Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohu and the leaders of the four sects gathered at the Sour Jujube Grove to enter the Secret Realm, but had to wait until morning for its ancient formation to open safely. As the sects negotiated treasure-sharing and Wen Wenhai recounted his earlier visit, Master Changsheng asked what Great Gang Leader Ou had obtained there.

• Alliance Leader Zhang arrived with five Internal Family experts and explained that Bai Yanqiu had tracked him, while Zhang Xiaohu taunted Abbess Jingyi over Ming Qing and Gao Kunheng joining the Misty Sect.
• Master Changsheng led the four sects toward Nameless Finger Peak, and Zhang Xiaohua startled Alliance Leader Zhang by appearing as Daoist Master Pan.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed unease around the Sour Jujube Trees, and Master Changsheng warned that the grove held a deadly ancient formation that would open a safe passage at dawn.
• Zhang Xiaohu negotiated the treasure-sharing terms before Wen Wenhai described his earlier entry into the Secret Realm, leaving Master Changsheng asking what Great Gang Leader Ou had obtained there.

The sect leaders discussed the Secret Realm’s treasures and the portraits of their founding ancestors as they prepared to explore the dense forest. Alliance Leader Zhang negotiated with Zhang Xiaohu to exchange the Righteous Path Alliance’s captured disciples for a share of the realm’s spoils, leaving the deal apparently sealed while Zhang Xiaohua secretly rejoiced.

• Wen Wenhai described the pills, sword manual, and portraits found in the small house, and Abbess Jingyi identified the scholar as Misty Sect’s founding ancestor Yang Haoya.
• Master Changsheng and the other leaders took positions around the forest, while Zhang Xiaohu recognized that Abbess Jingyi’s sect had preserved knowledge of Ancestor Yue.
• Alliance Leader Zhang offered one share of the Righteous Path Alliance’s expected spoils in exchange for the return of several thousand captured disciples.
• Alliance Leader Zhang argued that the captured disciples were difficult for Misty Sect to trust and warned that the two sects might otherwise be crushed between Great Forest Temple and Incense-Passing Cult.
• Zhang Xiaohu negotiated the offer up to one and a half shares, agreed to return the disciples, and clapped hands with Alliance Leader Zhang despite Li Jian’s warning.
• Alliance Leader Zhang returned to his disciples confident in the agreement, while Zhang Xiaohua laughed inwardly.

Zhang Xiaohua sensed something amiss near the gathering and left after passing the sheepskin scroll to Zhang Xiaohu. Shuiyunjian revealed its ambush and Bai Yanqiu demanded entry to the Secret Realm, ending with the discovery that Situ Ping was her disciple.

• Zhang Xiaohua detected something unusual among the boulders and secretly handed Zhang Xiaohu the sheepskin scroll before flying away to investigate.
• When Zhang Xiaohua failed to return, Master Changsheng and Abbess Jingyi sent Masters Changgeng and Chang Xing to look for him.
• Bai Yanqiu appeared with Changgeng and Chang Xing captured, revealed Shuiyunjian’s concealment, and demanded to enter the Secret Realm in exchange for the monks’ release.
• Bai Yanqiu summoned Ping'er, and Zhang Xiaohu and Wen Wenhai recognized him as Situ Ping, the former gang leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang.

Bai Yanqiu revealed Shuiyunjian’s role in the schemes surrounding the Secret Realm and demanded a share of its treasures, while Alliance Leader Zhang refused to let the sect enter. As negotiations collapsed, Master Changsheng attacked Bai Yanqiu with a powerful Dragon Control Hand.

