Ch. 1021Helping Out (II)

Li Yan and Shuang Qingqing set out for the Giant Wood Race so she could personally ask its Nascent Soul cultivator for help. The chapter then introduced Mu Guyue and her son Mu Sha, ending with Mu Guyue discovering that his wounds healed on their own as he fought.

  • Li Yan asked Shuang Qingqing to explain the request before approaching the Nascent Soul cultivators, and she offered to accompany him to the Giant Wood Race.
  • Mu Guyue asked Mu Sha about his confidence in the next day's contest for centurion of the Devil Blade Camp, and he said he would give every battle his all.
  • Mu Guyue recalled raising Mu Sha, confirming his lineage with a Lineage Talisman and allowing him to learn through harsh training and combat.
  • After Mu Sha recovered from a severe shoulder wound unusually quickly, Mu Guyue secretly followed him and saw his wounds healing while he fought.

Ch. 1022Mu Sha

Mu Guyue discovered that Mu Sha’s unusually rapid healing came from silver glimmers in his blood, which she realized were connected to the Human Race man she had once fought. After sending Mu Sha away, she was left with a green strand of vine fiber, while Gong Chenying fought a Wind Iron Beast on a vast battlefield.

  • Mu Guyue summoned Mu Sha, examined his body, and questioned him about his lifelong ability to heal quickly.
  • Mu Sha explained that his injuries had always healed unusually fast, earning him the nickname “Undying Devil Vine.”
  • Mu Guyue recalled silver light around the Human Race man’s injured hand and concluded that his unusual body had affected Mu Sha’s bloodline.
  • Mu Guyue gave Mu Sha cultivation pills and dismissed him before he could ask about the man he had wanted to know about since childhood.
  • Mu Guyue stared at a strand of green vine fiber as Mu Sha left, and Gong Chenying pierced the Wind Iron Beast’s defenses with her halberd.

Ch. 1023Blood on the Wind

Gong Chenying helped the Tianli Clan repel a Wind Iron Beast attack and mourned the clansmen lost in battle, while remembering someone whose soul lamp still burned but who had not returned. The story then shifted to Ting Bixiao, who sensed the Cloud-Piercing Willow approaching the Giant Wood Clan.

  • Gong Chenying killed Wind Iron Beasts as the wounded beasts fled, and her father pursued them while ordering her to tend to the wounded and finish off the injured beasts.
  • Gong Chenying led clansmen to clear the battlefield and grieved over those who had died defending their homeland.
  • A-Yuan and other young clansmen discussed Gong Chenying's strength as she recalled the Wind Beasts, the Tianli Clan's struggle to survive their attacks, and her missing companion.
  • Gong Chenying remembered her father's grief and wondered why the man whose soul lamp still burned had not returned.
  • Ting Bixiao sensed an approaching presence while handling clan resources, dismissed a reporting clansman, and left the main hall as the Cloud-Piercing Willow flew toward the Giant Wood Clan.

Ch. 1024Butterflies over the Medicinal Fields, Green Thatched Cottage

Li Yan returned to the Giant Wood Clan with Shuang Qingqing and Zhao Min to seek an audience with its patriarch. The patriarch welcomed them into his hidden medicinal valley, where Shuang Qingqing and the patriarch met as mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

  • Li Yan and Shuang Qingqing arrived at the Giant Wood Clan, and Li Yan asked Ting Bixiao to take them to the patriarch.
  • Ting Bixiao noticed Shuang Qingqing, received the patriarch's order to bring the visitors, and led them toward the clan's guarded grounds.
  • The patriarch revealed a hidden valley of dense wood-attributed spiritual energy and medicinal fields, then dismissed Ting Bixiao.
  • Shuang Qingqing carried Li Yan and Zhao Min past the valley's dangerous, illusory path to a concealed thatched cottage.
  • The patriarch invited Shuang Qingqing, Li Yan, and Zhao Min inside, and Shuang Qingqing and the patriarch recognized each other as mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Ch. 1025Clouds and Smoke of Bygone Years (I)

Shuang Qingqing met Ting, a powerful Giant Wood Clan cultivator, and asked him to arrange a meeting with two clan leaders using a seven-colored peacock token. She began revealing the secret behind her request and her ancient origins, leaving Li Yan and Zhao Min stunned.

