Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• While waiting for the Silver Chest’s countdown, Wu Yu considers keeping his Substitute Puppet rather than letting the Bronze Tripod consume it. With the puppet and two Mage’s Hands, he feels more secure.
• The Twilight Witch spots several approaching Tower Climbers from Snowfield Group, a Zhu Xia Federation company. They are following a Living Map that leads directly to Wu Yu’s chest.
• The group reaches the chest and sees an illusion created by Wu Yu. When their captain, Wang Dawei, grabs the supposed treasure, it transforms into a binding chain. The Twilight Witch’s anti-magic power disables their armor, and Wu Yu captures the men.
• Wu Yu questions Wang Dawei about the map. Wang explains that it is Mind Wizard witchcraft, made using a human heart. His group obtained it after a foreign Mind Wizard killed one of their teammates.

Character developments

• Wu Yu remains cautious and resourceful, using misdirection and the Twilight Witch’s abilities to turn the visitors’ confidence against them.
• Wang Dawei’s initial enthusiasm and arrogance collapse once his armor is disabled and he is captured. Under pressure, he cooperates.
• The Twilight Witch acts as Wu Yu’s scout and tactical support, identifying the threat and helping him prepare an ambush.

Significant themes

• Technology versus supernatural power: Snowfield Group trusts its advanced armor, but anti-magic renders it useless.
• Cunning over strength: Wu Yu wins through deception and preparation rather than a direct fight.
• The cost of power: The Living Map’s use of a human heart reveals the brutality behind the pursuit of treasure.
• Changing loyalties and rival systems: The group’s dismissive view of Wizards and Cultivators contrasts with their dependence on the Mind Wizard’s map.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch coordinate closely: she detects and studies the approaching group, while he decides how to respond.
• Snowfield Group’s members encourage one another as they approach the chest, then panic when the trap activates.
• Wu Yu intimidates Wang Dawei with a Mage’s Hand slap and questions him about the map; Wang reveals how his team acquired it.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu learns that the strange maps came from a Mind Wizard, whose witchcraft turned sacrificed Tower Climbers’ desires into Treasure Chest locations. Wang Dawei’s squad killed the Wizard after losing a teammate; the Eastern slave girl had likely been intended as a sacrifice.
• The second Silver Chest opens, yielding three unusual items: the Dreamwalking Immortal Mountain card, Super-Super-Super Growth Powder, and a Zombie Venom Blade. Wu Yu sees potential uses for the growth powder and notes that the blade’s virus is specific to the Five-Element Cultivation Realm.
• Wu Yu coerces Wang Dawei’s squad into surrendering their valuables and information. Most of their best equipment is corporate-issued and protected by genetic coding that makes it dissolve upon the wearer’s death.
• Wu Yu tells the squad he will let them live, then leaves. Once he is gone, they reveal their cruelty and threaten revenge; Wang Dawei has secretly recorded his life signature.
• From his cabin, Wu Yu confirms he knows their intentions and orders the Twilight Witch to kill them all.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains calculating and unsentimental. He studies the loot, recognizes a possible use for one item, and pretends to spare the squad to lower their guard.
• Wang Dawei and his men present themselves as frightened survivors, offering valuables and intelligence. Their later boasting exposes them as vicious and treacherous, while Wang Dawei plans retaliation.
• The Twilight Witch acts as Wu Yu’s observer and adviser, confirming the men’s claims and condemning their behavior. Wu Yu’s final command turns their apparent escape into a trap.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden motives: Both the maps and the squad’s apparent gratitude conceal dangerous intentions.
• Power and exploitation: Mind Wizards use people’s desires as fuel, while Wu Yu extracts payment from the vulnerable.
• Corporate control: Genetic coding protects company equipment from being looted, reflecting megacorporations’ influence over Tower Climbers.
• Mercy as a tactic: Wu Yu’s promise of safety is not compassion but a means of disarming his enemies.

Key events

• Wu Yu kills Wang Dawei’s group with the Dusk Torrent. Their bodies, armor, equipment, and psionic organs dissolve, leaving no souls or evidence behind. He explains that he killed them to ensure they had revealed nothing useful, while insisting he does not kill without cause.
• He recognizes the danger posed by Snowfield Group’s genetic modifications and Gene Bombs, and resolves to be more cautious around Tower Climbers from Snowfield City.
• Wu Yu continues searching for treasure chests rather than hunting monsters. After ten hours, he opens a bronze chest containing three transcendent cards: a Daoist robe, a cleansing technique, and a horsetail whisk.
• The Twilight Witch spots a group of Tower Climbers attacking a Foundation Establishment Zombie with cannons. Wu Yu predicts the noise will attract more zombies, refuses to investigate or chase potential spoils, and steers his cabin toward a distant chest while activating concealment defenses.
• At the battle, the Tower Climbers celebrate their apparent advantage. Captain Liu claims the first choice of the spoils, while secretly messaging several companions. Dark clouds then gather, and a lightning-wreathed Calamity Corpse appears.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains pragmatic and guarded. He is willing to kill to protect himself, but distinguishes this from killing indiscriminately. The encounter with Snowfield Group’s technology heightens his caution.
• The Twilight Witch admires Wu Yu’s supposed compassion, but he corrects her interpretation. She also encourages investigating the battle; Wu Yu firmly refuses, prioritizing safety over loot.
• Captain Liu presents himself as confident and respected, but his secret message suggests he may be plotting against the group despite their agreement.

