Chapter Summaries

Feng Qi and Yun Chao watched three cultivators flee from magic beasts after realizing the trio intended to use them as bait. The female cultivator sacrificed her companion to escape, and Feng Qi explained that the group had survived by repeatedly sacrificing others.

• A male cultivator urged his companions to lure the magic beasts toward Feng Qi and Yun Chao, while the frightened female cultivator resented their leader's callousness.
• Feng Qi and Yun Chao left the trio behind, then used Concealment Breath Talismans to watch them from above.
• Feng Qi explained that the trio could survive by fighting or sacrificing a companion, as the magic beasts closed in.
• The female cultivator bound the leading male cultivator with a ribbon, passed him, and escaped as the magic beasts killed her.
• Yun Chao was horrified that the male cultivator continued fleeing, and Feng Qi revealed that the trio had repeatedly used the same tactic to kill others.

Feng Qi and Yun Chao watched a cowardly cultivator sacrifice his companions before escaping with powerful talismans, then discovered that someone had deliberately destroyed the formation eye. They left the Windforest Star River and emerged before a crowd, where Luo Cheng recognized them and worried about who else his younger sister had sent inside.

• A male cultivator used a talisman to turn his companion's ribbon against her, then fled as the magic beasts pursued him.
• Feng Qi and Yun Chao mocked the cultivator's cowardice and discussed Su Jiu's past experience in Millet Village.
• The cultivator unleashed three fifth-tier Thunderstorm Talismans, destroying the magic beasts, and Feng Qi and Yun Chao quietly headed toward the exit.
• Feng Qi and Yun Chao found that someone inside had deliberately destroyed the defensive formation's formation eye, then left the Windforest Star River.
• Luo Cheng recognized Feng Qi and Yun Chao among those who emerged, while Feng Qi gave him a friendly smile.

Feng Qi revealed that magic beasts had appeared in Windforest Star River, and Luo Cheng faced growing suspicion that the Vast Righteousness Sect had concealed a failure in the secret realm’s seal. Luo Cheng promised to clear the beasts within a month, but his explanation only deepened the crowd’s doubts.

• Feng Qi warned Luo Cheng not to interfere with the Enforcement Hall’s affairs, and Luo Cheng sent a Message Talisman to alert the sect.
• Yun Chao noticed that time inside Windforest Star River passed at the same rate as outside, unlike other sealed secret realms he had heard about.
• Feng Qi told Xia Jue and the gathered cultivators that magic beasts had appeared inside Windforest Star River, stirring alarm and suspicion toward Luo Cheng.
• A Heavenly Music Pavilion disciple demanded that the sect rescue those still trapped, while Vast Righteous Sect disciples refused to let him enter.
• Cultivators from other sects challenged the Vast Righteous Sect to explain how the secret realm under its control had become overrun with magic beasts.
• Luo Cheng insisted the beasts posed little danger and promised the Vast Righteous Sect would clear them out within a month, prompting cultivators to recall something that fueled their doubts.

At Windforest Star River, cultivators challenged the Vast Righteousness Sect over its repeated month-long closures and the deaths of its seal guards. Xia Jue confronted Xia Yun, whose resentment toward him was rooted in a lifetime of feeling overshadowed.

• A cultivator accused the Vast Righteousness Sect of using the recurring deaths and closures at Windforest Star River to keep other sects out, and Luo Cheng suspected he was fishing for information.
• Xia Jue waited at the entrance while Feng Qi explained that he was expecting someone; Yun Chao thought those still inside the secret realm, other than Su Jiu and her companions, were likely dead.
• As cultivators tried to force their way into Windforest Star River, nearly a hundred Vast Righteousness Sect disciples arrived and stopped them with their show of force.
• The Mask Man, Xia Yun, addressed Xia Jue as the Jade-Scepter Young Master, and Xia Jue replied that Xia Yun had grown bold.
• Feng Qi challenged Xia Yun's claims of kindness and loyalty, prompting Xia Yun to stop speaking publicly.
• Xia Yun reflected that Xia Jue had always outshone him and that, if Xia Jue had not existed, he might have been chosen by the Azure Tide Sect instead.

Xia Jue entered the Windforest Star River despite Xia Yun’s attempt to stop him, and Xia Yun calmed the crowd by promising a rescue and compensation. He then ordered Luo Cheng to capture Luo Ge, forcing him to choose between the sect and his sister.

