Chapter Summaries

Bai Pu began studying the first two sections of Dongbo Cheng Zhi’s Swordsmanship Handbook while the Dragon King’s team uncovered the real target of the Shadow Island Chain attack. Two days later, Brion met with leaders from three other teams to discuss the Profound Water Palace.

• Dongbo Cheng Zhi explained the handbook’s three sections and revealed that his True Meaning Prototype was based on wind and space.
• Bai Pu agreed to study the handbook’s foundational sections, and he and Dongbo Cheng Zhi began cultivating aboard the Arrow Boat.
• Mount Tai reported that Bei Ming Chuan had identified the Spider Demon Cave as the attack target, but North Wind revealed that it was false intelligence.
• North Wind said he had learned the true target was the Profound Water Palace, leaving Mount Tai’s plan to kill Steel Heart dependent on finding the enemy forces.
• Two days later, Brion met with Alvarez, Tito, and You Li An Silver Wind on a remote island and asked for their thoughts about the Profound Water Palace.

Brion persuaded You Li An, Alvarez, and Tito to defect from the Guardian Faction and join the Demon Faction, using intelligence that Steel Heart planned to attack the Profound Water Palace. Their alliance left Steel Heart surrounded by enemies as Brion prepared to intercept him.

• Brion shared intelligence that the Black Tortoise Oath planned to feint at the Spider Demon Cave and target the Profound Water Palace.
• Tito, Alvarez, and You Li An questioned whether they should betray the Guardian Faction, citing Steel Heart’s strength and the risks of fighting him.
• Brion urged You Li An to join by pointing out Salacia Silverwind’s rivalry with her and the war’s connection to Salacia’s Second Refinement task.
• Brion warned Alvarez that Steel Heart’s potential threatened Sardin’s position, then offered all three teams sufficient compensation to defect.
• You Li An confirmed through her informant that Steel Heart’s target was the Profound Water Palace, and Tito, Alvarez, and You Li An agreed to join Brion’s plan.
• Brion concluded that Steel Heart was surrounded by the Demon Faction’s assembled forces and declared his life a flickering candle in the wind.

Bai Pu witnessed the Demon Spider Empress emerge from her cocoon and examined the Dark Gold Tower Shield’s powerful new abilities. As the group continued toward the southern Shadow Island Chain, Leien explained how equipment and strength mattered differently after awakening into an Evolutionist.

• The Demon Spider Empress emerged from the dark gold cocoon as a more humanlike consciousness body, then returned to her carving on Bai Pu’s shield.
• Bai Pu inspected the upgraded Demon Spider Queen's Vigil and learned it could transform into the Empress’s physical form, devour powerful corpses for enhancement, and unleash a draining spiderweb phantom.
• Leien explained that the shield’s base material had advanced and that Demon Ghost Equipment might remain useful after Bai Pu became an Evolutionist.
• Bai Pu asked about Evolutionist equipment, and Leien said first-tier equipment generally became obsolete but could be exchanged for Spirit Crystals after ascension.
• Leien and Liya discussed how awakened ones prioritized advancement and True Meaning, while Bai Pu worried about reaching the Ascension Plane without sufficiently honing his strength.

Bai Pu learned about Gaia Corporation’s Transcendent Seed Selection Competition and its advantages over the Gods’ Factions, reinforcing his decision to become a Major General Gaia. He had not yet comprehended a True Meaning Prototype from Dongbo Cheng Zhi’s Swordsmanship Handbook, but gained several ideas for new Profound Truth Skills and struggled to grasp Space Cutting.

• Leien and Liya explained that Gaia Corporation would hold a Transcendent Seed Selection Competition soon and had ten quotas, while Higg noted that its varied criteria gave weaker or late-starting major generals a chance.
• Bai Pu reflected that becoming a Major General Gaia meant giving up the chance to become one of God's Chosen, but felt reassured by Gaia Corporation’s strength and his choice to take the civil service exam.
• Leien asked whether Bai Pu had comprehended a True Meaning Prototype from Dongbo Cheng Zhi's Swordsmanship Handbook, and Bai Pu said he had not.
• Bai Pu drew inspiration from the handbook’s first part for three skills: Three-Part Starfall, Sea Heart Flame Mist, and Phantom Step.
• Bai Pu used the handbook’s second part to retrace Dongbo Cheng Zhi’s comprehension of Space Cutting, but the difficulty of mastering a fifth elemental system left him facing a persistent barrier.

