Chapter Summaries

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.

Xiao Hua used the Tongming Mirror to search for someone connected to his origins, triggering a vision and shattering the artifact. As Netherworld Wind poured through the broken hall, Ji Man accused Miss Zi Ming of betraying her, and a turbulent current trapped Xiao Hua and his companions.

• Xiao Mao saw someone on the Tongming Mirror and wept, while Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia saw no one because the person they sought was apparently still alive.
• Bohong looked into the mirror, saw something frightening, and confirmed it to Elder Xun Yu, who learned there was no time for another person to look.
• Xiao Hua thought of the name Meng and a faint beauty mark, then unleashed overwhelming light from the Tongming Mirror and glimpsed a vast black outline before darkness overtook him.
• The Tongming Mirror and its bone ring cracked apart, releasing a pillar of Netherworld Wind that tore through the hall’s roof.
• Miss Zi Ming questioned Xiao Hua about what he had seen, and Ji Man shouted through the hole that Miss Zi Ming had betrayed her.
• A powerful current surged into the hall and trapped Xiao Hua and his companions.

Jiman overpowered Xiao Hua and Ziming, accused Ziming of plotting against Houtu Village and killing Liu'er, and revealed she had Elder Shaman's token to invoke authority against them. After Jiman executed Ziming's captured attendants, Ziming denied confessing to anything, leaving Xiao Hua confused about why she concealed the truth.

• Jiman restrained Xiao Hua and the others with Soul Thorns, black-green pythons, and Soul-Locking Shackles.
• Xiao Hua admitted that he had destroyed the Tongming Mirror and offered to bear responsibility, but Jiman accused Ziming of conspiring against her and killing Liu'er.
• Jiman brought in Ziming's bloodied attendants and accused Ziming of using the celestial anomaly as a pretext to kill Liu'er.
• Jiman revealed Elder Shaman's token and declared she could take the captives to the ancestral shrine and exercise Elder Shaman's authority.
• Jiman ordered the guards to execute Ziming's captured attendants, then accused Ziming of admitting her guilt when she acknowledged they were her subordinates.
• Ziming denied the accusation, while Xiao Hua wondered why she did not reveal the soul artifact that could clarify the matter.

Ji Man used Ji Qing’s testimony and the millet seeds to condemn Zi Ming, while Xiao Hua realized Ji Man meant to kill them all. Zi Ming offered to surrender the seeds in exchange for Xiao Hua and the others’ release, leaving their fate in Ji Man’s hands.

• Ji Qing accused Zi Ming of killing Zi Yan and his followers, twisting the events around Yellow Sand Ridge into a case against her.
• Ji Man blamed Zi Ming for Zi Yan’s death and for withholding the drought-resistant millet seeds from the people of Meng Mountain.
• A Witch Elder from Qikong Village testified that Zi Ming’s millet seeds could withstand the drought, and Ji Man promised his village the first share once she obtained them.
• Ji Man silenced Xiao Hua and the others and declared that Daoist cultivators had led Zi Ming astray, while Xiao Hua prepared a possible counterattack through his Primordial Spirit.
• Zi Ming offered to hand over the millet seeds if Ji Man released Xiao Hua and the others, revealing she had kept them as leverage to save their lives.

Ji Man condemned Miss Zi Ming and the Daoist disciples to die, then led them toward Houtu Village’s ancestral shrine. As they arrived, the drought demon attacked Houtu Village, killing the defenders while Xiao Hua remained trapped and unable to act.

• Ji Man rejected Miss Zi Ming’s threat to destroy the millet seeds and declared that she would execute Miss Zi Ming and the Daoist disciples for Liu’er’s death.
• Miss Zi Ming insisted that Xiao Hua and the others had preserved the millet seeds to save starving people, while Ji Man dismissed her explanation and ordered the prisoners taken to the ancestral shrine.
• Xiao Mao struggled to reveal the truth, Fairy Hongxia and Li Zongbao recognized their helplessness, and Xiao Hua continued fighting the soul threads imprisoning him.
• Ji Man led the prisoners through Houtu Village to a bone-built hall on the rear mountain as dawn broke.
• A powerful soul sense swept over the shrine, and the drought demon attacked; Houtu Village’s soul warriors burst into flames or blood mist as they tried to stop it.
• Xiao Mao sensed the drought demon’s arrival, stopped struggling, and looked delighted while the attack intensified.

Ji Man and thirty-six elders trapped the drought demon with a soul formation, while Xiao Hua tried to use Green Seal Script to break Soul-Locking. Ji Man suppressed both threats, leaving Xiao Hua and the others captive and the drought demon bound.

• Thirty-six elders formed a green net around the drought demon, but it killed one elder and resisted their attacks.
• Xiao Hua awakened and used Green Seal Script to stir dark clouds, but Ji Man stopped him with a ghost head cast into his mind.
• The drought demon unleashed a crimson phantom that began breaking through the elders’ binding net.
• Ji Man struck the phantom with a brilliant green light, shrinking it and binding the drought demon tightly.
• Xiao Mao and Zi Ming watched helplessly as the drought demon struggled against Ji Man’s restraints.

Ji Man brought Xiao Hua and the others into Houtu Village’s ancestral shrine to accuse Zi Ming and sentence her and the Dao Sect cultivators to death. The sacred beast Xiaohei recognized Xiao Hua as its long-sought Zhang Xiaohua, freed him from his bindings, and left Ji Man facing a choice over whether to obey its demand to release him and Zi Ming.

