Chapter Summaries

The Great Shun forces captured the Headless One, while the Old Imperial Household learned that the Nether Capital could not hold and Emperor Wenguang prepared to retreat. Emperor Wenguang gave Prince Yuan command of the Palace Guards and ordered him to act the following night.

• Elder Hong kept the Old Imperial Household’s army in place and denied Prince Yi’s request to enter the capital.
• Wen Mingzhong and Chen Chuan’s team contained the Headless General and sealed the Headless One in the Double-eared Urn.
• Elder Hong learned the Inner Demon had vanished and began discussing how to preserve the court as the enemy approached.
• Emperor Wenguang told Prince Yuan that the Nether Capital could not be defended and revealed his plan for a Northern Hunt.
• Emperor Wenguang gave Prince Yuan a Tiger Tally and placed the Palace Guards under his command, ordering him to act tomorrow night.

Emperor Wenguang told Prince Yuan of the Yuan Clan’s secret escape route to a hidden palace in the North Sea and assigned him to escort the imperial carriage there. Prince Yuan left believing he might be the emperor’s chosen heir, while Emperor Wenguang made other plans as the Pseudo-Dynasty’s army neared Nether Capital.

• Emperor Wenguang revealed the secret rift beneath Green Eye Lake and explained that the westward escape was a diversion from a retreat to the Deep Palace of the North Sea.
• Emperor Wenguang ordered Prince Qiong to lead a diversion toward Stonefall Road while Prince Yuan escorted the emperor and empress around Haixi, and Prince Yuan accepted the decree.
• Emperor Wenguang learned that Huining Temple would not interfere, dismissed the Grand Secretaries’ request for an audience, and ordered an investigation into Prince Qiong before the Northern Hunt.
• Emperor Wenguang asked Consort Teng whether the Gods and Demons could foretell his fate, then asked her to perform the Dance of Flowing Shadows.
• Prince Yuan wondered whether Emperor Wenguang’s plans marked him as a successor and recalled the sealed-away Prince Lin as a rival.
• Prince Yuan heard artillery nearing Nether Capital, saw airships rising from the Mooring Towers, and hurried toward the palace gates.

Great Shun’s forces overwhelmed Nether Capital’s air defenses and began attacking the city’s ritual-protected defenses. Chen Chuan used the attack to study the wards and prepare a route through them, leaving a coordinated barrage underway.

• Da Shun’s army advanced to Nether Capital as its weakened fortresses and airships fell under attack.
• Nether Capital released Flood Dragon Eagles, but Great Shun’s Fighters and Active Consciousness Entities slaughtered them and cleared most of the city’s aerial forces.
• Chen Chuan rose above the battlefield with the Profound Cave Observation Fighters and struck Nether Capital, breaking through its clouds and damaging a watchtower despite its layered ritual fields.
• Chen Chuan used the Heavenly Eye to detect the city’s ritual defenses and several remaining Profound Cave Observation Fighters, while Wen Mingzhong asked him to test marked locations to calculate an attack route.
• Chen Chuan concealed his true targets, signaled the other Fighters, and launched a barrage of Spiritual Impacts at Nether Capital.

Chen Chuan and the Profound Cave Observation Fighters bombarded the Nether Capital while its defenders struggled to repair the damaged Esoteric Ritual domains. As the Grand Secretaries pressed Emperor Wenguang to act, he learned that the fissure beneath Green Eye Lake was nearly ready and decided to go there.

• Chen Chuan watched the Nether Capital's ritual defenses react to his attack while Wen Mingzhong and five Active Consciousness Entities analyzed the domains for a breach.
• Yu Chi Bin and the other Old Imperial Household Mystic Martial Experts helped defend the pivotal nodes as repeated attacks damaged the Esoteric Rituals and exhausted the shortage of Ritual Masters.
• Elder Fang and Elder Shi urged the Grand Secretaries to ask Emperor Wenguang to send his sons to aid the defense, and Elder Hong went to confront the emperor.
• The old palace eunuch initially told Elder Hong that Emperor Wenguang would not receive him, but Elder Hong waited outside Changlun Pavilion until the emperor asked about Prince Yuan.
• Emperor Wenguang learned that the fissure beneath the lake had fully opened and ordered his attendants to prepare him to go to Green Eye Lake.

