Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xu discovered that Andy had tricked him into performing a ritual that summoned a real devil, then found the ritual’s four assistants dead. He summoned Rayne and the Rose Cross, and Rayne questioned how Zhao Xu had tracked the devil’s movements.

• Zhao Xu found a warning hidden in Andy’s ancestor’s notebook that the family ritual summoned a real devil, and realized Andy had lied about its source.
• Zhao Xu ran after Andy and found the four ritual assistants dead beside a stream, while Andy was missing.
• Zhao Xu checked the bodies with Divination of Life and summoned Rayne by crushing a gemstone.
• Rayne and the Rose Cross arrived, confirmed that the victims’ souls had been taken, and began reconstructing the scene.
• Rayne asked how Zhao Xu had figured out where the devil had gone, and Zhao Xu said he had been studying in the library for eighteen hours a day.

Zhao Xu deduced that Andy’s family carried dormant devil blood, which the summoning ritual had strengthened until a devil took over Andy. After Locate Creature failed to find it, Zhao Xu and Rayne used Vision Recall to witness the slaughter and identify the target.

• Zhao Xu explained to Rayne that Andy’s Ancestor had left a hidden warning because he could not control himself and had discovered a devil in the family bloodline.
• Rayne confirmed that Andy’s family had been placed under surveillance and that tests proved their bloodline was devil blood.
• Zhao Xu reasoned that the ritual summoned Otherworldly Creatures but had strengthened the devil in Andy, then concluded the devil was nearby seeking a place to build its power.
• A Rose Cross Cleric invited Zhao Xu to join, and Rayne began casting Locate Creature using Andy’s Spellbook, but the spell failed because the book had lost its connection to Andy.
• Zhao Xu told Rayne to cast Vision Recall, and Rayne used it to reveal the earlier slaughter to the group.

Zhao Xu and Rayne investigated a slaughter ritual left by a Pit Fiend, and Zhao Xu studied its design to uncover how it concealed the devil from divination. He concluded that the Pit Fiend was hiding nearby and that the murder scene formed the ritual’s center.

• Rayne showed Zhao Xu and the others an illusion of Andy murdering four companions before fleeing after completing a blood ritual.
• Rayne used Locate Creature and confirmed that Andy had been possessed by a high-ranking Pit Fiend whose ritual concealed its trail.
• Zhao Xu recognized that the ritual array was designed to thwart divination and copied it into his Spellbook.
• Zhao Xu examined the incomplete ritual and connected its structure to the victims’ bodies.
• Zhao Xu concluded that the Pit Fiend was hiding nearby, with the slaughter site at the ritual’s center.

Zhao Xu deduced that the Pit Fiend had used a temporary ritual to conceal itself near the stream, prompting Rose Cross to begin searching for its altar. He joined the search and planned with Wang Ningwei and Acevishi to find clues, focusing on locations marked on his map.

• Zhao Xu reasoned that the Pit Fiend had sacrificed four people to power a limited-area ritual that hid its location, and Rayne confirmed a similar case had once involved a devil altar beneath hunting grounds.
• Rayne ordered his subordinates to coordinate with the Mistral City Guard and search within twenty miles of the stream.
• Zhao Xu returned to his dormitory, learned his task had changed to searching for the altar, and accepted that finding clues could earn him a second Magic Item.
• Zhao Xu told Wang Ningwei and Acevishi what had happened, and the three discussed a plan for the search.
• Zhao Xu identified several priority locations on his map and focused on a watchtower beside the stream.

Zhao Xu led Wang Ningwei and Acevishi to investigate an abandoned watchtower that might be connected to the Pit Fiend and its hidden altar. After noticing unusually lush vegetation around the tower, he entered first to investigate, leaving the group at the brink of danger.

• Rayne sent Zhao Xu, Wang Ningwei, and Acevishi ahead to search for clues about the altar while the other Wizards waited at headquarters.
• As they traveled toward the watchtower, Zhao Xu explained the Pit Fiend’s abilities and said he had prepared Glitterdust as a means to escape if they encountered it.
• Zhao Xu and the two women reached the abandoned watchtower and noticed that the vegetation around it was unusually lush.
• Zhao Xu agreed to enter the watchtower first and advanced toward its crumbling doorway with a wooden club.

Zhao Xu, Wang Ningwei, and Acevishi entered an abandoned watchtower while searching the Other Shore Wilderness for a way into the Devil Altar. After Zhao Xu used Knock to open a jammed door, the group found a buried notebook and encountered a Feral Rat.

