Chapter Summaries

Wang Yu escaped a Demonic Path Foundation Establishment cultivator and met Ximen Mei again in the Jialan Secret Realm. Ximen revealed her true appearance and her connection to Heaven Toad Ancestor, while Wang Yu asked why she had entered the dangerous trial.

• White Bone Fiend learned that Zhu Wuyan had killed disciples from both sides and ordered his men to find him and recruit him.
• Wang Yu used a Blood Escape Talisman to flee from the Demonic Path Foundation Establishment cultivator and decided to leave the mountain range.
• Ximen Mei caught up with Wang Yu aboard a fast Flying Boat, removed her veil, and explained that a Youth-Preserving Spirit Medicine had kept her youthful appearance.
• Ximen Mei showed Wang Yu two reusable Spirit Bird Feathers bestowed by her ancestor, which increased the speed of her Flying Boat.
• Ximen Mei confirmed that Heaven Toad Ancestor was her ancestor and explained that her family had almost only one heir per generation.
• Wang Yu asked why Ximen Mei, despite her distinguished background, had entered the Jialan Trial.

Wang Yu reunited with Ximen Mei, who explained her encounter with Zhu Wuyan and asked him to escort her to a place in the mountain range on Heaven Toad Ancestor’s orders. She promised him a True Disciple position and a request from her ancestor in return, and Wang Yu considered accepting despite his concerns about the danger.

• Ximen Mei told Wang Yu that Heaven Toad Ancestor had ordered her to participate in the trial and that she had warned him about Zhu Wuyan.
• Ximen Mei explained that Zhu Wuyan had nearly defeated her, and that Bi Xinxiu had helped her escape.
• Ximen Mei described Bi Xinxiu’s Bewitching Art and warned Wang Yu that she killed men from both the righteous and Demonic Paths.
• Wang Yu gave Ximen Mei vague explanations for his increased strength, citing years of cultivation, his ancient Breathing Technique, and his artifact-refining skill.
• Ximen Mei offered Wang Yu a True Disciple position and a request from Heaven Toad Ancestor if he escorted her safely to a nearby destination.
• Ximen Mei said the trip was her ancestor’s business and would be manageable if they avoided the Demonic Path forces; Wang Yu weighed her offer and his risk of not returning.

Ximen Mei revealed that Heaven Toad Ancestor had inherited part of High Person Jialan’s legacy and sent her to retrieve an item hidden in the Jialan Secret Realm. Wang Yu examined the map and Jade Pendant, which pinpointed a location deep in the mountain range, and remained committed to accompanying her.

• Wang Yu questioned why Ximen Mei’s ancestor knew about a location in the secret realm, and she agreed to explain after he warned her about the danger.
• Ximen Mei revealed that Heaven Toad Ancestor had found the Jialan Secret Key and part of High Person Jialan’s inheritance, which made him a Successor Disciple.
• Ximen Mei explained that the inheritance contained a clue to an item her ancestor needed, and she had found a map that revealed its location.
• Ximen Mei gave Wang Yu the Jade Pendant and scroll, and he used Overclocking to memorize the map of the secret realm.
• Wang Yu aligned the Jade Pendant’s projected lines with the map and discovered a point of light deep in the central mountain range.

Wang Yu agreed to help Ximen Mei retrieve an important item from the Secret Realm after learning she had a Talisman Treasure that could conceal them. He negotiated for her to ask Heaven Toad Ancestor to make him a nominal disciple, and the chapter ended as Ximen Mei activated the banner and vanished with her Flying Boat.

• Ximen Mei explained that her Little Mi-Cloud Banner could conceal them from even Foundation Establishment cultivators but required a constant infusion of dharma power.
• Wang Yu agreed to accompany Ximen Mei and asked her to seek nominal disciple status for him with Heaven Toad Ancestor, with formal discipleship if he later reached Foundation Establishment.
• Ximen Mei agreed to ask her ancestor, while warning that she could not guarantee his approval and that the original terms would otherwise stand.
• Ximen Mei summoned the Little Mi-Cloud Banner Talisman Treasure and shook it, making herself and the white jade Flying Boat disappear.
• Wang Yu failed to detect them with his divine sense or enhanced vision and praised the banner's concealment power.

Ximen Mei explained to Wang Yu the difference between Spirit Artifacts and Spirit Treasures while they traveled under the Little Mi-Cloud Banner’s protection. She then asked about his accomplishments in the Secret Realm, and Wang Yu said he had killed three Demonic Path True Disciples.

