Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• A Green-Robed Man prepares to leave and seek revenge, despite a woman’s warning that he will likely die. He says he came to say goodbye and admits she is one of the few people who has treated him well.
• The woman asks him to let go of the past, then insists on joining him as the “Jiangnan Little Devil” to his “Jiangbei Old Devil.” After a long pause, he agrees. He reflects that winter is an ideal season for killing.
• At the Sinkhole Camp, Chen Fan has set up five more Stations, leaving the Camp with 1,335 eerie stones.
• Big Fish worries that Weiwei the crocodile may have caused his father’s death by driving powerful strange entities off a cliff. Chen Fan argues that they could not have fallen directly into the Natural Eerie Fire Zone, and Big Fish accepts his reasoning.
• The incident reminds Chen Fan to stay cautious. He studies the Ghosthide Map, which shows the Wasteland’s terrain and eerie fires; the Jiangbei Wasteland has no natural eerie-fire zones, only two nearby in Northbank City and Flat City.
• As night approaches, Zhou Mo reports that he is clearing strange-entity corpses at an outpost. Chen Fan sends Weiwei to help, tempting it with the promise of roasted meat.

Character developments and interactions

• The Green-Robed Man remains driven by revenge, though he shows gratitude and vulnerability in saying goodbye. He ultimately accepts the woman’s companionship.
• The woman shifts from pleading with him to making a determined choice to share his dangerous path. Their exchange reveals affection and a strong bond.
• Big Fish is troubled by the possibility that Weiwei was connected to his father’s death. Chen Fan reassures him, though privately the possibility makes Chen Fan more alert.
• Chen Fan balances concern for Camp harmony with practical caution. He treats Weiwei as a valued member of the Camp but remains mindful that dangers may return.
• Weiwei appears gentle and obedient, and eagerly responds to the prospect of food.

Significant themes

• Revenge versus letting go: The Green-Robed Man believes the past gives purpose to the future, while the woman urges him to cherish those still beside him.
• Loyalty and companionship: The woman chooses to face danger with the man rather than leave him alone.
• Uncertainty and vigilance: Chen Fan’s reassurance to Big Fish does not erase the possibility of danger; the episode reinforces the need to remain prepared.
• Everyday warmth amid danger: Camp work, concern for friends, and the promise of a shared meal contrast with the deadly Wasteland and the looming revenge journey.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Fan’s trick of using his saliva to lure Crocodile into the Canyon works, confirming the creature can track him by scent.
• Weiwei has enlarged Cave No. 1, while Wang Mazi, Crippled Monkey, and their group return from the Mountain with extracted Eerie Stones and glowing Lingxi pebbles they found along the way. Chen Fan praises them and has the supplies moved into the Warehouse.
• Chen Fan reviews several treasures obtained from Weiwei’s Cave: a Windshield Bead for a boat, a Warehouse blueprint, and a Bamboo Slip containing the Water-Cutting Saber Art.
• He decides the group must roast all five hundred Strange Entity corpses promised to Weiwei, even though Weiwei may not eat them immediately. He believes honoring their bargain matters.
• Chen Fan discovers he can study the saber art. Its inscription says he can instantly reach grand Perfection by confirming the lesson, at the cost of destroying the slip; alternatively, putting it in a Training Room preserves it and helps cultivators learn faster.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan shows resourcefulness in using scent to control Crocodile, and responsibility in honoring his promise to Weiwei.
• He reflects that Weiwei, despite its intelligence, is still mentally a child and must be treated accordingly.
• Crippled Monkey and the others take initiative by collecting useful glowing pebbles as well as Eerie Stones; Chen Fan rewards their effort with praise.
• Qi Chong checks whether the workers should continue roasting corpses. Chen Fan firmly tells him to finish the promised amount.
• Chen Fan recognizes that his unusual status as a cultivator with a system panel lets him learn martial arts in ways ordinary builders cannot.

