Chapter Summaries

After Neumannd refused to let Chen Chuan cross the rift, Chen Chuan temporarily silenced the attack and studied Ring Lock Island’s ritual records. He then went to meet the volunteers gathered on the island, whose Mutated Tissue reacted with alarm when he arrived.

• Neumannd took over as group leader after Mataiola left and refused Scarlson’s request to let Chen Chuan cross the rift.
• Chen Chuan temporarily stopped the force striking the rock ring and told Scarlson that they needed to prepare for its return.
• Neumannd granted Chen Chuan access to the island’s materials, and Chen Chuan studied the ritual records and Great Alliance history.
• Chen Chuan asked Scarlson to take him to meet the volunteers from different nations who had gathered to help.
• Lily and Briggs waited excitedly to meet Chen Chuan, who entered the temple and caused the Fighters’ Mutated Tissue to sound an alarm.

Chen Chuan rallied the Fighters and staff on Ring Lock Island to defend the Great Alliance’s former headquarters, explaining that victory required everyone to work together and use the island’s ancient ritual network. He warned Scarlson to prepare evacuations ahead of another expected enemy assault in two or three days.

• Chen Chuan addressed the Fighters gathered in the conference hall and warned them that he could not defend Ring Lock Island alone, so everyone needed to contribute to a prolonged battle.
• Chen Chuan projected a map of Ring Lock Island and explained that its vast Great Alliance-era ritual could counter different enemies through coordinated personnel at its nodes.
• The gathered Fighters applauded Chen Chuan’s call for unity, while Scarlson recalled the world’s earlier resistance on the island.
• Lily Caldwell asked Chen Chuan for an interview and argued that she and her uncle could help; Chen Chuan told her they already could unless they chose to withdraw.
• Chen Chuan told Scarlson to prepare evacuations before another enemy probe in two or three days, and Scarlson promised to make preparations within two days.

Scarlson and Chen Chuan prepared Ring Lock Island for an assault from beyond the rift, evacuating noncombatants and positioning Fighters at the defense nodes. When the rock ring began to fail, Chen Chuan discovered that the emerging demon carried an anomaly identified as the Wandering Child.

• Scarlson recalled personnel from the surrounding outposts and evacuated some noncombatants while most people sheltered underground.
• Chen Chuan ordered the Fighters to take their assigned positions and prepared to let the beings beyond the rock ring enter.
• Chen Chuan withdrew his spirit from the wall, allowing the black shadow to strike it until cracks formed.
• Commander Newman fought the impacts until he collapsed, and Scarlson took over before the damaged wall disrupted their communications.
• A demon fused with an unknown anomaly emerged through the rock ring as Chen Chuan restrained its field domain.
• Chen Chuan asked Kaiyang to analyze the anomaly, and Kaiyang identified it as the Wandering Child.

Chen Chuan devised a plan to contain Wandering Child by passing it through a sequence of Fighters until it reached an optimistic, lower-level host. After controlling the transfers and preparing Lily Caldwell as the final bearer, he let Wandering Child attach itself to her.

• Chen Chuan explained Wandering Child's danger and planned to weaken it by transferring it through progressively lower-level Fighters.
• Ling Su transmitted the anomaly's traits and Chen Chuan's plan, and Lily volunteered to serve as the final bearer.
• Chen Chuan accepted Lily's offer and placed the Racoon Cat Rumor over her as protection.
• Chen Chuan struck the emerging fish-like demon, causing Wandering Child to transfer from its host into his field domain.
• Wandering Child passed from Chen Chuan to Ling Su, then to Vidal Lefson and several Fighters; Chen Chuan subdued one unexpected target and recalled the Racoon Cat Rumor.
• Wandering Child noticed Lily's positive emotions and attached itself to her.

Lily bonded with Wandering Child as Chen Chuan and the Fighters defended Ring Lock Island from a demon assault. After they repelled the first wave, Meng Liao, a former Zen Sect follower, emerged from the fissure and invited Chen Chuan to join him.

• Wandering Child attached itself to Lily, and Chen Chuan told her to remain calm and maintain her positive mood.
• Fish-like demons poured through the rock wall, and Chen Chuan fought them while the Fighters defended the island’s ritual nodes.
• Cracks opened across Ring Lock Island, allowing smaller Ink Carp demons to emerge, and the Fighters defeated them.
• Chen Chuan had Kaiyang record the demons as Ink Carp and repositioned the defenders as chanting rose from the fissure.
• Meng Liao emerged from the fissure, saluted Chen Chuan, and invited him to join the demon’s cause.