• Ximen Mei appeared with the White Jade Flying Boat and used the Little Mi-Cloud Banner to shield the boat and its passengers.
• Wang Yu asked what distinguished a Spirit Artifact from a Treasure Artifact, and Ximen Mei explained how Magical Artifacts developed spirituality into Spirit Artifacts and, eventually, Spirit Treasures.
• Ximen Mei said her ancestor had obtained the Little Mi-Cloud Banner’s original artifact through an exchange and confirmed that the Four Symbols Sect possessed a Spirit Treasure.
• Ximen Mei asked Wang Yu which Demonic Path True Disciples he had killed, and Wang Yu reported killing two from the Mara Sect and one from the Black Soul Sect.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei discussed the Demonic Path’s hidden Foundation Establishment power before spotting Joyful Bliss Palace disciples holding Zhou Chu and a beautiful young man from the Thousand Bamboo Sect captive. Ximen Mei decided to rescue them, and Wang Yu activated his Black Tiger Baleful Body to launch a surprise attack.

• Ximen Mei told Wang Yu that the Demonic Path’s Foundation Establishment attacker might have been a puppet or incarnation and that they should focus on their mission rather than the fifth Secret Key.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei saw Mara Sect disciples pass by in disciplined formation, and Ximen Mei warned that the Mara Sect was especially frightening.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei spotted Joyful Bliss Palace disciples transporting Zhou Chu and a beautiful young man from the Thousand Bamboo Sect as captives.
• Ximen Mei chose to rescue the Thousand Bamboo Sect captive and asked Wang Yu to kill the Joyful Bliss Palace disciples without letting anyone escape.
• Wang Yu agreed and activated his Black Tiger Baleful Body as Ximen Mei brought the White Jade Flying Boat closer.

Wang Yu ambushed the Joyful Bliss Palace disciples on the Green Wooden Boat and killed four of them while Ximen Mei protected Zhou Chu and the handsome young man. The last two women fled on pink light, and Wang Yu launched flying knives after them at Ximen Mei’s urging.

• Wang Yu descended from the White Jade Flying Boat and killed three Joyful Bliss Palace disciples in a surprise attack.
• Ximen Mei protected Zhou Chu and the handsome young man beneath a phantom bell while defending the White Jade Flying Boat with the Little Mi-Cloud Banner.
• Wang Yu repelled the disciples’ magical attacks and killed two male disciples with his saber and a pale-gold handprint.
• The two remaining Joyful Bliss Palace women fled on pink light, and Ximen Mei called for Wang Yu to stop them.
• Wang Yu produced two silver Willow-Leaf Flying Knives and flicked them toward the fleeing women.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei rescued Zhou Chu and Yuan Huatian from Joyful Bliss Palace disciples in the Secret Realm. After freeing them, Ximen Mei told Yuan Huatian to leave and asked Zhou Chu to escort him while she and Wang Yu continued on their way.

• Wang Yu killed the two Joyful Bliss Palace disciples holding the captives, collected their Storage Bags, and burned their bodies.
• Ximen Mei dispelled the Red Great Bell and used talismans to free Zhou Chu and Yuan Huatian from their chains.
• Zhou Chu thanked Wang Yu and Ximen Mei for saving him, while Yuan Huatian introduced himself as a Qi Refining disciple of the Thousand Bamboo Sect.
• Yuan Huatian mistook Wang Yu for a secretly trained Heavenly Prodigy, and Zhou Chu wondered whether Wang Yu had been secretly nurtured by their sect's ancestor.
• Ximen Mei ordered Yuan Huatian to leave the Secret Realm and asked Zhou Chu to escort him while she and Wang Yu continued their business.

Ximen Mei and Wang Yu left the Jialan Secret Realm while Zhou Chu and Yuan Huatian prepared to follow, and Ximen Mei revealed that her seemingly foolish fiancé had a dangerous history of misfortune befalling those who offended him. The chapter left Wang Yu unsettled by her account as they traveled together.

• Yuan Huatian refused to leave with Ximen Mei and Wang Yu until Ximen Mei rebuked him, then Wang Yu gave Zhou Chu a Storage Bag and departed with Ximen Mei.
• Zhou Chu found supplies and weapons in the Storage Bag, persuaded Yuan Huatian to leave the area, and destroyed the Emerald Wooden Boat before heading toward the Secret Realm's outskirts.
• On the White Jade Flying Boat, Wang Yu rested while Ximen Mei powered the Cyan Small Banner Phantom in silence.
• Ximen Mei told Wang Yu that Yuan Huatian's childhood betrothal did not reflect his true nature and that people who offended him often met terrible misfortune.
• Ximen Mei recounted how a foundation establishment cultivator who had humiliated Yuan Huatian later mistook poisonous thousand-year crowgrass for thousand-year lingzhi and lost a cultivation level.

