Chapter Summaries

Xu Qing explored the cabins with Dark Extinction after learning the gray-haired young man had joined him as a miniature companion. They found Yu Nian and the feather-robed young man missing, so Xu Qing marked a door to detect their return and continued deeper into the ship.

• Xu Qing learned the gray-haired young man's name was Dark Extinction, and Dark Extinction asked to accompany him as a ball of gray light.
• Xu Qing tried to get Devil Scorpion to open his cabin door, but Devil Scorpion stayed silent.
• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction found Yu Nian's cabin empty and warm, with no sign of how its occupant had left.
• They found the feather-robed young man's cabin empty too, so Xu Qing attached a fine Immortal Origin thread to its door to track anyone who returned.
• Xu Qing chose to explore the ship's safer cabins before going onto the potentially mist-covered deck, and Dark Extinction agreed to follow him.

Xu Qing and Dark Extinction explored the ominous Three-Masted Sailboat, where Xu Qing’s first clone died after jumping down a staircase. On the mast, they discovered that a figure had vanished and spotted a gigantic fish-like shadow beneath the ship.

• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction discussed feng shui before finding six sealed cabins and a staircase leading deeper into the ship.
• Xu Qing jumped down the stairs and his clone died; his next clone found that Dark Extinction had stayed behind because he sensed danger below.
• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction went onto the deck and saw a figure standing at the top of the mast amid the surrounding gray mist.
• Xu Qing discovered that the ship restricted flight and climbed the mast, but the figure vanished before he could reach it.
• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction looked down from the mast and saw a moonlit, pitch-black sea and a thousand-meter fish-like shadow beneath the ship.

Xu Qing learned that the ship was stalked by a Prison of the Underworld and prepared to retrieve something from it using his Blood God Clone. Meanwhile, Nian Yu revealed that he had been seeking a partner to help him obtain the ancient creature’s blood, but Yu Nian’s fear of a Soul Carp disrupted their attempt.

• Xu Qing read that the Prison of the Underworld fed on illusions and souls, while Soul Carp spread illusions and feared lightning.
• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction returned to their cabin, and Xu Qing sent a Blood God Clone out after creating a two-way teleportation array with Buckwheat’s help.
• Nian Yu and Yu Nian suddenly returned to their cabin after Yu Nian thought a two-headed creature was approaching him.
• Nian Yu explained that he had recognized the Prison of the Underworld beneath the ship and wanted its blood, so he had sought a bold partner to use his teleportation technique.

Xu Qing found the Prison of the Underworld Beast beneath the ship and drew blood from its gill, provoking the enormous creature. Yu Nian was thrown away by its violent movements, then trapped underwater by a swarm of Soul Crucian that blocked his teleportation.

• Dark Extinction saw Xu Qing and Yu Nian leap into the sea, then followed them down in his miniature form.
• Xu Qing found the Prison of the Underworld Beast and discovered that its black hide resisted the Cyan Frost Sword.
• Xu Qing entered the beast's gill and drilled into its tender flesh, collecting its pink blood in a Jade Bottle.
• The wounded Prison of the Underworld Beast thrashed, and its movement sent Yu Nian flying through the turbulent water.
• Thousands of Soul Crucian surrounded Yu Nian and blocked his way to the surface.
• Yu Nian tried to teleport away, but the Soul Crucian's spatial fluctuations disrupted the spell.

Xu Qing obtained blood from the Prison of the Underworld Beast and returned safely to the ship, while Yu Nian and Nian Yu also escaped the Soul Crucians after gathering blood. Nian Yu planned to use the blood to lure the ship’s passengers into illusions and take control of their lives.