• Rayne assigned a large group to search the Other Shore Wilderness for locations resembling the Devil Altar entrance.
• Zhao Xu and the two women found gnaw marks on the watchtower door, but none of them could force it open because they all had low Strength.
• Zhao Xu used Knock to open the jammed door, and the group cautiously explored the decayed watchtower.
• Zhao Xu dug a worn notebook out of a pile of grit while Wang Ningwei and Acevishi searched the walls.
• A Feral Rat appeared on the stairs, and Acevishi and Wang Ningwei killed it with four Magic Missiles.

Zhao Xu, Acevishi, and Wang Ningwei explored a watchtower, where Zhao Xu killed a Feral Rat and dated the structure to a later period than its supposed history. On the top floor, they found a sundial in a place that should never have received sunlight, leaving the tower’s strange construction unexplained.

• Zhao Xu killed a Feral Rat with Magic Missiles and explained that it could spread disease through its bite.
• Acevishi and Wang Ningwei realized the Feral Rat had climbed through a second-floor opening, and Zhao Xu found a badly damaged notebook among the rubble.
• Acevishi dated the tower’s history to about four hundred years ago, but Zhao Xu pointed out that its brick staircase used a technique invented only two hundred years ago.
• Zhao Xu led Acevishi and Wang Ningwei through the tower’s five floors to ensure nobody else was inside.
• On the top floor, Wang Ningwei identified a sundial, and Zhao Xu realized sunlight could not have reached it when the wooden roof was intact.

Zhao Xu and his companions tried to escape the suspicious fifth floor, but the notebook he had picked up activated a teleporting stone pedestal and sent him to a dark room alone. He used his Time Rewind Amulet to return.

• Zhao Xu, Acevishi, and Wang Ningwei used coded conversation to agree on jumping from the fifth floor with Feather Fall rather than risk the stairs.
• The notebook flew from Zhao Xu’s pocket and reassembled above the altar, prompting the three to leap over the railing and cast Feather Fall.
• A purple beam from the stone pedestal held Zhao Xu in midair while Acevishi and Wang Ningwei descended safely.
• The pedestal teleported Zhao Xu, still holding the notebook, to a dark room beside an identical stone pedestal.
• Zhao Xu grasped his Time Rewind Amulet and said, “Go back.”

Zhao Xu explored the prison complex after the notebook teleported him there and learned that a devil was searching for a divine artifact at a Blood Altar. He found a sealed stone door marked for believers and opened it with his holy symbol.

• Zhao Xu rewound time, sent Acevishi and Wang Ningwei running, then let the notebook teleport him while he stayed invisible.
• Zhao Xu picked up the notebook and read its final entry about a garrison commander who became a devil after following its instructions.
• Zhao Xu left the teleportation room, explored the prison corridor, and set an alarm and surveillance spell in a domed hall.
• The notebook revealed that a devil was searching for a Blood Altar where a divine artifact was enshrined, so Zhao Xu avoided the central route and went right.
• Zhao Xu found a stone door marked “Believers may enter” and placed his holy symbol in its recess, causing the door to move.

Zhao Xu discovered that the hidden hall was a former stronghold of Death God Naraka’s followers and found a valuable spell scroll in its chest of drawers. After a Variant Spider attacked and fled, he cautiously opened the third drawer and was stunned by what he saw inside.

• Zhao Xu recognized Naraka’s tapestry and realized the hall was part of Naraka Temple, which a devil had occupied.
• Zhao Xu found a three-spell scroll containing Bestow Curse, Animate Dead, and Cure Serious Wounds, then stored it in his backpack.
• Zhao Xu opened the second drawer, and a Tiny Variant Spider bit at him before his Starfall Cloak blasted it away.
• Zhao Xu resumed searching with a crossbow ready and opened the third drawer, drawing a deep breath at its contents.

Zhao Xu searched the Clerics’ living quarters, found and equipped an Energy Suppression Hide, and killed five ghouls trapped in the kitchen. He reached a hall of thirteen Cleric coffins, all dated to the Year of Returning Death, June 13, beneath a plea for their lord to grant rebirth.

