Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan traced the dangerous fog to a corrupted being growing stronger beside a rift on the Seranocha Continent. He attacked it to protect the airship fleet, leaving the being pinned as platinum flames erupted from his hand.

• As fog disrupted the airships’ communications and conjured illusions, Head Xie ordered the fleet to hold its course using the flagship’s active consciousness entity.
• Chen Chuan sensed the fog’s source and flew through it with the Snow Monarch Blade, while Gui Zihan also set out and Bian Zhijie stayed behind with Wang Tongshan to protect the fleet.
• The fog consumed a First People settlement and spread toward the New Light Sect’s ritual site, where a corrupted nature spirit drew power from a rift.
• Chen Chuan’s attack pierced the giant being’s chest, revealing him to the New Light Sect followers as he hovered before it.
• When the being tried to disperse into the fog, Chen Chuan pinned it with enormous wavering hands and summoned platinum flames.

Chen Chuan destroyed the entity that emerged from a ritual-opened Rift and killed the New Light Sect followers who had witnessed the aftermath. As dawn broke, he arranged for the airship fleet to document the First People’s deaths and reached the Linax Federation, also called Ying Land, with the arriving fleet.

• Gui Zihan pursued Chen Chuan’s trail through the mist and witnessed the aftermath of Chen Chuan’s battle at the coast.
• Chen Chuan killed the fleeing New Light Sect followers with a Conical Object and recorded the Rift as evidence for the International Investigation Group.
• Chen Chuan found more than a thousand First People dead from the ritual and asked Gui Zihan to notify the airship formation and request the Esoteric Ritual Group.
• Gui Zihan returned toward the fleet as dawn appeared, while Chen Chuan waited at the site for the airships to arrive.
• Head Xie brought the airship formation to the coast, where its passengers saw the sunrise and reached the Linax Federation, known in ancient texts as Ying Land.

After the fleet was attacked near Seranocha Continent Central City, Chen Chuan and Head Xie suspected someone in the delegation had lured the entity toward them and ordered an internal investigation. The culprit was detained, while the delegation waited for the Federation escort to arrive.

• The Esoteric Ritual Group investigated the attack site, and Chen Chuan reported the incident to the International Investigation Group.
• Bian Zhijie and Wang Tongshan examined the crater and rift, while Cassian and Olin photographed the scene.
• Chen Chuan told Head Xie that the attacks were likely connected and that someone in the delegation had attracted the entity with an object or other lure.
• Chen Chuan arranged an internal inspection and kept the three accompanying Fighters aboard his vessel while the delegation searched for suspicious activity.
• Investigators found that a Propaganda Department staff member had thrown an ordinary object into the sea as part of a supposed blessing ritual, and detained him.
• The delegation waited until two in the afternoon, when escort airships from Seranocha Continent Central City arrived.

Chen Chuan arrived near Seranocha Continent Central City and reviewed the dangers facing the First People at Kavatua, where the Federation planned a major assault. He weighed whether to help them against the risk that the Origin Company had lured him into the Federation to attack him.

• Chen Chuan learned that Great Shun’s companies had built a powerful presence in Seranocha Continent Central City, where biological pollution and lax laboratory regulation were widespread.
• Prabhakar realized that the West Coast would now regard him as a man of the East Coast, leaving him unable to return to a peaceful life at Small Awakening Temple.
• Chen Chuan’s airship docked outside the city, and he sent Gao Ming to handle his check-in while he reviewed his assignments.
• Chen Chuan read that the West Bank Party had assembled cults, companies, mercenaries, and powerful Fighters to seize Kavatua, the First People’s Ancestral Land.
• Chen Chuan considered aiding the First People but noted that they might not trust Great Shun’s motives and that the Origin Company could be waiting to attack him if he traveled beyond the city.

Chen Chuan weighed Origin Company's power and planned to gather resources in the Federation before advancing his cultivation. While studying the Compendium, he found a debate over how to perfect the Aspect of Man, then left the airship after Gao Ming reported that registration was complete.

• Chen Chuan assessed Origin Company's political influence and military strength, concluding that he needed to become stronger before confronting its interests.
• He decided to seek cultivation resources from the Celestial Mystery Sect and Sacred Valley while waiting for the Visiting Delegation's work to proceed.
• Chen Chuan continued cultivating without resources and believed his recent Longevity Observation breakthrough was still driving his strength upward.
• He read the Compendium and found an argument that breaking through the body and spirit separately could not fully harmonize the Aspect of Man.
• Chen Chuan reached the account of an Aspect of the Gods cultivator proposing an external solution, but his mental power could not yet reveal the rest.
• Gao Ming told Chen Chuan that registration was complete, and Chen Chuan took his suitcase and Snow Monarch Blade down from the airship.

