Chapter Summaries

After an explosion sealed the sea entrance to the cavern, the Inquisition and the others realized their enemies had begun their plan. Imprisoned underground, Momola confronted her mother Xinwuya over the Sand Bone Gang’s collusion and refused to abandon the hired workers, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• Xia Fan wondered why the enemy had targeted the Church’s patrol convoy when a soul of any quality could fuel the Evil Spirit Art.
• An explosion collapsed part of the mountain wall and blocked the cave’s entrance to the sea, and Li deduced that Dulin had waited to lure everyone inside first.
• Momola demanded that Guna release her from her cage so she could help the hired workers, but Guna said they were likely already dead.
• Xinwuya arrived and insisted that she had imprisoned Momola to protect her, arguing that the workers’ deaths could buy Momola’s survival.
• Momola accused Xinwuya of treating others as bargaining chips and declared that she would risk her life to stand by the workers.

Momola escaped her cage and fought her way out of the sewers to seek help, but Archie's men ambushed her outside and shot her. The chapter left her wounded and facing the overseers, with a crossbow bolt through her leg.

• After Xinwuya left, Momola found a key ring someone had tossed into her cell, unlocked the cage, and decided to warn Ambassador Xia about Archie’s crimes.
• Momola spotted two of Archie’s men guarding a sewer passage, distracted them with a thrown stone, and knocked them both down.
• Momola climbed out through a drainage grate and headed toward the Foreign Affairs Building, but an overseer shot her in the waist with a crossbow.
• Momola faced the overseers and charged their leader, but another crossbow bolt pierced her right leg.

Momola awakened a powerful cat transformation while fighting off the overseers who had been ordered to kill her, then struggled to reach the Foreign Affairs District with news about the captured Hundred Fruit Garden workers. A stranger who knew Xia Fan stopped her on the street, but bit her throat and drained her qi, leaving her fate uncertain.

• The overseers stabbed and beat Momola, and their leader prepared to cut her throat on Mister Gao'er’s orders.
• Remembering Li’s teachings, Momola sensed qi and transformed into an enormous cat, knocking the overseers away and gravely injuring their leader.
• Momola fled toward the Foreign Affairs District but changed back and collapsed from her wounds before reaching the building.
• A formally dressed stranger caught Momola and said he would enjoy her before she died.
• Momola told the stranger that the Hundred Fruit Garden workers had been taken to the Sand Bone Gang’s territory and asked him to inform Ambassador Xia Fan.
• The stranger recognized Xia Fan, then bit Momola’s throat and drained her qi as darkness overtook her.

Philip led Gao'er into Azure Fort’s underground waterways and revealed that the city’s foundations had been built using the remains of dead laborers. Philip then exposed his true identity and killed Gao'er, leaving his body at the bottom of the well.

• Philip explained to Gao'er that Azure Fort’s drainage system had been built with human remains as construction material.
• Philip said his group had chosen Azure Fort because human remains were ideal raw materials for creating Lesser Evil Spirits.
• Gao'er noticed Philip’s unnatural strength and realized that the man was not the brother he had known.
• Philip revealed that he had used multiple aliases and wanted a new title after his planned performance.
• Gao'er tried to flee, but Philip seized him and dropped him into the well, where gnawing sounds soon followed.

Philip summoned a colossal Lesser Evil Spirit from a well using purple liquid and living sacrifices. Fumi Lieya discovered the monster resembled the Church's Holy Spirit Twins and was unleashing catastrophic storms and tsunamis on Azure Fort, so he raced to the harbor to organize an evacuation.

• Philip uncovered bones, poured glowing purple liquid into a well, and chanted to summon the trapped Lesser Evil Spirits.
• Philip called forth a colossal shadow and urged it to feast on the pain and despair of the living sacrifices he had prepared.
• Fumi Lieya awoke to find a vast black-cloud vortex over Azure Fort and learned that a Lesser Evil Spirit had emerged in the Upper City.
• Fumi transformed into a Wyvern and saw a gigantic statue resembling the Church's Holy Spirit Twins standing amid the city.
• Fumi watched immense waves rise from the northern and southern seas and realized the Lesser Evil Spirit meant to destroy Azure Fort.
• Fumi flew toward the harbor and shouted for the people to ready the ships before the tsunami arrived.

Xia Fan and the others escaped the flooded Stone Grotto with Li’s help, then discovered that a storm surge had devastated Azure Fort. The group reached the surface and saw the city submerged beneath torrential rain and rising seawater.

