Chapter Summaries

Wu Di continued forging Su Mu’s weapon, encouraged by the power of karma, while Su Mu secured his workspace and brought him food. After returning home, Su Mu told Nannan that he would celebrate her tenth birthday with her the next day, recalling his promise to take her into the wider world.

• Wu Di felt karma dispel his urge to give up and trusted that the right opportunity to complete the weapon would come.
• Su Mu enclosed Wu Di’s forging area in protective ice walls, left him a one-way water gate, and gave him a Space Ring filled with Nannan’s food.
• Wu Di stored the Space Ring and returned to hammering at the Forging Table after Su Mu left.
• Su Mu returned home and told Nannan that they would go have fun instead of working or patrolling the next day.
• Su Mu reminded Nannan that she would turn ten tomorrow and felt guilty because he had promised to celebrate her birthday in the wider world.

Su Mu decided to make up for Nannan’s lost childhood by taking her out for a day of fun on her tenth birthday. They set off on the Little Killer Whale toward the first stop on Su Mu’s route.

• Nannan said she did not want to celebrate her birthday because she thought she was grown and did not want to burden Su Mu, but Su Mu insisted she was still a child.
• Su Mu reflected that he owed Nannan a happier childhood and resolved that they needed to move somewhere new.
• Su Mu promised to take Nannan out the next day, and she slept peacefully while he walked by the river until dawn.
• Nannan rose early and finished chores, then Su Mu called her to the riverbank and brought out the much stronger Little Killer Whale.
• Su Mu and Nannan climbed onto the Little Killer Whale, and it began following their route as Su Mu told Nannan about the river and his patrols.
• The Little Killer Whale reached the first location on Su Mu’s route.

Su Mu took Nannan to several Floating Islands, showing her Spirit Springs, a forest, and Fang Yuan’s insect-rearing home while explaining whom she could trust. After asking Fang Yuan to protect and escort Nannan to safety if danger ever came, Su Mu led her along a familiar route to meet her second uncle.

• Su Mu took Nannan to a Floating Island, where she explored its plants and soaked in a Spirit Spring while Su Mu placed formation markers.
• Su Mu brought Nannan to a forested Floating Island, where she played on a vine swing and he left another formation marker.
• Su Mu introduced Nannan to Fang Yuan, who showed her rare insects and promised to protect her if she were in danger.
• Su Mu told Fang Yuan to escort Nannan out of the river and find her a safe home if Su Mu encountered danger.
• Su Mu warned Nannan to trust only the relatives and friends he had introduced or told her about.
• Su Mu and Nannan followed a familiar route to another Floating Island so she could meet her second uncle.

Su Mu visited Li Qi Ye on the Floating Island and saw the trusted beast legions Li Qi Ye had gathered for him and Nannan. He asked Li Qi Ye to protect Nannan if Su Mu fell into dire straits, leaving the threat of powerful enemies unresolved.

• Li Qi Ye welcomed Su Mu and Nannan to the Floating Island, where he had settled after reaching his final step.
• Li Qi Ye introduced Nannan to his forces: thirty-six legions of land beasts and hundreds of aquatic beasts, who pledged loyalty to Su Mu and Nannan.
• Su Mu told Li Qi Ye that he might need to escort Nannan to safety if Little Tiger Head brought her to the island.
• Su Mu revealed that powerful enemies threatened him and asked Li Qi Ye to protect Nannan if he fell into dire straits.

Li Qi Ye promised to help Su Mu protect Nannan if a powerful threat appeared, and learned that Su Mu planned to leave for a higher place within a year. Su Mu then took Nannan to the final destination, arriving there after accelerating Little Killer Whale.

• Li Qi Ye told Su Mu he would stay and do everything he could to escort Nannan to safety if danger came.
• Su Mu said he might leave with Nannan within half a year to a year, and offered to take Li Qi Ye along to a higher place.
• Li Qi Ye vowed to fulfill Su Mu's tasks, while Su Mu reassured him that trouble might never come.
• Nannan told Su Mu that Fang Yuan and Li Qi Ye were both good people, and Su Mu said they were people he could trust.
• Su Mu empowered Little Killer Whale with Water Control Mystical Power to speed up their journey toward the final destination.
• Su Mu and Nannan arrived at the last place.

Su Mu and Nannan reached a peaceful prairie at the Long River’s downstream end, where Su Mu gave her a bone chain containing one of his ribs. After Nannan fell asleep and they returned to the river, Su Mu discovered that night had fallen there despite daylight on the prairie, then reached home exhausted at dawn.

