Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian negotiated with the God Eater, whose true name was Yarakir, offering him full control of the remnant dream in exchange for information. The negotiator explained why Taylor was a valuable target, but Fu Qian’s interest in his enthusiasm remained unresolved.

• Fu Qian called the negotiator Yarakir and confirmed that speaking the name caused no divine retribution.
• Fu Qian offered to let the negotiator take full control of the dream, and the negotiator demanded to know when Fu Qian had uncovered his plans.
• Fu Qian explained that he had spotted the negotiator secretly trying to control the nightmare and asked why he wanted the remnant dream.
• The negotiator said he could use the dream to catch the original dreamer again and identified Taylor as a promising target for contamination.
• The negotiator admitted he had insulted Fu Qian because he could not understand why Fu Qian would abandon such an opportunity, and Fu Qian remarked on his enthusiasm.

Fu Qian and the persuader discussed Yarakir, the risks of its descent, and the nightmares behind the doors before agreeing to cooperate over the remnant dream. The persuader began taking control of the dream, while Fu Qian let himself disappear from it.

• Fu Qian explained that he had let an opportunity pass because Yarakir's corruption might have drawn attention from several factions watching Shangjing.
• Fu Qian questioned the persuader about Yarakir, and the persuader said he had learned its name from a stone tablet in the nightmare behind the door Fu Qian had entered.
• The persuader described the door's nightmare as a dangerous, restricted god's dream and said he had found no further information about Yarakir.
• Fu Qian proposed that he and the persuader jointly rule the remnant dream and said he would keep searching for new channels.
• The persuader accepted the offer and used his wings to resonate with the dream's order, while Fu Qian allowed his body to shatter and thanked him.

Fu Qian let the emissary take control of Taylor's remnant dream in exchange for information and cooperation, then returned to the Nightmare Corridor. He stopped short of entering the strange last door after the emissary warned him of its danger, then suddenly vanished.

• Fu Qian judged that the emissary had rationally chosen to cooperate and allowed it to sustain and watch over Taylor's dream.
• Fu Qian left the dream and continued through the Nightmare Corridor, considering the restraints on the Higher Beings and the open channel for their descent.
• Fu Qian stopped before the unusual mirror-like last door, whose reflection showed a grassy field, and the emissary warned him not to enter.
• Fu Qian questioned the emissary about the door, then decided against risking entry after hearing its warning.
• Fu Qian furrowed his brow, said he would be right back, and vanished after snapping his fingers.

Fu Qian entered Lita's dream and discovered she had staged a scene involving her sister Veil to test him. After he spoke with Lita, she asked whether he could help her, offering to repay him.

• Fu Qian followed a new invitation into a dream and recognized the sleeping Veil in her bedroom in Bailuoke.
• Fu Qian opened the door and found Lita outside, realizing she had created the dream to catch him with her sister.
• Fu Qian invited Lita to talk, and she looked in on Veil before leading him to her room.
• Lita explained that she had heard a sound in Veil's room, and Fu Qian casually blamed Veil's snoring.
• Lita thanked Fu Qian for caring for Veil, apologized for her earlier rudeness, and asked him to help her in exchange for payment.

Fu Qian tried to discourage Lita from pursuing supernatural power, first rejecting her supposed talent and then warning her that gaining strength would require extraordinary faith and resolve. Lita remained determined after revealing that Veil had told her about the concealed history of faith and the Night Watchers.

• Fu Qian rejected Lita’s offer, saying she lacked talent, and shifted from trying to corrupt her dream to mentally influencing her.
• Fu Qian told Lita that her ambition to gain supernatural power came from wanting to protect her sister, bringing her to tears.
• Fu Qian warned that reaching Veil’s level would demand trials beyond Lita’s imagination and an ancient, unwavering faith.
• Lita said she knew that the hidden history of faith had been deliberately concealed, probably by the Night Watchers to protect ordinary people.
• Fu Qian asked whether Lita still wanted to risk getting involved, and she firmly said yes.

