Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Ye Chuqi explains that fallen Demon Beasts have grown stronger, making her investigation into the Beast Abyss increasingly urgent.
• A small wave attacks. Barney absorbs their blows and destroys them with powerful punches; Roan protects him and finishes off survivors or attackers who slip past; Allen restrains enemies with Water magic and heals Barney when needed.
• Seeing that Cyril cannot safely use his potions in the close-quarters fight, Ye Chuqi gives him Mumu, a small offshoot of her powerful Wood Vine, as a potential source of support. Cyril is immediately charmed by its cuteness and starts trying to talk to it.
• San San uses the fallen beasts’ routes to identify possible points of interest, but asks Ye Chuqi to make further trips to gather more information.
• The group recognizes that the Beast Abyss interferes with perception, making it dangerous to travel far or risk becoming separated.

Character developments and interactions

• Barney, Roan, and Allen prove remarkably effective as a team despite never having fought together before. Ye Qinglan admires their coordination and credits Jelous’s judgment in selecting them.
• Cyril is out of his element in the small-scale battle, but Ye Chuqi finds him a useful role by pairing him with Mumu. His fondness for cute creatures distracts him from her warning not to underestimate the vine.
• Roan and Allen are both unusually affected by the Abyss: Roan senses the beasts’ bloodlust and hunger keenly, while Allen feels even the normally gentle Water Element take on a murderous quality.
• Ye Chuqi remains alert, using both San San’s abilities and her Divine Sense to monitor danger, though neither can reliably perceive far into the area.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and complementary strengths: The fighters’ different abilities combine into an effective unit.
• A growing, pervasive threat: Stronger beasts and hostile magical energies suggest the Abyss is worsening.
• Limits of perception and control: The obscuring environment leaves even skilled scouts and powerful mages uncertain and vulnerable.
• Adaptation and trust: Ye Chuqi assigns roles according to each companion’s abilities, while Cyril must learn to rely on an unfamiliar ally.

Plot points and events

• The group enters the Beast Abyss and is struck by its oppressive, despairing atmosphere. Ye Chuqi draws Mind-Cleansing Talismans on Dragon-Scale Wood leaves, helping everyone resist the Abyss’s influence. She warns them to stay put if separated, since the leaves should protect them and help the group find them for about a day.
• Cyril recognizes the leaves as Dragon-Scale Wood, and Allen realizes they may come from living trees. Ye Chuqi confirms that the Bai Family has some, exciting Allen, who has long wanted Dragon-Scale Wood for his staff. Before he can ask about acquiring it, another wave of Fallen Demon Beasts attacks.
• As the group fights, Ye Chuqi examines the Beast Abyss’s corrupted plants and terrain. She finds no Demonic Qi in them, but suspects it may be a recent intrusion or a force worsening the beasts’ corruption. Spiritual Energy repels the local hostile aura, and the beasts avoid Ye Chuqi and Big Black Fish.
• With the growing smell of blood likely to attract more enemies, Ye Chuqi orders the group to move. San San guides them around the beasts, while Allen struggles to keep up.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows practical leadership by preparing protective talismans, studying the environment, and quickly moving the group out of danger. She gently hints that Allen could ask her directly about the Dragon-Scale Wood.
• Cyril recognizes the rare wood and is visibly unsettled by Ye Chuqi’s casual way of surprising him.
• Allen shifts from excitement at the possibility of buying Dragon-Scale Wood to renewed hope when Ye Chuqi suggests their meeting may be fortunate. His physical weakness also becomes apparent: despite his frontline experience, he falls behind Cyril.
• Big Black Fish enjoys being avoided by the Fallen Demon Beasts, a welcome contrast to the Misty Sea, where its Spiritual Power attracted predators.
• The group works together under pressure, but the episode highlights differences in endurance as well as the trust they place in Ye Chuqi’s guidance.

Significant themes

• Corruption and danger: The Beast Abyss’s bleak atmosphere, altered landscape, and increasingly dangerous beasts suggest a spreading or intensifying corruption.
• Spiritual Energy as protection: It clears minds, repels the Abyss’s hostile influence, and changes how the beasts respond to certain characters.
• Adaptability and leadership: Ye Chuqi uses limited materials creatively and prioritizes caution and mobility over remaining to fight.
• Reversal of fortune: Big Black Fish’s formerly dangerous attractiveness becomes an advantage, while Allen’s long-standing desire for Dragon-Scale Wood may finally be within reach.

