Chapter Summaries

Yang Guo and Su Jiu confronted the Nightmare Demon over A Meng’s failed attempt to possess Su Jiu, and Su Jiu exposed the demon’s role in the attack. The Nightmare Demon offered information about Su Jiu’s Eldest Senior Brother in exchange for release and the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, but A Meng accidentally revealed that a Grand Formation was nearing completion.

• Yang Guo used her Magic Treasure to bring A Meng’s soul before the Nightmare Demon, but torture and threats failed to make it talk.
• Su Jiu accused the Nightmare Demon of aiding A Meng’s possession attempt and damaging her soul, and the demon admitted through its reaction that Su Jiu had uncovered the truth.
• The Nightmare Demon demanded freedom for itself and A Meng, plus the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, in exchange for information about Su Jiu’s Eldest Senior Brother; Su Jiu refused to rely on its offer.
• Yun Huanling joined the confrontation and supported Su Jiu, while she warned the Nightmare Demon that they could seek clues without its help.
• A Meng blurted out that a Grand Formation might soon be complete, then tried to deny the revelation and redirect the conversation toward making a deal.

Su Jiu questioned A Meng about the mysterious formations and used Yang Guo’s hypnosis to uncover what she knew about the cloaked figures and the Enforcement Hall group. After A Meng’s soul began fading unexpectedly, Su Jiu ordered Yang Guo to undo the art, leaving the reason for the silver Command Token and A Meng’s rapid decline unresolved.

• Su Jiu connected A Meng’s account of the formations to the cloaked figures Su Qingqing had described and asked how A Meng knew the formation could kill them all.
• Yang Guo hypnotized A Meng, who said she had heard the warning from someone; Su Jiu concluded that the source was likely the black-cloaked figures in the Demon-Subduing Land.
• The Nightmare Demon admitted that he had discovered traces of Su Jiu’s Senior Brother and produced a blurred silver Command Token from the Azure Tide Sect’s Enforcement Hall.
• Yang Guo confirmed that A Meng did not know where the Nightmare Demon had obtained the token, and the Nightmare Demon said he had kept the truth from A Meng to protect her.
• Su Jiu noticed A Meng’s soul fading far faster than expected and ordered Yang Guo to undo the art; A Meng gradually regained awareness.

Su Jiu discovered that A Meng’s soul was being devoured and learned from the Nightmare Demon where her physical body was hidden. She and Yun Huanling followed a magical ribbon toward it, while the Nightmare Demon promised to reveal a lead about the Azure Tide Sect disciples if Su Jiu saved A Meng.

• Su Jiu examined A Meng’s soul and told the Nightmare Demon that A Meng needed her original body to survive.
• The Nightmare Demon revealed the body’s location and warned Su Jiu that it would kill her if she had lied.
• A Meng recovered and rebuked the Nightmare Demon for revealing their last trump card, but it said it had done what it could for her.
• Yun Huanling followed Su Jiu, and he and the spirits bickered as they traveled.
• Yun Huanling used a red ribbon magic treasure to guide them directly toward A Meng’s body and asked Su Jiu if she liked his Unbounded Silk.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling found the withered tree concealing A Meng’s body and discovered that the Nightmare Demon had protected it with a barrier that punished anyone who tried to break it. Yun Huanling identified a black spot as the likely way in, while Su Jiu reconsidered the complexity of demonic nature and human nature.

• Yun Huanling explained Unbounded Silk’s limitations and offered it to Su Jiu as a hair ribbon.
• Yun Huanling tied Unbounded Silk into Su Jiu’s hair, blushing as he gathered it, while Su Jiu complained that he had wasted her time.
• Su Jiu examined the withered tree with her Otherworldly Eyes and saw demon aura forming a barrier around A Meng’s body.
• Su Jiu explained that forcing the barrier would cause severe backlash for cultivators weaker than the Nightmare Demon.
• Su Jiu reflected that the Nightmare Demon might have grown attached to A Meng despite its earlier motives and deception.
• Yun Huanling spotted an inconspicuous black spot five inches above the tree’s roots and identified it as the likely target.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling discovered that someone had hidden the true barrier node in the ancient tree and disguised a false one with demon aura. They retrieved A Meng’s preserved body, but an unknown man appeared after they left, and A Meng and the Nightmare Demon reacted angrily when they saw how the body had been carried.

• Su Jiu suspected the conspicuous barrier node was a trap and found the real node concealed beneath the bark.
• Su Jiu activated the true node, causing the tree to revive temporarily and release A Meng’s preserved body.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling flew away with A Meng’s body, unaware that the pale-eyed man who had attacked Yun Huanling in the Time Secret Realm appeared above the tree.
• The man vanished into the mist, and the tree withered again as its spiritual qi dissipated.
• The Nightmare Demon and A Meng saw the body, and A Meng complained about how Su Jiu and Yun Huanling had treated it.

