Chapter Summaries

59 unleashed the power of over a hundred Starships, creating dangerous fluctuations in the star region as Xi Xiu ordered Mingning’s forces to retreat. Meanwhile, Jingsu’s forces attacked Qin Hongjun’s base, and he escaped into a laboratory, where he loaded his Consciousness Backup into a body made with Ye Zhenwei’s genes.

• 59 activated the Starships’ full power, draining the clones’ Mental Power and causing vortices to form and merge across the star region.
• Xi Xiu detected the anomalous fluctuations and ordered A Xian, Arivik, and the other Mingning Starships to withdraw.
• Qin Hongjun received the Starship system’s data, but Jingsu soldiers blocked his route while the Anvile consciousnesses he relied on were confined.
• Fang Jinyu led Jingsu’s forces against 60, while Wei Lanshan’s team searched Qin Hongjun’s base for his laboratory.
• Qin Hongjun entered the laboratory and, after a series of procedures, loaded his Consciousness Backup into the body he had made using Ye Zhenwei’s genes.

Qin Hongjun attempted to escape the Jingsu Alliance by assuming a new female identity, but Wei Lanshan and Li Shunhua intercepted his ship. The chapter left Wei suspecting that the seemingly ignorant Yuanlaian, Y9804, was concealing her true identity.

• Qin Hongjun changed into a carefully engineered female body and prepared to flee in a hidden starship.
• Fang Jinyu's surveillance team detected the hidden vessel, and Wei Lanshan ordered Li Shunhua to intercept everyone aboard.
• Qin Hongjun activated fabricated memories and let Li Shunhua's team board, posing as a helpless Yuanlaian named Y9804.
• Li Shunhua and Wei Lanshan examined Y9804's records and questioned her, but Wei remained suspicious of her appearance and timing.
• Wei Lanshan placed Y9804 under surveillance and noticed she readily chose a nutritional meal from Qin Hongjun's base, contradicting her claim that she had only eaten Nutrient Paste.

Wei Lanshan investigated Y9804 and concluded that her hidden identity was likely Qin Hongjun himself, while Fang Jinyu kept the captured Qin Hongjun under guard aboard his Starship. The chapter ended with Qin Hongjun wondering how much Gaia had changed and considering a personal visit.

• Wei Lanshan ordered Li Shunhua to isolate Y9804 in a surveillance room, where Y9804 hid her plans to escape at a transfer planet.
• Wei Lanshan compared Y9804's genes with the database and found a link to Xi Xiu through Ye Zhenwei, leading her to suspect Y9804 was Qin Hongjun himself.
• Fang Jinyu confronted the captured Qin Hongjun aboard his Starship and said they would take him to Gaia for identification and memory extraction.
• Qin Hongjun threatened to destroy Gaia with help from his agents, but Fang Jinyu said the Alliance was prepared to expose and eliminate them.
• Qin Hongjun questioned whether Gaia had changed during his decade away and decided he might need to see it himself.

Xi Xiu and her forces retreated from Mingning Fortress as 59’s extraction of the clones’ Mental Power unleashed a massive spatial storm. Xi Xiu and A Xian confirmed that the storm carried the Mental Power of Hu Jing Beasts, putting the entire Jingsu Alliance at risk as they searched for a way to seal the rift.

• Fang Jinyu escorted Qin Hongjun to Gaia while Wei Lanshan and Li Shunhua took Y9804 and Qin Hongjun’s captured subordinates to a nearby satellite planet.
• Wei Lanshan found no trace of Ye Zhenwei but learned that Yuan Chuhong and other defectors had been captured and would face the Alliance’s judgment.
• Li Zhengfeng detected a dangerous spatial vortex forming at Mingning Fortress, so Xi Xiu ordered A Xian, Arivik, and the others to retreat.
• 59 ignored the Starship system’s warnings and increased the extraction of the clones’ Mental Power, causing vortices around her fleet to merge into a spreading storm.
• Xi Xiu’s scouts detected Hu Jing Beast Mental Power in the storm, and A Xian and the others confirmed that a spatial rift could let the beasts reach Mingning.
• Xi Xiu and A Xian concluded that they had to seal the passage before the Hu Jing Beasts arrived, since past encounters had devastated Jingsu.

The Alliance’s strongest forces gathered at Mingning Fortress after Qin Hongjun’s Mental Power triggered a growing starstorm and the threat of Hu Jing Beasts. As Wu Jingyang began testing weapons, A Xian warned that none would work, while he insisted there was still time to find another way.

