caution and investigation: Even after victory, the group remains wary, and Ye Chuqi preserves evidence rather than dismissing the strange phenomenon.

Character interactions

• The Demon Beast fixates on Ye Chuqi, apparently seeking the power that eased its pain, while ignoring the others.
• Ye Chuqi relies on San San’s discovery and guidance, then shares her deductions with the group.
• Ye Qinglan and the others protect the team’s chances by attacking while Ye Chuqi keeps the immobilized creature occupied.

Plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi suspects the Kabu Continent group is using forbidden arts to turn demon beasts into beast souls and combine or alter creatures as part of a larger formation.
• San San reasons that the monsters are sacrifices tied to multiple formation eyes, and that destroying only one node will not reveal or stop the whole scheme. Using the first node, San San identifies eighteen possible nearby locations for the group to investigate.
• The party decides to stay together, since the Lost Forest makes communication difficult. At the fifth location, they find a deformed black panther whose oversized head appears to let it control demon beasts from afar. They kill it and collect the beast soul that emerges.
• After locating and destroying more nodes, San San concludes the network is most likely an enormous teleportation array. Ye Chuqi agrees, noting that the nodes were recently established and their builders may still be nearby.
• The group must decide whether to pursue the Kabu Continent people or return for help. Bone Wolf advises retreating, concerned that the danger is beyond their small party. The excerpt ends before they decide.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi moves from suspicion to a clearer understanding of the enemy’s operation, and takes charge of marking and checking the possible nodes.
• San San contributes crucial analytical insight, tracing the formation’s likely structure and purpose.
• Red Beard argues that the group should remain together for practical and safety reasons.
• Bone Wolf shows protective caution, urging the others—whom he sees as unusually important or capable—to avoid taking an unnecessary risk.
• The group works cooperatively, combining San San’s calculations, Ye Chuqi’s deductions, and the others’ support.

Significant themes

• The cost of unnatural power: the grotesque, altered beasts reveal the cruelty behind the Kabu Continent group’s methods.
• Caution versus responsibility: the party must weigh pursuing a potentially dangerous threat against preventing further harm.
• Uncertainty and escalating stakes: the teleportation array’s destination and purpose remain unknown, suggesting a much larger threat than the beasts they have encountered.

Key plot points and events

• San San suggests that Ye Chuqi modify the formation’s damaged Formation Eyes rather than simply give up on activating it. With San San’s expertise, the group may be able to use those Eyes to control and monitor the wider formation.
• The group has spent several days in the Lost Forest. The Beast Tide should normally be ending, but they have no news from Monte City and discover that they are much farther from it than expected.
• With no easy portal back, Ye Chuqi wonders how the Giant Scorpion once managed spatial travel that even Big Black Fish cannot. She suspects the formation—and possibly the strange souls involved—amplified the Scorpion’s abilities.
• Ye Chuqi proposes searching for a damaged Teleportation Array deep in the forest, previously mentioned by Xiaojiu. She hopes it might reveal useful information or provide a faster route back. Red Beard and Bone Wolf agree to go with her.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi shows growing confidence and resourcefulness by devising an unconventional plan to manipulate the formation and choosing to pursue the Teleportation Array.
• Red Beard recognizes how much Ye Chuqi has grown since she was once unable to speak easily, while Ye Qinglan remains unsurprised by her ingenuity.
• San San demonstrates its superior formation knowledge and unusual intuition, guiding the group despite the Lost Forest’s interference.

Character interactions

• San San privately advises Ye Chuqi to tamper with the formation and offers to share its limited ability to sense the other Formation Eyes; Ye Chuqi declines.
• Red Beard and Bone Wolf react cautiously to Ye Chuqi’s plan, then support her decision to investigate the Teleportation Array.
• The group’s discussion of the Giant Scorpion’s spatial powers deepens Ye Chuqi’s suspicion that the forest’s formations and strange souls are linked to the Cultivation World.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity and growth: Ye Chuqi turns damaged resources into a possible advantage and takes initiative.
• Uncertainty and discovery: The group is isolated in a difficult, disorienting forest, with the Beast Tide’s status and the formation’s purpose unknown.
• Connections between worlds and powers: The altered formations, “Spiritual Power,” and strange souls hint at deeper links between Kabu Continent and the Cultivation World.
• Trust and teamwork: Ye Chuqi relies on San San’s expertise and gains the other men’s support for a risky plan.

