Chapter Summaries

Liu Zhi learned that Kapuda and the others had left Ezo for Honshu, then tended Videnina’s wound after their fight with the Seven Members. Videnina began trying to tame Ice Bone’s icy katana, and Liu Zhi kept using Gathering Spirit Technique to sustain her as the weapon’s cold drained her life.

• A talking wild boar invited Liu Zhi to raid the Seven Members’ lair, but Liu Zhi declined and asked about his missing friends.
• The wild boar learned through Liu Zhi’s blood that Kapuda and the others had left for Honshu that morning, then showed Liu Zhi their route from Ezo.
• Liu Zhi cut away the ice-covered flesh from Videnina’s wound and used Gathering Spirit Technique to help her heal.
• Videnina pointed out Ice Bone’s icy katana, and Liu Zhi realized she intended to tame it.
• Videnina grabbed the icy katana, which covered her in frost and rapidly drained her life, while Liu Zhi repeatedly used Gathering Spirit Technique to sustain her.

Liu Zhi helped Videnina awaken new limbs and collected three blueprints from the defeated Seven Undead. After considering the rewards he might have found at their lair, he decided to leave and search for Kapuda and the others, but old Jiao Wei stopped him with a question.

• Liu Zhi used the Gathering Spirit Technique until Videnina's bloodline surged, and she emerged from the ice with six arms and the subdued ice katana.
• Videnina discovered that her new lower left hand froze and shattered any katana weaker than the ice katana, so she left it empty.
• Liu Zhi picked up Ice Bone's head and obtained the Snow Woman Ice Palace Blueprint.
• Liu Zhi found the burned assassin's comb and received the Fine-Thread Assassin Training Manual, then recovered Strong Bone's remains and obtained the Exoskeleton Armor Factory Blueprint.
• Liu Zhi considered following the wild boar to the Seven Undead's lair, but chose to find Kapuda and the others instead.
• As Liu Zhi gathered his troops to leave, old Jiao Wei asked him a question.

Liu Zhi sent Videnina to pursue the Sea Breaker Sword and arranged to build ships so he could leave Ezo Island. As ten boats went under construction, Lord Bi Ye’s rival offered him a Venomous Snake Flower and an idea for dealing with Liu Zhi.

• Old Jiao Wei told Liu Zhi about a Sea Breaker Sword in a Naga ruin, and Liu Zhi encouraged Videnina to go after it.
• Liu Zhi learned that no ship would leave Ezo Island until next month, so he negotiated with a fishing merchant to build a sailing ship in exchange for materials.
• The fishing merchant supplied over a hundred workers, and Liu Zhi organized them to begin building ten boats within three days.
• Lord Bi Ye’s business rival approached him and showed him a Venomous Snake Flower, prompting Lord Bi Ye to ask where he had found it.

Liu Zhi discovered that the fishing merchant and another man were plotting to poison him with Venomous Snake Flowers, so he killed them before they could act. He found a hidden package of the flowers and recognized them, while the terrified workers fled.

• A man persuaded the fishing merchant to lend him boats so he could pursue five people, offering him Venomous Snake Flowers in exchange.
• The fishing merchant agreed, took five flowers, and prepared poisoned tea for Liu Zhi while the other man considered whether Liu Zhi could build more boats.
• Liu Zhi smelled poison in the tea as the fishing merchant approached with the other man, and he decided he could not remain on the island much longer.
• Liu Zhi blinded both men with a flash from his Death Long Staff, then killed the fishing merchant and fatally struck the other man with a Wind Blade.
• The workers fled, and Liu Zhi inspected the teapot and found a small package filled with Venomous Snake Flowers.

Liu Zhi built a small supernatural sailboat and escaped to sea before the harbor workers could catch him. After he left, the dead shipbuilder transformed into a giant serpent, which the arriving warriors killed and burned.

• Liu Zhi found a pile of Venomous Snake Flowers and finished assembling a small sailboat from his prepared materials.
• Liu Zhi used his Death Long Staff to frighten off the harbor workers, then sailed away with two Skeleton Soldiers.
• The dead shipbuilder transformed into a giant serpent and swallowed a worker before dying in the boatyard.
• Warriors from a nearby city examined the serpent, cut off its head, and burned its body and the boatyard.
• Liu Zhi checked his new Shipbuilder profession and learned its Fine Craftsmanship and Inspiration Infusion skills.

