Chapter Summaries

Paquiao’s battle against the three Seeds of Heroes appeared hopeless as Yellow Beard and Ji Jue’s antics strained their teamwork. Lu Feng then awakened from a confused, nightmare-like state when Lord of Heavenly Slaughter took control of Tang Qian’s body and examined him and the Pan Ying he held.

• Paquiao’s wounds fueled his strength, but Simir, Fabuti, Surtr, and Yellow Beard kept him trapped and steadily wore down his reserves.
• Ji Jue distracted Yellow Beard by probing the Cliff Edge Shield and peppering him with questions while the three Seeds of Heroes continued their assault.
• A blade’s chime and the sight of Green Fire jolted Lu Feng into realizing he was in combat, though he could not find his body or operate his familiar interface.
• A fist’s force through the Dragon Mountain Armor pulled Lu Feng out of his disoriented state.
• Lord of Heavenly Slaughter seized control of Tang Qian’s body, silenced the others, and inspected Lu Feng and the Pan Ying he held.

Lord of Heavenly Slaughter awakened Victory Over Evil through Pan Ying and used it to overpower and torment Paquiao. As Paquiao’s Lord of Scars blessing stirred, another mark appeared on the blade, increasing Pan Ying’s completion and forcing a new Inheritance Sacrifice Secret Rite onto Ji Jue.

• Lord of Heavenly Slaughter drew Pan Ying through his hands, completing its tempering and revealing the crimson blade Victory Over Evil.
• Lord of Heavenly Slaughter crossed the battlefield and struck Paquiao, breaking his spear and piercing him with a blow that stole part of his life and power.
• Lord of Heavenly Slaughter forced Paquiao to pick up his weapon, then repeatedly cut and battered him while the onlookers watched in silence.
• Paquiao’s blessings and allies stopped answering him, but he sensed Lord of Scars stir and saw its three-scar mark appear on Pan Ying.
• Ji Jue’s vision repeatedly went dark as Pan Ying’s completion rose and another Inheritance Sacrifice Secret Rite was forced into him.

Lord of Heavenly Slaughter left after advising Tang Qian to accept or carry the consequences of his choices, while Ji Jue and Yellow Beard negotiated how to divide Paquiao’s Gifts and other remains. Lu Feng then arranged to sell Paquiao alive to a wealthy Seven Cities Navy family, prompting Ji Jue to demand another renegotiation with Yellow Beard.

• Lord of Heavenly Slaughter abandoned Victory Over Evil to Pan Ying, advised Tang Qian to make a clean break or carry the burden, and vanished.
• Ji Jue and Yellow Beard prepared to divide Paquiao’s remains, arguing until they agreed on shares of his Gifts, blood, bones, soul, and Matrix.
• Ji Jue selected Gifts for Pan Ying, including a damage Blessing Chain and Burning Both Jade and Stone, while suspecting the Containing Form Mirror concealed part of the Ye Clan inheritance.
• Lu Feng stopped Ji Jue from killing Paquiao and contacted a Seven Cities Navy officer who wanted Paquiao alive for military merit.
• Lu Feng negotiated a large payment and possible trade cooperation in exchange for Paquiao, and Ji Jue demanded that Yellow Beard renegotiate their spoils agreement.

After New Spring’s victory, Ji Jue exploited the captured Water Ghosts and began rebuilding and expanding Coast Industry while An Neng returned with a mysterious fiend’s arm. The chapter ended with Ji Jue receiving a message from Lü Yingyue after the arm stirred his hunger and reminded him of Lu Changsheng.

• Ji Jue negotiated with Yellow Beard for another half portion of the Horde's Original Blood, then processed the surviving Water Ghosts into workers and spiritual-energy sources.
• Ji Jue began rebuilding and expanding New Spring, while Chen Xingzhou planned to use the captured ships to expand into the Thousand Isles and maritime trade.
• An Neng told Ji Jue that the Entropy Lineage Nether Frost enemies had escaped, but he had recovered a mangled fiend's arm.
• An Neng gave Ji Jue the arm as a wedding gift and advised him to demand an exorbitant price if someone came seeking it.
• Ji Jue recognized the arm's pure fiendish aura as resembling Lu Changsheng before his death, and later received a message from Lü Yingyue.

