Chapter Summaries

Li Yan urged the rescued Gong Zhipeng, Miao Lan, and Lan Yu to leave the Stone Chamber and proposed taking them into his Spirit Storage Space. After learning that the passage was temporarily clear and that the island’s teleportation array might still work, they prepared to head there, while Gong Zhipeng agreed to recover inside Li Yan’s space.

• Li Yan told Gong Zhipeng that enemies had been in the passage and demanded that he choose whether to enter the Spirit Storage Space or leave on his own.
• Li Yan removed the restrictions, and Miao Lan and Lan Yu confirmed that the passage outside was empty before agreeing to go with him.
• Gong Zhipeng thanked Li Yan for saving him, asked where he was going, and agreed to enter the Spirit Storage Space so he could recover.
• Li Yan explained that he planned to inspect the island’s damaged teleportation array, and Gong Zhipeng offered to help with arrays if needed.

Li Yan rescued Gong Zhipeng and decided to inspect the island’s teleportation formation with help from Gong Chenying and the injured formation expert. As Li Yan headed toward the surface, Lu Wujing’s ambush against Long Shixuan began to fail when Long Shixuan broke through White Bone Illuminates Lonely Soul.

• Li Yan brought Gong Zhipeng, Miao Lan, and Lan Yu into his Spirit Storage Space, then told Gong Chenying that Gong Zhipeng was badly injured.
• Li Yan and Gong Chenying decided to examine the teleportation formation, hoping Gong Zhipeng’s formation skills could help repair it.
• Li Yan concealed his strength, collected his formation, and headed through the passages toward the surface as the island began to rumble.
• Miao Yuhong lured Long Shixuan out of the Stone Chamber with a thorn-covered object, and Lu Wujing used White Bone Illuminates Lonely Soul to trap him.
• Long Shixuan unleashed a powerful aura from within the white skeleton and began damaging Lu Wujing’s magic treasure.

Lu Wujing and Miao Yuhong worked to repair the white-bone magical treasure after Long Shixuan damaged it from within. Trapped and badly injured, Long Shixuan realized he might have to burn his blood essence to escape, even though that could leave him unable to control the grand array.

• Long Shixuan cracked Lu Wujing's White Bone Illuminates Lonely Soul treasure and roared at Miao Yuhong for betraying the Tianli Clan.
• Lu Wujing ordered Miao Yuhong to pour his magical power into the skeleton, and Miao Yuhong helped stabilize the treasure.
• Lu Wujing's chanting healed the skeleton's cracks and weakened Long Shixuan's attacks.
• Long Shixuan guessed that Miao Yuhong was assisting their enemy and feared he would die before regaining control of the grand array.
• Long Shixuan assessed his severe injuries and considered burning his blood essence to break free, despite the risk of losing the strength to activate the array.

Zhang Du'an tested the prison area's formation while Li Yan redirected himself toward the fighting near Long Shixuan. The chapter left Li Yan heading into danger to find Long Shixuan, believing his survival could improve their chances of escape.

• Zhang Du'an used his compass and formation-breaking methods to identify flaws in the vines guarding the prison entrance.
• Explosions shook the island, and Zhang Du'an determined they came from the direction of Long Shixuan but stayed at his post.
• Li Yan sensed the commotion and concluded that Long Shixuan had survived Miao Yuhong's ambush and was still fighting.
• Li Yan abandoned his route to the teleportation array and hurried toward Long Shixuan, hoping to improve their chances of survival.

Li Yan secretly approached the battle between Long Shixuan and two Huiyan Hall cultivators, then decided to intervene when he saw Long Shixuan being suppressed inside a white skeleton. He chose to attack with his Black God Shield, which could protect him and unleash a powerful divine sense assault without revealing his other techniques.

