Chapter Summaries

The Fiend Infant killed most of a Black Ice Platform squad near Yunmeng Marsh, prompting Ying Zheng to mobilize the empire against it. Cheng Xi proposed starving the creature of its sources of power and disrupting Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s control, while Deep Space secretly strengthened the Fiend Infant’s mark.

• The Fiend Infant ambushed a Black Ice Platform squad, killing three guards and severely injuring the squad leader and one companion before it retreated into Yunmeng Marsh.
• Ying Zheng ordered new defenses against the Fiend Infant, a search for a way to destroy it, and a blockade of Yunmeng Marsh.
• Cheng Xi learned of the Fiend Infant’s decay and growth abilities and sent Ying Zheng a plan to remove its sources of nourishment and disrupt its control link with an Entropy Interference Talisman.
• Deep Space detected the possible interference with its mark and enhanced the Fiend Infant’s concealment, anti-interference defenses, and abnormal-behavior recording.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi sensed the Fiend Infant’s growing power and prepared another feeding operation beyond Yunmeng Marsh.

Cheng Xi completed an Entropy Interference Talisman while Ying Zheng’s forces cleared fiendish energy from around Yunmeng Marsh. Eastern Emperor Taiyi sent the Fiend Infant into a dangerous water eye to devour its energy, then sensed Cheng Xi and threatened him, prompting Cheng Xi to decide they must strike first.

• Cheng Xi worked to refine a talisman designed to disrupt Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s control over the Fiend Infant, while Yan Lingji guarded him.
• Ying Zheng’s troops and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and Gongshu Family cleared and sealed sources of fiendish energy around Yunmeng Marsh.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi sent the Fiend Infant into a Water Eye Forbidden Ground, where it resisted the restrictions and devoured the accumulated energy as the Deep Space Mark recorded its behavior.
• Cheng Xi completed the Entropy Interference Talisman, and the Fiend Infant turned toward Zhurong Peak as Eastern Emperor Taiyi sensed Cheng Xi and recognized the talisman as a threat.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi enraged the Fiend Infant into a burst of power, and Cheng Xi put away the exposed talisman and told Yan Lingji they had to strike first.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi sent the Fiend Infant to destroy Cheng Xi and Zhurong Peak, but Cheng Xi used the Entropy Interference Talisman to disrupt its control link and drive it mad. The Fiend Infant turned on its master and rampaged across the land, while Cheng Xi’s Entropy Injury worsened and he resolved to stop it once he recovered.

• Eastern Emperor Taiyi drove the enraged Fiend Infant toward Zhurong Peak and ordered Wang Jian to intercept it as Ying Zheng sensed the threat.
• Yan Lingji prepared to defend Zhurong Peak while Cheng Xi activated the Entropy Interference Talisman against the Fiend Infant and its link to Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
• The interference flooded Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the Fiend Infant with false commands and chaotic information, disrupting their control and overloading the Fiend Infant’s core.
• The Fiend Infant lost control, attacked the surrounding land, and struck Eastern Emperor Taiyi through their connection, leaving him injured.
• Deep Space stabilized the mark inside the Fiend Infant to preserve its observations but did not help Eastern Emperor Taiyi regain control.
• Cheng Xi weakened by the talisman’s cost, told Yan Lingji they needed to recover and deal with the rampaging Fiend Infant.

As the out-of-control Fiend Infant devastated the empire, Cheng Xi risked using its contaminating energy to stimulate his damaged Chaos Origin and Great Dao Scars. He survived the dangerous treatment and began recovering, while Eastern Emperor Taiyi regained a faint connection to the Fiend Infant.

• The Fiend Infant rampaged across the empire, and Wang Jian retreated while Ying Zheng ordered people evacuated from its path.
• Cheng Xi released a trace of Rule Contamination into his body and directed it toward his Great Dao Scars and origin fissures despite the Chaos System's warning.
• Yan Lingji guarded Cheng Xi as he endured severe pain during the Entropy Devour healing method.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi stabilized a tenuous connection to the Fiend Infant and began healing so he could reclaim control of it.
• The deep-space will analyzed and replicated aspects of the Entropy Interference Talisman's signals and mental-noise patterns.
• Cheng Xi survived the treatment, and his Chaos Origin and Great Dao Scars began slowly repairing.

