Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu refines a stealthy method for eliminating cultivator zombies: combining Aether Construct: Anti-Magic, his transcendent Martial Dao, and the Portable Cabin. He clears an entire street in under half an hour, then moves on to more dangerous neighborhoods.
• In a better-preserved district, he encounters an unusual zombie fused with a wolf-like spirit beast. He withstands its spells and bites, destroys it with punches, and burns its remains using the Cabin’s unusual flame.
• The fight yields useful loot, including a corrupted spirit stone, zombie meat, and a transcendent-grade Daoist robe.
• Elsewhere, a brother and sister leave their underground refuge. The brother needs virus meat to strengthen himself so they won’t be expelled from the Bone-Burial Market. They narrowly escape a terrifying one-eyed shadow creature after using powder that repels it.
• The Twilight Witch spots the siblings and the powerful zombie pursuing them. Wu Yu recognizes the pair as local natives, but identifies their pursuer as a Foundation Establishment Zombie—an enemy capable of sensing and destroying the Witch’s surveillance.
• Although the Twilight Witch is eager to fight, Wu Yu refuses to engage: killing the zombie could draw even stronger monsters. He turns to retreat, but an ominous spiritual pressure suddenly spreads across the area.

Character developments

• Wu Yu grows more confident in his methodical, low-disturbance approach and enjoys the practical rewards of clearing and looting. However, he remains cautious, prioritizing survival over a dangerous fight.
• The Twilight Witch continues to support Wu Yu through surveillance and offers to fight, showing confidence and eagerness for action.
• The brother is desperate to advance to mid-stage Qi Refining to protect himself and his sister, despite the danger.
• The sister is frightened but loyal, refusing to abandon her brother and remaining ready to help him.

Significant themes

• Survival through preparation: Wu Yu’s success comes from matching his abilities and equipment to each threat.
• Risk versus reward: The siblings risk the surface for resources, while Wu Yu weighs possible loot against the danger of attracting stronger enemies.
• A hostile, escalating world: Even familiar districts contain increasingly powerful threats, and killing one monster may draw many more.
• Mutual loyalty: The siblings’ willingness to protect and stay with each other contrasts with the larger world’s constant pressure to survive.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu coordinates with the Twilight Witch, relying on her surveillance while deciding when not to fight.
• The Witch urges him to engage the Foundation Establishment Zombie; Wu Yu rejects the idea, emphasizing the danger of escalation.
• The brother tries to send his sister back to safety, but she insists on accompanying him and helping protect him.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu encounters a Foundation Establishment-level zombie whose intelligence and strength make it far more dangerous than ordinary undead. He hides inside his Portable Cabin, powering its concealment and defensive arrays with spirit stones.
• From the cabin, Wu Yu observes two survivors—a brother and sister—using a strange powder to repel zombies. He recognizes the powder as valuable and suspects this world’s people have developed ways to resist the virus spirit qi.
• As Wu Yu cautiously retreats, a second Foundation Establishment zombie arrives: a gigantic “Fusion Zombie” covered in decaying magical artifacts. Its appearance turns the encounter into a clash between two powerful zombies.
• The zombies unleash devastating attacks. When three of the One-Eyed Zombie’s enormous Fire Serpents threaten the cabin, Wu Yu activates its costly “Void State.” The flames pass through harmlessly, but the ability rapidly consumes spirit stones.
• After the cabin returns to reality, Wu Yu hears screams and sees that disaster has befallen the brother and sister.

Character developments

• Wu Yu remains cautious and resourceful, using distance, concealment, and the cabin’s phasing ability rather than confronting the zombie directly. He also thinks strategically about learning from the survivors.
• The young man is frightened by the sudden appearance of two rare Foundation Establishment zombies and regrets taking the risk that brought them there. His concern for his sister leads him toward a protective decision.
• The younger sister supports her brother by handing over their remaining repellent powder.

Significant themes

• Survival through preparation: Wu Yu’s caution and the survivors’ anti-zombie powder show how knowledge and tools can be as important as strength.
• The cost of power: The cabin’s near-untouchable Void State offers protection, but its spiraling spirit-stone consumption makes prolonged use unsustainable.
• The danger of underestimating the unknown: Wu Yu treats both the zombie and the unfamiliar world’s survivors as potential sources of danger and knowledge.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu watches the siblings from concealment, noting their powder and considering how to obtain it or learn from them.
• The siblings rely on each other: the sister gives the young man their remaining powder, while he weighs how to protect her.
• The two Foundation Establishment zombies confront each other, unleashing spiritual pressure, magical artifacts, and fire attacks that endanger everyone nearby.

Key plot points and events

• A battle erupts between two Foundation Establishment zombies: the Fusion Zombie, which wields numerous magical artifacts, and the One-Eyed Zombie, which unleashes gigantic, destructive Fire Serpents and a tornado.
• The siblings caught in the battle are overwhelmed by the spells’ collateral damage. The young man is infected and begins mutating, so he uses his last strength to send his sister, Luo Ke’er, toward safety with a talisman. He then transforms into a fiery zombie.
• Wu Yu shelters inside his [Portable Cabin], assessing the zombies’ strength and recognizing how dangerous even incidental exposure to the world’s contaminated spirit qi can be.
• Luo Ke’er tries to escape the collapsing ruins, but a falling wall leaves her trapped. Wu Yu opens the cabin’s door in midair and pulls her inside.
• Once safe, Luo Ke’er thanks Wu Yu and mourns her brother. Wu Yu offers her clothes after noticing her clothing was destroyed in the escape.

