Chapter Summaries

Taros and Tais explained how Black Moss dust could influence Transport Bugs and revealed that the Swarm Kingdom’s Mother Bug was only sixteen years old. Riko learned that her mother, Lyra, had continued to the Seventh Layer, while Zhou Qing discovered that Taros and Tais’s new Mother Bug larva had escaped the Swarm Kingdom.

• Taros explained that processed Black Moss dust could make Transport Bugs follow simple hauling commands, and Tais admitted they had stolen a Bug Egg to cultivate another Mother Bug.
• Taros revealed that the current Mother Bug had hatched sixteen years earlier after a Guardian killed its predecessor during a battle with Lyra.
• Taros told Riko that Lyra had continued exploring downward toward the Seventh Layer, leaving Riko determined to catch up with her mother.
• Taros explained that an uncoated Bug Egg could hatch into a Mother Bug and rapidly rebuild a depleted swarm.
• Taros revealed that the new Mother Bug larva she and Tais had cultivated split into tiny individuals, built something that could float, and fled the Swarm Kingdom.

Zhou Qing and Dugu Bo learned more about the Swarm Kingdom and considered Taros and Tais’s motives, but the group still had no way to reach the Altar or activate the spherical device. They decided to rest and seek information, yet found no suitable place to sleep and were left weighing whether to float in midair.

• Zhou Qing recognized the purple slime as a Mother Bug larva and inferred that the swarm might possess a vast collective consciousness focused on survival and reproduction.
• Zhou Qing refused to answer Taros’s question, and Taros and Tais left to pursue their plan to control the swarm.
• Dugu Bo wondered why the sisters had revealed their plan, and Zhou Qing reasoned that they were simply showing sincerity to fellow humans and Fallen Ones.
• Rabbit Girl pointed out that the group needed the swarm’s permission to approach the Altar and had to figure out how to use the White Whistle with the spherical device.
• Zhou Qing suggested resting and gathering information in the Swarm Kingdom, but the group found no empty caves and considered sleeping while floating in the air.

Zhou Qing explained how the Swarm’s collective operation worked and proposed Nest Bees as Romantina’s Fourth Soul Ring because their hive mind might help her Nervous System Martial Soul coordinate and process information. The group stayed in a Swarm cavern, while Romantina considered the possible abilities the Soul Ring could grant her.

• Zhou Qing and his companions settled in a cavern where a resting Swarm recognized them by their blood pheromones and let them stay.
• Zhou Qing explained that the Swarm’s rapid, unified responses came from its members lacking individual thought, and said its efficiency could inform the Red Assembly’s development.
• Zhou Qing told Romantina that he had considered Nest Bees for her Fourth Soul Ring because their hive mind connected the entire hive.
• Zhou Qing explained that a Nest Bee Soul Ring might let Romantina’s eight Sub-consciousnesses cooperate and help her Nervous System Martial Soul reconstruct and operate recorded information.

Zhou Qing and Dugu Bo discussed how the Swarm Kingdom might be governed by a Swarm Consciousness, and Zhou Qing suspected its insects had been altered into biological weapons. The group remained wary of the Abyss Ruins and planned to examine the captured purple Slime after they escaped.

• Dugu Bo recognized that the Swarm Kingdom's collective behavior resembled the Hive Mind of Nest Bees, and Zhou Qing agreed that it likely had a Swarm Consciousness.
• Zhou Qing suggested that the captured purple Slime might be a Mother Bug larva cultivated by Taros and the others, and said they could study it later.
• Riko compared the Swarm Consciousness to unconscious cells forming a conscious person, and Zhou Qing explained why the comparison was imperfect.
• Zhou Qing reasoned that the enormous insects should have basic emotions or independent awareness, and suspected that someone had erased their consciousness and designed them as biological weapons.
• Rabbit Girl and Riko warned Dugu Bo not to underestimate the Abyss Ruins, and Zhou Qing pointed out that Rabbit Girl was at least two hundred years old.