Bai Pu persuaded Bei Ming Ji Hu to abandon the planned attack on the Profound Water Palace and strike a different demon stronghold instead. Bei Ming Ji Hu agreed to steer the tortoise ship north, leaving the target undisclosed to the others.

• Bei Ming Ji Hu offered to teach Bai Pu the Bei Ming Xuan Jing Style if the attack on the Profound Water Palace succeeded.
• Bai Pu warned Bei Ming Ji Hu that demon spies among the Wild Warriors might have leaked the battle plan, making the Profound Water Palace a trap.
• Bai Pu argued that the two Oaths should avoid both the Profound Water Palace and the Spider Demon Cave and attack a less-defended stronghold.
• Bei Ming Ji Hu accepted Bai Pu's chosen target and agreed to have Wild Warriors infiltrate the island chain to observe the demons.
• Bei Ming Ji Hu ordered the tortoise ship to pass the Profound Water Palace and continue north.

Brion persuaded Demon General Earthshaker to assemble a large ambush at Profound Water Palace, but a scout reported that a human turtle ship had sailed north toward Spider Demon Cave. The demon generals split their forces, sending Shadow Scythe and Netherflame north while Earthshaker and three others remained to ambush the presumed human main force.

• Brion assured Earthshaker that the human forces would attack Profound Water Palace, and Earthshaker gathered over ten thousand demons there.
• A Bat Demon reported that a turtle ship had been spotted and that it had continued north after his scouting party was attacked.
• Brion seized the Bat Demon and insisted the ship was a feint, while Blood Bat and the other demon generals questioned his intelligence.
• The demon generals debated whether to reinforce Spider Demon Cave, which was vulnerable after its guardian, Blood Weaver, died.
• Earthshaker ordered Shadow Scythe and Netherflame to take their elite troops north while he and three demon generals stayed at Profound Water Palace to await the human main force.
• Earthshaker ordered Blood Bat to send more scouts to patrol and relay military intelligence.

Brion learned that You Li An had taken the MuJi Family team to Dead Bone Island, where they confronted Salacia during her attempt to undermine the Great Mausoleum. Bai Pu and the Furnace Edge Squad revealed that the island was a trap, then overwhelmed the MuJi team and left You Li An as the sole survivor.

• Brion learned that You Li An had taken the MuJi Family team south to Dead Bone Island and decided not to recall her.
• Salacia secretly sent a treant to undermine the Great Mausoleum, but You Li An and the MuJi Family team appeared and confronted her.
• You Li An revealed that Muro had supplied her with intelligence about Salacia and Liya’s refinement tasks.
• Salacia challenged You Li An’s assumption that Steel Heart was absent and revealed that Dead Bone Island was not her task location.
• Bai Pu and the Furnace Edge Squad arrived with Muro captured and explained that Dead Bone Island was a fishing spot.
• Leien restrained the group as Bai Pu killed the MuJi Family awakeners, leaving only You Li An alive.

Bai Pu exposed Muro as the traitor who had helped You Li An sabotage Liya’s mission, and the squad caught him after You Li An confessed to Salacia. You Li An escaped with a return scroll, while Muro confronted Leien over feeling overlooked by the squad.

• Bai Pu deduced that someone in the Furnace Edge Squad had leaked Liya’s mission details and identified Muro as the likely traitor.
• Bai Pu revealed that Dead Bone Island was a false mission location, and the squad used Liya’s Group Invisibility Technique to reach the mausoleum and watch You Li An confront Salacia.
• You Li An revealed that Muro had betrayed the squad, so Bai Pu bound and silenced Muro before they took him away.
• You Li An escaped by using an unrestricted second-tier return scroll from Zoras, leaving the squad facing his likely retaliation and the fallout from Muro’s betrayal.
• Muro told Leien he resented being passed over after risking his life to help Leien advance, and Leien began explaining why he had prioritized Liya.

