Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Han Qing argues that the Secret Realm yields at least one hundred trillion Divinity Points annually, making the ten-percent share a huge windfall. She says she has a right to complain because she and Gu Jiuheng discovered it, and that Yang Fan’s group would not have qualified without Lu Mingshi.
• Yang Fan privately concludes that Han Qing is behaving like a delusional, self-important woman.
• Lu Mingshi arrives late in a rumpled, half-dressed state. Han Qing immediately switches from hostility to flattery, hoping to cultivate a relationship with the celebrated prodigy.
• Lu Mingshi ignores her and respectfully greets Yang Fan as “Boss,” leaving the conference hall stunned. Yang Fan mildly reprimands him for being late; Lu promises it will not happen again.
• Han Qing, undeterred, offers Lu a general-manager position in her company and ten percent of its shares—an attempt to recruit him directly in front of Yang Fan and the others. Gu Jiuheng is visibly apologetic.

Character developments

• Han Qing is revealed as openly resentful about the profit-sharing arrangement, yet eager to court anyone she considers powerful. Her belief that Yang Fan is merely benefiting from family connections is badly shaken by Lu Mingshi’s deference to him.
• Lu Mingshi is devoted to Yang Fan, whom he credits with transforming his life. The resources and reputation he has gained through the Yang Group have lifted him from financial hardship and made him feel indebted to his “Boss.”
• Yang Fan remains composed and dismissive of Han Qing’s attitude, while his authority over Lu becomes obvious to the room.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus reality: Lu’s sloppy entrance contrasts with his reputation as a prodigy, while Han Qing’s assumptions about Yang Fan are contradicted by Lu’s loyalty.
• Power, status, and gratitude: Han Qing pursues people she expects to become influential; Lu values Yang Fan not just for material benefits but for the second chance he believes he received.
• Greed and entitlement: The Secret Realm’s enormous profits fuel Han Qing’s complaints and her aggressive attempt to recruit Lu.

Character interactions

• Han Qing criticizes Yang Fan and Gu Le over their share of the Secret Realm’s profits, then abruptly flatters Lu Mingshi.
• Lu bypasses Han Qing to greet Yang Fan respectfully, publicly overturning her expectations.
• Yang Fan and Lu exchange a familiar, subordinate-and-boss conversation that astonishes the assembled families.
• Han Qing tries to recruit Lu with a lavish offer, while Gu Jiuheng reacts with embarrassment at her conduct.

Plot points and events

• Han Qing attempts to recruit Lu Mingshi to her Secret Realm company, offering him an unusually generous package: a 10% stake, senior status, and high subsidies. She argues that her firm has better prospects than the Yang Group and promises it will pursue a public listing within ten thousand years.
• Han Qing’s remarks insult the Yang Group in front of its members. Gu Le is angered, while Lu Wan grows wary; Yang Fan remains amused and asks Lu Mingshi whether the offer tempts him.
• Lu Mingshi rejects the offer dramatically, kneeling and declaring absolute loyalty to Yang Fan. His real motive is self-preservation: the Yang Group lets him receive resources without taking dangerous assignments, whereas Han Qing’s company would send him into risky Divine Kingdom wars, potentially exposing that he is less powerful than his reputation suggests.
• Lu Mingshi escalates by insulting and threatening Han Qing, apparently sensing that Yang Fan dislikes her and wanting to prove his loyalty. Han Qing responds by unleashing the pressure of a Third-Order God.
• Yang Fan calmly intervenes, tells Lu Mingshi to stop, and denies any connection to the death of Ma Huainan. Lu Mingshi immediately backs down and returns to Yang Fan’s side.

Character developments

• Lu Mingshi is revealed as a self-interested but quick-thinking opportunist. His loud loyalty is less about sacrifice than preserving a comfortable position, and he readily adopts the role of lackey when it benefits him.
• Yang Fan remains composed and entertained by the recruitment attempt. He demonstrates control over Lu Mingshi and refuses to be provoked, even under Han Qing’s pressure.
• Han Qing appears ambitious and commercially astute, but her frustration grows when her costly offer is rejected. Her temper breaks when Lu Mingshi openly threatens her.
• Gu Le and Lu Wan react protectively to Han Qing’s public slight against the Yang Group, though neither escalates the confrontation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty versus self-interest: Lu Mingshi’s declarations of devotion mask a practical desire to keep his low-risk, well-resourced position.
• Power and reputation: His celebrated status contrasts sharply with his reluctance to undertake dangerous work.
• Recruitment as rivalry: Han Qing’s offer is also a public challenge to the Yang Group, turning a business negotiation into a contest of status.
• Composure versus aggression: Yang Fan’s calm intervention contrasts with Han Qing’s outburst and Lu Mingshi’s theatrical provocation.

Character interactions

• Han Qing tries to persuade Lu Mingshi while disparaging Yang Fan’s company; Yang Fan lets him answer for himself.
• Lu Mingshi performs loyalty before Yang Fan, then attacks Han Qing to align himself with his boss.
• Han Qing’s pressure intimidates Gu Le and Lu Wan, but Yang Fan and the other Third-Order Gods remain standing.
• Yang Fan checks Lu Mingshi’s threats with a mild reprimand, and Lu Mingshi promptly obeys.

