Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Captain Liu realizes Mo Yurou is a Bureau 9 agent and apologizes for mishandling the situation. Mo orders him to resign; he accepts, relieved that the consequences are not worse.
• Li Yichen tells Liu to investigate Brother Tiger’s group, and the officers prepare to take them to the station. Brother Tiger panics as he understands he has made a serious mistake.
• Xiao Nan worries that the children could suffer if their parents are jailed. Li Yichen explains that wrongdoing must be punished but promises the children will be cared for.
• Before leaving, Xiao Nan approaches Fat Tiger, asks to examine his injured head, and heals his bruises with a touch.

Character developments

• Captain Liu shifts from authority to contrition, accepting responsibility and preparing to resign.
• Xiao Nan shows compassion toward the children who mistreated her, along with a mysterious holy influence and a newly revealed healing ability.
• Li Yichen balances enforcing the law with concern for the children’s welfare.
• Mo Yurou recognizes the unusual power in Xiao Nan’s aura and resists its pull rather than acting under its influence.

Significant themes

• Accountability and justice: Those responsible must face consequences.
• Compassion and forgiveness: Xiao Nan cares about her former tormentors despite their cruelty.
• Power and responsibility: Xiao Nan’s growing abilities may have a strong influence on others, while Li Yichen uses his authority to protect vulnerable people.

Character interactions

• Mo Yurou reprimands Captain Liu, while Li Yichen directs him to investigate Brother Tiger’s group.
• Xiao Nan asks Mo Yurou to spare the children from hardship; Li Yichen reassures her that they will be looked after.
• Xiao Nan approaches Fat Tiger without hostility, and her gentle touch heals his injury, startling everyone present except Li Yichen and his companions.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Nan’s healing ability appears to have grown stronger: she completely heals the children’s injuries in just over ten minutes. Brother Tiger and his men, moved by the apparent miracle, kneel and promise to reform.
• Li Yichen’s group prepares to leave. Captain Liu offers them a ride, but Li says they have someone nearby. Mo Yurou tries to carry Xiao Nan, then passes her to Li when she struggles; Xiaobei asks for a ride too but is told to keep up. Li flies away with Xiao Nan, while Yurou teleports and Xiaobei races after them, astonishing the SWAT officers and bystanders.
• The group reunites with Ouyang Hai, who is charmed by Xiao Nan but mistakes Xiaobei for an obstacle. Xiaobei tries to win Ouyang over by offering to become his godson.
• Ouyang books the group’s travel: a flight to Urumqi that evening, followed by a return to Jinling the next morning. Li suggests shopping for clothes, and Yurou eagerly leads them to a children’s clothing store.
• The chapter cuts to Jinling, where Jiang Tianhao asks Steward Zhao whether there is any news about Li Yichen.

Character developments

• Xiao Nan: Her healing power is improving, and her kindness and beauty inspire awe and gratitude.
• Xiaobei: He remains energetic, competitive, and shamelessly funny, eager to be carried, fly, and exploit Ouyang’s wealth.
• Li Yichen: He is protective and teasing with the children, while taking practical responsibility for their travel.
• Mo Yurou: She is affectionate toward the group and excited about shopping, though she wants to surprise her family rather than call ahead.
• Brother Tiger and his men: Their encounter with Xiao Nan prompts them to vow to change their ways.
• Jiang Tianhao: His renewed inquiry about Li Yichen signals that the Jinling storyline—and a possible conflict—is still active.

Significant themes

• Power used for good: Xiao Nan’s healing ability saves the children and gives even hardened men hope.
• Found family and care: Li Yichen, Yurou, and the siblings travel and make plans together, mixing protection with playful affection.
• Humor and contrast: Extraordinary abilities appear alongside ordinary pursuits like clothes shopping, while Xiaobei’s antics provide comic relief.
• Reputation and awe: The group’s powers leave the SWAT officers questioning what role they could have in a country with people like them.

Character interactions

• The injured children and Brother Tiger’s crew respond to Xiao Nan’s healing with gratitude and reverence.
• Yurou and Li gently tease Xiaobei when he asks to be carried; Xiao Nan encourages him as he chases after them.
• Ouyang’s obvious preference for Xiao Nan frustrates Xiaobei, who immediately tries to charm him instead.
• Yurou links arms with Li as they head shopping; he notices but ultimately lets her hold on.

