Recaps

Shen Le and the Dragon Lord crossed the Heaven-Earth Barrier into a savage outer realm, where the Dragon Lord began gathering primal energy to repair the breach. As monstrous beasts attacked the spirit vessel, the girl defended it with flowers and leaves, and Shen Le used the Bronze Tripod to capture one of the attackers.

• Shen Le tried to send spiritual power through the Copper Fragment to ease the spirit vessel's strain, but the chaotic primal energy injured his sea of consciousness, and the Dragon Lord warned him not to act rashly.
• The spirit vessel escaped the worst of the turbulence and reached a strange realm of stars, mountains, water, and surging primal energy.
• The Dragon Lord revealed his azure dragon form, gathered and refined the surrounding primal energy, and began sealing the water source as vicious beasts rushed toward the vessel.
• The girl defended the vessel and crystal coffin with magical flowers, leaves, and vines, felling or repelling the attacking creatures.
• Shen Le transformed the Copper Fragment into a legless Bronze Tripod and captured a charging beast inside one of its raised patterns.

Shen Le helped the young woman and Dragon Lord repel the strange beasts, then repaired the breach in the world barrier around Pengli Marsh’s water eye. After the battle, the figure inside the crystal coffin began to stir, and Dragon Lord led the others onward to find a place rich in primordial energy to heal their injuries.

• Shen Le used the Bronze Tripod to capture and subdue powerful strange beasts, easing the young woman’s fight and driving the remaining beasts away from the magic boat.
• Shen Le followed the Bronze Tripod’s guidance and wove five-element threads into the damaged world barrier, restoring order as Dragon Lord and the others supplied him with power.
• The breach was fully repaired, the water eye calmed, and the strange beasts vanished; Shen Le collapsed from exhaustion and recovered with the young girl’s magnolia spiritual dew.
• The crystal coffin on the dharma boat began glowing as the figure inside moved, exciting the young girl and Dragon Lord.
• Dragon Lord ordered everyone to continue onward and seek dense primordial energy to heal their injuries.

Shen Le accompanied Dragon Lord and Lady Xiang into the Heavenly Emperor's Garden, where the dharma vessel transformed into a giant tree and absorbed primordial energy. Lord Xiang's body recovered, but he remained asleep because his divine soul was depleted, leaving Dragon Lord and Lady Xiang searching for something that could awaken him.

• Dragon Lord brought the dharma vessel through the ancient wilderness to the Heavenly Emperor's Garden and persuaded Yingzhao to let them enter.
• The dharma vessel transformed into a giant tree and drew in the garden's essence while Lady Xiang's song renewed the surrounding landscape.
• Ancient gods and beasts arrived, and Dragon Lord and Lady Xiang repelled hostile creatures as the gods greeted them and blessed Lord Xiang.
• Dragon Lord summoned nourishing rain over the garden while Lady Xiang sang and danced, restoring its vegetation and waterways.
• Lord Xiang's body recovered inside the crystal, but Dragon Lord discovered that his depleted divine soul still prevented him from waking.
• Lady Xiang asked how her brother could be awakened, and Dragon Lord wondered whether anyone or anything still remembered the gods of Chu.

Dragon Lord and Lady Xiang tried to awaken Lord Xiang by reviving public interest in the deities of Chu, and Shen Le organized academic and media projects to gather enough devotion. Their efforts summoned a vast power, but Dragon Lord realized they still lacked something connected to Lord Xiang, and Lady Xiang sent white light shooting into the sky to search for it.

• Dragon Lord, Lady Xiang, and Shen Le brought Lord Xiang’s crystal to a hill and sang and danced to awaken him, but he did not stir.
• Lady Xiang blamed Ying Zheng for cutting down Xiang Mountain and worsening Lord Xiang’s injuries, while Dragon Lord comforted her and asked Shen Le to help revive public memories of the Chu deities.
• Dragon Lord and the Special Affairs Bureau launched exhibitions and performances, and Shen Le recruited university teams to create a dance and a short drama about Lord Xiang and Lady Xiang.
• After the short drama attracted a large audience, Lady Xiang and the spirits sang and prayed again, but Lord Xiang remained asleep.
• Dragon Lord said the gathered power was sufficient but lacked a connection to Lord Xiang, and Lady Xiang searched the ground before white light erupted and shot into the heavens.

