Chapter Summaries

Hao Ren investigated strange rifts around the Spirit Realm Bell Tower in Korperus and learned that they carried signs of artificial encryption. Suspecting the Creation Goddess had created them, he sent Bai Huo and the Data Terminal to inspect the other rifts.

• Hao Ren examined a pale-purple rift with an Elf Sword and found that part of the blade passed through folded space inside it.
• Bai Huo explained that the rifts could shift when observed, emit trace radiation, and change size, and that dozens had appeared around the Spirit Realm Bell Tower.
• The Data Terminal detected complex encryption in the rift and concluded that it had not formed naturally.
• Hao Ren suspected the Creation Goddess had hidden the rifts until the recent battle activated them.
• Hao Ren released Autonomous Mechanical Units, and Bai Huo organized Demon Hunters to search the known and newly accessible areas for more rifts.

Hao Ren and Bai Huo discussed the unreachable, shifting stars in Corpus Space before the Data Terminal discovered that the spatial rifts around the temples formed a fragmented preservation vault. The vault’s control hub appeared to be at the shattered top of the Spirit Realm Bell Tower, so Hao Ren set out to investigate it.

• Bai Huo explained that the stars at Corpus Space’s edge were unreachable illusions whose constellations changed every few centuries.
• Hao Ren learned that the Spirit Realm Bell Tower held old observations of the stars and said he could search them for clues from another universe.
• The Data Terminal combined scans of the temples’ spatial rifts and found that they formed part of a spherical spatial vault.
• The Data Terminal traced the rifts to a control hub at the shattered top of the Spirit Realm Bell Tower.
• Bai Huo said the tower’s upper levels were unstable and sealed off, and Hao Ren decided they should go investigate.

Hao Ren and his companions searched the ruined top of the Spirit Realm Bell Tower for the hyperspace vault’s control terminal and uncovered evidence that the Creation Goddess had carefully planned the ruins’ arrangement. They found a message addressed to Vivian, who understood it directly and learned that her Origin Blood could open the Sacred Treasury.

• Bai Huo led the group to the tower’s shattered summit, where Lily was caught in an abnormal gravity field and the Data Terminal teleported her free.
• The Data Terminal confirmed that the shifting rifts all pointed toward the tower’s summit, and Hao Ren reasoned that the Creation Goddess had precisely arranged the temples and ruins as part of a hidden vault.
• Lily found a circular floor design matching the Data Terminal’s model of the hyperspace vault, and writing appeared around it.
• Vivian understood the message saying that a creation of the Origin Blood could open the Sacred Treasury, and Hao Ren realized the legacy was meant for her.
• Lily bit Vivian’s arm to make her bleed and follow the message’s instructions.

Hao Ren and the others activated a system left behind by the Creation Goddess using Vivian’s blood, which drew together the scattered spatial rifts and opened a hidden vault near the Spirit Realm Bell Tower. The vault revealed a colossal metal sphere, leaving the group unsure what it was for.

• Lily tried to bite Vivian, who turned into bats and escaped, leaving Lily with a face blackened by lightning.
• Hao Ren consulted the Godslayer Sword, which confirmed that the carved activation pattern belonged to the Creation Goddess.
• Vivian shed blood onto the pattern, and it began glowing after she said, “Open Sesame.”
• The pattern drew the scattered spatial rifts together above the Spirit Realm Bell Tower, forming a huge sphere.
• The assembled sphere opened and revealed a colossal metal device, prompting Hao Ren to ask why Vivian’s mother had given her a ball.

After Vivian opened the Creation Goddess’s vault, Hao Ren and the others investigated a colossal, enigmatic metal sphere that responded neither to Vivian’s blood nor to their searches. Hao Ren finally suspected that a golden disc might fit into one of the sphere’s fixed grooves.

• Vivian’s bloodline opened the vault, revealing a huge sphere that the Data Terminal identified as a relic carrying the Creation Goddess’s divinity.
• Hao Ren led Vivian, Lily, and Bai Huo to inspect the sphere, while Roll stayed behind to watch Doudou.
• Vivian tried to activate the sphere with her blood, but it did not react, and the group found no clues about its purpose.
• The Data Terminal scanned the sphere and suggested it was an incomplete information-processing device or a control hub for a larger system.
• Hao Ren noticed fixed circular grooves along the sphere’s equator and wondered whether the golden disc would fit into one.

