Recaps

Zi Ming brought Xiao Mao and his companions before Ji Man, who could not identify his parents or lineage despite confirming his exceptionally pure Shebi bloodline. The Soul Falling Lamp ceremony was postponed until the Witch Elder returned from Witch God Ridge, and Xiao Mao left determined to focus on learning his origins and avenging his parents rather than pursuing power.

• Ji Man questioned Xiao Mao about his family and concluded that his pure bloodline might connect him to Shebi Village, but she could not determine his parents’ identities.
• Ji Man refused to begin the Soul Falling Lamp ceremony while the Witch Elder was away at Witch God Ridge and Zi Yan was hunting, and she warned Zi Ming that this was her final chance to light the lamp.
• Ji Man told Zi Ming to announce Zi Ye’s matter, cautioned her against meddling in Shebi Village’s affairs, and ordered an investigation into Zi Yan’s absence.
• After leaving Huai Xin Pavilion, Xiao Hua challenged Xiao Mao’s growing ambitions, and Xiao Mao resolved to focus on discovering his origins and avenging his parents.
• Zi Ming arranged quiet rooms and prepared to purify herself before entering the ancestral shrine to use the Tongming Mirror and meet Xiao Mao again.

Xiao Hua discovered that his Primordial Spirit could gather spiritual energy through the Big Dipper Divine Fist and use it to form a fireball. When Ziming told him that a contest for soulwood would decide who could use the Tongming Mirror, Xiao Hua revealed he already had Morning Evening Moon that could secure their victory.

• Xiao Hua entered his space and realized the Primordial Spirit could gather its spiritual radiance by performing the Big Dipper Divine Fist.
• The Primordial Spirit used the radiance to begin forming the hand seals for a fireball, but Xiao Hua left the space when someone arrived outside.
• Ziming told Xiao Hua that Ji Man had promised the Tongming Mirror’s remaining two uses to Ji Man of Jingping Village, leaving none available for their group.
• Ziming explained that the two groups would compete to retrieve soulwood from the Nether Eye, with the winner receiving two uses of the Tongming Mirror.
• Xiao Hua produced the Morning Evening Moon he had acquired and told Ziming that it would guarantee their victory.

Ziming revealed that she knew where to find a Netherworld Orchid and planned to enter the Nether Eye with Xiao Hua in ten days. While preparing, Xiao Hua discovered a way for his Primordial Spirit to study Jiu Xia’s dangerous divination art, then reunited with Ziye, who offered to accompany him and Ziming into the Nether Eye.

• Ziming explained that soulwood included Netherworld Orchids and said she knew a way to locate one in the Nether Eye, so she and Xiao Hua agreed to go there in ten days.
• Xiao Hua told Xiao Mao, Li Zongbao, and Fairy Hongxia about the plan, and they resumed their cultivation while he trained his humanoid Nascent Soul in spellcasting and alchemy.
• Xiao Hua tried to examine Jiu Xia’s jade pendant, but its divination art nearly tore apart his weakened divine sense before Jiu Xia intervened and warned him to wait until he had mastered the Veiling Sun Art.
• Xiao Hua used the Hand of Cause and Effect to let his Primordial Spirit study the Control Heaven Control Earth art, finding that it could comprehend the complete but extremely obscure technique.
• Ziye arrived in male attire, apologized to Xiao Hua for concealing her identity and being unable to visit, and offered to join him and Ziming in the Nether Eye.

Xiao Hua accompanied Zi Ming to the plaza before an important palace in Houtu Village, where a rare soul beast called Ming Yu awaited sacrifice to the Nether Eye. Zi Ming used Xiao Hua’s presence to ease tensions with the elders of Jingping Village, and the gathering turned toward the arrival of Ji Man of Houtu Village and Ji Man of Jingping Village.

• Xiao Hua saw Ming Yu on a stone table and learned from Zi Ming that the rare soul beast was used as a sacrifice for the Nether Eye.
• Zi Ming introduced Xiao Hua to the four elders of Jingping Village and presented him as a close friend to ease their conflict over his junior brother’s affairs.
• Elder Ji Lan said he did not know why Ji Man of Jingping Village had brought two juniors to seek the Tongming Mirror, but he feared for their safety.
• Four soul warriors sounded their horn-shaped soul artifacts, silencing the plaza and drawing everyone’s attention to the steps.
• Ji Man of Houtu Village appeared beneath ceremonial canopies, holding the apprehensive Ji Man of Jingping Village by the hand.

