Chapter Summaries

Lin Sheng survived Su Shui and Bo Di’s attacks and hid in the Erosion Zone, where the two Wasteland Martial experts searched for him until Pulis forced them to leave. After Pulis briefly checked the ravine, Lin Sheng concealed himself beneath its black mud with Little Black.

• Lin Sheng tore free of the Wasteland Martial chains, used meltform origin power to endure Su Shui and Bo Di’s attacks, and plunged into the Erosion Zone.
• Su Shui used the Heaven-Deriving Mirror to confirm Lin Sheng was still alive, and he and Bo Di followed his blood trail deeper into the zone.
• As the erosive force began to stir, Pulis appeared and ordered Su Shui and Bo Di to leave, warning that he would report them or make them oversee the Stillness-Sealing Grand Array.
• Lin Sheng lay critically wounded in a ravine with Little Black, suppressed their auras with Inferno Black Flame, and buried himself in the mud.
• Pulis appeared at the ravine’s edge shortly after Lin Sheng concealed himself.

Lin Sheng survived Su Shui and Bo Di’s attack by hiding in the Return-to-Stillness Erosion Zone, where he and Little Black began recovering from their injuries. Outside, Su Shui and Bo Di trapped the zone’s perimeter and waited for Lin Sheng to emerge, but after seven days his continued absence left them puzzled.

• Pulis noticed signs of an Eerie Beast in the ravine but left to return to his duties at the array’s center.
• Lin Sheng and Little Black stayed concealed beneath the ravine while Lin Sheng used his rules and secret arts to heal his body and spirit.
• Su Shui and Bo Di abandoned their search, decided to wait for Lin Sheng outside the Erosion Zone, and sealed its perimeter with a grand array.
• After seven days without Lin Sheng emerging, Bo Di wondered whether Pulis had captured him, but Su Shui dismissed the possibility.

Lin Sheng recovered from his severe injuries while hiding deep inside the Return-to-Stillness Erosion Zone, as Su Shui and Bo Di maintained their formation outside and waited for him to emerge. After a month, Lin Sheng fully healed, but Su Shui and Bo Di continued their vigil, leaving him trapped inside.

• Su Shui and Bo Di concluded that Lin Sheng was still alive in the Erosion Zone and kept their sealing formation in place.
• Lin Sheng used his Return-to-Quiescence Will, Inferno Black Flame, Spirit-Stealing Secret Art, and healing treasures to recover while Little Black stayed safe beside him.
• After seven days, Lin Sheng had recovered about thirty percent and told Little Black he might remain trapped because Su Shui and Bo Di could be waiting outside.
• Su Shui and Bo Di grew doubtful when Lin Sheng failed to appear for a month, but they resolved to keep waiting rather than abandon the two strands of meltform origin.
• Lin Sheng completed a month of healing and fully recovered his body, divine soul, and true spirit.

Lin Sheng learned that Su Shui and Bo Di had sealed the Erosion Zone and continued cultivating while they waited outside. A sudden war between the Great Tribes and the Crimson Blood Empire then forced the two Wasteland Martial Beings to confront a crisis far greater than their pursuit of Lin Sheng.

• Lin Sheng sent Little Black to scout the Erosion Zone’s boundary, and Little Black discovered that formations sealed the entire perimeter while Bo Di and Su Shui kept watch.
• Lin Sheng abandoned his escape attempt and cultivated the Thousand Calamities Annihilation Cycle Scripture as Little Black rested beside him.
• After more than two months of waiting, Bo Di and Su Shui remained outside the Erosion Zone, convinced Lin Sheng would eventually emerge.
• The Blood Tiger and Demon Lizard Tribes launched a surprise attack on Ghostgate City, massacred its defenders and civilians, and Xiao Ba killed Yu Xuan.
• Su Shui and Bo Di received news of the invasion and Yu Xuan’s death, recognized that war between the Great Tribes and the Crimson Blood Empire had begun, and Su Shui turned a searching gaze toward Bo Di.

With war spreading across the continent, Su Shui and Bodi abandoned their vigil outside the Erosion Zone, while Lin Sheng continued cultivating inside. He broke through the second limit of his Thousand Calamities Annihilation Cycle Scripture, leaving his strength greatly increased as the continent descended into wider conflict.

