Recaps

Yang Qing and his companions entered the Demon Abyss after combining his blood with Mo Yang’s, then crossed a barren wilderness and met a bird demon. They agreed to attend the Demon Abyss Assembly in exchange for writing characters, and the bird gave them feathers that would let them enter.

• Mo Yang could pass through the mountain gate, but Bu Er and the others could not until Yang Qing combined his blood with Mo Yang’s and opened the way.
• Yang Qing and his companions entered the Demon Abyss and walked through a vast, lifeless wilderness for nearly half a day.
• Yang Qing and the others met a multicolored bird that spoke to them and asked whether they had come for the Demon Abyss Assembly.
• Jiangli explained that the bird wanted each of them to write a character as payment for guiding them into the assembly.
• Yang Qing and his companions agreed, wrote characters for the bird, and received feathers that would allow them to enter the assembly.

Yang Qing and his companions attended the Demon Abyss Assembly, where the feathers they carried drew attention, and met Chen Qian, a human who had lived in the Demon Abyss for ten years. After settling in rooms behind Chen Qian’s tavern, Yang Qing asked him about suitable work, while still seeking to fulfill the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s mission.

• Yang Qing and his companions entered the Demon Abyss Assembly with the feathers they had received, and a magic beast’s recruitment offer ended when Yang Qing declined.
• They learned that the assembly was a martial contest between factions and later discovered, with Jiangli’s help, that Chen Qian was an ordinary human.
• Chen Qian introduced himself as a human who had been in the Demon Abyss for ten years, and Yang Qing introduced his companions while concealing Jiangli’s true appearance.
• Yang Qing and his companions settled into vacant rooms behind Chen Qian’s tavern and used their gemstones to meet their needs.
• Chen Qian asked how Yang Qing planned to make a living, and Yang Qing asked him what work would suit their group.

Chen Qian explained that tainted demon grass drove Magic Beasts in the Demon Abyss toward madness and revealed his suspicion that someone was using it to control them. He sent for someone who could help Yang Qing and the others investigate, and Yang Qing recognized the person as Yao Zhuang, the Heaven-and-Earth Storyteller.

• Chen Qian told Yang Qing that Magic Beasts ate too much demon grass and that clearing the Demon Grassland could help prevent them from losing their minds.
• Chen Qian described how he had investigated the demon grass for decades and discovered that it stayed alive for two months before withering and regrowing overnight.
• Chen Qian suspected someone was using the tainted grass to control Magic Beasts and unleash them in the human world.
• Chen Qian said he had summoned someone to help Yang Qing and the others, and Yang Qing identified him as Yao Zhuang, the Heaven-and-Earth Storyteller.

Yang Qing and his companions met the masked storyteller Yao Zhuang and learned he would guide them to the Demon Grassland. Though Yang Qing accepted that neither Yao Zhuang nor Chen Qian owed him help, Yao Zhuang’s changed expression the next day left Bu Er hopeful and uneasy.

• Chen Qian told Yang Qing and the others that the renowned storyteller Yao Zhuang was in the Demon Abyss and directed them to meet him.
• Yang Qing and his companions met Yao Zhuang, who warned them that the Demon Grassland was dangerous and asked why they planned to go there.
• Yang Qing explained that they wanted to investigate the strange situation in the Demon Grassland, and Yao Zhuang agreed to accompany them at noon the next day.
• Bu Er wondered whether Yao Zhuang was hiding something and hoped he would help Yang Qing, but Yang Qing said no one was obliged to bear another person’s karma.
• When Yang Qing and the others saw Yao Zhuang again the next day, his gaze toward them had changed, leaving Bu Er both glad and worried.

Yao Zhuang led Yang Qing and the others into the Demon Grassland, carrying his erhu and hinting at a personal reason for the journey. After they reached a small clearing, Yang Qing confronted him and asked him to explain what was really happening.

• Yao Zhuang told Yang Qing to bring plenty of food because they would be trapped in the Demon Grassland for several days.
• Yao Zhuang set out carrying his erhu, and Chen Qian hinted that he still could not forget someone.
• Yang Qing asked Yao Zhuang why he had brought the erhu and what lay behind his remarks; Yao Zhuang promised to explain if they both returned alive.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou followed Yao Zhuang into the tall demon grass and noticed his unusual speed and urgency.
• Yao Zhuang stopped in a clearing, and Yang Qing asked him to tell them the truth.

