Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan and the Old Imperial Household exchanged blows through their Lost Objects as both sides prepared for battle. Yuan Congye attacked Chen Chuan, but Chen Chuan repelled him and found himself restrained from following up.

• The Old Imperial Household activated a Lost Treasure that interfered with Chen Chuan’s investigation and began erasing Jiang Linghuai and Mu Xiaoren’s memories, so Chen Chuan repeatedly sent them the information he had gathered.
• Chen Chuan warned Hong Ancheng and Zhu Kongqi to guard the rear and told them they could withdraw if the enemy proved too strong, then confirmed his preparations with Wen Mingzhong.
• Chen Chuan entered the External Implant Body and equipped the Snow Monarch Blade as the Old Imperial Household’s illuminated airship fleet appeared in the distance.
• The train cannons fired Mutated Microorganism Species into the airships’ path, weakening the flying dragons and Multi-winged Fish and forcing the fleet to slow.
• Yuan Congye emerged from the mist and charged Chen Chuan, who struck him with the Snow Monarch Blade and sent him flying into the distance.
• Chen Chuan remained unharmed, but realized his blow had caused little damage and an unknown force was holding him in place.

Chen Chuan fought Yuan Congye, Tie Rugan, and Yuan Rong while identifying the enemy’s Lost Object and the Exotic Powers protecting them. After Jiang Linghuai stopped Yuan Congye from interfering, Chen Chuan’s continued attacks awakened Yuan Rong’s Variant Appearance, Kui Kui, which descended on him.

• Chen Chuan concluded that a Lost Object was disrupting his movements, then sent Tie Rugan flying when the guard general attacked him.
• Chen Chuan discovered that Yuan Rong could absorb force and kept striking him, while Yuan Congye returned with the Exotic Power Mountain Stabilizing Form, which resisted repeated attacks of the same kind.
• Chen Chuan knocked Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan away and focused on Yuan Rong as Jiang Linghuai intercepted Yuan Congye.
• Chen Chuan struck Yuan Rong between the brows, awakening his Variant Appearance, Kui Kui, which lunged at him.

Chen Chuan and his allies used coordinated tactics to turn Yuan Rong’s damage-absorbing Kui Kui against him, summoning the anomaly The Diner to devour him. With Yuan Rong eliminated, Chen Chuan prepared to attack Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan.

• Chen Chuan struck Kui Kui with the Snow Monarch Blade and used Purity Spirit Light to keep its damaged body from recovering.
• Mu Xiaoren used his Active Consciousness Entities to hold off Tie Rugan while Jiang Linghuai blocked Yuan Congye.
• Mu Xiaoren invaded Kui Kui’s mind with a Spirit Seizure Technique, leaving it without self-awareness.
• The Diner appeared and swallowed Kui Kui, killing Yuan Rong, whose Jade Tablet cracked aboard the airship.
• Chen Chuan confirmed Yuan Rong was gone, released the Snow Monarch Blade, and aimed dazzling light at Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan.

Chen Chuan used Spiritual Impacts to overwhelm Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan, forcing them to rely on a ritual linked to a mutated species, while the Old Imperial Household’s forces separated the battlefield and warned their allies about the Inner Demon. After checking on his allies and Wen Mingzhong, Chen Chuan saw the scenery around him begin to change as the enemy launched another move.

• Chen Chuan’s Spiritual Impacts curved around Jiang Linghuai and Mu Xiaoren, pursued Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan, and drove them back until they escaped using a ritual that transferred damage to Yue'e Dragon.
• Chen Chuan and the Active Consciousness Entity detected the ritual’s source behind the airship and concluded it was one of the trump cards he had been trying to expose.
• A voice identified as Archon Mizar’s used the Spirit Shifting Swan to separate the Old Imperial Household’s forces into different Field Spaces, then warned them that the Inner Demon could devour anyone whose body was damaged while their intent failed.
• Chen Chuan recalled his Spiritual Fire and confirmed that Mu Xiaoren and Jiang Linghuai were safe, while Mu Xiaoren prepared a contingency plan for the Field Space ability.
• Wen Mingzhong told Chen Chuan that The Diner remained stable but should not appear again soon, and Chen Chuan then noticed the scenery around him changing.