Plot points

• Bone Wolf reports that the Teleportation Array near the Lost Forest is too damaged to repair, though it was once functional. Ye Chuqi says she can adjust the coordinates of a corresponding array and set Monte City as its destination.
• Ye Chuqi and San San hope to find another array. Studying it may help San San understand how Teleportation Arrays protect themselves from the Lost Forest’s Magnetic Field.
• The group travels deeper into the forest. With most dangerous High-Rank Magic Beasts drawn away or trapped in the Formation Eye, they encounter a few scares but make good progress.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qinglan, Red Beard, and especially Bone Wolf are impressed by Ye Chuqi’s wilderness skills. Bone Wolf had thought of her as a sheltered young woman, but watching her navigate the forest and prepare a comforting meal changes his view.
• Around the campfire, Bone Wolf eagerly eats most of Ye Chuqi’s meat soup, then realizes she has not eaten yet. Embarrassed, he apologizes and offers to help. Red Beard blocks him from taking more, while Ye Qinglan saves the remaining soup for Ye Chuqi.
• Ye Chuqi takes the teasing in stride and grills more meat. Bone Wolf eats until he is too full, then relaxes and falls asleep.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness and expertise: Ye Chuqi’s practical skills make a difficult environment more manageable, while San San’s study of the arrays offers hope of solving the group’s travel problem.
• Comfort and community: Shared food transforms a tense, dangerous journey into a peaceful camp, showing how care and companionship can ease hardship.
• Changing perceptions: The others come to recognize that Ye Chuqi’s apparent gentleness coexists with remarkable competence and resilience.

Key plot points and events

• Bone Wolf falls asleep almost instantly, prompting Ye Qinglan and Red Beard to reflect on how his playful, informal behavior contrasts with his high status and close ties to Bai Fenghua and the Bai family.
• The group travels safely through the Lost Forest. Ye Chuqi collects rare herbs, while the others leave the delicate work to her.
• San San recognizes that they have returned to a place Ye Chuqi visited before. Unlike Xiaojiu, who reads surface clues, San San can record routes and scan underground terrain—partly to locate ore veins.
• Ye Chuqi asks San San to use their accumulated maps to find where Xiaojiu was teleported. Their progress in dismantling and modifying Formation Eyes has also strengthened San San’s control of the larger Formation.
• They reach the former lair of the High-Rank Magic Beast that had chased Xiaojiu. Ye Chuqi realizes she previously killed it with medicinal powder, leaving the territory vacant and allowing Small Magic Beasts to move in.
• The group discovers a buried, damaged Teleportation Array among the remnants of an ancient human structure. Ye Qinglan estimates the bluestone bricks are at least a thousand years old.
• Ye Chuqi identifies the array as a Layered Formation containing patterns similar to those she knows, concealed beneath unfamiliar alterations. Intrigued, she punches a large hole in the ground to investigate, alarming Bone Wolf, who worries she will destroy the array.

Character developments and interactions

• Bone Wolf remains both important and comically casual: he rejects being called “uncle” but enjoys being called “Brother Wolf.” His sudden sleep and later concern about Ye Chuqi’s destructive inspection add to his humorous image.
• Ye Chuqi is resourceful and increasingly confident with formations. She connects the abandoned lair to her earlier actions and quickly spots the array’s hidden structure.
• San San demonstrates unusual, machine-like ways of understanding the forest, using comprehensive environmental records rather than ordinary navigation. Its interest in underground minerals is also exposed.
• Ye Qinglan contributes practical historical knowledge from his experience repairing walls, helping the group interpret the ruins.
• The group works cooperatively: Ye Chuqi handles delicate herb gathering and formation analysis, while San San maps the area and Ye Qinglan assesses the masonry.

