Chapter Summaries

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang tried to evade Extreme Fire Sect pursuers after leaving the Divine Mountain, while Po Yuan and Li Xianghong investigated possible ties among the people surrounding them. The chapter ended with Yin Fei telling Granny Qi that the two had left without meeting Huang Yingying, leaving her stunned.

• Po Yuan watched Lou Xiu receive Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, then asked Li Xianghong to investigate Wang Ping and learned he had joined the Bai Family Rice Shop.
• Shi Chun sensed they were being watched, turned back toward Distant Mountain City, and confirmed that Extreme Fire Sect disciples were searching for them there.
• Lou Xiu told Jiang You'er that the Extreme Fire Sect had been tipped off and that their superior was testing whether another branch would intervene to save the two men.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang hired a carriage to travel to the Vermilion Jade Pavilion while Lou Xiu spoke with a gate guard.
• Yin Fei told Granny Qi that the two visitors had left the Divine Mountain without meeting Huang Yingying, surprising her.

Qiu Ben learned that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had returned to the Vermilion Jade Pavilion, where Shi Chun persuaded Yin Xu to help them leave Distant Mountain City by pretending to be close to a powerful Fox Clan senior. Yin Xu agreed in exchange for a good word to that senior, and Lou Xiu later visited them at the pavilion.

• Qiu Ben ordered Zhu Xin to watch the Vermilion Jade Pavilion and wait for Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang to leave.
• Shi Chun asked Yin Xu to help them escape, and she explained that she had suspended that service because someone had ordered her to stop.
• Yin Xu said she had warned Shi Chun because she sensed the scent of a Fox Clan senior on him, so Shi Chun invented a powerful fox cultivator he claimed was his friend.
• Yin Xu agreed to arrange their secret exit from the city for free if Shi Chun would praise her to the senior, and she gave the brothers a guest room.
• Tian Shen told Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang that Lou Xiu wanted to see them, and Lou Xiu offered to arrange another visit to the Divine Mountain.
• Wu Jinliang told Lou Xiu that their urgent business at home had been resolved and that they planned to rest at the pavilion instead of touring the Divine Mountain again.

Qiu Ben learned that the Bai Clan and other factions were watching Shi Chun and his companion, who were using the aliases Wang Ping and Gao He. Po Yuan revealed that they had likely come to the Divine Mountain because of the rat demon Huang Yingying, and Qiu Ben was left considering whether to use Po Yuan’s information to pursue them.

• Lou Xiu and Qiu Ben separately learned that someone who had contacted Shi Chun and his companion had gone to the Divine Mountain, and both arranged to watch the visitors.
• Jiang You'er told Huang Ye that the person watching Shi Chun belonged to Granny Qi, prompting Huang Ye to order surveillance of the Bai Clan.
• Po Yuan told Qiu Ben that the restricted hill housed the Bai Clan and that Granny Qi had raised the Divine Maiden.
• Po Yuan identified Shi Chun as Wang Ping and his companion as Gao He, then described Wang Ping’s past work in Dazhi City and the Bai Family Rice Shop.
• Po Yuan said the visitors had probably come for Huang Yingying and warned that Lou Xiu might be allied with them; Qiu Ben recognized that Po Yuan wanted to enlist his help.

Huang Ye confronted Lou Xiu over his failure to notice Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang in Dazhi City, while Yin Xu uncovered Meihua’s betrayal and arranged for Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang to leave secretly. The pair infiltrated Divine Mountain and found the invisible Soul-Returning Tree, then realized A-Xun’s belongings might contain a way to harvest it.

• Qiu Ben sent an urgent message to the Extreme Fire Sect to investigate Dazhi City after Po Yuan warned him about a rat demon.
• Huang Ye reprimanded Lou Xiu for failing to recognize Wang Ping and Wu Jinliang’s aliases and warned him that Po Yuan had alerted the Extreme Fire Sect.
• A plainly dressed woman asked whether Morning Moon Hall was still hiring, while Li Xianghong told Bai Qiru that Granny Qi had gone to Divine Mountain.
• Yin Xu learned that Meihua had secretly contacted the City Guards and passed information to Wang Ping, then ordered Tian Shen to mislead her about the group’s departure.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang slipped out of Dazhi City and entered Divine Mountain using the Command Arrow, avoiding sentries with Shi Chun’s right-eye ability.
• Shi Chun found the invisible Soul-Returning Tree, and he and Wu Jinliang reasoned that A-Xun’s possessions might help them harvest it.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang hid among the Soul-Returning Trees to wait for the midnight fragrance, while Qiu Ben investigated Huang Yingying and visited the Golden-Haired Rat clan’s prison. Qiu Ben identified Huang Yingying as someone to watch, and Huang Yingying remained convinced that his allies would come rescue him and the clan.

