Chapter Summaries

Ning Weiyuan learned that the Jinxia Army had routed the Seven Stars Forces at Cliff Mountain Port with overwhelming naval firepower and blamed Mo Yun and the Mo Clan. As he prepared to arrest the Mo Clan, Gongshu Wang confronted him and condemned the plan.

• Ning Weiyuan's confidant reported that the Jinxia Army had attacked Cliff Mountain Port, forcing the Seven Stars garrison to retreat with heavy casualties.
• Ning Weiyuan concluded that Jinxia's weapons and Mechanical Beasts were tied to Mo Yun, then ordered the Mo Clan seized for interrogation.
• Ning Weiyuan's confidant warned that arresting the Mo Clan could cripple weapons production across the realm, but Ning Weiyuan insisted on summoning his Imperial Guard.
• Gongshu Wang arrived with Yuyi Shuangwuxue and other Fangshi, and argued that punishing the Mo Clan for Mo Yun's departure would drive mechanical engineers away.
• Ning Weiyuan claimed Mo Yun could not have made Jinxia's weapons alone, and Gongshu Wang shouted that his reasoning was nonsense.

Gongshu Wang showed Ning Weiyuan the Gongshu Clan’s new Mechanical Beasts, which could move with surprising agility and operate without visible pilots. Ning Weiyuan realized the machines could become powerful weapons against ordinary forces, though their ability to counter Jinxia’s cannons remained uncertain.

• Gongshu Wang explained that Jinxia’s cannons had weaknesses and said the Gongshu Clan’s new Mechanical Beasts had arrived in Shangyuan.
• Shuang Wuxue and Feathered Garment allowed Ning Weiyuan to inspect the machines at the former Bureau of Military Affairs compound.
• Gongshu Wang’s clansman climbed inside one Mechanical Beast, which rose smoothly and moved its mechanical hands.
• Several Mechanical Beasts burst out of their crates without anyone approaching them, then climbed the hall and reached its roof.
• Ning Weiyuan watched the machines’ speed and strength and recognized their potential impact on the battlefield.

Ning Weiyuan learned that the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs had developed the Truth Listener, a costly Mechanical Beast controlled by a Qi Sense User. A week later, as Yan Qing’s crew prepared to sabotage Yazhou Port’s docks, unknown attackers struck the Noah Tree Boat and leapt onto its Tree Platform.

• Gongshu Wang explained that a Truth Listener could fight without fear or pain and obey a controller’s consciousness.
• Shuang Wuxue said mass production would depend on training enough Qi Sense Users, so the Scholar Examination would become annual.
• Over seven days, Yan Qing’s crew sank four northern transport ships and captured supplies and prisoners to disrupt Seven Stars’ sea transport.
• After spotting local residents gathering to rebuild Yazhou Port’s docks, Yan Qing ordered her crew to attack the docks and piers at dawn.
• An enemy attacked the Noah Tree Boat from beneath and at several locations, and dark figures sprang onto the Tree Platform.

Yan Qing fought off four strange, blood-filled monsters on the Tree Boat and learned that other areas were under attack. When Sainiya reported six more enemies targeting the Electromagnetic Cannons, Yan Qing went to support Aili.

• Yan Qing bound four monsters with chains and shocked them, but their inner qi barriers resisted her attacks and one sent her flying.
• Yan Qing used Web Weaving to create chains inside a monster, killing it, then defeated the remaining three after a fierce fight.
• Sainiya reported attacks in the market, dock, and Spirit Tree Core areas, where Qian, Chi, and Kong were responding or holding off enemies.
• Sainiya learned that six new monsters were attacking the Electromagnetic Cannons, and Yan Qing left to support Aili.

Yan Qing and the High Priestess defended the Electromagnetic Cannon as Seven Stars’ Mechanical Beasts attacked the Noah Tree Boat and tried to steal the weapon. Xia Fan and Olina arrived and drove the attackers into the sea, while Xia Fan’s unexpected wings left Yan Qing with questions.

• Yan Qing used her Kun Technique to hold back the Mechanical Beasts while the High Priestess evacuated the Elf warriors.
• Pang Ting realized the monsters were pulling the Electromagnetic Cannon from its base to steal its technique runes and core artifact.
• Yan Qing prepared to face the monsters alone, but Xia Fan swooped down with enormous wings and attacked them using his claws and Zhen Technique Zephyr.
• Olina arrived and used Dragonfire to melt the monsters’ armor, prompting the remaining attackers to abandon the cannon and jump into the sea.
• Xia Fan explained that he and Olina had come to investigate after spotting flames near the horizon from the Baisha Ship.