• Luo Cheng whispered to Xia Yun, but Xia Jue entered the Windforest Star River with his Enforcement Hall disciples before Xia Yun could stop him.
• Xia Yun chose not to pursue Xia Jue and promised the crowd help finding their missing friends and family, an explanation about the magic beasts, and compensation for the injured and dead.
• Luo Cheng asked Xia Yun whether allowing everyone into the Secret Realm would cause trouble, and Xia Yun said the sect likely already knew what had happened.
• Xia Yun blamed Luo Cheng for bringing Luo Ge back and ordered him to capture her, offering him the choice of earning merit or fleeing the Vast Righteousness Sect with his sister.

Feng Qi and Xia Jue discussed how Xia Yun would respond to their demand to enter the Secret Realm. Elsewhere, Qiu Jian wandered through a dangerous forest, awakened an ability to sense Demonic Qi, and followed its flow while black qi began appearing in his eyes.

• Feng Qi teased Xia Jue for provoking Xia Yun, and Xia Jue predicted Xia Yun would eventually let them into the Secret Realm.
• Qiu Jian scavenged supplies from dead cultivators but realized the forest was not leading him toward the exit.
• Qiu Jian became lost amid spreading black qi and felt his mind grow foggy.
• A wisp of black qi touched Qiu Jian between the brows, clearing his head and granting him the ability to sense Demonic Qi.
• Qiu Jian traced the Demonic Qi toward another part of the forest, unaware that black qi was appearing in his pupils.

Su Jiu, Yun Huanling, and Gu Ningyun reached a vast Miasma Forest that Su Jiu believed surrounded the seal’s rift passage. She urged her companions to wait outside for Feng Qi’s group, but Yun Huanling objected.

• After ending her attunement, Su Jiu returned to her original appearance, and Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun saw how much her strength had changed.
• The three traveled toward the Seal Center, rescuing cultivators along the way, though those they helped chose not to accompany them.
• They reached a Miasma Forest where black smoke and suppressed divine sense made the terrain dangerous.
• Su Jiu noticed that the land sloped downward and explained that the forest likely formed a ring around the sealed rift passage.
• Yun Huanling suspected powerful beasts had claimed the forest, while Su Jiu warned that its formations and hidden dangers could limit her ability to protect her companions.
• Su Jiu asked Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun to wait outside for Feng Qi’s group, but Yun Huanling was the first to object.

Su Jiu, Gu Ningyun, and Yun Huanling entered the Miasma Forest together and followed a trail of fresh shoe prints. They found the Vast Righteousness Sect disciple who had left them, sprinting toward them in terror.

• Gu Ningyun and Yun Huanling insisted on accompanying Su Jiu into the dangerous Miasma Forest.
• The group crossed muddy ground while wary of the strange plants lurking around them, and Yun Huanling forgot he could levitate until Su Jiu pointed out his footprints.
• Su Jiu spotted a large shoe print, and Yun Huanling identified its faint sole pattern as belonging to a Vast Righteousness Sect disciple.
• The three followed the prints, which were less than an hour old, and soon saw their owner running toward them as if pursued.
• The fleeing male cultivator noticed Su Jiu and her companions, and his eyes lit up.

Qiu Jian pretended to flee from a vengeful ghost, then offered to guide Su Jiu and the others to its treasure-filled cave in exchange for a share. As they set off, Yun Huanling used his Compass to tell Qiu Jian’s fortune and declared that he was a lonely calamity star with no family, descendants, or like-minded friends.

• Qiu Jian claimed that a vengeful ghost had blocked the way, but Su Jiu saw through his act when he tried to lure them with promises of treasure.
• Qiu Jian dropped the pretense and proposed that the four of them kill the ghost and split the cave’s contents equally.
• Su Jiu agreed to go, while Gu Ningyun and Yun Huanling mocked Qiu Jian as they traveled with him.
• Yun Huanling announced that he would tell Qiu Jian’s fortune and used his Compass without waiting for permission.
• Yun Huanling declared that Qiu Jian had no family or descendants, was a lone star of calamity, and lacked friends who shared his ideals.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling exposed Qiu Jian as the evil ghost’s slave and followed him to the cave. Su Jiu struck down the ghost, who could not escape the area, and her cold remark suggested she had confirmed her suspicion about its limits.

• Qiu Jian led Su Jiu, Yun Huanling, and Gu Ningyun to a cave where he claimed an evil ghost was hiding.
• Yun Huanling revealed that Qiu Jian was serving the ghost, and Su Jiu explained how she had noticed the ghost qi and his contradictory behavior.
• Su Jiu reasoned that the evil ghost could not leave the cave’s vicinity, then the ghost charged at her.
• Su Jiu cut the ghost in two with a sword strike, while Qiu Jian writhed in pain from their contract and part of the cave collapsed.
• The wounded ghost tried to flee but was dragged back, and Su Jiu said, “Just as I thought!”

