Chapter Summaries

He Ao began fixing a new Fixed Mirror Space and tested its doorway to the real world. Back on Core Island, he organized the Research Institute and Moonlight into a joint search for stable doors, winning Ke Duo’s trust as they prepared to face the crisis together.

• He Ao used the transcendent materials to begin fixing a Mirror Space more than fifty kilometers from the existing one, then chose a mirror as its permanent door.
• He Ao opened and closed the passage, recorded its delay and limits, and left the Mirror Space while recovering from the strain on his avatar.
• On Core Island, Fiya gathered a stable door into a point of light and estimated that twenty such doors could form a passage capable of accommodating Rank C beings.
• He Ao ordered the transcendent beings to search the islands for stable doors and asked Ke Duo to assign sectors using the Research Institute roster.
• He Ao urged the Research Institute and Moonlight to unite for their shared future, and Ke Duo and the others joined hands and accepted his leadership.

He Ao and Fiya entered a door leading to a place Chen Lin identified as an Underground Palace, while Chen Lin and Ke Duo stayed behind to contain the situation in Newland City State. He Ao then used Mirror Shadow to reach the Fixed Mirror Space and return to Newland, preparing to investigate the hidden group manipulating events.

• Ke Duo divided the search areas fairly between Moonlight and the Research Institute, and He Ao explained to Chen Lin that their interests were aligned.
• He Ao suppressed the jade pendant’s bloodstains with Hyperthymesia long enough to store it in the Pirate Treasure Chest, then cleared monsters for an hour.
• Fiya opened an unstable door into a place resembling an Underground Palace, and He Ao and Fiya passed through together as the door shattered behind them.
• Chen Lin and Ke Duo decided to conceal He Ao and Fiya’s departure and protect Newland City State while they waited for their return.
• He Ao used Mirror Shadow to reach the Fixed Mirror Space, returned to the ruins of Newland City State, and concluded that the hidden people behind the crisis had not anticipated the coin’s ability.

He Ao and Fiya entered a dark underground corridor, where they fought flesh-and-machine monsters and followed signs of an injured human. After He Ao killed four more monsters attacking a gate, the gate began to open, leaving them to discover who—or what—was behind it.

• He Ao and Fiya killed a nearly peak C-rank monster and found machinery fused into its flesh.
• He Ao identified blood beneath the monsters' tracks as possibly human blood, and he and Fiya followed the trail through a side passage.
• They found four monsters battering a gate, and Fiya said she could briefly slow them within five meters.
• He Ao and Fiya attacked the monsters, and He Ao killed all four with his Bone Sword.
• The battered gate slowly opened as He Ao and Fiya stood among the monster corpses.

He Ao and Fiya met Kalin and the survivors of a settlement in the Underground Palace, learning how they had arrived there and what they knew about its floors. As Kalin prepared to guide them deeper, the chapter cut back to Wenlan Island, where a Little Girl said her missing parents were telling her to open the door.

• He Ao and Fiya entered the settlement, where Kalin revealed that some residents had been missing from Newland City State for nearly a year and had reached the Underground Palace through doors.
• He Ao concluded that the worlds had been drawing closer gradually and that some missing people had passed through earlier doors before the current crisis.
• Kalin showed He Ao and Fiya the settlement’s food-producing machines and explained that seventy-six survivors relied on them and hunted nearby monsters.
• Kalin described the Underground Palace’s three known floors and agreed to guide He Ao and Fiya toward the stairs to the second floor.
• An announcement ordered residents of Newland City State to stay inside and avoid opening closed doors, while a Little Girl told the Old Man she heard her parents saying, “Open the door.”

He Ao and Fiya crossed the Underground Palace’s First Floor with Kalin and his survivors, and He Ao inferred that the floor had once been a residential district within a vast facility. After He Ao killed a Bristle Pig, he sent Kalin back with its meat while he and Fiya continued toward the lower floors, suspecting that something had changed in the Underground Palace.

• Kalin led He Ao and Fiya through the commercial district and warned them to avoid the dangerous vines scattered across the floor.
• He Ao explained to Fiya that the First Floor’s dormitories and shops suggested it had been a residential area within a large facility.
• A Bristle Pig charged the group, and He Ao killed it with his Bone Sword before it could harm them.
• He Ao learned the elevator was nearby and gave Kalin directions to the Third Floor, then parted ways with the survivors so they could take the pig’s meat home.
• Fiya questioned He Ao’s extraordinary strength as they entered the dark corridor, and He Ao reflected on the settlement’s vanished residents and the changing dangers of the Underground Palace.