Chen Chuan used the Purity Spirit Light to identify the real Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan, then exploited their field connections to target the hidden force protecting them. As Yuan Zhao blocked his Spiritual Impact, Chen Chuan sent a power-infused prism into the exposed field and saw what was inside.

• Chen Chuan told Jiang Linghuai and Mu Xiaoren to retreat as multiple indistinguishable Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan figures approached.
• Chen Chuan spread the Purity Spirit Light across the area, allowing him to recognize the real Yuan Congye and Tie Rugan.
• Yuan Congye attacked Chen Chuan and was knocked away, activating his Mountain Stabilizing Form Exotic Power, while Tie Rugan's axe clash pinned him in place.
• Chen Chuan struck Tie Rugan repeatedly, detected the hidden force linked to his field, and sent a Spiritual Impact toward it.
• Yuan Congye intercepted the attack, but it split around him; Yuan Zhao blocked it with radiance from his palms.
• Chen Chuan used a Lost Object to empower his prism, which tore into the field and revealed what was inside.

Chen Chuan saw through Mi Zhuzi’s illusion and used a Simulacrum Body to exploit the Yue'e Dragon’s connection to Tie Rugan. After the attack destroyed Tie Rugan, Yuan Zhao, and nearby Old Imperial Household airships, Yuan Congye turned to face Chen Chuan.

• Chen Chuan destroyed the illusory Yue'e Dragon and recognized that Mi Zhuzi had constructed the scene using a Field Space, a Secret Technique, and an Ancient Deity’s aura.
• Mi Zhuzi realized Chen Chuan had found the flaw in his illusion and turned his attention back to eliminating the anomaly.
• Chen Chuan drove Yuan Congye away with a wave of illusory Profound Sky Fire, then created a powerful Simulacrum Body using two Lost Objects.
• The Simulacrum Body struck Tie Rugan, followed the resonance into the Field Space, and shattered it along with the Yue'e Dragon.
• The Simulacrum Body’s attacks caused Tie Rugan, Yuan Zhao, and the Old Imperial Household’s nearby airships to explode, prompting Yuan Congye to turn toward Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan used a Lost Object to bypass Yuan Congye’s defenses and attacked him after the Great Profound Sky Demon God appeared. He restrained the demon god with Purple Qi and a force field, then began pouring Profound Sky Fire onto it to end the fight quickly.

• Chen Chuan learned that Mu Xiaoren could not invade the minds of the two shattered enemies because someone had blocked him.
• Chen Chuan activated the Purity Faction’s Lost Object and charged Yuan Congye, who used the Spirit Shifting Swan’s field to escape and create illusory copies.
• Yuan Congye summoned the Great Profound Sky Demon God and mounted the Flying Wave Flood Dragon, while Chen Chuan struck him with Profound Sky Fire.
• Chen Chuan broke through the demon god’s defenses, struck its head, and seized its shoulders with a phantom force.
• Chen Chuan sent Purple Qi into the demon god to restrain it, then summoned a wheel of Profound Sky Fire and unleashed flames from above.

Chen Chuan defeated Yuan Congye by suppressing him with the Great Azure Void Style, Purple Qi, and Profound Sky Fire. As Yuan Congye’s body disintegrated, a lethal ray from Immortal Shen’s last-ditch technique raced toward Chen Chuan.

• Chen Chuan restrained Yuan Congye, blocked his Exotic Powers, and weakened his regeneration as Profound Sky Fire consumed him.
• Mu Xiaoren sacrificed an Active Consciousness Entity to locate the Old Imperial Household’s hidden forces, then led Jiang Linghuai toward them.
• Immortal Shen continued using the Mirror of Qi Bo to search for Chen Chuan’s weakness even as Mu Xiaoren and Jiang Linghuai attacked his Field Space.
• Immortal Shen unleashed Perish With You, firing a deadly ray toward Chen Chuan before Mu Xiaoren could stop it.
• Yuan Congye’s body shattered and burned away, but Mu Xiaoren warned Chen Chuan as Immortal Shen’s ray reached him.