• Bodi assured Su Shui that the Wild Horse Tribe had stayed neutral in the war, but the two worried they would soon be recalled to their factions.
• Lin Sheng sensed a Wasteland Martial expert's death through a vast phenomenon in the Erosion Zone sky, then returned underground to cultivate.
• Su Shui and Bodi learned that the Sea Tribe had joined the war and attacked the Crimson Blood Empire, so they decided to leave and capture Lin Sheng later.
• Lin Sheng broke through the second limit of his scripture, raising his core attributes and reaching the brink of a twenty-percent increase in strength and constitution.

After breaking through in the Erosion Zone, Lin Sheng escaped when Little Black found that the arrays and guards had vanished. He reached High Tower Megacity, learned that war had erupted across Sunstar and Return to Stillness erosion might worsen, and resolved to strengthen himself with a limit break ritual.

• Lin Sheng sent Little Black to scout the Erosion Zone’s outskirts, and it discovered the confinement arrays were gone and the two Wasteland Martial experts had left.
• Lin Sheng checked for ambushes, then escaped the Erosion Zone with Little Black and headed for High Tower Megacity.
• Lin Sheng entered High Tower Megacity in disguise and settled at the Flowing Cloud Pavilion to gather news.
• Lin Sheng overheard that the Blood Tiger and Demon Lizard tribes had allied with the Sea Tribe to attack the Crimson Blood Empire, while the Sun Radiance Alliance had ordered neutrality.
• Lin Sheng concluded that the war and a Wasteland Martial’s death could intensify Return to Stillness erosion, and he resolved to prepare a limit break ritual and grow stronger.

Lin Sheng bought materials for the Silent Spirit Erosion Heaven Art’s limit break ritual at the Dragon Antiquity Treasure Pavilion, then performed the ritual outside High Tower City. After his erosion affinity improved, he began refining rare herbs to advance the art, leaving his cultivation underway in the forest.

• Lin Sheng decided to prioritize the Silent Spirit Erosion Heaven Art so he could learn a secret technique to hinder Su Shui and Bo Di's fate-based pursuit.
• Lin Sheng visited the Dragon Antiquity Treasure Pavilion, sold seven Soul-Consolidating Star Tassel Grass to Shi Chun, and traded them for ritual materials and a VIP card.
• Lin Sheng used the VIP card to ask Shi Chun about securing a spacious cultivation residence, then left the city to prepare his ritual in an uninhabited forest.
• Lin Sheng opened the iron box containing erosion spirit origin qi, drawing the erosion spirit origin to the ritual and raising his erosion affinity by nearly twenty percent.
• Lin Sheng swallowed Nether Soul Purple Fungus and Soul-Consolidating Star Tassel Grass and began refining them to rapidly cultivate the Silent Spirit Erosion Heaven Art.

Lin Sheng broke through to the second limit break in the Silent Spirit Erosion Heaven Art and learned the Shadow Fate-Concealment Art to counter his pursuers. Meanwhile, Andy expanded the Dragon Antiquity Consortium’s search for Shuilong and Old Turtle after signs of Deep-Sea Tribe activity appeared near the border.

• Andy ordered more elite agents to search the border for Shuilong and Old Turtle, who possessed a crucial object and had been missing for days.
• After secluded cultivation outside the city, Lin Sheng reached the fourth layer of the Erosion Martial realm and returned to High Tower Megacity.
• Lin Sheng rented a Heaven-Class Cultivation Room at Dragon Antiquity Garden and cultivated there for a month using its arrays, instruments, and rare treasures.
• Lin Sheng completed the second limit break, improving his attributes and strengthening his true spirit.
• Lin Sheng learned the Shadow Fate-Concealment Art, which could obscure his fate and frustrate efforts to track or divine his whereabouts.
• Andy ordered Uncle Fu to widen the search after learning that Deep-Sea Tribe members had appeared near the border, reasoning that Shuilong and Old Turtle might have reached Sun Radiance Alliance territory.