Yao Zhuang explained that he had spent ten years searching the Demon Grassland for his missing wife, who was not human. Yang Qing and his companions revealed that they had come to remove the Demon Grass’s poison, then discovered a Heart's Desire Formation and worried that one of Emperor Zetian’s subordinates had created it.

• Yao Zhuang told Yang Qing and the others that his wife had disappeared and that he believed she was living in the Demon Grassland.
• Yao Zhuang admitted that his wife was not an ordinary human and said he feared she might never meet him again.
• Yang Qing asked how to remove the Demon Grass’s poison and explained that the group had come to the Demon Abyss for that purpose.
• Yang Qing told Bu Er to fly above the grassland, but the Demon Grass rose with him and blocked his view.
• Yang Qing identified the Heart's Desire Formation, and Jiang Zhizhou worried that one of Emperor Zetian’s subordinates might be present.
• Yao Zhuang asked whether Yang Qing and the others had figured out anything about the formation.

Yang Qing discovered that the Demon Grassland hid several overlapping formations and had Mo Yang survey them from above. After Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou broke the illusion formation, a lake and wooden houses appeared, and Yao Zhuang urged the group to investigate them.

• Yang Qing concluded that the Demon Grassland concealed another face beneath several formations and asked Mo Yang to map their arrangement.
• Mo Yang surveyed the grassland from the air and sketched what he saw, helping Yang Qing and the others identify three or four formations.
• Yang Qing chose to break the illusion formation first, and Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou returned to report that they had done so.
• Yao Zhuang noticed that the trees at the grassland's edge had lost their leaves, while Mo Yang revealed that a small lake and several wooden houses had appeared.
• Yao Zhuang asked to search the wooden houses, and Yang Qing agreed that the group would investigate them.

Yang Qing’s group discovered that the dusty cabins had been used for Demon Race living sacrifices and found iron pieces inscribed in Demon Script. The records mentioned a peony presented to the Demon King, leading Yao Zhuang to wonder whether his wife had belonged to the Demon Race.

• Yang Qing comforted Yao Zhuang after the group found nothing useful inside the cabins.
• Yang Qing spotted objects on the cabin roofs, and Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou retrieved two iron pieces that expanded to reveal unfamiliar writing.
• Mo Yang recognized the writing as Demon Script, and Jiangli explained that the pieces recorded the cabins’ use for living sacrifices.
• Jiangli said the dust inside the cabins was what remained after the sacrifices had been burned by heavenly fire.
• Jiangli found a record of an unusually beautiful peony being dug up and presented to the Demon King, and Yao Zhuang revealed that Peony was his wife’s maiden name.

Jiangli revealed that Yao Zhuang’s long search for his wife had ended, and the old man left the Demon Grassland after losing hope. Yang Qing and the others continued investigating the formations, and Jiangli identified the next one as an Invisibility Formation.

• Jiangli told Yao Zhuang that his bond with the Peony Flower Demon had already ended, and Yao Zhuang realized they had missed each other.
• Yao Zhuang bowed to Yang Qing and the others, then walked out of the Demon Grassland, leaving Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou saddened.
• Bu Er suggested that the Demon Grassland’s strange Magic Beasts might be connected to concealed formations rather than the demon grass itself.
• Yang Qing reasoned that the Magic Beasts could be trapped inside a formation, and Jiangli confirmed that they were hidden somewhere below.
• Yang Qing asked Jiangli to identify the next formation, and Jiangli explained that it was an Invisibility Formation and warned him to focus as they began.

Yang Qing broke the Invisibility Formation after nearly collapsing, then recovered through meditation and destroyed its formation eye. The group reached the true Demon Grassland, where Yang Qing spotted a rare problematic stalk, but Jiangli said they needed another way to identify such plants across entire fields.

• Yang Qing nearly succumbed to the Invisibility Formation but endured its backlash and tore an opening in it.
• Jiangli urged Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou to trust Yang Qing's improved resilience and let him recover without medicine.
• Yang Qing meditated on the cultivation method from the Wordless Heavenly Book, regained his strength, and destroyed the formation eye.
• The group saw the true Demon Grassland and discussed searching for Magic Beasts affected by the grass.
• Yang Qing identified a rare three-leaved stalk of problematic Demon Grass, and Jiangli pointed out that checking every stalk across a field would require another method.

