Chapter Summaries

Clara revealed that A Lian planned an incense-burning activity to pray for blessings, and the group set out for it after returning from their outing. A Lian led them to a dark cluster of buildings and unlocked one with a key, leaving the group to discover what made the place and timing special.

• Clara said she recognized A Lian's incense by its distinctive smell and explained it was an expensive import used in an ancient blessing custom.
• A Lian returned and led the group onward, saying the absent couple had warned they might not come; Fu Qian suspected she had tried to contact them without getting an answer.
• Fu Qian considered whether the couple's intense behavior after visiting the Royal Imperial Garden reflected a supernatural desire to reproduce.
• After dinner, A Lian handed out pale yellow incense sticks and led the group to a dark cluster of buildings.
• A Lian unlocked one of the buildings and told the group that the important thing was the time, not the place.

A Lian brought Fu Qian, Old Man San Hao, and the captain to a lavish replica of a long-lost lakeside shrine, where visitors could burn incense as royalty once had. Fu Qian explored the building and sat on its upper terrace, where Clara interrupted his quiet moment by asking why he had not lit the incense.

• A Lian opened the shrine-like workshop and showed the group its carefully crafted historical set.
• The captain and Old Man San Hao praised the replica, and A Lian explained that her friend had designed it as an optional incense-burning experience.
• A Lian told the group they could explore the different floors but had only an hour, and they promised not to damage anything.
• Fu Qian explored the replica, examined the ring patterns on his palm, and climbed to the terrace overlooking the lake.
• Fu Qian sat in the terrace chair, and Clara appeared behind him and asked why he had not lit the incense.

Fu Qian and Clara discussed the Wenlan Family’s history and the open-air blessing rituals at the terrace. Clara lit incense and posed like the dancing girl, leaving Fu Qian watching her unexplained change in demeanor.

• Fu Qian told Clara he was trying to imagine the terrace as it had been in the past, and explained that royal pride belonged beneath the open sky.
• Clara described how the Wenlan Family’s blessing rituals displayed its pride before the gods rather than appealing to them.
• Fu Qian learned from Clara that a later power had remodeled the Wenlan royal residence after the Wenlan Family was driven out.
• Fu Qian said he was imagining himself as Anke Wenlan, and Clara asked what her surname would be.
• Clara lit three incense sticks, placed them in the railing, and posed like the dancing girl.

Clara performed a prayer dance for Fu Qian, then revealed her real name was Philae Wenland and explained how her father’s fixation on the family’s lost royal status shaped her feelings about the city. As she joked that the gods had not responded to her dance, Fu Qian sensed a change in his own hand.

• Clara performed a graceful prayer dance beside the lake while Fu Qian watched.
• Clara told Fu Qian her real name was Philae Wenland and described her father’s obsession with the Wenlan Family’s former glory.
• Clara explained that her father’s unusual name for his youngest daughter had made her feel strangely connected to the city, prompting her to visit and seek out other people’s perspectives.
• Clara said her father had encouraged her to learn the dance as a way to express the Wenlan Family’s pride in turning prayer into entertainment.
• Clara joked that the gods had not responded to her performance, while Fu Qian felt something change in his hand.

After Clara’s dance drew the hostility of a Higher Being, Fu Qian identified the attack as a chaotic blend of flame, lightning, and Blood Order conveyed through the Third Cause. He urged Clara to dance again so he could deepen their connection to the entity, and the chapter ended with him offering her incense.

• Fu Qian felt his flesh being destroyed and transformed by a burning force, and connected its reproductive and evolutionary effects to Blood Order.
• Fu Qian concluded that Clara’s ancient-style dance had provoked the Higher Being behind the corruption and decided to trace the source and kill it.
• Fu Qian formed the Unassailable sigil in his palm, revealing rings of flame, electric arc, and chaotic crimson that confirmed the attack’s nature.
• Clara noticed the sigil and wondered whether her dance had angered a god and brought down divine punishment.
• Fu Qian encouraged Clara to dance again and offered her incense after she hesitated.

Fu Qian used Clara’s dance and incense to invite a Higher Being, studying its struggle with the Third Cause as it eroded the authority. He urged Clara to continue the four-part dance and secured more incense from A Lian, leaving Clara wary as another ritual seemed about to begin.