Chapter Summary

• Key events: Tension rises when Han Qing tries to recruit Lu Mingshi with a 10% stake and a general-manager position. Lu refuses, and Gu Jiuheng steps in to stop the argument, emphasizing that Yang Fan is effectively part of the Gu family through his marriage to Gu Le. Han backs down, and the group turns to the planned expedition into a Secret Realm occupied by a powerful Jade-Scaled Snake god.
• The threat: Gu Jiuheng shares a century’s worth of battle records. The enemy has extensive defenses and more than a hundred million qi-refining believers stationed just on the outskirts. Even more dangerous is the Secret Realm’s fire poison, which weakens human believers and grows more potent deeper inside. Gu Jiuheng hopes Lu Mingshi’s zombie believers can withstand it.
• Character developments and interactions: Yang Fan agrees to consider joining the expedition after Lu Wan and Gu Le signal their support, but asks to review the intelligence first. The possibility that the enemy is a Mid-Order God intrigues him rather than frightening him, since his own Divine Kingdom remains safe even if the campaign fails. Lu Wan asks Lu Mingshi whether he is confident; he responds with theatrical loyalty, promising to finish the mission even if all his believers die. Yang Fan privately doubts the claim and suspects Lu Mingshi is putting on an act.
• Themes: The chapter explores shifting alliances and transactional ambition: Han’s recruitment attempt, Gu Jiuheng’s pursuit of long-term profits, and Yang Fan’s conditional cooperation. It also highlights strategic risk assessment, the importance of specialized abilities, and the contrast between Lu Mingshi’s bold assurances and Yang Fan’s skepticism.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Wan, Han Qing, and Gu Jiuheng negotiate how to divide the profits from conquering a Secret Realm ruled by the powerful Jade-Scaled Snake God.
• Lu Wan argues that the conquest and long-term garrison will be costly, and that her side has the strongest bargaining position. After several counteroffers, Han Qing sets her final terms: 55% of the proceeds to Lu Mingshi’s side, with Lu Mingshi providing 70% of the troops for both the war and the later garrison.
• Yang Fan accepts. Gu Jiuheng’s Artificial Lifeform drafts a contract, which the group reviews before the Secret Realm’s coordinates are to be disclosed.
• Yang Fan then changes the beneficiaries: 10% of the Secret Realm’s annual proceeds will go to Gu Le, and the remaining 45% to Lu Wan—leaving Lu Mingshi with no direct share.
• Han Qing angrily questions this arrangement, pointing out that Lu Mingshi will risk his forces without receiving proceeds. Yang Fan asks Lu Mingshi if he objects; Lu Mingshi enthusiastically says he will work without pay for the Yang Group.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Wan negotiates shrewdly, emphasizing the risks and ongoing costs of holding the Secret Realm.
• Han Qing stands firm and is willing to sell the coordinates rather than accept unfavorable terms. She also openly defends Lu Mingshi when his contribution goes unrewarded.
• Gu Jiuheng proposes a compromise and prepares the formal contract.
• Yang Fan exercises authority over the final deal and assigns the proceeds to Gu Le and Lu Wan instead of Lu Mingshi.
• Lu Mingshi shows striking loyalty to Yang Fan, accepting the arrangement without hesitation and declaring himself willing to work without pay.

Significant themes

• Negotiation and leverage: The parties weigh a Secret Realm’s potential value against the cost and danger of conquering and maintaining it.
• Risk, reward, and fairness: The dispute over who receives the proceeds highlights the tension between military sacrifice and financial compensation.
• Loyalty and hierarchy: Lu Mingshi’s response suggests that allegiance to Yang Fan and the Yang Group matters more to him than personal profit.

Key plot points and events

• Yang Fan finalizes the Secret Realm partnership without giving Lu Mingshi a share of the long-term profits. He believes Lu Mingshi’s existing pay and resources are fair compensation, since Lu Mingshi will not personally risk troops or do the work.
• Han Qing is stunned and angry at Lu Mingshi for accepting this arrangement, and tries to recruit him to her company as a general manager. He refuses.
• After Han Qing leaves the Virtual World, Gu Jiuheng apologizes for the tension and urges everyone to focus on their cooperation. Yang Fan agrees.
• Back in reality, Lu Wan questions whether Yang Fan is treating Lu Mingshi fairly and worries about the risks of the Secret Realm campaign. Yang Fan reassures her that their relationship is stable and that Lu Mingshi is the one who needs his support.
• Yang Fan has the Secret Realm profits placed under Lu Wan’s name, asking her to manage sales and finances with Gu Jiuheng and the others. He says he has ample funds and acknowledges that she has already given him the valuable Stellar Consulting Group.
• At her family’s villa, Han Qing vents her fury, smashing a table and calling Yang Fan undeserving of his powerful Divine Kingdom foundation. She then answers a call from her father, who asks about her meeting with a Lu Family man and raises the possibility of arranging a match.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan remains confident and pragmatic, treating the deal as part of his established arrangement with Lu Mingshi. He also shows affection and generosity toward Lu Wan by entrusting her with the profits.
• Lu Mingshi stands by his choice despite the enormous potential payout and Han Qing’s criticism. He asserts his independence and rejects her job offer.
• Lu Wan is protective and practical, questioning the fairness of the deal and Yang Fan’s decision to assign her the proceeds. His reassurance leaves her relieved and touched.
• Han Qing grows increasingly frustrated: she cannot understand why Lu Mingshi would give up such a lucrative share, and her resentment toward Yang Fan erupts after she leaves.
• Gu Jiuheng smooths over the disagreement, apologizes for the awkward recruitment attempt, and tries to preserve the group’s cooperation.
• The closing call introduces a possible family-arranged match involving Han Qing, though her response is not yet revealed.

