Chapter Summaries

Li Yan searched Lin Feng and the four Moonlit Spirit Goose disciples, then learned the history and nature of the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast that had swallowed them. He entered the passage, judging that the adult beast was far more powerful than the disciples had believed, while its victims faced a limited chance to escape.

• Li Yan finished searching the four remnant souls, confirmed they had no sealing restrictions, and let them enter reincarnation.
• Li Yan searched the unconscious Lin Feng, learned that Lin Feng had tried to help him without malicious intent, and stored him in a Spirit Storage Space treasure.
• Li Yan entered the passage after identifying the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast as a rare Mirage Beast that cultivated through the Heavenly Dao.
• Li Yan learned that adult beasts set trials for swallowed cultivators and could allow those who passed to escape, while failed attempts could lead to death or captivity.
• Li Yan concluded the beast was likely seventh or eighth tier and learned that the Moonlit Spirit Goose disciples had used inherited records to break its first seal.

Li Yan reached the final trial inside the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast and chose the black chain bridge marked “Dao.” He crossed it safely, but the bridge vanished behind him, leaving him uncertain whether the beast might target him as a Human Race cultivator.

• Li Yan found three chain bridges marked “Halberd,” “Live,” and “Dao,” and concluded that they offered trials of combat, surrender, and debate, respectively.
• Li Yan discovered that the green mist could destroy his divine sense outside the bridges but was harmless where it passed over them.
• Li Yan tested the black bridge with a gu insect, learned that the gale could throw travelers from the planks, and crossed the bridge himself.
• Li Yan saw the black bridge vanish after he reached the opposite peak and worried that the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast might discriminate against Human Race cultivators.

Li Yan crossed the vanished iron-chain bridge and descended into a sealed blood-red cave, where he met four powerful cultivators trapped by the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast. He used the alias Zhang Ming when Li Jiuchen questioned whether he belonged to the Human Race, leaving the group’s suspicions unresolved.

• Li Yan realized the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast controlled the bridge and feared the creature’s power over his life.
• Li Yan entered the blood-red cave and descended its thousand steps without being attacked.
• Li Yan found Li Jiuchen, Su Wenzhou, Yun Qinghua, and Ling Xingkong inside the sealed cave, and the stairs vanished behind him.
• Li Yan and the others exchanged greetings and names, with Li Yan introducing himself as Zhang Ming.
• Li Jiuchen asked whether Zhang Ming was from the Human Race, and Li Yan avoided answering while inspecting the cave.

Li Yan, posing as Zhang Ming, identified the chamber as being inside a Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast and learned that the group faced an uncertain number of trials. The cultivators began investigating the chamber’s bluestone slab and five spirit lamps, while Yun Qinghua worried about her missing disciples and plotted to kill Li Jiuchen when an opportunity arose.

• Li Yan identified the dark chamber as being inside a Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast and asked Su Wenzhou how many trials they would need to pass.
• Su Wenzhou said the records varied but suggested there would be at least three trials, and Yun Qinghua explained that the group had not yet investigated the chamber thoroughly.
• Yun Qinghua worried that her five disciples had not arrived, while Ling Xingkong reassured her and she resolved to kill Li Jiuchen if she found a suitable opportunity.
• The cultivators separated to inspect the unmarked bluestone slab and the four corner lamps, while Li Yan recalled the beast’s varied trial methods and dangers.

Li Yan and the other cultivators investigated the Wordless Bluestone Slab and the five Spirit Lamps as they searched for a way out of the cavern. Yun Qinghua proposed a method for completing the Five Elements cycle, and the group considered how to test her deduction before their time ran out.

• Li Yan examined the Wordless Bluestone Slab and found an inscription saying that only “harmony” could kindle the Heart Lamp, while the four corner lamps bore the characters for metal, wood, water, and fire.
• Li Jiuchen warned that they had only six two-hour periods to pass the trial before the Heavenly Dao Laws might descend upon them.
• Li Yan noticed the cavern’s black-and-red light growing darker and suspected that its fading marked the time limit.
• Yun Qinghua explained that the central lamp’s attributeless spirit liquid had to become earth-aligned, and proposed lighting the Heart Lamp before using spiritual power to activate the metal, water, wood, and fire lamps in sequence.
• Li Jiuchen agreed with Yun Qinghua’s method, while Yun Qinghua remained wary of him and Ling Xingkong continued watching for his clan’s disciples.

Li Yan, Su Wenzhou, Li Jiuchen, Yun Qinghua, and Ling Xingkong debated how to clear the cave’s trial, weighing the five Spirit Lamps against smashing the Wordless Bluestone Slab. They agreed to try Yun Qinghua’s method first, and Su Wenzhou raised a defensive treasure while preparing to let someone else act.

