Chapter Summaries

Wu Jia led his crew across Holy Spirit Island while they carried the heavy golden coffin, but when he reached the beach, the Intrepid and everyone else had vanished. Stranded with the coffin and A Jing, he suspected he had entered a supernatural space.

• Wu Jia ordered the Awakened sailors to carry the coffin through the muddy grass and urged the crew to stay alert.
• As the coffin grew heavier, Wu Jia hurried the group onward and encouraged the sailors with promises of pay and future work.
• Wu Jia and the eight coffin bearers reached the shore, where Wu Jia found the sea empty and the Intrepid gone.
• Wu Jia discovered that Wupeng, the coffin bearers, and the rest of the crew had disappeared, leaving only him, the coffin, and A Jing.
• Wu Jia considered whether the disappearance was an illusion or whether he had entered a supernatural space.

Wu Jia suspected he was trapped in a Supernatural Space after discovering strange lights and figures aboard an abandoned warship. While Jiang Qiao investigated the disappearances, a filthy elderly stranger appeared on the island and asked for help.

• Wu Jia realized the crew’s footprints had vanished and saw lights come on aboard an abandoned warship.
• Wu Jia spotted a crowd gathered on the lit ship, all facing the shore, and fled into the grass.
• Jiang Qiao explained that Wu Jia and Wupeng had vanished after invisible hands covered their eyes, while a mental curse made the crew act as if they were still giving orders.
• Yas confronted a man who ran out of the woods, and the filthy, naked elderly stranger stopped and asked for help.

Yas and his crew discovered that a murdered old man was a Ghost Slave, then encountered a new figure wearing Xiao Qi’s appearance. The Third Mate explained that the curse had killed the real Xiao Qi and created a replicant from him and the old man.

• Yas shot the suspicious old man, and his crew found no supernatural presence inside the body before cremating it.
• Yas realized Xiao Qi had vanished, though no one could remember when he disappeared.
• A filthy figure resembling the old man emerged from the woods and asked for help in Xiao Qi’s familiar voice.
• The figure alternated between the names Qi Jie and Wang Chang, confusing the sailors.
• The Third Mate explained that the old man was a cursed Ghost Slave and that Xiao Qi had burned with the corpse, leaving a replicant made from both of them.

The Third Mate calmed the crew and manipulated Xiao Qi into entering the building where Captain Wu Jia had disappeared. He explained that he was testing whether the Ghost Slave could bring the captain back, while the crew prepared to contain the curse and secure a retreat route.

• The Third Mate convinced Xiao Qi that he was Qi Jie, then learned that figures in the woods had called themselves Xiao Qi’s companions and wanted to go outside.
• The Third Mate sent Xiao Qi into the left-hand building by telling him that Captain Wu Jia was inside and might have been looking for him.
• The Third Mate told the crew that killing the Ghost Slave would spread the curse, while leaving it alone could eventually make it a source of the curse.
• The Third Mate revealed that he had sent Xiao Qi inside to test whether the building would produce new activity or return the missing captain.
• The First Mate ordered Yass and his people away from the woods and directed Da Liu to keep the crew’s retreat route clear.

After Wu Jia and others disappeared inside the buildings on Holy Spirit Island, Hefu advised the sailors to withdraw to the Dauntless. Their retreat was interrupted by giant worms hidden in the grass, and the sailors fought them off with fire and Supernatural bullets.

• Hefu advised the First Mate to take the sailors back to the ship because Wu Jia was missing and the island's hidden dangers made staying too risky.
• The First Mate ordered the sailors to withdraw in an orderly line while keeping one another in sight.
• Hefu spotted something moving in the grass and stopped the sailors from going farther, but those already inside did not respond to the call to return.
• Hefu hurled a flaming thighbone into the grass, revealing giant worms with human corpses attached to their heads.
• The First Mate ordered armed sailors to fire, and their Supernatural bullets killed many worms and drove the survivors away.