Emperor Wenguang led the imperial household through a secret rift beneath Green Eye Lake and into the Convergence Zone, fleeing Nether Capital aboard a fleet of airships. After learning that a rift had opened in Haixi Province, Chen Chuan prepared to intercept the escape and set out with Ming Chengzi.

• Emperor Wenguang met Empress Cao and Prince Yuan beneath Green Eye Lake, where Prince Yuan confirmed the rift was ready.
• The imperial family and their retinue boarded the Fangzhang and accompanying airships, which entered the rift and crossed into the spiritual world.
• As Great Shun continued its assault on Nether Capital, Chen Chuan received a message from Ming Chengzi, who suspected Emperor Wenguang was escaping that night.
• Chen Chuan arranged for Zhao Ming to check for rift activity and learned that a rift had opened atop a remote mountain in Haixi Province.
• Chen Chuan concluded the imperial fleet would use the rift and told Ming Chengzi they would go to Haixi Province.

Chen Chuan and his companions traveled toward Haixi Marquis Ferry to investigate the Old Imperial Household’s escape route, while Prince Qiong led the way for Emperor Wenguang’s Northern Hunt. In the Other Side World, Prince Yuan reached an exit with his airship fleet and crossed into an unfamiliar world.

• Chen Chuan, Ming Chengzi, Jiang Linghuai, and Mu Xiaoren flew from the Convergence Zone toward Haixi Province, while Chen Chuan left an incarnation behind to command the Frontline.
• Prince Qiong traveled through an underground passage to North Road Pass, where he awaited Emperor Wenguang’s arrival despite his official’s suspicions about the route.
• Emperor Wenguang arrived at North Road Pass with Empress Cao, the consorts, and the princes, leaving Prince Qiong’s official uncertain about his earlier doubts.
• Prince Yuan spoke with his young brother A'Fu aboard the Fangzhang, gave him a jade pendant, and accidentally crushed A'Fu’s living toy in his hand.
• Prince Yuan reached the exit, ordered the airship fleet to halt, and crossed into a world of snow-covered mountains and blue sky.

Prince Yuan led the fleet from the rift into Great Shun territory, where Emperor Wenguang ordered him to Anbo Lake to open another passage. As the rift began to form, Chen Chuan and his allies approached, and a white-gold figure struck Prince Yuan away from the lake.

• Prince Yuan inspected the area beyond the rift, found no anomalies, and reported back to Emperor Wenguang.
• Emperor Wenguang ordered the fleet north to Anbo Lake, and the rift behind them closed after they emerged.
• At Anbo Lake, Shaoyou identified stones concealing a ritual, and Emperor Wenguang appointed him Imperial Preceptor and ordered him to open the rift.
• Shaoyou cleared the stones and activated the Thunder Gang Ritual as Prince Yuan stationed airships around the lake to guard it.
• Chen Chuan left the monitoring station with Jiang Linghuai, Mu Xiaoren, and Ming Chengzi as the rift appeared over the lake.
• A white-gold figure struck Prince Yuan and sent him crashing into a distant cliff, leaving him shocked as he looked toward the figure above Anbo Lake.

Chen Chuan fought Prince Yuan above Anbo Lake and overwhelmed him, forcing the power hidden in Prince Yuan’s bloodline to awaken. The chapter ended as Chen Chuan sensed the awakened bloodline was elevating Prince Yuan’s abilities and wondered whether this was the Secret Diagram Bloodline’s power.

• Chen Chuan let the purple light follow the young Profound Scholar through the closing rift, then confronted Prince Yuan and recognized him as an Aspect of Man.
• Prince Yuan attacked with his external aspect, but Chen Chuan blocked the blow and struck him down with his Long Jian.
• Prince Yuan fused with his external aspect and charged again, but Chen Chuan halted him with a giant hand, used Spiritual Impact, and smashed him away once more.
• Prince Yuan’s external aspect transformed into a scaled, four-armed Ghostly Creature as his hidden bloodline awakened.
• Crystalline mist emerged from Prince Yuan and strengthened his physical qualities and Spiritual Light Flame, prompting Chen Chuan to suspect the Secret Diagram Bloodline was responsible.

