Chapter Summaries

Li Yan avoided a confrontation with Jin Xueyu and detoured away from their original route, leaving Jin Xueyu to be hunted down by enemy forces. Elsewhere, a gray-robed elder ordered a vast search for cultivators with particular spiritual roots, and Mu Sha learned that strangers from the White Devil Race were searching for someone with miscellaneous spiritual roots.

• Li Yan ignored Jin Xueyu’s attempt to entrap him, then led his group away without accepting the guard army’s requisition.
• Li Yan changed course westward to conceal his group’s route, and Mu Guyue followed without questioning him.
• Three days later, Jin Xueyu searched the original route for Li Yan’s group while fleeing pursuers, but enemy squads blocked his escape.
• A gray-robed elder ordered agents to seize cultivators with miscellaneous spiritual roots and investigate gifted water- and earth-technique cultivators across the Lost Continent and nearby realms.
• The gray-robed elder reasoned that his search might uncover Qian Zhong’s disciple and ordered the investigation expanded to sever possible lines of inheritance.
• Mu Sha heard a report that people from the White Devil Race were offering rewards for information about miscellaneous spiritual root cultivators.

Mu Sha reflected on his mixed heritage and vowed to find his Human Race father, while Li Yan led his group cautiously toward the Soul-Suppressing Palace. Near a river crossing, Li Yan discovered Tang Feng being pursued by three attackers.

• Mu Sha ordered his troops to drive away those searching for cultivators with mixed spiritual roots and report the broader search to the rear.
• Mu Sha recalled learning that his mother had loved a powerful Human Race cultivator from the Desolate Moon Continent, and he vowed to find his father and confront him.
• Li Yan avoided battles on the return journey and cautiously investigated a wide river before preparing to lead his group across.
• Several pursuers attacked a wounded Tang Feng above the river, and Li Yan recognized him from his hiding place.
• One pursuer mocked Tang Feng, saying that he had no hope of finding help in such a remote place.

Li Yan learned that Tang Feng was a mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator being hunted by three late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators from the Ten Kings Hall, and that their rebellion had triggered an attack on Soul Suppression Palace. As Tang Feng prepared one last escape after his defenses were shattered, a flashing voice-transmission soul slip inside his Empty Shadow Ring interrupted him.

• Li Yan recognized Tang Feng's cultivation and heard the pursuers accuse him of disrupting their plans and killing several Void Refinement cultivators.
• Tang Feng recalled how he and Elder Ling had exposed the Ten Kings Hall, how Elder Ling stayed behind to protect him, and how the nine factions launched a surprise attack on Soul Suppression Palace.
• Li Yan ordered the Golden Core cultivators to stay concealed, then moved into the forest with Mu Guyue and prepared formation flags.
• Tang Feng tried to escape the three pursuers by flying higher, but their soul-based attacks injured him and damaged his last defensive treasure.
• Tang Feng reached for more magic treasures and talismans in his Empty Shadow Ring, then froze when a voice-transmission soul slip inside it flashed red.

Li Yan rescued the badly wounded Tang Feng by drawing him into a misty illusion trap that separated and confused the three Spirit Transformation pursuers. With the enemies scattered in the forest, Li Yan revealed that his formation was damaged, leaving Tang Feng to consider whether they should flee or risk confronting them.

• Tang Feng followed Li Yan’s voice transmission into the misty forest while the three Spirit Transformation cultivators pursued him and struck down his remaining soul protection.
• Li Yan pulled Tang Feng out of the poisonous mist and into a safe spot above the trees, then used illusion poison to make the pursuers lose sight of one another.
• The three pursuers became separated and disoriented as Li Yan spread the mist through the forest.
• Tang Feng asked about using the formation to ambush the pursuers, but Li Yan said the damaged formation’s eye could not safely be used to attack them.

Li Yan recruited Tang Feng and dozens of Golden Core cultivators to attack the Spirit Transformation cultivators trapped in his formation, using the Biluo Devil Vine to capture and poison the woman in purple. The group killed her, leaving two enemies still trapped inside.

