Chapter Summaries

He Panpan awakened after tearing open her abdomen and became a vengeful ghost king, while Xia Jue learned that she was hunting him and Su Jiu. Su Jiu’s group found He Panpan’s corpse and inferred that a ghost had deceived her into carrying a ghost fetus.

• He Panpan clawed open her swollen abdomen, releasing a lifeless ghost infant before she awakened and vowed revenge on Su Jiu and Xia Jue.
• Xia Jue and Feng Qi learned that a red-eyed vengeful ghost king was devouring souls and approaching them while calling out Su Jiu and Xia Jue’s names.
• Xia Jue sent Feng Qi and Eleventh to question ghosts, then followed his Sound-Mixing Bell toward Su Jiu.
• Su Jiu, Yun Huanling, and Gu Ningyun entered an area dense with resentful qi and found a dead Vast Righteousness Sect disciple with a gaping abdominal wound.
• Su Jiu concluded that the woman had carried a ghost fetus and explained that a ghost could bewitch someone by appearing as the person they longed for.

Su Jiu and her companions realized the female ghost had manipulated the dead cultivator and was driving Wenren Qingtang toward them. They rushed to help him, but the ghost attacked them first, and Su Jiu used a talisman to neutralize her black threads.

• Gu Ningyun and Yun Huanling discussed the female cultivator’s resentful qi, and Su Jiu concluded the ghost had done more than exploit her weakness.
• Su Jiu sensed Wenren Qingtang fighting two Vengeful Ghosts and saw that he was badly wounded and near collapse.
• Su Jiu warned Gu Ningyun and Yun Huanling that the female ghost was driving Wenren Qingtang toward them, so they decided to help him instead of fleeing.
• As the three approached Wenren Qingtang, the female ghost attacked them with three black threads while Yun Huanling began forming a protective formation.
• Su Jiu activated a golden talisman, which caused the threads’ yin resentful qi and demonic qi to disappear when they struck it.

Su Jiu joined Wenren Qingtang in confronting the early Spirit Transformation female ghost while Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun remained protected inside his formation. The ghost, He Panpan, recognized Su Jiu and attacked her over a supposed betrayal involving her husband, Xia Jue, leaving Su Jiu locked in a draining stalemate.

• Su Jiu used her modified Purification Talisman to protect Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun while Yun Huanling's formation settled into place.
• Su Jiu told Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun to stay inside the formation, then went to help Wenren Qingtang hold off the female ghost.
• Su Jiu found Wenren Qingtang near death, and the female ghost stopped when she saw Su Jiu before accusing her of stealing her husband.
• He Panpan attacked Su Jiu and tried to slash her face, but Su Jiu blocked her claws with the Frostbound Purple Ultimate Sword.
• Su Jiu realized she could not sustain the clash for long because He Panpan was a major realm stronger.

Su Jiu and Wenren Qingtang worked together against the female ghost and her infant, whose shrill cries and powerful attacks threatened them both. Su Jiu struck the female ghost with a Thunderstorm Talisman, but the infant took the lightning in her place and was gravely wounded.

• Su Jiu urged Wenren Qingtang to help her fight the female ghost, and he began meditating before joining the battle with an ancient longsword.
• The infant on the female ghost’s back weakened Wenren Qingtang’s sword strike with a shrill cry, leaving Su Jiu’s ears bleeding.
• Wenren Qingtang drew the female ghost’s attention, and she prepared her ultimate attack in the darkened mist.
• Su Jiu chose a Thunderstorm Talisman and launched it at the female ghost as she attacked Wenren Qingtang.
• The infant tried to remove the talisman and took its lightning strike instead, suffering severe injuries as the Heavenly Dao intensified its punishment.

Su Jiu and Wenren Qingtang fought the savage ghost and the Ghost Infant, but the infant’s attack left Wenren Qingtang unconscious. As Su Jiu moved to stop them, the savage ghost deceived the Ghost Infant into entering her mouth, absorbing him and restoring her strength.

• Su Jiu struck the savage ghost with a Purification Talisman infused with Spirit-Cleansing Pool Water while Wenren Qingtang restrained her with a Magic Treasure.
• The Ghost Infant tore the talisman from the savage ghost, losing part of his body, then transformed into black qi to carry her out of Wenren Qingtang’s attack.
• The Ghost Infant turned into a black sword and attacked Wenren Qingtang’s Sea of Consciousness, leaving him unconscious before retreating to the savage ghost.
• The savage ghost stroked the Ghost Infant and falsely promised that she loved him, while Su Jiu prepared to attack them both with talismans.
• The savage ghost blocked Su Jiu’s talismans with her remaining strength, and the Ghost Infant entered her mouth as black mist, restoring her power.