Bai Pu and the others removed Muro from the Furnace Edge Squad after he admitted selling information, then split up to carry out their missions. As the demons realized the human main force was attacking the Yellow Springs Belt, Earthshaker Ox Demon confronted Brion.

• Leien removed Muro from the Furnace Edge Squad, and Muro returned to the real world after Bai Pu demanded he leave.
• Bai Pu sent Salacia toward the poorly defended Tide Demon Mother Pool while he returned to Leien and Liya and helped console Leien.
• Bai Pu, Leien, and Liya sailed toward the Profound Water Palace as Higg's scattered team relayed reports about demon movements.
• Bat Demons reported that Dongbo Cheng Zhi and Bei Ming Ji Hu had landed at the Yellow Springs Belt, wounded Lord White Marsh, and slaughtered many Demon Frogs.
• The demon generals ordered reinforcements to the Yellow Springs Belt, and Earthshaker Ox Demon threatened Brion, shouting, "I'll eat you alive!"

Brion failed to convince the demon generals that Steel Heart was the real threat, and the demons ordered him to help defend the Profound Water Palace. Meanwhile, Bai Pu’s group traveled toward the palace and opened their accumulated treasure chests, finding a powerful Spirit Realm Oddity.

• Brion warned Earthshaker that Steel Heart might be preparing to attack the Profound Water Palace, but the demon generals dismissed his suspicion and decided to send most of their forces to the Yellow Springs Belt.
• Earthshaker left Blood Bat and Brion’s team to guard the Profound Water Palace, and Brion received a mission to defend it for 48 hours.
• Alvarez and Tito reassured Brion that their combined forces could repel Steel Heart if he attacked, while Brion lamented that the Star Plucking Tower’s insects had led him astray.
• Bai Pu recalled Pterosaur King Dafei and continued toward the Profound Water Palace aboard the Arrow Boat with Leien and Liya.
• Bai Pu opened several treasure chests, fed the demon materials to Demon Spider Queen’s Vigil, and obtained 120,000 Spirit Energy Points and the Root of Distortion from the treant’s Dark Gold Treasure Chest.

Bai Pu opened Luo Bu’s Bloody Key, obtained equipment for his allies, and sold a robe to Liya before reaching Profound Water Palace. With its demon and monster forces away reinforcing the Yellow Springs Belt, Bai Pu prepared his team to attack.

• Bai Pu identified the Root of Distortion as a Space Element Profound Truth Rare Item and kept it for himself.
• Bai Pu drew Phase Boots +4 from Luo Bu’s Bloody Key and set them aside for Wu Qingyun and Wu Mingyue.
• Bai Pu drew a Void Weaver’s Robe +7, sold it to Leien for twelve thousand Silver Dragon Coins, and gave it to Liya.
• Bai Pu arrived near Profound Water Palace, checked for enemies, and had Liya conceal the Arrow Boat with Group Invisibility.
• Higg reported that Profound Water Palace’s demon and monster army had gone north to reinforce the Yellow Springs Belt and reached Bull Demon Mountain.
• Bai Pu told Leien and Liya to recover their energy and prepare for battle.

Brion warned Blood Bat that Steel Heart was attacking the Profound Water Palace and bribed him into opening the Gate of Yellow Springs Sluice. The flood failed to stop Steel Heart, who charged in alongside Blackscale Queen, leaving Blood Bat baffled by her apparent presence at two distant fronts.

• Blood Bat demanded a Penglai Jade Tree from Brion, who promised to bring him one later.
• When scouts reported Steel Heart approaching with only two companions, Blood Bat doubted Brion’s warning until Brion gave him an Earth Vein Black-Yellow Stone.
• Blood Bat ordered the Gate of Yellow Springs Sluice opened, flooding most of the island and sending his Vampire Bats into battle on Demon Frogs.
• Alvarez and Tito joked that Brion had become afraid of Steel Heart as the Yellow Springs Water spread across the island.
• Steel Heart charged through the defenses, and Blood Bat’s forces retreated after learning that Blackscale Queen was parting the Yellow Springs Waterway with water magic.
• Blood Bat questioned how Blackscale Queen could be attacking at the northern Yellow Springs Belt while also fighting beside Steel Heart.

