Chapter Summaries

Houtu Village held its first Lamp Lighting Ceremony in tens of thousands of years to restore the legitimacy of its Ji Man, Ziming, and awaken the Soul Falling Lamp. The ritual unleashed a terrifying power from the divine statue, but after the lamp produced an emerald flame and the pressure vanished, the shaman elders resumed their ecstatic celebration while Xiao Hua remained wary and confused.

• The Houtu Village shaman elder announced that the restored Soul Falling Lamp allowed the village to hold the Lamp Lighting Ceremony and recognize its Ji Man legitimately.
• The shaman elders and worshippers chanted and danced, gathering ghostly green radiance and faint golden threads around the statue of Great God Houtu.
• The shaman elder's blood-red Dharma Body merged with the statue, which released crushing pressure and an icy aura that pinned Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, Fairy Hongxia, Ziming, and Ji Man to the ground.
• The Soul Falling Lamp rose from Ziming's hands, and she offered essence blood that entered one head of the lamp's three-headed hound and summoned an emerald flame.
• The emerald flame withdrew into the Soul Falling Lamp, the pressure lifted, and the shaman elders resumed their dancing while Xiao Hua watched the statue warily.

During Houtu Village’s Lamp Lighting Ceremony, Great God Houtu’s power appeared through the Soul Falling Lamp, which the Elder entrusted to Zi Ming as the future Ji Man. Ji Man announced she would abdicate in ten years, and the Elder revealed a third joy connected to the Witch King before asking Zi Ming to explain the millet seeds.

• Great God Houtu’s immense aura filled the ancestral hall, and the Houtu Village Elder declared that the Great Gods still protected their people.
• The Elder bestowed the Soul Falling Lamp on Zi Ming and named her its guardian as she prepared to assume the position of Ji Man.
• Ji Man announced that she would yield the position of Ji Man to Zi Ming in ten years, and the gathered Elders agreed to witness her promise.
• The Elder called Ji Man’s announcement the second joy and hinted that the third joy concerned the Witch King and all Meng Mountain.
• The Elder asked Zi Ming to tell the assembled Elders about the millet seeds.

Ziming and the Witch Elders confirmed that Houtu’s drought-resistant millet seeds could help Mount Meng through its famine, and Xiao Hua explained how he and Xiao Mao found them. As the other villages accepted their seed supplies, the Witch Elder of Shebi Village raised an unresolved matter involving Xiao Mao.

• Ziming presented the new millet seeds, and Kang Ji testified that they had produced larger, earlier harvests in Hongdi Village.
• Xiao Hua and his companions met the Great Witch Elders, and Xiao Hua said he had brought the seeds from the Qiang He Sea under Great God Houtu’s arrangements.
• The Witch Elder of Houtu Village cited Xiaohei’s arrival as evidence of Houtu’s favor toward Xiao Hua, while Xiao Hua insisted he required no payment for the seeds.
• Ziming and Ji Man distributed storage bags of millet seeds to the Twelve Main Villages, with the Witch Elders planning to spread them across Wumeng.
• The Witch Elder of Shebi Village stopped the departing elders and demanded that the Witch Elder of Houtu Village discuss a matter concerning Xiao Mao.

The Witch Elders of Houtu and Shebi questioned Xiao Mao about his origins after discovering his pure Shebi bloodline and fluency in Witch language. The Witch Elder of Shebi recognized the woman in Xiao Mao’s portrait but demanded to know why he had come to Million Meng Mountain, leaving Xiao Mao’s parentage unresolved as a younger elder proposed that his father had been a swordsman connected to Ye Yu.

• The Witch Elders of Houtu and Shebi argued over why Houtu Village had intervened in Shebi Village’s affairs, while the Witch Elder of Houtu distributed millet seeds and sent the others to Houtu Hall.
• Xiao Mao spoke Witch language and stayed behind with Xiao Hua, prompting the Witch Elders to notice his connection to Shebi Village after Fairy Hongxia and Li Zongbao left.
• The Witch Elder of Houtu urged the Witch Elder of Shebi to investigate Xiao Mao’s bloodline, and the two discussed turmoil in Shebi Village and attacks against the people of Million Meng Mountain.
• The Witch Elder of Shebi examined the portrait in Xiao Mao’s jade slip, first denied recognizing the woman, then admitted that she seemed familiar and asked who had sent Xiao Mao to Million Meng Mountain.
• Xiao Mao recounted what he knew about his parents and Ye Yu’s attempt to kill him, and a young Witch Elder suggested that Xiao Mao’s father had been a swordsman tied to Ye Yu by a hidden secret.