After devouring the Ghost Infant, He Panpan emerged from a cocoon of black miasma transformed by demonic qi and attacked Su Jiu. The Snow Sprite returned to its true form to help defend her as the chapter ended with He Panpan turning her attention to it.

• Su Jiu used Purification Talismans against the cocoon, but they only cleansed its outer layer, and Little Pearl warned that little Spirit-Cleansing Pool Water remained.
• Su Jiu refused to let Little Pearl fight and hoped to hold out until Senior Brother arrived, while the Snow Sprite revealed it could fight in its true form alongside Purple Ultimate.
• The cocoon broke apart, revealing He Panpan with four eyes, fangs, and wings of black miasma, transformed into a monster infused with demonic qi.
• He Panpan blamed Su Jiu for stealing her husband and harming her child, then unleashed overwhelming pressure that made Su Jiu bleed.
• He Panpan lunged for Su Jiu's ankle, but Su Jiu dodged; the Snow Sprite's anger lowered the temperature, and He Panpan sneered at it as Su Jiu's new helper.

Su Jiu stalled the enraged female ghost with a mirror while waiting for help, then discovered a strange force inside the unconscious Wenren Qingtang. After Wenren Qingtang woke and prepared to fight with a damaged Spirit Treasure, Su Jiu noticed the gourd turning blood red.

• Su Jiu showed the female ghost her reflection, sending her into a rage whose howls could help Su Jiu’s Senior Brother find them.
• Su Jiu examined Wenren Qingtang and felt his body repel her spiritual qi while giving off a strange attraction.
• Wenren Qingtang woke, saw the ghost’s transformed appearance, and realized she had likely devoured the Ghost Infant.
• Wenren Qingtang brought out a damaged gourd-shaped Spirit Treasure that could absorb yin resentful qi, but warned that it sometimes failed.
• Su Jiu saw the gourd turn from golden yellow to blood red and asked Wenren Qingtang if something was wrong with it.

The Ugly Gourd released its spiritual qi and drew the Female Ghost’s attention to Su Jiu, who was wounded by attacks in the Miasma Forest. Su Jiu’s blood harmed the ghost, but the Female Ghost adapted by attacking with the forest’s yin resentful qi, leaving Su Jiu surrounded and increasingly injured.

• The Ugly Gourd flew from Wenren Qingtang’s hand, opened its stopper, and absorbed the surrounding yin resentful qi before going dark and falling to the ground.
• The Female Ghost noticed Su Jiu and threatened to kill her and take her face, while Wenren Qingtang asked whether Su Jiu had stolen the ghost’s husband.
• The Female Ghost formed blades from black miasma and struck Su Jiu in the leg, but the yin evil qi entering her wounds was corroded by Su Jiu’s blood.
• The Female Ghost recognized the mysterious power surrounding Su Jiu and grew wary, while Wenren Qingtang watched in surprise.
• The Female Ghost resumed attacking with blades formed from the forest’s yin resentful qi, and Su Jiu sustained more wounds as she tried to evade them.

Su Jiu endured the female ghost’s assault while Wenren Qingtang went to fetch Xia Jue, then helped trap the ghost until Xia Jue arrived with the World-Cleansing Glazed Pagoda. The ghost recognized Xia Jue and Su Jiu and cursed them, but neither could remember her, leaving Feng Qi to pity her.

• Su Jiu told Wenren Qingtang to find Xia Jue for help, and he left while she stayed to face the female ghost.
• The female ghost battered Su Jiu and taunted her, but Su Jiu resisted and concluded that the ghost’s hatred came from confused memories.
• As the female ghost prepared to strike Su Jiu with a black sphere, Su Jiu called for her senior brother, and a golden formation trapped the ghost.
• Su Jiu took a Great Restoration Pill, and Xia Jue arrived with Feng Qi and others, carrying the World-Cleansing Glazed Pagoda.
• Xia Jue identified the creature as a fusion of a ghost and a demon, and the female ghost cursed Xia Jue and Su Jiu by name.
• Xia Jue and Su Jiu both asked whether the other knew the female ghost, while Feng Qi sympathized with her apparent rage.

Xia Jue and Su Jiu questioned the Female Ghost and learned that someone had used a ghost to target them. Su Jiu suspected the Wenren Household, and Xia Jue explained that it was a notable lineage backed by a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator.

