Recaps

Feng Zhuo survived the blood resentment Qi by sacrificing and regenerating his arm, then used Yanba’s fire to purge the remaining Evil Qi as his Divine Sense surged to Golden Core Middle Stage strength. He exposed the dying Yi Wood’s attempt to transfer his soul into the tree, leaving its deception revealed as black blood seeped from its trunk.

• Feng Zhuo reached Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, but blood resentment Qi tainted the Yi Wood Qi and began destroying his body.
• Feng Zhuo forced the blood resentment Qi into his left arm, severed it, and regenerated it with the Yi Wood essence, restoring thirty percent of his Yi Wood Sacred Physique.
• The spirit spring’s lingering power expanded Feng Zhuo’s sea of consciousness, while blood resentment Qi attacked his right eye and entered his sea of consciousness.
• Feng Zhuo’s scarlet spiritual fire and Yanba’s demonic fire destroyed the Evil Qi; Yanba swallowed its remains and kindled Soul-Scorching Flame.
• Feng Zhuo’s Divine Sense reached Golden Core Middle Stage strength, and he gave Yanba a drop of his Yi Wood Sacred Physique blood to guard against the blood resentment Qi.
• Feng Zhuo accused the Yi Wood of hiding a Soul-Transferring Incantation in the remnant branch to possess his body, and the Yi Wood’s trunk split open to reveal foul black blood and hollowed heartwood.

Feng Zhuo contracted the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine but emerged badly injured and struggled to suppress it. As his power failed, Su Ruanruan found him and approached with a poisoned needle hidden in her sleeve.

• Yi Wood revealed that the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine had corrupted it and that its spirit was near death.
• Feng Zhuo waited for Yi Wood and the vine to perish, then contracted the vine’s newborn seedling despite its blood resentment and the contract backlash.
• Feng Zhuo and Yanba emerged in the Green Wood Illusion Forest gravely injured, and Feng Zhuo struggled to control the vine as his spiritual power dwindled.
• Su Ruanruan arrived with a cultivator from the Purple Yang Pill Sect and sent him away by asking him to look for a Green Spirit Herb.
• Su Ruanruan offered Feng Zhuo Rejuvenation Pills, then quietly moved closer with a poisoned needle hidden in her sleeve.

Feng Zhuo was rescued by Nangong Tang after the Soul-Devouring Vine’s backlash disfigured Su Ruanruan, and he agreed to accompany her to an ancient cultivator’s cave abode that might cure him. Su Ruanruan learned that Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water could clear the Blood Resentment Qi and planned to seize Feng Zhuo’s vine for herself.

• The Soul-Devouring Vine’s Blood Resentment Qi attacked Su Ruanruan, damaging her face, before Feng Zhuo collapsed from his injuries.
• Nangong Tang suppressed the vine’s backlash, gave Feng Zhuo medicine, and carried him to a stone cave.
• Feng Zhuo woke and agreed to join Nangong Tang’s search for an ancient cultivator’s cave abode that might resolve the vine’s backlash.
• Su Ruanruan learned from her system that Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water could cleanse the Blood Resentment Qi and that Nangong Tang was connected to a similar vine in the original plot.
• Su Ruanruan contacted Senior Brother Chen with clues about the cave abode and resolved to obtain the water and take Feng Zhuo’s Soul-Devouring Vine.

Nangong Tang persuaded Feng Zhuo to cooperate in searching an ancient cave abode that could remove the Soul-Devouring Vine’s backlash, but Feng Zhuo exposed her omissions and forced her to reveal the truth. She admitted the cave held Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water, not the Spirit-Cleansing Pool she had described.

• Nangong Tang gave Feng Zhuo pills to suppress the Soul-Devouring Vine and restore his spiritual power, then proposed they seek a hidden ancient cave abode together.
• Nangong Tang claimed the cave contained a Spirit-Cleansing Pool and possibly the Spirit Taming Sect’s Symbiotic Contract, which could resolve the vine’s backlash.
• Feng Zhuo agreed to cooperate and introduced himself, while Nangong Tang revealed her name and avoided explaining the cave’s details.
• Feng Zhuo recovered his strength, and Nangong Tang realized he was not a Qi Refining Stage cultivator when his spiritual pressure briefly surged.
• Yanba restrained Nangong Tang and her Green-Eyed Golden Toad, prompting Nangong Tang to admit that only someone contracted to the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine could find the entrance.
• Nangong Tang confessed that Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water, not a Spirit-Cleansing Pool, was what could wash away the blood-resentment Qi.