Chen Chuan and the Investigation Group defeated the demons that emerged through the rifts on Ring Lock Island, and Chen Chuan sealed the breach. He arranged to take Lily Caldwell to Great Shun to separate and contain the Wandering Child, then told Scarlson that the military lockdown could be lifted.

• Chen Chuan used the ritual to trap the Meng Liao demons as Liao Chan introduced itself and claimed to uphold the true Dharma.
• Chen Chuan drew the Snow Monarch Blade and killed Liao Chan, then destroyed the demon's successive bodies and avatars with help from Ling Su and his Outer Aspect.
• The Fighters defeated the remaining demons, and Chen Chuan sealed the rifts after sensing no further threat.
• Chen Chuan asked Lily Caldwell how she felt and arranged for her and her colleagues to accompany him to Great Shun so professionals could contain the Wandering Child.
• Chen Chuan told Scarlson that demons were unlikely to attack again soon and that the island's military lockdown could be lifted.

After Chen Chuan helped Ring Lock Island repel the demons, he advised its Fighters and discussed international support with Scarlson before leaving with Lily and Briggs to deal with an anomaly. The airship reached Haidong Province, and Chen Chuan prepared to take the anomaly to an island designated by the Esoteric Sect Examination Headquarters.

• The Investigation Group treated the wounded and held a celebratory banquet where Chen Chuan gave guidance to the supporting Fighters.
• Chen Chuan told Scarlson that the invasion might foreshadow further attacks and suggested seeking international support through a conference.
• Chen Chuan departed Ring Lock Island with Lily and Briggs, carrying a Lost Object left behind after he destroyed Liao Chan.
• During the flight, Chen Chuan reminded Lily to use the Breathing Method to limit the Wandering Child's harmful effects on her vitality.
• Ling Su's field domain helped the airship cross Ying Land and reach Haidong Province, while Chen Chuan had received coordinates for an island where the anomaly could be handled.

Chen Chuan followed Liu Changlin’s black key to a hidden Xuan Sect temple beneath a pool on Falling Star Island. After discovering that the temple’s Profound Ancestor portraits concealed demon images and hearing the Scripture of Fallen Xuan and the Curse of Evil Zen, he headed deeper into the temple, leaving its portraits reduced to ash.

• Chen Chuan left Briggs and Miss Caldwell at an isolated research institute so experts could separate an anomaly from them, and he traveled toward Nanyang with Zhao Ming.
• Chen Chuan followed the black key across Falling Star Island until it led him through the deep pool into a hidden Xuan Sect temple.
• Chen Chuan passed paper Taoist boys and a charred statue before finding portraits and plaques of Profound Ancestors that did not match what he knew.
• Chen Chuan discovered demon images behind every portrait as the candles went out and chants of the Curse of Evil Zen and Scripture of Fallen Xuan sounded outside.
• Chen Chuan gripped the Snow Monarch Blade, walked toward the rear of the temple, and turned the portraits to ash with a thought.

Chen Chuan descended into a shadowy domain, resisted its illusions, and smashed a path through demonic ancestor statues before reaching a golden lotus dais with an Immortal Seed. He decided to take the seed without changing his cultivation path and reached for it.

• Chen Chuan followed the descending path, chose the right-hand branch, and guarded his mind against the domain’s attempts to unsettle him.
• Chen Chuan found towering demonic statues blocking the path and smashed them apart with his Long Jian and Profound Sky Fire.
• Chen Chuan flooded a false mountain gate, causing the ground beneath him to rise as an enormous statue carried him toward a golden lotus dais.
• Chen Chuan recognized the seed on the dais as an Immortal Seed, judged it would only supplement his established cultivation path, and reached for it.

Chen Chuan claimed the Immortal Seed and discovered it opened a portable Immortal Abode where cultivation was enhanced. After leaving Falling Star Island, he flew to Luozhijia Island to check for information from Huo Zhuifeng, where the Snow Monarch Blade caused a powerful Zen Sect presence to withdraw its rejection of him.

• Chen Chuan seized the Immortal Seed, entered the Lesser True Marvelous Realm, and realized it was an Immortal Abode that could boost his cultivation.
• Chen Chuan stored the realm inside the Immortal Seed, returned to the cliff, and left Falling Star Island as two climbers watched in shock.
• Chen Chuan flew toward the Chi Luojia Duo Federation and then headed for Luozhijia Island to check for news from Huo Zhuifeng.
• Chen Chuan crossed into Luozhijia Island and sensed a vast power, which withdrew after the Snow Monarch Blade trembled.

Chen Chuan traveled to Donggui Temple on Xiaoyun Mountain to retrieve documents Huo Zhuifeng had left in safekeeping. He opened the compartment in the White Tower and began reading the accumulated leads.

