Recaps

Xiao Mao discovered that his mother had taught him a language of Million Meng Mountain, and a native named Qie Qi recognized him as a descendant of Great God Shebi. Xiao Mao struggled with shame over his origins but chose to help Qie Qi, while Xiao Hua urged him to face his background and decide his own path.

• Jiu Xia warned that natives could not eat rice, so Xiao Hua caught a wild creature and Xiao Mao fed its blood and flesh to the unconscious native.
• When the native awoke, Xiao Mao spoke with him in the language his mother had taught him, astonishing Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Fairy Hongxia.
• Xiao Mao explained that the native, Qie Qi, believed he was a descendant of Great God Shebi and invited him to the shaman village.
• Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao that origins could not be chosen and urged him to accept his past while choosing his own future.
• Xiao Mao admitted he had wanted to hide his connection to the natives, but he had ultimately intervened because Qie Qi was a fellow human and possibly one of his clansmen.

Xiao Mao agreed to follow Qie Qi into Million Meng Mountain to seek clues about his parents and origins, while Xiao Hua wondered why Jiu Xia was so eager for him to go. The villagers and soul shamans welcomed Xiao Mao with ecstatic reverence, and Xiao Hua noticed Li Zongbao growing indifferent again.

• Xiao Mao worried that his Daoist cultivation and the group's unfamiliarity with the local language would expose them, but Jiu Xia encouraged him to go with Qie Qi.
• Xiao Hua agreed that Xiao Mao should pursue his origins, and Qie Qi celebrated by performing a ritual and leading the group onward.
• A group of soul shamans and several hundred villagers rushed toward them after hearing that strangers had appeared in the mountains.
• The soul shamans recognized Xiao Mao's clothing and Qie Qi's reverence, then greeted Xiao Mao with dances and sent messengers to the village.
• Xiao Mao spoke with the soul shamans, who responded with joyful excitement, while Xiao Hua noticed Li Zongbao's expression turning indifferent again.

Xiao Mao received an elaborate welcome from the natives of Million Meng Mountain, and Jiu Xia explained how their reverence might reflect the power of faith. After Xiao Mao ordered the procession onward to Hongdi Village, the group rode soul beasts while Qie Qi ran devotedly beside him.

• Jiu Xia told Xiao Hua and Fairy Hongxia that the natives’ obedience to Xiao Mao could become a powerful force, and she speculated that cultivators’ faith in immortals might empower the ancient founders of the Dao Sect.
• Xiao Mao welcomed Xiao Hua and the others, then explained that the natives revered him because of his bloodline and status, while Xiao Hua had cared for him regardless of either.
• After Xiao Hua patted Xiao Mao’s shoulder, Qie Qi and the natives objected until Xiao Mao spoke and persuaded them to kneel respectfully before the others.
• Xiao Mao ordered soul beasts brought so the party could reach Hongdi Village faster, and Qie Qi offered his back as a step for Xiao Mao to mount.
• The group set off on the soul beasts as the soul warriors and hundreds of natives ran alongside them, with Qie Qi keeping pace beside Xiao Mao.

Xiao Mao confronted Hongdi Village’s shaman elder and Ji Man before a crowd of soul warriors, natives, and soul beasts, then proved his connection to Great God Shebi. The chapter ended with the assembled creatures and people bowing before Shebi’s manifestation, while Xiao Mao caught the pearl after it returned to normal.

• Xiao Mao and Xiao Hua encountered Hongdi Village’s shaman elder, Ji Man, and a host of soul beasts and warriors at the mountain peak.
• Qie Qi knelt before Xiao Mao, and the natives, shaman elder, and Ji Man followed in reverence despite their doubts about his identity.
• The shaman elder presented Xiao Mao with a pearl, and Ji Man prompted him to place a drop of blood on it.
• Xiao Mao’s blood transformed the pearl and summoned a vast ink-green image of Great God Shebi.
• The shaman elder, Ji Man, soul warriors, natives, and soul beasts bowed before Shebi’s image, which returned to the pearl before Xiao Mao caught it.

Xiao Mao reunited with the people of Hongdi Village, but Xiao Hua insisted that he keep his identity secret for safety. The group learned that Million Meng Mountain had twelve great gods and arrived at the village, where they entered its imposing wooden hall.