Significant themes

• Survival over trust: In the Great Ruins, Wu Yu assumes others may be threats and avoids gambling on their goodwill.
• Power and technological risk: Genetic coding, psionic weapons, and Gene Bombs show how corporations and advanced equipment can make Tower Climbers more dangerous.
• Greed versus caution: The group’s pursuit of a powerful zombie and its potential rewards contrasts with Wu Yu’s refusal to risk being drawn into a larger threat.
• Unstable alliances: The Tower Climbers’ cheerful cooperation may conceal betrayal, while the sudden Calamity Corpse underscores how quickly apparent control can collapse.

Plot points and events

• Tower Climbers and Inspection Bureau forces use a Sky-Raiding Field to suppress spirit energy, disabling the Foundation Establishment Zombies’ magic and giving the humans an advantage. They attack with physical strength and old-fashioned cannons.
• Their apparent success collapses when infiltrators revealed to be Pseudo-Human Zombies ambush people across the factions. One impostor destroys the field equipment, restoring the zombies’ powers. The battle erupts into chaos: the Tower Climbers flee, and the Thundercloud Zombie severely injures an already wounded Foundation Establishment Zombie.
• Wu Yu, watching from his hidden Portable Cabin, recognizes the injured creature as a rare opportunity. He uses several Withering Talismans to slow its regeneration, allowing the lightning already attacking it to overwhelm it.
• As the zombie is blasted apart, Wu Yu activates further powers: a bright moon rises, a divine bird cries, and Calamity Fire engulfs the crater.

Character developments and interactions

• The blond commander’s confident plan initially works, but the infiltrators expose how vulnerable the competing factions are to betrayal and surprise.
• Wu Yu balances caution with ambition. Though he avoids dangerous battles, he decides this wounded Foundation Establishment Zombie is too valuable to ignore and acts indirectly with his talismans rather than approaching it.
• The Twilight Witch warns Wu Yu about the zombie’s strength and asks whether they should leave. Wu Yu reassures himself that he can exploit the opportunity while remaining at a distance.

Significant themes

• Control can be overturned: Suppressing spirit energy grants humans an advantage, but infiltration and sabotage swiftly reverse the battlefield.
• Opportunism and risk: Wu Yu turns a dangerous battle into a chance to gain rewards, carefully choosing a method suited to the target’s weakness.
• Survival through strategy: Both the factions and Wu Yu rely on tactics, but the factions’ plans unravel amid mistrust, while Wu Yu benefits from observing before acting.

Wu Yu’s attack on the Foundation Establishment Zombie appears successful, but he spots that its remains have not turned to white light and realizes it is still alive. Rather than risk approaching, he uses the Portable Cabin’s Furnace. Its strange flames drive the mutilated zombie into a frenzy, and Wu Yu’s Anti-Magic construct fails to restrain it. He escapes underground as the creature unleashes its remaining power; eventually, it collapses and disappears, leaving several valuable Cards.
Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch retreat far from the battle before inspecting the loot. She explains that the Furnace’s flames seemed to sever the zombie’s connection to the world’s virus spirit qi, which may account for its eventual exhaustion. Wu Yu is impressed by the discovery but prioritizes their safety, since a full-strength fight could have attracted other Foundation Establishment Zombies.
The drops include a powerful gold-ranked Fire-Poison Blade, a Foundation Establishment Token that summons a phantom for one attack, a valuable but contaminated Foundation Establishment Pill, a key, and stamina-restoring pills. Wu Yu recognizes the haul as a chance to strengthen himself and considers combining the Blade and Token with his previously acquired Heavenly Thunder Seed to challenge another Foundation Establishment Zombie. Rather than hoard his advantages, he decides to use them to build momentum.
Character development and interactions: Wu Yu proves both cautious and opportunistic: he avoids a risky finishing approach, uses the cabin’s Furnace creatively, and withdraws before examining the rewards. The Twilight Witch observes the cabin’s facilities and offers the key insight about the Furnace, while Wu Yu explains why they could not safely join the battle. Their exchange shows her attentiveness and his concern for managing danger.
Themes: Survival through preparation and restraint; turning discoveries and rewards into compounding advantages; and the importance of understanding the rules behind seemingly unstoppable enemies. The chapter ends with Wu Yu spotting a nearby Corpse Nest—one already scouted by Chen Lingling—and considering it a promising next target.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu initially considers hunting a small Corpse Nest, but a massive zombie horde surges toward the area where Tower Climbers had fought a Foundation Establishment Zombie. He recognizes the danger and withdraws.
• The horde contains mutated cultivator zombies with Qi-filled tumors that can absorb attacks and explode. One destroys itself while resisting Wu Yu, so he abandons a nearby Treasure Chest until the horde passes.
• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch wait under a Silent Barrier while a Silver Chest’s opening timer counts down. They watch a blond Tower Climber and his companion flee the zombies.
• As the pair are overwhelmed, the woman tears open the man’s Brain-Computer Interface and stabs him, using him as a distraction to escape.
• She runs into someone who looks like Section Chief Liu Zheng. After appearing to comfort her, the supposed Liu Zheng reveals himself as a Pseudo-Human Zombie and bites her to death.
• The chest opens, and Wu Yu takes three rewards: a gold Thunder Repeating Belt, a purple Cloud-Soaring Pill, and a blue Sleeve Blade.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows caution and restraint: although he is capable of fighting, he avoids the horde and refuses to risk himself for strangers. He remains alert to new zombie mutations and quickly recognizes that “Liu Zheng” is an impostor.
• The Twilight Witch supports Wu Yu with tactical judgment and the Eye of True Seeing, confirming that the approaching Tower Climber group poses no Foundation Establishment-level threat.
• The blond woman betrays her companion when danger becomes overwhelming, sacrificing him to escape—only to be killed by the disguised zombie.
• The Pseudo-Human Zombie exploits the woman’s desperation by imitating a familiar, trusted figure before attacking.
• Wu Yu and the Witch observe the fleeing couple but stay hidden, prioritizing their safety and the chest.