Yang Qing and his companions searched the Demon Grassland by following a magic beast that picked out genuine four-leaf demon grass, while recalling how sentient demon grass could turn demonic and empower itself with magic beasts’ dark power. When the collected grass vanished from the Heaven and Earth Bag, Yang Qing suspected the Three Realms Immortal Lord had lured them into a trap.

• Yang Qing noticed a bold magic beast that screened demon grass before eating and led the group to genuine four-leaf stalks.
• The group harvested the four-leaf demon grass and watched it dry and shrivel after entering the bag.
• Yang Qing recalled that sentient demon grass could possess magic beasts, leave the Demon Grassland, and become a powerful demon by absorbing their dark power.
• Bu Er asked whether the dried grass was harmless, and Jiangli explained that the bag was a Heaven and Earth Bag rather than a Sumeru Bag.
• Bu Er discovered that the demon grass had disappeared from the bag, and Yang Qing wondered whether the Three Realms Immortal Lord had arranged their search as a trap.

Yang Qing and Jiangli discovered that someone had used the Three Realms Immortal Lord and a hidden Transposition Formation on Bu Er’s Heaven and Earth Bag to steal Demon Grass. Jiangli proposed refining the grass with heavenly fire, then revealed that Mo Yang would have to help draw it from the Earth Core Flame, leaving Yang Qing to question the danger of sending him alone.

• Yang Qing suspected that someone had tricked them into obtaining Demon Grass, and Jiangli explained that the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s upright nature had made him easy to manipulate.
• Jiangli revealed that someone had placed a hidden Transposition Formation on Bu Er’s Heaven and Earth Bag to steal the Demon Grass they found.
• Jiangli proposed passing the Demon Grass through heavenly fire to refine most of its power while still completing the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s mission.
• Jiangli said Mo Yang’s sensitivity as a Half-Demon could help them draw the Earth Core Flame from Demon Flame Valley.
• Yang Qing asked why Mo Yang had to face the dangerous task alone.

Jiangli revealed that Mo Yang’s innate abilities had been sealed and sent him to a place only he could enter, while Yang Qing secretly led the others toward the outskirts to gather treasures. Following Jiangli’s directions at night, the group reached a brilliantly lit area filled with patches of something not yet identified.

• Jiangli told Yang Qing that Mo Yang had exceptional talent sealed away and that overcoming the barrier was a trial for him.
• Jiangli privately explained that Yang Qing and the others could still explore the outskirts for heavenly treasures, and they waited until nightfall to set out.
• Yang Qing led Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others toward the place Mo Yang had gone, explaining that they could not enter it but could reach somewhere nearby.
• Jiangli directed Yang Qing through a sequence of steps, and the group found themselves before a brightly lit area covered in patches.

Jiangli explained that Wood would face danger while seeking a destined treasure and warned Yang Qing against interfering, though it reassured him that the future could still change. It then spotted a fading patch of Nightglow Grass and urged Yang Qing to gather it before it withered.

• Jiangli told Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others to search for treasures that resonated with them, while warning Wood to be especially careful and patient.
• Yang Qing asked Jiangli whether Wood would return empty-handed and whether he would be in danger; Jiangli said Wood would face danger and that Yang Qing's help might make matters worse.
• Jiangli told Yang Qing that similar hardships could arise in the future, but said their outcomes were not fixed and could still change.
• Jiangli pointed out glowing Nightglow Grass, explained that its light would fade within half an incense stick and the grass would then wither, and hurried Yang Qing to gather it.

Yang Qing and his companions encountered the mysterious Nightglow Grass Beast, while Suotu revealed the truth about three thousand men to Chu Jinghui. Chu Jinghui decided to inspect the Capital Outskirts Secret Chamber himself, but a heavy thud outside interrupted them as Suotu rushed to investigate.

• Yang Qing spotted a figure approaching through the nightglow grass and realized the newcomer was a butterfly spirit using the Soul-Seizing Art.
• Yang Qing challenged the newcomer, who said the group had entered his territory uninvited and identified himself as the Nightglow Grass Beast.
• Suotu told Chu Jinghui that he had extinguished a fire and blocked the exits, trapping three thousand of Wei Sizhong's men in the underground passages.
• Chu Jinghui confronted Suotu over his actions and decided to visit the Capital Outskirts Secret Chamber despite Suotu's warning.
• A muffled thud sounded outside the hall, and Suotu rushed out to investigate.

