Chapter Summaries

The Exploration team escaped the Wandering Souls after Deputy Captain Bai erased them with Black Nether Heaven and a powerful thunder array devastated their territory. Two days later, Luo Yan and Deputy Captain Bai prepared to reach the canyon where Michael and the giants had gone, uncertain whether Pulle's ritual could weaken Michael.

• Deputy Captain Bai used Black Nether Heaven to remove the Wandering Souls pursuing the team without harming their allies, and Luo Yan praised her.
• The Transcendents fought off further Wandering Souls as the Exploration team crossed the old town and escaped into the wasteland.
• Luo Yan saw a thunderstorm destroy Wandering Souls and flatten the wasteland, while the remaining Wandering Souls fled and then gathered in an unseen direction.
• Doctor Liu returned with Luo Yan to find most of the stone tree and the miniature Kunlun Palace reduced to rubble, so he left with his research team.
• Two days later, Luo Yan and Deputy Captain Bai discussed reaching the canyon where Michael and the giants had descended and wondered whether Pulle's ritual would weaken Michael.
• Li Yuqing called Luo Yan and Deputy Captain Bai back to camp for dinner.

Michael remained trapped in a canyon by a giant snake and Nether Souls while the Formlessness Heavenly Fire continued to threaten his divine flame. He hoped humans tracking him would break the stalemate, but when the snake struck, he fought to protect the clues to the divine mountain and Kunlun Palace.

• Michael struggled to recover while the snake and Nether Souls harassed him, and he contained the heavenly fire before it could reach his divine flame.
• Michael expected the humans tracking him to reach the canyon and create an opportunity to escape.
• Michael dodged the snake and fought his way through a corridor crowded with Nether Souls.
• Michael weakened his containment of the heavenly fire while fighting, and the snake slammed him into a palace.
• Michael recalled destroying the palace's murals and writing so humans would not find the route to the divine mountain or Kunlun Palace.

Luo Yan's convoy explored the canyon in Guixu, where ancient carvings revealed a conflict between Huo Dou and Feng Snake. As night fell near a walled palace, the ground behind the convoy sank and a gigantic pale human face emerged.

• Luo Yan and Doctor Liu examined the sun and moon statues at the canyon entrance, then led the convoy inside.
• The convoy passed ancient ruins and murals depicting Huo Dou fighting Feng Snake, and Doctor Liu interpreted a record about Feng Snake hunting Huo Dou for its light-swallowing power.
• The convoy discovered a walled ancient palace surrounded by scattered bones that stopped at the ruins.
• Night fell, and the canyon floor behind the convoy trembled and opened into a massive pit as a huge pale human face emerged.

Luo Yan and the convoy were attacked by Human-faced Insects when the canyon floor turned to sand, but Vermilion Bird and Tian Xiong Squad fought them off and carried the vehicles to safety. The group rested overnight, and the next morning Luo Yan and Doctor Liu approached the weathered palace ruins, wondering what Michael had left inside.

• Luo Yan discovered that the canyon floor had turned to sand as a Human-faced Insect charged the convoy.
• Luo Yan used Vermilion Bird and Longli to kill the first Human-faced Insect, then Tian Xiong Squad fought off seven or eight more as one swallowed an escort vehicle and its soldiers.
• Luo Yan had the group leave the vehicles and walk to the palace ruins, then ordered everyone to rest until morning.
• After the sky brightened, Luo Yan approached the palace ruins and saw that their outer walls were badly weathered and cracking.
• Doctor Liu told Luo Yan that Michael had visited the ruins before, but worried that Michael might have taken or destroyed anything important inside.

The Exploration team entered the palace ruins, where Luo Yan discovered Feng Snake had passed through the damaged buildings and entered the palace. As Li Meng and Pulle went ahead to investigate, Luo Yan sensed two traces of Sword Intent in a nearby pavilion.

• Luo Yan ordered the Exploration team to prepare to enter the ruins, and the teams and researchers set out at nine in the morning.
• Zhang Tianyi opened the palace gate, and the Exploration team entered in formation with the researchers, soldiers, and vehicles behind them.
• Bai? pointed out collapsed buildings and a hole in the palace wall, and Doctor Liu lamented the damage.
• Luo Yan used his Golden Eyes of Enlightenment to see Feng Snake’s phantom moving through the ruins and entering the palace, but he could not see inside it.
• Li Meng and Pulle led several mechs toward the palace while Luo Yan deployed Hei Wu and sent the others to guard the ruins.
• Luo Yan sensed two traces of Sword Intent inside a pavilion.