Significant themes

• Survival over heroism: Wu Yu avoids unnecessary risks, while the couple’s desperate choices show how danger strips away trust.
• Deception and misplaced trust: The apparent Liu Zheng is a disguised zombie, making familiar appearances unreliable.
• Escalating threats: Zombie mutations introduce new dangers, including explosive defenses and humanlike infiltrators.
• The cost of panic and betrayal: The woman’s betrayal buys her a brief escape but leaves her vulnerable to another predator.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu encounters a Pseudo-Human Zombie disguised as Liu Zheng, which devours another zombie and then restores its human appearance. His [Five-Element Escape] instinctively reacts to it with disgust.
• He reaches a ruined building complex that Chen Lingling identified as a small Corpse Nest. Its ground-level inhabitants are Pseudo-Human Zombies, while mangled zombie bodies fill the skies above.
• To avoid detection by the zombie birdmen, Wu Yu approaches on foot under the Twilight Witch’s [Silent Barrier]. He summons a Foundation Establishment Phantom and equips it with a fire-poison blade, protective gear, and a Heavenly Thunder Seed.
• Wu Yu remotely sends the phantom into the complex. It kills the zombies it encounters, including increasingly convincing copies of familiar people—and even a copy of Wu Yu. A drone retrieves cards left behind.
• The phantom’s blade proves lethal but contaminates its wielder with fire poison. After killing over a hundred zombies, it reaches the nest’s core: a huge crater lined with mysterious crystal, above which an immense Flesh Heart beats.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu is cautious and analytical: he avoids flying into danger, tests the phantom’s abilities, and uses technology alongside magic to observe its progress.
• The Foundation Establishment Phantom cannot hold a real conversation, repeating only that Foundation Establishment cultivators must not be insulted, but it understands and follows commands.
• The Twilight Witch supports Wu Yu’s plan and shares his anticipation of what the nest’s heart may yield.
• The Pseudo-Human Zombies display growing intelligence: they learn basic Ocean Federation speech and refine their disguises, raising questions about how they collect information.

Significant themes

• Imitation and identity: The zombies reproduce familiar people so accurately that even Wu Yu becomes one of their disguises.
• Technology and cultivation working together: Wu Yu combines a phantom, magic, a camera, and a drone to investigate the nest from relative safety.
• Escalating danger beneath apparent weakness: The individual Pseudo-Human Zombies are manageable once exposed, but their adaptability and the mysterious, beating core suggest a larger threat.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu examines a small Impostor Corpse Nest remotely. Its beautiful heart exerts a powerful influence, suppressing his hostility and tempting him to approach; a fall from his bed snaps him out of it.
• The Foundation Establishment Phantom is immune to the heart’s influence. Wu Yu sends it into the pit, where it draws the attention of the densely packed zombies—but the horde initially does not attack.
• Near the heart, Wu Yu spots Inspection Bureau equipment and two Foundation Establishment Impostors studying it. He realizes the heart has bewitched the zombies into becoming its servants.
• Wu Yu uses the Bronze Tripod to suppress his own emotions while the Phantom approaches. The heart reshapes into a beautiful woman, apparently luring the Phantom in.
• At Wu Yu’s command, the Phantom unleashes a devastating Spirit Power Flying Knife, striking the heart and nearby Foundation Establishment zombies. As the heart retaliates, a concealed pebble enters its wound and releases powerful purple lightning.
• The lightning engulfs the pit and destroys the cameras. Wu Yu hopes the blast was enough, then prepares a Dimwit Puppet.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows caution and self-control: after nearly succumbing to the heart’s allure, he recognizes the danger, uses the Bronze Tripod to blunt his emotions, and waits for the right moment to strike.
• The Twilight Witch helps him after his fall and suggests that her Eternal Twilight ability shields her from the heart’s influence.
• The Foundation Establishment Phantom acts as Wu Yu’s weapon and decoy. Though drawn toward the heart, it follows his command and makes a powerful sacrificial attack.
• The heart manipulates the Phantom and the trapped or transformed zombies, while Wu Yu counters its influence from a safe distance.

Significant themes

• Beauty as a form of danger: the nest’s loveliness masks a predatory force that weakens the will.
• Preparation and restraint: Wu Yu survives by recognizing the threat, exploiting the Phantom’s immunity, and timing his attack.
• Control and sacrifice: he uses the Phantom as bait and accepts its destruction to deliver a coordinated strike.
• Uncertainty after victory: the massive lightning blast may have dealt with the heart, but the lost surveillance leaves the outcome unclear.

