Chapter Summaries

Gu Xi hired a Stillborn Bone to guide him through the Manjusaka Flower Sea to the Soul Gathering Ground, gaining Undead Knowledge and unlocking a reputation system along the way. He reached the immense undead city and heard someone call out to him at its gates.

• Gu Xi recognized a Stillborn Bone, gave him Negative Energy, and hired him to guide the way to the Soul Gathering Ground.
• The Stillborn Bone led Gu Xi along the Yellow Springs Road, and Gu Xi gained enough Undead Knowledge to reach Level 9.
• The Stillborn Bone stopped before the Soul Gathering Ground, gave Gu Xi a bone whistle for contacting Stillborn Bones, and earned Gu Xi their Friendly reputation.
• Gu Xi followed the huge red lantern to the Soul Gathering Ground and reached a massive city guarded by tall walls, gates, and Skeleton Soldiers.
• After studying the undead gathered outside the city, Gu Xi headed for a gate and heard someone call him by name.

Gu Xi met Zuo Ya in the Soul Gathering Ground and learned about the dangers of wilderness exploration, the rules for entering the city, and the Corpse Bone Fish Dragon Guild’s use of Battlefield Tokens. After Gu Xi asked whether supplies could be transported across games, Zuo Ya wondered if he had already reached that level.

• Gu Xi unexpectedly reunited with Zuo Ya, who was traveling with a wilderness team of three Necromancers.
• Gu Xi explained that he had come alone to develop the wilderness because he had no suitable teammates in the Chaoyang Radiance Guild.
• Zuo Ya said he planned to join Genesis after reaching level 15 and explained that level 10 recruits were considered cannon fodder.
• Zuo Ya guided Gu Xi into the city gate queue, explained the Soul Gathering Ground’s rules, and warned him that his Bone Titan and Nether Soul Dragon might attract questions.
• Zuo Ya explained that his guild used Battlefield Tokens to store undead and required members to master strategic techniques.
• Gu Xi asked Zuo Ya whether supplies could be transported across games, and Zuo Ya asked whether Gu Xi had already reached that level.

Gu Xi and Zuo Ya entered Soul Gathering Ground, where Gu Xi’s unexpectedly high reputation let his undead army pass without question. Zuo Ya explained how the city’s shifting districts worked and warned Gu Xi about the market’s dangers.

• Zuo Ya explained that paired road signs could transport supplies between games, then approached the city gate with Gu Xi.
• The City Gate Official let Gu Xi’s Bone Titan and Nether Soul Dragon enter without questioning them, and Gu Xi unlocked Friendly reputation with Soul Gathering Ground.
• Gu Xi saw that the city’s orderly left side and chaotic right side remained fixed on their respective sides regardless of how he turned.
• Zuo Ya showed Gu Xi how to use ground landmarks to navigate the city’s shifting zones and described how to return to the main road.
• Zuo Ya warned Gu Xi that the market lay one hundred steps down the road and that he should beware of scams, thieves, and fights there.

Gu Xi rented the Li Clan Inn in the Soul Gathering Ground and settled his Undead Army there while Shaya went to gather information. The inn’s staff expertly cared for his forces and equipment, including the mysterious Evil Coffin, and Gu Xi was left fielding an unexpectedly suggestive offer of services.

• After Zuo Ya left, Gu Xi summoned Shaya and sent her to learn more about the Soul Gathering Ground while he looked for lodging for his Undead Army.
• Gu Xi chose Landmark Ding, entered the Li Clan Inn, and paid for the whole inn for ten days with a crystal of Negative Energy.
• The inn’s Shop Assistants arranged food and care for Gu Xi’s undead, mounts, Bone Titan, Nether Soul Dragon, and Isabella’s Blood Clone.
• The Shop Assistants treated the Evil Coffin by feeding the being inside, tending its chains, replacing its talismans, and polishing its surface.
• A Shop Assistant offered Gu Xi food for living creatures and additional services, leaving him flustered and wondering whether the Underworld had fox or rabbit spirits.