Liu Zhi reached a prosperous port and learned that the Izumo had arrived, though it would remain docked for repairs. When its guards confronted him, he identified himself as Sandru and asked the ship’s samurai whether it had brought four men.

• Liu Zhi claimed forty-five Venomous Snake Flowers and put them away after noticing fish drawn to them.
• Liu Zhi sailed to a large port, where samurai ordered him to leave his Skeleton Soldiers aboard.
• Liu Zhi learned that the Izumo had arrived the previous day and recognized its mechanical masts as part of an experimental ship.
• Frog spirits blocked Liu Zhi from approaching the Izumo, and a samurai ordered them to stand down.
• Liu Zhi introduced himself as Sandru and asked the samurai whether the Izumo had brought four men.

Kapuda and his companions discovered that the Izumo’s crew had captured them to study their extraordinary strength and were transporting them away in an ox cart. As they prepared to escape, Kapuda saw that Liu Zhi, known to the party as Sandru, had completed their shared Venomous Snake Flower quest.

• Liu Zhi questioned the samurai aboard the Izumo about Kapuda and the others, and the samurai ordered the toad spirits to kill him if he returned.
• Two samurai and Boss Ox transported the unconscious companions in an ox cart, discussing how they hoped to learn the source of the group’s strength.
• The thief woke and freed Kapuda, Dorkat, and the mage, then the group learned they had been captured as rare yokai for study.
• Kapuda assigned the thief to record their route and told Dorkat to deal with Boss Ox when the cart stopped.
• Kapuda checked the party panel and discovered that Sandru had completed the shared Venomous Snake Flower quest.

Liu Zhi gathered information about the Izumo and learned it was connected to Skam and the Akabesh Lobster Soldiers. When an emergency signal drew the ship’s crew and harbor samurai to Iwami Mountain, he used the opening to sneak aboard the Izumo.

• Liu Zhi paid for a meager meal at a tavern and learned that gold was worth little in Iwami.
• A samurai told Liu Zhi about the Izumo’s secretive trade, its interior layout, and its connection to five Akabesh Lobster Soldiers.
• Liu Zhi learned that the Akabesh Lobster Soldiers wore powerful lobster-like armor and suspected they used the Exoskeleton Armor held by Skam.
• An explosion sent a red pillar of cloud rising from Iwami Mountain, and the harbor samurai rushed to answer the Akabes’ emergency signal.
• Liu Zhi saw the Izumo’s people leave for Iwami Mountain and secretly slipped aboard the ship.

Liu Zhi infiltrated the Izumo and fought an Akabesh Lobster Soldier, killing it before entering the cabin behind it. The encounter left him reflecting on how far he had come and how he needed to remember who he was.

• Liu Zhi boarded the Izumo through a hatch on its port side and moved through the lower deck.
• An Akabesh Lobster Soldier attacked Liu Zhi, who deflected its gunfire and severed its head with the Giant Lizard's Bloodstained Fang.
• Liu Zhi reflected on how much stronger he had become and felt unsettled by how distant his old life seemed.
• Liu Zhi remembered that Futai had told him to remember his name so he would not lose his sense of self.
• After hearing footsteps on the deck, Liu Zhi dragged the corpse into the nearby cabin.

Liu Zhi discovered that the Izumo could transform into a giant mecha and accidentally took control of it when its captain arrived to activate it. He walked the mecha ashore, unaware that warriors were attacking its legs, just as it began to move again.

• Liu Zhi studied the Izumo's blueprints and learned the basic method for building a modified Japanese Mecha Ship.
• A concealed control platform rose as the Izumo's captain ordered everyone off the ship and sent men to break into the cabin.
• Liu Zhi activated the platform, which transformed the cabin and lifted him into the mecha's control chair.
• Liu Zhi pressed a button, learned it controlled direction, and walked the Izumo mecha through the harbor onto land.
• The captain and dozens of warriors attacked the mecha's legs, and the Izumo moved as the captain thought the situation might still be contained.

Liu Zhi recklessly operated Izumo, accidentally triggered its self-destruction, and escaped the port by clinging to the Sun Carriage. He discovered that riding the carriage could carry him at tremendous speed, though it consumed a great deal of mana.

