Chapter Summaries

The Devil Lord's shadow recruited Gu Changdao and ordered him to capture Ye Han and the others in exchange for help reaching the golden core stage. Meanwhile, Ye Han escaped the shadow's pursuit after using Ye Chunfeng's talismans and the Purple-Gold Runes to dispel the curse tracking him.

• The Devil Lord's shadow promised Gu Changdao a chance to become a golden core cultivator if he captured the other two.
• Gu Changdao accepted the offer and explained his background and purpose to the Devil Lord's shadow.
• The Devil Lord's shadow questioned Gu Changdao to test his loyalty and sent his controlled subordinates back toward Demonheart Cliff.
• Ye Han reasoned that the first demonized cultivator they had killed had carried a curse that let the Devil Lord's shadow track them.
• Ye Han used Ye Chunfeng's talismans and the Purple-Gold Runes to dispel the curse and continued through a passage in Demonheart Cliff, believing the pursuers could no longer find him.

Ye Han broke the blood-colored tracking curse with the Purple-Gold Runes and escaped through the Cliffside Cave passages, seeking a route out while avoiding the demonic qi's minions. He reached the cliff's far side and began climbing toward nearby peaks, but a violent tremor sent black demonic qi blasting from the caves.

• Ye Han used a curse-breaking talisman to reveal the blood-colored figure tracking him, and the Purple-Gold Runes destroyed it.
• Ye Han's pursuers lost track of him, so he hurried through the caves and decided to follow the outward flow of demonic qi toward an exit.
• Ye Han avoided Demonized Cultivators and magic beast puppets as he navigated more than a dozen passage forks.
• Ye Han emerged on the opposite side of the cliff, saw an abyss below and mountain peaks nearby, then climbed along the rock face toward the peaks.
• The cliff shook violently, and black demonic qi blasted from its caves as Ye Han pressed himself against the rock.

Demonheart Cliff erupted and then drew in demonic qi and spiritual energy, leaving Ye Han clinging to its face as Devil Lord Shadow lost his subordinates and feared the Wood Element cultivator was dead. Gu Changdao claimed Ye Han should still be alive, while the cliff returned to stillness and its hidden cave mouths were exposed.

• Ye Han anchored himself to Demonheart Cliff with the Vine Soul Technique and strengthened the vines with the Purple Cauldron as a powerful suction threatened to drag him into the caves.
• The cliff drew in the surrounding demonic qi and spiritual energy, revealing its heart-like shape and the terrain around it.
• Devil Lord Shadow watched the eruption from afar and realized the Wood Element brat and the subordinates he had sent inside were likely lost.
• Gu Changdao crawled out from beneath a Third Tier magic beast, asked Devil Lord Shadow about the cliff, and was told not to go near it.
• Gu Changdao assured Devil Lord Shadow that Ye Han should still be alive.

Gu Changdao persuaded Devil Lord Shadow that Ye Han had probably escaped Demonheart Cliff before its devouring force began, convincing him to keep searching. Devil Lord Shadow sent Gu Changdao to find Ye Han and Qin Minghui, then offered him a treasure to make up for his weak cultivation.

• Gu Changdao argued that Ye Han's caution and cunning meant he had likely escaped by another route before the Cliffside Cave began devouring demonic qi.
• Devil Lord Shadow accepted Gu Changdao's reasoning and decided Ye Han was still alive and had to be found.
• Gu Changdao privately hoped to seize Ye Han's treasures and use them to escape Devil Lord Shadow's control.
• Devil Lord Shadow ordered Gu Changdao to split off, find Ye Han and Qin Minghui, and wait for a chance to act after reuniting with them.
• Gu Changdao asked whether Qin Minghui had used her Teleportation Token, and Devil Lord Shadow indicated she remained trapped inside the Darkness Forbidden Ground.
• Devil Lord Shadow called Gu Changdao clever and offered him a treasure because his cultivation was lacking.

Devil Lord Shadow gave Gu Changdao the Black Demon Sword, which boosted his swordsmanship but consumed his lifespan and risked corrupting him. After Gu Changdao left, Shadow placed new curse spirits on his forces to track Ye Han and rode toward Demonheart Cliff to search for the Devil Master's Heart.

• Devil Lord Shadow bestowed the Black Demon Sword on Gu Changdao and warned him about its costs and risks.
• Gu Changdao accepted the sword, thanked Shadow, and fled while thinking about surviving to attain immortality and the Dao.
• Shadow watched Gu Changdao leave and reflected that he had blocked escape from the area while lamenting his losses and Ye Han's escape.
• Shadow used a Cursing Secret Method to place blood-colored curse spirits on his magic beasts, Demonized Cultivators, and zombie puppets, then ordered them to keep searching for Ye Han.
• Shadow wondered whether the woman possessed by someone at the golden core stage was still in Demonflame Forest, then rode toward Demonheart Cliff to seek the Devil Master's Heart.

