Chapter Summaries

Xuan Che investigated Mo Ran’s belief that Elder Dao Heng was present, while Yu Sheng met Xu Jiali’s psionic attendant Bell during the excavation of Huli’s impact site. Huli called to say she was full and wanted to return, and Li Lin discovered that a fox had caused the Special Operations Bureau’s cafeteria to close.

• Xuan Che found no sign of Elder Dao Heng or an illusion in the room, then contacted various locations with the Spiritual Echo Mirror.
• Engineer Sun’s team expanded the excavation on Garrison-3 and carefully recovered crystal samples under Yu Sheng’s guidance.
• Xu Jiali introduced his psionic attendant Bell to Yu Sheng and explained how Jipuluo attendants supported deep divers against psionic threats.
• Huli called Yu Sheng and said she was full and wanted to go back.
• Li Lin found Cafeteria No. 2 closed after a fox reportedly got inside and lamented losing his discounted chicken leg.

Yu Sheng ordered the excavation of the crystal-covered battlefield to find the buried organism’s core, while questioning why it had gone unnoticed for a thousand years. After Huli broke through into a vast underground crystal cavern, Yu Sheng and the others descended to search for the core.

• Yu Sheng told Engineer Sun that he was searching for the heart of the enormous living organism beneath the crater.
• Yu Sheng and Eileen wondered why the Great Void Spiritual Pivot and Garrison Silence had never discovered the crystals.
• Huli’s digging collapsed the floor of the excavation pit, revealing a huge underground cavern, and she confirmed she was unharmed.
• Yu Sheng, Eileen, Luna, Xu Jiali, and Bell descended into the cavern, where crystals filled the vast underground structure.
• Yu Sheng followed a faint connection within himself and led the group deeper into the crystal maze.

Yu Sheng and his companions followed the crystal tunnels beneath the planet, finding many crystalline bodies resembling Yun Qingzi before reaching a vast, still-pulsing Crystal Heart. There they met an apparently living Yun Qingzi, who explained that the heart repeatedly created versions of him and began recounting the arrival of the thing that had infected the planet.

• Yu Sheng’s group explored the crystal caverns while Eileen summoned Mass-produced Eileens to guard their route.
• Luna found a crystal body resembling Yun Qingzi, and Yu Sheng used his blood to determine that it was only a node.
• Lingdang spotted another Yun Qingzi, and the group found more crystal bodies of him embedded throughout the tunnels.
• Yu Sheng led the group to a cavern containing a massive, pulsing Crystal Heart suspended among crystal pillars and branches.
• The living Yun Qingzi told Yu Sheng that every cycle created another version of him in an attempt to expel him.
• Yun Qingzi began explaining that a star-bright object had fallen from the sky and seemed intent on parasitizing the planet.

Yu Sheng learned how Yun Qingzi had battled the parasitic crystal for a thousand years and why the many versions of Yun Qingzi had appeared. As the original Yun Qingzi neared his final moments, Yu Sheng and his companions realized the crystal’s next target was the Great Void Spiritual Pivot.

• Yun Qingzi told Yu Sheng that a crystal meteorite had landed on Garrison-3 a thousand years earlier and that he had trapped himself underground with it to keep it from spreading.
• Yun Qingzi explained that every version of himself Yu Sheng had encountered came from a wisp of his soul entangled with the crystal, and that the crystal’s true body had escaped with a corrupted version of him.
• Yun Qingzi asked Huli the name of her devastating attack, and she answered, “Fox Radish Impact,” prompting him to laugh as the Crystal Heart began to crack.
• Yun Qingzi warned that he was nearing his final moments and told Yu Sheng that the corrupted Yun Qingzi’s search for the Emperor’s Legacy had been influenced by the crystal.
• Yu Sheng, Huli, and Eileen concluded that the crystal intended to parasitize another planet and that the Emperor’s Legacy was likely a planet.
• Yu Sheng identified the crystal’s intended target as the Great Void Spiritual Pivot.