Luo Yan’s team entered the palace and learned from its murals that the gods and Ancient People came from Kunlun Palace. They discovered that someone had recently destroyed another mural, and Luo Yan suspected Michael had erased clues to Kunlun Palace; the team was left considering how to find it without those clues.

• After the Tian Xiong Squad lost contact, Luo Yan’s team waited until Dong Huang emerged from the palace and reported that it was safe to enter.
• Luo Yan led the Exploration team into the palace, where Doctor Liu examined its murals and carvings.
• Doctor Liu found a mural describing how gods and the Ancient People fought Human-faced Insectoids and built the palace to seal the survivors underground.
• Doctor Liu concluded that the gods and Ancient People had come from Kunlun Palace, and Bai? connected this account to earlier records from Xing City.
• Doctor Liu found that another mural had been recently destroyed, and Luo Yan and Pulle suspected Michael had removed clues to Kunlun Palace.

Luo Yan and Li Meng decided to capture Michael and force him to reveal clues about Kunlun Palace. Their plan was interrupted when Michael led a Feng Snake into the great hall, where both sides prepared to fight and Michael transformed using the holy spear Longinus.

• Luo Yan and Li Meng agreed to find Michael and extract the clues about Kunlun Palace from him.
• Luo Yan sensed something approaching and ordered Doctor Liu to retreat as a wall collapsed and Michael fled into the great hall, pursued by a Feng Snake.
• Luo Yan sent Bai? and the Tian Xiong Squad to stop the Feng Snake while Gou Chen and Li Meng moved against Michael.
• Pule opened a box of ritual materials and began drawing the Desecration Ritual on the floor.
• Michael drove the holy spear Longinus into Morton's body, absorbed the blood, and transformed into a Golden Giant with a Golden Cross behind him.

Luo Yan and Li Meng fought the injured Michael with Zhu Rong and Gou Chen, but Michael’s power while accommodating Longinus remained overwhelming. As Michael launched another attack, Gou Chen and Zhu Rong were still facing a dangerous battle.

• Michael revealed his Energy Body and attacked Gou Chen and Zhu Rong with a tide of Holy Aura, but Gou Chen split it with lightning.
• Gou Chen and Zhu Rong attacked Michael together, forcing him to defend and retreat as Luo Yan realized he was injured.
• Li Meng wanted to face Michael alone, but Luo Yan refused because they needed to question him about clues to Kunlun Palace.
• Michael recognized Zhu Rong and recalled that it had slain the Virtues, while his own strength was weakened by Formlessness Heavenly Fire and the cost of accommodating Longinus.
• Michael’s golden sword beam cleaved through Gou Chen’s lightning and continued toward the two machines.

Li Meng and Luo Yan considered how to hold Michael back until the Divine Mechanisms could activate Holy Descent, but Li Meng refused to cooperate. In the main hall, the Tian Xiong Squad struggled to contain Feng Snake, and Bai? sent the Headless General and Lan Xiao to attack it.

• Li Meng knew his Divine Mechanism could not activate Holy Descent until it had fought long enough, while Luo Yan planned to delay Michael until Gou Chen and Zhu Rong were ready.
• Luo Yan realized Li Meng would not join forces with him and quietly devised another strategy.
• Feng Snake tried to retreat from the Tian Xiong Squad, whose members struggled against it under Michael's bright divine light.
• Bai? removed her eyepatch and summoned the partially liberated Headless General and Lan Xiao.
• Lan Xiao slammed Feng Snake's head into the ground, but Feng Snake struck Lan Xiao away with its tail.
• The Headless General's Flaming Greatsword narrowly missed Feng Snake and split the palace floor with blazing cracks.

Feng Snake used Wandering Souls to darken part of the palace and summon more spirits, but the Tian Xiong Squad overwhelmed it with coordinated attacks. After Dong Huang killed Feng Snake, Bai? turned toward Luo Yan's Mang, where the Golden Giant's clash with 'Zhurong' and 'Gou Chen' continued.

• Feng Snake used a Wandering Soul to isolate the light and summon spirits, while Dong Huang and the squad destroyed them with shadow swords and other attacks.
• Bai? unleashed the Headless General's power, and Lan Xiao pinned Feng Snake down with white-bone arms and ghostly-blue fire.
• The Dragon Fighting General possessed the slain Blazing Rock Dragon and blasted Feng Snake with an Iron Fire Cannon, leaving it near death.
• Feng Snake sacrificed a Wandering Soul to regain some vitality, but Dong Huang cut through its shadow and crushed its head, killing it.
• After the darkness lifted, Bai? looked toward Luo Yan's Mang as the Golden Giant's rust-streaked golden sword ring forced 'Zhurong' and 'Gou Chen' apart.