Significant themes

• Fairness versus loyalty: Han Qing judges Lu Mingshi’s arrangement by its financial value, while he sees it as consistent with his existing relationship and compensation.
• Trust and mutual support: Yang Fan’s confidence in Lu Mingshi and his support for Lu Wan suggest relationships built on obligations beyond immediate profit.
• Wealth and power: The huge stakes of the Secret Realm deal fuel both negotiations and Han Qing’s anger.
• Partnership and harmony: Gu Jiuheng’s apology and Yang Fan’s agreement emphasize the need to keep business cooperation intact despite personal friction.

Key plot points and events

• Han Qing angrily tells her father that Lu Mingshi is a fool and says she would never consider him, despite his strength. Her father reminds her that Lu is a formidable young talent who chose Yang Group and risked himself alongside Yang Fan—signs that their relationship is more than ordinary.
• Han Qing admits she had offered Lu a 10% stake in her company and planned to recruit him, then separate him from Yang Fan. Her father criticizes her for misreading the situation and suggests finding another marriage candidate. Han Qing rejects the idea and abruptly ends the call.
• Gu Jiuheng creates an encrypted Feixun group to share the Secret Realm’s coordinates. Yang Fan and the others agree to enter together the following morning and begin their attack.
• In his Divine Kingdom, Yang Fan learns that Yang Da has stabilized the Calamity Pearl’s use: its controlled disasters strengthen and test believers without threatening the kingdom’s foundations, while maintaining high birth rates.
• Yang Da reports that the ghost-cultivator population has passed ten million. Though growth is slow because the Soul Seed talent has a low transformation rate, ghost cultivators have no lifespan limit and can return to battle repeatedly in new bodies. Their main wartime cost would be suitable alien corpses.
• Yang Fan orders Yang Da to prepare the Zombie Army and forces from the mechanical civilization for the coming Secret Realm battle. He sees the Jade-Scaled Snake God, who has resisted Gu Jiuheng and Han Qing for nearly a century, as a useful test of his forces.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Qing is proud and dismissive of men she sees as “freeloaders,” but her father’s questions expose her poor judgment about Lu Mingshi’s loyalty to Yang Fan. She resists her father’s matchmaking efforts.
• Han Qing’s father takes a more strategic view, arguing that Lu’s choices indicate a deeper bond or arrangement with Yang Fan and warning Han Qing against acting impulsively.
• Yang Fan is increasingly interested in testing his growing military strength and considers expanding ghost cultivation through additional soul-related talents.
• Yang Da demonstrates careful management of the Calamity Pearl and explains the strategic value of ghost-cultivator believers to Yang Fan.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and relationships: Lu Mingshi’s commitment to Yang Fan suggests bonds that cannot be explained by money alone.
• Strategic growth through hardship: Carefully controlled calamities both strengthen believers and preserve the Divine Kingdom.
• Long-term military planning: Ghost cultivators’ ability to return to battle could make them a reusable force, shifting the cost of war toward acquiring suitable bodies.
• Pride versus judgment: Han Qing’s contempt leads her to misinterpret Lu Mingshi’s choices, while her father urges her to reconsider.

Plot points and events

• Yang Fan, Gu Le, Lu Wan, and Lu Mingshi join Gu Jiuheng and Han Qing at the Secret Realm’s outskirts. The intense heat and dense fire-element spiritual energy have already exhausted their believers, forcing them to rely on continual water supplies.
• Han Qing questions why Lu Mingshi has brought only about ten billion believers, many of them Zombie Kings. Yang Fan explains that more troops can be teleported in as needed; Lu plays along, presenting the army as his responsibility.
• Han Qing also doubts Yang Fan’s decision to bring more than a million second-tier artificial lifeforms against a third-order enemy. Yang Fan brushes off her warning.
• Gu Jiuheng outlines the plan: he and Han Qing will handle the eastern and western sides, while Yang Fan’s force takes the front. Flame-Gathering Towers defend the approach, making a protective formation essential.
• Yang Fan senses stronger Jade-Scaled Snake believers deeper within the Secret Realm and eagerly begins the invasion.
• Once the armies enter, the heat begins to impair the zombies. Yang Fan’s artificial troops activate temperature-control equipment, shielding the zombies and restoring their mobility. The others are impressed by the technology.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan stays composed under Han Qing’s skepticism and reveals confidence in his army and technology. He prefers to control what others learn, openly explaining that his Divine Kingdom cooperates with Lu Mingshi’s rather than leaving the others to speculate.
• Lu Mingshi continues acting as though the army is his, despite privately depending on Yang Fan’s support. His glances toward Yang Fan show how difficult he finds maintaining the pretense.
• Han Qing is cautious and openly critical, questioning both Lu’s troop numbers and Yang Fan’s willingness to risk his artificial lifeforms.
• Gu Jiuheng tries to ease tensions, provides practical intelligence about the defenses, and offers advance warning to help the group limit casualties.