Character developments

• Wu Yu remains cautious and analytical, judging the zombies’ power and the risks of injury in this hostile environment. Despite prioritizing his own goal of returning to [Bone-Burial Market], he chooses to rescue Luo Ke’er.
• Luo Ke’er is devastated by her brother’s death but keeps her composure long enough to seek safety. She is grateful to Wu Yu, though grief and wariness remain evident.
• The brother makes a final sacrifice to save Luo Ke’er, using his remaining strength to send her away before succumbing to infection and transformation.

Significant themes

• The cruelty of the world: Even attacks not aimed at ordinary people can kill them, and contaminated spirit qi turns injury or death into a new threat.
• Sacrifice and survival: The brother gives himself up so his sister can live; Luo Ke’er must then continue alone.
• Power and vulnerability: Foundation Establishment combat makes lesser cultivators—and even their defenses—nearly irrelevant.
• Caution and compassion: Wu Yu’s practical concern for survival coexists with his decision to help a stranger.

Character interactions

• The siblings share a poignant farewell: the brother urges Luo Ke’er to survive, and she watches helplessly as he transforms.
• Wu Yu rescues Luo Ke’er at the last moment, explains why he intervened, and reassures her that he is human.
• Luo Ke’er expresses sincere gratitude and grief. Wu Yu responds with practical kindness by giving her clothing.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Ke’er repeatedly apologizes to Wu Yu and carefully presents herself as harmless. The Twilight Witch tells Wu Yu that Ke’er is highly perceptive: she activated her spirit body to sense the cabin and quickly inferred things about Wu Yu.
• Wu Yu reassures her and asks about the world around them. Ke’er explains that Calamity Cultivators have replaced traditional cultivators as the prevailing path since the upheaval of the heavens. They refine calamity qi, gaining greater strength and the ability to fight Calamity Corpses, though their lifespans are shorter.
• She describes the Bone-Burial Market, an underground trading hub in Four Directions City that grew around the newly formed Burial Bone Mountain. She cannot reveal its exact location because of an oath; visitors must be escorted there.
• Ke’er gives Wu Yu the last of her Hateful Bone Powder, which repels Calamity Corpses but fails against berserk ones. Wu Yu identifies it as a low-quality consumable through its status panel.
• Ke’er recognizes Wu Yu as a Wandering Merchant because of the Portable Cabin’s unusual facilities. She explains that Wandering Merchants can travel between towns and sects and hold a status that earns them respect—even from the Bone-Burial Market’s leaders.
• Ke’er then asks Wu Yu to help recover her brother’s body, saying he would not need to face Calamity Corpses directly—only to kill her brother…

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Ke’er emerges as resourceful and cautious, using deference and offers of service to survive. She is also knowledgeable about the local world and tries to secure Wu Yu’s help by offering what little she has.
• Wu Yu recognizes her survival skills, tests her honesty, and responds with calm reassurance rather than hostility. He learns that his “Runaway Wu” identity carries the unexpected advantage of a Wandering Merchant’s privileged status.
• The Twilight Witch acts as Wu Yu’s discreet adviser, confirming Ke’er’s honesty and alerting him to her perceptiveness.
• Ke’er’s eagerness to please contrasts with Wu Yu’s measured restraint; he refuses her Storage Bag and accepts only the powder. Their exchange becomes more cooperative as she shares information and he considers her request.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and survival: In a dangerous, transformed world, perceptiveness and careful negotiation are essential.
• Changing orders: The catastrophe has overturned traditional cultivation, making a harsher but more effective path necessary.
• Identity as power: Wu Yu’s new status brings social advantages beyond the cabin’s practical features.
• Trust and obligation: Ke’er offers knowledge and supplies, then asks Wu Yu to help with the deeply personal matter of her brother’s body.

Key plot points and events

• A hidden quest appears when Luo Ke’er asks Wu Yu to recover her zombified brother’s body. Wu Yu initially intends to refuse, but accepts after seeing that either choice will earn a Transcendent Gold-grade reward. Helping her could upgrade his Portable Cabin if he survives three days.
• Luo Ke’er explains that Foundation Establishment Calamity Corpses are territorial and usually keep other powerful zombies away. Wu Yu decides to exploit the battle already underway between a Fusion Zombie and a One-Eyed Zombie.
• Using the Portable Cabin’s Void State and the Aether Construct: Anti-Magic, Wu Yu captures Luo Ke’er’s brother while the two enemies are distracted. Their fight nearly catches him: fire engulfs the area, lightning strikes nearby, and the One-Eyed Zombie fires a devastating beam at the cabin.
• Wu Yu escapes when the Fusion Zombie draws the One-Eyed Zombie back into combat. He reaches a safer area, though the escape costs him more than two thousand spirit stones.
• The chapter ends with Luo Ke’er staring silently at her restrained brother.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shifts from cautious reluctance to determined, pragmatic action once he sees the quest’s reward. He reassures Luo Ke’er with flattering sincerity, then relies on planning, his cabin’s abilities, and quick judgment to complete the recovery.
• Luo Ke’er reveals her grief and vulnerability after losing her protector. Wu Yu’s words deeply affect her; she blushes and thanks him, while accepting that she owes him a great debt.
• Wu Yu and Luo Ke’er develop a stronger bond through his willingness to help, though the recovery’s emotional impact on her remains unresolved at the chapter’s close.

