Chapter Summaries

Summary: “Hooping the Cabbage Patch”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Vegetable-Chopping Child defeats the little old man by chopping his body into four pieces, leaving him alive but unable to regenerate.
• The six Cabbage-Head Children attack Vegetable Gardener, whose body is already weakened by Weird Mother and Li Qingxian’s Great Principle-Slaying Sword. They consume his limbs and torso, leaving only his head.
• While Vegetable-Chopping Child prepares to deal with Vegetable Gardener, thirty-two Fate Stars descend. Li Qingxian activates his Fate Artifacts and uses the Yellow Dragon Fate Artifact to suppress or repel competing Fate Arts.
• Li Qingxian successfully claims several Fate Stars, including one from an area controlled by the Devil Sect. He notices that several powerful Fate Artifacts, including Nether Son’s Chaos Fate Banner and Shen Xiaoyi’s artifact, do not appear.
• Five Fate Stars arrive: three enter Li Qingxian, Wang Buwu, and Song Baige, while two hover over Sun Qingtian and Qu Wangxi, who have been transformed into Cabbage Children.
• Vegetable-Chopping Child offers Li Qingxian a bargain: if he creates a Life-Replacement Wooden Child, the transformed examinees will be restored. Li agrees and uses cabbage leaves as temporary hands to make the replacement artifact from materials provided by Vegetable-Chopping Child.
• Vegetable-Chopping Child returns the examinees’ bodies to normal. However, two victims who had already become Handkerchief Children remain trapped in that form.
• The survivors bow deeply to Li Qingxian in gratitude.
• Vegetable-Chopping Child extracts a grayish-yellow mist from Vegetable Gardener’s head and obtains a silver token engraved with the character “Pass.” He gives it to Li Qingxian as the reward for successfully completing the game.
• The children announce that the game has ended at six in the evening. A cabbage patch suddenly grows in the center of the crowd, and everyone receives a bamboo hoop for the next game, “Hoop the Circles.”
• Although relieved that the immediate danger has ended, the examinees are reminded of the many deaths, transformations, and permanent losses suffered during the games.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates increasing power and strategic awareness. He gathers Fate Stars efficiently, observes the movements of rival factions, and uses negotiation rather than force to save the transformed examinees.
• His creation of the Life-Replacement Wooden Child shows both technical skill and willingness to risk his own resources for others.
• Li Qingxian becomes increasingly suspicious of the games and their wording. He studies Vegetable-Chopping Child’s statement about going to the market and wonders about the meaning of the Pass token, while deliberately ignoring the grass rope still around his neck.
• Vegetable-Chopping Child appears both childlike and terrifying. He cheerfully sings nursery rhymes while mutilating enemies, yet he honors his bargain with Li Qingxian and rewards him fairly.
• Vegetable Gardener is reduced from a major threat to a helpless victim, illustrating the overwhelming power of Vegetable-Chopping Child and the consequences of his earlier violence.
• Fangfang becomes more openly affectionate toward Li Qingxian, giving him the rattle drum and taking his hand once the game ends.
• The surviving examinees shift from fear and distrust to gratitude toward Li Qingxian after he rescues them.

Significant Themes

• The horror of childish games: Familiar songs, nursery rhymes, and playful actions conceal brutal violence and death.
• Survival through intelligence and cooperation: Li Qingxian survives not only through strength but also through observation, negotiation, and craftsmanship.
• The cost of survival: Although many bodies are restored, some victims remain permanently transformed, and numerous participants are dead, petrified, or otherwise lost.
• Rules and hidden meanings: The game’s language contains clues about its true nature. Li Qingxian’s careful interpretation of Vegetable-Chopping Child’s words suggests that understanding the rules may be as important as defeating enemies.
• Power and sacrifice: Li Qingxian’s ability to obtain Fate Stars gives him an advantage, but he must still spend effort and materials to save others.
• False relief: The end of one game brings temporary safety, but the appearance of the cabbage patch and hoops makes clear that the larger nightmare is continuing.

Character Interactions

• Vegetable-Chopping Child sings while attacking the little old man and Vegetable Gardener, emphasizing the contrast between innocence and cruelty.
• He negotiates directly with Li Qingxian, offering freedom for the transformed examinees in exchange for a Life-Replacement Wooden Child.
• Li Qingxian and Vegetable-Chopping Child cooperate briefly, with Li crafting the artifact and Vegetable-Chopping Child restoring the victims.
• The rescued examinees express their gratitude through formal bows to Li Qingxian.
• Fangfang gives Li Qingxian the rattle drum and holds his hand after the game, marking a moment of warmth amid the surrounding horror.
• The entire group participates in the children’s songs and receives hoops, linking the survivors to the next stage of the deadly game.

Chapter Summary: “Fortune Coalesces into the Four-Aspects Fang Zun”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After surviving the previous deadly game, the participants thank Li Qingxian for repeatedly protecting them and preventing the group from collapsing. He responds modestly, emphasizing unity and shared responsibility.
• The group prepares for the next game: tossing bamboo rings over nearly a thousand cabbages arranged in concentric circles. Each cabbage contains a prize, with the inner ones offering better rewards.
• Participants inspect their rings. To successfully claim a prize, a ring apparently needs to possess three features: colored markings, firecracker patterns, and cat-head patterns. Most people’s rings lack at least one of these qualities, while Li Qingxian receives one possessing all three.
• Before anyone begins, the group asks Li Qingxian to perform a divination and guide them.

Li Qingxian’s Developments

• His examination paper now contains six red strokes, including the entire character “Heaven” in “Peace Under Heaven,” reflecting the enormous Fortune he gained during the previous trials.
• Inside his Fate Mansion, Li Qingxian discovers a new bronze artifact beneath the Ruler’s Fortune light cluster. Resembling a four-sided ritual wine vessel, he names it the Four-Aspects Fang Zun.
• Through divination, he determines that the Fortune absorbed during the examination was distributed in three ways:
  • Part strengthened the Fate Mansion itself.
  • Part formed the black-and-gold giant elephant of the Mansion-Suppressing Stele.
  • Most of it—roughly eight-tenths—condensed into the incomplete, translucent Four-Aspects Fang Zun.
• He calculates that his share of the Fortune from more than twenty thousand dead Seventh Rank cultivators is equivalent to the combined Fortune of a small county town, demonstrating the astonishing scale of his gains.
• Seven newly obtained Fate Stars finish releasing their Ruler’s Fortune, and a second Eerie Fate Star appears. Although Li Qingxian is theoretically capable of using Eerie Fate Stars because of his connection to the Weird Mother, he fears unpredictable mutations and decides not to activate it unless necessary.
• His Fate Mansion has grown substantially stronger. The formerly shabby “Little Broken House” now glows with power, while more than a thousand Fortune Fish remain in his Fate Pool.

Character Interactions and Developments

• Sun Qingtian jokingly compares the group’s gratitude to a barber finally finishing a haircut, easing the tension after the deadly trial.
• Song Baige complains humorously that Li Qingxian’s rewards are unfairly generous, while Wang Buwu defends Li’s gains as deserved.
• Sun Qingtian explains the difficulty of the ring-tossing challenge and admits that even his own ring lacks the necessary markings.
• Song Baige and Wang Buwu reveal that their rings are also incomplete, reinforcing that Li Qingxian possesses the best chance of success.
• The group places its trust in Li Qingxian, refusing to begin until he offers guidance.

Significant Themes

• Unity and mutual survival: The previous game proves that collective cooperation is essential; without solidarity, the entire group would have been destroyed.
• Merit and Fortune: Li Qingxian’s immense rewards reflect both his achievements and the lives he saved, raising questions about how Fortune is accumulated and transformed.
• Power growth and uncertainty: The Four-Aspects Fang Zun and the strengthened Fate Mansion mark a major advancement, but their full potential remains unknown.
• Dangerous supernatural forces: The appearance of a second Eerie Fate Star introduces a new source of power accompanied by the risk of uncontrollable mutation.
• Trust in leadership: Although Li Qingxian cannot identify each individual prize, the group relies on his superior divination and judgment.

Ending

Li Qingxian uses Fortune to inspect the cabbages and discovers that every one contains a beneficial item, with rewards becoming increasingly valuable toward the center. This good news excites the participants, while the group prepares to rely on his guidance for the ring-tossing game.

Chapter Summary: “Brothers-in-Arms Send Off the Pig-Heads”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian organizes a ring-tossing activity involving cabbages arranged in concentric circles. Each successful—or even missed—throw grants the participant a small amount of Fortune.
• The cultivators initially target nearby cabbages, but after discovering that missed throws still earn rewards, they become more ambitious and begin aiming for the middle and inner circles.
• Li Qingxian uses his Fate Disk to record every throw and analyze the invisible forces affecting the rings. He determines that the cabbage field contains more than three hundred shifting forces, whose strength and direction increase toward the center.
• At the crossroads between Nether Mountain and Devil-Transforming Mountain, the battle ends in catastrophe. Hundreds of Handkerchief Children and Cat-Head Children lie dead, while only a few dozen examinees survive.
• A terrifying group of popcorn-headed children advances under the command of a wrinkled Popcorn Child. Nether Child and Bone Filth Child, both gravely injured, stop fighting and agree to consider themselves even, though their hostility remains.
• The Game Children create another trial by producing enormous corn stalks and distributing bamboo rings to the surviving participants. The survivors react with shock and grief upon seeing the dead and transformed bodies around them.
• At another location, the thousand-person circle has been reduced to just over two hundred people. A procession of Pig-Head Children departs after the mysterious elderly-faced child leading them.
• Meng Huaichuan explains that Good Fortune Born used a treasure to save him from a terrifying pig farmer who intended to raise him as livestock. The treasure instead selected Shen Xiaoyi as the substitute, apparently killing or sacrificing her before she could use her own treasures.
• Meng promises to accompany Good Fortune Born to the Jiangnan Merchant Association and accept responsibility for the incident, potentially provoking a conflict between the association and the Dingnan Prince’s Residence.
• The Pig-Head Children then appear in the center of the circle, and the Game Children begin distributing bamboo rings for the next trial.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates his growing mastery of Fate Arts. Rather than blindly participating, he studies the ring throws statistically and uses his Fate Disk to uncover hidden forces in the trial.
• Nether Child is shown to be badly wounded, having lost an arm, but remains sharp-tongued and proud. He acknowledges Bone Filth Child’s superiority in direct combat while recognizing that the Eerie Ground enabled him to survive.
• Bone Filth Child is also severely damaged, with his skull cracked and his bone spikes destroyed, yet he maintains his defiant temperament and refuses to yield emotionally.
• Meng Huaichuan displays gratitude and a sense of responsibility toward Good Fortune Born. He accepts that the consequences of Shen Xiaoyi’s sacrifice stem from his own situation and promises to defend his benefactor.
• Good Fortune Born is revealed to have made a morally troubling but life-saving decision, sacrificing Shen Xiaoyi through the use of a treasure. He is anxious about the political consequences but remains loyal to Meng.
• Shen Xiaoyi becomes an off-screen casualty or substitute victim, increasing the emotional and political stakes of the examination.

