Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan freed Zalnik and the white-haired woman and hired them to fight under his command. Meanwhile, men in Jiao Mountain uncovered a hidden passage as Ren Xiaotian and Lu Ke sensed the collapse and chose to head south.

• Chen Chuan went to Yuan An Company and ordered the ritual restraints on Zalnik and the white-haired woman removed.
• Zalnik and the white-haired woman pledged to fight for Chen Chuan, who told them to obey his commands and arranged food and time for them to recover.
• He Fen watched Jiao Mountain as officials prepared to expand the domain field network into the area.
• A middle-aged man overseeing forced laborers discovered a passage beneath Jiao Mountain and ordered his men to continue digging toward the Hidden Treasure.
• Ren Xiaotian and Lu Ke felt the tremor, concluded that a cave had collapsed, and headed south instead of investigating to the west.

Shangguan forced the villagers of Jiao Mountain to open the Hidden Treasure, and the ritual began as Ren Xiaotian and Lu Ke detected it. Ren Xiaotian evaded Shangguan’s ambush, while He Fen sent word to the rear that an Esoteric Sect Ritual was underway.

• Shangguan worked through the night, enslaving villagers with incense and mental power to excavate the final corner of the Hidden Treasure, where he arranged the ritual poles.
• At Mao Time, Shangguan’s teams activated their devices, and light began seeping from the stone walls as the Hidden Treasure opened.
• Ren Xiaotian and Lu Ke buried the final ceramic pillar, then detected the ritual’s activation with the silver sphere and set out to alert the rear.
• Shangguan sensed that someone was spying and sent men to watch the mountain-road exits; they shot two decoys Ren Xiaotian had sent ahead.
• Ren Xiaotian and Lu Ke hid and decided to take another route off Jiao Mountain, while He Fen recognized Ren Xiaotian’s Gold Notes on the dead decoys and ordered a telegram reporting the ritual.

The Handling Bureau and its allies captured the Old Imperial Household personnel inside Jiao Mountain’s Hidden Treasure and took control of a rift leading to the Eastern Green Plains. Chen Chuan learned that a large army might cross through and began gathering forces at Jiao Mountain.

• The Old Imperial Household leader entered the Hidden Treasure with his party, while Chen Chuan ordered Cheng Shang’s team to eliminate them and secure the rift.
• Cheng Shang, He Fen, the Lan Shengu siblings, and their companions entered the Hidden Treasure, where Cheng Shang noticed villagers affected by mental powers.
• After four hours, Cheng Shang reported that his team had captured the Old Imperial Household party and found the rift; its prisoners revealed that an army was waiting in the Eastern Green Plains to invade the Three Mountains Area.
• Chen Chuan ordered Lan Shengu to maintain the rift, sent a message to Central City, and traveled toward Jiao Mountain as Xu Chan and Mister Zhuan also set out.
• Chen Chuan met He Fen at Jiao Mountain, confirmed the local Domain Field relay was connected, and learned that Hu Kan was coming to assist.

Chen Chuan gathered Fighters and planned to strike the Old Imperial Household’s army through a rift in the Hidden Treasure. While his team prepared to open the rift, they uncovered the lost banner of the First Punitive Army and decided to carry it into battle.

• Chen Chuan briefed Xu Chan, Mister Zhuan, Masked Mister, Hu Kan, and the others on the enemy army led by Su Kuo, and ordered them to attack through the rift.
• The group reached the Hidden Treasure, where Lan Shengu explained that the damaged key lock meant opening the rift would take about a day.
• Mister Zhuan dispersed the mist blocking their way, revealing thousands of skeletons and weapons from the Old Imperial Household.
• Cheng Shang recognized a recovered banner as belonging to the First Punitive Army, whose fighters had helped overthrow the Old Imperial Household.
• Chen Chuan decided to take the banner into battle, and Hu Kan hoisted it onto his shoulder.

Lan Shengu stabilized the Rift, and Chen Chuan forced it open wide enough for the group to enter the Old Imperial Household’s territory. They arrived amid its army, where Chen Chuan led the others toward its command banner and crushed a demon ghost that attacked him.

