Chapter Summaries

Lin Qiye gave the eliminated recruits one last chance to choose whether they would become Night Watchmen, and Su Zhe explained that protecting Great Xia depended on resolve as well as strength. Nearly all the recruits raised their hands and regained their qualifications, and Nightfall Squad prepared to return to Shangjing.

• Lin Qiye asked the recruits to answer why they should go onto the battlefield if they lacked the ability to protect Great Xia.
• Su Zhe recalled Ke Changlin and the border guards, then argued that ordinary people and powerful fighters alike could protect the country through their willingness to stand against disaster.
• Lin Qiye praised Su Zhe and explained that recruits with different levels of talent could contribute to Great Xia's protection in different ways.
• Lin Qiye asked the recruits to raise their hands if they still wished to become Night Watchmen, and nearly all of them did.
• Lin Qiye returned the recruits' qualifications and told those who raised their hands to prepare for the oath ceremony before Nightfall Squad departed for Shangjing.

As Lin Qiye recounted his experiences in Japan to the recruits, eight Egyptian gods crossed the Wall of Miracles into Great Xia. They targeted the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele, but Queen Mother of the West appeared to stop them.

• Lin Qiye began telling the recruits about Japan's Human Circle as their trucks traveled away from Kayush Border Defense Company.
• Thunder sounded beyond the border, and Lin Qiye ordered all the trucks to stop.
• Eight Egyptian gods crossed the Wall of Miracles, their pressure overwhelming the recruits on the mountainside.
• Lin Qiye realized the gods were targeting the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele.
• Shu explained that destroying the stele would breach part of Great Xia's protective wall, and the eight gods flew toward it.
• Queen Mother of the West emerged with the Kunlun Mirror and blocked the Egyptian gods.

As eight Egyptian gods overwhelmed Queen Mother of the West and targeted the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele, Lin Qiye took Cao Yuan and An Qingyu to defend it. He summoned his strongest Mysteries to face four Nine Pillars of God, though the fight had yet to begin.

• Nut and the other Egyptian gods attacked the Kunlun Mirror, forcing Queen Mother of the West to fight all eight alone.
• Lin Qiye realized the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele was in danger and rode the Somersault Cloud with Cao Yuan and An Qingyu toward it.
• Shu, Nut, Geb, and Isis broke through Queen Mother of the West's blockade, and Isis's vines revealed the hidden stele.
• Lin Qiye arrived before the stele and used Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi to cut away Isis's vines.
• Lin Qiye summoned six Klein-level Mysteries to stand with him against the four Nine Pillars of God, then sank his consciousness into the Psychiatric Hospital of the Gods.

An Qingyu stabbed Cao Yuan through the heart, awakening a giant of Malevolent Qi Flames to delay the four Pillar Gods. While the gods fought off the summoned orderlies and the giant, Lin Qiye prepared to bear Bragi’s soul beneath the Nation-Suppressing Stele, despite the risk of dying or losing his sanity.

• An Qingyu seized Cao Yuan’s hand and used his blade to stab Cao Yuan through the heart, releasing a pillar of Malevolent Qi Flames.
• The Void White Bear, Wangcai, Grey Sparrow, the black python, and Yuki-onna attacked the four Pillar Gods, but most of the orderlies were quickly destroyed.
• A towering giant of black flames rose from the ruins and attacked Geb, while the remaining orderlies distracted Isis with an illusion and a coordinated assault.
• Shu and Nut reached the Nation-Suppressing Stele, where Lin Qiye stood ready to face them.
• Bragi warned Lin Qiye that bearing his soul so soon after the monkey’s could kill him, but Lin Qiye accepted the risk, and Bragi merged into his body.

Baili Pangpang used reincarnation power and the Jade Ruyi to transform into a Daoist and rush toward the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele. Lin Qiye endured the strain of bearing Bragi and Idunn’s souls and trapped two Egyptian gods behind towering iron walls.

• Baili Pangpang raised his realm with three strikes to his head, then cut open his abdomen to retrieve the Jade Ruyi.
• Baili Pangpang recited a Daoist scripture, transformed his cloak into a Daoist robe, and headed for the black divine stele.
• Lin Qiye felt the pain of carrying Bragi and Idunn’s souls and drew on their intertwined divine powers.
• Lin Qiye recited poetry and formed towering iron walls that enclosed two Egyptian gods.

Lin Qiye was struck down by Nut as Shu and Nut moved to destroy the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele, but Baili Pangpang arrived and held the two gods back. After regenerating, Lin Qiye stood before Isis and the stele, challenging her to kill him first.