Chen Chuan survived Immortal Shen’s final mental attack and recognized the Great Profound Sky Demon God’s trace in the departing power. As the Old Imperial Household’s forces reeled from their defeats, Yuan Zhao and Tie Rugan prepared to make a final assault on Chen Chuan.

• Chen Chuan let Immortal Shen’s mental mist dissipate without resisting, then sensed a trace of the Great Profound Sky Demon God separating from the burning mind.
• Mi Zhuzi told Chu Xianyin that the Inner Demon attached to him could not be removed quickly, and Chu Xianyin fled so Mi Zhuzi could conceal him.
• Jiang Linghuai pursued Chu Xianyin while Mu Xiaoren stayed behind to investigate the hidden airspace.
• Yuan Zhao and Tie Rugan learned that Yuan Congye had been killed but chose to fight rather than retreat.
• Tie Rugan manifested the Phoenix Plume Profound General as Yuan Zhao’s String Ape transferred power to him, and the two charged out to attack Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan located and destroyed the Spirit Shifting Swan’s apparent body, then killed Tie Rugan and Yuan Zhao, but the creature reappeared after an ordinary attack. Meanwhile, Chu Xianyin prepared to activate the Imperial Court’s sacrificial ritual using the Lifeless Insect, with himself as its final sacrifice.

• Chen Chuan used Mataiola’s Lost Object to find the Spirit Shifting Swan and tore open the domain concealing it.
• Tie Rugan and Yuan Zhao appeared, but Chen Chuan’s Simulacrum Body killed them while Chen Chuan’s attacks failed to destroy the Spirit Shifting Swan permanently.
• Chen Chuan set the mangled remains of Tie Rugan and Yuan Zhao alight with Profound Sky Fire.
• Chu Xianyin returned to the airship after evading Mu Xiaoren’s tracking and learned that two more Jade Tablets had shattered.
• Chu Xianyin told Mi Zhuzi that he would activate the ritual, then went to the sealed cabin where the Lifeless Insect was kept.

Chu Xianyin sacrificed himself to activate the Old Imperial Household’s ritual, which locked onto Chen Chuan and attacked him with a stripping light. Chen Chuan stood his ground as the ritual destroyed his external manifestation, then summoned another one while preparing to outlast its power.

• Chu Xianyin used the Lifeless Insect to consume his Mutated Tissue and sacrifice himself, activating the ritual against Chen Chuan.
• Wen Mingzhong noticed the anomaly change and warned Mu Xiaoren that a powerful ritual was forming ahead.
• Chen Chuan destroyed the Spirit Shifting Swan’s core with the Profound Sky Fire, dispersing the field and revealing the two airships.
• Mu Xiaoren’s warning reached Chen Chuan, who recognized the ritual’s resonance and chose to face its attack rather than flee.
• The ritual’s white light erased Chen Chuan’s Spiritual Light Flame and destroyed his external manifestation, but he condensed another one using his Purple Qi Mutated Tissue.

Chen Chuan survived Mi Zhuzi’s ritual corruption by repeatedly replacing his Human Aspect, gaining insight into how it might shield him from Exotic Powers. The Old Imperial Household withdrew after the battle, and Chen Chuan returned to the battlefield to collect weapons and armor while planning to study the anomaly himself.

• Chen Chuan endured the ritual’s corruption by replacing his external aspect twenty-one times and realized it might be used to resist outside harm.
• Mi Zhuzi decided to leave rather than strengthen the anomaly, abandoned a Lost Object and letters for Chen Xuanji, and departed the airship.
• Chen Chuan entered the airship, recovered the Lost Object and Mi Zhuzi’s letters, then learned that the Old Imperial Household’s withdrawal amounted to defeat.
• Mu Xiaoren reported that Hong Ancheng and Zhu Kongqi were holding off Yan Poling and Cao Ping, while an entrusted body had been sent to deal with them.
• Wen Mingzhong helped Jiang Linghuai and Mu Xiaoren remove their anomalies, but Chen Chuan refused treatment so he could study his own.
• Chen Chuan returned to the battlefield and gathered the weapons and armor left behind.