• Alliance Leader Zhang confronted Situ Ping, who admitted that he had acted on Bai Yanqiu’s instructions and returned to the Fierce Tiger Gang and Evil Tiger Mountain Villa.
• Bai Yanqiu explained that Shuiyunjian had manipulated events to seek the sheepskin scrolls and demanded the same twenty-percent share as the other sects.
• Alliance Leader Zhang refused to let Shuiyunjian enter the Secret Realm, using his control of the sheepskin scroll to pressure the others.
• Master Changsheng offered Shuiyunjian Great Forest Temple’s share, but Bai Yanqiu demanded half of everything Great Forest Temple found in the Secret Realm.
• Master Changsheng launched a Lion’s Roar and attacked Bai Yanqiu with a Dragon Control Hand before she could draw a magical artifact.

The battle between Shuiyunjian and the Righteous Path Alliance escalated as both sides used powerful artifacts and killed their opponents. Master Changsheng pursued Bai Yanqiu while the others guarded Alliance Leader Zhang, and the chapter ended with True Person Haoyue dead and True Person Haoyun revealing the Heaven-Rending Mallet.

• Master Tiangang killed True Person Haofeng with the concealed Yanfan Wheel, and Master Yuanming struck True Person Haoyue with the Momo Bead as she killed Master Chang Geng.
• Master Yuandao and Abbess Shuqing moved to protect Master Chang Xing, while Master Tiangang challenged True Person Haoyun over the damaged Heaven Shaking Drum; True Person Haoyun revealed the Heaven-Rending Mallet.
• Master Changsheng tore out a lock of Bai Yanqiu’s hair, but Bai Yanqiu escaped by throwing Situ Ping into his path, and Master Changsheng killed Situ Ping.
• Bai Yanqiu shot a crimson blast at Alliance Leader Zhang with the Sky-Shaking Bow, but Abbess Jingyi blocked it with the Peach Blossom Whip and organized the disciples to protect the Righteous Path Alliance.
• Master Yuandao struck down True Person Haoyue with the Demon Subduing Pestle as she tried to flee, while the Heaven Shaking Drum sounded in the growing snowfall.

True Person Haoyun used the Heaven Shaking Drum to devastate the fighters around him, while Zhang Xiaohu saved several Misty Sect members with jade talismans. As True Person Haoyun poured his remaining essence into the drum, the surviving masters launched a combined attack, and he prepared a final strike that threatened everyone in the arena.

• True Person Haoyun's drumbeats overwhelmed the arena, killing Righteous Path Alliance disciples and badly injuring members of the Misty Sect and Incense-Passing Cult.
• Alliance Leader Zhang used a bloody flag and stone to form a red-black mist around himself as he tried to resist the drum.
• Zhang Xiaohu crushed his jade talisman, then used the others to shield Li Jian, Liu Qingyang, Wen Wenhai, and Lu Yueming from the drum's heart-shaking effects.
• True Person Haoyun used a secret art to pour his essence blood into the Heaven Shaking Drum, and Master Tiangang warned that the artifact's backlash would soon destroy him.
• Master Yuandao, Master Yuanming, Master Tiangang, and Abbess Shuqing attacked True Person Haoyun while Abbess Jingyi and Master Changsheng fought Bai Yanqiu.
• True Person Haoyun drained the rest of his essence and raised the Heaven-Rending Mallet to strike the drum, threatening to unleash a blast that could kill everyone nearby.

Master Tiangang and the others killed True Person Haoyun before he could sound the Heaven Shaking Drum, but Di Shitian and the Heavenly Dragon Sect emerged as the force behind the bloodless deaths and ambush at Mount Yao. As Di Shitian confronted the survivors, Zhang Xiaohua’s long-awaited Meng appeared among the Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples.

• Master Tiangang disrupted True Person Haoyun’s strike, and the Demon Subduing Pestle crushed him before the Heaven Shaking Drum could sound.
• Bai Yanqiu signaled for her hidden fighters, but none appeared, and she realized the corpses of True Person Haoyue and True Person Haofeng had been drained of blood.
• Di Shitian appeared with Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples, including Meng, and Bai Yanqiu recognized that the sect had arranged the scheme at Mount Yao.
• Di Shitian claimed Alliance Leader Zhang’s scarlet banner and black-red mist came from the Heavenly Dragon Sect, while Zhang insisted the Ma family had given his alliance an Immortal Path method.
• Di Shitian revealed that Situ Liang was a Heavenly Dragon Sect disciple and taunted Bai Yanqiu for her failed schemes.

