Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Spirit Mountain Technology’s Transcendents fire their Psionic Cannon at Wu Yu, but the shots pass through the Portable Cabin, hidden by its Void Formation.
• Wu Yu attacks from underground, using scarlet heavenly lightning to kill one Transcendent. A black-robed enemy counters with a Buddhist chant that attacks the mind and soul.
• Wu Yu resists the chant with the Dusk Soul-Refining Method, surfaces, and tries to interrupt the caster. Armored Transcendents shield the black-robed man while others attack with lasers, weapons, and psionic equipment.
• Wu Yu dodges their coordinated assault and overwhelms an armored martial artist with Mountain-Moving Force, then kills him with Fingertip Stars.
• A second enemy’s shield withstands Wu Yu’s sword qi, but the man collapses from a One Withering Talisman’s effect. Wu Yu jokes about his frailty.
• An invisible ambusher strikes, but Wu Yu’s blood-colored shield blocks the blow. Wu Yu retaliates with a storm of sword qi, killing the attacker.
• The black-robed man completes his chant. Its power reaches the Portable Cabin: Zhao Xiaoming begins bleeding from his senses, loses awareness, and kneels to chant for refuge.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu proves calm and resourceful against a well-equipped, coordinated force. He combines concealment, mobility, defensive tools, and overwhelming martial strength, while learning that the Buddhist chant can threaten his soul.
• The Spirit Mountain Transcendents demonstrate teamwork and varied technology, but underestimate Wu Yu’s speed and power. Their protective formation briefly delays him, though he defeats several of them.
• The black-robed man becomes the central threat by completing a mind-affecting chant after his allies buy him time.
• Zhao Xiaoming, previously observing from safety, is shown to be vulnerable to the chant’s effects.

Significant themes

• Technology versus cultivation: Psionic weapons and armor are formidable, but Wu Yu’s abilities and tactics overcome them.
• The cost of coordination: The enemy’s teamwork is effective, yet protecting the chant-caster also creates opportunities for Wu Yu to attack.
• Mind and spiritual warfare: Physical defenses matter little against an attack that targets consciousness and soul.
• Hidden reserves and misdirection: Wu Yu’s concealed location, multiple protective layers, and unexpected use of a talisman repeatedly catch his opponents off guard.

Plot and key events

• The Black-Robed Man attacks Wu Yu with Buddhist sound and a psionic field designed to disrupt cultivators and disable magical tools. When the field drops, Wu Yu uses stored Bi Fang and Lunar Yin Talismans to freeze the sound and burn through the man’s defenses, killing him.
• Wu Yu frees Zhao Xiaoming from the Buddhist influence with a Dragon’s Roar. Zhao had been affected even inside Wu Yu’s Portable Cabin.
• While clearing the site, Zhao finds the Great Monk’s final message: the attackers were told to destroy the Holy Maiden Cage and move the maidens to Little Sun Town. Wu Yu sends Zhao to investigate and rescue them, then burns the courtyard and evidence.
• Wu Yu leaves rather than stay for loot, expecting a Foundation Establishment Adept to come because of the Flesh Bodhisattva affair. He later receives Li Yuzhu’s reply that she will go home.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu demonstrates confidence, resourcefulness, and careful preparation, using expiring talismans instead of risking valuable supplies. He remains detached from the rescue operation but lets Zhao act independently.
• Zhao shows courage and concern for the likely underage maidens, despite his vulnerability. He thanks Wu Yu for saving him and recognizes that the attackers’ abilities made the danger greater than he had realized.
• The Twilight Witch tends to Wu Yu and speculates about Zhao and Wu Yu’s cousin. Wu Yu dismisses the idea and reveals his concern that Zhao is dying: his body has deteriorated, and the Tower will not undo the consequences of his own choice.

Significant themes

• Preparation and resourcefulness: Wu Yu turns nearly depleted talismans into effective weapons.
• Freedom, responsibility, and risk: Zhao chooses to help the maidens despite his precarious condition; Wu Yu allows him to make that choice.
• The limits of power and healing: Zhao’s physical decline cannot simply be reversed by the Tower.
• Greed and exploitation: The Great Monk’s final concern is relocating his “assets,” exposing the operation’s treatment of the maidens as property.

Key plot points and events

• Zhao Xiaoming interrogates a Gang Enforcer in a blood-soaked basement, learning that captured “Holy Maiden Candidates” were sorted by supposed value and sent through different town gates. The highest-ranked candidate—a woman born with a “buddha heart”—is missing.
• After promising to spare the Enforcer, Zhao has him killed by his giant-rat swarm. A Resistance Army woman urges Zhao to join them, warning that Ascension Technologies is hunting him and Spirit Mountain Technology is watching him. Zhao rejects her appeal to hope, trusting only his rats.
• Li Yuzhu asks Wu Yu what he discussed with Zhao. Wu gives little away, but warns her that rat-related trouble in Apocalypse Town is increasing.
• Wu receives Lu Yiguan’s report: the Flesh Bodhisattva’s skin cannot be replicated, and Spirit Mountain Technology’s records describe the rare, difficult creation of a Female Bodhisattva. Spirit Mountain personnel have also arrived.
• Wu travels toward the Commoner District in an armed truck. As the town wakes to an apparently peaceful dawn, he senses the rat swarm racing through the sewers.
• Authorities declare Apocalypse Town under lockdown because a rat uprising is imminent. A supervisor orders the town sealed but exempts three households connected to powerful organizations—including one linked to Star River Group—to avoid provoking them.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Xiaoming appears increasingly ruthless: he uses torture and murder to pursue information, and refuses the Resistance woman’s offer to join, revealing his distrust of grand promises and reliance on his swarm.
• The Resistance woman acts as his ideological foil, urging him to join a collective struggle and believe in a better future.
• Wu Yu remains cautious and observant, withholding information from Li Yuzhu while tracking the escalating danger. His awareness of the rats contrasts with the town’s normal surface life.
• Li Yuzhu is curious but defers to Wu, accepting his warning without pressing him.
• Lu Yiguan provides Wu with intelligence about the Bodhisattva research and corporate activity.
• Town officials and inspectors respond to the threat with a sweeping lockdown, while making politically cautious exceptions for households tied to major companies.