Significant Themes

• Fortune and risk: The ring-tossing game shows that even failure can bring rewards, while greater ambition carries greater danger. Fortune is portrayed as something measurable yet unpredictable.
• Calculation versus intuition: Li Qingxian’s success comes from analyzing invisible forces rather than relying on instinct, highlighting the power of knowledge, data, and Fate Arts.
• The cruelty of the Eerie Ground: The examination turns death, mutilation, and transformation into routine game mechanics. The contestants are forced to participate despite witnessing horrific losses.
• Sacrifice and responsibility: Good Fortune Born saves Meng Huaichuan by allowing Shen Xiaoyi to take his place, while Meng accepts responsibility for the aftermath rather than abandoning him.
• Rivalry and uneasy reconciliation: Nether Child and Bone Filth Child remain enemies, but shared suffering and the conditions of the Eerie Ground lead them to temporarily settle their conflict.
• Political consequences: Personal survival decisions are tied to powerful organizations and families, suggesting that the examination’s aftermath may trigger broader factional conflict.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian guides the group through the ring game and explains the Fortune rewards, while the cultivators react competitively as they learn the rules.
• Nether Child and Bone Filth Child exchange insults over the stolen Fate Star but ultimately agree to stop fighting after recognizing their mutual injuries and the Eerie Ground’s influence.
• Meng Huaichuan and Good Fortune Born openly discuss Shen Xiaoyi’s sacrifice. Meng reassures Good Fortune Born that he will confront the Jiangnan Merchant Association alongside him.
• Their relationship shifts from ordinary cooperation to a bond based on surviving death together, with Meng insisting that Good Fortune Born address him familiarly as a true companion.
• The Game Children remain detached overseers, repeatedly transforming the battlefield into a new game and distributing rings to survivors without acknowledging their grief.

Chapter Summary: “A Ring Toss Within a Ring Toss Within a Ring Toss”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian studies the complex forces affecting the cabbage patch, realizing that each ring has different resistance to interference based on its color and markings.
• Using Fate Arts to guide and protect his throw, Li successfully targets the cabbage at the center of the innermost ring. He wins a black cat-head cloth doll, adding it to his growing collection of treasures.
• The other participants throw their rings:
  • Song Baige wins a large amount of Fortune.
  • Wang Buwu receives a black character, “Block,” which he believes can create a defensive barrier.
  • Guan Zhou unexpectedly wins a rare multicolored jade ring decorated with firecrackers and cat heads. His prize is considered even more enviable than Li’s because of his seemingly poor Fortune and lack of contribution during the game.
• The central prize at the various locations suddenly disappears after one has already been claimed. Meng Huaichuan realizes that only a single central prize existed, leaving Good Fortune Born too late to obtain it.
• Everyone ultimately receives a reward. The gains are substantial enough that, if they survive the Azure Cloud Examination, even the weakest participants should be able to advance from Seventh Rank to Sixth Rank within three years.
• After the game, the children chant a disturbing song about traitors, loyal ministers, pursuit, and imprisonment, hinting at the examination’s political or sinister nature.
• Sun Qingtian dismisses the distinction between loyal and traitorous factions, emphasizing their shared experience surviving danger. He proposes that everyone exchange names and later gather at River-Gazing Tower.
• Sun reveals that he is the son of the famous Upper Rank cultivator Sun Qishan, impressing the group. The participants introduce themselves, including members of the Devil and Evil Sects, and agree to meet five days after the examination ends.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates his analytical ability and mastery of Fate Arts by accurately predicting and manipulating the forces around the cabbage patch. He remains cautious and continues recording the forces even after winning, anticipating similar challenges later.
• Guan Zhou becomes increasingly mysterious. Despite possessing the weakest Fortune in the group, he repeatedly obtains unusually valuable treasures. Li suspects that Guan’s Fate Mold may be abnormal and plans to investigate his Fate Mansion if he survives.
• Song Baige displays cheerful satisfaction with his Fortune reward and reacts openly to others’ prizes.
• Wang Buwu receives a practical defensive treasure and immediately interprets its likely function.
• Sun Qingtian emerges as a charismatic and socially confident leader. He seeks to unite the participants across factional lines and uses his family background to establish credibility.
• Good Fortune Born is confident in his luck but misses the unique central prize, reinforcing the unpredictable nature of Fortune.
• Meng Huaichuan provides the explanation for why the central prizes vanished, showing clear reasoning despite his disappointment.

Significant Themes

• Fortune versus ability: Li wins through careful deduction and Fate Arts, while Guan Zhou gains an excellent treasure through apparently inexplicable luck. The chapter contrasts earned success with seemingly predestined Fortune.
• The unpredictability of fate: Even people with great confidence in their luck cannot control every outcome, as shown by Good Fortune Born missing the central prize.
• The value of survival and advancement: The rewards offer everyone a realistic path toward Sixth Rank, emphasizing how dramatically the examination can change the participants’ futures.
• Unity across factions: Shared danger temporarily overrides divisions between orthodox, Devil, and Evil Sect cultivators.
• Hidden danger beneath celebration: The children’s song about traitors and imprisonment disrupts the joyful atmosphere and suggests that larger political or supernatural forces remain at work.

Character Interactions

• Li and Guan Zhou have a quiet but significant dynamic: Li watches Guan closely, intrigued by the contradiction between his poor Fortune and exceptional rewards.
• The group reacts with admiration and envy to one another’s prizes, especially Guan Zhou’s jade ring.
• Good Fortune Born and Meng Huaichuan briefly cooperate over who should attempt the central target, but the prize disappears before either can claim it.
• Sun Qingtian encourages fellowship by calling the survivors brothers and organizing introductions.
• The participants, including opposing sect members, agree to maintain contact and gather after the examination, creating the possibility of future alliances.

Summary of Mountain-Water Token Bids Heroes Farewell

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• Farewell Gathering: The Pine Mountain Sect’s Qu Wangxi and others from the Mo Kingdom express gratitude and bid farewell to Li Qingxian’s group before departing.
• Sun Qingtian’s Departure: Sun Qingtian, a powerful cultivator from the Northern Green Forest, approaches Li Qingxian privately. Though he offers to follow Li’s path, Li declines, warning that their high Fortune and external support make them too vulnerable to Li’s limited protection.
• Sun’s Offering: Sun gives Li a Mountain-Water Token (a Pure Gold Token with the White Mountain Black Water emblem) as a token of trust, suggesting Li use it if facing trouble in the Northern Ten Prefectures.
• Discussion on Cultivation & Fate: Song Baige explains the harsh, isolated lifestyle of northerners (e.g., White Mountain Black Water), where social bonds are crucial for survival. Wang Buwu adds that southern clans also rely on unity to avoid starvation and conflict.
• Departure & Strange Path: Li’s group leaves the Divine Capital via a divination-guided side route, avoiding the main path. Other teams initially follow but soon abandon them, sensing an eerie, ghostly obstruction.
• Ghost Fate Clash Warning: Wang Buwu (a former Black Lantern Bureau agent) reminds Li that the Vegetable Gardener (a strange entity) may have clashed with another entity, risking a Ghost Fate Clash—a deadly intersection of strange forces. Li prepares to recast a simplified Three Thousand Paths spell to mitigate the danger.

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2. Character Developments

Li Qingxian

• Strategic & Protective: Refuses Sun Qingtian’s offer, prioritizing his team’s safety over numbers. His decision highlights his limited but precise control over strange entities.
• Grave & Calculating: Takes Wang Buwu’s warning seriously, immediately preparing for a Ghost Fate Clash, showing his experience with supernatural threats.
• Leading Role: Guides his team through an unnatural path, suggesting deep familiarity with divination and strange forces.

Sun Qingtian

• Charismatic & Confident: Acts warmly and boldly, even calling Li "Little Brother Ye" despite the age gap. His high Fortune and family backing (his father and grandmaster) make him a formidable cultivator.
• Humility About Fate: Acknowledges his grandmaster’s mysterious influence (his word "determines fate"), hinting at his respect for unseen powers.

Wang Buwu

• Experienced & Cautious: His Black Lantern Bureau background gives him insight into strange entities. He anticipates the Ghost Fate Clash before it happens, proving his sharp instincts.
• Serious & Reserved: Downplays his own abilities but emphasizes the lethal nature of strange entities, grounding the group’s fears.

Song Baige & Qiu Ye

• Observant & Adaptable: Song explains northern survival tactics, while Qiu Ye jokes about Sun’s familiarity, showing their ability to read social dynamics.
• Unified Under Li: Both follow Li’s lead without question, demonstrating loyalty and trust in his judgment.

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3. Significant Themes

Fate vs. Choice

• Li’s refusal to take Sun’s group stems from fate’s unpredictability—forcing an alliance could doom them all. His path is self-determined, not dictated by others.
• Sun’s high Fortune and family support contrast with Li’s struggle for control, raising questions about whether fate can be defied or only navigated.

Survival & Social Bonds

• Song Baige’s description of northern life (e.g., White Mountain Black Water’s isolation) underscores how environment shapes survival strategies. Similarly, southern clans rely on unity to avoid collapse.
• The Mountain-Water Token symbolizes trust and reciprocity—a lifeline in harsh lands, reinforcing that connections matter more than isolation.

