Chapter Summaries

Jiang Liu fought the Human Realm Core while using Nebula Shrunken Earth and the Heavenly Evolution Codex to evade its attacks and heal his injuries. He suspected the Human Realm Core had noticed the Data Panel, but resolved to keep its abilities—especially traversal—secret.

• The Human Realm Core struck Jiang Liu in the chest, shattering several bones while its Power of Rule ravaged his body.
• Jiang Liu used Nebula Shrunken Earth to evade, but the Human Realm Core tracked the Heaven and Earth Essence around him and hit him again.
• Jiang Liu circulated the Heavenly Evolution Codex to heal his injuries and refine the Power of Rule inside him.
• Jiang Liu realized the Human Realm Core had avoided attacking his Divine Sea and wondered whether it had sensed the Data Panel.
• Jiang Liu decided he could allow others to sense a foreign power within him, but he had to keep the Data Panel's abilities, especially traversal, concealed.

Jiang Liu recovered enough to evade the Human Realm Core’s attacks after his mastery of the Time Rule advanced, surprising the Core. The Human Realm Core’s anger surged when Jiang Liu appeared beside it through a spatial wrinkle.

• The Human Realm Core struck Jiang Liu again, worsening his injuries until he spat out blood and his meridians and Heaven Evolution Codex steadied.
• Jiang Liu’s aura rose as he realized his mastery of the Time Rule had advanced, allowing him to see the Core’s attack before it landed and dodge it with Nebula Shrunken Earth.
• The Human Realm Core was astonished that Jiang Liu had evaded its attack, unaware that he had cultivated the Time Rule as well as the Space Rule.
• The Human Realm Core recalled its past encounter with the Ghost Lord of the Nether Realm and its self-imposed slumber to suppress its killing and destructive urges.
• Jiang Liu dodged another punch, then appeared smiling within a spatial wrinkle beside the Human Realm Core, provoking its rage.

Jiang Liu realized the Nether Realm aura inside the Human Realm Core had overwhelmed its restraint and turned it savage, and he suspected the Nether Realm Ghost Lord or someone beyond the Three Realms had planted it. As the Human Realm Core attacked with an unfamiliar Power of Rule, it caught Jiang Liu in its hand.

• Jiang Liu sensed the Human Realm Core’s killing intent and concluded that its Nether Realm aura had begun to run rampant.
• Jiang Liu reasoned that the aura had gradually influenced the Human Realm Core and might have caused its past calamity, though he could not identify who had planted it.
• Jiang Liu suspected the Nether Realm Ghost Lord or someone beyond the Three Realms, and dismissed the Demon God as too weak to scheme against the Human Realm Core.
• The Human Realm Core shattered the space around Jiang Liu and attacked with an unfamiliar Power of Rule.
• The Human Realm Core’s enormous hand seized Jiang Liu and clenched tightly.

Jiang Liu evaded the Human Realm Core’s attacks, then followed it as it inexplicably pursued an empty spot. Zhuge Cheng realized Jiang Liu had reached the Second Realm of Rules and reconsidered his plan to control him, while wondering why his deductions about Jiang Liu kept going wrong.

• Jiang Liu dodged the Human Realm Core’s deadly strike and repeatedly escaped its attempts to seize him.
• The Human Realm Core chased into the distance after attacking an empty spot, while Jiang Liu concealed his aura and followed.
• Zhuge Cheng sensed that Jiang Liu had entered the Second Realm of Rules and decided that controlling him with the Heaven Calculation Control Technique was too risky.
• Zhuge Cheng reconsidered his plans and questioned why his deductions had repeatedly deviated whenever they involved Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu pursued the rampaging Human Realm Core as it crossed the continent toward the wasteland, fearing it would slaughter the Human Race warriors. He stopped at the wasteland’s edge when he saw the region’s worsening disasters, while the Human Realm Core continued deeper inside.

• Zhuge Cheng decided to follow Jiang Liu, hoping to stay close to the person he believed could bring hope during the crisis.
• Jiang Liu tracked the Human Realm Core with the Heavenly Evolution Codex and realized its Nether Realm-tainted consciousness now regarded the Human Race warriors as enemies.
• The Human Realm Core crossed Qi Province and Dui Province without stopping, then entered the wasteland at even greater speed.
• Jiang Liu stopped before entering the wasteland after seeing sandstorms, gathering storm clouds, cries from strange beasts, and cracked cities across the disaster-struck region.

A brief catastrophe shook the Human Realm, killing more than a million people and devastating cities across the Star Cloud Holy Dynasty. Qin Bailian and the Hall of Governmental Affairs coordinated relief efforts as they faced an unexpected financial crisis, with reconstruction postponed until survivors were rescued.

