Chapter Summaries

Jiang Shu, Zhan Feng, and the surviving prodigies escaped the Animated Images, only to discover that the Ancient Battlefield was rapidly stabilizing and becoming a real world. They realized its corpses, spatial rifts, and hostile images were developing awareness and adapting, leaving them trapped in the embryo of a growing death world.

• Jiang Shu rescued Zhan Feng from the Man with Broken Saber, and they fled to catch up with Zhan Yun's badly injured group.
• The group encountered a more stable region of the Small World, then resumed their escape when the Animated Images caught up; Jiang Shu collapsed after helping them get away.
• Jiang Shu awoke among the survivors, and Zhan Yun noticed warmth and a glow within cracks in the crystalline ground.
• Zhan Yun and Jiang Shu sensed that the Ancient Battlefield was losing its boundaries as its spatial structure expanded and its Law Fragments resonated.
• The group saw an Ancient Demon Corpse move and nearby Space Cracks writhe, while Zhan Feng concluded that the Animated Images were learning and becoming new lifeforms.

Jiang Shu and the survivors faced the Secret Realm’s worsening mutations as an Ancient Projection of mid-stage Venerable strength awakened and attacked them. After the projection’s first strikes killed three prodigies and badly wounded Zhan Feng and Zhan Yun, Jiang Shu found a flaw in its armor and coordinated a counterattack, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Zhan Yun warned Yu Sha and the others that the changing world had likely sealed their escape methods and made rescue from outside uncertain.
• The sky and Silent Canyon mutated, sending a vortex, towering lava waves, and a Space Strangling Web toward the survivors.
• An Ancient Projection awakened with mid-stage Venerable power and pierced through the group’s formation, killing three affiliated-faction prodigies.
• Zhan Feng struck the projection’s annihilating attack to protect Yu Sha and the blue-clad girl, but was blasted into rubble.
• Zhan Yun blocked the projection’s next sweep with her spear and was driven backward, while Jiang Shu identified a gap beneath its neck armor.
• Zhan Yun aimed at the armor crack as Jiang Shu used his halberd, an axe projection, and Space Mirrors to create an opening for his hidden attack.

Jiang Shu and his allies wounded the Ancient Demon Image, but ambushes left the group badly injured and Hu Erdan’s fate uncertain. As more Shadow Soldiers closed in, Jiang Shu ordered Zhan Feng to retreat and ignited his Dao Fire to confront the Venerable-level image alone.

• Zhan Yun struck the crack beneath the Ancient Demon Image’s neck, disrupting its Dao Rhyme, and Jiang Shu pierced a vulnerable joint with his Desolate Star Halberd.
• Zhan Feng struck the image’s waist and ribs with his Bronze Battle Axe, but two demonic soldiers emerged and attacked Lan Xi and Zhan Yun.
• The Ancient Demon Image targeted Zhan Feng with its Broken Spear, and Hu Erdan shoved him clear before the spear pierced Hu Erdan’s shoulder and nearly destroyed him.
• Jiang Shu warned Zhan Feng to lead the survivors away, then used the Qi Swallowing Myriad Forms Fist to destroy the demonic soldiers and more than a hundred pursuers.
• Jiang Shu ignited his Dao Fire and charged the Ancient Demon Image with nine Space Mirrors, attacking its vital points.

Jiang Shu fought the Venerable-grade Ancient Demon Image alone, drawing its attacks away so Zhan Feng and the wounded disciples could escape. As his body and foundation neared collapse, he sensed the Ancient Battlefield’s spatial barriers were rapidly weakening and prepared to risk another gambit, only to be surprised by a lunging Space Crack.

• Jiang Shu wounded the Ancient Demon Image and disrupted its newly awakened intelligence, then ordered Zhan Feng and the others to flee while he kept the image focused on himself.
• Zhan Feng carried Yu Sha and Lan Xi as Zhan Yun led the surviving disciples toward a temporarily stable rift.
• Jiang Shu repeatedly used the Heart of Space to evade the image’s Broken Spear and Annihilation Domain, suffering severe injuries and losing his origin.
• The image adapted during the pursuit, improving its control of space and forcing Jiang Shu to consider escaping back to the Demon Domain.
• Jiang Shu sensed that the Ancient Battlefield’s spatial barriers were rapidly corroding and considered prolonging the fight to gain insight into the Venerable Realm.
• A Space Crack suddenly stretched toward Jiang Shu and swept through the spot where he had just stood.

Jiang Shu escaped the Ancient Projection through spatial turbulence and arrived in a sinister realm containing an ominous Altar. Badly injured, he used three clones to lure the projection away and create a chance to recover.