Su Jiu pressed the Nightmare Demon for information about the formations and the missing Azure Tide Sect Disciples, then seized his Storage Bag and found his map of the Demon-Subduing Land. The map marked several formation sites, while the Nightmare Demon hinted that Su Jiu's Senior Brother and the others had entered dangerous places.

• Su Jiu demanded information from the Nightmare Demon, who admitted he knew the locations of several formations but warned that he had not explored the entire Demon-Subduing Land.
• The Nightmare Demon hinted that he had found clues about Su Jiu's Senior Brother and the other Azure Tide Sect Disciples in places he had feared to enter.
• Su Jiu used a Hand Seal to produce a tray and ordered the Nightmare Demon to hand over his Storage Bag.
• Su Jiu erased the Nightmare Demon's divine soul mark and emptied the bag, finding medicinal demonic plants, human cultivators' belongings, and the map.
• Ning Fan examined the map, and the Nightmare Demon explained that its triangle symbols marked formation sites he had been unable to copy.

Su Jiu and Ning Fan studied the Nightmare Demon's map of strange formations and danger sites, then decided to split their efforts between investigating the formations and finding the missing disciples. As the Buddha Child prepared to return A Meng's soul to her body, the group noticed Su Jiu's conspicuous new red hair ribbon and questioned how she had gotten it.

• Su Jiu questioned the Nightmare Demon about a formation it could not remember, and it admitted it could not sense whether the formations held the power of laws.
• Ning Fan and Su Jiu examined the danger circles on the map, ruled out the northern area they had crossed, and concluded they could not search the remaining sites by splitting up.
• Ning Fan proposed that he and the Shadow Pavilion disciples investigate the formation while Su Jiu took the Enforcement Hall disciples to find Senior Brother.
• The Buddha Child offered to perform Soul-Transference for A Meng, and Su Jiu thanked him for protecting her earlier.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci and Junior Granduncle commented on Su Jiu's red Unbounded Silk hair ribbon, and Su Jiu explained that someone had snapped her old one.

Su Jiu agreed to send A Meng away with a protector in exchange for the Nightmare Demon revealing where it found the Enforcement Hall Disciple's Command Token. The Buddha Child struggled to reunite A Meng's soul and body as Chu Luohen and Yun Huanling nearly fought, leaving A Meng still unconscious.

• Su Jiu asked the Nightmare Demon where it found the Command Token, and it demanded that A Meng be sent somewhere she could not return from with someone to protect her; Su Jiu agreed.
• The Buddha Child used his Buddhist Prayer Beads to help A Meng's soul reunite with her body, but her weakened soul and rejecting body kept the process from finishing.
• Su Jiu explained to Yun Huanling that A Meng's soul no longer fit her body, like a worn-down key that could not open its lock.
• Chu Luohen interrupted Yun Huanling as he leaned close to Su Jiu, and the two exchanged sharp words before Ning Fan stopped Chu Luohen from drawing his sword.
• Ning Fan cautioned Yun Huanling to watch his words and actions, and Yun Huanling retorted while exchanging a hostile glance with Chu Luohen.

Su Jiu learned that A Meng’s soul was contaminated by the Demon-Subduing Land, making her attempt to reunite with her body dangerously difficult. The Nightmare Demon described the mysterious gray-clothed man who had misled it, but his identity and motives remained unknown.

• Little Green explained that filth absorbed in the Demon-Subduing Land had become part of A Meng’s soul, so purifying it could destroy her soul; the Buddha Child instead struggled to suppress it.
• Su Jiu questioned the Nightmare Demon about the person who had told it A Meng could return to her original body and deduced that someone had been manipulating events behind the scenes.
• The Nightmare Demon said the person might be connected to the formations in the Demon-Subduing Land and described his black cloak, pale complexion, gray eyes, and gray hair.
• The Nightmare Demon told Su Jiu that it could not sense the man’s aura or breath and had never fought him.

Su Jiu used the Soul-Suppressing Pearl to stabilize A Meng’s soul and restore her to her body. After A Meng awoke, Su Jiu activated a Directional Teleportation Array and told her she could leave, while the Nightmare Demon promised to follow.

• Little Gift urged Su Jiu to use the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, and she took over from the injured Buddha Child to anchor A Meng’s dispersing soul.
• Su Jiu completed the procedure, and A Meng’s soul fused with her body while the Nightmare Demon’s panic subsided.
• Ning Fan questioned how Su Jiu had used the pearl successfully, but Chu Luohen and Yun Huanling stopped him from pressing her for answers.
• A Meng awoke, recognized Su Jiu, and confirmed that she had returned to her own body.
• Su Jiu activated a Directional Teleportation Array and told A Meng to leave, while the Nightmare Demon said he would follow her.