• Yu Nian pierced the Soul Crucians with roots, then escaped into the Prison of the Underworld Beast through its anus as the creatures overwhelmed him.
• Xu Qing set up a Two-Way Teleportation Array inside the beast’s gills, sent a Jade Bottle containing its blood to his cabin, and escaped the Soul Crucians by disintegrating himself.
• Xu Qing’s paper talisman clone caught the four immortal jades, and Dark Extinction watched him return to the cabin with the blood.
• Xu Qing sealed the Jade Bottle and explained to Buckwheat and Xiao Lei that it contained the Prison of the Underworld Beast’s blood.
• Yu Nian and Nian Yu returned to their cabin with blood from the beast’s intestines, and Nian Yu gave Yu Nian half a Unicorn Flood Dragon horn as compensation.
• Nian Yu revealed that he planned to smear the blood on people’s doors the next night so Soul Crucians would trap them in illusions, leaving their lives in his grasp.

Xu Qing and the others faced strange disturbances aboard the ship and fought monsters in the Sea of Illusory Thoughts. After discovering that Nian Yu had marked his door with a scent matching Prison of the Underworld Beast blood, Xu Qing and Dark Extinction suspected the mark could draw illusion-making creatures to him.

• Yu Nian apologized for the foul smell coming from him, and Crimson Tiger asked everyone about the previous night's knocking; Xu Qing claimed he had fought off an impostor pretending to be Crimson Tiger.
• Crimson Tiger warned that sea monsters would attack after sunrise, and three golden merfolk leapt from the water; Jin Zhan killed them, then Xu Qing collected their silver spears.
• More monsters attacked during the day, and the group took turns fighting before returning to their cabins at night.
• Xu Qing opened his door after hearing a knock but found the corridor empty; Nian Yu later drew a faint spiral mark on the door, and Dark Extinction spotted it while monitoring the corridor.
• Dark Extinction told Xu Qing about Nian Yu's mark, and Xu Qing identified its scent as matching blood he had collected from a Prison of the Underworld Beast.
• Xu Qing explained that the ancient beast's blood could attract creatures that parasitized its back and created illusions, while Dark Extinction wondered whether Nian Yu meant to trap Xu Qing in one.

Xu Qing marked everyone’s doors to confuse the Soul Crucian, then hid in the Immortal Spirit Space and discovered that time passed there forty-eight times faster than outside. Near dawn, he fell into an illusion of his former life with his mother, while Buckwheat and Xiao Lei watched a Soul Crucian standing behind him.

• Xu Qing copied the mark onto every door and added extra symbols to Nian Yu’s door, then prepared defenses and left a Blood God Clone in his room.
• Xu Qing, Buckwheat, and Xiao Lei entered the Immortal Spirit Space, where Xu Qing cultivated for eight days and noticed the Dao fruit seemed close to ripening.
• Xu Qing returned to the cabin after only four outside hours and realized the space’s time flowed forty-eight times faster than the outside world.
• Xu Qing continued cultivating until a strange sound sent him into an illusion where he woke as a high-school student and ate breakfast with his mother.
• Buckwheat found Xu Qing unresponsive and saw that he was crying, while Xiao Lei spotted a Soul Crucian behind him; Buckwheat told Xiao Lei to wait unless it moved to attack.

Xu Qing relived a painful memory of his family in an illusion, then woke and fought off the sailboat’s daytime monsters while Nian Yu remained trapped. After Nian Yu finally returned, Xu Qing secretly marked him, and Nian Yu arranged to meet Yu Nian in the sea that night.

• Xu Qing chose to remain in an illusion of his past life until his mother collapsed, and he woke after the illusion shattered around his decision to donate a kidney to her.
• Buckwheat explained that a Soul Crucian had trapped Xu Qing in the illusion and gave him the green jade stone it left behind.
• Xu Qing killed the black-armored monster with his speed, and the group survived the day’s attacks while Dark Extinction displayed a strange technique.
• Nian Yu emerged after barely breaking free of his illusion and said he could endure for only a few more days if the journey continued.
• Xu Qing secretly placed a tracking mark on Nian Yu, who later told Yu Nian through origin power that they needed to go into the sea that night.