During Houtu Village’s Nether Eye ceremony, Ji Man called on the people of Million Meng Mountain to unite and pray to Great God Houtu. Houtu’s avatar appeared through Ming Yu and departed into the hall, leaving Ji Man to open its gates and reveal darkness within.

• Ji Man urged the gathered soul cultivators to unite against the drought and prostrate themselves before Great God Houtu.
• Ming Yu writhed on the stone table as blood-red green seal characters formed on its belly and summoned clouds, wind, and a sphere of green light.
• A phantom of Great God Houtu emerged from the sphere and exerted pressure that forced Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia to the ground, while Xiao Hua resisted with help from the Buddha Sarira’s Buddhist flame.
• Great God Houtu’s phantom withdrew through a vortex into the hall gates, the storm cleared, and Ji Man announced that the Nether Eye had opened.
• Ji Man used a bone staff to make the hall gates vanish, exposing pitch-black darkness inside.

Xiao Hua and Zi Ming entered the Nether Eye to seek the Netherworld Orchid as the villages competed for access to the Tongming Mirror. When no one returned by nightfall, the waiting crowd realized something had gone wrong, and a vast rumbling shook the passageway and plaza.

• Ji Man announced that soul warriors entering the Nether Eye would also search for millet seeds and explained the contest over use of the Tongming Mirror.
• Zi Ming offered to accompany Xiao Hua into the Nether Eye, and the two entered ahead of Jingping Village's elders and the other soul warriors.
• Fairy Hongxia and the others waited through the day, but no one emerged from the passageway.
• As night fell, Ji Man grew anxious and Fairy Hongxia feared for Xiao Hua's safety.
• A vast rumbling erupted beneath the plaza, shaking the palace and heralding a sudden change.

Xiao Hua and Zi Ming walked through the Netherworld Path, where Zi Ming confessed her grief over impersonating Zi Ye and her feelings for Xiao Hua. They reached the path’s end, preparing to enter the Yellow Springs Great Hall, while both remained bound to their separate responsibilities.

• Xiao Hua and Zi Ming walked hand in hand through the dark Netherworld Path as Zi Ming confessed that she had grown weary of pretending to be Zi Ye.
• Zi Ming explained that she still intended to revive Zi Ye, despite the task seeming nearly impossible, and Xiao Hua promised to support her.
• Xiao Hua called her Zi Ming, and she affectionately called him Xiao Lang, sharing a brief moment of happiness in the passage.
• Zi Ming described her future as Ji Man and her plan to yield the position once she could pursue Zi Ye’s revival; Xiao Hua reminded her they had separate responsibilities.
• Xiao Hua and Zi Ming reached the end of the Netherworld Path, which led to the Yellow Springs Great Hall above the Nether Eye.

Xiao Hua and Ziming entered Yellow Springs Hall, where Ziming opened the Gate of Yellow Springs and led him into the Nine Netherworlds. They arrived at a chamber containing six Netherworld Eyes, and Ziming prepared to show Xiao Hua their mysteries aboard a Meng Mountain flying vessel.

• Xiao Hua and Ziming left the Netherworld Path and saw Yellow Springs Hall, whose floor was covered with skeletons.
• Ziming explained that Yellow Springs Hall blocked dead souls and nether beasts from entering Meng Mountain when the Nether Eye opened, and described what the Witch Scriptures said about the netherworld.
• Ziming used her bone staff to open the Gate of Yellow Springs, then took Xiao Hua by the hand and led him through it.
• Ziming warned Xiao Hua to close his eyes against the Green Seal Script radiance and avoid using divine sense in the Netherworld Wind.
• Xiao Hua saw six Netherworld Eyes arranged in three pairs, and Ziming summoned a shuttle-shaped flying vessel to take them closer.

