Chapter Summaries

Yang Qing and his companions investigated reports of secret nighttime activity at a Mass Burial Pit while attending the Hard Tribe’s Moon-Praying Festival. As the festival began after dark, they entered the gathering and prepared to watch for suspicious behavior.

• Bu Er told Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou that he and Ouyang had twice seen unfamiliar people going to the Mass Burial Pit at night, and Yang Qing decided they should stay and observe.
• The Hard Tribe prepared for the Moon-Praying Festival, whose decorations signaled eligible young women, and Yang Qing urged Bu Er to consider marriage.
• Yang Qing learned that some tribespeople grew nervous when the group approached and concluded that the festival’s real business would begin at night.
• Yang Qing ordered Bu Er and Ouyang to investigate the Mass Burial Pit that night, while the others agreed to adapt if they were prevented from moving freely.
• After dark, Yang Qing and his companions went to the forest clearing where the festival was being held, and Yang Qing told Bu Er to watch for anyone acting strangely.

During the Hard Tribe’s Moon-Praying Ceremony, Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou suspected the tribe was using its rituals to conceal blood sacrifices. The tribe surrounded them after discovering their investigation, and Hardway confronted Yang Qing about intruding into the Forbidden Land.

• As the ceremony began, Bu Er told Yang Qing that Hard Tribe members had gone to the Mass Burial Pit again, and Yang Qing sent Bu Er and Ouyang Lin to investigate.
• Yang Qing told Jiang Zhizhou that the tribe’s frequent deaths reminded him of the human sacrifices once uncovered in Western Chu.
• The Hard Tribe surrounded Yang Qing and his companions, and its members demanded that Hardway punish them for probing the Forbidden Land.
• Hardway demanded an explanation for the intrusion, while Yang Qing questioned why so many people in the tribe were dying.
• Hardway threatened Yang Qing by bringing up the two missing subordinates, and Yang Qing challenged him over the tribe’s secrets.

Yang Qing confronted Hardway about the Hard Tribe’s blood sacrifices, then led his group toward the Forbidden Land to investigate what the tribe was hiding. At the Mass Burial Pit, Bu Er and Ouyang Lin reported strange lights, and Yang Qing suspected the pit was connected to the tribe’s sacrificial rite.

• A Hard Tribe member attacked Yang Qing, but Jiang Zhizhou broke the man’s wrist and knocked him down.
• Yang Qing asked Hardway to lead them to the Forbidden Land; Hardway relented and told his people that an old legend had come true and the outsiders might save their tribe.
• Yang Qing and his companions discussed how Hardway had deliberately provoked them and suspected the tribe could no longer control the consequences of its blood sacrifices.
• Bu Er and Ouyang Lin told Yang Qing they had seen strange rays of light rise from the Mass Burial Pit shortly after arriving.
• Yang Qing realized the sacrificial rite was connected to the Mass Burial Pit, and Jiang Zhizhou asked what he made of it.

Yang Qing deduced that the Hard Tribe’s curse came from blood sacrifices and that Hardway had lured the outsiders into the Mass Burial Pit for help. Hardway trapped Yang Qing’s group in a sacrificial cage, leaving them searching for a way out before they were bled dry.

• Yang Qing and Bu Er suspected the Hard Tribe’s Heavenly God Selection and Chosen Ones were tied to dark sorcery and blood sacrifices.
• Hardway admitted that Yang Qing’s group had become bound to the tribe’s curse and warned they might never escape without helping.
• A cursed light net appeared beneath Yang Qing’s group, shackling them while leaving Hardway and his companions untouched.
• Yang Qing confronted Hardway about the blood sacrifices, and two elders attacked the group with medicinal powder as a diversion.
• A sacrificial platform rose from underground, trapping Yang Qing’s group inside iron pillars as sharp spikes emerged beneath them.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou lifted Yang Qing into the air, but the pillars rose with them, and the group realized they had to escape before being drained of blood.

Yang Qing and his companions found a way to expose the insects hidden inside the iron pillars and began breaking through the sacrificial altar. As the altar melted and a storm gathered overhead, Yang Qing ordered his companions to use the lightning against it, but his foot was pierced by a spike.