Xu Qing and Dark Extinction investigated Nian Yu’s suspicious actions, uncovering his plan to mark the team’s doors with Prison of the Underworld Beast blood. Crimson Tiger and the others confronted Nian Yu, while Yu Nian distanced himself from the scheme and Jin Zhan called for Nian Yu to be punished.

• Buckwheat reassured Xu Qing about the trials, and Xu Qing comforted him when he admitted he feared becoming a burden.
• Dark Extinction reported seeing someone sneak into Yu Nian’s cabin, and Xu Qing urged him to keep investigating Nian Yu rather than attack him outright.
• Nian Yu falsely told Yu Nian that someone had used beast blood to intensify their illusory attacks, then persuaded him to help gather more blood.
• Nian Yu left his cabin, returned from the sea, and marked the team’s doors with beast blood, leaving three marks outside Xu Qing’s door.
• Xu Qing confronted Nian Yu in the corridor as Crimson Tiger arrived with Shen Huan and Dark Extinction, exposing Nian Yu’s scheme to the team.
• Yu Nian claimed he had not known of Nian Yu’s plan, while Jin Zhan demanded that the others decide whether to kill Nian Yu or throw him to the fish.

Nian Yu attacked Xu Qing by entering his body, so Crimson Tiger and Devil Scorpion sealed Xu Qing to contain him. The next morning, Xu Qing emerged apparently unharmed, leaving the others surprised and Crimson Tiger and Dark Extinction newly intrigued by his nature.

• Nian Yu transformed into a shadow and entered Xu Qing, prompting Crimson Tiger to bind him and Devil Scorpion to seal his mind.
• Crimson Tiger put Xu Qing in his room and claimed he would search the ship for signs of Nian Yu, but Dark Extinction confronted him about a demon royal clan that could possess human geniuses.
• Dark Extinction suggested that Shen Huan was not the true body Nian Yu had possessed, leaving Crimson Tiger puzzled about Xu Qing's identity and clone technique.
• Crimson Tiger searched the Three-Masted Sailboat but found no trace of Nian Yu beyond the deck beneath the cabin.
• The next morning, Xu Qing walked onto the deck and greeted everyone, startling the group while Crimson Tiger and Dark Extinction looked relieved.

Xu Qing proposed using Soul Carp to wear down the sealed Nian Yu while the group collected Soul Stones, then spent twelve days killing the fish and sharing the spoils. By the end, the Soul Carp had vanished and Nian Yu was close to withering away.

• Xu Qing convinced the group to use Prison of the Underworld Beast blood to lure Soul Carp and weaken Nian Yu, while his lightning protected them and let them kill the fish.
• Xu Qing coated Nian Yu’s sealed true body with the blood and suspended it above the sea, drawing swarms of Soul Carp that he destroyed with lightning as the others collected Soul Stones.
• Crimson Tiger distributed 2,213 Soul Stones from the first night, giving Xu Qing 1,107 and dividing the rest among the others.
• For ten days, the group fought Sea Monsters by day and killed Soul Carp at night, while Xu Qing accumulated nearly 12,000 Soul Stones.
• On the twelfth day, no Soul Carp appeared; the fishing ended, Xu Qing had collected 12,159 Soul Stones, and Nian Yu was close to withering away.

Xu Qing investigated a dangerous disturbance on the ship’s lower deck and found a person sealed inside a barrel. When he opened it, Dark Extinction recognized the person and questioned who was standing above with the group.

• A powerful energy fluctuation woke everyone aboard the ship, and Xu Qing volunteered to investigate the lower deck with an avatar.
• Xu Qing found a dark warehouse filled with sealed barrels and heard a familiar voice calling for help from one of them.
• Xu Qing examined the barrel and learned it was made of ten-thousand-year Yin God Wood, then decided to open it.
• Xu Qing cut off the barrel’s lid and revealed a person curled inside.
• Dark Extinction recognized the person and asked Xu Qing who was up above.