The Witch Elders discussed Xiao Mao’s parentage and decided to leave the unanswered questions to Shebi Village while they focused on Meng Mountain’s crisis. Xiao Mao learned what he could about his origins, and Xiao Hua chose to delay visiting Wumeng and prepare to escort his companions home.

• Feng Xu guessed that Xiao Mao’s father was a Sword Domain swordsman who had abandoned his bid for the Fu Man position to elope with a maid of Shebi Village, and Zhe Min agreed the guess was likely correct.
• Jian Feng suggested investigating Xiao Mao’s parents and Ye Yu, but Gu Ke ended the discussion, saying Meng Mountain’s survival and the millet seeds mattered more.
• Zhe Min left Houtu Village and asked for Shebi Village’s millet seeds to be delivered to him, while Xiao Mao realized the Witch Elders had only uncovered part of his origins.
• Xiao Mao thanked the Witch Elder of Houtu Village for helping him meet the Witch Elders, and the elder reassured him that Qiang Ji would not be severely punished.
• Xiao Hua declined to go to Wumeng yet and said he needed to escort Li Zongbao and Fairy Hongxia through Huan Country toward Xi Country.
• The Witch Elder of Houtu Village offered to see Xiao Hua and his companions out of Meng Mountain, and the group headed to Houtu Hall to check on the millet distribution.

Xiao Hua and his companions waited in Houtu Village after the millet seeds were distributed, while Xiao Hua struggled to master the final green seal character. Zi Ming arrived with word that the Houtu Village witch elder would send them out of Meng Mountain in three days.

• Ji Man and Zi Ming directed the distribution of millet seeds, and the Houtu Village witch elder reflected on the burdens of leadership.
• The Hongdi Village witch elder reaffirmed his loyalty to Xiao Mao, who urged him to keep his beliefs private and prepared to leave Meng Mountain.
• Xiao Mao returned the bone snake treasure to Xiao Hua, who let him keep it, and the group went back to their quiet room.
• Fairy Hongxia urged Xiao Hua to hurry back to Xi Kingdom, but Xiao Hua explained they should wait for an escort through Flowing Cloud Lake.
• Xiao Hua spent nine days unsuccessfully trying to produce the final green seal character in Qi Heaven.
• Zi Ming told Xiao Hua and his companions that the witch elder had ordered them to leave Meng Mountain in three days.

Xiao Hua and his companions prepared to leave Million Meng Mountain, while Zi Ming explained how she and Ji Man had reconciled and accepted their responsibilities in Houtu Village. Zi Ming’s words about stepping back helped Xiao Hua understand the missing fiftieth green seal script, and the chapter left him testing that new insight.

• Zi Ming told Xiao Mao that Elder Shaman would investigate his background and that he might have a chance amid Shebi Village’s turmoil.
• Zi Ming said she would try to see the group off before their departure in three days, while Fairy Hongxia challenged her closeness to Xiao Hua.
• Zi Ming revealed that Xiao Hua’s Rejuvenation Pill had helped her and Ji Man reconcile, and she explained how they had both chosen to protect Houtu Village.
• Xiao Hua realized that the missing green seal script was the retreating, unpronounceable Taiyi that complemented the other forty-nine scripts.
• Xiao Hua told Zi Ming that he understood why she had hesitated to give Ji Man the Rejuvenation Pill and promised to refine her fifth pill when he could.

Xiao Hua and the others puzzled over the missing Rejuvenation Pill and the mystery surrounding Master Ke Qin’s fate. Zi Ming gave Xiao Hua a secret art and an incomplete tortoiseshell called Ji Ding, which was said to be part of the legendary Heavenly Book River Diagram.

• Li Zongbao pointed out that Ji Man’s delight at receiving the Rejuvenation Pill suggested Zi Yan had never delivered one to him, deepening the mystery of Master Ke Qin’s missing pill.
• Zi Ming said her inquiries had uncovered no evidence that Zi Yan’s soul warriors had gone to Soul Refining Cave, while Xiao Hua wondered whether someone else had attacked Master Ke Qin.
• Zi Ming gave Xiao Hua a jade slip containing Flower Transplanting, a secret art for transforming Daoist cultivation into Confucian cultivation that Xiao Hua found useless because he had already established his cultivation beyond Qi Cultivation.
• Xiao Hua read that the battered tortoiseshell was Ji Ding, one of nine pieces that could form the Heavenly Book River Diagram, a treasure said to make the flesh sacred.
• Xiao Hua doubted the tortoiseshell’s grand claims and wondered why Ji Man had given it away.