Taros and Tais used a Pheromone to draw Hatching Bugs away and stole a Bug Egg, then carried it toward the Swarm Kingdom’s outer region to hatch it safely. Their plan depended on controlling the larva and enlisting the newcomers, but Taros feared Zhou Qing would seize the initiative if they waited.

• Tais questioned whether she and Taros could steal a Bug Egg and prevent its larva from escaping, while Taros explained why the newcomers would eventually have to cooperate with them.
• Taros revealed that she had acted quickly because Zhou Qing had grasped how the Swarm Kingdom’s Pheromones worked and could become a threat to their plans.
• Tais released a Pheromone that summoned Hatching Bugs, then waited with Taros until all but one returned to their posts.
• Taros smeared black mucus onto the remaining Hatching Bug’s antennae, and it returned with a pale-blue Bug Egg that it permitted her to carry.
• Taros smeared the mucus onto Tais, and the two left the Hatching Area for the outer region, where they could hatch the egg without alerting the Mother Bugs in the Core Area.

Zhou Qing and his companions were suddenly attacked by the Swarm Kingdom’s insects, but the assault appeared to stop after a strange pheromone spread through the area. As armored Soldier Bugs approached, Zhou Qing suspected the swarm had only sent out specially bred fighters.

• Zhou Qing sensed the Swarm Kingdom’s Aura Field change after a Transport Bug tore a hole in his clothes and left.
• Romantina told Zhou Qing that ants had attacked Riko and Rabbit Girl, and he hurried to help them.
• Aitaljia escaped a bee swarm with Timidit, cutting a massive path through the kingdom and making reconciliation seem impossible.
• The swarms abruptly stopped attacking and returned to their duties after releasing a strange fragrance that Zhou Qing identified as a harmless pheromone.
• Dugu Bo arrived and said bugs had attacked him while he gathered toxins, and Zhou Qing watched armored Soldier Bugs approach as he suspected the attack was continuing.

Zhou Qing and his companions were teleported to the Swarm Kingdom’s Core Area, where they discovered that a brain-like creature had taken control of Tais and identified itself as the swarm’s collective consciousness and defense mechanism. The Brain Bug revealed that it intended to merge everyone’s genes, minds, and souls into the swarm.

• The Soldier Bugs surrounded Zhou Qing and his companions, then used a spatial ability to teleport them to the Core Area.
• Zhou Qing and the others found wounded outsiders there, including Taros, whom the swarm had beaten and dragged in.
• A giant brain-like monster appeared above the Mother Bug, with Tais bound in its tentacles and speaking for it.
• Zhou Qing suspected the monster had grown rapidly over the previous three days and recognized Tais as its puppet.
• The Brain Bug declared that it was the swarm’s collective consciousness and defense mechanism, created when the swarm’s pheromones became disordered.
• Taros questioned Tais, and the Brain Bug announced that it would merge everyone’s genetic factors, minds, and souls into the swarm.

The Brain Bug demonstrated how the Swarm could recreate powerful bloodlines, then explained that humans were already part of its genetic information and offered the humans and Fallen Ones choices. Zhou Qing’s group and Taros stayed behind as the Brain Bug prepared to deal with the two who had violated the Swarm’s rules.

• The Brain Bug used Pheromones to create Bug Eggs that hatched into a Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin, then had Soldier Bugs kill them and feed them to the Mother Bug.
• The Brain Bug told Riko that human Genetic Material already existed within the Swarm and said its emergence had been triggered by two people violating the Swarm’s protection mechanism; those present identified Taros as one of them.
• The Brain Bug offered the humans and Fallen Ones the choice to stay in the Swarm Kingdom, leave for another layer, or remain in the Core Area while it dealt with the rule-breakers; most chose to leave or stay in the Kingdom.
• Zhou Qing’s group and Taros remained in the Core Area, and the Brain Bug said it would discuss their arrangements after dealing with the two offenders.
• Zhou Qing observed that embodied collective thought seemed to produce selfishness and a desire for independence, and he suspected this explained why the Swarm’s earlier operations did not require individual intelligence.