Chapter Summary

• The group struggles to travel through the Beast Abyss. Riding Beasts and most Beast Companions are overwhelmed by the Abyss’s influence, leaving Allen unable to contribute much beyond keeping up and resting when he can. Ye Chuqi leads the group along a route mapped by San San, while Ye Qinglan and Big Black Fish swiftly kill any fallen Demon Beasts that threaten them.
• The others feel overshadowed. Ye Qinglan’s strength—and Big Black Fish’s—makes the rest of the group’s attacks seem ineffective. Cyril, however, accepts that his role is not fighting: he studies the creatures and looks for clues that can help Ye Chuqi.
• The group investigates the fallen Demon Beasts. Cyril and Ye Chuqi notice that creatures appearing together share subtle similarities. Little White’s reaction to the smell helps Ye Chuqi realize that the beasts’ blood has distinct odors. With help from Wood Vine, she detects a trace of Wood Element in one creature’s blood and Water Element in another.
• The discovery offers only a partial answer. The different elemental traces suggest that the fallen Demon Beasts belong to different types, but the elements are so faint that their significance—and the cause of the types—remains unclear.
• San San identifies a pattern in the creatures’ movements and numbers. Groups of about ten generally have not yet fought or eaten other fallen beasts. Groups with fewer than ten have recently fought, while larger groups often consist of creatures that have fought and then joined others of their kind. The beasts’ scent can reveal whether they have fed, but not what distinguishes their types.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Allen confronts the fact that he is slowing the others down, undermining his expectations of his own usefulness.
• Ye Chuqi demonstrates her persistence and observational skill, turning small clues into a working theory.
• Cyril finds confidence in his analytical role and supports Ye Chuqi by studying details rather than competing in combat.
• Ye Qinglan and Big Black Fish dominate the fighting; Ye Qinglan also restrains Big Black Fish from using his teeth, prompting the fish to rely on his wind-blade attacks.
• Little White and Wood Vine help Ye Chuqi notice and investigate the differences in the beasts’ blood.

Themes

The chapter explores different forms of usefulness, as combat prowess is not the only way to contribute; observation and cooperation help the group make progress. It also emphasizes the uncertainty of investigation: the team finds patterns, but each discovery raises new questions about the Beast Abyss and its creatures.

Plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi and her companions push toward a cave opening from which waves of Fallen Demon Beasts are emerging. The beasts’ numbers nearly stop their advance, despite their individual weakness.
• Cyril’s Wood Vine grows into a huge protective force, catching and destroying attackers, while Big Black Fish cuts through the horde with Wind Blades and black light. Together, they clear a path.
• The group becomes exhausted, and Allen is close to collapse. Ye Chuqi reminds him to use the potions he brought, restoring his resolve to keep going.
• Near the opening, Ye Chuqi unleashes the Thousand-Leaf Sword’s Sword Intent, freezing the beasts at the entrance. She orders everyone forward, and the group jumps into the opening.
• Big Black Fish, having shrunk to fit, accompanies them and resolves to become an even more useful companion. Inside, the others see that Ye Chuqi’s attack froze the beasts so thoroughly that even its chill slows their movement.

Character development and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains focused on reaching the source of the beasts and takes charge when the others falter. Her calm confidence contrasts with their near-despair.
• Allen is so affected by the Beast Abyss and exhaustion that he has effectively given up; Ye Chuqi’s reminder about potions helps him regain perspective.
• Cyril fights alongside his Wood Vine, which protects the group despite its apparent annoyance with him. He is notably energetic even while Allen is depleted.
• Big Black Fish shows battlefield skill and concern about being shunned for smelling of beast blood. Its ability to shrink proves useful, and it becomes more determined to support Ye Chuqi.
• Ye Qinglan helps keep Cyril safe by carrying him into the opening.

Significant themes

• Survival through cooperation: The Wood Vine, Big Black Fish, and human fighters combine their strengths to cross the beast-filled ground.
• The power of preparation and resolve: Potions offer a practical answer to exhaustion, while Ye Chuqi’s leadership prevents fear from becoming surrender.
• Uncovering the unknown: The cave may reveal the source of the beasts—truth no one has reached in thousands of years.
• Adaptability and loyalty: Big Black Fish’s change in size lets it remain useful in a confined space, reinforcing its commitment to Ye Chuqi.

Plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi freezes the Fallen Demon Beasts crowding the tunnel with an unusual use of Spiritual Power and Swordsmanship. The frost is fragile and exhausting, so she cannot keep repeating the move.
• She suspects that keeping the beasts packed inside the tunnel prevents more from appearing. Cyril and the others agree to hold the entrance while she pushes deeper to find the source.
• Ye Chuqi gives Cyril a Spatial Ring stocked with supplies. He organizes the group’s defense with recovery potions, scent-confusing packets, and other concoctions, while Allen privately worries about the chaotic obstacle course Cyril is creating.
• Deeper in the cave, Ye Chuqi confirms that newly appearing beasts are relatively weak and that killing them may cause replacements to emerge. Big Black Fish therefore cripples some instead of killing them.
• Ye Chuqi reaches a cliff overlooking a huge, pulsing Nest, its dark vessels spreading through the walls and earth. San San identifies it as the source of the Fallen Demon Beasts and explains that their remains nourish new ones.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows resourcefulness under pressure: she uses a costly, unfamiliar technique to buy time, then trusts Cyril and the others to hold the tunnel while she investigates.
• Cyril steps into a leadership role, calmly assigning supplies and setting realistic expectations for the defense. His confidence helps the group shift from panic to practical problem-solving.
• Big Black Fish adapts quickly, changing from killing the newly born beasts to disabling them once it recognizes that killing them may lead to more appearing.
• The group’s lighthearted concerns about Cyril’s colorful potions contrast with the danger and reinforce their trust in one another.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and cooperation: The characters adjust their tactics as they learn how the beasts reproduce.
• Resourcefulness under constraint: Ye Chuqi’s limited energy and restricted Divine Sense force her to make careful choices.
• The horror of an unnatural cycle: The Nest turns death into nourishment and perpetuates the creatures’ birth, raising the possibility that many such Nests exist throughout the Beast Abyss.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi and her companions discover a huge tumor deep in the Beast Abyss, which continuously produces Fallen Demon Beasts. Their remains—and the energy they absorb elsewhere—feed back through underground veins, creating a cycle of regeneration.
• San San senses that the tumor is connected to the Fire Element and that its roots extend far underground, possibly linking it to another source of power.
• Ye Chuqi connects this network to the Five-Winged Bird and other formations she encountered in Liao Leaf Town. She suspects the people of Kabu Continent may have found the phenomenon and exploited it, rather than created it.
• After recovering, Ye Chuqi attacks the tumor. Her companions prevent new beasts from emerging, allowing her to destroy it with a massive fireball drawn from her space. Fire spreads through the underground veins, potentially burning the wider network.
• Ye Chuqi finds no source of demonic energy at the tumor. She leaves as the flames spread, then rejoins her companions, who rapidly clear the beasts blocking the cave entrance.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi pieces together the tumor’s links to earlier supernatural events and remains focused on stopping a threat that could endanger more than Raila Continent. She uses decisive, powerful force once she sees a way to destroy the tumor.
• San San contributes his observations about the tumor’s elemental nature and far-reaching roots, helping Ye Chuqi form a broader theory.
• Big Black Fish protects the group by killing beasts that approach and helps prepare the tumor for Ye Chuqi’s attack.
• The companions guarding the entrance coordinate to contain the creatures. Their frustration grows because holding the beasts back without killing them is harder than fighting freely.

Significant themes

• Corruption and cycles of destruction: The tumor turns death and absorbed energy into new monsters, sustaining an unsettling cycle.
• Consequences beyond borders: Ye Chuqi recognizes that an unchecked threat could spread beyond Raila Continent.
• Power and exploitation: The suspected role of Kabu Continent raises the danger of people trying to control sinister forces for their own ends.
• Cooperation under pressure: The team’s efforts—containing the beasts, identifying the source, and destroying it—depend on coordinated roles.

Plot and events

• Ye Chuqi’s group continues searching the Beast Abyss for Fallen Demon Beast nests. Allen’s trio insist they are fit to keep fighting, but repeated battles leave them—and eventually Cyril—exhausted. The group pauses to rest and eat.
• Ye Chuqi’s Spiritual Power and Fighting Spirit are developing rapidly. Repeatedly exhausting and recovering her Spiritual Power strengthens her meridians, while the two energies begin to coexist peacefully—perhaps even competing. She practices switching between them more smoothly.
• The group destroys nests carefully: they burn each nest before killing nearby beasts, since dead beasts can nourish nests and produce more. They also burn blood and other remains to prevent anything being left behind.
• After three days, they encounter a much larger and more complex cave. Its beasts are faster and larger, and their numbers nearly endanger Allen’s group. Ye Chuqi enters to investigate while Ye Qinglan protects the others. She carries Big Black Fish as an emergency escape option.
• Inside, Ye Chuqi discovers that the cave’s condensed purplish-black mist is darker than before and contains demonic energy, suggesting this nest is different from the others.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi takes charge of the expedition while managing lingering pain in her meridians. She grows more confident in using both forms of energy and remains focused on protecting the group.
• Allen and his companions are eager to prove themselves and keep fighting, but their fatigue reveals the limits of their stamina.
• Cyril takes over cooking so Ye Chuqi can rest, showing practical care and consideration. Their friendly exchange draws a jealous, suspicious look from Ye Qinglan; Cyril remains unbothered.
• Ye Qinglan watches over the group and agrees to defend them while Ye Chuqi investigates. His protective glare also makes Big Black Fish nervous, though the fish promises to keep Ye Chuqi safe.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and sacrifice: Each person contributes according to their strengths, and the group’s efforts—though small—may help those defending the frontline.
• Learning through hardship: Sustained battles exhaust the team but help Ye Chuqi strengthen and refine her abilities.
• Responsibility and survival: The group prioritizes destroying nests thoroughly, while Ye Chuqi makes clear that safety matters more than sparing every beast.
• An emerging threat: The altered cave and its demonic energy hint that the nests may be changing or growing more dangerous.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi confronts a large tumor transformed by Demonic Qi and nearly fully formed. As she fights through its vines and newly born Fallen Demon Beasts, a hidden wisp of Demonic Qi attacks her.
• Little White leaps in to destroy the wisp, weakening the tumor. Ye Chuqi then cuts the tumor apart, and Big Black Fish uncovers a black Demon Core from its remains.
• The Demon Core suggests that the mutated creatures belong to, or share an origin with, the Demon Race—something absent from the known records of the Raila Continent. Ye Chuqi keeps the cores despite San San’s refusal to absorb them.
• Ye Chuqi’s team spends more than ten days clearing over a hundred caves. More than a dozen nests have mutated, and the affected share—currently about ten percent—appears likely to grow.
• Though Ye Chuqi can supply and protect the team, the Beast Abyss’s constant pressure and lack of a normal day-night cycle wear everyone down. She leads them back to the military camp to recover.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains decisive and unsentimental, prioritizing the threat over the tumor’s apparent distress. She also recognizes that the team’s mental exhaustion is becoming as serious as its physical danger.
• Little White proves unexpectedly alert and powerful, saving Ye Chuqi from the concealed Demonic Qi.
• San San warns Ye Chuqi of the attack, then objects to absorbing the Demon Cores; Ye Chuqi chooses to keep them for possible future use.
• The team returns deeply fatigued. Allen, his companions, and Cyril leave immediately to rest, while Ye Qinglan and Ye Chuqi stay to handle what remains.
• Ambrose is confused by their early return, since a journey to the Beast Abyss and back normally takes about ten days.