Jiang Qiao found Mary Shaw in a strange rocky area on Holy Spirit Island and learned that she had survived a shipwreck involving a coffin bound for Demon Port. After the island’s buildings vanished, he realized he had entered a supernatural space and connected Mary’s story to Wu Jia’s mission to find the coffin.

• Jiang Qiao left the crew and found Mary Shaw waving to him in a barren rocky area that blocked his Dual Pupils.
• Mary said she had been stranded on the island after a storm, and Jiang Qiao discovered that the three buildings behind him had disappeared.
• Mary recounted how her group split from the captain’s crew, fought the crew after they returned as monsters, and left her as the sole survivor.
• Mary told Jiang Qiao that the ship had carried a coffin for the Longevity God Church from Cold Crow Ferry to Demon Port.
• Jiang Qiao connected the coffin to Wu Jia’s mission and inferred that the Longevity God Church had sent multiple searches to the island.

Jiang Qiao questioned Mary about Holy Spirit Island, her hometown, and the missing coffin, then pieced together a possible history involving later visitors and Longevity God Church. He left the island’s mysteries unresolved as Mary asked how they would get off it.

• Jiang Qiao agreed to take Mary to Crow Mountain in exchange for information, and she described the island’s Mud Bugs and strange corpses.
• Mary said she had never encountered a Face-Swapper on the island and did not know what happened to the coffin after she passed out.
• Jiang Qiao reasoned that another group had arrived after Mary’s crew, built the three houses, and hidden the coffin there before Longevity God Church came looking for it.
• Mary said Longevity God Church might have enemies among underworld forces, though she knew little about them.
• Mary asked Jiang Qiao how he had reached the island and how they would leave when there were no ships on the shore.

Jiang Qiao negotiated with Mary for her help getting out of Deep Space, accepting her Gemstone Necklace as a deposit. After analyzing her supernatural ability and the necklace’s effects, he agreed to take her away, though Mary remained uncertain about the dangers of the journey back to Crow Mountain.

• Jiang Qiao told Mary that they were inside the Deep Space of Holy Spirit Island and said he could get them out.
• Jiang Qiao asked Mary for a deposit before helping her, and Mary offered the Gemstone Necklace her husband had given her.
• Jiang Qiao identified the necklace’s hallucination and hypnosis effects, along with its risk of causing split personalities.
• Jiang Qiao realized Mary’s consciousness-related supernatural power could make her consciousness collapse, while the necklace helped her resist that danger.
• Jiang Qiao accepted the necklace and promised to take Mary out of Deep Space, and Mary felt hopeful but remained wary of the dangerous return voyage.

Jiang Qiao escaped one layer of Holy Spirit Island’s Supernatural Space with Mary, only to discover they had entered a different layer reflecting the island when the Longevity God Church arrived. He found Wupeng’s corpse and spotted a strange aberration emerging from one of the apparently new warships.

• Jiang Qiao used Thunder Spirit and Dual Pupils to tear open Deep Space and escape with Mary.
• Mary rejoiced at being free, but Jiang Qiao noticed the crew had vanished and the three buildings looked newly built.
• Jiang Qiao found Wupeng’s corpse and realized he and Mary were still on Holy Spirit Island, in a different Supernatural Space from Wu Jia and the others.
• Jiang Qiao concluded the space reflected the island during the Longevity God Church’s arrival and saw a bandaged aberration emerge from a warship.

Mary and Jiang Qiao encountered a Vicious Ghost on the beach, and Jiang Qiao let Mary face it. As Mary’s power manifested, Jiang Qiao saw the dangerous supernatural entity inside her that both protected her and threatened her consciousness.

• Mary realized a supernatural entity aboard the ship might have been left behind by a dead crew member.
• Jiang Qiao and Mary spotted a Vicious Ghost on the beach, and Jiang Qiao said it had emerged from the sea.
• The Vicious Ghost appeared in front of them, and Jiang Qiao stayed back as Mary attacked.
• Mary’s supernatural power manifested as a black vortex that seized the ghost’s veil with deathly pale hands.
• Jiang Qiao used Dual Pupils to see that Mary’s vortex led to a contracting black heart, the source of her protection and the danger to her consciousness.