Yu Sheng pieced together how the Dark Angel had escaped Garrison-3 and concluded that the Great Void Spiritual Pivot was likely its next target. As the crystalline Yun Qingzi died after urging Yu Sheng not to hold back against the controlled Yun Qingzi, the cavern collapsed and the group escaped.

• Eileen and Yu Sheng realized the Dark Angel was likely seeking to parasitize the Great Void Spiritual Pivot, and Yu Sheng planned to warn Xuan Che and Yuan Ling.
• Yu Sheng asked the crystalline Yun Qingzi where the Dark Angel and its controlled copy were hiding, but Yun Qingzi could only point to Jushi and explain that the creature had gained intelligence.
• As the Crystal Heart cracked and Yun Qingzi's life faded, he told Yu Sheng not to hold back if he met the Yun Qingzi controlled by the Dark Angel.
• Yun Qingzi turned toward Huli, smiled, and died as the Crystal Heart shattered and the underground cavern began to collapse.
• Yu Sheng opened a door to the surface, and the group evacuated while he and Eileen were the last to leave the cavern.

Xuan Che discovered that Mo City's residents could not perceive a hidden threat around the Refining Tower, while True Spirit Yuan Hao and Zheng Zhi witnessed the concealed crystal growth and a reality-distorting storm. The threat noticed Zheng Zhi, who vanished as the city began to rumble.

• Xuan Che found that Mo Ran and the others perceived an invisible Star Guardian Elder Dao Heng, then left the residence and sent his warnings about the Dark Angel to his allies.
• Xuan Che saw a woman and black-canopied boat remain untouched by the worsening rain as he considered the Dark Angel's likely presence on Gushu and the Great Void Spiritual Pivot.
• True Spirit Yuan Hao asked Zheng Zhi to inspect the Refining Tower, and Zheng Zhi saw crystal branches wrapped around it before the vision disappeared.
• The storm erupted, making the city and its buildings vanish and reappear as a mechanical flower boat crashed into a tavern and then disappeared.
• True Spirit Yuan Hao turned to Zheng Zhi and discovered that he had vanished from the room.

After Dark Angel’s remains collapsed into a vast pit on Garrison-3, Yu Sheng returned to Shouji after learning that Xuan Che and others had lost contact and communications with the Great Void Spiritual Pivot had been severed. There, he found signs of a deep anomaly and discovered a warning that they were inside a vast dream.

• Yu Sheng evacuated Garrison-3 with Huli and the others as the caldera collapsed, leaving a massive pit behind.
• Xu Jiali and Bell returned to the Special Operations Bureau after collecting image data, while Yu Sheng prepared to go back to Shouji.
• True Spirit Yuanling told Yu Sheng that Xuan Che and his senior brother had lost contact and that all communications between the Great Void Spiritual Pivot and Shouji were cut off.
• Yu Sheng returned to the hotel in Shouji with Eileen, Huli, and Luna, where they found no one and his phone displayed a warning about a possible deep criticality.
• A jade-screen ornament showed scenes from Shouji’s past before projecting the view outside their window, where rainwater formed the words “Cognitive Barrier” and “We are inside a vast dream.”

Yu Sheng and his companions discovered that the city of Mo had become a twisted dreamscape after the barrier between reality and illusion broke. As they searched for True Spirit Yuan Hao, a message from Baili Qing identified the phenomenon as the Dark Angel’s “Star Proliferation Body” and warned of planetary-scale cognitive restructuring.

• Yu Sheng saw the city around him collapse into a bizarre landscape of wind, rain, and floating buildings, while Luna confirmed the changes were real.
• Yu Sheng sent Huli to fire two missiles as a signal, then led the group out to search for True Spirit Yuan Hao.
• Rapunzel stepped into the transformed living room, panicked at the scene, and ran back inside to warn Red and Snow White that their outing was canceled.
• Yu Sheng and his companions found hazy figures in the building hall; Eileen sensed that some were dreaming while others believed the world was normal.
• Yu Sheng received messages from Baili Qing identifying the phenomenon as the Dark Angel’s “Star Proliferation Body” and warning of Level IV Cognitive Restructuring.