Significant themes

• Corruption and transformation: Demonic Qi changes the beasts and their nests, while the exact relationship between the Qi and the creatures’ altered bloodlines remains uncertain.
• The unknown: The Demon Core challenges established records, hinting at a hidden connection between the Demon Race and Dark Creatures.
• Endurance and limits: Supplies and protection cannot prevent the psychological toll of prolonged exposure to the Beast Abyss.
• Unnatural life: Ye Chuqi regards the malformed creatures as abominations that must be eliminated.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi returns from a successful expedition into the Beast Abyss with Ye Qinglan and the entire squad. Though exhausted and marked by the Abyss, they are safe; Big Black Fish brought them directly back to Ambrose’s tent.
• Ye Chuqi reports that the Fallen Demon Beasts are reproducing and that malignant growths in their nests are spreading. Meanwhile, human forces are being worn down by remaining on the defensive, while the Beast Abyss continues to grow under Demonic Qi.
• Ambrose worries that an offensive could cost many lives without solving the problem. Ye Chuqi argues that waiting will only make the enemy stronger and proposes moving the front line forward.
• Her plan is to establish a small camp inside the Beast Abyss, protected by her barrier. Soldiers would use protective potions to limit contamination: ordinary potions for brief missions and more potent ones, made with spiritually enriched herbs, for emergencies or longer exposure.
• Cyril agrees to brew the potions, determined to honor Ye Chuqi’s trust.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi proves her ability to lead a dangerous expedition and returns with valuable intelligence. She shows herself to be both a capable commander and a practical strategist, determined to take initiative rather than remain on the defensive.
• Ye Qinglan is visibly drained but remains at Ye Chuqi’s side, reflecting his concern for her despite her own exhaustion.
• Ambrose recognizes Ye Chuqi’s achievement but remains cautious about the human cost of escalation.
• Cyril is recovering and accepts responsibility for preparing the protective potions.

Character interactions

• Ye Chuqi looks after the exhausted expedition members and urges Ye Qinglan to rest; he insists on staying with her.
• She gives Ambrose a detailed account of the Abyss and presses him to consider an offensive, while he challenges the potential cost.
• Ye Chuqi equips Cyril with valuable herbs and supplies, and he responds with a promise to do his best.

Significant themes

• Offense versus defense: Waiting may steadily weaken humanity, but attacking risks immediate casualties.
• Leadership and responsibility: Ye Chuqi takes personal risks and offers a concrete plan rather than demanding action without preparation.
• Knowledge and cooperation: Progress depends on combining Ye Chuqi’s barrier and resources with Cyril’s potion-making and the commanders’ planning.
• A worsening balance of power: The Abyss grows while human forces are depleted, making delay increasingly dangerous.

Key plot points and events

• Cyril learns that Akes and the others have returned. Ye Chuqi suggests a group dinner and offers to cook.
• The discovery of Demonic Qi—especially its severe effects on humans—has made soldiers’ rest rotations and medical recovery more urgent.
• Lois has reported the threat to the Light God Temple, which is sending help. With only two other Priests available, she is overwhelmed treating both new casualties and soldiers who may still harbor Demonic Qi.
• While working, Lois hears of Ye Chuqi’s achievements: leading a team safely into the Beast Abyss, persuading commanders to establish a forward base there, and providing potions to resist its aura and a barrier to protect Camp.
• Ye Chuqi travels ahead of the main force and prepares the base. When the Vanguard Army arrives, they find a protected, partly cleared site with planned work areas, supplies, and Magic Tents for rest and medical care.
• The soldiers begin building fortifications and sentry posts, discovering that Ye Chuqi has already identified and marked key locations.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi continues to take responsibility for the expedition’s success and the soldiers’ welfare, preparing both the base and provisions before the army arrives. She remains focused on practical needs, unaware of Lois’s reaction to her.
• Lois is exhausted by the medical crisis and increasingly intimidated by Ye Chuqi’s influence and accomplishments. For the first time, her pride gives way to a sense of defeat as she wonders how she can compete with her.
• The Vanguard Army arrives prepared for danger and hardship, but Ye Chuqi’s extensive preparations leave them stunned and cautiously hopeful. The soldiers are also motivated by the possibility of advancement and honor.
• Cyril and Ye Chuqi share a brief, friendly exchange about the returning group and plans to gather for dinner.