Key plot points

• After the explosion, Wu Yu scouts the crater with a vision-sharing wooden puppet. He discovers that the Foundation Establishment Phantom and one Foundation Establishment Zombie are gone; the other survives as a badly damaged head, regenerating by draining nearby Zombies.
• The crater is packed with valuable Cards but remains dangerous, filled with lightning, toxins, and contaminated spirit qi. A lightning strike damages the puppet as it gathers what it can.
• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch approach. Wu Yu slows the Zombie’s regeneration with Withering Talismans, then uses a dragon-blood Bi Fang Talisman to break its icy attack and blast it back. The Witch follows with her Dusk Torrent.
• When the Zombie still refuses to die, Wu Yu destroys its remains with the Nine-Infant Profound Light Sword. The strike also contaminates and corrodes much of the sword, so Wu Yu uses the Bronze Tripod to counter the contamination.
• Wu Yu collects several red- and gold-quality Cards. To reach the Cards deeper in the crater, he freezes the hazards with Lunar Yin Talismans, gathers the remaining loot, and escapes with the Witch in the invisible Portable Cabin.
• After they leave, a vast Zombie horde floods the Corpse Nest. A short, big-headed Zombie riding a Giant Zombie watches thoughtfully.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu is resourceful and cautious, using scouting, talismans, a puppet, and a sequence of attacks to manage the dangerous crater. He regrets sacrificing the puppet, then recognizes the power—and unpleasantly sinister appearance—of his sword technique.
• The Twilight Witch assesses the danger and supports Wu Yu with arcane feedback and a powerful spell. Their coordination lets them defeat the Zombie and retrieve the loot.
• The surviving Zombie proves unusually resilient, adapting by draining other Zombies and attacking with icy spiritual light.
• The big-headed Zombie’s thoughtful expression hints that the horde may have an intelligent leader or observer.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness under pressure: Wu Yu combines varied tools and abilities rather than relying on brute force.
• Risk and reward: The crater’s valuable Cards draw the pair into a contaminated, unstable battlefield.
• Power with a cost: Wu Yu’s strongest sword strike damages his weapon and carries an unsettling, ominous quality.
• Unanswered danger: The thoughtful Zombie suggests that escaping the immediate threat may not end the larger conflict.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu’s Portable Cabin is ambushed by a powerful zombified spirit dog, its Foundation Establishment Zombie master, and a horde of zombie birds and cultivators. He repeatedly uses the Void Formation to evade them while the Twilight Witch attacks.
• A gigantic zombified bird briefly appears, its aura so oppressive that even the spirit dog freezes. Once it leaves, Wu Yu resumes fleeing, but neither his attacks nor a Bi Fang Talisman can stop the dog from tracking him.
• As Wu Yu weighs using up valuable emergency resources, Luo Ke’er warns that zombie hordes across the city have begun rampaging and that the Bone-Burial Market has recalled its Calamity Cultivators.
• Wu Yu spots a nearby safe zone in a ruined merchant guild. Strange statues marked with immortal script—and substances including Hateful Bone Powder—keep the zombies away. His pursuers abandon the chase, allowing him to rest and examine his loot.
• Among the cards he reveals are two red-quality items: the Calamity Poison Scripture, which requires a calamity spirit root, and the Calamity-Pattern Robe, a powerful artifact with unknown additional uses. His golden cards include pills, artifacts, three Calamity Cores, and a Pill Reforging Card that can improve a pill’s potency and mystical properties while reversing its negative effects.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu stays composed under pressure, reassures the Twilight Witch when she apologizes for missing the spirit dog, and directs her to keep attacking while he searches for a safe route.
• The pursuit forces Wu Yu to recognize that hoarding his limited resources may become dangerous, though he ultimately escapes without using them.
• Luo Ke’er provides a timely warning and practical advice about the city’s changing danger.

Significant themes

• Fortune and danger: Wu Yu’s earlier good luck gives way to a severe ambush, underscoring the unpredictability of the infected realm.
• Survival through judgment and teamwork: Wu Yu combines evasion, the Twilight Witch’s attacks, and knowledge of safe zones rather than relying on force alone.
• Mutation and escalating threats: Virus-tainted spirit qi makes zombified beasts exceptionally powerful, while the approaching Zombie Horde Uprising promises even greater danger.
• Mystery and opportunity: The immortal-script statues and the rare Calamity items hint at forces and powers in the realm that Wu Yu has yet to understand.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu examines his loot from the Impostor Corpse Nest. He suspects the valuable Calamity Core came from the nest and wonders whether the strange Pseudo-Human Zombies are tied to the Tower’s rules or a deeper secret.
• He is delighted to find a Pill Reforging Card, which may let him use the Bloodlust Qilin Pill without suffering its negative effects.
• After sorting his cards, Wu Yu destroys more than a hundred contaminated items. His Bronze Tripod, Heaven’s Return, purifies them, and he rests in the safe cabin while it works.
• The Twilight Witch keeps watch as he sleeps, making sure he is comfortable. After waking, Wu Yu finds that the contamination has been removed and stores the restored items.
• Meanwhile, the Bone-Burial Market descends into chaos as Impostor Calamity Corpses attack its residents. Luo Ke’er escapes through an underground passage, fearing the Market Master and recalling a warning she had received.
• When Luo Ke’er reaches the surface safe spot, Wu Yu pulls her into his cabin. She tells him the Market has fallen into chaos and is relieved he did not return.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains cautious and practical, weighing the value and risks of his discoveries. He is also grateful for the safe haven Luo Ke’er helped him find.
• The Twilight Witch shows tender concern for Wu Yu, keeping watch and giving him room to sleep. He responds warmly, thanking her and patting her head.
• Luo Ke’er proves resourceful by escaping the Market, though the loss of her brother and the danger around her leave her frightened. She and Wu Yu share a familiar, lightly teasing rapport: she chides him for grabbing her by the neck again before warning him about the disaster.

