Chapter Summaries

Ziming revealed how her twin brother Ziye sacrificed his soul to save her, leaving her to live under both their identities while seeking a way to revive him. After accepting Xiao Hua’s help and facing the threat to Houtu Village, she shared basic soul-cultivation records with him.

• Ziming apologized for concealing her identity, and Xiao Hua affirmed that he regarded her as Ziye regardless of her body or past.
• Ziming recounted how Ziye gave his soul to the Soul Falling Lamp to save her, after which she concealed his death by playing both siblings and caring for a sacred beast.
• Ziming explained that demonic beings had invaded Zi Yan’s soul and that their arts threatened the villages of Million Meng Mountain.
• Xiao Hua offered Ziming the bone pellet containing the demon’s split soul and persuaded her to face what it might reveal; she accepted it and promised to restore Houtu Village.
• Ziming gave Xiao Mao her pledge of assistance, then copied a basic soul-sense tempering method and other simple records for Xiao Hua.

During the journey to Houtu Village, Xiao Hua discovered Master Ke Qin’s final message and inherited his artifact-refining legacy, while Li Zongbao learned that Zi Ye’s body had been preserved. The group continued across drought-stricken Million Meng Mountain, and Xiao Hua questioned Fairy Hongxia about her connection to the Peacock Holy Mother.

• Zi Ming confirmed that Zi Ye’s corpse had been preserved so the Soul Falling Lamp could revive her.
• As the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat traveled for dozens of days, Xiao Hua learned to open Master Ke Qin’s Soul Nest and found the master’s final message and collected treasures inside.
• Master Ke Qin’s message entrusted his artifact-refining legacy to Xiao Hua and asked him to pass it to a benevolent successor who would carry a token to the master’s sect.
• Xiao Hua reflected on Master Ke Qin’s death, blamed Zi Yan for the attack, and put the jade slip and Soul Nest into his space.
• Xiao Hua spoke with Fairy Hongxia about Million Meng Mountain’s drought and asked why a demonic being had called her a descendant of the Peacock Holy Mother; she said she knew nothing about it.

After seeing the widespread famine in Million Meng Mountain, Xiao Hua began scattering his millet seeds to save starving natives and searched for a rain-making technique. The flying boat continued onward as Xiao Hua’s Primordial Spirit began practicing spell techniques.

• Fairy Hongxia told Xiao Hua that thousands of natives had starved to death, and Xiao Hua ordered Li Zongbao to stop the flying boat.
• Xiao Hua identified the dead natives as people of Shebi Village and decided to scatter millet seeds rather than let them die while preserving every seed for planting.
• Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, Zi Ming, and Fairy Hongxia agreed to distribute seeds discreetly to avoid unrest and unwanted attention.
• Xiao Hua remembered the Cloud-Gathering and Rain-Making Technique, then asked Zi Ming about the remaining Rejuvenation Pill; Zi Ming kept it for Zi Ye.
• Li Zongbao resumed piloting slowly while Xiao Mao, Zi Ming, and Fairy Hongxia distributed millet seeds, and Xiao Hua searched Master Ke Qin's Soul Nest for the rain-making technique.
• Xiao Hua sent his humanoid Primordial Spirit to a barren part of his space, where it began practicing the Fireball Technique.

Xiao Hua and his companions arrived at Houtu Village, where Zi Ming planned to present Xiao Mao as a guest from Shebi Village and secure support for his claim. They learned that the Witch Elder had left months ago, while Ji Man was handling a gathering of village leaders about the drought and Zi Yan had gone to investigate a drought-causing monster.

• Xiao Hua reflected on the mysterious Three-legged Bird soul essence as the group traveled deeper into Million Meng Mountain.
• Zi Ming had the group switch from the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat to the giant soul beast Ya Kun, and Xiao Mao resolved to confront Ye Yu if they met again.
• Zi Ming told Xiao Hua and the others to conceal their identities and pose as Xiao Mao’s senior brothers and sister when they reached Houtu Village.
• Xiao Hua and Fairy Hongxia were astonished by Houtu Village’s grand palaces and pavilions, though Zi Ming lamented that drought had ruined its former streams and waterfalls.
• At Houtu Village, Zi Ming learned that the Witch Elder was away, Ji Man remained in the village, and Zi Yan had gone near Xiuwen Mountain to investigate a monster blamed for the drought.

Zi Ming brought Xiao Mao, Xiao Hua, and their companions into Houtu Village to meet Ji Man, unsure whether Ji Man knew Zi Yan had tried to target her. Ji Man received them at Huai Xin Pavilion rather than the grand Welcome Hall, and Zi Ming revealed that Ke Qin had repaired the damaged Soul Falling Lamp before returning to Great God Houtu.

• Zi Ming decided to enter Houtu Village and gamble that Ji Man had not been deceived by Meng Mountain soul arts or learned of Zi Yan’s intentions.
• Xiao Hua and the others crossed the vermilion gates with Zi Ming and passed through Houtu Village’s imposing palace grounds.
• Ji Man directed the party to Huai Xin Pavilion instead of receiving Xiao Mao in the Welcome Hall.
• Xiao Hua sensed that Ji Man’s quiet presence concealed formidable power, while Li Zongbao noticed oracle bone inscriptions among the pavilion’s paintings and calligraphy.
• Zi Ming told Ji Man she had obtained a secret technique for lighting the Soul Falling Lamp and admitted that the lamp had been damaged.
• Zi Ming said Ke Qin repaired the lamp and had been taken into Great God Houtu’s embrace during the Sacrifice Night, and Ji Man praised his fate.

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.