  • Ting welcomed Shuang Qingqing, Li Yan, and Zhao Min, thanked the two younger cultivators for helping his clan, and offered them Snow-Covering Clarity Tea.
  • Shuang Qingqing told Ting that Li Yan and Zhao Min had a powerful background beyond the Heavenly Spirit Clan, making Ting suspect they belonged to a great sect.
  • Shuang Qingqing presented the seven-colored peacock token and asked Ting to introduce her to Chongfeng of the Spirit Rhino Clan and Shuiyue of the Thousand Flowers Clan.
  • Ting agreed to hear Shuang Qingqing's difficult request but warned that the two cultivators could only be expected to help within their abilities.
  • Shuang Qingqing said she came from the Heavenly Spirit Clan and revealed that she was old enough to have ascended or died long ago, shocking Ting and Zhao Min.

Ch. 1026Clouds and Smoke of the Past (2)

Shuang Qingqing recounted how her past as a Heavenly Spirit Clan prodigy led to the treachery that changed her life. Her story left her trapped in her master Shen Yuhuan’s cave as Bai Fengtian poisoned Shen Yuhuan and attacked her, while Shuang Qingqing prepared to escape.

  • Shuang Qingqing explained that she had survived for countless years as a remnant soul after entering a strange land, then began recounting her former life.
  • Shuang Qingqing described her rise as a gifted puppet cultivator and how the war left Shen Yuhuan and Bai Fengtian managing the Heavenly Spirit Clan.
  • Bai Fengtian concealed his desire for Shen Yuhuan, curbed his branch’s misconduct when challenged, and waited for a chance to strike.
  • Shuang Qingqing visited Shen Yuhuan and cultivated in a secret chamber while Bai Fengtian arrived with news from the battlefield.
  • Shen Yuhuan discovered that Bai Fengtian had poisoned the jade slip and secretly ordered Shuang Qingqing to flee and warn Tongguan and Tongye.
  • Shuang Qingqing saw Shen Yuhuan weakening as Bai Fengtian approached her, and heard Shen Yuhuan urge her to prepare the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix and escape.

Ch. 1027The Past, Lost in Clouds and Smoke (3)

Shuang Qingqing recounted how she escaped after Shen Yuhuan destroyed her lifebound treasure and died, then described how Bai Fengtian covered up his crime by massacring the family and clansmen who might expose him. The chapter left Bai Fengtian blaming Shuang Qingqing and a Devil general for the attack, while the Celestial Spirit Race believed his story.

  • Shuang Qingqing escaped Shen Yuhuan's cave abode in the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix as Shen Yuhuan destroyed her lifebound treasure and was killed by Bai Fengtian.
  • Bai Fengtian discovered Shuang Tongye and realized Shen Yuhuan's disciple had witnessed the attack, then slaughtered Shuang Tongye, her Dao Companion, and their community.
  • Shuang Qingqing warned Shuang Tongguan, and he and others escaped through a teleportation formation, while Shuang Tongye's community was killed before she could flee.
  • Bai Fengtian killed more Celestial Spirit Race members, then appeared bloodied and falsely accused Shuang Qingqing and a Devil general of attacking him and Shen Yuhuan.
  • The Celestial Spirit Race members believed Bai Fengtian's account after seeing his injuries.

Ch. 1028Clouds and Smoke of the Past (4)

Bai Fengtian framed Shuang Qingqing and ordered his followers to capture her and her allies. After he pursued her and unleashed Heaven Devourer, Shuang Qingqing was swept into a spatial rift and awoke in chaotic space.

  • Bai Fengtian accused Shuang Qingqing of colluding with the Devil Race and sent trusted followers to intercept her while delaying word to the Grand Elder.
  • Shuang Qingqing traveled with Shuang Tongguan and his wife, but Bai Fengtian's loyalists blocked their group and a fight broke out.
  • Shuang Qingqing and Shuang Tongguan's group gained the upper hand until Bai Fengtian arrived, killed members of their branch, and pursued Shuang Qingqing as the others fled.
  • Bai Fengtian used his white rat puppet's Heaven Devourer technique, and Shuang Qingqing narrowly escaped its first bite with the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix.
  • Bai Fengtian unleashed Heaven Devourer again, dragging Shuang Qingqing toward a spatial rift, and she later awoke among drifting meteorites in chaotic space.

Ch. 1029Clouds and Smoke of the Past (5)

Shuang Qingqing recounted how Bai Fengtian attacked her, how she survived and recovered her memories, and how Bai Yihe’s schemes now threatened her and Bai Rou. She asked Li Yan and Zhao Min to rescue Bai Rou while she confronted Shuang Fengyan, leaving the yellow-robed man aware that he and the two clans had already been drawn into the conflict.