Significant themes

• Keeping one’s word: Chen Fan insists that a promise to Weiwei must be fulfilled, regardless of immediate convenience.
• Practical ingenuity and cooperation: The group makes productive use of found resources, while Chen Fan turns discoveries and treasures into plans for the settlement.
• Unequal opportunity: Martial arts are rare and difficult for ordinary cultivators to obtain, highlighting the advantage Chen Fan’s system grants him.
• Preparation and caution: Chen Fan postpones sea travel until after the Rainy Season, wary of the ocean’s immense waves despite the boat-related treasure.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Fan examines the green-grade Martial Technique treasure, the Water-Cutting Saber Art. Because Zhou Mo is a Level-Two Cultivator without a technique, Chen decides it would suit him and plans to place it in a future Training Room.
• Chen recognizes that expanding the Camp will expose him to outside powers and potential attacks. Since others believe Builders cannot learn Martial Techniques, he sees collecting technique-type treasures as a way to surprise future enemies.
• Zhou Mo and Big Fish return from clearing the Stations north of the Wasteland, bringing back a large haul. The Unmanned Outposts have also gathered supplies.
• Chen gives Zhou Mo the Bamboo Slip and tells him to study it carefully. Zhou is overwhelmed: even the Wang Family’s White-grade Gale Blade Art had been beyond his reach, so receiving the chance to learn a Green-grade technique feels extraordinary.
• Wang Kui asks to see the slip. He and Zhou discover that the technique’s formula only grants insight when recited while holding the Bamboo Slip; the illustrations on its back guide practice.

Character developments

• Chen Fan thinks strategically about future conflicts, the Camp’s growth, and the need to acquire more Martial Technique treasures. He also becomes more aware of how valuable such treasures are to ordinary cultivators.
• Zhou Mo shows deep gratitude and fierce loyalty to Chen. His reaction reveals how limited his opportunities were under the Wang Family; he vows to master the art within five years.
• Wang Kui reveals a similar history of exclusion. After thirteen years with the Wang Family without access to its martial arts, he experiences insight into a technique for the first time.

Character interactions

• Chen rewards Zhou’s service by entrusting him with the Water-Cutting Saber Art, while gently teasing him when he swears his life in return.
• Zhou initially guards the Bamboo Slip from Wang Kui, then lets him examine it. Their shared connection to the Wang Family makes the discovery especially poignant.

Significant themes

• Access and privilege: Martial arts are tightly controlled by powerful families, leaving independent cultivators with few chances to advance.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Chen’s support inspires Zhou’s devotion, while Zhou’s reaction highlights how meaningful a single opportunity can be.
• Preparation and hidden strength: Chen plans to build influence and gather resources while keeping his own abilities concealed.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Mo receives a Green Martial Art from the Station Master. Wang Kui admits he envies the gift, but urges Zhou Mo to focus on learning it rather than dwelling on the past.
• As the thirteenth night of the rainy season turns cold, Chen Fan notices that strange entities are falling into the Sinkhole and that the crocodile has been staying inside the Camp, apparently sensing danger.
• A mass of creatures from Nameless Mountain flees through the Canyon into the Sinkhole. Chen Fan realizes they are being driven toward his Camp by an intelligent enemy, likely to exhaust his defenses.
• The Camp’s Level-5 Cannon Towers open fire, killing the fleeing creatures in a devastating chain of attacks. The City Wall’s Wraith Blood Pattern activates and absorbs their blood, glowing scarlet.
• Chen Fan holds back the eighteen cannon towers on the Cliff Faces, waiting for the main enemy to appear. Nine huge, bone-shelled turtle-like entities eventually enter the Sinkhole, followed by a large force of aquatic monsters, including wraiths, human-faced crabs, and sea serpents.
• Confident in the Camp’s defenses, Chen Fan jokes that he will feed the frightened crocodile some “seafood.”