Mary defeated the Vicious Ghost, but Jiang Qiao sensed that Holy Spirit Island was awakening and that the Black Mist was bringing new supernatural threats. As eerie sounds and a growing sense of danger surrounded them, Jiang Qiao prepared to strike first.

• Mary used her strange hands to overwhelm and destroy the Vicious Ghost.
• Mary warned Jiang Qiao that the fiend may have come from a larger group in the Nether Sea and suggested they hide before checking the ships.
• Jiang Qiao saw a bandaged bizarre being collapse into filthy water, then noticed Black Mist spreading across the island.
• The mist distorted Mary's sight and supernatural perception, while Jiang Qiao warned that the three houses were more dangerous than the open beach.
• Jiang Qiao sensed unseen creatures approaching through the mist and decided to attack first by summoning lightning.

Jiang Qiao fought off an ambush of Vicious Ghosts in the Black Mist and suspected someone was controlling them. Meanwhile, Mary struggled against a sea monster whose attacks could wound her through the palms she controlled.

• Jiang Qiao used his Dual Pupils and lightning to reveal and destroy five female ghosts, resisting their curse.
• More Vicious Ghosts attacked Jiang Qiao from all sides, including a corpse that trapped his legs and a head that blew freezing breath at him.
• Jiang Qiao tore apart the corpse's arm and head, then smashed the head, arm, and an approaching metal barrel.
• Mary's palms failed to damage a crab-like sea monster, which crushed many of them with its pincers.
• The sea monster's causal-link ability caused Mary to suffer a huge wound when it destroyed her palms.

Mary controlled the sea monster with supernatural threads while Jiang Qiao fought off the Vicious Ghosts, and the attack soon ended. Suspecting a hidden force was testing them, Jiang Qiao agreed to follow Mary inland, with the Water Monster leading them through the fog.

• Mary bound the crab-like sea monster with threads and silenced its curse with her hands.
• Jiang Qiao questioned why the Longevity God Church had entrusted the coffin to a Folk Organization and considered whether it had been used as bait.
• Mary took control of the sea monster, and Jiang Qiao killed a nearby Vicious Ghost as the attack ended.
• Jiang Qiao and Mary suspected an unseen force had directed the attack and decided not to remain where they were.
• Mary proposed heading inland, and Jiang Qiao agreed to let her Water Monster guide them through the fog.

Jiang Qiao and Mary found a flag bearing a sinister painting that carried an Eighth Tier peak presence. As the woman in the painting emerged, Jiang Qiao realized Mary’s consciousness had been subtly tampered with.

• Jiang Qiao and Mary followed the sea monster inland to a clearing where Mary found the flag her husband had planted.
• Mary unfurled the flag and discovered a painting of a kneeling woman holding a vase with malicious human faces on its branches.
• Jiang Qiao identified the presence in the painting as an Eighth Tier peak being and suspected it had lured him into a trap.
• The painted woman turned her gaze toward Jiang Qiao as Mary began to feel watched and became increasingly vacant and distorted.
• Mary urged Jiang Qiao to strike first, while the woman in the painting stood up and stepped out of it.

Jiang Qiao confronted a woman who had taken control of Mary and taunted him while revealing her immense strength. After assessing the danger and resisting her mental influence, he decided to run.

• The woman emerged from a painting, controlled Mary, and threatened Jiang Qiao while refusing to reveal her identity.
• Jiang Qiao guessed that she was connected to the Green Lotus Sect or the Return Journey Research Institute, but she mocked his guesses.
• Jiang Qiao determined that the woman was at least Ninth Tier Peak and possibly Divinity Ninth Tier, far beyond his clone’s strength.
• The woman tried to hypnotize Jiang Qiao into resisting her so she could enjoy the fight, but he said he would run.