The demon legion drove Dongbo Cheng Zhi and Bei Ming Ji Hu north from Yellow Springs Belt, while Cang Ming tracked their movements with Tidal Echo. The chapter revealed that Mei Xi had been tamed by Bai Pu and left the turtle ship to help him assault Profound Water Palace.

• Dongbo Cheng Zhi and Bei Ming Ji Hu fought off Shadow Scythe and Netherflame until Earthshaker Ox Demon and the main demon legions arrived, forcing them to retreat north aboard the turtle ship.
• Bei Ming Ji Hu covered the retreat with a devastating sword strike, while Cang Ming marked him and Dongbo Cheng Zhi to track the turtle ship’s true location.
• Mei Xi disappeared from the turtle ship because Bai Pu had tamed her with God Descendant's Comfort and could summon her through the Astral Realm.
• Bai Pu summoned Mei Xi beside his Arrow Boat, and she used the Black Merman King Pearl to control water while conserving her demonic power.
• When demons opened the Gate of Yellow Springs Sluice to block Bai Pu, Leien, and Liya, Mei Xi parted the torrent and led them toward Profound Water Palace.

Bai Pu’s group fought the demon forces at Profound Water Palace, with Mei Xi’s command of Yellow Springs Water and Bai Pu’s strength turning the battle against Blood Bat and Brion. The fight remained unresolved as Judgement Alvarez and Tito joined the attack on Bai Pu.

• Blood Bat rallied the demon elites to attack Bai Pu’s group, but Mei Xi hurled Yellow Springs Water at the Demon Bat Troupe and corroded many of them.
• Bai Pu protected Mei Xi with his Prism Domain and Demon Spider Empress, then used his enhanced Agility to wound Blood Bat and drive him back.
• Brion tried to reach Mei Xi, but the Demon Spider Empress blocked his attack while Mei Xi continued harassing the demon bats as Bai Pu had ordered.
• Bai Pu interrupted Brion’s Hellfire Impact with Lasso Strike and fought Brion and Blood Bat at once.
• Judgement Alvarez attacked Bai Pu with Sacred Flame Cross Slash as Tito charged in and challenged Steel Heart.

Bai Pu’s allies fought Brion’s forces inside the Profound Water Palace as Mei Xi used Yellow Springs Water to seal off the Vampire Bat horde. The battle split into four fronts, and Bai Pu planned to finish his fight with Brion and Blood Bat before Mei Xi’s spell ran out.

• Leien and Liya trapped Alvarez and Tito in the Heaven and Earth Copper Furnace, while Demon Throat emerged to disrupt the demon-side Awakened teams.
• Brion warned Alvarez and Tito that Steel Heart still had powerful trump cards, but they refused to abandon their fight with Leien and Liya.
• Blood Bat ordered the Vampire Bats to charge Bai Pu’s group, trusting they could recover by feeding after the battle.
• Mei Xi expanded Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor across the Profound Water Palace, trapping the Vampire Bats outside the barrier and separating the fighting into four fronts.
• Mei Xi told Bai Pu she could maintain the spell for less than half a shichen, and Bai Pu said they had time to win quickly.

Bai Pu used his Celestial Being powers and Dafei’s support to overwhelm Brion while Blood Bat tried to stop him. Brion unleashed his Six-Armed Colossus Transformation, but Bai Pu broke through his defenses with a spear attack as his Strength surged past 400.

• Bai Pu assembled the Doomsday Long Spear, summoned Pterosaur King Dafei, and raised his attributes with Centaur Unity and Attribute Feedback.
• Bai Pu and Dafei attacked Brion, but Brion interrupted Dafei’s bombardment and began repairing his armor with the Undying Magma Core True Meaning Prototype.
• Blood Bat attacked Bai Pu with Sonic Scream as Brion formed a Magma Core Giant, but Bai Pu resisted the control and charged Brion under Ruthless Slaughter.
• Brion drank the Six-Armed Colossus Transformation Potion and used his extra arms to attack Bai Pu alongside Blood Bat.
• Bai Pu focused his spear strikes on Brion’s giant arms, pierced through them, and used Three-Part Starfall after assigning all 148 Celestial Being Attribute Points to Strength.