The Brain Bug possessed Taros and explained the swarm’s immense power, its history, and the limits of the God Realm’s so-called gods. It revealed that Zhou Qing and Tais’s Inner Scenery World could offer the swarm a more complete path to dimensional ascension, leaving Zhou Qing wary of the Brain Bug’s deference.

• The Brain Bug took control of Taros, rapidly raised her soul power to the Peerless Douluo level, and explained that the swarm could replicate powerful beings in minutes.
• The Brain Bug told Zhou Qing and Dugu Bo that the Deities were three-dimensional beings using Divine Thrones to perceive time and rule parts of Fourth-Dimensional Space.
• Taros explained that the swarm had once produced over a hundred million Supreme God King-level combatants, but the Cosmic Law had destroyed them, prompting the Zerg to abandon independent thought and become the swarm.
• The Brain Bug said the swarm sought dimensional ascension by following the Cosmic Law and becoming a world, and that Zhou Qing and Tais’s Inner Scenery World offered a more complete model.
• When Zhou Qing asked why the swarm had not simply figured out the method itself, Taros and Tais said their respectful restraint was a show of respect, making Zhou Qing more cautious.

Taros offered Zhou Qing and the others a choice between staying with the Swarm or attempting a trial, while the Brain Bug explained the Swarm’s loneliness and way of life. Taros revealed Douluo Continent’s connection to The Wandering Earth and described the limits of power and higher dimensions, then singled out Zhou Qing as the one who needed to understand.

• Taros offered the group a trial that would grant one wish if they passed, while failure meant staying with the Swarm.
• The Brain Bug explained that the Swarm’s collective consciousness longed for another being capable of understanding it, and Zhou Qing compared its survival-focused outlook with Timidit’s choice to face her fears.
• Taros confirmed that Douluo Continent had once belonged to another Star System and that its people had used Planetary Engines to begin The Wandering Earth plan.
• Taros demonstrated how scientific knowledge let her manipulate Heaven and Earth Energy into different elements, then warned that even beings who reached higher dimensions could not escape the universe’s laws.
• Rabbit Girl asked why Taros was telling them about dimensions, and Taros and the Brain Bug pointed to Zhou Qing, saying that only he needed to understand.

Taros revealed that Zhou Qing and the others could refuse both choices, but Romantina and Zhou Qing agreed to take the Brain Bug’s test. Zhou Qing believed the Brain Bug chiefly wanted to find someone who could understand and accompany it, and decided they could play along while keeping Aitaljia as an escape option.

• Taros explained that the Swarm had learned about the parallel and independent Inner World system and offered to share what it knew in return.
• Romantina and Riko rejected staying behind and insisted on going to the Seventh Layer, while Zhou Qing asked if they could choose neither option.
• Taros confirmed that they could refuse both choices as long as they did not harm the Swarm, leaving Romantina and the others astonished.
• Zhou Qing concluded that the Brain Bug’s choices were a test to find a companion who could resonate with it, and that its punishments were largely a performance.
• Romantina chose to take the Brain Bug’s second option, and Zhou Qing joined her despite the Rabbit Girl’s objection.

Taros tested Zhou Qing on the Brain Bug’s lifespan, and Zhou Qing correctly guessed that it would live for a thousand years. The Brain Bug offered him a wish and future assistance, leaving Zhou Qing wondering whether it had created the Heart of Dreams.

• Taros asked the group to guess how long the Brain Bug would live, while Zhou Qing reasoned that it wanted conversation rather than punishment.
• Zhou Qing guessed that the Brain Bug would live for a thousand years, and Taros confirmed he was right.
• Zhou Qing explained that the Swarm had likely limited the Brain Bug’s lifespan to guard against its independent will and adapt to the outside world.
• Taros granted Zhou Qing one wish and offered him the option to consult her in the future, provided the Swarm’s interests allowed it.
• Taros invited Zhou Qing to state his wish, and he wondered whether the Swarm had created the Heart of Dreams.

