Chapter Summaries

Xue Fuyao discovered that the Compass used Spirit Stones to locate things and reveal their surroundings. She and Wang Zheng sneaked into the woods to capture a Mandarin-Duck Water Spirit Crane, and she reached its sleeping place first.

• Xue Fuyao inserted Spirit Stones into the Compass and learned that it could guide her to a target and show its surroundings, though it consumed the stones.
• Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng agreed to steal the Mandarin-Duck Water Spirit Crane, with Wang Zheng preparing special seasonings and guards to distract its protectors.
• Wang Yan learned of their plan and secretly sent additional guards to protect Wang Zheng without stopping the attempt.
• Wang Zheng ordered two guards to lure away the forest guards, and a signal soon confirmed that the distraction had worked.
• Xue Fuyao used the Compass to guide Wang Zheng through the woods to the crane's nest, then appeared beside the sleeping bird.

After Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng roasted the Mandarin-Duck Water Spirit Crane they had stolen, they secretly returned to the City Lord's Mansion. The next morning, the Zhang Family confronted Wang Yan, who denied their accusations and threatened them for lacking evidence.

• Xue Fuyao knocked out the Mandarin-Duck Water Spirit Crane, and she and Wang Zheng prepared and roasted it at a cave.
• Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng ate the roasted crane with Wang Zheng's guard, then sneaked back to the City Lord's Mansion.
• After hearing that the Zhang Family had come calling, Xue Fuyao went with Wang Zheng to eavesdrop behind the reception hall.
• Patriarch Zhang accused Wang Zheng and his friend of stealing the crane, but Wang Yan demanded evidence and denied the claim.
• Wang Yan threatened the Zhang Family and mocked them for failing to protect their spirit beast.

After Wang Yan drove the Zhang Clan away, Xue Fuyao learned how they had discovered her and discussed the ties between the Delusion City and Flowing Cloud City Zhang families. She broke through to late Foundation Establishment and began planning a strike against the Zhang Family before entering secluded cultivation.

• The Zhang Clan left after Wang Yan refused to act against Wang Zheng and Xue Fuyao, and its head threatened him on the way out.
• Wang Yan told Wang Zheng and Xue Fuyao to stay inside until the Yuanji Sect arrived, and Wang Zheng eagerly asked whether Elder Lingmu would come.
• Wang Yan explained that the Zhang Family had used a supreme-grade spiritual artifact to view past events and said the two Zhang families were connected by blood.
• Xue Fuyao asked about her grudge against the Zhang Family, then returned to cultivating and broke through to late Foundation Establishment two days later.
• Xue Fuyao resolved to damage the Zhang Family before entering secluded cultivation and recalled that its disciples regularly trained in secret realms.

Xue Fuyao planned to cripple the Zhang Family’s future by sending Shadow One and the others into three Secret Realms and preparing a disguised Love-Severing Pill formula. When the Yuanji Sect delegation arrived, its disciples confronted the Water Spirit Sect disciples who had bullied her, while Elder Lingmu made clear he would protect her.

• Xue Fuyao ordered Shadow One and the others through her Token to eliminate everyone surnamed Zhang in the three Secret Realms.
• Xue Fuyao found the Sterility Pill and Love-Severing Pill formulas in the Complete Compendium of Pills, then disguised the latter as an old Spirit-Gathering Pill formula and buried the parchment in pond sludge.
• Wang Zheng told Xue Fuyao that the Yuanji Sect delegation had arrived, including her master, Elder Lingmu, Xie Yichu, and disciples led by Gu Nian and Chu Yunzhe.
• Gu Nian and Chu Yunzhe confronted the Water Spirit Sect disciples who had bullied Xue Fuyao, while the three Yuanji Sect Deacon Elders kept Peak Master Lin from intervening.
• Xie Yichu stayed silent and drank tea as the Water Spirit Sect disciples faced the Yuanji Sect disciples, making his intent to shield Xue Fuyao clear.

Xue Fuyao reunited with Gu Nian and joined the group preparing to explore the ancient ruins after Wang Yan made everyone swear a Heavenly Dao Oath. When Wang Yan revealed the ruins were an Emperor’s Tomb, Xue Fuyao recognized it as the tomb of a Snake King and decided she wanted Wang Zheng to obtain its dragon qi.

• Xue Fuyao greeted her master, Xie Yichu, while Gu Nian and the others dealt with the Water Spirit Sect without her intervention.
• Gu Nian embraced Xue Fuyao so tightly that Chu Yunzhe had to free her, and then Gu Nian urged everyone to focus on the ruins.
• Wang Yan gathered the explorers, explained that some people had withdrawn and rogue cultivators had joined, and required everyone to swear an oath reserving the inheritance for Wang Zheng.
• After the group swore their oaths, Wang Yan revealed that his injury came from an ancient ruin he suspected was an Emperor’s Tomb, alarming the assembled cultivators.
• Xue Fuyao recalled that the tomb belonged to a Snake King who had nearly transformed into a dragon and resolved not to take its dragon qi, hoping Wang Zheng would obtain it instead.