Gu Xi learned more about the Soul Gathering Ground and heard from Shaya that Ghost Kings were preparing to contend for the Great Feng Dynasty’s dragon throne. He sent for Du Yuan to ask about the dynasty’s situation, and Shaya ended her report by presenting a discovery from the market.

• Gu Xi chose to stay independent rather than seek out the Chaoyang Radiance Guild, and he changed into a pale yellow Daoist robe before Shaya arrived.
• Shaya reported that Ghost Kings were opening battlefields outside the Soul Gathering Ground as they sought chances to reincarnate and vie for power in the Great Feng Dynasty.
• Gu Xi said Grand Princess Anna might understand the political situation, but she was occupied with the war in Aryadovi City.
• Shaya suggested asking Du Yuan about the dynasty, so Gu Xi sent a Skeleton Head to bring him from Su Family Village.
• After sharing more intelligence, Shaya showed Gu Xi something she had found at the market.

Gu Xi used the True Queen's Blood and Resolved Regret to complete the Headless Queen's task and obtained an item that could grant Aryadovi City a trait. He went to Aryadovi Tower to find the Headless Queen, while Dimi was nearing the capture of the Tudor Dynasty era city.

• Shaya showed Gu Xi Resolved Regret and various undead-related goods she had bought at the Soul Gathering Ground market.
• Gu Xi combined the True Queen's Blood with Resolved Regret, completing the temporary task and receiving Headless Queen's Obsession.
• Gu Xi traveled to Aryadovi City and discussed its supply needs with Luna, who agreed to help him browse the market.
• At Aryadovi Tower, Grand Princess Anna told Gu Xi that Dimi was attacking the final district of the Tudor Dynasty era city and that the tower was under lockdown.
• Grand Princess Anna arranged for Crow Spearmen to carry Gu Xi and the Evil Coffin over the city wall so he could meet the Headless Queen.

Gu Xi delivered the Headless Queen's Obsession to Annie Boleyn, who rewarded Aryadovi City with the Homologous City attribute. Although Annie chose an attribute Gu Xi did not need, she then sealed off the other Aryadovi Towers' entrances to protect him while he captured the Tudor-era city.

• Gu Xi found Annie Boleyn waiting by her carriage and gave her the Headless Queen's Obsession after listening to her story.
• Annie granted Aryadovi City the Homologous City attribute, allowing cities from the same source to develop different styles and attributes.
• Annie laughed at Gu Xi for wanting to carry his city's attributes to another era, but Gu Xi explained that he welcomed the new attribute.
• Annie offered to temporarily seal the other Aryadovi Towers' entry points while Gu Xi dealt with the Tudor-era city.
• Four crows appeared by the Guillotine, representing the four eras whose Aryadovi Cities could not connect until the crows left.

Gu Xi paused plans to attack Aryadovi City in other eras while Dimi finished capturing the Tudor-era city. After the battle, Gu Xi visited the newly taken districts and heard how Dimi’s forces had destroyed most of them to defeat the enemy.

• Gu Xi told Grand Princess Anna to postpone attacks on Aryadovi City in other eras until Dimi’s forces had finished converting the Bloody Knights and the Tudor-era city could be secured.
• Gu Xi planned to take Grand Princess Anna to Westminster Abbey after New World Pioneering stabilized so they could attempt a perfect clear of its dungeon.
• The ground trembled, and Grand Princess Anna announced that Dimi had taken Aryadovi City from the Tudor Dynasty era.
• Gu Xi, Luna, and Grand Princess Anna traveled through Aryadovi Tower’s gates and found a pebble road leading toward the captured city.
• Dimi told Gu Xi that her forces had captured the city’s final district after flattening six districts to defeat enemies who had joined forces for street fights.