• Xiao Mao introduced Elder Wu and Ji Man to Xiao Hua and the others, and the villagers welcomed them to Hongdi Village.
• Xiao Hua stopped the village leaders from spreading news of Xiao Mao’s return, and Xiao Mao ordered everyone to keep his identity secret.
• Elder Wu told Xiao Mao that Million Meng Mountain had twelve great gods, including Shebi, Houtu, Gonggong, and nine others.
• Jiu Xia said she knew Xiao Mao could help with a matter she would not explain, and Xiao Mao agreed because she had saved their lives and helped Fairy Hongxia.
• Xiao Mao and his companions rode soul beasts to Hongdi Village, where the villagers welcomed them and led them into a wooden hall decorated with painted patterns, skulls, bones, and animal hides.

Xiao Mao received Hongdi Village’s leaders and accepted three shamanic items after Elder Wu and Ji Man pledged the village’s loyalty to him as a descendant of Great God Shebi. The chapter left Xiao Mao being invited to feast while Ji Man urged him to take command of Great Shebi Village.

• Elder Wu and Ji Man welcomed Xiao Mao with a ceremony as the villagers lit bonfires and prepared a banquet.
• More than a hundred clan leaders came to pay respects to Xiao Mao, revealing Hongdi Village’s many branches and the scale of Shebi’s descendants in Million Meng Mountain.
• Elder Wu advised Xiao Mao to call himself “We” or “the Solitary One,” and Xiao Mao agreed to use “We.”
• Ji Man presented Xiao Mao with three shamanic items and declared Hongdi Village’s loyalty to him as a descendant of Great God Shebi.
• Ji Man congratulated Xiao Mao and urged him to take command of Great Shebi Village, then invited him and his companions to enjoy the village’s delicacies.

Xiao Mao attended a feast in Hongdi Village, where Ji Man and Witch Elder presented him with offerings meant to strengthen his Soul Arts. He stopped them from killing a Qingxi Wuyu’s offspring, but accepted a Jiajie Worm as the first guest to eat, then faced Witch Elder’s warning against using Dao Sect methods in Meng Mountain.

• Ji Man summoned a Soul Warrior who prepared to kill a Qingxi Wuyu, but its larger mate rushed in and offered itself in its place.
• Witch Elder explained that the beasts’ raw brain matter advanced Soul Arts, and Xiao Mao forbade Shebi’s descendants from eating it raw.
• Ji Man served everyone cauldrons of Jiajie Worms mixed with Soul Returning Grass, and Xiao Mao swallowed one to let the others eat.
• Xiao Mao tried to send his cauldron to Witch Elder with his power, but Witch Elder urged him to use fewer Dao Sect methods in Meng Mountain.

Xiao Mao learned that a vast swarm of Jiajie Worms was threatening Hongdi Village and chose to stay and protect its people rather than flee. As the swarm pressed down, he asked Jiu Xia to help find a way to disperse it, but she said she had no such ability.

• Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao saw countless Jiajie Worms gathering above Hongdi Village, while Ji Man explained that their arrival was not caused by Xiao Mao eating them.
• Soul cultivators reported the danger, and Xiao Mao decided to help the people of Hongdi Village because he could not bear to abandon them.
• Xiao Mao lent his Jiajie Worms to soul cultivators who had received little cauldrons from him, and they prostrated themselves in gratitude.
• Xiao Mao ignored Ji Man's warning to escape and went outside with the others, where the swarm and the village's soul beasts filled the sky.
• Elder Wu admitted that Jiajie Worms had increasingly attacked villages and sometimes launched large-scale assaults, but withheld the reason until later.
• Xiao Mao asked Jiu Xia to help disperse the swarm, and she said she lacked the ability but might know more about the worms' weaknesses.

Hongdi Village’s defenders fought a vast swarm of Jiajie Worms with chants, soul beasts, and green light, but their attacks barely slowed the insects. As the village’s defenses faltered, Jiu Xia believed Xiao Mao could drive the swarm away through his bloodline, and Ji Man began a new attack.

• Hongdi Village’s soul warriors and earthlings chanted and danced, gathering dark green radiance to resist the Jiajie Worms’ vibrations.
• Elder Wu led the soul beasts into battle and used his bone staff to strike down tens of thousands of Jiajie Worms, but the swarm quickly overwhelmed the green light.
• Xiao Hua considered using Innate True Water, fire, or the Small Pouch, but he could not find a way to disperse the swarm without harming Xiao Mao’s standing in the village.
• Jiu Xia told Xiao Hua that Xiao Mao’s bloodline had likely attracted the Jiajie Worms and that she believed he could drive them away, though he could not yet use its power.
• Ji Man charged to the front, chanted syllables resembling Green Seal Script, and danced as pale green radiance wrapped around her.