After the funeral for those killed in the siege of Paquiao, Ji Jue compensated the bereaved families and received a Priest’s badge from the Accountant. He then pressed Tang Qian for information about the ancestor who possessed him, learning that Victory Over Evil required six ancient sacred relic imprints before he hurried to meet Lü Yingyue’s people.

• Ji Jue attended the funeral and gave the victims’ families compensation and support, while the Accountant told him not to feel guilty for making the same choices again.
• The Accountant gave Ji Jue a Broken Iron Crown badge and warned him not to spread Mycelium inheritances indiscriminately before departing with most of the Homecoming Knights.
• Ji Jue questioned the injured Tang Qian about his ancestor, and Lord of Heavenly Slaughter briefly appeared to demand that Ji Jue gather enough Six Heavens Old Ghost seals for Victory Over Evil.
• Tang Qian explained that the Six Heavens Old Ghost seals referred to the inheritances and sacred relics of six ancient Sacrificial Masters, and suggested Ji Jue seek them by fighting the Horde.
• After failing to extract useful details from Tang Qian, Ji Jue ordered the nurse to discharge him and hurried to New Spring’s entrance to meet Lü Yingyue’s people.

Ji Jue received Chen Haiqiu, an envoy from Lü Yingyue’s department, who exchanged a severed limb for valuable forging materials and a rare Blessing. Chen Haiqiu also asked Ji Jue to play an ordinary-looking disc around New Spring, then requested a tour of Quancheng before leaving.

• Ji Jue welcomed Chen Haiqiu and described the Thousand Isles pirates’ raid, then handed over the preserved severed limb for examination.
• Chen Haiqiu confirmed the specimen but noticed its Sin Corruption Spiritual Substance had faded, while Ji Jue claimed not to know why.
• Chen Haiqiu gave Ji Jue cases containing the materials he needed and the rare Blessing [Dragon Strides Leopard Changes], bringing Chun Jun’s Blessing Chain close to completion.
• Chen Haiqiu asked Ji Jue to play a disc of ordinary piano snippets and machine sounds regularly in New Spring and nearby Settlements.
• Chen Haiqiu asked Ji Jue to guide him around Quancheng, and Ji Jue agreed.

Ji Jue learned that the Security Bureau had hidden a Rift World beneath Quancheng to contain a dying remnant of the Abyss Seed, and Chen Haiqiu recruited him to watch the site. After Chen Haiqiu confirmed Ji Jue was not a latent Sin Demon, a separate operation ended with the Mermaid tribe’s extermination, though Tong Shan suspected the creatures had been fleeing something.

• Ji Jue realized Chen Haiqiu and Paquiao had been drawn to Quancheng, and he drove Chen Haiqiu there through the ruins.
• Chen Haiqiu revealed the concealed security site and opened an Eternal Gate to a small Rift World containing a remnant of the scar Lu Changsheng had left on the Present World.
• Chen Haiqiu explained that Sin Demons might seek the Abyss Seed, but Tao Gong had extinguished it; he asked Ji Jue to watch the site and report any Fiendified Ones to the Security Bureau.
• Chen Haiqiu later reported that Ji Jue had shown no reaction to the Abyss Seed and was not a latent Sin Demon, while the Locksmiths chose to observe him before approaching him about recruitment.
• Tong Shan and Wen Wen celebrated the extermination of the invading Mermaid tribe, but Tong Shan questioned why the Mermaids had seemed to be fleeing for their lives.

While Ji Jue stayed home as Coast Industry and its allies carried out a brutal campaign across Haizhou, Lu Feng fought a mutated Chosen One at Coiled Mountain Stronghold and helped capture him alive. The next day, Ji Jue received a box of grotesque material instead of the new employee he had ordered.

• Ji Jue relaxed at home while Isis managed New Spring’s overloaded workshops and operations during the storm.
• Coast Industry and Slan’s Homecoming Knights swept across Haizhou, destroying settlements and killing or capturing those tied to the Water Ghosts and human trafficking.
• Lu Feng grew bored during the assault on Coiled Mountain Stronghold until a drug-enhanced Vortex Lineage Chosen One broke out of a secret room.
• Lu Feng used his Powered Armor to attack the giant ape-like Chosen One, and his soldiers pinned it down and began suppressing it alive.
• Ji Jue received a delivery the next day, found it contained a grotesque heap of material, and wondered where the new employee he had ordered was.