Fu Qian won Lita’s agreement to follow his instructions and taught her to believe in the King of Prison Break without seeking mercy. When he tested her by asking her to draw the deity’s emblem, her drawing showed that Yarakir’s awakening had advanced further than he had expected.

• Fu Qian recognized Lita’s determination and agreed to help her surprise Veil.
• Lita asked what she had to do, and Fu Qian told her to respect her sister’s kindness and stop acting on presumptions.
• Fu Qian showed Lita the King of Prison Break’s emblem and instructed her to believe in the calamity-commanding god and accept the will he bestowed.
• Lita thanked Fu Qian for his guidance and promised to remember his words.
• Fu Qian asked Lita to draw the emblem, but her symbol bore no resemblance to it, revealing that Yarakir’s awakening had progressed further than Fu Qian expected.

Fu Qian discovered that Yarakir was interfering with his attempts to find a way out of the dream by altering the emblem he manifested. After praising Lita’s drawing, he left to follow Veil, who appeared from hiding and led him away.

• Fu Qian compared his recreated emblem with Lita’s drawing and found that both showed the same altered design.
• Fu Qian concluded that Yarakir had directly interfered with his attempt to escape the dream through spiritual discussion.
• Fu Qian praised Lita’s drawing and told her to do what she had promised.
• Fu Qian left Lita and encountered Veil, who emerged from behind a wall and silently led him away.

Fu Qian explained that he had urged Lita toward faith to test something and offered to help with her damaged hand. He sent Veil out of the dream with a way to seek treatment, but a phantom eye above her suggested Yarakir had targeted her for contamination.

• Veil apologized to Fu Qian for Lita and asked why he had spoken to her about the King of Prison Break.
• Fu Qian said he needed Lita's help testing something and that he owed the sisters a favor.
• Fu Qian offered to help Lita's hand by sending Veil to a contact at the Academy of Revelation.
• Fu Qian noticed a phantom eye above Veil and realized Yarakir had made her dream self correspond to the real Veil.
• Veil remembered Fu Qian's instructions, and he activated the Return Edict, leaving her with a sickly flush.

Fu Qian used the Return Edict to interrupt Yarakir’s attempt to sync Veil into the dream, causing Yarakir to destroy the dream and send him back to the corridor. He kept Yarakir’s true state secret from the persuader and then vanished again, leaving his next move unknown.

• Fu Qian saw that Veil had been infected by red worms and used the Return Edict to sever her connection to the dream.
• Yarakir ended the dream before Veil could be fully sent back, and Fu Qian returned to the corridor with the five doors.
• Fu Qian told the persuader he had nearly found another way out, but that the other routes would not work.
• Fu Qian concealed what he had learned about Yarakir and dismissed the persuader’s questions about why he had returned.
• Fu Qian snapped his fingers and vanished from the corridor before the persuader could respond.

Fu Qian met Wen Li in a dream set in the underground facility beneath the Wen Family mansion, where Lady Eve had died. He confirmed that she had entered the dream deliberately, then avoided provoking Yarakir as the conversation ended with Wen Li still composed.

• Fu Qian recognized the dream as the basement of the Wen Family mansion and realized Wen Li had entered it voluntarily.
• Wen Li confirmed her suspicions by asking Fu Qian whether she was dreaming, and he told her that she was.
• Wen Li calmed herself with her ability and welcomed Fu Qian into the familiar underground facility.
• Wen Li asked what Fu Qian had meant to say at the bookstore, and he raised his hand as if to show her something.
• Fu Qian chose not to recite the Honored Name or manifest anything, and Yarakir's disturbance in the dream subsided.

Fu Qian recruited Wen Li to influence a conversation between Taylor Gullard and Jiang En so Taylor would return to his dream for confirmation. When Wen Li struggled to leave because the dream had become more stable, Fu Qian revealed the grotesque creature behind his eye, making her scream and shatter the dream.