• Li Yan hurried toward Long Shixuan’s area alone, leaving Gong Chenying and the others behind because he feared delays and the danger they could face at the teleportation array.
• Li Yan reached the battle and identified Miao Yuhong and a late-stage Body Integration cultivator controlling a huge white skeleton with Long Shixuan trapped inside.
• Li Yan saw that the skeleton’s cracks were healing and realized the two enemies had suppressed Long Shixuan again.
• Li Yan considered several ways to intervene but rejected a soul attack, poison, a close-range charge, and the Five Immortals Sect’s secret arts.
• Li Yan decided to use his Black God Shield, a rare treasure that combined strong defense with divine sense spikes.

Li Yan used the Black God Shield to kill Miao Yuhong with a divine-sense attack, helping Long Shixuan break free from the white skeleton. Long Shixuan initially mistook Li Yan for an enemy, but Li Yan identified himself and warned him that another Body Integration Realm cultivator was trying to take Sikou Lai; Long Shixuan then turned the grand array against Lu Wujing.

• Li Yan attacked Lu Wujing and Miao Yuhong with divine-sense spikes, and Miao Yuhong died while Lu Wujing resisted the strike.
• Miao Yuhong's death disrupted the control of the white skeleton, allowing Long Shixuan to break free with a Qiongqi-powered blow.
• Long Shixuan activated the grand array and trapped Li Yan and Lu Wujing in separate pillars of light, mistaking Li Yan for an enemy.
• Li Yan identified himself as Qing'a King and warned Long Shixuan that another Body Integration Realm cultivator was trying to take Sikou Lai.
• Long Shixuan sensed toward Sikou Lai's prison and sent two dragon-like figures from the array to coil around Lu Wujing's pillar of light.

Li Yan freed Long Shixuan and brought Gong Zhipeng, Gong Chenying, and two others out of the Spirit Storage Space as Long Shixuan trapped Lu Wujing and discovered a second Body Integration Realm enemy. The chapter left Long Shixuan preparing to face both attackers while Gong Zhipeng reported what the group had learned about Huiyan Hall.

• Lu Wujing blamed the shadowy attacker for ruining his ambush, then killed Miao Yuhong in a burst of rage.
• Long Shixuan restrained Lu Wujing with the grand array and chose to hold back its strongest attack to avoid provoking a fatal self-detonation.
• Li Yan finished sending a brief explanation to the four people in the Spirit Storage Space and pulled them out.
• Long Shixuan sensed Zhang Du'an's Body Integration Realm aura and recognized Gong Zhipeng among the people who appeared beside Li Yan.
• Long Shixuan ordered Li Yan and the others to stay put while he dealt with the enemies.
• Gong Zhipeng told Long Shixuan that the attackers belonged to Huiyan Hall and described their forces, casualties, and resistance to soul-searching.

Long Shixuan used Prison Scale Island’s grand formation to kill Lu Wujing and capture Zhang Du'an, suffering severe injuries in the process. After confirming Li Yan and his companions were not threats, he ordered repairs and prepared to contact the clan.

• Li Yan warned Long Shixuan about Huiyan Hall, the danger of using Soul Search on the intruders, and the fate of the eighteen Void Refinement cultivators.
• Long Shixuan pushed the grand formation beyond its limits, killed Lu Wujing when he tried to self-destruct, and knocked Zhang Du'an unconscious.
• Long Shixuan secured Zhang Du'an, inspected the damaged prison areas, and confirmed that Li Yan and the other four were not threats.
• Long Shixuan learned that Prince Li had come to take his Dao companion home and that Miao Yuhong had secretly colluded with the attackers.
• Long Shixuan took the five to the teleportation array, found it repairable, and assigned Gong Zhipeng and Gong Chenying to fix it while Miao Lan and Lan Yu repaired other formations.

Li Yan and Long Shixuan discussed the captured Huiyan Hall attackers, and Long Shixuan confirmed that the Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu could trigger a cultivator’s self-destruction. After recognizing Li Yan’s remarkable strength and concealment, Long Shixuan began sharing what he had learned about Huiyan Hall, while Li Yan tried to find out how much the Soul Search had revealed.