Zhou Qing asked the others what wishes they wanted fulfilled, then requested a Spiritual Link Soul Guidance Device from Taros. Taros began crafting it from the captured Purple Slime, explaining that the device could transfer memories and potentially souls, Martial Souls, and bloodlines.

• Dugu Bo considered reviving his deceased son but decided to let go, and his Soul Power rose as he accepted the loss.
• Romantina, Rabbit Girl, Timidit, and Riko declined to have their wishes granted, choosing to pursue their goals or face the future themselves.
• Taros confirmed that wishes could be fulfilled through dreams, but explained that omniscience and omnipotence would require altering the dreamer's understanding.
• Zhou Qing rejected dream-based wish fulfillment and asked Taros for a Spiritual Link Soul Guidance Device.
• Taros took the captured Purple Slime and began shaping it into components, explaining that Swarm larvae could help create a device capable of transferring souls, Martial Souls, and bloodlines.

Taros explained how the mental link device could preserve souls for true resurrection and created a mother sphere with 840 million child spheres. Zhou Qing integrated the device into his Inner Scenery World, while the Brain Bug removed a beating heart-like crystal from Romantina.

• Taros explained that the device could freeze a soul at the moment of death and described how soul fragments could merge, disperse, and repair themselves.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress realized Taros’s account of a dragon split into two souls referred to the Dragon God and the Silver Dragon.
• Taros completed the device, producing one Mental Mother Sphere and 840 million Mental Child Spheres, and explained that the child spheres could replenish themselves while the mother sphere survived.
• Zhou Qing drew the mother sphere into his Inner Scenery World and spread the child spheres through his apertures, gaining a way to sense the world and form clones.
• The Brain Bug found it could no longer detect its safeguards in the Swarm Juvenile State and extracted a transparent crystal containing a beating heart-like object from Romantina.

Taros explained the Heart of Dreams, the Swarm Kingdom’s rules, and how the Brain Bug’s consciousness could survive, then led Zhou Qing and the others to a device that opened the way to the Seventh Layer. The group entered the spherical device, where they had to choose and perform a stored piece of music to activate it.

• Riko recognized the Heart of Dreams, and the Brain Bug explained its origins, its effects, and how Namiki’s wish had created Aitaljia.
• Taros told Romantina to keep the Brain Bug’s Heart of Dreams as both a safeguard for preserving its consciousness and an attempt to adapt to rules beyond the Abyss.
• Taros explained that the Soul Ring system could not be easily changed because altering Earth’s foundational rules might destroy the world, and described the conditions that could trigger the Brain Bug’s emergency mechanism.
• Zhou Qing had Romantina store the Heart of Dreams and followed Taros to the Altar with the Whirlpool Lake, where Taros explained how the music-activated device led to the Seventh Layer.
• Taros teased Romantina with a promise of adult content, but Zhou Qing stopped her and led her into the spherical device, followed by Dugu Bo, Riko, Rabbit Girl, Timidit, and Aitaljia.

Zhou Qing activated the White Sphere Device and discovered it could show an animated story of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, accompanied by the song “Left Hand Right Hand.” The music stirred everyone’s childhood memories and left Zhou Qing reflecting that he still needed to find the right rhythm and gather like-minded people for his plans.

• Zhou Qing touched the White Whistle inside the White Sphere Device, revealing pictures and writing that only he recognized as Chinese and English.
• Romantina selected an image of six goats and two wolves, which expanded into an animated scene as Pretty Goat sang “Left Hand Right Hand.”
• Zhou Qing clapped along with the song, and Romantina, Riko, Rabbit Girl, Timidit, Aitaljia, and even Dugu Bo joined or moved to its rhythm.
• Inside Romantina’s Sea of Spirit, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm tried to hold the Ice Empress’s legs and was slapped away after blaming the song for his feelings.
• The animation shifted to more elaborate battles, including Happy Goat and Grey Wolf merging into “Happy Wolf,” which Dugu Bo and Romantina mistook for a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
• Zhou Qing recognized the changing animation as the creators’ attempt to revive the story and realized he needed more like-minded allies to move his own plans forward.

