Chapter Summaries

Su Jiu and the Enforcement Hall party met Hu Yucheng’s mixed group of cultivators at a cavern, where he recounted how a magic beast had scattered his former party and killed several companions. As the groups considered entering the cave, two rogue cultivators stepped forward to declare their intention, leaving Hu Yucheng grim.

• Feng Qi identified the people facing the Enforcement Hall as twelve sect disciples, eight rogue cultivators, and seven aristocratic clan disciples, while Su Jiu recognized Wenren Jing and Hu Yucheng.
• Hu Yucheng greeted Xia Jue and Su Jiu, then explained that a magic beast had overwhelmed his larger party after some cultivators fled during the fight.
• Hu Yucheng said he had led the survivors to the cavern, while the other Mystic Dharma Immortal Sect group had headed south under an elder.
• Su Jiu and Xia Jue silently recognized that the southern route was dangerous, and Xia Jue signaled her not to raise the matter with Hu Yucheng.
• When Feng Qi asked whether Hu Yucheng’s group planned to enter the cave, a man and a woman behind him answered that they would, and Hu Yucheng looked grim.

Hu Yucheng confronted the cultivators who rejected his leadership and dismissed his warnings, while Wenren Jing resisted the group’s accusations. He later told Su Jiu that he had changed since marrying Lin Jiaojiao and becoming a father, and reflected on how his old infatuation with Su Jiu differed from true love.

• Hu Yucheng disbanded the group after its members accused him of arrogance and denied needing his guidance.
• A female cultivator urged Wenren Jing to distrust Hu Yucheng, but Wenren Jing said Hu Yucheng had helped them avoid magic beasts.
• Su Jiu remarked that Hu Yucheng had changed, and he said he had a wife and a five-year-old son.
• Hu Yucheng admitted that Lin Jiaojiao had asked him to grow a beard to discourage romantic entanglements.
• Hu Yucheng recalled his old attraction to Su Jiu and realized that his feelings for Lin Jiaojiao had taught him the difference between infatuation and love.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue explored a vast cave expanded by a space formation while Feng Qi and the Enforcement Hall disciples teased each other about their feelings. Yun Huanling’s cold exchange of glances with Xia Jue ended when Su Jiu looked up, leaving their tension unexplained.

• Hu Yucheng set out with the Enforcement Hall, and Xia Jue led the group into the cave.
• Su Jiu recognized the cave’s space formation, and Feng Qi teased Yang Guo and Thirteen about their reactions to each other.
• Su Jiu explained that the formation linked spatial points to enlarge the cave, impressing Yun Huanling with how quickly she understood it.
• Yun Huanling let his gaze linger on Su Jiu until Xia Jue called to him, and the two men exchanged cold, silent looks.
• Su Jiu looked up at them, and Yun Huanling immediately returned to his usual sunny demeanor.

Su Jiu reconstructed nearly the entire Grand Formation from a small section of its pattern, astonishing Yun Huanling and drawing the attention of the watching cultivators. Xia Jue led the Enforcement Hall away, leaving the greedy onlookers hoping to obtain the remaining formation patterns.

• Xia Jue and Yun Huanling ended their silent clash, while the Enforcement Hall disciples grew tense at Xia Jue's smile.
• Feng Qi urged Su Jiu to finish studying the formation as the nearby cultivators watched impatiently.
• Su Jiu erased her drawing after reconstructing nearly the entire Grand Formation, and Yun Huanling learned she had developed her formation skills without Heart Discernment.
• Su Jiu told Yun Huanling that she had marked out the key points and lines so he could complete the formation himself.
• Xia Jue led the Enforcement Hall party away as Feng Qi scorned the cultivators who hoped to seize the remaining formation patterns.

Fang Dong and Xiao Yan reached three dark passages in a vast cavern, where Xiao Yan sensed danger but Fang Dong insisted on exploring. As other cultivators approached, Fang Dong decided to keep Xiao Yan with him and continued into the darkness, hoping to reach the treasure before anyone else.