A Meng learned that the Nightmare Demon had deceived her, but chose to stay by its side and fight rather than abandon it. After trying to break Su Jiu’s binding, she was saved from immediate death, but her soul began to dissipate when the Soul-Suppressing Pearl split apart.

• The Nightmare Demon told A Meng that she had become a burden, and A Meng realized the memories it had shown her were fabricated.
• A Meng refused to leave the Nightmare Demon, admitting that it mattered more to her than the glory and safety she had wanted.
• A Meng tried to force apart Su Jiu’s binding on the Nightmare Demon, and Su Jiu and the Nightmare Demon stopped her from dying immediately.
• A Meng spoke to Su Jiu about envying her life and recalled Su Qingqing and Yan with affection beneath her teasing words.
• A Meng said goodbye to the Nightmare Demon as the Soul-Suppressing Pearl split and her soul began to dissipate.

The Nightmare Demon sacrificed itself to unleash lethal dream mist, forcing Su Jiu to use the Nine-Star World-Cleansing Pearl despite her exhaustion. As she faced the demon alone, Su Jiu revealed A Meng’s final words, and the Nightmare Demon’s attack briefly stopped.

• After A Meng’s soul dissipated, the Nightmare Demon broke free and spread corrosive mist that pulled several disciples into deadly dreams.
• Su Jiu explained the demon’s dream-based Innate Arts and brought out the Nine-Star World-Cleansing Pearl when negotiation proved impossible.
• Su Jiu used the pearl to cleanse the mist, while the Nightmare Demon concentrated its remaining power on her and the disciples gradually woke.
• The exhausted Su Jiu began coughing blood as the pearl cleared the mist from everywhere except around her.
• Su Jiu told the Nightmare Demon that A Meng had said, “From this moment on, I will no longer be your burden,” and its attack paused.

Su Jiu chose to seek the Azure Tide Sect disciple’s command token at the dangerous location named by the dying Nightmare Demon, while Ning Fan departed to investigate formations. Outside the Demon-Subduing Land, strange phenomena and thickening demonic qi alarmed cultivators across the Azure Realm, and the cause remained unknown.

• The Nightmare Demon vanished after telling Su Jiu where the Azure Tide Sect disciple’s command token had fallen, and Su Jiu suspected it wanted her to enter danger.
• Yang Guo and Yun Huanling warned Su Jiu that the Nightmare Demon’s chosen location might be a trap, but she decided to go there.
• Ning Fan said he would investigate the formations and left with the Shadow Pavilion disciples, while Su Jiu wished him safe travels.
• Strange phenomena around the Three Secret Realms suggested that their time formations were breaking and their barriers with the Azure Realm were weakening.
• Cultivators noticed the sky’s red mark darkening and demonic qi growing denser, but neither dao cultivators nor demonic sects knew the cause.
• Junior disciples in the demonic sects speculated about the change, and one dismissed the idea that it came from a demonic cultivator’s ruins.

Demonic cultivators discussed a sudden, source-less rise in demonic qi that accelerated cultivation and could drive cultivators mad, while the Windforest Star River barrier quietly began to break. As the sects struggled to contain growing instability, a delegation from the Mystic Dharma Immortal Sect arrived at the Azure Tide Sect.

• A demonic cultivator told his junior brother that the evenly distributed surge in demonic qi had no detectable source, unlike the spiritual qi from a spirit vein.
• The junior brother described faster cultivation and unease as demonic qi entered his meridians, and his senior brother revealed that an elder had gone mad after advancing too quickly.
• The Windforest Star River barrier broke unnoticed, and the rift passage inside it began to expand slowly.
• High-ranking cultivators at the Azure Tide Sect debated the Nightfall Cold Pool, the Taiji Secret Realm, and how to manage increasingly unstable barriers.
• Ning Hai worried about absent allies and the unattended Windforest Star River as the Mystic Dharma Immortal Sect delegation arrived, led by a refined middle-aged man whom Ning Hai welcomed personally.

The Mystic Dharma Immortal Sect pledged its support to the Azure Tide Sect, and the Grand Elder agreed to lead a mission to the Windforest Star River. Meanwhile, Ning Fan found no formation at the map’s first marked location, but insisted the map was real.

• The Mystic Dharma Immortal Sect’s Grand Elder visited Ning Hai, offered the sect’s support, and brought news that Su Jiu and Ning Fan were safe.
• The Grand Elder volunteered to take his people to guard the Windforest Star River, and Hong Ling and representatives from other sects joined the mission.
• The group departed for the Windforest Star River, unaware that it had changed from the place they remembered.
• Ning Fan reached the first formation marked on the map and found only an empty clearing with scattered flags and traces of an old formation.
• Shadow Pavilion disciples questioned whether the map and the Nightmare Demon’s directions were fake, but Ning Fan declared that the map was real.