Significant themes

• Different forms of knowledge: Human tracking, San San’s comprehensive recording, and Ye Chuqi’s formation expertise each reveal different aspects of the forest.
• Hidden history and discovery: The buried ruins and altered array suggest a forgotten past and invite further investigation.
• Unintended consequences: Ye Chuqi’s earlier attempt to help Xiaojiu killed the beast whose territory the group now explores.
• Status versus personality: Bone Wolf’s prestigious position contrasts with his childish, affectionate behavior.

Key events

• Ye Chuqi’s repeated blows uncover glowing Rune Patterns beneath the ground. They seem to rise into the air, then disappear.
• Ye Qinglan pulls her from the deepening pit when her Fighting Spirit is nearly spent and takes over digging. His punches do not make the runes react; San San explains that they respond to Spiritual Power leaking from Ye Chuqi, not to the force of her strikes.
• Ye Qinglan’s next blow hits something metallic. Red Beard and Bone Wolf help clear the debris and light the pit, revealing an ancient, mottled bronze slab marked with patterns.
• San San identifies the formation beneath them as part of a huge Teleportation Array. Its coordinates lie underground, suggesting it may be intended not to transport people to the Lost Forest, but to summon something up from beneath it.
• Bone Wolf wonders whether a buried city lies below, recalling the old bricks they found nearby. Ye Chuqi does not confirm this: San San senses something ancient and immense, but cannot identify it.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi follows instinct rather than technique, continuing to strike even as her Fighting Spirit fades. She is more concerned with checking that Ye Qinglan is unhurt than with the discovery itself.
• Ye Qinglan remains composed while witnessing the impossible runes, then helps her without hesitation. Their easy cooperation and his practical care highlight their close sibling bond.
• Red Beard is struck by Ye Qinglan’s calm and reflects on how strong a bond between relatives can be.
• San San interprets the formation and provides the key clue that shifts the group’s understanding of the site. Bone Wolf offers the possibility of a buried city, while Ye Chuqi remains cautious about drawing conclusions.

Significant themes

• Ancient mysteries and lost history: The buried formation and bronze slab hint at a forgotten civilization or power beneath the Lost Forest.
• Cooperation and kinship: Ye Qinglan and Ye Chuqi work in sync, with concern for one another woven into their actions.
• Uncertainty and interpretation: The characters have clues, not answers; the possibility of a buried city remains speculation rather than established fact.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi, Ye Qinglan, Red Beard, and Bone Wolf consider whether the bronze plate beneath the Lost Forest may cover an ancient city, and wonder what the Kabu Continent visitors are seeking.
• They realize the ground marks are only traces left by a teleportation—not the array itself. Ye Chuqi suspects the actual Rune Patterns are engraved on the bronze plate.
• When Ye Chuqi strikes the plate, its Rune Patterns light up and form a complete Teleportation Array. She places Purified Beast Cores at its nodes to power it, while the others expose more of the pattern.
• Unable to investigate what lies beneath the massive, nearly indestructible plate, the group buries it to keep it hidden. San San records the coordinates so they can return.
• The four teleport away—but arrive directly at a group of strangers’ base camp. The strangers are stunned: they had believed the array worked only one way, and recognize the newcomers.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi demonstrates her unusual ability to activate the array and her growing confidence using Purified Beast Cores as power sources. She reassures the others that burying the plate will not stop the array.
• Ye Qinglan watches Ye Chuqi closely, examining her hand after she strikes the plate to ensure she is unharmed. He is also curious about how she triggered the Rune Patterns.
• Red Beard focuses on how the array works and notices that the visible ground marks are not its actual runes.
• Bone Wolf is skeptical about breaking the plate and worries about leaving the site exposed. He is surprised when Ye Chuqi casually gives him a Purified Beast Core.

Significant themes

• Ancient mysteries and hidden history: The plate may conceal a buried city, while its age and purpose remain unknown.
• Discovery carries risk: The group must conceal a powerful, unexplained array from adventurers, beasts, and the Kabu visitors.
• Unexpected consequences: Their effort to return safely instead places them in the heart of their apparent adversaries’ camp.

