Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian deduced that Jining’s outfit had transformed her sight and that she was using a passive, distorted form of vision to find traces. Jining confirmed his theory and offered him the dagger, which opened as soon as he touched it.

• Fu Qian explained how Jining’s searching behavior and outfit suggested that ordinary sight had become an obstacle for her.
• Jining confirmed that wearing the outfit had replaced her sight with a passive form of perception that supplied colors, shapes, and guidance when needed.
• Jining offered Fu Qian the dagger, saying she believed it belonged to her and hoped he could discover why it would not open.
• Fu Qian touched the dagger, and a slender strip of icy silver slid out of it.

Jining and the others investigated whether Fu Qian could use her makeup knife, but Lui’s corruption suddenly manifested as human-shaped fruits growing on the Aoki tree. Aiko halted the growth, yet the corruption spread to her as well, leaving Jining to ask why Fu Qian remained unaffected.

• Fu Qian drew Jining’s makeup knife, and Jining told him to cut himself and smear blood on it to activate it.
• Lui’s corruption caused human-shaped fruits to grow rapidly on the Aoki tree, with cries coming from the fruit.
• Aiko used her demigod ability to stop the fruit from growing, while Lui said the voice was turning everything he had into nourishment.
• Li He revealed that he also felt something trying to come to life inside him, and Fu Qian described the corruption as offspring.
• Aiko shifted into a spectral form, but cries still came from within her, so Jining suppressed the change and asked Fu Qian why he was unaffected.

Fu Qian explained that he recognized Jining’s dagger because he was connected to the Progenitor, then revealed himself as a vampire demigod to the suspicious team. His display restored his demigod rank because the others believed he was one, and he realized Old Master Li had found the Tree Infant because Fu Qian had deliberately guessed its presence.

• Jining questioned why Fu Qian had avoided the effects that had affected the others, and Fu Qian said it was because he knew how to open the dagger.
• Fu Qian explained that the dagger came from Jining’s mark and that he was also connected to it through a gift from the Progenitor.
• Fu Qian revealed crimson eyes and identified himself as a vampire, prompting Aiko to suspect he was a demigod.
• Fu Qian formed a divine claw of darkness, convincing the team that he was a vampire demigod.
• Fu Qian realized the team’s belief in his demigod status had restored his rank, and recalled that Old Master Li had discovered the Tree Infant because of Fu Qian’s deliberate deduction.

Fu Qian explained how shared beliefs shaped the unreal world and used that knowledge to conceal his strength and influence the team’s perceptions. After Jining exposed his vampire identity, he invoked Ancient Glory and offered to prove he meant no harm.

• Fu Qian reasoned that consensus determined reality, explaining why his attempt to restore his rings had failed.
• Fu Qian strengthened his resistance to the crying, then used his stamina and changed appearance to convince the others he was a powerful demigod.
• Jining questioned Fu Qian’s identity and motives after realizing he had hidden that he was a vampire.
• Aiko threatened to identify Fu Qian, but he mentioned Ancient Glory, prompting Aiko to search her memories.
• Jining asked Fu Qian to prove he meant no harm, and he covered his blade and its sheath with his blood.

Fu Qian explained how he used the group’s assumptions to make them see him as a vampire and possibly a demigod, then pulled the bloodied dagger and gained access to abstract descriptions of the world. He shared that he had seen something, leaving the group waiting to learn what he discovered.

• Fu Qian used his vampire appearance and his success with the dagger to guide the group toward suspecting he was a demigod.
• Fu Qian reflected that Jining’s doubts about her tracking plan had helped create the contrast that let him pull the dagger free.
• Fu Qian experienced an abstract vision after staining the dagger with blood and received descriptive lines about the surroundings.
• Fu Qian wondered whether the predicament was a shared notebook shaped by the minds of everyone trapped in it.
• The group asked Fu Qian what he had seen, and he immediately confirmed that he had found something.

Fu Qian convinced Jining and the others to accept his account of his identity and continued leading them toward the source of the crying. As he considered why the group had been drawn into the strange place, he saw Jining’s reflection in a floor-to-ceiling mirror and noticed her vacant eyes.