• After Lan Shengu dismantled and rearranged the rituals, he told Chen Chuan that widening the Rift safely would take seven or eight hours, so Chen Chuan ordered him to open it immediately.
• When the Rift stopped at about three meters wide, Chen Chuan used enormous phantom hands to tear it open more than thirty meters across.
• Chen Chuan crossed the Rift, and the other five Fighters followed him into a vast military camp on the Eastern Green Plains.
• Su Kuo and Zhao Zhenye sensed the arrival as the Old Imperial Household’s soldiers mobilized, and Hu Kan unfurled a banner bearing the words “Aid All Under Heaven, Punish the Tyrannical Court.”
• The army fired cannons at Chen Chuan and his companions, but their Domain Field stopped the shells as they advanced toward the central command banner.
• After Mask warned of an attacker, Chen Chuan seized a descending figure with a phantom hand and crushed it, and the others recognized the mangled corpse as a demon ghost.

Chen Chuan and his companions battered their way through the Old Imperial Household’s forces, then Chen Chuan defeated Zhao Zhenye in a direct clash. Zhao Zhenye withdrew to address his unstable power, leaving General Su Kuo to prepare to face Chen Chuan himself.

• Chen Chuan’s group crushed a demon-ghost, routed a Cataphract Cavalry charge, and destroyed artillery and Combat Airships while bullets failed to reach them.
• Chen Chuan’s approach caused the Old Imperial Household soldiers to collapse, and Zhao Zhenye appeared in the sky to confront him.
• Mister Zhuan and Masked Mister discussed helping Chen Chuan hold off Zhao Zhenye and Su Kuo, but chose to trust Chen Chuan’s confidence.
• Zhao Zhenye’s punch collided with Chen Chuan’s, and Chen Chuan blasted him several kilometers away with a stronger counterattack.
• Zhao Zhenye told Su Kuo he could not fight alongside him and departed to deal with his unstable power.
• Su Kuo identified Chen Chuan as the man who had defeated Zhao Zhenye and declared that he would face him personally.

Chen Chuan refused Su Kuo’s proposal to settle the armies’ conflict with a duel and faced him in battle as both forces watched. After stopping Su Kuo’s first mounted hammer strike with Supple Force, Chen Chuan drew the Snow Monarch Blade and counterattacked.

• Su Kuo rode Crimson Smoked Dragon into the camp and learned that Chen Chuan had defeated Zhao Zhenye with one punch.
• Su Kuo identified Chen Chuan as a Longevity Observation Realm expert and proposed that they fight alone to spare their troops.
• Chen Chuan refused to make the battle a personal contest, and he and Su Kuo released their Spiritual Light Flames as the armies watched.
• Su Kuo charged Chen Chuan on Crimson Smoked Dragon and struck with his Coiled Phoenix Wing Hammer.
• Chen Chuan halted Su Kuo’s hammer with a punch of Supple Force, then drew the Snow Monarch Blade and slashed at him.

Zhao Zhenye sought help at the Zen Temple for the unstable forces and Purple Qi left in his body after fighting Chen Chuan, then accepted guidance to Great Vow Temple. Meanwhile, Chen Chuan battled Su Kuo on the Eastern Green Plains and, after enduring Su Kuo’s hammer strike, raised a hand and formed a ball of light.

• Zhao Zhenye discovered that the Purple Qi left by Chen Chuan seemed to track him and that the conflicting forces within him had become unstable.
• Zhao Zhenye asked the Chan Practitioner for help, learned the temple could not dispel the superior Xuan Sect method, and was advised to seek Great Vow Temple.
• The Chan Practitioner temporarily suppressed Zhao Zhenye’s inner forces and guided him through Karmic Crossing Guiding Venerable; Zhao Zhenye agreed to go and left a letter for his student.
• Su Kuo charged Chen Chuan on Crimson Smoked Dragon, but Chen Chuan split the horse’s scales with a saber strike as Su Kuo attacked him with a hammer.
• Su Kuo and his mount survived Chen Chuan’s gigantic palm strike and leaped back into the sky, while Chen Chuan stood unharmed.
• Chen Chuan chose not to fuse with his Second Self and raised his hand toward Su Kuo, forming a ball of light.

