Chapter Summaries

Lu Yuan refused to remain hidden with Mo Chen, but promised to work with him in the future and took Lin Xiao through a secret exit from the mine. Exhausted beside a forest stream, he was cornered by three Hundred Refinements Pavilion men, including a Soul Ancestor, and prepared to use Mo Chen’s device.

• Lu Yuan told Mo Chen he could not stay, promised they could cooperate in the future, and decided to take the feverish Lin Xiao with him.
• Mo Chen gave Lu Yuan a one-use device that could disrupt nearby Soul Power and led him through a concealed mine exit.
• Lu Yuan and Mo Chen parted, and Lu Yuan carried Lin Xiao through the mountain forest toward a stream near the Black Swamp.
• After half a shichen of travel, Lu Yuan stopped to rest and gave Lin Xiao a little water.
• Three Hundred Refinements Pavilion men blocked the stream trail and revealed that Elder Sun had ordered them to bring Lu Yuan back alive or dead.
• The men released their Soul Rings, and Lu Yuan gripped Mo Chen’s device as the Soul Ancestor’s Soul Power pressed down on him.

Lu Yuan used Mo Chen’s strange Soul Tool and a burst of Blue Silver Grass spores to disrupt the Soul Ancestor deacon and escape down a steep slope with Lin Xiao. The deacon ordered his men to search for them alive or dead, especially Lu Yuan, who carried Zhou Chun’s letter and Mo Chen’s notes.

• The Soul Ancestor deacon overpowered Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao, while Lin Xiao briefly wounded a Soul Elder before collapsing again.
• The deacon questioned Lu Yuan about Mo Chen’s Soul Tool and Zhou Chun’s letter, revealing that it could lead the Hundred Refinements Pavilion to a group called Spark.
• When the deacon crushed Mo Chen’s device, it unleashed a Soul Power disturbance that briefly weakened his control.
• Lu Yuan detonated his Soul Power through Blue Silver Grass, flinging spores into the deacon’s face before carrying Lin Xiao toward the slope.
• The deacon’s Soul Power claw failed to catch them, and he ordered a search three li down the slope for both boys.

After falling into a deep valley, Lu Yuan treated his and Lin Xiao’s injuries and struggled to keep them alive through the cold night. He sensed an unknown source of Soul Power hidden behind vines in the rock wall and decided to investigate after daybreak.

• Lu Yuan woke at the bottom of the valley, splinted his injured leg, and found Lin Xiao gravely wounded but breathing.
• Lu Yuan bandaged Lin Xiao, dragged him to shelter beside a stream, and used blood-staunching grass to treat his wounds.
• Lu Yuan failed to start a fire, gathered dew for Lin Xiao, and heard him briefly wake and ask where they were and how Lu Yuan was.
• Lu Yuan stayed awake in the darkness and used Blue Silver Grass to explore, sensing a strange, steady Soul Power fluctuation behind purple vines on the rock wall.
• Lu Yuan decided to investigate the unknown fluctuation after daybreak.

Lu Yuan found a nourishing plant in a hidden cavern and used its fruit to recover his strength and revive Lin Xiao. As he prepared to escape with Lin Xiao, a furious beast approached and dense fog swallowed every route through the valley.

• Lu Yuan crossed the stream and discovered a plant radiating nourishing Soul Power in a concealed cavern.
• Lu Yuan picked the plant’s fruit, consumed half to heal and recover, and fed the rest to the unconscious Lin Xiao.
• Lu Yuan regained enough strength to carry Lin Xiao and began untying the vines binding him.
• A deep roar and dragging sound came from the fog-shrouded depths of the valley, signaling an approaching threat.
• Dense white fog engulfed the valley floor, obscuring every escape route as the unknown creature drew closer.

Lu Yuan evaded a fog-dwelling Soul Beast by luring it toward the strange plant, then hid with Lin Xiao in a concealed hollow. After the beast left, he found rusted metal fragments and a rotted tool handle, suggesting someone had excavated the valley long ago.