• Su Mu and Nannan stepped onto the prairie, where they felt renewed and found a huge solitary tree beneath a clear blue sky.
• Su Mu tried to walk farther and received a system warning confirming that he was still inside the Long River.
• Su Mu gave Nannan a bone chain made with his rib and told her to keep it with her when she traveled alone.
• Nannan fell asleep beneath the tree after saying she wanted to stay there with Su Mu forever.
• Su Mu carried Nannan back to the river and found that night had fallen, then rode Little Killer Whale home and arrived near dawn, exhausted.

Su Mu encountered the severely injured Old Man Zero while searching the Long River and agreed to help him with trouble at home. After traveling deep into unfamiliar waters, Old Man Zero turned on Su Mu with blood-red eyes and warned him to run.

• Su Mu discovered that Coordinate was missing and searched the peaceful Long River alone.
• Su Mu met Old Man Zero, who had aged drastically and appeared gravely injured.
• Old Man Zero admitted that something had happened at home and asked Su Mu for help.
• Su Mu offered Old Man Zero pills, but they did nothing to improve his condition.
• Old Man Zero led Su Mu far into unfamiliar waters, then turned around and shouted for him to run.

Su Mu discovered that the Old Man Zero who had led him into a trap was a long-dead corpse controlled by an enemy, and waited calmly as the water around him shook. In an earlier meeting, the Chaos Figures discussed targeting beings who lived at Su Mu’s residence, believing they had found a way to threaten him.

• Old Man Zero’s final remnant warned Su Mu that the water was part of a Killing Game aimed at him, then his corpse fell toward the water.
• Su Mu recovered Old Man Zero’s body and discovered that its organs and Sea of Consciousness had long since rotted away.
• Su Mu realized someone had controlled Old Man Zero’s corpse to lure him into the trap, put the body away, and waited as the water trembled around him.
• The three Chaos Figures discussed how only three of the nine God Punishment Gates remained after the River Warden destroyed six.
• The first Chaos Figure revealed that he had located Su Mu’s residence and believed its inhabitants could be used to break the deadlock.
• The second and third Chaos Figures doubted that familial affection could threaten Su Mu, while the first insisted that he likely cared deeply.

Three Chaos Figures concluded that the River Warden’s home might be his weakness and decided to launch their long-prepared attack. As time returned to normal, Su Mu waited on the Long River while three stone gates rose around him, each guarded by a powerful figure.

• The first Chaos Figure argued that repeated attempts to find flaws in the River Warden had failed and proposed targeting something important to him outside himself.
• The first Chaos Figure deduced that the River Warden returned home during Time Eternal Night because someone in his household feared it, making his home a possible weakness.
• The three Chaos Figures agreed they had to act, confirmed the rough direction of the River Warden’s residence, and discussed sending forces to hold him back.
• The first Chaos Figure revealed that three candidates had been arranged to delay the River Warden, and the third Chaos Figure recognized them with astonishment.
• Time returned to normal, and Su Mu watched as three enormous stone gates emerged from the Long River around him, each with a figure standing before it.

Su Mu confronted Taiqing Celestial Venerable of Morality, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Master of the Heavens at the stone gate and learned that Taiqing had once been Jiang Yuan and Jiang Qing. Worried about Old Green Ox and Nannan, Su Mu tried to leave, but Yuanshi Tianzun and Master of the Heavens made clear that he could not pass.

• The three Celestial Venerables arrived before Su Mu, and their immense pressure killed the fish beneath the river.
• Taiqing Celestial Venerable of Morality revealed that he had previously met Su Mu as Jiang Yuan and Jiang Qing.
• Su Mu suspected that Azure Bull had been planted beside him and worried that Old Green Ox and Nannan were in danger.
• Taiqing said Jiang Qing had given Su Mu Azure Bull as a friend, and that the old ox had chosen to stay with Su Mu.
• Yuanshi Tianzun blocked Su Mu when he tried to leave, and Master of the Heavens confirmed that their opposing paths meant Su Mu could not pass.

Su Mu confronted the Three Pure Ones over Old Man Zero’s death, then faced their carefully prepared sea of stars battlefield atop the River of Time. The chapter ended with the Three Pure Ones having restricted Su Mu’s access to the River of Time’s power and Su Mu calmly challenging their trap.