• Su Wenzhou argued that the conspicuous but apparently ordinary Wordless Bluestone Slab was the trial’s key and proposed smashing it if no other clues could be found.
• Li Jiuchen said he agreed with Yun Qinghua’s interpretation and urged the group to try her method before Su Wenzhou’s, while Li Yan shared what he knew about the trial rules.
• Yun Qinghua confirmed that her clan’s records offered no clearer guidance, and Li Jiuchen warned Su Wenzhou not to act first unless he could persuade the majority.
• Su Wenzhou asked Li Yan which method he chose, and Li Yan selected Yun Qinghua’s method because he also believed the Spirit Lamps held the key.
• Su Wenzhou stepped back behind a strengthened spiritual barrier and displayed a gray-brown cocoon-shell treasure, making clear that he would not be the one to act first.

The five cultivators prepared to use Yun Qinghua’s method to break through, debating who would cast the spell and readying their defenses. Ling Xingkong volunteered and began igniting the spirit lamps, leaving the attempt underway.

• Li Jiuchen raised the question of who should cast the spell and argued that a spirit pet would need strength comparable to theirs.
• Su Wenzhou recognized that Li Jiuchen was steering Zhang Ming toward a decision that would protect Li Jiuchen’s interests.
• Ling Xingkong volunteered to cast the spell and rebuffed Li Jiuchen when he questioned his suitability.
• Li Yan and Li Jiuchen raised defensive shields, while Yun Qinghua used a white feather treasure to protect herself and Ling Xingkong.
• Ling Xingkong lit the central spirit lamp and sent four streams of spiritual power toward the lamps in the corners.

Ling Xingkong’s attempt to complete the Five-Element Generation cycle triggered a deadly assault by the cave’s spirit runes. Li Yan and the others struggled to hold off the attacks, leaving them near death against the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast’s overwhelming power.

• Ling Xingkong activated the metal, water, wood, and fire spirit lamps, but the fire-to-earth step did not occur and the central lamp went out.
• The spirit liquid boiled, and the cave-wall runes surged out to attack everyone in the cave.
• Li Yan raised the Black God Shield as the runes battered it, rapidly draining his magical power and threatening to overwhelm his defenses.
• Su Wenzhou, Yun Qinghua, and Li Jiumang’s groups also relied on defensive treasures, while Su Wenzhou and Li Jiuchen blamed each other for failing to cooperate.
• Ling Xingkong kept watch over Yun Qinghua rather than joining her defense, following their plan to preserve one person’s strength.
• Li Yan realized that even as a Body Integration Realm cultivator, he was nearly powerless against the suspected Tribulation Transcendence Realm beast.

Li Yan and the other four cultivators survived a ten-breath assault from the cave’s spiritual patterns, but their first attempt at the trial failed. They regrouped and examined Ling Xingkong’s wounds for clues about how to survive the next attempt.

• Li Yan feared the attacks would overwhelm him and considered hiding inside the Tuban magic treasure, but the spiritual patterns abruptly stopped attacking.
• The five cultivators recovered their magic power, and Li Yan noted that the attack had lasted ten breaths as they concluded they could attempt the trial again.
• Yun Qinghua said their approach had been wrong, while Su Wenzhou noticed that Ling Xingkong had suffered four severe wounds.
• Ling Xingkong explained that the spiritual patterns suppressed healing after touching flesh and described how his attempt to capture one had left his defenses open.
• The cultivators inspected the cave walls and recognized that the spiritual patterns were the source of the attacks and that their force corroded flesh while draining blood and qi.

Li Yan considered whether the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast’s power came from the laws within its body, then joined the others in recovering before their next attempt to clear the trial. Su Wenzhou began testing his theory about how to shatter the Wordless Bluestone Slab, leaving the result of his attack unresolved.

• Li Yan reasoned that the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast might be overwhelmingly powerful only under the laws of heaven and earth inside its body.
• Ling Xingkong called for the group to recover for no more than an hour and a half as the cave grew darker.
• The five restored their strength, and Li Yan used Profound Ice Blazing Fire Pills to recover roughly ninety percent of his magical power.
• Su Wenzhou volunteered to attack the Wordless Bluestone Slab according to a pattern he had secretly deduced.
• Su Wenzhou sheltered most of his body inside his gray cocoon and fired dozens of golden beams at the slab, including seven aimed according to his hidden pattern.