Ji Jue expanded Coast Industry’s reach through new jobs, construction, and logistics while securing the final Blessing needed for Chun Jun. After using See Simplicity Embrace Purity to reflect on his actions, he rushed to meet Ye Xian, who had just finished a month of research and was stunned by the trouble he had caused.

• Ji Jue used scraps to make a living Spirit Essence Battery and accepted the loss of another employee, while New Spring’s growing workforce continued expanding the underground park and rebuilding the settlement.
• A Water Ghost raid stole Coast Industry’s first shipment of civilian exoskeletons bound for Thousand Isles, and Ji Jue promised to send a doubled replacement batch.
• Ji Jue approved Gou Er’s Courier Logistics project, which began offering deliveries and online shopping across Wilderness settlements and planned intercity routes.
• Lu Feng received news that a young general might join the Seven Cities Allied Defense fleet, and the Tong Family later gave Ji Jue the final missing Blessing for Chun Jun, See Simplicity Embrace Purity.
• Ji Jue examined the Blessing’s power and the dangers of Aether distortion, then regretted not sacrificing the dead Water Ghosts and discarded materials for more resources.
• Ji Jue rushed to Tide Sound to question Ye Xian after she finished her research, leaving her silently astonished at how much trouble he had caused in a month.

Ye Xian explained the hidden parts of the Ye Family’s Nine Types inheritance and warned Ji Jue that studying it could draw the attention of Eternal Empire loyalists. After ordering him not to pursue the Ye Clan’s restoration, she examined his discs and asked whether he knew about the Barrier of Knowledge and Perception.

• Ye Xian activated a Blessing relic to shield the study before discussing the Ye Family’s concealed inheritance with Ji Jue.
• Ye Xian explained hidden principles of the Nine Type Change, including the key to Chun Jun, and identified the Horde inheritance as a remnant of the Eternal Empire.
• Ye Xian warned Ji Jue that the Nine Types could entangle him with Empire loyalists and told him to leave the Ye Family’s affairs behind.
• Ji Jue promised to heed Ye Xian, but she threatened to expel him if he used the inheritance to advocate reviving the Ye Clan.
• Ye Xian assured Ji Jue that the discs posed no danger, cautioned him about Lü Yingyue, and asked whether he knew about the Barrier of Knowledge and Perception.

Ye Xian explained that the Barrier of Knowledge and Perception concealed Superior Virtue and Great Evils to protect the world, then challenged Ji Jue’s assumptions about history and familiar reality. When Ji Jue wondered aloud about the Lock, a glimpse of its vast presence nearly destroyed the Silence Hourglass, and Ye Xian realized the old bastard had secretly set a trap for him.

• Ye Xian told Ji Jue that the Barrier of Knowledge and Perception had been spread throughout the world and used the disc to strengthen its effect.
• Ye Xian explained that the barrier’s true purpose was to keep people from perceiving Superior Virtue and Great Evils, and argued that Superior Virtue had caused calamities of its own.
• Ye Xian described how the deaths of the Fire Thief and the Web Weaver had changed fire and seawater, then urged Ji Jue to travel beyond the Workshop and question what he took for granted.
• Ji Jue wondered whether the barrier was part of the Lock, and his words briefly connected his awareness to a colossal entity.
• Ye Xian suppressed the resulting disturbance before it destroyed the Silence Hourglass, then realized the old bastard had used Ji Jue to force open a path and angrily vowed to deal with him.

Ye Xian explained Sin Demons, Chosen Ones, and Ji Jue’s possible connection to the Great Evil, then urged him to forge the Masterwork Chun Jun on his own. Ji Jue left for his workshop, unaware that the nineteen-year-old Masterwork record he hoped to match belonged to Heavenly Furnace, not Jianyuan.

• Ye Xian warned Ji Jue to avoid Heavenly Furnace, keep quiet about the lock, and treat Sin Demons as dangerous agents of the Great Evil.
• The Silence Hourglass ran out, and Ye Xian gave it to Ji Jue, who disintegrated it for Deus Ex Machina and gained only 0.1 percent progress.
• Ye Xian explained that Ji Jue could earn Embers' recognition by building Coast Industry or New Spring into something much greater, while Ji Jue focused instead on forging Chun Jun as a Masterwork.
• Ye Xian approved Ji Jue's plan and told him to prepare for a week before beginning, but refused to guide him through the forging.
• Ye Xian provoked Ji Jue by comparing him to Jianyuan, so he left for his workshop determined to forge Chun Jun.
• Ye Chun wondered why Ji Jue had left without showing off, while Ye Xian recalled that Heavenly Furnace—not Jianyuan—had forged a Masterwork in his second year at school.