Ximen Mei warned Wang Yu that her fiancé, Yuan Huatian, was dangerous and likely to hold a grudge against him, then promised to ask her family ancestor to take Wang Yu as a registered disciple. After traveling safely into the mountain range, Ximen Mei and Wang Yu found the valley marked on their map and descended to search for its entrance.

• Ximen Mei told Wang Yu she feared Yuan Huatian and explained that their engagement was tied to relations between the Four Symbols Sect and the Thousand Bamboo Sect.
• Ximen Mei warned Wang Yu that Yuan Huatian might resent him for intervening and advised him to be wary of remarks Yuan made in jest.
• Ximen Mei promised to ask her family ancestor to take Wang Yu as a registered disciple, cheering him up.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei avoided another group of Black Soul Sect disciples and reached the valley shown on their map.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei kept the Little Maitreya Cloud Banner active and descended into the valley to look for the entrance.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei searched a valley for the Earth Origin Spirit Spring and the thousand-year-old blood origin mushrooms growing beside it, which could help create a lifespan-extending pill for Golden Core Ancestors. Wang Yu found the underground entrance, and the two entered the cavern with a Mechanical Dragonfly scouting ahead.

• Ximen Mei told Wang Yu that High Person Jialan had left blood origin mushrooms near an Earth Origin Spirit Spring, and explained their value to Golden Core Ancestors.
• Wang Yu used his heightened senses to locate the dampest spot in the valley, leading Ximen Mei to a tree hiding a hollow space beneath it.
• Ximen Mei cut down the tree with a Wind Blade, revealing an entrance to an underground cavern.
• Ximen Mei sent a Mechanical Dragonfly into the cavern to check for danger, then entered with Wang Yu.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei descended toward the Earth Origin Spirit Spring while discussing formation tools and keeping themselves concealed. After a Mechanical Dragonfly was destroyed inside the cavern ahead, they suspected a Demon Beast was guarding the spring, and Ximen Mei prepared a sedative to subdue it.

• Ximen Mei sealed the passage entrance with a Formation Disc and explained to Wang Yu how Formation Discs and Formation Flags differed from true formations.
• Ximen Mei recalled how her master could have used his sect’s formations to defend himself, and Wang Yu remembered the formation notes he had obtained.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei descended with a Mechanical Dragonfly scouting ahead and the Little Mi-Cloud Banner concealing them.
• Ximen Mei sent a second Mechanical Dragonfly to investigate the cavern, but its image vanished when something destroyed it.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei suspected a Demon Beast was inside, and Ximen Mei produced a sedative pill to prepare bait for it.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei used drugged demon-beast meat to lure a sleeping hybrid species out of its cavern. After Wang Yu severed and pulverized it, the creature began regenerating, and he trapped its remains in a barrier of crimson flames.

• Wang Yu thawed a piece of demon-beast meat, and Ximen Mei coated it with a high-grade Beast-Dazing Pill before sending it into the cavern on a Mechanical Dragonfly.
• After waiting, Wang Yu and Ximen Mei entered the cavern and found a sleeping, scorpion-tailed monster beside the shattered Mechanical Dragonflies.
• Ximen Mei identified the creature as a possible hybrid species, and she and Wang Yu decided to kill it rather than risk capturing it alive.
• Wang Yu cut off the monster's head, but its headless body attacked him with its hooked tail while the severed head opened its eyes.
• Wang Yu slashed the monster into pulp, then formed a pale red barrier of crimson flames around its regenerating remains.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei harvested the blood origin mushrooms, but their work triggered blood to pour from the pits and an ominous disturbance in the pool. After their attempt to escape through the ceiling failed, they fled toward the cavern entrance as something seemed ready to emerge.

• Ximen Mei dug up the three blood origin mushrooms while Wang Yu discovered a smooth hole beneath the pool and retrieved a cold, blood-patterned stone from it.
• Blood bubbled from the mushroom pits, so Wang Yu and Ximen Mei tried to escape with an Earth-Drilling Talisman, but the ceiling stopped them and they fell back into the cavern.
• Wang Yu caught Ximen Mei as she fell, and she blushed and threatened to settle accounts with him after they escaped.
• Wang Yu noticed the pool churning into a huge whirlpool as blood spread across the cavern floor.
• Ximen Mei used an Azure Talisman to rush toward the entrance, and Wang Yu followed at full speed.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei killed the regenerating variant demon beast and found three mature blood origin mushrooms beside the Earth Origin Spirit Spring. Ximen Mei began harvesting them with special supplies from her Family Ancestor, while Wang Yu grew more determined to become Heaven Toad Ancestor’s Registered Disciple.

