Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian and his companions discussed Demigod Sybill’s defection to An Jing before the Delin family visited so Rebecca could see Su Gao. Su Gao invited Rebecca to visit Leaf Island, and the chapter ended with Rebecca accepting while noting her mother might object.

• Hayami Suzune told Fu Qian and Leigo that Demigod Sybill had defected to An Jing, putting Night Watchers across Leaf Island on alert.
• Mrs. Delin arrived with Captain Delin and Rebecca, asking to see Violetta.
• Fu Qian sent Hayami Suzune to prepare tea, and Su Gao came downstairs to meet Rebecca.
• Rebecca acted unusually maturely and spoke politely with Su Gao, prompting Su Gao to invite her to visit Leaf Island.
• Rebecca accepted the invitation but said her mother might not agree if the trip was too far.

Fu Qian learned that Kanna Kisaragi’s influence had weakened and discussed Rebecca’s changed state with Su Gao. After Su Gao agreed An Jing Shizhi deserved to die, Fu Qian used the Red Moon to reach him and prepared to kill him.

• At the Delin family gathering, Hayami Suzune said Kanna Kisaragi’s charm no longer maddened people and barely affected those of Intermediate Tier or above.
• After the guests left, Su Gao said Rebecca had become an empty shell and admitted she still believed An Jing Shizhi deserved to die.
• Fu Qian told Su Gao to wait, put on his white mask, and stepped through the front door into a desolate lunar landscape beneath a crimson moon.
• An Jing Shizhi revealed that he had used a legend spread through countless minds to create the place and asked Fu Qian why he had not attacked earlier.
• Fu Qian said he had already killed someone while in poor condition, but it had done no good.

Fu Qian survived a devastating ice impact while exploring the moonlike world with An Jing Shizhi, who explained how a botched ascension left him with chaotic abilities and no hope of advancing. They reached a vast crater, whose icy maw began to move.

• A brilliant blue object struck the mountain, sending a torrent of ice toward Fu Qian and An Jing Shizhi.
• An Jing Shizhi emerged unharmed from a tortoiseshell shield, while Fu Qian survived beneath the ice in his Bone Armor form.
• An Jing Shizhi invited Fu Qian to investigate the impact site, and Fu Qian questioned him about his ascension troubles.
• An Jing Shizhi revealed that his form broke down during ascension, and that swallowing an extra material had saved his life but left his abilities chaotic.
• Fu Qian and An Jing Shizhi reached a huge crater filled with jagged ice, and its maw began to move.

Fu Qian fought and killed the eight-headed monster An Jing Shizhi had manifested, then questioned him about the ritual Nepheli designed to help him advance. An Jing Shizhi revealed how he had used infamy and Sybill to divide a demigod’s will, but Fu Qian rejected his claim that he was destined to kill a Night Watcher demigod.

• An Jing Shizhi manifested an eight-headed monster from the crater, and it attacked Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian unleashed his tendrils, then cut the monster into pieces as An Jing Shizhi protected himself behind a translucent shell.
• An Jing Shizhi conjured the legendary short sword said to be the monster’s treasure.
• Fu Qian asked about An Jing Shizhi’s unstable condition, and An Jing Shizhi explained that Nepheli had helped him stabilize and devised a ritual involving the Miracle Potion.
• An Jing Shizhi revealed that the ritual used infamy to split a demigod’s will and that Sybill had slaughtered her teammates to announce she was joining An Jing.
• An Jing Shizhi claimed Fu Qian knew he would kill a Night Watcher demigod, but Fu Qian looked at the Red Moon and said no.

Fu Qian fought An Jing Shizhi, who summoned a nine-tailed fox and other bizarre creatures. After cutting down the summoned beasts, Fu Qian struck at the fox with an enormous blade, but the blow and Fu Qian vanished on impact.

• An Jing Shizhi buried the monster beneath the collapsed mountain and said someone else could act against the Night Watcher.
• Fu Qian drew Mercy from his chest and fired at An Jing Shizhi, whose mirror barrier stopped and returned the bullet.
• An Jing Shizhi summoned a nine-tailed fox and an army of bizarre creations from eggshells scattered around them.
• Fu Qian fought through the creatures and pinned the fox's tail to its head with a short sword.
• Fu Qian formed an enormous blade and swung it at the struggling fox, but the strike and Fu Qian disappeared when the blade touched it.

Fu Qian used the Red Moon’s influence to infect An Jing Shizhi, then endured the same divine contamination while trapped in An Jing Shizhi’s living-flesh net. As An Jing Shizhi prepared to finish him, Fu Qian removed his mask and revealed he still had another move.