Yang Qing rejected the Nightglow Grass Beast’s attempt to entrust the Heavenly Eye Pearl to him. Seven years after Mu An'an was forced to leave the country with her newborn children, she met a frightened boy with signs of abuse at an amusement park.

• The Nightglow Grass Beast explained that opening its Heavenly Eye Pearl invited Heavenly Law’s punishment and asked Yang Qing to protect it.
• Bu Er objected to the proposal, and Yang Qing refused to rely on the pearl’s visions or take it from the beast.
• Mu An'an was forced onto a private plane despite protesting that her mother was in intensive care, and she left the city with her two newborn children.
• Seven years later, Mu An'an took Mu Xiaochen to Dream Valley, where they boarded a Ferris wheel cabin and found a boy hiding inside.
• The boy told Mu An'an he had run away because he feared being beaten, and she found needle marks and bruises on his arm.

The Nightglow Grass Beast told Yang Qing that Western Chu still remembered his past deeds, stirring his longing to return home as he learned his body might be able to cultivate if its Spiritual Power Lock were removed. Meanwhile, Wei Yan made clear that Qian An'an would stay with him at his military posting, and she began laying out terms for their life together.

• The Nightglow Grass Beast revealed that it had once cultivated on a high mountain in Western Chu and praised Yang Qing for bringing happiness to its people.
• Yang Qing grew emotional at news of Western Chu and admitted to himself that he wanted to return to his homeland before he died.
• The Nightglow Grass Beast warned Yang Qing to guard his Dao heart and explained that his body was a natural treasure cauldron sealed by a Spiritual Power Lock.
• Wei Yan rejected his mother's suggestion that he marry his cousin, and Li Xiaofang ran out crying.
• Qian An'an realized Wei Yan had never intended to let her leave, and he told her that letting her go would be deceiving the organization.
• Qian An'an agreed to live with Wei Yan at his military posting and said they needed to settle some matters first.

Yang Qing and his companions agreed to help the Nightglow Grass Beast in exchange for its help returning to Western Chu, while learning that demon grass was far more widespread than they had been told. The Nightglow Grass Beast offered a way to let the Three Realms Immortal Lord gain demon grass power without arousing suspicion, but the chapter ended before it explained the plan.

• Yang Qing agreed to lend the Nightglow Grass Beast some of his Faith Power when necessary, in return for taking it back to Western Chu.
• The Nightglow Grass Beast warned Yang Qing and his companions that demon grass grew throughout the Demon Abyss, not just in the Demon Grassland.
• Yang Qing and the others suspected the Three Realms Immortal Lord had concealed the extent of the demon grass from them.
• The Nightglow Grass Beast offered a method for the Three Realms Immortal Lord to obtain demon grass power without becoming suspicious.
• Wood came out of the shade and asked whether Yang Qing could carry out the method alone, and the Nightglow Grass Beast replied that he would have help.

Yang Qing and the others learned that Ye Guang, the Nightglow Grass Beast, could help them and discovered he wanted to travel to Western Chu for an ancestral treasure and to aid Yang Qing. The group still needed to deal with the demon grass before the deadline set by the Three Realms Immortal Lord, and Ye Guang had yet to explain his method.

• The Nightglow Grass Beast vanished and reappeared as a small child named Ye Guang, then traded barbs with Jiangli.
• Ye Guang privately told Yang Qing that he planned to go to Western Chu for an ancestral treasure and because he knew Yang Qing's body was failing.
• Yang Qing said he accepted that death was near and wanted to return to his roots, but agreed they first had to overcome the danger before them.
• Ye Guang said there was still a way to salvage the situation, and Yang Qing asked whether he could help reduce his suffering when the time came.
• Bu Er asked to accompany Yang Qing to Western Chu, but Yang Qing said they first had to deal with the demon grass and asked Ye Guang to explain his method.

Yang Qing and his companions burned the Demon Grass fields to locate and gather more than two hundred useful stalks, turning the Heaven and Earth Bag red. The Three Realms Immortal Lord appeared and told them to leave the Demon Abyss, where he would give them the Demon Grass’s power so they could attack the Heavenly Law once.

