Chapter Summaries

Xia Jue and Feng Qi discovered that a curse had displaced them into an overlapping offset space containing the forest’s final Red Cord, while Su Jiu and her companions emerged from the mist into a strange, lush jungle. The Sound-Mixing Bell indicated that Su Jiu was close to her Senior Brother, but she still could not sense anyone.

• Xia Jue identified the Transposition Curse as the reason he, Feng Qi, and three Enforcement Hall disciples had been brought to the giant tree.
• Xia Jue explained that the tree and the group occupied different but overlapping spaces, so they could not touch it or reach its Red Cord normally.
• Feng Qi worried that the curse caster must be far stronger than a spirit transformation cultivator, while Xia Jue considered how to solve the problem.
• Su Jiu and her companions left the white mist and found themselves in a lush jungle, prompting Yang Guo to fear they had entered another illusion realm.
• Su Jiu checked the Sound-Mixing Bell and found that it pointed toward her Senior Brother, though she still sensed no one nearby.

Su Jiu realized that the Sound-Mixing Bell was warning her about a spatial anomaly rather than malfunctioning, and deduced that the giant tree marked a point where intersecting spaces overlapped. She left the Enforcement Hall disciples confronting evidence that the forest around them was an illusion and that Xia Jue was nearby but unseen.

• Yun Huanling suggested that the Sound-Mixing Bell was broken and offered Su Jiu a prettier bell, but she told him to be quiet.
• Su Jiu and her companions saw a giant, living tree amid a forest that seemed to have no life, while Xia Jue and Feng Qi watched them approach unseen.
• At the tree, Su Jiu sensed a ripple in space and spotted the node, but noticed that Xia Jue was absent and the bell kept warning her.
• Su Jiu concluded that Xia Jue was nearby and explained that the tree stood where intersecting spaces overlapped, with the Sound-Mixing Bell responding to the anomaly.
• An Enforcement Hall disciple tried to reach nearby vegetation but ran in place from his companions’ perspective, supporting Su Jiu’s explanation.

Su Jiu and her companions discovered they were trapped in a subspace, while Xia Jue’s group searched for a way to reach them. Wenren Qingtang attacked Xia Jue and revealed he had targeted Su Jiu from the beginning, leaving the reason for his interest in her and his connection to the forest’s master unresolved.

• Su Jiu explained that the group was trapped in a subspace bound to a living tree, and that cutting it down would make its node disappear for a thousand years; an outsider finding an entry point could free them without harming the tree.
• Xia Jue and his companions encountered Wenren Qingtang, who admitted he had deliberately approached Su Jiu and considered Xia Jue’s group the greater threat.
• Wenren Qingtang sent vengeful souls and then Yin-Devouring Butterflies against Xia Jue’s group, but they defeated both waves.
• Wenren Qingtang said he had joined the Wenren Household because it was easy to control and claimed killing Xia Jue would bring him greater glory than killing Su Jiu.
• Xia Jue accused Wenren Qingtang’s unseen backer of being unable to act directly and of using curse arts and hired attackers to restrict Su Jiu’s growth.

Wenren Qingtang admitted that he had cursed Su Jiu and revealed she was trapped in the interwoven space, while Xia Jue explained how she had come to suspect him. Wenren Qingtang then attacked Xia Jue and the Enforcement Hall disciples with black flames of yin resentful qi.

• Xia Jue provoked Wenren Qingtang by calling him and the other descendants of the Divine Race mere substitutes for their master, but Wenren Qingtang controlled his anger.
• Wenren Qingtang admitted that he had placed the curse on Su Jiu and said she had realized she was trapped in the interwoven space after he stripped away her Heart Discernment.
• Wenren Qingtang said Su Jiu was clever enough to threaten him and asked Xia Jue when she had first suspected him.
• Xia Jue told Wenren Qingtang that Su Jiu had been wary of him from their first meeting, and that her suspicions returned when he brought the female ghost to her.
• Wenren Qingtang ordered the Enforcement Hall disciples to teach Xia Jue a lesson and sent clusters of black flames at them.

Xia Jue and the Enforcement Hall disciples struggled to evade Wenren Qingtang’s relentless ghost fires, which grew more dangerous when attacked. As they continued fighting, a jade flute raced unseen through the woods, drawing the attention of several ghosts.

• Xia Jue ordered the Enforcement Hall disciples to dodge the ghost fires and not attack them, while Feng Qi saved a companion from being burned.
• Xia Jue realized the ghost fires repeatedly reformed after burning their targets and could keep attacking as long as negative energy remained.
• An Enforcement Hall disciple slashed a ghost fire, splitting it into two smaller wisps and making his situation worse.
• Wenren Qingtang mocked Xia Jue’s apparent indifference, and Xia Jue told a disciple to focus on the mission.
• A handsome boy raced through the woods with a jade flute, invisible to those around him, while several ghosts speculated that the flute was a Spirit Treasure.

