Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Thousand Mechanisms Lockheart”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan struggles to control large numbers of same-rank Immortal puppets, realizing that each puppet demands immense mental effort. His original goal of controlling one thousand puppets within a century seems increasingly unlikely.
• Seeking a solution, he gathers thousands of naturally produced Wisdom Path mortal Gu from the Divine Kingdoms across the Five Regions.
• He arranges these Gu Worms across his body to form a Wisdom Path killer move, “Three Minds, Two Intentions.” The technique divides his consciousness into six independent but interconnected portions, increasing his comprehension and deduction speed sixfold.
• Over thirty years, Fang Yan steadily improves his puppet-control techniques. By the thirtieth year, he can simultaneously control nearly one thousand puppets, each performing different actions and secret arts with perfect coordination.
• His achievement culminates in the creation of “Thousand Mechanisms Lockheart,” a technique allowing the mind to divide into a thousand functions and puppets to move as naturally as his own limbs.
• As a reward for passing the second trial, the Tianxi phantom grants Fang Yan seventy Immortal-level Tianxi Puppets, each possessing High King combat strength. These puppets are also essential for the next trial.
• The phantom opens a door leading into the true interior of the Tianxi Secret Realm. It warns Fang Yan that the realm contains extraordinary opportunities, but also the possible means—or hope—of destroying the Tian Fuxi Civilization.
• Fang Yan enters the realm and discovers an unexpected futuristic mechanical civilization: floating skyscrapers, enormous gears, flying machines, sunlight, clouds, and the scent of machine oil replace the ruins and deadly trial grounds he anticipated.

Character Development

• Fang Yan demonstrates persistence and adaptability. Rather than abandoning his goal when puppet control proves too difficult, he develops a new Wisdom Path method to expand his mental capacity.
• His mastery of “Three Minds, Two Intentions” marks a major intellectual breakthrough, transforming an overwhelming task into one he can gradually perfect.
• Fang Yan’s growing confidence is evident in his calm control of nearly one thousand puppets and his satisfaction at completing the technique.
• His attitude toward the phantom becomes more respectful after receiving the puppets and learning that the next stage may reveal secrets connected to the Tian Fuxi Civilization.
• Despite his excitement, Fang Yan remains cautious when entering the unknown realm, instinctively preparing for danger.

Significant Themes

• Mastery through innovation: Raw talent and effort are insufficient; Fang Yan succeeds by creating a method suited to the problem.
• The relationship between mind and mechanism: The chapter explores how consciousness can be divided, expanded, and synchronized with artificial bodies.
• Persistence and long-term cultivation: Thirty years of focused practice demonstrate the enormous time scale required for great achievements.
• Civilization and technology: The futuristic realm suggests that the Tian Fuxi Civilization’s power was based on advanced mechanical systems rather than conventional cultivation alone.
• Discovery versus danger: The secret realm promises immense opportunities while also concealing the potential destruction of an entire civilization.

Character Interactions

• Fang Yan’s primary interaction is with the silent Tianxi phantom, which evaluates his progress, grants him the seventy puppets, and directs him toward the next trial.
• The phantom’s normally mechanical speech briefly becomes emotional when mentioning the possible destruction of the Tian Fuxi Civilization, hinting at a deeper connection to its lost creators.
• Fang Yan responds with unusual politeness, thanking the phantom and acknowledging its role as a senior guide.
• His interaction with the puppets is less conversational and more symbiotic: through “Thousand Mechanisms Lockheart,” he controls them as extensions of his own body and mind.

Summary: “Puppet Master Competition”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan arrives in a highly advanced mechanical city and notices an announcement for the 185658th Puppet Master Competition.
• A teenage girl named Xiangxiang approaches him, calling him “Brother” and acting as though they are siblings. Fang Yan immediately realizes he does not know her and prepares to defend himself.
• The Tianxi Inheritance assessment appears before him, revealing three objectives:
  1. Integrate into the world.
  2. Achieve a ranking in the Puppet Master Competition.
  3. Though the world is fake, its rewards are real.
• To fulfill the first requirement, Fang Yan suppresses his suspicion and accepts Xiangxiang’s identity, allowing her to lead him home.
• Xiangxiang’s home, Mingxuan Residence, is a vast mechanical complex where technology and nature coexist harmoniously.
• Inside, Fang Yan sees a family portrait depicting the original “Fang Yan” with his parents and Xiangxiang, confirming that he has entered an artificial identity and world.
• Fang Yan asks where to register for the competition. Xiangxiang becomes thrilled when he reveals that he has become a puppet master.
• He displays a powerful Tianxi Puppet, shocking Xiangxiang because such puppets are extremely rare in their star system.
• Xiangxiang explains that their parents died in a clan defense war while hoping Fang Yan would become a puppet master. She also reveals that past champions could control over nine hundred Tianxi Puppets.
• Xiangxiang laments that she lacks the talent to become a spiritual mind master and therefore cannot become a great puppet master.
• Fang Yan encourages her by saying that heroism is not limited to controlling puppets, then prepares to register for the competition.

Character Development

• Fang Yan begins as a cautious outsider, immediately recognizing that Xiangxiang and the world may be fabricated. His instinct is to distrust the situation and reach for his World-Ending Sword.
• He demonstrates discipline by suppressing his killing intent and adapting to the inheritance’s requirement to “integrate into this world.”
• Fang Yan remains analytical, studying the world, the false family memories, and the competition as components of the trial.
• His confidence as a puppet master is established when he reveals that he can control around a thousand puppets, already exceeding the previous competition champion’s achievement.
• He also shows emerging compassion when he comforts Xiangxiang rather than dismissing her insecurity.
• Xiangxiang is introduced as affectionate, energetic, and deeply attached to Fang Yan. Beneath her cheerful personality, she carries grief over her parents’ deaths and frustration over her lack of puppet-master talent.
• Her admiration for Fang Yan and desire to become a hero reveal the strong cultural importance of puppet masters in this society.

Significant Themes

• Identity and assimilation: Fang Yan must inhabit the role of someone else and behave as part of a fabricated family and society.
• Reality versus illusion: The assessment explicitly states that the world is false, while its rewards are genuine, raising questions about the value of experiences within an artificial world.
• Power and destiny: Puppet mastery is treated as the primary path to greatness, especially within the Tianxi culture.
• Heroism beyond ability: Fang Yan challenges Xiangxiang’s belief that only puppet masters can be heroes, suggesting that courage and character matter more than specialized power.
• Technology and nature: Mingxuan Residence symbolizes a society where machinery and natural beauty have been integrated rather than placed in opposition.
• Family and grief: Xiangxiang’s memories of their deceased parents create an emotional connection to the artificial identity Fang Yan has inherited.

Character Interactions

• Xiangxiang warmly embraces Fang Yan and reproaches him for disappearing, while Fang Yan cautiously observes her without revealing that he does not recognize her.
• She guides him through the city and home, treating him like a familiar and beloved older brother.
• Fang Yan questions her about the competition, prompting her excitement and admiration.
• His display of the Tianxi Puppet strengthens Xiangxiang’s belief in him and connects him to their parents’ hopes.
• When Xiangxiang expresses despair about her lack of talent, Fang Yan offers reassurance and redirects her understanding of what it means to be a hero.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Yan follows Xiangxiang through a city saturated with mechanical technology to the towering Tian Xi Office, where competitors register for a Puppet Master Competition.
• They pay their respects to a statue of the Tian Xi Lord, a legendary puppet master said to have commanded 100,000 powerful puppets and fought the Thunder Garb Demon God.
• Fang Yan is stunned to find registration lines filled with Immortals—including many King-level experts—on multiple floors. Xiangxiang says roughly 100,000 people entered the previous year, an unbelievable concentration by Fang Yan’s standards.
• While waiting, Fang Yan overhears a veteran competitor explain that Tianxi Puppets can fully realize their user’s combat strength and are extraordinarily valuable and scarce. Fang Yan privately calculates that his own seventy Immortal-level puppets would be worth billions of Tian Xi units, still modest compared with his resources.
• At the registration desk, Fang Yan gives his name and is asked to demonstrate his puppet-master abilities. He summons twenty black Tianxi Puppets, beginning the qualification test.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Yan remains observant and analytical, comparing the city’s history, population, currency, and puppet economy with what he knows from elsewhere. The sheer number of Immortals challenges his understanding of the world.
• Xiangxiang acts as his guide, urging him onward and explaining the expected scale of the competition. Fang Yan follows her lead while concealing his astonishment.
• The veteran puppet master boasts to his disciple about his repeated competition experience and ambitions, while describing Tianxi Puppets with deep respect. Their exchange provides Fang Yan—and the reader—with essential context about the competition and its prizes.
• The registration clerk handles Fang Yan’s application and requires proof of skill; their interaction sets up the next stage of the chapter.

Significant themes

• Immortality and overwhelming scale: A crowd of roughly 100,000 Immortal entrants makes this civilization’s power and population seem almost incomprehensible to Fang Yan.
• Technology integrated into everyday life: Mechanical details permeate the city, from floating streetlights to engineered trees and the enormous patterned tower.
• Status, mastery, and scarcity: Tianxi Puppets are prized because they perfectly channel a user’s strength, making them both symbols of a puppet master’s skill and highly coveted assets.
• A legendary past: The Tian Xi Lord’s statue and reputation connect the present competition to an era of extraordinary figures and conflicts.