Master Changsheng proposed letting the Heavenly Dragon Sect enter the Secret Realm with the other sects, but Di Shitian revealed that he meant to destroy the sheepskin scrolls and prevent the Four Immortal Path Sects from entering. The fighting began, and Zhang Xiaohu and the others clashed with the Heavenly Dragon Sect as the Heavenly Kings attacked the wounded leaders.

• Master Changsheng offered Di Shitian a share of the Secret Realm’s benefits, and Alliance Leader Zhang agreed to avoid a battle between their forces.
• Di Shitian tried to attack Alliance Leader Zhang with a hidden black thread, but Master Tiangang’s Yanfan Wheel dispersed it.
• Di Shitian declared that the Heavenly Dragon Sect would destroy the sheepskin scrolls and ordered his disciples to kill Alliance Leader Zhang and capture the Misty Sect disciples.
• Master Changsheng and Master Tiangang confronted Di Shitian, who summoned the Heart-Piercer to attack them.
• Peacock, Chen Chen, Rain Swallow, Zhang Xiaohu, Li Jian, and the others fought the Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples, and Zhang Xiaohu killed one with his sword radiance.
• Mahoraga transformed his bone whip and attacked Master Changsheng as the Heavenly Kings charged the injured leaders.

The Great Forest Temple masters and Incense-Passing Cult abbesses battled the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s Four Heavenly Kings as their magical artifacts clashed. Master Changsheng, Master Yuandao, and Master Yuanming each faced a different opponent, while Abbess Jingyi and Abbess Shuqing fought Great Yaksha, who prepared to strike Abbess Shuqing.

• Master Changsheng’s Buddhist beads trapped and struck Mahoraga’s White Bone Whip, but Mahoraga strengthened it with needles and engulfed the beads in black qi.
• The Dragon King punched Master Yuandao’s Demon Subduing Pestle back, revealed his dragon tattoo, and resumed fighting Yuandao.
• The Asura Heavenly King’s blood mist weakened Master Yuanming’s Momo Bead as the two fought.
• Abbess Jingyi and Abbess Shuqing attacked Great Yaksha, whose black mist destroyed the banner’s lotus light.
• Abbess Jingyi’s Peach Blossom Whip clashed directly with Great Yaksha’s trident, injuring both cultivators and dimming the trident.
• Great Yaksha strengthened his trident with a secret technique and thrust it toward Abbess Shuqing.

Bai Yanqiu considered capturing Meng but was unnerved by Meng’s gaze and stayed out of the battle. As Di Shitian gained the upper hand over Master Tiangang, Master Tiangang sacrificed his Yanfan Wheel’s attack to land a second grievous blow on Di Shitian.

• Bai Yanqiu weighed whether to seize Meng or flee, but Meng’s gaze unsettled her and she looked away.
• The Heavenly Dragon Sect fought the other sects while Di Shitian’s black vapor ensnared Master Tiangang’s Yanfan Wheel and Heart-Piercer attacked his injured heart meridian.
• Master Tiangang realized the Heavenly Dragon Sect might be trying to prevent the four sects from entering the Secret Realm, then spat blood into the Yanfan Wheel and sent its cross-shaped center at Di Shitian.
• Di Shitian blocked the cross with black vapor, but it split and shattered the skull atop Heart-Piercer.
• Di Shitian tried to escape, but Master Tiangang plunged through the corrosive vapor and struck him with the same ambush that had wounded him on Yao Mountain.