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Mo is grateful for the Station Master’s generosity and eager to master his new martial art.
• Wang Kui shows both jealousy over Zhou Mo’s gift and regret over the hardships of his years as a Worker Bee. He puts those feelings aside to support Zhou Mo and quickly counts the Camp’s eerie stones when danger approaches.
• Chen Fan remains calm and confident, interpreting the fleeing creatures as part of an enemy’s strategy. He deliberately saves some defenses for the larger threat.
• The crocodile appears unusually frightened and has been sheltering in the Cave, suggesting it senses the danger before the humans do.

Significant themes

• Preparation and collective strength: The Camp’s defenses have developed into a formidable “meat grinder,” turning a mass attack into an advantage.
• Generosity and loyalty: The Station Master’s gift inspires gratitude, while Wang Kui redirects envy into encouragement and action.
• Threat hidden behind apparent victory: The first wave is not the true attack; the fleeing creatures are being used to wear down the Camp before a more organized force arrives.
• Nature’s warning signs: The falling creatures and the crocodile’s fear signal that a powerful enemy is approaching.

This is an author’s announcement about the book’s upcoming paid release, not a story chapter.

• Release schedule: The book goes premium at 00:05 tomorrow night with five chapters (20,000 Chinese characters). Daily updates will follow at 23:59, with at least three chapters per day—12,000 characters total—for the first month.
• Bonus chapters: The author promises one extra chapter per League Leader and five extra chapters for every additional 1,000 monthly votes, counted before the final three days of the month.
• Reliability: The author cites two previous long-running novels, describing their length, pace, and few days off, and pledges to maintain a dependable schedule.
• Appeal to readers: The author thanks readers, asks them to subscribe to the first paid chapter and cast monthly votes, and offers an optimistic wish for the new year.

Key plot points and events

• A disciplined tide of strange entities attacks Chen Fan’s camp. Giant turtle creatures shield the force while crab-like wraiths batter the Level-3 wall; mermaid wraiths attempt to bewitch defenders, and skeletal sea serpents try to infiltrate the cannon towers.
• Chen Fan watches from a concealed opening high in the rock. His Wraith Hide armor protects him from the mermaids’ charm, while Holy Water delivered through Copper Pipes repairs the wall and towers faster than the attackers can damage them.
• When the tide begins to retreat, Chen Fan deliberately cuts off the repairs. The sea serpents then disable the ten Level-5 cannon towers, encouraging the enemy to resume its attack and draw out its leader.
• A second wave arrives with a huge, eye-covered Octopus that appears to direct the assault. Its blue-energy beams damage the wall, but Chen Fan seals the canyon exit with a newly built Level-2 wall, trapping the enemy inside the Sinkhole.
• The Octopus turns its fire on the new barrier, which is vulnerable because it has not yet been connected to the altar. Chen Fan responds by opening seventeen hidden cannon-tower positions around the Sinkhole.
• His “Meat Grinder” fires from eighteen concealed towers and ten wall-mounted towers. The trapped tide is caught in a lethal crossfire; the attack ends with the Octopus and the rest of the force dead.

Character developments

• Chen Fan proves patient, calculating, and ruthless. He observes the enemy, manipulates its decision to stay, and uses the camp’s expanded boundaries to turn the Sinkhole into a trap. He takes obvious pride in his defenses.
• The Octopus is revealed as an intelligent battlefield commander: it coordinates the tide, recognizes the danger of the Level-3 wall, and tries to retreat when its assault falters. Its tactical awareness is not enough to escape Chen Fan’s trap.
• The crocodile shows fear of the attack, while Okra’s craftsmanship is praised through the protective Wraith Hide armor.

Significant themes

• Preparation and ingenuity: layered defenses, repairs, hidden towers, and terrain control determine the battle.
• The cost of attacking familiar ground: the enemy’s advance into Chen Fan’s territory turns the Sinkhole into a sealed killing zone.
• Power through infrastructure: the altar, Copper Pipes, walls, and cannon towers function as an interconnected defensive system.
• Predator and prey: Chen Fan treats the battle as a planned harvest, while the tide’s apparent strength becomes a disadvantage once it is trapped.