• Olina told Xia Fan she could no longer use Divine Arts, and Taxisis cut through the rocks blocking the grotto entrance with a golden sword of light.
• A powerful surge of seawater burst through the opening, trapping the group inside the rapidly flooding cavern.
• Li offered to carry the group out, while Qian Yan made ice seats to secure them to Li’s back.
• Taxisis ordered everyone to hold on and take a deep breath, and Li swam through the submerged passage with the group.
• Xia Fan and Olina rose above the water and saw that seawater had flooded Azure Fort, while rain and storm clouds battered the city.

The Inquisition confronted the Lesser Evil Spirit disguised as the Holy Spirit Twins while Xia Fan helped organize a rescue for Azure Fort’s residents. Taxisis invoked the Undying Sun Radiance, and the God of Hera appeared above the storm.

• Taxisis led the Inquisition toward the Upper City to destroy the Lesser Evil Spirit, while Xia Fan warned that it carried the aura of a Great Demon.
• Xia Fan contacted acting captain Wu Yue and learned that the Baisha Ship had escaped the flooding and was waiting in the Harbor District.
• Lasein Lieya asked Xia Fan to rescue residents trapped in tall buildings, and Xia Fan agreed and issued rescue orders.
• Taxisis and the Inquisition entered the storm vortex and formed a protective circle around their leader.
• Taxisis began chanting the Undying Sun Radiance, clearing the sky as a sacred humanoid figure appeared above the vortex.

The Twin-Body Statue absorbed Hera’s divine power, became stronger, and unleashed Lesser Evil Spirits and Demons upon Azure Fort. Taxisis rallied herself to fight it despite Des Moines losing faith in the Deity, and flew back toward the storm.

• Hera’s Divine Art unexpectedly empowered the Twin-Body Statue, which severed Taxisis’s connection to the Deity and scattered the Inquisition with a storm.
• The statue sent feathers that became Lesser Evil Spirits and opened rifts that released Demons, worsening the destruction and slaughter in Azure Fort.
• Philip celebrated in the underground well, believing his spell had exposed the Church’s Deity and Holy Son as tools of power and would undermine The Church.
• Taxisis crawled from the ruins and found Des Moines, who questioned the meaning of their work after Hera protected the enemy.
• Taxisis insisted the Inquisition would not surrender, transformed into a dragon, and flew toward the Twin-Body Statue to fight.

Taxisis turned back to save Des Moines from a Noose Demon, and a silver projectile from the Baisha Ship destroyed the creature before it could catch them. The ship’s cannon fire gave the rescued Azure Fort residents a glimpse of hope as the battle against the Evil Spirits continued.

• Des Moines could not move after losing faith in Sun God Hera, and a Noose Demon approached him.
• Taxisis returned and fought off Lesser Evil Spirits while trying to carry Des Moines to safety.
• The Noose Demon sent tentacles after Taxisis, but a silver projectile struck its abdomen and let her escape with Des Moines.
• Des Moines and Taxisis saw the Baisha Ship firing from its deck at the Evil Spirits threatening the Upper City.
• Li and Qian Yan fired Long-rod Projectiles from the ship’s modified cannons, destroying a Great Demon and cheering the rescued residents.

After the Lesser Evil Spirit devoured Hera, the Sun God, Xia Fan planned to approach the vortex and strike it with Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder, with Taxisis offering to fly him there. As ships joined the fight to defend Azure Fort, a growing fleet counterattacked from the Lower District toward Upper City.

• Xia Fan told Taxisis that he could use Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder against the Lesser Evil Spirit if he could get close to the vortex.
• Taxisis volunteered to fly Xia Fan toward the storm, despite Des Moines's concern about the danger.
• Ships, including the Eastern envoy's Baisha Ship, sailed toward Upper City as cannon fire sounded behind the group.
• The Blue Sailfish followed the Baisha Ship and fired Explosive Shells at Lesser Evil Spirits.
• More ships sailed into Azure Fort to attack the monsters or rescue stranded residents, forming a loose united front.

Taxisis carried Xia Fan into the storm to approach the Lesser Evil Spirit, but it knocked him from her back and sent Evil Spirits after them. Xia Fan unleashed magic that filled the vortex with lightning, while Count Cleveland’s ground assault faced the same deadly storm.