Significant themes

• Technology as a strategic advantage: Temperature-control equipment turns an environment debilitating to ordinary forces into a manageable battlefield.
• Cooperation and concealment: Yang Fan and Lu Mingshi’s alliance supports the invasion, but Lu must take public credit for forces that are not truly his.
• Confidence versus caution: Han Qing emphasizes the danger of the enemy, while Yang Fan is eager to test his forces against it.
• Preparation and adaptation: The chapter stresses that success depends not only on troop strength, but also on anticipating environmental and defensive obstacles.

Chapter summary

• Yang Fan joins Gu Jiuheng and Han Qing in a coordinated invasion of the Jade-Scaled Snake God’s Secret Realm. Their contract divides the territory: Han Qing and Gu Jiuheng each take an outer section, while Yang Fan’s army advances through the center.
• Gu Jiuheng realizes that Yang Fan likely supplied the advanced weapons used by Lu Mingshi’s zombie army in an earlier war. He concludes that Yang Fan is both well-resourced and ruthless, and resolves not to antagonize him.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God appears as a colossal emerald serpent and angrily confronts Han Qing and Gu Jiuheng, who have harassed his realm for a century. Han Qing declares she will take the Secret Realm, but the Snake God dismisses her before withdrawing. Gu Jiuheng tells her to stop arguing and begin the attack.
• The gods attend partly to handle emergencies, but several younger or less experienced gods—Lu Wan, Gu Le, and Lu Mingshi—are also there to learn. Lu Mingshi watches Yang Fan’s zombie army closely, hoping to study the powerful corpse-cultivation techniques behind it.
• As the allied forces advance, the Jade-Scaled Snake believers ambush them. Their formations unleash poisonous mist, venom, and corrosive acid rain. The poison has little effect on the zombies, but the acid eats through their weapons’ thermal shields, burning some weaker zombies.
• Rather than retreat, the zombies transform their arms into mechanical cannon barrels and prepare to fire.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Jiuheng shifts from admiration of Yang Fan’s technology to wary respect for the scale of his support and willingness to spend resources.
• Han Qing remains openly defiant, challenging the Snake God despite his threats.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God is protective of his Secret Realm and especially its valuable fire dragon vines; his frustration reflects the cost and damage of prolonged conflict.
• Lu Mingshi is curious and observant, treating the battle as a chance to study a more powerful practitioner of his own path.
• The alliance relies on a strict territorial agreement, while its newer gods observe the veteran commanders and armies.

Significant themes

• Power and resource investment: Yang Fan’s influence is revealed through the weapons and support he provides.
• The cost of war: Both attackers and defenders risk troops, supplies, and valuable territory.
• Learning through conflict: The battle is also an educational opportunity for inexperienced gods.
• Adaptation and technology: The zombie army counters a specialized attack by transforming its bodies into weapons.

Key plot points and events

• Yang Fan’s Zombie Army and the forces led by Gu Jiuheng and Han Qing each overwhelm Jade-Scaled Snake formations on separate fronts.
• Yang Fan’s intelligent weapons blast apart the snakes’ formation; Gu’s believers use amplified golden swords to unleash a devastating slash; Han’s Martial King believers fire blood-red beams from ancient bells.
• Yang Fan realizes that Gu and Han’s equipment is specialized, high-end warfare gear—comparable in effectiveness to his own weapons—and that their access to it reflects the resources of the Five Great Families.
• Gu praises Yang Fan’s intelligent weapons and reveals he owns five durable Void War Arks, inherited from his father, and asks to buy Yang Fan’s future war-weapon production. Yang Fan agrees.
• Yang asks about Gu’s Golden Edge Swords. Gu explains they are retired equipment from a powerful Gu Family cultivator, acquired through family connections. Such weapons are scarce and unavailable through the ordinary marketplace; securing them helped Gu obtain his brigade commander position in the Ninth Legion.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan remains confident but recognizes he has not yet tested himself against the Five Great Families’ true core disciples. He resolves not to underestimate them.
• Gu Jiuheng admires Yang’s mechanical weapons, discusses his own war assets, and uses their friendly rapport to seek a discount on future purchases.
• Han Qing reinforces how exclusive and scarce high-end family equipment is, clarifying the advantage Gu gained through lineage and connections.

Significant themes

• Resource inequality: Family status provides access to powerful weapons unavailable to ordinary cultivators.
• Specialization versus technology: Cultivation-based weapons and mechanical arms can both dominate battle when tailored to their users.
• Power and merit: Gu’s equipment contributed directly to his military appointment, showing that advancement depends partly on resources and connections.
• Caution amid success: Yang’s past victory over non-core opponents should not make him complacent about stronger rivals.