Chen Chuan settled into the hotel while the Federation’s intelligence team closely monitored him, and Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie met Ge Jixiong, a businessman seeking the delegation’s help. The pair went to ask Chen Chuan whether they should accept Ge Jixiong’s invitation to visit his company.

• The West Coast Confidential Operations Division assigned its team to keep detailed watch on Chen Chuan and the Visiting Delegation.
• Chen Chuan killed the biological surveillance bugs in his hotel room, contacted Gao Ming, and accepted the restrictions on going out while Head Xie arranged the necessary procedures.
• Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie watched a performance with Gui Zihan, then met Ge Jixiong, who explained that his company was under pressure after losing political protection.
• Ge Jixiong offered the two men gifts and invited them to visit his company, hoping their presence would deter his business rival.
• Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie agreed to consult Chen Chuan before accepting, then went to his room.

Chen Chuan agreed that Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie could visit Ge Jixiong’s company, while cautioning them to stay on the planned route. After Tao Huiya shared intelligence and departed for a risky meeting, the two men toured the company as an unseen observer tracked them and ordered an action team to separate them.

• Wang Tongshan identified the boxes’ contents as military-grade Heart Cocoon implants, and Chen Chuan allowed him and Bian Zhijie to attend the appointment with Ge Jixiong under strict instructions.
• Tao Huiya secretly met Chen Chuan, reported a new lead from a long-missing comrade, and said she would meet him personally; Chen Chuan also requested intelligence about Kavatua and the Celestial Mystery Sect.
• Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie traveled in their own vehicle to Ge Jixiong’s fortified company headquarters, where Ge showed them its rituals, armed dolls, and a genuine Sun Tree.
• An unseen man watched the three through Resonators from a hidden facility and ordered his action team to find a way to separate Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie.

Chen Chuan uncovered a Federal agent’s plot to capture a Great Shun fighter and killed him with Purity Spirit Light. He returned to his hotel and contacted the Wan Song Federation Branch to ask about Hahkokshuth.

• Ge Jixiong showed Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie a crimson specimen that had been altered into a domain field signal amplifier, then summoned Bian Zhijie away.
• Chen Chuan confronted the sunglasses-wearing agent in the air-raid shelter, and the agent admitted he had used Ge Jixiong and the resonators to set up an attack.
• The agent revealed that he had accepted a Hahkokshuth commission to capture a fighter from Great Shun, though he did not know who was behind it.
• The agent tried to flee after Chen Chuan said he would kill him, but Chen Chuan froze him and destroyed him with Purity Spirit Light.
• Chen Chuan returned to his hotel and contacted the Wan Song Federation Branch to inquire about Hahkokshuth.

Chen Chuan investigated a bounty platform and reviewed intelligence about Kavatua and the Celestial Mystery Sect while waiting in the Federation. The International Investigation Group arrived, and Scarlson told Chen Chuan they intended to investigate the case thoroughly.

• Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie suspected that Ge Jixiong and his Resonators had been involved in trouble, and wondered whether Chen Chuan had dealt with it.
• Chen Chuan used Zhao Ming's observations to locate a concealed operative and learned that the operative had taken a private job through the Federation branch of a vast bounty platform.
• Chen Chuan reviewed intelligence about Kavatua, Akhtava, and the Celestial Mystery Sect, deciding to visit the sect after handling the Visiting Delegation's main matters.
• Scarlson and the International Investigation Group arrived in Central City, received the delegation's evidence, and inspected the site amid crowds searching for supposed meteorite gold.
• Scarlson visited Chen Chuan and said the group intended to investigate the case thoroughly.

Chen Chuan advised Scarlson to seek pressure on the Federation before risking a direct confrontation with international intervention, then studied a cultivation method for finding balance between body and spirit. He successfully formed seven mutated seeds and sent them out into the city, leaving their eventual hosts and effects unknown.

• Scarlson vowed to investigate the Federation and consider invoking the International Covenant, but Chen Chuan urged him to try a joint statement with the Da Shun Delegation first.
• After Scarlson left, Chen Chuan sent Gao Ming into Central City to meet Head Xie and watched hostile protesters besiege the hotel.
• Chen Chuan read a Jade Tablet describing how to cultivate Profound Cave Observation by separating a living seed of spirit and Mutated Tissue.
• Chen Chuan easily condensed seven seeds, aided by the purple luminous qi formed after he ignited the Purple Lamp.
• Chen Chuan sent the seven seeds out through the hotel windows, where they vanished into the wind and currents.

Chen Chuan prepared cultivation seeds for the Heavenly Layers and planned to travel to Kavatua after his supplies arrived. In Central City, Nathaniel responded to Black Catfish’s disappearance by requesting Iron Crow, while displaced First People arrived seeking help from Great Shun and watched Grey Falcon Elder enter the Foreign Affairs Hall.