Feng Qi and Xia Jue struggled to survive Wenren Qingtang’s intensified ghost fire, while an Enforcement Hall disciple refused Wenren Qingtang’s offer to betray his allies. As the disciple faced certain death, he remembered his loyalty to Xia Jue and hoped he could become like him in another life.

• A new ghost explained that a spirit treasure’s artifact spirit would suffer greatly if its bond with its master were broken, then wondered where it had seen the Azure Jade Xiao before.
• Feng Qi urged Xia Jue to use the World-Cleansing Glazed Pagoda, but Xia Jue refused and said he had another plan.
• As the disciples weakened, Feng Qi told one disciple to use his remaining talismans, and Wenren Qingtang tried to tempt the disciple into betraying the Enforcement Hall.
• The disciple rejected Wenren Qingtang, who retaliated by doubling the ghost fire surrounding everyone.
• Eight clusters of ghost fire trapped the exhausted disciple, who accepted his apparent death and remembered his wish to follow Xia Jue’s example.

Xia Jue used the Undead Water to absorb Wenren Qingtang’s ghost fire and save the Enforcement Hall disciples, then continued fighting him. Wenren Qingtang grew increasingly deranged, while Xia Jue remained composed and seemed to have the upper hand.

• An Enforcement Hall disciple awoke inside a golden barrier, and his friend explained that Xia Jue had saved them with the Undead Water.
• The friend recounted how Xia Jue summoned a pond whose water dragon swallowed every ghost flame and severed Wenren Qingtang’s contract with the fire.
• Wenren Qingtang, enraged by the loss of his ghost flames, attacked Xia Jue recklessly and feared that a curse had doomed him to fail.
• Feng Qi noticed Wenren Qingtang’s growing madness and foul stench, while Xia Jue calmly fought him without using the World-Cleansing Glazed Pagoda.

Wenren Qingtang’s contract backlash and curse backlash began to take effect as Xia Jue fought him. Su Jiu’s Heart Discernment returned, and she tore open a spatial rift with her sword, leaving Yun Huanling overjoyed to see her old radiance restored.

• Feng Qi explained that the stench came from Wenren Qingtang’s rotting body and the backlash from his extinguished ghost fire contract.
• As Xia Jue fought the injured Wenren Qingtang, Su Jiu sensed that the black spots in her meridians were fading and realized Wenren Qingtang had planted the gu in her.
• Su Jiu’s facial mark regained its petals, and silver light returned to her eyes as her Heart Discernment recovered.
• Su Jiu saw the world as a blank expanse and used the Frostbound Purple Ultimate Sword to tear open a black spatial rift.
• Yun Huanling watched Su Jiu regain her strength and radiance, feeling relieved that she had recovered.

Su Jiu confronted Wenren Qingtang after Xia Jue defeated him, asking why he had destroyed her innate talent. Wenren Qingtang admitted he wanted to see geniuses reduced to ordinary people, and Su Jiu exposed his jealousy and hypocrisy.

• Xia Jue defeated Wenren Qingtang, and the Enforcement Hall disciples bound the badly injured cultivator.
• A fissure opened in the miasma, revealing the enormous tree as Su Jiu, Yun Huanling, and the others emerged.
• Su Jiu faced Wenren Qingtang and asked why he had harmed her by destroying her innate talent.
• Wenren Qingtang said he wanted to see geniuses lose their status and become ordinary people.
• Su Jiu pointed out that Wenren Qingtang both resented geniuses and misled others into treating him as one, striking a nerve.

After Wenren Qingtang died and his body rotted away, Xia Jue and Su Jiu discovered that he had been a Living Clone. They concluded that the original body behind the clone remained unharmed and that the person controlling the Realmscape was likely trying to trap and kill them to conceal the truth about the magic beasts.

• Xia Jue summoned Yang Guo to question Wenren Qingtang, but Wenren Qingtang died before she could interrogate him and his body rapidly decayed.
• Xia Jue and Su Jiu found dead black gu worms among the remains, and Xia Jue explained that they had sustained Wenren Qingtang as a Living Clone.
• Xia Jue and Feng Qi explained that creating a Living Clone required a creator's flesh and the essence blood of 999 people born at the same time, making it a murderous heretical art.
• Su Jiu explained that a Living Clone could act independently without weakening or harming its original body, and that its existence explained how the curse had been cast on her.
• Feng Qi suggested Wenren Qingtang's original body might have constructed the Realmscape, but Xia Jue and Su Jiu doubted that the creator knew the clone's identity.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling concluded that the Realmscape's creator was using Wenren Qingtang's authority to trap and kill them before they uncovered the secret behind the escaped magic beasts.