Chapter Summary: “Non-Puppet Master Methods”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan registers for the Puppet Master Competition by displaying twenty perfectly controlled Tianxi Puppets, astonishing the registration officials and surrounding Immortals. The puppets are extremely expensive and rare, making his wealth and ability appear extraordinary.
• After registration, Fang Yan questions Xiangxiang about the Tianxi Race’s territory. She insists that the race has always occupied only the Peach Garden Star System.
• Fang Yan becomes suspicious because the star system contains an unusually large number of Immortals—far more than such a territory should be able to produce. He theorizes that the secret realm may have compressed or simulated the Tianxi Race’s wider territories into a single star system.
• Fang Yan and Xiangxiang spend the next two months together while waiting for the competition. Xiangxiang shares rumors, including that the Tian Xi Lord may personally appear during the finals.
• The first round takes place in the empty Silent Subgalaxy, where tens of thousands of Immortal-level puppet masters gather.
• The competition is overseen by Thousand Threads Venerable, whose immense puppet army allows him to monitor the contestants and rescue those in danger.
• The first trial, the Thousand Mechanisms Preliminary, is a free-for-all. Contestants may control only one hundred puppets at a time and must seize opponents’ puppets, eventually perfectly controlling one thousand to qualify.
• Rather than relying solely on conventional puppet-master techniques, Fang Yan prepares to use his own combat abilities. He summons the Rain Sword Immortal Gu and begins employing the technique “Soul-Tethered Dream, Wind and Clouds Surge.”

Character Developments

• Fang Yan demonstrates immense wealth and exceptional puppet-control ability by producing twenty flawless Tianxi Puppets, but the chapter emphasizes that puppetry is not his primary strength.
• His suspicions about the Tianxi Secret Realm deepen. He recognizes inconsistencies between the Peach Garden Star System’s apparent size and its enormous Immortal population, showing his continued analytical and investigative mindset.
• Fang Yan reveals confidence and adaptability. Instead of competing in the expected manner, he plans to exploit his own powerful techniques in a contest designed for puppet masters.
• Xiangxiang remains cheerful, affectionate, and enthusiastic. She admires Fang Yan’s achievement and acts as his source of local information, though she is unaware of the deeper mystery surrounding her race and homeland.
• Thousand Threads Venerable is established as a powerful and responsible overseer, capable of controlling countless puppets and protecting contestants.

Significant Themes

• Power beyond appearances: Fang Yan possesses the required puppets, but his true strength lies elsewhere, suggesting that the competition may not be decided by orthodox puppet mastery.
• Secrets and inconsistencies: The unusually dense Immortal population and Xiangxiang’s limited understanding hint that the Tianxi Race’s history and territory have been concealed or artificially reconstructed.
• Adaptability and unconventional strategy: The first round rewards control and numbers, yet Fang Yan intends to challenge those assumptions by using combat techniques rather than simply competing through puppet armies.
• Social inequality and awe: The crowd’s reaction to Fang Yan’s twenty puppets highlights the vast differences in wealth, resources, and status among the Immortals.
• Hidden danger beneath a competition: Although presented as a contest, the need for rescue and the possibility of death establish that the preliminary round is genuinely perilous.

Character Interactions

• The registration officials and surrounding contestants react with disbelief and envy to Fang Yan’s twenty Tianxi Puppets, emphasizing his exceptional resources.
• Fang Yan and Xiangxiang share a warm, familiar relationship. She excitedly praises him and casually discusses competition rumors, while he carefully questions her about the Tianxi Race without revealing his suspicions.
• Fang Yan observes the other contestants rather than immediately joining the battle, studying their methods before choosing his own approach.
• Thousand Threads Venerable addresses the assembled contestants and establishes the rules, marking the formal beginning of the competition.

Chapter Summary: Puppet World

Key Plot Points and Events

• The first team battle of the Puppet Master Competition begins, but Fang Yan immediately changes its nature by using the secret technique Mountain Wind Urges Rain to Life through the Freehand Immortal Gu.
• Inky rain and sword-like threads spread across the enormous arena. While King-level immortals suffer minor damage, ordinary immortals lose over ninety percent of their divine bodies and fall unconscious.
• Within three breaths, over seventy percent of the contestants are incapacitated. Their puppets become ownerless.
• Fang Yan activates Thousand Mechanisms Lockheart, drawing the abandoned puppets toward him. He successfully arranges and controls one thousand puppets at full strength, forming ten disciplined formations of one hundred puppets each.
• Thousand Threads Venerable confirms that anyone who perfectly controls one thousand puppets advances. Fang Yan is officially selected for the finals.
• The unconscious contestants are collected, and Fang Yan notices that they bear secret patterns resembling those of the Successors. He suspects they may be replicated clones created by the secret realm from members of the long-dead Tianxi Race.
• The livestream audience of the Peach Garden Star System reacts with outrage, condemning Fang Yan for attacking puppet masters directly instead of fighting only through puppets.
• Fang Yan dismisses their criticism, arguing that the Tianxi Race’s rigid rules do not concern him. Despite the backlash, the tournament declares him first place in the preliminary round.
• The following day, Fang Yan receives his reward: the Myriad Hearts Puppet Control Record, a technique capable of controlling ten thousand puppets of the same level simultaneously.
• With only six months before the finals, Fang Yan realizes he faces an immense challenge. Xiangxiang’s simple home life and cooking give him an unexpected sense of warmth and remind him of “home.”

Character Developments

• Fang Yan demonstrates overwhelming tactical ability and ruthlessness. Rather than competing according to traditional puppet-master conventions, he exploits the contest’s actual rules and turns defeated contestants’ puppets into his own army.
• His confidence and defiance grow as he openly ignores the Tianxi Race’s moral outrage. He also begins to form a stronger suspicion that the entire competition and its participants are products of the secret realm.
• Fang Yan’s reaction to Xiangxiang’s soup reveals a more reflective and vulnerable side. Despite viewing her as likely another puppet or replica, he feels genuine familiarity and emotional comfort around her.
• Thousand Threads Venerable remains emotionally unreadable but recognizes Fang Yan’s achievement and advances him without hesitation.
• Xiangxiang continues to provide Fang Yan with a domestic, comforting presence, contrasting with the harsh and artificial world surrounding the competition.
• The Tianxi audience is portrayed as highly traditional and intolerant, treating Fang Yan’s methods as an insult to their civilization’s puppet-master ideals.

Significant Themes

• Rules versus convention: Fang Yan technically fulfills the competition’s requirement, even though he violates the traditional spirit of puppet-master combat.
• Individual freedom versus collective dogma: The Tianxi Race’s furious reaction highlights its obsessive adherence to a single accepted path and its rejection of anything outside established norms.
• Identity and artificial existence: The suspected clones and puppet-like inhabitants raise questions about whether replicated beings possess genuine individuality or are merely tools of the secret realm.
• Civilizational decline: Fang Yan suspects that the Tianxi Race’s rigid, intolerant culture may have contributed to the destruction of the Heavenly Xi Civilization.
• Power and adaptation: Fang Yan’s ability to rapidly seize abandoned resources and prepare for the finals emphasizes his flexibility and willingness to use unconventional methods.
• Home and emotional attachment: Xiangxiang’s cooking briefly reconnects Fang Yan with ordinary human comforts, suggesting that emotional bonds can survive even in an artificial world.

Important Character Interactions

• Fang Yan and Thousand Threads Venerable: Fang Yan respectfully asks whether he has passed, while the Venerable objectively confirms his advancement. Their exchange establishes Fang Yan’s success despite the controversy.
• Fang Yan and the Tianxi audience: The audience condemns him through the livestream, but Fang Yan responds with open disdain, rejecting their judgment and exposing the conflict between his pragmatism and their traditions.
• Fang Yan and Xiangxiang: Xiangxiang offers him soup after his victory. Fang Yan accepts it warmly, experiencing an unexpected sense of home while simultaneously questioning whether she is merely a puppet or clone.
• Fang Yan and the unconscious contestants: Though he does not directly converse with them, his seizure of their ownerless puppets transforms them from competitors into the foundation of his winning army.