• Fu Qian asked Wen Li whether Taylor Gullard was in Shangjing, and she confirmed that he was.
• Fu Qian told Wen Li to follow Taylor and influence Jiang En into admitting the suspected scheme, leaving Taylor doubtful so he would seek Fu Qian's confirmation.
• Wen Li agreed to act but found that her state was too stable for her to leave the dream quickly.
• Fu Qian removed his eye and showed Wen Li the many-legged creature hidden behind it, causing her to scream and shatter everything around them.

Fu Qian returned from the Nightmare Corridor after Lord Yarakir forcibly intervened, leaving him with a hollow eye socket. Back in the remnant dream, he spoke with the Speaker about the dream and the strange symbol he had discovered, then said he had sent for Taylor.

• Fu Qian noticed that the Corridor had changed after his dream shattered and found himself back in the familiar hotel-like hallway.
• Fu Qian entered the room and found the Speaker watching over the woman on the bed.
• Fu Qian told the Speaker that Lord Yarakir had forcibly given him guidance, and the Speaker urged him to revise his escape plan.
• The Speaker explained that he had kept the remnant dream unchanged to prevent the woman from waking.
• Fu Qian showed the Speaker a symbol he had learned in the Corridor, but the Speaker did not recognize it.
• Fu Qian concluded that the symbol was likely targeted by the forces obstructing escape and told the Speaker he had sent for Taylor.

Fu Qian realized Yarakir had pulled him into a divine dream disguised as his earlier conversation with the pitchman, aiming to deepen his corruption and control him. As Fu Qian examined the dream, he discovered that his corruption had progressed further than he knew and that his memories were beginning to seep away.

• Fu Qian explained that he had tried to make Taylor return willingly, while the pitchman accused him of talking too much.
• A phantom eye appeared above the pitchman's head, leading Fu Qian to suspect that their apparent conversation was itself taking place inside a dream.
• Fu Qian reasoned that Yarakir had recreated the scene in the divine dream to control him and prevent him from managing the situation on his own.
• Fu Qian gouged out his remaining left eye and discovered he could still see through it, revealing how deeply the corruption had affected him.
• Fu Qian noticed that he was wearing a shirt from his dinner with Young Master Qin, and realized that information in his mind was seeping away.

Fu Qian realized Yarakir had drawn people connected to him into the divine dream, but Su Gao entered in a stable, detached state and quickly removed the envoy from the scene. She explained how Echo had brought her there, then showed Fu Qian an irregular die and said it had helped her find another fugitive during a pursuit.

• Fu Qian heard a door open and saw Su Gao standing in the doorway, already aware that she was dreaming.
• Su Gao entered, and her presence transformed the room into a cramped forest library; the bewildered envoy vanished after she sat down.
• Fu Qian concluded that Yarakir had used his contacts to draw real-world wills into the dream as part of the invasion.
• Su Gao explained that Echo had let her respond to the divine dream while keeping her stable.
• Fu Qian claimed he was fine and asked Su Gao about herself, and she showed him an irregular die that had helped her discover another fugitive during a pursuit.

In Yarakir’s dream, Fu Qian learned from Su Gao that time moved much faster outside than within the dream, revealing how the god had concealed the extent of his corruption. Yarakir tried to stop them communicating, but Fu Qian used the Sweet Dream Head Cage to break free of its restraint and asked Su Gao to avoid taking a Night Watcher bounty on a mysterious frost-wielding demigod.

• Fu Qian recognized Gambler's Bone as the gift that had helped Su Gao hunt transcendent criminals and asked whether she was returning to report in.
• Su Gao explained that she could sense time passing outside her dream and that several hours outside had passed during their brief conversation.
• Fu Qian realized Yarakir had manipulated time and used Su Gao as a persuader while corruption spread through him.
• Yarakir silenced Fu Qian and hindered his movements, but Fu Qian dropped the Sweet Dream Head Cage onto his head with his insect arm and regained the ability to speak.
• Fu Qian discovered Su Gao could hear him when she moved close, then warned her not to take a Night Watcher bounty on a mysterious demigod with frost powers.