Chen Chuan overwhelmed Su Kuo and the Crimson Smoked Dragon with his strength, speed, and Spiritual Impacts. He ended their charge by slashing through more than half the horse’s head, leaving it toppled on the ground.

• Su Kuo dodged Chen Chuan’s repeated Spiritual Impacts, then charged with the Crimson Smoked Dragon and struck Chen Chuan from above with his hammer.
• Chen Chuan blocked Su Kuo’s attack, knocked the hammer aside, and pursued him, forcing him to retreat and use an Exotic Power to land lightly.
• Chen Chuan used his force field and the Great Azure Void Style to slow Su Kuo and stop the Crimson Smoked Dragon’s hooves, then blocked Su Kuo’s hammer with one hand.
• Su Kuo used his Exotic Power to evade three rapid Spiritual Impacts, but lost an arm and suffered severe burns alongside the Crimson Smoked Dragon.
• Su Kuo charged Chen Chuan with his hammer, but Chen Chuan moved past him and slashed the Crimson Smoked Dragon’s neck, cutting through more than half its head and bringing it down.

Chen Chuan killed Crimson Smoked Dragon and overwhelmed Su Kuo in their duel. After Su Kuo’s last counterattack failed, Chen Chuan plunged his saber into the general’s neck, while Zalnik and his companion attacked the Embroidered Uniform Envoy and Gai Shuhe.

• Chen Chuan threw Su Kuo aside, then killed Crimson Smoked Dragon when the horse rose and attacked him.
• Zalnik and his companion disrupted Su Kuo’s attempt to return to his mount, and Chen Chuan pressed his attack until Su Kuo retreated into an Esoteric Ritual.
• Chen Chuan destroyed the Esoteric Ritual, baited Su Kuo into unleashing his spiritual power, and attacked during the resulting lull.
• Zalnik and his companion charged the Embroidered Uniform Envoy and Gai Shuhe as Chen Chuan resumed his assault on Su Kuo.
• A strange insect burst from Su Kuo’s equipment pouch and briefly interrupted Chen Chuan, but Chen Chuan evaded Su Kuo’s hammer attacks and stabbed him in the neck.

Su Kuo transformed into the immense Heavenly Must-Have Strength Demon, but Chen Chuan summoned his own spiritual aspect and overwhelmed him in battle. Chen Chuan destroyed one of Su Kuo’s heads, leaving the fight still underway.

• Su Kuo’s life-threatening crisis triggered his Variant Appearance, and he transformed into the towering Heavenly Must-Have Strength Demon.
• Chen Chuan merged with his Second Self and manifested a nearly thirty-meter spiritual aspect, prompting Gai Shuhe and the Embroidered Uniform Envoy to retreat.
• Su Kuo charged Chen Chuan, but Chen Chuan’s blade-and-jian techniques drove him backward and cut off one of his arms.
• Su Kuo’s arm regrew, but Chen Chuan hooked aside his spear and smashed one of his heads, scattering blood across the battlefield.

Chen Chuan’s Spirit Manifestation and Su Kuo fought across the battlefield, with Chen Chuan using concentrated spiritual fire and Spiritual Impact to break through Su Kuo’s defenses. The fight ended with Chen Chuan cutting off Su Kuo’s second head, while Su Kuo’s tendrils still thrashed before the horrified soldiers.

• Su Kuo retreated into an Esoteric Ritual, but Chen Chuan destroyed its node and struck Su Kuo’s knee with a concentrated burst of spiritual fire.
• Su Kuo ensnared Chen Chuan’s Spirit Manifestation with his rapidly growing dragon whiskers and began recovering from his injuries.
• Chen Chuan fired several Spiritual Light Orbs into Su Kuo’s body, then broke free and hurled the Long Jian into his chest.
• Su Kuo tried to drain energy from Chen Chuan’s Spirit Manifestation, but the effect only made Chen Chuan’s second self insubstantial.
• Chen Chuan stabbed through Su Kuo’s foot and cut off his right head, which crashed through tents and crushed soldiers.