• Xia Jue arrived and asked Yang Guo to use Heart Discernment on the Female Ghost.
• Yang Guo warned that the Female Ghost’s collapsing consciousness allowed them only one useful question, so Xia Jue had her recount what happened.
• After an hour of listening to the Female Ghost’s account, Xia Jue concluded that someone was plotting against them by instructing a ghost.
• Su Jiu asked whether a person could control ghosts without carrying ghost qi, and Xia Jue said magic treasures could conceal it.
• Su Jiu asked Xia Jue about the Wenren Household, and he described it as a notable clan that rose by relying on the Vast Righteousness Sect and had a Spirit Transformation Stage backer.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue investigated Wenren Qingtang’s history, then revealed to the dying He Panpan that her memories of them had come from an illusion realm. He Panpan accepted that she had been deceived but died without learning who was behind it.

• Xia Jue told Su Jiu that Wenren Qingtang had lost his memories, risen rapidly to Spirit Transformation, and become the Wenren Household’s youngest elder.
• Su Jiu recounted her encounter with Wenren Qingtang, and she and Xia Jue exchanged a knowing glance.
• Su Jiu explained to He Panpan that her memories of Su Jiu and Xia Jue had been created by an illusion realm, pointing out the ghost infant and the inconsistencies in those memories.
• Su Jiu showed He Panpan her corpse and explained that the ghost infant had taken her life force while her own resentment had produced the yin resentful qi.
• He Panpan accepted that she had been deceived and asked whether Su Jiu and Xia Jue had found the person responsible, but received only silence.

He Panpan vanished inside the World-Cleansing Glazed Pagoda after realizing the pain in her heart, while Xia Jue and Su Jiu recognized the scheme that had used her to target them. Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun survived an attack by spirits disguised as Su Jiu and her companions, then reunited with the real group and asked whether the female ghost had been destroyed.

• He Panpan vanished within the encirclement of the World-Cleansing Glazed Pagoda, and Xia Jue and Su Jiu realized someone had used her as a weapon against them.
• Xia Jue and Su Jiu left to find Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun as a black-cloaked man watched them from behind a tree.
• Yun Huanling and Gu Ningyun waited for four hours until figures disguised as Su Jiu, Xia Jue, and the Enforcement Hall disciples approached their formation.
• Yun Huanling recognized the figures as impostors and struck them with a thunder talisman, blasting them into ash.
• The real Su Jiu and her companions arrived, and Yun Huanling explained what had happened before Su Jiu asked about the female ghost.

Su Jiu reunited with her companions and learned about changes at the Azure Tide Sect and Su Mianmian’s approaching Dao Companion ceremony. As Xia Jue led the group through the woods, they found a powerful node in the physical illusion realm, and Su Jiu tried to estimate how many nodes the realm contained.

• Yun Huanling explained how he had exposed the evil spirits, while Gu Ningyun questioned his tactics.
• Xia Jue warned Su Jiu that new elders had filled three positions at the Azure Tide Sect and offered to stand up for her if anyone caused trouble.
• Feng Qi told Su Jiu that Su Mianmian and Jin Chen were expected to hold a Dao Companion ceremony, and Su Jiu realized Mian Mian might have waited for her return.
• Xia Jue led the group safely through the woods, where the World-Cleansing Glazed Pagoda dealt with any evil spirits that approached.
• Xia Jue showed Su Jiu a red cord marking a node in the physical illusion realm, and she sensed that it was more powerful than the node that had sealed the Snow Sprite.
• Su Jiu tried to calculate how many nodes the Secret Realm contained but could narrow the answer only to two uncertain possibilities.

Su Jiu learned from Xia Jue that she could locate nodes by sending her divine sense inside one and seeing the lights of nearby nodes. As the group continued through the Miasma Forest, Yun Huanling struggled to calculate the nodes, prompting Gu Ningyun to ask how much he knew about them.

• Su Jiu initially narrowed the number of nodes to seven or nine, and Xia Jue explained that the answer was nine because spiritual qi made calculations imprecise.
• Xia Jue explained that the Miasma Forest concealed nodes by blocking divine sense, then taught Su Jiu to send her divine sense inside a node.
• Su Jiu saw nine white lights representing nearby nodes and realized the method worked as a shortcut for her, though Feng Qi noted that others could not see them.
• Yun Huanling tried to calculate the answer himself, failed, and sighed that it seemed impossible.
• Gu Ningyun noticed Yun Huanling's behavior and asked whether he knew about nodes.

Gu Ningyun learned about nodes as Xia Jue and Su Jiu led the group toward the remaining ones. After they left a dead tree, a black-cloaked figure failed to reach the protected talisman and vanished, while a little ghost’s attempt to touch it with ghost qi was instantly purified.