Significant themes

• Compassion and self-interest: Wu Yu helps Luo Ke’er out of apparent kindness, but the quest’s valuable reward also motivates him.
• Survival through preparation: Knowledge of zombie behavior and careful use of the Portable Cabin let Wu Yu escape a threat far beyond his strength.
• Grief and awakening: Luo Ke’er’s isolation and loss are framed as the beginning of a major personal transformation.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu’s Aether Construct; Anti-Magic immobilizes Luo Ke’er’s brother, who has become a fiery-red zombie, and suppresses the virus spirit qi in his body.
• With Wu Yu’s permission, Luo Ke’er uses Corpse-Disintegrating Powder to destroy her brother’s body and clear its calamity qi. The corpse dissolves into unusually pure five-element spirit qi, leading Wu Yu to suspect the powder was devised to neutralize calamity corpses.
• As he vanishes, Luo Ke’er’s brother briefly regains clarity. He recognizes Wu Yu as a Wandering Merchant and tells his sister to stay alive before his soul disperses.
• Wu Yu comforts the grieving Luo Ke’er and agrees to take her to Bone-Burial Market. They avoid zombies aboard his Portable Cabin and reach the No. 19 Ruins.
• Luo Ke’er explains that the Market’s passages are normally restricted, but a Wandering Merchant’s arrival allows people to open them. She reveals a hidden entrance beneath a wall of Hateful Bone Powder, and Wu Yu follows her underground.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Ke’er moves from shock and grief to practical resolve: she lays her brother to rest, gathers herself, and guides Wu Yu toward the Market.
• Wu Yu remains composed and discreet, allowing Luo Ke’er to handle the remains herself. He offers sympathy, protects her during their journey, and makes preparations before entering the passage.
• The siblings’ final exchange emphasizes their bond: her brother’s last conscious act is to urge her to survive.

Significant themes

• The chapter explores grief and the dignity of letting go, set against a world where death and bodily corruption are commonplace.
• Luo Ke’er’s account reveals the realm’s wider tragedy: its calamity began when a true immortal fell into the mortal world, contaminating the entire cultivation realm.
• Wu Yu’s hidden identity creates dramatic irony: he is himself an immortal presence, though he privately notes that he carries no viruses.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu and Luo Ke’er descend through a tunnel covered in ancient “immortal script.” Luo Ke’er explains that the script arrived with the Fallen Immortal and was later adapted for practical uses, though its true meaning remains unknown. It also blocks Wu Yu’s divine sense.
• A Foundation Establishment Cultivator detects Wu Yu and approaches. Luo Ke’er identifies herself as a permanent resident of Bone-Burial Market and presents her token, explaining that Wu Yu is a Wandering Merchant she brought in through the No. 19 Ruins.
• The cultivator eagerly welcomes Wu Yu. He explains that the market has not seen a Wandering Merchant in four months and is anxious about changes in the Corpse Nest at Four Directions City.
• The group passes through a concealed entrance into Bone-Burial Market, a large underground settlement with unusual floating structures and a glowing artificial sun or moon. Its residents greet Wu Yu with conspicuous enthusiasm.
• A burly cultivator rushes over and asks whether Wu Yu has brought purifying food. Wu Yu produces one portion of food and water, discovering that they are special trade goods: Jade Purity Food removes calamity contamination, while Jade Purity Spring quenches thirst and removes cultivation-related toxins.

Character developments

• Wu Yu stays composed and observant. He pieces together that Bone-Burial Market is in trouble and that his supposed Wandering Merchant identity gives him access to valuable supplies. The food’s item descriptions reveal the practical purpose of the goods he carries.
• Luo Ke’er confidently uses her local status and token to vouch for Wu Yu, helping him gain entry.
• The market cultivators appear increasingly desperate for outside trade, especially for supplies that protect them from the effects of cultivation.

Character interactions

• Luo Ke’er explains the immortal script and the history of the Fallen Immortal to Wu Yu.
• She formally presents Wu Yu as a Wandering Merchant to the tunnel guard, who immediately shifts from suspicion to enthusiastic hospitality.
• Market residents crowd around and flatter Wu Yu, while a burly cultivator directly asks him for purifying food.

Significant themes

• Survival through trade: Bone-Burial Market depends on Wandering Merchants for essential resources and information.
• Ancient knowledge and adaptation: The immortal script remains mysterious, yet its fragments have been repurposed by later generations.
• Appearance versus reality: Wu Yu’s merchant identity creates expectations—and may offer leverage—in a community overshadowed by danger and scarcity.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu reflects that food and water—valuable in this world—were commonplace in Cyber City, and confirms that some items can be taken back to the Real World.
• At the Bone-Burial Market, he meets its master, Lei Tianming, who is eager to secure trade and persuade Wu Yu to contact other Wandering Merchants or the Sky-Traversing Merchant Guild. The market depends on outside supply, but Wu Yu offers no firm promise.
• Wu Yu claims to have a thousand tonnes each of food and water. A cultivator explains that the Calamity Corpses surrounding Four Directions City cannot be permanently defeated: even after past generations wiped them out, more always returned.
• The market steward offers the usual exchange rate—one spirit stone per hundred jin—and invites Wu Yu to inspect the market’s treasury.
• Wu Yu tours the marketplace but finds that its pills, artifacts, talismans, and other goods are cursed. Even cultivation pills that boost progress cause calamity contamination and damage spirit veins. He judges them poor value and finds no Hidden Shop.
• The chapter ends with Wu Yu entering the treasury in hopes of finding worthwhile treasures.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains guarded and practical. He notices the market’s dependence on him, avoids committing to its cause, and carefully evaluates goods rather than being impressed by their apparent rarity.
• Lei Tianming greets Wu Yu warmly and appeals to his importance, but grows impatient when Wu Yu gives no definite assurance about restoring trade routes. He largely ignores Luo Ke’er.
• Luo Ke’er is initially intimidated by the senior cultivators, then acts as Wu Yu’s guide through the market and its shops.
• The market steward treats Wu Yu respectfully, negotiates the food-and-water trade, and directs him to the treasury.
• The Foundation Establishment Cultivator explains the hopeless cycle of the Calamity Corpses and confirms that the market has dealt with Wandering Merchants before.