• The two elders sealed Hardway’s acupoints to prevent him from helping Yang Qing and the others escape.
• Yang Qing devised a plan to split into groups, trick the iron pillars, and attack them where they shifted out of position.
• Bu Er and the others opened a pillar and discovered insects inside, then used the insects’ movements to identify and destroy more pillars.
• The pillars began melting, and Pei Buji and Jiang Zhizhou saved Bu Er from the falling molten iron while one elder was badly burned.
• Yang Qing directed Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou to draw lightning onto the sacrificial altar, then a spike pierced the sole of his foot.

Yang Qing and his companions survived the heavenly fire by using Jiangli’s water and struck the altar to disrupt the Blood Sacrifice. The altar’s Blood Seal was destroyed, and the Grand Elder was knocked down as the chapter ended.

• The altar split apart and sank as red-and-black lightning struck Yang Qing and his companions, setting the altar ablaze.
• The Grand Elder told Hardway that the Blood Sacrifice would lift the curse, while Hardway questioned his willingness to sacrifice lives and predicted his plan would fail.
• Yang Qing and his companions stayed safe inside a ring of water shaken from Jiangli’s fur, then prepared to strike both sides of the altar.
• Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, Pei Buji, and Ouyang Lin struck the altar, causing gaps to appear in the heavenly fire formation.
• The Grand Elder tried to strike Hardway, but an unseen attacker hit him in the chest, and he realized the Blood Seal had been destroyed.

After Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou destroyed the Blood Sacrifice altar, Hardway explained that the Hard Tribe had used the ritual to counter a curse that kept them from seeing sunlight. He revealed that the tribe lured powerful travelers through Heaven's Divide Mountain to sacrifice them, leaving Yang Qing and the others to confront the truth about the Heroes' Tomb.

• Jiang Zhizhou knocked the Great Elder down, and Yang Qing accused him of bringing the altar's destruction upon himself.
• Yang Qing warned Hardway that Blood Sacrifices were evil, and Hardway admitted his tribe had resorted to them out of desperation.
• Hardway explained that a curse had plunged the Hard Tribe into darkness and that its first Blood Sacrifice restored sunlight for nearly a hundred years.
• Hardway said each later Blood Sacrifice required more offerings but brought shorter periods of sunlight, until the tribe received only a few days each month.
• Hardway admitted that the Hard Tribe lured powerful travelers through Heaven's Divide Mountain to use them as offerings, prompting Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou to condemn the tribe.

After the Great Elder died accusing Hardway of deception, Yang Qing chose to investigate what lay beneath the ruined Sacrificial Altar rather than leave the tribe. Hardway went to fetch a rock, but his long absence left Yang Qing and the others suspicious.

• The Great Elder admitted that he and the Second Elder had attacked Yang Qing's group, blamed the blood sacrifice and the group's entrapment on Hardway, and died.
• Yang Qing had Jiang Zhizhou unseal Hardway, then declined Hardway's offer to guide them out and insisted on examining beneath the Sacrificial Altar.
• Yang Qing found the ground beneath the altar smooth and unmarked, while Hardway said he could not forgive the dead elders for their plot against him.
• Yang Qing ordered Bu Er, Ouyang Lin, and Pei Buji to bury the elders' remains, then pointed out a spot in the altar's fissure where he suspected something lay underground.
• Hardway volunteered to fetch a rock and left for the woods; after more than half an incense stick passed without his return, Yang Qing's group grew wary.

Yang Qing investigated the ground beneath the destroyed Sacrificial Altar and uncovered a hidden iron box that triggered the ground to collapse. Hardway plunged into the blood-scented darkness below, and Yang Qing said he was seeking a way to live.

• Hardway returned carrying an unusual stone, which sank into the ground as the earth briefly heaved like waves.
• Yang Qing grew uneasy and had Jiang Zhizhou throw the Fire Starter onto the spot where the stone had vanished.
• The flames revealed a buried iron box engraved with a lotus, and Jiang Zhizhou pierced its dew-shaped details to open it.
• The opened box triggered cracks beneath the Sacrificial Altar, and Yang Qing urged the group to retreat.
• Hardway leapt into the black hole as a thick smell of blood rose from below, and Yang Qing said he was casting himself into danger to find a way to live.

Yang Qing and the others watched Hardway enter the Blood Pool and realized he had used them to reach its power for himself. Hardway emerged strengthened and escaped, leaving Yang Qing to conclude that he had already fled the forest.