• Shi Chun stopped Wu Jinliang from searching openly and led him to a secluded spot among the Soul-Returning Trees to wait for midnight.
• Wu Jinliang tried to locate a tree by feeling around while Shi Chun kept watch using his Right-Eye Ability and consuming blood qi.
• Qiu Ben read reports from Dazhi City, learned Huang Yingying was held at the Labor Office, and asked Po Yuan to take him there.
• Qiu Ben and Po Yuan inspected the dungeon, where Qiu Ben found Huang Yingying and learned why his demon bones were not shackled.
• After the visitors left, Huang Yingying cursed Po Yuan and assured the clan chief that someone would come to rescue them, while the chief warned him not to endanger the clan.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang witnessed golden meteors strengthen the soul-returning trees, then discovered that paste from A-Xun’s belongings could make the trees visible. After secretly taking two trees, they infiltrated the labor office and captured a rat guard, who mistook Wu Jinliang for Master Gao He.

• Po Yuan warned Feng Jue that Granny Qi’s group and the Extreme Fire Sect could roam freely, but Feng Jue dismissed his concerns.
• Jiang You'er told Huang Ye that the Extreme Fire Sect had placed people in hiding around the labor office, and Huang Ye suspected they were watching Huang Yingying and Granny Qi’s group.
• Shi Chun watched golden meteors strike soul-returning trees and realized they were connected to the stronger fragrance on Divine Mountain at midnight.
• Wu Jinliang smeared pale yellow paste from A-Xun’s belongings onto a dagger, making a soul-returning tree appear, and he and Shi Chun used the paste to reveal and take two trees.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang evaded the watchers near the labor office, captured a rat guard, and heard it ask Wu Jinliang whether he was Master Gao He.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang reached the Golden-Haired Rat clan to learn how to refine Death-Defying Incense and rescue Huang Yingying, but Huang Yingying’s careless disclosure exposed their arrival and made the rescue too dangerous. Shi Chun privately showed Clan Leader Jin Fu a message from Jin Zhan, revealing that they had come at an elder’s request to help the clan escape.

• A giant rat recognized Wu Jinliang as Master Gao because Huang Yingying had told the clan to expect him, and Shi Chun warned that the ambushers outside belonged to the Extreme Fire Sect.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang followed the rats through the cave, reunited with Huang Yingying, and were introduced to Clan Leader Jin Fu.
• Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun beat Huang Yingying for publicizing the rescue, then demanded instructions for refining Death-Defying Incense.
• Huang Yingying refused to share the method unless they rescued the entire clan, while Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun explained that the Extreme Fire Sect’s surveillance made that plan too risky.
• Jin Fu offered to let them rescue only Huang Yingying, but Shi Chun asked to speak with him alone and revealed their mission had been entrusted by an elder of the clan.
• Jin Fu read Jin Zhan’s jade tablet, which described the elder’s imprisonment and his hidden treasures and instructions for his descendants.

Shi Chun and Jin Fu discussed the Golden-Haired Rat clan’s plight, the Demon Tome, and how to escape the Divine Mountain. Jin Fu revealed that the Command Arrow could carry the Northern Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation and explained how to refine Death-Defying Incense, leaving Huang Yingying confused about the clan leader’s confidence in Shi Chun and Wang Ping.

• Jin Fu accepted the jade tablet as his ancestor’s genuine testament, and Shi Chun explained that Jin Zhan had likely survived his battle with the Devil Ancestor before becoming trapped in a strange place.
• Shi Chun refused to hand over the Demon Tome until the Golden-Haired Rat clan could leave the mountain, then showed Jin Fu dormant Magical Treasures and explained his need for Death-Defying Incense.
• Jin Fu recognized the Command Arrow as the key to carrying the Northern Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation and returned it to Shi Chun.
• Jin Fu told Shi Chun that Death-Defying Incense required Soul-Returning Tree heartwood, Divine Wanderings, artifact-fusing, and rootless fire.
• Shi Chun left with Gao He, while Jin Fu ordered his clan to keep their meeting secret and pretend the visitors had never come.
• Jin Fu told Huang Yingying that he had already given Shi Chun the refining method and said Huang Yingying might be the clan’s best hope, leaving him bewildered.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang learned that the Extreme Fire Sect was watching Chu Jingtang, Xiao Sheng, and Lao Changhai in Dazhi City, and they chose to risk seeking help rather than abandon their companions. The three reached Bai Qiru’s rice shop, while Qiu Ben began investigating a group leaving the Divine Mountain.