Significant themes

• Hope versus survival: Zhao rejects the Resistance’s promise of “dawn,” choosing the immediate power of his rats.
• Hidden violence beneath ordinary life: The lively town above conceals trafficking, torture, corporate schemes, and a growing underground threat.
• Corporate power and political compromise: Megacorporations shape investigations and government decisions, even during an emergency.
• Deception and uneasy trust: Zhao’s false promise to spare the Enforcer and Wu’s guarded answers show how survival depends on withholding or manipulating information.

Summary

Wu Yu returns home after completing his work in Apocalypse Town. He learns the town has been sealed off by the authorities, with Spirit Mountain Technology deploying armed guards to investigate the Flesh Bodhisattva. He suspects the investigation could bring powerful cultivators into the area and reflects on Zhao Xiaoming’s possible ties to the Resistance Army, a hidden company, or Ascension Technologies. Since his own assignment is finished, he decides not to get involved.
Wu Yu feeds the Substitute Death Puppet to his Bronze Tripod. The tripod absorbs it, gains a death-substitution inscription, and advances to Heaven’s Return, a powerful gold-quality artifact with enhanced restoration, a temporary “heavenly being” state, spirit-qi abilities, and corruption-devouring powers. Wu Yu is pleased with the result and estimates that one more purple-quality object will raise it to the next grade. With no immediate company duties, he plans to focus on cultivation. The Twilight Witch notices his mood and offers comfort; the two become intimate.
Three months later, Wu Yu reaches the Ninth Heaven of Qi Refining after intensive cultivation, supported by large supplies of pills, spirit stones, spirit liquid, and other resources. His ninth spiritual aperture opens, and his spirit power grows to 150,000 strands. During the breakthrough, the Three Pure Ones Phenomenon strengthens his Waning Sun Sword Body, unexpectedly improving it as well. Wu Yu sets his sights on Foundation Establishment. The Twilight Witch congratulates him, noting that his breakthroughs also lift some of her restrictions, and Wu Yu invites her to celebrate with a feast.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu acts cautiously about the Apocalypse Town crisis, focuses on his own advancement, and grows stronger both spiritually and physically.
• The Twilight Witch remains attentive and supportive; Wu Yu shares his breakthrough joy with her, and her own progress is linked to his.
• Wu Yu’s parents appear in a brief, peaceful domestic scene, unaware of the danger and upheaval surrounding his recent work.

Themes

• Self-cultivation and sacrifice: Wu Yu’s breakthrough comes through three months of exhausting practice and heavy resource consumption.
• Power and risk: The sealed town and looming investigation show how dangerous Wu Yu’s past work may become.
• Artifacts and transformation: The Bronze Tripod’s evolution turns a consumed object into a major new source of power.
• Interdependence: Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch’s progress are connected, making their relationship both personal and mutually beneficial.

Plot points and events

• Late at night, Wu Yu shares food and Spirit Wine with the Twilight Witch, who attends to him while they talk about his childhood.
• Their meal is interrupted by cries for help from outside. Wu Yu first checks that the villa’s protective Magic Array is intact, then realizes the voice may be a message transmitted through Divine Sense rather than a physical sound.
• Recognizing the caller as Zhao Huling—the little girl he met before—Wu Yu learns she is trapped in a jade disk while practicing a Spirit Refinement Secret Art through Soul Projection.
• Wu Yu tries to contact Zhao’s family but gets no response. The Twilight Witch scouts outside and confirms the complex remains secure; Zhao explains that her projected soul is especially vulnerable on the seventh day of cultivation.
• Following Zhao’s instructions, Wu Yu provides an Ancient Realm Spirit Stone. With the Twilight Witch’s help, Zhao’s soul uses its Spirit Qi to make a shelter, then returns safely to her body. She reawakens as her lively self.

Character developments

• Wu Yu is cautious and responsible: he checks the villa’s defenses before acting and chooses to contact Zhao’s family before intervening directly. He ultimately helps when that fails.
• The Twilight Witch shows her quiet loyalty and attentiveness toward Wu Yu, then acts efficiently as his scout and helper.
• Zhao Huling is revealed to be a cultivator who has taken a serious risk out of greed for greater gains. Despite her peril, she remains sincere, grateful, and direct in asking for help.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch share a relaxed, familiar meal, with her gently worrying that she may have upset him when he falls silent.
• Wu Yu and Zhao communicate through Divine Sense: she explains her predicament, and he tries to arrange help. Their earlier acquaintance helps him recognize her call.
• The Twilight Witch relays what she sees outside and helps deliver the spirit stone, enabling Zhao to recover.