• Lu Yuan used Blue Silver Grass, thrown stones, and branches to track and mislead the Soul Beast while carrying Lin Xiao through the fog.
• Lu Yuan used a spark and Soul Power to send plant fluff toward the strange plant, drawing the Soul Beast away from him.
• Lu Yuan reached a concealed hollow in the cliff and hid there with Lin Xiao as the Soul Beast prowled nearby before retreating.
• Lu Yuan examined the hollow and found old chisel marks, rusted metal fragments, and half a wooden handle buried in the soil.
• Lu Yuan wondered what someone had been searching for in the valley and suspected it held more secrets than it appeared to.

Lu Yuan investigated the cave and found evidence that someone had cultivated the strange Soul Power plant there before disappearing. Carrying the recovering Lin Xiao, he entered the only passage out of the valley and encountered several powerful Soul Beasts feeding in an underground cavern.

• Lu Yuan found old tools, counting marks, and a leather pouch containing traces of powder, and deduced that a cultivator had tried to grow or improve the plant.
• Lu Yuan gathered the cave artifacts, secured Lin Xiao's injuries, and carried him downstream toward the mist-filled passage.
• As they entered the passage, Lin Xiao woke and warned that something was inside, but agreed to continue with Lu Yuan.
• Lu Yuan sensed at least three hostile Soul Power fluctuations ahead and found deep claw marks along the passage walls.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao reached an underground cavern, where three huge Soul Beasts were feeding on lizard-like corpses and one turned toward them.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao recovered in a limestone cave and discovered that a mysterious fruit had improved Lin Xiao’s Soul Power and Martial Soul. Searching the valley for an escape, they found a waterfall guarded by three Soul Beasts and their eggs, leaving them trapped between the creatures and their pursuers.

• Lu Yuan explained that he had shared a Soul Power plant fruit with Lin Xiao, whose Soul Power recovered and whose Martial Soul blockage eased.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao concluded that the valley must have another exit because its Soul Beasts needed a way to forage.
• Lu Yuan heard water behind the wall of an old shallow cave, and he and Lin Xiao suspected people had once dug there for something.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao followed the stream downstream, hoping to find a route out through an underground river or waterfall.
• Lu Yuan discovered three Soul Beasts guarding their eggs beside a bottomless waterfall, and one spotted the pair as they found their retreat cut off.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao fled their pursuers by jumping into a waterfall and rafted through a dangerous underground river toward an exit. They reached the daylight opening only to find it guarded by a waking swarm of bat-type Soul Beasts, and chose to rush through.

• Lin Xiao and Lu Yuan jumped from the waterfall into a deep pool to escape the Soul Beasts pursuing them.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao built a raft and followed the underground river, relying on Lu Yuan's Blue Silver Grass and Lin Xiao's Beast Martial Soul instincts to navigate.
• Lu Yuan found a narrow crevice past a whirlpool, and the two abandoned the raft and squeezed through into a vast cavern.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao followed the water toward daylight, but Lin Xiao spotted bat-type Soul Beasts waking above the exit.
• Lu Yuan raised a Blue Silver Grass net while Lin Xiao prepared to fight, and Lu Yuan told him to rush through.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao escaped the Nether Waterway after a mysterious green-robed old man drove away the Vampire Bats. They accepted his offer of shelter, while Lu Yuan suspected the man was connected to Shen Moxin and the mark on her letter.

• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao fought off the Vampire Bats as their raft raced toward the exit, but large bats severed its bindings and sent it toward a boulder.
• A life-filled force from outside scattered the bats, and the raft carried Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao out of the cave into a pool.
• Lu Yuan recognized the pattern on the green-robed old man's wooden emblem as the mark on Shen Moxin's letter.
• The old man questioned the youths, and Lu Yuan said they had been hunted and found the waterway by accident.
• The old man offered to take the injured youths to his thatched cottage, and Lu Yuan accepted despite his suspicions.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao followed the old man into the woods as Lu Yuan memorized the route and wondered about the man's connection to Shen Moxin.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao reached Qingzhu’s secluded home, where Lu Yuan presented Shen Moxin’s letter and explained their escape from the deep valley. After Lu Yuan offered several theories about the lifeless Nether Waterway, Qingzhu allowed them to stay, though his true intentions remained unclear.