Shen Le excavated supernatural artifacts from five Warring States tombs and began studying bronze restoration with help from Professor Han and the dean. Hidden Abyss offered to introduce him to living artifacts at the National Museum, but Shen Le was left wondering how to get a dagger past security.

• Shen Le used Lady Xiang's Jade Cong to locate and retrieve relics from five tombs over three days, filling two rooms with dirt-covered objects.
• Shen Le returned the Jade Cong to Lady Xiang and went back to university, where Professor Han identified one cleaned artifact as a Warring States bronze and brought him restoration books.
• The Madam Xu Dagger emerged from Shen Le's bracelet and claimed it could sense the condition of other metal artifacts, but its resonance made the bronze lump tremble and shed flakes.
• Shen Le scanned the bronze and studied restoration texts as Professor Han and the dean supplied him with ever more books and promised a visit to the National Museum if he passed an exam.
• Hidden Abyss offered to introduce Shen Le to living artifacts at the museum, leaving Shen Le to wonder how he could bring a dagger through security.

Shen Le accelerated his bronze studies with help from the spiritually aware artifacts and impressed his dean by reconstructing a vessel from fragments. The chapter ended when Hidden Abyss revealed that the National Museum students had embedded a foreign piece in their bronze reconstruction.

• Shen Le visited the National Museum and antique markets with Hidden Abyss, learning that many bronzes remembered their original uses while most market wares were fake.
• Shen Le finished his assigned books in a month and a half, passed the dean’s thick exam papers, and earned a trip to the National Museum’s storerooms.
• The dean tested Shen Le on bronze vessels alongside a National Museum professor and his students before asking him to identify a pile of fragments.
• Shen Le secretly used his mental power to assemble the fragments and shape a plaster model of the bronze vessel.
• The National Museum professor showed Shen Le and the dean his students’ reconstructed vessel, and Hidden Abyss sensed that a foreign piece had been embedded in it.

Shen Le used the Madam Xu Dagger to communicate with a bronze yi, identify mismatched fragments, and locate pieces needed to restore it. After spending a month helping the National Museum and learning restoration techniques, he returned to his laboratory to continue preparing a magic artifact to awaken Lord Xiang.

• Shen Le told Dean Wang and Professor Li that the bronze yi said an embedded piece did not belong to it, then used the Madam Xu Dagger as an Artifact Spirit to point out the mismatched fragment.
• Shen Le translated the dagger's message that the yi's missing fragments were nearby, and strengthened the yi so its matching pieces could glow and guide the researchers to a warehouse box of fragments.
• Professor Li brought Shen Le around the National Museum to communicate with spiritual artifacts, and Shen Le helped researchers identify artifacts and fit fragments together.
• Shen Le spent a month practicing bronze restoration under the museum professors' guidance, improving his skills and documenting how fragments could be reassembled.
• Shen Le turned down Professor Li's offer to join the National Museum and returned to his laboratory, where he prepared to make a magic artifact to awaken Lord Xiang.

Shen Le used careful analysis, ultrasonic tools, and a Five Elements method to separate a corroded bronze lump into five fragments, then recognized them as parts of chime bells. He began soaking a second lump while worrying that restoring the bells so they could produce the correct pitches might be beyond his skills.

• Shen Le studied the bronze lump’s test results and identified which layers of corrosion were harmful before soaking it in Deionized Water.
• Shen Le used an ultrasonic scaler and a water barrier to remove rust between interlocked pieces, then used the Five Elements Rotating Rust Removal Method to split the lump into five fragments.
• Shen Le removed the harmful rust from the fragments and recognized their curved shapes, sound bows, and mei as features of chime bells.
• Shen Le realized the fragments would need to be structurally sound and accurately tuned for the bells to ring as a set.
• Shen Le worried about his limited musical knowledge as he soaked a second bronze lump in negative-ion water.

Shen Le painstakingly reconstructed a set of thirty-nine spiritually charged chime bells and discovered that their Spring and Autumn-period style and unusual composition conflicted with their burial in late Warring States Qin tombs. After Dean Wang inspected the replicas, he advised Shen Le to restore the bells first and cast a new set if restoration failed.

