Chapter Summaries

Lin Qiye and his allies nearly killed the Black Goat, but the Key of Doors arrived to protect it and attack them. In the great desert, Zhou Ping released the final sword he had hidden in Sword Pavilion and set out to join Lin Qiye.

• Baili Pangpang briefly bound the Black Goat, but its counterattack shattered his chains and sent him flying.
• Zhou Ping's sword tore through the battlefield and left the Black Goat badly mutilated, but the creature survived and tried to crawl away.
• As Lin Qiye and the others moved to finish the Black Goat, the Key of Doors emerged and summoned the Gate of Truth's tentacles to attack them.
• Lin Qiye ordered his allies to hold off the Key of Doors at any cost.
• At Sword Pavilion, Zhou Ping decided the Black Goat had to die, released his final sword, and vanished north to join Lin Qiye.

Zhou Ping arrived on the battlefield as Great Xia’s final sword and went after the Black Goat while Lin Qiye and Nightfall Squad tried to keep the Key of Doors from rescuing it. The Key of Doors accelerated time to end the star coin’s memory manifestation, leaving Lin Qiye disoriented as it approached him.

• Zhou Ping emerged from the Sword Pavilion, and the Black Goat’s spawn and the people at the S-Class Passes recognized him as the Great Xia Sword Immortal.
• Zhou Ping ignored the Key of Doors and advanced toward the Black Goat, while Lin Qiye and Nightfall Squad attacked the Key of Doors to block its path.
• The Key of Doors accelerated time, causing the star coin to stop and the crimson figures from the memories to fade after one of them told Lin Qiye to hold on.
• The Gate of Truth overwhelmed Nyx with its truths, making her spit blood and stagger away.
• Lin Qiye’s mind became confused as the Key of Doors drew closer.

Lin Qiye died after Key of Doors accelerated time to drain away his life, while Key of Doors stopped Zhou Ping from striking Black Goat. Zhou Ping forced Key of Doors to step aside and prepared to unleash his final sword against Black Goat.

• Key of Doors accelerated time and caused Lin Qiye to die, then vanished from the battlefield.
• Zhou Ping prepared to kill the fleeing Black Goat, but Key of Doors stepped between them.
• Key of Doors explained that he could not withstand Zhou Ping's sword and tried to persuade him to spare it.
• Zhou Ping said he trusted Lin Qiye to defeat Key of Doors, and Key of Doors moved out of the sword's path.
• Zhou Ping raised his Sword Finger toward Black Goat and named his attack, "This sword bids farewell to the human realm."

Zhou Ping unleashed his final sword strike, destroying the Black Goat and vanishing as the Night Watchmen mourned the Great Xia Sword Immortal. Far away in space, Lin Qiye learned his clone had died and raced toward Earth, desperate to save Great Xia from the Key of Doors.

• Zhou Ping's final sword strike erased the Black Goat and carved a vast crater into the earth before he disappeared into the sword light.
• The Night Watchmen bid farewell to Zhou Ping, while Guan Zai and Lu Wuwei mourned his permanent departure.
• The Key of Doors watched the devastation and vowed that no one remained in Great Xia who could stop it, threatening Lin Qiye to return quickly.
• Lin Qiye awoke in distant space and realized his clone had died, leaving him unable to learn whether Zhou Ping or Destiny Monk had succeeded.
• Lin Qiye repeatedly fused the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi with the Hand of Royal Authority and sped through the void toward Earth.

Lin Qiye lost consciousness while searching the universe, while the Key of Doors appeared at the Eastern Emperor Bell to stop Shen Qingzhu and Wu Quan from activating the Third Covenant. It explained that several possible interpretations could threaten it, but dismissed the return of the Heavenly Court and Zhou Ping’s resurrection as beyond Yelander’s ability.

• Lin Qiye repeatedly fused with Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi during spatial jumps until the artifact’s side effects made him lose consciousness and drift through space.
• Guan Zai learned that the Key of Doors had vanished after Zhou Ping killed the Black Goat, then discovered Shen Qingzhu and Wu Quan had gone to ring the Eastern Emperor Bell.
• Shen Qingzhu told Wu Quan that Lin Qiye’s avatar, the Primal God Temple, and Teacher were gone, so they had to activate the Third Covenant before the Key of Doors could stop them.
• As Wu Quan tried to ring the Eastern Emperor Bell from afar, the Key of Doors warped space and moved the bell beyond his reach.
• The Key of Doors described the Third Covenant’s possible fulfillments, including the return of the Heavenly Court and Zhou Ping’s resurrection, and said Yelander could not bring them about.
• Wu Quan asked why the Key of Doors had come to stop them if the other ways of fulfilling the covenant could not threaten it.

