Chapter Summaries

Lin Jiaojiao recalled how her relationship with Hu Yucheng had improved, then waited with Zuo Kexin after their companions went to investigate a suspiciously empty area. Zuo Kexin immobilized Lin Jiaojiao, admitted she hated her, and prepared to lure demon beasts to her with Demon-Luring Powder.

• Lin Jiaojiao remembered how she and Hu Yucheng became betrothed, and how Zuo Kexin had seemed to stop opposing her.
• After their group entered the Secret Realm, a Nascent Soul Cultivator went ahead to investigate, and Hu Yucheng followed after setting up a defensive formation for Lin Jiaojiao and Zuo Kexin.
• Zuo Kexin and Lin Jiaojiao discussed their past rivalry, and Zuo Kexin asked whether Lin Jiaojiao hated her.
• Zuo Kexin immobilized Lin Jiaojiao and declared that she hated her and wanted her dead.
• Zuo Kexin sprinkled Demon-Luring Powder over Lin Jiaojiao's clothes and struck the formation with a small hammer.

Zuo Kexin trapped Lin Jiaojiao with Demon-Luring Powder and left her for a powerful demon beast, but Su Jiu and her companions arrived and rescued her. Su Jiu and Xia Jue then fought two fifth-tier Wind-Chanting Beasts, and Su Jiu discovered a limit to their speed while struggling to hold one off.

• Zuo Kexin destroyed the formation, revealed her resentment toward Lin Jiaojiao, and left her immobilized with Demon-Luring Powder to attract a powerful demon beast.
• Su Jiu drove back the Wind-Chanting Beasts and protected Lin Jiaojiao while Tong Qi freed her from the Body-Binding Technique.
• Lin Jiaojiao told Tong Qi that one companion had gone scouting and another had betrayed her over a personal grievance.
• Su Jiu and Xia Jue fought the two fifth-tier Wind-Chanting Beasts, with Su Jiu keeping one occupied despite being wounded by its wind blades.
• Su Jiu struck a Wind-Chanting Beast with an icy sword attack and tested its speed, realizing that its rapid attacks were limited, though she lacked the spiritual qi to seriously injure it.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue killed the two Wind-Chanting Beasts while Hu Yucheng and a Nascent Soul Cultivator returned injured. Hu Yucheng revealed that Zuo Kexin had joined forces with demonic cultivators to ambush him, and the conspirators escaped.

• Su Jiu wounded the Wind-Chanting Beast twice before Xia Jue killed it with the Voidfang Sword, and she withdrew to meditate.
• Xia Jue noticed that some of the Wind-Chanting Beast's meridians had been sealed, while Tong Qi stood guard over Su Jiu.
• Hu Yucheng returned with a Nascent Soul Cultivator, thanked the group, and checked that Lin Jiaojiao was safe.
• Hu Yucheng told Lin Jiaojiao that Zuo Kexin had colluded with demonic cultivators to trap him.
• Hu Yucheng explained that Zuo Kexin helped the demonic cultivators escape in a cloud of smoke and promised to issue a wanted notice.

Su Jiu recovered and reunited with Lin Jiaojiao and Hu Yucheng, then learned that Zuo Kexin may have used Fate Gu silk to lure them into danger. Xia Jue explained how the threads worked, leaving Su Jiu convinced that Zuo Kexin had plotted to kill Lin Jiaojiao.

• Su Jiu recovered from her injuries, and Xia Jue warned her that demonic cultivators had entered the Secret Realm.
• Lin Jiaojiao thanked Su Jiu for helping her group for the third time, and Xia Jue reminded Su Jiu that she had also helped them in Liu Household Village.
• Hu Yucheng and A-Li persuaded Lin Jiaojiao that joining Xia Jue's group would only hold them back, and Lin Jiaojiao vowed to cultivate harder.
• Su Jiu questioned how Zuo Kexin had communicated with her demonic cultivator companions and guided Hu Yucheng's group into the demon beasts' territory.
• Xia Jue explained that the red cords came from Fate Gu silk, which could help people sharing pieces enter a Secret Realm in the same place and could also locate someone when left unrefined.
• Su Jiu realized Zuo Kexin could have planted a nearly undetectable thread on one of Hu Yucheng's group to arrange their meeting with the demon beasts and kill Lin Jiaojiao.

