Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei tested Lawrence’s willingness to become an intelligence source by asking him to investigate the Abnormal Affairs Research Institute, especially the secretive Heavenly Inquiry project. Lawrence accepted the unpaid test assignment, while Qu Jianlei advised him to treat his aorta and stay out of danger.

• Qu Jianlei warned Lawrence that joining him could leave no room for regret, then offered a test assignment to gauge his abilities and connections.
• Lawrence said he had friends at the Taiqing branch of the Abnormal Affairs Research Institute, and Qu Jianlei asked him to look into secret deployment locations and who had ordered Warp Jammers.
• Lawrence revealed that Heavenly Inquiry, a powerful project team at the branch, had made the Warp Jammer decision, and Qu Jianlei told him to focus his inquiries on that team.
• Qu Jianlei urged Lawrence to withdraw, rest, and get his aorta treated, but Lawrence asked whether the assignment came with compensation.
• Qu Jianlei refused to pay for the test assignment, and Lawrence accepted it, deciding that Qu Jianlei’s lack of interest in buying the intelligence suggested Heavenly Inquiry was not his primary objective.

Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin discussed the Alliance’s unraveling as Lawrence sought to join them and shared intelligence about Heavenly Inquiry. Qu Jianlei revealed that they were trying to contact Digital Phantom, leaving Lawrence eager to learn whether the team included Alliance members.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to let Lawrence join them until the tour group ended, then discussed with Jing Yuexin how the Alliance’s people had lost faith in their nation.
• After the tour group disbanded, Lawrence brought Colonel Bacon to meet Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin, and Bacon judged that both were stronger than he was.
• Lawrence shared what he had learned about Heavenly Inquiry, and Qu Jianlei said they would verify the information before deciding what came next.
• Qu Jianlei told Lawrence that he and Jing Yuexin had acknowledged him, then revealed that they were trying to contact Digital Phantom and warned him to keep it secret.
• Lawrence realized the intelligence he supplied could serve as a calling card to Digital Phantom and asked whether the team included people from the Alliance.

Lawrence agreed to gather more information about Digital Phantom while keeping his connection with Qu Jianlei secret. Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin infiltrated the Tianwen Project Group’s remote compound, where Sunset Glow discovered four Supremes and implanted Xiao Hu’s data fragment, leaving them ready to enter and investigate by force.

• Qu Jianlei told Lawrence that Digital Phantom had several non-Empire members, and Lawrence agreed to discreetly seek more information while protecting himself.
• Lawrence decided to remain in Taiqing to see whether Tianwen changed, while Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin chose to leave and investigate the project group.
• Lawrence revealed that the Tianwen Project Group was hidden at the foot of Thumb Peak in the Motian Mountain Range.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin infiltrated the snowy mountain range and found the Tianwen compound, which was protected by numerous detection devices.
• Sunset Glow entered the compound, implanted Xiao Hu’s data fragment, and reported more than sixty people inside, including four Supremes.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin agreed to suppress the occupants by force, and Qu Jianlei asked Yi He to perform soul searches.

Qu Jianlei and his companions infiltrated the Tianwen Project Group and took control of the compound, discovering rare Divine Script research and learning of its influential role in the Alliance. Their attempt to uncover more by soul-searching an Above Supreme ended when his head exploded.

• Xiao Hu found a route through Tianwen’s strict, independently controlled defenses, and Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin entered the compound after he planned their approach.
• Qu Jianlei knocked out a Rank A maintenance technician, took his appearance, and later subdued a Metal Attribute Rank A who followed him into a room.
• By dawn, Qu Jianlei’s group had taken over Tianwen, and they found reproduced Divine Script materials, including talismans that contained traces of the Time Rule.
• Yi He learned that two Above Supreme were absent and that Tianwen evaluated talisman research for Research Headquarters, giving the group considerable influence.
• Qu Jianlei agreed that Yi He should search an Above Supreme for information, but the older man’s head exploded as the soul-search began.

Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin raided Tianwen’s compound, uncovered talismans and spirit stones, then escaped as the Alliance mobilized a massive response. They hid near Index Finger Peak and waited for Maryland while Taiqing Star began searching for them with Space Ripple detectors.

• Yi He’s soul-search triggered a restriction that killed one Supreme and caused a female Supreme to convulse, revealing that both minds were protected by a precise Divine Script method.
• Sunset Glow found a Secret Chamber containing more than twenty original talismans, including Forbidden Spell Talismans, and twenty thousand spirit stones; Qu Jianlei limited Sunset Glow and Yi He to one thousand stones each.
• A logistics aircraft arrived with five people, and Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin knocked them unconscious before leaving with six people whose souls had been searched.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin escaped to Index Finger Peak as Alliance ships and troops surrounded Tianwen’s compound and began a large-scale search.
• Taiqing Star deployed Small Ships and observation devices to detect Space Ripples, while Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin remained in hiding and planned to wait for Maryland.

After the Alliance’s search for Digital Phantom failed, Maryland and Frederick returned to Thumb Peak to investigate the attack on the Tianwen Project Group. They activated the interference system and secretly entered a hidden cave, where Maryland uncovered a stone niche.

• Lawrence and his wife learned that two Above Supremes had disappeared and resolved to keep gathering information while protecting their family.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin came down from the mountain after several days, and Qu Jianlei advanced his talisman skills by studying Divine Script materials with Yi He.
• Maryland returned to Taiqing Star and recruited Frederick to investigate the attack at Thumb Peak.
• Maryland and Frederick reviewed evidence of mental attacks, unfamiliar monitoring devices, and stolen spirit stones and original talismans, concluding that Digital Phantom was likely responsible.
• The two Above Supremes ordered Thumb Peak’s interference system activated, then secretly entered a concealed cave and found a stone niche.

Maryland and Frederick sought help from the hidden lord beneath Thumb Peak, while Sunset Glow detected a dangerous trap near the stone cave. Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin withdrew, divined that investigating carried mixed prospects, and returned three days later to find Frederick already at the rock.

• Maryland and Frederick asked the hidden lord to intervene against Digital Phantom, but he refused to act and dismissed them.
• Sunset Glow detected Maryland and Frederick near the cave, then warned Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin that the stone wall concealed a dangerous trap involving Mental Strength and Illusion God Sand.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin retreated under the Invisibility Cloak, divined from a safe distance, and decided that the moderate fortune made another attempt worthwhile.
• Three days later, Maryland visited the military district to seek its support, while Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin returned to Thumb Peak and found Frederick at the rock.

Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin followed Frederick into a stone cave, where a powerful Yin Cold Qi attacked them and dragged them inside. With help from Yi He and the Ruler, they overcame the cave’s defenses and found an unconscious giant serpent that might be an avatar.

• Frederick entered the Stone Cave, and Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin waited outside until an aura of the Laws emerged and invited them in.
• The cave’s icy voice attacked Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin, but they struck back and forced it to send Frederick outside, where Qu Jianlei knocked him unconscious.
• A Forbidden Spell Talisman weakened Qu Jianlei’s spiritual energy, and the Yin Cold Qi pulled him and Jing Yuexin into the cave.
• Yi He’s Jiaotan struck the Yin Cold Qi with a divine-sense attack, and the Ruler dealt a follow-up blow that made it dissipate.
• Qu Jianlei found an unconscious giant serpent in the Stone Chamber, while Yi He suspected it was an avatar and told Qu Jianlei to cut it down with his Sword Pill.

Qu Jianlei and his companions subdued the Great Serpent, which offered information, treasures, and a divination method to save its life. They learned its treasure trove lay beneath the mountain, but the serpent demanded proof that they could provide spiritual energy before giving up its resources.

• Qu Jianlei prepared to kill the Great Serpent, but it blocked his attack with its Demon Core and pleaded for its life.
• Jiaotan discovered that the Great Serpent had sealed off the mountain range, preventing fluctuations from leaking out.
• The Great Serpent offered a divination method and other information, prompting Qu Jianlei to consider taking it alive.
• The Great Serpent revealed that its treasure trove lay more than a thousand kilometers beneath the mountain and was protected by a self-destruct formation.
• Jing Yuexin said the group needed to investigate the Great Serpent and verify its claims, while the serpent demanded proof that they had spiritual energy.

Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin learned that the Great Serpent had been confined by the Alliance and uncovered its history of cooperation with them. The Great Serpent defended its preparations against Cultivators, while the others questioned its involvement in talismans and its plans to return home.

• Jing Yuexin and Qu Jianlei refused to reveal their spiritual energy or accept the Great Serpent, and sent Sunset Glow to inspect its treasure hoard.
• Qu Jianlei released the female Above Supreme, and Yi He searched her soul while Xiao Hu's avatar relayed her memories.
• Yi He and the others learned that the Alliance had made the Great Serpent a restricted but cooperative source of answers for spirit stones, under the Tianwen Project Group.
• The Great Serpent explained that it had been discovered over a thousand years earlier and had not harmed Cultivators since making its agreement with the Alliance.
• Yi He questioned the Great Serpent about teaching talisman techniques, and the Great Serpent denied passing them on while admitting it had helped analyze existing inheritances.
• Jing Yuexin challenged the Great Serpent over its Nascent Soul Realm-level Forbidden Spell Talismans, and it claimed they were only substitutes it had obtained through deception.

Qu Jianlei and the others escorted Great Serpent from his lava chamber to Dawn Base, where they questioned him about his cultivation and magical artifacts. Great Serpent discovered that Dawn Base had spiritual energy and faced a growing group of powerful cultivators as he negotiated over his treasures.

• Great Serpent retrieved his hidden items from a lava chamber protected by an array, and Qu Jianlei admired the array while Sunset Glow celebrated finding Top-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Qu Jianlei questioned Great Serpent about his knowledge of arrays and Teleportation Arrays, then took him to the teleportation network under escort.
• Jing Yuexin brought Jia Shuiqing and Paranoid to join the escort, and Qinghu guarded another teleportation point as the group made several transfers.
• At Dawn Base, Great Serpent saw the many cultivators gathered there, sensed spiritual energy, and asked how they had produced it.
• Great Serpent described his six magical artifacts and three magical treasures, offered the Cloud Crown in exchange for an oath, and wanted to keep his two Talisman Brushes.

Qu Jianlei tested the Beast Taming Ring on Wind Forgotten and negotiated with the Great Serpent over its magical artifacts and access to spiritual energy. The Great Serpent agreed to join the team, but refused to learn the world’s design philosophy for Gathering Spirit Arrays.

• The Great Serpent showed the team its magical artifacts and explained the Beast Taming Ring and Array Plates.
• The Great Serpent used the Beast Taming Ring to bind Wind Forgotten, confirming that it worked on Alien Race trees.
• Wind Forgotten warned Qu Jianlei that the Cloud Crown was dangerous, so Qu Jianlei did not test it on the tree.
• The Great Serpent offered magical artifacts in exchange for access to spiritual energy, and Qu Jianlei said it would need to join the team and make an Oath of the Heavenly Dao.
• After learning that the spiritual energy came from a Gathering Spirit Array, the Great Serpent agreed to join but said it would not learn the world’s design philosophy.

Jiao Daoren swore an oath and surrendered his artifacts to Digital Phantom, while Qu Jianlei studied the knowledge he had gained from him. Meanwhile, the Alliance descended into chaos over several missing leaders and failed to negotiate with the Empire, then learned that something major had happened at the Taiqing Star research branch.

• Jiao Daoren agreed to swear an Oath of the Heavenly Dao and introduced himself after Qu Jianlei and the others pressed him to leave his artifacts behind.
• Jiao Daoren criticized Digital Phantom’s Spiritual Qi Conversion Array, and Paranoid warned him not to disrupt the team.
• Qu Jianlei questioned Jiao Daoren about a divination technique that stirred his Luck, then studied the cultivation methods and materials he had acquired.
• The Alliance panicked after Jiao Daoren, Frederick, and Maryland disappeared, and its attempt to negotiate cooperation with the Empire was rejected.
• The Empire used the Alliance’s failed negotiations for propaganda while the military questioned warships that reported seeing a snake near Dawn Base.
• Alliance spies reported that a major incident had occurred at the Taiqing Star research branch.

