Chapter Summaries

Summary

A broad road runs between trees that remain lush and green despite the cold season, giving the landscape the feeling of spring. One character tells another, “You lead the way.”

Character development and interactions

The characters’ identities and relationship are not yet established. The brief exchange suggests one is allowing or asking the other to take the lead.

Significant themes

The contrast between the cold season and springlike greenery hints at an unusual setting or atmosphere. The excerpt is too brief to establish broader themes or plot developments.

Dongfang Minghui and her companions reached the Elf Clan with Lü Xing, and Minghui’s cultivation advanced after she absorbed the clan’s rich wood spiritual power. At the Elf Clan’s headquarters, they discovered the Elf Empress had been poisoned by black herb; after Minghui spoke with her, the Tree of Life began giving Minghui a blessing while the Empress went to see her son.

• Dongfang Minghui woke Wei Junlan and explained that the elves had brought their group into the Elf Clan’s territory.
• Dongfang Minghui cultivated as they traveled, advanced amid a surge of green spiritual power, and Qian Wanyu drove off the Tenth Elder’s probing consciousness.
• The Tenth Elder took the group to the Elf Clan’s headquarters, where they waited unsuccessfully for the Elf Empress to receive them.
• Dongfang Minghui and Qian Wanyu sneaked into the Elf Empress’s retreat and found her poisoned by black herb; the Empress learned that Lü Xing had returned and asked about his condition.
• Dongfang Minghui spoke privately with the Elf Empress, then the Tree of Life extended a branch to her and bestowed a blessing as the Empress went with Qian Wanyu to see Lü Xing.

Dongfang Minghui woke from seclusion stronger and reunited with Qian Wanyu, then learned that Lü Xing lay near death in the Sacred Spring. Before preparing to leave the Elf Clan with Qian Wanyu and Wei Junlan, she examined the Feather-Demon Diagram and found only white silk and crossed feathers.

• Dongfang Minghui discovered that her spirit medicines had grown beneath the Tree of Life, while Love Flower and Zhaocai chose to stay there and the others returned to her storage space.
• Dongfang Minghui learned that Little Sprout had two souls in one body and advanced to a first-level Spirit King during her month of seclusion before reuniting with Qian Wanyu.
• Qian Wanyu told Dongfang Minghui that Lü Xing had been placed on a Cold Jade Bed in the Sacred Spring, where the Elf Empress hoped the Tree of Life's vitality would revive him.
• Dongfang Minghui admitted to biting off part of the Tree of Life root fragment and concealed that she had dripped blood on it when the Elf Empress questioned her.
• Dongfang Minghui noticed Wei Junlan's merfolk scales had darkened and agreed with Qian Wanyu that they would leave to seek the Merfolk.
• Dongfang Minghui asked to see the Feather-Demon Diagram, unfolded it, and found only white silk with two crossed feathers at the bottom.

Dongfang Minghui realized the object the others had been fighting over was only a piece of cloth, not a picture. A flash of lightning made her think of something.

• Someone asked whether everyone had been fighting over a picture with nothing on it.
• Dongfang Minghui recognized that the object was a piece of cloth.
• A flash of lightning gave Dongfang Minghui an idea.

Dongfang Minghui studied the Feather-Demon Diagram, learned the tragic story of Ai Ru and Zhen, and spent three days immersed in its memories. After learning how to make revealing water and saying goodbye to Lü Xing, she left the Elf Clan with Qian Wanyu and Wei Junlan, carrying a map to the Merfolk and worrying that she could not swim.

• The Elf Empress revealed the colors and history of the Feather-Demon Diagram, and Dongfang Minghui witnessed Ai Ru paint it with her blood and Zhen regain his normal eye color through its power.
• Qian Wanyu watched over Dongfang Minghui for three days as she explored the diagram, then reunited with her after she woke.
• Dongfang Minghui returned to the Elf Empress and persuaded her to let her learn how to identify the clan's white silk and prepare revealing water.
• The Elf Empress invited Dongfang Minghui to drink, and she later woke with no memory of how she had returned to the cottage.
• Dongfang Minghui insisted on seeing Lü Xing before leaving, and she and Qian Wanyu entered the Sacred Spring, collected Holy Water, and said goodbye to him.
• Qian Wanyu showed Dongfang Minghui a map of the Merfolk, and Dongfang Minghui realized she would need to learn how to swim.

