Chapter Summaries

Chu Yang accepted Frank’s commission to investigate Darlock, then agreed to Nadam’s request to delay the report while using the Royal Family’s findings. Prince Rasak learned that Chu Yang intended to stall Frank, allowing the prince time to appoint Darlock as his personal butler.

• Frank hired Chu Yang to investigate Darlock and paid him an advance, while Chu Yang suspected the commission was tied to a noble rivalry.
• A masked man stopped Hugh near her usual bar, and she asked whether he was from the Military Intelligence Department.
• Nadam told Chu Yang that Frank and his patron were untrustworthy, urged him to report Darlock’s virtues truthfully, and showed him the Royal Family’s investigation results.
• Chu Yang agreed to delay his report, accepted the papers and hidden banknotes, and planned to stall until the dispute became irrelevant.
• Nadam reported to Prince Rasak that Chu Yang would delay Frank, and Rasak concluded that the detective had understood the situation and was buying time for Darlock’s appointment.

Prince Rasak rescued a drugged woman, while Chu Yang pursued a suspected Beyonder case involving a company digging beneath a former shop and attended a gathering where a woman offered a cursed revolver. The chapter ended as the revolver’s seller began explaining its curse after Wilson challenged her.

• Prince Rasak ordered Nadam to bring a drugged woman into another carriage and arrange for a doctor to treat her.
• Chu Yang told Chief Bakerpo that an apothecary could help his wife and unborn child, and Bakerpo offered him access to the police shooting range.
• Chu Yang found a case about a company digging beneath a shop near Erlinda’s family’s former clothing shop and suspected the excavation had a hidden purpose.
• Chu Yang attended a Beyonder gathering where an Artisan woman offered a white revolver with flame, frost, and invisibility effects for sale.
• Wilson questioned the revolver’s curse, and the woman began explaining that she would not sell an item with a fatal flaw.

At the Beyonder gathering, Chu Yang sold talismans while Miss Sunflower accepted a commission to quietly stop workers’ leaders from stirring unrest. Later, Miss Xiu returned exhausted from using the ancient coin, asked Chu Yang for advice about joining the Military Intelligence Department, and revealed that she had also been investigating Vendi Human Resources Company, leaving Chu Yang wary of the connection.

• A cursed revolver was auctioned for less than seven hundred pounds, and a client offered two hundred pounds for quietly persuading five ordinary dock workers’ leaders to abandon their plans for unrest.
• Miss Sunflower accepted the commission, while Wilson sold her three healing potions for fifteen pounds each and Chu Yang earned money selling his talismans.
• Miss Xiu returned the ancient coin to Chu Yang and explained that its blood cost increased after the first day, leaving her severely drained.
• Miss Xiu told Chu Yang that a former subordinate of her father had invited her to join the Military Intelligence Department, and Chu Yang advised her to accept for its resources and protection.
• Chu Yang told Miss Xiu he planned to investigate Vendi Human Resources Company, and she revealed that she had received a commission involving a missing employee of the same company.

Chu Yang and Miss Xiu investigated the mysterious client Lelouch and discovered that the Axe Gang had abducted his family. After tracing the kidnappers toward the harbor, they used Chu Yang’s talismans to pursue them.

• Miss Xiu brought Chu Yang to meet Houston, who gave them Lelouch’s address and warned them that Lelouch and his wife worked night shifts.
• Chu Yang and Miss Xiu found Lelouch’s apartment ransacked and learned that a man in a top hat had led gang members in abducting Lelouch, his son, and his wife.
• Chu Yang used Scene Retrieval to reveal that the top-hatted man had made Lelouch and his son attack each other with a strange Beyonder power.
• Miss Xiu learned that the Axe Gang had likely targeted Lelouch’s family over unpaid fees, while Chu Yang suspected the gang had connections to the Vendi Human Resources Company and Death-related organizations.
• Miss Xiu insisted on rescuing the family, so Chu Yang activated travel talismans and carried them swiftly toward the kidnappers’ route to the harbor.