Significant themes

• Caution and responsibility: Wu Yu verifies the protections and seeks Zhao’s family before taking action.
• Risk and ambition: Zhao’s desire for the full sevenfold benefit leaves her dangerously exposed.
• Trust and cooperation: Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch work together to rescue someone in need.
• Cultivation’s vulnerability: Spiritual practice can leave a cultivator helpless, even in a secure place.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Huling visits Wu Yu to repay his help. She offers him a Knowledge Chip containing Earth-Splitting Dragon Claw, but learns that his cultivation does not follow the True Dragon path and the technique is unsuitable.
• Since Wu Yu practices Spirit Refinement, Zhao instead gives him the Qi Refining volume of the Primordial Spirit Object-Control Art. Wu Yu accepts it, grateful for the rare gift.
• After Zhao leaves on magical shoes that transform into misty fish, Wu Yu reflects on her extraordinary wealth and artifacts.
• The next day, Wu Yu has the chip inspected and confirms Zhao’s identity through Lu Yiguan and his sister: she is the younger sister of the blue-clad man who pushes Manager Lin’s wheelchair, and is considered innocent and well protected.
• Wu Yu uses his Life Circlet to absorb the art’s knowledge, but finds it enormously extensive. With several other breakthroughs and techniques demanding his attention, he postpones studying it.
• A month later, after returning from the Academy and checking his gathered materials, Wu Yu senses a familiar summons. The Bronze Tower appears over the clouds, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains cautious and practical: he declines an unsuitable gift without pretending to need it, verifies the chip before using it, and prioritizes his pressing cultivation goals. He also grows more curious about advanced Spirit Refinement.
• Zhao Huling is grateful and generous, eager to repay even a small favor. Her limited knowledge of Wu Yu’s top-tier cultivation path contrasts with her access to rare, expensive resources.
• The Twilight Witch continues her affectionate, teasing closeness with Wu Yu, then supports his decision to delay studying the demanding art.
• Lu Yiguan and Lu Yixia reassure Wu Yu about Zhao’s background and character.

Significant themes

• Reciprocity and generosity: Zhao insists on repaying kindness, while Wu Yu is content to let repayment wait.
• Cultivation’s cost and complexity: Powerful techniques require immense study, and Wu Yu must choose how to spend limited time amid several imminent breakthroughs.
• Wealth and status: Zhao’s advanced artifacts and access to rare knowledge reveal the sharp material differences between cultivators.
• Uncertainty and vigilance: Wu Yu checks the chip and Zhao’s identity before fully trusting the situation; the Tower’s sudden return suggests a new danger or turning point.

Plot points and events

• As the Tower summons approaches, Wu Yu checks his supplies, including a specially designed superalloy component from the Inspection Bureau, intended to fit through the Silver Token.
• He uses the remaining time to draw talismans with help from the Twilight Witch. Using new materials from the Great Ruins World, he creates a powerful Transcendent Ninth Rank Withering Talisman. It now inflicts bleeding, mana loss, and blood-qi loss, with doubled effects against dragons.
• Wu Yu pushes himself to make several more talismans, nearly exhausting his mana. When the summons activates, he packs up and enters the Tower.
• Inside, he gives Liu Zheng the superalloy component. The Tower’s restorative power quickly returns Wu Yu to full strength.
• More participants arrive: Liu Yu, Bai Xiaotian, Chen Lingling, and Yellow Town, joining Wu Yu, Liu Zheng, Yu Tiezhu, and Wang Yan. The group discusses their preparations and worries about possible restrictions in the Secret Sea World.
• Just as Wu Yu hears someone approaching through the Ancient Gate, the chapter ends.

Character developments

• Wu Yu shows careful preparation and determination, exhausting himself to build up a supply of high-grade talismans. He remains curious—and mildly frustrated—about the unexplained Bi Fang Sigil.
• The Twilight Witch supports Wu Yu by preparing his materials, but worries about how hard he pushes himself.
• Yellow Town appears to have made a cultivation breakthrough, though his aura is unstable.

Significant themes

• Preparation and sacrifice: Wu Yu invests time and mana in strengthening his chances before the coming expedition.
• Teamwork and concern: The Twilight Witch assists him, while the group shares plans and anxieties.
• The Tower’s power: Its extraordinary restorative ability immediately erases Wu Yu’s exhaustion.
• Uncertainty before a challenge: The group is ready, but fears that the Secret Sea World may impose restrictive curses.

Character interactions

• The Twilight Witch quietly helps Wu Yu draw talismans and worries about his overexertion.
• Wu Yu hands Liu Zheng the custom-made component; Liu Zheng confirms it can be transported by the Silver Token.
• Yu Tiezhu asks about Wu Yu’s weakened condition, while Wu Yu brushes off the concern.
• The returning group members greet one another and discuss the risks of the upcoming world, especially whether technology will be restricted.

Key plot points and events

• The squad meets its new teammate, Fang Wujiu, a short, bewildered-looking fifteen-year-old who initially seems much younger. He explains that he has a rare congenital supernatural illness affecting his limbs and has been cared for at home by servants and tutors.
• Liu Zheng introduces himself as the squad leader and asks Fang about his background, cultivation, abilities, and experience. Fang is from Snowfield City, not the squad’s City of Ten Thousand Rivers, revealing that squad vacancies can draw members from different cities.
• Fang recounts surviving a previous Silver-tier Great Ruins world: his squad entered the Corrupted Royal Capital, where corruption and monsters killed six of its nine members. The survivors endured by hiding until an evacuation point appeared.
• The group learns Fang’s previous teammates were hired by his wealthy father as his guards. Liu Zheng makes clear that this squad will not take on that role, and Fang calmly accepts responsibility for protecting himself.
• Fang has focused on spirit refinement and reached the fifth transformation of the Transformation Realm; his other cultivation levels were largely advanced through family resources.
• As the squad welcomes him, each receives 100,000 Great Ruins Source Points. They joke about Fang’s modest apparent support and Bai Xiaotian playfully offers to become his guard.
• A notice announces their destination: the Thirty-Sixth Sea Area of the Secret Sea World. The countdown ends, and the squad is transported into a cold, wind-lashed sea environment.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Wujiu is revealed to be wealthy but humble, courteous, and practical rather than spoiled. His past illness and loss of squadmates suggest both vulnerability and hard-earned resilience.
• Liu Zheng takes charge of the introduction, questions Fang firmly, then explains the new world to him and establishes clear expectations about mutual responsibility.
• Liu Yu teases Bai Xiaotian about his youthful appearance and later uses Divine Sense Transmission, prompting Wu Yu to notice the secret technique.
• Bai Xiaotian jokes about being a guard, easing the mood after Fang’s grim account.
• Wu Yu remains cautious about the new teammate and privately reserves judgment, though the group’s friendly conversation proceeds without conflict.

