Chapter Summaries

Yao Yue feared that a little girl named A Li would devour the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm and Chu Yunfei, but she could not explain the danger to Wen Jiao. At a candied fruit stall, A Li repeatedly asked the vendor to be her friend, and just as he raised his hand to drive her away, a terrified voice shouted for him to stop.

• Yao Yue warned Wen Jiao that she feared Chu Yunfei would never get the chance to rein himself in, then hurried off to confirm something in person.
• Wen Jiao saw an apparently ordinary little girl by a candied fruit stall and returned her attention to the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm, where Chu Yunfei remained in danger.
• A Li asked the vendor to be her friend instead of paying for candied fruit, while he repeatedly told her she needed spirit stones.
• The vendor lost patience, came around the stall, and raised his hand to drive A Li away.
• A Li eagerly waited for him to hit her so she could take a bad person's things, but a terrified voice suddenly shouted for him to stop.

Yao Yue became A Li’s friend to keep the little girl from eating her, then learned A Li had come to devour the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm. A Li rushed toward the square to eat it, and Yao Yue chased after her in alarm.

• Yao Yue intervened when a vendor raised his hand against A Li, then agreed to be her friend after recognizing her from Qingqiu’s terrifying history.
• A Li accepted that friends were not for eating, and Yao Yue bought the vendor’s candied hawthorns for her.
• Yao Yue asked why A Li had come to the Great Qian Imperial City, and A Li said she had smelled food in the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm.
• A Li worried that her master would discover she had sneaked out and hurried toward the central square to eat before returning home.
• Yao Yue realized the secret realm was in danger and pursued A Li with her demonic power.

A Li reached the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm and slipped through its closed entrance despite Yao Yue's efforts to stop her. She entered unnoticed, leaving Yao Yue fearing for Chu Yunfei if he crossed paths with her.

• A Li outran Yao Yue and stared into the closed formation gate, sensing treasures and a strange black presence inside the secret realm.
• Ling Changkong sensed a disturbance at the gate but could not detect A Li, who appeared to be invisible to his divine sense.
• A Li debated eating the secret realm because she was hungry, while Yao Yue urged her to wait until its occupants left.
• Yao Yue discovered that A Li had no spiritual power or cultivation traces, despite her extraordinary speed and ability to consume secret realms.
• A Li decided to enter quietly, vanished through the closed barrier without triggering the imperial formation, and left Yao Yue worried that Chu Yunfei might encounter her.

A Li entered the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm and ate a mountain that anchored one of its restriction nodes. The remnant soul controlling the realm discovered the damage and flew into a rage, unaware of who had caused it.

• Yao Yue returned to the Pill Pavilion platform and told Wen Jiao that the little girl had left and would not cause trouble in the imperial capital.
• The remnant soul watched Chu Yunfei through water mirrors and planned to weaken him before possessing his body.
• The remnant soul sensed a threatening presence in the secret realm, searched for it, and found no trace of A Li.
• A Li tasted the secret realm's soil, sensed high-grade spirit stones, and ran toward their scent.
• A Li swallowed a mountain in her path, destroying the restriction node hidden inside it.
• The remnant soul discovered the missing mountain and roared in fury.

Chu Yunfei followed the soul power to an underground palace and found the seventh-grade Seven-Transfusion Soul-Concentrating Flower guarded by a Blood-Scaled Crocodile. As the cultivators hesitated over how to attack the beast, Chu Yunfei sensed someone approaching through the passage.

• Xiao Yihan led the cultivators in breaking the main hall's formation, and the factions rushed inside to seize treasures.
• Chu Yunfei followed the soul power deeper into the hall while Qin Hao and Yin Hanmei pursued other treasures.
• Chu Yunfei found the Seven-Transfusion Soul-Concentrating Flower in an underground pool, where Yin Hanmei, Yue Chenzhou, Zhao Manshan, and other cultivators had gathered.
• A gray-robed elder charged for the flower, but a Blood-Scaled Crocodile dragged him underwater and revealed itself as a Divine Sea Realm seventh-level beast.
• Yue Chenzhou and Yin Hanmei chose to wait for others to weaken the crocodile, while Chu Yunfei discovered that it drew power from the formation beneath the pool.
• Chu Yunfei heard hurried footsteps and demonic roars approaching through the passage.