Xue Fuyao and the others arrived at Stillwind Ridge to investigate the Emperor's Tomb, where they discovered that Bai Xiaochun, the Eastern Continent Bai Family's fourth young lady, had been watching Xue Fuyao. The chapter ended with Bai Xiaochun meeting Xue Fuyao's gaze without hiding her scrutiny.

• Wang Yan's group shared what they knew about the Emperor's Tomb and set off for Stillwind Ridge, where they chose to investigate before entering the ruins.
• Xie Yichu warned Xue Fuyao to stay close and avoid touching anything inside the ruins.
• Xue Fuyao told Gu Nian and Chu Yunzhe that someone kept watching her, and they helped identify the watcher as Bai Xiaochun.
• Gu Nian explained that Bai Xiaochun belonged to the Eastern Continent's Bai Family, and she went to alert Xie Yichu about the family's presence.
• Bai Xiaochun met Xue Fuyao's gaze directly, her expression calm and unreadable.

Xue Fuyao learned from Wang Zheng that the Bai Family in Delusion City had been exiled from the Eastern Continent but was preparing to reunite with its main lineage. As the Emperor’s Tomb expedition approached, both the Wang Family and Bai Family planned around the other, while Bai Xiaochun grew suspicious of Fuyao.

• Xue Fuyao asked Wang Zheng about the Bai Family after Bai Xiaochun gave her a menacing smile.
• Wang Zheng explained that the Delusion City branch had been exiled after losing a succession struggle and was preparing to return to the Eastern Continent.
• Wang Zheng said his father had plans to keep the Bai Family from benefiting from the Emperor’s Tomb expedition.
• Bai Xiaochun regretted not alerting her father about the Emperor’s Tomb and wondered why Fuyao seemed familiar.
• Bai Xiaochun told the Delusion City Bai Family head to make the expedition’s decisions himself, saying she would not interfere.

Xue Fuyao and the other cultivators reached the Emperor’s Tomb, where they faced the Earth Demon Bull guarding its entrance. After the group killed it, they waited for Xie Yichu to decide what would happen to its body.

• Gu Nian told Xue Fuyao that preparations were complete, and Xie Yichu carried her as the group headed toward the Emperor’s Tomb.
• The group reached the tomb gates, whose fierce-beast carvings dazed Xue Fuyao until Xie Yichu protected her.
• A roar sounded as the gates opened, and Wang Yan warned everyone to watch for danger.
• An Earth Demon Bull emerged, and Xie Yichu explained that the group needed to lift it off the ground to stop it drawing strength from the earth.
• The cultivators got the Earth Demon Bull off the ground and killed it, then looked to Xie Yichu before dividing its body.

Xue Fuyao and the others entered the Emperor's Tomb, survived a deadly passage of Black Bats, and reached a palace filled with Night-Luminescent Pearls and Top-Grade Spirit Stones. While the others scrambled for the Spirit Stones, Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng began collecting the pearls.

• Xue Fuyao chose the Earth Demon Bull's meat, and Xie Yichu also took one of its horns for her.
• A powerful suction pulled everyone into the Ruins, and the stone doors closed behind them.
• A cultivator lit a torch and was devoured by Black Bats; Xie Yichu stopped Xue Fuyao from warning the others aloud.
• The group passed through the darkness and entered an underground palace lit by Night-Luminescent Pearls, with Top-Grade Spirit Stones set in its ceiling.
• While the others pried out the Spirit Stones, Xue Fuyao persuaded Wang Zheng to help her collect the pearls.

Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng collected Night-Luminescent Pearls while the others took the palace’s top-grade spirit stones, then the group learned they had to return those stones to reveal an exit. As the stones activated the floor’s divine-beast carvings, Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng recognized the glowing patterns as demon script.

• Xue Fuyao directed Wang Zheng to help her pry selected Night-Luminescent Pearls from the palace walls and promised to share the spoils with him.
• Xie Yichu pointed out carvings of the four divine beasts on the floor and explained that the top-grade spirit stones had to be placed in their grooves to reveal an exit.
• Bai Xiaochun and the others protested giving up the stones and accused Wang Yan and Wang Zheng of withholding what they knew.
• Wang Yan denied knowing about the palace’s exit and warned the hired rogue cultivators not to take treasures instead of protecting his son.
• The Yuanji Sect members placed their stones in the grooves, lighting the beast carvings and revealing mysterious patterns that Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng identified as demon script.