Wei Junlan and Qian Wanyu asked how to reach the Elf Clan and learned that its entrance was difficult to find because the Barrier kept shifting.

• Wei Junlan asked for the way to the Elf Clan.
• Wei Junlan and Qian Wanyu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling they had finally made it out.
• They were told that the entrance to the Barrier kept shifting and was very hard to find.

Qian Wanyu and Dongfang Minghui discovered an artifact eye beneath the forest, and their attempt to explore it caused the ground to collapse, sending them and Wei Junlan into the sea. While drifting across the Hark Sea, they encountered an Eagle Tribe member and rescued an injured merman, but a sea monster attacked their strained water bubble.

• Qian Wanyu and Dongfang Minghui explored an underground artifact eye while Wei Junlan fought off repeated ambushes by Dark Elves.
• A storm and collapsing ground pulled Qian Wanyu, Dongfang Minghui, Wei Junlan, and Little Lecher into an underground sea, where Qian Wanyu obtained a metal-element spiritual power soul bead.
• The group drifted for several days before meeting an Eagle Tribe member fighting another man, who transformed into a merman after falling into the sea.
• Qian Wanyu rescued the wounded merman from a sea creature, but the water bubble struggled to hold all four people as a monster tried to swallow it.

She left the water barrier and prepared to fight underwater, saying she needed to shake off her rust. The fight had not yet begun.

• She told someone to stay inside the water barrier.
• She shot out of the barrier, stretched, and cracked her bones.
• She said it had been ages since she fought underwater and called the other person a chance to shake off her rust.

After a storm separated them from Qian Wanyu, Dongfang Minghui and Wei Junlan washed ashore on a strange island, where Wei Junlan’s Merfolk traits emerged after he ate a Phoenix Sky Fruit. They reached a Merfolk settlement, and Dongfang Minghui began explaining that Wei Junlan was transforming into a Merfolk as his legs grew painfully difficult to use.

• Qian Wanyu fought the sea creatures while waves swept Dongfang Minghui, Wei Junlan, and the unconscious Lani away from her.
• Wei Junlan and Dongfang Minghui washed ashore on a deserted island, searched for the others, and encountered a group of Merfolk after Wei Junlan collapsed with a high fever.
• After Wei Junlan entered the sea, his legs transformed into a blue fish tail, allowing him to drive off the pursuing Merfolk before he lost consciousness again.
• Dongfang Minghui cared for Wei Junlan for two days until his fever subsided and the scales vanished from his cheeks.
• Wei Junlan guided their water barrier to an island guarded by Merfolk, and he and Dongfang Minghui secretly went ashore hoping to find Qian Wanyu.
• When Wei Junlan’s legs hurt too much for him to walk, Dongfang Minghui told him that his legs had turned into a fish tail while he was unconscious and that he was becoming a Merfolk.

Wei Junlan believed it would turn into a fish tail in the water and jumped into the dark sea. The chapter ended with Wei Junlan entering the sea.

• Wei Junlan looked at the dark sea.
• Wei Junlan said it would definitely turn into a fish tail once in the water.
• Wei Junlan leaped into the dark sea without hesitation.

Dongfang Minghui and Wei Junlan infiltrated the Merfolk island to find Qian Wanyu, but their escape turned into a fight inside a prison holding dangerous sea creatures. Qian Wanyu rescued them and freed a Merfolk-Human Hybrid, while Wei Junlan finally transformed into a merfolk with a dark blue tail.

• Wei Junlan leapt into the sea, and Dongfang Minghui discovered that his legs still looked human as Merfolk surrounded them and captured them in a net.
• Dongfang Minghui and Wei Junlan escaped the Merfolk and reached a prison building, where she resisted a captive Merfolk-Human Hybrid's Siren Charm before Merfolk trapped her inside.
• A released cuttlefish and a Merfolk's sound attack injured Dongfang Minghui, and Qian Wanyu arrived, defeated the creature, and freed the captive hybrid.
• Qian Wanyu learned from Qing Mo that the captive was a Merfolk-Human Hybrid, then left the island with Dongfang Minghui, Wei Junlan, and the freed man as the Merfolk backed away in fear.
• Wei Junlan's legs plunged into the sea and transformed into a dark blue mermaid tail, leaving him and Qian Wanyu stunned.