The Heavenly Dragon Sect and Great Forest Temple battles began to turn, as several fighters gained advantages while others faced sudden danger. Di Shitian escaped wounded, Mahoraga was pierced by the Demon Slaying Sword, and Dragon King struggled to keep a mysterious black needle from reaching his heart.

• Master Tiangang wounded Di Shitian twice before his own injuries stopped him from pursuing the fleeing Di Shitian.
• Mahoraga transformed the White Bone Whip into explosive bones, but Master Changsheng struck him in the chest with the Demon Slaying Sword.
• Dragon King overwhelmed Master Yuandao in their fight until Master Yuandao sent a mysterious black needle into Dragon King's body, forcing him to retreat while fighting it.
• Master Yuanming held off the Asura Heavenly King despite being at a slight disadvantage.
• Abbess Shuqing and Abbess Jingyi blocked Yaksha King's black mist and attacks, while his vulgar taunts angered them.

The wounded Misty Sect and Incense-Passing Cult forces appeared to have defeated the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s disciples, and Master Tiangang directed Wen Wenhai and the others to use four blood-marked sheepskin scrolls at the Sour Jujube Trees. Just as writing appeared on the scrolls, Bai Yanqiu snatched all four, leaving the others stunned.

• Abbess Jingyi and Abbess Shuqing exhausted their strength attacking the Yaksha King, and all three fell wounded as their magical weapons were damaged.
• Master Tiangang recovered enough to confront Di Shitian, while the wounded Misty Sect and Incense-Passing Cult disciples had killed every Heavenly Dragon Sect disciple present.
• A five-colored glow appeared in the eastern sky, and a shadow passed between the two Sour Jujube Trees before vanishing.
• Master Tiangang gave Wen Wenhai a sheepskin scroll and ordered the group to follow the method from their previous entry through the Sour Jujube Trees.
• Wen Wenhai, Zhang Xiaohu, Alliance Leader Zhang, and Chen Chen gathered four hidden sheepskin scrolls and smeared blood on their backs, revealing writing.
• Bai Yanqiu flashed in and snatched all four sheepskin scrolls while the others were occupied.

Ya revealed that she and Meng shared one body, with Ya gradually consuming Meng’s consciousness, and exposed her identity as the true Di Shitian and the founder of Great Forest Temple. She destroyed the four sheepskin scrolls and began draining the life from the gathered leaders, while Zhang Xiaohua struggled to protect Meng and stop her.

• Ya took the four sheepskin scrolls, then destroyed them before Zhang Xiaohua could seize them.
• Ya admitted that she had killed Master Jingxuan, stolen Xiaohei’s mother’s demon core, and caused the You Lan Mu Lian beast tide to advance her cultivation.
• Meng explained that Ya awakened in her body at night and was gradually devouring her consciousness; Ya soon took control again.
• Ya killed Master Tiangang and Master Changsheng, consumed their relics, and revealed that Great Forest Temple had been her source of food for generations.
• Ya explained that the village Zhang Xiaohua had visited was a Heavenly Dragon Sect deception, then summoned the Demonic Banner and identified herself as Great Master Xuan Kong.
• Ya drained Master Yuandao, Master Chang Xing, Master Yuanming, and Alliance Leader Zhang as Zhang Xiaohua tried to stop her.

Ya revealed that she had used the Heart-Bonding Curse to bind Zhang Xiaohua and Meng, and planned to sacrifice the mortal world through her Demonic Banner to achieve immortality. Zhang Xiaohua wounded Ya with Chasing Dreams, but Meng sacrificed herself to destroy the banner, and Zhang Xiaohua saw her and Ya drifting toward a crack in space.