Feng Zhuo questioned Nangong Tang about the Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water and her reasons for seeking the ancient cultivator’s cave abode, then rewarded her for their cooperation. Nangong Tang discovered the pills were valuable supreme-grade treasures and eagerly sought to stay on Feng Zhuo’s good side.

• Feng Zhuo learned that Nangong Tang had guessed the cave abode might hold the Spirit Taming Sect’s inheritance and wanted records about the Green-Eyed Golden Toad.
• Nangong Tang explained that the Green-Eyed Golden Toad had swallowed the Miasma-Glass Poison Flame, formed an indirect contract with her, and gained the ability to merge with the flame.
• Feng Zhuo thanked Nangong Tang for her help and gave her four bottles of pills, including supreme-grade Spirit-Restoring, Spirit-Feeding, and Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Nangong Tang recognized the pills’ quality, accepted them gladly, and asked Feng Zhuo for an additional apology gift.
• Feng Zhuo gave Nangong Tang a bottle of Rejuvenation Pills, and she became even more determined to follow the generous big spender.

Su Ruanruan manipulated Shen Mingxiao and Chen Yuanshan into believing Nangong Tang and her fellow sect senior had poisoned and disfigured her. She persuaded Shen Mingxiao to use his communication Law Artifact to gather his fellow disciples and pursue the ancient cultivator’s cave abode, leaving him intent on capturing Nangong Tang.

• Su Ruanruan flattered Shen Mingxiao by claiming Primordial Lord Chixiao praised Medicine King Peak’s alchemy inheritance, winning Shen’s favor while Chen Yuanshan grew skeptical.
• Chen Yuanshan asked Su Ruanruan about the ancient cultivator’s cave abode, and she tore off her veil to reveal her bloodied face and falsely accused Nangong Tang and her senior of poisoning her.
• Su Ruanruan claimed the poison had slowed her spiritual power and would leave her unable to cultivate unless she found a cure within three months.
• Shen Mingxiao recognized Nangong Tang as the likely culprit and promised to force her to provide an antidote and restore Su Ruanruan’s face.
• Su Ruanruan said Nangong Tang and her senior planned to explore the cave abode, prompting Shen Mingxiao to use his communication Law Artifact to gather his fellow disciples.
• Shen Mingxiao resolved to capture Nangong Tang, while Su Ruanruan promised to ask her master not to blame the Purple Yang Pill Sect.

Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang continued toward the cave abode with Ye Qingyu tagging along, until the Supreme One Divine Sect summoned its disciples. Ye Qingyu went to the sect’s assembly while Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang stayed behind, and the chapter left the assembly’s purpose unresolved.

• Nangong Tang and Ye Qingyu bickered and wrestled by the fire while Feng Zhuo meditated and stopped Yanba from stealing Spirit-Feeding Pills.
• Feng Zhuo asked Ye Qingyu to leave, and the Supreme One Divine Sect’s assembly signal appeared in the sky.
• Ye Qingyu agreed to attend the assembly, while Feng Zhuo asked him to conceal their whereabouts and Nangong Tang warned him not to tell Shen Mingxiao where she was.
• Ye Qingyu arrived late at the Supreme One Divine Sect’s camp, where Xuanfeng confronted him before Su Ruanruan’s gathering continued.

Su Ruanruan organized a search for Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang, while Ye Qingyu concealed what he knew and Yun Li tried to protect them. The group set a ten-day search followed by five days guarding the secret realm’s exit, though many disciples feared the consequences of targeting Feng Zhuo.

• Bai Wuxia asked Ye Qingyu whether he had seen Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang, but Ye Qingyu pretended not to know their whereabouts.
• Su Ruanruan considered using the search to find Nangong Tang and learn about an ancient cultivator’s cave abode, while Yun Li regretted being forced to hand over the assembly Law Artifact.
• Xuan Mo vowed to cripple Feng Zhuo and have him expelled, dismissing the power of the Feng Household despite Su Ruanruan’s warnings.
• The Western Region disciples realized Feng Zhuo might belong to the Feng Household’s main family and resolved to avoid the hunt or conceal their identities.
• Su Ruanruan joined the willing disciples with members of the Purple Yang Pill Sect, and they planned to search for ten days before guarding the secret realm’s exit for five days.

Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang found the ancient cultivator’s cave abode, but a teleportation array separated them as they entered. Feng Zhuo obtained the Spirit-Taming Instruction and other treasures, then left the secret realm cave ready to face the grand drama awaiting him.

• Nangong Tang identified a crooked dead tree as the cave abode’s entrance, and the Green-Eyed Golden Toad dug out the way in.
• Feng Zhuo used the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine to open the stone doors, and a teleportation array separated him from Nangong Tang.
• Feng Zhuo entered the palace with Yanba, where his Divine Sense was blocked and he found a skeleton, a Jade Slip, a porcelain bottle, and a meditation cushion.
• Feng Zhuo discovered that the Jade Slip held the Spirit-Taming Instruction, which could resolve the Soul-Devouring Vine’s backlash, and chose to leave the palace slabs untouched.
• Feng Zhuo was teleported out of the cave abode, counted his gains, and prepared to comprehend the instruction before facing the drama awaiting him.

Feng Zhuo used the Spirit-Taming Instruction to complete the first stage of a Symbiotic Contract with the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine, surviving its violent takeover and recovering through its wood Qi. With the vine now rooted in his Dantian, he prepared to absorb Yunxiaozi’s Green Vine Heart Flame and face Chu Yunfei after leaving the secret realm.

• Feng Zhuo discovered that the Spirit-Taming Instruction contained the method for forging a Symbiotic Contract with a Spirit Plant.
• Feng Zhuo drew the rampaging Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine into his Dantian and used three drops of heart’s blood and the method’s prohibitions to bind it to his life wheel.
• The Soul-Devouring Vine became docile and helped Feng Zhuo regenerate his damaged body, including his lost right eye, before he awoke.
• Feng Zhuo confirmed that the first stage of the contract was complete, while learning that he must awaken the vine’s spiritual awareness before cultivating the next stage.
• Feng Zhuo prepared to have his Life-Bound Spirit Fire devour Yunxiaozi’s Green Vine Heart Flame and considered how to confront Chu Yunfei outside the secret realm.

Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang emerged from hiding on the secret realm’s final day to face nearly fifty disciples led by Su Ruanruan and Shen Mingxiao, who planned to seize Feng Zhuo’s treasures and punish him. Feng Zhuo confronted the ambush while the others accused him of poisoning Su Ruanruan, and the confrontation ended with Bai Wuxia deciding Feng Zhuo deserved to die.

• Su Ruanruan and Shen Mingxiao gathered nearly fifty disciples from two sects, armed them with arrays and borrowed weapons, and prepared to ambush Feng Zhuo at the secret realm’s exit.
• After Nangong Tang reached Foundation Establishment and her Green-Eyed Golden Toad reached the seventh tier, she and Feng Zhuo left their underground hideout on the realm’s final day.
• Feng Zhuo counted the ambushers with his Divine Sense and confronted the group, while Nangong Tang stayed hidden underground to avoid Shen Mingxiao.
• Shen Mingxiao demanded that Nangong Tang answer for allegedly poisoning Su Ruanruan, and Xuan Mo and Xuanfeng demanded Feng Zhuo hand over the antidote and Spirit-Cleansing Grass.
• Feng Zhuo mocked Su Ruanruan’s changing personas, prompting Bai Wuxia to recall her ruined face and conclude that Feng Zhuo should be killed.

Feng Zhuo trapped more than fifty disciples with the Green Vine Heart Flame after they joined Su Ruanruan in accusing him of poisoning her. As Nangong Tang recorded the confrontation and Feng Zhuo recovered the blood resentment Qi from Su Ruanruan, an unseen attack interrupted him.

• Su Ruanruan accused Feng Zhuo of poisoning her, and Xuanfeng led more than fifty disciples in calling for justice against him.
• Feng Zhuo used the Green Vine Heart Flame to ensnare the crowd, with Nangong Tang helping from underground.
• Feng Zhuo tightened the flames around Shen Mingxiao and tormented him, while the trapped disciples blamed Su Ruanruan for misleading them.
• Nangong Tang gave Feng Zhuo an image-recording jade, and the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine recovered the blood resentment Qi from Su Ruanruan.
• As Feng Zhuo turned to Nangong Tang, a sharp sound pierced the air and Yun Li warned him to look out.

Feng Zhuo and Yanba killed the White Tiger after it attacked, and Feng Zhuo took its corpse for its valuable materials. He offered Yun Li a way to regrow her severed right arm once she reached Foundation Establishment, leaving her tearfully grateful.