Significant themes

• Scarcity depends on context: Goods prized in one world can be ordinary in another.
• Curses undermine prosperity: The cultivators have many impressive treasures, but contamination makes them dangerous and poor investments.
• Hope versus recurring disaster: The Calamity Corpses return despite repeated victories, discouraging attempts to save the city.
• Pragmatism and leverage: The market needs Wu Yu’s supplies and connections, while he weighs its requests against his own interests.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu visits the treasury of Bone-Burial Market with Luo Ke’er, where Steward Yan presents the market’s bone-based wares.
• Wu Yu has little interest in the ordinary goods. Since he is not truly a Wandering Merchant, he instead looks for unusual treasures that might benefit him as a Tower Climber.
• Steward Yan reveals a silver chest whose contents had escaped Wu Yu’s Divine Sense. Wu Yu identifies two especially valuable items: a mysterious Black Calamity Immortal Crystal and Golden Radiance Soil, which permanently improves Essence, Qi, and Spirit Refinement when added to a bath.
• Wu Yu trades eight hundred tons of food for the two treasures, then sells another two hundred tons for four thousand five-element spirit stones.
• After Wu Yu leaves for the inn, Steward Yan reports the transaction to Market Master Lei Tianming. Lei concludes that Wu Yu’s interest in the unusual items suggests he is knowledgeable, but the market’s Radiant Light Beast statues did not react to him. He therefore decides Wu Yu is not a Calamity Corpse in disguise and orders that surveillance stop.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu stays guarded and strategically uses his outsider status and plentiful supplies to obtain items more useful than ordinary currency or local goods. He is intrigued by the crystal but cannot determine its purpose.
• Steward Yan is deferential and skilled at presenting the market’s wares. He shifts from selling standard goods to offering the hidden chest once Wu Yu signals that he wants rarities.
• Lei Tianming remains cautious about possible Calamity Corpse infiltrators, but his suspicion eases after the statues show no reaction.
• The Twilight Witch, speaking privately with Wu Yu, remarks on Yan’s flattery; Wu Yu cautions her that the market and its steward may be more complex than they appear.
• Luo Ke’er accompanies Wu Yu to the inn after the deal.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as advantage: Wu Yu recognizes the value of items that local sellers cannot explain or reproduce.
• Cross-world opportunity: He treats the cultivation realm’s unfamiliar goods as a chance to exploit differences between worlds.
• Caution and concealment: Wu Yu maintains his cover, while the market quietly tests whether he is a disguised threat.
• Uncertain power: The crystal’s true nature remains unknown, while the soil’s benefits are clear but carefully limited.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Ke’er tells Wu Yu that Radiant Light Beasts can detect Calamity Corpses, some of which can disguise themselves as humans. She also shares a rumor that a mutated Golden Core Calamity Corpse once infiltrated the market and killed its former Golden Core master before Market Master Lei drove it off.
• After Luo Ke’er gives Wu Yu a Voice Transmission Jade Slip, the Twilight Witch senses that the hidden quest [Jade Belt Awakening] may have an ominous outcome. Wu Yu decides to make preparations, though the chapter does not reveal what the awakening will be.
• Wu Yu visits the ruins’ guards, then returns to Liu Zheng’s group with news that he has found the survivor settlement: [Bone-Burial Market], a vast underground city.
• To get the group admitted, Wu Yu presents them as members of his Wandering Merchant caravan who were recruited recently and suffered heavy losses. The guards check them with a small Radiant Light Beast statue; everyone passes.
• The group enters the market and is astonished by its scale. Liu Yu consults a bracelet and book, then announces that he has found something.

Character developments

• Wu Yu acts as the group’s capable guide and strategist, keeping his hidden-quest information to himself while arranging a convincing cover story.
• The Twilight Witch reveals that she can glimpse possible fates through “eternal twilight,” but her impression of the awakening quest is uncertain.
• Liu Yu shows his resourcefulness by using his bracelet and book to investigate something upon entering the market.
• Luo Ke’er remains respectful and helpful, providing both intelligence and a way to contact her.

Significant themes

• Trust and deception: Calamity Corpses can imitate humans, making appearances unreliable and fueling suspicion.
• Preparation under uncertainty: Wu Yu takes the Twilight Witch’s vague warning seriously despite not knowing what the quest will bring.
• Cooperation and leadership: The group relies on Wu Yu’s discovery and follows his plan to reach safety.
• Hidden dangers beneath apparent security: Radiant Light Beasts offer protection, but the story of the murdered Golden Core master suggests the market’s defenses are not infallible.

Character interactions

• Luo Ke’er quietly shares sensitive rumors with Wu Yu and gives him a communication jade slip.
• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch discuss the potential danger of the awakening quest, leading him to resolve to prepare.
• Liu Yu and the others respond enthusiastically to Wu Yu’s news, accept his caravan cover story, and travel with him.
• At the entrance, Wu Yu explains the group’s supposed relationship to his caravan; the guards verify them and then welcome them into the underground city.