• Long Shixuan thanked Li Yan for saving his life, then asked him to produce the three captured attackers.
• Long Shixuan attempted to Soul Search one captive, discovered the Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu’s unusual effect, and realized Li Yan had already deduced how he obtained the information.
• Long Shixuan pieced together Li Yan and Gong Chenying’s role in defeating the attackers and privately estimated Li Yan’s combat strength to be near the Early Body Integration Realm.
• Long Shixuan asked Li Yan whether he knew Huiyan Hall, and Li Yan denied having heard of it.
• Li Yan asked what Long Shixuan’s Soul Search had revealed, and Long Shixuan agreed to tell him what he had learned.

Long Shixuan told Li Yan what he had learned about Huiyan Hall from Zhang Du'an, revealing how the hidden force recruited a struggling sect through resources and made it a vassal. The chapter left Li Yan and Long Shixuan considering how the Tianli Clan might investigate Huiyan Hall and the value of the captured prisoners.

• Li Yan planned to ask Long Shixuan and Patriarch Ge Feng to keep his role in the upheaval quiet and credit Long Shixuan instead.
• Long Shixuan explained that Zhang Du'an joined Huiyan Hall after it supported the Ten Thousand Dao Sect in exchange for his formation work.
• Zhang Du'an became Huiyan Hall's vassal when its resource support ended, and he learned little about the hidden force's structure or location.
• Li Yan inferred that Huiyan Hall built peripheral forces by recruiting groups in need of support, giving the Tianli Clan a possible investigative lead.
• Long Shixuan said the three captured prisoners were valuable because they carried the unusual Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu.

Long Shixuan explained Huiyan Hall’s true plan and Sikou Lai’s history as Li Yan learned why the three captured intruders mattered. The chapter left the Tianli Clan’s decision about Sikou Lai and the Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu unresolved.

• Long Shixuan told Li Yan that Huiyan Hall’s supposed rescue of Sikou Lai was a cover to hide its real objective from the Void Refinement Realm cultivators, who had been implanted with Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu.
• Long Shixuan explained that Miao Yuhong had been captured and implanted with the Gu after revealing that someone in the Tianli Clan practiced Gu arts, and that Sikou Lai probably knew nothing about the Gu or Huiyan Hall.
• Long Shixuan described Sikou Lai’s cruel, unconventional Gu research, which led the High Priest to seal his cultivation and imprison him on Prison Scale Island.
• Long Shixuan suggested Sikou Lai could study the Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu in the three captives and remove it from them, though the High Priest would decide whether to allow it.
• Li Yan concluded that Huiyan Hall had targeted the Tianli Clan to advance its Gu research and suspected Miao Yuhong might be silenced after the attack.

Li Yan weighed Sikou Lai’s value to the Tianli Clan while concealing his own research on the Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu. He handed Long Shixuan the corpses of Huiyan Hall’s dead cultivators, and Long Shixuan asked whether their Gu insects had died with them.

• Li Yan considered why the Tianli Clan would covet the Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu and judged Sikou Lai’s ability to remove it from three people before deciding whether to approach him.
• Li Yan kept Huiyan Hall’s research on the Gu hidden, planning to reveal it only if Sikou Lai proved capable and he could present a plausible explanation for having obtained it.
• Long Shixuan said the Tianli Clan would investigate Huiyan Hall and seek a plan against the force that had schemed against them.
• Li Yan produced more than ten corpses of Huiyan Hall’s Void Refinement Realm cultivators, which Long Shixuan examined for clues.
• Long Shixuan asked whether the Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu had died with its hosts, and Li Yan said he had not yet investigated, though he knew the Gu died when its host died.

Li Yan and Gong Chenying returned to the Tianli Clan after the massacre on Prison Scale Island, where the news soon spread and alarmed the clan. As the clan prepared to deal with the aftermath, Li Yan asked Gong Chenying how she had begun cultivating witchcraft.