Plot and key events

• Ye Qinglan and his companions are recognized after emerging from the Teleportation Array. Knowing the witnesses could expose the array—and whatever lies beneath it—he attacks rather than risk letting them leave. The opposing group fights back, and the clearing erupts into a battle.
• While the others shield her, Ye Chuqi notices old stone fragments and suspects that a city lies beneath the Lost Forest.
• She and San San examine the camp around the array. Its buildings appear deliberately arranged as a Mirage Array, designed to conceal something, with the Teleportation Array beneath Ye Chuqi’s feet serving as its Formation Eye.
• The old fragments bear patterns and writing from different periods, but too little survives to interpret. The newer white-ghost-stone foundation also differs from the ancient bricks.
• San San realizes the group reached the site because the adventurers had replaced missing pieces of the array’s physical base. The array’s Rune Patterns themselves seem undamaged; had they been, the travelers might not have made it through.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qinglan acts decisively and ruthlessly, judging that a peaceful resolution is impossible once the group has been recognized.
• Ye Chuqi remains observant even amid danger, noticing evidence that points to an ancient buried city and asking San San to help interpret the camp’s layout.
• San San serves as her analytical partner, identifying the likely Mirage Array and explaining the significance of the stones and the repaired teleportation foundation.
• Their exchange is curious and collaborative, though San San admits uncertainty and unease about how close they came to danger.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and risk: The companions fight to keep the array and whatever it conceals from becoming widely known.
• Ancient history and layered evidence: The mixed-age inscriptions, ruins, and newer construction hint at a long, obscure past.
• Chance and hidden mechanisms: Their arrival depended on the adventurers’ repairs, showing how a seemingly damaged formation could still be made usable—and how little the travelers understand about the site.

Key events

• Ye Chuqi watches as Ye Qinglan, Bone Wolf, and Red Beard destroy an Adventurer camp. She calls for them to leave someone alive to question; Ye Qinglan has spared one person.
• The camp yields no clear evidence. Ye Chuqi finds neither the Rune Pattern Traces she expected nor proof linking the Adventurers to the Rahu Mercenary Corps.
• The group suspects the team’s frequent trips into the Lost Forest may be connected to the Kabu Continent, altered Rune Patterns, and something buried beneath the forest.
• Rather than wait for Bai Fenghua, Ye Chuqi hides the ruined camp with a Mirage Array and takes part of the Teleportation Array’s White Ghost Stone base as a precaution.
• The array makes the camp disappear to approaching observers. Bone Wolf can still see it from a distance and realizes he has found a blind spot.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi stays calm during the assault and shows initiative afterward, investigating the site and securing its secrets herself.
• Ye Qinglan is protective and supportive: he leaves a survivor at her request and reassures her that some matters can be handled without Bai Fenghua.
• Bone Wolf admires Ye Chuqi’s abilities beyond combat and eagerly studies her formation work. His strength lets him notice the Mirage Array’s weakness.
• Red Beard laughs at Ye Chuqi’s impatience with Bai Fenghua, while Bone Wolf hesitates to join in because of his respect for him.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and uncertainty: The Adventurers appear ordinary, but their hidden activities may connect to larger forces and the Lost Forest’s buried mystery.
• Power and capability: The camp’s destruction highlights the group’s overwhelming strength, while Ye Chuqi’s knowledge gives her a different kind of influence.
• Self-reliance and preparation: Ye Chuqi acts without waiting for outside help and takes extra measures to conceal the camp and preserve useful materials.
• The limits of concealment: Even a powerful illusion can have vulnerabilities, as Bone Wolf’s unusual sighting reveals.

Plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi explains that the camp’s Mirage Array must leave occasional glimpses so it can mislead intruders; making it wholly invisible would defeat that purpose. Even someone who knows the camp is there will struggle to locate it, and the damaged Teleportation Array will be difficult to repair. Red Beard volunteers to arrange guards.
• After Ye Chuqi’s group severs the Demon Scorpion’s pincers, the Black Vortex over Monte City disappears. The controlled Beast Companions recover their senses, though they are exhausted and unable to keep fighting.
• More than ten days later, Ye Chuqi and the others return to Monte City. The Beast Tide has ended, and the city is busy with adventurers salvaging the battlefield. Their role in ending the threat is widely recognized.
• At the city gate, Ye Chuqi reunites with her friends from the Imperial Capital Academy and with Xiaojiu. She returns his Wolf Fang Necklace, which had been taken by the adventurers who used him as bait.

