Chapter Summaries

Bifur tried to assess Tai Yu’s power and the risks surrounding the Initial Awakening Society while inspecting the Great Horn Fleet’s supply base. After learning that Tai Yu had offered to sell his arrangements on You Chong Star, Bifur recognized that Tai Yu had likely singled him out and called a private meeting with Leto, Tabler, and Huai An.

• Bifur inspected the Great Horn Fleet’s logistics base and mentally decided the joking base commander should be assigned far away.
• Bifur worried that Tai Yu’s feats on You Chong Star exceeded his own limits and considered how investigations into the Initial Awakening Society might affect him.
• Tabler asked Bifur about a new development, and Bifur reported that Tai Yu had tried to sell his arrangements on You Chong Star to Great Lord Zhong Kai.
• Bifur reasoned that the news had been deliberately spread to alert powerful buyers and that Tai Yu had likely targeted him.
• Bifur dismissed the base personnel and met privately with Leto, Tabler, and Huai An to discuss the situation.

Bifur and Leto assessed the risks surrounding Tai Yu’s Constellation framework and the political changes expected in the Red Silicon Star System. The chapter ended with Mo Jia inviting Bifur to meet Tai Yu.

• Huai An described Tai Yu’s authority and technical planning, and Bifur asked whether they could take over the Constellation framework.
• Tabler warned that the framework depended on special authority, but Bifur decided they should express interest and ask for a price to establish contact with Tai Yu.
• Bifur showed Leto a report stating that Zhong Kai would replace Luande, and Leto explained how the change could reshape the Red Silicon Star System’s political balance.
• Leto warned that the Boundary Curtain might covet Xi Corporation and Isolated Star System Development, and urged Bifur to communicate with Xi.
• Mo Jia called Bifur and said Tai Yu had asked to meet him.

Tai Yu hosted a sightseeing banquet for Xi Corporation and the Great Horn Fleet, keeping the guests guessing about his real purpose. At the Boundary, he asked Bifur why its damaged Rule Environment had gone unchanged for over a thousand years.

• Tai Yu invited Bifur, Mo Jia, Ma Yong, Xi Shen, and Ran Ming on a sightseeing starship to thank Xi Corporation and the Great Horn Fleet for supporting the Special Task Force.
• Bifur, Ma Yong, and Mo Jia tried to gauge Tai Yu’s intentions, but he kept the conversation away from the banquet’s real subject.
• Tai Yu and Mo Jia discussed the Boundary while observing its lightning and high-energy jet streams from orbit.
• Tai Yu described the Boundary’s Rule Environment as tangled, twisted, and ruptured, then asked Bifur why no one had tried to improve it in over a thousand years.

Tai Yu pressed Bifur and the other powerful figures to help him secure research funding and demand tangible benefits from the Initial Awakening Society. After the meeting, Bifur privately struggled with his weakened position among the Great Monarchs and yearned to become one himself.

• Tai Yu offered Bifur control authority over the Constellation and its Grease Balls, but Bifur only said he would consider it.
• Tai Yu admitted he wanted research funding without being bound to a sponsor and asked everyone present to help devise a way to obtain it.
• Tai Yu urged those connected to the Initial Awakening Society to use their channels to demand a reason and tangible benefits that everyone could accept.
• After the banquet, Bifur, Ma Yong, and Mo Jia discussed Tai Yu's demand, but they came up with no solution.
• Alone in his vehicle, Bifur brooded over the six Great Monarch-level powers in the Red Silicon Star System and wished he could become a Great Monarch.

Bifur struggled to handle Tai Yu’s demands and sought guidance from the Initial Awakening Society. Its contact revealed that Tai Yu had rejected an earlier cooperation offer but advised Bifur to meet his demands, leaving Bifur to consider how to proceed.

• Bifur decided to contact the Initial Awakening Society because he saw no other way to advance toward becoming a great monarch.
• Bifur used Tabler to reach the Society’s contact person in the Star Road game, who warned that operations on the Red Silicon Star System’s platform would be suspended temporarily.
• Bifur told the contact person that Tai Yu had approached the Society through the Xi Corporation and the Great Horn Fleet, seeking to squeeze resources from it.
• The contact person explained that Tai Yu had rejected the Society’s cooperation proposal and was holding Vajello and the Stone Soul while seeking understanding for himself.
• The contact person advised Bifur that satisfying Tai Yu’s demands was the best way to begin dealing with an expert who already had the bearing of a great monarch.

Bifur and the contact person analyzed Tai Yu’s motives and his ties to Luande, looking for leverage against him. The contact person suggested Luande might retain influence without retiring and asked whether Bifur knew anything about his frequent contact with Shan Long High Priest.