Significant themes

• Trust and cooperation: Liu Zheng stresses openness and teamwork as essential to survival, while making clear that Fang cannot expect special protection.
• Resilience amid danger: Fang’s survival in a corrupt, lethal world reflects the harshness of the Great Ruins and the importance of endurance.
• Privilege and personal character: Fang’s wealth and family support contrast with his modest, considerate behavior.
• Uncertainty and adaptation: The squad’s mixed-city membership and sudden arrival in an unfamiliar sea region underscore how unpredictable their trials are.

Plot points

• Wu Yu and his companions arrive in the Secret Sea World’s Thirty-Sixth Sea Area, where they find themselves on a lone raft surrounded by open water.
• The team notes that food, water, seabed monsters, and dangers at night could make the apparently calm sea hazardous. They begin preparing a platform on the water.
• A hostile presence from the world descends on them. After it withdraws, everyone discovers they have been afflicted with curses.
• Wu Yu receives four curses: his strength and endurance, Spirit Power recovery, and Mental Power recovery are each reduced to one-tenth, while his perception is greatly amplified, allowing him to see strange things. He tests whether his Bronze Tripod can remove them, but it detects nothing.
• The others compare their afflictions. Wang Yan has trouble using technological equipment, while Yu Tiezhu’s curse reduces stamina; the rest report curses they believe they can manage or endure.
• Wu Yu observes the group, then opens his identity-selection panel. He is offered nine possible identities, ranging from dockworker and sea monster to wizard, sailor, merchant, survivor marked by the Blood Sea Witch, and captain of a ghost ship. The selection is not made in this excerpt.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu stays composed during the world’s hostile scrutiny, though he is unsettled by receiving four curses. His preparations help him face the amplified-perception curse, and he pragmatically tests whether his equipment can counter the afflictions before accepting that it cannot.
• The team responds with a mix of concern and confidence, discussing how their curses may affect their roles.
• Wang Yan and Yu Tiezhu exchange blame and explanation over their curses: Wang Yan’s interferes with technology, while Yu Tiezhu’s affects stamina but seems less disruptive to his preferred use of guns.
• Liu Zheng reassures the others that he has not received a Mechanical Curse, withholding further details. The team recognizes that a technology-related curse on him would have been especially troublesome.

Significant themes

• Survival through preparation: Supplies, information, and specialized gear matter in an environment where even basic needs may become dangerous.
• Power constrained by the world: Wu Yu’s abilities and equipment cannot simply undo the Secret Sea World’s curses, emphasizing the limits imposed by a higher-level realm.
• Uncertainty and adaptation: The calm sea conceals potential threats, and the group must assess how to work around unpredictable afflictions.
• Identity and choice: Wu Yu’s pending selection presents radically different roles, resources, and risks, making identity a key strategic decision.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu reviews eight possible identities for entering the Secret Sea World. He weighs the advantages and dangers of Dockworker, Sea Monster, Wizard, Sailor, Traveling Merchant, Blood Sea Witch, Ghost Captain, and a high-charm identity.
• Three options stand out:
  • Sea Monster offers an ocean-adapted transformation and the Transcendent Gold-Grade Heart of the Ocean, which could raise Wu Yu’s Bronze Tripod to Dao Foundation grade.
  • Blood Sea Witch offers the purple talent Blood Feast, letting him forcibly take others’ blood, but it may interact dangerously—or usefully—with his existing Witch-related curse and talent.
  • Ghost Captain can summon a ghost ship and doubles Wu Yu’s strength, mana, and mental power in the Secret Sea, but halves them outside it.
• Wu Yu weighs these options but remains uncertain. While he is deciding, Liu Zheng’s group assembles a large steamship using automated construction robots. The vessel has thirty-six Psionic Cannons and a central missile system, though Liu Zheng must return the expensive robots to the Inspection Bureau.
• Yu Tiezhu’s remark about the robots sparing factory workers briefly punctures Liu Zheng’s proud presentation. The group’s reactions prompt Wu Yu to make his choice.
• Wu Yu selects “Blood Feast’s Lucky One.” The identity panels disappear, and purple light envelops him.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu demonstrates caution, comparing each identity’s long-term risks with its immediate benefits. He is particularly interested in acquiring another Witch, since he expects his Witch Lord talent could turn the Blood Sea Witch into an ally. He ultimately commits to the Blood Feast identity despite its uncertainty.
• Liu Zheng shows off the Inspection Bureau’s advanced technology and takes evident pride in the ship he helped prepare. He clarifies that the robots are costly equipment that must be returned.
• Liu Yu admires the ship, while Fang Wujiu praises Liu Zheng’s achievement. Yu Tiezhu innocently suggests the robots could ease factory workers’ labor, prompting Liu Zheng’s awkward response. The others share knowing smiles.

Significant themes

• Power versus risk: The most potent identities carry drawbacks, from Blood Feast’s unknown effects to Ghost Captain’s severe weakness outside the Secret Sea.
• Preparation and adaptability: Wu Yu evaluates choices in light of the world’s dangers, while Liu Zheng’s ship and technology represent practical preparation.
• Uncertainty and commitment: Wu Yu cannot fully predict what his chosen talent will do, but must act before the opportunity passes.