Chu Yang and Miss Xiu rescued Lelouch's family from Buck and uncovered that a mysterious man had used a ruby necklace to direct Buck's crimes and stir unrest in the port district. After killing Buck, Chu Yang decided to investigate the trafficking operation and report what he could to the Military Intelligence Department.

• Chu Yang put Buck to sleep while Miss Xiu subdued the gang members escorting Lelouch's family and kept them alive to avoid worsening the family's danger.
• Chu Yang found and sealed a strange ruby necklace hidden on Buck, while Miss Xiu interrogated the gang members and learned Buck had ordered the kidnapping.
• At a safe house, Miss Xiu gave Buck truth serum as Chu Yang read his memories and learned a mysterious man had used the necklace to make Buck incite a port workers' strike.
• Chu Yang saw that Buck had ordered the search beneath the former Erlinda family property and had targeted Lelouch's family after fearing his crimes would be exposed.
• Chu Yang killed Buck and decided he and Miss Xiu would locate the warehouse holding abducted vagrants and report the trafficking operation to the Military Intelligence Department.

Chu Yang discovered that sharing secrets from cases he had personally investigated helped digest his Knowledge Keeper potion, then prepared with Miss Xiu to pursue the killers of Lelouch’s eldest son. Meanwhile, Ivankov’s reinforcements arrived to investigate Doctor Odom’s disappearance, and Manhattan received a letter for Chu Yang that he delivered to him.

• Chu Yang explained that he had accepted an invitation to join the Military Intelligence Department, while Miss Xiu reported that the gang members had blamed Buck for the kidnapping.
• Chu Yang told Miss Xiu that the Axe Gang was backed by the Revival Society, then realized that sharing secrets from matters he had personally investigated rapidly digested his Knowledge Keeper potion.
• Chu Yang and Miss Xiu discussed how personal involvement and investigation might improve potion digestion, then resolved to find the place where Lelouch’s eldest son had worked and pursue his murderers.
• Ivankov welcomed reinforcements Judy, Aldrich, and their giant captain at Radiant Church, where they discussed the missing Doctor Odom and the possibility of involving a favored believer.
• Aldrich’s messenger delivered Chu Yang’s letter to Manhattan, who later handed it to Chu Yang when he returned to the detective agency.

Chu Yang joined Ivankov and the Moon Worshippers to investigate Doctor Odom, then connected the witches’ scheme to recent human trafficking by the Revival Society. The team prepared to investigate the warehouse, with Chu Yang, Judy, and Aldrich assigned to act while Felix stayed at Radiant Church.

• Chu Yang read Ivankov’s letter inviting him to Radiant Church, and Manhattan warned him not to underestimate the church or the Earth Mother Church.
• Ivankov introduced Chu Yang to Judy, Aldrich, and Felix, who questioned how he had uncovered Doctor Odom’s collusion with witches.
• Chu Yang explained his detective work, and Aldrich noted that monsters might be using the recent disappearances to obtain bodies and remains.
• Chu Yang connected the Revival Society’s new human-trafficking operation to the witches and described its ties to the Military Intelligence Department.
• Felix assigned Chu Yang, Judy, and Aldrich to investigate the warehouse while he guarded the church, and Chu Yang suggested they could investigate openly.

Chu Yang gained public recognition for exposing a human trafficking operation, then used Miss Xiu’s inquiry about Rosell’s Diary to create a new way to pass information to Klein. At the Tarot Club, Chu Yang presented another diary page, surprising Klein and Audrey.

• Aldrich discovered that the Witch Cult had altered the company employees’ memories but was still holding the kidnapped people underground, and he gave Chu Yang credit for finding the kidnappers.
• Newspapers across Backlund praised Chu Yang for exposing the trafficking case, making him famous and forcing him to stay inside Manhattan’s detective agency.
• Miss Xiu told Chu Yang that Miss Audrey wanted information about Rosell’s Diary, and Chu Yang decided to use the opportunity to provide more diary entries through her.
• Chu Yang fabricated a diary page while Klein confirmed that the Sacrifice Ritual Chu Yang had provided appeared sound.
• At the Tarot Club, Chu Yang told The Fool that he had brought one page of Great Emperor Rosell’s Diary, surprising Klein and Miss Justice Audrey.