Significant themes

• Leadership through care: Ye Chuqi supports the mission not only with strategy and technology, but also by prioritizing soldiers’ food, rest, and treatment.
• Courage and ambition: The Vanguard soldiers accept great risks in defense of their homes, while also aspiring to honor and promotion.
• Competence and insecurity: Ye Chuqi’s successes unsettle Lois, highlighting the strain of measuring oneself against someone who seems able to solve every problem.
• Collective effort: Ye Chuqi makes the expedition possible, but the army must still build, guard, and operate the base together.

Key plot points and events

• Allen’s three experienced teams begin fighting at the Beast Abyss, using fire to burn Fallen Demon Beasts completely so they cannot feed Nest Tumors. The tactic is cautious but exhausting, and the troops must often return to camp to rest.
• Protection potions are a major constraint. Cyril’s potions, made with Ye Chuqi’s unusually pure herbs, last a full day, while ordinary-herb potions last only half a day; her supply is limited.
• After seeing how quickly the vanguard is worn down by powerful beasts on the outskirts, Ye Chuqi proposes training the troops there before pushing into the Beast Abyss’s depths and establishing a Teleportation Array. A foothold deep inside could strike at the Abyss’s complex but vulnerable center.
• Ye Chuqi recognizes that lasting progress requires a sustainable way to withstand the Abyss’s aura, not just her limited stock of spiritual herbs. She considers cultivating Spiritual Energy in the world, continuing her eldest senior brother’s efforts.
• Ye Qinglan suggests asking the Bai Family for help. Its members have a natural affinity for growing herbs, and their crops and potion-making traditions may provide a reliable supply. Ye Chuqi asks him to contact them.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shifts from relying on her personal resources to planning for a long-term, self-sustaining solution. She welcomes Ye Qinglan’s practical suggestion and sees the Bai Family’s involvement as a way to use some of her spiritual herbs more openly.
• Ye Qinglan notices that the real obstacle is the Abyss’s harmful aura and understands Ye Chuqi’s concern about her herb supply. He offers a concrete solution by identifying the Bai Family’s strengths.
• Allen’s teams and the soldiers show experience and discipline, but their fatigue makes clear that they need more training and a better way to sustain operations.
• The passage also explains that Xiao Wu, formerly Ye Chuqi’s Bai Family Shadow Guard, has left that role after feeling unable to help her. Ye Chuqi has instead placed her and other trusted people with the young Fourth Prince, following Jelous’s advice.

Significant themes

• Sustainability over dependence: Ye Chuqi worries that a solution based only on her personal herbs would fail once she was gone.
• Cooperation and shared expertise: The Bai Family’s knowledge could complement Ye Chuqi’s resources and make the campaign viable.
• Strategic adaptation: Rather than simply pressing forward, the group reassesses its approach—training first, then striking at the Abyss’s center.
• Lasting hope: The possibility of cultivating Spiritual Energy suggests the world may develop its own means of resisting the Abyss.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi decides the Bai Family of the Northern Snowfield should cultivate medicinal herbs and produce potions for the Beast Abyss front. Ye Qinglan is to give them her formula and arrange direct sales to Ambrose and Jelous at a fair price.
• Jelous arrives with the second deployment of soldiers, technicians, and supplies. Though Ambrose opposed his entering the front, Jelous has a credible reason to lead the new team and help establish the first camp.
• His arrival allows Ye Chuqi’s vanguard to begin the next phase of its advance: searching for a site for a second camp.
• Ye Chuqi proposes building a Teleportation Array inside the Beast Abyss. If it can resist the Abyss’s aura and prevent Demonic Qi from intruding, it would let forces travel deeper and eliminate blights more efficiently.
• Recognizing that the project requires extensive funding, personnel, and long-term maintenance, Ye Chuqi asks Jelous to secure sponsors rather than shoulder the costs alone. Jelous agrees to organize resources within seven days and the initial personnel within a month. Ye Chuqi stresses that the recruits must be carefully vetted, since a faulty array could kill travelers.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows both strategic ambition and political savvy: she is willing to invest in humanity’s future, but refuses to let powerful outsiders take credit while she alone bears the expense. She also makes practical safety a priority.
• Ye Qinglan supports her plans and shares her determination to heal the Beast Abyss. His long service there—and years spent searching for Chuqi—make this cause deeply personal. He is protective and irritated by Jelous’s arrival, but is prepared to use the Ye Family’s influence if needed.
• Jelous accepts a demanding role despite Ye Qinglan’s hostility. His position and strength help legitimize Ambrose’s plan, and he takes responsibility for gathering backing and resources.
• Ambrose supports Chuqi’s ambitious strategy but cannot prevent Jelous from joining the deployment.
• Chuqi and Qinglan briefly misunderstand one another over who counts as “family,” prompting a playful exchange that reveals Qinglan’s jealousy when Jelous approaches.

Significant themes

• Collective responsibility: Healing the Beast Abyss is a shared undertaking, not a burden for one person or family alone.
• Progress and sacrifice: The camps, teleportation network, and advance into dangerous territory promise lasting benefits but carry serious risks.
• Fairness, credit, and power: Chuqi insists that those who benefit from her work must contribute to it, challenging comfortable elites to share the cost.
• Trust and safety: The array’s dangers make competence and careful vetting essential.