• Fu Qian invited the Higher Being by having Clara dance while holding burning incense, and it accepted as the mark on his palm burrowed deeper.
• Fu Qian let the Higher Being’s chaos act on him and found that the Third Cause only partly redirected it because the Being contested his control of the authority.
• Fu Qian studied how Higher Beings wielding the same authority struggled for control while keeping time with Clara’s dance.
• Clara finished another section and told Fu Qian that the dance had four sections in total, but she hesitated to continue when he urged her on.
• A Lian arrived after hearing a strange sound, and Fu Qian asked her for more incense and paid her with the banknotes Clara had given him.

Fu Qian used Clara’s dance and the incense to strengthen his connection to the source of the calamity, then traced an attack from a third New God back to its target. He restored his rank to that of a true Higher Being and detonated his calamity eyes, completing the mission to contain No. 3-399.

• Fu Qian gave A Lian a generous reward, took the incense, and urged Clara to continue dancing.
• A Lian watched Clara perform and told Fu Qian that the dance had been popular since before Gregor died, after Gregor had advised dancers.
• Fu Qian observed that Clara’s immersion in the dance had opened a stronger channel for power to descend, while corruption brought his demigod body close to collapse.
• Fu Qian realized a third New God had attacked both sides of the struggle over The Third Cause and suspected the Night Watchers had traced the connection to him.
• Fu Qian restored his rank to that of a true Higher Being and unleashed his calamity eyes across time and space, completing the mission to contain No. 3-399.

Fu Qian completed the King of Offense mission by purifying the Third Cause, and the Warehouse’s evaluation revealed that his unusual state let him remove its pollution without leaving an imprint. After receiving his rewards, he considered the Third Cause’s origins and turned to inspect the Body Slaying Talisman.

• Fu Qian withdrew after destroying the source of the blasphemy and restoring the Third Cause to purity.
• The Warehouse’s evaluation explained that ancient forces had used the dancers to pollute the unclaimed Third Cause and nourish an ancient Higher Being.
• Fu Qian concluded that the mission had been designed for someone like him, whose missing Inspiration let him purify the Third Cause without becoming corrupted in turn.
• Fu Qian speculated that the Third Cause might be a newly born authority and decided to watch for developments in Lanfeilai and the factions involved.
• Fu Qian noted that Inspiration was absent from his mission results and prepared to examine the Body Slaying Talisman.

Fu Qian examined the Body Slaying Talisman he received as his mission reward and considered how its power could separate the consequences of his actions from himself. After dealing with the Higher Being’s lingering presence, he discovered that his Insight slot had increased and prepared to investigate his new Three Faces ability.

• Fu Qian inspected the Body Slaying Talisman and inferred that crushing it would prevent the consequences of his subsequent destruction from rebounding on him.
• Fu Qian recalled that A Lian, Clara, and San Hao had watched his final performance, and speculated about what they and the Night Watchers might do afterward.
• Fu Qian noted that the Higher Being had survived the destruction of its proclamation and swallowed the Mechanical Tyrant’s fragment when it began repairing itself.
• Fu Qian confirmed that something from the Higher Being had been lurking on his hand, then explained that he would have thoroughly examined himself regardless.
• Fu Qian saw that his Insight slot had increased and introduced his new ability, Three Faces.

After consuming the Higher Being’s last hope, Fu Qian gained a skill that let three ancient faces randomly exhale destructive fire, lightning, or blood. He tested the skill in the Warehouse and found he could move the faces across his body, even making one resemble Old Master Lu Ming’s limb grafts, before the skill ran out of charges.

• Fu Qian consumed the Higher Being’s last hope and gained Insight, which revealed a skill involving three ancient faces and destructive power.
• Fu Qian activated the skill and breathed a torrent of destructive flame from a dragon-like face on his chest, carefully avoiding the Warehouse’s workstations and shelves.
• Fu Qian released a blinding electric arc from a different face and discovered he could move the faces to choose where the attacks emerged.
• Fu Qian recalled Old Master Lu and shifted a face to his severed arm, making it resemble a grafted limb as it unleashed another burst of flame.
• Fu Qian learned that the blasts appeared in random order and that the skill needed time to recharge after three attacks.