• Fu Qian used the Phantom Step Ring to wound An Jing Shizhi, though the ring then became inactive and Fu Qian’s body was badly injured.
• Fu Qian’s earlier attack exposed An Jing Shizhi’s blood to the Red Moon, spreading divine patterns across his face before he blocked the moonlight with a cloak.
• An Jing Shizhi trapped Fu Qian in a net of flesh tendrils and taunted him as the Red Moon’s contamination twisted and melted Fu Qian’s body.
• Fu Qian welcomed the contamination and laughed, while An Jing Shizhi summoned a comet to strike him before his borrowed power expired.
• Fu Qian mocked An Jing Shizhi’s belief that his mind would break and removed the Witch Mask, revealing another trick.

Fu Qian returned to the Warehouse to recover and prepare another False God Incarnation, then ambushed An Jing Shizhi on the Half-step Moon. An Jing Shizhi survived the assault and summoned a black-jade figure infused with the River Styx, concluding that Fu Qian’s origins might be as special as Ariel’s.

• Fu Qian used the Return Edict in the Warehouse to suppress the remaining pollution, let his wounds heal, and prepared to fight An Jing Shizhi again.
• Fu Qian activated False God Incarnation, swallowed the Phantom Step Ring, and returned to the Half-step Moon as a comet appeared overhead.
• Fu Qian used the ice storm and Phantom Step to ambush An Jing Shizhi, repeatedly piercing his defenses and wounding him.
• An Jing Shizhi unleashed a phantom River Styx that destroyed nearby monsters and rocks, forcing Fu Qian to retreat and tear off his decaying left arm.
• An Jing Shizhi escaped the river, aged rapidly, and summoned a black-jade figure with three heads and six bodies that carried the River Styx’s aura.
• An Jing Shizhi said Nepheli had been right and that Fu Qian’s origins might be as special as Ariel’s.

Fu Qian learned that Nepheli had turned Ariel into the Chinese Room, then fought An Jing Shizhi after interrupting his attempt to stall. An Jing Shizhi survived the attack and revealed a world of human faces as the Dark Side of the Moon.

• An Jing Shizhi confirmed that Nepheli had made Ariel and began to explain how she had found him.
• Fu Qian feigned interest, then used Delusion Step and Internal Organ Critical Hit to tear open An Jing Shizhi's ribs.
• An Jing Shizhi surrounded Fu Qian with a membrane of human faces and attacked with the six weapons of the River of the Dead, but Fu Qian escaped.
• An Jing Shizhi healed his wounds and pointed out that Fu Qian's body was covered in spreading Red Moon patterns.
• An Jing Shizhi asked what lay on the other side of the moon, and the ground transformed into a vast expanse of faces as he welcomed Fu Qian to the Dark Side of the Moon.

Fu Qian fought An Jing Shizhi in his hellish domain, enduring lethal attacks and a battle of attrition before using his Mythical Form to recover. He returned to the fight and stopped time again after An Jing Shizhi’s special curse failed to trigger.

• An Jing Shizhi attacked Fu Qian with invisible blows formed from the murmurs filling his domain, and Fu Qian dodged by sensing their rhythm.
• An Jing Shizhi traded wounds with Fu Qian, whose injuries carried a power of death that prevented them from healing.
• Fu Qian removed his mask and returned to the Warehouse badly injured, then used his complete Mythical Form to restore his wounds and regrow his arm.
• Fu Qian returned to An Jing Shizhi’s domain and pointed a pistol at his forehead, but the special curse failed to trigger.
• Fu Qian stopped time for the third time.

Fu Qian battled An Jing Shizhi on the moon, repeatedly using Internal Organ Critical Hit while escaping the worst of his attacks by briefly returning to the living room. An Jing Shizhi eventually tracked Fu Qian’s connection and trapped him in a final fight, but Red Moon broke through as Fu Qian rang a transparent bell, leaving An Jing Shizhi’s robe crumpled on the ground.

• Fu Qian kept attacking An Jing Shizhi with Internal Organ Critical Hit until An Jing Shizhi tried to persuade him to stop.
• Fu Qian returned to the living room for five seconds, then came back to find An Jing Shizhi’s devastating attack had destroyed the surrounding faces and left him badly damaged.
• Fu Qian continued striking An Jing Shizhi, but An Jing Shizhi revealed he had tracked Fu Qian’s connection and prevented him from escaping again.
• Fu Qian rang a transparent bell, briefly shifting the scene as Red Moon broke through An Jing Shizhi’s final barrier.
• An Jing Shizhi’s robe crashed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Fu Qian woke inside a strange pool in a mental projection while the Red-Dressed Lady urged him to find something he had lost. A task appeared directing him to return the Wisdom of the Gods to its rightful owner, leaving him searching the pool before the countdown ran out.