• Zhao Xu found an Energy Suppression Hide in a drawer, appraised it, and absorbed it into his arm, gaining protection that minimized spell and Spell-like Ability damage three times a day.
• Zhao Xu looted the remaining drawers, finding antique gold coins among mostly empty drawers and manuscripts that crumbled when touched.
• Zhao Xu opened the barred kitchen and retreated from a ghoul, then killed it and four others with Fireball.
• Zhao Xu inferred that the ghouls had been servants or cooks whom the Clerics had locked inside to starve, and he left the kitchen.
• Zhao Xu swept the living quarters and found thirteen stone coffins belonging to Clerics who had all died on June 13 in the Year of Returning Death, beneath a message asking their lord for rebirth.

Zhao Xu survived a deadly sequence of magical traps in the hall and uncovered clues that the stone coffins and Nerull’s doctrines were part of a larger plan. A soft female voice then revealed that an Energy Conversion Field at the entrance recharged the traps, leaving Zhao Xu facing an unseen speaker.

• Zhao Xu triggered Ghoul Rune Barrier and became paralyzed, then Greater Guardian Ward struck him with Ghoul’s Grasp.
• Zhao Xu used Energy Suppression Hide to limit the damage, then dispelled Ghoul’s Grasp with his Staff of Protection before it could kill him.
• Zhao Xu healed and strengthened himself, discovered runes on the entrance lock, and determined the hall’s traps were likely its final defenses.
• Zhao Xu studied the Nerull doctrines and thirteen stone coffins, suspecting the ritual’s purpose lay in its remaining arrangements rather than a straightforward resurrection.
• The notebook revealed that someone else had triggered the same traps and received healing before a devil entered and died.
• A soft female voice told Zhao Xu that an Energy Conversion Field at the entrance recharged the spells.

Zhao Xu met Lux, a divine artifact spirit in the Land of Returning Death, who revealed that he was the subject of Yeg’s first prophecy. After hearing its first two lines, Zhao Xu learned that Lux was the Eternal Sacred Artifact named in the prophecy, but he still did not know what artifact she was.

• Zhao Xu resisted fleeing the hall and questioned the unseen voice, which introduced herself as Lux and asked him to take her away.
• Lux told Zhao Xu about Yeg’s Seven Prophecies and recited the first line, revealing that he was the one who ascended against the flow of time.
• Lux recited the second line, saying Zhao Xu would command the Eternal Sacred Artifact and spread the radiance of magic, filling him with overwhelming confidence.
• Zhao Xu realized Lux was involved in the same prophecy because she could tell it to him, and Lux confirmed she was its Eternal Sacred Artifact.
• Lux said she did not know the rest of the first prophecy, and Zhao Xu eagerly asked which divine artifact she was.

Zhao Xu learned that Lux was the Eternal Sacred Artifact, able to transform into other artifacts for a limited time, and discovered she had been hiding as his Energy Suppression Hide. After Lux explained their bond and the ritual required to use her power, she told Zhao Xu to challenge the Pit Fiend that had broken into her home.

• Lux told Zhao Xu she could transform into artifacts, but targeted forms lasted only a few minutes and random transformations lasted at most five minutes.
• Zhao Xu suspected Lux might be connected to the God of Death, then learned she had been disguised as his Energy Suppression Hide and was replenishing the Blood Altar's concealment power.
• Lux said she could transform only once per day and described her past partners, including a Time Dragon and a demigod who both died.
• Lux told Zhao Xu he had to challenge a powerful opponent to prove himself before using her power, and named the Pit Fiend that had broken into her home.

Zhao Xu agreed to Lux’s bonding challenge despite the danger of facing a Pit Fiend, after learning that failure would let him step outside Yege’s first prophecy. As he prepared to leave, Lux revealed Yege’s zeroth prophecy, which foretold seven new chief gods and could explain why people from Earth received help in Arthur.

• Zhao Xu dismissed Lux’s reassurance about the Pit Fiend and listed its dangerous abilities, then accepted her offer to let him use her artifact form by spending a future use in advance.
• Zhao Xu learned that failing the bonding ritual would free him from the identity targeted by the first prophecy, and he decided to prepare for the challenge.
• Zhao Xu planned his battle with Lux, left the stone coffin hall, and headed toward the Pit Fiend’s location.
• Lux told Zhao Xu that Yege’s zeroth prophecy foretold seven immortal beings ascending to become chief gods and that two of those positions had already been claimed.
• Zhao Xu realized that five chief-god positions remained and that the prophecy could explain why Earth’s arrivals had received assistance in Arthur.