Chu Yang sought Klein’s permission to bring Miss Xiu into the Tarot Club and arranged a test to see how she reacted to Klein’s name. As the gathering turned to potion formulas, Klein proposed an experiment with a modified Sacrifice Ritual that could transfer traded items between members without exposing their identities.

• Chu Yang asked Klein about bringing Miss Xiu into the Tarot Club, and Klein required him to test her interest in learning his name before proceeding.
• Alger asked for the Favored of the Sea potion formula, and Chu Yang offered to trade it for a Verdant Mother Tree Heart.
• Audrey asked Chu Yang about the Mind Reader formula, and he said he would seek information and report back the following week.
• Alger asked how he could deliver a Verdant Mother Tree Heart without revealing his identity, and Klein interrupted to propose an experiment.
• Klein explained that he had modified the Sacrifice Ritual so members could transfer items to one another without exposing their identities, and Chu Yang agreed to cooperate.

Klein explained the Sacrifice Ritual to Alger, Audrey, and Chu Yang, who agreed to test it and offer charms for Klein to bestow. After exchanging intelligence about a Backlund detective and three sea admirals, Chu Yang performed the ritual and saw an ancient door open before a vast, shadowy figure.

• Klein gave Alger, Audrey, and Chu Yang the ritual instructions, and Chu Yang offered to sacrifice a mask and two charms for the experiment.
• Audrey reported that a young detective had exposed a human-trafficking operation in Backlund, and Alger shared news about Iron Admiral, Mixed Day Vice-Admiral, and Moon Admiral.
• Alger explained the admirals’ backgrounds and warned Audrey that life at sea was dangerous.
• After the gathering, Chu Yang checked his surroundings, recorded the ritual details, and began the Sacrifice Ritual.
• An invisible whirlwind swept up the ritual materials, and Chu Yang saw an ancient door bearing Klein’s symbol open before a throne occupied by a vast shadow.

Chu Yang began training Chu Yan and discovered that the boy’s mismatched golden-red eyes and extraordinary perception were signs of the Progenitor Bird’s bloodline awakening. He taught Chu Yan the Progenitor True Fire Skill and warned him to keep his abilities secret, while Feng Yin noticed his changing aura; the chapter ended as she hurried toward them, visibly worried.

• Chu Yang took Chu Yan to the Back Mountain training ground and noticed golden-red light in the boy’s mismatched pupils as he cultivated.
• Chu Yan described seeing spiritual energy, laws, life force, and minerals, leading Chu Yang to suspect that the Progenitor Bird’s bloodline had awakened in him.
• Chu Yang taught Chu Yan to conceal his eyes and warned him to hide his bloodline until he could protect himself.
• Chu Yang taught Chu Yan the Progenitor True Fire Skill, and Chu Yan’s cultivation caused nearby fire-attributed spiritual energy to gather around him.
• Chu Yang kept his suspicion about the Progenitor Bird’s bloodline from Feng Yin, while she noticed that Chu Yan’s aura had grown purer.
• The next day, Chu Yan reported that his perception had improved, and Feng Yin hurried toward him and Chu Yang with worry on her face.

With the Chaos Demon Lord and Void Demon Lord threatening to break the Heavenly Dao Barrier, Chu Yang left to find the vanished Progenitor Bird in the Extraterrestrial Starry Sky. He arrived in the star-filled realm with the search for the Nirvana Phoenix still ahead of him.

• Feng Yin told Chu Yang that the Extraterrestrial Demons were moving, and he left Chu Yan in her care before joining the Sages beyond the Nine Heavens.
• Hongjun Daozu revealed that the Void Demon Lord had joined the Chaos Demon Lord, and the two attacked the Heavenly Dao Barrier until it began to crack.
• Chu Yang urged the Sages to seek the Progenitor Bird, and Hongjun Daozu confirmed it was alive in the Extraterrestrial Starry Sky and had sought the Starry Sky Ancient Road under the name Nirvana Phoenix.
• Hongjun Daozu gave Chu Yang a guidance talisman and the Hongyuan Divine Pearl, and Chu Yang entered a starlit passage to search for the Progenitor Bird.
• The Sages stayed behind to defend the failing barrier while Chu Yang emerged into the Extraterrestrial Starry Sky and saw an endless sea of stars.