Yu Sheng learned from Baili Qing that the Star Proliferation Body was nearing the end of its metamorphosis on Garrison Silence and that the planet’s collective cognition was helping it complete the process. After their call was cut off, Yu Sheng used a door to reach Baili Qing directly, then returned to the increasingly distorted Black City to try to stop the Ascension Body from maturing.

• Yu Sheng called Baili Qing after learning that Garrison Silence had undergone reality restructuring, and she identified the parasitic Dark Angel as a Star Proliferation Body nearing ascension.
• Baili Qing explained that the Star Proliferation Body’s cognitive interference hid its parasitism and that affected minds strengthened its reality-altering barrier.
• As Black City grew more distorted, Baili Qing warned Yu Sheng that the planet’s population was collectively dreaming the Star Proliferation Body through its final metamorphosis.
• After the call failed, Yu Sheng opened a door to Baili Qing’s desk and asked her to repeat the warning in person.
• Baili Qing urged Yu Sheng to interrupt the metamorphosis before the Ascension Body matured, and Yu Sheng returned to the nightmare outside the hall.

Baili Qing analyzed the Star Proliferation Body’s threat while Yu Sheng learned that Shuji’s collective dream was colliding with reality. He reached the mountain at Ink City’s center, where a sword-wielding woman stood above the gathering dreamers.

• Baili Qing reviewed possible outcomes of the Star Proliferation Body’s growth and acknowledged that Yu Sheng made its future impossible to predict.
• Yu Sheng read Baili Qing’s materials and concluded that Shuji’s collective cognition concealed widespread crystal growth, though the dream’s collision with reality had opened a possible breach.
• Yu Sheng followed the thunder toward Ink City’s largest focus of reality reconstruction, riding Huli with Eileen while Luna and the Brass Knights accompanied them.
• Yu Sheng and his companions reached the mountain, where dreamers gathered beneath projections insisting that Ink City and Shuji were peaceful.
• Yu Sheng looked up and saw a black-haired woman holding a sword atop the mountain.

Yu Sheng and his companions reached Mo Ran atop the shifting mountain and reunited with Zheng Zhi, who had survived the Nightmare Border after witnessing a Refining Tower become covered in crystals. Yu Sheng told Mo Ran that the Star Proliferation Body had taken control of all Jushi, leaving her to learn the scale of the disaster.

• Eileen spread her threads across the mountain, stabilizing its dreamlike terrain and weakening the shadowy figures below.
• Luna and the Brass Knights fought a black-dressed woman, but another identical woman killed her and identified her as the thirty-seventh.
• Yu Sheng recognized the sword-wielding woman as Mo Ran, Lord of the City, and Mo Ran revealed that Zheng Zhi was sheltering nearby.
• Zheng Zhi explained that he had seen a Refining Tower covered in gray-white crystals before the city turned chaotic and True Spirit Yuan Hao disappeared.
• Yu Sheng and Eileen realized Zheng Zhi had breached the Star Proliferation Body's cognitive barrier and survived the Nightmare Border.
• Yu Sheng told Mo Ran that the Star Proliferation Body had controlled not only Mo City but the entire planet of Jushi.

Yu Sheng explained Shouji’s strange illnesses and cultivation problems as effects of the Star Proliferation Body’s cognitive barrier, then guided Eileen to use the collective dream to awaken Mo City. The city’s disguise fell away, revealing a landscape buried in crystals, and Mo Ran took charge while Yu Sheng prepared to face the greater threat.

• Mo Ran described Shouji’s strange illnesses and unusually frequent cultivation deviations, then agreed to cooperate with Yu Sheng.
• Yu Sheng proposed breaking the Nightmare Border by awakening Mo City’s population and realized Eileen could intervene in the shared dream.
• After Yu Sheng reminded her of the collective subconscious, Eileen spread her black threads across Mo City and ensnared its inhabitants in a shared dream.
• The Weaver urged the city to wake up, and Mo City’s residents collectively saw through the dream’s disguise.
• The awakened city appeared ancient and covered in crystalline growth, and Mo Ran agreed to stabilize the situation while Yu Sheng and Eileen dealt with the greater threat.