Chapter Summary: “Plotting Against the Insect Race”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan abandons the idea of mastering the Myriad Hearts Puppet Control Record through ordinary comprehension within six months. Instead, he plans to obtain enough Wisdom Dao Marks to nurture a Wisdom Dao Immortal Gu, which would greatly accelerate his understanding.
• He currently possesses only thirteen Wisdom Dao Marks, far fewer than the several hundred required. Since the Insect Race’s Immortals are soul masters, Fang Yan identifies them as ideal targets for obtaining more marks.
• Fang Yan sends his Spring Autumn Cicada Clone to the battlefield, relying on its immense combat power—comparable to his Cosmic Wind Haze Beast Clone—to hunt Insect Race Immortals.
• Before pursuing this plan, Fang Yan visits the Flame Ruins Secret Realm and encounters his disciple Ganwu, who has successfully created the powerful Rank Five formation Earth Burial Coffin, whose strength has reached the Immortal level.
• Ganwu announces that he intends to break through from World Lord Ninth Order to the Immortal level, especially because Hei Ling’er has already become a High Marquis. Fang Yan firmly forbids him from doing so until he receives a promised reward.
• Fang Yan realizes that Ganwu needs a special lifeform with a Clone talent, but he currently lacks the necessary resources to provide one.
• Fang Yan then asks Flame Ruins Lord where the conflict between the Human Race and Insect Race is most intense. Surprisingly, Flame Ruins Lord claims that there is currently no such conflict.
• Fang Yan suspects that the war is being concealed from all but the highest-ranking members of the Human Race. He leaves and prepares to investigate further.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan: Demonstrates strategic flexibility and long-term planning. Rather than struggle futilely with the Puppet Control Record, he devises a plan involving the cultivation of a Wisdom Dao Immortal Gu. He also shows concern for Ganwu’s future by preventing him from repeating the disastrous fate associated with his original destiny.
• Ganwu: Shows significant progress by completing the Earth Burial Coffin formation and gaining confidence in his ability to advance. His desire to become Immortal reflects both ambition and anxiety about falling behind Hei Ling’er.
• Flame Ruins Lord: Remains an informed and authoritative elder, though his apparent ignorance of the Human–Insect conflict raises questions about the secrecy surrounding the war.

Significant Themes

• Strategic cultivation and resource acquisition: Fang Yan treats enemies as sources of valuable cultivation materials, linking battlefield actions directly to his advancement.
• Foreknowledge and altering fate: Fang Yan remembers Ganwu’s tragic future and intervenes to prevent him from becoming an indebted, repeatedly resurrected figure.
• Secrecy and hidden power struggles: The apparent absence of a known war suggests that major factions are concealing their actions, hinting at deeper political manipulation.
• Mentorship and control: Fang Yan acts as both mentor and authority, rewarding Ganwu while imposing strict conditions on his advancement.
• Preparation over impulsiveness: Both Fang Yan’s plan for the Wisdom Dao Immortal Gu and his refusal to let Ganwu break through emphasize careful timing.

Character Interactions

• Fang Yan and Ganwu: Ganwu proudly demonstrates his completed formation and asks permission to advance. Fang Yan praises his achievement but refuses his request, promising a future reward without revealing its nature.
• Fang Yan and Flame Ruins Lord: Fang Yan respectfully asks about the Human–Insect conflict. Flame Ruins Lord’s denial contradicts Fang Yan’s expectations, prompting Fang Yan to suspect that the war is being kept secret.
• Fang Yan and his clones: Fang Yan relies on the Spring Autumn Cicada Clone to pursue dangerous battles while keeping the Cosmic Wind Haze Beast Clone stationed elsewhere, demonstrating his efficient use of multiple bodies and resources.

Chapter Summary: “A Genius of His Generation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan arrives at Virtual Universe Company Headquarters, where hundreds of elite geniuses from both the Virtual Universe Company and Giant Axe Dojo are waiting for the passage to the Initial Universe to open.
• Although the passage normally requires a thousand people before activation, Fang Yan identifies himself as the Red Lotus King, and the staff immediately opens it for him because of his exceptional status and reputation.
• The gathered geniuses are shocked and some express resentment at Fang Yan’s special treatment. Their leaders quickly suppress them with immortal pressure and apologize to Fang Yan, fearing his notorious reputation after the battle against the Mudvine Tribe.
• The Virtual Universe Company leader, Tus—also known as Fire Roar Marquis—reveals that his teacher, Crimson Flame King, considers Fang Yan a martial brother. Fang Yan accepts the relationship and gives Tus the spatial treasure Tear Voidflow as a gift.
• Tus enthusiastically praises Fang Yan before the younger geniuses, emphasizing that Fang Yan founded the Gu Master lineage and guided Ganwu to become exceptionally powerful.
• The geniuses’ resentment changes into admiration once they learn Fang Yan’s true identity. Fang Yan leads them into the passage to the Initial Universe.
• Upon arriving in Chaos City, Fang Yan immediately heads to the City Lord’s Residence, while the geniuses begin their introductory tour. They are introduced to the Initial Universe’s major opportunities: studying Chaos Steles, challenging the Heaven-Connecting Bridge, and listening to powerful experts expound the Dao.
• The chapter ends as the guide prepares to explain the strict rule governing these opportunities.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan: His immense authority and reputation are reinforced. He casually commands the opening of a normally restricted passage and is treated with extraordinary respect. He also demonstrates generosity by gifting Tus a valuable treasure and shows interest in expanding the Gu Master lineage through the Virtual Universe marketplace.
• Tus/Fire Roar Marquis: He displays great tact and ambition. By identifying Fang Yan as his martial uncle, he gains Fang Yan’s favor and receives a valuable treasure. He also skillfully uses Fang Yan’s reputation to educate and impress the younger geniuses.
• The young geniuses: They initially appear proud, impatient, and resentful of Fang Yan’s privilege, but their attitude quickly shifts to awe and reverence once they learn who he is.
• The leaders of both factions: They act cautiously and protectively, immediately restraining the disrespectful juniors and apologizing to Fang Yan to avoid conflict.

Significant Themes

• Power and status: Fang Yan’s elevated position allows him to bypass ordinary rules, demonstrating the influence of strength and reputation within the cultivation hierarchy.
• Respect earned through achievement: The geniuses’ attitudes change when they learn about Fang Yan’s accomplishments as the founder of the Gu Path and creator of the Heavenly Court Chaos Stele.
• Mentorship and legacy: Fang Yan’s connection to Crimson Flame King and Ganwu highlights how influence passes through teachers, disciples, and martial relationships.
• Generosity and networking: Fang Yan’s gift to Tus strengthens his ties within the Virtual Universe Company and shows how powerful figures cultivate relationships through recognition and rewards.
• The path to advancement: The Initial Universe is presented as a place where talented cultivators can seize opportunities through the Chaos Steles, the Heaven-Connecting Bridge, and expert teachings.

Character Interactions

• Fang Yan confronts the expectations of the gathered geniuses simply by announcing his identity.
• The faction leaders intervene when some juniors speak disrespectfully, demonstrating their fear of Fang Yan and their responsibility toward their subordinates.
• Tus respectfully claims Fang Yan as his martial uncle through Crimson Flame King’s connection, and Fang Yan responds by acknowledging him and giving him Tear Voidflow.
• Tus publicly promotes Fang Yan’s achievements, transforming the crowd’s hostility into admiration.
• Fang Yan then leads both groups into the Initial Universe, where the guides begin instructing the newcomers about Chaos City and its rules.

Chapter Summary: “Spy Plan”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The black-robed guide explains the rules of Chaos City: fighting is forbidden, and violators will be expelled from the Initial Universe permanently.
• The geniuses learn that there are sixteen Chaos Steles, each representing a complete cultivation path. They receive one free opportunity to study a stele; further attempts require challenging the Heaven-Connecting Bridge.
• When asked which stele is strongest, the guide emphasizes that each genius should choose the one best suited to them rather than pursuing a universally “strongest” path.
• Discussion turns to the Heavenly Court Chaos Stele and its founder, Red Lotus King. The guide reveals that Red Lotus King lives in the Xun Universe Palace and accepts qualified disciples:
  • Anyone below the World Lord level who can endure the pressure of the words “Xun Universe” and enter the palace may become his registered disciple.
  • Those suited to the Heavenly Court Chaos Stele may also purchase the Red Lotus Secret Manual.
• The geniuses enter the City Lord’s Residence to select their Chaos Steles. Kandri reacts strongly upon seeing the first illustration of the Heavenly Court Stele, the “Thousand-Li Diagram,” hinting at a powerful personal connection.
• Fang Yan privately asks Chaos Lord about the Insect Race and expresses his desire to visit its battlefield.
• Chaos Lord reveals that the Insect Race Empress has mysteriously disappeared. Even after Chaos Lord and Giant Axe killed an Insect Race Universe Lord to force her to show herself, she did not appear.
• The Human Race is gathering intelligence with the goal of joining the Demon Race to destroy the Insect Race once the Empress’s location is discovered.
• Fang Yan suspects that the Empress may possess a powerful palace-type Supreme Treasure or may have achieved a breakthrough, with the former seeming more likely.
• Origin arrives and notices Fang Yan’s Spring Autumn Cicada Clone. He realizes that Fang Yan’s insect-like clone is ideally suited to act as a spy within the Insect Race.
• Origin proposes that Fang Yan accompany Shadow King to the Insect Race Territory to gather intelligence. Fang Yan accepts immediately, prioritizing the potential Supreme Treasure and the strategic importance of the mission.
• Origin gives Fang Yan a coordinate token. If Fang Yan discovers the Insect Race Empress’s location, crushing the token will allow Origin to arrive instantly, providing a crucial emergency safeguard.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan: Demonstrates strategic judgment and decisiveness. He recognizes the value of infiltrating the Insect Race and willingly accepts the dangerous mission, despite its risks. His Spring Autumn Cicada Clone becomes a major asset, transforming him from a powerful cultivator into a potential intelligence operative.
• Chaos Lord: Reveals his concern over the Insect Race’s unexplained actions and the seriousness of the current conflict. He provides Fang Yan with important information but remains cautious about the Empress’s motives.
• Origin: Shows his exceptional insight by immediately identifying Fang Yan’s clone as the perfect spy. His willingness to involve Fang Yan in a major intelligence operation indicates both trust in Fang Yan and the mission’s importance.
• Red Lotus King: Although absent, he is characterized as powerful and selective. His invitation to potential disciples establishes the prestige of the Heavenly Court lineage.
• Kandri: His intense reaction to the “Thousand-Li Diagram” suggests that the Heavenly Court Chaos Stele may be especially significant to his future cultivation or identity.
• Shadow King: His inclusion as Fang Yan’s partner emphasizes his status as a leading intelligence specialist and foreshadows a dangerous joint mission.