• Yang Qing explained that Hardway had used the two elders and their group to reach the Blood Pool, seeking salvation for himself rather than the Hard Tribe.
• The Blood Pool formed a flowing dragon of water and raised Hardway to the surface alive.
• Yang Qing ordered Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou to strike Hardway, but Hardway awakened and escaped with greatly increased speed.
• The Blood Pool turned clear as its power entered Hardway, and Yang Qing suspected he had already left the forest.
• Ouyang Lin and Bu Er searched the tribe's settlement, returned without finding Hardway, and confirmed he had escaped.

After Hardway vanished and the Hard Tribe attacked them, Yang Qing and his companions left the settlement to find a way through the forest. They became trapped in a loop, and after Bu Er and Ouyang Lin went scouting and failed to return overnight, Bu Er finally reappeared.

• Bu Er and Ouyang Lin reported that Hardway was missing, while Yang Qing worried about the Blood Pool and the strange, moonless sky.
• Yang Qing and his companions found the Hard Tribe members hostile and fought them off before leaving the settlement.
• Yang Qing's group traveled through the dense forest all day but found themselves back at their starting point.
• Bu Er and Ouyang Lin went ahead to scout for a way out, leaving Yang Qing and the others to wait.
• After a day and night without word, Bu Er returned.

Yang Qing and the others investigated the forest’s strange, seemingly endless paths and waited for Ouyang Lin, who had gone missing. They found no trace of him, but Jiang Zhizhou noticed an unexplained muddy stretch of ground.

• Bu Er told Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou that he and Ouyang Lin had spent a day exploring the forest without finding a way through, and that their route no longer looped back to its starting point.
• Yang Qing joined Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Pei Buji in the forest, where Bu Er demonstrated that a nearby tree took many more steps to reach than it appeared to.
• Jiang Zhizhou suspected the forest’s strange paths were connected to the curse keeping the Hard Tribe inside it, while Yang Qing found no explanation and chose to wait for Ouyang Lin.
• When Ouyang Lin failed to return by nightfall, Yang Qing sent Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er to search, but they found no trace of him.
• Jiang Zhizhou reported that the path ahead was muddy despite no rain, and pointed out the stretch where he had seen it.

Yang Qing and the others followed traces of Blood Pool water and Hardway’s footprints through the forest, discovering signs that another expert had fought there. They tracked blood south, but Yang Qing noticed something suspicious and sent Bu Er up a tree to investigate.

• Yang Qing identified the muddy ground as containing water from the Blood Pool and wondered whether the forest was part of a larger blood sacrifice.
• Jiang Zhizhou found Hardway’s footprints, some cut in half by blade strikes that did not match Ouyang Lin’s weapons.
• The group found blade marks in the trees leading south and followed them through the forest.
• Bu Er found blood spattered around a tree, with scattered drops continuing farther along the path.
• Yang Qing stopped Bu Er from following the blood immediately, noticed something wrong about the stains, and sent him into the tree to look above.

Bu Er discovered that Ouyang Lin was trapped in the tree, bound by blood-draining vines. Yang Qing recognized the tree as a Sacrificial Tree whose treasure required blood as a key, leaving them to face the threat to Ouyang.

• Bu Er climbed the tree, escaped its arrays, and found Ouyang Lin hanging upside down and bound by vine ropes.
• Bu Er learned that attacking the ropes made Ouyang bleed faster, so he climbed down to seek help.
• Bu Er recalled that Ouyang's blood had flowed into grooves cut into the tree trunk.
• Yang Qing identified the tree as a Sacrificial Tree and the binding vines as Tree Serpents.
• Yang Qing explained that a rare treasure lay beneath the tree and required blood as a key, and Bu Er realized someone meant to use Ouyang for it.

Jiang Zhizhou rescued Ouyang Lin by killing the leader of the Tree Serpents and capturing the man who ambushed him. The captive refused to explain why he had harmed Ouyang, leaving Yang Qing and the others to decide what to do with him.

• Yang Qing said they needed to deal with the Tree Serpents before they could safely rescue Ouyang Lin.
• Jiang Zhizhou climbed the tree, treated Ouyang Lin's wounds, and noticed a Tree Serpent preparing to attack him.
• Jiang Zhizhou killed the attacking Tree Serpent and severed its connection to the trunk, causing the others to loosen their grip on Ouyang Lin.
• Jiang Zhizhou cut through the Tree Serpents holding Ouyang Lin, then caught a man who attacked him from behind.
• Jiang Zhizhou brought the captive to the ground and told Bu Er to free Ouyang Lin.
• Yang Qing questioned the captive, who refused to explain himself, and Pei Buji suggested giving him a quick end.