Key plot points

• The fourth contingent enters the Beast Abyss and finds Camp One thriving, orderly, and apparently safe, easing some of their doubts about the campaign.
• Jelous’s summoned specialists are assigned to build and later maintain a Teleportation Array at Camp One. Ye Chuqi has already prepared the site, design, and materials.
• Ye Chuqi links the camps into a defensive Formation, with Camp One as its protected center. The arrangement can be expanded deeper into the Beast Abyss, allowing the army to push forward and attack the source of the Fallen Demon Beasts.
• After guiding the Vanguard Army through three camps, Ye Chuqi leaves them to build Camp Four themselves and orders them to rest afterward. She plans to take a small team into the depths.
• Ye Chuqi departs with Allen and his two companions, as well as Ye Qinglan. Cyril stays behind to make urgently needed potions, with Wood Vine assigned to protect and accompany him.
• San San calculates the precise Formation points needed for each Teleportation Array, compensating for Ye Chuqi’s limited skill in Formations.

Character developments and interactions

• The soldiers have grown capable under Ye Chuqi’s leadership, but feel insecure when she leaves them to work independently. Their eagerness to join her reflects both their trust in her and their desire to repay her care.
• Ye Chuqi remains protective and practical: she refuses to take the soldiers deeper because of the strain they have already endured, and selects only a trusted, experienced team.
• Big Black Fish wants to prove he can carry more people, but accepts Ye Chuqi’s decision that he cannot.
• Cyril is disappointed to miss the expedition but is shown to be exceptionally good with Beast Companions and plant creatures. Wood Vine is attached to Ye Chuqi, while Cyril is happy to comfort it.
• Little White breaks up Wood Vine’s tearful farewell by swatting it into Cyril’s arms.

Significant themes

• Preparation and collective effort: Success depends on logistics, defenses, specialist knowledge, and soldiers learning to operate without constant guidance.
• Trust and responsibility: Ye Chuqi empowers the Vanguard Army while choosing trusted companions for the dangerous mission.
• Expanding the frontier: The camp network represents a deliberate strategy to advance into the Beast Abyss and confront the threat at its source.
• Care amid danger: Ye Chuqi’s concern for the soldiers, Cyril, and Wood Vine balances the chapter’s military planning with affectionate character moments.

Plot points and events

• San San had to borrow Ye Chuqi’s body to operate the heaven-grade Teleportation Array. While Ye Chuqi meditated and consolidated her cultivation, Ye Qinglan noticed that the person before him seemed subtly different and confronted San San with intense suspicion and killing intent.
• When Ye Chuqi woke, San San immediately returned control to her. Ye Qinglan sensed that the unsettling difference had vanished and, though still wary, urged her not to overexert herself and to rely on those around her.
• Beast Abyss Camp’s construction proceeded smoothly, but the growing population and scent of fresh flesh attracted increasingly dangerous Fallen Demon Beasts.
• A pack of Advanced Fallen Demon Beasts attacked Camp One while most of its soldiers were away. The camp’s formation concealed its aura but could not protect it from physical assault. Two patrol soldiers died helping technicians retreat, leaving the survivors trapped and terrified.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi is close to advancing from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, but refuses to proceed without sensing the world’s Heavenly Dao. She remains composed after the confrontation and reassures Ye Qinglan, while privately teasing San San about its reliance on her body.
• Ye Qinglan reveals how deeply protective—and suspicious—he is: he is ready to attack when he senses something wrong with Ye Chuqi, but once reassured, he gently encourages her to accept support from family and friends.
• San San is frightened by Ye Qinglan’s scrutiny and quickly yields control when Ye Chuqi wakes. It resents that its puppet form makes secret, delicate work difficult.
• At Camp One, a soldier’s despair and fury contrast with the technicians’ shock, as the attack exposes how vulnerable the small expedition is.

Significant themes

• Trust and secrecy: Ye Chuqi’s hidden abilities and San San’s impersonation strain Ye Qinglan’s trust, even as his concern for her remains clear.
• Limits of protection: The camp’s formation can mask it from supernatural detection but cannot stop a physical assault.
• Sacrifice and vulnerability: The deaths of the patrol soldiers underscore the human cost of defending the expedition and the danger of entering the Beast Abyss.
• Restraint and dependence: Ye Chuqi delays advancement despite being ready, while Ye Qinglan reminds her she need not face every burden alone.

Chapter 395 Summary

Key events

As Fallen Demon Beasts attack the camp, its protective Formation begins to fail. With most of the defenders being technicians and the soldiers outside too far away to help, the squad leader proposes a desperate breakout: three people will try to reach a nearby patrol while the rest distract the beasts. They agree the camp and its newly built Teleportation Array must be protected, even at the cost of their lives.
Rita interrupts them, arguing that they should not sacrifice themselves. She believes Ye Chuqi would put people before the camp or Array, and suggests another plan: the Formation can be sustained by feeding it more energy, while noise and light might alert the nearby soldiers without anyone having to break out.