Bai Pu killed Brion with his newly created Three-Part Starfall, then battered Blood Bat while Alvarez and Tito used their trump cards to escape. Tito’s earth-shaking attack devastated the battlefield, and Alvarez led his protected allies toward the east.

• Bai Pu’s Three-Part Starfall tore open Brion’s armor and left him unable to fight, after which Bai Pu killed him with a spear thrust to the heart.
• Blood Bat’s accumulated damage from Bai Pu’s Molten Gold Armor erupted, letting Bai Pu drag him close and attack him with repeated spear strikes.
• Shaken by Brion’s death, Alvarez and Tito activated their escape trump cards as Leien’s attacks failed to break Alvarez’s Light-Forged Barrier.
• Tito unleashed Earth Core Tremor - Rock Spear Assault Formation, sending rock spears through the battlefield and killing Bai Pu’s badly wounded servant Demon Throat.
• Bai Pu used Phantom Step to carry Mei Xi into the air, while Alvarez extended his barrier to protect his allies and led them east.

Bai Pu’s side secured the victory at the Profound Water Palace, and Leien and Liya helped trap the remaining Red Race Awakened. Bai Pu then fought Blood Bat, ending the chapter as Da Fei launched Mountain Sea Visage - Bombardment at the bat swarm.

• Alvarez and Tito escaped with their teams while the Demon Spider Empress bound the remaining Red Race Awakened with Spider Web Restraint.
• Bai Pu let Alvarez and Tito go, but Leien and Liya attacked the trapped Red Race team to prove their loyalty.
• Bai Pu mounted Da Fei and attacked Blood Bat, sealing his back wound with Sand Armor to blunt Blood Extraction.
• Blood Bat stunned Bai Pu with Sonic Scream and transformed into demonic bats that pursued him and Da Fei.
• Bai Pu recovered and trapped the bat swarm in Storm Sea Eye, then Da Fei gathered energy for Mountain Sea Visage - Bombardment.

Bai Pu defeated Blood Bat and subdued him as a new servant, but failed to make Blood Bat's Vampire Bats submit. He trapped the demons and Red Race awakened ones in Sea Heart Flame Mist and attacked them as their Karma Fire Stacks accumulated.

• Bai Pu and the Winged Tooth Beast King defeated Blood Bat, and Bai Pu used his blood to subdue the unconscious Demon General.
• Bai Pu ordered Blood Bat to command his eight hundred Vampire Bats to submit, but they accused him of being controlled and fled.
• Bai Pu cast Sea Heart Flame Mist inside Leien's Heaven and Earth Copper Furnace, causing the Vampire Bats' Karma Fire Stacks to rise.
• Mei Xi used the Black Merman King Pearl to spray Yellow Springs Water at the enemies, forcing the Red Race awakened ones to move and breathe in the mist.
• Bai Pu protected Mei Xi and Leien with Blood Bat and the Demon Spider Empress, then split his Doomsday Long Spear and charged at the enemies.

Bai Pu and his companions defeated the remaining Red Race Awakened and prepared to plunder the Profound Water Palace, while learning that demon reinforcements were approaching. Inside the Forbidden Garden, they encountered the Black Emperor’s incarnation, who confronted Bai Pu.

• Bai Pu and his companions let the Sea Heart Flame Mist and Leien’s barrier make the Red Race Awakened and Vampire Bats slaughter one another, then eliminated the surviving Red Race members as the remaining bats fled.
• Bai Pu learned from Higg's team’s scouts that Miss Salacia had passed her second refinement mission, but demon reinforcements would reach the Profound Water Palace in a little over an hour.
• Bai Pu explained that Alvarez and Tito’s teams had likely fled the demon side and would probably leave the world before triggering the second-stage Main Quest, while Mei Xi reminded him that Star Plucking Tower remained a concern.
• Bai Pu said he had influenced Bei Ming Ji Hu to distrust Star Plucking Tower, then led the exhausted group into the Profound Water Palace to plunder its collection.
• The Black Emperor’s incarnation appeared in the Forbidden Garden and challenged Bai Pu for daring to enter.