• Shu tore open the steel wall, and Nut appeared behind Lin Qiye and blasted half his body away.
• Baili Pangpang severed Shu’s hand with an azure strike, then fought Shu and Nut with Daoist flames and Heaven and Earth Reversal.
• Baili Pangpang shifted Shu and Nut away from the stele and stood beside Black King to block the gods.
• Isis turned toward the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele, intent on destroying it before the Great Xia defenders arrived.
• Lin Qiye regenerated under the Goddess of Youth’s power, gripped his sword, and told Isis to kill him before she destroyed the stele.

Lin Qiye fought Isis with the power of The Sky's Poet but was overwhelmed and pinned beneath plants that drained his strength. He burned the plants away at the cost of his own body, then crawled from the crater and found a gleaming insignia in the snow.

• Lin Qiye sang to summon black vines, spirits, and a blood-colored goddess statue, but Isis destroyed each attack.
• Isis crushed Lin Qiye into a crater and restrained him with plants before turning to drain power from the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele.
• Lin Qiye realized Isis might weaken the stele and set himself ablaze to destroy the plants covering him.
• Lin Qiye burned away the plants and crawled from the crater with his body charred and mangled.
• An insignia slipped from Lin Qiye's chest onto the snow, and he froze when he saw it.

After recovering his Night Watchman emblem, Lin Qiye swore to stand against the darkness and faced Isis beneath the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele. Shen Qingzhu and the new recruits joined his oath as Lin Qiye drove a silver needle into his flesh and declared, “Blood Stains the Sky!”

• Lin Qiye found his emblem in the snow and reclaimed the faith and mission he had lost.
• The new recruits watched Lin Qiye endure the gods’ attacks, while Shen Qingzhu struggled with his inability to help him.
• Lin Qiye began swearing before Great Xia, and Shen Qingzhu urged the recruits to join him.
• The recruits raised their fists and echoed Lin Qiye’s oath as Isis approached him.
• Lin Qiye stabbed himself with the silver needle and roared, “Blood Stains the Sky!”

Lin Qiye broke through to the Human Apex with the help of The Sky's Poet and fought Isis in a desperate final battle, setting the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele ablaze and unleashing a rain of stars. After Isis seized his sword arm and spread sprouts through it, Lin Qiye cut the arm off and summoned a blue cat-shaped shadow as lightning struck down.

• Lin Qiye's Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi severed Isis's hand, and he emerged at the Human Apex after combining Ghost God's Pull with The Sky's Poet.
• Lin Qiye set the sprouts on the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele ablaze, and Isis attacked him with enormous plants.
• Lin Qiye recited "Thousand Stars Fall," bringing down burning stars that tore apart Isis's garden of plants.
• Isis dodged Lin Qiye's sword and grabbed his wrist, so Lin Qiye cut off his right arm along with the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
• Lin Qiye summoned a blue cat-shaped shadow to attack Isis as a bolt of lightning split down from the clouds.

Baili Pangpang struggled to hold the Black King with the chains while the three Nine Pillars of God battered it. The Black King broke four chains and regained its strength, but Baili Pangpang stabilized the remaining three with talismans before the Black King vanished and struck at Shu.

• Baili Pangpang fought Shu and Nut with the Jade Ruyi, but Shu wounded him and the three gods turned their attacks on the Black King.
• As the chains and Malevolent Qi Flames weakened, the Black King endured the gods’ assault and tore apart four chains, healing its wounds and unleashing overwhelming malevolent qi.
• Baili Pangpang attached blood-stained talismans to the last three chains, stopping the Black King from breaking them.
• Shu urged the gods to keep their distance, but the Black King vanished and brought its giant black blade down toward him.

Baili Pangpang sealed Shu while Lin Qiye fought Isis, trading severe injuries with her to weaken the God of Life. A gray-cloaked swordsman arrived and struck Isis down, leaving Lin Qiye alive but gravely wounded.

• Baili Pangpang sealed Shu's regenerating body and vanished after sensing someone approaching.
• Lin Qiye used darkness, the Eternal Secret Garden, and Laifu's lightning to pressure Isis while his arm regenerated.
• Lin Qiye taunted Isis, then let her vines pin him so he could summon a sword strike that shredded half her heart.
• Isis recovered enough to attack Lin Qiye again as both lay badly injured in the snow.
• A gray-cloaked swordsman froze the battlefield, shattered Isis's vines, and cut down her remaining body.