• Yanba stopped the White Tiger's attack on Feng Zhuo and trapped it with his tails and Heart-Scorching Flame.
• Yun Li remembered how the White Tiger had broken their contract, injured her, and become Su Ruanruan's life-bound spirit beast.
• Yanba killed the White Tiger without damaging its fur, and Feng Zhuo stored the corpse for its materials.
• Feng Zhuo gave Yun Li two bottles of pills and promised to help regrow her right arm once she reached Foundation Establishment.
• Yun Li thanked Feng Zhuo through tears and vowed she would do anything he asked.

Feng Zhuo emerged from the mystic realm at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, surprising the gathered sect disciples and provoking Chu Yunfei. Chu Yunfei accused him of poisoning Su Ruanruan and stealing the ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Cleansing Grass, preparing to confront him.

• Yun Li told Nangong Tang that Ye Qingyu planned to take a long-term sect mission after reaching Foundation Establishment and would wait for her at their usual place.
• Feng Zhuo left the mystic realm ahead of the others, while Yun Li and Nangong Tang agreed to bring the remaining disciples out just before it closed.
• Outside the mystic realm, Yushang tried to stall Chu Yunfei while waiting for reinforcements, but Chu Yunfei dismissed her concerns and trusted Su Ruanruan's accusations against Feng Zhuo.
• Feng Zhuo emerged alone at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, startling Chu Hongxiao, Chu Yunfei, and the gathered disciples.
• Chu Yunfei mocked Feng Zhuo's rapid cultivation, then accused him of poisoning Su Ruanruan and seizing the ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Cleansing Grass as he readied his sword.

Feng Zhuo confronted Chu Yunfei over Su Ruanruan’s accusation and used the dispute to expose rumors about the Dark Nether Sword Token. After Chu Yunfei attacked him with lightning sword techniques, Feng Zhuo’s Green Vine Heart Flame countered the strike, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Feng Zhuo challenged Chu Yunfei’s accusations and hinted that Chu Yunfei had spread rumors about the Dark Nether Sword Token.
• Chu Yunfei demanded Feng Zhuo’s storage ring and antidote, then attacked when Feng Zhuo produced a gilded auction receipt.
• Feng Zhuo threw five Thunderclap Bombs at Chu Yunfei, who destroyed them with his Heavenly Thunder Spirit Root.
• Chu Yunfei unleashed thirty-three lightning pythons at Feng Zhuo, while Yushang prepared to use her life-saving jade talisman.
• Feng Zhuo formed a vine barrier whose Green Vine Heart Flame became thirty-three spirit serpents and crushed Chu Yunfei’s lightning pythons.
• Chu Yunfei suppressed his dissatisfaction and called the exchange one sword strike.

Feng Zhuo withstood Chu Yunfei’s increasingly powerful sword attacks by combining his divergent flames and then using Yanba to stop the remainder of Chu Yunfei’s Annihilation Sword Intent. After restoring his spiritual power, Feng Zhuo counterattacked while Yushang prevented Chu Hongxiao from intervening, leaving the duel reversed in Feng Zhuo’s favor.

• Yushang prepared to use her jade talisman to save Feng Zhuo, while the other disciples hesitated to oppose Chu Yunfei.
• Feng Zhuo used three divergent flames to defend against Chu Yunfei’s lightning sword and endured his repeated attacks.
• Chu Yunfei unleashed Hidden Dormant Thunder, and Feng Zhuo fused his spirit fires into a phoenix that weakened the Annihilation Sword Intent.
• Yanba emerged from Feng Zhuo’s spirit beast pouch and stopped the remaining Sword Intent with its flames and chains.
• Feng Zhuo restored his spiritual power with twelve Spirit-Restoring Pills, then attacked Chu Yunfei alongside Yanba.
• Yushang blocked Chu Hongxiao from helping as Feng Zhuo’s vines kept Chu Yunfei from recovering.

After defeating Chu Yunfei, Feng Zhuo considered his future bid for the Heaven's Chosen Ranking, but Zhong Mingxuan intervened on Chu Yunfei's behalf and attacked him. Feng Zhuo and his allies resisted until Zhong prepared a potentially lethal strike, forcing Feng Zhuo to consider using his life-saving jade talisman.