Chu Yang followed the Starry Sky Ancient Road to Wutong Star, where its master Wutong Zi revealed that Nirvana Phoenix had gone to the Flame Star Region. Wutong Zi offered to help Chu Yang strengthen himself and prepare for the dangerous journey, and Chu Yang woke after his first night on the planet.

• Chu Yang found the Starry Sky Ancient Road and traveled along it, following the Progenitor Bird inheritance’s growing response toward a living planet.
• On Wutong Star, Chu Yang met its master, Wutong Zi, who recognized the aura of Nirvana Phoenix’s inheritance and listened as Chu Yang described the crisis in the Prehistoric World.
• Wutong Zi told Chu Yang that Nirvana Phoenix had left for the Flame Star Region, then offered to help him prepare for the journey because time passed differently on Wutong Star.
• Wutong Zi directed Chu Yang to cultivate at the Phoenix Nirvana Platform, where a branch of the Eternal Fire could strengthen him, and began teaching him about the Extraterrestrial Starry Sky.
• After Wutong Zi’s introduction the previous night, Chu Yang woke on the grass the next morning with a better understanding of the starry sky.

Wutong Zi tested Chu Yang against five Saint Level tree spirits, and Chu Yang endured their attacks by combining the Time-Fire Law with the Progenitor Bird’s nirvana rebirth. After passing, he began formal cultivation on the Phoenix Nirvana Platform, where the Eternal Fire steadily transformed and strengthened him.

• Wutong Zi summoned five Saint Level tree spirits and challenged Chu Yang to withstand their combined attacks for one shichen.
• Chu Yang used Time-Fire techniques and then awakened his nirvana rebirth to recover his injuries and spiritual power, turning the battle against the tree spirits.
• Chu Yang endured the full test, and Wutong Zi approved his performance while identifying weaknesses in his combat experience, law control, and movement technique.
• The next day, Wutong Zi took Chu Yang to the Phoenix Nirvana Platform, where Chu Yang began cultivating amid the scorching Eternal Fire.
• Over the following days, Chu Yang trained in the Eternal Fire, fought the tree spirits, and learned survival skills, growing stronger and beginning to absorb the Eternal Fire directly.

Chu Yang sensed that the Nirvana Phoenix, imprisoned by the Void Demon Lord in the Despair Abyss, needed his help, so he continued cultivating on Wutong Star to grow strong enough to rescue her. After more than half a year, he questioned why Wutong Zi would not go himself, and Wutong Zi began to reveal his true nature.

• The Nirvana Phoenix awakened in the Despair Abyss and sensed that Chu Yang was using her inheritance, while the Void Demon Lord realized the inheritance could guide Chu Yang to her.
• Chu Yang felt the inheritance’s summons, and Wutong Zi confirmed that the Nirvana Phoenix was trapped and urged him to keep cultivating.
• After more than half a year of training on Wutong Star, Chu Yang’s Time-Fire Law advanced toward Sage Completion.
• Chu Yang asked Wutong Zi why he would not rescue the Nirvana Phoenix himself, and Wutong Zi began explaining that he was not a powerful cultivator or an ancient immortal.

Wutong Zi revealed that he was Wutong Star’s consciousness and could not leave the planet, so he trained Chu Yang to rescue Progenitor Bird in his stead. After empowering Chu Yang and giving him tools to find the Despair Abyss, Wutong Zi sent him into the Extraterrestrial Starry Sky, where he began crossing a dangerous region of Space Turbulence.