• Taxisis flew with Xia Fan into the vortex, following its rotation to reach the Lesser Evil Spirit.
• The Lesser Evil Spirit sent flying Mei after them and changed the winds, tossing Taxisis aside and throwing Xia Fan into the tempest.
• Taxisis charged toward Xia Fan as Evil Spirits pursued them, but Xia Fan cast something that caused Flowing Light and countless bolts of lightning to fill the vortex.
• Count Cleveland led his team through the city streets toward the Lesser Evil Spirit, but a blockade of smaller Lesser Evil Spirits trapped them in battle.
• Fumi Lieya saw lightning gathering in the clouds and warned the group, but Thunderclap struck before they could transform.
• Count Cleveland and the others fled into nearby buildings to escape the lightning.

Fumi realized that the Heavenly Thunder was striking the Lesser Evil Spirits, and Xia Fan arrived with Taxisis after unleashing it. Though the Great Demon remained protected by a Storm Barrier, Xia Fan proposed exploiting its eyes as a possible flaw.

• Fumi saw the Lesser Evil Spirits flee from the Heavenly Thunder and watched the Twin Holy Icon use its split-off spirits to shield itself from the bolts.
• Fumi suspected that the Legendary Mage had come to Azure Fort because he was pursuing Archie, and he identified Ambassador Dongfang as the person summoning the lightning.
• Taxisis landed with Xia Fan and warned Count Cleveland that Azure Fort could not be saved, urging him to evacuate the residents.
• Xia Fan said he could cast Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder one more time, but explained that the Storm Barrier prevented them from reaching the Great Demon.
• Xia Fan pointed out that the Great Demon turned both heads toward the thunder and suggested its eyes might reveal a flaw in its defenses.

Wu Yue relayed Lord Xia’s order for the Baisha Ship to head for the Upper City and attack the Twin-Bodied Demon Statue, while Feilin Carter worried about the danger. Count Cleveland recruited ships to join the battle, and more than thirty vessels formed a line and opened fire on the Twin Demon.

• Wu Yue told Feilin Carter that Lord Xia had ordered the Baisha Ship to sail north and bombard the Twin-Bodied Demon Statue, and Feilin Carter agreed despite his concerns.
• The Blue Sailfish captain debated whether to follow the Baisha Ship until Count Cleveland arrived and offered a War Bounty to ships that joined the fight.
• The Blue Sailfish crew accepted Count Cleveland’s call, and its captain turned the ship toward the Upper City.
• More than thirty seagoing vessels reached the Upper City embankment and formed a battle line with the Baisha Ship at its head.
• The ships fired on the Twin Demon, while the Baisha Ship’s silver projectiles struck toward its chest and face.

Xia Fan and Taxisis launched a coordinated final charge against the Twin Holy Icon while Count Cleveland and the fleet distracted it. The Inquisition shielded Taxisis from the Holy Icon’s counterattack, leaving the charge still underway.

• Dragonborn and warships fought the Twin Holy Icon’s Lesser Evil Spirits as the battle inflicted heavy casualties.
• Xia Fan reasoned that the Holy Icon’s attention was focused on the fleet and waited for Count Cleveland’s forces to be ready.
• Three flares from the Baisha Ship signaled the plan, and Xia Fan and Taxisis plunged into the storm as Cleveland led an attack from the southwest.
• Cleveland and the other Dragonborn drew the Holy Icon’s attention while Taxisis flew toward its nape with Xia Fan aboard.
• The Holy Icon spotted Taxisis and summoned a black vortex, but Des Moines and the Inquisition gathered around her to shield her and urged her to continue.

Taxisis and Xia Fan reached the Twin Holy Icon, where Xia Fan’s Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder weakened the Lesser Evil Spirit. Aboard a distant ship, Leonard Phantom and his companions revealed that the battle had served their Teacher’s plan to discredit The Church.

• Taxisis’s Dragonborn team endured the Lesser Evil Spirit’s gale, and Des Moines sacrificed himself to clear a path to the Twin Holy Icon.
• Taxisis carried Xia Fan through the opening, and Xia Fan unleashed Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder on the Lesser Evil Spirit.
• The lightning struck the Twin Holy Icon and caused the Lesser Evil Spirit’s body to fade as its demonic power fell below the critical threshold.
• Fumi Lieya and Lord Cleveland recognized Xia Fan’s power and concluded that the Inquisition’s arrival and the unfolding dispute had drawn the Eastern Kingdom into the conflict.
• Leonard Phantom and a bald man aboard a dry ship discussed how the Lesser Evil Spirit’s attack would make people doubt The Church and fulfill their Teacher’s plan.

