Chapter Summaries

Han Li negotiated with True Venerable Qingkong over his secret surveillance and secured Qingkong’s help for Qu Jianlei’s advancement and future otherworld exploration. After Qingkong swore an oath and Min Ning joined them, the group prepared to return to Cangwu’s Sealing Grand Array, while rumors about Qu Jianlei’s wealth and protection spread through Houde Realm.

• Jin Ge brokered a settlement in which True Venerable Qingkong offered an Extreme Spirit Stone spirit vein to help Qu Jianlei advance, and Han Li agreed to set aside the spying incident if Qingkong kept his promise.
• Han Li initially refused to bring Qingkong on the Undead-type Alien World expedition, but Qu Jianlei agreed to include him if Qingkong swore by his true body and promised to support the team when needed.
• Qingkong’s true body swore the oath, and Han Li agreed that they would return to Cangwu’s Sealing Grand Array before the group went exploring together.
• Two days later, Qingkong arrived with Min Ning, who said his Dao Field’s preliminary work was complete and explained that Qu Jianlei had become popular in Houde through Lingyun Sect’s false bodies and staged appearances.
• Min Ning described how rumors portrayed Qu Jianlei as a wealthy Nascent Soul cultivator protected by an Immortal Venerable, making him a tempting target for other forces.

Qu Jianlei and the other True Venerables traveled to a hidden otherworld after gathering a team and divining its location. They crossed its concealed barrier and discovered a world with two suns and thin, corrosive spiritual energy.

• Qu Jianlei learned that the Lingyun Sect had used him as bait to draw out troublesome cultivators, and he assembled a team with Han Li, Jin Ge, Min Ning, and Qingkong.
• Han Li brought Bentley and Mu Guang to join the expedition, and Qingkong gave Qu Jianlei a spiritual vein that Han Li agreed to inspect.
• The group traveled through the void for more than a month, using divination and Anchor Points to locate the hidden otherworld.
• After resting for three days, Min Ning revealed the concealed entrance, and Qingkong's Butterfly weakened the barrier so the group could pass through.
• The five entered a vast sea of clouds beneath two revolving suns, where Jin Ge noticed the spiritual energy was thin and corrosive.

Qu Jianlei and the four Venerables explored a magical world and debated whether intervening in its affairs would entangle them in karma. After discovering widespread cannibalism and brutality, they traced the perpetrators to a Grand Magus’s Magic Tower and attacked, finding that the world’s powerful routinely abused ordinary people.

• The five explored the region for two days, identified its magic-based cultivation system, and decided to disguise themselves to learn more.
• Qu Jianlei reconsidered his attitude toward karma after Qingkong and Min Ning warned that powerful cultivators had to be cautious about becoming entangled in it.
• The group sensed villagers ambushing a mother and son, then watched another band slaughter the villagers, loot the village, and abduct women; Han Li ordered the attackers killed.
• The Venerables followed clues from the bandits through their magic teacher to a Magus and then traced the Causality Line to a Grand Magus.
• After learning that Mages commonly experimented on living people, the group attacked the Grand Magus’s Magic Tower.

The cultivators split up to plunder resources, magical beasts, and knowledge from Magic Towers while debating whether to confront the Gods of Magic. As the Mage system’s defenses crumbled, one Grand Magus offered his Cultivation Notes and treasures in exchange for clues about becoming a God of Magic, but the phantom that appeared only took his notes and called him a lowly ant.

• True Venerable Qingkong suggested that the group gather treasures and search for a Magic Crystal vein for Qu Jianlei before deciding whether to hunt Gods of Magic.
• The five split into four groups, with Qu Jianlei and Jin Ge together, and began raiding resource-rich areas and Magic Towers.
• The Mages formed alliances and summoned the God of Magic as the bandits destroyed more than twenty Grand Magus Magic Towers.
• After one Grand Magus preserved his Magic Tower by leaving behind Cultivation Notes, other Grand Magi returned to their towers and tried to bargain with the raiders.
• A Grand Magus offered his Cultivation Notes and treasures for guidance on becoming a God of Magic, but a phantom took the notes and sent him the words, “Lowly ant. At least you know your place!”