  • Shuang Qingqing described surviving in the chaotic spatial currents inside the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix before her remnant soul entered a cave and was rescued by Zhang's master.
  • Shuang Qingqing explained that she returned to the Heavenly Spirit Clan and discovered that Bai Yihe had obstructed her investigations and controlled Bai Rou.
  • Shuang Qingqing recounted how Bai Fengtian’s attack scattered Shuang Tongguan and others, prompting the clan’s Great Elder to pass down a search for them through successive elders.
  • Shuang Qingqing said Bai Yihe planned to use Shuang Fengyan’s return to eliminate her and asked Li Yan and Zhao Min to rescue Bai Rou.
  • The middle-aged man in yellow robes realized Shuang Qingqing had involved them in the dispute and considered how to refuse on behalf of the two clans.

Ch. 1030To Know the Face of the East Wind

Shuang Qingqing secured a promise from the Giant Wood Clan to ask Heavy Peak and Water Moon to help rescue Bai Rou, while preparing to face the Celestial Spirit Clan herself. Bai Rou remained imprisoned, and Li Yan asked Shuang Qingqing about the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan.

  • Shuang Qingqing explained that Bai Fengtian’s memories had likely been altered by the Bai family’s Spirit Transformation cultivator, persuading the yellow-robed middle-aged man to consider helping rescue Bai Rou.
  • The yellow-robed middle-aged man agreed to inform Heavy Peak and Water Moon, who were expected to reach the Celestial Spirit Clan in half a month, but warned that they would not help with other dangers.
  • Shuang Qingqing told Li Yan and Zhao Min to meet Bai Rou in half a month and flee the Sparrow Plume Tower Region if Bai Rou did not arrive.
  • The yellow-robed middle-aged man privately questioned Shuang Qingqing’s claims about Li Yan and Zhao Min’s background but could not decide whether she had exaggerated them.
  • Bai Rou woke in a sealed stone chamber after the Second Elder imprisoned her and took away her Storage Pouch, and she feared something had happened to Shuang Qingqing.
  • As Shuang Qingqing prepared to leave with Li Yan and Zhao Min, Li Yan asked whether she knew anything about the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan.

Ch. 1031Mountain Bright, Waters Clear, Frost Falls at Night

Li Yan told Shuang Qingqing about his connection to Meng Zhiyuan and the powerful senior who might help them secure the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan’s aid. Shuang Qingqing took Li Yan and Zhao Min toward the clan, where she began gathering information about its strength and situation.

  • Li Yan asked whether the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan had powerful experts, and Shuang Qingqing revealed that Meng Shangmo was its sole expert, a formidable late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
  • Li Yan explained that he knew Meng Zhiyuan and had gained the recognition of a Void Refinement expert, leading Shuang Qingqing to believe Meng Shangmo might honor their request.
  • Shuang Qingqing agreed to take Li Yan and Zhao Min to the Dark Spirit Demon Bat territory to investigate the clan and seek Meng Shangmo’s help.
  • Two days later, Shuang Qingqing brought Li Yan and Zhao Min to a marketplace thirty thousand li from the clan’s territory after traveling more than three million li on the Cloud-Piercing Willow.
  • Shuang Qingqing captured and soul-searched eight Golden Core cultivators for information, killing seven and erasing the survivor’s memory of their encounter.

Ch. 1032Thick fog veiled a world hidden away

Li Yan reached the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan’s fogbound territory and asked its guards for Meng Zhiyuan, whose group had recently returned there. The guards recognized the name, but Li Yan still did not learn the group’s origins, which the clan’s ancestor had kept secret.

  • Shuang Qingqing told Li Yan to ask for Meng Zhiyuan and leave if the clan denied knowing him, while she and Zhao Min hid in his spirit storage pouch.
  • Li Yan entered the mountains shrouded in dense fog and searched for the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan’s grounds.
  • A third-tier Dark Spirit Demon Bat and ten second-tier bats surrounded Li Yan and began a coordinated sonic attack.
  • Li Yan blocked the first sonic wave and called out that he was looking for Meng Zhiyuan, causing several bats to stop the group attack and alert their Martial Uncle.
  • The third-tier bat remembered Meng Zhiyuan’s recent arrival and learned that the clan’s ancestor had recognized his group’s token and ordered their origins kept secret.

Ch. 1033Meeting someone from the past again

Li Yan reached the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan and reunited with Meng Zhiyuan’s youngest junior brother, who explained that Meng and the others were in seclusion. He then told Li Yan what the clan had learned about their abandonment, though the reason they were left behind remained unresolved.