Xia Fan and the others reunited with Sainiya’s group, agreed to return to Jinxia City to treat Ning Wanjun, and examined the remains of the enemy’s monsters. Their inspection uncovered a half-destroyed human body among the wreckage, still wearing a strange rune artifact.

• Xia Fan introduced Hualin Stitch as a person who could lift the corrosion, and Hualin admitted her responsibility for yielding to Talius while refusing Sainiya’s demand that she reclaim the throne.
• Sainiya challenged Hualin over Natating’s crimes against World Island, but eventually fell silent after Hualin defended herself against the accusations.
• Xia Fan proposed that the groups return to Jinxia City because Ning Wanjun needed treatment and the Electromagnetic Cannon was damaged, and everyone agreed.
• An Elf reported that the enemy monsters’ remains had been dismantled, and Xia Fan and the others inspected their bronze skeletons, mechanical joints, and flesh.
• The group found a badly mutilated human body among the monster debris, and Xia Fan ordered the Elves to drag it out.

Xia Fan examined a damaged artifact taken from an attacker aboard the Noah Tree Boat and consulted Mo Yun about the Gongshu Clan’s possible use of Immortal Arts. The artifact’s hidden compartment revealed part of a burned Talisman, leaving Mo Yun’s suspicion to be confirmed.

• Xia Fan learned that the attacker’s clothing bore the patterns of the Gongshu Clan and examined the basin-like artifact taken from his head.
• Xia Fan contacted Mo Yun and told her that monsters had attacked the Noah Tree Boat and that he had brought back a princess who could dispel the corrosion.
• Mo Yun explained the differences between the Mo and Gongshu Clans and said Xia Fan had already made an Immortal Art usable by others through the Enhanced Flowing Light Spell Talisman.
• Mo Yun suspected the artifact involved consciousness and asked Xia Fan to check for openings or hidden compartments.
• Xia Fan pried open the artifact and found gray ash and half of a dark violet Talisman inside.

Xia Fan returned to Jinxia City with the Mechanical Beast wreckage, while Princess Twilight arrived to help transfer Ning Wanjun’s soul. Hualin explained that the transfer could fail but would not damage the soul, and Xia Fan learned that a familiar person could help ease the princess’s resistance.

• Mo Yun told Xia Fan to preserve the Mechanical Beast wreckage and bring it to Jinxia for study, then abruptly ended their call.
• Two weeks later, the Noah returned to Jinxia, where Xia Fan saw that ships from the Western Pole had arrived to trade after hearing the sea route had reopened.
• Princess Twilight toured Jinxia and noticed its orderly streets, fresh air, and Demi-humans living without apparent oppression.
• Xia Fan brought Hualin to Ning Wanjun’s bedchamber to begin the soul-transfer art.
• Hualin said the transfer would either succeed or fail without harming the soul, and suggested bringing someone familiar to help reduce the princess’s resistance.

Xia Fan began the soul transfer to save Ning Wanjun, using a damaged Living Dead body as the vessel. The art sent him into a memory of Ning Wanjun’s last stand in Jinxia, where her forces were nearly defeated and she faced retreat or capture.

• Mo Yun arrived at Fengyang Mountain Villa and asked to bear the Evil Spirit's corrosion, but Xia Fan explained that a damaged Living Dead body could serve as the vessel.
• Mo Yun declined to assist with the art and insisted that Xia Fan should be the one to help Ning Wanjun.
• Hualin prepared the Living Dead body, Ning Wanjun, and the materials and diagrams needed for the transfer.
• Hualin straddled Xia Fan and bit his neck as an essential step in drawing out the soul, pulling him into a warm, dark abyss.
• In the memory, Xu the Guerrilla told Ning Wanjun that the enemy had reached the city and urged her to flee by ship, while fewer than a thousand usable men and horses remained.

As Jinxia faced defeat, Ning Wanjun confronted a blurred-faced man who claimed to be her husband and revealed that Seven Stars Palace had tested her as a potential Tianshu Envoy. Her memories of another reality returned, and she challenged the impossible world around her before a vortex swept her away with someone holding her hand.

• Ning Wanjun suffered a sudden headache as the enemy army demanded her surrender, while Major Xu urged her to escape to Dong Sheng Kingdom.
• A blurred-faced man appeared, claimed to be Ning Wanjun’s husband, and said Seven Stars Palace had tested her as a possible replacement Tianshu Envoy.
• The man struck Major Xu down and warned Ning Wanjun that she would be punished if she refused to surrender.
• Ning Wanjun’s dream memories returned, and she questioned the man about his blurred face and their wedding, which neither of them could recall.
• Ning Wanjun reached into the man’s face, causing the world to warp into a vortex that swept her away as someone seized her hand.