King Mask arrived after Lin Qiye held the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele, then mourned that the reinforcements had come too late. As the Black King rampaged and Queen Mother of the West moved to contain it, Nezha and the reinforcements arrived to take on the Eight Yuan Gods.

• King Mask found Lin Qiye beside the ruined battlefield, recognized what had happened, and repeatedly stabbed the wounded Isis before collapsing in grief.
• Zuo Qing and Lu Wuwei discussed the sealed God of Wind and the rampaging Black King, whose remaining chains threatened to break and whose prison only Queen Mother of the West could restore.
• Queen Mother of the West killed one of the Eight Yuan Gods while the remaining gods grew anxious that the Nine Pillars had failed to destroy the Nation-Protecting Divine Stele.
• Nezha arrived with several Great Xia gods and surrounded the three surviving Eight Yuan Gods with a ring of fire.
• Queen Mother of the West flew toward the Black King and ordered Nezha to kill the Eight Yuan Gods, and Nezha unleashed a sea of flames against them.

After the battle, Lin Qiye succumbed to the cost of using Ghost God's Pull and entrusted his swords and friends to King Mask. Yang Jin arrived and killed Isis, but Lin Qiye died after telling him he had held on to the peaceful Great Xia Yang Jin left behind.

• Queen Mother of the West killed the Wind God, Nut, the Goddess of the Sky, and Geb, drawing the towering shadow's attack toward her.
• As the effects of Ghost God's Pull faded, Lin Qiye collapsed in the snow, growing cold and drowsy.
• Lin Qiye gave King Mask Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and Zhanbai and asked him to look after Jialan, Cao Yuan, and Fatty.
• Isis began to taunt the dying Lin Qiye, but Yang Jin appeared and killed her with his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Halberd.
• Yang Jin reached Lin Qiye, who recognized him, touched his cheek, and died after saying he had held on to the peaceful, prosperous Great Xia.

After learning that Lin Qiye died in battle and Cao Yuan disappeared, An Qingyu took command of Nightfall and prepared to return the recruits to Shangjing. He found Baili Pangpang hidden in the plane’s cockpit, gravely wounded and asking for his help.

• An Qingyu arrived at the airfield and asked Shen Qingzhu and Jiang Er what had happened to Lin Qiye.
• Shen Qingzhu told An Qingyu that Lin Qiye had died while holding back a God, and Jiang Er explained that Cao Yuan had been suppressed and later disappeared with Lin Qiye’s body.
• An Qingyu took command of the remaining Nightfall members and ordered them to bring the recruits safely back to the capital.
• After venting his grief in the snow, An Qingyu boarded the plane and found Baili Pangpang hiding in the cockpit with a severe abdominal wound.
• Baili Pangpang asked An Qingyu to help heal his wound.

An Qingyu treated Baili Pangpang’s self-inflicted wound and brought the recruits back to Shangjing City, while Shao Pingge reported that Archangel Michael had appeared at Xuehan Pass looking for someone. As An Qingyu and the others headed toward Headquarters, a teenager in a red hoodie stopped them and asked if they were Lin Qiye’s companions.

• An Qingyu inferred that Baili Pangpang had taken part in the battle and treated his reopened abdominal wound without pressing him about his secrets.
• Shao Pingge learned that the border garrison would prepare for war, then saw Archangel Michael appear beyond Xuehan Pass and reported that the angel had come to find someone.
• An Qingyu brought the recruits to Shangjing City, where Yuan Gang asked where Lin Qiye and Cao Yuan were; An Qingyu gave no explanation.
• An Qingyu and his companions decided to return to Headquarters and seek answers when Commander Zuo returned.
• A teenager wearing a fiery red hoodie stopped An Qingyu’s group and asked if they were Lin Qiye’s companions.

Nezha found An Qingyu, Baili Pangpang, Shen Qingzhu, and Jiang Er and brought them to Heavenly Court because someone there wanted to see them. After reaching the South Heaven Gate, they entered a vast realm of immortal palaces, and Nezha pointed toward the halls where their contact awaited.

• Nezha introduced himself to An Qingyu and the others as Li Nezha and said he had come to take them to Heavenly Court.
• The group rode a taxi toward Letan Mountain, but Nezha lacked enough money to pay the fare.
• Baili Pangpang bought the taxi company, and the group took the car before following Nezha into the sky on his Wind Fire Wheels.
• Nezha led them to the South Heaven Gate, where they passed through into Heavenly Court.
• An Qingyu asked who wanted to see them, and Nezha pointed toward the golden halls on the distant cloud peaks.