The five cultivators were injured when the Wordless Bluestone Slab unleashed a wave of blue light, and their failed attempt to destroy it left them searching for another way through. Li Jiuchen then revealed his Dragonhawk Beast form and began trying to pull the slab from the ground, suppressing its power before it could strike again.

• The Wordless Bluestone Slab's Spirit Lamp ignited, and a wave of blue light threw Li Yan, Li Jiuchen, Su Wenzhou, Ling Xingkong, and Yun Qinghua into the cave walls, leaving all five coughing blood.
• Ling Xingkong studied the unbroken slab and questioned whether Su Wenzhou's method had been strong enough to destroy it.
• Li Jiuchen approached the slab while Su Wenzhou tried to provoke discord, and Li Jiuchen dismissed his sarcasm and chose to try again.
• Li Jiuchen clasped the slab and summoned a dragon-bodied, eagle-headed creature, revealing himself as a Dragonhawk Beast.
• Li Jiuchen timed his move to suppress the slab's blue light as its restrictions began to activate, then tried to pull it out of the ground.

Li Jiuchen tried to pull the Wordless Bluestone Slab free, but its restriction struck him with a powerful burst that cracked his breastbone and shattered his Dragonbody Eaglehead Immortal Shield. After recovering, he tested whether the Attribute-less Spirit Lamp could be removed, then warned the others that failed attempts drained their limited time; the group remained trapped without a way to pass the trial.

• Li Jiuchen tried to loosen the Wordless Bluestone Slab, but it sank and its spark shattered his shield and struck his chest.
• Li Jiuchen halted his fall before the cave wall and healed his cracked breastbone by circulating his power.
• Li Jiuchen walked back to the slab and tried to lift the Attribute-less Spirit Lamp, but it would not budge.
• Li Jiuchen pointed out that the cave was growing darker after failed attempts, and the others agreed that each failure consumed their allotted time.
• Li Jiuchen and the others inferred that the Attribute-less Spirit Lamp might bear a weight seal that made the slab so heavy.

Li Yan reconsidered the cave’s clues and discovered that the Spirit Lamps’ carved patterns should be read together with the Wordless Bluestone Slab. He left the others with a new theory that the lamp patterns indicated directions rather than merely the Five Elements.

• Li Yan and the others searched the Wordless Bluestone Slab and the four Spirit Lamps while suppressing their fear.
• Li Yan reconsidered his failed Five Elements explanation and examined the lamp bases and the slab’s natural patterns.
• Li Yan combined the slab patterns with the spiritual patterns on the Spirit Lamp bases until a pattern appeared in his sea of consciousness.
• Li Yan concluded that the clue required interpreting the lamps together with the Wordless Bluestone Slab.
• Li Yan told the others he had made a discovery and suggested the spiritual patterns were related to directions.

Li Yan proposed that the four Spirit Lamps represented directions and rearranged them to test his theory, while concealing how he had decoded the patterns. The trial remained unresolved as the others began assessing Li Yan’s abilities and true form.

• Li Yan showed that the patterns on the Spirit Lamps formed the characters for east, west, south, and north, then proposed arranging the lamps by direction and activating them in that order.
• Su Wenzhou and the others struggled to reproduce the patterns, inferred that Li Yan had seen a similar puzzle before, and criticized him for withholding his clue.
• Li Yan defended himself against their accusations, and Yun Qinghua urged the group to stop arguing and try his suggestion.
• Li Yan rearranged the four corner lamps, lit the Attribute-less Spirit Lamp, and activated the others in the order of wood, metal, fire, and water.
• The others inferred that Li Yan had a fire-aligned spiritual root and considered what they knew about the group’s true forms.

Li Yan and the four cultivators opened the Light Gate in the Wordless Bluestone Slab and followed the flow of spiritual energy through it. They arrived in a new sealed Stone Chamber, where Yun Qinghua worried that escaping the next trial might only send them back to the cave and trap them in an endless cycle.

• Li Yan activated the four Spirit Lamps, causing the Wordless Bluestone Slab to become an azure Light Gate.
• Su Wenzhou sent his golden Spirit Mouse through the gate, then followed it after it returned; Li Jiuchen, Yun Qinghua, Ling Xingkong, and Li Yan entered in turn.
• Li Yan sensed spiritual energy flowing through the azure light and followed the others toward it.
• The azure light vanished, revealing a fifty-zhang Stone Chamber with a half-withered, half-flourishing Ten-Thousand-Year Ancient Tree and a yellow Stone Gate.
• Li Jiuchen suggested that the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast had singled them out, and Yun Qinghua wondered whether the trials would return them to the cave and trap them in a loop.

