Chapter Summaries

Shi Chun helped Zhen'er cross the boundary that had kept her trapped in the Divine Fire Domain, while the group of divine fire spirits revealed what they knew about Su's plan and awaited their own freedom. Zhen'er made it safely across, leaving Shi Chun and her rising into the air on the Wind Scales.

• Shi Chun questioned Zhen'er about Su's remains, and she explained that Su had destroyed herself rather than risk having her body desecrated.
• Zhu Xiangxin absorbed fifteen divine fires and An Wuzhi absorbed thirteen before Shi Chun led the group away from Lakeside Isle.
• After Shi Chun's group left, First Lord and the other eight divine fire spirits emerged and discussed Su's plan to free them through Zhen'er.
• Zhen'er admitted she was afraid to cross the boundary, so Shi Chun carried her across and leapt away from it when she showed no reaction.
• Zhen'er realized she was safe, kissed Shi Chun, and Shi Chun released the Wind Scales to carry them into the air.

Shi Chun arranged for Li Hongjiu to gather suspected murderers at separate locations so he could expose who had killed the Treasure-Evolving Sect’s disciples. At the exit, Li Hongjiu secretly told Elder Li Qianqiu what had happened, while Shi Chun’s plan remained in motion.

• Shi Chun told Li Hongjiu to summon members of the Heavenly Furnace Sect, the Fengluo Cult, the Spirit-Refining Fort, and Seven Star Island, and to lure Gong Shixi’s group to the Iron Forest.
• Shi Chun left Chu Jingtang and two others hidden at the ice peak, then accompanied Li Hongjiu toward the exit before his group stopped nearby.
• Li Hongjiu reached the exit and secretly exchanged messages with Elder Li Qianqiu, explaining the situation and asking for the elder’s decision about helping Shi Chun’s group.
• Elder Li Qianqiu told Li Hongjiu to find the murderers first and keep Shi Chun reassured while he considered what to do.
• Li Hongjiu questioned Gong Shixi and members of other sects about the whereabouts of the Treasure-Evolving Sect disciples, drawing suspicion from the elders before they learned what he was asking.

Shi Chun reassured his companions that he had a secret plan to get them out, while Li Hongjiu searched for the four sects Shi Chun had named. After finding the Fengluo Cult and testing its leader, Li Hongjiu set out to bring Shi Chun the information and uncover who had killed the disciples.

• Shi Chun's companions warned him that the sects guarding the exit might kill them to keep the divine-fire-finding secret art hidden, but he told them to trust his plan and keep its details secret.
• Zhen'er stayed beside Shi Chun and eagerly imagined having children with him after they escaped.
• As the exit day approached, Li Hongjiu found Feng Zhuoyi and the intact Fengluo Cult group, then asked whether Jieyun Mountain had entrusted them with anything.
• Feng Zhuoyi denied being involved with Shi Chun, but Li Hongjiu read his alarm as confirmation and watched him leave with five disciples ordered to stay behind.
• Li Hongjiu learned that Gong Shixi's group had overheard information he had planted, then quietly left to tell Shi Chun what he had discovered.

Shi Chun ambushed Gong Shixi’s group in the Iron Forest and punished the Thousand Rocks Sect leaders after Gong Shixi admitted they had framed Shi Chun’s group. Li Hongjiu left to find a way out, while Shi Chun and the others stayed behind.

• Li Hongjiu told Shi Chun that the Fengluo Cult had gone to the Icefield and Gong Shixi’s group to the Iron Forest.
• Shi Chun disguised Li Hongjiu and led everyone into the Iron Forest, where they surrounded Gong Shixi’s searching group.
• Gong Shixi admitted he had arranged the deaths of Treasure-Evolving Sect disciples as an excuse for Li Hongjiu to hunt Shi Chun’s group.
• Shi Chun signaled Wu Jinliang to use three Meditation Cushion Magical Treasures to immobilize the group, and the Three Gods-and-Devils Dharma Forms slaughtered the Thousand Rocks Sect disciples.
• Wu Jinliang spared Gong Shixi, Xun Lishan, and Zhou Wudao but cut off their limbs and silenced them; Shi Chun explained that he wanted them to suffer for stirring up the sects against him.
• Li Hongjiu departed to confirm the way out and promised to notify Shi Chun, while Shi Chun said he would later give the Fengluo Cult a bloom of divine fire.