• Jiang Shu was struck by the Broken Spear as he entered a Space Rift and rode the spatial turbulence into a strange, deathly silent region.
• He discovered a dark Altar and sensed connections to the War God Scroll, the Bronze Ancient Path, and other strange phenomena.
• The Ancient Projection tore through the Spatial Channel and pursued Jiang Shu into the new region.
• Jiang Shu formed a spatial barrier that disrupted the projection's lock and redirected much of its attack into the Black Stone Forest.
• He created clones resembling Zhan Feng and Zhan Yun, plus a dark clone carrying sinister aura and traces of his fear.
• The Ancient Projection chased the dark clone toward the Canyon, giving Jiang Shu a chance to retreat and recover.

Jiang Shu recovered in the Battle Soul Ancient Path and concluded that a sinister Altar was helping the Ancient Path mutate into a living, hostile world, possibly linked to the upheaval in the War Alliance. He decided that destroying the Altar was the only way to escape, while the battered survivors gathered elsewhere sensed their surroundings growing unstable.

• Jiang Shu hid after evading the Ancient Projection and slowly replenished his damaged Dao Rhyme and Blood Qi.
• Jiang Shu discovered an ancient Altar amid the ink-black stone pillars and sensed a pulsing force that resembled an embryonic world consciousness.
• Jiang Shu connected the Altar's sinister power to the War Alliance's crisis and suspected both events were parts of the same disaster.
• Jiang Shu concluded that destroying the Altar could halt the Ancient Path's mutation and break the spatial barrier, and began recovering before attempting it.
• Yu Sha, Lan Xi, Zhan Feng, and Zhan Yun regrouped with the surviving War Alliance disciples in a Blood-Colored Grotto as the surrounding space grew unstable.

While Zhan Feng and the others worried over Jiang Shu, he forced the Heart of Space toward shattering to understand the Space Law and break the hostile world’s barrier. The newborn world’s will sent three peak Tenth Realm killing images after him, and Jiang Shu rose to face them with strength nearing a Venerable’s.

• Zhan Yun told Zhan Feng that the surrounding realm seemed to be an expanding monster, while they sensed Jiang Shu fighting somewhere deep in space.
• Zhan Feng wanted to go to Jiang Shu, but Zhan Yun urged him to recover while she reinforced him with her Laws.
• Jiang Shu used the remaining power of the Heart of Space to study the newborn Small World’s barrier, despite the damage and pain it caused him.
• Jiang Shu tore a narrow crack in the barrier and glimpsed the Altar’s core, awakening the world’s hostile will.
• The world’s will sent three peak Tenth Realm killing images toward Jiang Shu, and he stepped out from behind the stone pillar to confront them.

Jiang Shu defeated three phantoms in the Battle Soul Ancient Path, then tried to reach the World Origin before his consciousness failed. Zhan Jiuxiao and the War Alliance Grand Elders forced open the Ancient Path and rescued him, but a curse struck Jiang Shu as he was pulled out, and he warned that Zhan Feng and the others were still inside.

• Jiang Shu used the Return to Void Heaven-Robbing Technique to open a tiny Space Rift, wound two phantoms, and destroy the peak Tenth Realm phantom along with the other two.
• Jiang Shu touched the World Origin through a fissure in the Altar, but his consciousness began to sink before he could shake it.
• Zhan Jiuxiao sensed Jiang Shu's soul imprint and joined five War Alliance Grand Elders in blasting open the Ancient Path Gate.
• Zhan Jiuxiao pulled Jiang Shu from the Ancient Path, but the Dark Core sent a bone-rust-colored curse into his body, contaminating his meridians and Heart of Space Fragment.
• Before falling unconscious, Jiang Shu told Zhan Jiuxiao that Zhan Feng and the others were still inside the Ancient Path.

Jiang Shu awakened after the War Alliance used powerful treasures and Zhan Jiuxiao’s essence blood to heal his near-fatal injuries. After Jiang Shu revealed that a malicious Small World embryo threatened the Battle Soul Ancient Path and trapped Zhan Feng, Zhan Yun, and the others, Zhan Jiuxiao sent him back with the Void Origin Seal to locate them and transmit their coordinates; a mysterious figure formed from Space Fragments then appeared.