Xiao Hua and Ziming descended into a Nether Eye, where they discussed Mount Meng’s Iron Corpses and the differences between soul arts, Daoist cultivation, and Confucian cultivation. The flying boat reached a blood-soaked area under Ji Man’s control, and Xiao Hua stared at the strange sight ahead.

• Ziming guided the flying boat into a Nether Eye, where Xiao Hua saw countless Iron Corpses lining its walls.
• Ziming revealed that Houtu Village had vast numbers of Iron Corpses and that Mount Meng possessed even stronger corpse soldiers in the millions.
• Xiao Hua and Ziming discussed why Soul Incantations required divine bloodlines and compared Mount Meng’s soul arts with Daoist cultivation.
• Ziming explained that Houtu Village had a Confucian inheritance, including records of a Confucian cultivator named Ji Man, whose texts she said Xiao Hua could not have.
• The flying boat reached a calmer stretch, where Xiao Hua saw bloodwater and black mist surrounding Iron Corpses.

Xiao Hua and Zi Ming explored the Netherworld Sea in search of Netherworld Orchids, where Xiao Hua saw its strange beasts and learned how Ji Man had taken the Nine Divine Guards. Zi Ming realized they might have entered a trap, and after a wrong turn led them back to a passage, she began to suspect she had lost her way.

• Zi Ming explained that the Netherworld Sea contained Netherworld Blood that became Netherworld Wind, then took Xiao Hua into its waters to search for Netherworld Orchids.
• Xiao Hua saw Netherworld beasts and learned that the beast that devoured Ming Yu had returned to the sea, while Ji Man had used her power to take the Nine Divine Guards.
• Zi Ming realized Ji Man might have set a trap in the Netherworld Sea, so she hurried toward a passage where Netherworld Orchids should grow.
• Zi Ming mistakenly entered a passage thick with millet, collected the grains, and retraced their route through the branching paths.
• After finding the passage again, Zi Ming hesitated and admitted that it might not be the right place, leaving Xiao Hua to suspect she had lost her way.

Xiao Hua and Zi Ming searched the Netherworld Sea for the Netherworld Orchid, but Xiao Hua’s unusual intuition led them to Netherworld Bamboo instead. After collecting it and following his directions farther into the passages, Zi Ming realized they were lost, and she confessed that she had prayed to Great God Houtu to let her be with Xiao Hua.

• Zi Ming led Xiao Hua through several passages in search of the Netherworld Orchid, but repeatedly failed to find the place she remembered.
• Xiao Hua sensed something important nearby and guided Zi Ming to a Netherworld Bamboo, which she collected; Xiao Hua took its roots for himself.
• Xiao Hua’s intuition drew them farther into the passages, where they gathered millet seeds but found no Netherworld Orchid.
• Zi Ming realized she could no longer find the way back, leaving them at risk of being trapped when the Netherworld Path closed at midnight.
• Xiao Hua reassured Zi Ming and held her hand, and she confessed that she had prayed to Great God Houtu to let her be with him.

Xiao Hua and Ziming followed a marked passage toward safety but found dead Soul Shamans and were attacked by a monster rising from a blood pool. As Netherworld Wind corroded Xiao Hua’s protective light, Ziming used her own green radiance to shield him.

• Ziming recognized Ziye’s trail marks and guided Xiao Hua along a route that also matched his strange sense of direction.
• Xiao Hua and Ziming found more than ten dead Soul Shamans at a fork near a blood pool.
• The blood pool bubbled, and Netherworld Wind swept through the passage as tentacles and a massive sphere smashed the flying boat.
• The flying boat’s protection failed, exposing Xiao Hua and Ziming to the corrosive wind.
• A human-bodied, snake-tailed monster emerged from the blood pool, and Ziming recognized it was not Great God Houtu.
• Ziming drew Xiao Hua into her embrace and used her green light to shield him from the Netherworld Wind.

Xiao Hua and Ziming were attacked by a nether beast in the passage, and the beast quickly destroyed the Nine Divine Guards while targeting Xiao Hua. As Xiao Hua was driven toward the blood pool, he sensed that the presence he and Ziming had sought came from within it, where another enormous tentacle rose.