Chen Chuan killed Prince Yuan and discovered that Profound Sky Fire grew stronger after consuming the crystalline anomalous light tied to the Secret Diagram Bloodline. He then captured the Fangzhang and confronted Emperor Wenguang, whom Ming Chengzi recognized as the tyrant behind his sect’s destruction.

• Prince Yuan awakened a fluorescent power, but Chen Chuan overwhelmed him and killed him with a Purple Qi-enhanced punch.
• Chen Chuan used Profound Sky Fire to burn Prince Yuan’s remains and found that the fire grew slightly stronger after consuming the anomalous light.
• Jiang Linghuai and Mu Xiaoren disabled the Combat Airships and helped secure the Fangzhang without letting it crash.
• Chen Chuan, Mu Xiaoren, and Ming Chengzi boarded the Fangzhang after Jiang Linghuai lowered it safely to the ground.
• Ming Chengzi recognized the seated Emperor Wenguang and confronted him as the tyrant responsible for his sect’s destruction.

Chen Chuan discovered that the Emperor Wenguang aboard the airship was only a smoke-and-sand construct, and hurried back toward the Nether Capital with Ming Chengzi to investigate. A second intercepted group also proved to be a decoy, leaving Emperor Wenguang’s true whereabouts and intentions unknown.

• Emperor Wenguang ignored Ming Chengzi’s challenge, while his eunuch warned Chen Chuan that defeating Prince Yuan could make the Secret Diagram Bloodline factions wary of him.
• The old eunuch melted into smoke and jade sand, then Emperor Wenguang likewise vanished, revealing that he was a construct connected to the Aspect of the Gods.
• Chen Chuan and Ming Chengzi found Empress Cao and the imperial consorts in a sealed chamber; they died and dissolved into smoke and silver sand.
• Ming Chengzi suspected the Emperor’s scheme involved Jade Sand Body Construction, so Chen Chuan ordered Jiang Linghuai to guard the Fangzhang while he returned toward the Nether Capital with Ming Chengzi and Mu Xiaoren.
• Chen Chuan learned that his forces had intercepted another group carrying Emperor Wenguang and the imperial consorts, but they too dissolved into smoke, leaving Prince Qiong and the Imperial Guards as captives.
• Chen Chuan asked Ming Chengzi whether he could determine Emperor Wenguang’s true intentions.

Chen Chuan returned to the siege of the Nether Capital, learned that Emperor Wenguang was likely still inside pursuing a hidden scheme, and ordered an assault through two discovered routes in the city’s ritual defenses. The attack reached Great General Yu Chi Bin as Chen Chuan’s strike opened a gap above him.

• Ming Chengzi told Chen Chuan that Emperor Wenguang was likely still in the Nether Capital carrying out a grand scheme that could no longer be stopped.
• Chen Chuan, Mu Xiaoren, and Ming Chengzi returned to the ongoing siege, where the battered city’s defenses were weakening and Chen Chuan’s arrival lifted the attackers’ morale.
• Wen Mingzhong showed Chen Chuan two routes through the Nether Capital’s ritual defenses and said the third would be found by morning.
• Chen Chuan sent the two routes to the attacking Fighters and struck the city’s defenses, enabling them to race inward and cut through the ritual from both sides.
• Great General Yu Chi Bin blocked the incoming attacks, but Chen Chuan’s descending strike hit just as a gap opened in the field domain.

Chen Chuan’s strike shattered Nether Capital’s ritual defenses and cleared the fog above the city, breaking the defenders’ morale. He faced Yuchi Bin while the other fighters moved to engage the remaining Profound Cave Observation Fighters, and Yuchi Bin charged through Chen Chuan’s attacks in hopes of reaching him.

• Chen Chuan’s Spiritual Impact destroyed a major ritual hub, and the fog over Nether Capital dispersed.
• Nether Capital’s soldiers and Esoteric Ritual Masters lost heart as the city’s defenses crumbled, while Elder Shi and Elder Fang chose to remain behind.
• Chen Chuan identified Yuchi Bin and the other three Profound Cave Observation Fighters, then assigned the others to confront the remaining three.
• Chen Chuan attacked Yuchi Bin with successive Spiritual Impacts, forcing him to awaken his second and third heads and multiply his strength.
• Yuchi Bin used his Great Axe to deflect the Spiritual Impact and charged at Chen Chuan, hoping to bring his restraining Exotic Power into range.