Hao Ren and the others discovered that the giant golden sphere was a core component of the Creation Engine, apparently left for Vivian by the Creation Goddess. They loaded it onto the Giant Turtle Rock Platform and left the self-destructing vault, while questions remained about the Godslayer Sword’s role and Vivian’s intended mission.

• The Data Terminal confirmed that the sphere’s indentations perfectly matched the golden discs, leading Hao Ren to identify it as a likely core component of the Creation Engine.
• Vivian wondered why the Creation Goddess had stored the sphere for her, but she could not recall what her mission was supposed to be.
• Bai Huo urged Hao Ren to notify the Elder Council before taking the sphere, and Vivian insisted that the relic belonged to her.
• Hao Ren loaded the sphere into the Giant Turtle Rock Platform after explaining that only specialized facilities could handle it.
• The vault’s runes went inert and its spatial rifts vanished after the sphere was removed, prompting Vivian to suspect the Godslayer Sword had activated the hidden storage vault.

Hao Ren brought the Creation Engine's core component to Raven 12345, who examined it and summoned a helper to investigate further. The helper, Maggie, arrived as a palm-sized girl and was introduced as a Raven God and powerful traverser of the myriad realms.

• Hao Ren told Raven 12345 that Vivian's divine bloodline had activated a hidden Corpus Space vault containing the Creation Engine's core component.
• Raven 12345 created a vast testing ground, and Hao Ren summoned Nolan and brought out the Golden sphere.
• Raven 12345 touched the sphere, stopping its operation, and noted that it had twelve sockets for golden discs.
• Raven 12345 said the sphere's deeper truth was hidden from her and summoned someone to help investigate it.
• Maggie dropped onto Hao Ren's head, and Raven 12345 introduced her as a Raven God and powerful traverser of the myriad realms.

Hao Ren met Maggie, the tiny Raven God, who entered the golden sphere to investigate its core. Raven 12345 proposed that the Creation Goddess had left the engine and Vivian in the Outer World so Vivian could finish building it, but an opposing force had placed obstacles in her way; they waited for Maggie’s findings.

• Raven 12345 introduced Maggie to Hao Ren, and Maggie greeted him as the explosive genius, Explosion Ren.
• Raven 12345 explained that Maggie was a true goddess and an expert at infiltrating places and gathering information.
• Maggie called the golden sphere a huge egg, then flew directly through its metal shell to investigate its core.
• Raven 12345 suggested the Creation Goddess had intended Vivian to complete the Creation Engine and that an opposing force had hindered Vivian with forgetfulness, declining power, and poverty.
• Hao Ren proposed building the engine, but Raven 12345 told him to wait until Maggie reported what she found.

Hao Ren and Vivian learned that the Creation Engine was designed to reconstruct the world barrier and separate the Dream Plane from the Outer World. Raven 12345 told Hao Ren to finish building the incomplete engine in the Dream Plane so they could determine what the plan would do.

• Maggie disabled the golden sphere's safety shielding, causing it to disassemble into a vast holographic array of components.
• Raven 12345 received data from Maggie and deduced that the Creation Engine could reconstruct the world barrier.
• Hao Ren and Vivian realized that rebuilding the barrier would separate the Dream Plane from the Outer World and close the Wall of Reality.
• Raven 12345 explained that separating the worlds could prevent their mutual infiltration, but warned that the unfinished engine might have hidden dangers.
• Raven 12345 ordered Hao Ren to go to the Dream Plane and complete the Creation Engine.

Raven 12345 explained that Hao Ren could use the incomplete Creation Engine core and the Creation Goddess’s blueprints to begin restoring the Dream Plane. Hao Ren accepted the task and prepared to consult the Crystal Core Research Station’s guardians before construction began.

• Raven 12345 said the Creation Engine could help address the Dream Plane’s problems, though it would not solve everything.
• Raven 12345 showed Hao Ren and Vivian a model of the engine framework, explaining that the core’s blueprints covered 126,800 components.
• Raven 12345 advised Hao Ren to complete the core module and then seek the finished portion of the engine in the Dark Domain.
• Raven 12345 gave Hao Ren a crystal containing the extracted blueprint data and warned him that the nine other Golden disks would have to be found separately.
• Hao Ren left Raven 12345’s heaven, resolved to build the engine, and decided to speak with Muru and the other guardians of the Crystal Core Research Station.

Hao Ren brought the God-slaying Sword to the three Guardian Giants and explained its strange Echo Wall-like mind, hoping they could identify its origins. Muru connected the mystery to the ancient Starry Sky People.