Significant Themes

• Suitability over raw strength: The guide stresses that the best cultivation path is not necessarily the strongest one, but the one most compatible with the individual.
• Power and inheritance: The Chaos Steles, Red Lotus Secret Manual, and registered-disciple opportunity highlight how powerful legacies shape the future of geniuses.
• Espionage and strategy: The chapter shifts from cultivation selection to covert warfare, showing that intelligence may be as important as direct combat.
• Hidden threats and uncertainty: The Insect Race Empress’s disappearance creates suspense. Her refusal to respond even after losing a Universe Lord suggests she possesses a major advantage.
• Trust and preparation: Fang Yan receives a coordinate token as a failsafe, illustrating the importance of backup plans when confronting enemies of extraordinary power.
• The burden of racial conflict: The possible extermination of the Insect Race reveals the increasingly severe struggle among the Primordial Universe’s major races.

Character Interactions

• The black-robed guide manages the geniuses’ expectations, answering their questions about the Chaos Steles and Red Lotus King while warning them not to assume they are qualified for the Heavenly Court path.
• Fang Yan consults Chaos Lord about the Insect Race, and Chaos Lord explains the Human Race’s efforts to locate and eliminate the Insect Race Empress.
• Origin interrupts the discussion, evaluates Fang Yan’s clone, and recruits him into the intelligence mission.
• Fang Yan and Origin establish a practical partnership based on Fang Yan’s unique infiltration ability and Origin’s overwhelming strength and ability to provide immediate support.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Origin gives Fang Yan a dark-purple scale containing the divine power token of the slain Insect Race Universe Master, Lord of All Spirits.
• The token will make Fang Yan emit an aura matching Lord of All Spirits’ forces, allowing him to disguise himself as an intelligent Insect Race warrior.
• Origin assigns Fang Yan to infiltrate Insect Race Territory alongside Shadow King and locate the Insect Race Empress. He strictly warns Fang Yan not to take unnecessary risks or complicate the mission.
• Chaos Lord directs Fang Yan to meet Shadow King in Yuanchen Universe Country and gives him a special command token permitting unrestricted use of Human Territory’s spatial passages.
• Fang Yan’s Spring Autumn Cicada Clone departs for the infiltration mission, while his Cosmic Wind Haze Beast Clone remains in Tianxi Secret Realm to participate in the Puppet Master Competition and pursue Tian Xi Lord’s inheritance.
• At the same time, Kandri enters the Virtual Universe to test himself on the Heaven-Connecting Bridge associated with the newly created Heavenly Court Chaos Stele.
• Despite doubts from another genius about choosing a stele created by Red Lotus King—especially since Kandri is a warrior—Kandri chooses the warrior path.
• He defeats the first-level opponent after thirty-five exchanges by identifying an opening and landing a decisive attack.
• On the second level, however, he is defeated almost instantly by a faint breeze and awakens outside the Virtual Universe.
• Reflecting on the attack, Kandri visits Fang Yan’s residence, Xun Universe, hoping to understand the profound meaning contained in its name. He learns that anyone at World Lord level or below who can withstand the pressure of the palace’s inscription and enter may become Fang Yan’s registered disciple.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan: Demonstrates discipline and strategic awareness by accepting a dangerous infiltration mission rather than acting impulsively. His dual-clone arrangement allows him to pursue both the Human Race’s espionage mission and his personal opportunities in Tianxi Secret Realm.
• Origin: Reveals his exceptional mastery of souls and disguise. His plan exploits the uncertainty surrounding Lord of All Spirits’ surviving intelligent warriors and gives Fang Yan an almost flawless identity.
• Chaos Lord: Supports the mission by providing Fang Yan with rapid transportation and emphasizing the urgency of finding the Insect Race Empress.
• Kandri: Shows determination and confidence in choosing the Heavenly Court Chaos Stele despite criticism. His victory on the first bridge level proves his combat ability, while his defeat on the second level reveals a significant gap in his understanding and motivates him to seek further insight from Fang Yan’s “Xun Universe.”

Significant Themes

• Espionage and deception: Fang Yan’s mission depends on identity concealment, soul mastery, and exploiting uncertainty within the Insect Race.
• Multiple paths and parallel advancement: Fang Yan’s two clones pursue separate objectives simultaneously, emphasizing the advantages and responsibilities of divided cultivation.
• Determination versus established expectations: Kandri rejects the assumption that a warrior should avoid the Heavenly Court Chaos Stele simply because it is new or associated with a nontraditional path.
• Learning through defeat: Kandri’s failure on the second bridge level does not discourage him; instead, it drives him to seek a deeper understanding of the technique that defeated him.
• Opportunity and succession: Fang Yan’s inscription serves as a potential gateway for identifying and accepting talented disciples.

Character Interactions

• Origin instructs Fang Yan and provides the disguise token, while Fang Yan respectfully accepts the mission.
• Chaos Lord gives Fang Yan the transportation token and sends him to coordinate with Shadow King.
• Another genius questions Kandri’s choice of the Heavenly Court Chaos Stele, but Kandri responds through action rather than argument.
• Kandri later encounters the black-robed guide at Xun Universe, who explains Fang Yan’s rule regarding potential registered disciples.

Summary of “Meeting Nether Lotus”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Kandeli attempts to enter the Xun Universe Estate in hopes of becoming the Red Lotus King’s registered disciple. However, the inscription above the gate releases overwhelming pressure, embodying the Wind-Time Fusion Law and preventing him from advancing.
• After waiting seven days, Kandeli receives advice from the estate’s black-robed guide: he should first study several volumes of the Cosmic Wind Treatise from the Red Lotus Secret Manual and return once he has comprehended them. Kandeli accepts this challenge with renewed determination.
• Fang Yan travels to the northern border of the Yuanchen Universe Country to meet the Shadow King, who provides intelligence about the Insect Race’s territory and identifies Nether Lotus Lord’s palace as a key target.
• Fang Yan’s mission is to infiltrate the Insect Race by disguising himself as one of its warriors, enslave lone insects encountered along a designated route, and gather information about Nether Lotus Lord. He is warned not to act recklessly or jeopardize the larger plan.
• Using a dark-purple scale containing Lord of All Spirits’ aura, Fang Yan transforms his appearance and successfully enters the Insect Race’s territory.
• Three months later, he reaches the Netherworld Tower, Nether Lotus Lord’s palace-type treasure. Rather than concealing himself, he openly approaches the palace while releasing Lord of All Spirits’ aura.
• Nether Lotus Lord personally appears and immediately recognizes the aura. She is surprised by Fang Yan’s extraordinary genetic multiplier, which exceeds two thousand.
• Fang Yan presents a carefully prepared false history, claiming that he was bred by Lord of All Spirits, awakened self-awareness several thousand eras ago, survived his master’s death, and gained strength by devouring the genes of other Insect Race warriors.

Character Developments

• Kandeli: Demonstrates persistence and ambition. Though initially unable to withstand the estate’s pressure, he does not abandon his goal and accepts the need to study the Cosmic Wind Treatise before trying again.
• Fang Yan: Shows strategic caution and strong preparation. He follows the Shadow King’s instructions, adopts a convincing Insect Race identity, and approaches Nether Lotus Lord directly to gain her attention and trust.
• Shadow King: Acts as Fang Yan’s intelligence coordinator and mission supervisor. He provides crucial information but emphasizes discipline and warns Fang Yan against unauthorized actions.
• Nether Lotus Lord: Is introduced as an extraordinarily powerful and captivating Insect Race Universe Lord. Her initial suspicion is mixed with interest after she discovers Fang Yan’s rare genetic potential.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance and self-improvement: Kandeli’s failure becomes motivation to deepen his understanding rather than surrender.
• Preparation and deception: Fang Yan’s success depends on careful planning, disguise, and a believable fabricated background.
• Power and talent: Fang Yan’s genetic multiplier marks him as an exceptional existence, immediately attracting Nether Lotus Lord’s attention.
• Risk versus obedience: Fang Yan must balance bold action with strict adherence to the Shadow King’s mission.
• Identity and transformation: Fang Yan literally changes his appearance and aura to infiltrate the Insect Race, blurring the line between his true identity and his constructed persona.