The Danger of Strange Entities

• The Ghost Fate Clash looms as a cosmic threat, suggesting that strange forces are not just random but interconnected. Li’s spell is a desperate measure to prevent annihilation.
• Wang Buwu’s warning implies that strange entities are not just monsters—they are forces of fate, and

Chapter Summary: When Every Good Road Ended, They Met Point Peach

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian examines eight trails of yellow talisman ash, each extending in a different direction but broken in the middle. He concludes that every seemingly safe route has been cut off and warns the group to prepare far more carefully than before.
• The group hopes to pass the next obstacle and reach the Imperial City region, where they expect to find treasures connected to the Myriad Phenomena Diagram and the Death Realm.
• After traveling through several streets, they encounter children playing a strange game called Point Peach. The players must deliberately mismatch their words and actions: they must say what they do while doing what the other person says, or follow whatever altered rule the game imposes.
• Wang Buwu explains that the game is far more dangerous than it appears. Years of habit have trained cultivators to make their words and actions correspond, so deliberately reversing that instinct is extremely difficult. Mistakes are punished, and the game’s rules may change without warning.
• The group initially attempts the game at full difficulty and fails almost immediately. Even experienced cultivators, including Li Qingxian and Wang Buwu, cannot consistently process rapid sequences of contradictory instructions.
• Li Qingxian devises a solution using his Fate Disk. It creates a white-light child that displays the required words and performs the required movements in sequence, allowing everyone to process the game step by step.
• With repeated practice, the group gradually stops making mistakes and becomes confident enough to attempt the actual challenge. However, Li Qingxian remains uneasy, sensing that they have overlooked something. Despite his doubts, he agrees to begin.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian continues to act as the group’s strategist and problem-solver. He recognizes the danger of the broken paths, analyzes the game’s mechanics, and invents a Fate Art that makes the contradictory instructions manageable. His lingering unease also shows his caution and awareness that apparent solutions may conceal hidden dangers.
• Wang Buwu serves as the group’s expert on Weird Games and explains the underlying difficulty of Point Peach. Though confident enough to lead the demonstration, he admits that he too cannot perform it perfectly.
• Song Baige shows practicality and resolve, reminding everyone that they expected to reach this dangerous stage and must continue despite the worsening path.
• Qiu Ye initially underestimates the game, calling it simple, but quickly realizes its complexity. His reactions reflect the group’s transition from confidence to frustration and then renewed optimism.
• The rest of the group, including Luo Jing, Guan Zhou, and Fangfang, contribute reactions and support. Their repeated failures emphasize that the challenge attacks instinct rather than cultivation strength.

Significant Themes

• The danger of false simplicity: Point Peach appears childish and easy, but its true difficulty lies in overturning deeply ingrained habits.
• Habit versus conscious control: The game forces the characters to treat correctness as incorrectness, suggesting that long-established behavior can be harder to change than physical obstacles.
• Preparation and adaptation: The group survives not through brute strength but by studying the rules, practicing, and developing a technological/magical aid.
• Uncertainty and hidden rules: Even after mastering the apparent challenge, Li Qingxian suspects that the game may change, reinforcing the chapter’s atmosphere of distrust and impending danger.
• The end of safe progress: The severed paths symbolize the collapse of reliable choices. From this point onward, every route carries risk, and even apparent success may be part of a trap.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and Wang Buwu work closely together: Wang explains the game while Li develops the Fate Disk solution.
• Song Baige encourages the group to continue despite the danger, while Qiu Ye voices the group’s initial overconfidence and later frustration.
• The entire group participates in the demonstrations, repeatedly failing as they attempt to coordinate speech and movement.
• Fangfang argues that using Fate Arts is legitimate rather than cheating, though Li Qingxian warns that magical assistance will not protect them if the game’s rules suddenly change.
• By the end, the group has achieved apparent unity and coordination, but Li Qingxian’s concern creates tension beneath their confidence as they prepare to enter the real game.

Chapter Summary: “Some Become Peaches, Some Pick Peaches”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group encounters the Game Children, who challenge them to a pointing game. The Peach-Pointing Child gives verbal instructions that contradict his actual gestures.
• Li Qingxian’s group relies on the White-Light Child, who appears from the Fate Disk and displays the correct instructions in words and gestures. Because the group practiced beforehand, they successfully complete several increasingly difficult rounds.
• During the fourth round, Guan Zhou fails to point to his nose. The Peach-Pointing Child declares that he has lost.
• Guan Zhou’s body begins turning into wood from the legs upward. His head becomes a peach, which the eight Game Children pluck, cut apart, and eat. The group realizes that Guan Zhou had previously exchanged his nose for treasures, leaving him unable to complete the challenge.
• After Guan Zhou’s death, his two treasures—the Jade Ring Toss and Glazed Broken Tile—fall from his body and land near Li Qingxian.
• The group interprets this as “Heaven’s Mandate,” arguing that treasures naturally belong to those with great Merit. Li Qingxian accepts them “temporarily” on behalf of the team.
• Li Qingxian reflects on the pattern of deaths among the various teams and realizes that every group has lost someone, while his own team had not—until the Peach-Pointing game.
• He suspects that Guan Zhou’s death and the transfer of his treasures may be connected to the Fate Arts concepts of “killed by Fortune” and “Fosterling.” He worries that he may be a temporary recipient of benefits ultimately destined for someone else, possibly due to the Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• The Game Children then introduce a second challenge: sixteen peaches appear, but only three are real while thirteen are fake. The group must choose three peaches, but no one wants to volunteer, so they all look to Li Qingxian.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates leadership, preparation, and composure. His earlier instructions and reliance on the White-Light Child save the group during the pointing game. He also becomes increasingly suspicious of the hidden forces influencing his fortune.
• Guan Zhou is revealed to have made a disastrous bargain: he traded away his nose for treasures. His failure exposes the danger of valuing material gains over essential abilities and ultimately leads to his death.
• Wang Buwu and Song Baige quickly rationalize Li Qingxian’s inheritance of Guan Zhou’s treasures as “Heaven’s Mandate,” showing both their confidence in Li and their desire to justify the outcome.
• Fangfang reacts with childish moral clarity, emphasizing that one’s own body is more valuable than treasures. She also openly admires Li Qingxian after he acquires more treasures.
• The other examinees become increasingly dependent on Li Qingxian, treating him as the person who must make difficult decisions for the group.

Significant Themes

• The danger of trading away one’s essential self for wealth or power: Guan Zhou’s missing nose symbolizes the consequences of sacrificing something fundamental for temporary treasures.
• Fortune, destiny, and causality: The chapter questions whether events are random or controlled by powerful forces. Guan Zhou’s poor Fortune may have made him the one destined to die, while Li Qingxian may be benefiting from a larger arrangement.
• Leadership and responsibility: The group depends on Li Qingxian’s preparation, judgment, and ability to face risks that everyone else avoids.
• Appearance versus reality: The Peach-Pointing Child’s words and gestures conflict, the peaches may be real or fake, and the apparent “gift” of Guan Zhou’s treasures may conceal a deeper supernatural mechanism.
• The morality of survival: The Game Children casually consume Guan Zhou after his transformation, emphasizing the brutal, game-like rules governing this world.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian leads the group by establishing the strategy of following the White-Light Child rather than the deceptive Peach-Pointing Child.
• Guan Zhou silently looks to Li for help as he realizes he has lost his nose, but Li can only watch as the curse transforms and kills him.
• Wang Buwu and Song Baige support Li’s claim to Guan Zhou’s treasures, persuading the others that the transfer reflects Heaven’s will.
• Fangfang criticizes Guan Zhou’s poor judgment while praising Li Qingxian, reinforcing the contrast between Guan Zhou’s greed and Li’s growing authority.
• At the end, the entire group retreats from the new peach-picking challenge and expects Li Qingxian to act, confirming his role as their de facto leader.

Chapter Summary: “Some Gaze at Peach Blossoms, Others Encounter Them”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian uses his Spirit Eye, a Fate Artifact, and ten Fortune Fish to identify three peaches containing grayish-yellow Eerie Qi. He selects all three, while the other team members watch uneasily because Guan Zhou recently died after being transformed into a peach.
• The group rationalizes Guan Zhou’s death as an unavoidable rule of Eerie City: every team must lose at least one member, and Guan Zhou possessed the least Fortune.
• At a crossroads, they encounter an injured five-person group led by a handsome, one-armed Nether Child with peach-blossom eyes. The group recognizes Li Qingxian but avoids him and eventually chooses a different route.
• The Nether Child’s companions speculate that Li Qingxian is a Fate Arts Master and that his companions are “treacherous ministers.” The Nether Child also senses that one of them—Gang Feng’s son—is fated to suffer from romantic entanglements. Despite sensing an opportunity ahead, the group abandons it rather than compete with Li Qingxian.
• Li Qingxian’s group later hears an old peddler calling out about selling pigs. They realize this is different from the child-voiced games encountered earlier and may represent another dangerous Eerie City game.
• The peddler appears with a line of pig-headed children. Li Qingxian recognizes one white pig as Shen Xiaoyi, identified by his jade pendant and clothing. Shen Xiaoyi’s expression shows shame, anticipation, and excitement, implying he has been transformed and is hoping Li Qingxian will rescue him.
• The peddler demands two treasures for one pig. Li Qingxian offers two peaches, but the peddler insists on a third treasure. Li Qingxian tests him with the rattle drum associated with Weird Mother. The peddler is visibly frightened and refuses to accept it.
• Claiming that Li Qingxian is Weird Mother’s son, the peddler agrees to sell Shen Xiaoyi for the two peaches—but demands the rope around Li Qingxian’s neck as an additional payment. Li Qingxian asks why the peddler wanted the rope from the beginning.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian: Demonstrates increasingly powerful divination and Fortune-manipulating abilities by locating the Eerie Qi peaches. He remains calm and strategically evasive, concealing his intentions while negotiating with the pig seller. His connection to Weird Mother appears to grant him authority or protection, though he himself seems uncertain about the full significance of that relationship.
• Shen Xiaoyi: Is revealed to have been transformed into a white pig, despite being a powerful Fate Arts Master and member of a major faction. His humiliation and hope suggest he depends on Li Qingxian for escape.
• The Nether Child: Shows caution and humility after recognizing Li Qingxian’s strength. Although he is interested in a possible opportunity, he chooses not to challenge Li Qingxian and avoids provoking Xiao Yi.
• The Team: Members become increasingly wary of Li Qingxian after witnessing Guan Zhou’s fate, but they continue to trust his judgment and follow his leadership.
• The Pig Seller: Appears outwardly friendly but is perceptive, greedy, and potentially dangerous. He recognizes the value of Li Qingxian’s possessions and reacts with fear to the rattle drum, suggesting he knows more about Weird Mother than he admits.
• Fangfang: Confirms that the rattle drum belongs to Mother and implies that the pig seller would not dare take it.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus agency: Guan Zhou’s death is treated as predetermined by Eerie City’s hidden rules, while Li Qingxian uses Fortune and Fate Arts to influence outcomes.
• The danger of appearances: Ordinary-looking peaches, pigs, and games conceal supernatural threats and transformations. The chapter’s title reflects how the same objects may appear harmless to some but reveal terrifying realities to others.
• Power, reputation, and deterrence: Li Qingxian’s reputation and large group discourage other experts from attacking him, even when they are hostile or interested in the same opportunity.
• Humiliation and transformation: Shen Xiaoyi’s conversion into a pig illustrates how even powerful practitioners can be reduced to helpless forms within Eerie City.
• Bargaining with the supernatural: The pig seller treats people as commodities and treasures as currency, forcing Li Qingxian to navigate rules he does not fully understand.
• Hidden identities and alliances: The references to “treacherous ministers,” Weird Mother’s son, and Gang Feng’s fate suggest deeper supernatural identities and political connections beneath the group’s outward appearance.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and his companions discuss Guan Zhou’s death, with Song Baige defending it as an unavoidable consequence of Eerie City’s rules.
• Li Qingxian’s group silently assesses the injured Nether Child’s party, while the opposing group later debates Li Qingxian’s abilities and background.
• Wang Buwu and Song Baige identify the hostility of the five strangers, while Li Qingxian dismisses the immediate threat because they would not dare attack in Eerie City.
• Qiu Ye alerts Li Qingxian that the white pig is Shen Xiaoyi, prompting Li Qingxian to negotiate directly with the peddler.
• Li Qingxian and the pig seller engage in a tense bargaining exchange over Shen Xiaoyi’s release, culminating in the seller’s demand for Li Qingxian’s mysterious neck rope.