Fu Qian returned to the ruins where he had once encountered the Angel of Peace, reflecting on divine power and preparing to explore the dangerous site again. He used a rank-shifting technique to avoid the barrier rejecting him and entered the ruins.

• Fu Qian theorized that the Great God of Three Aspects and the thunderstorm-wielding New God shared related powers, and resolved to investigate them.
• He concealed his injuries, checked the box marked 3-339, and rested with the other passengers during the journey.
• After reaching the ruins at dawn, Fu Qian restored his true appearance and approached the chaotic remains.
• Fu Qian confirmed the invisible barrier was still present and chose to lower his rank to roughly Li Weixuan's level before crossing.
• Fu Qian entered the ruins and leaped over a fallen pillar to dodge black spikes.

Fu Qian fought his way through the Furnace’s aggressive conceptual lifeforms and reached its central pit, where he encountered Zhao Ran wielding Old Man Feng’s halberd. Zhao Ran recognized Fu Qian but warned him that unseen watchers were nearby.

• Fu Qian kicked aside a charging rib-covered creature and stunned a skull centipede as he traveled through the Furnace.
• Fu Qian recognized the route from his past visits and reached the central pit where Old Man Feng’s blood pool had been.
• Fu Qian caught Old Man Feng’s halberd when Zhao Ran attacked him from behind.
• Fu Qian recognized Zhao Ran as the assassin from his earlier mission and noted that Zhao Ran had grown stronger.
• Zhao Ran recognized Fu Qian, scanned their surroundings, and told him to stay quiet because they were being watched.

Fu Qian encountered Zhao Ran in the pit, where Zhao Ran warned him that unseen people were watching them and led him toward a tower passage. As they questioned each other about the arena and their past visits, Fu Qian grew suspicious of Zhao Ran’s claims about escaping.

• Fu Qian found nothing around them despite Zhao Ran insisting that many people were watching, and Zhao Ran explained that he had mistaken Fu Qian for one of them.
• Fu Qian threatened to keep Zhao Ran from leaving after Zhao Ran admitted he had attacked him, but eased his hostility when Zhao Ran mentioned that they were being treated like animals in an arena.
• Zhao Ran warned Fu Qian not to fight the monsters because they could not be killed, while Fu Qian revealed that he had visited the place before with a group.
• Zhao Ran led Fu Qian into a ruined stone tower and toward a dark passage underground, prompting Fu Qian to question what Zhao Ran was.
• Fu Qian said he had escaped the place with a group before, and Zhao Ran accused him of lying because he believed there was no way out.

Fu Qian questioned Zhao Ran, the Killer Brother, about how long he had been trapped in the Furnace and how to escape. Zhao Ran led him through an underground passage to a fallen church covered in the same red symbol Fu Qian had seen during the mission.

• Fu Qian challenged Zhao Ran’s claim that he had been trapped for a few months, and Zhao Ran explained that people could not starve there because their flesh eventually reached a balance.
• Zhao Ran asked how Fu Qian had escaped before, but Fu Qian demanded to know who Zhao Ran meant by “they.”
• Zhao Ran led Fu Qian through the underground Furnace and said the passage was the work of “them.”
• Zhao Ran showed Fu Qian a narrow window leading into a fallen church, which Fu Qian recognized as being near Old Man Feng’s secret base.
• Fu Qian found the church’s surfaces covered with red paintings of four hands joined at the fingertips and rotating counterclockwise, the same symbol he had seen during the mission.

Fu Qian and Zhao Ran discovered a hidden room beneath a window and found a stone furnace inscribed with the names of successive losers. When Zhao Ran opened it, they saw hundreds of living eyeballs inside, and Fu Qian calmly examined their varied colors.

• Fu Qian told Zhao Ran that the graffiti changed places at certain times, though he had seen it remain still since they arrived.
• Zhao Ran identified a window as a hidden door and opened it to reveal a concealed space below.
• Fu Qian and Zhao Ran found a large stone furnace bearing a series of names and titles, including Mi'en, Falcon, and Calder.
• Fu Qian suggested the names belonged to people who had failed to escape, while Zhao Ran argued they marked losers in an arena.
• Zhao Ran removed the furnace lid, revealing hundreds of living eyeballs packed inside, and Fu Qian noted their diverse colors.