• Shen Le dismantled, cleaned, scanned, and documented the shattered bronze fragments, then used 3D-printed replicas to guide their assembly.
• Shen Le assembled all thirty-nine bells and sensed their faint tones, recognizing that the set had been made to a high standard.
• Shen Le identified the bells as likely Spring and Autumn-period artifacts, but phone inquiries revealed they had come from late Warring States Qin tombs.
• Shen Le sent photographs to his dean and used the Studio’s spirits to move the replicas into the Ancient Residence for inspection.
• Dean Wang agreed that the bells looked like Spring and Autumn-period artifacts, while Shen Le explained that their damaged inscriptions and unusual metal composition remained unresolved.
• Dean Wang told Shen Le to attempt restoration first and cast a new set if it proved impossible, but Shen Le objected.

Shen Le commissioned two replica sets of Marquis Yi of Zeng chime bells, then used the fragments’ original sounds and the Silk Skirts’ guidance to tune them. When the restored bells rang together, they transformed the Ancient Residence and transported Shen Le into a scene of people fleeing an attack by the Zhou people.

• Dean Wang sent Shen Le research papers and helped him arrange two competing 3D reconstructions and a casting order.
• Shen Le received the two chime-bell sets, brought them into the Ancient Residence, and had the Silk Skirts test their pitches.
• The Silk Skirts identified pitch errors, and Shen Le used the fragments’ original sounds to tune the replica bells one by one.
• After Shen Le tuned the final bell, spiritual energy surged and the fragments’ lights connected with the replicas as the bells rang.
• The Ancient Residence transformed into a world where people cried that the Zhou people were attacking, and Shen Le followed them in confusion.

Shen Le witnessed King Zhao of Zhou’s army defeat and plunder the Chu tribes during its southern campaign, then joined the survivors in a desperate plea to their gods. Their collective prayers seemed to unleash a force that shattered the Han River pontoon bridge and threw the Zhou ships into chaos.

• Shen Le fled with a Chu tribe as King Zhao of Zhou’s forces crushed their warriors with bronze weapons and chariots, then burned their village.
• Shen Le urged the refugees to unite, but they learned that Xiong Hao had surrendered and promised ninety thousand jun of red metal to the Zhou king.
• Zhou officials and Xiong Hao’s forces plundered Chu settlements for bronze vessels, weapons, and metal, while the survivors debated how to resist.
• Chu shamans and refugees gathered above the Han River, where they offered prayers and blood sacrifices as King Zhao’s procession and ships carrying red gold crossed below.
• Shen Le sensed the Chu people’s prayers surge toward the river, and the pontoon bridge broke apart as the ships and royal carriages were thrown into violent disorder.

Shen Le experienced a vision of the Chu people sacrificing themselves as their gods destroyed King Zhao of Zhou’s river crossing and dragged him into the Han River. Back in the Ancient Residence, he began restoring the Chime Bells but struggled with the technical work and asked Dean Wang for help finding a teacher.

• Shen Le watched the Tiger Fang Tribe and other Chu people offer their lives to call on their gods, who wrecked the Zhou army’s crossing and pulled King Zhao’s chariot into a whirlpool.
• Shen Le woke in the Ancient Residence and realized the vision had shown the origins of the copper used to cast the Chime Bells.
• Shen Le checked and recorded the tones of his newly cast bells, then sent the data to a precision casting company for another set.
• Shen Le researched how to reshape the damaged Chime Bell fragments and found a specialized restoration device, but could not figure out how to use it safely.
• Shen Le asked Dean Wang to connect him with experts who could teach him, fearing they would resent him for taking the bells; he suggested asking Lady Xiang to approach them instead.

Shen Le persuaded Dean Wang to help him study chime bell restoration and began training under the veteran restorer Old Master Hu. After learning restoration techniques, he demonstrated that his supernatural ability could join bronze fragments more effectively than conventional welding, though the work exhausted his vital energy.