Significant themes

• Survival through caution and preparation: Wu Yu rests, safeguards his refuge, and avoids returning to a dangerous area; Luo Ke’er survives by using an escape route.
• The hidden nature of the threat: The unusual Pseudo-Human Zombies and the sudden outbreak of Calamity Corpses suggest mysteries beyond ordinary zombie behavior.
• Care amid danger: The Twilight Witch’s quiet devotion and Luo Ke’er’s warning provide moments of warmth and loyalty against the surrounding violence.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Ke’er reaches Wu Yu at an Immortal Script Ruins site and reports that [Bone-Burial Market] has fallen into chaos. Impostor Calamity Corpses infiltrated it disguised as people’s loved ones and killed many residents.
• One of Wu Yu’s caravan subordinates escaped the market in heavy armor—likely Yu Tiezhu.
• Wu Yu decides not to return to the market yet. With the zombie-horde uprising and the appearance of an underground evacuation point both three hours away, he plans to stay sheltered and assess the danger.
• To use the waiting time, Wu Yu reforges a [Bloodlust Qilin Pill] with a [Pill Reforging Card]. The upgraded [Qilin Blood Immortal Pill] greatly boosts his blood qi, spirit power, and mental power, and gives him the power of the Blood Qilin.
• The pill’s power awakens a new resonance between the Four Sacred Beasts and the Blood Qilin. Wu Yu’s [True Martial Arcane Treasury] talent improves, and he gains the divine ability [Sky-Soaring Five Pillars].

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Ke’er shows resourcefulness by escaping the market and seeking Wu Yu’s protection. She explains what she witnessed, though she admits she does not know the cause of the outbreak.
• Wu Yu remains cautious and protective: he thanks Luo Ke’er, tells her to rest, and postpones returning to the market rather than rushing into an unknown crisis.
• The Twilight Witch asks whether Wu Yu intends to fight the zombies. He says they will wait and observe, then watches the countdown and uses the time to strengthen himself.
• Wu Yu’s power advances substantially through the pill: his physical, spiritual, and mental capacities rise, and he gains a divine ability.

Significant themes

• Safety amid collapse: Even a well-defended settlement can be breached, while Immortal Script sites offer refuge.
• Uncertainty and strategic restraint: Wu Yu chooses to gather information and prepare instead of acting impulsively.
• Growth through cultivation and resources: Reforging the pill transforms a consumable into a major power boost.
• Emerging harmony and synthesis: The Blood Qilin joins the Four Sacred Beasts in a mysterious Dao resonance, marking a new stage in Wu Yu’s talent.

Summary

• Wu Yu gains a major new power. His [True Martial Arcane Treasury] talent has strengthened, improving his five organs and opening secret treasuries within them. It also grants him the transcendent-tier divine ability [Sky-Soaring Five Pillars], which manifests five elemental divine lights:
  • Metal: a White Tiger
  • Wood: an Azure Dragon
  • Water: a Black Tortoise
  • Fire: a Vermilion Bird
  • Earth: a qilin
• His existing cultivation method interacts with the new ability. The Three Purities Grotto-Heaven Method has formed grotto-heavens inside Wu Yu’s psionic organs. The five sacred-beast forms settle within them, apparently subordinate to the Three Pure Ones’ phantoms. Wu Yu realizes that techniques, talents, and divine abilities can interact—and that the method seems powerful enough to suppress even a divine ability. He tests the elemental lights, discovering that they have distinct uses and can work together, but recognizes that his ability is only at the beginner stage.
• Wu Yu prepares for the next disaster. After testing his power, he checks the Silver Token and sees that both the Underground Evacuation Point and the Zombie Horde Uprising are less than half an hour away. He rests and recovers while the Twilight Witch reminds him not to damage the cabin.
• The countdowns end. At dawn, the Underground Evacuation Point appears, while the Corpse Mother undergoes her second mutation and triggers the zombie uprising. New countdowns begin for a Ruins Evacuation Point and a Zombie Horde Showdown.
• Wu Yu deduces the likely conflict. He believes the newly empowered Corpse Mother is strong enough to overwhelm the other surface zombie nests. Since the coming showdown seems unlikely to involve humans—who have been reduced to fleeing or hiding—he suspects the opposing force may be the mysterious impostor Calamity Corpses in the Underground City, possibly connected to the Bone-Burial Market.

Character developments and interactions

Wu Yu moves from surprise at gaining a divine ability to focused experimentation and strategic reasoning. He remains impressed but cautious about his still-limited mastery. The Twilight Witch briefly acts as a practical counterweight to his enthusiasm, warning him to protect the cabin; Wu Yu promptly stops his test.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Even remarkable abilities may be constrained or surpassed by deeper techniques.
• Experimentation and growth: Wu Yu must learn his new power through practice rather than instantly mastering it.
• Escalating danger and uncertainty: The Corpse Mother’s mutation reshapes the threat, while the approaching showdown’s participants and location remain unclear.