Qu Jianlei and the Cultivators prepared for his seclusion while waiting for the Gods of Magic to investigate them. Two Gods of Magic found the group and decided to attack first, though they were uncertain they could win.

• Reports spread that the mysterious robbers viewed Grand Magi as ants, and two Grand Magi who had encountered them later vanished.
• Qu Jianlei chose a mountain range with a vast Magic Crystal vein as his seclusion site, where three powerful magical beast brothers ruled.
• Han Li confirmed that the site was suitable for Qu Jianlei’s breakthrough and sensed hostile beings approaching with Qingkong.
• The Cultivators decided to stage an attack near a Magic Tower rather than expose Qu Jianlei’s plans or cause unnecessary slaughter.
• Three days later, two Gods of Magic spotted the five hidden Cultivators and debated whether they were magical beasts or beings from beyond the realm.
• The two Gods of Magic agreed to attack the group first to test their strength and possibly learn about the void.

The two Gods of Magic set a covert trap for the suspected void intruders, but their ambush revealed how outmatched they were by the five Cultivators. The chapter leaves the Gods of Magic trapped in overwhelming domains and facing thousands of illusion-wielding butterflies.

• The two Gods of Magic secretly prepared a formation and summoned reinforcements while Qu Jianlei divined that the team faced lower-upper ominous danger.
• The old God of Magic used Sealing Domain to freeze the area, but it revealed no enemies, so the female God of Magic used Deprivation Domain and exposed five shadows.
• A bitterly cold domain crushed the Gods of Magic's domains and threatened their lives, passively activating the female God of Magic's Absolute Defense scroll.
• Thousands of Grand Magus butterflies emerged from the ice mist and wove an illusion pattern, prompting the Gods of Magic to realize the void beings were far beyond their expectations.

The two Gods of Magic activated Domain Punishment to crush the five Cultivators with the world’s power. Qingkong shattered his butterfly avatars to break through the pressure, while Jin Ge’s golden crescent surged toward the sky.

• Qingkong attacked the enemy’s defenses with his butterfly avatars as the two Gods of Magic prepared a great formation drawing on the earth’s veins.
• The Gods of Magic completed a yellow Hexagram and invoked Domain Punishment: Shatter, bringing immense pressure down on the five Cultivators.
• The Gods of Magic relied on Shatter as a last resort because they believed the Cultivators were invading Void Creatures and feared Exile might not stop them from returning.
• Qingkong ordered his butterflies to explode, and their shock waves tore through the domain’s pressure.
• Jin Ge unleashed a huge golden crescent that ignored the Gods of Magic and slashed toward the sky.

Jin Ge unleashed his full power, helping Han Li, Min Ning, and Qingkong destroy the Gods of Magic’s defenses and capture both Gods of Magic. The old God of Magic began negotiating over a soul search, while the female God of Magic refused to cooperate.

• Jin Ge attacked without restraint, prompting Han Li and Min Ning to increase their output and break the Gods of Magic’s defenses.
• Qingkong found and captured the old God of Magic’s true body, while Han Li seized the female God of Magic after the Domain Power vanished.
• Min Ning restored the rain as the group brought the two Gods of Magic together and surveyed the devastation left by the battle.
• The female God of Magic refused to open her soul, and Han Li asked Qingkong to use her hair to check for other spell bodies.
• The old God of Magic offered to consider opening his soul and challenged Han Li over the destruction and the lives of the world’s inhabitants.
• Han Li argued that the strong did not value the weak, and the old God of Magic admitted he regarded ordinary people as beneath his own kind.

Han Li and the other Void Creatures demanded that the old Magus open his soul after explaining that an exiled Undead Mage had threatened them. The Female Magus Serbis opposed them and was killed by Han Li, while the old Magus surrendered and opened his soul with the Territory Consciousness’s favor easing his resistance.