• Qingzhu examined Shen Moxin’s letter and questioned Lu Yuan about the Origin Spirit Fruit and how he and Lin Xiao escaped the deep valley.
• Lu Yuan explained that they had followed the stream through a waterfall cave and underground river to escape the Hundred Refinements Pavilion’s pursuers.
• Qingzhu tested Lu Yuan by asking why the Nether Waterway held so little life despite its flowing water and caves.
• Lu Yuan proposed that an energy field, a disrupted material cycle, or the Blood-Eyed Bats might explain the waterway’s lifelessness.
• Qingzhu let Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao stay in the clearing’s empty house while he considered Lu Yuan’s reasoning.

Lu Yuan diagnosed why Qingzhu's Golden Thread Grass was deteriorating and proposed changes to its care. Impressed by his insight, Qingzhu agreed to let Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao stay.

• Qingzhu brought Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao water and porridge, then led them to a struggling patch of Golden Thread Grass.
• Lu Yuan used his Blue Silver Grass to examine the plants and asked Qingzhu about his cultivation methods, water source, and nearby Blazing Sun Grass.
• Lu Yuan diagnosed an imbalance caused by strong wood-attribute nourishment, cold spring water, and the Blazing Sun Grass's fire Qi.
• Lu Yuan recommended gentler, more frequent nourishment, milder irrigation water, moving the Blazing Sun Grass, and improving soil circulation.
• Qingzhu praised Lu Yuan as a "Little Monster" and said he could stay.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao recovered in Qingzhu’s valley while Lu Yuan studied how Soul Power interacted with matter and developed a new cultivation method for Lin Xiao’s mutated Martial Soul. After Lin Xiao’s powers spiraled out of control, Lu Yuan proposed that he work with his Martial Soul rather than suppress it, and Qingzhu watched them from the herb garden.

• Qingzhu gave Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao medicine and instructions for staying in the valley, but refused to explain what lay deeper in the Nether Waterway.
• Lu Yuan studied how Soul Power weakened inside different stones, while Lin Xiao discovered that the Origin Spirit Fruit had altered his Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul and made his inherited cultivation method painful to use.
• Lu Yuan proposed Netlike Channeling to divide Lin Xiao’s Soul Power among his claws, arm, and shadow affinity, and Lin Xiao began practicing it as his injury healed.
• Qingzhu gave Lu Yuan three Origin Consolidation Pills and advised that Morning Star Academy across the border might offer them shelter after they left the valley.
• After half a month, Lin Xiao’s attempt to channel Soul Power through three streams ended in a violent backlash that gouged deep claw marks into the ground.
• Lu Yuan suggested that Lin Xiao’s Martial Soul needed a framework in which it could develop through cooperation rather than control, while Qingzhu quietly watched from the herb garden.

Lu Yuan guided Lin Xiao through experiments to communicate with the shadow trait in his Martial Soul, explaining that cooperation rather than control could help stabilize his Soul Power. After repeated failures, Lin Xiao finally watched the trait without trying to command it, and it responded to him, loosening the stagnation in his Soul Power.

• Lu Yuan explained that Lin Xiao’s Shadow Art forced the shadow trait into a single channel and proposed splitting Soul Power across finer meridians, which required understanding the Martial Soul.
• Lin Xiao sensed a wary presence in the dark patch of his Soul Power, but trying to control or match it triggered resistance and left him injured.
• After three days of failed attempts, Lu Yuan showed Lin Xiao notes documenting patterns in the trait’s reactions and suggested staying near it without forcing a connection.
• Lin Xiao walked to the stream, remembered being praised as a rare genius after his awakening, and resolved that he could not accept his current helplessness.
• Lin Xiao tried again with Lu Yuan’s Blue Silver Grass stabilizing his Soul Power, and quietly observed the shadow trait instead of approaching it.
• The dark patch responded to Lin Xiao’s gentle touch, adjusted its rhythm toward his, and loosened the sluggishness in his Soul Power; Lin Xiao told Lu Yuan he thought he had felt it.