Key plot points and events

• After becoming “Blood Feast’s Lucky One,” Wu Yu gains a powerful sense of nearby blood qi and the ability to manipulate it. He tests the power on his own blood but feels no bloodlust or loss of reason, leaving him unsure whether ordinary blood triggers any side effects.
• The ability adds a new curse: Blood Sea Mark, which warns that blood-red seawater could let the Blood Sea Witch devour him. Wu Yu is unconcerned for now, since the surrounding sea is blue.
• Liu Zheng’s group finishes their custom alloy steamship, equipped with automated controls, drones, repair robots, and weapons. Liu Zheng explains that they must find a pier: its lighthouse can protect them from the darkness and the deep sea’s corrupting influence.
• The group sets out toward Dawn Pier, following the direction indicated by the Hope Lighthouse. Wu Yu checks his Silver Token and sees that Dawn Pier’s appearance and a Fishman Tide are both due in about 23 hours.
• Wu Yu expects the fishmen to be manageable, though he recognizes that fishman Wizards may pose a challenge. He rejects the Twilight Witch’s suggestion to travel freely by Portable Cabin, reasoning that the group needs to rely on the ship in this world.
• Meanwhile, in a distant region of eternal darkness, a mysterious pair of red eyes opens beneath blood-red water.
• The chapter ends with the steamship spotted by sailors on a black sailing ship. One sailor, thinking he must be dreaming, asks his captain to punch him.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu gains a useful combat and detection ability, tests its limits, and remains cautious about adapting to the Secret Sea World despite his confidence in battle.
• Liu Zheng takes charge of the expedition, explaining the ship’s systems, the dangers of the world, and the need to reach a lighthouse-protected pier.
• The Twilight Witch suggests a faster alternative, but accepts Wu Yu’s decision to prioritize the steamship.
• The sailors’ rough, joking camaraderie provides a humorous contrast to the ominous arrival of the modern-looking steamship.

Significant themes

• Power comes with risk: Wu Yu’s new talent offers tactical advantages but also brings a curse and uncertain side effects.
• Preparation and caution: Technology, intelligence, and planning are essential in an unfamiliar world where even darkness can threaten people’s minds.
• Clashing worlds: The steamship’s arrival among sailors aboard a black sailing ship hints at an encounter between different eras or realities.
• Threat beneath the surface: The blood-red sea and awakening eyes foreshadow dangers beyond the immediate fishman attack.

Key events

• A steel steamship overtakes and smashes a small sailing ship whose crew had mistaken it for a supernatural threat.
• The steamship’s crew captures the survivors. Wang Yan injects them with a truth-inducing substance, allowing Liu Zheng to interrogate them.
• The captives reveal that they are pirates from the reconnaissance ship Sea Shark Eight, based on Sea Shark Island. The island’s pirates pay tribute to an Island Lord, and the group includes Wizards and Secret Sea Warriors.
• The pirates describe the surrounding Azure Sea as divided into shallow waters and a dangerous deep sea. Their crew hunts sea beasts by day, attacks passing vessels while posing as merchants, and returns to the island at night.
• Since the pirates cannot identify the dock the newcomers seek, the group decides to head for Sea Shark Island instead. Liu Zheng then shoots the captives and has their bodies thrown overboard.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Zheng responds decisively to the surprise encounter: he captures the pirates, prioritizes intelligence, chooses the next destination, and orders their execution.
• Wang Yan proves useful and efficient, using an injection to make the captives talk and recording their information.
• Wu Yu supports the plan to visit Sea Shark Island, judging it manageable for the group.
• Liu Yu argues for killing the pirates, while Bai Xiaotian agrees. Fang Wujiu hesitates but stays silent under pressure.
• Yu Tiezhu offers to beat the captives into talking, but the group instead uses Wang Yan’s method.

Significant themes

• Fear of the unknown: The sailors interpret unfamiliar technology through the supernatural beliefs of their world.
• Intelligence as strategy: The group treats local knowledge as essential to navigating a vast, unfamiliar region.
• Power and moral pragmatism: The steamship’s overwhelming force makes the encounter one-sided, and the group kills the captives once they have extracted the information they want.

Key plot points and events

• After defeating pirates, Wang Yan retrieves a crude map hidden in the pirate captain’s cybernetic hook. Liu Zheng sets the steamship moving toward its destination.
• The pirates’ blood and bodies draw a huge merman and a horde of others. The leader declares that it smells humans, arms itself with a trident, and leads the swarm in pursuit of the ship.
• During the voyage, Wu Yu reviews the dangers of the Great Ruins World’s seas. The shallows are comparatively safer, but the deep sea holds both greater threats and valuable rewards. He intends to venture there, especially because he hopes the Blood Sea Witch might be connected to him or even be rescued like the Twilight Witch.
• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch discuss whether My Little Story can reveal what his talent will do. They conclude it records events rather than predicting them, so he will have to investigate the Blood Sea Witch at the dock. The dock also offers an Evacuation Point.
• Before cultivating, Wu Yu senses monsters closing in underwater. His Divine Sense identifies them as mermen, despite the ship’s detection equipment showing nothing.
• Wu Yu warns Liu Zheng, who trusts him and orders the ship to prepare for battle. Alarms sound, the vessel accelerates, and its shields, cannons, missile bay, and robots deploy.
• Liu Yu explains that mermen grow more dangerous in greater numbers, with powerful priests capable of summoning tsunamis. Wu Yu estimates the pursuing force at several hundred to roughly a thousand.

Character developments

• Wu Yu shows strategic caution and confidence in his unusual perception, quickly recognizing the threat and insisting the crew act despite the equipment’s failure. He remains focused on reaching the dock and learning about the Blood Sea Witch.
• The Twilight Witch is curious about the possibility of another witch and offers practical reasoning about both the book and the need to investigate at the dock.
• Liu Zheng responds decisively once Wu Yu raises the alarm, demonstrating trust in his judgment.
• The merman leader is revealed as an aggressive, commanding predator who rallies its people to hunt the humans.