Xue Fuyao and the others opened a passage in the Emperor's Tomb, only to encounter deadly marsh gas from Spiritburst Swamp. After crossing the dangerous area, they reached another palace.

• Wang Zheng and Xue Fuyao recorded ancient demon script after filling the palace's recesses with Top-Grade Spirit Stones, which opened a doorway.
• An explosion beyond the doorway killed a Water Spirit Sect disciple, and Xie Yichu warned everyone to contain their spiritual power because marsh gas from Spiritburst Swamp exploded on contact with it.
• Xie Yichu explained how Spiritburst Swamps formed and why the tomb's owner had placed their gas there to deter human cultivators.
• Mu Wei blamed Xie Yichu for her eldest senior sister's death, while Xue Fuyao considered dealing with Mu Wei but decided to wait.
• The group carefully crossed the gas-filled passage with their spiritual power contained and reached another palace, disappointed to find it had no luminous pearls or Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

Xue Fuyao and the others split up to explore three paths, and her group discovered Demon Blood Grass growing around the bones of a huge Monster Beast. After the remains opened a hidden passage, they escaped a rolling boulder only to find that something in the lava was eating it.

• Xie Yichu agreed to split the group among the three paths, and Xue Fuyao’s group took the leftmost path with Wang Zheng under their protection.
• Xue Fuyao sensed Demon Qi and found Demon Blood Grass growing around an enormous Monster Beast’s bones, then gathered the grass and valuable remains.
• The remains vanished and opened a stone door, so Xie Yichu carried Xue Fuyao through the narrow passage beyond it.
• A mechanism sent a huge boulder rolling after the group, forcing them toward the passage’s bright, hot exit.
• Xue Fuyao warned the others about the heat, and they reached a lava river as the boulder rolled out and fell into it.
• A disciple noticed that the boulder was not merely disappearing in the lava but was being eaten.

Xue Fuyao identified the magma river as a swarm of Fire Velvet Worms and explained how to cross it safely. After a group of newcomers was devoured, her companions fed the worms meat and crossed while they were digesting.

• Xue Fuyao recognized the apparent magma as Fire Velvet Worms and warned that their swarms attacked anything trying to pass.
• A group of bedraggled newcomers arrived and ignored the danger, assuming Xie Yichu would not interfere as they attempted to cross.
• The Fire Velvet Worms swarmed over the newcomers, devouring them before they could resist.
• Xue Fuyao explained that the worms became docile while digesting large amounts of flesh and blood, then tossed them meat from an Earth Demon Bull.
• Xue Fuyao and the others crossed safely while the worms fed, and Gu Nian asked how she had learned about them.

Xue Fuyao and her companions reached a single-plank bridge leading to the supposed land of inheritance, where Xie Yichu killed a cultivator who attacked Gu Nian. Xue Fuyao revealed that the inheritance was elsewhere, and she and Wang Zheng waited for the others to cross before following.

• Xue Fuyao collected some Fire Velvet Worms before the group continued toward the single-plank bridge.
• The group encountered the others, and an elder of the Medical Sect expressed surprise that Wang Zheng was alive.
• A cultivator accused Gu Nian of killing his elder brother, and Xie Yichu killed him with Sword Qi when he moved to attack.
• Xue Fuyao used her Heavenly Eye to see that the inheritance was not in the land ahead and quietly told Gu Nian it was likely only a chamber of funerary offerings.
• Gu Nian and the others crossed the swaying bridge while Xie Yichu, Xue Fuyao, and Wang Zheng stayed behind.
• After everyone else entered the land of inheritance, Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng set off across the bridge.

Wang Zheng revealed that the Emperor's Tomb expedition was a trap his father and the Yuanji Sect had arranged, and that he needed Xue Fuyao's help to claim its inheritance. After Xue Fuyao saw through Bai Ze's test, he offered Wang Zheng the inheritance on the condition that they eventually rescue one of his soul fragments from the Demon Race.

• Wang Zheng told Xue Fuyao that his father had planned the expedition to eliminate rival clans and secure the Emperor's Tomb inheritance with the Yuanji Sect's help.
• Wang Zheng explained that a female cultivator with a compatible spiritual root had to assist him, and he and Xue Fuyao jumped from a cliff to reach the inheritance site.
• Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng met a phantom claiming to be the tomb's master, and Xue Fuyao chose Wang Zheng to receive the inheritance.
• Xue Fuyao recognized that the scene was an illusion and shattered Bai Ze's test.
• Bai Ze offered Wang Zheng an inheritance that could purge his poison, asking him and Xue Fuyao to rescue a soul fragment imprisoned among the Demon Race when they were strong enough.