Ning Fan decided to investigate other formations after realizing the party could not catch up with Su Jiu, then sensed that the demonic qi had changed. Meanwhile, Su Jiu’s group reached a marked location by following clues on a lost Command Token and discovered that its spiritual-qi circulation had been disrupted.

• Ning Fan suspected the hidden formations required special conditions to reveal themselves and chose to inspect other marked sites instead of pursuing Su Jiu.
• Ning Fan led his party away from the clearing, then stopped when he sensed a change in the demonic qi.
• Su Jiu brought the Enforcement Hall Disciples to a marked location after tracking the lost Command Token’s aura and concealed marking.
• Su Jiu used the Concealment Breath Art and spiritual qi to reveal a scratch on the Command Token, explaining that the mark could not have come from loose stones.
• Su Jiu explained that the Command Token’s outer circulation of spiritual qi could be disrupted, leaving the disciples unsettled by their lack of knowledge.

Su Jiu explained that a damaged Whirling Qi Formation had once been hidden in the Enforcement Hall’s Command Tokens, and a disciple revealed how the lost formation could be replicated. The disciple disclosed that the replicator was his ancestor, who had secluded himself on Cloudmist Peak, while Yun Huanling approached Su Jiu solemnly.

• Su Jiu pointed out a hairline crack in a Command Token and explained that its damage had destroyed the hidden formation and stopped the spiritual qi from circling it.
• A Formation Arts Artist confirmed that the tokens carried the nearly lost Whirling Qi Formation, and Yun Huanling questioned how it could have been inscribed without detection.
• The disciple explained that someone with a special innate talent could replicate formations below the third tier without understanding their patterns, though the ability was constrained by the Heavenly Dao and carried a price.
• Yang Guo asked the disciple how he knew so much, and he revealed that the replicator was his ancestor, now secluded on Cloudmist Peak.
• Yun Huanling approached Su Jiu with a solemn expression and tone.

Su Jiu traced the damaged Command Token to a deliberate clue left by an Enforcement Hall disciple and considered why she could not contact her senior brother. Chu Luohen found no time laws nearby, but he discovered claw marks infused with concentrated fire spiritual qi and demonic qi, leading the group to investigate an unknown creature.

• Su Jiu explained to Yun Huanling that a disciple had deliberately damaged the Command Token so its aura would lead them to the area.
• Su Jiu said she had been unable to contact her senior brother with the Sound-Mixing Bell and wondered whether another barrier separated them.
• Chu Luohen told Su Jiu he sensed no time laws, then pointed out scratches on a withered tree for her to examine.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling identified fire spiritual qi fused with demonic qi in the scratches, and Su Jiu judged the marks came from a small but powerful creature.
• Su Jiu examined a withered tree with bark still attached as the group investigated how the creature had made the claw marks.

Su Jiu discovered that a mutated Demon Crow’s feather and claw marks carried different spiritual qi, then sensed a flock approaching with mingled demonic qi and fire spiritual qi. The group was engulfed by pink mist, and Su Jiu’s talismans only briefly protected them as they tried to determine whether the crows were hiding nearby.

• Su Jiu found a feather caught beside a claw mark and determined that both bore the same demonic aura, though only the marks held fire spiritual qi.
• Chu Luohen identified the feather as belonging to a mutated Demon Crow, and Su Jiu sensed a flock approaching with fire spiritual qi mingled with demonic qi.
• Su Jiu told everyone to use Defense Talismans and take pills before a wave of pink mist swept over them.
• Su Jiu dispersed some of the mist with a rune and laid down more Void Talismans after the mist weakened their protection.
• The Buddha Child suggested the mutated Demon Crows had created the pink mist, and Yang Guo wondered if they were concealed within it.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen identified the corrosive pink mist as blood demon dew while the group struggled to defend themselves from the hidden demon crows. As the golden protective glow shrank, Yang Guo reflected on how difficult it was to read Su Jiu and Chu Luohen, especially compared with Xia Jue.

• Yang Guo warned that the pink mist blocked divine sense, leaving the group unable to locate the mutated demon crows.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen separately concluded that the mist was blood demon dew, while Yun Huanling noted that it corroded spiritual qi and was weakening their defenses.
• Yang Guo teased Su Jiu and Chu Luohen about reaching the same conclusion, and Yun Huanling awkwardly denied that they were in sync.
• Yang Guo considered her Heart Discernment gift and recalled that Xia Jue had been impossible for her to read or hypnotize.
• Yang Guo reflected on the differences between Chu Luohen's icy demeanor and Su Jiu's outward aloofness and soft heart.