• Bifur questioned whether he could overcome public criticism of his Sky Ladder Eleventh Tier assessment and sought reassurance from the contact person.
• The contact person said Tai Yu was likely verifying information from Vajello, then suggested they analyze Tai Yu’s desires and connections.
• Bifur and the contact person discussed Tai Yu’s work for retired veterans, his acquisition of the Myriad Transformations Deep Blue, and his possible role as Luande’s protector.
• Bifur argued that Zhongkai was cooperating with Tai Yu to reorganize the Red Silicon Star System and manage Luande’s retirement.
• The contact person proposed that Luande might retain influence without retiring and asked whether Bifur knew about his frequent contact with Shan Long High Priest.

The contact person persuaded Bifur that Luande would likely withdraw Tai Yu from the habitable zones and accept his Honorary Retirement, then urged Bifur to help stir public opinion as a pretext against Luande. Bifur recognized the Initial Awakening Society’s hostility and possible vulnerabilities, leaving him with greater leverage to bargain.

• The contact person argued that Luande would protect Tai Yu by pulling him away from the habitable zones, while the Boundary Curtain’s plans made Honorary Retirement likely.
• Bifur asked whether the contact person had evidence, and the man cited Luande’s troop deployments and lack of preparation for Tai Yu’s military advancement.
• The contact person proposed stirring public opinion in the military and rear, asking Bifur to enlist the Great Horn Fleet and Xi Corporation’s channels.
• Bifur understood that the Initial Awakening Society wanted a pretext to act against Luande and that defying the Boundary Curtain could put Luande and his forces in danger.
• Bifur suspected Tai Yu had disrupted the society’s plans and realized its difficulties gave him more room to bargain.

Bifur and the Initial Awakening Society’s contact person discussed how to steer Tai Yu and Luande toward Isolated Star System Development while creating grounds for a future intervention. Their meeting ended with Bifur agreeing to take the proposal back, though the contact person left future communication to the “traditional” method.

• The contact person argued that Luande might support Tai Yu’s involvement because it could ease tensions in the Red Silicon Star System and give Tai Yu room to develop.
• Bifur and the contact person concluded that Tai Yu may have inferred their connection to Isolated Star System Development and that Luande and Tai Yu would be limited in how much they could gain from it.
• The contact person proposed that Luande and Tai Yu’s involvement could provide a pretext for action, especially if they took control of the Liang Lu Inner Universe Ruins or the Coiling Demon within.
• Bifur agreed to report the proposal upward and use the Initial Awakening Society’s willingness to accept dividends or losses in later discussions with Xi Corporation.
• The contact person’s meeting place vanished, and he told Bifur to use the traditional method to communicate and transmit resources.

Bifur weighed whether to accept the Initial Awakening Society’s offer to help him become a Great Monarch, fearing it might betray him after he helped capture Luande and Tai Yu. He realized that joining the Society required him to begin constructing the Sin Dream Nation, a commitment that would reshape his ties to the Great Horn Fleet and Xi Corporation.

• Bifur recalled that the Initial Awakening Society promised to make him a Great Monarch if he helped feed Luande into the Platform and recover Tai Yu.
• Bifur doubted the Society would honor its promise and decided that payment after the operation was unacceptable; he wanted resources in advance.
• Bifur recognized that the Society would not provide information or resources unless he committed himself to Co-construction and Sharing the Sin Dream Nation.
• Bifur reviewed the Society’s requirements for cultivating an Awakened One and creating a Sin Dream Nation, which would make him an official member.
• Bifur understood that joining the Initial Awakening Society would force him to thoroughly reshape his relationships with the Great Horn Fleet and Xi Corporation.

Bifur chose to deepen his ties with the Initial Awakening Society and left the Red Silicon Star System under the pretext of inspecting supply routes. After settling logistics on Qu Men Star, he sought help from Priest Aiden to calm his mind before making further decisions.

• Bifur decided to gamble on a new path, sent messages through his family's communication channels, and announced he was leaving the Red Silicon Star System to inspect transport routes.
• Rumors spread through Star Ring City that Tai Yu had driven Bifur away, while Tai Yu, Vajello, and Stone Soul remained nowhere to be found.
• Bifur traveled through the Gu-202 Star Gate to the Zi Hu Star System and handled official duties before focusing on logistics on Qu Men Star.
• After a demanding five days, Bifur gave most of his attendants leave and went to the Myriad Gods Hall Prayer Hall to pray.
• Bifur met Priest Aiden in a corridor and asked for help; he chose to cleanse his mind before reviewing a list or making decisions.

Bifur sought the Tong Yi Crowd’s protection and selected a Celestial corpse as material for his plans, while keeping his dealings with the Initial Awakening Society. He left with an agreement to check in with Priest Aiden on Qu Men Star, though Aiden could not promise a transfer of personnel to the Red Silicon Star System.