• Qin Bailian and the Hall of Governmental Affairs ordered martial law and mobilized the Martial Division, Ministry of Surveillance, Royal Peace Army, and Wind Hall after disasters struck across the realm.
• The Holy Dynasty's officials and Jianghu forces helped restore calm, and the catastrophe did not trigger wider unrest.
• Reports revealed that natural disasters and earthquakes had killed seven to eight hundred thousand people, left two to three hundred thousand missing, and injured countless others.
• Qin Bailian and the others learned that several cities had been destroyed and that rebuilding them would overwhelm the Holy Dynasty's low-tax revenues.
• Qin Bailian summoned Nangong Yun, Yun Yue, Yuchi Yue, Liuxing, Xingchen, and Lin Chi to report on rescue operations, prioritizing aid to survivors over reconstruction.

The Hall of Governmental Affairs discussed how to fund disaster relief and repair cities, but learned that the Iron Blood Army had vanished after entering the Ten Thousand Mountains. Qin Bailian turned to Lin Chi for information as the army’s fate became the most urgent concern.

• Jiang Liu’s absence led him to place Lin Chi and the Wind Hall under the Hall of Governmental Affairs, giving the council a role in overseeing the Wind Hall.
• Meteor warned that the Ministry of Logistics could not provide enough funding to repair cities and resettle refugees.
• Yun Yue asked Meteor when the Iron Blood Army could return to help restore order in the cities.
• Meteor said the army had lost contact after Nangong Xing led it into the Ten Thousand Mountains, and its soldiers might be trapped or dead.
• Qin Bailian asked Lin Chi whether the Wind Hall had learned anything about the missing Iron Blood Army.

After learning that both the Iron Blood Army and Wind Hall personnel had vanished in the Ten Thousand Mountains, Qin Bailian decided to investigate personally. Lin Chi accompanied him to gather the Wind Hall’s information, while the Hall of Governmental Affairs remained responsible for the unsettled Saint Dynasty.

• Lin Chi told Qin Bailian that the Wind Hall personnel he had sent to the Ten Thousand Mountains had also lost contact.
• The Hall of Governmental Affairs discussed the Iron Blood Army’s disappearance and worried that Nangong Xing and her troops might be trapped.
• Qin Bailian decided to investigate the Ten Thousand Mountains himself and left the Saint Dynasty’s affairs to the others.
• Lin Chi followed Qin Bailian to the Wind Hall headquarters to retrieve information about the missing personnel.
• The officials stayed behind, agreeing that they would contact Jiang Liu if Qin Bailian could not resolve the matter.

Qin Bailian discovered that Wind Hall’s intelligence showed the Iron Blood Army had vanished in the Ten Thousand Mountains, so he flew there to investigate. The army was trapped by mutated beasts, and its commander Nangong Xing learned that her scouts still could not find a way out.

• Qin Bailian compared Wind Hall’s reports with the Ministry of Surveillance’s intelligence and found that Wind Hall had lost track of the Iron Blood Army.
• Qin Bailian told Lin Chi to monitor the Saint Realm and inform the Saint Lord if he did not return, then headed toward the Ten Thousand Mountains.
• Lin Chi understood that Qin Bailian might be in grave danger but chose not to involve the Frost Race.
• The Iron Blood Army, led by the second-tier Saint Realm commander Nangong Xing, remained surrounded by mutated beasts in a mountain range in Mo Province.
• A middle-aged soldier reported to Nangong Xing that the scouts had returned without finding an escape route.

Jiang Liu tracked the uncontrolled Human Realm Core into a vast desert, then found a hidden passage after sensing unusual energy. He entered the opening to confront the Saint Realm exotic beasts whose auras emerged from below, while Zhuge Cheng followed at a distance.

• Jiang Liu followed the Human Realm Core into Kan Province’s desert and sensed an unusual aura with the Heavenly Evolution Codex.
• Zhuge Cheng tried to divine Jiang Liu’s route, but one of his Heaven Reckoning Bamboo Slips shattered and the backlash injured him.
• Zhuge Cheng continued after Jiang Liu cautiously, afraid of approaching the uncontrolled Human Realm Core.
• Jiang Liu lost the Human Realm Core’s trail in the sand and suspected something was hidden beneath the desert.
• Jiang Liu used Divine Strike with the Godslayer Blade to open the ground, sensed Saint Realm exotic beasts below, and entered the passage.

Jiang Liu followed the violent auras of exotic beasts into an underground cavern and discovered an altar where powerful beasts had been imprisoned. He found a golden Fire-Winged Monkey near the Divine Realm and began examining the altar’s inscribed pillars, which gave him a familiar feeling.