• Fu Qian realized consensus could help him recover, but major transformations required an anchor, so he decided to keep cooperating with the team.
• Jining judged Fu Qian’s discovery similar to her own, and the group accepted that his account could not be disproved for now.
• Jining chose to move on rather than question Fu Qian further, and he offered to lead the group.
• Fu Qian wondered whether an anomaly at the Larrea family’s newborn celebration had drawn the survivors into the strange place.
• Fu Qian saw Jining’s reflection in a mirror, where her dull eyes blinked with an unsettling vacancy.

Fu Qian answered Jining’s sensory-distortion attack with the moonlit Progenitor’s Glory, proving his strength and easing the group’s suspicions. After Jining and Old Master Li apologized, Fu Qian urged everyone to continue through the dilapidated place.

• Jining used her sensory-confusion technique to test Fu Qian, and he continued forward despite his senses being disrupted.
• Fu Qian called down moonlight on Jining, startling her and prompting Aiko and Old Master Li to ready themselves.
• Jining explained that she had attacked because she distrusted her senses, then apologized to Aiko for the offense.
• Old Master Li acknowledged Fu Qian’s power and apologized for doubting him.
• Fu Qian accepted their doubts as reasonable and urged the group to keep moving.

While traveling through the lifeless land, Fu Qian discussed the Larrea family’s Divine Humans with Old Master Li, who proposed that their supernatural gift came from a face hidden and nurtured in their bloodline. Fu Qian connected the theory to Benjamin’s repeated aging and rejuvenation, leaving the group with a possible explanation for the strange events.

• Old Master Li asked Fu Qian what he knew about the Larrea Royal Court, and Fu Qian said he had little knowledge of them from when he lacked a clear sense of self.
• Old Master Li explained that the Larrea family’s divinity might be bestowed by a higher power rather than inherited as ordinary supernatural ability.
• Fu Qian reasoned that an inherited trait could draw a higher power’s attention and grant the family divinity.
• Old Master Li proposed that the inherited trait was a face that changed as Larrea descendants grew, eventually matching a number that called a higher power.
• Fu Qian suggested that Benjamin’s changing face had repeatedly had chances to match that number, potentially explaining his cycles of aging and rejuvenation.

Fu Qian and the team weighed Old Master Li’s theory about the corruption and debated whether to press on or seek an escape. They followed Fu Qian’s senses to a grand hall and discovered a statue matching their third clue, where Old Master Li offered to investigate.

• Old Master Li proposed that a newborn with a unique constitution had revived a face from an ancient bloodline and linked it to a higher power, causing their predicament and the corruption.
• Fu Qian said they still needed to find the source of the crying to test the theory, while Lui suggested turning back and escaping.
• Aiko explained her backup plan to turn herself into wood and enter the poisonous fog, but warned that it was not feasible unless they had no other choice.
• Lui agreed to continue and suggested looking for something valuable before deciding what to do next.
• Fu Qian led the team through a large archway, where they found an enormous pale-golden statue that matched the third clue.
• Old Master Li volunteered to investigate the statue.

Fu Qian and the others touched the statue and saw Benjamin Larrea clinging to the dome, prompting a task to disrupt the formation of the Divine Human Face. Fu Qian realized the group had been guided here to reveal it, but the ancient vampire began transforming into a face of irresistible beauty.

• Old Master Li volunteered to touch the statue, and Fu Qian explained how to activate it.
• Old Master Li and Fu Qian gazed at the dome and saw a figure clinging to it; Fu Qian recognized Benjamin Larrea and received a new task to disrupt the Divine Human Face.
• The rest of the group touched the statue and saw Benjamin Larrea too.
• Fu Qian concluded that the group had been guided to reveal the Divine Human Face and was being used to help it form.
• The ancient vampire repeated his words about remembered glory, and his face transformed into one of irresistible beauty.

Fu Qian realized the investigation was helping a Divine Human Face manifest, so he tried to redirect the team’s interpretation by claiming the Blood Clan Progenitor was behind the events. He left the team suspecting him of cursing Benjamin and declared that he had taken the Larrea family’s “fruit.”