Ye Han escaped the upheaval at Demonheart Cliff and hid in a dry cave in the Darkness Forbidden Ground, where he tried to devise a way out. He remained unsure how to defeat the Demonic Qi Shadow or escape, and wondered whether the Purple Cauldron could absorb its Primordial Spirit.

• Ye Han escaped Demonheart Cliff’s devouring suction and crossed the barren peaks toward a canyon.
• Ye Han found an immature patch of Heavenly Treasures and chose a nearby cave as a hiding place.
• Ye Han trapped the cave entrance with Talismans, concealed it with his damaged Invisibility Cloak, and set Defensive Magic Artifacts.
• Ye Han doubted that the Seventh Elder and Fourth Elder would risk exposing their secret scheme to rescue him.
• Ye Han recalled how studying with Teacher Lan Qing had changed his fate and considered whether the Purple Cauldron could absorb the Demonic Qi Shadow’s Primordial Spirit.

Ye Han weighed using the Purple Cauldron against the Demonic Qi Shadow but could not find a safe way to get close. When the Shadow’s underlings searched near his hiding place, Ye Han recognized them as bait and stayed concealed, leaving him determined to find another way to strike back.

• Ye Han recalled how the Purple Cauldron had devoured an evil cultivator’s primordial spirit at close range, but doubted it would save him against the Demonic Qi Shadow and its powerful beasts.
• Ye Han spotted demonized cultivators and magic beasts searching the canyon and realized the Demonic Qi Shadow had sent them to find him.
• Ye Han considered ambushing the search party to weaken the Shadow’s forces, then noticed that the group’s lack of third tier beasts made the offer seem suspicious.
• Ye Han recognized that the searchers likely carried the same curse as the earlier demonized cultivator and could reveal his location if he attacked them.
• Ye Han stayed hidden behind his Invisibility Cloak as the search party passed, then vowed not to fall for the same trick twice.

Ye Han avoided the Demonic Qi Shadow’s bait and realized he needed to strengthen himself while trapped in the Darkness Forbidden Ground. He discovered that the White Jade Flower Trough repelled demonic qi, giving him a way to cultivate safely, though he remained unsure whether it would be enough to survive.

• Ye Han refused to attack the demonized cultivators and magic beasts sent as decoys, suspecting the Demonic Qi Shadow wanted their curse spirits to reveal his location.
• Ye Han suspected the zombie puppets had a hidden purpose and resolved to watch them closely.
• Ye Han decided to try breaking through to the peak of the tenth layer of the Qi Refining Realm instead of wasting time worrying.
• Ye Han brought out the White Jade Flower Trough and reasoned that it had allowed golden thread grass to grow in a cave saturated with demonic qi.
• Ye Han lay in the trough and found that it separated demonic qi from the spiritual energy he absorbed, giving him hope of cultivating safely in the Darkness Forbidden Ground.

Ye Han used the White Jade Flower Trough to cultivate safely in the Darkness Forbidden Ground and began breaking through his bottleneck with a High-Grade Qi Refining Pill. Meanwhile, Devil Lord Shadow grew anxious over Ye Han’s disappearance and contacted Gu Changdao.

• Ye Han realized the White Jade Flower Trough could let him avoid demonic qi and survive until the next Immortal Ascension Assembly, though staying hidden would delay his cultivation.
• Ye Han cultivated with the Azure Mystic Art, felt his bottleneck loosen, and took a High-Grade Qi Refining Pill to aid his breakthrough.
• Ye Han refined the pill’s medicinal power as the Purple Cauldron remained petrified and unable to absorb more energy.
• Devil Lord Shadow cursed over receiving no news from his subordinates for four days and worried that Ye Han had died or thwarted his plans.
• Devil Lord Shadow began an incantation to contact Gu Changdao.

Gu Changdao convinced Devil Lord Shadow that Ye Han was still alive and agreed to help lure him out. After their exchange, Gu Changdao set off to search the Darkness Forbidden Ground, desperate to find Ye Han and preserve his own life.

• Gu Changdao told Devil Lord Shadow that Ye Han was alive and hiding, arguing that Ye Han avoided killing cursed subordinates to prevent being marked by the blood curse again.
• Devil Lord Shadow considered killing Gu Changdao but kept him alive because Ye Han’s disappearance troubled him and he feared Ye Han would ruin his plans.
• Gu Changdao proposed that Devil Lord Shadow’s subordinates keep searching while he wandered the Darkness Forbidden Ground to draw Ye Han out.
• Devil Lord Shadow approved the plan and ordered Gu Changdao to report any news about Ye Han.
• Gu Changdao put away the Golden Light Longsword and Black Demon Sword and hurried off to search for Ye Han.