Character Interactions

• Kandeli respectfully receives guidance from the black-robed estate guide, who redirects his ambition toward study and comprehension.
• The Shadow King briefs Fang Yan using a detailed star map and establishes the rules for his infiltration mission. Their exchange highlights the seriousness of the operation and the need for mutual trust.
• Fang Yan and Nether Lotus Lord meet in a tense first encounter. Her power temporarily overwhelms him, but the Sea-Watching Pavilion helps him resist her captivating influence.
• Nether Lotus Lord questions Fang Yan’s origin and abilities, while Fang Yan calmly delivers his false account, beginning his attempt to win her confidence and uncover information about the Insect Race.

Chapter Summary: “Only Wants to Be Mommy’s…”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Nether Lotus Lord tests Fang Yan’s claim that he can devour beings beyond the Insect Race by producing an enslaved Universe Venerable from the Ziqian Myriad Snakes Race.
• Fang Yan attacks and devours the Venerable’s divine body. The process creates Wisdom Dao Marks within his Divine Kingdom, raising the Spring Autumn Cicada Clone’s genetic multiplier from 2,026 to 2,107.
• Impressed by Fang Yan’s extraordinary growth method, Nether Lotus Lord considers taking him under her protection. Fang Yan introduces himself as “Chunqiu.”
• Nether Lotus Lord initially proposes accepting him as a personal disciple after her race stabilizes, but Fang Yan fears waiting would be dangerous and too late.
• To secure her protection immediately, Fang Yan pretends to be a submissive Insect Race offspring, calling her “Mommy” and asking to become her insect. He specifically agrees to receive a Self-Destruct Mark but pleads against Soul Enslavement.
• Nether Lotus Lord is surprised and intrigued by his request. She ultimately brands Fang Yan with a Self-Destruct Mark, leaving his consciousness and freedom intact while giving her a means to kill him if necessary.
• Fang Yan is relieved that he avoided Soul Enslavement and continues addressing Nether Lotus Lord as “Mommy.” As he prepares to leave, she stops him and summons a small, exquisite palace, hinting at another important arrangement.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan/Chunqiu: Demonstrates his devouring ability, increasing his genetic multiplier and strengthening himself considerably. He also reveals his cunning and adaptability by manipulating Nether Lotus Lord’s perception of him through exaggerated humility and filial dependence. Internally, he remains calculating and considers escape options such as Time Reversal and the Sea-Watching Pavilion.
• Nether Lotus Lord: Becomes increasingly interested in Fang Yan after witnessing his unusual cultivation method and potential. She recognizes that his eventual breakthrough could grant him Universe Overlord-level combat power. Although cautious because of the current situation, she is emotionally tempted by his “Mommy” act and accepts him under a conditional form of protection.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and survival: Fang Yan uses performance and psychological insight rather than force to secure Nether Lotus Lord’s favor.
• Freedom versus control: The contrast between Soul Enslavement and the Self-Destruct Mark emphasizes the difference between losing one’s will and accepting a dangerous but limited restriction.
• Power and potential: Fang Yan’s rapid growth makes him valuable but also attracts Nether Lotus Lord’s desire and scrutiny.
• Familial imagery as strategy: Fang Yan exploits the biological mother-child relationship within the Insect Race to gain a privileged position.
• Trust and suspicion: Nether Lotus Lord is intrigued by Fang Yan but remains cautious, while Fang Yan outwardly submits but privately prepares contingencies.

Character Interactions

• Nether Lotus Lord tests Fang Yan’s abilities by offering him an enslaved Ziqian Myriad Snakes Venerable to devour.
• Fang Yan respectfully demonstrates his power and thanks her, strengthening her impression of him.
• Nether Lotus Lord offers him discipleship, but Fang Yan redirects the relationship by calling her “Mommy” and requesting to become her insect.
• She questions whether he understands the implications, then marks him with a Self-Destruct Mark rather than Soul Enslavement.
• Their interaction ends with Nether Lotus Lord summoning a mysterious palace and ordering Fang Yan to wait, suggesting she intends to give him further instructions or a new opportunity.

Chapter Summary: “Blood Food”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Nether Lotus Lord rewards Fang Yan with Wind Moon Mansion, a palm-sized, blue-white palace-type High-grade Supreme Treasure. She presents it as a fitting companion to his name, “Chunqiu,” and claims it may improve his chances of survival on the battlefield.
• Fang Yan outwardly expresses gratitude but privately considers the treasure insufficient. His real objective remains obtaining the Insect Race Empress’s ultimate treasure, the Empress Nest, and he views the gift as merely a test of his loyalty and ability.
• After leaving Nether Lotus Lord, Fang Yan uses the Spring Autumn Cicada Clone’s talent, Time Reversal, to rewind the moment when Nether Lotus Lord’s Self-Destruct Mark first entered his body.
• The technique succeeds: the mark remains present but is now only attached to the surface of his divine body rather than fused into it. If detonated, it would cause limited damage instead of destroying him completely. Fang Yan conceals this change so Nether Lotus Lord will not become suspicious.
• With two months remaining before the Puppet Master Competition finals, Fang Yan assesses his progress. The Cosmic Wind Haze Beast can control 2,036 Tianxi Puppets, but the Wisdom Dao Marks in his Divine Kingdom—just over one hundred—are insufficient to naturally form another Immortal Gu.
• Since he lacks suitable Gu-refinement materials, Fang Yan decides to use the brutal Blood Dao Refinement Method, which requires vast quantities of living beings as raw material.
• He contacts Nether Lotus Lord and requests Blood Food. She gives him one million units, totaling approximately ten billion living beings, including World Lord-, Domain Lord-, and Universe-level beings.
• Three days later, a Venerable-level Insect Race warrior delivers the captives in a World Ring. The prisoners come from several races, including the White-Haired, Demon, Long-Haired, and Human Races.
• Fang Yan briefly reacts to the scale of the sacrifice, then suppresses his moral hesitation and transports all one million containers into his Divine Kingdom, preparing to use them in his refinement process.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan becomes increasingly calculating, deceptive, and ruthless. He successfully hides the altered Self-Destruct Mark while pretending to remain under Nether Lotus Lord’s control.
• His ambition is shown to outweigh loyalty, gratitude, and compassion. He regards Wind Moon Mansion as inadequate and continues planning to acquire a far greater treasure.
• Fang Yan’s moral decline is emphasized when he dismisses the deaths of billions—including members of his own race—as acceptable costs on his path toward becoming an Immortal Venerable.
• Nether Lotus Lord continues to treat Fang Yan as a favored subordinate or “child,” rewarding him generously and supplying the resources he requests. However, her continued use of the Self-Destruct Mark shows that her apparent affection is paired with control and distrust.
• Fang Yan’s mastery and confidence grow as he successfully applies Time Reversal and prepares to attempt a difficult refinement technique outside his former strengths.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden resistance: Fang Yan appears obedient while secretly weakening Nether Lotus Lord’s control over him.
• Ambition versus morality: His pursuit of power leads him to sacrifice billions of lives without remorse.
• The value of life under vast cosmic systems: Living beings are treated as expendable resources by the Insect Race, reflecting the chapter’s brutal worldview.
• Power and control: Nether Lotus Lord’s gift and the Self-Destruct Mark represent both protection and domination.
• Pragmatic cultivation: Fang Yan repeatedly adapts—using Time Reversal, divine-body manipulation, and Blood Dao refinement—to overcome limitations in resources and talent.

Character Interactions

• Nether Lotus Lord gives Fang Yan Wind Moon Mansion and advises him to refine it for battlefield survival.
• Fang Yan responds with carefully performed gratitude while privately dismissing the gift and plotting for greater power.
• Through the Insect Race Network, Fang Yan respectfully requests Blood Food from Nether Lotus Lord.
• Nether Lotus Lord teases him for being direct but ultimately grants his request, demonstrating both indulgence and the vast resources at her disposal.
• The interaction between them remains outwardly affectionate and hierarchical, but beneath it lies mutual concealment: Nether Lotus Lord believes she controls Fang Yan, while Fang Yan secretly works to free himself from her control.

Chapter Summary: “Refining Gu in Progress”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan begins refining the Sixth-Rank Wisdom Dao Immortal Gu, Wishful Immortal Gu, using the Blood Sea Corpse Mountain technique.
• He releases countless Blood Battle Gu into a million containers filled with Blood Food. The Gu infect the creatures’ brains and Life Cores, driving them into violent combat.
• Fang Yan uses Myriad Hearts Puppet Control Record to control 2,036 World Lord-level Blood Food. He turns them from mindless beasts into coordinated killing machines that rapidly eliminate the other inhabitants of their containers.
• After seven two-hour periods, most containers have produced victors. The corpses pile up, forming the first stage: Corpse Mountain.
• Blood from the corpses gathers into a million seas, completing the second stage: Blood Sea.
• Fang Yan causes the seas to devour one another. Despite the strength of his carefully selected 2,036 Blood Food, they are overwhelmed by the million blood seas and eventually consumed.
• Only three major blood seas remain. One is controlled by a powerful White-Haired Race World Lord, while two others belong to human cultivators Zhang Tianqi and Zhu Jiayi, who are fighting together but nearing defeat.
• Zhu Jiayi is severely wounded and has lost an arm, while Zhang Tianqi desperately protects her. Together they exploit an opening and injure the White-Haired World Lord.
• Zhang Tianqi sacrifices his own defense to restrain the enemy, allowing Zhu Jiayi to gather all her remaining strength into a concentrated blood-sea attack. The chapter ends as her attack pierces the White-Haired World Lord’s blood sea.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan is shown as detached, experimental, and ruthlessly practical. He treats billions of lives as refining materials and calmly observes the slaughter. His creative use of puppet-control techniques demonstrates his ingenuity and mastery.
• Zhang Tianqi is characterized by loyalty and self-sacrifice. He continues protecting Zhu Jiayi despite the overwhelming danger, fulfilling a promise he made years earlier.
• Zhu Jiayi begins the battle weak and gravely injured but regains determination when Zhang Tianqi creates an opportunity for her. Her final attack shows courage and willingness to risk everything for survival.
• The White-Haired World Lord is portrayed as immensely powerful and savage, but his numerical and tactical disadvantage leaves him vulnerable to the humans’ cooperation.