Key plot points and events

• The group trades spirit stones with Wu Yu, rents rooms, and compares what they have learned about the world’s cultivation system, zombie varieties, and the limitations of its spirit stones and cursed artifacts.
• Wu Yu has the Twilight Witch record their intelligence. After the others leave, Liu Yu returns and reveals that the Hidden Shop is in Courtyard No. 7 of the Loose Cultivator Settlement, saying he does not want to owe Wu Yu a favor.
• Wu Yu suspects Liu Yu’s claimed “Future Diary” talent is misleading, but believes his true ability is related to gathering information. He goes to investigate, guided by Luo Ke’er.
• The settlement is an impoverished, unrecognized enclave where cultivators who cannot live in the Market District face greater exposure to danger and calamity qi.
• At the Hidden Shop, the owner initially refuses to sell because of the shop’s rules. Wu Yu offers Jade-Cleansing Rice instead of money; seeing that it can help his family resist calamity corrosion, the owner accepts it and invites Wu Yu inside.
• Learning that Wu Yu is a Wandering Merchant, the owner promises he will not leave empty-handed and reveals a batch of unsold calamity treasures, stored in a bracelet that isolates calamity qi.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains observant and pragmatic. He follows Liu Yu’s lead, weighs possible explanations for his knowledge, and uses compassion and practical judgment rather than force to gain the shopkeeper’s trust.
• Liu Yu reveals the Hidden Shop as repayment for an earlier favor, though Wu Yu remains uncertain about his real information-gathering ability.
• Luo Ke’er guides Wu Yu through the settlement and asserts his status to encourage the shopkeeper to treat him respectfully.
• The shopkeeper shifts from guarded refusal to deference and gratitude after Wu Yu offers rice that could help his wife and child, both visibly affected by calamity corrosion.

Significant themes

• Information and uncertainty: Wu Yu recognizes that people’s stated abilities may conceal more complex powers.
• Compassion as practical aid: A basic food item is more valuable than spirit stones to people suffering calamity corrosion.
• Inequality and danger: The prosperous Market District contrasts sharply with the vulnerable lives of the Loose Cultivator Settlement.
• Trust and obligation: Liu Yu repays a favor, while Wu Yu’s gift opens a path to a hidden trade.

Plot points and events

• In a hidden shop, Wu Yu examines a bracelet full of damaged antiquities, illicit Market District goods, and contaminated items from the Surface World.
• He identifies two unusually valuable purchases: the Calamity-Poison Ancient Tome, which absorbs toxins and calamity, and the Feather Device, an attachment that improves the Portable Cabin’s flight.
• Because the shopkeeper and other locals misunderstand their true functions, Wu Yu buys both for only 3,000 spirit stones. He spends his remaining thousand on useful pills and materials.
• Luo Ke’er points out an Orderless Mudball, a rare Gold-grade material that nobody can refine. Wu Yu agrees to trade Jade-Cleansing rice and water for it.
• The shopkeeper reveals the local shortage of these goods. Wu Yu offers the more generous Market District rate, trading thirty tonnes of rice and water.
• Grateful but nervous, the shopkeeper silences the area and asks how much Jade-Cleansing stock Wu Yu has. He then hints at a cache of a Golden Core cultivator’s relics, asking whether Wu Yu would dare take them.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows a sharp eye for hidden value, using his knowledge of the Hidden Shop’s differences from native perception to secure powerful items cheaply. He also demonstrates generosity and negotiation skill by paying the fairer rate for the mudball.
• Luo Ke’er helps Wu Yu spot the mudball and remains alert to the shopkeeper’s behavior.
• The shopkeeper begins as a cautious intermediary but becomes increasingly trusting and reveals a potentially dangerous opportunity. His wife assists by activating the Silencing Array.
• The Twilight Witch quietly informs Wu Yu that the shopkeeper is emotionally conflicted, helping him recognize that something more is being offered.

Significant themes

• Hidden knowledge and unequal perception: Tower Climbers can recognize value that natives overlook.
• Risk versus reward: Many goods carry severe dangers, and the chapter ends with a possible offer of a Golden Core cultivator’s relics.
• Trust, scarcity, and generosity: Jade-Cleansing goods are in short supply, and Wu Yu’s fair dealing helps build the shopkeeper’s confidence.
• The realm’s hidden sophistication: The Feather Device and its maker suggest the world has a broader technological network than Wu Yu initially assumed.

Key plot points and events

• A man tells Wu Yu that the rumors surrounding Bone-Burial Market conceal a deeper truth: True Person Lei Ming, the market’s former Golden Core Master, prepared Lei Tianming as a vessel, possessed him, and made his Calamity Corpse into a second incarnation.
• The man says Lei Ming later died during the Golden Core’s three calamities, becoming a Calamity Corpse. He reveals a fragment of Lei Ming’s Divine Ability Bone, which he had hidden inside his own body to keep it from the rogue cultivators controlling him with a Heart-Demon Ring.
• Wu Yu’s Lie Detection confirms the man is sincere, though the Twilight Witch cautions that he may still have been misled. Wu Yu inspects the bone and sees that it is a gold-quality, Mortal Transcendence-tier item, but only 1% intact and cursed by the Heavenly Dao’s Strange Eye.
• The man’s real aim is to escape Bone-Burial Market with his wife and family. He warns that the market is nearing a crisis: its families are growing restless, and a Golden Core Calamity Corpse is hidden inside.
• The warning makes Wu Yu connect the danger to the three-day limit on his hidden quest, Jade Belt Awakening, and wonder whether Luo Ke’er’s awakening may coincide with an impending upheaval. He decides to stay alert and intends to leave within three days.
• The man offers the Divine Ability Bone in exchange for Wu Yu’s protection. Wu Yu doubts he can help, since he is not truly a Wandering Merchant, but the offer triggers a new hidden quest: [Witness of the Divine Ability].