• Ya absorbed the vital blood of Alliance Leader Zhang, Abbess Jingyi, and Abbess Shuqing, while Zhang Xiaohua shielded the Misty Sect members with the Nine-Ranked Lotus Platform.
• Meng briefly regained control and told Zhang Xiaohua that Ya had bound them with the Heart-Bonding Curse and intended to sacrifice the world to refine the nine-layer Demonic Banner and return to the Ruins.
• Meng explained that she was the current Saintess and Ya's reincarnation, then urged Zhang Xiaohua to kill her before Ya took control again.
• Zhang Xiaohua attacked Ya with his magical artifacts, and the Haotian Mirror struck her, but Ya's Demonic Banner withstood its beam.
• Zhang Xiaohua pierced Ya's heart with Chasing Dreams, destroying the Demonic Banner's protection, and Meng reappeared as Ya struggled to survive.
• Meng gave Zhang Xiaohua the Youth-Preserving Pill, kissed him, and exploded while holding the Demonic Banner; Zhang Xiaohua then saw Meng and Ya drifting toward a crack in space.

Xiao Yuehong’s small sect, Shang Hua Ming, relied on Xiao Hua, a diligent half-disciple whose cultivation remained stuck at the first layer of Qi Cultivation. When Xiao Yuehong’s three disciples returned early from a market trip, Gong Mingwei and Zhang Qingxiao were badly injured, and Xiao Xianrui was furious.

• Xiao Yuehong lounged in the sun while Xiao Hua caused a loud commotion opening a medicinal field on the western peak.
• Xiao Yuehong reflected on how he had taken in Xiao Hua, taught him cultivation, and kept him despite his inability to advance beyond the first layer.
• Xiao Yuehong realized that Gong Mingwei, Zhang Qingxiao, and Xiao Xianrui had returned early from the market.
• Gong Mingwei and Zhang Qingxiao landed outside Huanghua Ridge injured and battered, while Xiao Xianrui appeared unharmed but angry.
• Xiao Xianrui supported Zhang Qingxiao, and Gong Mingwei rebuked him for trading away the Wutuodan for useless things.

Gong Mingwei, Zhang Qingxiao, and Xiao Xianrui returned to Huanghua Ridge with Zhang Qingxiao injured and all the Wutuodan gone. Xiao Yuehong learned that Xiao Xianrui had taken every pill from the sect, while Xiao Hua revealed he still had some and demonstrated his unusual speed despite being stuck at the first layer of Qi Cultivation.

• Xiao Xianrui used a talisman to open a passage through the white mist, and she, Gong Mingwei, and the injured Zhang Qingxiao flew back to Huanghua Ridge.
• Xiao Yuehong welcomed the three and learned that their Wutuodan were gone, then sent a transmission talisman to summon Xiao Hua with more pills.
• Xiao Hua reported that Xiao Xianrui had taken every Wutuodan from the pill chamber, and Xiao Yuehong rebuked her for disobeying his order to take only sixty percent.
• Xiao Xianrui explained that she had wanted to meet the market's demand, and Xiao Yuehong accepted her explanation but worried about treating the injured disciples.
• Xiao Hua said he had Wutuodan in his room and flew off to fetch them, while Xiao Xianrui pointed out his remarkable speed with a flying talisman.
• Xiao Yuehong agreed that Xiao Hua had a rare talent but wondered why he had remained at the first layer of Qi Cultivation after three years.

Xiao Hua secretly retrieved a bottle of Wutuodan, while Xiao Yuehong confronted Xiao Xianrui over trading the sect’s pills for a Peacock Illusion and lying about it. After sparing the ornament but sentencing Xiao Xianrui to reflect in Jingxin Cave, Xiao Yuehong questioned why Gong Mingwei and Zhang Qingxiao had fought the Myriad Poisons Sect.