Shi Chun’s group met the Fengluo Cult on the ice mountain and offered them divine fire, persuading Feng Zhuoyi to relocate with them. Shi Chun then revealed that he had arranged the meeting through Li Hongjiu and gave Feng Zhuoyi four puzzling notes to read.

• Wu Jinliang helped clean up the scene, and Shi Chun’s group left before Li Hongjiu reconsidered and turned back.
• Shi Chun’s group met Wu Hong, who reported that fifteen people remained on the mountaintop, then joined Chu Jingtang and Lao Changhai and climbed the ice mountain.
• Shi Chun revealed himself to Feng Zhuoyi and offered the Fengluo Cult two divine fires, while his companions demonstrated that they had already absorbed flames of those types.
• Feng Zhuoyi agreed to leave the mountain with Shi Chun’s group, and they moved to a secluded mountain gully.
• Shi Chun told Feng Zhuoyi that he had asked Li Hongjiu to bring him there and handed him four notes; the first said that Zhen'er was in the writer’s hands and asked a senior to enter the Divine Fire Domain and help the writer leave.

Shi Chun recruited Feng Zhuoyi and his two junior brothers to carry letters to Young Master Nan and Situ Gu, offering them two Divine Fires if they helped reverse the Divine Fire Spirit Gate. The Fengluo Cult men accepted the proposal in principle and prepared to bring the letters to their sect for a decision.

• Feng Zhuoyi read Shi Chun's letters, which sought Young Master Nan's help in bringing someone inside and getting Shi Chun out, and realized the request involved powerful figures in the Artifact Refining World.
• Shi Chun explained that Feng Zhuoyi's Fengluo Cult had avoided joining Jieyun Mountain's plot against him, then warned that Young Master Nan could punish the cult if Shi Chun came to harm.
• Shi Chun offered two Divine Fires in exchange for the Fengluo Cult delivering the letters and explained that the cult's elders would decide whether to act.
• Shi Chun revealed that the other letter was meant for Situ Gu and instructed the three disciples to deliver both copies directly to Young Master Nan, with one short letter going to Situ Gu if possible.
• Feng Zhuoyi and his junior brothers agreed to take the letters back to their sect, and Shi Chun told them to deny having seen him if Li Hongjiu asked.

Feng Zhuoyi sent most of his disciples away with letters while staying behind with two others, and Shi Chun gathered several companions in a cave to discuss the fire-attribute disciples’ possible return to their sects. Shi Chun gave Tong Mingshan, An Wuzhi, and Zhu Xiangxin the last three sticks of Fire God Incense, leaving them deeply moved.

• Feng Zhuoyi decided to stay with two disciples while Xie Wantian and Chi Anlan left with the others to deliver letters.
• Shi Chun led his group to a new cave and secretly brought in Gong Shixi and his two companions.
• Shi Chun warned Tong Mingshan, An Wuzhi, and Zhu Xiangxin that their sects might welcome them back but could later fear their growing power.
• Shi Chun gave each of the three men one of his last three sticks of Fire God Incense as a safeguard.
• Tong Mingshan, An Wuzhi, and Zhu Xiangxin accepted the incense and were moved by Shi Chun’s generosity.

Shi Chun gave An Wuzhi, Zhu Xiangxin, and Tong Mingshan Fire God Incense and told them to decide whether to return to their sects, while reassuring his own followers that he would not force anyone to stay. He left the choice open, trusting that Bright Mountain Sect’s future success would give the others reason to remain.

• Shi Chun warned the three men to keep the Fire God Incense secret and consider carefully whether to return to their sects.
• An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin privately discussed their gratitude to Shi Chun and uncertainty about what to do if their sects came looking for them, while Tong Mingshan said he had already severed ties with the Hundred Refinements Sect.
• Chu Jingtang, Lao Changhai, Chen Wuji, Fang Zicheng, and the others protested that giving away the incense wasted valuable resources and risked weakening Bright Mountain Sect.
• Tong Mingshan returned to the cave and offered his incense back, but Shi Chun told him to keep it in reserve for the sect.
• Shi Chun told his followers that he would let anyone leave and explained to Wu Jinliang that the incense would keep the recipients quiet while their sects helped cultivate them.
• Shi Chun dismissed Wu Jinliang’s concern that the incense would fail when the Divine Fire Domain reopened, saying they could claim it had lost its effect with time.