After Zi Ming left to inspect the witch villages distributing millet seeds, the Witch Elder prepared to escort Xiao Hua and his companions out of Million Meng Mountain, where they risked being targeted for the seeds. He summoned his mount, an enormous Bone Phoenix, leaving Xiao Hua and the others stunned.

• Xiao Hua understood Ji Man’s message and accepted her gifts through Zi Ming, who then said farewell to him and the others.
• Three days later, the Witch Elder explained that Zi Ming had left to oversee millet distribution and prepare to succeed Ji Man.
• The Witch Elder warned Xiao Hua that he could not safely leave Million Meng Mountain without an escort because others might try to seize millet seeds.
• The Witch Elder refused Xiao Hua’s suggestion of a hidden route or flying boat and said he would escort the group on his own mount.
• A huge skeletal Bone Phoenix arrived, astonishing Xiao Hua, Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao.

Xiao Hua traveled with Elder Wu aboard Bone Phoenix and discovered that a Primordial Spirit split within his body had transformed into a five-colored phoenix. The group left Houtian Great Village while powerful soul senses tested their passage, and Xiao Hua remained uncertain why Bone Phoenix reacted to him.

• Bone Phoenix attacked Xiao Hua and the others, but Elder Wu struck it down with a streak of green light and revealed it was his Undying Nether Beast.
• Xiao Hua sensed a defiant response between himself and Bone Phoenix and suspected that his Phoenix Dharma Body and hidden Primordial Spirit might be connected to a Phoenix bloodline.
• After boarding Bone Phoenix, Xiao Hua inspected his second split-off Primordial Spirit and found it had become a five-colored phoenix, then gave it the Heaven and Earth Manifestation cultivation method.
• Elder Wu led Xiao Hua, Fairy Hongxia, Xiao Mao, and their companions out of Houtian Great Village aboard Bone Phoenix, while hostile soul senses retreated from the beast.
• Xiao Hua asked Elder Wu about Bone Phoenix and learned that he had found it in the Netherworld Sea, which Elder Wu said lay outside Meng Mountain.
• Over the following days, powerful divine senses and soul senses approached Bone Phoenix, but Elder Wu's presence kept them at a distance.

Xiao Hua offered to trade Elder Wu a powerful Cloud-Gathering and Rain-Making Technique for higher-tier Soul Cultivation Techniques, then summoned rain across the parched mountains. Elder Wu praised the rain but said he needed to observe its effects before deciding on a trade.

• Xiao Hua told Elder Wu he wanted to trade a gift for earth-tier, heaven-tier, and possibly saint-tier Soul Cultivation Techniques.
• Elder Wu revealed that he possessed jade slips containing those techniques, though Houtu Village's own technique could not be passed on to Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua gathered dark clouds, summoned thunder, and performed the Cloud-Gathering and Rain-Making Technique, bringing heavy rain to the dry mountains.
• Xiao Mao, Fairy Hongxia, and Li Zongbao watched in disbelief as the rain spread with Xiao Hua and poured over the landscape.
• Elder Wu examined the rainfall and told Xiao Hua he would observe its effects further because much of Houtu Village's territory remained untouched.

Xiao Hua used the Cloud-Gathering and Rain-Making Technique for months to protect his companions and strengthen his standing in Million Meng Mountain, while his Primordial Spirit approached Bright Understanding Heaven. At Liuyun Lake, Elder Wu departed without giving him the soul cultivator techniques he hoped to receive, and the group began their journey back toward the Three Cultivation Kingdoms.

• Xiao Hua summoned clouds and rain each day, intimidating potential threats as his Primordial Spirit advanced and his companions faced fewer watchers.
• Xiao Hua replenished his weakened Spirit Cleansing Heaven with Morning Evening Moon and worried that the Shaman King might know about his hidden space and spiritual seeds.
• Bone Phoenix carried Xiao Hua, Fairy Hongxia, Xiao Mao, and Li Zongbao to the edge of Million Meng Mountain, where Fairy Hongxia reflected on their two years of upheaval and Xiao Hua's protection.
• Xiao Hua thanked Elder Wu and hoped to receive soul cultivator techniques, but Elder Wu left with Bone Phoenix without giving them any.
• Xiao Hua complained that his efforts had been a losing deal, and Fairy Hongxia reminded him that Elder Wu had never promised to give him the techniques.
• Xiao Mao brought out the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, and Xiao Hua asked why Night Rain had not sent any news as they left Liuyun Lake.