• Su Mu asked the Three Pure Ones whether they had killed Old Man Zero, and Master of the Heavens said they had not.
• Su Mu told Master of the Heavens he could leave, but Master of the Heavens refused because they were enemies and asked Su Mu not to pity him.
• Su Mu warned the Three Pure Ones that they were only Chess Pieces and said he would kill them if they blocked his way.
• The Three Pure Ones sealed Su Mu inside a sea of stars battlefield made from a confined corner of the River of Time, using the power of their past, present, and future selves.
• Su Mu confirmed that he remained atop the Long River in an Alternate Space, then asked the Three Pure Ones whether this was how they intended to trap him.

Su Mu effortlessly repelled the Three Pure Ones' attacks in the sea of stars, leaving all three injured. Meanwhile, someone approached home along the Long River as Nannan prepared a birthday feast and waited for her father to return.

• Master of the Heavens attacked Su Mu with the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords, but Su Mu split the scarlet sword rivers apart and shattered half the swords.
• Yuanshi Tianzun and Taiqing attacked together, but Su Mu turned Yuanshi's primordial behemoth into a burning sheet of paper and shattered Taiqing's Taiji Grinding Disc with the Black and White Divine Tree.
• Master of the Heavens launched the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation again, but Su Mu destroyed it with strands of Innate Spiritual Light, leaving all Three Pure Ones defeated and injured.
• A figure walked along the Long River toward home while Nannan prepared an eighteen-dish feast and waited by the door for Daddy to return.

While Su Mu was away, Nannan and the household prepared to defend their home from an unknown figure approaching across the river. As the figure drew near and brought an unnatural cold, Nannan resolved to protect everyone while obeying Willow Ma’s command to stay back.

• Nannan waited at the gate for Su Mu, but the Barrier Beasts and Iron-Eating Beasts sensed that the approaching figure was not him and warned her to retreat.
• Nannan stored the treasure fish and household valuables in Su Mu’s Stone Ring, then had the Five Little Ones move the medicinal garden into it.
• The Iron-Eating Beasts and Barrier Beasts took the front line while Old Green Ox and the Five Little Ones formed a second defense around Nannan.
• Nannan’s Quasi-Immortal Emperor aura awakened, but Willow Ma stopped her from advancing and Nannan remembered Su Mu’s instruction to protect herself first.
• The unknown figure continued toward the house as the surroundings grew colder, leaving Nannan and the household braced for its arrival.

The Chaos Figure broke through the Time Rules and reached Su Mu’s residence on the true shore of the River of Time, the Other Shore of Time. As he studied the ancient creatures guarding the gate, the Barrier Beasts recognized him as their former captor, and the intruder faced the household’s wary attention.

• The Chaos Figure forced his way ashore despite the Time Rules’ suppression and hurried toward Su Mu’s residence before his true body could fail.
• At the gate, the Chaos Figure recognized the Barrier Beasts he had once captured and noted the Iron-Eating Beast, Willow Tree, and Phoebe Wood Tree’s primordial origins.
• The Chaos Figure wondered whether Su Mu possessed the Coordinate that he and his allies had been seeking.
• Nannan, the Iron-Eating Beast, and the Barrier Beasts watched the Gray-robed Man from within the courtyard.
• The Barrier Beasts sensed the Gray-robed Man’s familiar aura and realized he was the powerful lord who had once imprisoned them.

The Gray-robed Man arrived at Su Mu’s home, and Willow Tree recognized that the household could not defeat him. As the others tried to get Nannan to safety, the Gray-robed Man identified her as Su Mu’s weakness and entered the courtyard.

• The Iron-Eating Beasts and Barrier Beasts braced themselves against the Gray-robed Man, while Nannan recognized him from a nightmare.
• Willow Tree urged Nannan to flee, and Old Green Ox and the Five Little Ones prepared to help her escape.
• The Little Fox seized Nannan with her spiritual force and leaped onto Old Green Ox, who ran toward the cellar’s Underground Passage.
• The Gray-robed Man noticed Nannan and concluded that she was Su Mu’s achilles’ heel.
• The Gray-robed Man walked into the courtyard as the Barrier Beasts raised a blood-red barrier with their scepters.

Old Green Ox escaped through the Underground Passage with Nannan while the Barrier Beasts and Su Mu’s followers held off the Gray-robed Man. After he shattered the defenses and devastated the courtyard, he found Nannan gone and questioned the Willow Tree, who refused to reveal where she had gone.