Chapter Summary: “Pig Becomes Shen Xiaoyi”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian negotiates with the Pig Seller to obtain the grass rope binding the transformed Shen Xiaoyi. Rather than offering multiple treasures, he bargains fiercely and ultimately trades one pig, an unspecified treasure, and a future favor from the Pig Seller for the rope.
• The Pig Seller takes the rope and departs through an invisible gate, while the little white pig is released from its transformation.
• The pig transforms back into Shen Xiaoyi, who is embarrassed and angry at having been treated as a pig, though he sincerely thanks Li Qingxian for saving him.
• Shen Xiaoyi explains that Good Fortune Born plotted against him. Good Fortune Born first used Xiaohua to block disaster, then caused Shen Xiaoyi to suffer an Eerie calamity meant for Meng Huaichuan, hoping to gain Meng’s favor.
• The group debates Good Fortune Born’s motives. Shen Xiaoyi sees him as deliberately malicious, while Li Qingxian suggests that Good Fortune Born’s excessive Fortune and competitive ambitions may have caused the conflict without a direct intention to destroy Shen Xiaoyi.
• Shen Xiaoyi remains determined to avenge Xiaohua, though he agrees not to endanger the group while they are still inside the unpredictable Eerie Ground.
• While walking, Li Qingxian asks Shen Xiaoyi about methods of suppressing the Fate Star Hidden Dragon in the Poison Pool. Shen Xiaoyi explains that the hidden dragon can be restrained temporarily, but cannot be suppressed forever.
• Shen Xiaoyi reveals the requirements of the forbidden Dragon Suppression Art: the Jade Imperial Seal, a large expenditure of Fortune, and dragon blood. Li Qingxian indicates that he plans to use the art against an unnamed target, and Shen Xiaoyi offers to lend him an old dynasty’s Jade Imperial Seal.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates his ruthlessness, bargaining skill, and confidence by successfully negotiating with an Eerie entity. He also shows loyalty toward his companions and begins planning strategically against a future enemy.
• Shen Xiaoyi shifts from a humiliating pig transformation back into his human form, but remains emotionally vulnerable and embarrassed around Li Qingxian. His anger toward Good Fortune Born deepens, especially because Xiaohua was harmed.
• Good Fortune Born is characterized as ambitious, competitive, and dangerously self-serving. Whether he intentionally harmed Shen Xiaoyi remains uncertain, but his actions clearly create serious hostility.
• Qiu Ye acts as a mediator, defending Shen Xiaoyi from Li Qingxian’s teasing and reminding him not to jeopardize the group.
• Shen Xiaoyi and Li Qingxian develop a closer, somewhat awkward relationship, combining teasing, gratitude, strategic cooperation, and visible emotional tension.

Significant Themes

• Bargaining and power: Li Qingxian’s negotiation with the Pig Seller shows that intelligence, confidence, and leverage can overcome an apparently overwhelming supernatural power imbalance.
• Fortune and fate: The chapter emphasizes how Fortune shapes conflict and calamity. Good Fortune Born’s superior Fortune may allow his desires to produce harmful consequences even without deliberate murderous intent.
• Debt and obligation: Li Qingxian accepts a favor from the Pig Seller, creating a dangerous future obligation in exchange for saving Shen Xiaoyi.
• Revenge versus group survival: Shen Xiaoyi wants justice for Xiaohua, but must restrain himself while the group remains in the dangerous Eerie Ground.
• Suppression versus inevitability: The discussion of the hidden dragon suggests that destiny can be delayed or restrained, but not permanently denied. Power may postpone transformation, yet true potential eventually emerges.
• Humiliation and vulnerability: Shen Xiaoyi’s pig transformation exposes his embarrassment and dependence on others, while Li Qingxian’s teasing contrasts with the genuine trust developing between them.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and the Pig Seller: They engage in a tense, evenly matched negotiation, each insisting that the other needs what only they can provide.
• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi: Li Qingxian teases him as “Shen Piglet,” but also rescues and protects him. Their later private conversation reveals growing familiarity and awkward intimacy.
• Shen Xiaoyi and Qiu Ye: Qiu Ye comforts Shen Xiaoyi, defuses Li Qingxian’s mockery, and encourages him to prioritize the team’s safety.
• Shen Xiaoyi and Good Fortune Born: Their conflict is rooted in competition, betrayal, and the harm done to Xiaohua. Shen Xiaoyi now regards Good Fortune Born as an enemy.
• Li Qingxian and the group: The team is impressed and uneasy at his willingness to bargain with an Eerie, while Qiu Ye and the others continue to support his leadership.

Chapter Summary: Emperor Star Shines Upon the Eerie City

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi discuss the Jade Imperial Seal, a powerful treasure from the old dynasty. Li intends to borrow it when necessary, believing it may help him manipulate Fortune despite being only a Middle Rank Fate Arts Master.
• Shen Xiaoyi explains that the upcoming final stage of the Azure Cloud Examination will take place in the Imperial City. The brightest star in the sky is identified as an Emperor Star, a Fate Star containing Imperial Aura and pointing toward the city.
• The Eerie City itself forms a Fate Pattern called “Emperor Star Illuminating the Way.” Whoever claims the Emperor Star will gain control of the Imperial City and secure a position on the Fate-Dividing Platform.
• Meng Huaichuan has apparently abandoned any attempt to seize the star, fearing the consequences of challenging the Dingnan Prince’s Residence and the political power behind the Son of Man. He is expected to assist Good Fortune Born instead.
• Li considers taking the Emperor Star, but recognizes that doing so would disrupt the Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s plans and make him an enemy of the Son of Man. He and Shen Xiaoyi suspect that the Eerie Ground may help conceal or distort the consequences of such an action.
• Shen Xiaoyi reveals his belief that Good Fortune Born is likely the Son of Man, since only the Son of Man should be capable of suppressing him within the Myriad Phenomena Diagram.
• Li reveals that he possesses Good Fortune Born’s blood, hair, nails, and clothing fragments from the Eerie Village. Shen suggests using them to temporarily seize Good Fortune Born’s life, but Li refuses, fearing that such an attack would provoke the Heaven’s Mandate Sect into open war.
• Instead, Li asks Shen to assist with the Dragon Suppression Art, possibly as part of a plan to hinder or torment Good Fortune Born without directly seizing his life.
• Li and Shen discuss infiltrating or deceiving their rivals by disguising themselves as a dead examinee. Shen considers impersonating Guan Zhou, but Li points out that their physical differences would expose the disguise.
• In the Divine Capital, Guo Xiang senses that the Great Eerie has arrived. He warns that people must stockpile food and medicine, remain at home, and prepare for a long, dangerous winter night.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates increasing strategic caution. Although tempted by the enormous power of the Emperor Star, he understands the political and supernatural dangers of directly opposing Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• Li also reveals his loyalty to his allies. He promises to lead the Night Guard against Nether Mountain if they retaliate against Shen Xiaoyi.
• Shen Xiaoyi becomes more openly committed to Li’s side and regrets previously joining Meng Huaichuan, Lin Zhenyuan, and Good Fortune Born. He believes that an alliance with Li from the beginning might have allowed them to seize the Emperor Star.
• Shen’s seemingly scholarly exterior contrasts with his ruthless instincts. He seriously proposes using Li’s collected bodily remnants of Good Fortune Born to attack or seize his life.
• The chapter strengthens the suspicion that Good Fortune Born is the Son of Man, elevating him from a rival to the central figure in Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s design.
• Guo Xiang serves as an early warning figure, recognizing that the broader crisis has escalated beyond the examination and that the Great Eerie threatens the outside world.

Significant Themes

• Power versus political consequence: The Emperor Star offers extraordinary authority, but claiming it could provoke the most powerful faction in the world.
• Fate, destiny, and manipulation: Characters attempt to interpret and exploit Fate Stars, Fortune, karma, and heavenly plans, while the Eerie Ground interferes with those systems.
• Alliance and loyalty: Li and Shen’s relationship shifts toward genuine partnership, strengthened by mutual assistance and shared opposition to Good Fortune Born.
• Identity and hidden roles: The possibility that Good Fortune Born is the Son of Man highlights the uncertainty surrounding people’s true identities and destinies.
• The Eerie as disruption: The Eerie Ground is not merely a dangerous location; it actively threatens to distort memories, conceal causality, and derail Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s plans.
• Escalating catastrophe: The final warning about the Great Eerie suggests that the examination’s events are part of a much larger crisis affecting the entire world.

Character Interactions

• Li and Shen engage in teasing, argumentative banter, but their exchanges reveal growing trust and camaraderie.
• Shen warns Li not to seize the Emperor Star recklessly, while Li argues that their status as Fosterlings may require them to compete for it.
• Their discussion of Good Fortune Born combines suspicion, strategic planning, and dark humor, with Shen eager to support any plan that harms their rival.
• Li’s promise to protect Shen from Nether Mountain reinforces their developing brotherly bond.
• The chapter ends by shifting from the conspiratorial partnership in the Eerie City to Guo Xiang’s ominous recognition that the Great Eerie has begun invading the wider world.