• Shi Chun told Chu Jingtang and the others to withdraw, and Chu Jingtang alerted Xiao Sheng and Lao Changhai.
• Lao Changhai discovered that the Extreme Fire Sect was watching their group, and Chu Jingtang informed Shi Chun that they had been spotted.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang debated whether to rescue the others or flee, then Shi Chun directed them to seek help at Bai Qiru’s shop.
• Qiu Ben ordered his watchers to keep observing the three men unless they tried to flee, and he suspected their search for the soul-returning tree was tied to Death-Defying Incense.
• Chu Jingtang and his companions entered the Bai Family Rice Shop, and Wu Jinliang asked Bai Qiru to help them leave Dazhi City after dawn.
• Huang Lang told Qiu Ben that a group had gone down the Divine Mountain, and Qiu Ben sent him to question Po Yuan.

Shi Chun’s plan to smuggle Chu Jingtang and two others out of Dazhi City was exposed, and Extreme Fire Sect pursuers attacked them on the road. A hidden expert saved them with overwhelming power, and the group reached the Barrier Slope junction, where an old woman appeared before them.

• Yin Tianlu learned that three living humans were hidden in the Bai Family Rice Shop carts, and Qiu Ben ordered Huang Lang to capture them and find out whether Shi Chun knew of the surveillance.
• Shi Chun prepared to meet Chu Jingtang’s group at Barrier Slope while Wu Jinliang dug an escape tunnel, but the travelers reported that someone had probed the carts with magic.
• Two Bai family earth immortal experts carried Chu Jingtang and the others into the air as Extreme Fire Sect pursuers closed in on them outside the city.
• A radiant phoenix struck the pursuers, reducing them and the surrounding grassland to ash and dust, while its hidden wielder shielded Chu Jingtang’s group.
• Shi Chun received confirmation that Chu Jingtang and the others were safe, and the group landed near the Barrier Slope junction.
• An old woman in white with silver hair and a phoenix-headed cane suddenly appeared before Chu Jingtang and the others.

Granny Qi rescued Chu Jingtang and his companions, then revealed the Bai Clan’s hidden history and its connection to Huang Yingying’s Golden-Haired Rat Clan. She explained that the Bai Clan had secretly worked for generations to protect the clan, and that Bai Qiru’s supposed expulsion was a cover to protect Huang Yingying.

• Granny Qi intervened against the Extreme Fire Sect’s pursuers and insisted on personally handing Chu Jingtang and his companions to Gao He.
• Chu Jingtang sent Shi Chun a message, and Wu Jinliang went to meet Granny Qi while Shi Chun stayed behind.
• Granny Qi recognized Wu Jinliang as Gao He, then whisked everyone away to a mountaintop to speak privately.
• Granny Qi explained that the Bai Ancestor had served Jin Zhan and later helped the Phoenix Clan enslave the Golden-Haired Rat Clan to keep it from being exterminated.
• Granny Qi said the Bai Clan had secretly sought to rescue and protect the Golden-Haired Rat Clan, and that Bai Qiru’s supposed expulsion concealed her effort to protect Huang Yingying.

Granny Qi revealed that the Bai Clan had secretly helped the Golden-Haired Rat Clan for generations and sought to cooperate on a broader rescue, then detained Wu Jinliang until they could plan. Shi Chun learned Wu Jinliang had been taken to the Divine Mountain, while Qiu Ben moved to seize the people behind the Vermilion Jade Pavilion and block their escape.

• Granny Qi explained that the Bai Clan had rescued Golden-Haired Rats for generations to repay an ancient debt and wanted to free the clan trapped on the Divine Mountain.
• Granny Qi told Wu Jinliang the Bai Clan’s secret and detained him until they could devise a safe rescue plan.
• Wu Jinliang messaged Shi Chun that Granny Qi had taken him back to the Divine Mountain in a chest.
• Shi Chun doubted the Bai Clan’s story of gratitude and worried that it was risking too much amid the conflict involving the Extreme Fire Sect, the Phoenix Clan, and the Demonic Path.
• Huang Lang reported that Yin Tianlu’s investigation found Martial Uncle Hao and the others missing, and Qiu Ben ordered the sect to block the Xun Gate exit before heading to seize the people behind the Vermilion Jade Pavilion.