• Shen Le told Dean Wang that Lady Xiang had guided him to the chime bells and described the visions he received from them, convincing Dean Wang to seek him a teacher.
• Dean Wang sent Shen Le to the Ezhou Cultural Relics Research Institute, where Old Master Hu tested his restoration skills and agreed to teach him.
• Shen Le practiced hammer straightening and welding on bronze fragments, while Old Master Hu corrected his flawed techniques and taught him the basics.
• Shen Le rapidly learned reshaping techniques with help from his spiritual power and Hidden Abyss, then began working with reshaping fixtures on many fragments.
• Old Master Hu demonstrated laser welding and explained the alloy tests needed to preserve a chime bell's sound, but Shen Le used his supernatural power to fuse bronze powder into the fragments instead.
• Old Master Hu praised Shen Le's results and urged him to weld more pieces, while Shen Le silently complained that the process drained his vital energy.

Shen Le experimented with ways to restore damaged bronze chime bells while preserving their physical structure and spiritual energy, developing a casting method and refining laser welding with spiritual power. After three months of tests, he repaired the chime bells and began cleaning and tuning them to restore their sound.

• Shen Le bought corroded Han Dynasty Five-Zhu coins and compared welding, casting, and spiritual-power-protected methods for joining them.
• Shen Le used spiritual power to place molten bronze droplets along the coins' edges, preserving their corrosion layers and improving the flow of spiritual energy.
• Shen Le tested his casting method on a damaged chime bell and found that it restored the metallurgical bond and sound transmission.
• Shen Le compared casting with laser welding on several sets of chime bells, then spent three months developing a way to protect and guide spiritual energy around the laser's heat.
• Shen Le used precise laser welding and spiritual power to repair the chime bells, reshaping them as needed, and prepared to clean the welds and tune their sound.

Shen Le restored the Chime Bells but discovered that ordinary strikes could not awaken their spirituality, so he struck them with spiritual power and entered a memory of King Wu of Chu’s campaign against Sui State in 704 BC. The chapter ended as King Wu of Chu rejected the Zhou court’s authority and declared that he was a barbarian who would not share China’s titles and posthumous names.

• Shen Le carefully restored each Chime Bell, testing its tone as Old Master Hu gradually left him to work independently.
• After finishing the set, Shen Le sensed that the physical bell sounds did not resonate with the bells’ spirituality or seem capable of awakening Lord Xiang.
• Shen Le struck the Chime Bells with spiritual power, causing their material and spiritual sounds to overlap and opening a memory from the past.
• Shen Le found himself as Le, a shaman-priest disciple marching with the Chu army against Sui State in 704 BC.
• A Sui envoy challenged King Wu of Chu for deploying troops, and King Wu declared that he was a barbarian who would not share China’s titles and posthumous names.

Shen Le witnessed King Wu of Chu defeat the Sui State with a feigned retreat and a concealed flank attack, then establish Chu’s authority over the Han East states through an alliance. When a Zhou-bestowed bell broke during the victory banquet, the Greater Shaman Priest declared it a divine sign that Chu needed its own title and rites.

• King Wu of Chu rejected Zhou’s authority, and the Sui envoy condemned him as thunder and violent winds swept over the armies.
• The Greater Shaman Priest led the shamans in a song to Chu’s gods, and sunlight broke through as King Wu rallied the Chu troops.
• Dou Bobi’s plan drew the Sui forces forward, allowing Qu Xia to strike their exposed flank and rout them; Chu captured the Junior Tutor of Sui.
• Three days later, King Wu of Chu held an alliance ceremony, received the eastern states’ oaths, and gained the Marquis of Sui’s promise to seek a higher title for Chu.
• A yong bell shattered during the banquet, and the Greater Shaman Priest called it a divine decree rejecting the Zhou-bestowed bell as a vessel of Chu’s spirit.

After the ruler of Chu approved casting bells from the recovered divine gold, Shen Le joined the project as a ritual-priest representative and worked to preserve the bells’ inscriptions. As the molds were assembled and the metal heated, the High Ritual Priest led prayers for the casting to succeed.