Chapter Summary: “On the Road Ahead, Encountering Fate Corpses Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shen Xiaoyi disguises himself with a transformation pill, a magical octopus mask, and a Daoist robe so that his identity cannot be recognized. He formally joins Li Qingxian’s group by writing a Fate Oath.
• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi prepare to use the Dragon Suppression Art after entering the Imperial City, believing the Emperor Star will descend after nightfall. They lack a dragon horn and decide to substitute the Universal Jade Pendant as a ritual material.
• While the two Fate Arts Masters secretly finalize their plan, the other examinees debate the dangers ahead. They conclude that the Imperial City will likely become the battlefield between the Eerie Ground and Heaven’s Mandate Sect over the Son of Man’s claim to the top scholar position.
• The group realizes they may be forced to compete: refusing to participate could anger the Eerie Ground, while succeeding could draw Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s attention. Their situation is described as an almost inescapable death trap.
• A gigantic Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse appears in the mist. Covered in countless eye-like white points, it releases blood-red rays of divine light that erase buildings, streets, and earth.
• The group survives by lowering their heads and avoiding its gaze. Afterward, they inspect the devastation and discuss the immense strength and mysterious origins of Ancient Fate Corpses.
• They eventually leave the ruined streets and arrive before a newly built city gate, presumably marking the approach to the Imperial City.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian takes greater leadership responsibility, coordinating the Dragon Suppression Art and warning everyone how to survive the Fate Corpse’s attack. His deductions continue to guide the group’s decisions.
• Shen Xiaoyi becomes an official ally and demonstrates both his resourcefulness and expertise as a Fate Arts Master. He contributes missing ritual materials and helps refine Li Qingxian’s plan.
• Song Baige remains suspicious of Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi, but also offers increasingly perceptive analysis of the larger conflict. He recognizes that the Eerie Ground may be manipulating the examinees.
• Qiu Ye emphasizes Shen Xiaoyi’s considerable Fortune and the seriousness of the dangers they face.
• Wang Buwu focuses on the political and supernatural forces controlling the examination. He also carefully studies the Fate Corpse’s destructive power.
• Luo Jing adopts a pragmatic attitude, preferring survival and future cultivation over risking his life for the top scholar title.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and lack of agency: The examinees realize they are being used as pieces by Heaven’s Mandate Sect, the imperial court, and possibly the Eerie Ground.
• Survival versus ambition: The top scholar position offers tremendous rewards, but pursuing it may mean death or attracting dangerous enemies.
• The limits of knowledge and control: Neither the group nor the major powers fully understand why the Eerie Ground invaded the Myriad Phenomena Diagram or how Fate Corpses relate to the conflict.
• Ancient power and destruction: The Fate Corpse’s overwhelming strength suggests that ancient beings possess forces beyond the control of modern organizations.
• Calamity and self-destruction: The characters speculate that fallen worlds and nations may have brought ruin upon themselves, introducing the idea that civilizations can be destroyed by their own power and choices.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi work closely together, using voice transmission to plan the Dragon Suppression Art while keeping their intentions from the rest of the group.
• Song Baige repeatedly accuses them of plotting, while others argue that they may simply be seeking a way out of the Eerie Ground.
• The group debates whether entering the Imperial City will make them safer or place them in an even more dangerous struggle between the Eerie Ground and Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• After encountering the Fate Corpse, the group collectively analyzes its abilities and the unresolved relationship between Ancient Fate Corpses, the Eerie, and Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• The chapter ends with the group united but uneasy as they approach the new city gate and the next stage of the examination.

Chapter Summary: At the Imperial City Gates, Joy and Sorrow, Partings and Reunions

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian and the surviving members of his group finally reach the Imperial City gates. Unlike the previous gates, the plaza is free of gray mist, but the survivors are vastly reduced in number.
• More than thirty thousand examinees originally entered the trials, yet only a few thousand remain. Many survivors have undergone severe Eerie Transformations, becoming grotesquely deformed, insane, or animal-like.
• Li Qingxian’s group reunites with Meng Huaichuan’s team and other survivors. Meng reveals that Shen Xiaoyi was taken by an eerie entity after Good Fortune Born transferred an affliction onto him through the use of a treasure.
• Li Qingxian confronts Good Fortune Born, reminding him of his suspicious behavior in the Eerie Village. Good Fortune Born denies intentionally harming anyone, though his history causes nearly everyone to distrust him.
• Meng Huaichuan proposes merging the two teams, but Song Baige and the others refuse unless Good Fortune Born is excluded. Since Meng insists on keeping him, the teams remain separate but agree to cooperate within the Imperial City.
• Li Qingxian and Meng Huaichuan agree to share information about the games and trials they experienced. Li uses the Mist Board to explain his group’s unusually high survival rate to the other examinees.
• Li credits their survival to collective unity: the teams agreed not to fight among themselves, refused to participate in the Traitor-Loyalist Game, shared resources such as Voice Transmission Talismans, and worked together against the eerie threats.
• He recounts how he used the Life-Replacement Wooden Child to test the rules and discovered a way to protect people from the Cat-Headed Men by moving and separating them. Other survivors realize that cooperation and sacrifice could have saved many more lives.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian is revealed as a thoughtful, courageous, and effective leader. He prioritizes cooperation, risks himself to investigate dangerous rules, shares valuable resources, and takes responsibility for informing the wider group.
• Meng Huaichuan remains grateful to Good Fortune Born for saving him, even though the rescue resulted in Shen Xiaoyi’s loss. His loyalty creates a divide between his team and Li Qingxian’s.
• Good Fortune Born becomes increasingly isolated. His previous actions and apparent connection to disasters make others view him as a source of misfortune, despite his denials.
• Song Baige and Qiu Ye openly express their distrust of Good Fortune Born and defend the group’s refusal to accept him.
• Shen Xiaoyi is confirmed dead or lost to the eerie entity, making his absence a painful reminder of the cost of relying on dangerous treasures.
• The surviving teams gradually recognize the value of unity and begin viewing Li Qingxian’s methods with admiration and regret.

Significant Themes

• Cooperation versus internal conflict: The chapter emphasizes that the greatest cause of death was not merely the eerie trials, but the examinees’ failure to cooperate.
• Leadership and sacrifice: Li Qingxian’s willingness to test dangers and risk himself contrasts with the selfishness and mistrust that doomed other groups.
• Consequences of past actions: Good Fortune Born’s earlier behavior continues to affect how others judge him, while Meng Huaichuan must confront the cost of accepting his help.
• Regret and missed opportunities: Survivors realize that simple unity could have prevented many deaths, producing sorrow and remorse.
• Human solidarity: Li’s statement that all examinees are members of the Human Race frames cooperation as both a practical necessity and a moral duty.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian greets Meng Huaichuan’s group and immediately asks about Shen Xiaoyi, surprising his own teammates.
• Li challenges Good Fortune Born over the transfer of the eerie affliction, while Good Fortune Born attempts to defend his intentions.
• Meng proposes reconciliation and cooperation, but Song Baige rejects a merger unless Good Fortune Born is excluded.
• Qiu Ye and the other survivors publicly condemn Good Fortune Born, while Meng continues to support him out of gratitude.
• Li and Meng ultimately set aside their differences and agree to share information and cooperate in the Imperial City.
• Li’s account of his group’s survival causes the other examinees to move from disbelief to admiration, then to sorrow and regret as they understand what unity might have achieved.

Chapter Summary: “The Sky Darkened”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian recounts how he sacrificed himself by transforming into a cabbage and used the rules of the game to drive away the Vegetable Gardener. He conceals information about the Weird Mother and the treasures.
• His achievement earns widespread admiration from the Literary Cultivators, while many Devil Sect cultivators react with resentment, believing Li gained benefits while they suffered heavy losses.
• Li warns everyone to remain vigilant against the Ancient Fate Corpses.
• Meng Huaichuan and others admit that Li’s group handled the earlier games—Pass the Handkerchief, Light the Firecrackers, and Cat and Mouse—far better than they did. As the survivors recount their experiences, they recognize that most groups resorted to mutual betrayal, sabotage, and self-preservation, often harming both themselves and others.
• Li explains that his group succeeded because they established a clear and morally positive goal: becoming “loyal ministers.” In the Eerie Ground, he interprets this goal as saving as many human lives as possible.
• He argues that loyalty requires acting according to what is good, right, and kind. Evil actions that directly harm or kill people must be eliminated, while lesser differences should be restrained rather than persecuted. He also condemns reckless interference carried out in the name of righteousness.
• A question is raised about how loyalty is possible when a ruler fails to act like a true ruler. Li answers that only time and their own actions can provide the answer.
• Li’s group decides to wait beside the sealed black gate. As the children begin singing “Wolf, Wolf, What Time Is It?” and answer, “The sky has darkened,” terror spreads through the examination grounds.
• In the Divine Capital, Zhou Chunfeng prepares to go to the examination grounds. Gray Falcon leaves ahead of him, while Zhou travels by carriage.
• The Ministry of Justice orders Zhou Chunfeng’s arrest, declaring him a rebel and instructing that he be captured alive.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian is further established as courageous, strategic, morally driven, and politically astute. He presents cooperation and saving lives as the foundation of success, while also subtly promoting loyalty to the emperor.
• Meng Huaichuan shows humility by acknowledging Li’s superiority, then contributes practical knowledge about surviving when the game’s “circle” collapses.
• The surviving Literary Cultivators grow more united and appreciative of Li, recognizing that cooperation produced better results than competition and betrayal.
• Devil Sect and Heretical Cultivators remain divided in their attitudes toward Li: some respect him, while others resent him or distrust his definition of loyalty.
• Song Baige views Li as cunning, though their exchange reveals their familiar friendship.
• Wang Buwu reinforces the group’s hope that they can endure until “dawn.”
• Zhou Chunfeng demonstrates resolve by heading toward the examination grounds despite the danger and impending arrest.
• Gray Falcon shows deep loyalty to Zhou by wishing to accompany him and kneeling to bid farewell when ordered to leave.