• True Venerable Min Ning explained that the Void Creatures had come because the exiled Undead Mage had threatened their side, and Jin Ge warned that they could destroy the territory.
• True Venerable Qingkong restored the damaged landscape, demonstrating the Void Creatures’ power and reinforcing the threat to the Magi.
• Serbis rejected the demand and threatened to curse the Void Creatures, so Han Li killed her with a single gesture.
• The old Magus agreed to open his soul and warned that attacking the world would carry a great cost.
• The Territory Consciousness calmed the old Magus and eased his soul’s defenses, allowing him to open it without resistance.

After learning about the Land of Fallen Gods, True Venerable Min Ning and the others decided to explore it, partly because its chaotic energy might help Qu Jianlei break through. They obtained directions and warnings from the old God of Magic and prepared to head toward the dangerous region.

• True Venerable Min Ning discovered that the World Consciousness had surrendered almost immediately, then told the others about the Land of Fallen Gods.
• True Venerable Qingkong asked Han Li whether he was interested in exploring the region, and Qu Jianlei agreed to go as well.
• The old God of Magic warned the group about the dangers and asked what kind of beings they were, but Min Ning dismissed his concerns.
• Min Ning ordered the old God of Magic to have his avatar deliver the sealed parchments describing the Land of Fallen Gods.
• After receiving the parchments, the group said they would investigate the region, and True Venerable Qingkong and Min Ning insisted that the old God of Magic had no understanding of their strength.

The old Magus joined Han Li and the others, gave them Magus Cultivation Notes, and guided them toward the Land of Fallen Gods. When another Magus ambushed the group, Qingkong seized him and used a Karma Curse Killing technique to destroy his main body.

• Han Li freed the old Magus and warned him to tell the other Magi not to challenge the group.
• The old Magus ordered the Magi to withdraw, then offered his Magus Cultivation Notes in exchange for the group leaving them alone.
• The next morning, the old Magus guided Han Li, Min Ning, Qingkong, and the others toward the concealed Land of Fallen Gods.
• Qingkong sensed a Magus lying in ambush, and the old Magus told the group they could deal with him as they wished.
• Han Li and Min Ning locked down the ambusher with their domains, and Qingkong captured and soul-searched him.
• Qingkong used Karma Curse Killing to destroy the injured Magus's main body after learning he had come to avenge the Female Magus.

After the Third Magus's resentment led to his death, the group entered the Land of Fallen Gods and discovered several opportunities with surprisingly little danger. They identified a Void Creature as the likely source and began cautiously pursuing a Medium-Medium Fortune opportunity.

• The Third Magus tried to vent his anger at the Old Magus, but True Venerable Qingkong captured him, read his memories, and killed him with a Causal Curse that also targeted his bloodline and those close to him.
• The group entered the outer fringe of the Land of Fallen Gods, and True Venerable Min Ning used divination to locate a shifting passage into it.
• After crossing the passage, True Venerable Qingkong and Han Li divined several opportunities, including one of Medium-High Fortune, and found that the danger was lower than expected.
• Han Li divined that a Void Creature was involved, and the group rested before setting out to pursue one of the Medium-Medium Fortune opportunities.
• After traveling for several days, the group had encountered only corrosive energy and a Space Rift, with no Void Creatures appearing.

The group discovered that several Fortune opportunities were fragments of a Star Swallowing Beast’s World Core, and Han Li ensured the largest fragment went to Qu Jianlei for his breakthrough. The chapter ended with Han Li rejecting Qingkong’s suggestion of compensation, reminding him that he had only joined the group as a passenger.

• The group chased a faint light and found a World Core fragment, which Qingkong compressed and stored.
• Han Li and Qingkong reasoned that a Star Swallowing Beast had died there and left multiple World Core fragments behind.
• The group found another fragment at a Medium-Low Fortune opportunity, then located a much larger fragment at the Medium-High Fortune opportunity.
• Han Li declared that the largest fragment belonged to Qu Jianlei because he needed it for his seclusion and breakthrough to the Out-of-Body Realm.
• Han Li sealed the fragment and gave it to Qu Jianlei, who thanked the Immortal Venerables.
• Qingkong suggested that Qu Jianlei should offer compensation, but Han Li refused and reminded Qingkong that he had merely joined the group for the journey.