Xu Qing and Dark Extinction found the real Crimson Tiger unconscious in a sealed barrel, hid him, and deceived the Crimson Tiger leading the group. After crossing the misty sea, they entered the fourth stage, where Xu Qing suspected the promised final reward was a trap.

• Xu Qing froze the unconscious Crimson Tiger, stored him inside his arm, and created a duplicate body to replace him in the barrel.
• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction told the group they had found nothing unusual, and everyone resealed the barrels.
• Xu Qing noticed the leading Crimson Tiger arrived late the next morning, and he and Dark Extinction suspected he had inspected the lower cabin.
• After thirteen days, the group reached shore, entered a forest, and opened a stone gate that led to a dim corridor containing six wooden carvings.
• Crimson Tiger explained that the group would face their clones in the Secret Realm Martial Hall, while Xu Qing sensed the final stage might be a trap.

Xu Qing defeated a chamber projection that copied his abilities and learned that the final trial was linked to the Immortal Realm. As the group entered the cloud stairway, he left a blood-robed clone behind, which discovered signs of danger in the forest while an ancient Two-Horned Demon Shadow prepared to escape its seal and attack the newcomers.

• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction privately discussed their target, then Xu Qing traded Dark Extinction a temporary-storage method for a puppet and entered Cave No. 6.
• Xu Qing fought a projection that copied his techniques, discovered it could not reproduce his higher-level powers or unique treasures, and defeated it.
• Crimson Tiger told the group that passing the fourth trial had earned them statues capable of forming combat clones, then led them toward the final trial.
• Crimson Tiger revealed a golden cloud stairway, and Xu Qing recognized the object he had used as resembling a token connected to the Immortal Realm.
• As the group climbed into the clouds, Xu Qing left behind a blood-robed clone, which sensed that the danger might lie in the forest and flew toward a distant mountain.
• Deep underground, a Two-Horned Demon Shadow gathered purple qi from corpses and vowed to escape its seal, destroy Divine Light’s former residence, and kill his disciples and descendants.

Xu Qing discovered that the soulless mountain concealed a Zheng Race stronghold, and Buckwheat identified the demons as members of one of the Five Great Ferocious Races. Rather than confront their powerful main body directly, Xu Qing secretly planted Soul Blood in its clones as a contingency, leaving the Zheng Race restless but unable to find him.

• Xu Qing sent talisman clones into the mountain’s caves, where several were destroyed by Two-Horned Demon Shadows.
• Xu Qing used a Smart Bracelet to consult Buckwheat, who identified the demons as the Zheng Race and explained their sonic attacks, cloning ability, and weakness to lightning.
• Xu Qing learned that the demon shadows were powerful clones and decided to probe the mountain while keeping his main body out of danger.
• Xu Qing froze demon shadows and planted Soul Blood in them, intending to possess or damage the Zheng Race’s main body through its clones.
• As Xu Qing traveled deeper and planted Soul Blood in more demon shadows, the Zheng Race’s main body sensed something amiss and sent growing groups of clones searching through the tunnels.
• Xu Qing hid within the mountain rock as the demon shadows searched in vain.

Xu Qing infiltrated the Zheng Race horde, met its true body, and learned that the ancient Moro claimed to be a Demon Emperor who wanted him to join the demon race. Meanwhile, Xu Qing and the others entered the Heavenly Palace courtyard and stripped away its immortal-jade walls and tiles before a stone path repelled Jin Zhan.

• Xu Qing hid within a horned demon shadow and followed the horde to the underground cavern where its demons merged into the Zheng Race's true body.
• Xu Qing scattered soul blood among the Zheng Race members, but the true body sensed him and attacked; it introduced itself as Demon Emperor Moro.
• Xu Qing and Moro spoke over wine, and Moro offered Xu Qing the status and resources of a Saint Child if he joined the demon race; Xu Qing asked to consider the offer.
• Xu Qing and the others arrived in an enormous Heavenly Palace courtyard paved with immortal jade, then pried up its walls and floor tiles to take them.
• Jin Zhan led the group farther into the courtyard, stepped onto a stone path, and was blasted away by golden light from the bamboo forest.