Shen Qingzhu attacked the Key of Doors to buy Wu Quan time to ring the Eastern Emperor Bell, but he was badly wounded and turned to the power of Hell Origin. As Shen Qingzhu struck with his Hell Sword, Uriel unexpectedly acted from within the Key of Doors, disrupting the being’s control of his body.

• Shen Qingzhu told Wu Quan to ring the Eastern Emperor Bell while he held off the Key of Doors, and Wu Quan rushed toward the mountaintop.
• The Key of Doors distorted space around the bell, slowing Wu Quan as he tried to reach it.
• Shen Qingzhu unleashed a Candle Dragon, but the Key of Doors shattered it and blasted off Shen Qingzhu’s arm.
• Shen Qingzhu drew on Hell Origin and summoned a Hell Legion before attacking the Key of Doors with a Black Sword.
• Uriel abruptly invoked Sin Judgment from within the Hell Legion, causing the Key of Doors to lose control and his pupils to change.

Shen Qingzhu wounded the Key of Doors, but it rewound time to erase him. Wu Quan broke through the spatial distortion and used the Eastern Emperor Bell to shield Shen Qingzhu, leaving their fight against the Key of Doors unresolved.

• Shen Qingzhu struck the Key of Doors, but the Gate of Truth appeared and a giant hand nearly crushed him before another Former One intervened.
• A voice urged Wu Quan to ring the Eastern Emperor Bell, but spatial distortion trapped him again when he tried to touch it.
• Wu Quan activated Emperor Crimson Blood, briefly reaching Lord God-level strength as Shen Qingzhu stabbed and split open the Key of Doors.
• The Key of Doors rewound time around Shen Qingzhu, stripping away his power and reversing him toward infancy.
• Wu Quan descended with the Eastern Emperor Bell and enveloped Shen Qingzhu, promising the Key of Doors could not kill him while he lived.

Wu Quan rang the Eastern Emperor Bell three times to protect Shen Qingzhu from the backward flow of time, then used his final moments to leave a drawing on the bell. The Key of Doors fell unconscious, and the black-robed figure regained control of his body and headed toward the bell.

• Wu Quan told Shen Qingzhu to remain inside the Eastern Emperor Bell, where time could not reach him, and prepared to ring it.
• Wu Quan struck the bell three times as his age and strength rapidly regressed, then collapsed outside it while Shen Qingzhu shouted from within.
• Wu Quan used his blood to draw something on the bell before his heart stopped beating.
• The Key of Doors struggled against the soul inside it, warned that it would soon return, and then fell unconscious.
• The black-robed figure woke, repaired his shattered body with invisible threads, and headed toward the Eastern Emperor Bell.

An Qingyu rescued Shen Qingzhu from the Eastern Emperor Bell, but Wu Quan had died protecting him. After explaining that he needed Shen Qingzhu’s help against the Key of Doors, An Qingyu said he would have to kill him, and Shen Qingzhu agreed.

• An Qingyu lifted the Eastern Emperor Bell and freed Shen Qingzhu, who recognized him and found Wu Quan dead beside the bell.
• Shen Qingzhu blamed himself for Wu Quan’s death, while An Qingyu told him that Wu Quan had fulfilled his own dream and become a Great Xia hero.
• An Qingyu refused to explain everything because the Key of Doors could hear him, but assured Shen Qingzhu that he had never betrayed them.
• An Qingyu explained that he had temporarily suppressed the Key of Doors using the Third Covenant, but could not defeat Him alone.
• An Qingyu summoned the Gate of Truth and told Shen Qingzhu he had to kill him; Shen Qingzhu trusted him and placed his life in An Qingyu’s hands.

After the Eastern Emperor Bell rang, the rescuers found Wu Quan dead and Lin Qiye missing, while Lin Qiye drifted unconscious through space and saw Mr. Dean appear. An Qingyu returned to the island, sent Jiang Er’s walkie-talkie through the Gate of Truth, then confronted King Mask in the River of Time to stop him from changing An Qingyu’s past.

• Guan Zai and the others reached the Qilian Mountains, found Wu Quan dead, and searched in vain for Lin Qiye and the Key of Doors.
• Guan Zai ordered Wu Quan returned for burial and placed every shelter on the highest alert.
• Lin Qiye awoke in deep space and saw a hooded figure resembling Mr. Dean take shape.
• An Qingyu returned to the island, contacted Jiang Er, and threw the walkie-talkie through the Gate of Truth before vanishing into the River of Time.
• An Qingyu intercepted King Mask as he traveled upstream to alter An Qingyu’s past and forced him back, warning him not to try again.