Cheng Xi devised a risky plan to lure the rampaging Fiend Infant to Mount Li and kill it, and Ying Zheng approved the trap despite the danger to himself and Great Qin. Eastern Emperor Taiyi sensed the plan and tried to recall the Fiend Infant, leaving its course unstable as the trap was prepared.

• Cheng Xi calculated a plan to lure the Fiend Infant to Mount Li with Yin Sha Qi and Ying Zheng’s dragon qi, then strike it at close range.
• Cheng Xi sent Ying Zheng instructions to build the Nine Nether Fiend Attracting Array around the Imperial Mausoleum of Mount Li and use the Imperial Seal and dragon qi as bait.
• Ying Zheng approved the plan, ordered Li Si and Wei Liao to construct the array, and tasked Zhang Han with sealing off Mount Li.
• Ying Zheng entered seclusion to restore his strength while the empire gathered resources and the Fiend Infant began drifting toward Mount Li.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi sensed the trap, forcibly tried to recall the Fiend Infant, and made its movements more chaotic.

An unseen force amplified the Fiend Infant’s urge to reach Mount Li, frustrating Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s attempt to recall it. At the Imperial Mausoleum, Ying Zheng held the Fiend Infant at bay with Great Qin’s dragon qi while Cheng Xi calculated the precise moment and angle for a counterattack.

• The unseen force strengthened the Fiend Infant’s attraction to Mount Li and suppressed Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s recall command, sending the Fiend Infant toward the mausoleum.
• Ying Zheng stood ready at the Imperial Mausoleum while Cheng Xi, supported by Yan Lingji, concealed himself at a key node in the grand array.
• The Fiend Infant struck Ying Zheng’s dragon qi barrier, and Ying Zheng drew on the Imperial Seal and Great Qin’s fortune to withstand the impact.
• The Fiend Infant battered and eroded the barrier as Ying Zheng endured the strain to buy Cheng Xi time.
• Cheng Xi used his Entropy Pupils to calculate the barrier’s decay and the exact opening, position, and energy needed for his attack.

Cheng Xi, Yan Lingji, and Ying Zheng destroyed the Fiend Infant at the Imperial Mausoleum of Mount Li, but a hidden Deep Space Mark escaped after recording Cheng Xi’s Entropy Energy. As Cheng Xi lay near collapse, he sensed a higher-dimensional presence had observed the battle.

• Ying Zheng’s dragon aura barrier nearly broke under the Fiend Infant’s strongest attack, but Yan Lingji deflected its blood beam with Ancestor Witch Divine Fire.
• Cheng Xi struck the Fiend Infant’s exposed vital point with Entropy Energy, triggering an irreversible collapse of its foundational rules.
• The Fiend Infant crumbled into gray-white light, while its silver Deep Space Mark escaped into the void after recording the attack.
• Ying Zheng ordered Zhang Han to search the mausoleum and Li Si to purify the Sha Qi, then returned to camp to recover.
• Yan Lingji transferred her blood and vitality to stabilize Cheng Xi as the Chaos System warned that his origin and Great Dao Scar were failing.
• Cheng Xi sensed a higher-dimensional presence scan the site and told Yan Lingji that it had recorded the battle.

Deep Space marked Cheng Xi as a high-priority subject after he destroyed the Fiend Infant, while Eastern Emperor Taiyi began sacrificing thousands of children to awaken a Fragment of the Chaos Bell. Cheng Xi stabilized his injuries at Mount Li as Ying Zheng returned to Xianyang, leaving the coming threats unresolved.

• Deep Space implanted an invisible mark in Cheng Xi's soul and upgraded him to a high-priority observation subject.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi mourned the Fiend Infant's destruction and decided to awaken the Fragment of the Chaos Bell by sacrificing children.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi reversed Mirage Pavilion's Spirit Gathering Array and drained the sleeping children’s life essence and soul power into the Forbidden Zone.
• Yan Lingji helped Cheng Xi stabilize his injuries, and he entered a deep hibernation to recover.
• Ying Zheng visited Cheng Xi, ordered supplies and guards for him, left Yan Lingji a Black Bird Token, and returned to Xianyang.

While Cheng Xi struggled to master the Deep Space Mark inside the Dream Entropy Domain, Yan Lingji sustained him with her Ancestor Witch Essence Blood. Tong Lingzi revealed that the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land might help Cheng Xi stabilize his foundation, and Cheng Xi began using the mark to burn away his Dao injuries as he remained unconscious.