• Fang Dong and Xiao Yan entered the cavern ahead of the other cultivators and found three branching passages.
• Xiao Yan warned Fang Dong that all three passages felt dangerous, but Fang Dong dismissed her fears and proposed testing them one at a time.
• Fang Dong saw other cultivators approaching and worried they might choose the correct passage and claim the treasure first.
• Fang Dong considered sending Xiao Yan down a passage alone, but changed his mind when he saw how frightened she was and how tightly she clung to him.
• Fang Dong decided he would seize the treasure by force if necessary, then led Xiao Yan into the darkness.

After discovering incomplete formation patterns, the cultivators argued over whether to continue and most chose to follow Su Jiu's group. At a three-way fork, Su Jiu detected concealed space junctions leading to separate passages and suspected the formations had been made by an unskilled practitioner.

• The cultivators gathered around the incomplete formation patterns and learned from a rogue Formation Arts Artist that they might be inside an unknown formation.
• A cultivator condemned the group for abandoning one another during earlier dangers, then left; most of the remaining cultivators decided to keep following Su Jiu's group.
• Feng Qi asked whether they would allow the others to follow, and Xia Jue said they had no reason to stop them.
• At a fork with three dark passages, Xia Jue asked Su Jiu to inspect the entrances, and she used her otherworldly eyes to detect mechanisms and concealed space junctions.
• Su Jiu explained that each entrance led to an independent space connected by formations, which she believed had been arranged by someone lacking sufficient formation-arts skill.

Su Jiu explained the dangers posed by the strange formations, while Xia Jue chose Cave One after pretending to leave the decision to a die. The group set off, and Feng Qi’s remark about Xia Jue’s true nature drew an unsettlingly gentle response.

• Su Jiu explained that the formations might collapse or seal off the route behind anyone who passed through, warning the rogue cultivators to behave.
• Su Jiu told Xia Jue that she was ready to go, and Xia Jue produced a die to choose an entrance.
• Xia Jue rolled the die twice, then walked toward Cave One despite the result, saying that random rolls never gave him the number he wanted.
• Su Jiu laughed at Xia Jue’s unexpected behavior and looked at him as he turned to ask what was wrong.
• Feng Qi claimed that Su Jiu had discovered Xia Jue’s true nature, and Xia Jue responded with a gentle smile that made Feng Qi regret speaking up.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling entered an unstable passage and discovered Fang Dong and Xiao Yan fleeing a Skeleton Army. Su Jiu restrained Fang Dong, suspecting he had provoked the skeletons, just as the army reached the group.

• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling noticed that the junction between spaces was unstable and continued into the dim, cold cave.
• Su Jiu sensed a man, a woman, and a group of skeletons approaching, and Xia Jue ordered everyone to prepare for battle.
• Fang Dong and Xiao Yan reached the group while fleeing, and Su Jiu recognized them as the pair being pursued.
• Su Jiu bound Fang Dong with Spirit-Binding Chains and questioned him about why the skeletons were chasing them.
• Xiao Yan said she had been separated from Fang Dong and knew nothing about what had happened, while Fang Dong refused to explain.
• The Skeleton Army arrived in an overwhelming tide as the group braced for battle.

The cultivators fought a skeleton army while Yun Huanling revealed an expensive sword modeled on Su Jiu’s Frostbound Purple Ultimate Sword. Su Jiu realized the weapon reflected Yun Huanling’s fixation on her during her fifty-year absence and sent him to face a skeleton so he could confront reality.