• Wang Yu burned the variant demon beast to ash with his Flame Veil, and Ximen Mei questioned how quickly he could cast a Twelve Spirit Inscription Spell.
• Ximen Mei suspected Wang Yu had a rare spellcasting gift and said it could improve his chances of becoming her Family Ancestor’s Registered Disciple.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei cleared the mist from the Earth Origin Spirit Spring and found three blood origin mushrooms with nine monkey-head patterns.
• Ximen Mei applied Foundation Establishment demon beast essence blood to the mushrooms and began digging one up with a jade hoe.
• Wang Yu thought about how Foundation Establishment demon beast materials could help his own demon beasts mature and became more eager to join Heaven Toad Ancestor.

A flood of blood swept Wang Yu and Ximen Mei into a hidden formation, which pulled them through a black hole and dropped them into an abandoned stone hall. They began exploring the hall, but Wang Yu discovered that his fire technique would not work there.

• Blood surged into the cavern and swept Ximen Mei toward the black hole at the center of the white whirlpool.
• Wang Yu tried to rescue Ximen Mei, but the whirlpool pulled them both into the black hole after the Cyan Small Banner Phantom shattered.
• Wang Yu surrounded himself and Ximen Mei with killing intent and slowed their fall until they landed in a stone hall.
• Wang Yu released Ximen Mei, and they walked to opposite walls to inspect the overgrown relief carvings.
• Wang Yu tried to conjure a fireball to burn away the vines, but the flame flickered out.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei uncovered eight reliefs depicting High Person Jialan and a giant spider demon beast, from its subjugation to its attack on Jialan’s nascent soul. Wang Yu suspected a third person had made the reliefs, while Ximen Mei warned the spider might still be alive in the Secret Realm.

• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei stripped vines from the walls despite the formation suppressing spells, uncovering four reliefs about a spider demon beast and a monk who appeared to be High Person Jialan.
• Ximen Mei cleared the other walls, and Wang Yu examined four more reliefs showing Jialan’s aging, transformation, and apparent attempt to restrain the spider as it attacked his nascent soul.
• Ximen Mei identified the figures as High Person Jialan and his subdued spider demon beast, based on her Family Ancestor’s account and the rarity of nascent-soul cultivators.
• Wang Yu suggested the reliefs were made by a third person, but Ximen Mei rejected the idea because the scenes depicted only Jialan and the spider.
• Ximen Mei warned that the spider might have survived and could still be living in the Secret Realm, which might be one of its lairs.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei searched for a way out of the stone hall after learning a dangerous Spider Demon Beast might be in the Secret Realm. When Wang Yu could not climb through the passage above, he suspected the unusual floor tiles concealed another exit.

• Ximen Mei warned Wang Yu that a powerful Spider Demon Beast might be hiding in the Secret Realm, and they agreed to seek a way out.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei searched the hall’s walls but found no hidden doors or passages.
• Wang Yu used his physical strength to throw a Bone Spear into the passage overhead and climbed up, but a Restrictive Seal stopped him after a few hundred feet.
• Wang Yu told Ximen Mei that the unusually arranged floor tiles sounded hollow beneath them and suggested searching below the hall.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei uncovered a passage beneath the sealed floor and descended to find a Teleportation Formation. They left the chapter studying whether they could activate it to escape.

• Wang Yu smashed through the floor repeatedly, but silver Spirit Inscription phantoms restored it each time.
• Ximen Mei arranged Formation Discs and used her master's seal-breaking method to suppress the floor's restrictive seal.
• Wang Yu battered the tiles until they crumbled, revealing a staircase, and Ximen Mei said the seal-breaking method would last at least two hours.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei descended the passage and found a stone chamber containing a Teleportation Formation.
• Ximen Mei identified the formation and explained that it could transport people across the void, while Wang Yu hoped it would let them escape.

Wang Yu and Ximen Mei discovered that the teleportation formation was operational and used it to escape their sealed chamber. They arrived in another chamber, regained their ability to cast spells, and prepared to investigate while concealed by Ximen Mei’s talisman treasure.

• Ximen Mei inspected the formation and found that three high-grade spirit stones powered it.
• Ximen Mei determined the formation was safe to use, and she and Wang Yu activated it despite not knowing where it led.
• Wang Yu and Ximen Mei teleported into a similar stone chamber, where Ximen Mei briefly lost her balance.
• Wang Yu confirmed he could cast spells again, and Ximen Mei used the Little Maitreya Cloud Banner Talisman Treasure to conceal them.
• Wang Yu slowly pushed open the chamber’s heavy stone door while the cyan concealment halo covered them.