Significant Themes

• Life reduced to resources: Fang Yan’s refinement process presents living beings as disposable ingredients, emphasizing the cruelty and dehumanization of power.
• Strength versus numbers: Fang Yan’s elite 2,036-controlled Blood Food cannot overcome the overwhelming advantage of a million blood seas, showing how numerical superiority can defeat individual excellence.
• Cooperation and sacrifice: Zhang Tianqi and Zhu Jiayi survive by trusting one another and coordinating their attacks, contrasting their partnership with Fang Yan’s detached manipulation.
• Devotion amid brutality: Their relationship provides an emotional counterpoint to the chapter’s mass slaughter, highlighting loyalty and promises in a world dominated by violence.
• Control and manipulation: Fang Yan’s ability to impose order on madness reflects the broader theme of power transforming chaos into a deliberate, efficient weapon.

Character Interactions

• Fang Yan interacts indirectly with the Blood Food, controlling their actions through divine power threads and using them as instruments of refinement.
• Zhang Tianqi and Zhu Jiayi fight as a coordinated pair, communicating through brief commands and relying on each other’s judgment.
• Zhang repeatedly shields and reassures Zhu Jiayi, while she responds by recognizing his sacrifice and using the opportunity he creates.
• The humans confront the White-Haired World Lord through combined blood-sea attacks, exploiting teamwork to overcome his superior physical power.

Chapter Summary

• Zhang Tianqi and Zhu Jiayi defeat the White-Haired World Lord. With the World Lord’s power divided, the two kill him together, and his remains sink into the Blood Sea Corpse Mountain to become nourishment.
• A brief moment of tenderness turns into betrayal. Zhu Jiayi embraces Zhang Tianqi, and he reassures her that he will protect her and that they will both survive. However, she suddenly pierces his chest and seizes his Life Core.
• Their relationship is revealed to be mutually exploitative. Zhang Tianqi admits he protected Zhu Jiayi because she resembled his deceased first love. Zhu Jiayi reveals that she knew she was merely a substitute and used him as protection in return. Neither expresses genuine romantic devotion.
• Zhang Tianqi dies. Zhu Jiayi crushes his Life Core, and his body sinks into the Blood Sea. She consumes the fragments, causing a Gu embryo to form within her Life Core—an incomplete Rank Six As You Please Immortal Gu.
• The Blood Sea Corpse Mountain reaches completion. After the deaths and sacrifices of countless beings, the final Blood Sea and corpse mountain converge upon Zhu Jiayi. The essence of ten billion lives reforges her body into an unnaturally perfect form.
• Zhu Jiayi submits herself to Fang Yan. Hoping to survive, she deliberately strips herself and offers her body and obedience, claiming she will do anything he demands. Her behavior reflects desperation rather than desire; she views her perfected body as her only remaining value.
• Fang Yan remains completely indifferent. He shows no attraction or emotional response to her offer. Instead, he approaches and pierces her chest, echoing Zhu Jiayi’s earlier betrayal of Zhang Tianqi.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Zhu Jiayi evolves from a terrified survivor into a calculating, ruthless participant in the Blood Sea Corpse Mountain’s final sacrifice. Her killing of Zhang Tianqi shows her willingness to betray anyone to survive, while her submission to Fang Yan reveals the depth of her fear and powerlessness.
• Zhang Tianqi dies after briefly displaying genuine tenderness, though his confession exposes that his attachment to Zhu Jiayi was rooted in his unresolved love for someone else.
• Fang Yan is portrayed as detached and almost inhumanly emotionless. Unlike Zhang Tianqi, he is neither moved by Zhu Jiayi’s vulnerability nor tempted by her beauty.
• The central interactions are defined by protection, substitution, betrayal, and survival: Zhang Tianqi treats Zhu Jiayi as a replacement for his first love; Zhu Jiayi treats him as a shield; and Fang Yan treats her as another component of the larger sacrificial process.

Significant Themes

Survival overrides morality and intimacy.

Love is exposed as substitution or self-interest rather than genuine connection.

• Betrayal is cyclical, with Zhu Jiayi repeating against Fang Yan the same chest-piercing act she used against Zhang Tianqi.
• Bodies and lives are reduced to resources, particularly through the Blood Sea Corpse Mountain and the creation of the Immortal Gu.
• Powerlessness beneath apparent perfection: Though Zhu Jiayi gains an ideal body and immense potential, she remains desperate for Fang Yan’s permission to live.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan kills Zhu Jiayi without speaking to her, extracting the Life Core containing the embryo of a Sixth-Rank Wishful Immortal Gu.
• Zhu Jiayi’s body is destroyed, completing the Blood Sea Corpse Mountain’s purpose and ending its ten-billion-sacrifice ritual. The Blood Sea Corpse Mountain then dissolves back into energy for Fang Yan’s Divine Kingdom.
• Fang Yan attempts to refine the Gu embryo by crushing it open. The first four attempts fail.
• Using the Spring Autumn Cicada’s innate ability, Time Reversal, Fang Yan repeatedly resets the failed attempts and tries again.
• On the fifth attempt, the embryo successfully hatches into the Sixth-Rank As You Please Immortal Gu.
• Fang Yan instantly refines the new Immortal Gu and tests its ability. It releases countless colored points of light, each representing an emotion or “intent,” such as malice, goodwill, love, hatred, jealousy, fear, and rage.
• Fang Yan realizes these intents can be infused into Tianxi Puppets, allowing them to act independently rather than requiring his constant control.
• He further deduces that the puppets could carry offensive Immortal Gu and execute Immortal Dao killing moves on their own, effectively creating numerous combat clones.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan remains cold, ruthless, and emotionally detached. He views Zhu Jiayi purely as a Gu material and shows no remorse over her death.
• His calm reaction to repeated failures demonstrates immense patience and confidence, while the use of Time Reversal reveals his willingness to exploit every available advantage.
• After obtaining the As You Please Immortal Gu, Fang Yan’s ambition expands dramatically. He envisions building an army of independent combat puppets that embody his will and abilities.
• Zhu Jiayi experiences confusion, despair, and unwillingness as Fang Yan ignores her and destroys her. Her death emphasizes her complete lack of importance in his eyes.

Significant Themes

• Dehumanization and instrumentalization: Zhu Jiayi is reduced to a resource, illustrating Fang Yan’s extreme utilitarian mindset.
• Persistence through repetition: Failure has little meaning when Fang Yan can reverse time and attempt the refinement again.
• Power through control and multiplication: The new Immortal Gu allows Fang Yan to distribute fragments of his will among many autonomous beings.
• Ambition and expansion: Fang Yan’s goal shifts from merely obtaining one Immortal Gu to creating an overwhelming network of combat-capable clones.
• Emotion as a weapon: Feelings such as hatred, killing intent, fear, and rage are transformed into tools for empowering puppets and enabling independent combat.

Character Interactions

• The only direct interaction is between Fang Yan and Zhu Jiayi. She pleads silently through her confusion and despair, but Fang Yan neither answers nor acknowledges her emotionally.
• Fang Yan’s relationship with the Tianxi Puppets is also redefined: through the As You Please Immortal Gu, they may become semi-independent extensions of his will rather than mindless servants.