• Feng Zhuo handed the battered Chu Yunfei to Yanba, then told Yushang that Nangong and Yun Li remained inside the secret realm.
• Feng Zhuo considered competing for the Heaven's Chosen Ranking in the future, but decided to prioritize returning to the Feng Household and uncovering the cause of his master's death.
• Chu Yunfei swore revenge as the gathered disciples stayed out of the conflict.
• Zhong Mingxuan appeared and condemned Feng Zhuo for attacking Chu Yunfei, then used his Nascent Soul Peak pressure and dark ice chains against him.
• Feng Zhuo, Yanba, and the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine resisted Zhong Mingxuan's attacks while Yanba pursued Chu Yunfei and broke his sword.
• Zhong Mingxuan formed twelve icicles for another strike, and Feng Zhuo prepared to crush his life-saving jade talisman.

Yunxiaozi intervened after Zhong Mingxuan attacked Feng Zhuo, then killed Zhong with one move and took his disciples away. Feng Zhuo’s victory over Chu Yunfei placed him on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, drawing the attention of a young man at the ranking pavilion.

• Yunxiaozi arrived to protect Feng Zhuo, and Ling Shuanghua and Ye Wuhen reprimanded Feng Zhuo for facing danger alone.
• Cang Wuya offered to avenge Feng Zhuo, while Yunxiaozi confronted Chu Yunfei and Zhong Mingxuan over the attack.
• Yunxiaozi killed Zhong Mingxuan with one strike after declaring that the elder must take three moves in repayment for hurting Feng Zhuo.
• Yunxiaozi took Feng Zhuo and the others away, while Chu Yunfei secretly vowed revenge on Carefree Peak and Feng Zhuo.
• A gray-robed disciple reported that Feng Zhuo had reached eightieth place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking after defeating Chu Yunfei, and the Young Pavilion Master examined Feng Zhuo’s image.

At the Law Enforcement Hall, Su Ruanruan accused Feng Zhuo of poisoning and robbing her in the secret realm, while Feng Zhuo and Xuanfeng gave conflicting accounts. Feng Zhuo admitted he possessed ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Cleansing Grass, leaving Su Ruanruan startled but insisting he had stolen it from her.

• Primordial Lord Chixiao demanded that Su Ruanruan explain what had happened and threatened Feng Zhuo after she accused him of poisoning her.
• Yunxiaozi suppressed Chixiao with his pressure and asked Su Ruanruan why disciples had hunted Feng Zhuo and why Chu Yunfei had tried to kill him.
• Feng Zhuo denied poisoning Su Ruanruan and said he had met her only once before she fled, while Nangong saved him from dying in the Green Wood Illusion Forest.
• Xuanfeng claimed Feng Zhuo had colluded with a poison cultivator to steal Su Ruanruan’s Spirit-Cleansing Grass and said he had used one stalk to cleanse his Fire Spirit Root.
• Feng Zhuo admitted he had a stalk of ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Cleansing Grass, and Su Ruanruan insisted he had stolen it from her.

Feng Zhuo challenged Su Ruanruan to swear a Heavenly Dao Oath after an image-recording jade revealed fifty cultivators had hunted him in the secret realm. His oath passed without punishment, leaving the accusation against him in doubt.

• Feng Zhuo produced eleven stalks of Spirit-Cleansing Grass, but Bai Wuxia argued that this did not prove he had not taken Su Ruanruan’s ten-thousand-year-old stalk.
• Su Ruanruan showed her poisoned-looking face and cited Bai Wuxia as a witness, while Feng Zhuo questioned her evidence and displayed a recording of the ambush in the secret realm.
• Yunxiaozi attacked Chixiao over the ambush, but Lingxiaozi intervened to protect Chixiao, prompting Yunxiaozi to consider ending their relationship.
• Feng Zhuo stopped Yunxiaozi and challenged Su Ruanruan to a Heavenly Dao Oath, swearing that he had neither poisoned her nor stolen her Spirit-Cleansing Grass.
• The Soul-Oath Cauldron glowed with golden light, and Feng Zhuo received no punishment.

Feng Zhuo’s oath exposed Su Ruanruan’s guilt, and Lingxiaozi banished her to the Nine Nether Blood Domain while sentencing the others involved. After returning to Carefree Peak exhausted, Feng Zhuo was welcomed by his worried senior siblings, who learned what he had endured and burned with anger.