Lin Sheng mastered the Shadow Concealment of Fate Art, learned how erosion authority might affect fate, and chose the Blood-Bone Heaven-Burning Art as his main cultivation focus. He began trading rare treasures for limit-break materials while a hunted Sea Tribe woman vanished into Green Elm City.

• A four-eyed Sea Tribe woman sent a message in Green Elm City, sensed two deep-sea pursuers, crushed her Communicator, and escaped through the crowd; the pursuers found the device and followed her trail.
• Lin Sheng completed the Shadow Concealment of Fate Art, blurring his fate and preventing the two Wasteland Martials from divining his location.
• Little Black suggested that an erosion-rule expert had once seized authority from a fate-rule expert, and Lin Sheng connected that possibility to the Return-to-Quiescence Will’s erosion of other rules.
• Lin Sheng chose the Blood-Bone Heaven-Burning Art as his primary cultivation method and planned to practice the Myriad Transformations Meltform Art alongside it.
• Lin Sheng renewed his cultivation-room lease, went to the Treasure Exchange Pavilion, and offered Shi Chun rare spiritual materials worth forty-two billion star coins in exchange for limit-break supplies.
• Shi Chun agreed to gather the requested materials, while Lin Sheng planned to buy the remaining supplies from other trading houses to avoid drawing attention.

Lin Sheng cultivated Inferno Black Flame in a danger zone and drew the inferno origin’s attention. Meanwhile, Andy learned that the Deep-Sea Tribe was pursuing Shuilong and Old Turtle in Alliance territory and ordered a search to reach them first.

• Lin Sheng left Tower City with Little Black and traveled to a danger zone to cultivate.
• Karen told Andy that the Alliance Council had permitted Deep-Sea Tribe members to enter Alliance territory in pursuit of deserters.
• Uncle Fu reported that the Deep-Sea Tribe had been detected near Green Elm City while pursuing Shuilong and Old Turtle.
• Andy ordered his people to search the region and rescue Shuilong and Old Turtle before the Deep-Sea Tribe reached them, avoiding conflict unless necessary.
• Lin Sheng absorbed the surrounding Inferno Black Flame and inferno rules, then saw an immense, hostile eye of inferno origin appear in the sky.

Lin Sheng survived a violent corruption of his inferno power during a limit break ritual and discovered that he had stolen a trace of the Inferno’s origin aspect, which made the Return-to-Quiescence Will regard him as a threat. He resolved to keep pursuing inferno origin power despite the danger and demonstrated the greatly increased destructive force of his Inferno Black Flame.

• Lin Sheng used his erosion and flesh rules, then his Purgatory Affinity, to suppress the rampaging inferno power and recover from its corruption.
• Little Black said the Return-to-Quiescence Will might have singled Lin Sheng out, and Lin Sheng’s Attribute Panel revealed that his Purgatory Affinity had advanced to Advanced+.
• Lin Sheng tested his Inferno Black Flame, and Little Black identified its new burning-all-things aspect as a trace of Inferno origin authority stolen during the limit break ritual.
• Lin Sheng considered the danger of further limit breaks but decided he would continue pursuing inferno origin power with greater caution.
• Lin Sheng showed the enhanced black flame consuming a mountainside before recalling it.

Lin Sheng entered the Danger Zone to test his newly strengthened Purgatory Flame and seek Eerie Beasts with perception talents. Meanwhile, Andy rescued the wounded Shuilong from the Deep Sea Tribe, but negotiations failed and the two sides began fighting.

• Lin Sheng discovered that stolen inferno-origin imagery had strengthened his flame and set out with Little Black to search the Danger Zone for Corrosion Beasts with advanced perception talents.
• Shuilong fled across High Tower Province after the Deep Sea Tribe exterminated her people and Old Turtle died protecting her, but three pursuers cornered her and tried to seize the Crystal Pendant.
• The Deep Sea Tribe crushed Shuilong's hands and feet and prepared to kill her, but Andy and Uncle Fu arrived and Andy stabilized her injuries with a vitality syringe.
• Shuilong told Andy that Old Turtle had been devoured, and Andy demanded that the Deep Sea Tribe surrender the Sea God Blood and sever their arms.
• The Deep Sea Tribe rejected Andy's terms and attacked him and Uncle Fu with corrosive water snakes.