• Wutong Zi showed Chu Yang that he would dissolve if he went beyond Wutong Star, explaining why he could not personally rescue Progenitor Bird.
• Wutong Zi taught Chu Yang how to resist Void Power and analyze the seal imprisoning the Nirvana Phoenix, then gave him a Void Compass and Wutong Star’s Source Seed.
• Wutong Zi infused Chu Yang with some of Wutong Star’s source power, leaving himself weakened while raising Chu Yang’s strength beyond that of an ordinary Sage Completion.
• Chu Yang departed alone and followed the Void Compass toward the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy in search of the Void Demon Lord and Progenitor Bird.
• Chu Yang entered a narrow stable passage through a vast region of Space Turbulence, relying on the Law of Time and Wutong Star’s source power to withstand its tearing force.

Chu Yang survived the Space Turbulence by killing a Starry Sky Behemoth and obtaining its Space Crystal, then traveled to a spirit-rich planet to recover. As he cultivated, a group of primitive humanoid natives approached, and he tried to reassure them that he meant no harm.

• A spatial fluctuation destabilized the passage and trapped Chu Yang in Space Turbulence, where a Starry Sky Behemoth attacked him.
• Chu Yang wounded the behemoth's left eye with Eternal Lieyang, then used Wutong Star's origin power and the Light of Life to destroy its remaining eye and kill it.
• Chu Yang retrieved the Space Crystal from the behemoth's corpse and left the dangerous region.
• Chu Yang found a spirit-rich planet and began cultivating near a mountain spring to recover his strength.
• A group of primitive humanoid natives approached Chu Yang, who stood and told them he meant no harm.

Chu Yang befriended a primitive people, taught them fire, cooking, and other skills, then left for the Despair Abyss after recovering his magical power. He reached the abyss and studied its demon defenses, finding a gap in the patrols that could let him infiltrate.

• Chu Yang exchanged fruit for dried meat with the primitive people and taught them to make fire and roast food.
• Over several days, Chu Yang taught the primitive people practical skills while restoring his magical power and deepening his understanding of the Time-Fire Law.
• Chu Yang carved glowing Runes and teaching patterns onto stones and a slab, then bid farewell to the primitive people and flew toward the Despair Abyss.
• Following the Void Compass, Chu Yang reached the heavily guarded Despair Abyss and concealed his aura with Wutong Star's origin power.
• Chu Yang observed the demon patrols and found a poorly guarded gap between two fortresses, watched by a lax team of five Extraterrestrial Demons.

Chu Yang infiltrated the Despair Abyss and damaged the formation powering the prison that held the Progenitor Bird. As the weakened seals gave him a chance to enter, he reached the Nirvana Phoenix, who recognized him as her inheritor.

• Chu Yang resisted the Void Power with his vitality and the Time-Fire Law, then discovered the Nirvana Phoenix imprisoned inside an inverted-pyramid structure.
• After witnessing the prison’s guards respond to the Nirvana Phoenix’s resistance, Chu Yang identified the formation at the abyss’s bottom as the source of the prison’s power.
• Chu Yang used a guard shift change to sneak to the formation’s core node and pierce it with his flaming longsword, triggering a collapse and alerting the guards.
• Chu Yang raced toward the prison, used the Time-Fire Profound Meaning to delay the Demon General, and broke through the weakened entrance seal.
• Chu Yang found the Nirvana Phoenix bound on a stone platform, and she asked whether he was her inheritor and a member of the Human Race.

Chu Yang broke into Despair Abyss to free the Nirvana Phoenix, but the Void Demon Lord arrived before he could break her chains. The Nirvana Phoenix awakened her Nirvana Fire and escaped the prison with Chu Yang, while the Void Demon Lord pursued them toward the blocked abyss exit.

• Chu Yang severed the chain binding the Nirvana Phoenix's right hand, then fought the Demon General as guards surrounded the prison.
• Chu Yang used the Source Seed Wutong Zi had given him to strike the Nirvana Phoenix's second chain, but the Void Demon Lord knocked him into the prison wall and left him badly injured.
• The Nirvana Phoenix unleashed her Nirvana Fire, shattered her remaining chains, and regained her freedom.
• The Nirvana Phoenix healed Chu Yang, then defeated more than a hundred Extraterrestrial Demons with Ten Thousand Fires Return to Origin.
• The Nirvana Phoenix transformed into her Phoenix True Form and flew toward the abyss exit with Chu Yang, as the Void Demon Lord took his own true form and pursued them.