Key plot points

• Jiang Tianhao learns that Li Yichen and Ouyang Hai are returning to Jinling the next day. He believes Ouyang Hai has not found the seed jade he needs and plans to deal with Li later.
• Jiang’s men report that the Su, Qin, and Shen Families will each send a large force to meet Jiang’s group that night. Jiang sees an opportunity to destroy the Su Family’s fighters, especially since Old Master Su has committed nearly all of its strength.
• At the Su estate, Old Master Su appoints Su Liang to lead the operation. Su Shengnan warns that the family cannot afford losses, but Su Liang dismisses her concerns. The Old Master orders her confined and excluded from the mission.
• Elder Wang prepares to leave for the gathering. Jiang Ruoyi offers him a Stone Token Li Yichen left behind, which can be crushed if Elder Wang is in danger. Elder Wang accepts it and departs.
• Elsewhere, Xiaobei leads Li Yichen and Mo Yurou to a night market by following the smell of food. His claim that he was born in the Year of the Dog leaves Li Yichen speechless.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Tianhao is confident in his plan and reveals a predatory interest in Ouyang Hai’s wife and daughter, whom he intends to target.
• Su Liang seizes command and appears delighted that Su Shengnan has been sidelined; he openly hopes to claim the position of family head.
• Su Shengnan shows concern for her family’s survival, but her warning is treated as disloyalty. Her removal leaves the Su Family especially vulnerable.
• Old Master Su makes a decisive but potentially disastrous choice to commit the family’s full force and suppresses Su Shengnan’s objection.
• Jiang Ruoyi worries about Elder Wang and passes along Li Yichen’s safeguard. Their conversation also hints at her romantic feelings for Li and her rivalry with Mo Yurou.
• Elder Wang teases Jiang Ruoyi about Li but remains confident as he heads out.
• Li Yichen, Mo Yurou, and Xiaobei share a light, comic moment that contrasts with the looming danger elsewhere.

Significant themes

• Overconfidence and misjudgment: Jiang assumes his intelligence is complete, while the Su Family’s leadership decisions may expose it to ruin.
• Family power and rivalry: Su Liang uses the mission to undermine Su Shengnan and advance his own ambitions.
• Hidden preparation and loyalty: Li’s Stone Token shows foresight and concern for Elder Wang’s safety.
• Tonal contrast: Threats of violence and exploitation sit alongside romantic teasing and Xiaobei’s comic antics.

• Plot and events: In Hotan’s night market, Li Yichen and his companions enjoy grilled meat and browse the stalls. Nearby, two officers discuss Captain Liu’s resignation and reveal that Li Yichen and Mo Yurou are connected to the powerful, secretive Bureau 9, one of the country’s agencies for unusual incidents. They recognize the pair but nervously decide to leave them alone. At a scratch-card stall, Mo Yurou persuades Li Yichen to buy booklets for her, Xiao Nan, and Xiaobei. Xiaobei wins the most, Xiao Nan wins a little, and Mo Yurou loses everything. After she dramatically threatens to die unless Li Yichen picks a winner—and promises to be his girlfriend if it wins—he uses his spiritual perception to scan the remaining tickets. He spots something that surprises him, but the chapter ends before he reveals what it is.
• Character developments: Li Yichen is easygoing and generous, paying for everyone’s tickets. His supernatural ability lets him inspect the cards, hinting that he may be able to turn Mo Yurou’s bad luck around. Mo Yurou is playful, clingy, and openly interested in becoming his girlfriend, though she frames it as a joke or bargain. Xiao Nan is gentle and eager to join in, while Xiaobei is exuberant and boastful about winning.
• Character interactions: Mo Yurou uses affectionate teasing and physical closeness to persuade Li Yichen, then seeks his help when she loses. Li Yichen alternates between indulgence and exasperation, comforting her and choosing a ticket. Xiaobei’s boasting prompts Li Yichen to scold him. The officers’ conversation establishes their fear and respect for Li Yichen and Mo Yurou’s connections.
• Themes: The chapter mixes lighthearted fortune-seeking and romantic comedy with hints of hidden power. The Bureau 9 reveal expands the story’s mysterious supernatural backdrop, while the ticket-scan cliffhanger suggests that Li Yichen’s abilities may influence the characters’ apparent luck.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yichen initially treats Mo Yurou’s invitation to scratch a lottery ticket playfully, hurting her feelings. Seeing her tears, he takes her hand and offers to scratch the ticket with her.
• Mo Yurou wins the ticket’s top prize: 200,000. She celebrates by hugging and kissing Li Yichen, while their companions and the shop owner react with astonishment.
• The shop owner takes the winning ticket, then falsely claims it is a loser and gives Mo Yurou a different ticket. She recognizes the deception and demands her ticket back.
• Li Yichen stops Mo Yurou from confronting the owner herself. He pins a corner of a ticket into the wooden table with a sharp flick and warns the owner to return the original.
• The owner refuses, produces a watermelon knife, and tries to intimidate Li Yichen. Li Yichen mocks his tattoos and bluster as a crowd gathers.
• Officer Wang and a younger policeman notice the disturbance. Recognizing Li Yichen and Mo Yurou as Bureau 9 members, Officer Wang rushes over anxiously, fearing they will cause trouble.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yichen shifts from teasing distance to tenderness when he realizes he has hurt Mo Yurou. Later, he protects her calmly and confidently, using a show of force to pressure the dishonest owner.
• Mo Yurou feels rejected at first, but Li Yichen’s gesture of holding her hand gives her hope. Her lottery win boosts her confidence and sense that they are destined to be together; when the owner cheats her, she becomes angry but accepts Li Yichen’s intervention.
• The shop owner moves from dismissive amusement to greed, then open dishonesty and intimidation when he sees the prize.
• Xiao Nan and Xiaobei react with surprise to the win; Xiaobei is especially dazzled by the money.
• Officer Wang is immediately apprehensive upon realizing the people involved are the powerful—and apparently troublesome—Bureau 9 duo.