Fu Qian and Zhao Ran discussed the living collection of eyeballs and the names carved beside it, then agreed to hunt the beings they believed were responsible. Zhao Ran proposed using the Four-Handed Emblem at the stone seat to locate them, with one of them standing watch in case it was a trap.

• Fu Qian questioned Zhao Ran's belief that the eyeballs were badges of the defeated, and Zhao Ran argued that only powerful people earned names among them.
• Zhao Ran told Fu Qian he wanted to find and kill the beings responsible, offering to share everything they gained and revealing that he had found the halberd nearby.
• Fu Qian admitted that he had previously stuck the halberd beside the stone seat, prompting Zhao Ran to accept part of his story.
• Zhao Ran proposed that sitting on the stone seat at the center of the Four-Handed Emblem might reveal where the beings were hiding.
• Zhao Ran warned that the stone seat could be a trap and said one of them would need to keep watch while the other sat on it.

Fu Qian and Zhao Ran investigated the self-restored marking and tested the stone seat’s effect. Zhao Ran saw something behind Fu Qian and threw the halberd at it, drawing blood from an apparently invisible target.

• Fu Qian followed Zhao Ran through a hidden passage to the former dean’s cultivation area.
• Fu Qian noticed the marking had returned to a neat arrangement, and Zhao Ran said it had already been that way when he first found it.
• Zhao Ran planted the halberd and sat on the stone seat while Fu Qian agreed not to intervene unless Zhao Ran called for help.
• After enduring the mental assaults, Zhao Ran spotted something behind Fu Qian and threw the halberd at it.
• Fu Qian dodged the halberd, which struck an unseen target and caused blood to spray into view.

Fu Qian and Zhao Ran realized the stone seat and its markings could help people resist the hidden beings, but Zhao Ran then revealed that he himself was the threat. Fu Qian calmly identified Zhao Ran’s connection to the place and ended the chapter hinting that he understood Zhao Ran’s recent ordeal.

• Zhao Ran realized the bloodied mark was left by earlier victims as a means to fight back, not by the hidden beings.
• Zhao Ran made Fu Qian sit on the stone seat to test whether it was dangerous to him, but Fu Qian saw nothing.
• Zhao Ran revealed that Fu Qian could not see him because Zhao Ran was one of the hidden beings and said Fu Qian would never escape.
• Zhao Ran described his months of surviving alone and threatened Fu Qian, who deduced that Zhao Ran had merged with the place and could create illusions.
• Fu Qian asked Zhao Ran why he thought Fu Qian had thanked him for sharing.

Fu Qian confronted Zhao Ran, who revealed that he had gained powerful control over the Furnace and intended to torment him. Zhao Ran began collapsing the church around Fu Qian, while Fu Qian calmly asked him to explain everything except the key detail.

• Fu Qian laughed at Zhao Ran’s suspicion that he had arranged the events that led to Zhao Ran’s gains, then claimed he had only offered a hint.
• Zhao Ran hurled his halberd at Fu Qian, but Fu Qian caught it between two fingers and tossed it aside.
• Zhao Ran grasped at the air, causing the church to compress and deform around Fu Qian, and taunted him for remaining seated.
• Zhao Ran explained that he had brought Fu Qian to the Furnace because Fu Qian could not control the place without knowing the right method.
• Fu Qian realized Zhao Ran had spent months learning to control the Furnace and had brought him there to prolong his torment.
• Fu Qian asked Zhao Ran to tell him everything except the single most important detail.

Fu Qian learned that the Furnace’s true name was Other Shore as the collapsing church’s stone seat began devouring him. He adjusted his rank to withstand the process, then used a red-streaked bone chain to make the destruction spread to Zhao Ran.

• Zhao Ran revealed that the Furnace’s true name was Other Shore, a name known only to those who received its true blessing.
• As debris struck the stone seat, it cracked and released a pale substance that enveloped Fu Qian and began tearing his body apart.
• Fu Qian adjusted his rank to observe the devouring process without being destroyed.
• Fu Qian told Zhao Ran he had come to exploit six wallets, then tossed down a red-streaked bone chain.
• Cracks spread from the stone seat and swallowed Zhao Ran.