Character development

Rita, previously a quiet, physically weak technician, finds the courage to speak and offer a practical solution. Her admiration for Ye Chuqi is revealed as a source of both her sense of duty and her compassion. The squad leader and the others move from panic and fatalism toward considering a plan that may save them.

Character interactions

The soldiers initially debate whether to make a dangerous escape attempt. Rita challenges their willingness to die for the mission, invoking what she believes Ye Chuqi would value. Her proposal shifts the discussion from sacrifice to problem-solving, and the squad leader recognizes how they might signal for help.

Themes

The chapter explores courage beyond combat, the value of human life over material achievements, and the importance of hope and ingenuity in crisis. It also shows how a mentor’s example can shape someone’s convictions and help them act when others are losing hope.

Chapter 396 Summary

• The camp’s last preparations: Unable to safely leave the camp, Rita uses her Mental Power to estimate the surrounding terrain. With help from the camp’s Potion Makers, she sets off powerful light-and-sound effects, amplified by an Alchemy Array, hoping to influence events beyond the camp. She then watches the completed Teleportation Array, expecting it to signal when Ye Chuqi finishes its counterpart in the Beast Abyss Depths.
• The barrier fails: The Fallen Demon Beasts’ relentless attacks overwhelm the Protective Barrier. Its Formation Nodes crack despite the camp’s efforts to feed it energy, while the beasts grow more frenzied and attack even after fighting among themselves. The camp is running out of time.
• A desperate plan: Rita’s suggestion gives the squad leader hope, but he also considers using dangerous potions left by Cyril. Because only Cyril can reliably stabilize them, detonating them could be disastrous; the squad leader expects someone may have to sacrifice themselves after the others evacuate. His longtime comrade catches on and insists on joining him, condemning his readiness to give up while others are still fighting.
• The camp is invaded: Before the plan can be carried out, the Protective Barrier shatters. With Fallen Demon Beasts pouring into the camp, the defenders have no choice but to fight, knowing every moment they hold the beasts back may give others a chance to survive.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Rita remains vigilant and resourceful, using her technical skills to help the camp while anxiously waiting for news of Ye Chuqi.
• Ye Chuqi, though absent, remains central to the group’s hopes: the fate of her Teleportation Array may offer a way out.
• The squad leader is willing to risk his life with the unstable potions, but his impulse to sacrifice himself reflects how close he is to despair.
• His comrade refuses to let him face that risk alone and challenges his defeatism. Their sharp exchange shows both their longstanding trust and the comrade’s confidence that the fight is not yet over.
• The defenders show courage and solidarity, continuing to fight even as the odds become overwhelming.

Significant Themes

The chapter emphasizes perseverance in the face of near-certain defeat, self-sacrifice and loyalty, and the importance of hope and collective effort. The defenders’ resistance matters not because victory is assured, but because every moment bought may save someone else.

Chapter summary

• Jelous and his soldiers arrive at Camp One to find it overrun by Fallen Demon Beasts. They destroy the remaining beasts, but the camp is ruined and no bodies or survivors can be found.
• While searching the wreckage, a soldier notices that the blood-covered Teleportation Array briefly retains a faint glow, showing that someone activated it before the camp fell. Jelous takes this as evidence that at least some people escaped.
• Jelous reasons that the survivors must have reached Ye Chuqi, whose end of the array is already established. He assumes she knows what happened and stays behind to deal with Camp One. He also realizes, unexpectedly, that he misses her.
• Meanwhile, Ye Chuqi is in the Beast Abyss Depths, where she and her companions have cleared a small patch of safe ground. She finishes setting up their Teleportation Array, using stable, high-energy Purified Beast Cores to power it.
• San San had borrowed Ye Chuqi’s body to handle the delicate array work, but Ye Qinglan’s perceptiveness frightened it into retreating. Ye Chuqi completes the remaining steps herself. As the Formation Pattern lights in a continuous circuit, the array is ready. Rita then appears before her without warning.

Character developments and interactions

• Jelous remains focused on his soldiers and the ruined camp, but the evidence of escape brings him relief. His thoughts also reveal growing, unfamiliar affection for Ye Chuqi.
• Ye Chuqi presses on with the dangerous work of establishing a route through the Beast Abyss. She quietly avoids addressing San San’s possession of her body, while Ye Qinglan’s awareness has made San San wary.
• San San is capable of precise technical work but retreats after Ye Qinglan seems to notice something unusual.
• The chapter highlights the soldiers’ shared grief and resilience: even amid destruction, they begin clearing the wreckage and rebuilding.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes the brutality and uncertainty of frontline warfare, alongside the determination to keep going after devastating losses. The Teleportation Array offers a small but powerful sign of hope. The title raises the prospect of betrayal, though no traitor is identified in this excerpt.