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains guarded and practical. He listens to the revelation without becoming personally invested in the market’s politics, but the threat to his plans—and possibly to Luo Ke’er—raises his vigilance.
• The man shifts from cautious informant to desperate petitioner. His self-inflicted wound and retrieval of the bone demonstrate how far he has gone to preserve his chance of escape, especially for his family.
• Luo Ke’er reacts with shock and fear at the revelations. Wu Yu’s concern turns toward her when he links the market’s potential disaster to her quest.
• The Twilight Witch verifies the man’s honesty through Lie Detection but warns Wu Yu not to treat sincerity as proof that the man’s information is accurate.

Significant themes

• Hidden identities and concealed power: Lei Ming’s possession of Lei Tianming and the secret history of the market undermine appearances.
• Survival at a cost: The man’s desperate concealment of the bone and willingness to bargain reflect the brutal pressures of life in the market.
• Uncertainty and mistrust: Even verified honesty cannot guarantee the truth of the man’s account, leaving Wu Yu to act cautiously.
• Dangerous bargains: The rare Divine Ability Bone may be payment, but accepting the request would draw Wu Yu into a crisis he may not be equipped to handle.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu receives a hidden quest offering either a Divine Ability Bone for escorting a mysterious man out of the Bone-Burial Market or a Thunderclap Bone Sword for reporting him.
• He refuses both options, deciding that either choice could draw him into a dangerous conflict involving powerful cultivators. He promises not to expose what happened.
• After Wu Yu and Luo Ke’er leave, the apparent child reveals himself as Fellow Daoist Lin, and the timid man as Fellow Daoist Chen. They had deliberately staged their encounter to spread rumors and stir up the settlement, hoping to draw out Lei Tianming.
• Chen explains that Lei Tianming is ruthless and is pursuing the Three-Calamity Grand Elixir, having skinned Chen alive, possessed his own disciple, and killed subordinates and Market District residents. A woman joins them, suggesting they hope the ensuing fight over a Divine Ability Bone will expose Lei’s secrets.
• Back at the inn, Luo Ke’er declines Wu Yu’s payment, grateful for his earlier help. She mentions that Wandering Merchants value the strange black material, which strengthens Wu Yu’s suspicion that his Orderless Mudball is connected to the Portable Cabin.
• Wu Yu examines his purchases. The Calamity-Poison Ancient Tome cannot efficiently remove its own accumulated contamination, so he asks the Twilight Witch to cleanse it using Eternal Twilight’s power. The process works quickly but costs the equivalent of ten days of blood-essence recovery.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows caution and holds to his principles, refusing a tempting reward rather than risk being manipulated or entangled in a Golden Core-level conspiracy. He continues investigating his unusual items.
• The Twilight Witch counsels Wu Yu not to abandon his principles and later helps cleanse the tome, though at a significant personal cost to him.
• Luo Ke’er remains grateful and modest, refusing compensation and showing admiration for Wu Yu’s judgment.
• Chen, Lin, and the woman are revealed to be collaborators in a scheme to provoke conflict and expose Lei Tianming. Their earlier helplessness and timidity were performances.

Significant themes

• Principle versus reward: Wu Yu prioritizes caution and integrity over quest rewards.
• Deception and hidden motives: The staged encounter shows how appearances can conceal coordinated plots.
• Power and cruelty: Lei Tianming’s pursuit of the elixir has inflicted extreme harm on both allies and opponents.
• Mystery and discovery: The black mudball’s value to Wandering Merchants hints at a deeper connection to Wu Yu’s Portable Cabin.
• The cost of power: Cleansing the tome is effective, but it consumes substantial blood essence.

Key events

• Wu Yu places the Black Calamity Immortal Crystal on the Calamity-Poison Ancient Tome. The tome’s characters draw away the crystal’s black vapor, revealing a transparent sphere containing an immortal-script character.
• The Status Panel identifies the crystal as a Transcendent Curio holding the character “Wither,” described as an immortal’s mark and the Five-Element Cultivation Realm’s “last hope.” Wu Yu can’t interpret its significance and plans to ask Luo Ke’er.
• Wu Yu has the Bronze Tripod, Heaven’s Return, devour the ancient tome. It advances to Transcendent (2/3), gains a passive ability to devour contamination, and strengthens its existing effects.
• The tripod repeatedly fails to consume the Black Calamity Immortal Crystal. The Twilight Witch’s tests confirm that its casing is unusually powerful and protects the character within. She warns that breaking it with Yellow Cloud could expose the character and cause unknown consequences.
• Wu Yu decides to leave the crystal alone until they understand it. He returns the tripod to his soul and reflects on its greatly improved restorative power.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows curiosity and excitement as he experiments with the Curios, then prudence when the crystal proves resistant and potentially dangerous. He recognizes that Heaven’s Return’s evolution is more valuable than simply gaining another tool against contamination.
• The Twilight Witch supports Wu Yu, investigates the crystal with several Arcane Arts, and offers a cautious assessment rather than urging him to force it open. Their master-servant interaction is calm and cooperative.
• Luo Ke’er is not present, but Wu Yu identifies her as someone who may be able to explain the immortal script.