Luo Yan pursued Michael after the Desecration Ritual weakened the angel, but Gou Chen attacked Michael as Zhurong moved in to finish him. Michael deflected Gou Chen’s sword light, which then tore through the ruins and hurtled toward Zhurong.

• Luo Yan used Zhurong’s Chang Li to block Michael’s sword light, and Michael escaped through the hall’s door.
• Pule completed the Desecration Ritual, summoning grotesque hands and a black arm that seized him before Hephaestus drove it away.
• A giant blood-red arm reached from the clouds for Michael, who cut it apart but was drenched by its falling blood and severely weakened.
• Luo Yan recognized the ritual’s effect and sent Zhurong toward Michael, but Gou Chen launched a thunderous sword attack at him.
• Michael knocked Gou Chen’s sword light aside, and it tore through the ruins before hurtling toward Zhurong.

Luo Yan wounded Michael with Fire Yang True Lord’s flying-sword art, forcing him to flee through the Moon Gate. Michael emerged in the Guixu Management Area, abandoned the Holy Spear as he escaped, and Wang Meng ordered the entrance sealed and the old man intercepted.

• Luo Yan summoned Fire Yang True Lord, whose flying sword pierced Michael as he fled through the Moon Gate and ignited flames inside him.
• Michael emerged from a silver archway at the Guixu Management Area, where his Golden Giant form vanished and he collapsed as a silver-haired old man.
• Michael saw the Holy Spear nearby but sensed a powerful pursuer approaching, so he abandoned it and fled toward the Guixu exit.
• Wang Meng appeared beside the Holy Spear, picked it up, and ordered the Guixu entrance closed while soldiers searched for the silver-haired old man.

After Michael escaped the Guixu, Luo Yan stripped Li Meng of his command for jeopardizing the mission, but Mei Ying stopped them from fighting. Luo Yan then investigated a tower pavilion and discovered two stone swords holding powerful sword intents.

• Luo Yan confronted Li Meng for letting Michael escape and endangering him with an immortal art, then temporarily took command of the Tian Xiong Squad.
• Li Meng tried to reach Gou Chen to pursue Michael, but Luo Yan blocked him and the two prepared to fight.
• Mei Ying stood between them, urged Li Meng to stop acting impulsively, and persuaded him to leave for the vehicle instead.
• Pulle reported that Michael had escaped the Guixu and that Captain Wang Meng had recovered the Holy Lance Longinus.
• Luo Yan entered a nearby tower pavilion and found two stone swords on the second floor, each set with a jade stone that emitted sword intent.

Luo Yan used Divine Treasure to identify the Sun Essence Stone and Moon Essence Stone, then tried to sense their sword intents. The two intents dragged him into a battlefield in a world of consciousness, where two mysterious sword wielders repeatedly attacked him and demanded that he understand something.

• Luo Yan learned that the Sun Essence Stone and Moon Essence Stone each contained a divine wisp of sword intent, then summoned Fire Yang True Lord to protect him as he sensed them.
• The Solar and Lunar Sword Intents entered Luo Yan's sea of consciousness and transported him to a battlefield littered with Heavenly Ghost and colossal beast corpses.
• Two armored figures wielding swords like the stone swords attacked Luo Yan, who realized he had taken on his True Form.
• The figures combined their sword techniques, badly wounded Luo Yan, and asked whether he understood before waiting for him to rise.
• Luo Yan recovered and stood up, but the two figures attacked again and knocked him down.

After Luo Yan returned safely with two strands of ancient sword intent, he discussed their effects with the Heavenly Fire Squad while Li Meng vowed to find his own Dao and defeat him. At Qingxiu Base, disguised infiltrators killed the guards on duty, leaving the base vulnerable.

• Luo Yan told the Heavenly Fire Squad that two strands of sword intent had entered his body and improved his sword attainments, though not his cultivation or power.
• Bai Qixue expressed relief that Luo Yan had returned, and he gently squeezed her hand.
• Mei Ying warned Li Meng not to disobey orders again, but Li Meng vowed to kill Michael and find his own Dao without losing to Luo Yan or Bai Qixue.
• Several guards at Qingxiu Base complained about the damp southern weather while playing cards on night duty.
• A disguised infiltrator returned to the guards, killed three of them with a dagger, and changed into the goateed guard's appearance as other infiltrators emerged from the alley.

On the way back to Jinge City, Luo Yan learned that Kun had awakened stronger and larger, with two new Exotic Arts, but had not evolved into a Nightmare Giant Beast. Kun then sent him a message that it was hungry, while every giant beast in the Vortex Demonic Domain trembled in fear.