• Xi Xiu and the Alliance’s leaders and veterans converged on Mingning Fortress as the starry sky’s data became abnormal.
• Hai Suomiao and Yan Lanxi brought Miurun’s elite forces to guard the route from Gaia, while the assembled forces took positions around Mingning.
• Xue Fanhui told Zhen that the crisis might leave even the Alliance’s elite unable to survive, and the Central Brain announced the Hu Jing Beast threat to the Alliance.
• Xi Xiu, Qing Wenxu, and Qing Zhixun studied the available data and materials while Wu Jingyang and the Moda People tested weapons.
• A Xian told Wu Jingyang that none of the weapons would work, but he insisted that they still had time to conduct more tests.

With more than ten thousand Hu Jing Beasts approaching Jingsu, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun volunteered to enter the storm's center and destroy the rift. A Xian agreed to go with Xi Xiu, and the assembled soldiers began a virtual mission simulation as the Alliance prepared for battle.

• The Elder Council told the soldiers how grave the danger was, and more than a hundred thousand submitted requests to fight.
• Xi Xiu told the Central Brain she intended to accompany A Xian into the storm, and Qing Zhixun submitted his application to stay by her side.
• Xi Xiu prepared protective equipment and weapons made with Xue Fanhui's help, while Ebony gained the ability to shield her and her starship.
• A Xian urged Xi Xiu not to go, but Xi Xiu stood by her choice; A Xian insisted they stay together inside the storm.
• Qing Zhixun gave Xi Xiu a Space Locket of supplies and weapons, and Qing Wenxu accepted the young people's decision.
• Soldiers from the gathered star systems entered the Virtual Network aboard simulated starships to begin their mission test.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun prepared to lead volunteer soldiers into the eye of the storm, where simulations showed the rift could be destroyed but survival was unlikely. As the Hu Jing Beasts neared the rift, the forces boarded their Starships and set out with instructions to escape if they could.

• Simulations showed that destroying the rift had a one hundred percent success rate, but very few soldiers would likely return alive.
• Qing Zhixun sought powerful experimental weapons from Qing Wenxu, arguing they might help the Starship reach a calmer region of the storm and improve their chances of survival.
• Jing Xi accepted that Qing Zhixun would accompany Xi Xiu and sent weapons she had prepared for them.
• Qing Wenxu urged Qing Zhixun to be careful and said he would wait for him to bring Xi Xiu to meet the Qing Family.
• As the Hu Jing Beasts approached the rift, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun led their soldiers aboard the mission Starships and told them to escape the storm zone if they had the chance.

Xi Xiu and the volunteer soldiers set out to enter the storm and stop the Hu Jing Beasts from reaching the rift. At the storm’s mouth, their heavily protected robots lost their signals, leaving the Starship crew to prepare for the dangerous entry themselves.

• Xi Xiu left Wei Lanshan a farewell message, while Wei Lanshan and the others wished her a safe return.
• Xi Xiu departed with Sixi, Su Jinbao, and Buhete, with Li Zhengfeng assigned to stay close to Su Jinbao and Buhete.
• The Elder Council ordered Mingning's Starships to guard key routes, and Gaia reported that Qin Hongjun and his consciousness duplicate had been escorted to the designated location.
• Xi Xiu commanded the Starship toward the storm’s center while Qing Zhixun collected data and coordinated with Anvile's team.
• Xi Xiu stopped the Starship at the storm’s mouth, but the protected robots lost their signals before traveling a third of the way inside.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun guided their Starship through the storm, dodging hazards and gathering data as they approached its center. After losing contact with the Alliance, they reached a flickering Black Zone and prepared to fire on the rift using coordinates averaged with Anvile's data.

• Xi Xiu followed Qing Zhixun's warning to turn the Starship and avoid an invisible energy shockwave.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun navigated through the storm's hazards while the Starship's defenses began to fail near the center.
• The Starships lost contact with the Alliance, leaving the soldiers to rely on themselves as Qing Zhixun, A Xian, and Qing Sansui organized the data.
• Xi Xiu's Starship reached a flickering Black Zone that resembled a giant eye, and Anvile's side supplied precise coordinates.
• Xi Xiu and Anvile's team agreed to fire their weapons using the averaged coordinates before the Hu Jing Beasts could counterattack.

Xi Xiu and the others detonated their weapons at the storm’s center, destroying it but failing to stop a Hu Jing Beast from escaping. As the survivors prepared to face the beast, they sensed that the surrounding star region had changed.

• Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and Li Zhengfeng proposed a coordinated maximum-firepower strike, and the Alliance and Anvile Starships fired their weapons into the storm’s center.
• The explosion cracked the Starships and killed many warriors, while some escaped in protective pods; the Hu Jing Beast still passed through a crack in the storm.
• A Xian ordered the Anvile warriors to prepare for battle, and Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, Li Zhengfeng, Su Jinbao, and Buhete reunited in a safe position.
• Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and A Xian sensed changes in the star region, and Xi Xiu told Li Zhengfeng to return Su Jinbao and Buhete to the Alliance if the fight went badly.
• A Xian and the Anvile warriors intercepted the Hu Jing Beast, while Xi Xiu prepared to support them with Ebony wrapped around her like a plant mech.

A Xian, Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and the Anvile warriors fought a powerful Hu Jing Beast while trying to prevent it from tearing open space. Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun struck its hidden weak points, and the group's repeated attacks finally began to disrupt its movements.

• A Xian and the Anvile warriors confronted the Hu Jing Beast while Qing Zhixun warned Xi Xiu to stay close and avoid being separated into another starfield.
• The Anvile warriors tested the beast with waves of weapons, while Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu noticed pale hollowed spots at the bases of its wings.
• Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu fired weapons into the four weak spots, provoking the Hu Jing Beast to target Xi Xiu.
• Xi Xiu dodged the beast's attacks until the Anvile warriors rescued her, and they continued taking turns assaulting it.
• The Hu Jing Beast's attacks grew disorderly after the repeated attacks began to affect it.

Xi Xiu and the others fought the Hu Jing Beast as it overwhelmed Anvile's forces, while Li Zhengfeng sent Su Jinbao and Buhete away and joined the battle. The survivors realized the creature had a larger mission and allies waiting nearby, and began planning how to restrain it and exploit the base of its wings.

• Li Zhengfeng sent Su Jinbao and Buhete away in protective cabins, then flew to help Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun attacked the Hu Jing Beast's eyes while Li Zhengfeng, A Xian, and the Anvile soldiers targeted its tail and wings.
• The Hu Jing Beast's Mental Power struck Qing Zhixun hard, but Ebony pulled him back and he returned to the fight.
• Xi Xiu switched to Xue Fanhui's weapon and moved closer to the Hu Jing Beast, prompting it to knock the surrounding Anvile soldiers away and focus on her and Qing Zhixun.
• Xi Xiu warned A Xian that the Hu Jing Beast would not simply tire itself out, and A Xian detected traces of Mental Power from other Hu Jing Beasts nearby.
• Li Zhengfeng proposed combining their Mental Power to restrain the creature, while A Xian explained that the base of its wings was its only weak point.

Xi Xiu and the others discovered that the Hu Jing Beast was an unfamiliar kind of lifeform and that they had been displaced outside Alliance territory. They planned a coordinated attack to subdue it, while Liuga and Qing Wenxu hoped the missing group would return safely.

• The Hu Jing Beast launched metal feathers at Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, A Xian, and the other Anvile People, but left Li Zhengfeng unharmed.
• Wu Jingyang sent more people into the storm, while Liuga told Qing Wenxu that Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and A Xian might have been swept into another star region.
• Qing Zhixun used his terminal to confirm that the group was outside Alliance territory, and Xi Xiu and A Xian verified the result with their own terminals.
• Xi Xiu organized the Anvile People and their Exotic Plants into a plan to attack the Hu Jing Beast, assigning Li Zhengfeng to ambush it and plant weapons in any openings.
• The team attacked the Hu Jing Beast from several directions, and Xi Xiu realized that its metal feathers served as weapons when some flew back onto its wings.

Xi Xiu and the others discovered that the Hu Jing Beast was made entirely of metal, yet had organs and could reproduce. They attacked it from within and without, but after swallowing several Anvile warriors, it unleashed a trump card that changed the surrounding environment.

• Xi Xiu and A Xian immobilized the Hu Jing Beast with their Mental Power while Ebony's vines and the Night Soul Grass's seeds entered its body.
• A Xian and Qing Zhixun realized the beast's metal organs seemed biological, and Xi Xiu asked how they could break through its abdomen.
• Qing Zhixun gave Xi Xiu a drill-like weapon to test against the beast, which retaliated by firing weapons from holes in its wings.
• Li Zhengfeng shrank down and entered the beast through Ebony's opening, attacking its internal organs while Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and the Anvile warriors attacked from outside.
• The Hu Jing Beast swallowed several Anvile warriors, then focused on Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun and unleashed its trump card, causing Xi Xiu to sense that the surroundings had changed.

Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, Li Zhengfeng, and Ebony defeated the Hu Jing Beast after a six-hour battle, but the beast melted into a living lump of metal and sealed them inside distorted space. Unable to escape, they prepared for its final attack.