• Tang Feng urged Li Yan to attack the trapped cultivators briefly before fleeing, and Li Yan said dozens of people would join the assault.
• Li Yan returned with Mu Guyue and several dozen Golden Core cultivators, shocking Tang Feng with their low cultivation.
• Li Yan ordered an attack on the woman in purple, and the Biluo Devil Vine revealed itself as his soul slave and seized her with poisonous vines.
• Li Yan and the others overwhelmed the woman in purple with attacks while the vines restrained her, and Mu Guyue pierced her dantian.
• Tang Feng confirmed the woman in purple was dead and recognized how Li Yan had used the formation, poison, and the Biluo Devil Vine to make the Golden Core cultivators' attacks effective.

Li Yan and his allies killed three Spirit Transformation cultivators by exploiting his poisoned spirit-plant soul slave and the forest terrain. After Tang Feng revealed he belonged to the Soul Palace Rear Hall and warned the witnesses to stay silent, Li Yan explained his methods while concealing the truth behind his trump cards.

• Li Yan ordered the Azurefallen Devil Vine to attack, and the purple-clad late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator died within thirteen breaths.
• The refined young scholar wandered in circles under the hallucinogenic poison until tiny vines erupted from the ground and attacked him.
• Li Yan collected the fallen cultivators’ spatial treasures while more than twenty Golden Core cultivators celebrated helping kill three Spirit Transformation cultivators.
• Tang Feng revealed that he belonged to the Soul Palace Rear Hall and threatened the Golden Core cultivators against spreading word of the battle.
• Li Yan thanked Tang Feng for protecting the disciples and claimed he had obtained his array and spirit-plant soul slave from an injured evil spirit cultivator.

Tang Feng revealed that he belonged to the Soul Palace Rear Hall and apologized for hiding his identity from Li Yan. Li Yan realized Tang Feng’s secret mission was likely connected to the rebellion, leaving him glad he had saved someone with access to Soul-Subduing Palace’s deepest secrets.

• Tang Feng explained that his infiltration of the Hall of Exotic Sparrows was required for a secret mission, and that only a few people knew his true identity.
• Tang Feng reflected on how Li Yan had exploited the Soul Cultivators’ weaknesses and the spirit plant’s strength to defeat the three Spirit Transformation Realm enemies.
• Li Yan connected Tang Feng’s mission to the rebellion after recalling an enemy’s claim that Tang Feng had ruined their plans and caused several Void Refinement cultivators to die.
• Li Yan considered the Soul Palace Rear Hall’s secrecy and influence, concluding that Tang Feng was likely raised there and entrusted with a crucial mission.
• Li Yan felt relieved that he had saved Tang Feng and saw an opportunity to learn Soul-Subduing Palace’s secrets through their relationship.

Li Yan and Tang Feng returned to Soul Suppression Palace after discussing the enemy’s ambush tactics and the sect’s response to the rebellion. Tang Feng departed to report to the sect’s leaders, who then pressed him for news of Elder Ling, still missing after protecting him.

• Li Yan explained how his small team had survived an ambush at Huangluyuan Manor, and Tang Feng identified the Five Ghosts Turning Locust array and the nine forces’ strategy of stretching and attacking Soul Suppression Palace’s lines.
• Tang Feng praised Li Yan for abandoning the cleansing mission, and they met reinforcements led by Spirit Transformation cultivators who let their group pass after Tang Feng showed his purple token.
• Li Yan’s team returned to Soul Suppression Palace and turned in their mission without further questioning; Tang Feng gave Li Yan a small dagger token and left for the rear mountain peaks.
• Li Yan allowed Mu Guyue to cultivate in a room at his courtyard, and she took this as a sign that he had lowered his guard against her.
• Tang Feng met with Xue Tieyi, Master Lan, and a white-haired elder, learned that Elder Ling had not returned, and was urged to report what he had discovered so they could locate him.