Su Jiu questioned the bound evil ghost and learned that a powerful ghost kept cultivators trapped inside the Miasma Forest, which might itself be a tangible illusion. As Yun Huanling’s compass failed to find a way through the miasma, Qiu Jian woke up.

• Su Jiu questioned the red-robed ghost, who said a Soul-Binding Formation had bound her to the clearing where she died.
• The ghost explained that she had contracted with Qiu Jian to keep him company and had sent him to greet Su Jiu and the others, not to attack them.
• The ghost revealed that another entrance led to the sealed rift and that a powerful ghost watched over the Miasma Forest, trapping cultivators who entered.
• Su Jiu suspected the forest was a tangible illusion conjured by the powerful ghost and noted that no bones were visible despite reports of deaths there.
• Yun Huanling tried to use the Nine-Bend Compass, but the dense miasma disrupted it, and Qiu Jian woke up.

Su Jiu and her companions dealt with Qiu Jian after he ambushed her, then pressured the evil ghost into surrendering his hoarded possessions. The ghost survived, but lost everything in his half-collapsed cave.

• Qiu Jian ambushed Su Jiu, but she dodged his attack and severed his arm with the Frostbound Purple Ultimate Sword.
• Yun Huanling bound Qiu Jian, and the evil ghost told him they were trapped there; Qiu Jian panicked and tried to escape.
• The evil ghost abandoned Qiu Jian as a servant after he appeared to lose his mind.
• Su Jiu said she was inclined to spare the ghost, then used Qiu Jian's claims about the ghost's wealth to demand proof of his sincerity.
• The evil ghost led Su Jiu, Yun Huanling, and Gu Ningyun to his cave and handed over all his possessions.

Su Jiu said she knew how to break the illusion but needed to wait for people to arrive. In the secret realm, the Azurewood Sect’s leader challenged the Vast Righteousness Sect’s ability to protect the realm, while Feng Qi led the Enforcement Hall toward the Miasma Forest and Xia Yun stayed behind.

• Su Jiu told her companions that breaking the illusion required waiting for some people to arrive.
• As more cultivators entered the secret realm, they found gruesome remains, and an elegant middle-aged woman wept over her dead son.
• The woman confronted Xia Yun, withdrew the Azurewood Sect’s support, and warned that the Vast Righteousness Sect might be losing control of the rift seal.
• Feng Qi led the Enforcement Hall deeper into the secret realm while Xia Yun delayed to calm the other cultivators, allowing the group to disappear.
• When a female cultivator asked whether they should stop the Enforcement Hall from entering the Miasma Forest, Xia Yun told her not to interfere.

Xia Yun learned that the Great Tomb had collapsed and hurried off with two disciples, leaving the other Vast Righteousness Sect members to return home. After he left, a male cultivator urged the gathered sects to investigate the Windforest Star River and resist paying tribute to the Vast Righteousness Sect.

• Xia Yun questioned a female cultivator about Luo Cheng and Xia Jue, then considered using her as a scapegoat to undermine the other sects' alliance.
• A scout reported that the Great Tomb had collapsed, alarming Xia Yun over the seal and the possible consequences.
• Xia Yun took two disciples with him and ordered his deputy to lead the remaining Vast Righteousness Sect disciples back to the sect.
• Xia Yun claimed that someone had triggered a mechanism and left to deal with the danger, while the gathered cultivators doubted his explanation.
• A male cultivator urged the others to uncover what happened in the Windforest Star River and unite against the Vast Righteousness Sect's tribute demands.

Feng Qi and Yun Chao led Enforcement Hall disciples to the Miasma Forest, where Xia Jue warned weaker cultivators not to enter before taking a group inside. Outside the forest, the remaining disciples held their formation as a worried Vast Righteousness Sect cultivator arrived asking for Xia Jue.

• Feng Qi and Yun Chao brought Enforcement Hall disciples and Heavenly Music Pavilion disciples to the Miasma Forest.
• Xia Jue left two Spirit Severing Stage cultivators and the remaining Enforcement Hall disciples to guard the entrance, then entered the forest with twelve Spirit Severing Stage cultivators.
• Yun Chao followed Xia Jue inside, while other sect disciples wondered why the Enforcement Hall had left so many people outside.
• A gray-clad cultivator tried to bait a naive-looking male cultivator into asking the Enforcement Hall why weaker cultivators had been warned away, but the man declined.
• Heavenly Music Pavilion disciples debated whether to ask the Enforcement Hall about Xia Jue's warning while worrying about Gu Ningyun.
• A female cultivator from the Vast Righteousness Sect hurried up to the Enforcement Hall disciples and asked where the Jade-Scepter Young Master was.

