Chapter Summaries

Xu Zhi entered the Lost Land and fed the sleeping [Cup] to Little Aberration, restoring its strength and consciousness. She discovered the Observer’s lightning hidden in its damaged body, while researchers detected the Observer’s aura near the Lost Land and dispatched investigators.

• Xu Zhi traveled through the Light Institute’s gate into the Lost Land and headed alone for the marked location of the [Cup].
• Xu Zhi used [Moths] to subdue the roots and retrieve the sleeping [Cup] from underground.
• Xu Zhi ordered Little Aberration to devour the [Cup], restoring it to around the second stage of Longevity and bringing back its voice.
• Xu Zhi found a bolt of the Observer’s lightning concealed inside Little Aberration’s damaged body.
• Researchers detected the Observer’s faint aura near the outskirts of the Lost Land and ordered investigators to be dispatched.

After discovering the Observer's aura hidden in Little Aberration, Xu Zhi concealed it with [Moth] and headed deeper into the Lost Land to avoid detection. She left to meet Xiao Zhen while keeping watch on the dangers ahead and used her Spirit Vessel to explore Lotus City's Lower District at night.

• Xu Zhi found the Observer's aura inside Little Aberration and used [Authority] and [Moth] to conceal it, then decided to hide deeper in the Lost Land.
• Xu Zhi planned to keep Little Aberration below Archbishop level until her [Authority] could conceal it, and resolved to avoid taking sides between Cup and its opponents.
• Xu Zhi chose to meet Xiao Zhen before Doggie because Xiao Zhen was fast and Doggie's size made travel difficult.
• Xu Zhi traveled through the Lost Land, easily defeated attacking supernatural creatures, and found a concealed high place to rest when night fell.
• Xu Zhi kept watch with Little One and Little Aberration, then sent her Spirit Vessel out of its room in Lotus City's Lower District into the darkness.

Xu Zhi searched the Lower District for a cult connected to [Cup] and found a likely gathering place among the scavengers. She approached the cult’s building and asked to join.

• Xu Zhi drove to the Seventh Garbage Dump and followed three scavengers to their settlement.
• Xu Zhi overheard a scavenger say that the cult’s priest would perform a ceremony to make him a transcendent.
• Xu Zhi concluded that the cult was connected to [Cup] and searched the settlement for its location.
• Xu Zhi found a brightly lit building where cloaked people gathered and smelled blood nearby.
• Xu Zhi asked the person at the door how she could join the cult.

Xu Zhi posed as an ordinary newcomer seeking supernatural abilities and gained entry to a small Cup-aligned cult. After the priest confirmed her identity and scheduled her conversion ritual, she agreed to remain there while preparing to turn her Spirit Vessel into a Cup believer.

• Xu Zhi told the wary doorman she wanted to join the cult and obtain supernatural abilities, and he let her inside.
• The priest examined Xu Zhi, noticed her exceptional aptitude, and tested her blood to confirm she was an ordinary person.
• The priest scheduled a ritual for the following evening and told Xu Zhi to stay and meet the other cult members.
• Xu Zhi accepted, intending to become a Cup believer through the ritual while using safeguards to protect her true consciousness from contamination.

Xu Zhi joined a lower-level [Cup] cult through her Spirit Vessel while continuing through the Lost Land in search of her Familiar. As investigators poured into the Lost Land and the cult began her initiation ritual, Xu Zhi remained separated from Xiao Zhen.

• The priest introduced Xu Zhi to Du Cheng, gave her the surname Ling, and told her to join the cult’s ritual the next night.
• Xu Zhi sensed she was being watched, then shifted her attention to the Lost Land, where Midnight’s presence emerged in the night fog.
• Xu Zhi avoided the deepest part of Midnight and traveled through the Lost Land by day, drawing closer to Xiao Zhen.
• Investigators from various factions entered the Lost Land in unprecedented numbers, prompting speculation about a major discovery.
• In Lotus City, Xu Zhi’s Spirit Vessel sat inside a [Cup] ritual circuit as the priest scattered blood from a scarlet cup over it.

Xu Zhi endured the [Cup] ritual as her Spirit Vessel was transformed into a supernatural being and connected to the [Cup] clan. The ritual left her at the rank of [Messenger], with growing power and new knowledge, while she struggled to keep the vessel’s consciousness from being consumed by the scarlet influence.