Character development and interactions

• Ye Chuqi is resourceful and considerate: she understands the Mirage Array’s purpose, helps secure the hidden camp, and makes a point of recovering Xiaojiu’s treasured necklace.
• Xiaojiu is revealed to have been raised by a Demon Beast, which he considers family. The necklace is his only keepsake from it. He briefly sulks when Ye Chuqi greets her academy friends, but receiving the necklace immediately lifts his spirits.
• Bone Wolf questions the camp’s apparent weakness, then later playfully ruffles Xiaojiu’s hair. A small white creature leaps out and pecks his wrist.
• Red Beard offers to find guards for the camp. At Monte City, residents and soldiers welcome the returning heroes, while Nora excitedly calls out to Ye Chuqi and the academy group.

Significant themes

• Protection through misdirection: The Mirage Array’s partial visibility makes it more effective at diverting outsiders than total concealment would.
• Loyalty and belonging: Xiaojiu’s bond with the beast that raised him is treated as genuine family, and his necklace carries deep emotional meaning.
• Recognition and care: The survivors are celebrated for their courage, but the chapter’s quieter emotional focus is Ye Chuqi’s effort to restore something precious to Xiaojiu.

Key plot points and events

• Gungun, Xiaojiu’s Tree Fern Eagle chick, bites Bone Wolf when he reaches toward it. Xiaojiu explains that he rescued Gungun in the Lost Forest and cares for it; Bone Wolf laughs at how much the bird resembles its owner.
• Ye Chuqi catches up with her friends from Imperial Capital Academy. Cyril’s experimental combat potions proved valuable during the Beast Tide: he and Ivan used them to disorient Demon Beasts and rescue people. The potions have promising effects but remain limited, especially against stronger beasts, and Cyril needs practice.
• Ye Chuqi wants the Teleportation Array matter handled before she returns to school. Ye Qinglan offers to take responsibility, recognizing the importance of the array’s secrets.
• Ye Qinglan invites Ye Chuqi to visit the Ye Family home, as they had agreed, and brings Xiaojiu along. They plan to reach a city near the ancestral home through Monte City’s Teleportation Array.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qinglan has shifted from wanting to keep Ye Chuqi close to supporting her independence. He sees his role—and the Ye Family’s—as backing her ambitions rather than holding her back. He also hopes to help Xiaojiu develop beyond Bone Wolf’s influence.
• Ye Chuqi is nervous about meeting her blood relatives, having grown up without a family in her previous life. Seeing Xiaojiu’s even more obvious anxiety helps ease her own.
• Xiaojiu and Gungun share a close, affectionate bond: Xiaojiu indulges the bird’s habit of nesting in his hair, while Gungun fiercely defends its space.
• Cyril gains confidence and promise as a combat alchemist, though Ye Chuqi urges him to keep training. His friends recognize both the potency of his inventions and the danger they might pose if turned on people.

Significant themes

• Independence supported by family: Ye Qinglan learns that caring for Ye Chuqi means enabling her growth, not restricting her.
• Belonging and family: Ye Chuqi’s upcoming visit raises complicated feelings about suddenly having blood relatives after a life without them.
• Growth and potential: Cyril’s developing potions and Xiaojiu’s opportunity to mature both point toward characters discovering what they can become.