Zuo Kexin was abandoned by the hooded man after her attempt against Lin Jiaojiao exposed her and the demonic cultivators. Meanwhile, Xia Jue led Su Jiu and Tong Qi to the sacred artifact’s cave, where he let the rogue cultivators following them gather before confronting them.

• The hooded man slapped Zuo Kexin, blamed her for exposing the demonic cultivators, and fled when he sensed someone approaching; Zuo Kexin believed Lin Jiaojiao was dead.
• Xia Jue warned Su Jiu and Tong Qi that they were being followed by rogue cultivators seeking a sacred artifact, then explained why the Azure Tide Sect seniors had left it behind.
• Xia Jue told Su Jiu that the missing senior was still alive, then allowed the growing crowd of followers to trail them to the cave entrance.
• The followers crowded into the narrow entrance and began fighting, while Xia Jue, Su Jiu, and Tong Qi waited inside the cave.
• The rogue cultivators entered the cave, searched its simple interior, and avoided meeting Xia Jue’s gaze; Xia Jue asked whether they had followed him for a reason.

Several sects watched as rogue cultivators entered a cave, hoping to claim a Buddhist sacred artifact. Elysium Valley’s rival factions argued over their methods, but Hu Jing assured Li Yiyi that she would not provoke the Azure Tide Sect.

• Heavenly Secret Sect disciples decided the Buddhist artifact was not worth risking a fight with the Azure Tide Sect, though their Eldest Senior Brother still insisted they should try for it.
• Hu Jing’s junior brother watched her display the Bewitching Art as she mocked the rogue cultivators entering the cave.
• Li Yiyi confronted Hu Jing about using her Bewitching Art recklessly and risking Elysium Valley’s standing with the Azure Tide Sect.
• Hu Jing teased her junior brother about Su Jiu and suggested she might win over the Jade-Scepter Young Master, angering Li Yiyi.
• Hu Jing recalled that Xia Jue had killed a Bewitching Art master from her faction and assured Li Yiyi that she would not target Azure Tide Sect disciples.
• Li Yiyi relaxed after seeing Hu Jing was serious, then turned her attention back to the cave entrance.

Xia Jue sent the cultivators who visited the cave after the sacred artifact, prompting several groups to race toward its supposed location while others questioned his motives. Su Jiu suspected he was hiding something, and Xia Jue said he was simply adapting as events unfolded.

• The cultivators who left Xia Jue’s cave hurried toward the sacred artifact’s location, and Heavenly Dawn Sect disciples followed after learning he had revealed it.
• Hu Jing led her companions from Elysium Valley toward the artifact, while Heavenly Secret Sect disciples and demonic cultivators wondered whether Xia Jue’s information concealed a trap.
• Qin Ming decided to have Liu Zhiyan and Ye Chen gather spirit plants and hunt demon beasts, while he stayed behind to secretly protect Xia Jue and Su Jiu.
• Su Jiu asked Xia Jue whether he had a foolproof plan, and he replied that he was adapting as events unfolded.

Su Jiu and Tong Qi continued to doubt Xia Jue’s account of the sacred artifact, then encountered Shen Qingyue, Gao Yang, and two rogue cultivators. Xia Jue and Tong Qi tried to keep Shen Qingyue from joining their mission, but Gao Yang urged her to go with them.

• Su Jiu wondered why someone who knew where the sacred artifact was hidden had not taken it and suspected an unknown motive behind the rumor.
• Su Jiu, Tong Qi, and Xia Jue left and ran into Shen Qingyue, Gao Yang, and two rogue cultivators.
• Xia Jue refused to reveal the Enforcement Hall mission to Shen Qingyue, and the two rogue cultivators grew disillusioned with her.
• The two rogue cultivators said they had to leave, while Shen Qingyue happily let them go so she could approach Xia Jue and the others.
• Tong Qi and Xia Jue pointed out that Gao Yang could not join the Enforcement Hall mission, but Gao Yang told Shen Qingyue to go ahead without him.