• Hao Ren learned that the search for Yggdrasil was steadily narrowing its movements, though the World Tree had not yet stopped.
• Hao Ren traveled with Vivian and Lily to Tanagrus, where the Zhuom people’s new ecosystem was flourishing under Firstborn Zhuom’s care.
• Hao Ren showed Muru, Lemendusa, and Siv the God-slaying Sword and warned them that it had been only a tool during the God-slaying War.
• The God-slaying Sword introduced itself as Stabber Layman, and Hao Ren explained its unusual mind and connection to the Echo Wall.
• Muru said the Echo reminded him of the ancient Starry Sky People.

Hao Ren and the Guardians discussed whether the Starry Sky People were connected to the whispers and the Echo Wall, but Siv recalled that the Creation Goddess had called them trustworthy. Hao Ren then identified the stranded Mimir and planned a meeting in the Rift Nebula, which he also intended to use as a new gateway between the Dream Plane and the Outer World.

• Muru connected the Starry Sky People's Sound of Darkness to the whispers and the Echo Wall, while Lily suggested they might be responsible for both.
• Siv recalled that the Creation Goddess had described the reclusive Starry Sky People as trustworthy, and Lemendusa urged caution until they found them.
• Hao Ren asked Lemendusa about Mimir and showed the Guardians a projection of the surviving head of the Guardian who had arrived on Earth.
• Hao Ren explained his plan to open a safe meeting area in the Rift Nebula and establish a larger gateway after the Wall of Reality stabilized in about a month.
• Hao Ren gave Muru a communicator to contact Mimir, then realized he had forgotten to provide one large enough for the Guardian Giant.

Hao Ren reunited Muru, Lemendusa, and Siv with the amnesiac Mimir, then showed them the Creation Engine core. With Lemendusa's engineering expertise, they agreed to build its missing components at Sulun's Gate.

• Hao Ren connected Mimir with Muru, Lemendusa, and Siv, who welcomed him as their surviving kin despite his lost memories.
• Siv told Mimir that Zhom was another surviving guardian and that they knew of only four guardians in their universe.
• Hao Ren showed the Guardian Giants the partially completed Creation Engine core, and Lemendusa confirmed it matched the engine's design.
• Muru urged Hao Ren to finish the Creation Engine, and Lemendusa offered to help manufacture its components using his experience at Sulun's Gate.
• Hao Ren chose the ruined Sulun's Gate region for the factory, where the engine's components could be forged inside dead stars.

Hao Ren converted the rebel flagship Patian into an engineering ship and began building factories and dead-star forges at Sulun's Gate to manufacture the Creation Engine core. As construction began on Sulun, the Data Terminal reported that the Hunters had found Yggdrasil.

• The Data Terminal reported that Patian had passed its systems checks, and Hao Ren deployed its construction machines alongside equipment from Giant Turtle Rock Platform.
• Hao Ren explained that he had refitted Patian into an armed construction ship to build the factories and dead-star forges needed for the Creation Engine.
• Construction units began establishing workshops and forges around Sulun's Gate, with the first dead-star forge expected to be operational within a week.
• Hao Ren landed on Planet Sulun with Lemendusa and the other Guardian Giants and decided to build a heavy fortress among the ruins.
• Lemendusa chose to stay behind to oversee the forges and rebuild Mother's palace, while Muru and Siv would care for Tanagrus.
• The Data Terminal told Hao Ren that Dragon Queen Galazhor had reported the Hunters found Yggdrasil's whereabouts.

Hao Ren learned that the exhausted Firstborn Yggdrasil had been cornered near a dying star and prepared to investigate it with Galadriel. Before leaving, he returned home to gather helpers, where Nangong May asked to join so she could work off the dish soap she had swallowed.

• The Data Terminal told Hao Ren that Yggdrasil had stopped beside a dying star, where Chadnell inspectors Anthony and Galadriel had sealed off the area without approaching it.
• Hao Ren returned to Earth to gather helpers, leaving the Patian under its rebuilt onboard mainframe while the Data Terminal reluctantly came with him.
• Hao Ren found Nangong May burping bubbles after she had drunk four liters of dish soap, while Nangong Sanba tried to detoxify her with a flute and his Water Purification Technique.
• May asked Hao Ren to bring her on the Yggdrasil mission as a healer, then admitted she wanted to move around because the dish soap had made her feel hot and restless.
• Hao Ren learned that Izax was repairing the tricycle he used to haul Elizabeth around while collecting old appliances.