• Liu Zhi pressed Izumo's controls, extended its weapons, and fired its cannons into the port, killing warriors and injuring the captain.
• Liu Zhi gained the [First Generation Mecha Operation] skill, then accidentally pressed Izumo's self-destruct button.
• Liu Zhi escaped Izumo as it crouched and exploded, while the captain survived by hiding in the seawater.
• The Sun Carriage burst from the explosion and carried Liu Zhi beyond the port and up the mountain as he clung to its back.
• Liu Zhi realized he could ride the Sun Carriage for rapid travel, but the short trip had consumed more than a third of his mana.

Liu Zhi learned that Kapuda and the others had been spotted at Iwami Mountain, but chose to follow a lead about the Teppo Soldiers’ designs instead. At the mountain, he unexpectedly encountered the Lobster Soldiers pursuing Kapuda and the others.

• Liu Zhi saw that the harbor was burning, and a samurai told him four green-skinned ogres had emerged from the mine at Iwami Mountain.
• Liu Zhi realized the ogres might be Kapuda and the others and asked whether the defenders needed help, but the samurai advised him not to go.
• A samurai claimed he could reveal where the Teppo Soldiers’ designs were for two gold coins, and Liu Zhi paid him for directions to a cave seventy li east.
• Other samurai explained that the Teppo Soldiers’ armor required iron from the Underworld, which Liu Zhi could obtain using his own resources.
• Liu Zhi headed east to find the designs, and at the mountain he encountered the Lobster Soldiers pursuing Kapuda and the others.

Liu Zhi memorized the Teppo Soldier armor blueprint while Kapuda’s group fought and fled from the Lobster Soldiers. As Kapuda prepared to continue the fight, Sandru arrived with a sandstorm that could disrupt the enemy formation.

• Liu Zhi found Kapuda’s group holding off the Lobster Soldiers and judged they could manage without his help.
• Liu Zhi examined and memorized the Teppo Soldier armor blueprint, including its requirement for underworld iron.
• Liu Zhi joined the cannon fodder pursuing Kapuda’s group as they tried to escape and pick off the Lobster Soldiers.
• Dorkat suggested retreating, but Kapuda resisted because he did not want to earn his nickname, the Middleman, again.
• Kapuda’s group spotted Sandru’s sandstorm, and Kapuda told Dorkat to draw the Lobster Soldiers’ attention so they could attack again.

Liu Zhi used a sandstorm to split the lobster soldiers into small groups, helping Kapuda and the others defeat them without casualties. After regrouping, Kapuda explained that their discoveries concerned the Sixth Heaven Demon King’s plan to unify the Island Country and “go to the capital,” which might be connected to their main quest’s Immortal.

• Liu Zhi used Reverse Storm and Strong Wind to separate the lobster soldiers and release them in small groups for Kapuda and the others to fight.
• Kapuda, Dorkat, the mage, and the rogue killed the lobster soldiers in successive waves while the cannon fodder fled.
• Liu Zhi cautiously released the last groups, helping the team avoid casualties despite a level 3 minor leader among the lobster soldiers.
• Kapuda thanked Liu Zhi for helping them secure their findings and said the guild would arrange compensation for him.
• Kapuda told Liu Zhi that the Sixth Heaven Demon King had unified the Island Country before setting out to “go to the capital,” and guessed this might mean finding the Immortal.

Liu Zhi exchanged information with Kapuda and learned that the Izumo’s blueprints showed a super-giant mecha assembled from five components. By mapping seven unusually arranged keeps, he and the others concluded that they were preparing to attack a central location.

• Kapuda gave Liu Zhi the Flying Serpent’s corpse as compensation for an item he had missed while absent.
• Liu Zhi told Kapuda and the others that the Izumo could transform, and Kapuda explained that they had seen plans for a super-giant mecha built from five components.
• Liu Zhi meditated to locate the keeps across the Island Country and found seven unusually arranged keeps on their island.
• Liu Zhi used the Sky Eye to mark the keeps on a map, despite running out of mana and losing one bird.
• Kapuda, Dorkat, and the mage noticed that the keeps and rivers formed a network pointing toward a central location, which they believed the builders planned to attack.