• Chen Chuan considered the risks of scattering cultivation seeds and planned to seek more resources in Kavatua within three months.
• A subordinate told Nathaniel that Black Catfish had vanished and that the Hahkokshuth platform listed bounties on four Great Shun Fighters.
• Nathaniel ordered increased surveillance of the delegation and asked headquarters to deploy Iron Crow.
• Awan and other displaced First People traveled to Central City to seek help from the Great Shun Delegation.
• Grey Falcon Elder ignored the First People who recognized him and entered the Foreign Affairs Hall after an officer welcomed him.

Grey Falcon Elder sought weapons, Implant Bodies, medicines, and other supplies from Great Shun, offering Kavatua’s support and the future Great Priest as leverage. Later, smaller First People tribes offered a sacred artifact in exchange for aid, only to learn that Kavatua had already mortgaged their sacred land without their consent.

• Grey Falcon Elder asked Head Xie for extensive military equipment, medicines, and new technology, and Head Xie questioned what Kavatua would offer in return.
• Grey Falcon Elder argued that Kavatua’s resistance benefited Great Shun, while Head Xie warned that Kavatua needed to take a more active role to remain useful.
• Grey Falcon Elder offered to send Tanoka Quizka’s young child, the likely future Great Priest, to Great Shun, and Head Xie postponed his response.
• Head Xie arranged a separate meeting with a small group of First People, including Tahu and the child Awan, and explained that aid required an exchange.
• The group assembled three pieces of obsidian into a spearhead and offered it as the key to Star Spirit's Throat, their sacred land.
• Head Xie revealed that Kavatua had already mortgaged Star Spirit's Throat to Great Shun, prompting the group to insist that the sacred land belonged to the Isutar people, not the Zait people.

Head Xie proposed helping the Isutar tribes establish a settlement near Star Spirit's Throat, and Chen Chuan agreed to investigate the site. Chen Chuan then waited in seclusion for Great Shun's cultivation drugs, which arrived as the planned expedition approached.

• Head Xie accepted the First People's spearhead and offered aid, then suggested they unite their tribes around Star Spirit's Throat.
• The One-Eyed Elder agreed the tribes would trade sacred-land treasures for assistance, and Head Xie said he might help recover a map of the ancient paths from Kavatua.
• Head Xie asked Chen Chuan to personally assess Star Spirit's Throat and help establish a settlement there, and Chen Chuan agreed.
• Chen Chuan stayed at the inn cultivating for ten days while Federation watchers monitored him.
• On the eleventh day, Great Shun's synthetic drugs arrived, and Chen Chuan confirmed he had all three medicines needed to begin cultivation before the planned journey.

Chen Chuan traveled by train toward the Star Spirit's Throat with Gui Zihan, expecting the Federation to test them along the way. Meanwhile, one of Chen Chuan's purple seeds revived an abandoned Puppet on the Alantava Continent.

• Chen Chuan received Head Xie's ancient road map and prepared to follow its route as part of the ritual.
• Chen Chuan departed for Atahoka with Gui Zihan and the Visiting Delegation's security teams, traveling by chartered train because foreign Fighters could not fly independently.
• Gui Zihan warned Chen Chuan that a bird had followed the train for two days, but the two passed through the long tunnel without an attack.
• Chen Chuan sensed that a fifth seed had disappeared, leaving only two of his scattered seeds remaining.
• A purple seed entered an abandoned Origin Company Puppet in a deserted Alantava town, repaired its damaged body, and revived it.

A newly awakened combat puppet scavenged an abandoned town, killed a wasteland bandit convoy, and headed toward a mining town to obtain more nutrients. Meanwhile, Chen Chuan arrived in Atahoka Continent with his companions to travel to Star Spirit's Throat, as the Action Department prepared to intercept them.

• The combat puppet awakened in a ruined house, learned that its energy would last only three days without nutrients, and searched the abandoned town for supplies.
• The combat puppet found a map and a station outside town, then killed a long-spined insect with a hand cane and followed the highway.
• The combat puppet destroyed a wasteland bandit convoy, consumed its Nutrient Paste, collected weapons and a marked map, and drove toward a mining town.
• Chen Chuan and Gui Zihan arrived in Atahoka Continent, where Gao Ming and the First People group were waiting to accompany them to Star Spirit's Throat.
• Chen Chuan chose to rest at a hotel before departing the next day, while the Confidential Operations Division monitored the group and prepared to seize the target before the East Bank's Strategic Affairs Department could act.

Gao ordered Mr. Xiang to eliminate a target who had left the Visiting Delegation, while Jonas Calloway coordinated a West Coast operation around the Star Spirit's Throat. Chen Chuan's party reached the Silver Gauze Mountain Range after stopping to let the First People worship an ancestral pillar.