Han Li and Qingkong settled their dispute over opportunities, and the group divided the remaining finds before organizing a secluded site for Qu Jianlei’s Out-of-Body Realm breakthrough. After extensive preparations and Wen Xian’s arrival to improve the formation, Qu Jianlei entered seclusion, though he could not divine how long the breakthrough would take or whether it would succeed.

• Han Li rebuked Qingkong for treating his arrival in the other world as a separate matter from the favors he was owed, and Min Ning helped the two restore their cooperation.
• The group allocated the remaining opportunities: Jin Ge took the rusted long halberd, Han Li and Qingkong received Medium-Medium Fortunes, and Min Ning received a Medium-Low Fortune.
• Qingkong asked to buy the remaining World Core fragments for the Lingyun Sect, but Han Li reserved one for Wen Xian and explained that the group would stand guard while Qu Jianlei cultivated.
• Han Li chose a secluded breakthrough site, and the group spent nearly four months building a temporary abode above a World Core Fragment.
• Han Li returned with Wen Xian, whose formation expertise led the group to revise the site, while Qingkong finally left.
• Qu Jianlei entered seclusion one year later after more than a hundred divinations confirmed the location, but he could not predict the breakthrough’s timing or success.

The cultivators in the Star Swallowing Beast’s remains explored the surrounding space while Han Li investigated the origins of the World Core fragments. True Venerable Qingkong returned after years away and told Min Ning that Qu Jianlei had become a target of resentment, then learned that Qu Jianlei still often came out of seclusion.

• True Venerable Han Li used divinations to reconstruct the Star Swallowing Beast’s death and investigate where its World Core fragments came from.
• The Old Magus invited True Venerable Wen Xian to explore outside, but Wen Xian refused.
• True Venerable Qingkong returned after five years away and explained to Min Ning that the Lingyun Sect had pressured him to stay because people were watching him.
• Qingkong told Min Ning that Qu Jianlei had attracted many enemies after cultivators blamed him for losses and the failure to develop the other world.
• Min Ning said Han Li had abandoned his divinations and was improving Qu Jianlei’s Magic Crystal Conversion Array with Wen Xian.
• Qingkong noticed that Qu Jianlei still often came out of seclusion.

Qu Jianlei repeatedly interrupted his seclusion to work on a formation, then finally entered Death Seclusion as he reached a critical point in his breakthrough. Qingkong stayed nearby after learning the expected breakthrough would take about ten years, while the others prepared safeguards.

• Qu Jianlei kept coming out of seclusion to refine his formation, drawing complaints from Wen Xian and Han Li before they became interested in the work themselves.
• Qu Jianlei emerged with his aura completely restrained, received Wen Xian's perfected formation, and declared that he was entering Death Seclusion for real.
• Qingkong told Qu Jianlei that he had found a clue to another world, then confirmed with Han Li that the breakthrough might take about ten years.
• Han Li warned Qingkong not to divine Qu Jianlei again, and Qingkong chose to stay nearby rather than leave.
• Wen Xian offered Qingkong a warning formation, and Qingkong entered it as a gesture of sincerity before visiting the other True Venerables.

While Qu Jianlei’s companions studied the strange world and debated its dangers, a Cultivation World expedition searching for an aura suffered heavy losses without finding a lead. After more than fourteen years of guarding Qu Jianlei’s seclusion, the first signs of his breakthrough appeared, and the guardians began withdrawing while watching closely.