Chen Chuan’s forces defeated the defenders around the Nether Capital and advanced toward Anye Palace, where Emperor Wenguang remained with his court. Emperor Wenguang awaited the gods and immortals as a bell rang outside.

• Chen Chuan learned Yuchi Bin’s weakness, drew out all three heads, killed him, and burned his remains with Profound Sky Fire.
• Chen Chuan’s forces defeated the other defenders and destroyed the remaining Esoteric Ritual hubs, revealing Anye Palace through the dispersing black mist.
• Ming Chengzi offered to lead the fighters through Anye Palace’s rituals, and Chen Chuan accepted as the group advanced over the Nether Capital.
• Wen Mingzhong told Chen Chuan that he could not place The Diner in the Nether Capital and suspected an enormous anomaly or ritual was present.
• Elder Hong confronted Emperor Wenguang over the realm’s collapse, but the Emperor dismissed the people’s fate and had guards keep the Prime Minister at the banquet.
• Emperor Wenguang asked Consort Teng when the gods and immortals would arrive, and she said the auspicious hour was near as a bell tolled outside.

Chen Chuan and Ming Chengzi watched an ancient anomaly unfold as Emperor Wenguang prepared to ascend to immortality. When the Emperor’s carriage rose toward the sky, vapor poured from the Nether Capital’s people, and Ming Chengzi struck at the mist to expose what lay beyond it.

• Wen Mingzhong told Chen Chuan that the anomaly had likely existed for over a century and might implicate everyone born and raised in the Nether Capital during that time.
• Chen Chuan and Ming Chengzi examined the mist outside Anye Palace, and Ming Chengzi resolved to find a route through it so he could break the ritual.
• A rift opened in the sky, and Immortals and Divine Beings descended into the palace as Emperor Wenguang announced that he would ascend to heaven.
• Consort Teng persuaded Emperor Wenguang to drink his own blood, then cut off his head and helped his headless body board the carriage.
• Consort Teng had Prince Lin placed on the imperial throne as Emperor Wenguang departed, while vapor streamed from the people of the Nether Capital toward the sky.
• As the anomaly’s construct began to sway, Ming Chengzi threw a ritual implement through the white mist and revealed a glimpse of what was inside.

Chen Chuan learned that Emperor Wenguang was using an ancient secret ritual to ascend and discussed how to interrupt it before the Great Collision. As the ritual continued, Emperor Wenguang’s spirit entered Prince Lin, who rose toward the light to claim the immortal seat.

• Chen Chuan and the others saw immortals escorting a carriage toward a heavenly opening as the abnormalities converged around it.
• Ming Chengzi explained that the ritual had been devised by the Fu Long Faction and Duan Chen Faction and described how Emperor Wenguang was shedding the names of father, ruler, and god.
• Ming Chengzi revealed that Emperor Wenguang had bound the city’s Divine Energy and its believers to compel the immortals and gods to protect his ascension.
• Chen Chuan concluded that they could interrupt the ritual by driving off the immortals and gods and breaking its protective body, and argued they should act before Emperor Wenguang reached the upper level.
• A blue-smoke form resembling Emperor Wenguang entered Prince Lin, who regained his clarity, declared his intent to ascend, and leapt toward the heavenly carriage.

Ming Chengzi opened a costly passage into Emperor Wenguang’s Ascension ritual, and Chen Chuan led the Profound Cave Observation Fighters through it to attack. They found Emperor Wenguang trapped in the pillar of ascending light, and Chen Chuan charged toward him as the chapter ended.

• Ming Chengzi agreed to help Chen Chuan kill Emperor Wenguang and used a Lost Treasure to open a passage into the secret ritual.
• Chen Chuan led the Profound Cave Observation Fighters into the anomaly and identified Emperor Wenguang inside the ascending pillar of light.
• Chen Chuan and his allies pushed through illusions and Spiritual Impacts, while Ming Chengzi’s Dragon Furnace helped them find the pillar’s true direction.
• Chen Chuan concluded that Emperor Wenguang could not leave the pillar during the ritual and focused his attack on him.
• Emperor Wenguang sensed Chen Chuan’s group approaching and turned toward them with a darkened expression.