• Zhan Jiuxiao ordered the War Alliance elders to save Jiang Shu, and they treated him in the Xuan Yuan Creation Pool with rare treasures, pills, and Zhan Jiuxiao’s essence blood.
• Jiang Shu awakened a day later with his body and Dao foundation largely restored, though the Bone Rust Curse remained suppressed rather than gone.
• Zhan Jiuxiao told Jiang Shu that the War Alliance could not force its way back into the Ancient Path without risking the Small World embryo’s destruction, and that Zhan Feng, Zhan Yun, and the others could not be located.
• Jiang Shu explained that a Sinister Altar was nurturing a hostile Small World embryo from the Ancient Path’s Space Fragments and battlefield resentment.
• Zhan Jiuxiao gave Jiang Shu the Void Origin Seal and asked him to find the trapped geniuses and use it to transmit their location so Zhan Jiuxiao could bring them back.
• A mysterious figure made of settled Space Fragments appeared beside the pool, and Jiang Shu’s understanding of Space Law reacted to its presence.

A Saint’s incarnation reforged Jiang Shu’s Desolate Star Halberd and opened a perilous passage back into the hostile Secret Realm. After entering, Jiang Shu found the realm had grown more dangerous and began drawing its evolving images toward him, leaving him surrounded by attackers.

• The Saint’s incarnation praised Jiang Shu, erased the Bone Rust Curse from his Desolate Star Halberd, repaired it, and strengthened its spatial Dao Patterns.
• The Saint’s incarnation and Zhan Jiuxiao tore open a reverse passage, and Jiang Shu entered the unstable rift with his reforged halberd.
• Jiang Shu arrived in a corrupted mire where his spatial senses and marks on Zhan Feng and the others were swallowed by the realm’s malice.
• A faster, more intelligent Ancient Barbarian Soldier image attacked Jiang Shu, and he destroyed it with two strikes of the Desolate Star Halberd.
• Jiang Shu sought out a basin crowded with powerful images and deliberately released his aura to draw them in.
• Jiang Shu blocked the images’ coordinated first assault by folding space into a barrier, but more Shadow Soldiers advanced toward him.

Jiang Shu used the Desolate Star Halberd’s spatial power to slaughter the images and discovered that a hidden life-bearing Dao resonance sustained their forms. His distant battle ripple revealed to Zhan Feng and the others that he was alive, while he captured a powerful mantis image by sealing its core.

• Jiang Shu wielded the Desolate Star Halberd to cut down the images surrounding him.
• Zhan Feng, Zhan Yun, Yu Sha, Lan Xi, and the other survivors sensed Jiang Shu’s battle ripple and realized he was alive, so Zhan Feng ordered them to move toward it.
• Jiang Shu noticed faint green light and pale-gold threads in defeated images, and inferred that a hidden life Law sustained their structure and combat abilities.
• Jiang Shu let a peak Tenth Realm mantis image attack, then used spatial imprisonment to lock the Dao resonance node in its core and capture it.
• Jiang Shu’s roar, carrying force and spatial Laws, made the surrounding Shadow Soldiers stagger back in fear.

Jiang Shu glimpsed the creation qi underlying the Shadow Soldiers and realized it could shape his future cultivation in the Primal Chaos Realm, but the Ancient Demon Image interrupted his epiphany and attacked. He escaped its annihilating spear by detonating a captured Shadow Soldier, leaving him charging toward the Venerable-level foe.

• Jiang Shu captured several Shadow Soldiers and probed their cores, sensing an ancient, corrupted creation qi and a vision of life persisting within a ruined world.
• Jiang Shu pieced together that the Shadow Soldiers’ bodies and instincts were sustained by creation qi tainted by filth, death, and destruction, and entered an epiphany about forming a world within his body.
• The Ancient Demon Image returned with stronger, more intelligent power, shattered the surroundings with its roar, and forced Jiang Shu out of his epiphany.
• Jiang Shu pierced the trapped Mantis Shadow Soldier’s core with the Desolate Star Halberd, triggering an explosion that briefly disrupted the Ancient Demon Image’s Spatial Lockdown.
• Jiang Shu used the opening to dash toward the Ancient Demon Image as its broken spear erased the spot where he had been hiding.

Jiang Shu fought the Ancient Demon Image while badly injured, burning his Blood Qi to break its crushing spatial pressure but failing to overcome its vast strength. As Zhan Feng, Zhan Yun, and Yu Sha intervened and were struck down, Jiang Shu activated the Void Origin Seal, drawing the Image’s attention and provoking a spear attack.

• Jiang Shu evaded the Ancient Demon Image’s stomp and blocked its shockwave with the Desolate Star Halberd, suffering severe injuries.
• Jiang Shu tried to disrupt the Image’s attacks with a precise thrust, then narrowly dodged its Broken Spear and hid in a spinal fossil as it pursued him.
• Jiang Shu ignited his Blood Qi and clashed with the Image’s spatial fist, but the force left him kneeling and unable to escape without tearing open a spatial crack.
• Zhan Feng, Zhan Yun, and Yu Sha rushed in to help Jiang Shu, but the Image shattered Zhan Feng’s axe, wounded Zhan Yun, and dispersed Yu Sha’s ice spear.
• Jiang Shu’s activated Void Origin Seal anchored the Chaotic Basin’s coordinates and made the Ancient Demon Image freeze before it abandoned Zhan Feng and thrust its Broken Spear toward Jiang Shu and the seal.