Tang Feng reported his escape and the rebellion's connection to the Hall of Ten Kings, prompting Xue Tieyi to send Elder Zhou to search for Elder Ling. Master Lan then learned that Li Yan had rescued Tang Feng and helped kill three Spirit Transformation cultivators, a feat that left her questioning how it was possible.

• Tang Feng recounted his experiences, and Xue Tieyi concluded that the enemy had acted early because their investigations had been discovered.
• Xue Tieyi sent Elder Zhou to infiltrate the Hall of Ten Kings and find Elder Ling, and Elder Zhou departed at once.
• Master Lan asked Tang Feng about Li Yan, whose rear-cleanup assignment she had arranged to be relatively safe.
• Tang Feng explained that Li Yan's group had escaped an ambush and later rescued him, then joined him in killing three Spirit Transformation pursuers.
• Master Lan doubted that the injured mid-stage Spirit Transformation Tang Feng and Li Yan's group could have defeated three late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators.

Tang Feng recounted how Li Yan had rescued him, prompting Master Lan and Xue Tieyi to question Li Yan’s origins and hidden abilities. Master Lan and Tang Feng persuaded Xue Tieyi not to investigate him, and the discussion turned to the Soul-Suppressing Palace’s worsening position and its hope of completing the Void-Shattering Formation.

• Tang Feng described how Li Yan killed three late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators with the help of an illusory formation and a late-stage Nascent Soul soul servant.
• Xue Tieyi and Master Lan speculated that Li Yan might have ties to the Spirit-Slaying Sect or come from outside their homeland, but Master Lan argued that he had shown no treacherous intent.
• Tang Feng agreed that Li Yan had risked exposing his methods to save him, and Xue Tieyi dropped the question of Li Yan’s background.
• Xue Tieyi explained that the Soul-Suppressing Palace faced danger from the Nine Great Powers and untrustworthy factions, while it had only three to four years to find its Supreme Elders.
• Master Lan said the Void-Shattering Formation offered their best hope of escaping their predicament, and Xue Tieyi questioned why she had let Li Yan leave on missions if he was so capable.

Xue Tieyi, Master Lan, and Tang Feng weighed ways to contact two elders trapped in a lost outer realm, and Tang Feng proposed relying on Li Yan’s rapid progress in the Sacred Soul Transformation. Master Lan agreed to have Li Yan cultivate in the Hall of Letters and Martial Arts while the sect pursued the other options, leaving the sect to decide how much to tell him about the urgent mission.

• Xue Tieyi agreed to pursue both the Vast Sky Stone array and Master Lan’s Void-Breaking Array research while searching for two missing materials.
• Tang Feng proposed using the Cold Moon power of the Soul-Host Moon to reach the elders, but Xue Tieyi and Master Lan doubted Li Yan could cultivate the technique quickly enough.
• Tang Feng revealed that Li Yan had accumulated over ninety percent of the stellar power in just over thirty years, shocking Master Lan and Xue Tieyi.
• Master Lan proposed sending Li Yan to the Hall of Letters and Martial Arts while she studied the array and Xue Tieyi’s people searched for materials.
• Master Lan suggested requiring Li Yan to make progress within a year and telling him enough about the crisis to make him understand its urgency, while keeping unrelated sect secrets from him.

Master Lan and Xue Tieyi agreed to use Li Yan for Soul Suppression Palace’s plans while binding him to the sect and warning of the consequences of betrayal. As Li Yan prepared to strengthen himself amid the worsening war, Tang Feng arrived, leaving him worried that the sect’s situation had already changed.

• Xue Tieyi agreed with Master Lan’s plan but insisted Li Yan become a loyal core disciple and warned that his associates would be killed if he betrayed the sect.
• Tang Feng was assigned to explain some of Soul Suppression Palace’s circumstances to Li Yan while carefully gauging how much pressure to apply.
• Li Yan gave Mu Guyue pills and spirit stones, provided Feng Hongyue with resources to cultivate as his protector, and weighed whether to share soul cultivation techniques with Mu Guyue.
• Li Yan assessed the war and his cultivation options, deciding to focus on using the Fragmented Poison Body to increase his strength and preserve his life.
• Tang Feng arrived at Li Yan’s courtyard, and Li Yan asked whether something had already happened within the sect.