• Priest Aiden used the power of the God of Tong Yi to help Bifur examine his recent contacts and understand the Initial Awakening Society contact’s greed and expectations.
• Bifur decided to keep using the Initial Awakening Society’s resources while adding Deity’s support as another safeguard.
• Priest Aiden explained that the list of Celestial corpses would take about ten days to dispatch because the materials came through other channels.
• Bifur selected a recently deceased interstellar pirate from the Circumference Star System and signed the formal contract for the corpse.
• Priest Aiden advised Bifur to contact him regularly while on Qu Men Star, and Bifur asked whether personnel could be transferred to the Red Silicon Star System.
• Priest Aiden said such a transfer was beyond their authority, and Bifur quietly accepted the limit on the Tong Yi Crowd’s support.

Bifur received a Celestial corpse and used the Initial Awakening Society’s materials and instructions to begin cultivating it into an awakened one. He entered the resulting Misty Jungle, where the dangerous transformation left him with no easy path back.

• Bifur stayed in the Zi Hu Star System, gathered intelligence, and found that the Initial Awakening Society had closed its Star Road platform to him.
• Bifur accepted the corpse through the Tong Yi Crowd’s secret channel on Qu Men Star and carefully checked it for tampering.
• Bifur restored the corpse’s incomplete body and used the Society’s materials to build a Rule Environment around its lingering thoughts and malevolent aura.
• Bifur made the corpse’s thought fragments operate independently, creating what could barely be called an awakened one.
• Bifur entered the dreamscape and watched the Misty Jungle spread, following the Society’s instructions as the corpse began turning from real to virtual.

Bifur explored the Misty Jungle, learned that its spider silk carried remnants of the Six Heavens God Calamity, and refused to pay for more details. His actions unknowingly reconnected the strands, allowing a distant observer to see what he had done on Qu Men Star.

• Bifur noticed spider silk throughout the Misty Jungle and left after sending the contact person a question about it.
• The contact person explained that the silk was residue from the Six Heavens God Calamity's attempt to bind the Dream God Abomination and warned that prolonged exposure could draw someone toward the Abyss.
• Bifur refused to recruit five Awakened Ones or pay for more information, despite realizing the Initial Awakening Society was connected to the Six Heavens God Calamity's system.
• Bifur cleaned the Nutrient Tank after the Pirate Awakened One's body disappeared and tried to steady himself.
• Bifur's actions reconnected the spider silk within the Sin Dream Nation, tracing the strands back and revealing his activities on Qu Men Star to someone forty thousand light-years away.

Tai Yu assessed how Bifur’s pursuit of Co-construction and Sharing had tied him back to the Misty Jungle, and suspected the Initial Awakening Society’s method could expose practitioners to powerful rivals. He stayed out of the unfolding contest and turned his attention to Bifur, while handling Yu Xi’s departure and meeting Yuan Ju and Ming Fan at the Military Hospital.

• Tai Yu reasoned that Bifur had reconnected himself to the Misty Jungle through Co-construction and Sharing, and that the Initial Awakening Society’s method could either accelerate advancement or leave practitioners vulnerable to stronger powers.
• Tai Yu identified the Contact Person as a possible hunter tied to the Spider Silk, but continued watching from the sidelines and waited for a chance to approach Bifur.
• Yu Xi visited Tai Yu to relay Bai Tiancong’s inquiry, complete her work handover, and thank him before her resignation was approved.
• Tai Yu advised Yu Xi to reconsider following Lan Qiao on her year-long study tour, but Yu Xi said the family had agreed to go, so he completed her procedures and discussed her successor.
• Tai Yu and Yu Xi encountered Yuan Ju and Ming Fan at the Military Hospital, and Tai Yu pulled Yuan Ju aside to answer his questions and discuss their experiments.

Yuan Ju discussed the political tensions surrounding Tai Yu and the Red Silicon Star System before Ming Fan told Tai Yu that Priest Yuan Shu would arrive and asked him to meet. Ming Fan also sought help keeping Xin Rui from being taken away, but left after Tai Yu challenged her reasoning.

• Yuan Ju asked Tai Yu why he had not turned Vajello over, and Tai Yu said only Chief Priest Seo and Shan Long High Priest had the authority to decide what truly required urgency.
• After Yu Xi and Yuan Ju left, Ming Fan told Tai Yu that Priest Yuan Shu would arrive that day and requested a meeting at the Prayer Hall at seven o'clock.
• Ming Fan asked Tai Yu for help because Xin Rui had completed the Internal Cultivation Method of Heavenly Human Scenery and Priest Yuan Shu might take her away.
• Tai Yu argued that joining the priestly circles of the Boundary Curtain could benefit Xin Rui, and Ming Fan apologized before leaving.

Tai Yu met Priest Yuan Shu after continuing his work at the Military Hospital, and she outlined three matters for the Black Inspector: gratitude, broader cooperation, and Great Lord Luande’s Honorary Retirement. The chapter ended with Tai Yu learning that the cooperation would focus on the Initial Awakening Society, the Illusory Nightmare Domain, and his own ability to wield its power.