Xia Jue used the red cord to dismantle the Miasma Forest’s realmscape, and Su Jiu and the others escaped as it collapsed. They emerged into the outside world, where the sudden disappearance of the forest and the release of many souls caused confusion and fighting.

• Xia Jue activated the red cord, dispersing the miasma and weakening the demon spirits as the realmscape began to shake.
• Su Jiu sensed the first spatial rift and felt joy at regaining the innate gift she had lost.
• As the forest vanished, the Ghost King’s subordinates mistook his silence for surrender, and he prepared to explain what was happening.
• The sky and land broke into particles, and the red cord and ancient tree disappeared before Su Jiu and the others emerged outside.
• Cultivators nearby wondered why the Miasma Forest had disappeared, while others fought the vengeful ghosts and souls pouring out of it.

Su Jiu and the others learned from Thirteen that fighting had spread outside the Miasma Forest after the Vast Righteousness Sect blocked cultivators from investigating the Inner Perimeter. As reinforcements arrived from across the continents, several unfamiliar white-bearded Daoists watched the growing conflict.

• Thirteen told Su Jiu and the others that a dispute over the Vast Righteousness Sect's hidden passage had escalated after a small-sect disciple was accidentally killed.
• Cultivators from other continents and major sects began arriving, while Thirteen warned that the apparent stalemate would not last once higher-level cultivators intervened.
• Thirteen said that an imposing stranger accompanying a Flowing Radiance Sword Sect elder had asked about Yun Chao, and named the Mystic Dharma Immortal Sect, the Jade Sword Sect, and the Heavenly Dawn Sect among those coming.
• Su Jiu suspected the Heavenly Dawn Sect's internal division was connected to demon seeds as Yun Huanling, Yun Chao, and Gu Ningyun recovered.
• Four elderly Daoists watched the battle from above, and the gray-robed sword-loving Daoist focused on the fighters.

After the Miasma Forest vanished, Su Jiu and the Enforcement Hall entered the Inner Perimeter and shook off the cultivators following them. Yun Chao joined them, while the four elders of the Flowing Radiance Sword Sect lost his trail and encountered a deadly magic beast.

• The four elders realized the Miasma Forest had been deliberately created by the Vast Righteousness Sect after it disappeared.
• Xia Jue led the Enforcement Hall onward, and Thirteen warned the other cultivators that the Inner Perimeter was dangerous and they would receive no help if they followed.
• The Enforcement Hall evaded the pursuing cultivators, including the four elders who had raced to find Yun Chao.
• The four elders tracked Yun Chao briefly with a mark, but it vanished after he entered the Dense Forest with Su Jiu and the others.
• A powerful magic beast attacked the four elders, tore the tall elder's robe, and escaped his sword strike without being injured.

Four old men were ambushed by a magic beast that concealed its aura and attacked at incredible speed. The Flowing Radiance Sword Sect's sect leader was wounded, and his master fought the beast while the others watched for a chance to help.

• The four old men failed to locate the magic beast as it hid its demonic qi and stalked them through the woods.
• A gale rose, and the beast appeared as a black afterimage, moving faster with each attack.
• The Gray-Robed Elder unleashed sword qi in anger, but his master stopped him and warned him not to waste his strength.
• The beast slashed the Gray-Robed Elder's face, and the tall old man gave him a pill before urging the others to retreat.
• The tall old man fought the beast alone as it targeted him, while one of the other disciples caught the Gray-Robed Elder before he could step in.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue arrived in time to save the besieged elders, and Su Jiu killed the unusually fragile, swift magic beast. Yun Huanling questioned the strange beast and the mysterious Records, which suggested that the Vast Righteousness Sect might have concealed a long-standing crisis in the Windforest Star River.

• The white-robed elder and the gray-robed elder traded cutting remarks while their Grand Elder fought the magic beast alone.
• The Grand Elder suffered severe wounds but kept fighting to protect his juniors.
• Su Jiu and Xia Jue struck the magic beast in the eye and abdomen, then Su Jiu evaded its attacks as it pursued her.
• The injured magic beast died from blood loss in fewer than twenty breaths, startling Su Jiu and Yun Huanling because its speed and weak defenses were abnormal.
• Yun Huanling recalled the Records about demons and magic beasts in three secret realms, including the Windforest Star River.
• The Records suggested that the Windforest Star River's seal might be a facade maintained by the Vast Righteousness Sect while demonic beasts ran rampant inside.