• Chen Chuan arrived on Luozhijia Island and climbed Xiaoyun Mountain, where the Dharma Lord of Donggui Temple recognized him and offered assistance.
• At the summit, Chen Chuan encountered the spirit of the Leopard God, which played with Racoon Cat Rumor.
• Chen Chuan reached the White Tower and showed a young Chan Practitioner the key Huo Zhuifeng had arranged for him.
• Chen Chuan opened the designated compartment, found a thick stack of dated documents, and began reading them.

Chen Chuan reviewed Huo Zhuifeng’s findings about the miniature Biological Research Institute and waited for the disciple carrying further information. After realizing the disciple was being watched, Chen Chuan found Gu Wenqing at his hotel and identified himself as Advisor Chen.

• Chen Chuan read Huo Zhuifeng’s files on Cheng Wan, a former researcher who had uncovered troubling clues about the institute, and learned Huo had traveled to meet him.
• Chen Chuan spent the night cultivating in the Lesser True Marvelous Realm and realized that Immortal Seeds were not essential to opening his own Immortal Abode.
• Chen Chuan waited at the designated teahouse for Huo Zhuifeng’s disciple, then went to the disciple’s hotel when no one arrived.
• Chen Chuan sensed armed watchers outside the hotel, entered unnoticed, and found Gu Wenqing anxious in room 503.
• Chen Chuan revealed his identity to Gu Wenqing and explained that he had come after waiting in vain for the designated contact.

Chen Chuan learned that Gu Wenqing had lost contact with Huo Zhuifeng, who had gone to investigate in Chi Luojia Duo, and told Gu to deal with the people watching him. Gu’s mental perception sharpened, and he attacked one of the three pursuers as Chen Chuan waited for another guest.

• Gu Wenqing told Chen Chuan that he had sensed danger, lost contact with Huo Zhuifeng, and was past the five-day deadline to seek help at Donggui Temple.
• Gu Wenqing explained that Huo Zhuifeng had traveled to Chi Luojia Duo with an assistant and three students, while Gu’s junior brother and female junior fellow student investigated separately.
• Chen Chuan told Gu Wenqing not to panic and sent him outside to confront the people threatening him and investigate their identities.
• Outside the inn, Gu Wenqing sensed three hostile people with newfound clarity and used their limited communication through the World Token to approach one unseen.
• Gu Wenqing’s speed surged, and he struck the nearest pursuer with a punch that crushed the man’s chest and slammed him into a wall.
• As a waiter brought lunch to Room 503, Chen Chuan said he was waiting for one more guest.

Gu Wenqing defeated three mercenaries after Chen Chuan helped him draw out his strength, then reunited with Yu Jingjing and Tang Wenzhao at the hotel. As Gu Wenqing began explaining that their teacher was missing, a figure surrounded by Spiritual Light rushed toward them.

• Gu Wenqing knocked down two attackers, chased the third, killed him, and recovered an Implant Body from the back of his head.
• Gu Wenqing returned to the hotel, where Chen Chuan warned him not to use his newly drawn-out strength too often and asked him to gather his junior brother and junior sister.
• Gu Wenqing identified the attackers as mercenaries who seemed to want him alive, and Chen Chuan concluded they likely did not know Gu Wenqing's identity.
• A man in Villanpura Central City learned his team had failed and decided to make an appearance himself.
• Yu Jingjing and Tang Wenzhao met Gu Wenqing and Chen Chuan at the hotel, and Gu Wenqing began telling them their teacher was missing and he had been attacked.
• Chen Chuan noticed a figure blazing with Spiritual Light rushing toward the private room, while Tang Wenzhao reacted with alarm.

Sajis charged the inn to capture or kill the people investigating a research institute, but Chen Chuan’s pressure brought him to his knees. After Sajis revealed what he knew and left, Chen Chuan asked Gu Wenqing whether Flying Falcon had left anything behind.

• Sajis smashed through obstacles as he raced toward the inn, while its security staff fled rather than confront him.
• Chen Chuan’s presence suppressed Sajis’s Spiritual Fire and Mutated Tissue, forcing him to crawl into the bar and kneel before Chen Chuan.
• Sajis identified himself as a member of Kanteqi Company and explained that his employer had sent him to investigate rivals looking into a research institute.
• Sajis sent Chen Chuan the information he had; Kaiyang assessed about half of it as genuine and reliable.
• Chen Chuan let Sajis leave, though Sajis’s Mutated Tissue was dying from the pressure and he was unlikely to survive.
• Chen Chuan considered Huo Zhuifeng’s situation and asked Gu Wenqing whether Flying Falcon had left anything behind.