Mo Ran ordered Mo City sealed off after its residents awakened to the crystal infestation, while Yu Sheng and Eileen headed into the wilderness to find a breach in the cognitive barrier. They found True Spirit Yuan Hao fighting black-robed cultivators, and Yuan Hao struck down an attacker with a brick.

• Mo Ran ordered Mo City's cultivators to restore order, halted all transport, and severed communication with other cities.
• Yu Sheng sensed the Star Proliferation Body noticing Mo City's awakening as he and Eileen left the city on Huli.
• Zheng Zhi spotted a crack in the crystalline wilderness, and Yu Sheng redirected Huli toward it.
• Yu Sheng's group found True Spirit Yuan Hao blasting the crystal jungle and battling black-robed cultivators.
• A black-robed cultivator launched a hidden flying-sword attack at Yuan Hao, who casually smashed him with a brick.

Yu Sheng told True Spirit Yuan Hao that the Star Proliferation Body had transformed Shouji and that the group needed to find a hidden entrance to its core. They rushed to rescue Xuan Che, but Yuan Hao’s overwhelming attack blasted him out of his protective barrier along with the enemies.

• True Spirit Yuan Hao reunited with Yu Sheng and explained that he had found Xuan Che outside Mo City before they split up to investigate the crystal jungle.
• Yu Sheng explained that the Star Proliferation Body had altered the entire planet and that the group had opened a gap in its cognitive barrier, while the entrance to its core had vanished.
• True Spirit Yuan Hao sensed that the life-saving treasure he had given Xuan Che had activated and led the group toward him.
• Yu Sheng and the others found Xuan Che holding out inside a Light Screen while black-robed cultivators and Hermetic Society members attacked him.
• True Spirit Yuan Hao unleashed a devastating attack to save Xuan Che, scattering the attackers and blasting Xuan Che out of the Light Screen.
• True Spirit Yuan Hao flew through the lingering explosions to catch Xuan Che, shouting that he had come to save his nephew.

Yu Sheng and his companions fought a crystalline Great Sage clone that had been consumed by the Star Proliferation Body. After Huli destroyed it, multiple crystalline copies emerged across Silent Garrison, leaving Yu Sheng and Eileen facing a far larger threat.

• A white-robed Great Sage appeared through the smoke and targeted Eileen, and Luna identified him as a clone whose condition was abnormal.
• Eileen summoned Mass-produced Eileen dolls to attack the Great Sage, but he unleashed a rain of crystals that scattered the dolls and forced Huli to dodge.
• Huli struck the Great Sage with her tails, revealing that his shattered body was made of crystalline matter and had been consumed by the Star Proliferation Body.
• Huli blasted the damaged Great Sage into fragments, but crystalline matter surged from the ground and rebuilt him.
• Several crystal fountains appeared across the wilderness, and multiple crystalline Great Sages emerged at once.

Yu Sheng and his allies fought the regenerating Great Sages as the Star Proliferation Body’s ascension drew near. Eileen followed the black threads into one Great Sage’s soul, where her presence revealed a vast web of destiny and omens.

• Crystal rifts opened across the battlefield, and Great Sages emerged to attack Yu Sheng’s group.
• True Spirit Yuan Hao and Huli destroyed two Great Sages, but new ones regenerated from fresh rifts while the attacks grew more chaotic.
• Yu Sheng sent Zheng Zhi back to No. 66 Wutong Road and realized the Star Proliferation Body was nearing its ascension.
• Eileen sensed black threads connecting a trapped soul to her, then crawled along the spider silk toward the Great Sage devoured by the Star Proliferation Body.
• Eileen poked the suffering Great Sage’s soul, and he saw her as the master of fear crawling across a vast web of destiny and omens.