After seven days of fasting and preparation, Ji Jue forged Chun Jun and awakened its five Blessings, but the completed blade’s call drove him to strike it again. A crack appeared in Chun Jun, and the Heaven-Granted Spirit progress surged as Ji Jue raised the hammer for another blow.

• Ji Jue woke from a recurring nightmare, confirmed it had drawn closer, and continued his fasting and mental preparation for forging Chun Jun.
• After bathing and changing into white clothes, Ji Jue began forging Chun Jun alone, drawing the Sword Blank from the furnace and hammering it while feeding it his blood and spirit essence.
• Chun Jun’s sword cry reached New Spring, and Ji Jue’s hammer blows awakened [Transcendent Vision], [sudden inspiration], [Ascension to Truth], [See Simplicity Embrace Purity], and [Dragon Strides Leopard Changes].
• The five Blessings merged into Chun Jun, but the blade continued urging Ji Jue onward after its forging appeared complete.
• Ji Jue struck again, causing a crack to appear on Chun Jun, and the progress of the Heaven-Granted Spirit rapidly increased as he prepared another blow.

Ji Jue completed Chunjun by forging his memories and soul into an invisible sword, then used it to enter the Flame Tide imprisoned beneath the sea. After promising the suffering dead he would end their torment, he struck, and the Flame Tide erupted through its restraints.

• At six thirty, Ji Jue’s hammer shattered Chunjun, and his memories formed the sword’s spirit as the invisible blade emerged from its fragments.
• Ji Jue explained that Chunjun could only be perceived by its swordsmith, then turned its formless edge on himself and merged with it.
• The Heavenly Furnace Manifestation appeared above New Spring as Ji Jue’s soul absorbed Chunjun, discovered the fissure called [Kong], and joined his reflection as one.
• Following the call through [Kong], Ji Jue’s soul crossed the storm and descended into the Flame Tide imprisoned in the deep sea.
• Ji Jue manifested Chunjun among the tormented dead and promised to end their suffering before striking with the blade.
• The Flame Tide erupted, broke through its seals, and surged toward the surface, illuminating the sea for ten thousand miles.

Ji Jue entered the Flame Tide as a wandering spirit and slaughtered its trapped remnants, causing the sealed disaster to erupt toward the sky. Aboard the strange giant ship, Worry-Free Duke blamed his allies for losing control and ordered four thousand more living sacrifices to force open the sacrificial shrine.

• Ji Jue used Chun Jun to destroy the pleading souls inside the Flame Tide, strengthening his spirit essence with the Nine Forms and Pan Ying.
• Ji Jue pressed deeper into the Flame Tide as it swelled and broke through the Heavenly Origin Law chains sealing it beneath the sea.
• The overseer reported the disaster to Worry-Free Duke, who crushed him after he blamed Sower for the failure.
• Xie Heli defended his master, Sower, and urged Worry-Free Duke to increase the living sacrifices.
• Worry-Free Duke ordered four thousand more living sacrifices to force open the sacrificial shrine before the ship's mirage attracted attention.

Ji Jue rampaged through the Flame Tide, using Chunjun’s Soul Shadow and blessings to annihilate its wailing remnants and grotesque mud giants. As Worry-Free Duke’s attempt to suppress the Disaster faltered, he sacrificed his Celestial Being Realm power to unleash his Abyss Seed, only to find two minutes later that it could not control the Flame Tide.

• Worry-Free Duke used blood and living sacrifices to suppress the Flame Tide while Ji Jue slaughtered remnants in its spirit realm, growing stronger without corrupting his own soul.
• Ji Jue used Chunjun’s Soul Shadow and blessings to evade ambushes, then destroyed waves of grotesque mud giants that he suspected were invaders.
• Ji Jue unleashed Chunjun’s full power and tore through the scorched earth, seemingly becoming one with the Flame Tide Disaster as the realm began to collapse.
• Worry-Free Duke realized the Flame Tide was rapidly weakening and accused the Sower of giving him a fake, while Xie Heli denied that his lord had betrayed him.
• Worry-Free Duke released his long-nurtured Abyss Seed, sacrificing his Celestial Being Realm status in an attempt to control the Flame Tide.
• Two minutes later, Worry-Free Duke discovered that the Abyss Seed could not control the Flame Tide.