Zhao Xu planned his first attempt at Lux’s divine artifact transformation and entered the altar chamber to face the Pit Fiend. Lux transformed into the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws, leaving Zhao Xu to discover what its power could do against the devil.

• Zhao Xu considered how the Seventh Great Prophecy could make Wang Ningwei a target for rival factions.
• Lux explained that Zhao Xu could make repeated attempts by resurrecting near a temple, but outside interference would force him to challenge a lord-level figure in Hell.
• Zhao Xu decided to use a random transformation for his first attempt to investigate the Pit Fiend, then reserve targeted transformations for later attempts.
• Zhao Xu touched Naraka’s emblem and recited the passphrase to teleport safely into the sacrificial hall.
• Zhao Xu arrived before the Pit Fiend and ordered Lux to transform; she became the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws.

Zhao Xu used Lux’s control of the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws to load spells that protected him from the Pit Fiend’s abilities while time was stopped. As Greater Haste took over and gave him a round to act before the Pit Fiend could react, Zhao Xu prepared to attack.

• Zhao Xu opened the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws and cast Time Stop, freezing the altar plaza and the Pit Fiend.
• Zhao Xu used Greater Spell Immunity to block the Pit Fiend’s Unholy Word, Fireball, and Command Spell.
• Zhao Xu cast Mind Shield to resist the Pit Fiend’s Hold Monster and protect himself from thought-detecting magic.
• Zhao Xu cast Elemental Immunity against fire damage to defend against Meteor Swarm and Fireball.
• Zhao Xu cast True Sight to see through the Pit Fiend’s Invisibility and Eternal Phantom abilities.
• Zhao Xu cast Greater Haste as Time Stop ended, gaining a round to act before the Pit Fiend could react.

Zhao Xu used Time Stop and Greater Haste to prepare defenses and lower the Pit Fiend’s Spell Resistance, then resisted its Fear Aura and Command spell. After Lux warned him that a good-aligned amulet’s spell would make the devil drop a key item, Zhao Xu attacked with two Axiom Hammers.

• Zhao Xu cast Arcane Fusion to use Martyr’s Pity and protect himself from Greater Haste’s stunning aftereffect.
• Zhao Xu chose Reduce Spell Resistance instead of Banishment, lowering the Pit Fiend’s Spell Resistance by fifteen.
• The Pit Fiend charged into range and used its Fear Aura, but Zhao Xu’s Mind Shield made him immune.
• The Pit Fiend used Command: Stun, but Greater Spell Immunity and Martyr’s Pity blocked its effects.
• Lux told Zhao Xu that a spell associated with the good-aligned amulet would make the Pit Fiend drop a key item, so Zhao Xu cast Arcane Fusion and sent two Axiom Hammers at it.

Zhao Xu used the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws to kill a Pit Fiend after it tried to mislead him with illusory reinforcements. He learned Lux had lowered Axiom Hammer to a Third-ring Spell and, noticing the artifact was running out of time, asked it for Wish Spell.

• Zhao Xu cast two Axiom Hammer spells without suffering Strength damage because Lux, as an artifact, bore the cost.
• The Pit Fiend summoned six apparent reinforcements, but Zhao Xu saw through the illusions and struck the invisible original with two more Axiom Hammers.
• The original Pit Fiend died, causing its illusory copies and the surrounding infernal scene to vanish.
• Lux explained that the Good energy erased traces of the Pit Fiend and that it had lowered Axiom Hammer's spell circle.
• Zhao Xu noticed the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws had little time left and instructed Lux to provide a Wish Spell page.

Zhao Xu used the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws to cast four Wish Spells, raising his Intelligence to 21, before Lux warned him that further castings could draw dangerous attention. He used the remaining spells to prepare several emergency escape options, then collected the Pit Fiend’s Dimensional Pouch.

• Zhao Xu cast four Wish Spells and raised his Intelligence to 21 with a +5 inherent bonus.
• Lux warned Zhao Xu that more Wish Spells would create ripples in fate and attract the attention of Otherworldly Creatures.
• Zhao Xu cast Instantaneous Protection to teleport himself away automatically if one of six conditions occurred.
• Zhao Xu cast Escape Spell on four tokens, allowing their holders to teleport to his designated residence.
• Zhao Xu cast Gem Leap on four groups of gemstones, creating more teleportation destinations, and the Tome of Ten Thousand Laws vanished.
• Zhao Xu saw that the Pit Fiend’s rotten sludge had receded and picked up its Dimensional Pouch.