Significant themes

• Risk and reward: The deep sea is perilous but promises rare treasures and powerful encounters.
• Trust versus technology: The ship’s equipment misses the mermen, while Wu Yu’s senses detect them; Liu Zheng must rely on personal trust over instruments.
• Uncertainty and fate: Wu Yu can’t yet know the Blood Sea Witch’s nature, and My Little Story cannot predict future events.
• Preparation and cooperation: Early warning gives the crew time to mobilize defenses against a much larger force.

Character interactions

• Wang Yan and Liu Zheng examine the map recovered from the pirate captain.
• Wu Yu confides his hopes and uncertainties about the Blood Sea Witch to the Twilight Witch, who helps him reason through the possibilities.
• Wu Yu urgently alerts Liu Zheng to the mermen; Liu Zheng accepts the warning and coordinates the crew’s response.
• The assembled crew looks to Liu Zheng for direction, while he turns to Wu Yu for the swarm’s estimated size.

Key plot points and events

• Liu Yu concludes that the approaching mermen—perhaps a thousand—are too few to trigger Merman Sacrifice, which supposedly requires more than ten thousand. Liu Zheng organizes the Steamship’s defenses.
• The ship’s sea mines and weapons destroy several waves of mermen, though its firepower eventually falters when the weapons are disrupted by Secret Sea Sorcery.
• Liu Zheng releases the Psionic Shield’s stored energy in a powerful blast, wiping out many attackers—but leaving the ship temporarily unprotected.
• Mermen begin boarding. Wu Yu uses Profound Radiance Sword Qi to kill them, while the other defenders fight with armor, guns, teleportation, and brute strength.
• In the depths, a Merman Chief directs the assault alongside a Merman Wizard, who needs more blood and crystals to draw on the Secret Sea’s power and disable the ship.
• The mermen’s confidence gives way as they are slaughtered aboard the Steamship. One tries to flee, but the Chief spears him.

Character developments

• Liu Yu assesses the threat and reassures the group that the attackers are not numerous enough for Merman Sacrifice.
• Liu Zheng takes command, assigns defensive positions, and counters the sorcery by unleashing the shield’s energy.
• Wu Yu stays alert, studies the attackers, and dispatches boarders with ease, treating the battle as a chance to test himself.
• The Merman Chief is revealed as a brutal, controlling leader, while the Merman Wizard supports the attack through sorcery and needs resources to strengthen his magic.
• The crew’s combat abilities are showcased: each member holds their position and turns the ship into a killing ground.

Significant themes

• Technology versus supernatural power: The Steamship’s weapons overwhelm the mermen until sorcery interferes.
• Preparedness and teamwork: Liu Zheng’s assignments and the crew’s coordinated defense help them withstand the assault.
• Overconfidence and reversal: The mermen expect an easy capture but are instead devastated by the defenders.
• Cruelty and survival: The Chief’s cannibalistic threats and his killing of a fleeing subordinate underscore the mermen’s brutality.

Character interactions

• Liu Yu reassures the crew, and Liu Zheng directs them without resistance.
• Wu Yu fights alongside the assigned defenders, while each crew member uses distinct abilities against the boarders.
• The Merman Wizard asks the Chief for blood and crystals to fuel his sorcery; the Chief agrees but plans to devour the humans’ brains for their memories.
• The Chief’s final act—spearing a retreating merman—shows that his authority is enforced through violence.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• The Merman Chief raises a blood-red halo by shouting “Kill.” The effect drives the mermen into a frenzy and causes their bodies—and even the remains of slain mermen—to mutate.
• The mutated mermen turn the humans’ easy victory into a difficult fight. Wu Yu’s flying sword also shows signs of corrosion, which he suspects is caused by the mermen’s blood.
• Wu Yu discovers that he can manipulate the mermen’s blood with his [Blood Feast] talent. The Chief’s blood-based halo seems to make this ability especially effective: Wu Yu can kill nearby mermen simply by looking at them.
• After clearing the deck, Wu Yu helps his companions. The Merman Chief notices the slaughter and sends the Merman Wizard to deal with the humans’ “wizard,” but the Wizard is frightened and suggests that the Chief attack Wu Yu directly.
• The Chief ambushes the group, shattering Bai Xiaotian’s arm and knocking Yu Tiezhu and Wang Yan into the sea. He then charges at Wu Yu, expecting an easy victory.
• Wu Yu stands his ground. As the Chief calls him a “fragile wizard,” Wu Yu begins using Mountain Moving, combining his divine power and blood qi. The chapter ends as the confrontation is about to begin.

Character developments

• Wu Yu shows quick perception and adaptability, figuring out the link between the Chief’s blood-based power and his own [Blood Feast]. He becomes increasingly efficient at using the talent, but recognizes that it is not yet strong enough for the Chief.
• The Merman Chief is cruel and confident, willing to slaughter his own people to fuel his power. His confidence shifts toward anger and alarm when Wu Yu turns the Chief’s ability against the mermen.
• The Merman Wizard is timid and unwilling to fight Wu Yu directly, trying to persuade the Chief to handle the threat instead.
• Bai Xiaotian, Yu Tiezhu, Wang Yan, and Chen Lingling continue fighting despite the worsening conditions. Bai Xiaotian is injured in the Chief’s ambush, while Yu Tiezhu and Wang Yan are forced into the sea.