• Ziming released the Nine Divine Guards to attack the nether beast while Xiao Hua tried to flee with her.
• The nether beast destroyed the Divine Guards and blocked Xiao Hua's escape, forcing him to fight with the As-You-Wish Staff and protect Ziming with Innate True Water.
• Xiao Hua realized the beast was targeting him, so Ziming left through another passage while the nether beast ignored her.
• Xiao Hua's Spirit Severing Primordial Light failed to harm the nether beast, and he fled toward the blood pool.
• Xiao Hua sensed the presence he and Ziming had been seeking in the blood pool, and a giant tentacle rose from its water.

Xiao Hua and Ziming were trapped in a ruined passage as two Undying Nether Beasts battled, then an ethereal melody rose from the Netherworld Sea and changed the scene. The beasts resisted the music while a soul warrior walked into the sea toward its source.

• Xiao Hua brought out Little Yellow, frightening the first Nether Beast briefly before it attacked again.
• Violent tremors destroyed the passage and blood pool, revealing a Netherworld Blood Sea where two Nether Beasts fought and regenerated from their wounds.
• Ziming carried Xiao Hua through the chaos, and they realized the battle had left them with no clear escape route.
• A faint melody rose from the sea, making Xiao Hua feel as though he were floating and causing both Nether Beasts to react defensively.
• A soul warrior emerged from a crack, entered the Netherworld Sea, and shed its flesh as its soul continued toward the music.

Xiao Hua and Little White Dragon were caught by a Sound Mirage Beast’s music and drawn into the Netherworld Sea, but their lightning-tempered Primordial Spirits escaped its attack. Xiao Hua returned to his body and rushed with Ziming toward the closing Netherworld Path.

• The Sound Mirage Beast’s music pulled Xiao Hua’s and Little White Dragon’s Primordial Spirits from their bodies, while golden light kept Xiao Hua’s body and Ziming from moving.
• The Sound Mirage Beast seized Xiao Hua and Little White Dragon with its blood tongues, but Xiao Hua’s soul threads corroded one tongue as Little White Dragon’s lightning damaged the beast and disrupted its music.
• Little White Dragon carried Xiao Hua’s Primordial Spirit back to shore, and Xiao Hua returned to his physical body through Spirit Cleansing Heaven.
• Xiao Hua realized the Netherworld Path was closing and flew toward the rift with Ziming, whose green protective light still held.

Xiao Hua escaped the collapsing Netherworld passages and returned to Yellow Springs Hall, while Ji Man and the others feared everyone inside had perished. He claimed Ziye and the other soul cultivators were dead, then secretly released Zi Ming after reaching safety with Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao.

• Xiao Hua hid Zi Ming in her Soul Nest, seized Elder Ji Lan, and fled through the fissure as tremors shook the Netherworld Path.
• Ji Man and the soul cultivators found Yellow Springs Hall in turmoil, and the Gate of Yellow Springs became impossible to cross as they feared Xiao Hua and Zi Ming were lost.
• Xiao Hua emerged from the fading gate carrying Elder Ji Lan and another soul cultivator, then told Ji Man that Ziye and the other soul cultivators had perished.
• Xiao Hua asked to enter seclusion and left with Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao as Ji Man ordered the hall and soul formation inspected.
• Xiao Hua stopped Fairy Hongxia from seeking directions, scanned their secluded surroundings, and released Zi Ming from the Soul Nest.

After escaping the Netherworld Sea, Xiao Hua spent more than thirty days in seclusion and discovered that his soul threads had gained the ability to produce sound, allowing him to begin learning Green Seal Script and Soul Incantations. He also found that the Netherworld Bamboo vanished when he tried to put it in his space, and he ended the chapter struggling to master the complex pronunciation required by Master Ke Qin's technique.

• Xiao Hua urged Zi Ming to hurry to Houtu Village's ancestral shrine, and she flew away after thanking him.
• Xiao Hua told Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Fairy Hongxia that he had encountered three Undying Nether Beasts beneath Yellow Springs Hall, then entered seclusion.
• While examining Spirit Cleansing Heaven, Xiao Hua discovered that the soul threads which had killed the Sound Mirage Beasts were making music and that his Primordial Spirit had changed.
• Xiao Hua realized the musical changes could let his soul threads use Green Seal Script and cast Soul Incantations, while Little White Dragon remained weakened but safe.
• Xiao Hua tried to send the Netherworld Bamboo into his space, but it vanished as soon as it touched the space.
• After studying Master Ke Qin's bone joint for dozens of days, Xiao Hua found that learning Green Seal Script required mastering and precisely combining its complex syllables.