Significant themes

• Romance and destiny: Mo Yurou interprets the win as a sign that she and Li Yichen are meant to be together.
• Emotional vulnerability and reassurance: Li Yichen’s small act of reaching for her hand repairs the hurt caused by his earlier teasing.
• Greed and corruption: The owner’s desire for the prize leads him to steal the ticket and threaten the winners.
• Power and intimidation: The owner relies on a knife and tough-guy appearance, while Li Yichen’s controlled display of strength unsettles him.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yichen defeats the lottery shop owner with one kick after the man attacks him with a knife.
• When police arrive, Officer Wang unexpectedly beats and arrests the shop owner instead of taking his complaint. Li Yichen and Mo Yurou infer that the officer is acting on their behalf.
• Li finds the winning lottery ticket and gives it to Mo. She changes her mind about claiming the prize, saying the ticket commemorates their love, and stores it in her Space Ring.
• At Ghostface City, four young representatives gather with their groups to discuss opening the Sacred Treasury.
• Jiang Tianhao, Shen Beichen, and Qin Wenhan flatter Su Liang into agreeing that the Su Family should lead the way through the Treasury. Su Liang, convinced he is outsmarting them, eagerly accepts.
• The Jinling Three Elders arrive. After a brief squabble among themselves, they join the discussion. Jiang presents the map and says the Jiang Family believes the Heavenly Treasury lies inside Ghostface City.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yichen remains confident and decisive, overpowering the shop owner and sharing the lottery ticket with Mo.
• Mo Yurou reveals a sentimental side by choosing to keep the ticket as a symbol of their relationship. The two leave together hand in hand.
• Su Liang is vain and easily manipulated. He mistakes the others’ strategic flattery for sincere respect and volunteers his family to take the dangerous lead.
• Jiang Tianhao, Shen Beichen, and Qin Wenhan work together to manipulate Su Liang, hiding their amusement behind polite praise.
• Elder Wang and Elder Mo bicker over old rivalries, including their competition over Elder Wu, while she acts as the exasperated mediator. They quickly switch to a formal, composed manner in front of the young men.
• Officer Wang’s conspicuous deference to Li and Mo suggests they have influence or protection, though the reason is not explained here.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and arrogance: Su Liang’s pride makes him easy to steer into danger.
• Loyalty and romance: Mo’s decision to preserve the ticket turns a prize into a keepsake of her bond with Li.
• Power and deference: The police officer’s treatment of the shop owner contrasts sharply with his respectful behavior toward Li and Mo; the Three Elders’ arrival also immediately commands respect.
• Comedy amid tension: The elders’ childish quarrel provides a humorous contrast to the serious competition over the Treasury.

Key plot points and events

• The Qin, Shen, and Su families question Jiang Tianhao’s explanation of the treasure map. Elder Mo supports the Jiang Family’s conclusion, revealing that the Nine Chrysanthemum Sect’s Blood Demon recently used a Yin-Yang Blood Sacrifice Array in the area, apparently to open the route to the Heavenly Treasury.
• Elder Mo says a Chinese expert has already killed the Blood Demon and his followers. Elder Wu identifies that expert as Li Yichen, prompting a teasing exchange about Mo Yurou’s interest in him—and an old romantic escapade involving Elder Mo and Elder Wu.
• Su Liang proposes searching the area for the entrance, but Jiang Tianhao explains that it is concealed by an array. They must wait until midnight and use the Yin-Yang Reversal Eight Trigrams Array to open the passage.
• Elsewhere, Li Yichen and Mo Yurou browse a Western Regions–style secondhand market. Yurou hopes to find an antique for her grandfather but finds only fakes. A young girl approaches a stall with a small copper lamp, asking to sell it because her father is ill. The stall owner dismisses it, and she anxiously asks him to reconsider.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Tianhao maintains a show of indignation toward the Nine Chrysanthemum Sect while privately worrying that Elder Mo knows more about the Jiang Family’s treasure map than they do.
• The three other families show willingness to unite against the sect, though Elder Mo says the threat has already been dealt with.
• Mo Yurou’s knowledge of antiques is linked to growing up around her grandfather’s collection; Li Yichen is impressed by her expertise.
• Su Liang’s eagerness exposes his ignorance of the information already shared, while Jiang Tianhao patiently explains the array and its timing.
• Elder Mo and Elder Wu’s banter reveals their playful, long-standing intimacy, while Elder Wang reacts with comic jealousy.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and suspicion: The families consider joining forces but remain wary of possible deception.
• Hidden knowledge and preparation: The treasure passage cannot be reached by brute force; success depends on understanding the map and the right ritual conditions.
• Family ties and sacrifice: The girl risks selling a treasured heirloom to help her ill father.
• Romance and humor: Teasing about Yurou and Li Yichen—and the elders’ own past—lightens the tension surrounding the treasure.