Ke Duo and Chen Lin investigated city residents being lured outside by visions of missing loved ones, while He Ao and Fiya descended into the Underground Palace and uncovered signs that its lower levels had been used for extraordinary creature research. The chapter left He Ao and Fiya heading down the right-hand corridor toward Underground Floor 3 as danger remained behind them.

• Ke Duo learned that people across the five islands were leaving their homes after hearing missing relatives or seeing lost pets, and some vanished after stepping outside.
• Chen Lin suspected the disappearances were connected to Wester and urged Ke Duo to descend so they would appear to be supporting the operation, while a sinister reflection of Ke Duo watched him from the window.
• He Ao explained that the gates and indirect routes likely protected Underground Floor 1 from dangers on the lower levels, then entered an elevator shaft with Fiya.
• He Ao and Fiya found five monster-filled elevators at Underground Floor 1, and He Ao deduced that they had been unsafe to use.
• He Ao found a broken badge reading “Extraordinary Creature Research” on the second underground level and headed with Fiya down the right-hand corridor toward the stairwell to Underground Floor 3.

He Ao and Fiya crossed a vine-covered corridor, where He Ao killed an invisible python and saw the vines consume its remains. In Newland City State, chaos spread as people were driven into the streets, and the chapter ended with Lenke confronting a former Church of Chaos associate who had glimpsed figures behind a forming doorway.

• He Ao and Fiya traced the Main Vine through the corridor and realized an invisible python was stalking them.
• He Ao tricked the python into attacking and killed it with a single sword stroke.
• The vines absorbed the python’s blood, flesh, and bones, revealing their deadly nature.
• Ke Duo restrained people who were roaming Newland City State and trying to lure residents outside, then saw his reflection smile and speak to him.
• A red-haired former Church of Chaos associate wandered Wenlan Island, resisted strange urges, and glimpsed two figures through a forming doorway.
• Lenke approached the red-haired man in an alley and told him, “I ask. You answer.”

He Ao and Fiya descended through the Underground Palace, uncovering signs that a mysterious thing had escaped and that Sheep Demons had broken through the sealed gates. They reached a three-way intersection on Underground Floor 3, where He Ao chose the far-left path.

• He Ao killed an invisible little snake, destroyed the glowing door, and found the gate to the elevator hall held partly open by vines.
• He Ao found a broken Gauss Rifle bearing the relic-script message “Isolation,” then took the stairwell with Fiya toward Underground Floor 3.
• He Ao and Fiya found the Underground Floor 3 elevator hall unusually intact, with a sealed gate smashed open and a trail of dead Sheep Demons beyond it.
• He Ao concluded that Sheep Demons had broken through the gates over time and reached the passage blocked by a gigantic dead Sheep Demon.
• He Ao chose the far-left path at the three-way intersection.

He Ao and Fiya followed a secluded path on Underground Floor 3, reasoning that it might lead to the Underground Palace’s deepest level. After fighting a monster and discovering a shelter, they entered a vast hall where a powerful corpse wielding a broadsword attacked He Ao.

• He Ao explained why the secluded path was likely to lead toward Underground Floor 4, and he and Fiya followed it after hearing a creature gnawing in the darkness.
• They found a recently killed humanoid monster and then discovered a shelter with a working corridor monitor and gate lever.
• A monster ambushed Fiya from the ceiling, but He Ao pinned it with the Bone Sword and killed it after baiting its feigned-death attack.
• He Ao and Fiya found a torn iron gate and sensed powerful energy beyond it, then entered a massive round hall with a passage leading deeper underground.
• A muscular corpse awakened, drew its broadsword, and charged He Ao with Class B power.

He Ao defeated the contaminated Rank B corpse by adapting its heavy-strike energy flow into a new martial skill, then found a warning that pointed toward danger on the Fifth Floor. He left Fiya in a Safehouse and descended to the contaminated Fourth Floor, where he found a gate bearing the Eye of Truth.

• Fiya briefly affected the corpse’s weapon before a mental attack knocked her unconscious, leaving He Ao to fight the guardian alone.
• He Ao studied the corpse’s energy flow, combined its heavy-strike method with his own technique, and killed it with a kick and sword thrust.
• He Ao discovered a self-destructing message on the corpse warning of the Fifth Floor, escape, the outside, and a formation, then learned that a page describing divine-consciousness cultivation was missing from his book.
• Fiya woke up, and He Ao told her to wait in the Third Floor Safehouse because the Fourth Floor carried severe contamination.
• He Ao identified his newly learned Heavy Strike as a martial skill, left Fiya behind, and descended through the passage.
• He Ao reached a gate marked with the Eye of Truth, and it opened as the contamination’s whispers grew louder.