Qin Hao brought a berserk Crimson-Armored Ancient Ape into the underground palace after taking its ancient spear, while the Blood-Scaled Crocodile also attacked as the fighting erupted around the treasures. The cultivators split into groups to hold off both beasts, but the battle remained fierce as Qin Hao clung to the spear and Chu Yunfei waited on the sidelines.

• Qin Hao burst into the underground palace with an upper-grade heaven-tier ancient spear, pursued by a Crimson-Armored Ancient Ape that struck him down.
• Qin Hao called on the Cangyun Sect disciples to form a sword shield, but the ancient ape shattered it and knocked the spear from his grasp.
• The Blood-Scaled Crocodile awoke and attacked, prompting Xiao Yihan to organize the cultivators into teams to fight both beasts.
• Wu Changge, Xiao Yihan, He Yang, and others engaged the ancient ape, while Yin Hanmei, Yue Chenzhou, and the rogue cultivators attacked the crocodile.
• Chu Yunfei refused Qin Hao's demand to fight, and Qin Hao threatened to kill him after defeating the ancient ape.
• Yin Hanmei's corpse puppets and the other fighters wounded the crocodile, while Qin Hao continued battling the ancient ape without relinquishing the spear.

Qin Hao enraged the ancient ape by stealing its ancient spear again, then fled toward the Puppet Sect while the beast pursued him. The ape crashed into the Blood-Scaled Crocodile’s battle, and both demonic beasts went berserk as Yue Chenzhou cursed Qin Hao.

• Qin Hao wounded the ancient ape with the crimson spear, but the beast reclaimed it and tried to leave the underground palace.
• Qin Hao struck the ancient ape with the Cangyun Spirit Transformation Sword and seized the spear, provoking the beast into a frenzy.
• Qin Hao refused He Yang’s plea to return the spear, and the ancient ape shattered the Cangyun Mountain-Locking Formation, killing disciples and badly injuring Qin Hao.
• Qin Hao fled toward Yue Chenzhou and the Blood-Scaled Crocodile, drawing the ancient ape through the underground palace as it killed cultivators in its path.
• The ancient ape crashed into the Puppet Sect’s formation, freeing the wounded Blood-Scaled Crocodile, and Yue Chenzhou cursed Qin Hao as both beasts went berserk.

Chu Yunfei discovered that blood essence from the underground palace’s dead was being drawn away by a sinister force, while Qin Hao’s reckless attempt to keep the ancient spear brought him close to death. Situ Shuang’er arrived and wounded the ancient ape with her tricolored spiritual power, drawing the beast’s attention as she prepared to face it.

• Qin Hao used Puppet Sect disciples as shields while the ancient ape and Blood-Scaled Crocodile rampaged, killing over a hundred cultivators.
• Chu Yunfei traced blood essence seeping through the palace’s formations and suspected the Heavenly Evil Devil Sect was laying a formation.
• Zhao Manshan and the rogue cultivators demanded Qin Hao surrender the ancient spear, but Qin Hao refused and was struck down by the ancient ape.
• Situ Shuang’er entered the underground palace and cut into the ancient ape’s shoulder with a tricolored sword strike, allowing Qin Hao to escape.
• The ancient ape abandoned Qin Hao and charged at Situ Shuang’er as she gathered tricolored spiritual power along the Ice Soul Sword.

Situ Shuang'er badly wounded the Crimson-Armored Ancient Ape and helped the cultivators kill it, while the Blood-Scaled Crocodile neared defeat beside the Seven-Transfusion Soul-Concentrating Flower. As Yin Hanmei rallied everyone to finish the crocodile, Chu Yunfei prepared to seize the spirit herb.