Plot points and events

• Desperate to pay for her father’s urgent surgery, Qian Qian tries to sell a heavy old copper lamp at a market. Dealers offer only a few hundred, while she asks for thousands.
• Mo Yurou examines the lamp, notices a mysterious mark, and offers Qian Qian 80,000—far above the crowd’s estimate. She plans to pay Qian Qian’s father directly for safety.
• Mo Yurou puts the lamp in her Space Ring, and the group accompanies Qian Qian to her home in the shantytown. They learn her father was injured while digging for jade and may lose his arm without surgery.
• The chapter ends with Li Yichen reacting with dismay to the squalid neighborhood and the attention of women outside its houses.

Character developments

• Qian Qian is resourceful and devoted to her father, but becomes overwhelmed and tearful when strangers accuse her of scamming them.
• Mo Yurou shows compassion and confidence: she trusts her judgment about the lamp and helps Qian Qian while taking precautions to protect her.
• Li Yichen is patient with Mo Yurou’s impulsive detours, though he worries about missing their flight and privately reacts with exasperation to their surroundings.
• Xiao Nan admires Mo Yurou’s generosity.

Themes

• Compassion toward people in desperate circumstances.
• The danger of judging others too quickly: the crowd dismisses Qian Qian as dishonest, while Mo Yurou sees value in the lamp.
• The contrast between wealth and poverty, underscored by how life-changing 80,000 is for Qian Qian.

Character interactions

• Market dealers dismiss Qian Qian’s pleas, and onlookers criticize her, intensifying her distress.
• Mo Yurou silences the crowd by offering a generous price and reassures Qian Qian that she wants to meet her father to arrange payment.
• Li Yichen, Mo Yurou, Xiaobei, and Xiao Nan set aside their travel plans to accompany Qian Qian home.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yichen and his companions arrive at the home of Qian’er, a poor girl in the settlement. Inside, they find her father about to amputate his badly injured arm with a cleaver, believing it cannot be treated and that he is a burden.
• He initially mistakes Li Yichen for a threat, but Qian’er explains that Li and his companions mean to help. She had tried to sell the family’s ancestral oil lamp to pay for her father’s treatment.
• After hearing the explanation, the father accepts the sale, deciding that his daughter’s future matters more than keeping the heirloom. Li transfers the promised 80,000. The father admits that earlier offers for the lamp were only 500.
• The father’s despair over his injury brings Qian’er to tears, and their distress sets Xiao Nan and Xiaobei crying too. They say they miss their deceased parents.
• Li promises to reunite them with their parents and claims he can even take Xiaobei to the underworld. Xiaobei, alarmed, immediately begs him not to.

Character developments and interactions

• Qian’er is devoted to her father and willing to give up the family heirloom—and even leave school—to support him.
• Her father shifts from despair and suspicion to accepting help, trusting Li once his daughter explains, and prioritizing her well-being over tradition.
• Li Yichen is generous and decisive, paying for the lamp himself. His awkward reactions and extravagant claims about contacting the dead add comic relief.
• Mo Yurou is pleased that Li handles the payment himself, interpreting it as a sign that he cares about her. Xiao Nan, Xiaobei, and Mo Yurou are moved by the family’s hardship; Xiao Nan and Xiaobei’s grief over their own parents quickly becomes the scene’s comic turn.

Significant themes

• Family devotion and sacrifice: Qian’er and her father each want to protect the other, even at great personal cost.
• Letting go of tradition for survival: The father reluctantly parts with a centuries-old heirloom to give Qian’er a better life.
• Compassion amid hardship: Li’s intervention offers practical help in a world where the father expects kindness to be a trick.
• Grief and tonal contrast: The chapter moves from painful family anguish to humor through the children’s sudden panic at Li’s promise to visit the afterlife.

Key events

• Li Yichen realizes that boarding has begun and rushes to leave the Qian family, giving them his contact information.
• Before they go, Xiao Nan asks to examine Qian Qian’s father’s severely swollen, discolored arm. A white, flame-like light from her hand heals it completely.
• The stunned father and daughter watch Li Yichen and his companions fly away, convinced they have met immortals.
• At the airport, the group faces a long security line and an imminent boarding deadline. Li Yichen uses his abilities to bypass the terminal wall and move invisibly through the building.
• He places Mo Yurou, Xiao Nan, and Xiaobei inside his Space Ring, then brings them out beside Ouyang Hai at the gate. Ouyang has remained calm and waited for them, with boarding passes ready.
• The group boards the plane, which takes off for Urumqi.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Nan shows compassion and healing ability, insisting on helping the injured father even as the group is in a hurry.
• Li Yichen is considerate toward the Qian family but also resourceful and confident under pressure. He reveals that his Space Rings can contain living people.
• Mo Yurou is delighted to learn that her ring can hold living beings and is thrilled by the experience of entering one.
• Xiaobei complains humorously about being left behind, then is bewildered by the sudden transitions.
• Ouyang Hai remains unruffled by the delay and trusts Li Yichen to arrive.
• The Qian father and Qian Qian react with disbelief to the healing and the group’s supernatural departure.

