Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei and the others spent months cutting a small realm free, with Wind Forgotten and another Tree Race member doing the work. Near the end, they discovered a powerful Imprisonment restriction tied to a Great Venerable, and Qu Jianlei revealed that the Venerable connected to the realm had fallen.

• True Immortal Bu Hu ordered a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator to leave and keep others away from the cutting site.
• After Wind Forgotten rested, Qu Jianlei used a timid Golden Core Realm Tree Race member to maintain the breach while the group continued cutting.
• True Immortal Jin Ge asked Qu Jianlei to sell him the Tree Race member, but Qu Jianlei refused and called it part of coordinated combat.
• Three months later, the group had cut through ninety-five percent of the small realm, and Tree Traitor continued the delicate work of severing its bindings.
• True Immortal Jin Ge and Qu Jianlei detected a sturdy Imprisonment restriction, and Senior Violent warned that separating the small realm intact would be difficult.
• Qu Jianlei revealed that the Great Venerable connected to the small realm had fallen, leaving True Immortal Bu Hu and Third Pavilion Lord stunned.

Qu Jianlei and the others debated how to handle the damaged small world and its fixed imprisonment before True Immortal Jin Ge agreed to proceed. After Jin Ge extracted it and suppressed the opening, Qu Jianlei inspected the badly damaged world and fulfilled their agreement, while Jin Ge asked for repair advice.

• Qu Jianlei explained that the Great Venerable’s death had fixed the imprisonment and that cutting it away would damage the small world, so the group decided to proceed with the damaged world rather than seek another.
• True Immortal Jin Ge remembered that his opportunity was connected to Qu Jianlei and asked Qu Jianlei to divine what he should do.
• After eight days, True Immortal Jin Ge extracted the small world and sealed the opening as violent energies surged through it.
• True Immortal Jin Ge suppressed the opening while the restrictions repaired themselves, and the Third Pavilion Lord inspected the small world before Qu Jianlei did.
• On the tenth day, Qu Jianlei inspected the nearly shattered small world, and True Immortal Jin Ge accepted it and asked Qu Jianlei for advice on repairing it.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with True Immortal Jin Ge over the small realm and revealed the crimson remnant body of an Innate Spirit Treasure as a possible trade. Jin Ge agreed in principle to exchange it for two sets of Five Elements Sources, but the price remained unsettled.

• Qu Jianlei completed his transaction with Art Venerable, who gave him Gold and Water Sources as compensation.
• Qu Jianlei took Jin Ge aside and explained that repairing the small realm required one Source of each of the Five Elements.
• Qu Jianlei offered the small realm in exchange for an item and two sets of Five Elements Sources, then showed Jin Ge the enormous crimson Star Cluster.
• Jin Ge recognized the Star Cluster as the remnant body of an Innate Spirit Treasure and agreed to the trade, but tried to haggle over the steep price.
• Qu Jianlei rejected Jin Ge's attempt to count the earlier Sources toward the deal and admitted that he had promised the treasure to the Trial Cave Dwelling's Artifact Spirit.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with the Artifact Spirit to exchange the red Nebula for a set of Five Elements Source, then returned to the warship and later discussed a healing technique with the Third Pavilion Lord. The chapter ended with the Third Pavilion Lord asking whether he could prepare an exchange in advance.

• Qu Jianlei divined that the Artifact Spirit would need about sixty years to digest the red Nebula and negotiated to give it a set of Five Elements Source instead.
• The Artifact Spirit accepted the deal, explaining that the Five Elements Source would nourish the Abode without requiring hibernation.
• Qu Jianlei refused to lower his demands to True Immortal Jin Ge, and Jin Ge left after saying Qu was making things difficult for him.
• Qu Jianlei, True Immortal Bu Hu, and the Third Pavilion Lord waited until the restrictions recovered, then departed aboard the warship.
• The Third Pavilion Lord visited Qu Jianlei and asked why he wanted a secret technique for rapid healing; Qu Jianlei said he was acting on behalf of the Righteousness Post.
• The Third Pavilion Lord offered the Book Pavilion's Rule of Thunder for information, but Qu Jianlei declined and the Third Pavilion Lord asked whether he could arrange an exchange in advance.

Qu Jianlei negotiated a confidential exchange with the Book Pavilion involving the Black Colt Tower, then received Master Shen Miao, who sought Red Leaf Ridge’s help with the Restricted Area and Space Repair Fluid. The chapter ended with Qu Jianlei delaying action until Upper Realm experts arrived, wary that earlier events might have disturbed mysterious beings.