Lu Yuan helped Lin Xiao communicate with his Martial Soul and collaborated with Qingzhu to investigate Soul Power and earth-vein phenomena. Their small resonance experiment slightly loosened a blocked earth-vein node, leaving Qingzhu convinced that the younger generation would shape the future.

• Lu Yuan advised Lin Xiao to communicate gently with his Martial Soul each day, and Lin Xiao reported that the practice was easing his sluggish Soul Power.
• Qingzhu shared decades of observations about Soul Power plants and earth-vein phenomena, and Lu Yuan offered theories to explain them.
• Qingzhu showed Lu Yuan damaged ancient notes about earth-vein nodes, and Lu Yuan proposed using resonance to loosen blockages.
• Lu Yuan sensed a blocked earth-vein branch beneath a barren patch and persuaded Qingzhu to test the resonance method on a small scale.
• Qingzhu supplied Green-Veined Stones and precisely controlled his Soul Power while Lu Yuan guided it through a formation made with Blue Silver Grass and herbal powder.
• The formation briefly resonated, slightly moving the blocked Soul Power and making the grass tips appear greener, and Qingzhu reflected that the world must be entrusted to young people like Lu Yuan.

Qingzhu detected an approaching Soul Power user and realized the visitor might be connected to Lin Xiao’s clan rather than the Hundred Refinements Pavilion. The visitor reached the valley entrance and called out to Qingzhu, leaving Lin Xiao terrified and Qingzhu warning that a dangerous madman had come.

• Qingzhu sensed that someone had cut through his Entangling Silk Vines and estimated they would reach the valley within two hours.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao prepared to leave, but Qingzhu said the valley’s formation could delay the intruders and suspected they belonged to a fierce clan.
• Lin Xiao reacted with anger and fear when Qingzhu suggested the pursuers might be from his clan.
• A heavy impact shook the valley entrance, and an arrogant voice called for Qingzhu to come greet an old friend.
• Lu Yuan stepped in front of the trembling Lin Xiao, while Qingzhu identified the visitor as a madman and wondered why the Lin Clan had sent him.

Seventh Master Lin arrived at Qingzhu’s medicinal garden to take Lin Xiao back to the Lin Clan, but Lin Xiao refused and declared that he would choose his own path. Lu Yuan deflected Seventh Master Lin’s attack with a subtle resonance technique, and the chapter ended as Seventh Master Lin gathered lightning to strike again.

• Seventh Master Lin confronted Lin Xiao and ordered him to return to the Lin Clan, while Qingzhu warned him that Lin Xiao could make his own choices.
• Lin Xiao refused the clan’s solution for his Martial Soul and said he would rather go without it than be forced into becoming the weapon the clan wanted.
• Seventh Master Lin attacked, and Qingzhu raised a vine wall that was burned through by the elder’s Soul Power.
• Lu Yuan stepped between Lin Xiao and the attack, then used resonance to deflect the Soul Power impact into the rock face.
• Seventh Master Lin recognized Lu Yuan’s unusual skill but renewed his demand; Lin Xiao stood beside Lu Yuan and refused again.
• Seventh Master Lin raised his hand as lightning gathered in his palm.

Lu Yuan challenged Seventh Master Lin’s plans to forcefully correct Lin Xiao’s Martial Soul and demonstrated that Lin Xiao’s cultivation had already improved through their experiments. Seventh Master Lin left without taking Lin Xiao, but the Lin Clan’s pressure remained.