Andy and Uncle Fu defeated three Deep Sea Tribe members, but the corpses merged into a powerful creature that survived their strongest attacks. The creature consumed the remains, identified Andy's Sea God Blood, and pursued him toward High Tower Megacity.

• Andy used his light rules to destroy the Deep Sea Tribe members' water attack, then joined Uncle Fu in killing all three.
• Andy ordered Uncle Fu to keep one corpse for examination, but the bodies revived and merged into a giant, egg-like mass.
• The merged creature caught and crushed Andy and Uncle Fu's combined attacks, forcing them to flee with Shuilong.
• A slender, eerie figure emerged from the shattered mass, consumed the three corpses, and traced Andy's Sea God Blood.
• The figure turned into cyan vapor and pursued Andy's group as they raced toward High Tower Megacity; Andy then struck behind him.

Lin Sheng tested his transformed Inferno Black Flame and expanded perception, detecting an unfamiliar Abyssal presence pursuing Andy, Uncle Fu, and Shuilong. The trio was cornered by the Deep Sea Tribe pursuer, which badly wounded Andy and Uncle Fu.

• Lin Sheng burned two Corrosion Beasts to ash with Inferno Black Flame and absorbed them, bringing his total to four.
• Lin Sheng used the beasts' perception talents to extend his awareness across ten thousand li, then detected an ancient, fishy aura pursuing several figures.
• Lin Sheng recognized the silver masks worn by two of the fleeing figures and realized he had seen them before.
• Andy, Uncle Fu, and Shuilong fled the Deep Sea Tribe pursuer, but a blue-green mist figure appeared ahead and blocked their path.
• Andy raised light barriers and Uncle Fu attacked with a silver sword, but the figure's water blade shattered their defenses and severely wounded both Peak Demigods.

Andy, Uncle Fu, and Shuilong were overwhelmed by a powerful Deep Sea Tribe monster until Lin Sheng arrived and saved them. Lin Sheng then faced the creature, whose water-rule power and strange origin aspect began to overpower his Inferno Black Flame.

• Uncle Fu charged the blue-green monster to protect Andy, but it crushed his defenses and left him near death.
• The monster restrained Andy and Shuilong, took the Crystal Pendant containing Sea God Blood, and prepared to swallow all three.
• Lin Sheng arrived, burned through the monster’s water snakes, and rescued Andy, Uncle Fu, and the unconscious Shuilong.
• Little Black suspected the monster wielded mutation rules, while Lin Sheng sensed that its strength exceeded that of a peak demigod.
• The monster attacked Lin Sheng with water blades and deepwater pythons, and its powerful rules gradually wore down his Inferno Black Flame.

Lin Sheng killed He Jia, a Deep-Sea Mutated Entity whose Water and Mutation Rules had formed Dead Sea Rules, then questioned Little Black about the creature’s origins and the ancient history of Mutation Rules. He turned to Andy and the others to learn why a deep-sea creature had appeared inland.

• Lin Sheng fused the Inferno, Flesh, Erosion Spirit, and Molten Form rules into purple Divine Astral Force and killed He Jia with Blood Devour.
• Little Black joined Lin Sheng and warned that the monster’s lingering mutation aura was poisonous and could cause mutation.
• Lin Sheng inspected the system panel and learned that He Jia was a Jana Aberration born in the Deep Sea Absolute Abyss, with Dead Sea Rules and Low-Tier Dead Sea Affinity.
• Little Black explained that Mutation Rules could distort other rules and recounted how they had been altered through conflicts involving the Great Wills.
• Lin Sheng wondered what external force had created Dead Sea Rules and why He Jia had appeared so far from the deep sea, then looked to Andy and the others for answers.

Lin Sheng rescued Andy, Uncle Fu, and Shuilong from a Deep-Sea Monster, then concealed his identity while questioning Andy about the creature and Sea God Blood. Andy later recognized Lin Sheng, and Lin Sheng dropped his disguise, leaving the two old acquaintances face to face.