Bai Ze granted Wang Zheng an inheritance and raised Xue Fuyao’s cultivation as repayment for an ancestor’s kindness. While Wang Zheng continued receiving the inheritance, Xue Fuyao consolidated her cultivation and gathered several mysterious treasures; two days later, Wang Zheng awoke.

• Wang Zheng and Xue Fuyao agreed to oppose the Demon Race, and Bai Ze’s phantom dissolved into light that entered them both.
• Bai Ze revealed that he had waited for Xue Fuyao because he had promised one of her ancestors to help her descendants, then raised her cultivation to the mid-Golden Core stage.
• Xue Fuyao discovered that Bai Ze had given her a lotus seedpod, an ordinary-looking oil-paper umbrella, and a Storage Ring full of Top-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Xue Fuyao meditated to stabilize her cultivation and repeatedly used a Cleansing Spell to remove the foul black sludge emerging from Wang Zheng.
• Xue Fuyao found a hidden Bai Ze horn in the stone wall and waited while Wang Zheng continued receiving the inheritance.
• Two days later, Wang Zheng opened his eyes, which had become unusually bright.

After leaving the Emperor’s Tomb, Xue Fuyao learned that the Zhang Family had retreated to Flowing Cloud City and considered her next move against them. The chapter revealed that Zhang Xueheng had poisoned Zhang Family members to avenge his parents, and he continued his revenge after returning home.

• Wang Zheng woke after about two months, and Xue Fuyao showed him a Recording Stone of her attempt to cast the Cleansing Spell.
• Xue Fuyao and Wang Zheng left the Emperor’s Tomb and met Gu Nian, Xie Yichu, and the others; Xue Fuyao chose to remain behind while her master returned to the Sect.
• Wang Zheng told Xue Fuyao that the Bai Family had left Delusion City and the Zhang Family had suffered heavy losses before retreating to Flowing Cloud City.
• Wang Zheng explained that Zhang Family members who entered the Emperor’s Tomb had been poisoned, and Xue Fuyao realized what had happened.
• Zhang Xueheng had poisoned Zhang Family members before the expedition and resumed poisoning them after returning to Flowing Cloud City, believing he had avenged his parents.

Xue Fuyao returned to Flowing Cloud City and learned that poisonings and a violent split had nearly destroyed the Zhang Family. As she prepared to contact Xueheng, a black-clad man reunited the Zhang Clan members and demanded an explanation for the second young master's death.

• Xue Fuyao questioned a restaurant server and learned that poisonings had killed outsiders and Zhang Family members after Zhang Clan members arrived from Delusion City.
• The server said the Zhang Family had split into two sides, fought, and lost half its assets to the outsiders.
• Xue Fuyao sensed that the Zhang Family ancestor had become a puppet under her control and concluded the family's destruction was near.
• Xue Fuyao decided to contact Zhang Xueheng and call him Xueheng instead.
• A black-clad man reunited the Zhang Clan members and accused the Delusion City branch of a string of suspicious failures, including the second young master's death.

A black-robed man questioned the Zhang Family head about the missing Xue Clan Ancestral Lands and revealed that they might contain a legendary cultivation treasure. Zhang Xueyan resolved to find the ancestral lands first, while Xueheng began planning to escape the Zhang Family.

• The black-robed man ordered the Zhang Family to find its traitor and asked about the Xue Clan, which the family had supposedly exterminated.
• The black-robed man explained that the hidden Xue Clan Ancestral Lands held the clan’s accumulated resources and the Pure Spirit Mother Qi Pool.
• The Zhang Family head claimed his people had found neither the ancestral lands nor the Spirit-Mind Purifying Flame, and described the fire at the Imperial Palace.
• The Zhang Family head concealed that Zhang Xueheng and Zhang Xueyan were Xue Clan descendants, while both siblings feared he would expose them.
• Zhang Xueyan decided to find the ancestral lands, and Xueheng returned to his quarters and considered escaping the Zhang Family.

Xueheng contacted Xue Fuyao after Zhang Xueyan urged him to search for the pure spirit mother qi pool, and he learned that the Imperial Palace held no clues to the Xue Clan Ancestral Lands. Xue Fuyao reconsidered whether she had overlooked something among the palace items she had kept.

• Zhang Xueyan demanded that Xueheng help her find the pure spirit mother qi pool, claiming their Xue Clan bloodline would reveal the ancestral lands.
• After Zhang Xueyan left, Xueheng used the Soul-Devouring Butterfly Gu to contact its master, Xue Fuyao.
• Xueheng told Xue Fuyao what he had heard, and she explained that she had set fire to the Imperial Palace after moving its contents elsewhere.
• Xue Fuyao said she had sold some palace furnishings before entering the Cultivation Realm and suggested Xueheng might recover them.
• After ending the conversation, Xue Fuyao wondered if she had missed something and examined a box of ruby headdress ornaments.