Chen Lin and the temporary alliance fought off monster attacks in Newland City State while resisting the temptation to join the monsters. He Ao secretly killed a Rank D Transcendent and a Rank D monster, and Chen Lin rallied himself to keep fighting as he contacted Ke Duo.

• Chen Lin cleared a third wave of monsters at a shelter, then ordered the military police to handle the Monster Followers according to Moonlight's procedures.
• A Monster Follower who had opened the one-armed captain's door tried to attack him, but his fellow Followers killed him before the military police finished them off.
• The captain revealed that his wife had survived the attack and said he believed gods had answered his desperate prayer.
• Chen Lin worried that Dawn's hidden Transcendents and the spreading temptation could overwhelm the alliance, though no Dawn members had appeared on the battlefield.
• He Ao watched Chen Lin's vehicle leave after secretly killing a Rank D Transcendent and a Rank D monster, noting that he still needed a crucial clue.
• Chen Lin fought off the tempting thoughts, resolved that the alliance had not lost, and contacted Ke Duo by Walkie-Talkie.

He Ao killed Luo Bo, took his identity, and reached the fourth floor of the Underground Palace, where he restarted a control console and opened an experimental record. The chapter left him poised to investigate the record titled “Contamination%* Serial Number 009-2 Experimental Record (Angel-level).”

• Ke Duo heard a voice urging him to seize power, rejected it, and ordered the helicopter back to the branch.
• Luo Bo confronted He Ao on the coast and revealed that he had set a trap to draw him out.
• He Ao seized Luo Bo, borrowed his fate, and took his identity and phone before replying to a message from a Dawn infiltrator.
• He Ao entered the Underground Palace’s fourth floor and examined its orderly Bone Mountains, central Building Block Octahedron, and control console.
• He Ao restarted one console screen, changed its language setting, and opened the Records file titled “Contamination%* Serial Number 009-2 Experimental Record (Angel-level).”

He Ao uncovered the research institute’s secrets and met Carpenter, the intelligent angelic remnant behind 009-2. Carpenter revealed that he served a Great Existence and demanded He Ao submit or die, leaving He Ao to face him in combat.

• He Ao read the encrypted records and deduced that 009-2 could suppress 009-1’s power and that 009-1’s ability involved exchanging objects.
• A screen addressed He Ao, and Carpenter formed a wooden old man from flying building blocks to speak with him.
• Carpenter explained that he had been born from his father’s remains, admitted he was cooperating with a Great Existence, and refused to identify it.
• He Ao inferred that 009-1’s source had a higher status than an angel and challenged Carpenter’s offer to make him submit.
• Carpenter transformed into flowing blocks and attacked He Ao after He Ao rejected his demands.

He Ao battled the Carpenter, whose body was made of countless building blocks, and realized brute force could not destroy him before his own strength ran out. He disabled the console that had imposed a false Order on the Carpenter’s building blocks, leaving the Carpenter’s forms shattered as contamination surged outward.

• The Carpenter attacked He Ao with a Building Block Giant, and He Ao tested the giant’s limits while damaging some of its flesh-like blocks.
• The Carpenter split into twelve Building Block People and surrounded He Ao with hammer attacks and laser fire, worsening his injuries.
• He Ao retreated to the console and asked whether the Great Existence had used it to threaten the Carpenter into obedience.
• He Ao connected his Mechanical Core Ring to the console, breaking the false Order that held the Carpenter’s building blocks together.
• The Building Block People collapsed into scattered blocks as warped contamination surged outward.

He Ao broke the balance between Carpenter and the mechanical contamination, turning him into a weakened Flesh Giant and defeating him by destroying his three Energy Convergence Points. He claimed the contaminated Metal Building Block and used the backup host to open a passage beneath the control console.

• He Ao used the Mechanical Core Ring to take control of the console and let its Laser Cannons burn away much of Carpenter’s building-block flesh.
• Carpenter became a Flesh Giant, and He Ao fought him while explaining how mechanical contamination had undermined Carpenter’s order and energy points.
• He Ao evaded the giant’s hammer and struck its three Energy Convergence Points with his black broadsword and Bone Sword.
• After Carpenter died, He Ao collected the Metal Building Block and suppressed its contamination with the Mechanical Core Ring.
• He Ao connected to the isolated backup host and opened the sealed hatch, revealing a passage into darkness.

Ke Duo resisted the Temptor’s attempt to make him unleash monsters on Newland City State, while Chen Lin rushed to stop him. He Ao arrived, freed Ke Duo from the shadow possessing him, and confronted the entity as it recognized his name and questioned his identity.