Ji Man’s attack briefly carved a gap through the Jiajie Worm swarm, but the creatures quickly closed it, leaving her exhausted and Hongdi Village in danger. After Elder Wu explained the worms’ weaknesses and the limits of the village’s defenses, Xiao Hua prepared to drive them away and secretly gave Xiao Mao several items.

• Ji Man used the soul warriors’ power to blast a huge gap through the Jiajie Worms, but the swarm rapidly filled it again.
• Ji Man leaped from her soul beast to escape the worms, and Elder Wu caught her; the soul beast was devoured and fell as a skeleton.
• Ji Man convulsed and vomited blood, while Elder Wu urged Xiao Mao to seek shelter until midnight, when the worms would turn into grass.
• Elder Wu explained that drought had made the Jiajie Worms more dangerous and that they feared rain and dampness, but he withheld why they attacked Hongdi Village.
• Xiao Hua asked what Ji Man had chanted, then declared he would drive away the worms and flew upward with Xiao Mao, secretly handing him several items.

Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao stopped the Jiajie Worms from destroying Hongdi Village by using Cloud-Rain Talismans, and Xiao Mao was hailed as the village’s savior. The old shaman then agreed to reveal why the worms had attacked, while Ji Man accepted a valuable spirit tea as Xiao Mao’s reward.

• Xiao Mao activated a Cloud-Rain Talisman, and Xiao Hua summoned lightning that struck the Jiajie Worms but failed to keep them down.
• Xiao Mao scattered Cloud-Rain Talismans across the swarm, and the rain grounded and scattered most of the Jiajie Worms until the survivors fled at dusk.
• The people of Hongdi Village cheered Xiao Mao, who praised their efforts and warned the old shaman that the village remained at risk until they learned why the worms had attacked.
• Xiao Hua gave Xiao Mao a jade box to reward Ji Man, and Xiao Mao bestowed it on her without knowing it contained spirit tea.
• The old shaman agreed to explain the attack to Xiao Mao and Xiao Hua alone, and Ji Man led Fairy Hongxia and the others away to rest.

Xiao Mao and Xiao Hua followed Elder Wu to Su Garden, where Elder Wu revealed that the hidden site held millet and explained how changing weather had caused millet crops across Million Meng Mountain to fail. The millet shortage had prompted Elder Wu to plant a reserve, while Xiao Hua inspected the plants because they seemed familiar to him.

• Elder Wu led Xiao Mao and Xiao Hua past the village’s guards and used his bone staff to reveal a soul formation protecting Su Garden.
• Xiao Mao questioned Elder Wu about how he knew he had been in Three Cultivation Kingdoms, but Elder Wu refused to explain and brought them into Su Garden on a Qingxi Wuyu.
• Elder Wu showed Xiao Mao the millet growing in Su Garden and explained that it was the staple food of Million Meng Mountain’s people and a food source for Jiajie Worms.
• Elder Wu said rainfall had dwindled and millet had stopped producing grain, threatening the villages and contributing to the Jiajie Worms’ attacks.
• Elder Wu explained that he had brought farmers from Xi Kingdom to help plant the millet in Su Garden as a reserve, while Xiao Hua examined the plants and said they seemed familiar.

Xiao Hua learned that Meng Mountain’s failing millet was driving its people to seek refuge in the Three Cultivation Kingdoms and the Sword Domain, and he hinted that he might be able to help. He urged Xiao Mao to use the crisis to unite the descendants of Great God Shebi, then left Elder Wu waiting for an answer until before dawn.

• Elder Wu explained that Meng Mountain’s millet was dying amid changes to Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, threatening the survival of its people and forcing them to seek places beyond their homeland.
• Xiao Hua asked whether Elder Wu’s people would still leave if the millet recovered, and Elder Wu said they had never wanted to abandon Meng Mountain or covet the lands of the Daoist sects.
• Xiao Hua took Xiao Mao deeper into the valley and advised him to enlist Elder Wu, Ji Man, and the villagers, using the crisis to gather the descendants of Great God Shebi and strengthen his position.
• Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao that he also faced hidden enemies and could not act without certainty, then reassured him that his family mattered more than merit or wealth.
• Xiao Hua gave Xiao Mao a pouch of spiritual tea and told him to ask Elder Wu about its origins, while he continued examining Su Garden.
• Xiao Mao returned to Elder Wu and said Xiao Hua would consider the matter and likely provide a specific method before dawn.