Zhan Jiuxiao rescued Jiang Shu and the others from the collapsing Battle Soul Ancient Path, while the Man with Broken Saber secretly gave Jiang Shu a seed of the Law of Creation. After Zhan Jiuxiao explained the seed’s origin and significance, he asked Jiang Shu whether he still had questions.

• Zhan Jiuxiao destroyed the Ancient Demon Image and used the Power of Space to pull Jiang Shu, Zhan Feng, and the others out of the collapsing Secret Realm.
• The Man with Broken Saber sent a radiant spark into Jiang Shu, healing his Dao foundation and weakening the Bone Rust Curse before Jiang Shu left the Ancient Path.
• The five Saint incarnations destroyed the remnants of the Battle Soul Ancient Path, and the survivors began receiving treatment in the War Alliance Forbidden Land.
• Zhan Jiuxiao identified Jiang Shu’s new inheritance as the Law of Creation and explained that an ancient hero had gifted it to him from the Ancient Path’s final source of creation.
• Jiang Shu bowed to express gratitude for the inheritance, and Zhan Jiuxiao asked whether he still had questions.

Jiang Shu questioned Zhan Jiuxiao about the War Alliance’s martial law and the contamination of the Battle Soul Ancient Path. Zhan Jiuxiao revealed that a shared source of corruption had infected the Ancestral Land, and although a Saint-led battle contained most of it, dangerous remnants escaped and Zi Ling was hunting them.

• Jiang Shu connected the War God Scroll’s mutation, the Battle Soul Ancient Path’s contamination, and the Ancestral Land’s crisis, then asked Zhan Jiuxiao to explain the truth.
• Zhan Jiuxiao confirmed that the Ancestral Land’s core Forbidden Land had been corrupted and that a Venerable elder sent to investigate had died after witnessing shadowy fiends emerging from the War Soul Stele.
• Zhan Jiuxiao revealed that the contamination shared its source with the Altar’s power and the memory theft from the Bronze Ancient Path.
• Zhan Jiuxiao described how a Saint and several powerful elders used the Primordial Purifying Divine Furnace Array to destroy most of the contamination at the cost of damaging part of the Ancestral Land.
• Zhan Jiuxiao said the main consciousness and much of the remaining contamination escaped into a deeper void crevice, while Zi Ling led the effort to track and clear the escaped fragments.

Zhan Jiuxiao explained that the Doomsday Cult had once brought the cosmos close to total Chaos and was now awakening, with its pollution reaching the War Alliance’s Ancestral Land and Battle Soul Ancient Path. He then elevated Jiang Shu to the War Alliance’s core and made him eligible to compete for its future leader position.

• Zhan Jiuxiao said the strange filthy things distorted memories and records, and Zhan Yun suggested they were connected to the Doomsday Cult.
• Jiang Shu asked Zhan Jiuxiao about the Doomsday Cult, and Zhan Jiuxiao described its goal of returning the cosmos to primordial Chaos and its erased history of past catastrophes.
• Zhan Jiuxiao revealed that the Cult had used the Sinister Altar to pollute the Battle Soul Ancient Path and Ancestral Land, and that some races had already vanished.
• Zhan Jiuxiao warned the young people not to investigate the Cult and said he and the Grand Elders would handle the crisis while they healed and grew stronger.
• Zhan Jiuxiao announced that Jiang Shu would become a core member of the War Alliance and could compete for its future leader position.

The Grand Elders explained why Zhan Jiuxiao could not become Alliance Leader and named Jiang Shu a possible future candidate, then rewarded Jiang Shu, Zhan Feng, and Zhan Yun with Venerable-grade Star Artifacts. The chapter ended with an urgent report that envoys from seventeen Star Shuttles had arrived at the Profound Desolate Star Gate.