The Extreme Fire Sect searched the Vermilion Jade Pavilion for Wang Ping and Gao He, accusing them of stealing a treasure and killing disciples, but they were already gone. After Qiu Ben attacked Yin Xu and threatened her, she claimed she had served the Green Mound Ancestor as a maid, forcing him to withdraw; she later admitted the claim was false and hoped Wang Ping would protect her from the Qingqiu Fox Clan.

• Qiu Ben led the Extreme Fire Sect in surrounding the Vermilion Jade Pavilion and breaking into Shi Chun's room, but found Wang Ping and Gao He missing.
• Qiu Ben ordered a search of the entire pavilion and insulted Yin Xu, while Lou Xiu and Po Yuan arrived and challenged his actions.
• Qiu Ben claimed the missing guests had stolen the Extreme Fire Sect's Great Sun Golden Ring and murdered its disciples, then his men searched the pavilion without finding them.
• Qiu Ben slapped Yin Xu and blasted Tian Shen through a wall before demanding to know when the guests had left.
• Yin Xu claimed she had once served the Green Mound Ancestor, and Qiu Ben withdrew rather than risk offending the powerful demon.
• After everyone left, Yin Xu admitted she had never been the Ancestor's maid and hoped Wang Ping would support her if the Qingqiu Fox Clan questioned her.

Lou Xiu learned that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang may have escaped in a City Lord's Manor carriage, while Huang Ye warned him against openly provoking Yin Xu because of her possible connection to the Green Mound Ancestor. On the Divine Mountain, Bai Qiru demanded the truth from Granny Qi, who began explaining the Endless Palace and the origins of the Six Realms Wonder Books.

• Lou Xiu questioned Tu Bicheng about the missing Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, and learned that a City Lord's Manor carriage had left the city before dawn.
• Lou Xiu reported his suspicions to Huang Ye, who revealed the Green Mound Ancestor's backing and proposed blaming Yin Xu so the Western Emperor would investigate her.
• Huang Ye told Lou Xiu that the Dazhi City incident involved a heavenly immortal realm expert and ordered caution while Shi Chun's whereabouts remained uncertain.
• Wu Jinliang received a message from Shi Chun and interrupted his sparring to ask to see Granny Qi.
• Bai Qiru confronted Granny Qi about the truth behind her family's debt of gratitude, and Granny Qi began telling her about the Endless Palace and the Six Realms Wonder Books.

Granny Qi revealed that the Bai Clan had secretly protected the Jin Clan while waiting for Jin Zhan’s Demon Tome to reappear, and she suspected Gao He and his companions had found it. Wu Jinliang sought Death-Defying Incense as part of a proposed cooperation, but Granny Qi explained that the Phoenix Clan guarded its dwindling supply because it could resurrect their dead.

• Granny Qi told Bai Qiru that White Tiger had sworn to protect the Golden-Haired Rat Clan and that the Bai Clan had watched over the Jin Clan while waiting for the Demon Tome.
• Granny Qi admitted that the Bai Clan arranged Huang Yingying’s escape and believed Gao He and Wang Ping had approached him because Jin Zhan’s contingency had surfaced.
• Bai Qiru questioned why the Bai Clan had not freed the Jin Clan, and Granny Qi explained that they needed to keep the clan together to monitor it.
• Granny Qi left Bai Qiru and questioned Wu Jinliang about whether his backers had responded; Wu Jinliang proposed cooperation and asked her to obtain Death-Defying Incense.
• Granny Qi said the Phoenix Clan possessed the incense but would not share it, then revealed that it let Phoenix Clan members return to life and was scarce because Soul-Returning Trees had become rare.

Wu Jinliang arranged for Granny Qi to gather materials and refine Death-Defying Incense after revealing that his group had Soul-Returning Tree material, while Granny Qi concluded the supply was tied to Jin Zhan's contingency. Bai Qiru visited Huang Yingying in the Labor Office but could not secure his release, and the Western Emperor questioned Hu Gongxian about Yin Xu and two missing people.

• Wu Jinliang told Granny Qi that his group had Soul-Returning Tree material, and she agreed to mobilize the Bai to refine Death-Defying Incense in about ten days.
• Bai Qiru visited Huang Yingying at the Labor Office, gave him clothes and a bed, and shared an intimate encounter with him in his cave.
• Bai Qiru told Huang Yingying that the Divine Maiden would not release him, then returned to Granny Qi, who inferred that Gao He and his people were pursuing Jin Zhan's contingency.
• Granny Qi advised Bai Qiru to improve her relationship with Huang Yingying and said she would later soften her stance so he could be released as a contact with Gao He and his people.
• The Western Emperor asked Hu Gongxian whether Yin Xu had served as the Green Mound ancestor's maid and whether she had sent away the two missing people; Hu Gongxian denied the former and confirmed the latter.