Key events

• A supernatural chill spreads across Four Directions City, suppressing the protective effects of the Immortal Script Ruins and allowing zombies to enter. Wu Yu suspects the change is tied to the dangerous Underground City and possibly Lei Tianming’s experiments.
• Unsure whether to hunt, search for treasure chests, or focus on training, Wu Yu consults the Twilight Witch. They agree he should favor safer opportunities but remain open to joining the coming zombie-tide battle if the risks seem manageable.
• Before Wu Yu can set out to investigate marked treasure locations, zombies breach the ruins. He kills one with sword energy and retrieves its dropped cards, but more zombies—including powerful mutated Cultivator Zombies—continue to arrive.
• Elsewhere, Luo Ke’er lies freezing and ill in her tent. The zombies’ roars seem to call to her with intimate, urgent emotions, and she feels strangely drawn toward death. As zombies enter, Wu Yu arrives and carries her to his Portable Cabin.
• Luo Ke’er is unconscious with a persistent fever. Wu Yu finds the illness suspicious, gives her healing medicine and spiritual liquid, and begins treating her with an injection.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains cautious and strategic, weighing danger against opportunities. When the ruins’ defenses fail, he shifts from planning to responding and rescues Luo Ke’er.
• The Twilight Witch advises Wu Yu to prioritize safety while taking advantage of low-risk opportunities. She teases him about Luo Ke’er supposedly smiling because she is in love with him; Wu Yu dismisses the idea.
• Luo Ke’er is physically and emotionally close to death, but the zombie calls seem to affect her in an unusual way. She feels acceptance rather than fear and appears almost comforted by the prospect of dying. Wu Yu’s rescue interrupts this state.

Significant themes

• Safety is fragile: Even a hidden refuge can fail when the world’s supernatural conditions change.
• Survival versus opportunity: Wu Yu must balance cautious preparation with the rewards—and risks—of confronting the zombie crisis.
• A mysterious connection to the undead: Luo Ke’er’s perception of the zombies’ calls suggests a deeper link between her, the spreading cold, and the forces behind the disaster.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Ke’er wakes aboard Wu Yu’s flying [Portable Cabin], weak but no longer in immediate pain after he rescued and treated her. Though her other symptoms have eased, her life force continues to drain.
• Wu Yu suspects an external cause—perhaps a curse or contaminated spiritual energy—and has her hold his Bronze Tripod to absorb the contamination. He promises to find her somewhere safe before letting her go.
• Near the third Treasure Chest location, Wu Yu discovers a Silver Chest guarded by a fast, invisible Cultivator Zombie. With help from the Twilight Witch’s [Eye of True Seeing], he locates it and kills it using his newly acquired Divine Ability: Geng Metal Divine Light splits it, and Bing Fire Divine Light burns both halves to ash.
• Wu Yu tests Yi Wood and Ren Water Divine Lights on Luo Ke’er. They briefly restore her vitality and improve her appearance, but her life force soon begins declining again.
• Wu Yu begins opening the Silver Chest. Meanwhile, Luo Ke’er feels renewed vitality and gratitude—then suddenly suffers head pain and hears the mysterious calls again.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows compassion toward Luo Ke’er, patiently tending to her and reassuring her. He also eagerly experiments with his Divine Ability, impressed by its power and already considering its healing potential.
• Luo Ke’er remains frail and dependent on Wu Yu’s care. She is deeply grateful and believes she can never repay him, but her recurring symptoms suggest her condition is unresolved.
• The Twilight Witch assists Wu Yu by monitoring Luo Ke’er’s life-force loss and revealing the hidden Zombie.
• Wu Yu and Luo Ke’er share a gentle, protective exchange: he urges her to rest, while she addresses him respectfully as “Senior” and expresses her thanks.

Significant themes

• Kindness and indebtedness: Wu Yu’s rescue and care leave Luo Ke’er feeling profoundly grateful and unable to repay him.
• Power and responsibility: Wu Yu uses his strength not only to defeat threats but also to protect and heal someone vulnerable.
• Unresolved danger: Temporary improvement does not cure Luo Ke’er; the renewed calls and recurring life-force loss hint at a deeper, continuing threat.
• Adaptation and discovery: The Zombie threat is evolving, while Wu Yu explores the capabilities of his new Divine Ability.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Ke’er collapses after a sudden, overwhelming surge of summons. Wu Yu learns she is still losing life force but is not in immediate danger, and tells the Twilight Witch to watch over her.
• Wu Yu opens a Silver Chest and finds a Spirit Power–boosting pill, a magical sword, and a gold-quality Cloud Disk Device. The device appears unusable with his current Portable Cabin, so he stores it.
• The Twilight Witch suggests that the cabin may need to be upgraded to gold quality before the device will work. She believes Luo Ke’er’s completed hidden quest is somehow the key, though neither knows how she will trigger the upgrade.
• Wu Yu leaves for another chest while the zombie tide spreads across the Surface World. He sees the bodies of numerous Tower Climbers who were caught by the hordes.
• In the Underground City, Yu Tiezhu, Liu Zheng, and their companions flee the return-point Magic Array after Liu Yu senses danger. The climbers who stay behind are attacked by an Impostor, which strips their flesh away with a supernatural storm.
• The Impostor reveals that its group is searching for the Corpse Mother. Without her, they cannot carry out their plan to invade Four Directions City. Frustrated, it tears off its own face.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains practical and skeptical, but becomes curious about Luo Ke’er’s hidden quest and its possible role in upgrading his cabin.
• The Twilight Witch offers a theory about the Cloud Disk and Luo Ke’er, while admitting she does not know how the upgrade will happen.
• Luo Ke’er remains unconscious and vulnerable, her unexplained quest positioning her as a potential source of a major opportunity.
• Liu Yu demonstrates sharp instincts by abandoning the return point before the attack; Liu Zheng and the others trust his judgment and follow.
• The climbers who mock the fleeing group are killed, while the Impostor’s exchange with its subordinates shows its anger and the importance of finding the Corpse Mother.