• Qu Jianlei showed the Third Pavilion Lord the Black Colt Tower and discussed its time differential, possible improvements, and the need to keep its production secret.
• The Third Pavilion Lord agreed to confidentiality and considered exchanging Sources or other valuable treasures for access to the Black Colt Tower.
• True Immortal Bu Hu summoned the Third Pavilion Lord to the Upper Realm Cultivator Station to discuss the Righteousness Post.
• After Red Leaf Ridge’s warship continued observing Forgotten Peninsula, Master Shen Miao visited Qu Jianlei with a Sword Art and a Poison Art as meeting gifts.
• Master Shen Miao asked Red Leaf Ridge to help assess and clear the Restricted Area and offered a Fire Art Source for one thousand portions of Space Repair Fluid.
• Qu Jianlei postponed entering the Restricted Area until more Upper Realm experts arrived, concealing his concern that cutting apart the small world might have awakened mysterious existences.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with Stalwart Master Shen Miao and True Immortal Jin Ge over Restoration Fluid and Sources, while learning that people from the Upper Realm would arrive soon. Jin Ge inspected Nebula and insisted on paying a deposit before Qu Jianlei could gather enough Sources to abandon their trade.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to provide Bitter Sea with one thousand portions of Space Repair Fluid, gave Shen Miao a fragment to study, and accepted the Source of Fire Shen Miao had brought as payment.
• Shen Miao delivered two hundred portions of Restoration Fluid immediately and warned Qu Jianlei that a major change was expected in roughly five years, then left after Jin Ge told him that people from the Upper Realm were arriving.
• Jin Ge told Qu Jianlei to keep the Upper Realm's arrival confidential and offered him seven Sources, but Qu Jianlei refused to give up the Spirit Treasure.
• Qu Jianlei and Jin Ge went to Yin Ridge, where Jin Ge inspected Nebula and questioned whether Qu Jianlei might collect enough Sources to cancel their trade.
• Jin Ge insisted on paying a deposit for the Spirit Treasure before Qu Jianlei could gather two complete sets of Five Elements Sources.

Qu Jianlei and True Immortal Jin Ge negotiated over a Spirit Treasure fragment before a new Upper Realm force arrived to investigate the Forgotten Peninsula. As Red Leaf Ridge prepared to leave, True Immortal Jiken asked Qu Jianlei for their information and requested that they stay for another expedition into the Restricted Area.

• Qu Jianlei refused to take a deposit for the Spirit Treasure fragment, and True Immortal Jin Ge left Yin Ridge without securing it.
• Four days later, True Immortal Jiken arrived with eighteen True Immortals divided into three groups and began investigating the region.
• After waiting seven or eight days and sensing an atmosphere directed against Red Leaf Ridge, Qu Jianlei ordered his team to leave without notifying the others.
• A Nascent Soul cultivator tried to stop the departing Battalion-Class Ship, but True Immortal Bu Hu intervened and True Immortal Jiken came to speak with the team.
• Jiken revealed that he carried a strand of a Great Venerable's will, asked Qu Jianlei for Red Leaf Ridge's information on the Forgotten Peninsula, and requested that they stay for the next Restricted Area expedition.

Qu Jianlei rejected True Immortal Jiken’s attempt to involve Red Leaf Ridge in other Restricted Area matters and returned to the ridge, where he prepared for signs of a Heavenly Devil resurgence. He also learned that the Calculation Unit was aging and advised Bentley on his plan to form a Nascent Soul, leaving the team with several long-term problems to address.

• Qu Jianlei refused to explore with True Immortal Jiken, challenged the Upper Realm’s inaction against the Heavenly Devils, and departed without giving True Immortal Bu Hu the information they had discussed.
• Qu Jianlei returned to Red Leaf Ridge and learned that Heavenly Devils had grown more active in both the ridge’s research sites and Central Province, so he ordered closer observation and increased supplies.
• Qu Jianlei checked the Ritual Artifact’s progress and learned from Big Head Butterfly that the Calculation Unit might last only thirty to fifty years, prompting them to pursue a Mystic-Side alternative.
• Bentley asked Qu Jianlei to divine his chances of forming a Nascent Soul before entering Death Seclusion, and Qu Jianlei judged the timing acceptable but said the seclusion was unnecessary.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with True Immortal Jin Ge and rejected the Artifact Spirit’s request to absorb a small realm, while Jade Forest Matron sought his help after Master Peng vanished in Forgotten Peninsula. The Book Pavilion proposed using a contact named Xiuqin to reach the Upper Realm, and Qu Jianlei remained wary of the risk to his team.