• Fu Qian understood that the team’s investigation was strengthening the unfinished Divine Human Face and that their mission was a trap that pushed them toward its completion.
• Fu Qian, wearing the Witch’s face, called out to the frail figure and claimed the family would be blessed when the Blood Clan Progenitor awakened.
• The team began to suspect that the Blood Clan Progenitor and Anke’s return were connected to the Larrea family’s bloodline talent.
• Old Master Li asked Fu Qian whether he was responsible for Benjamin’s curse, and the other men’s expressions changed as Fu Qian praised the bloodline tree and claimed its fruit.

Fu Qian revealed that he had used the group to reach the figure hiding in the dome and obtain power, though the figure escaped before he could kill it. The group learned that they were trapped until they escaped by the same method, while Fu Qian’s altered state protected him from the corruption; he then set off alone.

• Aiko asked why Fu Qian had not gone alone, and he watched the small figure flee through a blood-red slit in the dome.
• Jining accused Fu Qian of letting the figure escape, but he admitted he had intended to lure it down and kill it.
• Old Master Li asked how they could leave, and Fu Qian explained that he could not escape without following the rules either.
• Aiko realized Fu Qian was unaffected by the corruption because of his current state, which seemed connected to the face he had encountered.
• Fu Qian announced that he would act alone and walked away, leaving the others behind.

Fu Qian concluded that Lui and the power behind him were engineering the crisis around the progenitor’s return, then left the group to confront the threat alone. At the Ermu Mansion Palace, a Tree Infant attacked him, confirming that the enemy had begun targeting him directly.

• Fu Qian judged Old Master Li and the others to be the group’s resource providers and suspected that Lui was hiding abilities similar to his own.
• Fu Qian left the team and headed to the Ermu Mansion Palace, reasoning that Lui or the force behind him had created the wailing and corruption to shape the group’s understanding.
• Fu Qian stopped on a stone platform when the wailing ceased and found a deep, ragged bite mark on his forearm.
• Fu Qian identified the attacker as a Tree Infant and concluded that Lui’s will had helped direct its hostility toward him.
• Fu Qian suspected his presence had forced Lui to accelerate the return of the progenitor and risk revealing the emerging godhead.

Fu Qian fought through a swarm of Tree Infants and reached the rooftop platform where the giant brain had appeared in his earlier dream. There he encountered Lui and his former teammates, revealing that he had come to the spot expecting Lui to follow.

• Fu Qian activated the Law Remnants to weaken and repel the many Tree Infants pursuing him.
• Fu Qian dodged the Tree Infants' strange attacks as their bites spread cracks across his body and corruption accumulated.
• Fu Qian made his way to the rooftop platform where the giant brain had been in his dream with Xixi Gatsby.
• The Tree Infants vanished when Fu Qian approached an empty chair, and Lui appeared with Fu Qian's former teammates.
• Lui challenged Fu Qian to explain why he had left the group and come there, while Fu Qian thought that he had come to wait for Lui.

Fu Qian and Lui each revealed part of their plans while competing to control the audience’s consensus. Fu Qian left the real nature of consensus unspoken, and Aiko remained wary of both men despite Lui curing the corruption.

• Fu Qian recognized that Lui had regained demigodhood and had taken over the conspiracy narrative to claim the audience’s consensus.
• Lui admitted to being the mastermind and described his former appearance as a disguise, concealing how consensus and the others’ resources had helped him.
• Fu Qian understood that Lui wanted them to compete without exposing consensus, and he did not challenge the arrangement.
• Fu Qian greeted Aiko and asked whether Lui had cured the corruption in her and the others.
• Aiko confirmed the corruption was gone but said the crying had not stopped.

Fu Qian questioned Lui’s explanation of the Blood Order as a process of self-transformation, with Jining identifying the Foolish Tree as a similar example. Lui then revealed that he had told Fu Qian’s teammates what Fu Qian was doing and asked whether they wanted to come see.