• Xiao Hua produced a jade bottle from nowhere and brought Wutuodan to Xiao Yuehong, privately noting it would spare Zhang Qingxiao several more days of suffering.
• Xiao Xianrui confessed that she had traded all the Wutuodan for a Peacock Illusion, and Xiao Yuehong nearly crushed it before Gong Mingwei and Zhang Qingxiao pleaded for her.
• Xiao Yuehong returned the Peacock Illusion to Xiao Xianrui as a birthday gift but sentenced her to one hundred days of reflection in Jingxin Cave for lying to her master.
• Xiao Yuehong asked Gong Mingwei how he and Zhang Qingxiao had been injured, and Xiao Xianrui explained that they had fought disciples of the Myriad Poisons Sect after being insulted.
• Xiao Yuehong challenged his disciples’ pride in Shang Hua Ming, then acknowledged that its inherited cultivation method could reach Golden Core while the Myriad Poisons Sect’s could only reach late Foundation Establishment.

Xiao Yuehong explained why Shang Hua Ming could not produce Qi Nurturing Pills or easily obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, and ordered Gong Mingwei, Zhang Qingxiao, and Xiao Xianrui to reflect in Jingxin Cave on Guzhang Peak. The chapter ended as Xiao Hua joined them in the freezing cave, where Xiao Xianrui smiled at him.

• Xiao Yuehong explained that Qi Nurturing Pills required unusually old Spirit Gathering Fruit, while Foundation Establishment Pills needed Linglong Grass at least three hundred years old.
• Xiao Yuehong described demon-beast inner cores as another possible source of cultivation energy, and Xiao Hua reacted with an unexplained look of surprise and excitement.
• Xiao Yuehong questioned how Gong Mingwei, Zhang Qingxiao, and Xiao Xianrui had escaped the Myriad Poisons Sect, and Gong Mingwei revealed that Jiang Fan and the Hundred Herbs Sect had helped them.
• Xiao Yuehong decided Shang Hua Ming owed the Hundred Herbs Sect a favor, then sent Gong Mingwei, Zhang Qingxiao, and Xiao Xianrui to spend a hundred days reflecting in Jingxin Cave on Guzhang Peak.
• Xiao Hua accompanied the three into the icy cave, where Zhang Qingxiao complained about their punishment and Xiao Xianrui smiled at Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua discovered that his hidden mental space had soil where plants could grow, and he decided to test it with Linglong Grass seeds. He left Guzhang Peak to borrow the sect’s herb-planting puppet, telling Xiao Yuehong he wanted to help his senior siblings cultivate.

• Xiao Xianrui and Zhang Qingxiao tried to persuade Xiao Hua to give them pills, but he refused and agreed to stay near Jingxin Cave.
• Gong Mingwei gave Xiao Hua a pouch of Linglong Grass seeds, but Xiao Yuehong dismissed them as worthless because Linglong Grass could not be grown from seeds.
• Xiao Hua noticed weeds inside his mental space had grown and realized the space had soil that might support plants.
• Xiao Hua put the Linglong Grass seeds into his mental space and decided to borrow Xiao Yuehong’s herb-planting puppet to plant them.
• Xiao Hua reached Minsi Peak and told Xiao Yuehong he wanted the puppet so he could visit Gong Mingwei, Xiao Xianrui, and Zhang Qingxiao and seek cultivation guidance.

Xiao Hua used a puppet to prepare a private medicine garden in his mind space, but the transplanted herbs seemed to be failing. At Guzhang Peak, he discovered a warm pool and met Little White Snake again, learning it had followed him from the cold pool at Xihua Peak.

• Xiao Yuehong gave Xiao Hua a talisman and spirit stone so he could use a puppet to work while he cultivated.
• Xiao Hua activated the puppet and sent it into his mind space to clear and divide land for planting.
• Over ten days, the puppet prepared the land, and Xiao Hua planted spirit herbs, Linglong Grass seeds, and Spirit Gathering Fruits, though the herbs looked half-dead and the seeds had not sprouted.
• Xiao Hua visited Guzhang Peak, found its pool warm, and jumped in to swim.
• Little White Snake shot from the pool and wrapped itself around Xiao Hua's arm.
• Xiao Hua recalled how Little White Snake had once bitten him to drink his blood, then became lively and began accompanying him at Xihua Peak's cold pool.