Wu Jinliang and the others searched the demonic cultivators’ belongings and found three powerful treasures with sleeping artifact spirits. As the Divine Fire Domain’s exit neared, Li Hongjiu learned that Elder Li Qianqiu had ordered him to capture Shi Chun and secretly led the Treasure-Evolving Sect disciples to act.

• Wu Jinliang searched the Heaven-and-Earth Bags and found a Blood Soul Saber whose evil artifact spirit frightened him and Tong Mingshan.
• Xiao Sheng examined the saber and warned that waking its injured, sinister spirit could be dangerous, while Wu Jinliang insisted on learning how to restore it.
• Wu Jinliang and Xiao Sheng found the Flying Dragon sword and Soul-Scattering mace, then gave all three treasures to Shi Chun, whose Demon-Bathing Art began absorbing the saber’s blood qi.
• Li Hongjiu learned that Elder Li Qianqiu had ordered him to capture Shi Chun after the Heavenforging Sect brought the Rebirth Mirror into the domain, making Shi Chun’s escape difficult.
• Li Hongjiu erased Elder Li’s message, spoke secretly with Guang Haoyou and the others, and led the group away to capture Shi Chun.

Li Hongjiu searched for Shi Chun and the missing Fengluo Cult disciples, then reported the confusion to Elder Li. Meanwhile, Shi Chun chose Wu Jinliang’s Blood Soul Saber, and Gong Shaoci confronted Nan Wuyu over the still-open betting pool as bets on the Heavenforging Sect poured in.

• Li Hongjiu searched the agreed meeting place, Ice Mountain, and the Iron Forest, but found neither Shi Chun’s group nor Feng Zhuoyi’s Fengluo Cult group.
• Shi Chun admired the Blood Soul Saber, declared he would use it, and rejected Wu Jinliang’s offer to make it a sheath.
• Li Hongjiu learned from Xie Wantian and Chi Anlan that Feng Zhuoyi and two others were still waiting elsewhere, then sent word of the situation to Elder Li.
• Lan Qiaoyan and Miao Yilan returned to Blazing Fire Island, and Gong Shaoci left them to respond to an urgent report.
• Gong Shaoci flew to Young Master Nan’s ship and angrily demanded that he stop accepting bets on the Heavenforging Sect, warning that the growing pool could leave them unable to pay.

Gong Shaoci and the other backers pressured Nan Wuyu to suspend betting on the Heavenforging Sect, while people gathered outside the Divine Fire Domain to await Shi Chun’s group. The chapter ended with the crowd searching for the group and wondering when they would emerge.

• Gong Shaoci panicked after learning his grandfather had noticed the growing betting pool and demanded that Nan Wuyu stop treating Shi Chun as the deciding factor.
• A dozen bettors confronted Nan Wuyu, and Brother Qian persuaded him to suspend betting on the Heavenforging Sect.
• Nan Wuyu ordered betting suspended, then invited Brother Qian and the others to play cards aboard the ship.
• Gong Shaoci left to attend to Miao Dingyi’s daughter after Brother Qian teased him about their impending wedding.
• Xiang Lan’er, Feng Chi, Mulan Qingqing, Duan Xiangmei, and other onlookers waited on Blazing Fire Island for the Divine Fire Domain to open.
• The assembled schools searched around the Divine Fire Domain’s exit for Shi Chun and his companions, whose possession of the Divine Fire Secret Art was now widely known.

The Divine Fire Domain’s exit opened after the Divine Fire Spirit Gate and the summit’s metal pestle activated. Shi Chun’s group watched from hiding as An Wuzhi asked how they would escape, while Feng Zhuoyi waited to see whether his allies could buy him time to absorb two divine fires.

• The elders explained that the metal pestle would signal when the exit was about to open, while Nan Wuyu grew anxious about his responsibility for the opening.
• Master Qing sealed Feng Chi’s cultivation to prevent her from taking her own life, and Feng Chi insisted she still believed in Shi Chun.
• Lan Qiaoyan teased Miao Yilan about the gift Shi Chun might bring, while Miao Yilan privately worried that Gong Shaoci might misunderstand her feelings.
• At dawn, the pestle’s rings rose and rang as its beam drew a hazy object from the void and formed a vast, iridescent exit vortex.
• Shi Chun’s group emerged from hiding and watched the exit from a distance as An Wuzhi asked what they should do.
• Feng Zhuoyi worried that Xie Wantian, Chi Anlan, and the others might not buy enough time for him to absorb two divine fires.