Xia Jue led Su Jiu and Tong Qi away from the sacred artifact’s rumored location to gather herbs, then fought a group of rogue cultivators who had followed them. Xia Jue faced their leader while Tong Qi and Su Jiu fought the others, and Tong Qi was pushing two mid-Golden Core opponents back.

• Shen Qingyue left with Xia Jue and the others, while Su Jiu stayed out of the dispute.
• Xia Jue’s group traveled away from the sacred artifact’s rumored location and gathered spirit plants as shadowing cultivators gradually gave up following them.
• After two days, a rogue cultivator leader confronted Xia Jue and demanded the sacred artifact’s location; Xia Jue explained that he had gone the other way to collect herbs.
• When the leader tried to leave, Xia Jue intercepted him with the Voidfang Sword, and the rogue cultivators attacked.
• Xia Jue engaged the leader while Tong Qi and Su Jiu fought the others; Tong Qi’s poisoned Fan Bones pierced two cultivators and killed another.
• Tong Qi drove two mid-Golden Core cultivators back with repeated Fan Bone attacks, and one of them began to lose his composure.

Tong Qi, Xia Jue, and Su Jiu defeated their opponents, with Su Jiu overwhelming a group of seven cultivators using her ice arts, sword, and talisman techniques. Xia Jue realized she might have mastered Void Talisman Drawing and was astonished by her talent.

• Tong Qi killed one attacker with his swift, venomous fan and then killed the last fleeing opponent.
• Xia Jue quickly defeated a weak Nascent Soul middle stage cultivator and regretted not leaving him for Su Jiu to practice on.
• Su Jiu pierced three of seven attackers with ice spikes, then shattered the defenses of two more and killed them as they tried to retreat.
• Su Jiu survived a fourth-tier Thunderstorm Talisman with a Defense Talisman and used spiritual qi to immobilize the two remaining cultivators before killing them with the Frost-Cold Purple Ultimate.
• Xia Jue witnessed Su Jiu's hidden technique and suspected she had used Void Talisman Drawing.

After Su Jiu and her companions defeated their pursuers, Xia Jue kept the group gathering spirit plants while waiting for the sacred artifact to become available. Su Jiu realized he was collecting ingredients for Sect Leader Ning Hai’s breakthrough and remembered that the breakthrough had failed in her past life, leaving her determined to warn Xia Jue.

• Shen Qingyue grew uneasy as she watched Xia Jue pay close attention to Su Jiu, then tried to portray herself as Xia Jue’s most understanding subordinate.
• Xia Jue refused to help Tong Qi, who finished his fight alone, and then instructed the group to keep gathering herbs instead of pursuing the sacred artifact.
• Tong Qi challenged Shen Qingyue for not helping him fight, while Xia Jue explained that he wanted their rivals to fight among themselves before the group moved on.
• Su Jiu recognized that Xia Jue was collecting ingredients for a Mindless Tranquil Essence Pill to help Ning Hai prevent heart demons during his breakthrough to the out-of-body stage.
• Su Jiu recalled that Ning Hai’s breakthrough had failed in her past life and decided to warn Xia Jue, despite having no believable explanation for how she knew.

Su Jiu warned Xia Jue that an intruder would sabotage the Sect Leader’s breakthrough, and Xia Jue believed her. Meanwhile, the search for the sacred artifact dragged on until Elysium Valley’s junior brother uncovered a dusty bundle beneath the earth.

• Su Jiu told Xia Jue that a powerful intruder would attack the Azure Tide Sect during the Sect Leader’s seclusion and ruin his breakthrough, and Xia Jue agreed to keep the warning secret.
• Shen Qingyue felt hurt as she watched Xia Jue and Su Jiu speak privately.
• Rogue cultivators and sect disciples searched Xia Jue’s mountain for several days, but many gave up after finding no sign of the sacred artifact.
• Xie Liang’s senior brother insisted that their group keep searching because the Jade-Scepter Young Master would not have misled them.
• Hu Jing and Li Yiyi argued over whether their master’s information was reliable, then fought with the Purple Ribbon and a sword.
• Elysium Valley’s junior brother spotted a buried object after Hu Jing kicked aside a mound and dug out a dusty cloth bundle.