• Lui offered to clear the Blood Order from Fu Qian and warned that it could not awaken the Progenitor.
• Lui explained that Blood Order transformed a person into a more advanced version of themselves, comparing it to a tree producing new versions of itself.
• Jining said the Foolish Tree exemplified this kind of transformation, and Lui agreed that Blood Order was the same concept in flesh and blood.
• Fu Qian questioned whether the original self survived the transformation, while Lui insisted that the new form was still the same self.
• Aiko challenged Lui’s claim that Fu Qian’s insight had impressed him, and Lui admitted he had told Fu Qian’s teammates what Fu Qian was doing and asked if they wanted to see.

Fu Qian confronted Lui’s account and answered Aiko’s questions while Lui tried to keep him under pressure. After Fu Qian demonstrated the Tree Infant’s attack on Anke, Aiko noticed that Fu Qian’s Tyrant’s Fist ring had disappeared.

• Fu Qian thanked Li He and the others, and Aiko demanded to know whether the royal heir he regretted losing had fled there.
• Fu Qian denied coming for the royal heir, and Aiko threatened to discover his identity after they left and questioned why he still wore his current face.
• Fu Qian showed Aiko the Tyrant’s Fist ring, prompting Lui to warn that Fu Qian was weakened and outnumbered.
• Fu Qian dodged and swung the Scarlet Whip at empty air, revealing that the Tree Infant had attacked Anke again.
• Fu Qian said the attack demonstrated his answer to Aiko’s question, and Aiko realized the ring was gone.

Fu Qian revealed that Aiko’s ring had been a decoy and used his concealed abilities to overpower her, forcing her to realize he was hiding his true rank. After killing her, he turned his attention to the remaining guests and renewed his invitation.

• Fu Qian attacked Aiko with a Scarlet Whip despite the disappearance of her ring, then tore through her defenses and seized her.
• Fu Qian resisted Lady Jining’s mental assault while Aiko realized the whip came from his own ability, not the ring.
• Aiko deduced that Fu Qian’s mask concealed his extraordinary aura and that he was not a demigod.
• Fu Qian ignored the guests’ attempts to stop him and tore something from Aiko, causing her body and anchored will to collapse.
• The guests recognized that Fu Qian had been pretending to be a demigod, and he turned to face the survivors.

Fu Qian explained how he had used his story and demigodhood to keep Lui from suspecting him, then revealed his strength by attacking the group. He killed Jining and apologized to Li He, who replied that Jining had not allowed him to visit her for years.

• Fu Qian reasoned that Lui had chosen to remain a demigod because his position in the story gave him more room to maneuver.
• Fu Qian explained that he had come to the strange place to gather experience, expose himself as a fraud, and delay Lui's suspicions.
• Jining realized Fu Qian had brought them there on purpose, and Fu Qian attacked as Li He intercepted his first strike.
• Fu Qian's attacks wounded Jining with a curse that struck at her essence, and he crushed her before she could finish warning Li He.
• Fu Qian apologized to Li He and asked him to pass on his regret to Jining, and Li He said she had not allowed him to visit her for years.

Fu Qian killed Lady Jining and Aiko to build consensus, then questioned Lui about the predicament and discovered that Lui’s existence was bound to the Blood Order. The predicament rejected Fu Qian after his return to the Second Order, leaving him unable to use his restored false-god form as he had planned.

• Fu Qian realized that Jining’s and Aiko’s fear and anger had strengthened the consensus about him, and that his mark of the Blood Order had vanished.
• Lui applauded Fu Qian’s decisiveness and said he would investigate Fu Qian’s origins and the events at Ermu Mansion Palace.
• Fu Qian asked whether Jining and Aiko had returned to reality, and Lui said their fates would remain unknown until the predicament ended.
• Fu Qian asked why Lui did not kill him, and Lui explained that he would persist as long as the Blood Order remained.
• Fu Qian sensed that Lui’s existence was tied to ubiquitous corruption and that destroying him would require crushing its source.
• Fu Qian considered becoming the King of Prison Break but sensed the predicament rejecting him after he returned to the Second Order.