Key plot points and events

• After seeing Yang Fan’s Intelligent Weapons in action, Han Qing’s hostility eases. She asks to buy some for her followers, but Yang Fan politely refuses, saying his Divine Kingdom has no stock.
• The allied army advances roughly a hundred kilometers into the Secret Realm before encountering a massive earthen wall defended by countless crimson Flame-Gathering Towers and Jade-Scaled Snake followers.
• Gu Jiuheng explains that the towers are B-grade defensive buildings and that previous assaults failed to break through. Lu Mingshi suspects the enemy may be stronger than an ordinary Lower-Order God.
• Han Qing cautions that Secret Realm defenses are often concentrated at the perimeter to protect resources deeper inside, so the scale of the fortifications alone does not prove their opponent is a Mid-Order God. She adds that the three allies may still be able to fight such an enemy.
• Yang Fan orders a test attack. His million-strong Zombie Army, supported by Third-Tier Intelligent Weapons, fires on the defenses. The towers summon vast numbers of lava-and-flame dragons, which block the blasts and counterattack.
• The dragons’ heat melts the zombies’ shields and burns the army to ash; even the Intelligent Weapons are disabled. The entire force is destroyed in one exchange, prompting Yang Fan to take the enemy’s power seriously.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Qing shifts from dismissive hostility toward Yang Fan to respect after witnessing his weapons’ capabilities. She remains practical, accepts his refusal without argument, and offers a measured assessment of the defenses.
• Yang Fan stays courteous but firm about not selling his weapons. He directs the assault to gauge the enemy’s strength, then recognizes that the defenses are far more formidable than expected.
• Lu Mingshi shows caution and defers to Yang Fan when deciding what to do next.
• Gu Jiuheng provides information about the Flame-Gathering Towers and the previous failed assaults.

Significant themes

• Power and status: Wealth alone cannot secure rare resources; connections and standing matter too.
• Strategic uncertainty: Impressive defenses do not necessarily reveal an enemy’s full rank or strength.
• The cost of underestimating an opponent: The test attack becomes a devastating demonstration of the defenders’ firepower.
• Changing respect: Han Qing’s view of Yang Fan changes once she sees evidence of his actual abilities.

Plot and events

• The Jade-Scaled Snake followers collect the intelligent weapons scattered by the Flame-Gathering Towers, while Yang Fan remains largely unconcerned about the loss.
• Gu Jiuheng warns that the towers’ power has been greatly amplified by the realm’s dense fire-attribute energy. He advises advancing with followers in defensive formations rather than relying on weapons alone.
• Yang Fan orders Lu Mingshi to bring in his Divine Kingdom’s main army, promising to support it with more war weapons.
• Vast spatial portals open and release an army of 110 billion zombies: Zombie Generals, Zombie Kings, and ten billion White Jiangshi. Their sheer size shocks Gu Jiuheng, Han Qing, and the Jade-Scaled Snake God.
• The army forms the Corpse Tide Frenzy Formation, organized into layered defenses and enormous units, then advances toward the Flame-Gathering Towers. The towers launch a barrage of fire dragons, and the chapter ends as the zombies prepare to activate their formation.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan remains calm and decisive, escalating the battle with an enormous army rather than being deterred by the towers or the Snake God’s taunts.
• Lu Mingshi obeys Yang Fan but privately worries that he is being made to play a role without knowing the plan—or receiving his promised fee. The army’s arrival draws bewildered attention toward him, deepening his suspicion about Yang Fan’s mysterious corpse-cultivator ally.
• Gu Jiuheng shifts from assessing the towers’ strength to recoiling at the scale of the force Yang Fan deploys.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God mocks the attackers for risking so many followers over one Secret Realm, but its confidence falters when confronted by the zombie horde.

Significant themes

• Escalation and overwhelming force: A seemingly limited contest over a Secret Realm becomes a battle involving an immense army.
• Risk versus reward: The Snake God questions the wisdom of investing so many followers in a resource that gods might consider relatively minor.
• Hidden power and uncertainty: Lu Mingshi’s confusion about Yang Fan’s allies and plans highlights how much remains concealed behind the calm façade.

Key events

• Lu Mingshi’s zombie followers form massive jade-green battle formations that repeatedly collide with the fire dragons from the Flame-Gathering Tower. The formations hold the line, though the fighting devastates the Secret Realm’s terrain and destroys over half of the valuable Fire Dragon Vines.
• Poison from the shattered zombie formations mixes with the fire poison, making the battlefield’s toxins more than ten times as concentrated. Gu Jiuheng’s and Han Qing’s followers, poorly equipped to withstand either poison, are forced to stop fighting and consume Detoxification Pills.
• Yang Fan orders their forces off the front line and has his own followers take over the eastern and western flanks. Gu Jiuheng worries about relying on Yang Fan, while Lu Mingshi supports the decision. Gu Jiuheng promises to compensate Lu for his losses.
• Yang Fan’s forces move into position, and the battlefield erupts again as new formations and energy barriers appear.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Mingshi demonstrates exceptional control of his followers, though he is uncomfortable when Gu Jiuheng praises him as the foremost corpse cultivator. He readily accepts Yang Fan’s authority and reassures the others that he follows the “boss’s” orders.
• Gu Jiuheng and Han Qing recognize that their troops have become a liability rather than useful support. They reluctantly agree to withdraw, while Gu offers to compensate Lu.
• Yang Fan takes command decisively, prioritizing the integrity of the defensive line and aiming to test the combined strength of his Zombie Army and the mechanical civilization against the enemy god.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God sees his valuable Fire Dragon Vines being destroyed and grows visibly displeased.

Themes

• Friendly fire and the costs of cooperation: The allies’ combined powers unintentionally create lethal poison that harms their own troops.
• Leadership and practical sacrifice: Yang Fan withdraws weakened forces to protect the whole front rather than letting pride or contractual duty endanger it.
• War’s collateral damage: The battle reshapes the landscape and destroys valuable resources, not just enemy forces.