A junior brother discovered a cloth bundle sealed by a Spirit-Sealing Formation, and Hu Jing and Li Yiyi came under attack after taking it. Hu Jing realized the formation was at least sixth tier and suspected Xia Jue had deliberately led the cultivators into a fight over something they could not open.

• The junior brother found a Spirit-Sealing Formation on the bundle and could neither burn it nor put it into his Storage Bag.
• Hu Jing and Li Yiyi tried and failed to store the bundle, then refused to show it to the cultivators who confronted them.
• The surrounding cultivators attacked the three disciples, and Hu Jing threw the bundle into the air to draw the attackers into fighting over it.
• The Heavenly Secret Sect disciples identified the formation as at least sixth tier while the crowd continued battling over the bundle.
• Hu Jing overheard them and concluded that Xia Jue had expected no one there to unravel the formation, leaving the rogue cultivators likely to seek help from the Heavenly Secret Sect or Azure Tide Sect.

Xia Jue brought Su Jiu and their companions to the exhausted cultivators surrounding a sealed bundle, then arranged for Su Jiu to examine its formation. The chapter ended with Su Jiu identifying the sixth-tier formation and claiming she could unravel it, astonishing the Heavenly Secret Sect disciples watching from hiding.

• Xia Jue and his companions arrived at the site, where Daoist Luo and the surviving cultivators guarded a cloth bundle after days of fighting.
• Xia Jue rejected the idea of taking a share of the spoils and proposed that a disciple of the Azure Tide Sect try to open the bundle.
• Daoist Luo agreed to let Su Jiu examine the bundle, privately expecting the Azure Tide Sect to serve as free labor.
• Su Jiu identified the pattern as a sixth-tier Spirit-Sealing Formation and said she could unravel it.
• The Heavenly Secret Sect disciples watching from hiding were stunned, especially their eldest senior brother, who could not unravel the formation himself.

Su Jiu used her unusual spiritual-qi reserves to undo the Spirit-Sealing Formation and release a sentient string of Buddhist Prayer Beads. When the artifact showed an affinity for her, Daoist Luo attacked, but Tong Qi and another Azure Tide Sect disciple intervened, leaving Luo facing the sect’s threat.

• Su Jiu began unraveling the formation while Xia Jue and Tong Qi guarded her, astonishing the onlookers with how much spiritual qi she could sustain.
• Su Jiu fully unraveled the formation, and the Buddhist Prayer Beads burst from the bundle and settled above her head.
• The Buddhist Prayer Beads recognized Su Jiu’s spiritual-qi scent and said she had freed them.
• Daoist Luo rushed at Su Jiu, but a streak of silver light forced him back before he could seize her.
• Tong Qi confronted Daoist Luo for attacking his junior sister, and Daoist Luo realized Su Jiu was an Azure Tide Sect disciple he could not casually provoke.

Su Jiu and the others watched rogue cultivators fight over the Buddhist Prayer Beads, while Daoist Luo used a mysterious black vapor to kill a rival. The beads rejected Daoist Luo, and Xia Jue explained that only a destined person could take them, leaving Su Jiu wondering whether the bracelet was meant for her.

• Daoist Luo apologized to Su Jiu, then joined the rogue cultivators in competing for the Buddhist Prayer Beads.
• Daoist Luo hurled a jar at a Nascent Soul Cultivator, and Su Jiu saw its black vapor enter the man and kill him.
• Daoist Luo tried to seize the beads, but they dodged him and mocked him while Su Jiu asked Xia Jue about their intelligence.
• The Buddhist Prayer Beads burned Daoist Luo's hand, and Xia Jue explained that their virtue golden light kept others from taking them.
• Xia Jue said a monk had sealed the bracelet in the cloth bundle for someone destined to claim it, then looked at Su Jiu.