After Dongfang Minghui lost her hearing and Wei Junlan developed a fish tail, Qian Wanyu searched for a way to find a Merfolk Fish Shaman and heal her. Following the Merfolk-Human Hybrid to an underwater settlement, they found him and other hybrids captured by human hunters, and Dongfang Minghui began treating an injured captive.

• Dongfang Minghui woke on the Deserted Island unable to hear, and Qian Wanyu reassured her while examining her ears without finding a clear cure.
• The Merfolk-Human Hybrid brought fish to the island, and Qian Wanyu told Wei Junlan to follow him to discover where the Merfolk gathered.
• Wei Junlan followed the Hybrid underwater and found an abandoned settlement where Merfolk-Human Hybrids lived; later, he led Qian Wanyu and Dongfang Minghui there.
• A net trapped Wei Junlan, and Qian Wanyu helped him fight off the human ambushers before she went to find the captured hybrids.
• Qian Wanyu and Dongfang Minghui reached a ship where the human hunters had killed one another, and Dongfang Minghui treated an injured Merfolk-Human Hybrid.

The narrator crushed pills and gently bandaged the injured person. Wei Junlan returned after dealing with three people beneath the sea, and they prepared to go back to the isolated island with them.

• The narrator crushed the pills and helped bandage the wounds.
• Wei Junlan complained that he had been left alone below.
• Wei Junlan surfaced after dealing with three people beneath the sea.
• The narrator told Wei Junlan to lead the way back to the isolated island.
• Wei Junlan asked whether they would take the others along, and the narrator said yes.

Dongfang Minghui uncovered the truth hidden in the White Silk Scroll, burned it, and fell into despair, while Qian Wanyu and Wei Junlan searched underwater for a cure for her damaged hearing. Qian Wanyu learned the cure might be found through a companion plant, but Dongfang Minghui’s distress remained unresolved as the chapter ended.

• Wei Junlan returned to the island and learned from Little Mute that he could not directly cure Dongfang Minghui’s ears, though Little Mute later indicated he knew where to search.
• Qian Wanyu and Wei Junlan followed Little Mute underwater, gathered purple plants, and returned to find Dongfang Minghui devastated beside the campfire.
• Dongfang Minghui read the White Silk Scroll’s revelations about the Longlife Tribe, then burned the scroll and nearly caught herself on fire before Little Lecher pulled her away.
• Qian Wanyu returned and comforted Dongfang Minghui, who asked whether they would ever be separated; Qian Wanyu promised they would not.
• Little Lecher identified a gathered plant as one half of a color-changing companion pair and said its counterpart might be the spirit medicine they needed, but Qian Wanyu was too exhausted to search immediately.
• Qian Wanyu promised to take Dongfang Minghui to find the plant after recovering her spiritual power, and Dongfang Minghui began asking whether she had ever told Qian Wanyu something.

Qian Wanyu asked to hear the confession again after being told she was loved. Wei Junlan watched the two women kiss and profess their love in public.

• Someone told Qian Wanyu, "I love you so much, so very, very much."
• Qian Wanyu smiled and asked to hear it a few more times.
• Wei Junlan pressed a hand to his forehead as the pair kissed and confessed their feelings in front of everyone.

Dongfang Minghui, Qian Wanyu, Wei Junlan, and Little Mute explored an ancient Dragon Clan palace, where they clashed with Azure Mist Sect intruders and opened a hidden Dragon Gate. They discovered a preserved room full of glittering objects, and Qian Wanyu noticed airflow behind the heap as Little Mute urgently tried to warn them of something.

• Dongfang Minghui found the purple companion plant needed to heal her ears, while a disturbance from the palace swept the Water Shield away.
• Qian Wanyu and the others entered the palace, learned it was Dragon Ascendant’s, and encountered Azure Mist Sect disciples searching its halls.
• Dongfang Minghui followed Little Mute to a hidden door, where Little Lecher tried to open it and drew the attention of the intruders.
• Little Lecher and Little Mute opened the Dragon Gate with help from Wei Junlan and Qian Wanyu, driving off Qi Xinli and the Azure Mist Sect group with the red-eyed creatures.
• Inside the door, Dongfang Minghui, Little Mute, and Little Lecher found a preserved room filled with glittering objects, and Qian Wanyu detected airflow behind them.

