The chapter opens with a description of the destruction wrought by the fire. The group has cleared the area of poisonous plants and flowers, but there are still plenty of traps set in the ground. They have found a villa, but only two of the hundred men who entered the villa returned, and the group has lost nearly a thousand men. They still have not found the true headquarters of the House of Flower Divinity. They decide to send two "eatinging spirits" into the valley to find out what they are up to.