Key plot points and events

• As soon as Ye Chuqi completes the Teleportation Array, it activates from the other end without warning. Rita and three technicians arrive, along with a gravely wounded soldier who soon dies.
• Rita reports that Fallen Demon Beasts overran Camp One. The soldiers bought time for the technicians to reach the Array, but only the four technicians survived the attack.
• Ye Chuqi comforts Rita and promises that Camp One will be rebuilt and the fallen will not have died in vain. She decides not to return immediately, as Jelous is handling the response there and her priority is to defend the current camp.
• Rita and the other technicians rest and recover while Ye Chuqi and her companions protect the camp from nearby beasts.
• Jelous later arrives with reinforcements through the newly completed Array. He confirms that Camp One has been rebuilt and its Array is working, though its protective barrier has not yet been restored.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains composed and practical amid the tragedy. She comforts Rita, recognizes the survivors’ need for rest, and focuses on the defense of the camp under her responsibility.
• Rita, whom Ye Chuqi remembers from the past, is devastated but has shown courage and quick judgment by activating the Array when she saw the opportunity. Ye Chuqi’s reassurance helps her regain some steadiness.
• Jelous takes responsibility for Camp One’s recovery and later updates Ye Chuqi on its condition. His quiet concern for her well-being is evident in how he studies her before speaking.
• Allen and the others react to the survivors’ arrival and the news of the disaster; Allen voices the impulse to return, while Ye Chuqi explains why they must stay.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and survival: The survivors owe their escape to the soldiers who protected them, most of whom died.
• Leadership under pressure: Ye Chuqi balances grief and compassion with the practical need to protect her current camp.
• Rebuilding and resilience: Despite the loss of Camp One, its reconstruction and the continued operation of the Array suggest that the fight—and the community—can continue.

Plot points

• Jelous explains why Camp One fell: the defenders were caught off guard, the protective barrier was weak, the camp was understaffed, and the battle line had gaps.
• He reveals a more serious possibility: someone deliberately sabotaged the operation, striking while Ye Chuqi, Ye Qinglan, and Jelous were away and the camp was vulnerable.
• The suspected traitor escaped. Jelous believes they are connected to the Kabu Continent, whose agents may have local allies working covertly on the Raila Continent.
• Ye Chuqi challenges Jelous for withholding information. He admits he has a suspect—and likely evidence—but hesitates to name them.
• Jelous realizes Ye Chuqi has been using Gaines, whom he assigned to the Fourth Prince, to gain access to information. When he tries to stop her from saying too much, Little White Fox attacks his hand, and Ye Chuqi pulls the fox back and removes Jelous’s hand herself.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows her usual sharp suspicion, quickly recognizing that Jelous knows more than he is saying. She jokes that he may be implicated, but understands that some truths are dangerous to speak aloud.
• Jelous is guarded about the investigation and reluctant to share his suspicions. Around Ye Chuqi, he lets down his guard—and only belatedly realizes how cleverly she has gathered information through Gaines.
• Their exchange is teasing but tense: Ye Chuqi presses him for answers, while Jelous tries to protect her from revealing or learning something sensitive. Little White Fox adds a comic, protective interruption.

Significant themes

• Betrayal from within: The threat may come not only from the Kabu Continent, but from people on Raila who have secretly aided it.
• Trust and secrecy: Jelous withholds information, while Ye Chuqi investigates independently; their closeness coexists with limits on what they can safely share.
• Strategy and vulnerability: The attack succeeded because the camp’s defenses, staffing, and leadership were weakened at the same time.

Key plot points

• Ye Chuqi challenges Jelous for hesitating to act against the man behind the attacks. She argues that his delay could invite another desperate strike and cost more innocent lives, pointing to the massacre at Camp One and the ambush in the Ashen Wasteland.
• She believes the enemy stopped targeting Jelous only because her return disrupted his plans—not because he regretted his actions. Ye offers to deal with him herself.
• Jelous promises to settle the matter once the camp is built. Ye urges him to leave sooner, while the enemy’s attention is focused on the camp, but Jelous remains concerned about the work there.
• They discuss the shortage of personnel on the Beast Abyss Frontline. Jun Ruofeng is arranging manpower, potentially recruiting adventurers through profitable incentives. Ye agrees to handle the protective barrier.
• The Archmage Guild and Light God Temple are already involved, and people from the Beast-Tamer Guild are also looking for ways to help. At the rebuilt Camp One, Ye encounters Bone Wolf and learns that his entire Wild Wolf Mercenary Group has come to support Jun’s effort.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi is direct and decisive, pushing Jelous to accept the human cost of his hesitation. She also takes responsibility for the protective barrier and welcomes broader support for the frontline.
• Jelous recognizes the danger but struggles between decisive action and weighing consequences. His contrast with the bolder “Red Beard” persona prompts Ye to joke about a possible split personality or an Illusion Stone side effect.
• Jun Ruofeng uses his resourcefulness and financial influence to draw potential fighters to the region.
• Bone Wolf and the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group demonstrate their commitment by backing Jun’s recruitment effort.

Significant themes

• The cost of hesitation: Delaying action may expose allies and innocents to further harm.
• Responsibility and leadership: Defending the frontier requires confronting personal threats as well as building and staffing camps.
• Collective effort: Guilds, mercenaries, adventurers, and frontline personnel may all contribute, each according to their abilities.
• Different faces of the self: Jelous’s cautious nature contrasts with Red Beard’s recklessness, raising questions about how much his personas—or the Illusion Stone—shape his behavior.