Xia Fan and Taxisis were swallowed by a rift after the Holy Icon crumbled, and Xia Fan found himself alone on a mysterious platform filled with glowing pillars. A hostile creature attacked him through a barrier, but he woke beside Taxisis beneath a clearing sky.

• Doran ordered his ship to return to Starfall Tower with the observation data and barred anyone from leaving or approaching.
• Xia Fan kept the Nine Heavens Heavenly Thunder focused on the Holy Icon until it began to crumble, revealing a pitch-black rift behind it.
• The rift swallowed the Lesser Evil Spirit, Xia Fan, and Taxisis, leaving Xia Fan alone in a silent darkness.
• Xia Fan explored a vast platform covered in blinking metal pillars and saw a gigantic shadow slam into a transparent barrier, shaking the platform.
• Xia Fan regained consciousness as Taxisis shook him, with dark clouds dispersing behind her.

After Xia Fan survived the battle against the Great Demon, Li learned that he had witnessed a strange rift and a terrifying creature that no one else saw. The group withdrew to the harbor, while Xia Fan and Li considered whether his experience had been a dangerous consequence of being a Listener.

• Li found Xia Fan unconscious after the battle, and Qian Yan confirmed he was recovering from the strain of the second Heavenly Thunder.
• Qian Yan told Taxisis that her hearing would return soon; Taxisis signed her thanks to the Eastern envoy and flew off to find her subordinates.
• Li and Olina withdrew to the harbor as the flooded Lower District began draining, and the group waited for Xia Fan to wake.
• Xia Fan woke in the captain's cabin, learned the Great Demon had been destroyed, and asked Li whether she had seen the rift he had entered.
• Xia Fan described the dark platform and the enormous creature he had encountered, and Li suggested that his experience might have been a perilous effect of being a Listener.

Xia Fan and Li returned to the Foreign Affairs Building and found Feleton Stitch, a Natating Vampire, with the gravely wounded Momola. Feleton offered two ways to save her, including turning her into a vampire or using Primordial Blood, while revealing that he had come with a request.

• Li told Xia Fan that Olina and a Baisha Ship team had gone to rescue the Hundred Fruit Garden workers, and described plans to aid Azure Fort’s displaced residents.
• After the floodwaters receded, Xia Fan and Li returned to the Foreign Affairs Building to collect their belongings and found that someone had forced open their door.
• Inside, they discovered Feleton Stitch beside the unconscious Momola, whom he said he had found badly wounded and poisoned.
• Li examined Momola and feared she needed Divine Blessing Art, while Feleton said the Holy Spirit Twin capable of using it had died.
• Xia Fan challenged Feleton’s account, and Feleton revealed he was a Natating Vampire whose venom had been born with him.
• Feleton offered to save Momola by giving her the Blood of Embrace or by using higher-grade blood such as Primordial Blood.

Feleton revealed that Qian Yan might possess Primordial Blood and asked her to help investigate her origins. When Qian Yan tested her blood with the Key of the Zodiac, the statue pointed due east.

• Feleton explained that Primordial Blood was rare, valuable, and free of side effects, then said one of Xia Fan’s companions possessed it.
• Feleton revealed that the Key of the Zodiac had led him to Qian Yan, and Li warned him not to threaten her.
• Feleton asked Qian Yan to help with a secret matter connected to her origins, and Xia Fan let her decide whether to cooperate.
• Qian Yan agreed to test the Key of the Zodiac by placing a drop of her blood on it.
• The Key of the Zodiac turned and pointed due east, surprising everyone.

Feleton confirmed that Qian Yan possessed Primordial Blood and traced her connection to Stitch Matriarch through an ancient Stitch Treasure Coin. Qian Yan used Pure Blood to heal Momola, and Feleton then asked Xia Fan and his companions to assist Princess Twilight of Natating.

• Feleton recognized Qian Yan as a high-ranking Bloodkin after she activated the Key of the Zodiac, though Li questioned how her bloodline fit with the Living Dead.
• Feleton identified Qian Yan’s coin as a rare Stitch Treasure Coin that granted its holder up to one thousand Golden Kern per day and confirmed her connection to Stitch Matriarch.
• Feleton taught Qian Yan a spell to condense Pure Blood, and Qian Yan willingly used a drop to heal Momola.
• Qian Yan felt weak after casting the spell, and Feleton explained that condensing Pure Blood too often could permanently reduce her magic power.
• Feleton told Xia Fan that his mistress, Princess Twilight of Natating, needed the group’s assistance.