• Green-eyed skeletons carrying demonic-qi swords charged the cultivators, and Gu Ningyun played her Konghou to strengthen them with music and spiritual qi.
• Yun Huanling drew a sword, startling Yun Chao, who knew his younger brother had little talent for swordsmanship.
• Purple Ultimate mocked Yun Huanling’s sword, and Su Jiu saw that its patterns copied the Frostbound Purple Ultimate Sword.
• Yun Huanling told Su Jiu he had spent a fortune forging the imitation, and she questioned why he wielded an ice-element sword despite lacking an ice spiritual root.
• When a skeleton broke through the cultivators’ defenses, Su Jiu pushed Yun Huanling toward it and stopped Yun Chao from helping.
• Yun Chao told Su Jiu that Yun Huanling had grown increasingly obsessed during her fifty-year disappearance, and Su Jiu apologized as she watched him fight.

Su Jiu discovered that the Skeleton Army’s demonic qi infected cultivators and used a Mind-Clearing Talisman to save one of them, while urging Fang Dong to surrender the treasures he had taken. As the battle continued, Xiao Yan turned against Fang Dong, and an injured Yun Huanling was rescued by an Enforcement Hall disciple instead of Su Jiu.

• Su Jiu realized that demonic qi from the skeletons invaded injured cultivators’ dantians, seas of consciousness, and bones, then used a Mind-Clearing Talisman to restore a possessed cultivator.
• Su Jiu told Xiao Yan to make Fang Dong surrender the treasures he had taken, but Fang Dong refused and blamed the Enforcement Hall for their danger.
• Xiao Yan confronted Fang Dong over valuing his treasures above their lives, then turned away from him and resumed fighting.
• Yun Huanling struggled against the skeletons while watching Su Jiu and Yun Chao fight together, then was wounded after losing focus.
• An Enforcement Hall disciple blocked a skeleton’s strike against Yun Huanling and carried him away from the battlefield.

Gu Ningyun discovered Yun Huanling on the verge of being corrupted by demonic qi, but he overcame it on his own and returned to the fight. At the Heavenly Secret Sect, the elders and Lan Fang Ziyi suspected the Vast Righteousness Sect was pursuing something in the Demon-Subduing Land, setting other sects on guard.

• Gu Ningyun’s magic treasure detected unstable demonic qi in Yun Huanling, and she tried to place a Mind-Clearing Talisman on him.
• Yun Huanling regained control before Gu Ningyun could apply the talisman, then told her he had recovered and went to the front with the Nine-Bend Compass.
• Gu Ningyun watched Yun Huanling leave and sensed something strange about him.
• At the Distant Lookout Platform, the Heavenly Secret Sect’s elders discussed suspicions that the Vast Righteousness Sect had tampered with the Windforest Star River.
• The elders and Lan Fang Ziyi concluded that the Vast Righteousness Sect might be seeking something in the Demon-Subduing Land, as other sects began to grow wary.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue discovered that Spirit-Cleansing Pool Water could permanently dissolve the skeletons, easing the cultivators’ fight against the endless army. Yun Huanling fought with unusual ferocity and used the Nine-Bend Compass to bring down skeletons before Su Jiu and Xia Jue were sent to rest.

• At the Distant Lookout Platform, a disciple reported that Yun Huanling’s Soul Lamp had flickered and the soul jade beside it had turned red, so Hongguang hurried away to investigate.
• Xia Jue pointed out that skeletons struck by Su Jiu revived more slowly, and Su Jiu used a drop of Spirit-Cleansing Pool Water to corrode one until it began dissolving.
• Yun Huanling fought the skeletons with unusual viciousness, while the Nine-Bend Compass’s golden and silver rays made several skeletons collapse and stay down.
• Su Jiu wondered whether something had changed in Yun Huanling, but confirmed that he was still himself because he could use his Life-Bound Treasure, the Nine-Bend Compass.
• After nearly two more hours of fighting, Yun Chao told Su Jiu and Xia Jue to rest while the others watched over cultivators contaminated with demonic qi.