Chapter 237 Summary

• Key events: Ye Qinglan brings Ye Chuqi to the Ye Family Ancestral Residence in Maple Leaf City. At the gates, they are greeted by her parents, Ye Huarui and Bai Quanxin. A young family member rushes out and clings to Xiao Bu, leaving the beast awkwardly balancing on three legs. Bai Quanxin embraces Ye Chuqi and takes her to see the courtyard prepared for her, while Ye Huarui welcomes her home. The chapter ends with Ye Huarui turning to Ye Qinglan and asking if he has finally decided to come home.
• Character developments: Ye Chuqi, usually composed and confident, is overwhelmed and tongue-tied by the reunion. She feels the pull of family but struggles to voice her feelings, unable even to call Bai Quanxin “Mom.” Bai Quanxin’s joy and relief are intense, though she tries to respect her daughter’s discomfort and avoid overwhelming her. Ye Huarui is deeply moved but expresses himself more cautiously.
• Character interactions: Bai Quanxin clings to Ye Huarui in her emotion, then draws Ye Chuqi into a warm embrace and gently offers her rest, food, and a home of her own. Ye Qinglan watches Ye Chuqi’s uncharacteristic awkwardness with quiet amusement, prompting her to glare at him. Ye Huarui and Ye Qinglan share a familiar, teasing exchange at the end.
• Themes: The chapter centers on reunion, the lasting pain of separation, and the slow rebuilding of family bonds. It contrasts Ye Chuqi’s outward confidence with her vulnerability in an emotionally unfamiliar homecoming, while emphasizing that belonging can matter more than how much time has passed.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Huarui reflects that Ye Qinglan changed after Ye Chuqi disappeared: he became more driven and spent nearly three years at the Beast Abyss Frontline, returning only once before bringing her home.
• Ye Huarui urges Qinglan not to treat Chuqi as fragile or force affection. She has become strong and remarkable; the family should simply be sincere and let closeness develop naturally.
• Qinglan teases his father about growing old, and Ye Huarui challenges him to demonstrate his progress at the training ground.
• Ye Chuqi arrives at the Ye ancestral residence. Its elegant, fantastical architecture reminds her of the Cultivation World, and she is briefly disoriented.
• Bai Quanxin welcomes her warmly, asks after her studies and Imperial Capital home, and learns she can stay for a little over ten days. Chuqi admits she is beginning to think of the Ye estate as “home,” and praises its food.
• Bai Quanxin has long kept a courtyard ready for Chuqi. The family gives her space, arranging only discreet upkeep so she can settle in without feeling watched or crowded.
• After two days, Bai Quanxin checks how Chuqi is doing and asks permission to do something, leaving the moment unresolved.

Character development

• Ye Qinglan is revealed as deeply affected by Chuqi’s disappearance and return, though he remains awkward about family affection.
• Ye Huarui is protective but perceptive: he recognizes Chuqi’s independence and encourages a patient, unpressured relationship.
• Ye Chuqi is gradually accepting the Ye family and its residence as a home, while retaining her need for independence.
• Bai Quanxin shows her affection through gentle attention, practical preparation, and respect for Chuqi’s boundaries.

Significant themes

• Family bonds must grow naturally rather than be demanded.
• Love can be expressed through patience, care, and giving someone space.
• Chuqi’s growing sense of belonging contrasts with her earlier life without a family.
• The Ye household’s respectful treatment of its staff reflects its values and social standing.

Character interactions

• Ye Huarui advises Qinglan on how to approach Chuqi, then playfully challenges him to a training match.
• Bai Quanxin gently questions Chuqi about her life and listens as Chuqi shares her growing comfort at the estate.
• The family and staff accommodate Chuqi quietly, allowing her to explore and settle in at her own pace.