Chen Chuan used a ritual and a recovered recording Implant Body to investigate Huo Zhuifeng’s disappearance. The evidence showed that Huo had found crucial clues and gone to a research institute, so Chen Chuan decided to seek out Assistant Kou in Chi Luojia Duo.

• Gu Wenqing nearly broke through to become a Fighter, but Chen Chuan calmed him and advised him to wait until he had built up his potential.
• Chen Chuan used a blood sample from the falcon to perform a ritual that pointed Zhao Ming toward its approximate location.
• Zhao Ming returned with the falcon’s recording Implant Body, and Tang Wenzhao recovered its data for Chen Chuan and Gu Wenqing.
• Gu Wenqing deciphered Huo Zhuifeng’s message, which said that Huo had found crucial clues, was heading to a research institute, and had left copies of his materials with Assistant Kou.
• The recording showed that noble youths had shot the falcon during a sea hunt, and Chen Chuan noted that Huo had been out of contact for five days.
• Chen Chuan decided to find Assistant Kou at the address Huo had provided to learn what had happened.

Chen Chuan sent Gu Wenqing and two Security Affairs Department agents to locate Assistant Kou in Chi Luojia Duo, while Huo Zhuifeng entered an anomalous research institute in search of direct evidence. The chapter left Huo Zhuifeng inside the institute, with Chen Chuan awaiting the outcome of both investigations.

• Chen Chuan recruited Luo Siguo and Cai Jingzhong to search for Assistant Kou and assigned Gu Wenqing to accompany them.
• Chen Chuan attached a wisp of his spirit to Gu Wenqing and sent the three men toward Luozhijia.
• Huo Zhuifeng obtained a researcher's notebook after rescuing him from his uncle, who had abducted him and taken the diary.
• Huo Zhuifeng recognized that the researcher and others involved were likely part of the research institute's anomaly.
• Huo Zhuifeng chose to follow the researcher inside as the institute's gate opened on its own and then closed behind him.

Assistant Kou hid in Popu Valley while waiting for Gu Wenqing and evading the Three-Eyed Bureau, but their forces launched a coordinated attack on him. Gu Wenqing arrived with help from Chief Chen, and Assistant Kou remained wary as they reunited.

• Assistant Kou moved into Popu Valley to avoid surveillance after a gang attacked him, and stayed there hoping Gu Wenqing and the others could find him.
• Assistant Kou survived an initial shooting and a later explosive attack, then fought his way through the Three-Eyed Bureau’s war knights and armed personnel.
• As gunmen took aim at Assistant Kou, an unknown ally killed them and defeated the war knights and their towering commander.
• Assistant Kou recognized Gu Wenqing, who said Chief Chen had sent the people who led him there.
• Assistant Kou questioned whether he could trust Gu Wenqing, who shook his hand and sent a series of images into his mind.

Gu Wenqing and Assistant Kou escaped Central City with Cheng Wan’s copied notebook, which Chen Chuan recognized as affected by an anomaly. Huo Zhuifeng explored the abandoned research institute and followed a clue in the notebook toward the researchers’ rest area.

• Gu Wenqing helped Assistant Kou and the Resistance Organization members flee Central City and reach a remote safe house.
• Assistant Kou gave Gu Wenqing his copy of Cheng Wan’s notebook, which appeared to have changed and bore the same damage as the original.
• Chen Chuan sensed an anomalous field around the notebook and urged Gu Wenqing to head for the research institute to find Huo Zhuifeng.
• Huo Zhuifeng entered the institute, found piles of human bones, and deduced that its anomaly trapped people who failed to find the evidence they sought.
• Huo Zhuifeng read new entries in the notebook about Assistant Alfonso, strange crying, memory gaps, and a cassette tape, then went toward the researchers’ rest area.

Huo Zhuifeng followed clues from a researcher’s notebook to find two cassette tapes, which revealed the institute’s work and its connection to the Three-Eyed God. He reached the core laboratory and saw a strange three-eyed infant, which turned toward him with an eerie expression.

• Huo Zhuifeng reconstructed a researcher’s route from the notebook and found a discarded cassette tape in a rest room.
• Huo Zhuifeng found Researcher Devika’s tape recorder, listened to recordings about the Three-Eyed God and the experiments, and reviewed the notebook’s later entries.
• Huo Zhuifeng concluded that the clues led to the central laboratory and walked deeper into the research area as the lights behind him faded.
• Huo Zhuifeng saw researchers gathered around a three-eyed infant through the safety glass, and the infant turned to look at him.