Xiao Hua emerged from seclusion and agreed to report to Jiman about what happened in the Nether Eye. Fu Lu confronted him over Ziye’s death, accusing Xiao Hua’s arrival of bringing Ziye misfortune.

• Xiao Hua practiced training his soul threads to produce Green Seal Script sounds before leaving his seclusion.
• Zi Ming waited anxiously outside Xiao Hua’s hall, worried about his injuries and Jiman’s requests for a report.
• Xiao Hua emerged, expressed regret that he had failed to save Ziye, and agreed to accompany Zi Ming to Houtu Hall.
• Fu Lu coldly accused Xiao Hua of failing Ziye, who had trusted him and risked his life because of him.
• Fu Lu challenged Zi Ming’s defense of Xiao Hua and questioned whether Xiao Hua’s encounter with Ziye in Xuntian City had been accidental.

Fu Lu accused Miss Zi Ming of harming Ziye, but she silenced him and had him taken away rather than imprisoned. As Xiao Hua and Miss Zi Ming headed to report what happened in the Nether Eye, Xiao Hua realized she and Ji Man shared an unspoken understanding that kept the truth from being openly discussed.

• Fu Lu denounced Miss Zi Ming over Ziye’s death, and she ordered guards to restrain him and take him away.
• Miss Zi Ming arranged for Xiao Hua to meet Ji Man and explain what happened in the Nether Eye, then gave him the Netherworld Bamboo.
• Xiao Hua and Miss Zi Ming discussed the rumors surrounding Ziye’s death and the difficulty of uncovering Xiao Mao’s origins.
• Xiao Hua urged Miss Zi Ming to distribute the millet seeds soon, while she explained that they were also a safeguard in her dealings with Ji Man.
• Xiao Hua realized that Miss Zi Ming had not reported the Nether Eye events to Ji Man because the two women shared an unspoken understanding.

Xiao Hua and Zi Ming entered Houtu Hall to meet Ji Man, while Zi Ming worried that Ji Man might turn against her over Zi Yan’s death. Ji Man received Xiao Hua with formal authority, and the chapter left him asking to be told Houtu Village’s rules before he could be expected to follow them.

• Zi Ming told Xiao Hua she had sent people to kill Zi Yan’s subordinates and feared Ji Man would punish her before the Witch Elder returned.
• Xiao Hua promised to protect Zi Ming, and she suggested that the ceremony for her Soul Falling Lamp could offer a chance to bring out the millet seeds.
• Xiao Hua and Zi Ming approached Houtu Hall, where guards announced him to Ji Man and escorted them inside.
• Zi Ming warned Xiao Hua that the hall was a dangerous soul formation, and he followed her through its ghostly illusions without probing it.
• Xiao Hua and Zi Ming greeted Ji Man, and a guard rebuked Xiao Hua for failing to return Ji Man’s courtesy.
• Xiao Hua explained that he did not know Houtu Village’s etiquette and asked to be told its rules in advance.

Xiao Hua recounted the Nether Eye disaster to Ji Man and explained that the apparent incarnation of Great God Houtu might have been another nether beast. Great Elder Jie Qing then challenged Xiao Hua’s account and demanded a blood oath, but Ji Man accepted his testimony without one.

• Xiao Hua and Zi Ming clashed with a guard over etiquette before Ji Man ended the dispute.
• Ji Man asked Xiao Hua to explain the deaths in the Nether Eye and reminded him that Jingping Village wanted the Tongming Mirror if he could not produce the Netherworld Orchid.
• Xiao Hua described the Nether Eye’s upheaval, the nether beasts, Zi Ye’s disappearance, and his escape with Elder Ji Lan and Mo Han.
• Xiao Hua suggested that the nether beast he saw might not have been the phantom worshipped as Great God Houtu, and Ji Man accepted that explanation.
• Great Elder Jie Qing demanded that Xiao Hua swear a Daoist Sect blood oath, but Xiao Hua refused and Ji Man said she believed him.