• Long Shixuan searched a corpse and found that its Brain-Entangling Corpse Gu had died with its host, while Li Yan asked him for another favor.
• Li Yan and Gong Chenying returned to the Tianli Clan, and a spiritual disturbance in the clan’s rear soon drew several Body Integration Realm elders to the ancestral hall.
• The Tianli Clan learned that Prison Scale Island had been attacked and that over a hundred cultivators had died, with only a few survivors.
• Lan Na recalled seeing Li Yan and Gong Chenying leave the island and realized that their departure had spared them from the massacre.
• Zhao Min questioned Li Yan and Gong Chenying about the Huiyan Hall, while Gong Shanhe visited them and learned how narrowly Gong Chenying had escaped death.
• After reporting to Ge Feng, Li Yan stayed in the clan and asked Gong Chenying why she had sought permission to cultivate the clan’s witchcraft.

Gong Chenying sought a cultivation path to support her future advancement and discovered that her aptitude for shamanic arts was far greater than anyone had realized. After beginning to cultivate them, she and Li Yan concluded that her hidden Three Talents Spirit Root explained the change, and Li Yan gained a new appreciation for witchcraft.

• Gong Chenying considered her incomplete cultivation methods and asked the Tianli Clan to test whether she could cultivate shamanic arts.
• The shaman guided Gong Chenying through the aptitude test, and she completed every task with exceptional ease.
• Gong Chenying received an introductory shamanic cultivation method and quickly found that her body adapted to it naturally.
• Gong Chenying suspected her Three Talents Spirit Root had emerged through her cultivation and marriage to Li Yan, rather than anyone having sabotaged her childhood test.
• Li Yan witnessed Gong Chenying's improved combat strength and realized that witchcraft could be difficult to anticipate and counter.

Li Yan left the Tianli Clan with his family for the Cangxuan Realm, while Wei Zhongran and Li Yuyin reached Pojun Sect and reunited with Zuo Qiudan. Meanwhile, two masked figures in the North Pasture Realm discussed the failed Prison Scale Island mission and planned a new investigation.

• Little Beast formally paid respects to Li Yan, who named him Li Ze.
• Li Yan spoke with the Clan Leader and High Priest, then visited Gong Shengguang before leaving the Tianli Clan with Gong Chenying, Zhao Min, Little Beast, and Qianji.
• Five years later, Wei Zhongran and Li Yuyin arrived at Pojun Sect, where Zuo Qiudan warmly welcomed them.
• Two masked figures discussed how their mole in the Tianli Clan had disappeared after reporting the deaths and injuries on Prison Scale Island.
• The masked figures decided to investigate the failed mission from outside the Tianli Clan, prioritizing information about Lu Wujing and Zhang Du'an.

After the Prison Scale Island incident, Li Yan concealed his role and quietly left the Tianli Clan with his family. Years later, they returned to the Wangliang Sect, where Li Yan learned that Bai Rou had departed to temper herself and might miss Li Zhaoyan’s wedding.

• Li Yan asked Long Shixuan to keep his actions on Prison Scale Island secret, and Long Shixuan agreed before Li Yan and Gong Chenying reported the incident to the Tianli Clan’s leaders.
• The clan shaped the surviving cultivators’ accounts around Long Shixuan’s victory, while Li Yan and Gong Chenying stayed secluded before leaving with their family.
• Li Yan traveled with Zhao Min, Gong Chenying, Qianji, and Little Beast, helping them temper themselves while they journeyed toward the Wangliang Sect.
• The five returned to the Wangliang Sect, where Li Zhaoyan joyfully reunited with Little Beast and Wei Zhongran remained absent.
• Li Yan learned that Bai Rou had left to gain experience and had given Li Zhaoyan a carefully made puppet as a wedding gift in case she could not return in time.

Li Yan’s daughter Li Zhaoyan married Ling Qingyun, and the modest family celebration unexpectedly became a major Wangliang Sect event when the sect master, elders, and survivors of the Ghost Domain expedition arrived to honor Li Yan and his family. Afterward, Li Yan planned to remain in the sect and cultivate until he and Qianji were ready to travel to the Pojun Sect, with Li Yan hoping to reach the Body Integration Realm before confronting the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect.