• Gao told Mr. Xiang to eliminate the target as soon as possible, and Mr. Xiang agreed to report back despite warning that his boss might suspect something.
• Jonas Calloway gathered intelligence and reinforcements for the operation, then ordered Iron Crow to track the party without acting yet.
• Chen Chuan led his party west toward the Silver Gauze Mountain Range, traveling by horse after the road ended.
• Awan spoke of wanting Great Shun to help reclaim the First People's land, but the One-Eyed Elder and Tahu urged him to rely on their own strength.
• The party stopped when the One-Eyed Elder found an ancestral sacred pillar, and Chen Chuan let the First People make offerings there.
• Chen Chuan's party continued to the foot of the Silver Gauze Mountain Range and camped for the night.

Chen Chuan led the First People through the Silver Gauze Mountain Range toward Star Spirit's Throat, clearing a blocked canyon with a powerful Spiritual Impact. When the group reached the cave entrance, he sent Gui Zihan and the others inside while he stayed behind to handle an approaching threat.

• Gao Ming told Chen Chuan that their document handover had gone suspiciously smoothly, and Chen Chuan said someone wanted them to find the item so it could be taken afterward.
• Chen Chuan cultivated with the government's synthetic drugs, then led the cavalry into the Silver Gauze Mountain Range as the First People worshiped and restored Sacrificial Pillars along the way.
• Chen Chuan cleared the canyon's blocked entrance with a blast that awed the First People, and the One-Eyed Elder identified him as a Divine Guard.
• A Blood-colored Hunter Cavalry arrived at the canyon, and its leader asked White Stone Master to face the Mystic Hall Fighter ahead.
• The One-Eyed Elder led Chen Chuan's group to the entrance of Star Spirit's Throat, where Chen Chuan told Gui Zihan to take the others inside while he dealt with something behind them.

Chen Chuan stayed behind to face White Stone, a Heart Thought School Fighter seeking a powerful opponent to advance his skills. Their fight began with Chen Chuan effortlessly stopping White Stone’s Spiritual Appearance, but White Stone adapted and pressed him with a rapid close-range attack.

• Gui Zihan led the group into the cave, but the First People refused to go farther without Chen Chuan, so everyone rested and watched the entrance.
• Chen Chuan waited above the mountain road as Zhao Ming’s cry alerted him to the approaching cavalry troop.
• White Stone introduced himself as a Heart Thought School Fighter and challenged Chen Chuan, who set aside the Snow Monarch Blade and accepted.
• White Stone summoned his Spiritual Appearance and attacked, but Chen Chuan blocked its enormous punch with one hand while hovering in the air.
• White Stone changed tactics and rushed Chen Chuan with a hand blade, following his curved retreat and preparing a second strike.

Chen Chuan defeated Noah White Stone in seconds, and Purity Spirit Light consumed White Stone’s Mutated Tissue until he died. A masked figure in an External Implant Body discovered the Purity Faction’s power at the scene, but a voice warned him not to enter the cave.

• White Stone attacked Chen Chuan, who smashed him into the ground and overwhelmed his Spiritual Appearance with a series of punches.
• Chen Chuan’s final pure punch shattered the Spiritual Appearance and sent a blast of force through the Hunting Rider Group, killing several riders and frightening the survivors into fleeing.
• Purity Spirit Light spread through White Stone’s body, consuming his Mutated Tissue until his life ended.
• Chen Chuan picked up the Snow Monarch Blade and disappeared into the mist-shrouded cave.
• A masked figure in a rust-colored External Implant Body uncovered White Stone’s desiccated corpse and identified the power that killed him as Purity Spirit Light.
• As the masked figure prepared to enter the cave, an unseen voice warned him not to go in.

Iron Crow met Glutton of the Primitive Sect outside Star Spirit's Throat, and they agreed to wait for another Mystic Hall Fighter before entering. Inside, Chen Chuan's group rested after his victory over White Stone Master, then continued deeper into the cave.

• Glutton introduced himself to Iron Crow and proposed cooperating to overcome Chen Chuan before claiming what lay inside Star Spirit's Throat.
• Chen Chuan told his shaken companions to rest after defeating White Stone Master, and Awan asked whether he was a Divine Guardian.
• Chen Chuan explained that Great Shun protected itself, then told the First People that Kvasak was alive and had visited Ying Land.
• One-Eyed Elder and Fierce Wind Elder asked Chen Chuan to invite Kvasak to help rebuild a gathering place for the Isutal people, and Chen Chuan agreed to pass on their message.
• After resting, Chen Chuan's group resumed its journey, left reconnaissance organisms behind, and entered a winding passage filled with caves.