Liu Zhi and his companions completed their search of the mutant-filled forest but could not reach the Immortal. Liu Zhi realized the mountain forest was the sleeping Immortal’s body, and the mage connected the discovery to the world’s name, Inalarex's Dream.

• Liu Zhi and his companions entered the forest guarded by seven giant mecha and fought their way through giant beasts and mutants, completing the Clear Out the Mutants quest.
• Kapuda identified a place the group kept being prevented from reaching as the likely location of the Immortal.
• Liu Zhi used Sky Eye to investigate the area, sensed something was wrong, and led the group out of the forest.
• Liu Zhi built a sand table without the trees and pointed out that the mountain forest resembled a giant sleeping body, with the unreachable spot at its heart.
• Liu Zhi proposed that the seven mecha guarded the enormous creature to keep it from waking, and the mage connected the revelation to the world’s name, Inalarex's Dream.

Liu Zhi and the others reconsidered how to approach the Immortal and realized their quest only required uncovering its secrets, not waking or fighting it. By reconstructing the forest on the Sand Table, they identified a likely secret location between the mountain’s two hands.

• The Thief argued that the Immortal might be suppressing something, while Dorkat suggested setting the mountain on fire.
• Liu Zhi proposed using a mecha from a keep, but the group realized they had lost sight of the quest’s actual objective.
• Liu Zhi pointed out that they only needed to find the Immortal and uncover its secrets, not wake it or challenge it.
• The Thief and the Mage argued over whether the secret was hidden in the Immortal’s heart or head.
• Kapuda asked Liu Zhi to restore the forest on the Sand Table, and the group spotted a likely target between the mountain’s two hands.

Liu Zhi used the Natural Breath Meditation Technique to locate the source of the strange life energy in the ancient forest. The source revealed itself as a towering Treant, and Karishi was sent to investigate the spot where it had emerged.

• Liu Zhi sensed unusually dense life energy among the ancient trees but could not locate its source.
• At the thief’s suggestion, Liu Zhi tried the Natural Breath Meditation Technique and traced the life energy to one direction.
• A seemingly ordinary ancient tree pulled itself from the ground and transformed into a giant Treant that attacked the group.
• Dorkat drew the Treant’s attention with his shield while Liu Zhi pointed out where it had emerged.
• Kapuda ordered Karishi to go investigate the spot as he shot at the Treant.

The Rogue discovered a vast pool of Life Essence beneath the Treant’s roots and watched a powerful Fishman emerge from it. Kapuda led the group toward the Fishman, whom he identified as the Immortal, as the Treant turned back to protect it and Liu Zhi prepared to stay behind as a healer.

• Liu Zhi and the others lured the Treant away while the Rogue slipped back to its original position and descended into the pit.
• The Rogue found Life Essence that transformed his body, then cut himself to stop the growth and continued deeper into a cavern.
• The Rogue discovered a pool of pure liquid Life Essence and saw a ten-meter-tall Fishman emerge from it.
• The Fishman summoned green rain that invigorated the forest, prompting the Treant to turn back toward its roots.
• The Rogue returned and told Kapuda what he had found, and Kapuda led the group to confront the Fishman.
• Liu Zhi questioned whether the Fishman could be the Immortal and slowed down to play healer, but trouble arose when he spotted it.

Liu Zhi and his companions were drawn into a fight with a Fishman who had been absorbing the mountain’s Life Essence, and Liu Zhi took command after recognizing the Fishman’s weaknesses. They retreated to draw the Fishman away from the pit, where Liu Zhi discovered flowers restoring his life force.

• Liu Zhi accidentally threw quicklime at the Fishman and realized someone was mentally influencing the group to make them fight.
• Kapuda shot the Fishman with a crossbow bolt, and Liu Zhi used Strong Wind to spread quicklime over him.
• The Fishman charged at Liu Zhi, who cut the tendon in his leg with a Wind Blade, but the Fishman’s leg quickly regenerated.
• Liu Zhi took command from Kapuda and ordered the group to retreat, noting that the Fishman healed faster near the pit and the Treant remained unnaturally still.
• As Liu Zhi drew the Fishman farther from the pit, flowers bloomed beneath his feet and replenished his life force.