• Situ Shuang'er struck the ancient ape with the Nine Heavens Sword Wheel, severing an arm and leaving it badly wounded.
• Wu Changge, Xiao Yihan, Si Yunshu, He Yang, and the other cultivators attacked the ancient ape together, while Qin Hao tried to claim the kill with his crimson spear.
• The ancient ape turned on Qin Hao, but Situ Shuang'er cut through its skull and killed it before it could reach him.
• Situ Shuang'er noticed that Chu Yunfei barely reacted to her victory, while Qin Hao regarded her with deepening wariness.
• Yue Chenzhou and Yin Hanmei pressed their puppets’ attack on the weakened Blood-Scaled Crocodile as they maneuvered to claim the Seven-Transfusion Soul-Concentrating Flower.
• Yin Hanmei called for everyone to finish off the Blood-Scaled Crocodile as Chu Yunfei prepared to take the nearly mature spirit herb.

Chu Yunfei seized the Seven-Transfusion Soul-Concentrating Flower after the Blood-Scaled Crocodile died, sparking a dispute with the Puppet Sect and Qin Hao. When Yin Hanmei and Yue Chenzhou attacked him, Qin Hao ordered the Cangyun Sect disciples to form a sword formation.

• Yin Hanmei, Yue Chenzhou, and the rogue cultivators killed the Blood-Scaled Crocodile after the black-armored corpse puppets pinned it and attacked its wounds.
• Yin Hanmei sent puppet threads toward the Seven-Transfusion Soul-Concentrating Flower, but Chu Yunfei used his lightning movement technique to take the intact herb first.
• Yin Hanmei and Yue Chenzhou accused Chu Yunfei of stealing the Puppet Sect's reward, while Qin Hao demanded that he surrender the herb and cripple his cultivation.
• Zhao Manshan challenged Qin Hao's double standard over the ancient spear, and Wu Changge, Wu Mingyue, Xiao Yihan, and Si Yunshu sided against Qin Hao and the Puppet Sect's demand.
• Yin Hanmei threatened Chu Yunfei and attacked with Yue Chenzhou, and Qin Hao ordered the Cangyun Sect disciples to form the Cangyun Spirit-Locking Sword Formation.

Chu Yunfei faced a combined attack from the Puppet Sect and Cangyun Sect after taking the spirit herb, while allies from the Heavenly Edict Sect and Divine Martial Sect prepared to intervene. He refused their help, revealed that he had reached the Divine Sea Realm, and Yin Hanmei ordered the assault to continue.

• He Yang deployed the Cangyun Sect's Spirit-Locking Sword Formation as Qin Hao and the Puppet Sect prepared to kill Chu Yunfei.
• Wu Changge, Wu Mingyue, Xiao Yihan, and Si Yunshu stepped forward to help Chu Yunfei, turning the planned execution into a standoff between the sects.
• Chu Yunfei thanked his allies but insisted that he would deal with Yin Hanmei, Yue Chenzhou, and Qin Hao himself.
• Situ Shuang'er chose to wait on the sidelines, intending to rescue Chu Yunfei after he had been badly wounded.
• Yin Hanmei attacked with puppet threads and corpse puppets as the sword formation descended, but Chu Yunfei shattered its Sword Qi and revealed his Divine Sea Realm First Level cultivation.
• Qin Hao and Situ Shuang'er were shocked by Chu Yunfei's breakthrough, but Yin Hanmei ordered the Puppet Sect disciples to attack with everything they had.

Chu Yunfei faced a coordinated assault by the Cangyun Sect, the Puppet Sect, and their allies, then killed Yue Chenzhou and slaughtered the attackers. The survivors watched in terror as Situ Shuang'er questioned whether Chu Yunfei was truly only at Divine Sea Realm First Level.

• Yin Hanmei and Qin Hao led more than two hundred cultivators in an attack on Chu Yunfei, while Wu Changge, Xiao Yihan, Si Yunshu, and Situ Shuang'er held back, ready to intervene.
• Chu Yunfei swept away the incoming attacks with one dark-gold sword slash and killed more than thirty attackers without damaging their dantians or divine seas.
• Chu Yunfei used Nine Heavens Lightning Escape to reach Yue Chenzhou and kill him with a single thrust before Yue could use his trump card.
• Chu Yunfei charged through the Cangyun Sect and Puppet Sect forces, killing more than a hundred cultivators and absorbing their corpses into the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate.
• Situ Shuang'er lowered her grip on her sword as she watched Chu Yunfei overwhelm the attackers and wondered whether he was really at Divine Sea Realm First Level.