• The Grand Shaman-Priest proposed casting bells from the finest recovered divine gold to honor Chu’s gods and commemorate its victory, and the ruler of Chu approved the project.
• Shen Le asked to participate in casting the bells, gained the Grand Shaman-Priest’s permission, and joined the work after returning to the capital.
• Shen Le accompanied the master craftsman into the royal vault, where they examined the divine bronze and determined how to adjust the alloy for bells of different sizes.
• Shen Le recorded and memorized the inscriptions in Chu script, then delivered them to the mold-carving team to reproduce in the clay molds.
• Craftsmen assembled the bell molds in casting pits, heated the metal, and prepared to pour it as the High Ritual Priest led prayers to the gods.

Shen Le witnessed the ritual casting of Chu’s great chime bell, which emerged with flawed reliefs and fragile cracks. As the ruler of Chu demanded an answer, Shen Le proposed casting the ornamentation separately and joining it to the bell, and the ruler ordered a new attempt using the method.

• Shen Le watched the high shaman lead rituals while craftsmen poured bronze for a series of chime bells.
• After days of cooling, the master craftsman opened the mold and found the largest bell’s reliefs incomplete, with weak joints and cracks.
• The ruler of Chu arrived, inspected the defective bell, and demanded an explanation from the craftsmen and shamans.
• Shen Le defended the craftsmen and shamans, then proposed casting the bell’s parts separately and joining them.
• The master craftsman said the new method offered better odds, and the ruler of Chu ordered them to recast the bell and repeat the rites.

Shen Le and the craftsmen completed a flawless set of bronze chime bells after a supernatural pillar of light infused them with spiritual power. At King Wu of Chu Xiong Tong’s coronation, the bells summoned divine apparitions, and a mass of white radiance appeared as Eastern Sovereign Taiyi.

• Shen Le, the master craftsman, and the High Shaman Priest prepared for another bell casting, while the High Shaman Priest demanded exacting work from the craftsmen and ritual performers.
• As the molten bronze was poured, dark clouds gathered and a golden pillar of sunlight enveloped the mold, drawing spiritual energy into the bells and forming patterns within them.
• The craftsmen opened the cooled molds to find flawless bells, and the High Shaman Priest and Lord of Chu praised their sound and workmanship.
• Shen Le helped finish and tune the bells and construct their elaborate stand as Chu’s ruler declared himself King Wu of Chu Xiong Tong.
• At Xiong Tong’s coronation, the High Shaman Priest struck the bells, whose golden ripples and radiant patterns filled the sky with divine figures, including Lord of the Clouds, Lord Xiang, and Lady Xiang.
• As the bells continued to sound, the divine apparitions bowed toward a white radiance forming in the clouds, which Shen Le recognized as possibly Eastern Sovereign Taiyi.

Shen Le witnessed the Chime Bells’ divine blessing in a memory of ancient Chu, then painstakingly restored their inscriptions and tuned them. After he played the sacrificial hymn, the bells stirred spiritual energy, though their full restoration remained unfinished.

• In the Chime Bells’ memory, Shen Le saw the gods bless the bells, link them to Chu’s destiny, and witness King Wu proclaim himself king.
• Shen Le hurried to record the bells’ inscriptions and the ceremony’s music, objects, and casting details before his memories faded.
• Old Master Hu advised Shen Le to use laser cladding to reinforce the bells before restoring their gold-inlaid inscriptions.
• Shen Le added a new layer to all thirty-nine bells, inlaid their inscriptions with gold, and tuned them over the following month.
• Shen Le played the ancient sacrificial hymn on the restored bells, whose vibrations began stirring spiritual energy.

Shen Le tested the restored chime bells in Lady Xiang’s spirit realm, but their power could not awaken Lord Xiang. The Dragon Lord and Lady Xiang arranged to strengthen the bells and asked Shen Le to recover more scattered bells, believing they could awaken her brother once the set was restored.

• Shen Le played the restored chime bells at Dongting Lake and followed a path through the mist to Lady Xiang’s spirit realm.
• Shen Le and Lady Xiang performed with the bells, sending golden spiritual power into the crystal that sealed Lord Xiang, but he did not awaken.
• The Dragon Lord stopped Shen Le from playing again and concluded that the bells needed greater intensity; Lady Xiang offered to nourish them and provide a replacement wooden frame.
• The Dragon Lord sounded the bells and discovered that other bells had survived, though they were scattered far beyond his reach.
• Lady Xiang asked Shen Le to retrieve and restore the missing bells so they could awaken Lord Xiang.