Chapter Summary: “Braving the Universe Ocean”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan uses Divine Kingdom teleportation to reach the Tian Xi Secret Realm, where he activates the As You Please Immortal Gu.
• The Immortal Gu dramatically enhances his comprehension and mental processing. Its power is described as more than a thousand times greater than the Three Minds, Two Intentions technique, allowing Fang Yan to master complex puppet-control methods in roughly two months.
• Meanwhile, Fang Yan’s Spring Autumn Cicada Clone finishes refining Wind Moon Mansion, a high-level palace-type supreme treasure given to him by Nether Lotus Lord.
• He detects millions of powerful Insect Race warriors gathering and moving toward Nether Lotus Lord’s Netherworld Tower. Recognizing the danger, Fang Yan informs Shadow King and prepares to contact Chaos Lord.
• Nearly ten million Venerable-level Insect Race warriors, including eight hundred Universe Overlords, assemble around the Netherworld Tower. Fang Yan disguises himself among them and is placed near the center of the formation under Nether Lotus Lord’s orders.
• Nether Lotus Lord appears and uses the Netherworld Tower to transport the gathered army inside the tower, then activates Divine Kingdom teleportation.
• The tower travels through a wormhole beyond the Primordial Universe and enters the Universe Ocean. Fang Yan is shocked by the hostile, gray, chaotic environment and realizes that Nether Lotus Lord has taken him on a major expedition.
• During the journey, Fang Yan carefully memorizes the route, understanding that an accurate Universe Ocean map is extraordinarily valuable.
• After traveling for an unknown period, the Netherworld Tower approaches an enormous, ruined black warship hundreds of millions of light-years in size: the legendary Universe Boat.
• Realizing that the Universe Boat is Nether Lotus Lord’s true objective, Fang Yan’s Cosmic Wind Haze Beast Clone immediately prepares to report the discovery to Shadow King.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan gains a major boost in intelligence and comprehension through the As You Please Immortal Gu, greatly accelerating his mastery of puppet-control techniques.
• He continues to act cautiously and strategically, using multiple clones to monitor threats, communicate with allies, and gather information.
• Fang Yan demonstrates growing ambition and foresight by memorizing the Universe Ocean’s route, aware that such knowledge could be invaluable to his race.
• Despite his strength and confidence, Fang Yan remains conscious of his vulnerability as an Immortal-level being in the Universe Ocean and reacts with nervous humor to the danger.
• Nether Lotus Lord reveals herself to be preparing a large-scale operation. Her ability to command millions of Venerable warriors and hundreds of Universe Overlords establishes her as one of the most formidable Third-Order Universe Masters.
• Her true objective is finally exposed: the exploration or seizure of the Universe Boat.

Significant Themes

• The value of knowledge and preparation: Fang Yan’s enhanced comprehension and careful memorization of the route show that information can be as important as combat strength.
• Power versus vulnerability: Although Fang Yan is exceptionally talented, the Universe Ocean’s environment reminds him that he is still far weaker than the great powers around him.
• Strategic secrecy and surveillance: Fang Yan relies on clones, covert observation, and communication networks to compensate for the limitations of his Virtual Universe access.
• Exploration of the unknown: The transition into the Universe Ocean expands the story beyond the Primordial Universe and introduces a far more dangerous and mysterious setting.
• The scale of cosmic power: The enormous Insect Race army, Netherworld Tower, and Universe Boat emphasize the vast scale of the conflict and the level of beings involved.

Important Character Interactions

• Fang Yan communicates with Shadow King, warning him that the Insect Race is mobilizing toward Nether Lotus Lord’s tower.
• He intends to contact Chaos Lord, showing that he is coordinating with powerful allies rather than acting independently.
• Nether Lotus Lord directly addresses Fang Yan in the Universe Ocean, explaining that the journey is intended to broaden his horizons while warning that his current strength is insufficient to survive outside the tower.
• Fang Yan responds respectfully, maintaining his obedient subordinate persona while privately analyzing Nether Lotus Lord’s movements and intentions.

Chapter Summary: “Three-Race Action”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan urgently informs Shadow King that Nether Lotus Lord is heading toward the Universe Boat, likely pursuing a major Supreme Treasure with the Insect Race Empress.
• Shadow King immediately reports the intelligence to Chaos Lord, who recognizes the danger of the Universe Boat—one of the Universe Ocean’s three great dangerous lands.
• Origin summons Chaos Lord, Black Sky Lord, Void Gold Master, and Giant Axe Lord to organize a joint operation with the Demon Race against the Insect Race.
• Origin sends a message to Beast Ancestor, who gathers powerful Demon Race experts and prepares to converge on the Universe Boat.
• The Human and Demon Races mobilize simultaneously, intending to eliminate the Insect Race’s top forces before they can obtain the treasure.
• Netherworld Tower arrives at the outer edge of the Universe Boat with Fang Yan and Nether Lotus Lord.
• Inside the Universe Boat, the Insect Race Empress and three Universe Lords—Bi Long Lord, Ban Fu Lord, and Insect Heart Lord—are attacking a massive barrier protecting an unknown object.
• The barrier contains the aura of a Supreme Treasure. The Insect Race has nearly broken through when Nether Lotus Lord arrives with millions of insect warriors.
• Nether Lotus Lord and her forces join the assault, dramatically strengthening the attack. The barrier finally develops widespread cracks and begins to shatter, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan acts decisively as an informant and observer, reporting Nether Lotus Lord’s movements while remaining concealed inside Netherworld Tower. His knowledge of the treasure confirms the seriousness of the Insect Race’s objective.
• Shadow King demonstrates trust in Fang Yan’s intelligence and immediately escalates the information to the Human Race’s leadership.
• Origin takes command of the crisis, coordinating both the Human and Demon Races. He also reassures Black Sky Lord that Fang Yan is unlikely to die permanently because of his surviving clone.
• Chaos Lord efficiently follows Origin’s orders and recognizes the strategic danger of allowing the Insect Race to acquire the Supreme Treasure.
• Beast Ancestor responds eagerly to Origin’s summons, revealing his aggressive readiness for war.
• Insect Race Empress remains calm and focused but shows concealed anxiety as she directs the prolonged assault. She is determined that Lord of All Spirits’s sacrifice will not be wasted.
• Nether Lotus Lord arrives with overwhelming reinforcements and expresses strong hostility toward Lord of All Spirits, implying a personal or factional grudge.

Significant Themes

• Escalating racial conflict: The chapter marks the beginning of a major three-way confrontation among the Human, Demon, and Insect Races.
• Power and political status: Origin states that only races possessing a Universe Strongest can truly be considered peak races, emphasizing the importance of supreme combat power.
• Strategic cooperation: Former rivals, the Human and Demon Races, temporarily unite because the Insect Race’s potential breakthrough threatens the balance of power.
• Supreme treasures and ambition: The unknown treasure inside the barrier is powerful enough to provoke a massive military operation and could allow the Insect Race to produce a Sixth-Order Universe Lord.
• Sacrifice and vengeance: The Insect Race Empress’s reference to Lord of All Spirits’s sacrifice suggests that the current operation is driven not only by gain but also by honoring a fallen ally and seeking revenge.

Character Interactions

• Fang Yan communicates with Shadow King, establishing the chain of intelligence that triggers the crisis response.
• Origin commands Chaos Lord and reassures Black Sky Lord, showing his authority and concern for the broader Human Race.
• Origin contacts Beast Ancestor, creating an alliance between the Human and Demon Races.
• Void Gold Master and Origin attempt to calm Black Sky Lord over Fang Yan’s safety.
• The Insect Race Empress directs Bi Long Lord, Ban Fu Lord, and Insect Heart Lord in their coordinated assault.
• Nether Lotus Lord joins the Insect Race Empress’s forces, and their combined armies intensify the attack on the barrier.
• The chapter closes as the barrier reaches the point of breaking, just as the Human and Demon forces rush toward the battlefield.

Summary of “Barrier Shattered”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The ancient barrier protecting a Supreme Treasure begins collapsing under the Insect Race Empress and Nether Lotus Lord’s combined assault.
• Wu Hun Lord arrives after sensing the Supreme Treasure’s aura. He intends to seize it and threatens to alert the powerful Universe Strongests of the First Reincarnation Era.
• The Insect Race Empress orders Bi Long Lord, Ban Fu Lord, and Insect Heart Lord to delay Wu Hun Lord while she and Nether Lotus Lord continue breaking the barrier.
• Wu Hun Lord immediately unleashes his ultimate technique, Five Beasts Annihilation, overwhelming the three weaker Universe Lords.
• The Insect Race Empress burns her divine body to finish destroying the barrier. Inside, they discover a majestic violet-gold Palace-type Supreme Treasure.
• As the Empress begins imprinting her soul mark on the palace, Origin arrives through spatial teleportation with Chaos Lord, Black Sky Lord, Void Gold Master, and Giant Axe Lord.
• Realizing her forces are outmatched, the Empress retreats into the palace. She boasts that Origin cannot harm her while she remains inside, since the palace provides near-perfect defense.
• Origin instead orders his companions to kill Nether Lotus Lord. The Empress, unwilling to lose her most promising subordinate, uses the palace’s guiding light to pull Nether Lotus Lord inside for protection.

Character Developments

• Insect Race Empress: Reveals her ruthlessness and desperation by burning her divine body to obtain the treasure. Once Origin appears, she quickly shifts from aggression to defensive retreat, showing strategic awareness and concern for preserving the Insect Race’s future.
• Wu Hun Lord: Establishes himself as arrogant, powerful, and opportunistic. He immediately attempts to monopolize the treasure and effortlessly suppresses three lower-tier Universe Lords with his signature technique.
• Origin: Demonstrates exceptional speed and perception by locating the treasure and teleporting directly to the battlefield. He remains calm and decisive, targeting Nether Lotus Lord to pressure the Empress rather than wasting effort attacking the palace.
• Nether Lotus Lord: Is shown to be highly valuable to the Insect Race, being close to reaching fourth-tier Universe Lord strength. Her survival becomes a major priority for the Empress.
• Bi Long Lord, Ban Fu Lord, and Insect Heart Lord: Their relatively weak strength is emphasized as they struggle against Wu Hun Lord and cannot assist the Empress.
• Human group: Origin’s arrival with four formidable Universe Lords transforms the balance of power and places the Insect Race on the defensive.