Chen Chuan and Ming Chengzi fought through the Ancient Deities guarding Emperor Wenguang, with Ming Chengzi creating an opening for Chen Chuan to close in. Chen Chuan’s first strike was undone by a Lost Object, but he kept the pressure on and cut off Emperor Wenguang’s sword-wielding arm.

• Mu Xiaoren sent an avatar to probe Gu Weijun, but Gu Weijun seized control of it and the shell shattered.
• Chen Chuan assigned fighters to hold back the Ancient Deities, leaving only himself and Ming Chengzi to face Emperor Wenguang.
• Ming Chengzi used a Lost Object filled with Spiritual Fire to occupy part of Emperor Wenguang’s power, allowing Chen Chuan to attack.
• Chen Chuan broke through Emperor Wenguang’s Ghostly Creatures and resisted his Shedding Consciousness Divination, then struck him at close range.
• Emperor Wenguang’s Lost Object reversed the damage from Chen Chuan’s first blade strike, but Chen Chuan followed up and cut off the arm holding his sword.

Chen Chuan kept Emperor Wenguang under relentless pressure, forcing him to rely on his divine aspect, Lost Objects, and secret techniques to survive. The battle continued as Chen Chuan broke through Wenguang’s defenses and triggered what he believed was the last use of the emperor’s golden protective light.

• Chen Chuan severed Emperor Wenguang’s arm and pressed his attack, but Wenguang sacrificed his Divine Energy avatar and used golden light to block a deadly strike.
• Chen Chuan evaded Wenguang’s spiritual image and shattered his arms and upper body, but Wenguang redirected the blow into the image with Mirror Void Shadow Capture.
• Chen Chuan used a close-range Spiritual Impact, but Wenguang turned intangible with a Lost Object, restored himself, and drew his spiritual image close as a shield.
• Emperor Wenguang counterattacked with anomaly power and a Secret Technique, but Chen Chuan’s Lost Object and One Yuan Divine Seal prevented either from disrupting his assault.
• Chen Chuan moved behind Wenguang to strike his weaker back, but the emperor’s golden light blocked the blade for the third time.

Chen Chuan fought Emperor Wenguang through the ascension ritual, using the Profound Sky Fire and his blade to destroy the emperor’s body and summoned divine ghost. The chapter ended with Chen Chuan burning Emperor Wenguang’s remaining vaporous form while his imitation body held off Consort Teng.

• Emperor Wenguang unleashed higher-realm luminous mist, but Chen Chuan’s Profound Sky Fire burned through it and strengthened as it consumed the mist.
• Chen Chuan trapped Emperor Wenguang with the Great Bright Light Style and Great Azure Void Style, then used the One Yuan Divine Seal to cut off his head and expose his divine aspect.
• Emperor Wenguang used the Cloud-Touching Lotus Root and the ascension ritual to summon a towering, three-headed, eight-armed divine ghost, which Chen Chuan split apart with a powerful blade strike.
• Consort Teng rushed to help Emperor Wenguang, but Chen Chuan sent an empowered imitation body to intercept her and attacked the emperor’s exposed divine aspect.
• Emperor Wenguang used the Glazed Divine Body to protect himself, but Chen Chuan’s Snow Monarch Blade pierced him, and Chen Chuan burned his remaining vapor with Mystic Void Flame.

Chen Chuan killed Emperor Wenguang, defeated the remaining Ancient Deities, and led the others into the Old Imperial Household’s palace grounds to secure them. At a scripture repository, Ming Chengzi discovered lost records belonging to the Fu Long Faction, and Chen Chuan asked him to identify an item taken from Emperor Wenguang.

• Chen Chuan killed Emperor Wenguang and destroyed Consort Teng’s escaping wisps with his Simulacrum Body and Profound Sky Fire.
• The remaining Ancient Deities fled after Emperor Wenguang’s death; Chen Chuan noted Count Mochuan and Gu Weijun as sources of useful Precious Materials.
• The Immortal Welcoming Carriage anomaly dissipated, and Chen Chuan ordered his forces to guard the palace grounds and search for threats and valuables.
• Chen Chuan, Mu Xiaoren, and Ming Chengzi entered Yunmeng Garden and investigated a palace hall where an anomaly had appeared.
• Ming Chengzi found scriptures and mystical registers belonging to the Fu Long Faction, and Chen Chuan asked him to examine an item taken from Emperor Wenguang.