• Qing Zhixun rushed to Xi Xiu when he sensed danger, but the Hu Jing Beast pulled them, Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and Ebony into a distorted space.
• Li Zhengfeng dismantled most of the Hu Jing Beast's internal machinery from inside its body while Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and Ebony attacked it.
• Li Zhengfeng emerged and lent his Mental Power to Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun, helping them hold the Hu Jing Beast down for six hours.
• The Hu Jing Beast melted into a fist-sized lump of metal, and Xi Xiu realized it was still alive and that they were trapped in sealed space.
• Qing Zhixun ordered everyone to layer their protective gear and mechs, while Ebony wrapped around them and Xi Xiu prepared for the metal creature's next attack.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun survived the Hu Jing Beast’s explosion, then woke in a forest beside a lake. Xi Xiu revealed she had known Qing Zhixun’s true identity, and he explained why he had hidden his feelings from her.

• Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, and Li Zhengfeng fled the Hu Jing Beast’s metal sphere while preparing weapons to attack it.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun threw their linked weapons at the sphere, and its explosion left them gravely injured; Ebony rescued Li Zhengfeng’s mechanical brain and carried Xi Xiu away.
• Qing Zhixun used Anvile’s secret method to help Xi Xiu, then raised a protective barrier before falling unconscious with her.
• Qing Zhixun awoke with Xi Xiu in a lake, and she revealed she had recognized him as Li Qinzhi.
• Qing Zhixun admitted he had loved Xi Xiu but had held back because of his incomplete body and fear that she only wanted to repay his grandfather’s kindness.

After escaping the explosion, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun recovered on an unfamiliar world while trying to determine how to return to the Alliance. They discovered they were beyond Alliance territory, beneath a starless sky with an unknown source of light.

• Xi Xiu told Qing Zhixun that gratitude and marriage were separate, then checked on Li Zhengfeng and the injured Ebony.
• Xi Xiu recalled tearing open a spatial rift with the explosion's energy and her, Qing Zhixun, and Ebony's Mental Power, while Qing Zhixun tended to her injuries.
• Qing Zhixun searched for Alliance signals and matching terrain but found no useful information or Star Net coverage.
• Xi Xiu woke, noticed the starless night sky, and asked Qing Zhixun whether they had arrived outside the Alliance.

While recovering in a forest beside a lake, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun found no way to contact the Alliance and planned to leave once they were healthy. On the seventh night, Xi Xiu sensed a visitor and came face-to-face with a human-shaped figure made of Light Spots.

• Xi Xiu fell asleep while Qing Zhixun watched over her inside their protective barrier, and after they both slept, Light Spots gathered into a human shape and observed them.
• The Light Spots discussed the pair, noting Xi Xiu's unusual scent of time and space, and decided to speak with them after they recovered and to repair the hole they had fallen through.
• Xi Xiu sensed that something had visited them, but Qing Zhixun urged her to rest; their attempts to contact the Alliance continued to produce only static.
• Xi Xiu proposed camping in the forest until they recovered, then using their emergency pods to search for a way back if they still could not contact the Alliance.
• After five days, Xi Xiu's body had recovered, and on the seventh night she sensed a lifeform approaching, opened her eyes, and saw a human-shaped figure made of Light Spots.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun encountered powerful Light Spots that spoke Anvile and realized they might be in the legendary Divine Realm. After more than two months stranded beside a lake, Xi Xiu had recovered, and the pair planned to explore the forest for food.

• The Light Spots passed through Qing Zhixun's protective barrier, spoke with Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun, then vanished before the two could question them further.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun searched for the Light Spots over the following nights, but found no trace of them and no record of them in their information.
• Xi Xiu connected the Light Spots and their use of Anvile to the Divine Realm, a forbidden place described by the Consciousness Babies.
• Qing Zhixun tried his communicator, but the signal remained blocked, and Xi Xiu said the Consciousness Babies had not told her how to reopen the passage.
• After camping beside the lake for over two months, Xi Xiu recovered, and she and Qing Zhixun set out to explore the forest and find fresh food.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun explored a lively forest, where Ebony began stirring and Sixi’s comments about human young embarrassed Xi Xiu. They discovered a lake and caught fish-shaped creatures for dinner, while unseen energy beings grew excited about the idea of new life.

• Xi Xiu noticed that the forest’s unfamiliar plants had Mental Power and that Ebony began stretching as they explored.
• Sixi pointed out the forest’s saplings, then asked Xi Xiu about human young, leaving Xi Xiu flustered and Qing Zhixun amused.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun found a lake covered in huge black-and-white flowers and discussed the energy bodies said to inhabit the forest.
• The energy beings overheard Sixi’s remarks about human young and excitedly wondered how new life was born and whether they could help raise it.
• Xi Xiu caught several fish-shaped aquatic creatures, checked them for toxins, and agreed with Qing Zhixun to eat them for dinner.