  • Dark Spirit Demon Bats questioned Li Yan about his connection to Meng Zhiyuan, but Li Yan only said he had met Meng before and had been invited to visit.
  • Meng Zhiyuan’s youngest junior brother arrived, recognized Li Yan, and explained that Meng and two other senior brothers were in seclusion but had asked him to welcome their benefactor.
  • The junior brother led Li Yan into the clan’s cavern, where Dark Spirit Demon Bats greeted him as the benefactor who had saved them.
  • In a private chamber, the junior brother told Li Yan that the clan ancestor had granted them their territory as compensation and was investigating why they had been abandoned.
  • The junior brother explained that the clan had learned their group was assigned a secret mission to the Demon-Devouring Abyss, but the Spirit Transformation cultivator sent to find them could not locate the Chencang Passage and returned alone after fighting a powerful Magic Beast.

Ch. 1034Behind the Benefits

Li Yan learned that Meng Zhiyuan and two other senior brothers had entered closed-door cultivation in hopes of forming Nascent Souls, while the crimson-robed young man agreed to bring Li Yan’s request to Meng Shangmo. Meng Shangmo received Li Yan in his cave residence, where Li Yan saw the short old man waiting in a pavilion.

  • The crimson-robed young man told Li Yan that the Chencang Path had been found beneath the sea and that his group had escaped a vast lightning region by taking a western detour.
  • He said Meng Zhiyuan, the second senior brother, and the third senior brother had entered closed-door cultivation, while the fourth senior sister had also gone into seclusion.
  • Li Yan inferred that the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan was supplying the returned cultivators with abundant resources and that Meng Zhiyuan had a strong chance of forming a Nascent Soul.
  • Li Yan asked the crimson-robed young man to arrange a visit with Senior Meng, and the young man agreed to speak with Patriarch Meng Shangmo.
  • The young man returned and led Li Yan into Meng Shangmo’s spacious cave residence, where a short old man stood in a pavilion.

Ch. 1035A Strong One on the Road

Li Yan met Meng Shangmo, the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan’s ancestor, and asked him to help Shuang Qingqing and her disciple. Meng Shangmo agreed to honor Meng Zhiyuan’s promise and asked Li Yan to explain the trouble Shuang Qingqing faced.

  • Li Yan entered Meng Shangmo’s cave dwelling after Yi Xiaowu brought him there and waited outside.
  • Meng Shangmo saw through Li Yan’s concealed cultivation and discussed True Lord Qianzhong and Li Yan’s ties to a powerful sect.
  • Meng Shangmo explained that Yi Xiaowu and the other disciples felt indebted to Li Yan and that Yi Xiaowu had stayed outside in case Li Yan needed help.
  • Meng Shangmo thanked Li Yan for helping the Dark Spirit Demon Bat clan and promised to fulfill Meng Zhiyuan’s agreement.
  • Li Yan asked Meng Shangmo to help Shuang Qingqing, whose disciple had also been placed under someone else’s control.
  • Meng Shangmo recognized Shuang Qingqing’s name and asked what trouble she had encountered and how he could help.

Ch. 1036Lingering Clouds Over the Road, Looking Down Upon the Living

Li Yan persuaded Meng Shangmo to protect Bai Rou and discreetly approach Shuang Fengyan, while Meng Shangmo revealed that he had detected an expert inside Li Yan’s spirit-storage pouch. Li Yan reunited with Shuang Qingqing and Zhao Min, who assessed Meng Shangmo’s insight and thanked Li Yan for helping her.

  • Li Yan explained Shuang Qingqing’s history and request to Meng Shangmo, who agreed to secretly protect Bai Rou and speak with Shuang Fengyan.
  • Li Yan gave Meng Shangmo a jade slip describing Bai Rou, then received his advice and two sound-transmission talismans.
  • As Li Yan left, Meng Shangmo warned him not to let the expert inside his spirit-storage pouch cause trouble, startling Li Yan with his perception.
  • Li Yan departed from Yi Xiaowu and met Shuang Qingqing and Zhao Min outside the Dark Spirit Demon Bats’ territory.
  • Shuang Qingqing reasoned that Meng Shangmo had sensed something unusual without knowing exactly who was in the pouch, and she thanked Li Yan for his help.

Ch. 1037Confrontation Within the Clan (I)

Shuang Qingqing resolved to confront Shuang Fengyan and expose what had happened to her master, then publicly challenged Bai Yihe at the Heavenly Spirit Clan over his capture of Bai Rou. Bai Yihe accused her of murdering her master and colluding with the Devil Race, while Shuang Qingqing faced the clan’s elders and gathered cultivators.