• On the plane, Dong Huang told a ghost story about a Taoist priest who tried to retrieve the soul of a drowned boy named Li Youcai, but the others were not frightened.
• Bai Shaotang recalled Dong Huang's failed attempt to scare a senior female student, while Luo Yan looked out at the journey back to Jinge City.
• Luo Yan reviewed the expedition's gains: the Holy Spear Longinus, his Sun and Moon Sword Intent, and newly explored routes through the Ruins.
• Luo Yan sensed that Kun had awakened twice its former size, grown much stronger, and gained the Soul Burning Technique and Tidal Wave, though it remained an Overlord Giant Beast.
• Luo Yan wondered whether a Vermillion Fruit was needed for an Overlord to become a Nightmare Giant Beast and decided to ask Qing Lian after returning.
• Kun told Luo Yan it was hungry, and every giant beast in the Vortex Demonic Domain trembled in fear.

After waking from its long sleep, Kun set out to devour the injured Six-headed Jiaolong, another supreme ruler. Kun overwhelmed the Six-headed Jiaolong with its golden-edged Water Slaying Sword, leaving the battle poised for a decisive blow.

• Kun awoke ravenously hungry, but its master punished it through the Life Talisman and suppressed its hunger-fire.
• Kun flew to the Six-headed Jiaolong's Forbidden Land to take revenge and eat its flesh.
• Kun slaughtered the giant beasts that rushed to meet it with its Water Slaying Sword.
• Kun struck the Six-headed Jiaolong and drove it back, forcing it to summon its beast soul and defend itself with netherfire.
• Kun's golden-edged Water Slaying Sword scattered the netherfire, and its hundreds of Water Tendrils merged into a huge sword aimed at the Six-headed Jiaolong.

Kun defeated and devoured the Six-headed Jiaolong, while Luo Yan watched through the Life Talisman and reflected on Kun’s increased strength. After returning to Jinge City, Luo Yan reported on the Ruins operation and learned that the Strategic Affairs Department was preparing to clear Forbidden Land No. 5, the Dilong Stone Plains.

• Kun used its Exotic Art, Tidal Wave, to crush the Six-headed Jiaolong against the seabed, then cut off its remaining heads and devoured it.
• Luo Yan watched the battle through the Life Talisman and judged that Kun had surpassed its Past Life strength, even without using the Soul Burning Technique.
• Bai ? noticed Luo Yan’s silence aboard the airplane, and Luo Yan said he was hungry before they went to the dining room together.
• Several days later, Luo Yan returned to Jinge City and reported to Bai Shaotang on the Ruins operation, handing over the Holy Spear, Longinus.
• Bai Shaotang told Luo Yan that Li Meng had been punished but would remain in service, though he would no longer serve as a captain.
• Bai Shaotang showed Luo Yan a map of Forbidden Land No. 5, the Dilong Stone Plains, which the Strategic Affairs Department was preparing to clear.

Luo Yan and Bai? volunteered at Sunshine Welfare Institute, where Hu Jun arrived with gifts for the children. After Luo Yan challenged his true motives, Hu Jun admitted he wanted to gain a connection with him and left, promising to be a good person.

• Luo Yan and Bai? aired the children's quilts at Sunshine Welfare Institute while discussing their next trip to the Dilong Stone Plains.
• Luo Yan and Bai? found Hu Jun at the institute, where he had brought gifts and praised Luo Yan to Zhou Lijuan and the children.
• Luo Yan confronted Hu Jun and used killing Qi to make him admit that he wanted to establish a connection for future convenience.
• Luo Yan offered to pay for the gifts, but Hu Jun insisted they were sincerely for the children and left.
• Luo Yan called after Hu Jun and told him to be a good person, and Hu Jun agreed.

After Hu Jun left the welfare home, he rejected his aide’s violent plans and decided to hold a charity event. Luo Yan learned that Qingxiu Base and Guan City Base had gone silent, and after his attempts to contact several organizations failed, he prepared to go to the southern border himself.

• Hu Jun threatened his aide for proposing to harm the welfare home’s children and old woman, then decided to hold a charity event on Tianlang Street.
• Luo Yan returned to Dragon Rider Base with Bai? and read messages reporting that Qingxiu Base, Guan City Base, and several people connected to them had gone silent.
• Luo Yan learned that Monk Zhixin’s party had been stopped on the road to Guan City and that reinforcements had been dispatched toward the southern border.
• Luo Yan called Feiyu to arrange a plane to Langya City and asked Zheng Liangcai to investigate the situation.
• Luo Yan failed to reach the Nine Phoenixes, The Unreturning, or Blood River and realized the crisis in the south was urgent.