Key plot points and events

• Yang Fan’s Zombie Army attacks the Jade-Scaled Snakes with continuous waves of Third-Order Intelligent Weapons, while the snakes retaliate with energy cannons and more than a million Flame-Gathering Towers.
• The zombies’ corpse poison barely affects the snakes at first, while the snakes’ defenses and firepower inflict enormous casualties. The casualty ratio reaches roughly 100 zombies for every snake follower killed.
• After a month of fighting, Yang Fan’s army has lost nearly ten billion followers. The attackers are now close to the snakes’ towering earthen wall.
• Yang Fan explains that the apparent stalemate is part of a strategy: every zombie carried a Corpse Core, and their deaths have steadily saturated the battlefield with corpse poison. The poison is now hundreds of times denser than before and is weakening the snakes, whose resistance cannot protect them indefinitely.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Wan repeatedly challenges the scale of the losses, voicing the group’s anxiety. Lu Mingshi feels trapped, since he cannot admit that he has no idea about the supposed plan, and maintains a composed front.
• Yang Fan takes control of the explanation, presenting the losses as deliberate strategy and pointing out the Jade-Scaled Snakes’ declining strength.
• Gu Le is intrigued by the mention of tactics, while Han Qing asks about the Corpse Cores after realizing the zombies’ deaths produce unusually potent poison.

Significant themes

• War depends on more than individual strength: weapons, reserves, resources, and logistics can outweigh followers’ cultivation.
• Sacrifice as strategy: Yang Fan’s devastating losses are intended to turn the battlefield itself into a weapon.
• Hidden vulnerability and adaptation: the snakes’ poison resistance is powerful but not absolute; prolonged exposure can overcome it.
• Appearances and uncertainty: Lu Mingshi must appear confident despite his private confusion, while Yang Fan’s explanation reframes the apparent disaster as a calculated plan.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Mingshi explains that White Jiangshi followers can condense Corpse Cores, which release corpse poison. Producing them takes a hundred years per core and consumes considerable resources, so he considers them impractical.
• Han Qing realizes Corpse Cores could be highly effective in Secret Realms, where poisoning is more useful than in vast, self-purifying Divine Kingdoms. She tries to recruit Lu Mingshi for the Han family’s Secret Realm business.
• Han raises her offer from a ten-percent stake to twenty percent, plus a share of profits from future conquests. Lu refuses, reaffirming his loyalty to Yang Fan—also because he fears Han has mistaken him for someone with abilities he does not possess.
• The conversation is interrupted by a disaster: the Flame-Gathering Towers begin shaking and overheating. Their flames kill the Jade-Scaled Snake guards, then the towers explode in a massive chain reaction, engulfing the Secret Realm in fire and rapidly raising its temperature.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Qing shifts from discussing battle tactics to seeing Lu as a valuable specialist and aggressively tries to recruit him.
• Lu Mingshi remains wary of being overestimated. Though tempted by Han’s offer, he refuses and chooses the security of his position with Yang Fan.
• Yang Fan lets Lu decide freely and quietly approves of his refusal.
• Gu Jiuheng recognizes that the towers’ energy fluctuations are abnormal and calls for an immediate retreat, but the first explosion follows before anyone can respond.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus security: Han offers wealth and influence, while Lu prefers a dependable role over risking a mismatch between her expectations and his actual abilities.
• The value of overlooked knowledge: Han sees strategic potential in a technique Lu dismisses as inefficient.
• Sudden, uncontrollable danger: The strategic discussion is abruptly overtaken by a catastrophic chain reaction, leaving the forces on both sides with little time to react.

Plot points and events

• Hidden Flame-Gathering Towers detonate in a massive chain reaction, incinerating more than a hundred million Zombie Followers and wiping out a vast stretch of battlefield. The heat also melts even rare-alloy Third-Order Intelligent Weapons.
• The White Jiangshi Followers escape just in time, following an order to retreat.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake Followers on the Earth Wall survive with barely any losses. A red glow protects the wall from the blast.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God reveals that each tower was supplied by ten Energy Storage Facilities, explaining the explosions’ extraordinary power. It warns the humans that forcing their way in will be costly and orders them to leave.
• Yang Fan tells his forces to hold position and await support. The Snake God, despite its advantage, chooses not to escalate the conflict further.

Character developments

• Yang Fan remains composed after the disaster, issuing measured orders rather than reacting in panic.
• Yang Shi feels responsible for failing to anticipate the enemy’s weapon, but Yang Fan tells him to hold steady.
• Gu Jiuheng is shaken by the scale of the trap and realizes how catastrophic it could have been had it struck his own Divine Kingdom.
• Han Qing recognizes that their group underestimated the Jade-Scaled Snake God and its defenses.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God demonstrates both pride in its long preparation and strategic restraint: it wants to protect its holdings, not start a pointless feud.

Significant themes

• Preparation and hidden defenses: The apparent strength of the attacking army is undone by a carefully concealed weapon.
• The cost of underestimating an opponent: The human gods’ rushed assault exposes them to devastating losses.
• Strategic restraint: The Snake God avoids total destruction because victory would bring little reward and could invite lasting retaliation.
• War’s practical motives: The Snake God’s real objective is the fire dragon vine, not the destruction of its enemies.