Key plot points and events

• As Ye Chuqi’s sixteenth birthday approaches, Bai Quanxin asks what she wants. Chuqi suggests exploring Maple Leaf City together, but Bai turns the outing into an extravagant shopping spree, buying the best goods and sending them to the Ye family residence. Chuqi gets little chance to treat her mother herself.
• Bai meets Xiaojiu and learns that Ye Qinglan arranged for him to take the Ye Family School’s entrance assessment. Xiaojiu’s lack of formal education contrasts with his impressive combat talent, which has attracted the teachers’ attention; he is still waiting to learn whether he passed.
• Bai warmly encourages Xiaojiu, explaining that the school can help him develop his talent and learn to protect himself and those he cares about. Xiaojiu’s companion, Gungun, also accepts Bai’s touch, despite its usual prickly nature.
• The Ye Family School is presented as a prestigious institution for the Ye family and its affiliated families, with a strong emphasis on combat. Ye Qinglan has also begun thinking that even magic- or alchemy-focused companions of Chuqi should build basic strength and learn to evade danger.
• Seven days after Chuqi arrives at the old residence, Ye family patriarch Ye Wei emerges from seclusion. In the week, Chuqi and Bai grow close through a whirlwind of outings and disruption at both the residence and the city.
• When Chuqi meets Ye Wei, she senses a vast, chaotic disturbance of time and space rules within him. His condition appears far more serious than others realize, yet he conceals it so completely that he seems unaffected.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi and Bai Quanxin: Their relationship rapidly becomes affectionate and comfortable. Bai’s extravagant generosity shows both her delight in reconnecting with her daughter and Chuqi’s inability to outdo her.
• Bai and Xiaojiu: Bai treats him kindly and reassuringly, while Xiaojiu’s intimidating expression makes him awkward around her. Her warmth also puts Gungun at ease.
• Xiaojiu: He shows ambition beyond fighting: though uneducated, he wants to learn and sees entry into the Ye Family School as a rare opportunity.
• Ye Qinglan: His arrangements for Xiaojiu show support for the boy’s potential. His experiences with Joshua and Cyril have also prompted him to value physical conditioning even for people whose strengths lie elsewhere.
• Ye Chuqi and Ye Wei: Their first meeting reveals Chuqi’s unusual ability to perceive the hidden danger in the patriarch’s condition.

Significant themes

• Family and belonging: Chuqi and Bai rebuild their bond, while Xiaojiu’s place in the Ye family’s wider world begins to take shape.
• Talent and effort: Natural ability matters, but education and discipline are needed to turn it into something useful.
• Protection and preparedness: Combat training is framed not only as a path to strength, but as a way to protect loved ones and avoid becoming a burden in danger.
• Hidden burdens: Ye Wei’s outward composure masks a potentially catastrophic struggle within him.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi reunites with her grandfather, Ye Wei, who has been living in seclusion while suppressing a dangerous injury: chaotic Power of Rules entangled with the laws of spacetime.
• Ye Chuqi senses that something is wrong, takes his wrist, and discovers she can touch the power without being harmed. Ye Wei is surprised, as others have been injured just by approaching him.
• Ye Chuqi insists that Ye Wei explain what happened without evasion. He tells her the history of her troubled birth and disappearance:
  • While Bai Quanxin was pregnant, someone repeatedly targeted her, but the families involved could not uncover the culprit.
  • Ye Chuqi was born with Wandering Soul Syndrome and slept constantly.
  • As an infant, she was swept away by a Spatial Vortex during an attack and remained missing for over a decade.
  • Ye Wei tore through spacetime and searched for her using their blood bond. He found no trace of her, but became certain she was alive.
• Ye Wei’s repeated efforts left him bound by spacetime’s laws. He has suppressed their effects for years, but the Power of Rules remains stronger than he can withstand.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi shows perceptiveness, concern, and growing familiarity with Ye Wei, addressing him as “Grandpa” and confronting him directly about his condition.
• Ye Wei reveals the depth of his love and determination: he risked being torn apart by spacetime in his search for Chuqi. His warm, teasing demeanor contrasts with the burden he has hidden for years.

Character interactions

• Chuqi’s direct care for Ye Wei surprises him, especially because she can safely touch the power surrounding him.
• Ye Wei affectionately rubs her head and jokes to the onlookers that she called him Grandpa right away.
• Their conversation shifts from playful teasing to an intimate account of the family’s past and Ye Wei’s sacrifice.

Significant themes

• Family devotion and sacrifice: Ye Wei endured immense danger and lasting injury in his effort to find Chuqi.
• Fate, power, and its limits: Even a near-peak Martial Combat Venerable cannot easily resist the laws of spacetime or the Power of Rules.
• Belonging and connection: Chuqi’s reunion with her grandfather—and her unusual affinity with the power around him—suggests a bond that may reach beyond ordinary family ties.