Yun Huanling and Su Jiu suspected that a magic beast had mutated after finding it unusually fragile, while the Flowing Radiance Sword Sect elders reunited with Yun Chao and thanked Xia Jue’s group for rescuing them. The Gray-Robed Elder became absorbed in Su Jiu’s sword, and the group discussed investigating the dangerous magic beasts before returning to the sect.

• Yun Huanling recalled old records about the Vast Righteousness Sect and wondered whether the current trouble in Windforest Star River would bring them back into discussion.
• Yun Huanling and Su Jiu agreed that the dead magic beast was unexpectedly fragile and considered whether it had mutated.
• Yun Chao reunited with the four elders of the Flowing Radiance Sword Sect and reported what had happened to him.
• The Gray-Robed Elder asked Su Jiu about her Life-Bound Treasure, admired Purple Ultimate’s advancement, and then turned his attention to Xia Jue’s Voidfang Sword.
• Xia Jue and the elders discussed investigating the magic beasts, while one elder argued that they should first escort their injured Martial Uncle back to the sect.

The injured elders agreed to leave and recover, while Yun Chao chose to remain with Su Jiu and the others to learn about the magic beasts. As the group continued through Windforest Star River’s Inner Perimeter without being attacked, Su Jiu sensed that the forest was eerily empty of other cultivators.

• Xia Jue persuaded the elders not to join the coming battles while their injuries were still serious.
• Yun Chao refused to return with the elders, saying he wanted to study the monsters and prepare to face them in the future.
• The tall elder praised Yun Chao, and he and the other elders departed after patting Yun Chao’s shoulder.
• Su Jiu and Gu Ningyun teased Yun Huanling by saying they were happy because the magic beast had died, while Yun Chao blushed at Yun Huanling’s comments about his smile.
• Xia Jue stopped the Enforcement Hall disciples from pursuing fleeing magic beasts, warning that the creatures might be intelligent and lure them into danger.
• Su Jiu used her expanded divine sense to survey the forest and found no cultivators nearby, while magic beasts watched the group from afar without attacking.

Su Jiu and the others discovered a young first-sun spirit in He Wu’s cage and learned why the magic beasts in the area seemed so strangely peaceful. The spirit took an immediate interest in Su Jiu, though it was already bound to He Wu, who promised it fire-yang crystals to cooperate with the mission.

• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling noted the lack of bones and blood and questioned why the magic beasts fled from people.
• Xia Jue asked He Wu to open a small cage, revealing a glowing creature that Su Jiu recognized as a young first-sun spirit.
• Su Jiu explained the spirit’s nature, while the Snow Sprite bristled because first-sun spirits were its natural bane.
• Yun Huanling questioned the spirit’s appearance and size, and Su Jiu explained that it was still young and its light concealed its features.
• He Wu recalled that Xia Jue had first found the spirit and helped him subdue it, while the spirit kept staring at Su Jiu and wishing she had been its master.
• He Wu promised the spirit fire-yang crystals after the mission if it would cooperate.

The First-Sun Spirit became captivated by Su Jiu and showed off for her, stirring jealousy and speculation among those around them. The Snow Sprite confronted the spirit, then hid in Su Jiu’s Sea of Consciousness after Little Pearl reminded it that the First-Sun Spirit was already contracted to He Wu.

• The First-Sun Spirit asked He Wu about Su Jiu, then demanded five Fire-Yang Crystals before agreeing to help.
• The First-Sun Spirit circled Su Jiu and displayed its flames, while Xia Jue recognized its affinity with her and Feng Qi and He Wu commented on its behavior.
• He Wu considered challenging Su Jiu to a duel, but his brother quickly distanced himself and warned him not to provoke her or Xia Jue.
• The Snow Sprite shouted at the departing First-Sun Spirit, while Little Pearl suggested it was jealous and reminded it that the spirit could not leave He Wu without his consent.
• The Snow Sprite retreated into Su Jiu’s Sea of Consciousness and refused to speak for the day, while Su Jiu smiled at its reaction.

Su Jiu learned from the Wind Spirit that human cultivators had divided the Inner Perimeter into containment zones and that magic beasts were emerging from a cave. The group cautiously headed for the cave, where they encountered another group of cultivators.

• Su Jiu sent the Wind Spirit to question nearby plants, while the First-Sun Spirit reported that a nearby cave had an unpleasant, yin-aligned presence.
• The Wind Spirit told Su Jiu that human cultivators regularly entered the cave, that magic beasts came out of it, and that the plants called the divided areas containment zones.
• Su Jiu considered whether the cave had another exit and wondered what the cultivators were doing, but the plants knew neither their identities nor their purpose.
• Xia Jue asked Su Jiu for her thoughts, and she agreed that the group could cautiously explore because there was no scent of blood nearby.
• The group set off toward the cave and encountered another group of cultivators near its entrance.