• Jiang Liu entered the cavern and followed the strongest exotic-beast auras, suspecting the Human Realm Core might have disappeared there.
• Jiang Liu noticed the crude, foul-smelling passages and realized the cavern included an excretion site for exotic beasts.
• Jiang Liu sent Ice Blades ahead to probe the passage, then used the Power of Space Rule Light to reach a gigantic altar.
• Jiang Liu found iron cages containing desiccated exotic beasts and a golden Fire-Winged Monkey that had nearly reached the Divine Realm.
• Jiang Liu examined the altar’s inscribed pillars after sensing a familiar aura and recognizing something familiar in their inscriptions.

Jiang Liu discovered that the altar’s pillars drew power from the Nether Realm and resonated with his Heavenly Evolution Codex, then fought a Nether Realm beast’s consciousness hidden at its center. Zhuge Cheng arrived outside the cavern after exhausting himself tracking Jiang Liu, more convinced that Jiang Liu could help him survive the Tribulation of the Three Realms.

• Jiang Liu found that the altar’s pillar inscriptions matched those in the underground space where he had discovered the Demon God Hall, and that their Power of Rule resonated with his Heavenly Evolution Codex.
• Jiang Liu suspected that the altar was connected to the Human Realm Core’s lost consciousness and the Nether Realm aura that had once affected it.
• Jiang Liu probed the altar’s center with his Divine Sense, struck an attacking awareness, and trapped the resulting black smoke inside a Primal Qi barrier.
• The black smoke took the form of an exotic beast, and Jiang Liu sensed that its aura belonged to a Nether Realm black beast.
• Zhuge Cheng arrived outside the cavern, took pills, and restored himself after his deductions had depleted his vital energy and blood.
• Zhuge Cheng concluded that Jiang Liu might be the right person to help him survive the Tribulation of the Three Realms.

Zhuge Cheng entered the cavern Jiang Liu had opened, sensing a Nether Realm exotic beast’s aura in the Human Realm’s former central region. Meanwhile, Jiang Liu faced a corrupted Fire-Winged Monkey and prepared to kill it so he could extract its bloodline for his own companion.

• Zhuge Cheng hesitated at the cavern entrance, fearing the Human Realm Core and the hidden force that had schemed against it might be inside.
• Zhuge Cheng put away the Heaven Reckoning Bamboo Slip and entered the passage protected by two rays of the Power of Rule.
• Zhuge Cheng recognized the passage as lying in the Human Realm’s former central region and sensed the odor of a Nether Realm exotic beast.
• Jiang Liu found a Fire-Winged Monkey whose body had been entered by a Nether Realm beast’s consciousness and considered taking its bloodline for his own Fire-Winged Monkey.
• Jiang Liu decided to kill the corrupted Fire-Winged Monkey and summoned the Godslayer Blade.

Jiang Liu entered the altar’s hidden spatial formation and found the Human Realm Core, while discovering signs that many Nether Realm martial practitioners had gathered there. As he searched for clues to the formation, the blackened Fire-Winged Monkey fled toward the passage and attacked Zhuge Cheng.

• Jiang Liu’s Godslayer Blade struck the Fire-Winged Monkey, but its black light blocked the blow as the Nether Realm beast’s consciousness took control of it.
• Jiang Liu dodged the monkey’s pounce, was drawn into a hidden space, and confirmed that he could still teleport away.
• Jiang Liu found the Human Realm Core and sensed that many Nether Realm martial practitioners had once gathered inside the formation.
• Jiang Liu began searching for clues about how the spatial formation had been made while planning to deal with the blackened Fire-Winged Monkey and awaken the Human Realm Core.
• The Fire-Winged Monkey fled through the passage where Zhuge Cheng was approaching, then attacked him when they met.

Zhuge Cheng fought off the Corrupted Fire-Winged Monkey while Jiang Liu investigated the altar space and tried to uncover how Nether Realm martial practitioners had secretly entered the Human Realm. Just as Jiang Liu attempted to make the spatial formation resonate, a mechanism suddenly began turning.

• The Corrupted Fire-Winged Monkey wounded Zhuge Cheng, who used Heaven Reckoning Bamboo Slips to form a countermeasure tailored to Nether Realm creatures.
• Jiang Liu approached the unconscious Human Realm Core and suspected it had lured him to the altar space to mislead the enemy behind its corruption.
• Jiang Liu searched for the formation’s central hub and reasoned that the altar had concealed Nether Realm martial practitioners from the Human Realm and the Heavenly Dao.
• Jiang Liu returned to the place where he had entered and began drawing a formation-breaking array to provoke a response from the spatial formation.
• A mechanism-like sound suddenly rang through the formation space, and Jiang Liu looked toward it in disbelief.

Jiang Liu entered a hidden passage and learned that the Nether Realm Ghost Lord had built the altar and Soaring Sky Mirror to prepare a full-scale invasion of the Human Realm. As Jiang Liu summoned the Godslayer Blade to resist the mirror’s black Rule Light, the mirror began to tremble.