Significant themes

• Adaptability and turning an enemy’s strength against them: Wu Yu uses the blood-based effect that empowers the mermen to make his own blood-control ability more effective.
• Power and vulnerability: The Chief dismisses Wu Yu as a fragile wizard, but the chapter sets up a clash between the Chief’s physical strength and Wu Yu’s hidden capabilities.
• The cost of battle: The mermen’s transformation, the damaged sword, and the human fighters’ injuries show that the conflict is becoming more dangerous.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu’s unexpected assistance earns the group’s gratitude and amazement, though Wang Yan responds with jealousy.
• The Chief orders the Wizard to attack Wu Yu; the Wizard instead urges the Chief to do it himself.
• The chapter’s final exchange pits the Chief’s contemptuous challenge against Wu Yu’s calm preparation for a direct fight.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu kills the Merman Chief with a single punch, shattering the chief’s trident and body. Bai Xiaotian wakes to find the chief’s head beside him, then learns Wu Yu has won.
• Chen Lingling returns with the injured Yu Tiezhu and Wang Yan, rescuing them from the sea. Bai Xiaotian treats his own severe wounds with a regenerative spray.
• The Steamship’s Psionic Shield and weapons come back online. Bai Xiaotian attacks the mermen aboard, while the ship’s cannons and missiles finish off most of the rest.
• Wu Yu searches for the missing Secret Sea Merman Wizard but cannot find him. The Wizard has escaped underwater, unaware that a huge, mysterious darkness is approaching; it swallows him.
• Back aboard the ship, the group relaxes and discusses the battle. Liu Zheng suspects a cannon killed the Wizard, while Wu Yu discovers two Gold-quality Transcendent Cards in his Inventory: the Bloodthirsty Longblade and Azure Talisman.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu displays overwhelming strength by killing the Merman Chief effortlessly, but remains cautious even after the apparent victory. His warning that the Secret Sea Wizard may still be a threat contrasts with the others’ confidence.
• Bai Xiaotian is badly injured but can regenerate, and his shock at Wu Yu’s power makes the difference between them clear. Once reassured about his teammates, he joins the fight against the remaining mermen.
• Chen Lingling proves adept at rescue, returning Yu Tiezhu and Wang Yan safely and unharmed herself. She and Bai Xiaotian praise Wu Yu.
• Yu Tiezhu and Wang Yan survive the encounter but remain injured.
• The Merman Wizard is revealed to have marked the chief’s life and to have planned to sabotage him. After witnessing Wu Yu’s strength, he flees, but is killed by an unidentified entity in the deep sea.
• The crew’s joking, praise, and requests to buy Wu Yu’s Cards show their relief and growing confidence after the battle.

Significant themes

• Hidden power and unequal strength: Wu Yu’s effortless victory exposes the vast gap between him and his former teammates.
• Victory does not end danger: The Wizard escapes the battle, and an even more mysterious threat lurks beneath the sea.
• Teamwork and complementary abilities: Wu Yu fights, Chen Lingling rescues, Bai Xiaotian counterattacks, and the ship’s defenses provide support.
• False confidence and uncertainty: The crew assumes the Wizard is dead, while the reader sees that a greater danger has actually claimed him.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu inspects the spoils from killing the Merman Chief: three gold-quality and three purple-quality items. Most seem unremarkable, but the Azure Statue is a Golden-Grade Dao Foundation item that guarantees a response from the Azure God when used.
• Curious about the statue, Wu Yu asks his companions what they know about the god. Liu Zheng explains that the Azure God was once worshipped across the Secret Sea World, but faith faded as miracles became rare; some records even claim the god has fallen.
• Chen Lingling adds that the Thirty-Sixth Sea Area is also called the Azure Sea Area and hints that the god may have a connection to the region. She privately warns Wu Yu that offerings can anger gods if they are insufficient, and gives examples of dangerous divine demands.
• Wu Yu concludes that the statue appears unusually valuable and likely safe, though he is unsure what a merfolk deity would make of a human worshipper.
• The group arrives at Sea Shark Island. A nearby pirate team is woken, and one pirate finds a blade at his throat.

Character developments

• Wu Yu remains outwardly composed despite his excitement over the rare statue. He weighs its potential value against the risks of contacting a god worshipped by merfolk.
• Chen Lingling demonstrates caution and knowledge of divine taboos, discreetly helping Wu Yu while avoiding drawing attention to the statue.
• Liu Zheng contributes information from his records and maintains a relaxed, sociable manner.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu asks Liu Zheng and Chen Lingling about the Azure God without revealing the statue itself.
• Liu Zheng shares the god’s history and the uncertainty around its existence; Chen Lingling offers a regional clue and privately advises Wu Yu about the dangers of making offerings.
• The chapter ends with the team’s arrival at Sea Shark Island and an abrupt confrontation with a pirate.

Significant themes

• Faith and divine power: The Azure God’s dwindling worship raises questions about whether gods depend on belief and whether they remain active.
• Risk and reward: A powerful item may offer great value, but engaging with a god carries uncertain consequences.
• Distrust between peoples: Wu Yu’s hesitation reflects the deep hostility between humans and merfolk.

Plot points and events

• Liu Zheng’s group interrogates captured pirates using a fast-acting injection. They learn Sea Shark Island has twelve guard posts, patrol squads, and detection totems, as well as more than a hundred Secret Sea Warriors and fifteen Wizards—though many are usually away.
• Wu Yu uses Divine Sense to locate a real map hidden beneath a pirate’s skin, distinguishing it from a decoy. The maps reveal that the totems can detect invisible intruders from hundreds of meters away.
• The group agrees to divide targets, eliminate the outposts, then regroup and attack the island. The pirates cannot reveal the dock’s location because the Wizards apparently erased their memories.
• At one outpost, Wu Yu’s Blackfeather Flying Sword destroys the guards and most of the structure. One surviving pirate reveals a monstrous transformation and a defensive blue aura, but Wu Yu uses Blood Feast to reverse his mutation and knock him unconscious.
• Wu Yu’s scout reports that the outpost has gone neglected, and the totem has no Status Panel. Wu Yu stores it, then searches the site and finds a transcendent technique manual, Blood of the Deep One, along with three vials of Deep One blood. He leaves for his next target.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Zheng leads the interrogation and coordinates the assault, while Wang Yan administers the drug and explains its severe side effects.
• Wu Yu demonstrates precise Divine Sense control, tactical caution about the totems, and the ability to affect supernatural bloodline transformations. His curiosity grows when he discovers the Deep One technique and blood.
• The surviving pirate’s transformation suggests that some island guards possess—or can acquire—Deep One bloodline powers.