Hao Ren brought his team and Mimir’s head to the Chadnell region to meet Galadriel and contact Yggdrasil. As the ship arrived, Hao Ren reviewed Chadnell’s fragmented history and the circumstances surrounding its darkened home star.

• Nangong May and Nangong Sanba joined Hao Ren’s expedition, and Izax agreed to come along with Elizabeth.
• Hao Ren’s group set off in Giant Turtle Rock Platform with Mimir’s head to rendezvous with Galadriel.
• Lily warned that bringing Mimir’s head to Yggdrasil might provoke the tense World Tree, but Mimir said he could explain matters through consciousness before Yggdrasil noticed anything unusual.
• Hao Ren studied Chadnell, a region of hundreds of civilizations descended from an ancient empire that had fractured over thousands of years.
• Hao Ren reviewed how the local inspector had evacuated the Forgotten Descendants before Chadnell Star went dark.
• Giant Turtle Rock Platform arrived at its destination.

Hao Ren and his companions arrived on a forested planet in Chadnell to meet Inspector Anthony, who lived in a secluded mage tower near the Elf Empire of Grandia. After Galadriel brought them to the tower, a young man fled from inside, shouting that he could no longer endure his teacher’s demands.

• Hao Ren left the Giant Turtle Rock Platform in orbit and teleported with his companions to a mountaintop on the planet where Galadriel and Anthony were waiting.
• Galadriel arrived in her Golden Dragon form and carried the group toward Grandia, explaining that Anthony lived near the Elf Royal City as a feared ancient human wizard.
• Galadriel landed beside Anthony’s mage tower beneath Greenwood Cliff, where noisy magical constructs and imps gathered around the visitors.
• A young man rushed out of the tower and shouted that he could not take it anymore and that Anthony should find someone else.

Hao Ren and his companions met Anthony, whose eccentric attempts to recruit apprentices involved posing as a mysterious master and burying them in exercises and dangerous practical training. Anthony then invited them into his tower to discuss Yggdrasil, whose growth he had temporarily contained.

• A young apprentice fled Anthony’s mage tower, and Anthony confronted him before Galadriel intervened and secured his release.
• Anthony explained that he was seriously seeking an apprentice, then proposed hiding inside an artifact bracelet to lure one; Lily mocked the idea and Galadriel breathed Dragon’s Breath in his face.
• Hao Ren realized Anthony’s quirk was repeatedly staging encounters as a power-granting old master, while Galadriel explained his demanding approach to training apprentices.
• Anthony invited Hao Ren and the others into his tower to discuss Yggdrasil, and Galadriel clarified that the Firstborn was an intelligent being rather than a monster.

Hao Ren visited Anthony’s Wizard Tower and learned how its observatory connected to a stellar barrier concealing Yggdrasil. Anthony opened the barrier, revealing that the tower’s upper half was built in space near the Chadnell Star.

• Anthony showed Hao Ren and his friends his practical-looking Wizard Tower and explained how its mana network powered the structure and linked it to other planets.
• Anthony said Yggdrasil appeared stable and described how an apprentice had witnessed its descent from a space hut.
• Anthony introduced his student Elu, who startled at Hao Ren’s name because of his reputation for explosions, then prepared the stellar barrier entrance.
• Elu activated the observatory’s controller, causing the obsidian dome to vanish and reveal outer space above them.
• Anthony explained that the tower’s upper half was located near the Chadnell Star, while its lower half stood on the planet’s surface.

Hao Ren and Anthony activated the Hibern Crystal in Anthony’s mage tower to contact Yggdrasil, which was feeding on the dying Chadnell Star. The signal reached the fleeing Firstborn, and Mimir called out to calm it.

• Anthony showed Hao Ren his network of mage towers and warned him to stay mature and avoid the mistakes he had made as a young Inspector.
• Anthony pointed out Yggdrasil’s partly open domain, where the Firstborn was absorbing energy from the dying Chadnell Star.
• Hao Ren and the Data Terminal arranged to use Anthony’s Hibern Crystal as an antenna to connect with Yggdrasil.
• Anthony activated the crystal, and its signal made nearby spatial rifts flicker as Yggdrasil sensed the intrusion and tried to flee.
• Mimir’s voice crossed the barrier of space and told Yggdrasil to calm down.