• Ye Guang advised Yang Qing to burn the Demon Grass fields, then identify genuine stalks by the lights rising over the ash.
• Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Wood harvested the glowing Demon Grass and placed it in the Heaven and Earth Bag.
• After the group collected more than two hundred stalks, the Heaven and Earth Bag turned red.
• The Three Realms Immortal Lord appeared, confirmed they had gathered enough Demon Grass, and told them to leave the Demon Abyss.
• The Three Realms Immortal Lord said he would infuse them with the Demon Grass’s power so they could strike the Heavenly Law with all their might.

Yang Qing and the others decided to leave the Demon Abyss despite their misgivings about the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s motives. When the Heaven-Peering Pearl showed no sign of Mo Yang in the Earth Core Flame, they feared he was dead until Jiangli noticed a cocoon in the flames.

• Yang Qing chose to leave the Demon Abyss rather than risk being trapped there, despite his distrust of the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s arrangements.
• Wood reminded the group that Mo Yang had been missing for five days after going to the Earth Core Flame.
• Nightglow used the Heaven-Peering Pearl to show the raging flames, but Yang Qing and the others could not find Mo Yang.
• Bu Er suggested they give Mo Yang a proper funeral, and Yang Qing lowered his head in grief.
• Jiangli pointed out a blurry spot in the pearl and told Yang Qing it was a cocoon.

Yang Qing and the others learned that Mo Yang was alive inside a vast cocoon in the Earth Core Flame and beginning to break free, though they could not help him. They waited for his emergence and for the Three Realms Immortal Lord to send word about leading them out of the Demon Abyss.

• Jiangli told Yang Qing that Mo Yang was inside the enormous cocoon and that his survival depended on overcoming his tribulation.
• Jiangli sharpened Yang Qing's vision, allowing him to see an opening forming in the cocoon as Mo Yang began to break out.
• Yang Qing worried that Mo Yang might not emerge safely or might lose his memories, while Jiangli said his awakening could raise their chances against Heavenly Law to nearly sixty percent.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou asked whether they could help Mo Yang, but Jiangli told them they could not intervene.
• Jiangli said the Three Realms Immortal Lord had received the power of Demon Grass and would likely contact them within a day or two to lead them out of the Demon Abyss.

Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou discovered that someone had sealed away their memories about Heavenly Law, suggesting it feared their previous methods. Jiangli used its True Fire to guard them against further interference, and the group prepared to disrupt Heavenly Law’s plans while making better use of the Demon Grass’s power.

• Yang Qing realized he had forgotten parts of his past, and Jiangli detected a Sealing Spell hiding the changes.
• Yang Qing asked Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou to check their memories, and they found that they had lost memories too.
• The three pieced together that the missing memories concerned Heavenly Law and concluded it was trying to stop them from repeating their previous success against it.
• Yang Qing proposed disrupting Heavenly Law’s plans with a new approach while the group continued gathering the Demon Grass’s power.
• Jiangli warned that the foreign power might pose further dangers and sent its True Fire into Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou to protect them.

Yang Qing and his companions prepared for Heavenly Law’s imminent attack, and Jiangli secretly revealed that it would come in five days. Yang Qing resolved to protect the others even if he had to sacrifice himself.

• Yang Qing urged Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others to put their own survival first, while privately accepting that his own death might be necessary.
• Yang Qing asked Jiangli when Heavenly Law would arrive, but withdrew the question rather than risk Jiangli’s safety.
• Jiangli left a pawprint as a coded hint, and Yang Qing understood that Heavenly Law would come in five days.
• Yang Qing and the others recognized that their old formations would no longer work and planned to rely on the demon grass’s energy and their own lives.
• Yang Qing thought he had only five days left and resolved to protect his companions, even at the cost of his life.

Heavenly Law attacked Yang Qing and his allies, who resisted with Demon Grass Power while Yang Qing and Jiangli headed toward the formation eye. Yang Qing knew the attempt could cost him his life, but he sought a way to protect Bu Er and the others.

• The Three Realms Immortal Lord confronted Heavenly Law over its role in Emperor Zetian's survival and schemes.
• Heavenly Law summoned lightning against Yang Qing and the others, but they used refined Demon Grass Power to withstand its attacks.
• Yang Qing told Bu Er and the others that only he could break Heavenly Law's protective formation and went with Jiangli to find its formation eye.
• Jiangli warned Yang Qing that he might never return, and Yang Qing asked whether risking the attempt could let Bu Er and the others retreat safely.
• Jiangli assured Yang Qing that his success would protect the others, while offering to find another, more troublesome approach if he changed his mind.