• Ji Man opened the ancestral shrine’s bone gates and had the guards drag Xiao Hua and the others inside.
• Ji Man accused Zi Ming of conspiring against Zi Yan and revealing Meng Mountain secrets, then declared that Zi Ming and the Dao Sect cultivators would be destroyed.
• Ji Man used the Witch Elder’s token and the gathered green light to reveal Great God Houtu’s statue and awaken the black sacred beast.
• The black dog ignored the prostrating crowd, flew to Xiao Hua, and joyfully called him its father; Ji Man recognized him as the Zhang Xiaohua the beast had sought.
• Xiaohei melted the dark-green light binding Xiao Hua and urged Ji Man to release him, while Ji Man hesitated and considered killing him.

The Shaman Elder freed Xiao Hua and heard Ji Man’s accusation against Zi Ming, then examined evidence proving that Zi Yan had been possessed by a Demonic being. He cleared Zi Ming, allowed Xiao Hua to take Xiaohei from Houtu Village, and left Ji Man and Zi Ming facing a breach that could not be undone.

• The Shaman Elder arrived at the ancestral shrine, freed Xiao Hua, and asked Ji Man to explain why she had accused Zi Ming.
• Xiao Hua told the Shaman Elder that Zi Yan had been possessed and that Zi Ming held evidence; Ji Man released Zi Ming and the others.
• Zi Ming recounted what had happened and presented a Soul Bead containing the Demonic being’s soul, which the Shaman Elder examined.
• The Shaman Elder confirmed Ji Man had been wrong, and Xiaohei consumed the Demonic being’s soul.
• The Shaman Elder permitted Xiao Hua to take Xiaohei, while Zi Ming said the trust between her and Ji Man could not return to how it had been.
• The Shaman Elder urged everyone to learn from past mistakes and keep Houtu Village united through future hardships.

Old Wu arranged for Xiao Hua and his companions to remain in Houtu Village while he handled the aftermath of the demonic attack, then summoned Ji Man and Zi Ming to Houtu Hall. Zi Ming urged Xiao Hua to take a Rejuvenation Pill after learning he had used a powerful witch incantation, and the group prepared to rest.

• Xiao Hua realized that Old Wu and Ji Man knew his title and worried that his identity as Wu Ming had spread among cultivators.
• Old Wu told the villagers that Meng Mountain’s calamities had tested them and warned that outsiders were treating its people as pawns, then sent guards to deal with village affairs.
• Old Wu asked Xiao Hua and his companions to stay in Houtu Village, summoned Ji Man to Houtu Hall, and instructed Zi Ming to join him after resting.
• Zi Ming, shaken by Old Wu’s words, struggled to understand what had changed, while Xiao Hua encouraged her to reflect and Fairy Hongxia tried to comfort her and Li Zongbao.
• Zi Ming gave Xiao Hua a Rejuvenation Pill, warning that his half-cast Rain-Summoning Art could consume his life essence; Xiao Hua accepted the pill but planned to wait before taking it.
• Xiao Hua reassured Zi Ming that their meeting and his witch incantation were guided by Great God Houtu, and Fairy Hongxia urged the group to rest.

Xiao Hua learned how Life Spirit Tablets could be used to control Daoist cultivators and discussed Million Meng Mountain’s history with Zi Ming. The group then considered whether Cai Zhuoxia might still be alive, and Li Zongbao resolved to return to Luyang to find out.

• Zi Ming explained that Mengshan Soul Masters avoided Life Spirit Tablets because blood essence could let others control or kill them, and warned that Daoist sects used the tablets to control their disciples.
• The group left the ancestral shrine, and the drought demon greeted Xiao Mao before flying away; Xiao Hua wondered why it could not leave Million Meng Mountain.
• Zi Ming described how Houtu Village had expanded from its ancestral shrine, then parted from the group after Fairy Hongxia urged her to shoulder her duties as the next Ji Man.
• Xiao Hua redirected Fairy Hongxia’s teasing by asking why they had never found Cai Zhuoxia’s soul, despite having recovered and buried her remains.
• Li Zongbao said he would return to Luyang to investigate whether Cai Zhuoxia was still alive and acknowledge his feelings for her.

After the Tongming Mirror raised hopes that Cai Zhuoxia might be revived, Xiao Hua rested and continued investigating his mysterious powers and lost memories. He recognized the unchanged willow branch as a possible soul-preserving treasure but kept it secret, then glimpsed the Heavenly Pattern Earth Deed surrounding his mysterious dark cloud.

• Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia hoped that Cai Zhuoxia could be revived, while Xiao Hua suspected the Tongming Mirror had malfunctioned and wondered about the black silhouette and strange sounds.
• Xiao Hua returned to the quiet chamber, fell asleep, and his Primordial Spirit continued experimenting with Green Seal Script pronunciations as extraterrestrial stellar force enveloped him.
• Elder Witch appeared, observed the green lights, and vanished after muttering in Witch language; Xiao Hua woke from a dream of the black beastly silhouette and worried about his sealed memories and dangerous enemies.
• Xiao Hua remembered using a strange willow branch to summon a soul and examined it, but decided not to show it to Elder Witch in case it stirred greed.
• Xiao Hua resumed cultivating and discovered runes surrounding the mysterious dark cloud; after briefly sensing their immense power, he recognized them as the Heavenly Pattern Earth Deed that protected souls.