Yang Qing and the others questioned a disfigured man who revealed that a blood offering was needed to claim the treasure beneath the Sacrificial Tree. After the man triggered the Tree Serpents and became their victim, Yang Qing realized they had to escape before the tree turned on them.

• Yang Qing used rare poison to torment the man and tricked him into confirming that the tree was the legendary Sacrificial Tree.
• The man claimed a bloody pit beneath the tree held treasure and said it required lives as an offering, while Bu Er brought down the unconscious Ouyang Lin.
• The man struck a nearby tree to summon the Tree Serpents, but Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er carried Yang Qing and Ouyang Lin out of reach.
• The Tree Serpents attacked the man, pinned him to the tree, and drained his blood through its grooves.
• Bu Er watched the man bleed dry, and Yang Qing urged him to carry Ouyang Lin as they fled.

Yang Qing and his companions escaped the collapsing forest and found the Hard Tribe’s settlement abandoned and ruined. Yang Qing suspected that the forest’s strange destruction was the Eternal Gaze, a force that made years pass in moments, and waited to see what would happen next.

• Yang Qing ordered Bu Er and the others to retreat as trees fell and cracks opened across the forest.
• The group used falling trees as footholds and raced through the forest, eventually returning to the deserted, decaying settlement of the Hard Tribe.
• After realizing they had been led back toward the forest’s entrance rather than through it, Yang Qing shared his suspicion that they would understand the tribe’s disappearance once they escaped.
• Outside the forest, Yang Qing explained that the treehouses had been worn down by the Power of the Years and connected the phenomenon to the Eternal Gaze.
• Yang Qing suggested the Eternal Gaze was the curse Hardway had tried to escape and watched the woodland at the mountain’s foot.

Yang Qing explained how the curse of Ten Thousand Years in a Glance trapped the Hard Tribe in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. He led the group away from the forest rather than risk returning to the Underground City, while Ouyang Lin remained unconscious but was expected to recover soon.

• Yang Qing watched the clearing regrow into the same forest and explained that the curse repeatedly revived and sacrificed the Hard Tribe's people.
• Yang Qing said Hardway's actions had created a chance to escape the curse, and the group saw a new path at the forest's edge.
• Yang Qing refused to let the group investigate the Underground City, warning that the cursed tribespeople might try to take their lives and that Ouyang Lin was vulnerable.
• Jiang Zhizhou checked Ouyang Lin and said he should wake within a day, so Yang Qing led everyone down the narrow path away from the forest.
• After the group had gone, the Underground City deep in the forest let out a tremendous boom.

Yang Qing and his companions escaped the forest and reached a desolate expanse of ruins, where Jiangli led Yang Qing into a hidden chamber. There, a mysterious portrait suddenly burned to ashes, leaving its significance unknown.

• Yang Qing and the others left the forest and walked across a barren stretch of land until they found ruins near sunset.
• Yang Qing discovered seashell fragments embedded in the ruined walls, suggesting the buildings had been constructed in a coastal style despite their location in a mountain valley.
• Jiangli tugged Yang Qing into the ruins, where he found himself isolated in a silent formation and followed the creature deeper inside.
• Jiangli removed a stone from a wall, revealing a hidden chamber with a portrait of a young-looking man.
• Yang Qing approached the portrait, but it burst into flames and burned to ashes.

Jiangli led Yang Qing into the ruins, where he found a Thumb Ring in the ashes of a mysterious portrait. After Mo Beixing removed its black coating, the ring was revealed to be Bone Jade bearing the emblem of the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom and an Imperial Scepter, leaving Yang Qing to wonder whether it had belonged to Emperor Zetian and why Jiangli had led him to it.

• Jiangli dove into the portrait's cold ashes and retrieved a blackened Thumb Ring before leading Yang Qing out of the ruins.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou found Yang Qing emerging from the ruins and joined him and the others at a wind shelter farther away.
• Yang Qing told the group about the portrait and showed them the ring, and Mo Beixing explained how to remove its greasy coating.
• Yang Qing rubbed the ring with sandy soil mixed with honey oil until its ivory Bone Jade surface appeared.
• Yang Qing discovered the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom emblem and an Imperial Scepter carved inside the ring, and wondered whether Emperor Zetian had owned it.