Five cultivators investigated a Stone Chamber and interpreted a trial’s cryptic choice between withering and Glory Protection. As the chamber’s light faded, Su Wenzhou and Ling Xingkong argued for opposing choices, leaving the group without a decision.

• The Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast’s voice warned the five to choose between withering and Glory Protection, or face Tribulation Fire.
• Su Wenzhou tested the Stone Gate, triggering a murderous attack that vanished when the group sheltered behind the Ten-Thousand-Year Ancient Tree.
• The five discovered two more hidden attack points and avoided warning one another about them.
• Li Jiuchen noted that the chamber was darkening faster than the previous cavern and urged the group to decide how to proceed.
• Su Wenzhou argued that they should choose Glory Protection to preserve life, while Ling Xingkong countered that choosing withering could represent seeking life through death.

Su Wenzhou persuaded the group to choose Glory Protection, and they planned to restore the Ten-Thousand-Year Ancient Tree by balancing its living and dead roots. The five split into two groups, with Li Jiuchen, Su Wenzhou, and Li Yan preparing to revive the Withered Wood.

• Li Jiuchen and Yun Qinghua agreed with Su Wenzhou that Ling Xingkong's death-trap argument was uncertain, and Yun Qinghua rejected Ling Xingkong's proposal.
• Li Yan challenged Ling Xingkong to support his reasoning, and Yun Qinghua urged the group to decide how to carry out Glory Protection before the light faded further.
• Su Wenzhou proposed nourishing the living root and reviving the dead root to restore balance to the Ancient Tree, while Li Jiuchen suggested it might be a Twofold Moon Laurel.
• Li Yan proposed dividing the five between the tree's two halves, and Li Jiuchen volunteered to restore the Withered Wood.
• Yun Qinghua and Ling Xingkong took responsibility for nourishing the living half, while Li Yan, Su Wenzhou, and Li Jiuchen formed the group tasked with reviving the Withered Wood.
• Li Jiuchen asked Li Yan and Su Wenzhou whether either had a way to revive the Withered Wood, offering to try first if they did not.

Li Jiuchen and the others tried to revive the withered half of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ancient Tree with pills and spirit liquids, but its vitality repeatedly faded. Yun Qinghua discovered that directly channeling spiritual power kept the tree's energy from declining, and the group agreed to try the method together.

• Li Jiuchen poured spirit liquid onto the tree's roots, briefly restoring vitality before it vanished, then tried a larger dose and several other medicines with the same result.
• Li Yan and Su Wenzhou also tested their pills and spirit liquids, but neither could keep the tree's vitality from fading.
• Yun Qinghua and Ling Xingkong found that directly infusing the tree with spiritual power slowed its energy loss, and that different attributes worked equally well.
• Yun Qinghua explained the discovery, and Li Jiuchen, Su Wenzhou, and Li Yan agreed to channel their spiritual power into the tree together.

Li Yan and the others tried to revive the Ten-Thousand-Year Ancient Tree, but the trial trapped them and began draining their power beneath a sky of tribulation fire. Li Yan failed to break free with his physical strength or Five Elements Chaotic Cloak, leaving everyone bound inside the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast.

• Li Yan, Li Jiuchen, and Su Wenzhou injected their spiritual power into the tree's roots, reviving the withered half as Yun Qinghua and Ling Xingkong watched.
• When Yun Qinghua could no longer balance the tree's merging energies, Ling Xingkong added his power, and the tree's vitality stabilized.
• Su Wenzhou wondered whether the tree had accounted for how many people were present, prompting the group to realize that the tree had lured all five into contributing.
• The tree pinned everyone down and drained their magical power as blood-red clouds and tribulation fire appeared overhead.
• Li Yan's physical strength failed to free him, and the Prayer-Devil Wraith Buddha Beast suppressed his Five Elements Chaotic Cloak before it could break the binding.

Li Jiuchen provoked the Tribulation Fire and was instantly destroyed, while the remaining cultivators were trapped as the flames descended. As Li Yan poured the last of his magical power into the Withered Wood, a sudden, piercing pain struck his heart.

• Li Jiuchen tried to break free, then punched the Tribulation Fire overhead, causing it to race down his attack and burn through him.
• The Tribulation Fire consumed Li Jiuchen’s body and soul, leaving the others terrified and still bound in place.
• Su Wenzhou begged to become one of the living beings there, while Yun Qinghua and Ling Xingkong faced their deaths together.
• Li Yan realized the danger had turned far worse than the earlier trials and desperately fed his remaining magical power into the Withered Wood.
• Tribulation Fire descended toward the four trapped cultivators as a heart-rending pain suddenly stabbed through Li Yan’s heart.