Chu Yunfei killed the six veteran core disciples after breaking their coordinated formation and overpowering their attacks. Yin Hanmei then awakened her Nether Puppet Spirit Physique, strengthening four corpse puppets and preparing to face him.

• Luo Ming and five veteran core disciples trapped Chu Yunfei with the Nine-Corpse Soul-Severing Formation, sealed his movement, and launched a combined attack.
• Chu Yunfei shattered the soul chains with the defense in his sea of consciousness, split Yan Tuo's sword attack, and killed Yan Tuo and three other core disciples.
• Chu Yunfei destroyed four corpse puppets and killed Luo Ming and the last core disciple, leaving all six veteran fighters dead.
• Yin Hanmei awakened her Nether Puppet Spirit Physique with vital blood essence, restoring and strengthening four corpse puppets to the Divine Sea Realm Seventh Level or Sixth Layer.
• Yin Hanmei sent the four enhanced corpse puppets toward Chu Yunfei and declared that he would die.

Chu Yunfei destroyed Yin Hanmei’s four linked corpse puppets, then revealed his true strength and shattered a Dao Mysterious Realm strike before killing her. The surviving cultivators reeled at his power as he turned his attention to Qin Hao, the last Puppet Sect survivor.

• Chu Yunfei used the soul threads linking Yin Hanmei’s four corpse puppets to destroy all four at once, leaving Yin Hanmei wounded by the backlash.
• Yin Hanmei crushed a jade talisman that unleashed a Dao Mysterious Realm strike from the Puppet Sect’s supreme elder.
• Chu Yunfei revealed his Divine Sea Realm sixth-layer cultivation and used the eighth form of the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword to shatter the strike and kill Yin Hanmei.
• Xiao Yihan, Si Yunshu, Situ Shuang’er, Qin Hao, and the other survivors were shocked by Chu Yunfei’s strength and the Puppet Sect’s slaughter.
• Chu Yunfei wiped the blood from his mouth and told Qin Hao that only he remained.

Qin Hao learned that Chu Yunfei had killed Nangong Wuhen and tried to flee with He Yang, but Chu Yunfei blocked them and killed He Yang. As Chu Yunfei prepared to kill Qin Hao, Qin Hao begged Xiao Yihan and Wu Changge for help, and Xiao Yihan began to intervene.

• Qin Hao confirmed that Chu Yunfei had killed Nangong Wuhen and realized the Cangyun Sect survivors were in grave danger.
• He Yang urged Qin Hao to flee, but Chu Yunfei used Nine Heavens Lightning Escape to block their path.
• He Yang burned his blood essence and attacked with Cangyun Mountain-Shattering Slash, but Chu Yunfei killed him with his sword.
• Qin Hao threatened Chu Yunfei with the Cangyun Sect's retaliation, then fell to his knees and pleaded for his life.
• Qin Hao called on Xiao Yihan and Wu Changge to save him; Wu Changge ignored him, while Xiao Yihan prepared to speak to Chu Yunfei.

Situ Shuang'er stepped in to stop Chu Yunfei from killing Qin Hao, fearing that his death would provoke the Cangyun Sect and leave Chu Yunfei with no way out. Chu Yunfei ignored her warning and struck, and Situ Shuang'er barely blocked his blow before he challenged her ability to stop him.

• Xiao Yihan backed down after Si Yunshu signaled him not to interfere, while Qin Hao pleaded with Situ Shuang'er to save him.
• Situ Shuang'er decided Qin Hao's death would worsen the danger facing Chu Yunfei, so she stepped between them and told Chu Yunfei he could not kill him.
• Chu Yunfei rejected Situ Shuang'er's warning and launched a decisive strike at Qin Hao with the Abyss-Devouring Sword.
• Situ Shuang'er drew the Ice Soul Spirit Sword and barely deflected Chu Yunfei's blow, sliding backward as the collision shattered the stone floor.
• Chu Yunfei remained unmoved and asked whether Situ Shuang'er thought her awakened constitution gave her the confidence to stop him.