• Jiang Shu declined Zhan Jiuxiao's suggestion that he be considered for Alliance Leader, but asked why the War Alliance had no current leader.
• A Grand Elder revealed that the previous Alliance Leader had died sealing a calamity and explained why the Grand Elders had rejected Zhan Jiuxiao as his successor.
• The Grand Elder identified Jiang Shu as a promising future Alliance Leader, while another Grand Elder awarded Jiang Shu, Zhan Feng, and Zhan Yun Venerable-grade Star Artifacts.
• Jiang Shu received Cosmos Shatterer, Zhan Feng received Day Sun, and Zhan Yun received Vast Sea Tide Resonance.
• The Grand Elders ordered Zhan Jiuxiao to stabilize the Ancestral Land's spatial barrier and trace the remaining corruption.
• A guard reported that envoys from the Mech God Kingdom, the Endless Insect Nest, and nine hegemonic powers had arrived at the Guest-Welcoming Star Ring in seventeen Star Shuttles.

With the Ancestral Land sealed and the War Alliance under lockdown, envoys from nine hegemonic forces visited to probe the alliance’s condition. Jiang Shu, Zhan Feng, and Zhan Yun received them while Zhan Jiuxiao returned to oversee the Ancestral Land, and the chapter ended with Jiang Shu quietly crushing a spy’s probing spiritual force as he prepared to pursue a breakthrough.

• The War Alliance’s guards reported that the envoys from nine hegemonic forces had arrived with their defenses raised, and Zhan Jiuxiao concluded they meant to investigate the sealed Ancestral Land and exploit any weakness.
• Jiang Shu urged Zhan Jiuxiao to handle the Ancestral Land while he, Zhan Feng, and Zhan Yun received the visitors; Zhan Jiuxiao agreed and warned them to crush any provocation.
• Jiang Shu, Zhan Feng, and Zhan Yun sat in the reception hall as envoys from the Mech Clan and Insect Emperor Guard questioned Jiang Shu’s right to represent the War Alliance.
• Zhan Yun declared that Jiang Shu’s standing equaled hers and Zhan Feng’s, and Jiang Shu introduced himself as the strongest genius of his generation.
• The envoys used polite conversation about resources, mining stars, and strange phenomena to fish for information about the War Alliance’s sealed territory.
• Jiang Shu silently twisted and crushed a probing strand of spiritual force with the Shattering Heaven Gloves while familiarizing himself with his Venerable-grade star weapon.

The Mech Divine Envoy revealed a coordinate it claimed led to a vast Saint's Tomb and proposed that the Mech God Kingdom lead its development for the largest share. Zhan Feng rejected the proposal as unfair, and Jiang Shu suggested simplifying the arrangement, leaving the factions waiting to hear his alternative.

• Zhan Yun deflected the envoys' questions while Jiang Shu and Zhan Feng dealt with their probes.
• The Mech Divine Envoy announced that the Mother Body Core had discovered a likely Saint's Tomb and shared a brief projection of its coordinate.
• The Mech Divine Envoy described the dangers and resources required to enter the tomb, then proposed that the Mech God Kingdom receive 48% of the projected returns.
• The Ancient Realm Giant Spirit envoy questioned the coordinate's authenticity, and an Insect Emperor guard accused the Mech Clan of exploiting allies through unfair deals.
• Zhan Feng condemned the Mech Clan's proposed distribution and refused to send War Alliance disciples to bear the risks for scraps.
• Jiang Shu challenged the Mech Divine Envoy's claim that its plan was optimal and proposed making the tomb's development simpler.

Jiang Shu rejected the Mech Clan’s proposed restrictions on claiming opportunities in the Saint’s Tomb, and the major forces agreed that gains would belong to whoever could seize them. At a joint command meeting aboard the Star Shuttle, the groups learned the tomb may belong to a Late-stage or Peak Saint and that only cultivators below the Late-stage Venerable level can enter; afterward, Zhan Feng warned Jiang Shu about dangerous young rivals, including the Mech Clan’s Entropy.

• Jiang Shu argued that each force should keep whatever opportunities it could claim inside the Saint’s Tomb, winning support from the Ancient Realm Giant Spirit, the Insectoid Clan, the Heaven Crystal Divine General, and the star nomads.
• Several days later, Elder Lei brought Jiang Shu to the joint exploration command center, where the Mech Divine Envoy revealed that analysis gave the tomb master a 62.3% chance of being a Late-stage Saint and a 35.7% chance of being a Peak Saint.
• The Mech Divine Envoy explained that the tomb’s barriers required explorers skilled in Space Law and that only those below the Late-stage Venerable level could enter safely; the scar-faced War Alliance elder reaffirmed that each party would claim its own discoveries.
• Jiang Shu left the command meeting and told Zhan Feng and Zhan Yun about the tomb’s estimated strength and exploration rules.
• Zhan Feng identified several dangerous young competitors for Jiang Shu, including Huya, Ghost Sickle, Jing Wuming, and the Mech Clan’s Entropy, which seemed to notice them talking.