The Imperial Military investigated Digital Phantom’s actions on Taiqing Star while Qu Jianlei helped Jiao Daoren recuperate and improved his divination technique. After finding likely Cultivator passage coordinates near the Heim Star Region, Qu Jianlei considered an expedition, but Jiao Daoren sensed the team still did not trust him.

• The Imperial Military learned that Frederick, Maryland, and at least two Supreme research-branch members had disappeared, but it remained unsure how their losses had broken the Alliance’s backbone.
• Jiao Daoren studied the Spiritual Qi Conversion Array and Imperial technology without understanding it, while Qu Jianlei’s Divination Technique improved under his guidance.
• Qu Jianlei decided to refine the Cloud Crown, and his divination and Xiao Hu’s calculations suggested the old Cultivator passage coordinates might lie in the Heim Star Region.
• Yi He urged Qu Jianlei to investigate the passage, and Qu Jianlei raised the plan with Jiao Daoren, who asked whether they would go to the Heim or Maiden Star Region.
• Jiao Daoren agreed to consider the expedition after Qu Jianlei offered a ship and platform with Gathering Spirit Arrays, but he sighed that the team still did not truly trust him.

Qu Jianlei and his companions learned that Jing Yuexin was nearing a dangerous tribulation as she attempted to convert her cultivation between systems. Jing Yuexin chose to risk the trial, and Duo Gan insisted on observing despite the danger to herself.

• Jiao Daoren agreed to wait for the group’s opportunity to investigate spatial weak points, and Qu Jianlei accepted that his help could be useful.
• Six months passed, and Xiao Hu unveiled version 3.0 of the Locust Qi Gathering Array while Digital Phantom declined the military’s request to harass the Federation.
• Qu Jianlei sensed that Jing Yuexin had reached a threshold, and divination revealed she would face tribulation lightning in about a month.
• Jiao Daoren warned that Jing Yuexin’s system conversion could bring harsher-than-usual tribulation and explained how the Nirvana Technique and abundant spiritual energy might help her survive.
• Jiao Daoren lent Qu Jianlei one Top-Grade Spirit Stone, while Jing Yuexin accepted the risk and asked Qu Jianlei not to divine so casually.
• Duo Gan asked to observe Jing Yuexin’s tribulation, explaining that she faced a similar problem and would not accept her limited lifespan without a fight.

Jing Yuexin endured seven days of tribulation lightning and survived a final, devastating bolt, completing her breakthrough as a seven-colored rainbow appeared over the barren planet. As Hua Xiezhi brought the newborn Jing Yuexin into a Mobile Palace, it consumed enormous amounts of spiritual energy, forcing Qu Jianlei to add more Gathering Spirit Arrays.

• Before Jing Yuexin entered seclusion, Qu Jianlei gave her capsules and defensive talismans, and Da Vinci arrived to observe her tribulation.
• On the thirty-third day of Jing Yuexin's seclusion, tribulation lightning began falling and grew steadily more frequent until she endured it for seven days.
• After a pause, a massive gold-red bolt struck the planet, but a seven-colored rainbow appeared, and Yi He confirmed Jing Yuexin had succeeded.
• Six hours later, Qu Jianlei activated Gathering Spirit Arrays, and Hua Xiezhi found Jing Yuexin reborn in an infant state and carried her into a Mobile Palace.
• The Mobile Palace devoured spiritual energy as a seven-colored phoenix appeared, so Qu Jianlei added nine more Gathering Spirit Arrays to keep up with its consumption.
• After a day and a half of intense operation, one Gathering Spirit Array was destroyed, and Qu Jianlei replaced it with another.