Shen Le used the Chime Bells and Copper Fragment to search for scattered artifacts beyond the Heaven-Earth Barrier, but his first attempt failed before he strengthened the ritual at Chu’s ancient Ying Capital. The enhanced scan reached the far side of the Pacific and revealed several locations containing the missing components.

• The Dragon Lord gave Shen Le a heavy dark green flag made with a Night-Illuminating Rhinoceros Horn for protection.
• Shen Le used the Chime Bells and Copper Fragment in the mountains, but their ripples faded halfway across the Pacific despite the Special Affairs Bureau Drone monitoring him.
• Shen Le consulted the Shanghai Special Affairs Bureau and proposed repeating the search at Chu’s ancient Ying Capital to draw on the land’s power.
• With Bureau support, Shen Le performed a full sacrifice and played the Chime Bells at the Ying City Ruins, stirring Chu’s power and extending the search farther.
• When the ripples weakened near the opposite continent, Shen Le projected a figure of light to strike the bells, turning the scan into a fan that swept across the land.
• Shen Le found several locations where the Copper Fragment’s map lit up and continued rotating the scan to search for every component.

Shen Le prepared to travel to Bald Eagle Country to find bronze artifacts and restore the chime bells, with Cloud Kun carrying him across the Pacific. On the way, Shen Le sensed the barrier between heaven and earth under attack by a gigantic bald eagle, and he resolved to collect some interest before the coming confrontation.

• Shen Le told the Shanghai Special Affairs Bureau that he had to go abroad to restore the chime bells, and the director warned him against entering Bald Eagle Country through official channels.
• The confidential department supplied Shen Le with false identities, documents, money, safe houses, vehicles, and other travel equipment.
• Shen Le calmed his spiritual artifacts as they argued over who would protect him, then set off with Cloud Kun and his companions.
• Cloud Kun disguised itself as a fishing boat and carried Shen Le across the ocean, where Shen Le felt the violent, filthy spiritual energy beyond the barrier.
• Shen Le projected his consciousness and saw a gigantic bald eagle attacking the barrier while a radiant true dragon defended it, then decided to collect some interest first.

Shen Le traveled across the Pacific to find a familiar presence amid the chaotic spiritual energy of the continent, strengthening small barriers maintained by Huaxia communities along the way. He finally discovered the source of the grief and longing at a museum and promised to take it home.

• Shen Le explored the Pacific seabed but decided he could not raise new islands without greater power and support.
• Cloud Kun carried Shen Le and the little ones to the continent, where they encountered chaotic spiritual energy and fled the hostile winds near the coast.
• Shen Le found a city protected by small barriers sustained by shared faith, offered incense at the Heavenly Empress Palace and before a Guan Gong Statue, and inscribed Talismans into bronze incense burners.
• Shen Le sent Cloud Kun inland through rivers and canals, following familiar spiritual traces toward a place where people of Chinese bloodline had gathered.
• Shen Le reached a museum, recognized an old train in its courtyard as the presence he had sensed, and vowed to take it home.

Shen Le used the Pottery House to gather the lingering souls of Chinese railroad workers along the Pacific Railroad and carried them toward home. Their accumulated power strengthened his spellcasting, but after reaching Utah and locating a nearby bronze chime frame fragment, he was stopped by police and found his route blocked by a sprawling interchange.

• Shen Le released the Pottery House at night, and Azi gathered the Chinese laborers’ lingering souls while leaving other spirits behind.
• Shen Le learned that the gathered souls knew of more Chinese laborers in the mountains, so he followed the Pacific Railroad westward to collect them.
• As Shen Le traveled through the mountains, deserts, and salt lakes, the Pottery House shrank and the souls’ power formed a force field that let him wield spells more easily.
• After reaching Utah, Shen Le stored the Pottery House, used the chime to locate a nearby bronze chime frame fragment, and set out to retrieve it.
• A police officer stopped Shen Le and warned him not to wander around, and Shen Le then found a massive interchange blocking his way to the museum.