Eileen accidentally destroyed the Great Sage’s fragile soul, causing the crystal Great Sages to collapse. Yu Sheng discovered that the Star Proliferation Body was forcing its ascension ahead of schedule, and he set out with Huli to confront the angel underground.

• Eileen wrapped the Great Sage’s soul in spider silk, and it shattered while thanking her for mercy.
• The Great Sages collapsed, the crystal fissures stopped producing new ones, and Eileen returned to Yu Sheng and explained what had happened.
• Yu Sheng sensed Yun Qingzi through a vision, while True Spirit Yuan Hao and Xuan Che warned that a malicious creature was stirring underground.
• A mountain split open as enormous crystal limbs emerged, and Yu Sheng realized the Star Proliferation Body was ending its ascension early.
• Yu Sheng sent Xuan Che and True Spirit Yuan Hao to Ink City to suppress the Star Proliferation Body’s activity, then told Huli they would go underground to meet the angel.

Yu Sheng and the others uncovered a recently betrayed Holy Ascetic Society outpost beneath the fissure, while Mo Ran defended Mo City against the spreading Star Proliferation Body. The chapter leaves Mo City surrounded by Yun Qingzi’s forces, whose commander believes Mo Ran has fallen under a demonic influence.

• Huli broke through the crystal-sealed fissure, and Yu Sheng led Eileen, Luna, and Huli through an ancient Great Void Spiritual Pivot outpost to a hall of Holy Ascetic Society machines and ruptured hibernation pods.
• Mo Ran watched living crystals and tentacles threaten the wilderness around Mo City while the city’s defensive formation and mysterious web-like strands held the Star Proliferation Body at bay.
• A guard reported that an enormous tentacle was crawling beneath Refining Tower Four and that tentacles and crystal matter had appeared beneath other Refining Towers.
• Lord Yunshan arrived with forces that included True Lord Qingyun and Fairy Baihong, and asked Mo Ran to open Mo City’s defensive formation.
• Mo Ran refused and readied the city’s defenses as Yun Qingzi’s commands drove the approaching forces to treat the city’s awakened residents as threats.
• Lord Yunshan concluded that Mo Ran had fallen under a demonic influence.

Yu Sheng reached the Star Proliferation Body’s underground lair and confronted Yun Qingzi, who attacked him after beginning to explain the entity. After surviving repeated attempts to destroy him, Yu Sheng emerged from the crystal mirror and said he would go ask the Star Proliferation Body himself.

• Yu Sheng sensed fighting in Mo City and sent Huli, Eileen, and Luna through a teleportation gate to help.
• Yu Sheng continued alone through the caves until he reached Yun Qingzi, who appeared inside a crystal mirror.
• Yun Qingzi claimed the Star Proliferation Body was an empty shell and said he was the original Yun Qingzi, then began to explain what the entity was.
• Yun Qingzi impaled Yu Sheng with crystal spikes, struck him with lightning, crushed his remains, and burned the cavern with Spirit Flame True Fire.
• Yu Sheng’s blood formed a question about the Star Proliferation Body, and he then stepped out of the mirror behind Yun Qingzi.

Yu Sheng’s attempt to learn the Star Proliferation Body’s nature was cut off when Yun Qingzi severed the contaminated crystal, while the creature prepared to ascend ahead of schedule. At Mo City, Yuan Hao tried to mediate as a vast crystal mountain rose from the earth, and restored orbital communications reported a face on Shu Ji’s surface.

• The Star Proliferation Body detected Yu Sheng’s corrosion, severed the infected crystal structure, and sent it plunging into the magma before Yun Qingzi decided to accelerate the ascension.
• True Spirit Yuan Hao intervened between Mo City and the controlled army, and privately told Xuan Che they were only buying time and might need to retreat.
• Lord Yunshan and his followers became confused and forgot why they had gathered outside Mo City as strange rumbling spread underground.
• Huli, Eileen, and Luna witnessed the ground rise beyond the crystal forest while the opposing battle formation fell into disarray.
• A huge crystal mountain erupted from the plain, and a guard told Mo Ran that orbital platform communications had returned and reported a face on Shu Ji’s surface.