Yin Xu learned the Western Emperor was willing to marry her and offered to help Shi Chun and his companion escape Gathering Grotto Continent. Meanwhile, Huang Ye revealed that the Demonic Path wanted to capture Yin Tianlu to learn what Shi Chun knew about Situ Gu and the secret art for finding divine fire.

• The Western Emperor visited Yin Xu after the Xun Gate was placed under strict control and questioned her about being the Green Mound Ancestor's maid.
• The Western Emperor promised to marry Yin Xu after the current affair was settled, on condition that she leave the Vermilion Jade Pavilion's business and abandon her underworld dealings.
• Yin Xu told Shi Chun that the Western Emperor could arrange for him and his companion to leave Gathering Grotto Continent.
• Huang Ye told Jiang You'er that Su Qiao had asked the Phoenix Clan Leader for permission to investigate the Bai Clan after the Extreme Fire Sect lost track of Shi Chun and his companion.
• Huang Ye ordered Jiang You'er to capture Yin Tianlu alive, believing he might know the secret connecting Shi Chun to Situ Gu and the divine-fire-finding art.

Jiang You'er abducted Yin Tianlu, prompting Qiu Ben to persuade Feng Qingping to support a sweeping operation against the Bai Clan. City Guards and Divine Mountain forces arrested Bai Clan members across several locations, while Wu Jinliang and his companions tried to find a way to escape.

• Jiang You'er made Yin Tianlu and two other Extreme Fire Sect disciples disappear from their watch post in Dazhi City.
• Qiu Ben blamed the Bai Clan for the disappearances and secured Feng Qingping's agreement to arrest and interrogate its members, with Granny Qi spared torture.
• Po Yuan coordinated the operation with City Lord Li Xianghong, while Feng Jue sent secret orders to launch arrests simultaneously.
• City Guards arrested Bai Clan members at the Vermilion Jade Pavilion, the Bai Family Rice Shop, and Morning Moon Hall, while Hua Chong was seized in Distant Mountain City.
• Yin Xu informed Shi Chun about the arrests, and Wu Jinliang received the news before urging Chu Jingtang and the others to flee and prying up floor tiles in their chamber.

Wu Jinliang led Chu Jingtang and the others underground to escape the Divine Mountain’s encirclement, while Granny Qi’s people surrendered and Shi Chun hurried to rescue them. In Dazhi City’s prison, Dong Wenshu chose to use his ancestral jade plaque rather than confess what he did not know.

• Wu Jinliang opened an earth tunnel beneath the floor and took Chu Jingtang, Lao Changhai, and Xiao Sheng underground to evade the Divine Mountain’s forces.
• Granny Qi learned that Feng Qingping and the Phoenix Clan had arranged to surround her clanspeople, then ordered her trusted clansman to silence Wu Jinliang and the others.
• Granny Qi’s searchers failed to find the four fugitives, and she eventually ordered her clanspeople to surrender as Feng Jue’s forces arrested them.
• Wu Jinliang contacted Shi Chun and waited near the surface, while Shi Chun hurried to the Divine Mountain and began preparing to enter its grand formation.
• Dong Wenshu offered to confess in prison, then smashed his ancestral jade plaque against a bench, causing the lights to flicker and a breeze to appear.

A Demon Empress’s envoy arrived in Dazhi City after a demonic storm and demanded the Dong family, forcing the City Guard and Extreme Fire Sect to confront the consequences of arresting them. A woman in red entered the deserted Morning Moon Hall and explored its old courtyard, lingering over a worn inscription.

• The interrogators discovered that Dong Wenshu had broken a jade plaque, but he insisted he knew nothing about its purpose or Wang Ping’s affairs.
• A demonic storm swept over Dazhi City, and a woman in red reached Morning Moon Hall while an old man in black appeared above the City Guard headquarters.
• The old man revealed the Demon Empress’s Flower Consort Token, and Li Xianghong, Po Yuan, Zhu Xin, and the others knelt before it.
• The old man summoned the Dong family, heard Dong Wenshu’s account of their arrest and torture, and examined his wounds.
• The woman in red entered Morning Moon Hall’s courtyard and touched the worn inscription, “Purple qi comes from the east.”