• Xu Zhi resisted the [Cup] ritual’s seductive corruption by using her true body to keep the Spirit Vessel’s consciousness awake.
• The Spirit Vessel entered the supernatural realm, gained a connection to the [Cup] clan, and continued absorbing power as its circuits grew.
• The priest named Xu Zhi the cult’s Saintess, though she was too focused on resisting the ritual to hear him.
• Xu Zhi discovered the Spirit Vessel could advance without passing through the Mansus, but its consciousness nearly succumbed to the scarlet aura.
• A higher [Cup] existence acknowledged the Spirit Vessel, increasing its mental power before the ritual ended.
• Xu Zhi learned that the Spirit Vessel had reached [Messenger] rank and gained [Cup] knowledge, but it also developed an unsettling mental static, thirst, and altered thought patterns.

After the Spirit Vessel awakened with a mind altered by [Cup], Xu Zhi became the cult’s saintess and decided to lead its followers toward stronger groups in the industrial district. Meanwhile, Xu Zhi’s main body continued toward Xiao Zhen and the nearest Lost One territory.

• The Spirit Vessel realized that [Cup] had made her thinking more emotional and less intelligent, though she could still share information with Xu Zhi’s main body.
• The priest declared the Spirit Vessel the cult’s saintess, and Xu Zhi sensed that she outranked the two Fanatics and one of The Redeemed.
• The priest explained that scattered [Cup] cults existed in settlements and that stronger groups likely operated in a nearby industrial district.
• Xu Zhi ordered the three followers to prepare to seek out those stronger cults, and the priest gave her a hood to conceal her red hair and eyes.
• Xu Zhi’s main body sensed that Xiao Zhen was less than four hours away and that the nearest Lost One territory could be reached before nightfall.

Xu Zhi reunited with Xiao Zhen in the ruins of Lincheng, then followed the Gyrfalcon to a Lingzhou team heading for a settlement. The team recognized Xu Zhi and questioned why she had entered the Lost Land alone, while they were seeking protection from Jiang Qing.

• Xu Zhi crossed the overgrown ruins of Lincheng and caught Xiao Zhen as the Gyrfalcon swooped down to reunite with her.
• The Little Aberration and Xiao Zhen bickered over Xu Zhi until she reprimanded them and put the Little Aberration back in her pocket.
• Xiao Zhen showed Xu Zhi a bag of cores it had collected, and Xu Zhi decided to trade for cores it could use at a nearby settlement.
• Xu Zhi sent Xiao Zhen to locate people, and the Gyrfalcon guided her to a four-person team wearing Lingzhou uniforms.
• The Lingzhou team recognized Xu Zhi and asked whether she had come alone; Xu Zhi said she was training, while the team remained doubtful and revealed they had come seeking Jiang Qing's protection.

Xu Zhi encountered Jiang Qing in a Lost Ones gathering place, noticed Jiang Qing feared her, and followed her deeper into the Lost Land. After three people tried to rob Xu Zhi, she and Xiao Zhen killed them and took their spatial bracelet.

• Xu Zhi entered the Lost Ones' gathering place and ran into Jiang Qing, who admitted she did not want to see her there.
• Xu Zhi sensed an unusual scent from Jiang Qing, then exchanged Xiao Zhen's useless cores for [Moth], [Lamp], and [Winter] cores.
• Xiao Zhen spotted Jiang Qing leaving, and Xu Zhi followed her farther into the Lost Land as several people tailed her.
• Xu Zhi exposed the three pursuers, and Xiao Zhen and [Moth] incapacitated and killed them.
• Xiao Zhen took the Named One's spatial bracelet, which held all three robbers' wealth, and brought it to Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi witnessed Jiang Qing absorb a powerful [Lamp]-attribute transcendent’s talent circuit, which caused Jiang Qing to break through into the Named One realm without entering the Mansus. When Xu Zhi confronted her, Jiang Qing’s guards decided they had to kill her.

• Xu Zhi followed Jiang Qing’s group through the Lost Land and watched them ambush a powerful [Lamp]-attribute Named One.
• After the battle left Jiang Qing and two guards alive, Jiang Qing cut open the defeated transcendent and absorbed his shattered talent circuit, advancing into the Named One realm.
• Xu Zhi realized Jiang Qing’s method resembled Dingchan’s ability to advance without passing through the Mansus or the Great Dream.
• Xu Zhi revealed herself and asked Jiang Qing if she had eaten the transcendent’s talent circuit.
• One of Jiang Qing’s guards said they had to kill Xu Zhi because she had witnessed the secret.

Xu Zhi tested the Remnant Land by trapping Jiang Qing and her two guards, then killed the guards and restrained Jiang Qing. Jiang Qing refused to reveal her mission and explained that she had foreseen her death, but came because it was part of a plan and fate.