Ji Jue’s rampage through the Flame Tide Disaster severed Worry-Free Duke’s shadow chains, and Worry-Free Duke detonated the disaster to open a rift into the Rift World. Ji Jue woke in the Workshop after the battle, only to realize he had no idea where Chun Jun was.

• Ji Jue unleashed a transformed strike that severed the Shadow chains and began tearing apart the Tower's Shadow.
• Worry-Free Duke blamed Sower for the failed disasters and poured his Abyss Seed’s reserves into the Flame Tide Disaster, forcing it to explode.
• The explosion opened a gate to the Rift World, and Worry-Free Duke sailed his damaged giant ship through it while his two seeds were left badly depleted.
• The artisan and Heavenly Furnace watched the rift open and speculated about the many forces involved in the events.
• Ji Jue woke on an operating table in the Workshop, pulled out his IV needles, and realized he could not find Chun Jun.

Ji Jue completed Chunjun as a Masterwork, but awakening its spirit transformed him into a Sin Corruption while granting him the final Metamorphosis Blessing and a powerful new Matrix chain. After discovering a new route to the Primordial Shrine, he prepared to depart aboard the Doomsday Train.

• Ji Jue awakened Chunjun's spirit and became engulfed in bloodfire and Sin Corruption, though Embers confirmed his creation counted as a Masterwork.
• He received the Heaven-Granted Spirit Blessing, completed the three Metamorphosis Blessings, and activated the Matrix's Metamorphosis chain.
• Ji Jue used the new chain on Little Cow and Horse, transforming it before Isis punished it for damaging the Workshop.
• Ji Jue muted the flood of congratulations, avoided discussing Chunjun's abnormal transformation, and privately worried that the Flame Tide Disaster was reviving.
• Sky Rail revealed a new teleport point at the Present World Pivot - Primordial Shrine, and Ji Jue looked toward the ready Doomsday Train with a grin.

Worry-Free Duke led Xie Heli and the outsiders through the dangerous Riftworld toward the sacrificial temple, where he hoped to find the Imperial Jade Seal and restore the Empire. When hostile shadows awakened, he used an imperial ceremonial staff to make them kneel and led the group onward, while Ji Jue remained unaware nearby.

• Worry-Free Duke guided the ship through the Riftworld’s ghostly fires, deadly hazards, and ruins by following an ancient imperial document.
• Worry-Free Duke led the group into the ruined temple city, where a Fiendified One died after looking at its eerie inhabitants.
• Worry-Free Duke warned the outsiders to obey the temple’s rules as they crossed streets warped by distorted space and time.
• Worry-Free Duke explained that the temple concealed the Imperial Jade Seal, which could let its wielder command the Heavenly Origin Law and revive the Empire.
• When the shadows awakened and seized a fleeing old man, Worry-Free Duke used a broken ceremonial staff to make them kneel, then ordered everyone to follow him on foot.
• Ji Jue grilled skewers in a hall and chatted to unresponsive shadows, who rushed away after hearing the screams.

Ji Jue entered the Primordial Shrine, where the Wristwatch and Containing Form Mirror’s authorization made the ancient temple treat him as one of its own. While he began looting the Imperial Cemetery, Worry-Free Duke’s party endured a catastrophic disturbance in the Riftworld, and Ji Jue spotted a gigantic snake in the abyss.

• Ji Jue reached the Primordial Shrine almost instantly aboard the Doomsday Train and entered its ancient hall.
• Non-Aggression awakened with murderous hatred for the Eternal Empire, but the shrine’s defenses knelt before Ji Jue after his Wristwatch and Containing Form Mirror verified his authorization.
• Ji Jue tested the shrine’s indifference, pried up a gold-inlaid floor tile, and left with a cart to begin looting the Imperial Cemetery.
• A monk in Worry-Free Duke’s group triggered a taboo by looking at the emperor’s portrait and dissolved into paint that merged into the image.
• Worry-Free Duke led his group toward the sacrificial temple, where a bell and upheaval forced everyone to bow as the Riftworld shook.
• Ji Jue looked over the cliff and saw an enormous snake in the abyss.