Significant themes

• Danger and survival: Both the Surface World and Underground City are becoming lethal, and a moment’s hesitation can mean death.
• Hidden potential and uncertain fate: Luo Ke’er’s completed quest may unlock a powerful upgrade, though its mechanism remains unknown.
• Impersonation and deception: The Impostors can look like familiar people, making appearances—and apparent safety—unreliable.
• Escalating conflict: The search for the Corpse Mother is tied to a larger plan to invade Four Directions City.

Plot points and events

• The Zombie King learns that Burial Bone Mountain has been destroyed, but says the Lei Ming Zombie Nest remains a threat until the missing Corpse Mother is found. He orders Pseudo-Human Zombies to search for and kill her, fearing conflict over Four Directions City.
• Wu Yu continues searching for treasure chests, finding most already looted. He heals the unconscious Luo Ke’er with Yi Wood Divine Light, then obtains several purple Cards from another chest.
• As evening falls, Wu Yu observes zombies flooding through the ruins. They seem to be searching for something rather than attacking people or the Underground City; among them are several powerful mutated zombies.
• Wu Yu finds Yu Tiezhu, Liu Yu, and Chen Lingling fighting mutated zombies. He ambushes and disables the enemies with his Anti-Magic construct, then kills them.
• The three report that Burial Bone Mountain was destroyed by heavenly lightning and that Calamity Corpses invaded the Underground City. Liu Yu believes a zombie king is directing the horde to hunt humans.
• After escaping, the group encountered foreign Tower Climbers opening a Golden Treasure Chest. The foreigners attacked them, hoping to loot them. Liu Yu invites Wu Yu to the Four Directions City Evacuation Point, but Wu Yu declines because he still needs to care for Luo Ke’er and complete his quest.
• Yu Tiezhu gives Wu Yu several injections before leaving. Chen Lingling privately tells Wu Yu where the foreigners’ magic-array nodes and Psionic Interference Devices are located, then disappears.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains cautious: he checks for hidden enemies before helping the trio, and prioritizes his unfinished quest over joining them. He also continues practicing his healing ability on Luo Ke’er.
• Liu Yu is wary of the zombie threat and distrustful of the foreign Tower Climbers, whose hostility confirms his view that they prey on weaker survivors.
• Yu Tiezhu shows gratitude and concern, thanking Wu Yu, urging him to come along, and supplying him with injections.
• Chen Lingling stays composed and resourceful; she helps in battle and gives Wu Yu actionable information about the foreigners’ defenses.
• The Zombie King is revealed as a calculating leader focused on finding the Corpse Mother and securing Four Directions City.

Themes

• Survival breeds treachery: The foreigners abandon friendly appearances when the balance of power shifts and attack vulnerable survivors for loot.
• Caution and trust: Wu Yu helps the group but first checks for an ambush, while the companions rely on one another amid widespread danger.
• Competing dangers and hidden motives: The zombies’ unexplained search, the missing Corpse Mother, and the foreigners’ plans suggest larger conflicts beyond immediate survival.

Key plot points and events

• As the cold worsens and zombies mutate faster, Liu Yu’s group decides to leave for the first Evacuation Point rather than risk the approaching zombie tide. The Silver Tokens warn of a “Final Battle Against the Zombie Tide” the next day.
• Wu Yu, however, turns back toward the Bone-Burial Market to investigate a Golden Treasure Chest, reasoning that he needs to search for treasure anyway.
• The chest is guarded by a Western group using a spirit-energy interference device. Its countdown is nearly over, and the group plans to seize the reward and evacuate.
• Wu Yu learns from the Twilight Witch that several other teams are also lying in wait. He recognizes the danger of competing ambushers and uses his New Identity’s Earth Escape Technique to hide underground and scout them.
• As the chest opens and the Westerners’ member reaches for the Card, more than a dozen missiles converge on the site. The chapter ends as the attack begins.

Character developments

• Wu Yu is bold and opportunistic, choosing to pursue the chest despite the broader danger. He also begins appreciating how useful his previously underexplored Earth Escape Technique is.
• The Twilight Witch remains loyal to Wu Yu but shows a growing taste for mischief and violence, finding the prospect of ambushes and schemes exciting.
• Liu Yu and his companions act more cautiously after Zhou Dongdong’s fate, prioritizing escape over loot.
• The Western leader is decisive and commands immediate obedience. The Black man is crude and boastful, while the rest of the group show anxiety about rivals and the chest’s opening.