• Xu Zhi established a rule in the Remnant Land that restricted supernatural abilities to beings able to create or summon supernatural creatures.
• Xu Zhi trapped Jiang Qing and her two injured guards in the Remnant Land, suppressed their abilities, and destroyed the guards’ cores.
• Xu Zhi used Authority to freeze Jiang Qing’s supernatural energy and sealed her with a Moth.
• Jiang Qing refused to reveal what she was doing or why she had come, despite Xu Zhi threatening to kill her.
• Xu Zhi learned that Jiang Qing had seen her in a prophecy and had foreseen being killed by her.
• Jiang Qing said her death was a link in fate and part of a plan she and Xu Zhi had to go through.

Xu Zhi tested Jiang Qing’s ability to absorb talent circuits and discovered that her [Lamp] circuit could devour and incorporate Jiang Qing’s power. She spared Jiang Qing for the moment, left a concealed [Moth] in her, and arranged to keep rescuers away, while Jiang Qing remained confused by Xu Zhi’s choices.

• Xu Zhi cut open Jiang Qing’s abdomen and discovered that she could instinctively absorb Jiang Qing’s talent circuit into her own [Lamp] circuit.
• Xu Zhi stopped absorbing the circuit before taking all of it and told Jiang Qing that she would leave her fate to destiny rather than kill her.
• Jiang Qing asked Xu Zhi to take her along so she could understand why Xu Zhi had spared her, but Xu Zhi left her behind.
• Xu Zhi secretly left a concealed [Moth] in Jiang Qing and planned to prevent anyone from rescuing her, hoping she would die to the Lost Land’s creatures or at midnight.
• Xiao Zhen stayed nearby to watch Jiang Qing and the surrounding area.

After Jiang Qing was swallowed by Midnight, Xu Zhi investigated the route taken by the Lamp-attribute supernatural being she had fought. She found a hidden, well-traveled path in the Lost Land and realized it led to something important.

• Xu Zhi watched Jiang Qing wander into Midnight, where the mist took her and Xu Zhi's [Moth] stopped working.
• Xu Zhi concluded that Midnight lay at the center of the Lost Land, then set out the next morning to investigate where the Lamp-attribute supernatural being had come from.
• Xu Zhi traveled nearly seven hours through the Lost Land without encountering another supernatural being, despite the area's proximity to a settlement.
• Xu Zhi discovered a path worn by regular foot traffic and sent Xiao Zhen ahead to scout it.
• An attacker spotted Xiao Zhen and fired at it, but Xiao Zhen dodged; Xu Zhi realized she had stumbled upon something important.

Xu Zhi waited in the Lost Land while her Spirit Vessel infiltrated and helped expand a [Cup]-aligned cult in Lotus City’s industrial district. As the cult prepared a large ritual, Xu Zhi claimed the chance to receive it and threatened to kill anyone who challenged her.

• Xu Zhi waited for her Familiars to rendezvous while the Spirit Vessel advanced into the industrial district’s [Cup]-aligned cult.
• The cult grew to nearly forty believers, killed workers for blood food, and remained largely unnoticed by Lotus City’s authorities.
• Believers worried about the delayed mist and planned to assimilate factory management before their activities were exposed.
• Over the following week, the cult assimilated the factory managers and expanded to around three hundred members.
• The senior believers gathered to choose who would receive a large ritual, and Xu Zhi volunteered, threatening to kill anyone who tried to take her place.

Xu Zhi secured the qualification for the sacrificial ritual while waiting for her Familiars to return, then investigated a hidden research institute in the Lost Land. She discovered it belonged to [Gods Heavy Industries] and learned that an unknown extraordinary individual had recently entered and left it.

• Xu Zhi threatened the [Cups], and they agreed that whoever killed Ling before the ritual began would gain the qualification; otherwise, it would belong to her.
• Doggie, Little Aberration, and Kitty returned to Xu Zhi, triggering the formation of a new Familiar within her circuits.
• Xu Zhi sent Black Cat ahead to scout, and it trapped two patrolling extraordinary individuals in dreams.
• Xu Zhi questioned the two [Gods Heavy Industries] guards and learned that a research institute lay underground and that an unknown extraordinary individual had recently visited it.
• Xu Zhi estimated that the visitor had left around the time Jiang Qing killed the [Lamp]-attribute extraordinary individual.