Significant themes

• Power gained through transformation: Heaven’s Return becomes stronger by absorbing the tome, inheriting its ability while enhancing its own.
• Knowledge and danger: The crystal reveals a crucial clue, but its meaning remains obscure, and accessing it may carry risks.
• Restraint amid ambition: Although Wu Yu wants to keep upgrading the tripod, he chooses caution once the possible consequences become clear.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu tests the upgraded Bronze Tripod’s restorative ability by using it to remove contamination from bathwater, leaving the water exceptionally pure.
• He adds [Golden Radiance Soil] to the bath. Its radiance strengthens his body and blood qi, feeds his Three Purities Spirit Veins, and nourishes his soul. The rare consumable is effective, but Wu Yu has very little of it.
• After securing his room with the Twilight Witch, Wu Yu falls asleep expecting to dream of the Moon Palace and Chang Xi. Instead, he appears in a ruined, barren landscape filled with green plague miasma.
• Using his Profound Spirit Heavenly Eye, Wu Yu recognizes an immense, sleeping beast as Fei from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. When Fei wakes, its miasma overwhelms Wu Yu, killing him in the dream.
• Wu Yu wakes in terror and discovers that the “withered” character has disappeared from the Black Calamity Immortal Crystal. He realizes the Mountain-Sea Sigil consumed it, causing him to dream into the Mountain-Sea World again. The crystal’s description now says it is no longer needed.

Character developments

• Wu Yu grows more capable at using his artifacts, especially the Bronze Tripod, and gains a substantial boost to his physical, spiritual, and soul strength.
• His confidence is tempered by the terrifying encounter with Fei, whose power proves that the Mountain-Sea World can be lethal even within a dream.
• Wu Yu makes a key connection between the Mountain-Sea Sigil, the vanished immortal script, and his renewed access to the Mountain-Sea World.

Significant themes

• Power with limits: Powerful treasures bring major benefits, but Wu Yu’s scarce Golden Radiance Soil and the lethal dream encounter underscore their limitations.
• Knowledge and danger: The Status Panel and Profound Spirit Heavenly Eye help Wu Yu interpret mysteries, yet knowledge cannot protect him from overwhelming forces.
• Dreams as a gateway: Wu Yu’s dreams are not merely imagined experiences; they connect him to real, perilous worlds and respond to the Mountain-Sea Sigil.

Character interactions

• An inn attendant respectfully brings Wu Yu hot water; Wu Yu dismisses him before purifying it with the tripod.
• Wu Yu spends the evening with the Twilight Witch securing their room, though she has no direct role in the dream.
• Fei does not engage with Wu Yu directly; its awakening unleashes the miasma that kills him.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu discovers that the Immortal Script character “wither” has been absorbed by the Mountain-Sea Sigil, becoming its third sigil: the Withering Sigil. He wonders whether the script and the sigil originate from the same world, but recognizes that these ideas are speculation.
• The sigil channels the power of the mountain-sea beast Fei, whose presence makes living things wither and die. Wu Yu tests it on insects and grass, watching their vitality drain away and their bodies decay.
• He then creates a Withering Talisman, which reaches two-star Red quality. It inflicts bleeding that drains vitality and mana aversion that steadily drains mana.
• At daybreak, Wu Yu receives a notice that the Four Directions City Evacuation Point has appeared and the Corpse Mother has awakened. A countdown begins toward the next evacuation point and a zombie horde uprising, prompting him to consider the coming danger.

Character development and interactions

• Wu Yu is increasingly excited by the Mountain-Sea Sigil’s growth and sees the Withering Sigil as a promising, ruthless addition to his combat options. His curiosity leads him to test its power and make a talisman.
• The Twilight Witch notices Wu Yu’s agitation, comforts him, and helps grind ink while he works. She is impressed by the sigil’s power and jokingly calls his pleased expression wicked. Wu Yu briefly considers testing the talisman on her, but decides against it.

Significant themes

• Power gained through sacrifice and discovery: The loss of the Immortal Script item proves worthwhile because it advances the Mountain-Sea Sigil.
• Decay and death: Fei’s power reduces both living things and the natural world to ruin, while the talisman turns that force into practical curses.
• Curiosity amid looming danger: Wu Yu enjoys exploring his new ability even as a new, large-scale threat begins to approach.

Plot and events

• Wu Yu connects the coming zombie-horde uprising to the Corpse Mother he encountered on the first day. Liu Yu’s earlier exploration found a quiet Corpse Nest: fungal growths, a suspended zombie pierced by blood vessels, and a large cocoon likely containing the Corpse Mother. He avoided attacking it, while Liu Zheng later regretted missing the chance to use a Psionic Cannon.
• With the uprising apparently due in a day, Wu Yu decides the Underground City’s Bone-Burial Market is relatively safe, but the outside will become dangerous. He plans to hunt monsters before the outbreak and, if possible, kill the Corpse Mother. He brings the Twilight Witch and prepares Withering Talismans.
• At the No. 19 Ruins passage, guards greet Wu Yu warmly for his regular emergency-supply deliveries and let him leave. He then sees them refusing entry to a hostile group of foreign Tower Climbers.
• Wu Yu recognizes a skull-shaped artifact carried by one foreigner, though he believes its previous owner is dead. He senses a Foundation Establishment cultivator watching and realizes the guards have prepared to defend the passage.
• After Wu Yu is escorted away, the foreigners threaten the guards and display their varied powers. Three Foundation Establishment cultivators ambush them, killing the group with a Poison Blade, a Soul-Shaking Bell, and Three-Colored Flame. The captain then uses a Soul-Suppressing Artifact to ensure their souls are destroyed as well.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu acts decisively in response to the approaching crisis, balancing caution about the Market’s safety with a plan to use the remaining time productively. He is respected by the guards as a dependable supplier, but carefully distances himself from the foreigners to avoid being caught up in the confrontation.
• Liu Yu is established as cautious and observant: he investigated the Corpse Nest but withdrew rather than risk an attack. Liu Zheng, by contrast, is presented as more aggressive and regretful that he did not attempt a surprise strike.
• The foreigners’ arrogance and threats turn a request for shelter into a confrontation. Their contemptuous insults and assumption that the guards are weak contrast with the guards’ calm confidence and superior preparation.
• The captain explains his harsh tactics to Wu Yu, framing them as practical caution learned from fighting Calamity Corpses. His apology suggests some embarrassment at having exposed this violence to an outsider.