Significant themes

• Predator and prey: The “mantis and oriole” metaphor captures the layered ambushes around the chest; every group may be hunting another.
• Risk versus survival: Liu Yu’s group chooses evacuation, while Wu Yu accepts danger for a chance at treasure.
• Adaptation and hidden potential: Wu Yu’s Earth Escape Technique proves more valuable than he had realized.
• A hostile, morally compromised world: The Westerners’ conversation reveals brutality and exploitation amid the disaster.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch discuss Chen Lingling’s suspicion, the hidden teams, and how attackers might seize a chest reward.
• Wu Yu entrusts the unconscious Luo Ke’er to the Twilight Witch while he scouts underground.
• The Western leader silences the group’s complaints and directs them to take the Card and flee once the chest opens.
• The chapter closes on the Westerners’ attempted grab being interrupted by a coordinated missile strike.

Plot points and events

• A missile strike is stopped by the defenders’ field shield, but Burd suddenly collapses into mangled flesh when he reaches for the Golden Cards. The group realizes he had been attacked earlier, though their equipment detects no Spirit Energy.
• Their captain sends Maki to retrieve the Cards. As she approaches, a hidden attack strips away her flesh. Li Ming identifies the attacker’s location, and the captain fires an Arcane Cannon at the ruins, killing several attackers—but the defenders have been lured into exposing their position.
• Throne Corporation Spellbreaking Drills breach the particle field and destroy the defenders’ equipment. Tower Climbers from many teams rush the Treasure Chest, but lethal traps and attacks kill those who try to seize it.
• Hidden underground, Wu Yu observes the fighting and discovers that his New Identity’s exclusive Earth Escape Technique has gone undetected. When a teleporter grabs a Card and collapses, Wu Yu uses the distraction to freeze the battlefield briefly, emerge, and take all three Gold Cards.
• A Wizard attacks Wu Yu with a toxic swamp, preventing his escape underground. As the crowd turns on him, Li Ming unleashes a powerful mental attack. Wu Yu blocks it with dragon-and-tiger phantoms and answers with Tiger Roar, Dragon’s Roar, setting up a clash of Spirit Refinement techniques.

Character developments and interactions

• The red-haired captain is ruthless and tactical: he uses Maki as bait with Li Ming’s help, then exploits the revealed attacker’s position to fire the Arcane Cannon. He is furious when Wu Yu takes the Cards.
• Li Ming proves to be an active conspirator rather than a passive technician. His data analysis helps locate an attacker, and his mental assault becomes the first direct challenge to Wu Yu.
• Maki is manipulated into approaching the Chest and dies to its hidden defenses.
• Wu Yu shows patience and caution, studying his new Earth Escape ability before seizing his chance. His defenses and counterattack demonstrate formidable mental and spiritual power.
• The competing Tower Climbers briefly share one goal—the Cards—but distrust and lethal competition keep anyone from reaching them safely.

Significant themes

• Greed and danger: The Cards draw many challengers, yet attempts to claim them are punished immediately.
• Deception and bait: The defenders manipulate Maki, while Wu Yu uses the chaos and the teleporter’s collapse to make his own move.
• Hidden power and uncertainty: Attacks go undetected by conventional equipment, and Wu Yu’s unfamiliar technique gives him an unexpected advantage.
• Escalating conflict: A guarded standoff becomes a large-scale battle, ending with Wu Yu’s theft and a looming mental duel.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu ambushes the group pursuing him, killing Li Ming with a combined dragon cry and tiger roar that turns Divine Sense into a destructive shock wave.
• He defeats the blond cybernetic warrior by blocking his electromagnetic strike, tearing off his mechanical arm, and punching through his chest.
• A Wizard attempts a sneak attack, but Wu Yu’s Blackfeather Flying Sword destroys the ice serpent, breaks the Wizard’s shield, and tears him apart.
• Wu Yu evades an artillery barrage and a concealed Psionic Cannon by diving underground. He then emerges among the Northern Federation team and kills several of them with a punch, Starstorm, and the Fire Crow Bow.
• A white-haired woman pleads that she was forced to track him and offers help, but Wu Yu kills her with Calamity Fire. The expected backlash from her Life Shackles talent does not harm him.
• The Twilight Witch reports that she has blocked more than twenty curses aimed at Wu Yu. He then charges the approaching Throne Corporation armor and kills its pilot with a single use of Fingertip Stars, which pierces the supposedly impenetrable alloy.

Character developments

• Wu Yu demonstrates overwhelming power and versatility, combining cultivation, martial strength, weapons, and tactical awareness. He is decisive and shows no mercy to enemies who try to kill him or manipulate him.
• The white-haired woman is revealed as a tracker with the Life Shackles talent. Her attempt to bargain and seduce Wu Yu fails.
• The Twilight Witch acts as a protective ally, quietly neutralizing a barrage of curses while Wu Yu fights.
• The armored pilot’s confidence in the suit’s defenses proves misplaced.

Significant themes

• Power and adaptability: Wu Yu counters diverse threats—from magic and technology to curses and artillery—with different abilities.
• Deception and survival: Enemies use ambushes, hidden weapons, and emotional manipulation, but Wu Yu anticipates or overcomes them.
• Limits of technology: The advanced armor and weapons appear formidable, yet Wu Yu’s cultivation can penetrate their defenses.
• Merciless conflict: The chapter portrays the pursuit as lethal combat, with little room for trust or negotiation.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu dispatches each attacker rapidly, often answering boasts or attacks with overwhelming force.
• The white-haired woman tries to persuade Wu Yu to spare her by claiming coercion and offering her tracking ability; he rejects her appeal and kills her.
• The Twilight Witch communicates with Wu Yu telepathically and supports him by blocking curses, while he continues the direct assault.