As the Divine Fire Domain’s exit opened, the Ten Great Sects imposed inspections aimed at catching Shi Chun while their leaders rushed away to hear reports. Xie Wantian and Chi Anlan delivered confidential letters and their account of events to Fengluo Cult Leader Tang Qianjin, while Shi Chun’s group had not yet reached the exit.

• Shi Chun told An Wuzhi and Zhen'er to wait, while the Ten Great Sects opened the exit and required everyone to pass through the Rebirth Mirror inspection.
• Gu Liani stayed at the summit to watch for Shi Chun, Yin Tianlu and Li Hongjiu remained uneasy, and Heavenforging Sect abandoned Yan Ketao to his fate.
• Disciples began crossing between the Divine Fire Domain and Artifact Cloud Valley, and the Ten Great Sects’ leaders left to receive reports about unexpected events.
• Xie Wantian and Chi Anlan passed the inspection corridor and returned to Artifact Cloud Valley, where Tang Qianjin took them to the Fengluo Cult’s lodgings.
• Xie Wantian and Chi Anlan gave Tang Qianjin confidential letters and reported what had happened inside the Divine Fire Domain.

Cult Master Tang decided the Fengluo Cult would deliver Shi Chun’s letters in exchange for two divine fires and left the valley to find Young Master Nan. Young Master Nan received the letters and was stunned to learn that Shi Chun had Zhen'er and was asking Situ Gu to help him escape the Divine Fire Domain.

• Xie Wantian and Chi Anlan reported that Shi Chun had offered the Fengluo Cult two divine fires in exchange for delivering his letters.
• Elder Xu argued that the Fengluo Cult had to accept Shi Chun’s deal, and Cult Master Tang ordered him to wait for the remaining disciples while he left with Elder Wu and the messengers.
• Tang Qianjin reached a private room near the valley exit and sent word to Young Master Nan, who abandoned his vigil and hurried to meet him.
• Tang Qianjin gave Young Master Nan Shi Chun’s letter to Situ Gu and another letter addressed to Young Master Nan.
• Young Master Nan read that Shi Chun had Zhen'er and asked Situ Gu to help him leave the Divine Fire Domain, then stared in shock.

Young Master Nan read Shi Chun’s letters and learned that Shi Chun’s group had found hundreds of divine fires and needed help against the schools guarding the Divine Fire Domain’s exit. After hearing Xie Wantian’s account, Young Master Nan realized the Heavenforging Sect, Summer Path Mountain, and Treasure-Evolving Sect might cooperate, giving him a chance to turn around the Betting Pool.

• Young Master Nan questioned whether Shi Chun’s letter was really meant for Situ Gu, then read Shi Chun’s separate request for help.
• Young Master Nan learned from the letter that Shi Chun’s group had made others envious with their gains and that the Three Great Sects might help him send people into the Divine Fire Domain.
• Cult Master Tang urged Young Master Nan to seek support, and Young Master Nan asked Xie Wantian and Chi Anlan what had happened inside the domain.
• Xie Wantian told Young Master Nan that Shi Chun had found hundreds of divine fires, that rival schools were hunting his group for its secret art, and that Li Hongjiu had helped arrange a meeting with Shi Chun.
• Young Master Nan connected Shi Chun’s ties to Summer Path Mountain, the Treasure-Evolving Sect, and the Heavenforging Sect, then realized Shi Chun’s surplus divine fires could help him turn around the Betting Pool.

Young Master Nan received Shi Chun’s letter and arranged to deliver it to Situ Gu while trying to determine who Zhen'er was. Meanwhile, Summer Path Mountain and the Treasure-Evolving Sect discussed Shi Chun’s disappearance and the trapped group, and the chapter ended with Situ Gu being told that someone was looking for him.

• Young Master Nan learned that the Fengluo Cult could not identify Zhen'er and sent Shi Chun’s letter to Situ Gu through a contact inside Artifact Cloud Valley.
• Yuan Yao reported Shi Chun’s activities to Gu Yanduo and Summer Path Mountain’s elders, who celebrated Ni’s seven absorbed divine fires and discussed changing the competition rules to prevent Tong Mingshan from winning.
• Gu Yanduo and the elders worried that Shi Chun might contact Ni, but acknowledged that the sects’ surveillance and the Rebirth Mirror made it difficult to help the trapped group escape.
• Qu Wuming and the Treasure-Evolving Sect’s elders discussed Shi Chun’s disappearance, Li Hongjiu’s strength, and the difficulty of rescuing anyone past the Rebirth Mirror.
• A Heavenforging Sect disciple approached Situ Gu and quietly told him that someone was looking for him.