Zhou Qing and the others discovered that recorded nursery songs could use sound vibrations to cultivate, and Riko played “Fireflies” on the White Whistle to test the method. As the song resonated through the Swarm Kingdom, the sphere descended toward the Seventh Layer and Taros accepted a comparison between herself and the Swarm.

• Zhou Qing played several recorded songs and recognized “Fireflies” as a nursery rhyme from Abyss Town.
• Riko volunteered to perform “Fireflies” with the White Whistle and mastered its rhythm after a few minutes of practice.
• The song linked Riko’s Aura Field with the sphere, resonating with her Qi and Blood, spirit, and Soul Power and strengthening her as she played.
• Zhou Qing explained that sound-based vibrations could enhance the body and spirit, and Romantina connected the discovery to his Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Tang San.
• The white sphere trembled and descended toward the Seventh Layer while the Swarm Kingdom swayed to the melody.
• Taros blessed the sphere and agreed to compare herself with the Swarm, reflecting that greater dimensionality would not help them ascend beyond the universe.

Riko performed a piece with the White Sphere Device and was exhausted, while the group descended through the Abyss and felt time pass strangely. They arrived at the Seventh Layer, where they found Sky City floating above a sea of clouds, and Zhou Qing stepped out to examine the layer’s dense energy.

• Riko finished her piece, nearly collapsed, and accepted water and roasted meat from Romantina and Zhou Qing.
• Zhou Qing prepared a meal for the group as they discussed Abyss exploration and the food explorers had to eat.
• After the group’s clocks showed only fourteen minutes had passed, Zhou Qing suspected the Seventh Layer was distorting their perception of time and gave Aitaljia two clocks to carry.
• The White Sphere Device shook after six hours, and the group saw a vast cloud sea and the inverted-cone city of Sky City.
• Riko recognized Sky City as the Seventh Layer, and Zhou Qing stepped outside the device and felt the layer’s dense Heaven and Earth Energy.

Zhou Qing and the others reached the Seventh Layer and crossed a perilous rope bridge toward Sky City, marveling at the fairy-tale world around them. After arriving, they discussed exploring nearby to learn more about the unknown layer.

• Dugu Bo and Romantina emerged from the white device and saw a vast ocean of Heaven and Earth Energy above them.
• Zhou Qing reflected on the fairy-tale qualities of the Abyss Ruins’ layers and called the residents of Abyss Town children living in a cradle of innocence.
• Dugu Bo noticed their small floating platform, and Zhou Qing found a rope bridge stretching toward Sky City.
• Riko insisted that the group cross the bridge on foot, so Zhou Qing and Riko tied safety ropes around everyone, including Dugu Bo.
• The group crossed the swaying bridge through powerful winds, and Riko and Timidit struggled but made it safely to Sky City.
• Riko suggested that they explore nearby for residents who could explain the Seventh Layer, while Rabbit Girl warned her not to jump because of the Ascension Curse.

Zhou Qing and the others caught and prepared a Hamaslama, discovering that the bizarre fish was exceptionally sweet and nourishing. They continued through the paddy fields into a settlement of sealed metal buildings, where Zhou Qing suspected they were warehouses.

• Riko identified the creature Zhou Qing caught as a Hamaslama, a delicacy that had vanished from the Second Layer because it had been hunted to extinction.
• Rabbit Girl and Timidit peeled the Hamaslama’s skin, and Zhou Qing, Romantina, and Dugu Bo helped knead salt into its flesh.
• Riko, Zhou Qing, Romantina, and Dugu Bo tasted the Hamaslama and found it intensely sweet; Zhou Qing noticed its nutrients quickly nourished his body.
• Zhou Qing caught several more Hamaslama and stored them in the Bag of Holding for Tang San, Xiao Wu, Wang Sheng, Bu Yi, and the others.
• After resting, the group walked into an area of moss-covered low buildings, where Zhou Qing found corrosion-resistant metal beneath the growth and guessed the sealed structures were warehouses.