  • Shuang Qingqing told Li Yan that she would meet Shuang Fengyan to reveal the truth about her master, despite knowing she was no match for him.
  • Li Yan gave Shuang Qingqing Meng Shangmo’s sound-transmission talisman and relayed his warning not to let Bai Yihe dictate her moves.
  • Shuang Qingqing appeared before the Heavenly Spirit Clan’s cultivators and demanded that Bai Yihe come out.
  • The Third Elder arrived with Bai Yihe and questioned Shuang Qingqing’s public confrontation.
  • Shuang Qingqing accused Bai Yihe of capturing Bai Rou, and the Third Elder learned of the matter for the first time.
  • Bai Yihe claimed Shuang Qingqing had murdered her master, colluded with the Devil Race, and slaughtered her master’s kin, then declared she would not escape.

Ch. 1038Confrontation Within the Clan (2)

Bai Yihe accused Shuang Qingqing of an ancient massacre and tried to provoke a fight, while Shuang Qingqing challenged the fairness of the clan’s judgment. Shuang Fengyan arrived but had not yet acted when two powerful outsiders appeared, halting Bai Yihe’s attack.

  • Bai Yihe recounted how Bai Fengtian’s memories had been altered and how a decree ordered Shuang Qingqing and her descendants killed.
  • Bai Yihe and the Bai clansmen denounced Shuang Qingqing, while she challenged their accusations and the Third Elder’s impartiality.
  • Shuang Fengyan appeared and faced Shuang Qingqing, but Bai Yihe attacked her with the Heaven-Devouring Rat technique before she could speak further.
  • Two Nascent Soul cultivators, Chongfeng and Shuiyue, arrived and stopped the confrontation from escalating.

Ch. 1039Water Moon and Heavy Peak

Shuiyue and Heavy Peak demanded Bai Rou’s release on behalf of an unnamed patron, but Bai Yihe refused and the dispute threatened to draw them into Shuang Qingqing’s conflict. The confrontation ended with Meng Shangmo appearing beside Bai Rou, having bypassed Bai Yihe’s defenses without being detected.

  • Shuiyue and Heavy Peak asked Bai Yihe to release Bai Rou, explaining that they had come at someone else’s request rather than to aid Shuang Qingqing.
  • Bai Yihe refused to hand over Bai Rou, while Heavy Peak proposed letting Shuang Fengyan search her soul to verify that she was unrelated to the clan’s dispute.
  • Shuang Fengyan asked who had sent Shuiyue and Heavy Peak, and Shuiyue said their patron was too powerful for them to provoke.
  • Shuiyue and Heavy Peak quietly decided to interfere if the Celestial Spirit Clan attacked Shuang Qingqing, then positioned themselves alongside her.
  • An unseen voice urged the cultivators to stop fighting over Bai Rou, and Meng Shangmo appeared with Bai Rou beside him.
  • Bai Yihe realized Meng Shangmo had brought Bai Rou past his formation without triggering any warning.

Ch. 1040Bound

Li Yan and Zhao Min met Shuang Qingqing and Bai Rou at the Heavenly Spirit Clan after Meng Shangmo arranged for Shuang Qingqing’s dispute with the Bai clan to be resolved. Shuang Qingqing explained how Meng Shangmo’s intervention forced Shuang Fengyan to reconsider the old accusations against her, leaving Bai Rou reunited with Li Yan while the clan’s secrets remained under scrutiny.

  • Meng Shangmo claimed Bai Rou was connected to him, and Shuang Fengyan declared that Shuang Qingqing’s matter should finally be settled.
  • Li Yan received Meng Shangmo’s message and went with Zhao Min to the Heavenly Spirit Clan to meet Shuang Qingqing.
  • Li Yan greeted Bai Rou, who addressed him and Zhao Min as Martial Uncles, while Li Yan asked to speak as they had in the past.
  • Bai Rou revealed that Shuang Qingqing had willingly accepted a restriction from the Grand Elder, and Shuang Qingqing said Meng Shangmo had helped resolve the matter.
  • Shuang Qingqing recounted how Meng Shangmo brought Shuang Fengyan to meet her and how her account led him to reconsider whether Bai Fengtian’s memories had been altered.
  • Shuang Fengyan returned to the clan and found Bai Yihe demanding that Shuang Qingqing be killed, prompting him to examine the Bai clan’s hostility toward her.
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