Xiao Hua questioned the drought demon about the Fire Ape and learned that it had come to Million Meng Mountain searching for a close relative. After Xiao Mao parted from the drought demon and the group discussed the danger surrounding him, sword cultivators ambushed their flying boat, led by Lu Ruochang and a hostile young man.

• Xiao Hua released the Fire Ape and used the Sun Moon Crown to subdue it, then asked Xiao Mao to question the drought demon.
• Xiao Mao learned that the Fire Ape and drought demon were old acquaintances and that the Fire Ape had come looking for a close relative in Million Meng Mountain.
• Xiao Mao sent the reluctant drought demon away and continued toward Xi Kingdom with Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Fairy Hongxia.
• Xiao Mao said he would rely on Xunyan Sect and his merits in the Dao Sword Great Battle for protection, while Xiao Hua vowed to defeat any Nascent Soul enemy who threatened him.
• A voice mocked Xiao Hua's boast about killing a Nascent Soul cultivator, and four sword cultivators surrounded the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat.
• Lu Ruochang led the ambush, while a bearded young sword cultivator approached Xiao Hua with intense hatred.

Xiao Hua fought three Huan Kingdom Sword Transformation Swordsmen as he tried to escape toward Million Meng Mountain, revealing his Nine Stars Over the Sun technique and spirit fire. After an Invisible Sword struck him down, he discovered that Lu Ruochang had sealed the ground against his Art of Earth Evasion.

• Xiao Hua recognized three Sword Transformation Swordsmen and fled the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, leaving Fairy Hongxia, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao behind.
• The young swordsman attacked Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua used the impact to accelerate away with Lightning Evasion.
• Xiao Hua unleashed Nine Stars Over the Sun, breaking the female swordswoman’s icy sword intent, then used spirit fire to burn through the elderly swordsman’s flames.
• The young swordsman used Invisible Sword to intercept Xiao Hua, and their enormous swords collided, sending Xiao Hua tumbling toward the ground.
• Fairy Hongxia tried to catch Xiao Hua, but he crashed onto earth that Lu Ruochang had solidified, preventing his Art of Earth Evasion from working.

Xiao Hua and his companions were surrounded by Sword Domain swordsmen seeking revenge and trying to recruit him, but he refused to surrender or abandon the Daoist path. As the swordsmen gave up on persuading him, Xue Chendong called for them to capture Xiao Hua and search his soul.

• Lu Ruochang identified Qin Heng and Xue Chendong as relatives of swordsmen Xiao Hua had killed and demanded that he come with them.
• Feng Suiwu offered to help Xiao Hua reach Divine Sword cultivation if he joined the Sword Domain, then attacked Fairy Hongxia when she insulted her.
• Qin Heng and Lu Ruochang urged Xiao Hua to reveal his identity and join them, promising that the Sword Domain could accommodate him.
• Xiao Hua refused to surrender, saying he would not abandon his fellow Daoist cultivators, and Feng Suiwu failed to tempt him.
• Xue Chendong declared that they should capture Xiao Hua and use the Soul Searching Method to learn his background.

The Houtu Village elder rescued Xiao Hua and his companions from three Sword Transformation swordsmen with the Soul Falling Lamp, then explained the deeper path of soul cultivation and gave Xiao Hua a soul-protecting technique. The group was left with the elder’s warning about seven essences beyond the green seal characters and the promise of further mysteries.

• The elder appeared as Xiao Hua was trapped and used the Soul Falling Lamp to kill Qin Heng, Xue Chendong, and Feng Suiwu, forcing the other swordsmen to flee.
• The elder claimed the three abandoned flying swords as compensation for the attack on Xiao Hua, then returned jade slips Xiao Hua had wanted.
• The elder explained that soul cultivation depended on comprehending green seal characters and described how soul cultivators and shamans learned them.
• The elder told Xiao Hua that seven essences beyond the three hundred and sixty-five green seal characters might allow someone to transcend the world.
• The elder gave Xiao Hua a soul technique for concealing and protecting his soul as payment for his Cloud Rain Summoning.