A Vast Righteousness Sect female cultivator warned the Enforcement Hall disciples that Xia Jue was in danger in the Miasma Forest, but they dismissed her pleas. She entered the forest herself, leaving the others stunned as the Enforcement Hall disciples continued to wait.

• The Vast Righteousness Sect female cultivator urged the Enforcement Hall disciples to send Xia Jue a Message Talisman and warned that no one survived the Miasma Forest.
• The Heavenly Music Pavilion junior sister confronted the female cultivator, but her senior sister stopped her from escalating the argument.
• The female cultivator recalled her past infatuation with Xia Jue and hoped that saving him would give her another chance to get close to him.
• Thirteen and another Enforcement Hall disciple told the female cultivator to enter the forest herself if she truly wanted to help Xia Jue.
• The female cultivator went into the Miasma Forest, while the others speculated about her motives and the Enforcement Hall disciples stayed outside.

He Panpan entered Windforest Star River alone, hoping to rescue Xia Jue and win his affection, but he saved her from the forest’s dangers. After several days of growing closer, they encountered Su Jiu, bringing their time alone together to an end.

• He Panpan wandered through the Miasma Forest, distracted by fantasies of becoming Xia Jue’s most important woman, as a vine and black energy closed in around her.
• Xia Jue rescued He Panpan from a striking vine and cut down the dangerous plants surrounding them.
• He Panpan told Xia Jue she had come because she worried about him, then urged him to leave; Xia Jue insisted on continuing to search for his junior sister.
• He Panpan offered to help Xia Jue look for Su Jiu, and their conversation grew warm as they traveled together for several days.
• He Panpan and Xia Jue encountered a beautiful white-clad woman sitting beneath a tree, and He Panpan was stunned by her appearance.

He Panpan grew increasingly jealous of Xia Jue’s devoted care for his junior sister Su Jiu as they searched for Su Jiu’s missing companions. After He Panpan finally confronted Xia Jue about their relationship, he dismissed her concerns while comforting Su Jiu, leaving He Panpan heartbroken.

• Xia Jue found Su Jiu, who said she had injured her foot and become separated from her two companions, and carried her in his arms.
• He Panpan introduced herself as Xia Jue’s close friend and offered to help Su Jiu, but Su Jiu clung to Xia Jue and he excused her fear of strangers.
• As the group searched for Su Jiu’s companions, He Panpan noticed Su Jiu repeatedly interrupting her attempts to speak privately with Xia Jue.
• He Panpan asked Xia Jue what she and Su Jiu meant to him, and he called Su Jiu family while teasing He Panpan about being jealous.
• After a month of searching, He Panpan lost control of her jealousy, and Xia Jue comforted a crying Su Jiu instead of answering He Panpan’s question about their relationship.

He Panpan overheard Xia Jue and Su Jiu speaking affectionately and became consumed by jealousy, then confronted them and demanded that Xia Jue choose between her and his junior sister. Xia Jue refused to choose, leaving the three of them in a tense stalemate as He Panpan struggled to tell whether his reassurances were true or lies.

• Xia Jue told He Panpan that he disliked who she had become, but He Panpan resolved not to give up on him.
• He Panpan secretly watched Su Jiu ask Xia Jue when they could part ways with her, and heard Xia Jue say they still needed He Panpan to find the exit.
• Su Jiu questioned whether Xia Jue had fallen for He Panpan, and Xia Jue reassured her that she was the only one he loved before they embraced.
• He Panpan's black qi surged as she attacked a dead tree with her Life-Bound Treasure and confronted Xia Jue and Su Jiu.
• He Panpan demanded that Xia Jue choose between her and Su Jiu, but he refused and said he did not want either of them hurt.

He Panpan became trapped in a vision where Xia Jue agreed to make her his Dao Companion, then later appeared to betray her with Su Jiu. As He Panpan attacked Su Jiu, she learned the scene might have been an illusion.

• He Panpan demanded that Xia Jue become her Dao Companion immediately, and Xia Jue pretended to agree.
• He Panpan imagined their ceremony, their return to the Azure Tide Sect, and the child they had together.
• Near childbirth, He Panpan saw Xia Jue and Su Jiu together and found herself unable to reach or harm them.
• He Panpan transformed her hands into claws and charged at Su Jiu, who appeared to taunt her before revealing herself fully dressed nearby.