Xia Jue helped Su Jiu regulate her breathing by joining palms with her, while Feng Qi and Thirteen traded barbs nearby. Yun Huanling grew suspicious of Xia Jue’s abilities and Gu Ningyun noticed Yun Huanling’s unsettling change in demeanor.

• Xia Jue joined palms with Su Jiu to help her cultivate, and she entered meditative absorption while he admired her blush.
• Feng Qi complained about Xia Jue’s words, but Thirteen revealed that Xia Jue had been watching him, leaving Feng Qi convinced he was in trouble.
• Feng Qi grabbed Thirteen by the collar, and Yang Guo intervened before Thirteen won her sympathy by acting as though Feng Qi had wronged him.
• Feng Qi worried Xia Jue might punish him by sending him to mine a spirit stone vein.
• Yun Huanling suspected Xia Jue had deliberately kept him from approaching Su Jiu and wondered how Xia Jue could help her cultivate without an ice spiritual root.
• Gu Ningyun noticed Yun Huanling’s darkened smile and wondered whether Yun Chao knew about his change.

While recovering together, Su Jiu discovered that Xia Jue had a primordial origin spirit root, a rare five-element spirit root that could transform spiritual qi between all five elements. She remained curious about his secrets and wondered why his cultivation stage seemed lower than his extraordinary aptitude suggested.

• Su Jiu sensed that Xia Jue's abundant spiritual qi could absorb some of her ice spiritual qi and return part of it to her as innate origin qi.
• Su Jiu examined Xia Jue's meridians and found balanced spiritual qi of all five elements, contradicting her old assumption that he had a metal spirit root.
• Xia Jue invited Su Jiu to ask about his secrets, and she asked whether he had a five-element spirit root.
• Xia Jue explained that his spirit root was called a primordial origin spirit root and could convert spiritual qi among the five elements.
• Su Jiu realized the primordial origin spirit root ranked above celestial and mutated spirit roots, then wondered why Xia Jue was only at the Spirit Severing Stage.

Su Jiu wrestled with fears about the Azure Tide Sect’s possible downfall, and Xia Jue comforted her and promised to wait until she was ready to share what troubled her. After Su Jiu regained her composure, the group confronted Xiao Yan and Fang Dong over the item they had taken, but Fang Dong still refused to hand it over.

• Su Jiu feared that an unexplained disaster had befallen the Azure Tide Sect, perhaps involving the Enforcement Hall and Cloudmist Peak.
• Xia Jue noticed Su Jiu’s distress, reassured her, and said he would wait until she chose to tell him what was wrong.
• Yun Chao stopped Yun Huanling from interrupting Su Jiu, while Feng Qi and Thirteen bickered until Yang Guo intervened on Thirteen’s behalf.
• After Su Jiu settled herself, Xia Jue led the Enforcement Hall group toward Xiao Yan and Fang Dong, and the others demanded that the pair hand over the item.
• Xiao Yan tried to persuade Fang Dong to surrender the item, but he distrusted her and refused.

Rogue cultivators robbed Fang Dong and Xiao Yan while searching for a valuable magic treasure. As Xiao Yan tried to protect Fang Dong and negotiate their release, a lecherous cultivator pushed the crowd toward searching them by force.

• Fang Dong provoked the rogue cultivators, while Xia Jue and the Enforcement Hall disciples quietly retreated from the crowd.
• The rogue cultivators stripped Fang Dong of his Storage Bag and divided its contents, but found no magic treasure.
• Xiao Yan defended Fang Dong and surrendered her own Storage Bag, which the rogue cultivators also emptied.
• Xiao Yan offered their remaining resources as compensation and asked to leave the secret realm, persuading some cultivators to back off.
• The monkey-faced cultivator urged the crowd to search Xiao Yan and Fang Dong, so Xiao Yan raised her Life-Bound Treasure to defend herself.

Su Jiu secretly helped Xiao Yan wound one of the cultivators threatening her, but Fang Dong later broke free and attacked them after making a pact with a demon spirit. Su Jiu recognized Fang Dong’s Demonic Sword as resembling the sword sealed in her Storage Ring, one of three pieces scattered across the secret realms.