• Jiang Liu opened a secret passage inside the formation space and entered it, while the Human Realm Core stirred as if nearing awakening.
• Jiang Liu discovered a gigantic mirror that engulfed him in black radiance and sent chaotic consciousness battering his Divine Sea, which he absorbed to strengthen his soul.
• Jiang Liu learned that the Nether Realm Ghost Lord had marked the Human Realm Core with Nether Realm aura, won a War of Rules, and later built the Fear Formation and Soaring Sky Mirror to prepare an invasion.
• Jiang Liu learned that the invasion plan was abandoned after the Human Realm Core caused a calamity, leaving the Devil Race martial practitioners and Nether Realm exotic beasts stranded and the altar deserted.
• Jiang Liu summoned the Godslayer Blade and used its white Rule Light to resist the mirror’s black radiance, causing the mirror to tremble.

Jiang Liu fell victim to an illusion created by the Soaring Sky Mirror’s black Power of Rule Light, where the Data Panel destroyed the mirror’s Artifact Spirit and revealed how to awaken the Human Realm Core. He escaped the illusion and returned to the passage entrance, newly wary of the mirror’s power and the possibility that the Data Panel itself had changed.

• The Soaring Sky Mirror’s Artifact Spirit attacked Jiang Liu’s Spirit Soul, but an unknown consciousness silenced and erased its black Power of Rule Light.
• Jiang Liu learned from the Artifact Spirit how to awaken the Human Realm Core and saw that the mirror retained its spatial-transference function.
• Jiang Liu tried to approach the mirror, then noticed the sounds of the battle outside had vanished.
• Jiang Liu cut through the illusion with the Godslayer Blade and found himself back at the passage entrance, where Zhuge Cheng and the Corrupted Fire-Winged Monkey were still fighting.
• Jiang Liu realized the mirror had deceived him and questioned whether the disturbance in his Divine Sea and the apparent actions of the Data Panel had been real.

Jiang Liu fought the Soaring Sky Mirror and discovered it guarded a doorway that might lead to the Nether Realm’s teleportation portal. When he approached, the doorway vanished and the Netherworld Master’s consciousness appeared, leaving Jiang Liu ready to destroy it and restore the Human Realm Core.

• Jiang Liu clashed with the Soaring Sky Mirror’s black Power of Rule Light and saw the mirror shrink above a doorway.
• Jiang Liu inferred that the doorway was likely the true teleportation portal from the Nether Realm and moved toward it.
• Jiang Liu triggered a dangerous vision, and the Netherworld Master’s consciousness appeared in place of the doorway.
• Jiang Liu questioned why the consciousness lacked the Nether Realm’s aura but resolved to eliminate it and restore the Human Realm Core.
• The consciousness sensed the Godslayer Blade’s power and rapidly charged at Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu destroyed the Netherworld Master's consciousness and captured the Soaring Sky Mirror as it fled. The Human Realm Core emerged and flew back toward its former home, leaving Jiang Liu uncertain whether it had regained its awareness.

• Jiang Liu fought the Netherworld Master's consciousness with the Godslayer Blade, weakening it until it disintegrated and the surrounding scene collapsed.
• Zhuge Cheng subdued the Nether Realm aberrant beast's soul with the Power of Rule Light, while the badly wounded Fire-Winged Monkey lost its remaining aura.
• Jiang Liu chased a streak of black light toward the boundary wall, where Heaven's Dao struck it with lightning, and Jiang Liu captured it in the System Space as the Soaring Sky Mirror.
• Zhuge Cheng emerged from the ruins, but fled when the Human Realm Core appeared and made him feel threatened.
• The Human Realm Core ignored Zhuge Cheng, glanced at Jiang Liu, and flew toward the place where it had previously lived.

Jiang Liu investigated a newly revealed wasteland that had once been the Human Realm’s central region, seeking to purge the Nether Realm’s remaining aura so humans could explore it safely. As he sensed the ruined cavern, his Heavenly Evolution Codex changed the Heaven and Earth Essence around him, astonishing Zhuge Cheng.

• The recovered Human Realm Core departed, and Jiang Liu turned his attention to investigating the strange consciousness projection.
• A Primal Qi Storm appeared as the desert’s sand receded, revealing ruins of cities and vegetation beginning to grow.
• Zhuge Cheng recognized the wasteland as the former center of the Human Realm and realized Jiang Liu knew little of its past.
• Jiang Liu flew to the collapsed underground space to search for and clear any remaining Nether Realm aura.
• Jiang Liu circulated the Heavenly Evolution Codex and drew in and repelled Heaven and Earth Essence while sensing the cavern.
• Zhuge Cheng observed the Essence growing unusually pure around Jiang Liu and wondered what cultivation technique he had practiced.