• Fu Qian used the Handbell to clear his muddled thoughts, then put on the Sweet Dream Head Cage to block the Red Moon's gaze.
• Fu Qian woke submerged in a deep pool of strange crystal-like liquid and met the Red-Dressed Lady, who said he had dropped something there.
• Fu Qian realized he was trapped in a projection of his consciousness and could not reach the head cage in the warehouse to wake himself.
• The Red-Dressed Lady stitched a cut on Fu Qian's hand with red threads, then laughed and said his whole body would look prettier covered in them.
• A task prompt told Fu Qian to return the Wisdom of the Gods to its rightful owner.

Fu Qian searched the pool for Deity's Wisdom while deciding which deity to serve as a divine messenger. He realized An Jing Shizhi's lingering influence had shaped his instincts, then handed Deity's Wisdom to his own divine incarnation and completed the task.

• Fu Qian planned to use killing another deity to draw the Warehouse into helping him advance.
• Fu Qian turned off the lights and found a transparent skull in the pool, identifying it as Deity's Wisdom.
• The red-dressed Lady tried to claim Deity's Wisdom and healed Fu Qian's wounds when he refused to hand it over.
• Fu Qian recognized that An Jing Shizhi had been influencing his instincts and opened the door to a white-masked figure who looked like him.
• Fu Qian handed Deity's Wisdom to his divine incarnation, completing the task as the scene shattered.

Fu Qian learned that he had completed the False God ritual and needed to find and consume a divine nature to become Second Order. He returned to the scene of An Jing Shizhi’s defeat, where the Red Moon absorbed An Jing Shizhi’s essence and praised him.

• Fu Qian heard the Warehouse’s evaluation and learned that he had forged a path to godhood as a False God.
• Fu Qian concluded that he had completed the ritual by overpowering An Jing Shizhi with divine authority, but still needed to find and consume a divine nature.
• Fu Qian gathered scattered items, adjusted his Bone Armor, and put on the Messenger before returning to the scene of An Jing Shizhi’s defeat.
• The Red Moon’s tendrils took An Jing Shizhi’s condensed essence into the moon, apparently claiming An Jing Shizhi’s authority and the Half-step Moon.
• The Red Moon praised Fu Qian for what he had done.

After Red Moon claimed An Jing Shizhi and established her Half-step Moon, she compensated Fu Qian with new equipment and powers. Fu Qian returned to the familiar door, where Su Gao noticed him.

• Fu Qian concluded that Red Moon had targeted him because his Warehouse might help her escape her curse, and recognized her new Half-step Moon as a stable connection to the place.
• Red Moon's skeletal messengers returned Mercy to Fu Qian and gave him the ring Affection, which let him cross space through another dimension and anchor himself to the Half-step Moon.
• The messengers delivered the Thread of Concern, and Fu Qian tested its power to pull a severed finger back to him.
• Red Moon warned Fu Qian not to lose himself in lies, and he returned to the familiar door, where Su Gao looked up and noticed him.

Fu Qian returned after defeating An Jing Shizhi, and he and Su Gao discussed the consequences of the New God's death. They watched breaking news of a supernatural disaster at sea, which Fu Qian suspected involved Sybill.

• Fu Qian returned to Su Gao and confirmed that An Jing Shizhi was effectively dead, though he suspected An Jing Shizhi might not be completely gone.
• Su Gao explained that the Night Watchers called First Order beings New Gods, and Fu Qian reflected on how An Jing Shizhi differed from the Old Gods.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao considered how An Jing Shizhi's death could destabilize the balance and discussed checking for changes in Kanna Kisaragi's influence over supernatural beings.
• Fu Qian suggested watching the news, and Su Gao saw a storm sink ships belonging to Yasui Company amid serpentine currents.
• Fu Qian recognized the supernatural creation on the broadcast and thought of Sybill.

Fu Qian and Su Gao discussed An Jing Shizhi’s twisted ascension ritual and went to question Nepheli about its requirements. They visited Chie Kisaragi, where Su Gao asked whether her vacation would bring her anything, and Nepheli appeared as Fu Qian shifted reality.

