Chapter Summaries

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen arrived in a village near Poison Valley and learned that some locals practiced Gu cultivation. They overheard A Jing plotting to become the Wuyi Tribe's Holy Maiden despite Dali's warnings, leaving Dali heartbroken and powerless to stop her.

• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen noticed that some village girls cultivated through Gu rather than conventional qi induction.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen reached a house where A Jing and Dali argued about her plan to become the Wuyi Tribe's Holy Maiden.
• Dali warned A Jing that Holy Maidens often died or fell ill and that pursuing the position could betray her sect.
• A Jing argued that becoming Holy Maiden would bring her advanced Gu arts and claimed she could repay her sect afterward.
• A Jing fed herbs into her Gu Mound, revealing a potent black-purple Gu insect to Su Jiu and Chu Luohen.
• A Jing threatened to accuse Dali of slander if he told anyone about her plans, while Dali admitted he had never truly understood her.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen learned about the Wuyi Tribe’s poison-warding tokens and entered Poison Valley to search for Su Jiu’s missing elder. Behind them, Dali left A Jing, while the valley proved to be a beautiful place veiled in purple mist.

• A Jing offered to guide Su Jiu and Chu Luohen through Poison Valley, but Chu Luohen refused, and A Jing warned them that even a Nascent Soul Cultivator had recently died there.
• A Jing explained that prospective Holy Maidens carried tokens that warded off poisons, and Su Jiu learned that a red-clad elder from her family had been poisoned in the valley.
• Dali explained that women from the outlying village received Jade Tokens to raise gu insects and potentially return to the Wuyi Tribe as attendants or Holy Maidens.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen entered Poison Valley, while Dali left A Jing after realizing their relationship had ended; A Jing dismissed his departure.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen found that Poison Valley was breathtakingly beautiful beneath a pale purple mist.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen crossed Poison Valley, where Su Jiu passed up a Seven-Colored Flower and later found clues that True Lord Hong Ling had been injured in a fight. The flower lured a passing girl to her death, while Su Jiu and Chu Luohen continued toward the Wuyi Tribe, uncertain what had happened to Hong Ling.

• Su Jiu spotted a Seven-Colored Flower but chose to leave it behind, and Chu Luohen approved of her refusal to seek a shortcut to cultivation.
• After Su Jiu and Chu Luohen departed, the flower swallowed venomous creatures and then lured an approaching girl, who sank into the earth when she reached for it.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen watched the forest brighten with glowing venomous insects as evening fell.
• A day later, Su Jiu found a scrap of clothing that Chu Luohen identified as True Lord Hong Ling's.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen found old bloodstains and sword and whip marks, and suspected Hong Ling had fought someone after arriving in the area.
• Chu Luohen pointed out blue flowers that absorbed nearby spiritual qi as the pair investigated the site.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen found signs that True Lord Hong Ling’s attacker had held back, while Hong Ling remained imprisoned by Green Intent and learned where the Wuyi People kept the Endless-Reach Grass. Green Intent’s grandfather confronted her over her schemes and warned that they had drawn the attention of the Enforcement Hall and other sects.

• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen examined the fight marks and concluded that the sword wielder had held back, giving them a direction to investigate.
• Green Intent taunted the imprisoned Hong Ling and revealed that she had lured the Enforcement Hall away from the hiding place.
• After Green Intent left, Hong Ling’s badly injured cellmate thanked her and told her the Endless-Reach Grass was hidden beneath the clan chief’s bed.
• Green Intent’s grandfather reprimanded her for using their Capital City connections against Su Mianmian and bringing Hong Ling back, warning that her actions had attracted unwanted attention.
• Green Intent defended herself by saying she wanted revenge for her past humiliation, and her grandfather rebuked her.

Green Intent received a final warning from her grandfather and was ordered to keep Hong Ling imprisoned without harming her. At the Wuyi Tribe, Su Jiu witnessed Qiduo'er being taken for inspection after two Gu worms were found in her Gu Mound, one devouring the other.

• Green Intent's grandfather confronted her over her schemes against Su Mianmian and Hong Ling and threatened to reconsider making her his successor.
• Green Intent begged for another chance, and her grandfather agreed but warned her not to harm Hong Ling or offend the Azure Tide Sect again.
• Su Jiu and her companion followed the clues to the Wuyi Tribe, where she recognized plants from Poison Valley and saw many women carrying Gu Mounds.
• A crowd gathered after Qiduo'er's Gu Mound fell open, revealing a large red Gu worm eating a small green one.
• Two guards took Qiduo'er away for an inspection after other girls accused her of stealing the green Gu worm, and Su Jiu suspected they were right.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen met Lan Xiaoxi in the Wuyi Tribe’s inner village and accepted her offer to stay at her home in exchange for hearing about Qiduo’er. Lan Xiaoxi explained how poorly the tribe treated girls with low Gu aptitude, leaving Su Jiu with a clearer picture of the hardships in the outer village.

• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen watched two men lead Qiduo’er away as Lan Xiaoxi approached and introduced herself.
• Lan Xiaoxi offered the strangers a place to stay and promised to explain Qiduo’er’s situation; Su Jiu persuaded Chu Luohen to accept.
• At Lan Xiaoxi’s home, she told them that Qiduo’er was an orphan with poor Gu aptitude who had been assigned to the outer village.
• Lan Xiaoxi explained that low-aptitude girls received limited resources and could not use Grain-Banishing Pills, leaving them to endure severe hunger and neglect.

Su Jiu learned from Lan Xiaoxi about the Wuyi Tribe’s Holy Maiden Gathering, its gu insects, and its mysterious sacrifices while seeking the Endless-Reach Grass. After Lan Xiaoxi revealed how much she longed to see the outside world, Su Jiu promised to take her there if she got the chance.

• Lan Xiaoxi told Su Jiu that girls sent to the outer village carried child gu that could kill them if they went too far away.
• Lan Xiaoxi explained that a gu battle chose the Holy Maiden and her attendants, followed by a divine-light ceremony and a sacrifice whose offerings were burned in a sealed chest.
• Su Jiu learned that Qiduo'er may have stolen a gu insect to strengthen her own and that the Chieftain controlled the tribe’s understanding of past Holy Maidens.
• Lan Xiaoxi told Su Jiu that the Chieftain would display the Endless-Reach Grass during the Holy Maiden Gathering.
• Su Jiu shared stories of the outside world with Lan Xiaoxi, then promised to take her outside if she got the chance.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen investigated the village chieftain’s house while disguised with masks, and discovered that three masked newcomers had entered it. Su Jiu recognized one man’s voice but could not place it, leaving their investigation unresolved.

• Chu Luohen gave Su Jiu imitation human-skin masks, and they disguised themselves before setting out to investigate the chieftain’s house.
• Su Jiu noticed Lan Xiaoxi resembled Lan Fang Ziyi, though she remained unsure whether the resemblance meant anything.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen found four guards at the chieftain’s gate and sensed two powerful, unfamiliar presences inside, but no sign of Hong Ling or an isolation formation.
• Chu Luohen identified three approaching people as masked by the fragrance of their disguises, and Su Jiu’s otherworldly eyes could not see through their masks.
• The three masked people entered the chieftain’s house, and Su Jiu told Chu Luohen that she thought she recognized one man’s voice.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen investigated the Wuyi Tribe for True Lord Hong Ling and learned she might be among the sacrificial offerings. Their search led them through a formation at the northern entrance into a blighted forest and a vast graveyard.

• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen left the Chieftain's Household and discussed True Lord Hong Ling and the Endless-Reach Grass.
• Su Jiu overheard that the Holy Maiden Gathering would have an unusually large number of sacrificial offerings, and Chu Luohen recognized two Enforcement Hall men who seemed to be signaling them.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen reasoned that Hong Ling had likely been captured and searched the village for prison cells without finding any.
• Su Jiu suspected the prison might lie outside the village, and she and Chu Luohen found a formation at the guarded northern entrance.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen entered the northern Poison Valley, saw its scorched woods and rotting remains, and reached a vast graveyard as they approached the formation.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen fought their way through the demon crows guarding the prison and confronted their sixth-tier leader. The demon crow attacked them, and the chapter ended with Su Jiu realizing how formidable it was.

• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen found a prison hidden behind a black formation and prepared for the demon crows guarding it to attack.
• Su Jiu broke the formation, and she and Chu Luohen fought off thousands of demon crows while protecting themselves with talismans.
• Su Jiu noticed Chu Luohen could cast powerful arts without incantations, and he promised to teach her his snowflake technique after the battle.
• The surviving demon crows fled as a powerful sixth-tier demon crow arrived and challenged Su Jiu and Chu Luohen.
• The demon crow attacked, and Su Jiu used a talisman to stay airborne as its wingbeats nearly swept her away.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen defeated a sixth-tier Demon Crow and entered the prison, where two masked figures ambushed them. The fight stopped when one of the masked figures recognized Su Jiu’s Ice Spikes, leaving the identities and intentions of the newcomers unresolved.