• Tai Yu considered how his intelligence about Vajello had shifted Ming Fan’s plans and confirmed her suspicions about Xin Rui and Priest Maiani.
• Tai Yu continued the Deformation Correction Experiment at the Military Hospital for five hours before going to the Prayer Hall.
• Tai Yu met Priest Yuan Shu in a dark section of the corridor and exchanged brief greetings.
• Yuan Shu thanked Tai Yu for helping the Black Inspector recover from its mishandling of Bifur and for sharing intelligence.
• Yuan Shu proposed broader cooperation focused on the Initial Awakening Society, the Illusory Nightmare Domain, and its power, including Tai Yu’s own abilities.
• Yuan Shu said the Black Inspector also hoped to facilitate Great Lord Luande’s smooth Honorary Retirement.

Tai Yu questioned Yuan Shu about the Black Inspector’s plans concerning the Initial Awakening Society and Great Lord Luande, and challenged why their arrangements depended on him. Yuan Shu offered to postpone Luande’s matter, proposed a joint hunt for the society, and revealed that the price was placing Illusory Nightmare Domain authority under the Dawn System; Tai Yu agreed to see where the offer led.

• Tai Yu challenged Yuan Shu over why the Black Inspector needed his help with Great Lord Luande’s retirement and questioned the reliability of the Boundary Curtain’s plans.
• Yuan Shu said Tai Yu was no simple variable, then agreed to set Luande’s matter aside until she had stayed for several weeks and the situation had become clearer.
• Tai Yu agreed in principle to cooperate against the Initial Awakening Society but asked how the rewards would be divided.
• Yuan Shu said the Black Inspector’s price was for Illusory Nightmare Domain authority to be placed under the Dawn System, without further restrictions.
• Tai Yu accepted the proposal as a possible path and remarked that he could follow the example of the Nightfall King, who also controlled some of that authority.

Tai Yu continued his work at the Military Hospital while news about Xin Rui’s cultivation success reached her family’s creditors and put Tabler on edge. Tabler fled the region, discovered that the secret platform that had supplied his Violet Crystal Illusion Pupil technique had vanished, and was left wondering what the technique actually was.

• Tai Yu met Priest Yuan Shu, then stayed at the Military Hospital to continue his Deformation Correction Experiment as news of their meeting stirred public speculation.
• News that Xin Rui had completed the Heavenly Human Scenery Internal Cultivation Method spread among her family’s creditors, who feared Ming Fan and Xin Rui might escape their debts.
• Tabler realized that Ming Fan and Xin Rui could seek revenge with Tai Yu’s help, and decided to leave the region while Bifur was away.
• After boarding a passenger ship, Tabler logged into Star Road to contact the secret platform that had given him the Purple Eye Illusion Pupil technique.
• Tabler found the platform’s meeting place gone, failed to contact it, and began wondering what the Violet Crystal Illusion Pupil technique really was.

Tabler believed the Purple Eye Illusion Pupil technique was worthless and erupted in anger, but his eyes suddenly transformed and he discovered that the secret art had advanced. He left his cabin to test his new abilities, concealing his clenched fist as Jigang addressed him normally.

• Tabler grew furious when repeated practice of the Purple Eye Illusion Pupil produced no proficiency increase, and he smashed the furnishings in his cabin.
• The customer manager and Jigang tried to calm Tabler before the ship entered hyperspace, but both suddenly obeyed when he ordered them out.
• Tabler saw that his eyes had become dazzling purple pupils and sensed Thermal Energy regulating his Form and Spirit Framework.
• Tabler used the secret art to inspect the room, then went out to search the spaceship for more interesting targets.
• Jigang approached Tabler and asked whether he had any instructions, while Tabler smiled and kept one hand clenched behind his back.

Tabler became entranced by hyperspace before suffering severe injuries and falling unconscious, while Bifur suspected Tai Yu had played a role but lacked proof. At the hospital, Tabler’s body began absorbing nutrients and recovering, and the doctor said his unconscious cultivation might even carry him toward the Celestial realm.

• Tabler used his Purple Eye Illusion Pupil to watch hyperspace and became utterly entranced by its lights and colors.
• Bifur received news of Tabler’s accident and suspected Tai Yu had caused it, but decided he could not pursue the matter without evidence.
• Bifur visited Tabler at the hospital and ordered that he be monitored, with treatment at the Boundary Curtain if his injuries improved.
• Tabler’s life-support pod began consuming nutrient fluid as his body entered a state of excessive absorption, and the doctor reported that his condition was improving.
• The doctor said Tabler’s unconscious body might continue cultivating and eventually reach the Celestial realm, changing Bifur’s view of his prospects.