Xiao Mao learned about the Morning Evening Moon and Million Meng Mountain from Elder Wu, then Xiao Hua proposed replacing the failing millet with seeds he had obtained at Qiang He Sea. The plan was about to be tested when Xiao Hua noticed Jiu Xia hiding nearby.

• Elder Wu explained that the Morning Evening Moon was a sacred Houtu Village artifact that nourished soul consciousness and could aid the bloodlines of the Twelve Great Gods, and Xiao Mao gave it to him.
• Elder Wu warned Xiao Mao about trusting outsiders with Million Meng Mountain’s interests, but Xiao Mao assured him that Xiao Hua was his trusted Big Brother.
• Xiao Mao gave Xiao Hua three bone boxes containing treasures from Ji Man, and the two returned to Elder Wu.
• Xiao Hua said he could not change Million Meng Mountain’s heavenly phenomenon, but believed replacing the millet could save the region.
• Xiao Hua revealed that he had obtained enough millet seeds at Qiang He Sea to supply all of Million Meng Mountain, and offered Xiao Mao a small pouch to test.
• Xiao Hua sensed Jiu Xia hiding nearby and called her out.

Jiu Xia revealed that she had sought Xiao Hua’s help with a vast task tied to Million Meng Mountain, then led him away from Su Garden to explain it. She asked him to stop the coming war between Million Meng Mountain and the Sword Domain, claiming that divination had identified True Person Xiao as the person capable of doing so.

• Jiu Xia recognized Xiao Hua as True Person Xiao, thanked him for an already-granted favor, and flew away from Su Garden.
• Xiao Hua pursued Jiu Xia beyond Hongdi Village and caught up with her after they crossed Liuyun Lake into Huan Kingdom.
• Jiu Xia explained that she had deliberately revealed her traces because she wanted to speak with Xiao Hua alone, and she reassured him that she had never threatened him or Xiao Mao.
• Jiu Xia told Xiao Hua that the great favor she sought concerned Million Meng Mountain and asked him to stop the war between Million Meng Mountain and the Sword Domain.
• Xiao Hua doubted that he could prevent the war, but Jiu Xia said that while Xiao Hua could not do it, True Person Xiao certainly could.

Xiao Hua learned that Jiu Xia was from the Sword Domain and had commanded both the Soul Cultivator–Sword Cultivator war and the Dao Sword Great Battle. As Jiu Xia explained the war’s origins and her plans, she revealed that Million Meng Mountain’s Soul Cultivators had initially entered the Sword Domain searching for someone named Zhang Xiaohua, leaving Xiao Hua stunned.

• Xiao Hua realized that the spirit seeds he found could resolve Million Meng Mountain’s crisis and prevent the war.
• Jiu Xia revealed that she came from the Sword Domain and had orchestrated the war and the Dao Sword Great Battle.
• Jiu Xia explained that the Daoist Sect’s Golden Core forces had been defeated, while the Nascent Soul battle’s outcome remained uncertain.
• Xiao Hua pieced together how Jiu Xia had manipulated events to seize Lian Kingdom, and Jiu Xia corrected his account of the Soul Cultivators’ first invasion.
• Jiu Xia said the Soul Cultivators had originally gone to the Sword Domain seeking Zhang Xiaohua, and Xiao Hua reacted with shock at the name.

Jiu Xia revealed that she had come to the Xiaoyu Continent seeking Xiao Hua and would need his help someday, though she would not ask him to promise anything now. Xiao Hua accepted her clan’s cultivation techniques and sent her to deliver a message about the great battle.

• Jiu Xia warned Xiao Hua that the Sword Domain’s Sword Transformations had ambitions beyond the conflict at Million Meng Mountain and hinted that the safest place was also the most dangerous.
• Jiu Xia revealed her peerless true appearance, then explained that she had sought Xiao Hua for a purpose that might take a hundred thousand years to fulfill.
• Jiu Xia gave Xiao Hua two jade pendants containing her clan’s divination art and a technique to strengthen his Nascent Soul.
• Xiao Hua accepted the pendants, telling Jiu Xia that no beauty could replace Cai Hongxia in his heart.
• Xiao Hua gave Jiu Xia a communication talisman and asked her to take it to Qian Diheng of the Thunder Control Sect in Xuntian City.