After inspecting the newly captured Aryadovi City, Gu Xi approved Dimi’s request to join future field battles and accepted Yagyu’s decision to serve under her. He then agreed with Luna to establish a Council Hall and carefully rebuild the city, which was separated from the Main District by an entire era.

• Dimi showed Gu Xi, Luna, and Grand Princess Anna Aryadovi City’s ruined districts and explained how the Ghoul Qi Beads and other spoils would be divided.
• Dimi asked to take part in field battles, and Gu Xi agreed to notify her when troops were needed.
• Yagyu said he had become the Commanding Hero of the Gray Soul Camp under Dimi, and Gu Xi accepted his decision and told him to replenish his losses.
• Luna explained that Aryadovi City needed its own Council Hall and Core Buildings to avoid long delays in construction and administration.
• Gu Xi ordered Luna to build the Council Hall, redraw the district boundaries, and find ways to connect the river channels and Sewers.

Gu Xi prepared to visit the Soul Gathering Ground market with Shaya and Grand Princess Anna, while Luna stayed behind to manage New Aryadovi City. After arriving at the market, Grand Princess Anna was served food suited to undead as she prepared to shop for a way to enter Westminster Abbey despite the presence of her living counterpart.

• Luna stayed in New Aryadovi City to oversee its construction and gave Gu Xi a list of needed supplies, so Gu Xi left without her.
• Gu Xi discovered he could now enter and leave Aryadovi City through several locations, then returned to Li Family Inn and told Shaya they would visit the market.
• Gu Xi explained that Grand Princess Anna would join them after handling some matters, and Shaya realized Anna needed a way to avoid conflict with her living self in Westminster Abbey.
• Grand Princess Anna appeared through the Special Mirror in new attire and agreed to eat before they left for the market.
• Shop Assistants served Grand Princess Anna bloody meat, wine, and replacement dishes tailored to her preferences, leaving her astonished.

Grand Princess Anna, Shaya, and Gu Xi visited the Soul-Gathering Grounds Market to buy materials for building a city. At Old Coffin’s shop, Gu Xi found a spent Tiger Tally among the ancient weapons and learned it could help an Undead Headman advance into a Hero.

• Grand Princess Anna and Shaya took Gu Xi to the market, where Shaya led them to Old Coffin’s shop.
• Gu Xi examined the shop’s Wanted Orders, and Shaya and Grand Princess Anna warned him not to pursue the Rakshasa Ghost King.
• Old Coffin showed Gu Xi materials for building a city, including tombstones, coffin lids, soil, and weapons from ancient battlefields.
• Gu Xi told Old Coffin to bring the weapons to him, and Shaya distracted Old Coffin by pointing out the tombstones.
• Gu Xi identified the ancient battlefield weapons and discovered a spent Tiger Tally among them that had a chance to advance an Undead Headman into a Hero.

Gu Xi paid Old Coffin for the supplies and asked to buy low-quality minor treasures in bulk, hoping to strengthen his underdeveloped forces. Old Coffin showed him gray Champion’s Fighting Will made by battle-hardened crickets, and Gu Xi agreed to take it.

• Gu Xi realized Old Coffin routinely bundled minor treasures with supplies, and reflected that his rapid growth had left his city and basic troops poorly developed.
• Old Coffin offered Gu Xi a twenty percent discount, and Gu Xi paid the thirty-one thousand points of Yin Energy with a Ghoul Qi Bead.
• Gu Xi asked Old Coffin to sell him low-quality or trash-quality items in bulk, and Old Coffin had his subordinates bring over a chest.
• Gu Xi found gray Champion’s Fighting Will inside and learned it had been condensed by crickets that had survived a hundred battles.
• Old Coffin warned Gu Xi that such minor treasures would mostly be things like the cricket-made items, but Gu Xi firmly agreed to buy them.

Gu Xi bought Old Coffin’s entire stock of unwanted gray-quality goods and transported the crates to Aryadovi City through the Horizontally Openable School Gate. After clearing out the warehouse, he asked about items that could produce Heroes, but Old Coffin warned him about the Tiger Tally’s risks and went to find a better way to manage his subordinates.