• The Iron-Eating Beast, Willow Tree, and Realm Origin Phoebe formed a Blood-colored Barrier while Old Green Ox carried Nannan into the Underground Passage.
• First Brother Groundhog led the Five Little Ones and more than a thousand followers in defending the barrier against the Gray-robed Man.
• The Gray-robed Man shattered the barrier, grievously wounded the defenders, and killed or incapacitated those who charged him.
• The Gray-robed Man searched the emptied Cave Abode but found no trace of Nannan.
• The Gray-robed Man interrogated the Willow Tree, who refused to tell him where Nannan had gone.

The Gray-robed Man’s plan failed when the Willow Tree, the Barrier Beasts, the Iron-Eating Beast, and the Five Little Ones chose complete annihilation rather than let him use them against their Master. As the Gray-robed Man pursued Nannan along the River of Time, the Realm Origin Phoebe secretly protected two eggs, while the Old Green Ox and the Little Fox continued carrying Nannan toward safety.

• The Willow Tree and the others destroyed their souls and memories to prevent the Gray-robed Man from performing Soul Searching or using them as leverage; the Barrier Beasts, Iron-Eating Beast, and Five Little Ones vanished without entering reincarnation.
• The Gray-robed Man realized his plan had failed and, with the great war already underway and his bargaining chip lost, pursued Nannan along the River of Time.
• After the Gray-robed Man left, the Willow Tree’s final leaf became a pale green firefly, and the Realm Origin Phoebe’s remains revealed a Golden Crow Egg and a red Skylark Egg that it had hidden and protected.
• The Realm Origin Phoebe merged a fragment of memory into the Golden Crow Egg before its life force was gone.
• The Old Green Ox kept running through the dim passageway while the Little Fox sustained it, and Nannan asked the Little Fox to hand her over to save the others.
• The Little Fox refused, telling Nannan that protecting her was necessary for their Master to fight freely in the war deciding the fate of all worlds.

Nannan, the Little Fox, and Old Green Ox escaped through Su Mu’s underground passage and fled along the Long River with the Little Killer Whale, while the Gray-robed Man searched for them. Trapped by the Three Pure Ones, Su Mu sensed trouble at home and prepared to break free.

• The Little Fox reassured Nannan that everyone would survive, then removed her restraints so she could use her spiritual power to restore Old Green Ox.
• Old Green Ox carried Nannan and the Little Fox through the underground passage, where the Little Killer Whale met them and rushed them along That Road.
• The Little Fox and the Little Killer Whale realized that only the three escapees had survived, while the Little Killer Whale followed a prepared route and used false trails to mislead pursuers.
• The Gray-robed Man spread his Divine Sense across the Long River to search for Nannan, but he had never caught her aura.
• The Three Pure Ones exhausted their Trump Cards trying to hold Su Mu, but failed to restrain him for even fifty breaths.
• Su Mu sensed a disturbance from home and began preparing to crush the starry void, alarming the Three Pure Ones.

The Three Pure Ones sacrificed themselves to seal Su Mu in a starry void, but he subdued their Dao Fruit and broke free. He rushed home and arrived to find it seemingly empty, unable to bring himself to go ashore.

• The Three Pure Ones transformed themselves into a Seven-Colored Chaos Dao Fruit, using their faith and cultivation to seal Su Mu inside the starry void.
• Su Mu captured the cracked Dao Fruit, forcibly merged it into his Dantian Space, and shattered the World Barrier while suppressing its power.
• Su Mu escaped into the Long River and raced home, reaching the riverbank in less than one breath.
• Su Mu sensed no aura from his home and stayed on the riverbank, afraid that what he might see would shatter his Dao Heart.

Su Mu returned home to find his household slaughtered, though Nannan and her companions had escaped. He swore to revive the fallen, then sensed a powerful pursuer after Nannan and charged to kill him as the Gray-robed Man learned Su Mu had broken free.

• Su Mu found the Barrier Beasts, the Five Little Ones, the trees, and the other household members dead, while his home and its treasures had been destroyed.
• Su Mu sensed Nannan, Old Green Ox, Little Fox, and the Little Killer Whale fleeing, and confirmed that Nannan had escaped the attack.
• Su Mu gathered the fallen household’s remains into his Dantian Space and vowed to revive them, no matter the cost.
• Su Mu sensed a powerful aura pursuing Nannan and raced across the Long River toward it.
• The Chaos Figure told the Gray-robed Man that Su Mu had killed the three who trapped him in only fifty-five breaths.
• The Gray-robed Man doubted the news, then sensed Su Mu’s overwhelming aura rapidly approaching.