Xiao Hua learned that Jiu Xia had masterminded the Dao Sword Great Battle and suspected the sword cultivators planned to target Xuntian City with a formation powered by five innate elements. He and his companions realized the elders might be walking into the trap and hurried to warn them.

• Jiu Xia accepted Xiao Hua's request to distribute fine rice seeds among the people of Huan Kingdom, then flew toward Lian Kingdom.
• Xiao Hua returned to Hongdi Village and told Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Fairy Hongxia that Jiu Xia had planned the Dao Sword Great Battle and trained Lu Ruochang.
• At Su Garden, Xiao Hua explained that Jiu Xia hoped the successful rice harvest would persuade the soul cultivators and Huan Kingdom to withdraw from the war.
• Xiao Hua revealed that the sword cultivators' true objective might be Xuntian City, where a sword formation using Innate Metal Qi, Innate True Water, and other innate elements could attack Snowy Realm True Person.
• Li Zongbao connected earlier battles and locations to the sword cultivators' search for five innate elements, then urged everyone to return to Xuntian City and warn the sect elders.

Xiao Hua and his companions left Hongdi Village after planting millet seeds and arranging for Jiu Xia to carry a message to the Dao Sect, then set out toward the Cai Family Ancestral Hall. The chapter ended with the Dao Sect Council Hall at Floating Duckweed Mountain, where the Huo brothers were praised for retaking Cuihua Ridge from sword cultivators.

• Xiao Hua said Jiu Xia had agreed to relay news to the Dao Sect, and Elder Wu reported that most of the immortal seeds had been planted.
• Ji Man thanked Xiao Mao for the seeds, and Xiao Mao decided the group should leave Hongdi Village rather than wait for the millet to mature.
• Ten days later, Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Qie Qi departed on two Qingxi Wuyu, carrying millet seeds and village tokens.
• Xiao Mao chose Qie Qi as their guide and refused Elder Wu and Ji Man’s offer to send soul cultivators with them.
• At Floating Duckweed Mountain, Huo Zheshhan recounted how the Huo brothers had defeated three Sword Transformation cultivators and retaken Cuihua Ridge.
• Xunyunzi and True Person Heping praised the Huo brothers for their victory against the sword cultivators.

The Dao Sect cultivators celebrated their capture of Floating Duckweed Mountain, but True Person Kuangtian questioned whether the sword cultivators’ retreat and defeat were a trap. The argument over merit ended with Bikongzi demanding to meet the Thunder Control Sect’s mysterious Junior Brother Nameless.

• Xunyunzi praised the victory at Floating Duckweed Mountain and asked Bikongzi whether the Dao Sect should pursue the sword cultivators or consolidate its position.
• Bikongzi credited the sects’ disciples and said one of his disciples would advise them, while Huo Paikong praised the disciple’s provocation tactic against Wang Liuxi.
• True Person Kuangtian criticized the tactic and argued that the sword cultivators’ retreat and gambling battle seemed suspicious, prompting a dispute with Bikongzi.
• True Person Miyou defended the Thunder Control Sect’s battle merits and said Junior Brother Nameless had rescued more than a hundred thousand Dao Sect disciples.
• Bikongzi denied repeatedly bringing up the Thunder Control Sect’s merits and demanded to meet Nameless.

True Person Kuangtian argued that the sword cultivators’ feints might conceal an attack on Xuntian City, while the other leaders challenged his reasoning. Zhu Chenghe arrived and was asked to explain the situation, but the chapter ended before he spoke.

• True Person Miyou and True Person Kuangtian defended Nameless’s identity and Thunder Control Sect’s merit against Bikongzi’s doubts.
• At Xunyunzi’s urging, True Person Kuangtian shifted the discussion to the sword cultivators’ movements and claimed they repeatedly used feints to conceal their true targets.
• True Person Kuangtian warned that the sword cultivators might use their operations in Lian Kingdom as a feint before attacking Xuntian City.
• True Person Jinglü mocked Kuangtian’s prediction and said Zhu Chenghe could explain the situation instead.
• Zhu Chenghe arrived, stood beside Bikongzi, and listened as True Person Jinglü asked him to speak; Zhu Chenghe smiled but said nothing.

Zhu Chenghe explained why Xuntian City was unlikely to be the sword cultivators’ target, winning Xunyunzi’s praise and earning recognition for the four strategists. Qian Diheng then entered Sky-Scraping Hall and declared his resolve to help defeat the sword cultivators.