Xiao Hua and his companions left Million Meng Mountain by a secret route toward Xi Country, while realizing that a shapeshifting soul beast might have taken a Rejuvenation Pill and killed Master Ke Qin. The chapter then shifted to Xuntian City, where Snowy Realm True Person calmly brewed tea as the Dao Sword Great Battle reached a critical stage.

• Elder Wu gave Xiao Hua a safe route to Xi Country and suggested leaving a Rejuvenation Pill for the drought demon; Xiao Hua and the others joked about his meaning.
• Xiao Hua collected three flying swords and storage bags, while Xiao Mao took the remaining spirit seeds and steered the flying boat along Fairy Hongxia’s chosen route.
• Xiao Hua revealed that his divine sense had recovered to about sixty percent and would be stronger once fully healed.
• Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Fairy Hongxia inferred that Elder Wu’s remark hinted that a shapeshifting soul beast may have taken Master Ke Qin’s Rejuvenation Pill and killed him.
• The companions left Million Meng Mountain behind and headed toward Xi Country, while the Dao Sword Great Battle neared its most critical stage.
• At Xuntian City, Snowy Realm True Person sat in the City Lord’s Mansion and brewed tea with a teapot that breathed out spiritual energy.

Snowy Realm True Person discovered that a vast sword cultivator army had surrounded Xuntian City, including Sword Transformation experts whose sword intent wounded his divine sense. As the city prepared to resist, he ordered Jin Gang to activate the stronger defenses and vowed to command the Ice Tide Great Formation himself.

• Snowy Realm True Person practiced with Cloud Mist Tea and Innate True Water before the snow eagle alarm sounded over Xuntian City.
• Snowy Realm True Person sensed sword cultivators surrounding the city on all sides and withdrew his divine sense after Sword Transformation Swordsmen wounded it.
• Jin Gang reported that the city guards had raised the snow eagle defenses, patrol disciples were returning, and every Teleportation Array was unusable.
• Snowy Realm True Person concluded the sword cultivators meant to seize Xuntian City by surprise and ordered Jin Gang to use the City Lord's token to raise the defenses to Snow Peak level.
• Four powerful figures arrived above the City Lord's Mansion, and Snowy Realm True Person vowed to command the Ice Tide Great Formation against the Sword Transformation Swordsmen.

Snowy Realm True Person, True Person Kuangtian, and their allies prepared Xuntian City for the sword cultivators’ assault, confident that the city’s defenses and outside reinforcements would turn the battle in their favor. The sword cultivators attacked from all sides, and Snowy Realm True Person remained confident that Xuntian City could hold until the Dao sect forces surrounded them.

• True Person Kuangtian explained that he had brought Thunder Control Sect disciples back to Xuntian City based on Xiao Hua’s warning, while Mosang Mountain had also sent cultivators to defend it.
• Snowy Realm True Person activated the Snow Wave Ice Tide Great Formation and said outside forces were ready to reinforce the city.
• The sword cultivators launched a sudden assault from all four sides before the defenders could approach the walls.
• Xuntian City’s defensive formation met the sword qi with torrents of radiant light, killing or incapacitating many attackers.
• True Person Kuangtian noted that the sword cultivators had arrived in organized formations with Sword Transformation Swordsmen behind them.
• Snowy Realm True Person insisted that the strengthened formation and the allied cultivators could hold off the attackers until reinforcements surrounded them.

The Snow Wave Ice Tide Great Formation activated as five azure lights formed a sword formation above Xuntian City, and Snowy Realm True Person led the defenders into battle. Chong Taixu and Zhang Yanzong attacked the formation, leaving the city engulfed in clashes of sword light and snow waves.

• Five azure lights rose around Xuntian City and converged overhead into a sword formation as the Snow Wave Ice Tide Great Formation activated.
• Snowy Realm True Person sent a snow-wave attack at the sword formation, but Chong Taixu shattered it and more than a dozen Sword Transformation swordsmen surrounded the city.
• Snowy Realm True Person ordered True Person Kuangtian, True Person Miyou, and two others to enter the formation, then summoned his Ice Pearl to form a giant hand.
• Chong Taixu and Zhang Yanzong transformed into giant swords and struck the Ice Pearl hand, breaking its ice and dimming its radiance.
• Zhang Yanzong turned his sword into thunderbolts while Chong Taixu unleashed successive sword strikes that split the giant hand and crashed into the formation's snow waves.