Tang Feng explained to Li Yan how resentment over Zhenhun Palace’s control of the only land that could support a Body Integration breakthrough led the nine major factions to infiltrate the sect and plot its fall. The factions’ attack failed, and Tang Feng’s account left Li Yan reflecting on the bleak state of Zhenhun Palace and the Dizhen Domain.

• Li Yan sealed the reception hall and asked Tang Feng to speak freely about the important matter he had come to discuss.
• Tang Feng told Li Yan that the nine major factions had spent centuries infiltrating Zhenhun Palace, hoping to gain access to its treasured cultivation land or eliminate its Body Integration cultivators.
• Tang Feng explained that the factions suspected Zhenhun Palace’s two Supreme Elders were trapped in a dangerous northern region, but they lacked proof and feared attacking prematurely.
• After Tang Feng accidentally triggered a formation and exposed a Void Refinement infiltrator, the nine major factions launched an encirclement, but Zhenhun Palace repelled them and killed three infiltrators.
• Tang Feng explained that the treasured land could support only one person at a time and needed at least ten thousand years to recover, and Li Yan heard bleakness in his account of Zhenhun Palace and the Dizhen Domain.

Tang Feng revealed why Soul Suppression Palace concealed the scarcity of cultivation resources and warned Li Yan that his inquiries and abilities had drawn suspicion. He brought Li Yan to meet Master Lan at the sect’s inner core, promising that the secret matter awaiting them was a stroke of fortune.

• Tang Feng explained that the domain could not sustain many Fusion Realm cultivators and described the dangerous, resource-poor lands that Soul Suppression Palace kept sealed.
• Tang Feng told Li Yan that the sect had noticed his unknown past and made clear that learning these secrets bound him to Soul Suppression Palace as a core disciple.
• Li Yan suspected the sect wanted him for a deadly mission, but Tang Feng said the sect needed his help and promised the matter would bring him good fortune.
• Tang Feng asked Li Yan to leave his soul slaves behind, and Li Yan sealed his courtyard before following him north toward the sect’s central peak.
• Tang Feng led Li Yan past the guarded great hall to a side hall, where they met Master Lan, who invited them to sit.

Master Lan tested Li Yan’s mastery of the Sacred Soul Transformation technique and revealed that the Soul-Suppressing Palace’s two Supreme Elders were in trouble, leaving the sect vulnerable to rebellion. She said Li Yan might help awaken them, but his current cultivation had not yet met the requirements.

• Master Lan told Li Yan that the sect was considering him for core disciple status, then ordered him to attack her at full strength using the Sacred Soul Transformation technique.
• Li Yan struck Master Lan with a Soul-Extracting Chain, which shattered against her, and she confirmed that his accumulated stellar power had reached ninety percent.
• Master Lan explained that the nine major forces had rebelled after learning the two Supreme Elders were incapacitated and could not intervene in the war.
• Li Yan realized the Sacred Soul Transformation technique and the tested formation were connected to awakening the Supreme Elders, but concluded that his current mastery was insufficient to help.
• Master Lan and Tang Feng exchanged a glance after Li Yan reasoned that further progress in the technique might be necessary.

Master Lan asked Li Yan to spend a year cultivating toward the Stars Shift, Moon Appears realm, promising a hidden refuge if the sect’s plans failed. Tang Feng then escorted Li Yan into the Hall of Culture and Martial Arts, where he arrived in a dim yellow world.