Situ Gu received a letter from Shi Chun saying Zhen'er was in his hands and asking him to help leave the Divine Fire Domain. Remembering his old promise to Zhen'er, Situ Gu decided to enter the domain and find Shi Chun, though the sect leaders were unlikely to approve.

• Situ Gu agreed to meet a messenger after hearing that the letter was connected to someone named Zhen'er.
• Situ Gu read Shi Chun's message that Zhen'er was in his hands and that he should come to the Divine Fire Domain to help him leave.
• The messenger privately told Situ Gu that Shi Chun of the Bright Mountain Sect had sent the letter.
• Situ Gu recalled his past promise to Zhen'er and realized Shi Chun had likely taken her hostage inside the Forbidden Ground.
• Situ Gu burned the letter, returned to the summit, and told Sect Master Luo Yan that he wanted to enter the Divine Fire Domain to find Shi Chun.

Situ Gu said he could find Shi Chun, but the Heavenforging Sect could not safely reopen the passage to the Divine Fire Domain. Meanwhile, Young Master Nan persuaded a powerful Qian Household man to rally support for getting Shi Chun out, and the effort reached the Three Great Sects as their representatives arrived at Artifact Cloud Valley.

• Situ Gu said he could locate Shi Chun, but Luo Yan explained that stopping and reversing the Divine Fire Spirit Gate could endanger trapped disciples and would require the other sects’ agreement.
• Young Master Nan gave Brother Qian Shi Chun’s letter and convinced him to mobilize influential parties by promising that the Three Great Sects would support the plan.
• Brother Qian destroyed the letter and organized efforts to pressure the Artifact Refining World’s sects into helping extract Shi Chun.
• The Blazing Fire Sect carried messages for the many powerful visitors, prompting Luo Yan to question its sect master about its unusual activity.
• The Blazing Fire Sect’s sect master told Luo Yan that a Qian Household member and Young Master Nan had arrived to meet the leaders of the Three Great Sects.

Qian She invoked his family ties and claimed Shi Chun as his brother to pressure the Three Great Sects into letting him supervise the Divine Fire Domain and punish rule-breakers. The sect leaders debated his demand and settled on a strict, ostensibly equal punishment that could disqualify many participants, including Shi Chun’s group.

• Luo Yan, Gu Yanduo, and Qu Wuming met Qian She and Young Master Nan outside Artifact Cloud Valley and refused to admit them during the Divine Fire Pact.
• Qian She claimed Shi Chun was his brother and demanded outside supervision, threatening consequences for sects whose members had hunted Shi Chun.
• Qian She stayed at the entrance while the three sect leaders summoned the other seven of the Ten Great Sects to discuss his demand.
• Gu Yanduo proposed stripping offenders who had absorbed more than ten divine fires of eligibility, and Qu Wuming supported applying the rule equally to every sect.
• When Luo Yan asked whether Gu Yanduo’s daughter had absorbed nine divine fires, Gu Yanduo lowered the threshold to more than two divine fires.

The sect leaders settled on a rule barring anyone who had absorbed more than ten divine fires from the final contest, while each faction pursued its own plans involving Shi Chun and the competition. The leaders descended the mountain and prepared to search for Shi Chun inside the Divine Fire Domain.

• Luo Yan, Qu Wuming, and Meng Tianyang opposed lowering the limit to two divine fires, and Xiao Youhong backed a threshold of more than ten.
• The sect leaders agreed that anyone who had absorbed more than ten divine fires would be barred from the final contest.
• Luo Yan told Situ Gu that the Heavenforging Sect would use the Rebirth Mirror and its personnel to help him find Shi Chun and bring him out secretly.
• Gu Yanduo ordered his people to find Shi Chun before the others and destroy the Rebirth Mirror at the exit once they found him.
• The Great Inscription Pavilion elders revealed that Luo Shengsheng had absorbed ten divine fires and that their Fire-Calming Divine Needle gave them confidence in the contest.
• Xiao Youhong warned the elders not to underestimate the other sects and chose not to attend the leaders' meeting.