• True Venerable Qingkong proposed investigating the Twin Suns Entanglement, but Min Ning and Jin Ge objected to endangering the world’s inhabitants, and Han Li sensed something was wrong with Qingkong’s talk of karma.
• A three-Warship Cultivation World expedition continued searching the void for an aura, lost one Warship and three people to a tearing force, and still found no clear lead.
• Min Ning agreed to help the Grand Protector divine the otherworld’s two suns after being assured that the karma would fall on him.
• After more than three years passed, Bentley noticed ripples around Qu Jianlei’s place of seclusion as his fourteenth year in Death Seclusion neared its end.
• Half a year later, pure spiritual energy seeped from the mist, and True Venerable Qingkong identified it as a sign that Qu Jianlei had reached the critical stage of his breakthrough.
• Han Li ordered everyone to retreat while continuing to observe, and Qingtian explained that Qu Jianlei’s energy absorption had begun overwhelming the Shielding Array.

Qu Jianlei’s unconventional breakthrough into the Out-of-Body Realm caused spiritual energy to surge from his secluded site, but the True Venerables realized he was controlling the instability with extraordinary precision. They judged his breakthrough unusually steady and potentially a model for others, while Qingkong worried about his borrowed Extreme Spirit Vein.

• Qu Jianlei absorbed spiritual energy and a World Core fragment, causing energy to leak from the shielding fog as his breakthrough progressed.
• Jin Ge explained the overflow, and the protectors retreated while observing the increasingly powerful spiritual energy leakage.
• Qingkong and the other True Venerables marveled at Qu Jianlei’s precise control and concluded that his breakthrough showed strong prospects of success.
• Min Ning said Qu Jianlei’s steadiness suggested he could pass the heart-demon trial, and Wen Xian called his method a potential new path for reaching the Out-of-Body Realm.
• Jin Ge questioned whether Qu Jianlei had enough resources, prompting Qingkong to worry about his borrowed Extreme Spirit Vein.
• Qingkong said he had protected four breakthrough attempts before, but Han Li warned him that this time he was not a protector and needed watching.

Qu Jianlei’s prolonged Out-of-Body breakthrough caused the True Venerables to worry that his spiritual energy needs would outstrip the World Core. As they retreated from the spreading disturbance, two Warships spotted a sudden signal from their Compass.

• The Grand Protector warned Han Li and the others that Qu Jianlei’s breakthrough was not halfway complete and that his spiritual energy needs would double, while Qingkong and Han Li debated whether Qu Jianlei would rely on the Extreme Spirit Vein or the World Core.
• Qingkong and Wen Xian urged everyone to retreat to avoid danger from the unstable Land of Fallen Gods and the karma of interfering with an Out-of-Body breakthrough.
• The group watched the disturbance spread as they retreated millions of kilometers, and Han Li warned that the World Core might not last long enough for Qu Jianlei to finish within three years.
• Qingkong estimated that the World Core would last only a little over two years, while Jin Ge regretted not having saved a lower-grade World Core for Qu Jianlei.
• Aboard two medium Warships, someone proposed turning back to Houde, then shouted that the Compass had lit up.

Qu Jianlei’s breakthrough caused the Land of Fallen Gods to tremble violently, forcing his protectors to flee into the outer region. After the tremors stabilized and divinations warned they might retract, Han Li ordered another retreat because the suction from a possible collapse could endanger them and the person they were protecting.

• After more than a year of Qu Jianlei’s breakthrough, Han Li and Qingkong sensed a change and urged the protectors to retreat as the spiritual-energy mist began trembling.
• Jin Ge put Bentley and Mu Guang away and fled with the others as the tremors intensified and shook the Land of Fallen Gods.
• Wen Xian used an Array Plate to disrupt the resonance, and the protectors reached the dim yellow outer region, where Han Li predicted Qu Jianlei would emerge within a month.
• Half a month later, the tremors reached the outer region; Han Li advised waiting, and Jin Ge and Min Ning later noticed that their intensity had stopped increasing.
• After more than a day of stable conditions, several True Venerables divined that the tremors might retract, so Han Li ordered everyone to withdraw, warning that collapse-induced suction was the greater danger.