• Yun Huanling explained the basics of nodes to Gu Ningyun, who realized the Heavenly Music Pavilion might not know they existed.
• Xia Jue explained that all real-realm nodes had to be destroyed simultaneously and said they had already found two.
• The group left the dead tree and traveled through the mist toward the next node.
• A black-cloaked figure tried to touch the talisman but was blocked by a spiritual qi barrier, then vanished after forming a circle of light.
• A little ghost tried to reach the talisman with ghost qi, but the talisman’s purifying light scoured it away.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue persuaded a ghost king to let their group pass, then continued toward the final node through increasingly dense mist. The mist separated the cultivators, and Yun Huanling realized that his ribbon had become a withered branch as his mind grew hazy.

• Xia Jue told Su Jiu that someone had tried and failed to tamper with their talismans, and Su Jiu deduced that the creator of the illusory image nodes might be involved.
• After seven days, Xia Jue and the others encountered a ghost king guarding the route to the final node, and Su Jiu persuaded him that his master intended to wear them down and eventually kill him.
• The ghost king stepped aside, and Su Jiu admitted that much of her argument had been guesses and deductions; Xia Jue confirmed that their opponent was likely trying to exhaust them.
• As the group approached the final node, thickening mist restricted their sight and divine sense, and an Enforcement Hall disciple disappeared.
• Gu Ningyun gave the group a ribbon to hold as they advanced, but Yun Huanling lost sight of Su Jiu, found a withered branch in his hand, and used a talisman to clear his hazy mind.

Yang Guo wandered through a mist into the village where she had been abused and exploited since childhood, and recovered memories of her life there. Five years later, she overheard the village chief and his wife discussing killing her to protect their secret, despite the wealth her mountain-gathered medicinal plants brought them.

• Yang Guo emerged from the mist into a village and gradually remembered that its residents had exploited her since she was a child.
• The villagers took the medicinal plants from Yang Guo’s basket while children insulted her and called her a jinx.
• A villager warned his wife that Yang Guo might flee into the mountain, and they called her a profitable monster.
• Yang Guo lived in a converted stable and traded all the medicinal plants she gathered for meager food.
• Five years later, Yang Guo overheard the village chief’s wife urging him to kill her before their secret was revealed.
• The village chief hesitated to kill Yang Guo because she brought them wealth, while his wife resented the thought of losing her gold.

Yang Guo's past revealed how the villagers exploited her ability to return from the forbidden mountain with spirit plants after the Yang Household Massacre. As a voice urged her to take revenge, conflicting memories left her unable to remember who had once helped her.

• The Village Chief's Wife sold the grass Yang Guo carried to a Traveling Merchant for ten taels, unaware it was a spirit plant.
• The village chief's family repeatedly sent Yang Guo into the Deep Mountains, then sold the spirit plants she brought back for silver.
• The villagers discovered the scheme, forced the village chief's family to share the profits, and continued exploiting Yang Guo despite the dangers of the mountain.
• Yang Guo grew up hearing a voice recount the villagers' crimes and gradually gained the ability to hear their thoughts.
• The voice urged Yang Guo to burn the villagers in revenge, while she struggled with conflicting memories of people who had helped her.

Yang Guo broke free of a Dream-Luring Soul’s illusion and learned that it had trapped the group by exploiting their deepest fixations and fears. After Xia Jue and Feng Qi disappeared, Su Jiu led the awakened disciples onward, believing she could locate Xia Jue.

• Yang Guo remembered how the Enforcement Hall had saved her as a child and used that memory to resist the Dream-Luring Soul, then watched its black energy flee her sea of consciousness.
• Yang Guo awakened in the mist and learned from Su Jiu that the group had been ensnared by a Dream-Luring Soul, with three disciples already missing.
• Yun Huanling reported that Xia Jue had disappeared, and Su Jiu reassured the group that Xia Jue was likely still alive and could be found.
• Su Jiu noticed the mist thinning, then the group discovered that Feng Qi was missing too and looked to Su Jiu for guidance.
• All the remaining disciples, including Gu Ningyun, awakened from their illusions, and Su Jiu said she might be able to lead them to Xia Jue.

Su Jiu helped Gu Ningyun recover from the emotional shock of the Illusion Realm while Yun Huanling tried to win her attention by acting weak and pitiful. Su Jiu saw through his performance and beat him, leaving him in pain and regretting his storybook-inspired plan.

• Su Jiu gave Gu Ningyun a Three Purities pill and explained what had happened while Gu Ningyun was gone.
• Yun Huanling grew jealous of the attention Su Jiu gave Gu Ningyun and pretended to be pale and unwell.
• Yun Huanling acted pitiful and accused Su Jiu of doubting his sincerity, but she recognized his performance.
• Su Jiu grabbed Yun Huanling by the collar, then sent him flying and beat him severely.
• Yun Huanling was left bruised and sore, regretting that he had tried to get Su Jiu's attention like a storybook character.