Chu Yunfei battled Situ Shuang'er after she tried to stop him from killing Qin Hao, overwhelming her with his sword techniques. Situ Shuang'er awakened a fourth power and unleashed Heavenly Phoenix Heaven-Burning as the fight reached its decisive moment.

• Situ Shuang'er urged Chu Yunfei to spare Qin Hao and offered to help negotiate with the Cangyun Sect, but Chu Yunfei rejected her plea and said he would kill Qin Hao.
• Situ Shuang'er blocked Chu Yunfei's path, and he warned her to step aside before striking her with the fifth form of Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword.
• Chu Yunfei's attack shattered Situ Shuang'er's sword shield and forced her back, but she refused to retreat and continued fighting him.
• Chu Yunfei suppressed Situ Shuang'er with repeated sword strikes while the surrounding cultivators watched her lose ground.
• Situ Shuang'er awakened a fourth power, summoned a phantom Heavenly Phoenix, and unleashed Heavenly Phoenix Heaven-Burning.

Chu Yunfei defeated Situ Shuang'er after she unleashed her awakened physique's origin power, then spared her because of her mother. He turned his sword toward Qin Hao, whose threats and pleas failed to stop him.

• Situ Shuang'er combined her spiritual power and physique's origin power to summon a flaming heavenly phoenix and attack Chu Yunfei.
• Chu Yunfei used Six Swords as One to shatter the heavenly phoenix and overwhelm Situ Shuang'er, sending her crashing through stone pillars.
• Chu Yunfei held the Abyss-Devouring Sword to Situ Shuang'er's neck, then spared her because she had a good mother.
• Situ Shuang'er resented Chu Yunfei and vowed to defeat him herself one day.
• Qin Hao panicked and invoked his status as Cangyun Sect's holy son, but Chu Yunfei dismissed his threats and raised his sword to kill him.

Chu Yunfei killed Qin Hao after rejecting his pleas and offers, while the surviving cultivators reckoned with the consequences of the three sects’ coming vengeance. As blood vanished into the underground palace and Chu Yunfei discovered Yin Hanmei’s corpse was missing, a sinister mystery emerged.

• Qin Hao tried to flee, then begged Chu Yunfei for mercy and offered his ancient spear and possessions, but Chu Yunfei killed him.
• Situ Shuang'er accepted that she could no longer stop Chu Yunfei and realized the Cangyun Sect, Puppet Sect, and Heavenly Sword Sect would seek revenge.
• Xiao Yihan warned that the secret realm’s deaths would cause chaos outside, while Chu Yunfei said he would face anyone seeking vengeance.
• Wu Changge noticed that blood from the dead cultivators was flowing through cracks in the stone, and Chu Yunfei sensed a connection to the Heavenly Evil Devil Sect.
• Chu Yunfei collected Qin Hao’s spear and storage ring, then searched the underground palace with his divine sense and discovered Yin Hanmei’s corpse had disappeared.

After Yue Chenzhou and dozens of Puppet Sect disciples died inside the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm, Yin Xiaotian accused the Great Qian Imperial Family of responsibility. When Yin Hanmei's soul lamp also went out, the Puppet Sect's supreme elder appeared and vowed to avenge her.

• Yue Chenzhou's soul lamp shattered, and Yin Xiaotian used its remnants to detect sword intent resembling the trace left when Han Kui died.
• Yin Xiaotian accused Ling Chengyuan of responsibility for the deaths inside the imperial family's secret realm, while Zhou Xuancheng defended the competition rules.
• Dozens of Puppet Sect soul lamps went out in succession, followed by Yin Hanmei's lamp, enraging Yin Xiaotian and devastating Qi Yuanshan.
• Yin Xiaotian demanded that the formation gate be sealed and threatened to investigate the deaths himself.
• The Puppet Sect's supreme elder appeared from the void and vowed to turn whoever killed Yin Hanmei into a corpse puppet.