Ning Wanjun awoke after nearly three months in an ice coffin, with her injuries healed and her memories of another life intact. She reassured her allies and set plans to drive the Seven Stars Bureau from Qi State before winter, then waited for Xia Fan to wake.

• Ning Wanjun woke in her bedchamber beside Xia Fan and an unfamiliar woman, realized her wounds had healed, and carried Xia Fan onto the bed.
• Mo Yun and Qiuyue welcomed Ning Wanjun, and Qiuyue explained that she had been frozen in an ice coffin for nearly three months while Xia Fan sought a cure in the Western Pole.
• After hearing what had happened during her absence, Ning Wanjun ordered a public address and directed Luo You'er to announce the Seven Stars Bureau's invasion of Shangyuan City.
• Ning Wanjun told Hong Siqi to extend Jinxia's administration to towns as well as cities and ordered Xu Sanchong to defeat the enemy and take Shangyuan City before the snow season.
• Ning Wanjun refused to move the unconscious Xia Fan and said she wanted to see him as soon as he awoke.

After waking from a three-month coma, Ning Wanjun thanked Xia Fan for saving her and discussed how she would reward him, while growing closer to him. The next morning, an urgent letter from Luo Qingqing arrived at the Affairs Bureau.

• Xia Fan woke beside Ning Wanjun and confirmed that she had recovered from her injuries.
• Ning Wanjun thanked Xia Fan for saving her and offered him half the realm as a reward, but Xia Fan showed little interest in the throne.
• Ning Wanjun told Xia Fan to hurry and marry, then asked him to recount his journey to the Western Pole and invited him to stay the night.
• The next morning, Xia Fan left the palace hall with Ning Wanjun, and Qiuyue and the guards treated him with new warmth and envy.
• A guard delivered an urgent letter from west of Jinzhou addressed to the person in charge of the Affairs Bureau, and Xia Fan recognized Luo Qingqing's handwriting.

Luo Qingqing wrote a warning to the Jinxia City Affairs Bureau about Evil Spirit infection and the Salvation Sect, then joined a mission to attack brigands on Verdant Mountain. She planned to send the letter toward Jinxia while continuing to infiltrate the Salvation Sect and investigate its hidden heavenly kingdom.

• Luo Qingqing wrote that the Salvation Sect, which she suspected was the Black Gate Cult, had described how Evil Spirit infection could gradually transform people without their awareness.
• She enclosed the Salvation Sect’s method of examining for infection and warned that the phenomenon might threaten Jinxia City.
• Wang Sha told Luo Qingqing that the group was nearing Ganzhou and that Venerable Victory over Heaven had ordered Sorcery Art practitioners to eliminate brigands on Verdant Mountain.
• Luo Qingqing finished her letter, explained that she had pretended to join the Salvation Sect to learn about its hidden heavenly kingdom, and urged Jinxia to prepare for a possible encounter without starting a direct conflict.
• Luo Qingqing joined the assembled Qi Sense Users, saluted Venerable Victory over Heaven, and set out with the squad.

After Venerable Victory over Heaven’s forces defeated the Black Gate Cult bandits, Luo Qingqing helped the rescued women find hope and a place to settle. That night, she learned the Venerable had once served in the Bureau of Military Affairs and asked whether she knew much about Jinxia City.

• Venerable Victory over Heaven killed the bandits, burned their bodies, and stayed on Verdant Mountain overnight.
• Luo Qingqing comforted the rescued women and promised they could settle with the Salvation Sect rather than return to their former homes.
• Luo Qingqing found Venerable Victory over Heaven gazing north at night and spoke with her about the horrors they had witnessed.
• Venerable Victory over Heaven recognized that Luo Qingqing had once been a sorcerer of the Bureau of Military Affairs and revealed that she had held a high position there herself.
• Luo Qingqing asked Venerable Victory over Heaven whether she knew much about Jinxia City.

Venerable Victory over Heaven explained to Luo Qingqing why the Salvation Sect saw Jinxia City as an obstacle, then revealed the true nature of powerful evil spirits and the weakening barrier that protects the human world. Luo Qingqing learned that calamity was imminent because that barrier was failing.

• Venerable Victory over Heaven said Jinxia City's peaceful prosperity would make its people more vulnerable to despair and less willing to join the Salvation Sect.
• Luo Qingqing argued that Jinxia City and its Fangshi shared the Salvation Sect's goal of fighting evil spirits.
• Venerable Victory over Heaven told Luo Qingqing that powerful evil spirits could be conscious beings that survived after their bodies died.
• Luo Qingqing realized that the Great Demons she had fought might once have been living beings whose souls had transformed into evil spirits.
• Venerable Victory over Heaven revealed that a barrier kept powerful chaotic consciousnesses out of the human world, but that the barrier was weakening and calamity was approaching.