Jing Yuexin completed her tribulation, stabilized her new realm, and began testing magical artifacts while the military watched for unusual energy readings. After learning her lifespan was around eighteen hundred years, she and Qu Jianlei prepared to test her Soul Suppressing Bell at Duo Gan’s remote cultivation site.

• Wind Forgotten endured the Seven-Colored Halo’s effects until it dissipated, then Qu Jianlei eventually let it absorb spiritual energy in the cave.
• Jing Yuexin emerged after months of recovery, appeared much younger, and later recorded her tribulation insights for Qu Jianlei to review.
• Jing Yuexin tested the Ink Marker and produced faint space ripples, prompting the military to ask about the team’s new equipment.
• Jing Yuexin asked Qu Jianlei to check her lifespan, and he told her it was around eighteen hundred years.
• Jing Yuexin and Qu Jianlei discussed testing the Soul Suppressing Bell, and Duo Gan offered her remote cultivation site as a place to try it.

Qu Jianlei’s team took Jiao Daoren, Gold Digger, and Tree Traitor to investigate Duo Gan’s star cluster while Qinghu and Jia Shuiqing stayed to guard Dawn Base. The military and government followed the Division Level Ship, and the chapter ended as two merchant ships fled after recognizing its markings, prompting Duo Gan to mention her two-hundred-year exploration rights.

• Duo Gan agreed to let Sunset Glow and Yi He join the star-cluster research, and the team decided who would accompany them and who would remain at Dawn Base.
• The Division Level Ship left Dawn Base with Wind Forgotten, prompting the military and government to follow under ambiguous orders while avoiding a direct confrontation.
• Paranoid refused to give the government the ship’s destination and threatened an official who insulted him, leading the government and military to suspect an Above Supreme was aboard.
• As the ship approached the star cluster, Xiao Hu detected two unidentified merchant ships, and the Heavy Armed Merchant Ship moved to intercept them.
• After recognizing the Division Level Ship’s hull markings, the two merchant ships fled, and Duo Gan said she had bought the exploration rights to the area for two hundred years.

Duo Gan captured intruders prospecting in her star region, and the group investigated the mysterious crimson nebula. Their attempts to probe it stirred the nebula, but they remained blocked by its fiery barrier as Wind Forgotten called for help.

• Duo Gan’s group pursued and captured two ships prospecting in her region, then learned that an Imperial Capital Academy professor had schemed to steal her opportunity.
• Yi He searched the professor’s soul, revealing his plan and the Supreme patron who knew of it, while Duo Gan suspected the dead assistant might have been a spy.
• Qu Jianlei ordered the professor to receive a Gene Simulation Agent, and the group imprisoned the researchers before examining the crimson nebula.
• Jing Yuexin tested the Soul Suppressing Bell, and Paranoid activated his Nether Bottle, causing the nebula to tremble and explode as the seniors sensed something unnatural.
• The group entered the nebula aboard a Division Level Ship but could not breach its elastic flame barrier, while Wind Forgotten begged them to save him from the heat.

Qu Jianlei's group explored the Blazing Fire Barrier, where Gold Digger absorbed fire energy and Jiao Daoren suspected they had found an unfinished abode. Qu Jianlei's divination revealed a living presence inside a hidden subspace, and the group prepared for the possibility of a Cultivator within.

• Duo Gan led the group through the Blazing Fire Barrier, where Jiao Daoren identified the place as a possibly unfinished abode and Gold Digger absorbed fire energy.
• Jiao Daoren learned that the Celestial Hook Mystic Mansion had an Artifact Spirit and suggested asking it to examine the site, while Qu Jianlei wondered whether the abode could be devoured.
• After leaving the barrier, Qu Jianlei used the Seashell to divine a life aura and led the group back to the indicated coordinates.
• Yi He sensed a connection to an unknown space, and Jiao Daoren identified a Space Fetal Membrane with something living inside.
• Duo Gan worried that a Cultivator might emerge to claim the treasure, and Yi He and Jiao Daoren argued over the trustworthiness of sect and independent cultivators.