• Uncle Fu and Shuilong woke from their grave injuries, and Andy told them a mysterious expert had slain the Deep-Sea Monster.
• Lin Sheng emerged from the Poison Marsh disguised, and Andy thanked him before recounting how he had obtained Sea God Blood and been pursued by the Deep Sea Tribe.
• Lin Sheng examined the Sea God Blood, accepted Andy’s explanation, and let the three leave after confirming the substance’s effects.
• Andy returned alone and offered Lin Sheng an anonymous Star Coin card containing thirty billion Star Coins as thanks.
• Andy called Lin Sheng “Brother Lin,” explaining that he had identified him by his strength and his renown from Black Cliff Valley.
• Lin Sheng threatened Andy, then relented and revealed his true appearance after Andy said he trusted him.

In the Poison Marsh, Lin Sheng reunited with Andy, learned that Prison Demon had advanced to the second realm of Wasteland Martial, and agreed to help Andy explore a dangerous hidden cache of Sea God Blood. After Andy left to prepare, mysterious robed figures transformed the Poison Marsh, while Lin Sheng returned to High Tower Megacity to cultivate ahead of the expedition.

• Lin Sheng revealed himself to Andy, who confirmed that Mary, He Ping, and Lin Sheng’s other associates were protected by the Fighting Association.
• Andy warned Lin Sheng that the Crimson Prison Society remained a threat and that Prison Demon had entered the second realm of Wasteland Martial.
• Andy offered to share a secret art and give Lin Sheng first claim to Sea God Blood from a hidden cache in exchange for his help exploring it; Lin Sheng agreed, with the condition that he would leave if the danger proved beyond him.
• Andy gave Lin Sheng an encrypted Communicator and left to prepare for the expedition, while Lin Sheng departed with Little Black.
• Two robed figures arrived at the Poison Marsh and spread seawater across it, greatly reducing its mutating power.
• Lin Sheng returned to High Tower Megacity, confirmed Andy had told the truth, and began cultivating for the month before their planned expedition.

After a month in seclusion, Lin Sheng advanced the Blood-Bone Heaven-Burning Art to the seventh realm and prepared to join Andy’s expedition to the Sea God Blood Hidden Cache. Little Black revealed the liquid was diluted Void Spirit Liquid linked to a powerful Desolate Tier being, and Lin Sheng arrived at the meeting place with it as Andy waited beside a Dragon Antiquity Consortium Flying Craft.

• Lin Sheng cultivated for a month and broke through to the seventh realm of the Blood-Bone Heaven-Burning Art, increasing his attributes and control over the Flesh Rule.
• Andy sent Lin Sheng a message that preparations were complete and waited for him at Falling Wind Forest outside High Tower Megacity.
• Little Black revealed that the Sea God Blood was diluted Void Spirit Liquid, possibly formed from the remains of a third-realm or peak-realm Desolate Tier being.
• Lin Sheng refused to promise Little Black a share of the Hidden Cache’s rewards, but agreed to save it some Void Spirit Liquid if there was enough.
• Lin Sheng and Little Black headed to Falling Wind Forest, where Andy waited beside a Dragon Antiquity Consortium Flying Craft.

Lin Sheng and Andy traveled toward a Hidden Cache in the Chaos Sea, learning that the Deep Sea Tribe had begun invading the coastal waters and Outer Sea. After receiving a sea chart from two Azure Tortoise Tribe survivors, they pushed deeper into the perilous Outer Sea toward the cache.

• Andy showed Lin Sheng the Dark Feather Flying Craft and explained the Hidden Cache’s location and dangers during their journey.
• Andy revealed that he had discovered the cache years earlier but could not explore it because sea beasts attacked him and the Dragon Antiquity Consortium was divided by factions.
• Lin Sheng and Andy crossed the Sun Radiance Alliance and landed on a tidal island, where two Azure Tortoise Tribe members greeted Andy.
• The Azure Tortoise Tribe members reported that the Deep Sea Tribe was invading the Outer Sea, and Andy promised to evacuate their surviving people to safe waters.
• An older Azure Tortoise Tribe member gave Andy a sea chart covering the coastal waters, Outer Sea, and parts of the deep sea.
• Lin Sheng and Andy followed the chart into the Outer Sea, where heavy fog, chaotic currents, and distorted rule energies made their surroundings increasingly dangerous.