After Daoist Luo was badly burned by the Buddhist Prayer Beads, the assembled cultivators tested whether they could touch them without suffering their judgment. Xie Liang was struck by a three-day backlash to his divine soul, while several groups left without the beads.

• Daoist Luo's hand was ruined by the Buddhist Prayer Beads, which said they punished people who had committed evil deeds.
• The eldest senior brother and two junior brothers of the Heavenly Secret Sect touched the beads and suffered only mild heat; the beads said their indirect harms counted as karmic cause and effect.
• Su Jiu stopped a rogue cultivator from attacking the Heavenly Secret Sect disciples, and they thanked her for intervening.
• Xie Liang touched the beads and burned his hand, then learned that their backlash had injured his divine soul and would last three days.
• Some rogue cultivators left, and Hu Jing departed with Li Yiyi and their junior brother after giving Su Jiu a thoughtful glance.

Su Jiu took custody of the Buddhist Prayer Beads, whose Artifact Spirit called itself Little Pearl, while Xia Jue made clear that the Azure Tide Sect would protect it. The group set out beyond their map with three Heavenly Secret Sect disciples accompanying them, but the younger disciples soon struggled to keep pace.

• The Buddhist Prayer Beads flew to Su Jiu, and its Artifact Spirit introduced itself as Little Pearl and agreed to travel with her.
• Xia Jue told the lingering cultivators that Su Jiu would keep the sacred artifact safe, and Little Pearl hid itself from view at Su Jiu's request.
• Tong Qi interrupted Shen Qingyue's questions, and Xia Jue proposed that the group explore beyond their map.
• Lan Fang Ziyi asked to travel with Xia Jue's group, and Xia Jue agreed to let him and his two junior brothers join them.
• The party of seven flew away, but Lan Fang Ziyi's junior brothers quickly ran out of spiritual qi, so one suggested using a Flying Boat.

Fang Ziyi observed the tensions among Xia Jue, Shen Qingyue, Su Jiu, and Tong Qi as the group traveled together. After boarding the Heavenly Secret Sect disciples’ Flying Boat, Su Jiu kept her distance from Shen Qingyue, who made a pointed remark about her, while Xia Jue remained silent.

• Shen Qingyue offered Fang Ziyi pills for his junior disciples, but he declined them.
• Fang Ziyi inferred that the other disciples were excluding Shen Qingyue, that Xia Jue watched Shen with suspicion and Su Jiu with interest, and that Tong Qi and Su Jiu were exchanging private voice transmissions.
• Fang Ziyi’s junior disciples privately complained about his habit of studying people, and Xia Jue interrupted them to ask whether everyone had recovered.
• Fang Ziyi expected Xia Jue to refuse the offer of a ride, but Xia Jue accepted the junior disciple’s invitation to travel aboard the Flying Boat.
• Fang Ziyi thanked Su Jiu for helping his junior brothers, and Shen Qingyue interjected that the group would have helped them anyway.
• Su Jiu stayed silent rather than engage with Shen Qingyue, who showed subtle smugness, while Tong Qi wondered why Xia Jue had brought her along.

Su Jiu and the others fought a late-stage fifth-tier Catfish Worm in a barren wasteland where scarce spiritual qi put Su Jiu at a disadvantage. Su Jiu’s Buddhist Prayer Beads burned the worm’s leg, making it collapse and expose its tail as the battle continued.

• The group encountered a Catfish Worm rising from the cracked earth, and Xia Jue explained that its antennae and hidden tail were its weak points.
• Lan Fang Ziyi completed a composite formation with help from his disciples, then joined Su Jiu, Xia Jue, and Tong Qi in attacking the worm’s antennae.
• The Catfish Worm’s howl injured Su Jiu and Tong Qi, but they continued fighting, and Xia Jue severed one antenna.
• Su Jiu knocked Lan Fang Ziyi out of the path of a reaching leg, then used her concealed Buddhist Prayer Beads against it while disguising the attack with her sword.
• The beads burned the worm’s leg, causing it to collapse and roll across the ground with its tail exposed.