• Master Lan told Li Yan that a special cultivation site might help him break through within a year and explained the sect’s hidden refuge for its core disciples.
• Li Yan worried that the sect might use him for another person’s benefit, but he agreed to try cultivating after Tang Feng reassured him.
• Master Lan instructed Li Yan to leave any soul servants or spirit pets behind, and Li Yan said he had none with him.
• Tang Feng presented the Sect Master's decree to Elder Liu and said he would take Li Yan to the Hall of Culture and Martial Arts.
• Elder Liu asked Tang Feng about Elder Ling, then sent Li Yan into the Hall of Culture and Martial Arts, where Tang Feng stood waiting in a dim yellow world.

Tang Feng brought Li Yan to the Soul Suppression Palace, a secluded wilderness sanctuary where the sect allowed him to cultivate the Sacred Soul Transformation. As they entered the hall and approached two enormous statues, Li Yan recognized something about them and reacted with shock.

• Tang Feng explained that the wilderness had been established by the first old sect master and was later found to aid cultivation of the Sacred Soul Transformation.
• Tang Feng told Li Yan that no one else would be allowed to enter while he cultivated, then led him across the wilderness to a palace.
• Tang Feng used an iron scroll of vermilion script to open the palace gates and gave the scroll to Li Yan as the means to control them.
• Li Yan followed Tang Feng through a bamboo illusion into the palace's dim main hall.
• Tang Feng led Li Yan toward two towering statues, and Li Yan trembled in recognition when he saw their faces.

Tang Feng explained how the Hall of Civil and Martial Virtues' statues could help Li Yan cultivate the power of the cold moon, then left him to study them. Li Yan recognized the martial general statue from the Soul Prison Clan's ruins and began to suspect a connection between the Soul-Subduing Palace and the clan.

• Tang Feng explained that the scholar and martial general statues helped cultivators balance yin spirit and yang soul, and urged Li Yan to contemplate the one he needed.
• Tang Feng finished his explanation, bowed to Li Yan, and left him alone in the hall.
• Li Yan inspected the hall for surveillance before returning to study the statues.
• Li Yan recognized the martial general statue as nearly identical to a broken statue he had seen beside a pool in the Soul Prison Clan's ruins.
• Li Yan considered whether the Soul-Subduing Palace or the statues' original owner had ties to the Soul Prison Clan.

Li Yan tested whether the broken clay jar could make the statues in the Hall of Civil and Martial Virtues reveal a hidden passage or teleportation array. The warrior statue resonated with the jar but did not transport him, leaving him to suspect the statues shared a maker while their purposes differed.

• Li Yan wondered whether the statues might conceal a passage like the one in the Soul Prison Clan, but hesitated because Mu Guyue and Feng Hongyue were not with him.
• Li Yan settled in front of the warrior statue and waited a month before cautiously taking out the broken clay jar.
• Li Yan infused the jar with soul power, causing the warrior statue's chest mirror to shine a beam onto it, but nothing else happened.
• Li Yan tried activating the jar with magical power and tested it from beneath the scholar statue, but only the warrior statue reacted and no teleportation occurred.
• Li Yan reasoned that the warrior statue and the broken clay jar likely shared a maker, while the statues in the Hall of Civil and Martial Virtues lacked the modifications needed to teleport him.

Li Yan discovered that the beam from the military general statue revealed a cultivation technique inside his broken clay jar. The writing provided missing Sacred Soul Transformation methods up to the late Spirit Transformation Realm, but damage to the jar had erased further formulas, leaving Li Yan to wonder about the technique’s connection to the Soul Suppression Palace.

• Li Yan tested the military general statue and the clay jar, finding no visible changes until he noticed tiny words appear inside the jar.
• Li Yan realized the writing was fading and directed soul power into the jar, prompting the statue’s beam to restore the words.
• Li Yan read the revealed formulas and recognized them as parts of the Sacred Soul Transformation technique he already cultivated.
• Li Yan determined that combining the new formulas with his existing knowledge would complete the technique up to the late Spirit Transformation Realm.
• Li Yan noticed that the jar’s chipped mouth had destroyed later formulas, which might have included methods for the Void Refinement Realm or beyond.
• Li Yan questioned how the technique could be linked to the Soul Suppression Palace when its first-generation sect master was said to have found it by chance.