• Gu Xi agreed to buy Old Coffin’s unwanted gray-quality goods by the crate and used the Horizontally Openable School Gate to transport them to Aryadovi City.
• Gu Xi took in more than ten thousand crates, intending to use the ruined weapons for the Bone-Eating Mud and the herb roots as fertilizer.
• Old Coffin thanked Gu Xi for clearing his warehouse and offered to find him higher-quality items.
• Gu Xi asked for a way to produce Heroes for his growing number of subordinates and showed Old Coffin the Tiger Tally.
• Old Coffin warned Gu Xi that the Tiger Tally could permanently consume an elite even if Hero conversion failed, then went to search for a better management item.

Gu Xi visited Old Coffin’s shop, where he bought Gray Excellent Quality goods and received a broken battle banner with a powerful troop-organizing ability and a costly blood-sacrifice requirement. After Old Coffin warned him about dangerous Wanted Orders tied to Ghost Kings, Gu Xi and his companions decided to raise their reputation by taking missions.

• Shaya told Gu Xi he could have offered less for the Gray Excellent Quality goods, but Gu Xi chose to preserve his relationship with Old Coffin for future supplies.
• Grand Princess Anna said she liked some items but lacked the authority to buy them, while Shaya had found several useful goods.
• Old Coffin gave Gu Xi the Broken War Banner, which could let a Hero organize troops equivalent to a Level 7 or higher settlement but required a blood sacrifice of more than 300 enemies before each deployment.
• Gu Xi told Old Coffin he would want Gray Excellent Quality goods in the future, and Old Coffin said he would not raise the price.
• Old Coffin warned Gu Xi not to accept expensive Wanted Orders because Ghost Kings were eliminating rivals as they prepared to contend for the dragon throne in the Living World.
• Grand Princess Anna advised Gu Xi to avoid the Ghost Kings’ conflict, and Shaya suggested they visit the Mission Hall to raise their reputation.

Shaya brought Gu Xi to the mission center, where Xiao Sun arranged several missions that could be completed along the way, including one to capture an Earth Demon Cave and others offering undead troops as rewards. After accepting the quests, Gu Xi invited Grand Princess Anna to join them, and she agreed to explore the world.

• Shaya led Gu Xi to the mission center, where Xiao Sun welcomed them and asked what missions Gu Xi wanted.
• Gu Xi requested combat missions that would quickly raise his reputation, and Xiao Sun presented a route of missions including capturing the Earth Demon Cave, clearing a mine, and investigating a Wild Temple.
• Gu Xi asked Shaya to find nearby missions that rewarded undead soldiers, and Xiao Sun offered a mission to hunt wandering ghosts in Princess's Forest in exchange for Zombies, Ghosts, or Skeleton Soldiers.
• Shaya thanked Xiao Sun and left the mission center with Gu Xi after they accepted the mission lists.
• Gu Xi asked Grand Princess Anna to join their trip, and she agreed to explore the world with them.

Gu Xi organized his forces for the coming battle, sending Dimi to clear wild ghosts and assessing his Heroes’ readiness. He offered Yong Dou a Mage Group and asked what he had learned from Aryadovi’s Magic Towers, leaving Yong Dou to answer.

• Gu Xi deployed the Main City Gate, assigned Dimi the wild-ghost tasks, and approved her request to return for more work after finishing them.
• Dimi departed with Yagyu and her troops to hunt the wild ghosts and prove herself.
• Arroyo reported that the Black Spear Camp had replenished its numbers but still lacked its former levels and experience.
• Gu Xi considered Lewis’s ability to command Ghosts and Yong Dou’s potential to lead mages.
• Gu Xi asked Yong Dou what he could accomplish with a Mage Group, and Yong Dou asked what kind of group Gu Xi wanted.
• Gu Xi challenged Yong Dou to explain what he had learned and mastered from the Arcane Tome and Aryadovi’s Magic Towers.