• Qu Jianlei told Bentley to enter seclusion, then discussed Forgotten Peninsula and a trip to Yin Ridge with True Immortal Jin Ge.
• True Immortal Jin Ge returned and prepared to perform Sacrificial Refining, while Qu Jianlei asked whether True Immortal Jiken had investigated the three families.
• The Artifact Spirit asked Qu Jianlei to give it the small realm, but he refused and gave it five portions of origin instead.
• Jade Forest Matron told Qu Jianlei that Master Peng had entered Forgotten Peninsula and disappeared, then the Book Pavilion exchanged two types of origin for a Black Colt Tower.
• Jade Forest Matron and the Third Pavilion Lord said Xiuqin had offered to guide them to the Upper Realm in exchange for news of the Righteous Sect, and Qu Jianlei questioned whether he could trust him with the team.

Qu Jianlei and Red Leaf Ridge declined to search the void for two missing Upper Realm cultivators, while news from Forgotten Peninsula suggested the search for Master Peng remained unresolved. When Alien Race approached Dongsheng and the Cultivator Alliance proved understaffed, Red Leaf Ridge agreed to respond only after Jia Shuiqing forced the Alliance to follow proper procedures; the chapter ended with True Immortal Yuan Yi identifying the attackers as the eight-legged octopuses seen before.

• Jiang Hui told Qu Jianlei that the Upper Realm was offering a strand of Five Elements Source for locating two missing Nascent Soul cultivators, but Qu Jianlei and Red Leaf Ridge declined to join the search.
• News from Forgotten Peninsula revealed that True Immortal Jiken had found abnormalities in three small realms, including the realm where Master Peng disappeared, while Stalwart Master Shen Miao passed along a gesture of goodwill to Qu Jianlei.
• Duo Gan warned Qu Jianlei that Alien Race were approaching through the Sealing Grand Array, and explained that the Cultivator Alliance was short-handed because several officials had joined the search for the reward.
• True Immortal Yuan Yi appealed to Red Leaf Ridge for help, but Jia Shuiqing rejected his attempt to pressure them and told him to complete the proper procedures before they acted.
• True Immortal Yuan Yi returned an hour later and urgently told Jia Shuiqing that the attacking Alien Race were the eight-legged octopuses who had appeared before.

Qu Jianlei and the cultivators at the Sealing Grand Array investigated a Warship pursued by Piao and discovered Zhao Sanshui and Zeng Jiarui aboard. They learned the pair had been attacked while assisting other bounty hunters, and the chapter left Qu Jianlei questioning what had happened as the surviving cultivators explained their flight back toward Cangwu.

• True Immortal Yuan Yi reported that a Warship was circling near the Sealing Grand Array with several Piao pursuing it, and Qu Jianlei went to investigate with Jia Shuiqing, Qinghu, and True Immortal Qi Ya.
• Qu Jianlei and the others waited near the array until the Warship passed with Piao following it, then Qu Jianlei used his Ruler to approach and recognized Zhao Sanshui aboard.
• Zhao Sanshui told Qu Jianlei that he and Zeng Jiarui had gone to reinforce Thousand Hands True Immortal and True Immortal Ke Liang after they were attacked, but the pair had fled to summon help.
• The cultivators aboard explained that six Piao had pursued Zhao Sanshui and Zeng Jiarui after they withdrew, and that their Warships had been destroyed several times before they reached the array.

Qu Jianlei rescued Zhao Sanshui and Zeng Jiarui from the Piao and helped their families defeat the creatures. He then followed them into the void to search for Thousand Hands, reaching a region filled with shattered rocks and Demonic Qi, where the Small Tripod began absorbing the black qi with increased force.

• Zeng Jiarui and Zhao Sanshui accepted Qu Jianlei's help, and he sent Battalion-Class Ships to attack the pursuing Piao while Red Leaf Ridge joined the battle.
• Qi Ya killed one Piao, Qinghu captured another, and Qu Jianlei pursued and helped kill the fleeing creatures; Zhao Sanshui and Zeng Jiarui gave their families' Piao to Red Leaf Ridge as thanks.
• Zhao Sanshui agreed to accompany Qu Jianlei to search for Thousand Hands, and they sent the wounded back before continuing into the void.
• After several days, Qu Jianlei used divination to guide them toward a belt of shattered rocks, where they detected lingering abnormal energy and spreading Demonic Qi.
• Zhao Sanshui retreated as the Small Tripod appeared and absorbed the black qi, noticing that its suction seemed stronger than before.