• Cheng Xi’s Deep Space Mark pulled his consciousness into a chaotic dream, where the Chaos System warned that he risked losing himself.
• Yan Lingji used her refined Ancestor Witch Essence Blood to nourish Cheng Xi and shield him with divine fire.
• Ying Zheng purged Lu Buwei’s followers and ordered the Black Ice Platform and Imperial Astronomical Bureau to investigate the Yin Yang School and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
• Tong Lingzi told Yan Lingji that the Deep Space Mark could suppress some of Cheng Xi’s Dao injuries, then relayed Xuanyuan’s message to seek the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land.
• Yan Lingji’s Ancestor Witches Bloodline resonated with a distant direction, marking the way to the inheritance land.
• Cheng Xi modeled the dream’s turbulence and cautiously guided the mark’s energy to scorch one of his Dao injuries, while his brow eased and his fingertips moved.

Cheng Xi recovered enough to wake after using High-Dimensional Turbulence and Yan Lingji’s blood essence to stabilize his Great Dao Scars. After learning that Eastern Emperor Taiyi was conducting a dangerous ritual at Yunmeng Marsh, Cheng Xi decided to seek the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land, drawing the Deep Space Mark’s attention.

• Cheng Xi endured repeated failures in the Dream Entropy Domain until he developed a controllable method to use High-Dimensional Turbulence and Yan Lingji’s blood essence to stabilize his Great Dao Scars.
• Ying Zheng sent the Nine-Revolutions Soul-Returning Ganoderma to Mount Li and ordered Zhang Han to investigate strange altars and stolen life essence at Yunmeng Marsh.
• Yan Lingji continued sustaining Cheng Xi with her Ancestor Witch Flame of Life, and Cheng Xi eventually woke as his condition began to stabilize.
• Tong Lingzi told Cheng Xi that Eastern Emperor Taiyi was using an ancient forbidden art at Yunmeng Marsh and that time was running short.
• Cheng Xi chose to travel with Yan Lingji to the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land, and the Deep Space Mark began tracking the planned journey.

After receiving Ying Zheng’s approval and a concealed Star Raft, Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji set out for the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land in southern Chu while Cheng Xi’s injuries remained severe and the Deep Space Mark continued tracking him. As they traveled, Cheng Xi sensed the rising power of an ancient artifact in Yunmeng Marsh, where Eastern Emperor Taiyi sacrificed children to awaken the Fragment of the Chaos Bell.

• Cheng Xi sent Ying Zheng a secret letter explaining his injuries and plan to seek the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land, and Ying Zheng approved while ordering support for Cheng Xi and tighter surveillance of Yunmeng Marsh.
• Tong Lingzi departed to report the Yunmeng Marsh disturbance to His Majesty Xuanyuan and monitor Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
• An elder of the Gongshu Family delivered Ying Zheng’s concealed Star Raft, and Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji activated it and flew south toward Chu.
• The Deep Space Mark reduced its signal strength and switched to periodic positioning as Cheng Xi traveled by low-speed physical aircraft, though Cheng Xi kept monitoring it.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi used the inverted Spirit Gathering Array to consume children’s life-source energy and soul power, feeding the Fragment of the Chaos Bell.
• Cheng Xi detected dangerous energy rising from Yunmeng Marsh as he and Yan Lingji continued toward the southern wilderness.

Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji traveled into the Southern Border to seek the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land, where they encountered Flying Yi and a blood-sacrifice altar marked with an Ancient Fierce Witch Pattern. The pattern interfered with Cheng Xi’s Deep Space Mark and stirred Yan Lingji’s bloodline, while Cheng Xi’s system detected that Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s blood sacrifice was nearing completion in Yunmeng Marsh; the pair continued deeper into the miasma to find answers.

• Cheng Xi analyzed the Southern Border’s miasma and discovered that Ancient Witch Remnant Energy disrupted Deep Space Mark signals and Yan Lingji’s bloodline sensing.
• Flying Yi attacked the Star Raft, and Cheng Xi used his Entropy Pupils to strike their energy nodes, causing several to fall.
• Cheng Xi saw an Ancient Fierce Witch Pattern flash on a wounded Flying Yi, triggering painful interference with his Deep Space Mark.
• Yan Lingji sensed stronger traces of the pattern in a hidden valley, where she and Cheng Xi found an altar used for a crude blood-sacrifice ritual.
• The altar’s pattern released a mind-affecting pulse that stirred Yan Lingji’s bloodline and disrupted Cheng Xi’s Deep Space Mark, so Cheng Xi pulled her away.
• Cheng Xi’s system detected that Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s blood sacrifice in Yunmeng Marsh was nearly complete, and the Star Raft continued toward the Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land.

Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji fought off Baiyue warriors and uncovered a link between their Ancient Fierce Witch Patterns, the Deep Space Mark, and a mysterious source. They found the entrance to the Witch Clan's Inheritance Land just as a tremendous wave surged from Yunmeng Marsh, suggesting Eastern Emperor Taiyi's blood sacrifice had awakened the Fragment of the Chaos Bell.

• Baiyue warriors and witch priests attacked Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji's star skiff with poisonous weapons and Fierce Witch Patterns.
• Yan Lingji unleashed her Ancestor Witch Pressure, suppressing the patterns and turning the attack against the Baiyue clan.
• Cheng Xi searched the leading witch priest's memories, learned he had copied the patterns from a damaged black stone tablet, and suffered a backlash when the tablet's image reacted.
• Cheng Xi discovered that the patterns' source had a faint connection to the Deep Space Mark, which began analyzing them and identified a possible link to the Nirvana Demon God.
• With the interference reduced, Yan Lingji sensed the Witch Clan's Inheritance Land in a nearby valley.
• A primordial wave erupted from Yunmeng Marsh, and Cheng Xi feared Eastern Emperor Taiyi's blood sacrifice had awakened the Fragment of the Chaos Bell.

A Primordial Era bell resonance revealed the Witch Clan’s hidden inheritance gate, and Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji entered the sacred land. They stood before its sealed great hall as Cheng Xi neared collapse and noticed a faint, familiar orange flame on the doors.

• A bell-like force swept across the Primordial Era, injuring Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji and awakening the Ancient Witch Remnant Energy Field.
• The remnant energy revealed the Witch Clan’s hidden stone gate, and Yan Lingji opened it with her Ancestor Witch Essence Blood.
• Cheng Xi used an unstable information bridge and the surrounding interference to evade the gate’s rejection and temporarily disrupt the Deep Space Mark’s tracking.
• Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji passed through the gate before it vanished, arriving in an underground plaza before an ancient hall.
• Cheng Xi’s Chaos Origin approached its collapse point, and he spotted a faint orange flame flickering on the hall doors.

Near death in the Ancestor Witch inheritance site, Cheng Xi received a spark of Human Race Kindling Fire and used his will to ignite a heart lamp, while Yan Lingji began her own trial. The inheritance trial had begun, and the deep-space observer reacquired Cheng Xi’s signal but could only monitor him from outside.

• Cheng Xi’s fading life was steadied when a wisp of warm life will from the flame above the hall doors entered him.
• The Ancestor Witch Will questioned Yan Lingji and Cheng Xi, then set two trials: recover Ancestor Witch Spirit Marks and ignite the Ancestor Witch Heart Lamps with their Dao Hearts.
• Yan Lingji poured her Zhurong Bloodline Fire into a flame-marked stone lamp, but its spark would not stay lit.
• Cheng Xi used the Chaos System to send his beliefs and persistence toward the Human Race Kindling Fire, which lit a Houtu-marked heart lamp for him.
• The deep-space observer reacquired Cheng Xi’s signal and recorded his connection with the unknown civilization fire, while Yan Lingji’s lamp also ignited into a small flame.

Yan Lingji and Cheng Xi strengthened their heart lamps and gathered Ancestor Witch Spirit Marks, gradually opening the hall doors. As a powerful surveillance force locked onto the opening, the doors slowed and both of them sensed danger.

• Yan Lingji nurtured her heart lamp with her Zhurong bloodline, while Cheng Xi stabilized his failing flame by constructing a will-circulation model.
• Yan Lingji absorbed a fiery-red Spirit Mark and gained deeper insight into Zhurong's power, while Cheng Xi resonated with Houtu's mark and eased his injuries.
• The two gathered more Spirit Marks, brightening their heart lamps until the stone hall doors opened a narrow crack.
• The Deep Space Mark in Cheng Xi's soul detected the energy beyond the doors and triggered its highest-priority collection protocol.
• A powerful surveillance force locked onto the crack, slowing the doors and drawing a displeased reaction from the Ancestor Witch Will.