• Qingzhu stepped between Seventh Master Lin and Lu Yuan and warned him about the herb garden’s hidden formation.
• Lu Yuan argued that the Lin Clan’s proposed cultivation method or Soul Bone could harm Lin Xiao, then challenged Seventh Master Lin to prove his methods had worked in similar cases.
• Lin Xiao circulated Soul Power along the paths Lu Yuan had helped him refine and released a trace of his Martial Soul, showing that its flow had become steadier.
• Seventh Master Lin questioned Lu Yuan about the improvement, and Lu Yuan explained that he had observed and modeled Lin Xiao’s Soul Power and Martial Soul patterns.
• Lin Xiao refused to return to the clan and warned that he would disappear if they tried to make him a puppet, so Seventh Master Lin withdrew with his guards.
• After Seventh Master Lin left, Lin Xiao nearly collapsed, and Qingzhu warned Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao that the Lin Clan would not give up.

Lu Yuan accepted Seventh Master Lin’s three-month wager to fix Lin Xiao’s sluggish Soul Power circulation and raise his strength by three levels without harming his foundation. Seventh Master Lin agreed to leave them undisturbed and consider Lu Yuan’s resource list, while Lu Yuan began preparing a complete plan.

• Qingzhu explained that Seventh Master Lin had backed down because Lu Yuan had challenged the Lin Clan’s legacy, but warned that the clan would not easily let Lin Xiao go.
• Seventh Master Lin returned the next morning and demanded that Lu Yuan prove his methods within three months by resolving Lin Xiao’s sluggish Soul Power circulation and raising him from level thirty-three to level thirty-six without hidden dangers.
• Seventh Master Lin wagered that failure would force Lin Xiao to return to the clan and require Lu Yuan to surrender his research and swear not to pursue or share it.
• Lu Yuan accepted the wager and asked for a quiet, safe environment and the resources on a list he would prepare within three days.
• Seventh Master Lin agreed to leave them alone and assess the resource list, then departed with his guards.
• Lu Yuan told Lin Xiao that the wager was their only chance and began preparing a resource list and a complete plan.

Lu Yuan secured the Lin Clan’s costly supplies and prepared to rebuild Lin Xiao’s Soul Power system around his mutated Martial Soul. After mapping twenty-one sluggish points, they began the painful first stage of the reconstruction as the three-month wager began.

• Lu Yuan gave Seventh Master Lin a list of supplies costing more than three thousand Gold Soul Coins, and Seventh Master Lin agreed to provide them as a debt if Lu Yuan lost the wager.
• Lu Yuan explained his plan to create a new Soul Power system for Lin Xiao, who agreed to endure the risks and pain of the reconstruction.
• Qingzhu prepared a secluded stone cave for them and relayed Seventh Master Lin’s message that Lin Xiao could leave the clan if he won, but would become its heir if he lost.
• Lin Xiao mapped twenty-one sluggish points over several days while Lu Yuan analyzed them and Qingzhu supplied medicinal herbs and mind-calming incense.
• Lu Yuan chose three key points for the first stage, and Lin Xiao agreed to proceed despite the expected pain.
• Lu Yuan began guiding Soul Power into the first point in Lin Xiao’s left shoulder as Qingzhu and Seventh Master Lin watched outside the isolation barrier.

Lu Yuan guided Lin Xiao through the painful process of mapping new Soul Power routes, and Lin Xiao finally discovered a smoother path that resonated with his Martial Soul. The breakthrough gave their search a promising first result, while the three-month deadline continued to approach.

• Lu Yuan helped Lin Xiao sense an unconventional route around the blockage in his left shoulder, but Lin Xiao's old habits caused pain and interrupted the attempt.
• Over several days, Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao mapped blocked points and possible tributaries as Lin Xiao endured repeated pain and growing frustration.
• After Lin Xiao accused the winding routes of being useless, Lu Yuan explained that a smoother path could reduce resistance and better suit the changes in Lin Xiao's Martial Soul.
• On the tenth day, Lin Xiao independently guided Soul Power down a subtle detour at the lung and right-arm junction, where it flowed smoothly and triggered a strong Martial Soul reaction.
• Lu Yuan recorded the first confirmed route, while Qingzhu watched outside the cave as ten days passed toward the three-month deadline.