Significant Themes

• Cooperation versus selfishness: The chapter contrasts Li’s coordinated, altruistic strategy with the other groups’ betrayal and self-preservation.
• The importance of moral purpose: A clear goal is valuable only when it is good, just, and compassionate; immoral goals merely amplify destruction.
• Loyalty and political responsibility: Li defines loyalty as protecting lives and serving the people, not blindly obeying authority.
• The limits of righteousness: True loyalty requires opposing genuine evil but avoiding self-righteous persecution of people who are merely different or imperfect.
• Hope amid darkness: The group’s decision to wait for dawn symbolizes endurance and faith, while the children’s song signals that darkness—and perhaps a new threat—has arrived.
• The decline of the state: The need to proclaim basic concern for human life, even in the Eerie Ground, reflects how far Qi Kingdom society has deteriorated.
• Political danger and repression: Zhou Chunfeng’s impending arrest reveals a conflict between truth or justice and the authorities’ determination to suppress him.

Character Interactions

• Li receives praise and criticism from different factions, exposing the divisions between Literary Cultivators and Devil Sect practitioners.
• Li and Meng Huaichuan share mutual respect, with Meng openly acknowledging Li’s achievements.
• Li debates the meaning of loyalty with Devil Sect and Puppet Cultivators, clarifying that righteous people should restrain differences but decisively oppose actions that harm lives.
• A Southern Lands representative challenges Li on loyalty to an unworthy ruler, prompting Li’s deliberately cautious answer.
• Song Baige teases Li for being sly, and Li responds familiarly and dismissively.
• Wang Buwu and Li share a brief exchange centered on enduring the night and hoping for dawn.
• Zhou Chunfeng and Gray Falcon’s farewell emphasizes their loyalty, while the Ministry of Justice’s order places Zhou directly in conflict with the state authorities.

Chapter Summary: “Auspicious Fate Arts”

Key Plot Points and Events

• An unnamed old First Rank minister stands outside the Chief Minister’s chamber, then orders someone to return home and change into coarse clothing, hinting at hidden political maneuvering.
• In Eerie City, night suddenly falls. The gray mist vanishes, the sky becomes completely dark, and a single pale-purple star illuminates the city. The ominous change causes everyone to fear that something significant has occurred.
• The Imperial City gates open, and golden-armored guards announce an imperial decree: traitors are hidden within the palace, along with dangerous Fate Corpses. The gathered candidates must enter the Imperial City, eliminate the threats, and earn rewards, while avoiding disturbances in the palace.
• The main gates close immediately afterward, revealing that the candidates are being directed through a smaller side gate by silver-armored guards. This confirms that the children and apparent rulers of Eerie City are not its true masters.
• The group discusses how to navigate the Imperial City’s unusual Fate Mold. Li Qingxian realizes that his normally effective Three Thousand Paths technique is poorly suited to the palace, which represents the “court of the world” rather than a collection of ordinary paths.
• Shen Xiaoyi proposes several alternatives, including techniques from the Heaven’s Mandate, Mountain Fate, River Fate, and Life-Seizing Sects. Because the group lacks the required rank, arts, or resources, most are impractical.
• Li Qingxian suggests creating a small Auspicious-Turning Configuration instead of attempting a powerful grand configuration. Shen Xiaoyi identifies a Dissolution Configuration as the best option because it can weaken forces within the Imperial City that restrain or threaten them.
• Shen Xiaoyi transmits the Auspicious Fate Arts to Li Qingxian. Li begins rapidly studying the inheritance, aided by his advanced abilities and a Fortune Fish, but immediately feels an unexplained thread of worry.

Character Development

• Li Qingxian demonstrates increasing mastery of Fate Arts. He recognizes the limitations of Three Thousand Paths, proposes a practical alternative, and reveals that he has studied Physiognomic Formation Technique and even possesses Mountain Fate Arts.
• His ability to learn quickly has grown substantially since reaching Seventh Rank. He can absorb complex knowledge rapidly, though he still relies on Fortune to accelerate his progress.
• Li’s hidden capabilities continue to surprise Shen Xiaoyi, who realizes that Li possesses more secrets and resources than he has revealed.
• Shen Xiaoyi acts as the group’s expert on Fate Arts. He explains the strengths and limitations of multiple sects, provides Li with the Auspicious Fate Arts inheritance, and helps devise a survival strategy.
• Shen’s surprise at Li’s abilities reveals that Li has begun to surpass him in certain areas, particularly in Fortune control and technical potential.
• Song Baige and the others shift from mocking or blaming Eerie City’s children to recognizing that a deeper authority controls the city. Song remains outspoken but accepts Li and Shen’s strategic leadership.
• The gathered candidates begin behaving less like frightened children and more like coordinated adults preparing for a dangerous political and supernatural mission.

Significant Themes

• Hidden authority and political deception: The Imperial City’s apparent rulers are only intermediaries; the sudden gate closures expose a deeper power structure.
• Fate versus strategy: Success depends not merely on strength but on selecting the correct Fate Arts for the specific configuration of the Imperial City.
• Turning misfortune into opportunity: The Auspicious Fate Arts embody the idea that calamity can be redirected or partially dissolved rather than directly overcome.
• Knowledge and adaptability: Li Qingxian’s greatest advantage is his ability to recognize when a familiar technique is unsuitable and rapidly acquire a better one.
• Secrecy and concealed power: Li’s expanding abilities and unexplained resources suggest that his true potential remains hidden even from his allies.
• Ominous foreshadowing: The darkened sky, solitary purple star, and Li’s sudden sense of worry imply that the Imperial City contains dangers beyond the officially announced traitors and Fate Corpses.

Character Interactions

• Li and Shen engage in a technical debate over the most effective Fate Arts for entering the Imperial City. Their exchange shows mutual respect, but also a competitive awareness that both conceal important abilities.
• Li challenges Shen when he suspects Shen is encouraging him to seize Fortune through the Life-Seizing Sect’s methods.
• Song Baige interrupts the private discussion to demand an explanation, prompting Li to teach the group about auspicious and calamity-based destinies.
• Shen ultimately shares a valuable inheritance with Li, while Li agrees to focus on mastering the Dissolution Configuration before the group enters the city.
• The group gradually unites around Li’s proposed plan, placing their survival in his and Shen’s hands.

Chapter Summary: “Invite the True Dragons to Suppress the Baleful Dragon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian briefly studies and masters the Configuration Transformation Arts, allowing him and Shen Xiaoyi to alter the group’s fortune and misfortune.
• After completing their preparations, the group leaves through the side gate of the Azure Cloud Examination. Fangfang is tasked with warning them if the eerie singing begins.
• They enter a strange Imperial City in the Death Realm. The area contains a large, muddy pool, a ruined stone tower, and a divided cityscape: one side resembles the Qi Kingdom’s red-and-gold Imperial City, while the other consists of gray-white Death Realm structures.
• Seeking safety, the group hides in nearby woods. Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi modify everyone’s Momentum Configuration and prepare a Dragon Suppression Art intended to counter Good Fortune Born, whose overwhelming fortune poses a deadly threat.
• Li Qingxian sets up an elaborate ritual using imperial edicts, ritual implements, Fortune Fish, a Jade Imperial Seal, and the heavily talisman-wrapped Good Fortune Born Talisman Effigy.
• He invokes the Emperors of the Ten Directions and the dragons of the heavens, hoping to summon a True Dragon formed from the Imperial Aura and National Fortune lingering in the Death Realm.
• Instead of one dragon, two powerful Death Realm True Dragons appear: a savage eagle-headed dragon and a huge Yellow Dragon surrounded by gray mist.
• Li Qingxian commands the dragons to suppress the “baleful dragon,” meaning Good Fortune Born, but Shen Xiaoyi realizes their preparations were designed for only one dragon and may be insufficient.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates remarkable talent by quickly mastering the Configuration Transformation Arts and directing a dangerous, highly complex ritual.
• His caution increases after witnessing Guan Zhou’s fate. He prepares ten Life-Replacement Wooden Children and chooses to strike first against Good Fortune Born rather than risk becoming a Fosterling.
• Despite his confidence, Li Qingxian recognizes the danger of summoning True Dragons and understands that the ritual could potentially drag him into its effects.
• Shen Xiaoyi continues to serve as Li Qingxian’s adviser and ritual partner. He understands the risks of the Dragon Suppression Art but supports Li Qingxian’s decision.
• Shen’s confidence falters when two unusually powerful dragons appear instead of one, revealing the unpredictability of the Death Realm.
• Fangfang remains closely integrated with the group, maintaining a lighthearted bond with Shen Xiaoyi and Li Qingxian while also serving an important warning role.

Significant Themes

• Preparation versus uncertainty: The group makes extensive preparations, but the Death Realm produces an unexpected complication that threatens to invalidate their plan.
• The danger of overwhelming fortune: Good Fortune Born’s immense fortune is portrayed as something potentially destructive, forcing Li Qingxian to attack someone who may be the Son of Man.
• Fate and perception: Li Qingxian’s growing awareness that something is wrong reflects the chapter’s emphasis on intuition, hidden connections, and the gradual unveiling of fate.
• Power beyond human control: The True Dragons embody forces far greater than the characters. Even a carefully designed Fate Art may summon more power than intended.
• Trust and cooperation: Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi rely on each other’s specialized skills, while the group’s survival depends on coordinated preparation and mutual protection.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi collaborate closely on altering the group’s fortune and constructing the Dragon Suppression Art.
• Shen Xiaoyi repeatedly warns Li Qingxian about the dangers of inviting a True Dragon, while Li Qingxian insists that the risk is preferable to being killed by Good Fortune Born.
• The two exchange playful compliments about each other’s Fate Arts abilities, which Fangfang humorously criticizes.
• Li Qingxian speaks directly to Good Fortune Born before beginning the ritual, framing his attack as an act of self-preservation rather than personal malice.
• Shen Xiaoyi holds Fangfang’s hand tightly when the dragons appear, emphasizing both his concern for her safety and his alarm at the ritual’s unexpected escalation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian performs the Dragon Suppression Art using two Universal Jade Pendants, imperial edicts, Fate Stars, and Fortune Fish as offerings.
• Twin divine dragons consume the offerings and release two streams of golden-yellow energy into the talisman doll representing Good Fortune Born.
• The ritual creates overwhelming pressure throughout the area. Li Qingxian’s Fortune first appears to decline, then surges to an extraordinary level, causing his Fate Mansion to overflow with power and even making his nose bleed.
• Shen Xiaoyi attempts to deduce what happened but suffers powerful backlash, confirming that Li Qingxian’s Fortune has become exceptionally strong—possibly approaching the level of someone destined to contend for supremacy.
• The twin dragons vanish, and the group resumes planning how to break the deadlock in the Azure Cloud Examination. They debate whether to enter the unfamiliar white Imperial City or the familiar but potentially deceptive Imperial City on the right.
• When asked to choose, Li Qingxian suggests using the Mountain-Opening Technique on the Remnant Tower, treating it as a mountain and transforming it into the foundation of a Fate Mountain. Shen Xiaoyi is alarmed, believing the tower to be a major Imperial City artifact.
• Li Qingxian realizes his sudden Fortune is impairing his judgment. He washes his face and asks the others to guard him while he enters his Fate Mansion to investigate.
• Inside, he discovers that his entire Fate Mansion is illuminated by powerful white light. His Fate Stars have been greatly strengthened, although his major treasures—including the Four-Aspects Fang Zun, Ruler’s Fortune, and the old dynasty’s Jade Imperial Seal—have only been temporarily enhanced rather than fundamentally changed.
• Through further deductions, Li Qingxian discovers that he is temporarily protected by two supreme Fate Spirits: Heavenly Grace and Heavenly Nobility.
• He recognizes that these protections are extraordinarily rare and powerful, normally belonging only to legendary Sons of Fortune, emperors, Beyond-Rank experts, or other supreme figures.
• Realizing that the protection will not last, Li Qingxian begins planning how to exploit this temporary opportunity, increasingly focusing on the Remnant Tower and its possible connection to National Fortune.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian gains an immense but mysterious increase in Fortune after suppressing Good Fortune Born. Although he briefly feels invincible, he quickly forces himself to remain rational and recognizes the danger of being controlled by excessive Fortune.
• He becomes more strategically ambitious, considering whether to use his temporary blessings to transform the Remnant Tower into a Fate Mountain.
• His understanding of his own power deepens as he discovers that he possesses two extraordinary Fate Spirits simultaneously.
• Shen Xiaoyi is shocked by Li Qingxian’s sudden rise in Fortune. His failed deduction and resulting backlash demonstrate how abnormal Li Qingxian’s condition has become.
• Shen also acts as a voice of caution, warning Li Qingxian that tampering with the Remnant Tower could be reckless.
• The group continues relying on Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi as their principal Fate Arts experts when deciding how to proceed through the Imperial Cities.