Character interactions

• Yang Shi apologizes to Yang Fan, who responds with calm instructions.
• Gu Jiuheng and Han Qing react with alarm and acknowledge their miscalculation.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God addresses the human gods directly, explaining its defenses and demanding their withdrawal while making clear that further fighting could become a long-term conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Wan and Gu Le are disappointed by the devastation at the secret realm. Han Qing and Gu Jiuheng admit they failed to investigate their opponent properly and offer to compensate Lu Wan for the losses.
• Lu Wan argues that the realm’s defenses are too formidable to attack at an acceptable cost. Yang Fan says they should wait: reinforcements are coming.
• A hundred thousand upgraded Intelligent Gundams emerge through spatial rifts, followed by millions of advanced Annihilator Fighters. Their arrival reveals that Yang Fan’s Divine Kingdom can mass-produce highly developed war machines.
• Once the weapons are in formation, Yang Fan orders them to attack the Jade-Scaled Snake God’s forces. A Gundam leads the charge, with the zombie army following behind.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Qing and Gu Jiuheng acknowledge their greed and poor judgment, taking responsibility and offering to share compensation.
• Lu Mingshi defers to Yang Fan, showing no visible grief over the dead believers.
• Lu Wan remains more composed than the others because she has seen Yang Fan’s Gundams before, but the new fighters surprise her. Her shock shifts into admiration, and she asks how much he has kept from her.
• Gu Jiuheng, Han Qing, and Gu Le are stunned by the scale and sophistication of Yang Fan’s forces. Gu Le especially compares his rapid progress with her own slower efforts to develop her Divine Kingdom.
• Yang Fan stays calm throughout, revealing his military strength only when the moment is right.

Significant themes

• Greed and accountability: Han Qing and Gu Jiuheng recognize that the promise of profit blinded them to the risks.
• Hidden power and surprise: Yang Fan’s formidable forces overturn the group’s assumptions about his capabilities.
• Technological progress: The upgraded weapons demonstrate that mechanical strength comes from continual research, refinement, and industrial production.
• Scale as power: The massive, coordinated army creates an overwhelming display before battle even begins.

Key plot points and events

• The Jade-Scaled Snake God summons more than ten thousand enormous, gray-scaled serpents through spatial rifts. Core Formation Jade-Scaled Snake Followers ride them and use mental links to control them.
• Gu Jiuheng explains that the living beasts resemble war structures in purpose, but take far more time and resources to raise. Their bloodline talents, however, can give them abilities mechanical weapons lack.
• The serpents attack Yang Fan’s Intelligent Gundams. One coils around a Gundam and uses Medusa’s Gaze to petrify its arm, but the machine detaches the affected limb and kills the serpent with a blade.
• The Gundams adapt their tactics and overwhelm the serpents, identifying standard-issue force diamond weapons as more effective than air cannons.
• The Snake God tries to turn the tide by preparing to detonate the remaining Flame-Gathering Towers. Annihilator Fighters destroy the towers and nearby energy tanks with high-energy lasers before they can discharge.
• The towers’ stored energy disperses, creating an intense heat wave. Yang Shi orders the Zombie Followers to retreat until conditions cool, while the Gundams and fighters continue attacking.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan remains confident despite Gu Jiuheng’s warning about the cost of losing war structures; he believes his forces have not yet shown their full strength.
• Gu Jiuheng offers a cautious tactical assessment, comparing the serpents to beast-taming forces and warning that the Snake God has more tricks.
• The Snake God grows frustrated as its beasts fail to stop the machines and attempts to cause damage through another tower detonation.
• Yang Shi responds pragmatically to the battlefield hazard, withdrawing the Zombie Followers without halting the mechanical assault.

Significant themes

• Biological versus mechanical warfare: Living beasts offer unique abilities but are harder to cultivate than mass-produced machines.
• Adaptation and tactical flexibility: The Gundams analyze threats, sacrifice compromised components, and switch weapons to counter their opponents.
• Confidence versus caution: Yang Fan trusts his forces, while his allies remain alert to costs and hazards.
• Escalation and collateral danger: Destroying the towers prevents a concentrated blast, but the released energy still makes the battlefield dangerous.

Key plot points and events

• The Divine Kingdom’s Annihilator Fighters and Intelligent Gundams attack an apparently ordinary earthen wall, but a crimson barrier blocks every strike without leaving a mark.
• Yang Fan and Han Qing recognize it as a powerful, likely S-Rank defensive war structure. Gu Jiuheng urges them to use their strongest weapons before the enemy can exploit the delay.
• Han Qing cannot safely deploy her elite followers because the battlefield is thick with corpse poison, which could infect and turn them into zombies.
• Gu Jiuheng summons hundreds of S-Rank Immortal-Slaying Pagodas. Their enormous golden sword strikes batter the wall, but it remains intact as Jade-Scaled Snake followers channel power into its defenses.
• Yang Fan senses that the wall draws spiritual energy from across the Secret Realm, allowing it to continually repair itself.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God explains that the wall has been rooted in the realm for tens of thousands of years and is effectively empowered by the realm itself. It boasts that a structure’s strength depends on how its god uses it, then offers Yang Fan twenty percent of the Secret Realm’s future returns if he withdraws.
• Yang Fan dismisses the offer and mocks the Snake God’s grandstanding.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan moves from wary observation to keen interest in the wall’s capabilities, then responds to the Snake God’s attempted bargain with confidence and ridicule.
• Gu Jiuheng commits his most powerful available forces to breaking the wall. His frustration grows when even hundreds of top-tier war buildings fail.
• Han Qing admits her forces are constrained by the corpse poison, showing caution despite the opportunity to attack.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God reveals the source of the wall’s resilience and tries to persuade Yang Fan to abandon the assault, presenting itself as both formidable and self-assured.
• The allies coordinate: Gu Jiuheng explains the wall’s energy source, while Yang Fan moves his weapons aside to avoid friendly fire.