An Qingyu, Shen Qingzhu, and Jiang Er were summoned to Yuanji Hall, where Taibai Jinxing revealed that Lin Qiye was being kept alive in a Pure Yuan Life Spring but could not recover by ordinary means. An Qingyu suspected Taibai Jinxing had brought them to the Heavenly Court for another reason.

• Nezha explained that the Great Xia Gods were recovering from their battle with City of the Sun and led An Qingyu and the others to Yuanji Hall.
• An Qingyu, Shen Qingzhu, and Jiang Er entered the empty hall, where they discovered Baili Pangpang had disappeared.
• Taibai Jinxing appeared and led the three deeper into the hall to a water sphere containing Lin Qiye.
• Taibai Jinxing explained that Lin Qiye remained alive because a white-haired mortal had frozen time in his body and the Pure Yuan Life Spring was preserving his last vitality.
• Taibai Jinxing said Lin Qiye could not recover and would die if removed from the spring, leaving Shen Qingzhu and the others dismayed.
• An Qingyu asked Taibai Jinxing whether he had summoned them for a reason beyond revealing Lin Qiye's condition.

Baili Pangpang spoke with Primordial Celestial Venerable, who revealed that one of the gathered people might become a threat to the world, but refused to name that person in the conversation. Meanwhile, a six-winged golden visitor arrived to save Lin Qiye, whose fate remained uncertain as the visitor began working a miracle.

• Primordial Celestial Venerable told Baili Pangpang that the future God of Time had warned that one of their group would become the world's nightmare, and Baili Pangpang reacted with disbelief.
• Primordial Celestial Venerable asked Baili Pangpang to return as Lingbao Tianzun, but Baili Pangpang refused until True Self Samsara reached perfection.
• Baili Pangpang reunited with An Qingyu and Shen Qingzhu, and Taibai Jinxing led them toward the Immortal Palaces after two Qiming Bell chimes announced an honored guest's arrival.
• A golden figure with six white wings arrived at Yuanji Hall, where Primordial Celestial Venerable brought them to Lin Qiye and asked them to save him.
• The golden figure spread their wings around Lin Qiye and the Pure Yuan Life Spring, filling the hall with golden light and calling, “Awaken.”

Lin Qiye awoke after Lingbao Tianzun preserved his life and Michael brought him back from the dead. As Yang Jin pushed him through the grounds in a Dog-skin Wheelchair, they reunited and began catching up, with Lin Qiye accepting him as his little brother regardless of whether he was Yang Jian or Yang Jin.

• In the darkness, Lin Qiye met a child who looked like him, but the child insisted that Lin Qiye was not him before golden light pulled Lin Qiye away.
• Lin Qiye woke on the grass and learned from Yang Jin that Lingbao Tianzun had preserved his life and Michael had revived him.
• Yang Jin helped Lin Qiye into a Dog-skin Wheelchair and pushed him toward the hall, where Lingbao Tianzun and Michael were discussing a deal.
• Lin Qiye and Yang Jin reunited in silence before Yang Jin asked about Lin Qiye's recent years.
• Lin Qiye asked whether Yang Jin was really Yang Jian or Yang Jin, then said either way he was his little brother.
• Lin Qiye and Yang Jin joked about Lin Qiye taking extra eggs from a neighbor's stall when they were children.

An Qingyu and the others learned from Taibai Jinxing that Cao Yuan carried the Black King, an ancient mortal who had nearly ascended to the Supreme Realm and was sealed inside successive mortals. Cao Yuan’s friends discovered that speaking to him could weaken the Black King’s influence, just as Lin Qiye arrived in a wheelchair.

• An Qingyu and the others found Cao Yuan laughing uncontrollably as black flames flickered across his body.
• Taibai Jinxing explained the Black King’s origins, the Fate Prison Seal, and how the Black King had passed through mortals across the ages.
• Taibai Jinxing said Cao Yuan could either use his remaining three Fate Locks to suppress the Black King or lose control and likely die when the locks broke.
• Baili Pangpang slapped Cao Yuan’s head, stopping his laughter, and Shen Qingzhu urged him not to give up; Cao Yuan’s black flames weakened as he responded.
• Taibai Jinxing said external stimulation could help Cao Yuan fight the Black King, and Lin Qiye arrived in a wheelchair, objecting to Shen Qingzhu’s claim that he had nearly died.