Ye Han broke through to the tenth layer of Qi Refining Realm while hiding in a cavern, then devised a way to exploit the Demonic Qi Shadow’s limits and began planning how to escape the Darkness Forbidden Ground. He chose to remain hidden and cultivate until he could better protect himself and find a way to expose the Blood Shadow Curse Spirit.

• Ye Han broke through to the tenth layer of Qi Refining Realm after four days of cultivating in the White Jade Flower Trough.
• Ye Han watched three uncontrolled Two-Horned Magic Beasts attack a Mighty Ape Magic Beast controlled by the Demonic Qi Shadow and recognized a chance to turn wild beasts against its forces.
• Ye Han reasoned that the Demonic Qi Shadow could not control pack-dwelling beasts and considered luring its controlled creatures into battles with them.
• Ye Han concluded that the Purple-Gold Runes could destroy the Blood Shadow Curse Spirit if he found a way to make it reveal itself.
• Ye Han decided to stay hidden, eat half a Grain-Repelling Pill, and absorb the Purple Cauldron’s energy to stabilize his cultivation at the tenth-layer peak.

The Fourth Elder and Seventh Elder worried that the disciples had been trapped in the Darkness Forbidden Ground for more than ten days. Qin Minghui’s Life Token remained intact, so they believed the group was still alive, though the Fourth Elder continued to wonder whether Ye Han was holding them back.

• The Fourth Elder feared the expedition had failed, while the Seventh Elder reminded her that Senior Sister Ningyu had exchanged bodies with Qin Minghui.
• The Fourth Elder checked Qin Minghui’s Life Token and found it intact, easing her fear that Senior Sister Ningyu had died.
• The Seventh Elder urged the Fourth Elder to stay calm, noting that previous expeditions had lost their members within days.
• The Fourth Elder asked whether Ye Han’s low cultivation might be hindering the group, but the Seventh Elder insisted Ye Han would not hold them back.
• The Fourth Elder accepted the Seventh Elder’s confidence but remained doubtful about Ye Han.

Ye Han continued practicing talisman crafting in the Darkness Forbidden Ground, hoping to learn how to break the black qi figure’s Cursed Blood Shadow. After another Spring Renewal Talisman failed, he suspected the brush he was using was the problem.

• Outside the Darkness Forbidden Ground, the Seventh Elder worried about the dangers awaiting the selected disciples while hidden black qi slipped through a cave wall.
• Ye Han’s cultivation stabilized at the peak of the tenth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, and he recognized how much stronger his Azure Mystic Art made him than an ordinary cultivator.
• Ye Han kept practicing talisman crafting so he could break the black qi figure’s Cursed Blood Shadow and weaken its forces through hit-and-run attacks.
• Ye Han failed to complete another Spring Renewal Talisman despite carefully copying its rune and technique.
• Ye Han examined the failed talisman and his mid-grade magical artifact brush, then suspected the brush was preventing his talismans from working.

Ye Han refined the Wolf-Hair Brush, successfully crafted his first Spring Renewal Talisman, and learned that the Purple-Gold Runes strengthened his talismans. He made thirteen Spell-Breaking Talismans to detect the Demonic Qi Shadow’s concealed cursed blood shadows, then set out to test them.

• Ye Han refined roughly seventy percent of the Wolf-Hair Brush and successfully drew a Spring Renewal Talisman, whose power the Purple-Gold Runes increased by more than thirty percent.
• Ye Han studied Ye Chunfeng’s instructions and realized Spell-Breaking Talismans could reveal concealed auras, including the Demonic Qi Shadow’s cursed blood shadows.
• Ye Han spent ten days practicing and crafted thirteen Spell-Breaking Talismans after more than two hundred failures.
• Ye Han put on the Invisibility Cloak and headed out to test a Spell-Breaking Talisman on a Magic Beast or Demonized Cultivator controlled by a cursed blood shadow.

Ye Han used a Spell-Breaking Talisman and the Purple-Gold Runes to destroy a Cursed Blood Shadow, freeing himself to fight the Demonic Qi Shadow’s forces. The Devil Lord Shadow realized Ye Han had found a way to break the curse and ordered Gu Changdao to stop him.

• Ye Han found and killed a Demonized Cultivator, then used a Spell-Breaking Talisman to expose its Cursed Blood Shadow.
• The Purple-Gold Runes destroyed the Cursed Blood Shadow, and Ye Han fled toward another area to evade the Demonic Qi Shadow’s forces.
• The Devil Lord Shadow berated Gu Changdao for failing to find Ye Han and considered possessing his body.
• The Devil Lord Shadow sensed that Ye Han had destroyed a Cursed Blood Spirit, then lost track of him almost immediately.
• Gu Changdao asked whether Qin Minghui had left the Demonflame Forest, but the Devil Lord Shadow denied it and ordered Gu Changdao to stop Ye Han.