He studied the little mute’s gestures and began to understand their warning. He thought the mute was telling them not to touch the objects because doing so might put them in danger.

• He watched the little mute’s gestures five times.
• He translated the gestures as a warning not to touch the objects.
• He concluded that touching them might put them in danger.

Tong Yao and Qian Wanyu rushed to prepare a Christmas and first-birthday celebration for Qian Le Le after nearly forgetting the holiday. After putting Le Le to bed, they reunited privately, while Le Le dreamed she had a younger brother.

• Tong Yao and Qian Wanyu bought groceries, a small Christmas tree, and a cake for Qian Le Le, and Tong Yao apologized when Qian Wanyu asked whether she remembered her birthday.
• Tong Yao kissed Qian Wanyu in the car until Qian Wanyu agreed to go inside, where they found Le Le waiting with Auntie Li.
• Qian Wanyu set up the Christmas tree, and Le Le tugged at a gift box and nearly toppled it before Qian Wanyu stopped her.
• Tong Yao and Qian Wanyu celebrated Le Le's first birthday with a cake and dinner, then put the tired child to bed.
• Tong Yao and Qian Wanyu spent Christmas together privately, while Le Le dreamed she had a younger brother who fought her for Mama.

Dongfang Minghui and her companions defeated a giant spider beast, exposed the Azure Mist Sect disciples waiting outside, and entered a dark garden where black obsidian soil caused plants and spirit medicines to behave strangely. The chapter ended with Dongfang Minghui cultivating amid a growing circle of green light as hundreds of spirit medicines gathered around her, leaving Qian Wanyu increasingly uneasy.

• Qian Wanyu, Wei Junlan, Dongfang Minghui, Little Lecher, and Little White Ball battled the giant spider beast, while Dongfang Minghui’s Heart-Guarding Mirror reflected its attack and helped kill it.
• Qian Wanyu set a formation behind the iron door, trapping the Azure Mist Sect disciples in a repeat of the spider beast encounter, and the group followed the revealed path through the mist.
• Dongfang Minghui and Little Lecher touched black obsidian soil, which caused Little Lecher’s vines to multiply and stained Dongfang Minghui’s hand until Little Sprout’s flower buds cleansed it.
• The group encountered a mutated spirit medicine and were bound by hostile vines, but Dongfang Minghui calmed herself and began cultivating as the spirit medicines gathered around her.
• Pig Immortal Grass protected Dongfang Minghui from the crowding plants as the green light around her expanded, and Qian Wanyu grew worried about the strange spectacle.

Dongfang Minghui awakened her Longlife Tribe bloodline in the Black Forest, made transactions with its tree vines, and escaped with Qian Wanyu and their companions as the Azure Mist Sect pursued them. After following Little Mute over a cliff into the sea, Qian Wanyu encountered corpse-like merfolk underwater, while Dongfang Minghui grew worried when Little Lecher recoiled from the water.

• Dongfang Minghui cultivated as awakened spirit medicines gathered around her, and Little Sprout grew larger after absorbing spiritual energy and black obsidian soil.
• Dongfang Minghui made a transaction with the tree vines to free Qian Wanyu, Wei Junlan, and Little Mute, awakening a Longlife Tribe mark that later vanished after the vines drew out her spiritual power.
• Little Lecher found a mutated phoenix king true stamen, and Qian Wanyu sensed ten Azure Mist Sect members approaching, so the group used a path opened by the tree vines to escape the Black Forest.
• Qian Wanyu chose the right-hand path, while Xu Haoqing led the Azure Mist Sect group down the left; Dongfang Minghui's group reached a sea cliff and followed Little Mute over it.
• Qian Wanyu entered the sea to investigate after Little Mute warned them of danger, then found ten hollow-eyed, corrosive-smelling merfolk surrounding her with a net.
• Dongfang Minghui asked Little Lecher to take her underwater to check on Qian Wanyu, but Little Lecher pulled its vines back after detecting death aura and a corrosive odor.