• The Demon Crow attacked Su Jiu and Chu Luohen, and Su Jiu used the Nine-Star World-Cleansing Pearl to burn its wing.
• Chu Luohen killed the Demon Crow with Sword Qi before Su Jiu exhausted her spiritual qi, and he admitted he could sense Little Pearl’s presence.
• Chu Luohen broke the demonic formation by force while Su Jiu recovered, and the two entered the prison together.
• Su Jiu sensed two unfamiliar figures inside the prison, and both she and Chu Luohen prepared for a fight.
• Two masked attackers wielding a sword and chains charged at them, but Chu Luohen disarmed the sword wielder after Su Jiu summoned Ice Spikes.
• A cool voice called for them to stop after the sword wielder reacted to Su Jiu’s Ice Spikes.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen encountered two Enforcement Hall disciples searching Poison Valley and learned that True Lord Hong Ling had disappeared from the prison. After finding clues that the Wuyi Tribe might be using saltpeter in its offerings, they split up to search the village before the Holy Maiden Gathering.

• Chu Luohen recognized the masked men as Enforcement Hall disciples, and Su Jiu and Chu Luohen revealed their identities.
• The disciples said they had come to investigate the Wuyi Tribe and rescue Hong Ling, but found only blood in the prison.
• Su Jiu connected the saltpeter powder and crate marks to Lan Xiaoxi's account of the tribe's offerings and feared Hong Ling was in danger.
• The group identified three restricted locations in the village and learned the chieftain had tightened security after the Enforcement Hall pursued Fan Shishi.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen agreed to investigate the chieftain's residence, while the two Enforcement Hall disciples searched the residences of successive Holy Maidens.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen infiltrated the Chieftain's Household and discovered that Hong Ling had been captured for a sacrifice. They found the chests where she was hidden, but had not yet opened them.

• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen used the Boundary-Pausing Pen to pass through the barrier around the Chieftain's Household.
• Chu Luohen warned Su Jiu to conceal her multiple innate arts from outsiders.
• Hong Ling realized she had been locked in a chest and overheard guards say Green Intent planned to sacrifice her at the Holy Maiden Gathering.
• The guards revealed that the Chieftain knew of Green Intent's scheme and intended to let her take the blame if the Azure Tide Sect investigated.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen incapacitated the guards and found the sacrificial chests in the residence of the successive Holy Maidens.
• Chu Luohen identified saltpeter powder on a chest and stopped Big Jiang from opening it impulsively.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen overheard a meeting about the Maiden Gu trade between the Chieftain's Household and the Water Moon School, uncovering links to the Holy Maiden Assembly and the Jin Household. Su Jiu recognized one man's voice as Xie Liang's, and the pair were interrupted by an Enforcement Hall disciple coming to find them.

• Yili and Big Jiang decided to split up so one could watch the crates while the other sought Su Jiu and Chu Luohen to remove the talisman safely.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen overheard the Chieftain's Household arrange a handover of Maiden Gu with three Water Moon School members, who invited the old man to the Holy Maiden Assembly.
• A Water Moon School disciple warned the old man that Sect Leader Shui knew he had used the Capital City's forces against the Jin Household and that the Azure Tide Sect was watching.
• Su Jiu connected the familiar-voiced man to Xie Liang and wondered whether Sect Leader Li and the Maiden Gu were part of the same trail of clues.
• An Enforcement Hall disciple approached Su Jiu and Chu Luohen.

Su Jiu and the Enforcement Hall uncovered people sealed inside boxes at the Holy Maiden's residence, including the missing True Lord Hong Ling. After learning that the Endless-Reach Grass was hidden in a secret chamber at the Chieftain's Household, Hong Ling insisted on joining the others to retrieve it.

• Su Jiu helped the Enforcement Hall reach the Holy Maiden's residence and removed the talismans sealing a dozen or so boxes.
• Big Jiang opened the first box and found a living woman whose bone age was twenty-two despite her aged appearance.
• Su Jiu found more young women in the boxes, along with a bloodied man and True Lord Hong Ling, who had been afflicted with mute gu.
• True Lord Hong Ling told the others that the Endless-Reach Grass was in a secret chamber at the Chieftain's Household.
• Hong Ling refused to return to the sect and joined Su Jiu and the others, determined to confront the woman who had ambushed her.

Su Jiu learned from a surviving Maiden Attendant that the Wuyi Tribe’s Chieftain drained women’s life force through their gu and sold the resulting insects. The woman also revealed that Holy Maidens were secretly killed by drinking a spring water that drained their life force, leaving Su Jiu with a clearer picture of the Chieftain’s crimes.