Significant themes

• Strength depends on context: The Snake God argues that terrain, timing, and control matter as much as a weapon’s rank.
• Environmental power and adaptation: The wall’s bond with the Secret Realm lets it draw on local energy and recover from attacks.
• Strategic limits: Even powerful forces must account for battlefield hazards—in this case, corpse poison.
• Pride and defiance: The Snake God boasts of its defenses, while Yang Fan refuses to be intimidated or bought.

Key events

• Yang Fan reveals more than 1,000 S-Class Void War Arks, astonishing the assembled descendants of the great families and overturning their assumptions about the resources a young Lower-Order God could command.
• He orders the fleet to fire its Void Cannons at the Earth Wall. Their combined bombardment overwhelms the S-Rank defense: its crimson barrier falters, and the wall begins to crack despite its self-repair.
• The Jade-Scaled Snake God concedes the Secret Realm, but begins evacuating its followers and stored supplies through a spatial rift.
• Yang Fan refuses to let the Snake God leave with the goods. His fighters and Gundams attack the retreating followers.
• The Snake God threatens a fight to the death and appeals to the rules. Yang Fan taunts it, demanding its Divine Kingdom coordinates and making clear he might seek revenge once he is stronger. The Snake God refuses and vows to return to the Secret Realm.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan shows off his formidable military strength with newfound confidence, but remains strategically cautious: he will not attack the Snake God’s Divine Kingdom until he understands the danger and is powerful enough.
• Gu Jiuheng and the others are stunned by Yang Fan’s fleet and struggle to reconcile it with his status as a recently ascended Lower-Order God.
• Gu Le grows even more enamored with Yang Fan, while Han Qing regrets having underestimated him and recognizes his potential.
• Yang Fan and the Jade-Scaled Snake God trade threats and defiance. Yang Fan challenges the god while blocking its withdrawal with supplies; the Snake God leaves angry, promising continued conflict.

Significant themes

• Power and hidden potential: Yang Fan’s immense arsenal disrupts expectations about rank, age, and status.
• Confidence balanced by caution: He is willing to confront a powerful rival, but avoids risking his life in an ill-considered attack.
• Conflict without resolution: The Snake God’s retreat ends the immediate battle, but its promise to return leaves the dispute ongoing.
• Rules versus opportunism: Yang Fan dismisses the Snake God’s appeal to the rules, prioritizing the capture of its resources.

Plot and events

• Yang Fan’s forces defeat the Jade-Scaled Snake God’s side, but a spatial rift erupts and lets the enemy followers escape. The rift also drags away the nearly destroyed S-Rank defensive structure, costing Yang Fan a potential replacement for his World-Anchoring Profound Heaven Great Wall.
• With the enemy gone, the group sees that the Secret Realm is covered in abundant, mature fire dragon vine. Much of it was damaged in the battle, upsetting Han Qing, Gu Jiuheng, and the others because the vines represent valuable divinity points.
• Han Qing and Gu Jiuheng acknowledge that Yang Fan and Lu Mingshi deserve most of the credit for capturing the realm. They each accept only ten percent of its proceeds.
• The group assigns responsibilities: Han Qing will oversee the realm’s security and maintenance, Lu Mingshi will help arrange followers, and Lu Wan will manage the company’s finances and operations. A shell company will handle harvesting and selling the fire dragon vine.
• Back in the Real World, Gu Le praises Yang Fan’s mechanical achievements and asks how he developed them so quickly. Lu Wan cautions her not to probe into his Divine Kingdom’s secrets. Yang Fan says he was fortunate enough to obtain a legacy.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Fan recognizes that foreign-race gods can be formidable, despite his overall advantage in the battle. He remains modest about his success and leaves the Secret Realm’s business arrangements to others.
• Han Qing’s earlier contempt for Yang Fan disappears; she now respects his strength and willingly takes a smaller share.
• Gu Jiuheng likewise concedes Yang Fan’s decisive contribution and helps organize the realm’s commercial management.
• Gu Le’s admiration for Yang Fan is clear, but her curiosity leads her to ask a personal question. Lu Wan protects Yang Fan’s privacy, and Gu Le realizes she has overstepped.
• Yang Fan reassures Gu Le while revealing only a carefully limited truth about his mechanical legacy.

Significant themes

• Power and respect: Yang Fan’s strength overturns others’ assumptions about him.
• Victory and its costs: The group captures the realm but loses valuable resources and the defensive structure.
• Cooperation and practical governance: Success requires coordinated security, labor, harvesting, and sales—not just winning a battle.
• Privacy and trust: Even among close companions, personal secrets and boundaries deserve respect.
• Luck, talent, and inheritance: Yang Fan credits good fortune and a legacy, while withholding the details of his true advantages.