Fu Qian escaped Yarakir's divine dream after sending Su Gao away and persuading Yarakir to release him. Back in the corridor, he used a countdown and a bell to make the emissary abandon the dream and disappear.

• Fu Qian told Su Gao to make the most of her time off, and she vanished from Yarakir's study.
• Fu Qian urged Yarakir to abandon his outdated ideas, removed the Sweet Dream Head Cage, and dared him to attack.
• Yarakir's study filled with falling books, then shattered away to reveal the dim corridor and free Fu Qian.
• The emissary complained that Taylor had not arrived and told Fu Qian to find more helpers or keep watch himself.
• Fu Qian announced he was leaving and counted down, prompting the emissary to abandon his post and appear beside him.
• Fu Qian rang a transparent bell, and the emissary vanished with five seconds left on the countdown.

Fu Qian revealed that his escape plan had never depended on Taylor Gullard or cooperation with Yarakir, but on secretly passing the King of Prison Break emblem into the real world. He left the corridor after using Eternal Clarity of Thought to purge corruption, while his plan’s final outcome remained tied to Taylor and Jiang En.

• Fu Qian rang Eternal Clarity of Thought as the Warehouse declared his mission complete, purging corruption before escaping without Yarakir.
• Fu Qian explained that he had never trusted the spokesperson’s judgment or expected cooperation from Yarakir, and had planned a diversion from the start.
• Fu Qian used Taylor Gullard’s dream to convey the King of Prison Break emblem, while making its appearance seem like part of his effort to corrupt Taylor.
• Fu Qian revealed that his real plan relied on Wen Li influencing Taylor and Jiang En’s meeting so Jiang En would firmly deny their connection until Taylor pressed him with the emblem.

Fu Qian returned from the Nightmare Corridor to the bookstore and received the Warehouse’s mission evaluation and a new reward. Wen Li welcomed him back, closing the chapter on his return to the world.

• Fu Qian explained that Wen Li’s reversed order was meant to draw the Greedy Worms’ sworn ones toward the King of Prison Break’s emblem and Honored Name.
• Fu Qian recalled using the Warehouse’s countdown marker to escape Yarakir’s divine dream without provoking it too far.
• Fu Qian returned to the bookstore’s second-floor bedroom and set the bell on the table.
• The Warehouse evaluated Fu Qian’s escape and awarded him the Wriggling Seed, which could become a target for Extreme Hunger Infection.
• Wen Li appeared at the stairwell and welcomed Fu Qian back.

Fu Qian thanked Wen Li for helping him rescue Taylor from Yarakir’s dream and listened as she recounted Taylor’s investigation of Jiang En. Wen Li reported that Jiang En showed little interest in Fu Qian’s emblem, and Fu Qian concluded that Jiang En had not been pretending.

• Wen Li visited Fu Qian at the bookstore, and he thanked her for her help while wearing armor shaped from his flesh and blood.
• Wen Li asked whether a Higher Being had watched them in the dream, and Fu Qian confirmed it was confined and posed no immediate threat.
• Wen Li recounted how Taylor followed Jiang En, tested him about the strange claims, and secretly left the King of Prison Break’s emblem at his home.
• Wen Li said Jiang En showed little interest in the emblem after Taylor left, and Fu Qian insisted Jiang En’s reaction had been genuine.

After escaping the Nightmare Corridor, Fu Qian discovered he could hear prayers as the King of Prison Break and used the connection to send Tooth Choker a burst of Calamity Authority. He concluded Jiang En and Taylor no longer needed their attention, then turned to thank Wen Li.

• Fu Qian recognized the voices in his will as prayers and established a faint connection with Tooth Choker.
• Fu Qian sent Tooth Choker a burst of Calamity Authority, then ended the connection after she remained standing.
• Wen Li asked whether they needed to keep watching Jiang En, and Fu Qian said he had already responded to the Greedy Worms and expected Jiang En to be safer for now.
• Fu Qian told Wen Li that Taylor was likely being reprimanded by Grantham and having his ability to dream restricted.
• Fu Qian began thanking Wen Li and asked whether she had brought a weapon.