Significant themes

• Deception and vigilance: The pirates use a decoy map, while the totems make stealth difficult.
• Power and its costs: The interrogation drug destroys the pirates’ minds, and the Deep One technique warns that transformation can cause bodily collapse.
• Neglect and vulnerability: An outpost meant to defend the island has deteriorated, making it easier to attack.
• Discovery through conflict: The assault yields valuable knowledge and materials, turning a dangerous operation into an opportunity for Wu Yu to expand his capabilities.

Key plot points and events

• After three hours of raiding, Wu Yu finishes clearing pirate patrols, scouting posts, and hidden totem sites. He finds useful loot and cards from the mermen, but pirates do not drop cards.
• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch discuss a technique that could transform him into a Deep One. He decides against learning it because its bodily side effects conflict with his Martial Dao system, though he may offer the manual to Bai Xiaotian.
• Wu Yu reunites with Liu Zheng’s group. Everyone reports that their infiltration went unusually smoothly, despite the island’s totem detection.
• The team uses Wu Yu’s invisibility talismans to enter Sea Shark Island’s central settlement and surround the island lord’s coral-built residence.
• They ambush the island lord while he is distracted, incapacitating him with an Inspection Bureau electric baton. Wang Yan injects him to revive him for questioning.
• When the island lord refuses to reveal the Dock’s location and tries to attack, Wu Yu strikes him unconscious before he can act. Wang Yan then repeatedly injects the seemingly resistant warrior, prompting Wu Yu to stop him.

Character developments

• Wu Yu shows confidence and restraint: he rapidly clears enemy posts, rejects a technique incompatible with his path, and knocks out the island lord without intending to kill him.
• The Twilight Witch remains affectionate and attentive, cleaning Wu Yu after battle and asking thoughtful questions about his choices.
• Liu Zheng takes charge of the interrogation, but Wu Yu’s sudden intervention catches him off guard.
• Wang Yan tries to follow procedure by reviving the captive, then overdoes it when the injections appear ineffective.
• The group is increasingly comfortable relying on Wu Yu’s resources and abilities, including his talismans.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and compatibility: A powerful technique is not automatically worth using if it conflicts with one’s existing system.
• Preparation versus complacency: The pirates’ poor vigilance makes the team’s infiltration surprisingly easy.
• Power and restraint: Wu Yu can overpower the island lord quickly, yet deliberately leaves him alive for information.
• Humor amid danger: The awkward ambush and Wang Yan’s excessive injections lighten the tension of the mission.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch share warm, playful exchanges as she cleans him and discusses the Deep One technique.
• Wu Yu compares notes with Liu Zheng, Bai Xiaotian, and Liu Yu about their successful raids.
• Liu Zheng and the others use Wu Yu’s talismans to approach the island lord unseen.
• During the interrogation, Liu Zheng questions the captive, Wang Yan administers injections, and Wu Yu steps in when the island lord lashes out—then halts Wang Yan’s futile attempts to revive him.

Key plot points

• The group’s initial truth serum fails to work on Sea Shark Island’s unconscious lord. Liu Zheng then uses a hidden crystal cable packed with micro-robots to probe his brain, apparently overriding his will.
• Under the device’s influence, the island lord reveals that the Dock is a huge, moving island—and the only widely recognized dock in the Azure Sea Area. It is considered a safe route toward the deep sea, so its location is kept from pirates to avoid attracting the Church of Justice.
• He explains that only he and Sea Shark Island’s deputy island lord know the Dock’s route. The deputy is a powerful Secret Sea Wizard who controls half the island and leads the other Wizards, and she is a follower of Augustus, a deep-sea god hunted by the Church of Justice.
• A Living Map held by the deputy is needed to reliably locate the Dock. The saying about traveling opposite the sunset toward the Lighthouse’s guiding light turns out to describe the route.
• The group decides to ambush the deputy before Liu Zheng’s control over the island lord wears off. The chapter ends as she arrives at Coral Castle with two Wizard attendants, demanding that the island lord bring her captured followers of the Justice God for experiments.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Zheng reveals a disturbing, apparently forbidden method of mental control. Though he initially hesitates, he uses it to interrogate the island lord and then proposes an ambush.
• Wu Yu recognizes the danger of the micro-robots, connects the deputy’s allegiance to his own Heretic status, and agrees to the ambush.
• The island lord shifts abruptly from hostile and profane to submissive and cooperative, exposing the island’s secrets while under Liu Zheng’s control.
• Liu Yu and the others urge the group to act quickly and help shape the plan. The group’s joking exchange over whether they are preparing a “banquet” or a “trap” briefly lightens the tension.
• The deputy’s arrival establishes her as ruthless: she treats captured Justice followers as valuable experimental subjects.

Significant themes

• Coercion and moral compromise: Liu Zheng’s invasive technology may secure answers, but its use is treated as a serious ethical and legal violation.
• Hidden power and dangerous faith: The deputy’s connection to Augustus hints at supernatural power gained at a potentially steep price.
• Deception and uncertain knowledge: The Dock’s moving location, suppressed information, and cryptic Lighthouse saying show how difficult it is to navigate the Secret Sea World.
• Risk versus opportunity: The group must choose between striking preemptively and facing a powerful Wizard on her own ground.