After Chen Chuan’s forces won a great victory at Yaolan Pass, Great Shun officials began planning a rapid advance on the Nether Capital. The victory also intensified the Fusion Faction’s efforts to keep Chen Chuan off the Advisory Council as his influence over the Nature Faction grew.

• Ren Xinshan and Deputy Minister Guo waited anxiously for news from Yaolan Pass before joining Qiao Dingguo’s meeting.
• Qiao Dingguo announced that the battle had ended in a great victory and that the invading enemy combatants had been annihilated.
• Qiao Dingguo urged the departments to prepare a final campaign against the Old Imperial Household, and most officials supported advancing quickly toward the Nether Capital.
• The officials agreed that frontline generals, especially Chen Chuan, would need to help determine the precise attack plan.
• Fusion Faction members worried that Chen Chuan’s victory and popularity could sway the Nature Faction to recommend him for the Advisory Council, so they planned to delay the decision.

Sun Yangde briefed Chen Chuan and the Frontline commanders on the Command Center’s plan to attack the Nether Capital, explaining that pressure at the World Ring and elsewhere made a swift campaign necessary. Chen Chuan received a token and a lead to Ming Chengzi for intelligence, while the chapter left him facing a proposal to accept the surrender of Fan Gang and his troops.

• Sun Yangde delivered the Command Center’s plan to Chen Chuan and said reinforcements would come from the east and south despite trouble at the World Ring.
• Chen Chuan agreed that the Old Imperial Household had to be defeated before the Great Collision and requested current intelligence on the Nether Capital.
• Sun Yangde told Chen Chuan that Prince Chunxuan had identified Ming Chengzi, a former Xuan Sect scholar who might provide detailed intelligence, and gave him a Jade Talisman token.
• Chen Chuan explained how the Fu Long Faction’s efforts to influence succession led to its destruction by the Old Imperial Household.
• Sun Yangde raised the higher-ups’ debate over whether to accept Fan Gang’s offer to surrender with his troops.

Chen Chuan rejected surrender negotiations with the Old Imperial Household and organized a campaign to capture the Nether Capital. After securing Command Center approval, his forces seized a nearby fortress cluster as the capital prepared its defenses.

• Chen Chuan told Sun Yangde that the Old Imperial Household should not be allowed to surrender, citing its mutations, infectious Activation Abilities, and ties to the Ancient Deities.
• Chen Chuan studied the Jade Talisman’s map and identified a hidden route into the Nether Capital, then received detailed intelligence from the Covert Department.
• Fan Zhentong arrived as the Supreme Advisory Council’s representative, and Chen Chuan led a meeting to plan the attack and prepare an ambush along the hidden route if the Old Imperial Household retreated.
• Chen Chuan refused to cooperate with descendants of the Chang Dynasty, and the Command Center approved his battle plan.
• Chen Chuan led his troops by airship to a fortress cluster near the Nether Capital, captured it at dawn, and watched the capital’s forces activate their defenses.
• A white-bearded Profound Scholar watched the panicked Nether Capital, nodded toward Chen Chuan and his companions, and vanished.

After the Old Imperial Household struggled to rally support, Chen Chuan met Ming Chengzi at Mount Panquan and received intelligence about the Nether Capital’s secret rituals and defenses. Ming Chengzi offered to watch the northern escape route, while Mu Xiaoren warned that he had ulterior motives.

• The ministers left Anye Palace without news of Emperor Wenguang’s plans as regional garrisons remained unable or unwilling to aid the Nether Capital.
• Chen Chuan met Ming Chengzi at Mount Panquan, where Ming Chengzi presented a scroll detailing the Fu Long Faction’s secret rituals.
• Ming Chengzi explained his hatred of Emperor Wenguang and offered the Cloud-Touching Lotus Root after the former emperor was executed.
• Ming Chengzi proposed guarding the northern route in case the imperial household fled, and Chen Chuan agreed while retaining safeguards elsewhere.
• Ming Chengzi briefed Chen Chuan on the Nether Capital’s commanders and supporting Ancient Deities, and Mu Xiaoren later said Ming Chengzi had other intentions.