Significant themes

• Compassion and extraordinary power: Xiao Nan uses her abilities to help a stranger without hesitation.
• Wonder and the supernatural: The Qian family interpret the group’s powers as evidence that immortals have descended to earth.
• Trust and teamwork: The group relies on Li Yichen’s abilities and Ouyang Hai’s patience to make the flight.
• Humor amid urgency: The missed-flight scare, Xiaobei’s complaints, and Mo Yurou’s excitement lighten the frantic airport sequence.

Plot points and events

• Li Yichen and his companions fly first class. Mo Yurou examines the bronze oil lamp they bought and identifies a rare ancient Brahmin mark beneath its handle, which makes it valuable.
• Curious about a legend that the mark seals a demon inside, Mo Yurou pricks her finger and lets blood fall on it, then rubs the lamp.
• Time freezes aboard the plane, and a huge blue devil emerges. He claims the Chinese enslaved and sealed him away, then threatens to eat everyone—starting with Mo Yurou.
• Li Yichen easily slaps the devil aside and overwhelms him with his far greater aura. The devil shrinks back into the lamp; the plane and its passengers return to normal.
• When Li Yichen threatens to destroy the lamp, the devil comes out in miniature form and begs for his life. Mo Yurou asks to keep him as a pet. After Li Yichen warns that the devil might betray her, the devil agrees to serve and sign a contract. Mo Yurou says she will judge him by his behavior.

Character developments

• Li Yichen is confident and casually protective of Mo Yurou. His power is so far beyond the devil’s that he can subdue it without effort.
• Mo Yurou is curious, bold, and amused by the supernatural encounter. She shifts from expecting the lamp to grant wishes to wanting to keep its devil as a pet.
• The devil begins as a furious, threatening figure but is quickly reduced to a frightened, pleading servant. He promises obedience to avoid being killed.

Significant themes

• Power and reversal: The apparently fearsome demon is helpless against Li Yichen.
• Humor through contrast: The devil’s grand threats give way to slapstick humiliation and desperate begging.
• Control and loyalty: Mo Yurou’s wish to keep the devil is tempered by Li Yichen’s warning that it could turn against her.

Character interactions

• Li Yichen and Mo Yurou tease and joke together while examining the lamp, showing their playful intimacy.
• Li Yichen protects Mo Yurou when the devil attacks, then mocks the devil as he beats him back.
• Mo Yurou laughs at the devil’s defeat and argues for sparing him; Li Yichen considers destroying him but ultimately leaves the decision to her.
• The devil shifts from threatening the pair to pleading with them and promising Mo Yurou his loyalty.

Key plot points and events

• Mo Yurou agrees to bind the demon as her pet. Li Yichen uses her blood to place a seal on the demon’s soul, giving her control over him.
• The demon, relieved to have escaped death, assumes he’ll become free when Mo Yurou dies. Li Yichen warns that, as long as he lives, the demon will remain bound across lifetimes.
• The demon introduces himself as Saiban. After learning the name is now commonly associated with dogs, he accepts Mo Yurou’s new name for him: Mo Ying.
• Mo Ying reveals that, without a physical body, he can transform into anything he has seen. He copies Li Yichen and moves to hug Mo Yurou; Li Yichen angrily knocks apart his head and warns him not to touch her. Mo Ying reforms and is forbidden from taking either Li Yichen’s or Mo Yurou’s appearance.
• The group lands in Urumqi and checks into a hotel.
• At midnight on Stone Mountain, Jiang Tianhao organizes the experts to establish the Yin-Yang Reversal Eight Trigrams Formation. The Shen, Qin, and Su families are assigned positions, while Elder Mo and two others are asked to guard the formation.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Yurou gains a powerful supernatural pet and takes charge of naming him and setting boundaries. She wants him to call her “Big Sister,” despite his age.
• Mo Ying shifts from a demon facing death to a subordinate eager to please his new owner. His transformations provide comic relief, though he is left confused and embarrassed by the humans’ reactions.
• Li Yichen oversees the soul-binding and remains protective—and openly jealous—of Mo Yurou. His warning to Mo Ying establishes that he intends the bond to last beyond her lifetime.
• Jiang Tianhao takes command of the formation preparations, assigning the families their positions; Shen Beichen and the others cooperate without resistance.

Significant themes

• Control and survival: Mo Ying accepts servitude as the price of avoiding death, while the blood seal makes Mo Yurou his master.
• Possessiveness and loyalty: Li Yichen’s threat reflects his protectiveness of Mo Yurou, played for humor.
• Power and responsibility: Mo Yurou’s new control over a formidable demon comes with the need to direct and restrain him.
• Humor amid danger: The naming jokes, Mo Ying’s transformation, and the argument over “Big Sister” contrast with the impending ritual on Stone Mountain.