Lin Qiye woke in the universe believing Merlin’s return had been a dream, but found Merlin back in the Psychiatric Hospital of the Gods and reunited with him. As Lin Qiye tried to recount how he obtained Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, he discovered a gap in his memories, and Merlin asked whether he had recently used the King's Star Coin.

• An Qingyu sent King Mask backward through the River of Time with a white chess piece.
• Lin Qiye woke alone in the universe and realized Merlin’s apparent arrival had seemed like a dream.
• Lin Qiye entered the Psychiatric Hospital of the Gods and found Merlin surrounded by the orderlies.
• Merlin reunited with Lin Qiye, who said the Third Sacred Covenant had brought them together.
• While recounting events after Merlin left, Lin Qiye could not remember how he escaped or obtained Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, and Merlin asked if he had used the King's Star Coin.

Lin Qiye recounted his fragmented memories to Merlin and learned that the missing memories had been permanently erased by the King's Star Coin. Merlin then took him through deep space to reveal the darkness he identified as Azathoth, an untouchable higher-dimensional presence consuming the universe.

• Lin Qiye struggled to recount his past and realized he had forgotten several people and important events.
• Lin Qiye told Merlin that he had searched the universe for the truth about Lovecraftian Mythology and a way to defeat Azathoth.
• Merlin confirmed that Azathoth existed and led Lin Qiye into deep space to meet him.
• Merlin removed their defensive spell, exposing Lin Qiye to the darkness's overwhelming Pollution Power.
• Merlin explained that the darkness devoured stars and could not be observed or harmed directly because it was a shadow cast by a higher-dimensional existence.

Merlin explained that only Dimensional Ascension could let someone confront Azathoth, but both Yelander and Lingbao Tianzun were missing, and Azathoth would reach Earth in at most eight days. Lin Qiye saw that the Karma Thread led to the Eternal Heavenly Court within Azathoth’s darkness, then questioned how Chaos could communicate with Azathoth from the same dimension.

• Merlin explained that Azathoth existed in a higher dimension and that Dimensional Ascension was the only known way to fight it.
• Lin Qiye recalled that Lingbao Tianzun had reached the threshold of Dimensional Ascension and followed a Karma Thread toward the Eternal Heavenly Court.
• Lin Qiye discovered that the thread led into the darkness consuming the universe, where the Eternal Heavenly Court was hidden.
• Merlin told Lin Qiye that Earth would be the last planet Azathoth devoured and had at most eight days left.
• Merlin said he knew no way to resist Azathoth besides Dimensional Ascension, and Lin Qiye asked how Chaos could communicate with Azathoth from their dimension.

Lin Qiye and Merlin used a spatial super forbidden spell to return to Great Xia, where the Key of Doors unexpectedly asked the Night Watchmen to gather their strongest fighters and trap It. As Destiny Monk rushed to meet It at Chenglong Pass, a white chess piece began emerging from King Mask’s chest.

• Lin Qiye hoped the Key of Doors or Chaos could reveal a way to achieve Dimensional Ascension, and Merlin offered to help him confront the Key of Doors.
• Merlin cast the spatial super forbidden spell Dimensional Fold and transported himself and Lin Qiye back to Great Xia.
• At Night Watchmen Headquarters, Destiny Monk and the senior executives discussed the civilians’ worsening morale and decided to concentrate their forces against the Key of Doors.
• A messenger reported that the Key of Doors had come to Chenglong Pass voluntarily and asked Great Xia to send all its top combatants to trap It.
• Destiny Monk summoned every human combatant at Human Apex level or above and led them toward Chenglong Pass.
• King Mask felt pain in his chest and found a white chess piece emerging from his flesh.

An Qingyu brought the suppressed Key of Doors to Chenglong Pass, where Destiny Monk and Great Xia’s strongest fighters prepared to hold it back. The Key of Doors regained control and attacked, leaving Master Chen’s Mindscape shattered and its occupants in danger.

• An Qingyu asked Destiny Monk to help restrain the Key of Doors when it returned, and Destiny Monk agreed.
• Hu Jia, Yurina Takishiro, Jinian, Athena, Artemis, Destiny Monk, and Great Xia’s other fighters surrounded An Qingyu, while Guan Zai noticed King Mask was missing.
• The Key of Doors descended through the gateway and began tearing at An Qingyu’s soul, so An Qingyu ordered everyone to attack.
• Athena, Jinian, Yurina Takishiro, Hu Jia, the Human Apexes, and Lina struck at the Key of Doors, but it evaded their attacks and summoned tentacles from the gateway.
• Master Chen used Mindscape to pull Chen Han, Lu Wuwei, Shao Pingge, and others away from the tentacles, but the Forbidden Ruin was crushed and the carriage exploded.