Significant Themes

• Fortune as both power and danger: Li Qingxian’s immense Fortune grants security and opportunity but also threatens to distort his judgment.
• Temporary opportunities: The chapter emphasizes the need to exploit rare advantages before they disappear.
• Heavenly protection and destiny: Heavenly Grace represents protection from mysterious forces of fate, while Heavenly Nobility represents support from the most powerful institutions and authorities of the current age.
• Power versus understanding: Li Qingxian gains extraordinary strength without understanding its origin, forcing him to balance ambition with caution.
• National and imperial authority: The Remnant Tower appears connected to the power of an entire nation, suggesting that it may be a damaged National Fortune Heavy Artifact.

Character Interactions

• Shen Xiaoyi and Fangfang witness the frightening backlash caused by Li Qingxian’s sudden Fortune.
• The group debates the relative dangers of the two Imperial Cities, revealing differing views on whether appearances should be trusted.
• Shen Xiaoyi challenges Li Qingxian’s plan to split open the Remnant Tower, while Li Qingxian increasingly views it as an opportunity made possible by his new divine protections.
• Li Qingxian relies on Shen Xiaoyi and the others to protect his physical body while he investigates his Fate Mansion and determines how best to use the Heavenly Grace and Heavenly Nobility Fate Spirits.

Chapter Summary: “Vow of a Scumbag”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian studies an ancient Jade Imperial Seal from the Shang Dynasty and compares it with the Remnant Tower. He deduces that the tower is actually a National Fortune Heavy Artifact left behind by the powerful Old Kingdom of the Death Realm.
• Because the Remnant Tower is a building-type artifact, Li believes it can be refined into a Fate Mountain using Mountain Fate Arts. Doing so would weaken the Old Kingdom’s remaining power while greatly increasing his own protection and Fortune.
• Li reasons that the danger will primarily fall on the Heavenly Grace and Heavenly Nobility Fate Spirits protecting him, allowing him to benefit without personally bearing the full consequences.
• He asks Shen Xiaoyi to help him open the Remnant Tower as a mountain. Shen initially refuses and distrusts Li’s claims, but Li promises to seize Good Fortune Born’s life and theatrically swears an oath invoking heavenly punishment.
• Shen accepts the deal but warns that Mountain Opening requires a tremendous amount of Fortune. Li explains that Zhou has supplied him with a Prince’s Golden Seal, imperial edicts, and other resources.
• Li and Shen conclude that the area around the Remnant Tower is relatively safe, even though the imperial palaces nearby are extremely dangerous. They suspect that remaining there while others perish may help them survive the Azure Cloud Examination.
• Li informs the other twenty-two members of the group that they can increase their Fortune by knocking down the Remnant Tower. Though initially alarmed, the group agrees, especially after Li jokes that the alternative is for everyone else to die.
• The group immediately heads toward the tower. While traveling, Li and Shen discuss the requirements for the Mountain-Opening Technique.
• Shen discovers that Li possesses the Great Principle-Slaying Sword, a Fate Artifact powerful enough to substitute for the Mountain-Opening Blade. This causes Shen to wonder whether Li might secretly be the Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s “Son of Man.”

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian displays his characteristic opportunism and calculated selfishness. He presents the dangerous plan as a necessary act of survival and revenge, while clearly intending to gain a powerful Fate Mountain for himself.
• Li also demonstrates growing confidence in his Fate Arts and strategic abilities. He is willing to challenge a relic of an ancient kingdom despite the risks.
• Shen Xiaoyi remains skeptical of Li and refuses to trust him without guarantees, but he ultimately agrees after Li swears an oath. His own Fate Arts confirm that the group’s current location is safe.
• Shen’s attitude toward Li becomes more complicated when he learns that Li possesses the Great Principle-Slaying Sword. His surprise leads him to seriously reconsider Li’s possible connection to the Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• The group members, especially Song Baige and Wang Buwu, are wary of Li’s dangerous schemes but gradually accept his leadership because improving their Fortune may be their best chance of survival.

Significant Themes

• Calculated risk and survival: Li repeatedly chooses dangerous opportunities over passive defense, believing that gaining power now is the only reliable way to survive.
• Manipulation and self-interest: Li disguises personal ambition as assistance to the group and cleverly uses promises, rewards, and an oath to secure Shen’s cooperation.
• Power inherited from history: The Shang Dynasty’s seal and the Old Kingdom’s Remnant Tower show how ancient civilizations continue to shape the present through surviving artifacts and National Fortune.
• Fate versus agency: Although the characters rely heavily on deductions, Fortune, and Fate Patterns, Li constantly tries to manipulate these forces rather than submit to them.
• Trust and suspicion: Shen and the others recognize Li’s talent but remain alert to his hidden motives, while Li carefully withholds information about his strongest resources.

Character Interactions

• Li and Shen engage in a tense but humorous negotiation over the Remnant Tower. Shen repeatedly challenges Li’s claims, while Li responds with bargaining, flattery, and an absurdly serious oath.
• Li’s oath to seize Good Fortune Born’s life highlights his willingness to exploit technical interpretations of promises.
• Song Baige questions Li’s plan, while Wang Buwu quickly supports it once the potential benefits become clear.
• The group looks to Shen for confirmation before accepting Li’s proposal, showing that Shen functions as an important authority alongside Li.
• During their discussion of the Mountain-Opening Technique, Shen is shocked by Li’s possession of the Great Principle-Slaying Sword and begins to suspect that Li may have ties to the Heaven’s Mandate Sect.

Chapter Summary: “Grand Cultivator Makes a Move”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shen Xiaoyi explains why her faction opposes the Heaven’s Mandate Sect. The Sect seeks to become the supreme power of the Fate Realm, but its dominance would restrict Fate Arts and eliminate countless possible paths of development.
• Shen Xiaoyi reveals that her cooperation with Li Qingxian will end after the Azure Cloud Examination if he is truly connected to the Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• Li Qingxian reassures her that he is unlikely to belong to the Sect. Because he possesses the Heaven’s Mandate Instrument, he will likely need support from other Fate Realm powers instead.
• Li Qingxian tells Shen Xiaoyi about his alliance with Good Fortune Born and Eerie Village, though he conceals the fact that he obtained Fate Stars from Good Fortune Born. Shen Xiaoyi correctly deduces that he must have extracted something more valuable than ordinary Fate Materials, but Li refuses to reveal what it was.
• The group leaves the forest and approaches the Remnant Tower, the next major location of the Azure Cloud Examination.
• Good Fortune Born senses an instinctive fear and hostility toward the masked member of Li Qingxian’s group, Ye Han, and deliberately avoids confronting them.
• Li Qingxian’s group encounters the Devil Sect, led by the weakened Grand Cultivator Bone Filth Child. The Devil Sect members have suffered serious physical distortions from the dangers of Eerie City, while Li’s group remains unharmed.
• Li claims official authority as a Night Guard acting under Zhou Chunfeng’s orders and demands that the Devil Sect clear a path to the Remnant Tower.
• Bone Filth Child objects to Li using his official position to pressure them. Li responds with a veiled threat, displaying numerous Fate Artifacts and implying that he is prepared for battle.
• Realizing that Li and Shen Xiaoyi are extremely dangerous opponents, the Devil Sect members become reluctant to fight.
• Bone Filth Child agrees to yield the area but demands that Li withstand one of his techniques in return for the attack Li previously used against him.
• Li accepts, promising not to counterattack proactively but warning that Bone Filth Child will bear responsibility if his own attack rebounds against him. The two prepare to face one another beneath the Remnant Tower.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates strategic caution and political awareness. He hides the full extent of his gains from Good Fortune Born, maintains his alliance with Shen Xiaoyi, and uses his official Night Guard identity to gain access without immediately resorting to violence.
• Shen Xiaoyi becomes increasingly trusting and familiar with Li, teasing him about his secret transaction and showing concern when he accepts Bone Filth Child’s challenge. Her stance toward him remains cooperative but conditional because of her opposition to the Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• Good Fortune Born is shown to possess strong intuitive Fate-based instincts. His fear of Ye Han leads him to avoid the Remnant Tower rather than risk a confrontation.
• Bone Filth Child remains proud and unwilling to retreat without preserving his dignity. Though weakened from his previous battle, he challenges Li to withstand one attack, seeking to recover some authority.
• Ye Han, the masked member of Li’s group, is portrayed as mysterious and intimidating. His presence provokes unusual fear in Good Fortune Born and contributes to the Devil Sect’s hesitation.
• Song Baige recognizes that the earlier stages of the examination were unusually easy and warns the group that the real danger is beginning.