Summary

• Jiang Tianhao leads 168 experts in activating the Yin-Yang Reversal Eight Trigrams Formation. The formation reverses yin and yang and unleashes a powerful strike against Ghostface City’s carved face.
• The Ghost Face responds with a roar, and its mouth opens to reveal the entrance to the Sacred Treasury. Su Liang’s family enters first, as agreed; the Shen, Qin, and Jiang families follow.
• Inside, the entrance opens onto a vast passage that appears to be carved from a single piece of rock. Master Liu senses danger, but Su Liang dismisses his warning and urges the Su Family to hurry forward in search of treasure.
• The groups race through the passage for over ten minutes without finding traps or treasure. Su Liang begins doubting whether the treasury is genuine—then a streak of yellow light speeds toward the party, triggering a shared sense of danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Tianhao displays authority and technical command by directing the formation, then tactically hangs back after entering the passage.
• Su Liang is confident and eager for rewards, but his impatience makes him disregard Master Liu’s caution.
• Master Liu remains alert to possible danger and warns Su Liang, though he cannot identify its source.
• Elder Wu, Elder Mo, and Elder Wang agree to stay together. Elder Wang vows to protect Wu; Mo brusquely insists that he will protect his own wife, revealing their personal bond and contrasting temperaments.
• Shen Beichen and Qin Wenhan coordinate their families’ advance, while the rival groups remain wary of one another.

Significant themes

• Greed versus caution: The promise of treasure drives Su Liang to rush ahead despite warnings.
• Cooperation and rivalry: The families unite to open the treasury but quickly separate into competing groups, each hoping to claim its rewards.
• Foreboding beneath apparent safety: The apparently trap-free passage offers little reassurance; the sudden yellow streak suggests the danger may only be beginning.

Key plot points and events

• Master Liu senses danger and saves Su Liang just before stone spikes erupt from the passage floor. The first trap kills ten Su Family Yellow-Level fighters and one Profound-Level fighter, leaving Su Liang furious and the group shaken.
• The families proceed more cautiously, but a second trap combines a sudden increase in gravity with another eruption of stone spikes. The leaders and Earth-Level experts use different techniques to escape or protect those nearby, though many fighters are killed.
• The spikes retract, revealing severe losses across all four families. The Su Family remains the worst hit overall, but the second attack narrows the gap between its losses and those of the others.
• Master Lu’s destructive, black-energy technique alarms the 749 bureau elders, who suspect the Jiang Family’s demonic arts are growing stronger and discuss confronting them later.
• Master Lu questions whether the casualties are worthwhile. Jiang Tianhao insists they are acceptable if the Jiang Family ultimately succeeds, implying the expedition serves a larger goal.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Liang reacts with grief and rage over his people’s deaths, then tries to restore order. He shows quick thinking in the second trap, using internal energy to reverse his fall.
• Master Liu proves alert and resourceful: he detects the first danger and, during the second, uses vines to anchor himself and rescue the nearest Su Family fighters.
• The family leaders and experts each reveal their methods under pressure: Qin Wenhan and his companion smash spikes with brute force; Shen Beichen and a nearby Earth-Level expert use a flexible sword and flying sword; Jiang Tianhao rebounds with a palm strike; Master Lu melts spikes with black energy.
• The 749 elders quietly scrutinize Master Lu and debate whether to pressure the Jiang Family over his increasingly powerful demonic art.
• Jiang Tianhao and Master Lu disagree over the cost of the expedition: Master Lu questions the sacrifice, while Jiang Tianhao treats the dead as expendable “bait” if the Jiang Family wins in the end.

Significant themes

• The chapter emphasizes the brutal cost of ambition: powerful families knowingly risk lower-ranking fighters for uncertain rewards.
• It contrasts leadership and loyalty with expendability, as Su Liang mourns his people while Jiang Tianhao accepts heavy losses as strategy.
• The hidden traps expose the limits of strength and preparedness, forcing even powerful experts to rely on split-second ingenuity.
• Suspicion grows beneath the families’ temporary cooperation, particularly over the Jiang Family’s dark arts and undisclosed motives.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Tianhao crushes a pebble marked with “seven,” triggering a subtle change in the passage. The route behind the group vanishes, replaced by a seamless stone wall.
• Claiming the families have suffered because of the Jiang Family, Jiang announces that his clan will lead the way. The other families admire his apparent generosity, though Qin Wenhan and Shen Beichen suspect a trick.
• Jiang and his people rush ahead. Once they are gone, Shen Beichen realizes they have been deceived and leads the others after them, followed by the Qin and Su families and the elders.
• Behind them, the floor absorbs the corpses left in the passage.
• After pursuing the Jiang Family for several kilometers without finding them, the survivors discover dozens of bodies lying ahead. Master Liu uses a vine to pull one closer and confirms it is a dead Qin family member. Despite warnings about possible traps, the group cautiously sends one representative from each family to investigate.
• The bodies prove to be the expedition’s dead from all four families, including the Jiang clan. As the survivors gather around them, a sinister voice announces that the bodies were placed there to trap them all.

Character developments

• Jiang Tianhao presents himself as noble and self-sacrificing, but his cold expression, secret action, and sudden departure make clear he is orchestrating something.
• Shen Beichen quickly recognizes Jiang’s deception and takes charge of the pursuit, while remaining alert to danger.
• Qin Wenhan is eager to inspect the body but accepts the warnings to proceed carefully.
• Su Liang voices doubts about Jiang’s supposed kindness, then tries to distribute the risk of investigating equally among the families.
• Master Liu demonstrates caution and practical skill by using his toxin-detecting vines to examine the bodies from a distance.