Chen Chuan defeated and killed Su Kuo, then learned Zhao Zhenye had fled to a distant place, likely to resolve problems with his power. As the Old Imperial Household’s army collapsed, Xu Chan and Hu Kan pursued the Embroidered Uniform Envoy.

• Chen Chuan’s spirit phase overwhelmed Su Kuo, broke his weapons, pierced his chest, and burned away his Spiritual Fire.
• Chen Chuan smashed Su Kuo into fragments, then promised to deliver Su Kuo’s keepsake to the Su Clan of Longyou Road before destroying what remained of him.
• Mister Zhuan asked about Zhao Zhenye, and Chen Chuan sensed that Zhao had fled somewhere distant while dealing with problems in his power.
• Mister Zhuan left to help eliminate the remaining enemies, while Chen Chuan said Zhao was unlikely to reappear before resolving his problems.
• Xu Chan and Hu Kan pursued the fleeing Embroidered Uniform Envoy, who killed nearby soldiers after Hu Kan insulted her lord.

Xu Chan and Hu Kan trapped and killed the Embroidered Uniform Envoy after she tried to escape and then attack Xu Chan. They survived the fight and headed back to see whether they could help elsewhere.

• Xu Chan used Spiritual Impact to disrupt the Embroidered Uniform Envoy's escape, and Hu Kan threw a hammer to block her path.
• The Embroidered Uniform Envoy transformed into her Star-Striking Envoy form and charged at Xu Chan, who let her pierce his chest so he could bind her with Mutated Tissue.
• Hu Kan returned and smashed the trapped Embroidered Uniform Envoy with his hammer, then blasted the remains with Spiritual Impact to ensure she was dead.
• Xu Chan swallowed a pill and began healing while expelling the Spiritual Fire from his body, and Hu Kan warned him to clear away any lingering contamination.
• Hu Kan retrieved his hammer, and he and Xu Chan set off to check whether the other enemy had been defeated.

Gai Shuhe fled the battlefield but was caught after Zalnik and the white-haired woman pursued him, while Chen Chuan oversaw the cleanup at the Wintergreen Plain Rift and reviewed the battle. Lan Shengu then warned Chen Chuan that something was wrong inside the temple behind the Rift.

• Gai Shuhe rode a specially cultivated horse toward a military post while Zalnik and the white-haired woman continued tracking him.
• Zalnik hurled the white-haired woman past Gai Shuhe, and she attacked him as he tried to escape through the military post.
• Zalnik and the white-haired woman shattered Gai Shuhe’s false body, but Mister Zhuan revealed he had caught a bird carrying about seventy percent of Gai Shuhe’s power.
• Chen Chuan watched Great Shun’s forces clean up at the Rift and considered how he might improve his tactics for future battles.
• Lan Shengu approached Chen Chuan and warned him that something was wrong inside the temple behind the Rift.

Chen Chuan and Lan Shengu discovered that the Hidden Treasure’s offerings and god blood were helping an ancient Upper God return, but Chen Chuan insisted on dismantling the ritual so Fu Mu could merge the Rift. After the group reunited, Chen Chuan purged corruption from Hu Kan and Xu Chan and learned that Gai Shuhe had carried a statue from the temple.

• Lan Shengu explained that the Hidden Treasure contained offerings and invocation text, and suspected the Old Imperial Household had helped an ancient god return in exchange for the Rift.
• Lan Shengu warned that spreading god blood would hasten the Upper God’s return, but Chen Chuan insisted the ritual must be dismantled so Fu Mu could merge the Rift and said he would inspect the temple’s other side.
• Mister Zhuan, Zalnik, Hu Kan, and Xu Chan returned, and Chen Chuan used his power to remove black smoke and corruption from Hu Kan and Xu Chan.
• Chen Chuan heard how Mister Zhuan had defeated Gai Shuhe’s host body and considered retaining Zalnik and his companion after their efforts to track Gai Shuhe.
• Mister Zhuan showed Chen Chuan a savage black statue found on Gai Shuhe’s host body, and Lan Shengu recognized it as something that had been kept in the temple.