• True Lord Hong Ling gave an injured prisoner a Great Restoration Pill, then stored him in an artifact and went to the Chieftain’s Residence to seek the Endless-Reach Grass.
• Su Jiu and her companions questioned an awakened woman and identified her as one of the Holy Maiden’s eight Maiden Attendants.
• The woman explained that the Chieftain used Gu Mounds to make women refine gu that consumed their life force, then sold the gu to buyers.
• She said the current Holy Maiden’s death prompted the Chieftain to drain the attendants’ life force and reveal his scheme to them.
• The woman revealed that Holy Maidens were also doomed: drinking a secret spring water made their gu drain their life force, even when they came from outside the Wuyi Tribe.

Su Jiu uncovered the exploitation of women through Maiden Gu and ordered the Enforcement Hall disciples to prepare to help them escape. As the Holy Maiden Gathering approached, she learned that the Chieftain was inspecting the contestants’ gu worms and sent someone to investigate the registration.

• Su Jiu sealed the Maiden Gu boxes, gave the imprisoned women Concealment Breath Talismans, and promised to help them escape.
• Su Jiu showed Xia Jue’s Command Token to Yili and Big Jiang and ordered them to gather every Enforcement Hall disciple in the village.
• Hong Ling returned without the Endless-Reach Grass, and Su Jiu saw A Jing among the women arriving for the Holy Maiden Gathering.
• Lan Xiaoxi told Su Jiu that the Chieftain was registering and inspecting contestants’ gu worms, while Su Jiu arranged for someone to follow her.
• Su Jiu heard contestants discuss the Sacred Gu Scripture and received information about the women’s registration from her agent.

Su Jiu learned that the gu-insect records were being used to facilitate their sale, while a visitor fled after Green Intent revealed that the Enforcement Hall was watching. Green Intent and her grandfather concealed their mutual hatred and agreed she could help distribute alms at the Holy Maiden Gathering.

• Su Jiu heard that the Chieftain had taken the completed gu-insect ledger to show the three visitors.
• Green Intent warned the visitors that Enforcement Hall disciples were nearby, prompting the Water Moon School man to leave and arrange for someone else to negotiate.
• Xie Liang mocked the departed man and refused his junior disciple's advice to leave before the Holy Maiden Gathering.
• Green Intent's grandfather slapped and berated her for exposing the watchers, then reconsidered when he realized she had organized the gathering in the past.
• Green Intent asked to resume distributing alms, and her grandfather agreed while both hid their hostility behind polite words.

Su Jiu watched the unusually large crowd at the Holy Maiden Gathering and suspected the Water Moon School was behind the search for Enforcement Hall disciples. The gathering continued as an unexpectedly familiar green-clad woman took the stage, startling Yili and the older Enforcement Hall disciples.

• Su Jiu and Lan Xiaoxi noticed that far more outsiders than usual had come to the Village, while Chu Luohen warned Su Jiu that someone was watching them.
• As masked outsiders repeatedly swept the crowd with divine sense, Su Jiu suspected they were searching for Enforcement Hall members and considered the Wuyi Tribe, the Heavenly Dawn Sect, and the Water Moon School as possible suspects.
• Su Jiu learned that a suspected Water Moon School disciple had left shortly after noon, when her Hidden Guard returned from investigating registration, and concluded that the Water Moon School was likely responsible.
• Su Jiu criticized Yili's unusually ugly Human-Skin Mask, and Chu Luohen privately warned Yili that his martial niece was still young.
• A beautiful woman in green stepped onto the stage, shocking Yili and several older Enforcement Hall disciples who recognized her.

Su Jiu learned how Green Intent betrayed Hong Ling, the Shi Household’s adopted daughter, and eventually got expelled from the Azure Tide Sect. The account ended with Green Intent’s later reappearance as one of the Wuyi Tribe.

• Yili told Su Jiu that Green Intent had grown jealous of Hong Ling and secretly portrayed her as a cruel bully to their friends.
• Hong Ling overheard Green Intent’s false complaints, and the Shi parents investigated before making Green Intent choose between becoming Hong Ling’s maid or leaving the household.
• Green Intent entered the Azure Tide Sect as Hong Ling’s maid, but Hong Ling’s master refused to let her join the Inner Gate.
• Green Intent used visits to Hong Ling as a pretext to pursue Ning Hai, so Hong Ling explained the situation to him and he stopped seeing Green Intent.
• Green Intent spread rumors about Hong Ling, and Hong Ling’s master expelled her from the sect for falsely accusing a personal disciple.
• Su Jiu realized Green Intent had later become one of the Wuyi Tribe.