Significant themes

• Deception and manipulation: Jiang exploits the other families’ trust in his public display of virtue.
• Suspicion and survival: The survivors must weigh the need to investigate against the possibility of traps.
• Entrapment and loss of control: The disappearing passage, vanishing Jiang clan, and relocated corpses suggest the group is being guided into a larger scheme.

Character interactions

• Jiang’s speech wins praise from the other families, while Qin and Shen privately distrust him; Su Liang’s blunt question prompts the others to reconsider.
• Shen warns Qin not to touch the body, and Master Liu backs up the caution with his toxin-detection ability.
• Su Liang pressures Shen and Qin to send investigators alongside the Su family member, leading all three families to share the risk.
• The chapter ends with the survivors gathered among the bodies—and the unseen enemy revealing its intent to ensnare them all.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Tianhao triggers the Corpse Explosion Technique, causing the corpses scattered across the chamber to explode in succession. The blasts devastate the gathered families.
• Master Liu saves Su Liang by knocking him out of the blast zone, but is gravely injured himself. Most of the Su and Qin families are killed; the Shen family fares somewhat better, though it also suffers heavy losses.
• Jiang Tianhao and the Jiang family emerge from a hidden doorway, revealing that the massacre was planned. Jiang has Su Liang beaten and orders his men to take him prisoner.
• Qin Wenhan threatens to fight back, while Shen Beichen appeals to Elders Mo, Wu, and Wang for help. The elders challenge Jiang’s actions and warn him against killing everyone.
• Jiang traps the three elders inside a sealed chamber using a strange object marked with the character “eight,” declaring that they will die there.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Liang shifts from shock and helplessness to anger at Jiang, but is quickly defeated and captured after his legs are broken.
• Master Liu shows loyalty by saving Su Liang at great personal cost; he survives the explosions but is left near death and likely crippled.
• Jiang Tianhao reveals himself as ruthless and confident, openly admitting the ambush was planned and treating Su Liang as a bargaining chip.
• Shen Beichen stays composed and diplomatic, seeking the elders’ support rather than rushing into a fight. Qin Wenhan, by contrast, reacts with fury and vows to take Jiang down.
• Elders Mo, Wu, and Wang initially work together to shield themselves with a formation, then intervene to oppose Jiang—only to be isolated by his trap.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and calculated violence: Jiang’s hidden plan turns a dangerous expedition into a massacre.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Master Liu risks himself to protect Su Liang.
• Power and vulnerability: Even powerful martial artists are badly injured when caught unprepared.
• Different responses to crisis: Qin’s defiance and Shen’s negotiation illustrate contrasting approaches to danger.

Key plot points and events

• The three elders discover that their trapped stone chamber is shrinking, while its seamless walls appear to be solid and self-repairing.
• Elder Mo attacks a face in the wall, drawing blood but failing to stop it from escaping. The elders are left to find their own way out.
• Elder Mo uses his Cloud-Piercing Awl to bore into a wall, but yellow light quickly seals the hole.
• Elder Wang unleashes three powerful strikes with his Mountain-Shaking Hammer, creating a huge crater. The wall repairs itself faster than he can damage it, and the chamber shrinks again to just ten meters square.
• With both men’s strongest attacks ineffective, Elder Wang asks Elder Wu (Yufen) to devise a solution.

Character developments and interactions

• Elder Mo is forceful and confident in his magical treasure, but his attack ultimately proves futile. He and Elder Wang trade insults and compete to demonstrate their strength.
• Elder Wang likewise boasts before striking the wall, then becomes exhausted and frustrated when his hammer fails.
• Elder Wu is the practical voice of reason: she stops the elders’ bickering, searches for an exit, and later clears the dust so they can assess the damage. Her companions rely on her cleverness when their own methods fail.

Significant themes

• Pride versus cooperation: The elders’ rivalry and boasts persist even as danger increases, though Elder Wu repeatedly redirects them toward their shared goal.
• The limits of brute force: Powerful attacks can damage the chamber, but its rapid self-repair makes strength alone ineffective.
• Mounting peril and uncertainty: The shrinking room steadily raises the stakes, while the unexplained wall and escapee hint at a larger mystery.

Plot points and events

• Trapped in a shrinking stone chamber, Elders Wu, Mo, and Wang decide their only remaining option is a “Composite Technique” they devised years earlier.
• Mo launches the Cloud-Piercing Awl into a wall while Wang’s three hammer strikes accelerate it. Wu follows by sending explosive talismans into the hole and detonating them.
• The blast creates a deep pit and cracks the wall, but the elders remain trapped. They have attacked the wrong side of their chamber, which is embedded in an immense slab of rock; the stone space continues shrinking.
• As they face likely death, Wu urges Mo and Wang to stop their decades-long feud. Mo instead worries about Yurou and whether Li Yichen will treat her well.
• Wang reveals that Ruoyi gave him a Stone Token left by Li Yichen, meant to be crushed in an emergency. Though he has only one, he gives it to Wu so she can escape.
• Wu reluctantly crushes the token and vanishes. At the same moment, Li Yichen wakes at an airport hotel, senses that someone has used a Stone Token, and suspects the Heavenly Treasury is involved.