• Ke Duo refused to use the Walkie-Talkie to unleash the monsters, but the Temptor took control of his body and tried to press the transmit button.
• Chen Lin entered the office after suspecting something was wrong, and Ke Duo asked him to kill him before a disguised Moonlight member attacked Chen Lin.
• The disguised member and the Temptor prepared to overpower Chen Lin, but He Ao arrived instead of Lord Luo Bo.
• He Ao defeated the disguised attacker, stopped the Temptor’s sword with his fingers, and used Mental Impact to tear the shadow out of Ke Duo.
• He Ao sent the unconscious Ke Duo away with Chen Lin and faced the shadow, which identified him as Hao Yi and questioned his connection to the Federation.

He Ao lured Black Shadow out of Newland City State, severed his connection to the bewitched people, and defeated his monstrous form. The Underground Palace began descending as a colossal mechanical phantom emerged in the fog.

• He Ao destroyed the ritual array in the Moonlight branch with timed bombs, then used Mirror Space to draw Black Shadow into the Main World.
• He Ao explained that Black Shadow's strength depended on his bewitched victims and that isolation from them would break his supposed immortality.
• Black Shadow transformed into a Minotaur and attacked He Ao, who used the Shadowless Sword to destroy several Energy Convergence Points.
• The Minotaur invoked the Great Existence, but He Ao unleashed Mountain Collapse and Tsunami and pierced the Energy Convergence Point between its brows.
• He Ao destroyed Black Shadow's fleeing soul with Mental Impact, then collapsed from exhaustion aboard the Verola.
• He Ao saw a vast mechanical phantom emerge through the fog as the Underground Palace descended.

He Ao confronted Fiya on the Underground Palace’s fifth floor and deduced that she was the Dawn Deputy Leader, who had orchestrated an exchange between the Underground Palace and Newland City State to prepare for a Great Existence’s descent. The chapter ended as He Ao attacked Fiya, determined to kill her before her plan could succeed.

• He Ao found Fiya bound beside a ruined console, but she attacked him with a black dagger and revealed that the captive was a deception.
• He Ao identified Fiya as the Dawn Deputy Leader and explained how she had used the Church of Chaos, the settlement’s parasitic monster, and an exchange ritual to advance her plan.
• Fiya admitted that He Ao’s deductions exceeded her expectations and declared that the Great Existence’s descent could no longer be stopped.
• He Ao adjusted his position while questioning Fiya about the angel and what would happen to Newland City State after the Great Existence arrived.
• Fiya attacked He Ao with a long staff, but he blocked her strike and countered with Force Collapse Mountain Shattering.

He Ao fought Fiya, a God’s Favored One whose power in the Underground Palace had made her stronger than any life-form below Angel Rank. After using the room and his weapons to injure her, He Ao unleashed Twisted Order and struck her throat, leaving Fiya wounded as the fight reached its turning point.

• Fiya’s strength surged above He Ao’s, and her doll-like transformation revealed the divine power she had gained in the Underground Palace.
• Fiya interfered with He Ao’s weapons and overwhelmed him, but he used Telekinesis and the control consoles to evade her and wound her foot with his black broadsword.
• He Ao concluded that Fiya remained mostly flesh and blood, while her staff attacks drove him against the wall and left him badly injured.
• Fiya thrust her spear at He Ao, but he activated the Mechanical Core Ring and jade pendant to unleash contamination and Twisted Order.
• He Ao broke through the brief Order binding and swept his black broadsword across Fiya’s neck; Fiya shattered the Order but found a bright red line on her throat.

He Ao killed Fiya, acquired her Pawn ability, and uncovered how the Underground Palace’s suppression array could be restarted. He descended into an emergency chamber and emerged into deep space, where he saw the ruins’ planet, a dead Artificial Sun, and a vast contaminated life-form.

• He Ao confirmed Fiya was dead, fixed her Pawn ability as his third miracle, and took her broken Space-Time Beacon and Black Rope.
• He Ao connected the Mechanical Core Ring to the damaged central console and activated the array, then used his divine consciousness to read its Dennis Text instructions for restarting the suppression field.
• He Ao opened the hidden hatch and descended to an emergency chamber, where he ate two Meat Chunks and donned protective armor.
• He Ao opened the outer and inner hatches and drifted into deep space, seeing the ruins’ planet and the surrounding Artificial Suns.
• He Ao examined a dead Artificial Sun and saw a huge, indescribable life-form floating above its boundary, with contamination rippling through the void.