• Li Yan worried about Bai Rou’s dangerous journey to find Shuang Qingqing and feared they might not meet again for a long time.
• Li Zhaoyan and Ling Qingyun held their wedding, but the Wangliang Sect sect master and Body Integration elders arrived to congratulate Li Yan, drawing attention to his role in recovering disciples from the Ghost Domain.
• Zhao Min and Gong Chenying recognized guests as cultivators who had fought alongside them in Yellow Springs City, while the wedding’s unexpected scale became a topic of discussion throughout the sect.
• Qianji reunited with Wei Chituo, and the two roamed the sect together as Li Yan let them enjoy themselves.
• Li Yan cultivated and spent time with Zhao Min and Gong Chenying while planning to go to the Pojun Sect after Qianji reached Spirit Transformation; he considered breaking through to Body Integration at the Five Immortals Sect before taking action against the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect.

Li Yan planned to unite the Soul Suppressing Palace and Pojun Sect as mutually supportive forces, then visit the four phoenix clans after reaching the Body Integration Realm. At the Wangliang Sect, Gong Chenying and Li Yan learned that Hong Yin had arrived, and Hong Yin was reunited with her disciple at the mountain gate.

• Li Yan planned to approach the Pojun Sect about cooperating with the Soul Suppressing Palace while ensuring the sect would not become a subordinate force.
• Li Yan intended to visit the Undying Underworld Phoenix clans after reaching the Body Integration Realm and see how they had developed.
• Four years into Li Yan's leisure, Hong Yin arrived at the Wangliang Sect seeking Gong Chenying.
• Gong Chenying sent Li Yan a message, and he joined her in the reception hall to discuss Hong Yin's unexpected arrival.
• While waiting at the mountain gate, Hong Yin reflected on Red Whisk Temple's disappearance and compared it with the Wangliang Sect.
• Gong Chenying arrived and greeted Hong Yin as her Master.

Gong Chenying reunited with her master Hong Yin at the Wangliang Sect, where Hong Yin was astonished to discover that Li Yan had survived. Li Yan recounted how he had escaped turbulent space, while Hong Yin shared the hardships of her own journey to the Immortal Spirit Realm.

• Hong Yin recognized Gong Chenying at the Wangliang Sect, and the two reunited after years apart.
• Li Yan appeared, shocking Hong Yin, who had believed he died after entering turbulent space with Xue Longzi.
• Li Yan welcomed Hong Yin into his residence with Gong Chenying, while Zhao Min continued cultivating.
• Hong Yin asked Li Yan how he survived and why he had not returned to the Tianli Clan.
• Li Yan briefly explained his escape and his arrival in the Immortal Spirit Realm, and Hong Yin described spending over sixty years trapped in turbulent space before ascending.

Li Yan reunited with Hong Yin and discussed their cultivation, while Hong Yin explained her stalled progress without the later chapters of the Red Lotus Burning Fire Scripture. Hong Yin also recounted her search at the Northern Underworld Demon-Suppressing Tower, where clues linked its Demon Beasts to the Wind God Continent and suggested one feared Buddhist power.

• Hong Yin praised Li Yan's cultivation and blessed him and Gong Chenying, while Li Yan concealed how far his strength had advanced.
• Li Yan observed that Hong Yin was nearing the late Void Refinement stage, and Hong Yin explained that missing chapters of her scripture made further progress difficult.
• Gong Chenying asked Hong Yin about her search at the Northern Underworld Demon-Suppressing Tower and her ascension to the Immortal Spirit Realm.
• Hong Yin said she subdued a Demon Beast in the tower and found that its mixed bloodline memories included the aura of a Wind Beast.
• Hong Yin explained that the tower's connection to the Wind God Continent and the Demon Beast's fear of Buddhist divine power might offer clues about her missing disciple and the Red Buddha Scarlet Dragon Spear.