Chen Chuan’s forces steadily advanced toward the Nether Capital, while Prince Qiong Yuan Conglai was ordered to scout a route for the Old Imperial Household’s possible Northern Hunt. Yuan Conglai entered a hidden mountain passage with his escort, but a flash of light struck as their train traveled underground, leaving him unconscious.

• Chen Chuan’s army cleared the old dynasty’s outer strongholds and repelled repeated nighttime raids, while voices in Anye Palace began urging a Northern Hunt.
• Yuan Conglai discussed the capital’s desperate prospects with his retainer, then received Emperor Wenguang’s order to scout the old road at Mount Panquan.
• Yuan Conglai and his escort left through an underground passage and reached Mount Panquan before dawn, avoiding Great Shun’s forces.
• Yuan Conglai followed the scouts into a deep tunnel and boarded an algae-oil train after growing exhausted.
• A flash of light appeared ahead as the train shook violently, and Yuan Conglai lost consciousness.

Yuan Conglai and his party were captured by Great Shun forces in the tunnel, where Chen Chuan and Ming Chengzi learned that Emperor Wenguang might use hidden rifts to reach the outer realm. Chen Chuan agreed to use Yuan Conglai to lure the emperor into an ambush, and Ming Chengzi warned him about four anomalies near the Nether Capital.

• Yuan Conglai awoke in the tunnel and realized that Great Shun soldiers had captured him and his party.
• Ming Chengzi identified Yuan Conglai as Prince Qiong and proposed wiping the captives’ memories so Emperor Wenguang would believe the route was safe.
• Yuan Conglai tried to kill himself to prevent his father from falling into a trap, but Ming Chengzi used a secret art to stop him.
• Chen Chuan questioned the attendant, who revealed that another northern route likely connected the Imperial Court to the tunnel.
• Ming Chengzi explained that Emperor Wenguang could travel through rifts, and Chen Chuan agreed to use Yuan Conglai to encourage the emperor to take that secret route.
• Ming Chengzi warned Chen Chuan that four anomalies lay buried around the Nether Capital and gave him a diagram of their suppression ritual.

Yuan Conglai reached the end of the tunnel and was allowed to return, while Great Shun’s army advanced toward Nether Capital. Chen Chuan’s forces uncovered the suppression site of a powerful anomaly and began preparing for its emergence.

• Yuan Conglai learned that the scouts had found no immediate danger beyond the tunnel, then chose to return and report to his father.
• Chen Chuan kept Great Shun’s advance cautious, conserving his fighters while preparing against the enemy’s lethal rituals.
• The Grand Secretaries learned Great Shun had camped near the Inner Demon’s suppression site and hoped to use the anomaly to disrupt the invading army.
• Chen Chuan’s forces uncovered the sealed well holding the Headless General, an anomaly that repeatedly appeared to take the head of anyone it attached to.
• Wen Mingzhong confirmed that the anomaly would emerge by midnight, and Chen Chuan ordered the team to begin clearing the site.

Wen Mingzhong and six esoteric ritual teams prepared to capture the anomaly by dismantling its old seal and transferring it into a Double-eared Urn, while the Old Imperial Household launched a night raid. The ritual opened the seal, and a gigantic headless armored figure appeared amid steaming blood and crimson mist.

• Wen Mingzhong directed six esoteric ritual teams to assemble a layered ritual framework using Chen Chuan's diagram.
• Chen Chuan chose to capture the anomaly directly rather than reinforce its weakening seal, and Wen Mingzhong began coordinating the dangerous operation.
• As the Old Imperial Household launched a larger night raid, the teams ignored the battle and completed a temporary seal around the ritual field.
• The teams placed a Double-eared Urn at the center and formed a spherical ritual field to prepare the anomaly's transfer.
• Wen Mingzhong ordered the seal opened, and the ritual poles disrupted the field until the seal shattered.
• A massive headless armored figure emerged in steaming blood and crimson mist, making those present feel as if their heads could fall from their shoulders.