Xu Qing spent twenty days studying the Bamboo Forest’s shifting defensive array, then carved a safe path through it and continued onward with Dark Extinction. As they dismantled more arrays, Xu Qing warned Dark Extinction that the journey felt strange, especially Crimson Tiger.

• Crimson Tiger’s attack triggered a devastating counterstrike from the Bamboo Forest, and he said the group would need to combine their strength to break the defense.
• Xu Qing identified the defense as an array and began calculating a way to disable it, while most of the group grew impatient and left to explore elsewhere.
• Dark Extinction stayed with Xu Qing as he calculated for twenty days, then stood guard while Xu Qing rested for two more days.
• Xu Qing used immortal energy to disrupt the array’s joints and opened a safe path through the Bamboo Forest, explaining that the array would recover and that more defenses lay ahead.
• As Xu Qing and Dark Extinction continued dismantling arrays, Xu Qing said the journey felt strange, particularly because of Crimson Tiger.

Xu Qing and Dark Extinction explored the hidden garden inside the Heavenly Palace, collecting enchanted treasures and confronting bees created by arrays. After studying and replicating the bees, Xu Qing defeated the swarm and began harvesting the tree’s weapon-shaped leaves with Dark Extinction.

• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction entered the garden revealed beyond the pavilion and found enchanted wine jugs and storage cups, which Xu Qing uncovered by breaking their protective arrays.
• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction tested a tree bearing weapon-shaped leaves, where Golden Ringed Bees appeared and proved resistant to Dark Extinction’s attacks.
• Xu Qing studied the bees’ complex array structure for three days, rested for a day, then created more than five hundred White Ringed Bees to overwhelm the Golden Ringed Bees.
• After the Golden Ringed Bees vanished, Xu Qing plucked a spear-shaped leaf and offered to split the tree’s leaves with Dark Extinction.

The chapter recounted the 1931 Mukden Incident, Japan’s occupation of northeastern China, and the Chinese Communist Party’s call for national resistance. Ninety-two years later, the narrator urged readers to remember the day.

• On September 18, 1931, Japan’s Kwantung Army blew up a section of the South Manchurian Railway and blamed Chinese troops.
• Zhang Xueliang followed Chiang Kai-shek’s policy of non-resistance, and the Northeast Army retreated as Japanese forces attacked.
• Japanese troops occupied Shenyang on September 19 and seized northeastern China over the following four-plus months.
• On September 20, the Chinese Communist Party condemned Japan’s aggression and called on the people to drive Japanese imperialism out of China.
• Ninety-two years later, the narrator recalled the incident and urged the children of China not to forget it.

Xu Qing and Dark Extinction fought through the secret realm, collecting treasures and surviving its guardians while Crimson Tiger attacked Jin Zhan. After Xu Qing defeated three enormous koi and gathered golden lotuses, he saw something terrifying in the pool and fled with Dark Extinction.

• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction collected leaves from nine ancient trees, then Dark Extinction carved a path through the sword-sharp grass while Xu Qing fought nine Immortal Snakes until they escaped the grassland.
• Crimson Tiger stole the Morning Sun Golden Light Chrysanthemum from Jin Zhan and attacked him, but Jin Zhan feigned surrender and self-destructed, severely damaging Crimson Tiger before Crimson Tiger recovered with the flower.
• Xu Qing and Dark Extinction leisurely studied cultivation methods in a corridor before moving to a pool, where they fought three enormous horned koi.
• Xu Qing used his treasures and techniques to badly injure the koi, collected them for treatment with his Immortal Spring, and took six of the pool's nine golden lotuses, giving one to Dark Extinction.
• Xu Qing saw something terrifying in the pool and fled hundreds of meters into the air, prompting Dark Extinction to retreat and ask what had happened.