After returning to the Hidden Treasure, Chen Chuan reunited with Ren Xiaotian and Lu Ke, praised the local officials, and entered the temple’s sealed passage to investigate the statue. He found evidence of the Old Imperial Household’s past actions and retrieved a box from the statue’s severed neck.

• Chen Chuan examined the statuette and agreed with Lan Shengu that it could stabilize the Rift and communicate with the Old God.
• Chen Chuan and Great Shun’s personnel withdrew from the Convergence Zone and returned through the Rift to the Hidden Treasure.
• Chen Chuan reunited with Ren Xiaotian and Lu Ke, thanked them for their work, and promised to help Lu Ke and reward Ren Xiaotian.
• Chen Chuan praised He Fen and the Yangzhi Handling Bureau for their contributions, then sent the department heads back to work.
• Chen Chuan entered the temple passage, used his power to destroy the blood-filled insects animating its stone reliefs, and reached a cavern containing a bound, damaged statue.
• Chen Chuan found signs of sacrifices and removed a palm-sized box from a carved opening in the statue’s severed neck.

Chen Chuan discovered that a damaged ritual around the Old Sin had opened a growing rift connecting it to the Other Side World, and decided the ritual had to be dismantled. He left Jiao Mountain for Central City to arrange the work and report on the battle.

• Chen Chuan examined the Saint Circulation Coin and learned from Lan Shengu that it represented a pact between the Old Imperial Household and the deity.
• Chen Chuan found that the ritual still restrained the Old Sin, but the expanding rift could replenish its power from the Other Side World.
• Chen Chuan entrusted Lan Shengu with preparing a new protective ritual and promised support from the Central City's Secret Sect Review Bureau.
• He Fen asked Chen Chuan to arrange short-term training for the Yangzhi Handling Bureau, and Chen Chuan agreed.
• Chen Chuan boarded the airship carrying the Phoenix Wing Long Hammer and ordered it to return to Central City.

Chen Chuan and the Safety Decision Team planned how to contain the Old Sin at Jiao Mountain, evacuate its residents, and expand Skyline's connections with other provinces. After weeks of preparations and evacuation, Lan Shengu and Director Lei began dismantling the ritual inside the Hidden Treasure while Chen Chuan stood by to respond.

• Chen Chuan warned the Safety Decision Team that records and discussion of the Old Sin could strengthen his return, and Director Lei recommended a protective ritual and isolating Jiao Mountain's residents.
• The team approved Zhu Xian's plan to resettle the villagers and granted the Inspection Bureau lasting authority to inspect laboratories and trace the distribution of god blood.
• The Safety Decision Team approved connecting Shannan Province and Longyou Road to Skyline, recognizing the value of closer provincial cooperation.
• Chen Chuan returned to Jiao Mountain, where personnel moved supplies and evacuated most residents to temporary resettlement sites over more than twenty days.
• Lan Shengu and Director Lei entered the Hidden Treasure to dismantle its Esoteric Ritual, while Chen Chuan waited outside with Zalnik and another person.

Director Lei and Lan Shengu dismantled the Hidden Treasure’s ancient ritual while Chen Chuan held back the Old Sin, then the Secret Sect Review Bureau activated a replacement seal. The headless statue was restrained, and Chen Chuan ordered the temple sealed and the team withdrawn.

• Director Lei and Lan Shengu received Chen Chuan’s approval to begin dismantling the ritual nodes after completing their preparations.
• Director Lei, Lan Shengu, and the Bureau members simultaneously disrupted the ritual, causing the rift to flicker as Chen Chuan entered the Hidden Treasure.
• Chen Chuan restrained the headless statue, crushed the small statue, and prevented the Old Sin from breaking free as its attempt to draw power hastened the rift’s collapse.
• When the signal flare failed to reach the mountain’s foot, Director Lei’s runners used bells to alert the Bureau members there, who activated the replacement sealing ritual.
• The new ritual forced the statue still and tightened its chains, after which Director Lei and Lan Shengu confirmed its success.
• Chen Chuan inspected the sealed site, ordered the temple closed, and arranged for everyone except the guards to withdraw in batches.