Yong Dou proposed using Ritual Magic to greatly amplify Skeleton Mages during prepared battles, and Gu Xi assigned him command of all the Skeleton Mages for the upcoming battle. Lewis recognized that his own behavior had hurt his chances and resolved to find his proper position.

• Lewis believed he was the best choice to control the Ghosts, but Gu Xi tested him and Yong Dou as potential Commanding Heroes.
• Yong Dou explained five Ritual Magic: Slow Spell, Ice Storm, Mana Drain, Ice Ring Spell, and Blood Loss Curse.
• Yong Dou described how the rituals could manipulate gravity, strengthen attacks, drain enemy mana, and support the mages’ survival.
• Gu Xi put all Skeleton Mages under Yong Dou’s command and promised to organize a Magic Unit if three rituals succeeded in the upcoming battle.
• Gu Xi told Lewis to consider Yagyu’s choice and his own performance, and Lewis admitted his mistake.

Gu Xi gathered an army of more than twenty thousand Undead and reached the occupied Wild Temple, where he clashed with Yong Dou over defenses for the mage unit before asserting his authority. The chapter left Gu Xi facing the temple’s imposing walls and strange blood-red-threaded pillars.

• Lewis accepted his place as a dependable all-rounder and helped Gu Xi manage the Ghost Squad.
• Gu Xi recruited nearly ten thousand Undead on the journey, sent civilian Undead back to Aryadovi City, and organized the rest into his forces.
• Gu Xi and Yong Dou argued over whether Yong Dou’s force should include two defensive units to protect Ritual Magic users.
• Gu Xi ordered Yong Dou to make room for two defensive units, and Yong Dou accepted two Zombie Heads under his command.
• Grand Princess Anna praised Gu Xi’s decisiveness and believed he was growing toward becoming a Famous General.
• Gu Xi arrived before the Wild Temple, whose high walls had no patrolling soldiers and instead bore person-height pillars wrapped in blood-red threads.

Gu Xi learned from Chi Mu that a demon had occupied the Yellow Springs Wild Temple and was using Yin Walk Threads to control passing undead. Gu Xi reorganized his forces and had Yong Dou prepare to extract mana from the Skeleton Mages as they approached the temple.

• Robbie brought Gu Xi a captured Daoist named Chi Mu, who explained that he was stranded in Yellow Springs after the temple he used for Yin walking was occupied.
• Chi Mu told Gu Xi that a powerful demon controlled Yin Walk Threads and used them to command passing undead.
• Gu Xi decided Chi Mu should follow the attack and try to free the souls trapped by the threads.
• Gu Xi changed his battle plan, ordered the Bonecleaver Battalion forward, moved the Zombie Unit ahead of the Archers, and told Yong Dou to turn the Mages into melee fighters by extracting their mana.
• Yong Dou gathered the Skeleton Mages around an altar and began the mana-extraction ritual directed at the Wild Temple.

Gu Xi’s forces fought a massive centipede that had emerged from the Wild Temple after its magical power was drawn away. Chi Mu revealed that lightning could overcome the centipede’s incense-ash protection, and the battle continued with the monster slowed and exposed.

• A phantom blue Giant Centipede was drawn into the altar’s crucible, and Gu Xi ordered Robbie and Yong Dou to prepare for battle.
• A giant centipede burst through the Wild Temple’s wall and charged at Gu Xi as the Skeleton Archers fired.
• Robbie led the Bonecleaver Battalion in attacking the centipede’s legs while Chi Mu explained its incense-ash protection and fear of lightning.
• Gu Xi ordered the Bone Titan to strike with lightning, and Yong Dou’s Slow Spell brought the centipede crashing to the ground.
• The lightning pierced the centipede and shook off its incense ash, so Gu Xi ordered Robbie to attack as the Nether Soul Dragon swooped down.