The Key of Doors overwhelmed the defenders, killing Artemis and defeating Athena, Yurina Takishiro, and Jinian. Hu Jia’s music had distracted it, but the Key of Doors struck him with a soul attack, leaving him unconscious.

• Lina, Athena, and Artemis attacked the Key of Doors, but it defeated Lina and killed Artemis and Athena with the Sword in the Stone.
• Yurina Takishiro summoned a giant mech and then attacked with a Galaxy Spear, but the Key of Doors destroyed the mech and struck him down.
• Jinian intercepted the Key of Doors repeatedly, but it opened the Gate of Truth and overwhelmed her with its power.
• The Key of Doors turned toward Hu Jia, who had been playing the Ancient Xun, and struck him with a soul attack that left him unconscious.

The Key of Doors tried to remove the Destiny Monk from the world, but An Qingyu and Hu Jia disrupted it long enough for Lin Qiye to return. The Destiny Monk shared what he knew with Lin Qiye before dying, leaving the endgame in Lin Qiye’s hands.

• The Destiny Monk challenged the Key of Doors, then tried to stab himself, but the Key froze time and began dragging him through the Gate of Truth.
• An Qingyu’s soul and Hu Jia briefly seized control of the Key of Doors, making the Gate of Truth vanish and freeing the Destiny Monk.
• The Destiny Monk stabbed himself as Lin Qiye arrived through Merlin’s Magic Array and confronted the Key of Doors.
• The Destiny Monk told Lin Qiye that An Qingyu was not a traitor, Shen Qingzhu had disappeared, Chaos might be inside the Key of Doors, and the Black Goat was dead.
• The Destiny Monk clasped Lin Qiye’s hand, said his piece could move no farther, and left the outcome of the endgame to him before dying.

Lin Qiye absorbed Destiny Monk’s Fruit of Predestination, regained his erased memories, and returned to the Lord God Realm. As the Key of Doors summoned four living Supreme Gods to face him, Lin Qiye revealed five ward-door phantoms behind him.

• Destiny Monk died, and his body became the Fruit of Predestination, which Lin Qiye absorbed to form the Karma Law and break through to the Lord God Realm.
• Lin Qiye recovered his memories through Destiny Monk’s memories, realized An Qingyu was not a traitor, and connected Shen Qingzhu’s disappearance to An Qingyu.
• The Key of Doors opened the Gate of Truth and summoned Zeus, Odin, Ra, and Brahma, while the injured Guan Zai and others watched from Chen Han’s pixel board.
• The Key of Doors claimed Lin Qiye had no one left behind him, but Lin Qiye raised the Karma Law and summoned five Psychiatric Hospital of the Gods ward-door phantoms.

Merlin healed Nyx and summoned several old allies through Karma Threads and illusory hospital doors. Nyx, Merlin, Bragi, Idunn, the Monkey King, and Gilgamesh answered Director Lin’s call, leaving them poised to reunite with him.

• Merlin arrived in the abyss and used three healing forbidden spells to restore Nyx from her injuries.
• Karma Threads led Nyx and Merlin to illusory hospital doors, and they went through to help Director Lin.
• Bragi and Idunn found a hospital door in the Eternal Secret Garden and entered together to answer Director Lin’s call.
• The Monkey King awoke from his stone form near Earth, recognized his Karma Thread, and went through the door to join Lin Qiye.
• Gilgamesh made the underground ruins part of his treasury, then approached the hospital door and answered Lin Qiye’s summons.

Lin Qiye summoned five Supreme Gods from the Psychiatric Hospital of the Gods to fight Zeus, Odin, Ra, and Brahma while he confronted the Key of Doors. He drew together the Miracle Law, Dark Law, and his past self, then began ascending to Supreme.

• Lin Qiye opened five doors, bringing forth Nyx, Bragi, Sun Wukong, Gilgamesh, and a fifth Supreme God as Zeus, Odin, Ra, and Brahma attacked.
• Nyx confronted Zeus, Bragi challenged Odin, Sun Wukong attacked Ra, and Gilgamesh fought Brahma.
• Lin Qiye faced the Key of Doors, recognizing that defeating it was necessary to discover how humanity could achieve Dimensional Ascension.
• Lin Qiye climbed toward the gray mist, drew out the Miracle Law and Dark Law, and merged with the phantom of his past self.
• Lin Qiye released the auras of three laws and declared that he would ascend to Supreme.