Qu Jianlei fought a growing force of Piaos in the void while searching for Thousand Hands and Ke Liang, and his battered warships gained unexpected support when the two rogues arrived. The Piaos revealed hidden reinforcements, leaving both groups under attack as Thousand Hands maneuvered to evade them.

• Qu Jianlei used the Small Tripod to draw in Demonic Qi and engaged five Piaos with more than twenty Battalion-Class Ships while Zhao Sanshui's Warship withdrew from the fight.
• The battle destroyed numerous Battalion-Class Ships and killed one Piao before a battered Warship appeared and attacked the Piaos; Qu Jianlei identified its pilot as Ke Liang.
• Six more Piaos emerged from spatial hiding, sending four after Thousand Hands True Immortal and two to reinforce the siege against Qu Jianlei's team.
• Thousand Hands maneuvered his Warship to evade the Piaos and occasionally counterattack, prompting Qi Ya to recognize his use of the kiting tactic she had taught him.

Qu Jianlei’s fleet and its allies retreated from the Piao as a powerful, mysterious aura emerged, while Zhao Sanshui recognized the danger and withdrew his team. After a costly day-long pursuit, Red Leaf Ridge lured eight Piao around a massive stone and revealed a hidden fleet of more than forty Battalion-Class Ships behind them.

• Zhao Sanshui suspected Red Leaf Ridge had concealed more Battalion-Class Ships, but when a faint, powerful aura appeared, he ordered his team to retreat at full speed.
• Qu Jianlei ordered Thousand Hands True Immortal to withdraw, and Red Leaf Ridge’s fleet fled as the mysterious aura continued to grow.
• Red Leaf Ridge’s fleet turned back to ambush its pursuers, destroying one Piao and severely injuring another, but losing eight Battalion-Class Ships.
• Qu Jianlei led the remaining ships through a day-long pursuit, during which the fleet counterattacked twice and damaged one more Piao.
• Qu Jianlei reached a massive stone and told Evening Glow Senior to begin; after the eight pursuing Piao circled around it, they found more than forty Battalion-Class Ships waiting behind them.

Qu Jianlei’s fleet trapped the Piao with Antimatter Annihilation Bombs, but the survivors summoned an Out-of-Body Piao. When it tried to retreat with a wounded Piao, Qu Jianlei attacked it with the World Piercing Shuttle, leaving the powerful enemy partially exposed and struggling to suppress the damage.

• Qu Jianlei’s Battalion-Class Ships used Antimatter Annihilation Bombs to damage several Piao, whose attacks and attempts to escape triggered more spatial disturbances.
• The Piao formed a defensive formation and summoned an Out-of-Body being, whose enormous black tentacle emerged from the void.
• The black tentacle seized a wounded Piao and tried to pull it away, so Qu Jianlei launched the World Piercing Shuttle at it.
• The Out-of-Body Piao recognized the shuttle’s connection to the Xuan Qing World and pleaded that the attack was a misunderstanding, but Qu Jianlei continued.
• The shuttle tore open a huge wound in the Out-of-Body Piao as it emerged partly from a spatial crevice, and Qu Jianlei noted that the opponent was unusually powerful.

Qu Jianlei used the World Piercing Shuttle and the Dao Stele to defeat an Out-of-Body Piao, then ordered the remaining Piao hunted down. Elsewhere, Thousand Hands True Immortal and True Immortal Ke Liang turned to confront the Piao pursuing them after realizing Qu Jianlei had likely succeeded.

• Qu Jianlei struck the Out-of-Body Piao with the World Piercing Shuttle, then escaped its counterattack by switching to another Battalion-Class Ship.
• The dying Piao delayed Qu Jianlei with talk of Great Venerable Wu Xuan before unleashing a hidden chill, which the Dao Stele's aura dispelled.
• Qu Jianlei refused to spare the Piao descendants, and the Out-of-Body Piao fell silent after offering its intact body.
• Qu Jianlei sent unmanned Battalion-Class Ships to attack the six Nascent Soul Piao; three were destroyed while three fled under pursuit.
• The four Piao chasing Thousand Hands True Immortal and True Immortal Ke Liang suddenly retreated, so the two True Immortals turned to pursue them.
• Zhao Sanshui's Warship moved closer after following Thousand Hands True Immortal's Flying Shuttle from a distance.