Significant themes

• Preparation versus recklessness: Wu Yu prepares for the uprising, while the foreigners provoke a far stronger force without assessing the danger.
• Power and hidden vulnerability: The Tower Climbers’ impressive array of abilities offers little protection against coordinated, high-level ambushes.
• Trust and reputation: Wu Yu’s reliable service earns him respect and safe passage; the foreigners’ hostility earns them none.
• Survival-minded pragmatism: The Foundation Establishment cultivators prioritize eliminating both bodies and souls, reflecting a world where unknown powers make mercy and assumptions dangerous.

Key plot points and events

• After escaping the foreigners’ ambush, Wu Yu reflects that cultivators in the Five-Element Cultivation Realm are ruthless—even three Foundation Establishment Cultivators attacked weaker opponents together and from hiding.
• In the ruins, he finds a bound woman who asks for help. The Twilight Witch detects that she harbors growing malice, so Wu Yu feigns willingness to rescue her and then kills her before she can attack. Her body is revealed to be a partly mechanical construct that tries to fire an energy cannon.
• Wu Yu searches the site and finds a magical sacrificial altar, the woman’s slave contract, and a map marking Treasure Chests. The map covers part of Four Directions City; three chests are already claimed and five remain. He decides to pursue a nearby one.
• At dawn, Wu Yu ambushes a group of cultivator Zombies. His chain binds them, his Flying Sword turns into piercing black feathers, and his anti-magic power prevents the survivors from using magic. He finishes them off.

Character developments

• Wu Yu’s caution and decisiveness are emphasized: he trusts the Witch’s warning rather than responding to the woman’s apparent vulnerability, and verifies that she is dead before relaxing.
• He is pleased to discover that his “Runaway Wu” identity may offer unexpected advantages, and he remains confident that he is not easily manipulated.
• The Twilight Witch acts as his scout and adviser, while teasing him about the possibility of keeping the woman as a slave.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu parts amicably with the guards, exchanging polite compliments and offers of future help.
• He consults the Twilight Witch before approaching the woman; she warns him of the woman’s hostility and later confirms there is no life left in the body.
• Their banter reveals familiarity: the Witch praises his decisiveness, jokes about the slave contract, and receives a playful threat in response.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and suspicion: Appearances can conceal danger, so Wu Yu relies on evidence and vigilance rather than pity.
• Power and survival: Ambushes, deception, and overwhelming force are shown as practical tools in a ruthless world.
• Exploration and reward: The chest map creates a new objective and hints at the value of uncovering others’ methods.

Plot points and events

• Using the Portable Cabin’s “Anti-Magic” and ambush tactics, Wu Yu turns the tables on the zombies and collects their drops, including a mid-grade Daoist Robe.
• He searches a ruin marked on the map and finds a well-hidden Silver Chest. Its Immortal Script marking—“conceal”—explains why it escaped Divine Sense detection.
• The chest takes thirty minutes to open, twice as long as before. Wu Yu suspects this is because the Great Ruins has reached silver tier, perhaps due to the Silver Token.
• While waiting, the Twilight Witch joins him and sets up protective detection spells. The chest yields three valuable cards: a gold Heavenly Thunder Seed, a purple Great Yang Pill, and a blue Bliss Pill.
• Wu Yu sees the Heavenly Thunder Seed as a way to threaten Foundation Establishment foes without using his Yellow Cloud trump card. Since the Bronze Tripod can remove corruption, he also realizes he can trade in the Market District.
• He heads for the nearby Little Melody Ward, traveling mostly in the invisible Portable Cabin. Although hordes of cultivator zombies attack when they sense its Spirit Energy, the cabin’s Void State protects him.
• At the ruined ward, Wu Yu uses the Earth Escape Technique to search underground and finds a second concealed Silver Chest. It begins the same opening countdown.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu grows more confident and resourceful: he searches thoroughly, uses the Portable Cabin to avoid danger, and applies Earth Escape to locate the next chest.
• His excitement over the rare rewards reflects a shift from simply surviving and collecting mediocre drops to actively pursuing high-grade resources and trade opportunities.
• The Twilight Witch remains a loyal, proactive companion. She addresses Wu Yu as “Master” and prepares defensive spells without needing instructions.
• Wu Yu reflects that Wang Juemie’s earlier interference appears to have helped Liu Zheng and the others, though he still does not know her motive.

Significant themes

• Preparation and ingenuity: Wu Yu combines stealth, protection, detection, and earth-perception techniques to overcome threats.
• Risk and reward: Silver-tier chests take longer to open, but can provide powerful rewards.
• Adaptation and opportunity: Removing corruption expands Wu Yu’s options, turning his surplus jade-pure food and water into potential trade goods.
• Survival through partnership: The Twilight Witch’s vigilance supports Wu Yu while he pursues dangerous rewards.