• Xiao Yan offered her heart blood to her Life-Bound Treasure and struck the sharp-faced cultivator, though Su Jiu had secretly strengthened her sword.
• Su Jiu promised Xia Jue that she would not intervene again, while the sharp-faced cultivator ordered his companions to attack Xiao Yan.
• Fang Dong agreed to surrender control of his body to a cold, eerie voice in exchange for using one of his promised requests.
• The sharp-faced cultivator reached for Xiao Yan, but Fang Dong broke free of the Spirit-Binding Chains and severed the man's arm with a Demonic Sword.
• The Snow Sprite explained that Fang Dong had formed an equal contract with a demon spirit, and Little Pearl pointed out that his sword resembled one sealed in Su Jiu's Storage Ring.
• Su Jiu recalled that the Demonic Sword had been split into three pieces, each of which had fallen into one of the Three Secret Realms.

A Demon Spirit took control of Fang Dong and revealed itself as the ancient spirit of a Demonic Sword, overpowering the cultivators who had attacked him. It cornered the sharp-faced man who had helped force Fang Dong to surrender his treasures and harm his woman, then began deciding how to punish him.

• The Demon Spirit killed two of the sharp-faced man's companions with demonic qi after they tried to flee.
• The sharp-faced man urged the crowd to join forces against Fang Dong, but the Demon Spirit revealed it was a sword spirit and mocked their fear of demons.
• The Demon Spirit recognized the Azure Tide Sect's Enforcement Hall and recalled that its Hall Master had nearly destroyed it ten thousand years earlier.
• The sharp-faced man tried to slip away, but the Demon Spirit blocked his path and confronted him over his part in Fang Dong's suffering.
• The Demon Spirit asked what reward to give the sharp-faced man, then declared it would choose a gift itself.

Fang Dong's demon spirit used his innate gift of Eye Control to take over the fight and kill a rogue cultivator, while Su Jiu and the Enforcement Hall prepared to capture him. The Enforcement Hall's plan centered on drawing out the Supreme Yin Object Fang Dong carried before it could cause more deaths.

• The Snow Sprite explained to Su Jiu that the demon spirit's Eye Control could affect up to ten people and that Fang Dong would struggle to reclaim his body.
• The demon spirit forced the sharp-faced cultivator to swell and explode, while Yun Huanling protected Su Jiu with a golden Defensive Barrier.
• The demon spirit taunted the gathered cultivators and said killing them was the deal he had made with Fang Dong, then controlled ten more people.
• The rogue cultivators and Enforcement Hall disciples attacked the demon spirit, while Su Jiu joined the fight to help capture him.
• Su Jiu and Xia Jue had suspected Fang Dong possessed a Supreme Yin Object, and the Enforcement Hall had used Xiao Yan to draw it out.

Su Jiu and Purple Ultimate battled the Demonic Sword while she protected the gathered cultivators, and she reunited with Xiao Ling. She asked Xia Jue whether he had visited the Hongsheng Heavenly Road, but learned that no one had found the Secret Realm entrance.

• Su Jiu charged the Demon Spirit, and Purple Ultimate intercepted the Demonic Sword as she flew past.
• Purple Ultimate overpowered the Demonic Sword, forcing Fang Dong unconscious and driving the unleashed Demon Spirit into a furious attack.
• Su Jiu rescued the ten cultivators and protected everyone from the spreading Demonic Qi while Purple Ultimate fought the Demonic Sword.
• Su Jiu recognized Xiao Ling, who had manifested beside Xia Jue, and Xiao Ling asked whether her Life-Bound Treasure had become a Sacred Artifact.
• Su Jiu asked Xia Jue if he had visited the Hongsheng Heavenly Road while she was missing, and he said that no one had found its Secret Realm entrance.