Xu Zhi pieced together a theory that Gods Heavy Industries’ underground laboratory was trying to create talent circuits that could devour other circuits, and that Jiang Qing had led her there to stop the research results from escaping. She decided to investigate the laboratory, hoping to learn more about her own talent circuit.

• Xu Zhi connected Jiang Qing’s and the Lamp-aspected Transcendent’s ability to devour circuits with the laboratory’s research into talent circuits.
• Xu Zhi suspected Gods Heavy Industries was creating circuits that could consume other talent circuits and expand their users’ abilities.
• Xu Zhi linked the experiment to Dingchan, Lingzhou, Light Institute, Cup, and the league tournament, and considered whether Jiang Qing had deliberately died to draw her to the laboratory.
• Xu Zhi reasoned that Jiang Qing might have acted on a Great Prophet’s vision, then decided to visit the laboratory to uncover the experiment and investigate her own circuit.

Xu Zhi infiltrated the underground laboratory with her Familiars, using [Moth], the [Eye of Secrets], and [Authority] to bypass guards, biological checkpoints, and surveillance circuits. She reached the uncharted area where the laboratory was located and sent the controlled guard back to act normally and report any disturbance.

• Xu Zhi knocked out the surface guards and her two captives, then used the Named guard to open the passage underground.
• The underground guards fell into Kitty's illusion, and Xu Zhi used [Moth] to control them without destroying their self-awareness.
• Xu Zhi modified the surveillance circuits with the [Eye of Secrets] and [Authority] while moving through the laboratory's authentication checkpoints.
• Xu Zhi learned that researchers could not enter deeper areas because of the Lost Land's Temptation, and that the guards knew nothing about a secret area beyond their permitted route.
• Xu Zhi reached the uncharted area, told the guard to return to normal duties, and ordered him to alert her if anything happened.

Xu Zhi infiltrated the underground laboratory, overcame its defenses with help from her Familiars, and discovered children being used as test subjects. She confronted a fleeing researcher, who offered to lead her to the experiment’s leader as the laboratory’s danger escalated.

• Xu Zhi left Doggie at the entrance and used the Eye of Secrets to analyze the laboratory’s circuits, then crossed the magic-ban corridor by avoiding its traps.
• Xu Zhi had the Little Aberration tear down a biometric door, triggering an alarm, and her Familiars defeated the armed guards waiting beyond it.
• Xu Zhi followed two workers through the laboratory’s web-like corridors toward the central laboratory.
• Xu Zhi saw rows of children in nutrient chambers, connected to tubes and monitored with supernatural circuit data and evaluations.
• Xiao Zhen stopped a fleeing researcher, who claimed an Oath Circuit prevented him from revealing details and offered to take Xu Zhi to the experiment’s leader.

Xu Zhi infiltrated the underground laboratory and captured its researchers, then forced them to reveal how to disable the Magic-Suppression Circuit. She entered the key at the main console while the suspended researchers began desperately weighing how to save themselves.

• Xu Zhi followed Qu Yunshi through the laboratory and saw the many Extraordinary individuals and embryos kept in secret experiments.
• The Supervisor tried to shoot Qu Yunshi, but Little Aberration knocked aside the bullet and restrained the researchers.
• Xu Zhi promised to spare the first researcher who revealed how to shut down the Magic-Suppression Circuit, and a young researcher identified the key in the Supervisor’s necklace.
• Little Aberration took the Supervisor’s necklace, and Xiao Zhen cracked open the iron safe to expose the key.
• Xu Zhi warned the researchers that disabling the circuit would not protect them, then entered the key at the main console.

Xu Zhi interrogated the researchers after severing their connection to the Oath Circuit and learned that Gods Heavy Industries was studying how to merge human and extraordinary-creature talent circuits. The discovery suggested Xu Zhi might eventually claim her Familiars’ circuits, and she left no doubt that no one could be allowed to reveal the research.

• Xu Zhi used Little Aberration and the gray Moths to suppress the researchers after disabling the anti-magic circuit and severing their Oath Circuit connection.
• A research-group leader explained that Gods Heavy Industries studied whether human and extraordinary-creature talent circuits could be merged to create a more complete circuit.
• The leader revealed that people whose abilities manifested extraordinary creatures might reinforce their own circuits with those creatures’ circuits, though experiments on two captives had failed.
• Xu Zhi learned where the group’s experimental data was stored and considered whether her Familiars’ circuits could eventually become part of her own.
• After releasing several researchers for their answers, Xu Zhi gave those still trapped half an hour to reveal new information, offering mercy only to the first person to report each detail.