Significant Themes

• Clashing ideals versus personal hostility: Shen Xiaoyi emphasizes that the conflict with the Heaven’s Mandate Sect is ideological rather than purely personal.
• The value of freedom and possibility: The Fate Arts Realm thrives because it lacks a single absolute ruler; excessive control would destroy countless potential paths.
• Political authority as a weapon: Li uses his Night Guard position and Zhou Chunfeng’s authorization to pressure the Devil Sect without openly initiating a sectarian conflict.
• Hidden strength and strategic deception: Li conceals his true gains and capabilities, while both sides carefully evaluate the risks of revealing their strength.
• Fate and intuition: Good Fortune Born’s fear of Ye Han and Li’s warnings from his Fate Spirits show how Fate influences decisions and predicts danger.
• Pride and face: Bone Filth Child yields the location but insists on testing Li, demonstrating the importance of reputation and dignity among powerful cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Li and Shen Xiaoyi share a playful, increasingly intimate exchange about Li’s secret dealings with Good Fortune Born, while still negotiating the political limits of their alliance.
• Good Fortune Born quietly warns Meng Huaichuan to avoid the Remnant Tower and withdraws after sensing danger from Ye Han.
• Li confronts Bone Filth Child through official rhetoric, turning a potential sectarian battle into a dispute between imperial officials.
• Bone Filth Child challenges Li to endure one technique, and Li accepts despite sensing danger. The chapter ends with both sides clearing the area and preparing for their confrontation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Beneath the Remnant Tower, Li Qingxian confronts Bone Filth Child and urges him to surrender the tower, warning that leaving would cost him nothing.
• Bone Filth Child refuses and declares that he will demonstrate the Devil Sect’s great arts. Shen Xiaoyi warns Li Qingxian that, as an Evil Devil Child, Bone Filth Child may invoke an Evil God if pushed to desperation.
• Bone Filth Child unleashes a horrifying transformation:
  • Lost hair, eyebrows, and beard burst from his body, each strand tipped with a tiny eyeball.
  • His regenerated fingernails and toenails become hosts for small evil demons.
  • His body grows to thirteen feet tall, while tentacles writhe inside his toothless mouth.
• He performs the Devil Sect art “Myriad Demons, Pay Homage,” creating a massive black grotto filled with statues and demonic creatures. The grotto’s presence overwhelms most onlookers, forcing them to retreat or avert their eyes.
• The myriad demons charge Li Qingxian in a black tidal wave. Li calmly summons the Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman through the Thunder Seal.
• The summoned Inner God manifests as a colossal bronze giant with a twelve-colored halo, a gigantic Black Dragon drum, and lightning wrapped around his body—an appearance associated with Upper Realm immortal gods.
• The strongman’s thunderous attack destroys the demonic horde and collapses the Myriad Devils Grotto. He then strikes Bone Filth Child directly.
• Bone Filth Child counters with sludge-covered tentacles, but the clash leaves him severely injured: his body is smashed into the Remnant Tower’s steps, his breastbone is shattered, and his back is nearly destroyed.
• Although badly wounded, Bone Filth Child rapidly regenerates using black insects emerging from his body.
• Recognizing Li Qingxian’s overwhelming strength, Bone Filth Child acknowledges that another Seventh Rank Grand Cultivator now exists and withdraws with the Devil Sect cultivators.
• The group chooses the white Imperial Palace of the Old Kingdom of the Death Realm rather than the Great Qi-style Imperial Palace. The accompanying Fate Arts Master bids Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi farewell.
• The spectators discuss a divine statue Bone Filth Child nearly used. They conclude that he wisely refrained from sacrificing to the Evil God, since doing so could have produced unpredictable consequences.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates exceptional confidence and composure, standing against Bone Filth Child’s frightening Devil Sect art without hesitation. His mastery of lightning cultivation is revealed to be far beyond ordinary expectations.
• Bone Filth Child shows both terrifying power and caution. Though he unleashes a high-level Devil Sect technique and nearly reveals an Evil God-related trump card, he stops short of using it and retreats once Li’s strength becomes clear.
• Shen Xiaoyi acts as a knowledgeable advisor, warning Li about Bone Filth Child’s Evil Devil nature and the dangers of invoking an Evil God.
• The Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman is established as an extraordinary Inner God, possessing the appearance and power of an Upper Realm immortal being. His flawless victory over the demonic horde and Bone Filth Child elevates Li’s status dramatically.
• The surrounding cultivators shift from merely respecting Grand Cultivators to recognizing that figures at this level can harm others simply through their presence or gaze.

Significant Themes

• The overwhelming power of high-level cultivation: The battle emphasizes the terrifying gap between ordinary cultivators and Grand Cultivators, whose techniques can affect minds, environments, and entire battlefields.
• Hidden trump cards and restraint: Both combatants possess additional powers but choose not to reveal everything. Bone Filth Child’s refusal to invoke the Evil God highlights the importance of strategy and controlled escalation.
• Divine and demonic forces: The confrontation pits Devil Sect demonic arts against Li Qingxian’s thunder-based divine power, presenting lightning as a force that destroys evil and suppresses demons.
• Recognition and rising status: Bone Filth Child’s acknowledgment confirms Li Qingxian’s emergence as a new Seventh Rank Grand Cultivator, marking a major advancement in his reputation.
• Appearance versus true strength: Bone Filth Child’s grotesque display initially seems overwhelming, but Li’s summoned Inner God proves that terrifying spectacle does not guarantee victory.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian respectfully but firmly attempts to persuade Bone Filth Child to leave the Remnant Tower.
• Shen Xiaoyi privately warns Li about the danger of Bone Filth Child’s desperate techniques, while Li accepts the warning and prepares carefully.
• Li orders the others to stand back before confronting the demonic assault himself.
• Bone Filth Child and Li exchange devastating attacks, with Bone Filth Child ultimately forced to acknowledge Li’s strength.
• After the battle, the cultivators gather around Li and discuss the divine statue Bone Filth Child almost used, recognizing how narrowly the conflict avoided an even more dangerous escalation.

Summary

• Preparation and warning: Song Baige warns Li Qingxian that their enemy will likely summon the Evil God Statue during their next confrontation. He urges Li to avoid fighting alone and promises that the literary cultivators will weaken the Evil God with literary qi. Li instead prepares to open the remnant stele and refine a Fate Mountain, trusting Shen Xiaoyi’s assistance. The group spreads out around the ruined tower to guard them.
• Beginning the Mountain-Opening Technique: Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi circle the square marble remnant tower, whose entrance is buried beneath rubble. Li performs the Twelve Mountain-Opening Formulas, beginning with Mountain Inquiry. The tower responds through visions of thunder, fire, and destruction, confirming that the technique can proceed despite the site being both an Eerie Ground and a Death Realm.
• Progress and mounting cost: The first six formulas—Mountain Inquiry, Heaven Inquiry, Earth Inquiry, Mountain Nurturing, Mountain Fortification, and Mountain Stabilization—are completed successfully. The later stages, beginning with Meridian Severing, become far more demanding. These spells cut the tower’s connection to the Death Realm, isolate it, and seal it completely. They consume enormous amounts of Fortune and mana, though Li’s unusually large supply of Fortune Fish—gained partly from the deaths of more than thirty thousand people in the city—allows him to continue.
• Li’s mana crisis: By Mountain Purification, Li is exhausted and has depleted nearly all his mana. His recovery methods, including visualization, the four child spirits, the Thunder Dragon Fire Seal, and replenishment pills, cannot restore mana quickly enough. He realizes he has misjudged the power within the remnant stele, which is comparable to a National Fortune Heavy Artifact, and that his Heavenly Grace and Heavenly Nobility Fate Spirits are insufficient to prevent failure. If he cannot recover within fifteen minutes, Mountain Opening will fail.
• Shen Xiaoyi’s intervention: Shen offers to transfer her mana, but Li explains that externally transferred mana would suffer severe losses and would not be enough. Shen then reveals a secret family treasure: the Hundred-Ginseng Dharma Ancestor, a jade-box-contained ginseng construct holding mana equivalent to an entire Upper Rank expert. She admits that Li’s confidence implied he had seized an enemy’s Fortune and suspected she possessed this treasure. Despite its value as a breakthrough aid or life-saving item, she lends it to him.
• The Hundred-Ginseng Dharma Ancestor: Li cautiously draws on the treasure without fully opening the box. White essence enters his Spirit Platform, manifesting as a ginseng child and rapidly replenishing his mana. The Dharma Ancestor also contains a Dharma Seed that will eventually strengthen the user’s dantian and meridians. Li briefly stops absorption when the power becomes overwhelming, then confirms that his mana is restored and overflowing.
• Final concealment: Shen Xiaoyi activates a black-and-white Fate Artifact resembling a great umbrella. It spreads over the area and blocks the distant Fate Arts Masters’ vision, concealing Li and Shen as they prepare to complete the final stages of opening the mountain.

Character Development and Interactions

• Li Qingxian remains bold and strategic but is forced to confront the limits of his preparation. His willingness to proceed despite severe risks shows confidence, while his exhausted state reveals that he has underestimated the remnant tower. He accepts Shen’s aid only after recognizing that failure is imminent.
• Shen Xiaoyi demonstrates deep trust and gratitude toward Li, calling him her lifesaver and risking a precious family heirloom to help him. Her teasing, especially when pretending reluctance, contrasts with the seriousness of her sacrifice.
• Song Baige acts as a cautious adviser and protector, warning Li about the Evil God Statue and organizing the group’s defensive positions.
• The relationship between Li and Shen grows stronger through mutual reliance: Li trusts her with the mountain-opening process, while Shen trusts his judgment enough to lend him an Upper Rank-level treasure.

Significant Themes

• Risk versus preparation: Li’s Fortune is abundant, but Fortune alone cannot compensate for insufficient mana or an incomplete understanding of the remnant tower’s power.
• Trust and sacrifice: Shen’s willingness to lend a priceless heirloom reflects loyalty and repayment of Li’s past help.
• Fortune and power: The deaths in the city provide Li with immense Fortune, yet the chapter emphasizes that Fortune must be matched by physical and spiritual resources.
• Hidden power and legacy: The remnant tower’s connection to the Death Realm and the Hundred-Ginseng Dharma Ancestor both reveal the extraordinary treasures and dangers inherited from earlier eras.
• Cooperation against overwhelming forces: Although Li is the primary actor, success depends on Shen’s support and the group’s protection, reinforcing that even exceptional cultivators cannot always succeed alone.