• Su Ruanruan feigned unconsciousness rather than accept Feng Zhuo’s oath, so Lingxiaozi banished her to the Nine Nether Blood Domain for ten years and sentenced Chu Yunfei, Bai Wuxia, Xuanfeng, and Xuan Mo to lesser terms.
• Yunxiaozi killed Zhong Mingxuan, then took Feng Zhuo away and warned him not to risk himself again.
• Feng Zhuo planned to return to the Feng Household for a treasure that could detect Devil Qi, then expose Devil Venerable Li Tianxing and prevent his master’s death.
• Yunxiaozi carried the exhausted Feng Zhuo back to Carefree Peak, where Ling Shuanghua, Ye Wuhen, and Cang Wuya anxiously gathered around him.
• After Yunxiaozi told them Feng Zhuo had fought fifty opponents and a stronger Golden Core cultivator, his senior siblings reacted with fury.
• System No. 158 reported that the world’s protagonist might be a reincarnator, but received an order to continue the mission.

Su Ruanruan received a replacement system and planned to win over the injured Devil Venerable Li Tianxing. On Carefree Peak, Feng Zhuo sparred with Cang Wuya before meeting the newly Foundation Established Yun Li.

• System No. 008 told Su Ruanruan that System No. 007 had been destroyed for abandoning its post, and she planned to use her knowledge of the story to win over Li Tianxing.
• Feng Zhuo sparred with Cang Wuya, who corrected his sword technique and demonstrated the second form of Returning Wind Touches Green.
• Feng Zhuo admired Cang Wuya's smile and beauty mark, then hurried down Carefree Peak after hearing someone was waiting for him.
• Feng Zhuo encountered Yanba on his way down and told it to stop talking and keep eating.
• At the foot of Carefree Peak, Feng Zhuo met Ye Wuhen and Yun Li, realized she had reached Foundation Establishment, and inferred that she had chosen to give up Perfect Foundation Establishment so she could restore her right arm sooner.

Feng Zhuo gave Yun Li pills to restore her severed arm and accepted an ancient wooden key in exchange for a Golden Core Formation Pill. After Yun Li left, Ye Wuhen teased Feng Zhuo, who retaliated by threatening to tell Junior Brother Cang what Ye Wuhen had said.

• Feng Zhuo showed Yun Li a Broken Bone Pill and a Meridian Mending Pill that could restore her right arm.
• Yun Li offered Feng Zhuo a Yun Household token and an ancient wooden key, which stirred the Everlasting Spring Scripture within him.
• Feng Zhuo refused the token, accepted the key, and gave Yun Li a high-grade Golden Core Formation Pill as payment.
• Yun Li returned to Heaven-Soaring Peak after Feng Zhuo advised her to combine the pills with a Rejuvenation Pill and a Flesh-Regenerating Pill.
• Ye Wuhen teased Feng Zhuo about Junior Brother Cang, and Feng Zhuo threatened to report Ye Wuhen before flying off on the Awakening of Insects sword.

Feng Zhuo and Cang Wuya left the sect to investigate reports of an evil demon in Clear Creek Village. After choosing a mission that might involve a Nightmare Child Eater, they hurried to protect the village’s children.

• Feng Zhuo asked Yunxiaozi for Sword Intent talismans, and Yunxiaozi gave two each to him and Cang Wuya.
• Feng Zhuo tricked Yunxiaozi into rushing off by claiming his eldest senior brother had dug up the spirit wine, then pulled Cang Wuya down the mountain.
• Feng Zhuo searched the mission hall and chose a three-month mission to investigate disappearances and strange attacks in Clear Creek Village.
• Cang Wuya identified a Nightmare Child Eater as the likely culprit, and Feng Zhuo urged them to hurry because two children had already died.

Feng Zhuo and Cang Wuya reached Clear Creek Village after ten days of travel and met Ji Tinglan, a young guqin-playing cultivator from nearby Clear Spring Valley. She confirmed that she had come to deal with the village’s demon, while Feng Zhuo and Cang Wuya questioned why the villagers had sought help from their distant sect instead of her valley.

• Cang Wuya froze the stream with precise sword technique, helping Feng Zhuo catch silver fish for Yanba.
• Feng Zhuo gave up on roasting the fish and fed Yanba Spirit-Feeding Pills instead.
• Ji Tinglan arrived, traded Aversion Grass for Feng Zhuo’s pills, and eagerly ate all five.
• Ji Tinglan introduced herself as a disciple of Clear Spring Valley and said she had come to eliminate the demon in Clear Creek Village.
• Feng Zhuo and Cang Wuya exchanged wary glances because their task had not mentioned Clear Spring Valley, and Feng Zhuo suspected Ji Tinglan was an unusually gifted music cultivator.