Xiao Hua answered the elders’ questions about the Nether Eye disaster, and Houtu Village’s council settled the records and wager involving Ziye and the Tongming Mirror. After the meeting, Elder Ji Lan thanked Xiao Hua for saving him, then unexpectedly tested Xiao Hua’s strength as he tried to keep him from kneeling.

• Shushi asked Xiao Hua why a nether beast had saved him and why he had reached the Netherworld Sea’s shore after the Sound Mirage Beast appeared; Xiao Hua admitted he had no explanation.
• Ji Man said Ziye would be recorded as missing, and Jingping Village’s Ji Man accepted that her village had lost the wager and agreed to let the Dao Sect guests use the Tongming Mirror first.
• Ji Man authorized Zi Ming to request the soul treasure from the ancestral shrine after three days of bathing, and Xiao Hua hoped the mirror would reveal clues about Xiao Mao’s origins.
• After the council ended, Elder Ji Lan thanked Xiao Hua for saving his life and began to kneel, but Xiao Hua held him up.
• Elder Ji Lan gradually increased the force in his arm, apparently testing Xiao Hua’s strength.

Elder Ji Lan visited Xiao Hua to repay him for rescuing Mo Han and offered him a bone segment containing the secret art for refining the Pingtian Rod. He revealed that he had gathered nearly all the required materials but could not find an artifact refiner capable of making it.

• Elder Ji Lan tested Xiao Hua’s strength and explained that he had heard Xiao Hua rescued Mo Han from beneath a boulder.
• Elder Ji Lan offered Xiao Hua a storage pouch, and Xiao Hua initially refused his thanks before accepting the gift’s intent.
• Elder Ji Lan explained that a battered bone segment contained the secret art for refining the Pingtian Rod, a weapon modeled on the legendary Five Elements As-You-Wish Heaven-Piercing Staff.
• Xiao Hua pretended to be delighted by the secret art, and Elder Ji Lan revealed that he had nearly gathered the materials to make the Pingtian Rod.
• Elder Ji Lan admitted he could not find an artifact refiner capable of forging the Pingtian Rod and said he had consulted Master Ke Qin.

Elder Ji Lan gave Xiao Hua his Pingtian Rod materials and a bone segment pointing to a dangerous Dao Sect cultivator’s death site in Wumeng. After leaving Houtu Hall, Xiao Hua and Fairy Hongxia suspected that someone there had begun to distrust Zi Ming.

• Elder Ji Lan explained his long search for someone able to refine the Pingtian Rod and gave Xiao Hua the storage pouch of materials and a bone segment recording a dangerous location in Wumeng.
• Elder Ji Lan invited Xiao Hua to visit Jingping Village before leaving Houtu Hall.
• Mo Han thanked Xiao Hua for saving his life, but Xiao Hua noticed that Mo Han’s words implied he knew Xiao Hua and Zi Ming had both been in danger.
• Zi Ming arranged to use the Tongming Mirror for Xiao Mao in three days and then left Houtu Hall.
• Xiao Hua told Fairy Hongxia that Mo Han’s remarks suggested someone in Houtu Hall had begun to suspect Zi Ming.

Xiao Hua and the others waited for Zi Ming to use Houtu Village’s Tongming Mirror, learning that the ritual could only be performed at night. Zi Ming began the ceremony and opened a passage for Netherworld Blood, while Xiao Hua was summoned to join her.

• Xiao Hua inspected Elder Ji Lan’s storage pouch and found rare Million Meng Mountain materials and demonic artifacts, then studied the Pingtian Rod refining method.
• After three days of waiting, Xiao Mao learned that Zi Ming had entered the ancestral shrine and would emerge after dusk to use the Tongming Mirror.
• At night, Zi Ming arrived carrying a floating bone ring as guards and maidservants performed a solemn ceremony around her.
• Zi Ming called Xiao Hua to the center of the hall and began activating the Tongming Mirror with chants, green light, and her blood essence.
• The bone ring opened two passages, and Netherworld Blood surged through it, turning the ring blood-red.