• Xunyunzi asked Zhu Chenghe to assess True Person Kuangtian’s warning that Xuntian City might be attacked.
• Zhu Chenghe said the vanished Sword Tomb had reduced Xuntian City’s strategic importance and argued that the sword cultivators would more likely seize Lian Kingdom’s territory.
• Zhu Chenghe cited Xuntian City’s powerful formation, Snowy Realm True Person, Teleportation Array, and the sword cultivators’ failure to attack early as reasons it was not their target.
• Xunyunzi praised Zhu Chenghe and the other strategists, promising them battle merits and cultivation benefits, while True Person Kuangtian reluctantly accepted the analysis.
• Qian Diheng entered Sky-Scraping Hall, greeted the Patriarchs, and vowed to do everything he could to drive the sword cultivators out of Lian Kingdom.

Qian Diheng reported Xiao Hua’s intelligence about the sword cultivators’ secret objective, prompting the sect leaders to recognize the importance of his discovery. Zhu Chenghe then questioned how Xiao Hua’s message had reached the front, and Qian Diheng’s answers raised doubts about its delivery and the missing reports from Xiao Hua’s companions.

• Qian Diheng announced that he had come to report crucial news, but learned that the leaders had already identified Xuntian City as the sword cultivators’ target.
• Qian Diheng presented Xiao Hua’s communication talisman, and True Person Miyou and Xunyunzi read its intelligence about the sword cultivators’ plans and Million Meng Mountain.
• Qian Diheng praised Xiao Hua’s courage and sought credit for him, while Xunyunzi criticized the First Special Detachment’s decision to venture deep into enemy territory.
• Zhu Chenghe asked how the communication talisman had reached Qian Diheng, and Qian Diheng claimed Quan Jin had received it near the Sword Mound and delivered it.
• Zhu Chenghe questioned why only Xiao Hua’s message had arrived and why Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Cai Hongxia had sent no communication talismans.

Zhu Chenghe challenged Qian Diheng’s claims about Xiao Hua’s communication talisman, then explained that the Dao Sect had prepared defenses in case the sword cultivators attacked Xuntian City. He secured approval to investigate Huan Kingdom and Million Meng Mountain, then forced Thunder Control Sect elders to choose whether to reinforce Xuntian City or admit they distrusted Xiao Hua’s warning.

• Zhu Chenghe questioned Qian Diheng about how Xiao Hua and the others could have crossed Sword Tomb and sent a talisman from Million Meng Mountain, casting doubt on the message’s authenticity.
• Zhu Chenghe revealed that Snowy Realm True Person had been warned and that hidden Dao Sect elders near Xuntian City could reinforce it if the sword cultivators attacked.
• Xunyunzi approved Zhu Chenghe’s request to send capable disciples to investigate Huan Kingdom and Million Meng Mountain.
• Zhu Chenghe asked Kuangtian and Miyou to send Thunder Control Sect disciples to defend Xuntian City, arguing that their trust in Xiao Hua’s message required them to help resist the predicted siege.
• Kuangtian hesitated as Zhu Chenghe left him facing the choice of reinforcing Xuntian City or treating Xiao Hua’s warning as a sword cultivator plot.

Zhu Chenghe deduced that the swordsmen were targeting Xunyu Mountain and dispatched forces after reports confirmed their presence there, while the cultivators mistakenly believed Xiao Hua had been captured. Xiao Hua was actually safe with Fairy Hongxia, traveling through famine-stricken Million Meng Mountain toward the Cai family's ancestral shrine.

• True Person Miyou agreed to send Thunder Control Sect disciples to Xuntian City if Zhu Chenghe arranged for one additional sect to accompany them.
• Zhu Chenghe explained that the swordsmen might target Qimeng Ridge, Xunyu Mountain, or the Qihong River Basin and said his sect had already stationed patrols and senior cultivators nearby.
• A message from the Southern Nether Sect reported swordsmen at Xunyu Mountain, and Zhu Chenghe began deploying troops according to their prior plans.
• True Person Kuangtian and Qian Diheng concluded that Xiao Hua had likely fallen into the swordsmen's hands because his communication talisman had been sent back.
• Xiao Hua traveled with Fairy Hongxia on Qingxi Wuyu's back and saw the famine and suffering across Million Meng Mountain.
• Fairy Hongxia asked about Xiao Hua's involvement with the millet seeds, and Xiao Hua said they were traveling toward her Cai family's ancestral shrine, about ten days away.