• Su Gao and Fu Qian reasoned that An Jing Shizhi had deliberately provoked conflict and may have needed resistance for his ascension ritual to succeed.
• Fu Qian decided to ask Nepheli, An Jing Shizhi’s technical consultant, about the ritual and took Su Gao to find her.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao visited Chie Kisaragi’s fortune-telling cottage and found her exhausted but still working.
• Su Gao asked Chie whether she would gain anything from her vacation, and Fu Qian used Clear Dream to shift reality.
• Nepheli appeared inside the cottage, ready to answer Fu Qian’s questions.

Fu Qian used Chie Kisaragi to draw Nepheli into a hidden question-and-answer game about supernatural knowledge and An Jing Shizhi. After Nepheli pressed Su Gao for her view of his fate, Fu Qian declared that An Jing Shizhi would die.

• Fu Qian reasoned that Nepheli was investigating An Jing Shizhi’s disappearance and Sybill’s condition, and chose to lure her out through Chie Kisaragi.
• Nepheli had Chie ask Su Gao what she considered a gain, and Su Gao answered that it was knowledge, especially knowledge of supernatural power.
• Nepheli prompted Chie to ask about the King of Leaf Island, and Su Gao criticized An Jing Shizhi as old and unstable.
• Nepheli suggested that An Jing Shizhi’s condition might reflect disorder in the essence of the world, and Su Gao found the theory intriguing.
• Nepheli told Chie to ask what would ultimately happen to An Jing Shizhi, and Fu Qian answered that he would die.

Fu Qian spoke with Nepheli through Chie Kisaragi, learned her explanation of the world's chaotic essence, and warned Chie against using Ariel and others. After Nepheli left and Chie forgot their exchange, Fu Qian asked about the fortune-telling result.

• Chie Kisaragi questioned Fu Qian about An Jing Shizhi's death, and Fu Qian admitted that he had killed him before ending the Clear Dream.
• Fu Qian explained to Chie that Nepheli had been hiding by existing only in her perception, and he revealed that this was their third meeting.
• Chie relayed Nepheli's account of the world's chaotic essence, the blurred boundary between spirit and flesh, and the missing laws that made paths to godhood unstable.
• Fu Qian said An Jing Shizhi was effectively lost and warned Chie to put away Ariel and others like him.
• Nepheli left the fortune-telling hut, Leaf Island returned to peace, and Chie forgot the exchange.
• Fu Qian asked Chie for the result of her fortune-telling and drew a card.

Fu Qian visited Chie Kisaragi’s fortune-telling shop, reflected on his supernatural theories, and learned that Kanna Kisaragi had been released from custody under long-term house arrest. Kanna revealed that her new supernatural vitality had let her survive a stabbing, while Fu Qian suspected the wound should have been fatal.

• Chie Kisaragi admitted she could not answer Violetta’s question, then instinctively told Fu Qian that he would gain something.
• Kanna Kisaragi returned with Hayami Suzune, who said Kanna was provisionally cleared as a suspect but would remain under house arrest and report to her every two days.
• Fu Qian teased Hayami Suzune about helping Delin and the others with their children, and Hayami replied that she had just seen Delin and that Delin no longer wanted to visit his place.
• Kanna thanked Fu Qian for helping with the investigation into Takagi’s death and said she could sense what he would tell the police.
• Kanna explained that someone had stabbed her in the chest that morning and that her surging vitality had let her survive; Fu Qian wondered if she had actually died.

Fu Qian and Su Gao left after the latest incident and traveled toward the place where Violetta grew up. On the train, Fu Qian connected Kanna Kisaragi’s resurrection and cultivation talent to the Miracle Potion’s search for laws missing from the supernatural world, but his theory remained uncertain.

• Kanna Kisaragi revealed that her vitality let her endure being ravaged, but Fu Qian declined her advances and said he planned to visit the place where Violetta grew up.
• Fu Qian and Su Gao concluded that their work in the area was finished and left, collecting Su Gao’s pay before boarding a luxury train.
• Su Gao wondered how Kanna Kisaragi could possess both supernatural powers and effects from cultivation, and Fu Qian recalled Nepheli’s claim that parts of the supernatural world’s foundations were missing.
• Fu Qian reasoned that the Miracle Potion experiment sought missing laws rather than a way to grant ordinary people supernatural power, and that the Warehouse had wanted Nepheli to remain unaware of Kanna Kisaragi’s case.
• Fu Qian wondered whether Kanna Kisaragi’s innate cultivation talent had made the Miracle Potion effective by filling a gap in the supernatural system, perhaps explaining why cultivation had emerged after the Mythological Era.