The Devil Lord Shadow sent Gu Changdao to track Ye Han and prepared to counter his attacks on the Shadow’s controlled forces. Ye Han continued killing those forces until Gu Changdao unexpectedly appeared and reunited with him.

• The Devil Lord Shadow told Gu Changdao to watch his subordinates so Ye Han would reveal himself, and Gu Changdao left to carry out the order.
• The Devil Lord Shadow cast blood-red talisman gates and flew off, while worrying about the woman still inside the Demonflame Forest and Ye Han’s resistance to demonic qi.
• Ye Han killed a second-tier magic beast and two Cursed Blood Shadows, then reflected that he had already slain ten Demonized Cultivators and nine magic beasts.
• Ye Han trapped and killed another second-tier magic beast with his Thorn Bracelet and Wood Spirit Flying Swords.
• Gu Changdao appeared and beheaded four Demonized Cultivators, and he and Ye Han were surprised to find each other alive.

Ye Han met Gu Changdao, whom he suspected of serving the Devil Lord, and learned that Gu was being tracked and coerced. Ye Han led him away, then asked what had happened to Qin after hearing that Lin Hongyan and Sun Houde had been captured.

• Ye Han kept his distance from Gu Changdao and prepared his defenses, suspecting the Devil Lord had taken control of him.
• Gu Changdao admitted he could not break the tracking curse and warned that the Devil Lord was coming, then threatened to attack Ye Han if he refused to help.
• Ye Han told Gu Changdao to follow him, believing the Devil Lord would not pursue them immediately.
• Ye Han asked Gu Changdao whether Qin had escaped after learning that Lin Hongyan and Sun Houde had been captured.

Ye Han learned that Qin Minghui remained trapped in the Demonflame Forest and helped Gu Changdao remove his Cursed Blood Shadows while testing whether he wanted to escape the Devil Lord. The two reached a secluded cliff, where Ye Han proposed that they work together.

• Gu Changdao confirmed that Qin Minghui was still trapped in the Demonflame Forest and had not escaped.
• Ye Han used a Spell-Breaking Talisman to reveal his own Cursed Blood Shadow and demonstrated how he could destroy it.
• Gu Changdao activated his Spell-Breaking Talisman, revealing four Cursed Blood Shadows above him.
• Ye Han destroyed Gu Changdao's Cursed Blood Shadows with Purple-Gold Runes while concealing their power with azure flames.
• Ye Han and Gu Changdao went to a secluded cliff, where Ye Han asked if they could work together.

Ye Han proposed using the Devil Lord’s desire for the Treasure Pagoda to make him release Sun Houde and Lin Hongyan, then lead him to the Five Elements Restriction Land. Gu Changdao saw that the scheme might work but feared the risks, while Ye Han reminded him that he could not survive in the Darkness Forbidden Ground as long as Ye Han could.

• Gu Changdao insisted that he wanted to cooperate with Ye Han and bowed to ask for his help escaping the Darkness Forbidden Ground.
• Ye Han suggested rescuing Sun Houde and Lin Hongyan and joining forces with them and Qin Minghui, but Gu Changdao warned that a rescue would be dangerous.
• Ye Han revealed that the main plan was to tell the Devil Lord about the Treasure Pagoda and persuade him to release Sun Houde and Lin Hongyan so the group could open the Five Elements Restriction.
• Gu Changdao recognized that the plan could draw the Devil Lord into following them, but worried that the Devil Lord would attack once the restriction was opened.
• Ye Han told Gu Changdao he had a follow-up plan and could hide for five years, while Gu Changdao could endure the demonic qi for only four or five months.
• Gu Changdao weighed whether to carry out Ye Han’s plan as Ye Han watched him with an unreadable, confident expression.

Devil Lord Shadow became furious after Ye Han purged his curse spirits, then summoned Gu Changdao, who proposed using Ye Han’s plan to gather the captives and open the Treasure Pagoda’s restrictions. As Gu Changdao tried to persuade him, Devil Lord Shadow suspected he was being mocked and threatened him.

• Devil Lord Shadow discovered that Ye Han had purged the curse spirits possessing him and Gu Changdao, and he prepared zombie puppets as his hidden trump card.
• Gu Changdao contacted Devil Lord Shadow and came to meet him, despite knowing he was in danger and having agreed to follow Ye Han’s plan.
• Gu Changdao told Devil Lord Shadow that Ye Han wanted him to join forces against the Devil Lord, then claimed he would never betray him.
• Gu Changdao proposed releasing the two captured people and going with Ye Han so the group could open the Treasure Pagoda’s restrictions, giving Devil Lord Shadow a chance to attack.
• Devil Lord Shadow glared at Gu Changdao with killing intent and asked whether he thought the Devil Lord’s intelligence was impaired.