Jiang Qiao fled from the woman pursuing him and broke into the middle building, while Wu Jia discovered that the basement of the left building had become an endless corridor filled with unnaturally repeating figures. The woman realized Jiang Qiao had found a secret and warned that his discovery would bring his death sooner.

• The woman followed Jiang Qiao across Holy Spirit Island, confident he had no way to escape the island.
• Wu Jia found that the left building’s basement had transformed into an immense corridor lined with rooms and silent, mechanical apparitions.
• Wu Jia saw Longevity God Church priests repeat a nonsensical meeting in a conference room and wondered what had happened to the fleet’s bishop.
• Jiang Qiao smashed through the wall of the middle building and rushed inside instead of using its main entrance.
• The woman recognized that Jiang Qiao had discovered a secret and said his cleverness had brought him to the danger’s final stage.

Jiang Qiao broke into the central building and used his knowledge of the other buildings to locate and break through its hidden basement passage. The woman watching him became curious about how he breached the barrier and decided to test him.

• Jiang Qiao fought off the vines in the corridor, and their destruction turned the wall paintings into windows showing disturbing scenes.
• Jiang Qiao glimpsed Longevity God Church priests in one of the paintings and suspected the woman had made them her puppets as part of preparations related to divinity.
• Jiang Qiao used the building on the left as a reference to find a hidden passage near the kitchen and entered the basement route.
• The woman was surprised when Jiang Qiao broke through the central building's basement barrier, then decided to test him for the treasure he might be hiding.

Jiang Qiao emerged from the tunnel into a corridor where he fought the Woman on the Plate, whose illusions and explosive death attack tested his strength. He escaped the flames unharmed and prepared to surprise the Mysterious Woman, expecting a Ninth Rank opponent next.

• Jiang Qiao fell through a fleshy tunnel and emerged in a corridor lined with rooms.
• Jiang Qiao saw the Woman on the Plate and blasted her and the three diners with Black Lightning talismans.
• The Woman on the Plate's lingering laughter and blue eyes influenced Jiang Qiao, but he resisted her illusion and attacked her.
• Jiang Qiao battered the Woman on the Plate and surrounded her with Black lightning until she exploded in dark green flames.
• Jiang Qiao escaped the flames and concluded that the Mysterious Woman was testing him before sending a Ninth Rank opponent.

Wu Jia reached the darkening end of the corridor, where Hefu suddenly appeared and revealed a power far beyond the real Hefu’s. Trapped after his escape attempt failed, Wu Jia recognized the Longevity God Church’s influence but could not explain what had happened to his longtime mate.

• Wu Jia stopped before the corridor’s fading darkness, and a voice warned him that going farther would leave him lost.
• Hefu appeared behind Wu Jia, who shot him and then attacked with Ghost Domain when the bullet did nothing.
• Hefu caught Wu Jia’s Ghost Domain and pulled him back after he fled several kilometers into the corridor.
• Wu Jia asked what Hefu wanted and concluded that the figure was not the Hefu he knew.
• Hefu said he and Hefu were both children of God, prompting Wu Jia to suspect the Longevity God Church.

Hefu told Wu Jia that the corridor was the real coffin of the Longevity God Church’s Sage and gave him matches to burn away the rooms created inside it. As Wu Jia set the corridor ablaze, Jiang Qiao continued fighting a shadow puppet and spotted firelight ahead.

• Hefu told Wu Jia that the corridor was the Sage’s coffin and ordered him to burn the false rooms and find the person who created them.
• Wu Jia used Hefu’s matches to burn a room, which vanished along with its furniture and walls.
• Wu Jia set more rooms ablaze as he reflected that his crew had been used as cover and that he was trapped by his debts and the mission.
• Jiang Qiao fought off an endlessly reforming shadow puppet, which he judged to be just below Ninth Rank.
• Jiang Qiao noticed flickering firelight deeper in the corridor.