Qu Jianlei and his allies finished hunting the Piao and learned that Thousand Hands and Ke Liang had drawn the creatures’ pursuit after rescuing two Nascent Soul cultivators. The rescued cultivators revealed that their mission had been to eliminate a suspected Piao, but they had discovered a whole group instead.

• Qu Jianlei met Li Yuren and Zhu Jiayi’s bounty-hunting team, gave them a Piao corpse, and confirmed with Senior Violent that the Out-of-Body Piao had died from damage caused by the World Piercing Shuttle.
• Qu Jianlei’s team joined Li Yuren and Zhu Jiayi, found Thousand Hands and Zhao Sanshui hunting the last Piao, and helped kill it.
• Thousand Hands explained that he and Ke Liang had rescued two missing Nascent Soul cultivators, after which the Piao had pursued them relentlessly.
• Li Yuren and Zhao Sanshui confronted the rescued cultivators for bringing danger to Cangwu, while the younger cultivator promised compensation and said they had accepted a mission from an Immortal Venerable.
• The younger cultivator explained that he had searched for a suspected Piao for nearly half a year before discovering a large group of them.

Qu Jianlei and Red Leaf Ridge faced questions from the upper realm after repelling an Out-of-Body Piao, while several witnesses sought refuge or were summoned to Central Province. As the upper realm’s interest grew, Qu Jianlei called on Jin Ge to ask about traveling there.

• Wei Bing reported that the Piao had moved their battlefield, and Qu Jianlei ended the team’s mission after divining that the immediate danger had passed.
• Ke Liang and Thousand Hands received an earth-element origin source as a reward, then learned the upper realm wanted reports about Red Leaf Ridge’s battle with the Out-of-Body Piao.
• Qu Jianlei declined to explain how he had repelled the Piao, while Li Yuren, Zhao Sanshui, and Zeng Jiarui were summoned by Star Palace for questioning.
• Zhu Jiayi joined Red Leaf Ridge’s Heavenly Demon project, and Li Yuren realized he had missed an opportunity to seek refuge there.
• Jiang Hui told Qu Jianlei that the upper realm had reprimanded Li Yuren for disrespect, and Qu Jianlei summoned Jin Ge to ask about traveling to the upper realm.

Qu Jianlei learned that the upper realm considered a full-scale Heavenly Demon invasion unlikely, while Star Palace launched a broad counteroffensive. After True Immortal Jiken confronted him over damage to upper realm assets, Qu Jianlei said he would only go to the upper realm with his team.

• The upper realm announced that the Heavenly Demons had likely abandoned a full-scale invasion, and Qu Jianlei told Jing Yuexin to continue researching them.
• Star Palace mobilized the Thirty-Six Cities to purge Demonic Qi, while Star Palace and Four Sages Mountain committed resources to the counteroffensive.
• True Immortal Jiken withdrew from the Forgotten Peninsula with substantial gains, kept most of his personnel there, and traveled to Liuguang City with Bu, Immortal Maiden and two others.
• Jiang Hui pressed Jing Yuexin to send Red Leaf Ridge members to fight the Heavenly Demons, but Jing Yuexin welcomed Jiken's visit to escape the request.
• Jiken confronted Qu Jianlei about severing a small realm and alleged damage to upper realm assets, while Qu Jianlei denied fault and told him to leave.
• Jiken asked whether Qu Jianlei wanted to go to the upper realm, and Qu Jianlei said he would travel only with his team.

Qu Jianlei and True Immortal Jiken exchanged information about the Out-of-Body Piao, the Restricted Area, and the World Piercing Shuttle. Jiken recognized the shuttle’s maker, Great Venerable Wu Xuan of the Xuan Qing World, and wondered whether Wu Xuan had fallen.

• Qu Jianlei refused Jiken’s offer to help take people to the Upper Realm and questioned whether Red Leaf Ridge depended on Art Venerable.
• Jiken explained that an Out-of-Body Immortal Venerable had sent him to investigate the Piao, Star Tapirs, and abnormalities around the Forgotten Peninsula.
• Qu Jianlei told Jiken that he had killed the Out-of-Body Piao with the World Piercing Shuttle, but refused to show it or trade the Piao corpse.
• Jiken said Master Peng’s disappearance might be connected to a Folded Space, and Qu Jianlei revealed that he planned to enter the Restricted Area to rescue a friend.
• Jiken offered to accompany Qu Jianlei if he could see the shuttle, and Qu Jianlei identified it as a creation of Great Venerable Wu Xuan of the Taihao Sect in the Xuan Qing World.
• Jiken recognized Wu Xuan’s name and asked whether he had fallen.