Significant Themes

• Competition over supreme power: The Supreme Treasure immediately provokes conflict among multiple powerful factions.
• Strategic retreat and sacrifice: Characters must balance immediate victory against preserving their forces and future influence.
• Power hierarchy: Wu Hun Lord’s dominance over three weaker Universe Lords and Origin’s overwhelming arrival highlight the vast differences between tiers of strength.
• Greed versus survival: The Empress’s desire to claim the treasure conflicts with the urgent need to protect her subordinates.
• The importance of defensive treasures: The Palace-type Supreme Treasure changes the battlefield, allowing the Empress to become effectively untouchable despite being surrounded.

Character Interactions

• The Empress and Wu Hun Lord openly clash over ownership of the Supreme Treasure, with Wu Hun Lord mocking her claim that the treasure belongs to whoever discovers it.
• The Empress commands her three Universe Lords to delay Wu Hun Lord, but his contempt and superior power leave them struggling.
• Origin calmly confronts the Empress after arriving, creating a sharp contrast between his composure and her alarm.
• Origin orders Nether Lotus Lord’s death to force the Empress to react.
• The Empress responds by sacrificing her tactical advantage and using the palace to rescue Nether Lotus Lord, revealing the subordinate’s importance to her plans.

Chapter Summary: “Call Me Dad”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Inside the Netherworld Tower, Fang Yan uses his Spring Autumn Cicada clone’s Time Reversal talent to return the entire tower to the moment when its gates were opened.
• Although the technique nearly drains his divine body and soul, Fang Yan escapes the tower before time reversal ends.
• He calls for Black Sky Lord, Hei Lian, who transforms into the Black Lotus Battle Armor and equips herself onto Fang Yan. This grants Fang Yan the combat power of a Universe Lord.
• Nether Lotus Lord recognizes that the insect warrior she had believed was “Chunqiu” is actually Fang Yan, a transformed human spy. Enraged, she activates the Self-Destruct Mark within him, but the detonation fails.
• Fang Yan reveals that he has escaped her control and taunts her, saying that although he once called her “Mom,” he will soon make her call him “Dad.”
• Meanwhile, the Insect Race Empress and Nether Lotus Lord retreat into a purple-gold Palace-type Supreme Treasure with three other Insect Race Universe Lords: Bi Long Lord, Ban Fu Lord, and Insect Heart Lord.
• The Human Race’s powerful Universe Lords surround the palace. Wu Hun Lord attacks but cannot stop the three Insect Race warriors from entering it. He eventually withdraws.
• The Insect Race Empress decides to remain inside the palace until the Human Race leaves, believing that no one can breach the Palace-type Supreme Treasure.
• Fang Yan proposes a new strategy to Origin: using Time Reversal to restore the palace to the state before the Insect Race Empress imprinted it. This could erase her ownership mark, make the palace ownerless, and trap the Insect Race forces inside.
• Origin and the other Human Race leaders are stunned by the possibility, recognizing that Fang Yan’s time-based ability could completely reverse the situation.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan demonstrates the extraordinary potential and cost of his time-related talent. He progresses from covert infiltrator to an active force capable of matching a Universe Lord.
• He also reveals his bold, provocative personality by openly mocking Nether Lotus Lord after escaping her Self-Destruct Mark.
• Hei Lian/Black Sky Lord shows loyalty and concern for Fang Yan, despite warning him that his plan is extremely dangerous. Her transformation into armor becomes crucial to his survival and combat strength.
• Nether Lotus Lord shifts from confidence to humiliation and uncontrollable fury after discovering Fang Yan’s true identity and losing control over him.
• The Insect Race Empress remains calculating and composed, prioritizing control of the palace and the Supreme Treasure despite the sudden betrayal.
• Origin begins to recognize Fang Yan as a strategic asset whose abilities may determine the outcome of the conflict.

Significant Themes

• Risk and reward: Fang Yan knowingly endures immense danger and physical depletion to gain a decisive advantage, reflecting his belief that “wealth is won through danger.”
• Betrayal and deception: Fang Yan’s infiltration of the Insect Race reaches its climax when his disguise is exposed.
• Control versus freedom: The failure of the Self-Destruct Mark symbolizes Fang Yan breaking free from the Insect Race’s control.
• Time as a supreme power: Time Reversal is presented as an ability capable not only of changing events but also of undoing ownership and altering the status of Supreme Treasures.
• Humiliation and reversal of power: Nether Lotus Lord believed she controlled Fang Yan, but the situation reverses dramatically as he gains the upper hand and taunts her.

Character Interactions

• Fang Yan commands Hei Lian to catch him, and she immediately transforms into the Black Lotus Battle Armor around him.
• Nether Lotus Lord confronts Fang Yan after recognizing his transformation, attempts to detonate him, and is shocked when he survives.
• Fang Yan deliberately provokes Nether Lotus Lord with the “Mom” and “Dad” insult, intensifying her rage.
• The Insect Race Empress and Nether Lotus Lord discuss Fang Yan’s betrayal, with the Empress temporarily setting the matter aside to focus on defending the palace.
• Origin listens to Fang Yan’s proposal and realizes that his Time Reversal technique might remove the Empress’s imprint from the palace, creating a potential turning point in the battle.

Chapter Summary: “Seizing a Supreme Treasure”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Yan explains that using Time Reversal on the Insect Race’s purple-gold palace would nearly exhaust his divine body.
• Origin gives him Spring Willow Weeping Flower Dew, a rare life treasure worth over 1,200 Supreme Treasure Points, restoring Fang Yan’s body enough for him to act.
• Fang Yan activates Time Reversal on the palace. As his divine body is rapidly drained, the life essence continuously replenishes him.
• The reversal erases the Insect Race Empress’s ownership imprint on the palace. Before she can reclaim it, Origin imprints his own soul mark and takes control.
• Origin seals the palace, trapping the Insect Race Empress and four other Insect Race Universe Lords inside. The Insect Race’s upper-tier combat strength is effectively destroyed.
• Origin, Fang Yan, Chaos Lord, Black Sky Lord, Void Gold Master, and Giant Axe Lord return to the Primordial Universe.
• The Beast Ancestor arrives too late, realizing that Origin has already captured the palace. He accepts that he can now take half of the Insect Race’s territory without resistance.
• In Chaos City, Origin reveals the enormous amount of treasure seized from the five Insect Race Universe Lords, including:
  • Six Peak Treasures
  • Forty-one Top-grade Supreme Artifacts
  • More than a thousand High-grade Supreme Artifacts
  • Thousands of ordinary treasures
  • Countless Heavy Treasures
• Origin declares Fang Yan the operation’s greatest contributor and gives him the right to name the palace.
• Fang Yan names it Humanity Palace, symbolizing humanity’s rising power and future path.
• Origin then shocks everyone by declaring that the palace will belong to Fang Yan personally, prompting Chaos Lord and the others to protest.

Character Developments

• Fang Yan demonstrates extraordinary endurance and strategic importance by risking the destruction of his divine body to seize the palace. His contribution elevates him from a powerful junior to a central figure in humanity’s struggle.
• Origin displays absolute confidence and authority. He supports Fang Yan, takes advantage of the moment when the palace becomes ownerless, and rewards Fang Yan generously.
• The Insect Race Empress suffers a devastating defeat. Her ownership of the palace is erased, her forces are sealed, and the Insect Race loses nearly all of its upper-tier strength.
• Chaos Lord and the other human experts recognize the scale of Fang Yan’s contribution and are stunned by Origin’s decision to give him the Supreme Treasure.
• The Beast Ancestor remains opportunistic, planning to profit from the Insect Race’s collapse despite missing the main confrontation.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and reward: Fang Yan risks his life and divine body, and his sacrifice earns him the greatest reward.
• The rise of humanity: The name “Humanity Palace” represents humanity claiming a Supreme Treasure and stepping toward dominance in the Primordial Universe.
• Power and succession: Origin’s willingness to grant the palace to Fang Yan suggests confidence in the younger generation and humanity’s future.
• The collapse of old powers: The Insect Race’s defeat marks a major shift in the balance of power among the universe’s races.
• Cooperation and shared victory: Fang Yan’s technique and Origin’s strength are both necessary; neither could have secured the palace alone.

Important Character Interactions

• Origin and Fang Yan cooperate closely, with Origin providing the life treasure that allows Fang Yan to use Time Reversal.
• Fang Yan strips away the Insect Race Empress’s imprint, while Origin immediately claims and seals the palace.
• Origin consults the assembled human experts regarding Fang Yan’s contribution, and their silence confirms their agreement.
• Fang Yan respectfully leaves the distribution of the spoils to Origin, while Origin honors him by allowing him to name the palace.
• Fang Yan’s declaration about humanity’s future deeply resonates with Origin, who accepts the name and grants him ownership.
• Chaos Lord and the others react with shock and concern when Origin gives Fang Yan the palace, creating tension at the chapter’s ending.