Character developments and interactions

• The three elders briefly reunite through their old teamwork, though their familiar bickering persists even under mortal threat.
• Wu tries to reconcile the two men before they die. Mo and Wang initially resist, but the crisis makes them reflect on their long-running conflict.
• Wang’s deep devotion to Wu becomes clear: despite his feelings for her, he gives her the only means of escape, while Mo protests possessively that she is his wife.
• Wu leaves with grief and a promise to avenge both men. Mo and Wang, despite their rivalry, jointly urge her to go.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and devotion: Wang gives up his chance to escape for Wu’s sake.
• Reconciliation: Imminent death prompts the elders to reconsider decades of hostility.
• Hope amid desperation: Li Yichen’s token offers a last possibility of survival, though only one person can use it.
• Loyalty and concern for family: Mo’s worry for Yurou shapes his final thoughts.

Key plot points and events

• Worried that Mo Yurou’s grandparents may be in danger, Li Yichen goes to tell her he is returning to check on them.
• He unexpectedly walks in while Yurou is leaving the bath. After an awkward misunderstanding, he explains why he came. Yurou’s towel falls during their conversation, creating a brief comic interruption.
• Yurou realizes she still has the Stone Tokens Li Yichen meant her to give her grandparents. She blames herself and insists on going with him.
• Li Yichen teleports them to the Sacred Treasury, where they find Elder Wu on guard. She reveals that Elder Mo gave her his own Stone Token, leaving the elders’ situation uncertain.
• Li Yichen reveals the scene inside the treasury by making the square transparent and magnifying part of it. They see that Elder Mo and Elder Wang are alive, though trapped together in a space barely a meter across.
• The chapter ends on their bickering: Elder Mo objects to the cramped proximity, while Elder Wang jokes that he would rather be close to Elder Mo’s wife.

Character developments

• Li Yichen is anxious and protective, but his concern is mixed with dry humor. He reassures Yurou and quickly takes action to investigate.
• Mo Yurou shifts from flirtatious teasing to panic and guilt when she realizes she failed to deliver the tokens. Her fear for her family drives her to accompany Li Yichen.
• Elder Wu remains vigilant, but her composure gives way to relief and sadness. Her concern for Elder Wang reflects how deeply she feels indebted to him.
• Elder Mo and Elder Wang remain spirited and combative even while trapped, using insults and jokes to cope with the danger.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and responsibility: Yurou’s distress stems from feeling she failed to protect her grandparents.
• Care expressed through action: Li Yichen responds to danger by investigating and bringing Yurou directly to the scene.
• Humor amid peril: Awkward embarrassment and elder banter lighten the tension without removing the underlying danger.
• Guilt and gratitude: Elder Wu fears losing Elder Wang because of the debt she feels she owes him.

Character interactions

• Li Yichen and Yurou move from comic misunderstanding to urgent cooperation, with Yurou relying on him to help her family.
• Yurou reunites emotionally with Elder Wu, who comforts her.
• Li Yichen and Elder Wu share concern for the trapped elders while he demonstrates his unusual power.
• Elder Mo and Elder Wang’s insults reveal their long familiarity and preserve their irreverent dynamic even in a life-threatening predicament.

Plot points and events

• Elder Mo and Elder Wang argue over their youthful misdeeds, accidentally revealing them within Elder Wu’s hearing. After Li Yichen frees the two elders from crushing pressure, Elder Wu orders them to squat and gives them a beating for their past behavior.
• The elders realize Li Yichen must have rescued them and complain that he didn’t warn them about being overheard. They threaten to kick him, but Mo Yurou and Elder Wu both protect him.
• Li Yichen asks how the elders were trapped in the Stone Prison Space. They explain that the Jiang Family seems able to control its mechanisms.
• Li Yichen summons Dazhuang, a small stone-bodied child who is a duplicate of the Stone Demon they have been inside. Dazhuang reveals that he once gave nine pebbles to someone named Jiang Lüzi, each pebble capable of drawing on some of his power.

Character developments and interactions

• Elder Mo and Elder Wang’s bickering exposes their shared history of bad behavior, but their jokes about dying together also show deep familiarity and affection.
• Elder Wu’s anger at their confessions gives way to comic revenge; despite her beating them, she firmly defends Li Yichen.
• Mo Yurou’s admiration for Dazhuang turns to alarm when she learns the group is inside the Stone Demon’s belly. She also immediately stands up for Li Yichen.
• Li Yichen stays evasive about saving the elders and takes care to keep Dazhuang from harming Yurou.

Significant themes

• Friendship beneath rivalry: The elders’ insults conceal a longstanding bond.
• Loyalty and protection: Yurou and Elder Wu defend Li Yichen, while he protects the group by controlling Dazhuang.
• Comic consequences: The elders’ loose talk brings swift, humorous punishment.
• Mystery and danger: Dazhuang’s account links the Jiang Family to the Stone Demon’s power and hints at the significance of the nine pebbles.