After receiving Luo Qingqing’s warning about a new infection and a barrier protecting the world, Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun’s council debated how to verify the threat and investigate the Black Gate Cult. They decided to send Li to Ganzhou to scout the cult and protect the migrants there.

• Xia Fan learned that Luo Qingqing’s letter had arrived in Shenzhou three days earlier and shared her warning about an infection that could turn trusted people into enemies.
• Mo Yun examined the wooden ring and said the Mechanical Bureau could reproduce it, while Xia Fan volunteered to test one and planned checks for registered Qi Sense Users.
• Xia Fan questioned Qian and Yan Qing about whether Ning Qianshi or Seven Stars had known about the world’s barrier, but they had no clear answer.
• Li proposed contacting the Black Gate Cult near the Ganshen border and combining the investigation with Jinxia’s plans to reclaim Ganzhou.
• Ning Wanjun ordered a scouting force to investigate the cult and safeguard the migrants, then approved Li’s offer to lead the mission.

Olina reunited with Yu Shuangxue and Xintao after returning to Jinxia with her younger brother, Oren Okan. She decided to settle there and invited Yu Shuangxue and Xintao to share a large new residence with them.

• Yu Shuangxue and Xintao returned to their lodgings and discovered that Olina had come back with her younger brother, Oren Okan.
• Olina invited Yu Shuangxue and Xintao to dinner, where she introduced Oren and explained that he would study at the same Academy as Xintao.
• Olina told Yu Shuangxue that she had decided to settle in Jinxia so Oren could live with family rather than remain at Salerni Academy.
• Olina revealed that she planned to buy a large Class-A residence with money saved for Oren's tuition.
• Olina invited Yu Shuangxue and Xintao to live with her and Oren in the new residence.

Yan Yue managed the Jinxia Affairs Bureau’s West Gate Clinic and began to question what she had been taught about demons as she worked alongside Rabbit Demons. While studying Xia Fan’s Treatise on Medicine, she discovered a revolutionary account of the body and disease that absorbed her attention and could reshape her understanding of medicine.

• Yan Yue treated patients at the clinic and ordered Rabbit Demon assistants to use Talismans and tend to the patients’ needs.
• Yan Yue realized the Rabbit Demons were timid and helpful, contrary to the Bureau of Military Affairs’ descriptions of demons.
• Yan Yue saw that trained Qi Sense User assistants could help the clinic treat more people and reduce the cost of medical care.
• Yan Yue studied the Academy’s mysteries, hoping to earn merit and help her family escape the royal family’s turmoil.
• Yan Yue became engrossed in Xia Fan’s Treatise on Medicine, which explained disease through cells, bacteria, and viruses.

Yan Yue passed Xia Fan’s assessment and joined the Affairs Bureau after reconsidering her hostility toward Yao. Xia Fan appointed her Minister of the Medical and Health Department, tasking her with building a medical system across Shenzhou.

• Yan Yue studied Xia Fan’s Treatise on Medicine and realized its ideas explained treatments she had previously understood only through experience.
• Xia Fan summoned Yan Yue and apologized for delaying her assessment while he traveled to the Western Pole.
• Yan Yue admitted that living alongside the Rabbit Demons had changed her view and that she would observe unfamiliar Yao before judging them.
• Xia Fan asked Yan Yue to wear a ring and channel qi into it, then congratulated her on joining the Affairs Bureau.
• Xia Fan appointed Yan Yue Minister of the Medical and Health Department and charged her with establishing hospitals, clinics, and traveling physicians throughout Shenzhou.

Yan Yue joined the Affairs Bureau to lead its Medical Department after Xia Fan promised Jinxia would fund an extensive, low-cost medical system across Shenzhou. Qian defended Yan Yue’s sincerity to Xia Fan and hoped other Fangshi would eventually find a place in Jinxia.

• Xia Fan explained that Jinxia would centrally fund medical care to lower patients’ costs and support healers, and he promised the plan would not be abandoned for lack of money.
• Yan Yue warned that the ambitious medical system might not be sustainable, but agreed to lead the Medical Department after Xia Fan said it could eventually spread throughout Qi State.
• After Yan Yue left, Qian told Xia Fan that she trusted Yan Yue’s sincerity and believed she could eventually choose Jinxia over the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs.
• Qian said she hoped Fangshi who wanted a better world would have a place to go when they changed their minds.