Cheng Xi recorded fragments from the clash between the deep-space probe and the Ancestor Witch Will before a mysterious force severed the probe. The Witch Clan’s Inheritance Land gave Cheng Xi a Civilization Fire Seed and began Yan Lingji’s full inheritance, while Cheng Xi glimpsed a giant that might have been Pangu.

• The deep-space probe attacked the great hall, and the Ancestor Witch Will blocked it as Cheng Xi and Yan Lingji were injured by the clash.
• Cheng Xi reopened his Entropy Pupils to record the opposing wills’ rule fragments, pushing his soul and Chaos System to their limits.
• A sigh from within the hall erased the probe’s connection, forced Cheng Xi’s Entropy Pupils shut, and allowed the doors to open.
• The Ancestor Witch Will gave Cheng Xi a wisp of Civilization Fire, which entered his heart lamp and strengthened his path.
• A pillar of Ancestor Witch laws enveloped Yan Lingji to grant her the full inheritance as the hall doors closed.
• Cheng Xi glimpsed an ancient giant within the chaotic light source, wondered if it was Pangu, and remained outside with the Deep Space Mark in silent recovery.

Cheng Xi fused the Civilization Fire Seed with his foundation and began to recover from his Entropy Injury, but Eastern Emperor Taiyi located him with the Chaos Bell and inflicted a destructive mark. With the Deep Space Mark also active and Yan Lingji still receiving her inheritance, Cheng Xi left alone through a hidden teleportation node to draw danger away from her.

• Cheng Xi analyzed the Civilization Fire Seed and slowly merged it with his Human Race Kindling Fire Imprint, beginning to stabilize his injuries and reduce his entropy rate.
• Cheng Xi used his connection to the Heart Lamp to sense a hidden exit and waited while Yan Lingji continued receiving the Ancestor Witch Inheritance.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi used the Chaos Bell fragment to locate Cheng Xi and afflict his soul with a destructive Bell Wave Imprint.
• The Deep Space Mark awakened and resumed monitoring Cheng Xi as the two marks worsened his injuries and exposed his location.
• Cheng Xi opened the hidden teleportation node and left for the Southern Border, leaving Yan Lingji behind to finish her inheritance.

Severely injured, Cheng Xi fled deeper into the Southern Border while the Deep Space Mark and Chaos Bell Imprint eroded his soul and exposed his location. He escaped a pursuit by provoking a three-sided battle, then collapsed in a swamp as multiple powerful auras approached.

• Cheng Xi used the Entropy Pupils to chart a route through shifting Ancient Witch Remnant Energy Fields and formed a fragile Will Firewall with the Civilization Fire Seed.
• Cheng Xi drew Eastern Emperor Taiyi's pursuers toward a Baiyue tribe and exposed the Chaos Bell Imprint's aura, provoking the tribe to attack him and the Yin Yang School elders.
• Cheng Xi slipped away during the ensuing three-sided melee while the Deep Space Mark recorded his tactics and the conflict.
• Cheng Xi continued into a remote, miasma-filled swamp, set crude warning and concealment runes, and collapsed beneath a dead tree as several powerful auras approached.

Cheng Xi used the Civilization Fire Seed to stabilize his damaged body and found a fragile balance, while marsh creatures delayed the Yin Yang School pursuers. As Eastern Emperor Taiyi prepared to destroy him with the Chaos Bell, a powerful beam erupted from the inheritance grounds and reached Cheng Xi, leaving its ability to stop the strike uncertain.

• Cheng Xi used the Civilization Fire Seed to preserve his consciousness and guide the scars and hostile forces within his body toward a fragile balance.
• Yin Yang School cultivators tracked Cheng Xi to the marsh, where the native creatures attacked them and slowed their pursuit.
• A deep-space observer detected Cheng Xi's dormancy and noted that the marsh creatures had reduced the chance of capture.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi lost patience and decided to use the Chaos Bell Fragment for a devastating strike against Cheng Xi.
• The Chaos Bell imprint inside Cheng Xi surged violently, and the Chaos System warned that an annihilating attack was imminent.
• A crimson-gold and black beam burst from the inheritance hall and crossed the Southern Border to reach Cheng Xi.