Character interactions

• Chen Fan checks on the frightened crocodile but leaves it behind to observe the battle.
• He credits Okra with making the Wraith Hide, then discovers it also wards off charm.
• He watches the Octopus command the strange tide and anticipates its attempts to breach or escape, ultimately outmaneuvering it.

Key plot points and events

• After the Meat Grinder annihilates the Strange Entities in the Sinkhole, Chen Fan builds a Wind Tower using a Windshield Bead. Powered through Copper Pipes connected to the Eerie Fire, it blows away the Sinkhole’s foul air and is expected to help resist future Meatworm Wraith Tides.
• Chen Fan’s companions emerge to find the battlefield covered in dried corpses. They are stunned, then set to work collecting Eerie Stones and exotic treasures. Crocodile, which hid throughout the battle, is amazed by Chen Fan’s victory and eagerly fawns over him.
• Inspecting the giant Octopus corpse, Chen Fan finds messages revealing that it was Thousand Lakes, a subordinate of the Wraith King. The Wraith King ordered it to cross the Dead Sea, search Nameless Mountain for a Mountain-Skeleton Embryo, and meet another subordinate, Millennium, in the Jiangbei Wasteland if unsuccessful.
• A second message says 180 years have passed since “That One” failed to return, and promises a reward for finding an Embryo. Chen Fan realizes the Wraith King may fear Nameless Mountain and does not yet know he is responsible for its subordinates’ deaths.
• The Octopus yields two green-grade treasures: Heaven-Questioning Incense, which can answer questions correctly in exchange for enough Eerie Stones but has only three uses; and a White Jade Pendant that reduces building costs for Builders. Though Chen Fan is not a Builder, he keeps the pendant, planning to display it at his future Market.
• After cleaning up and changing, Chen Fan settles on the City Wall, preparing to use the incense and reflecting on the Camp as his home and foothold in the world.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan continues to grow into a capable leader and strategist, balancing defense, resource gathering, and investigation. His curiosity about the wider world is heightened by the newly discovered messages and the incense.
• Crippled Monkey is moved by Chen Fan’s success, seeing that the Young Master can establish a lasting foundation. Zhou Mo takes charge of getting the group working, while the companions’ practiced teamwork reflects their growth during the Rainy Season.
• Crocodile’s fear gives way to shock, admiration, and excitement; it seeks Chen Fan’s favor, apparently convinced his strength will protect it.
• Chen treats the discovery of the treasures pragmatically, already considering how the pendant might attract Builders and reveal more about the world.

Significant themes

• Survival and security: The Camp’s defenses and the group’s coordinated labor turn a deadly battlefield into resources and a safer home.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: The messages reveal a larger supernatural conflict, while the incense offers a rare but costly means of obtaining reliable answers.
• Power and legacy: The Mountain-Skeleton Embryo’s importance and the reference to a powerful figure from 180 years ago suggest a deep history surrounding Nameless Mountain.
• Home and belonging: Chen Fan’s satisfaction in surveying the Camp underscores how hard-won safety has become his foundation in a hostile world.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Fan uses Heaven-Questioning Incense to ask how to obtain a Training Room. He learns it has no blueprint: it is a rare upgrade option that may appear when a Level-3 Wooden Hut advances to Level 4.
• He spends 1,000 Eerie Stones to ask for a guaranteed method. The answer is to place a naturally occurring Mountain-Skeleton Embryo inside a Wooden Hut during that upgrade.
• The Camp’s existing Mountain-Skeleton Embryo is essential to stabilizing the Cave, so Chen Fan cannot use it. However, the crocodile—whom he calls Weiwei—recognizes its scent and appears to know where another one can be found in Nameless Mountain. Chen Fan plans to take the group there the next morning.
• After the Strange Tide, Chen Fan organizes the cleanup and has Weiwei dig out a new chamber for a Warehouse. He connects Copper Pipes between the Eerie Fire and the Camp’s structures, repairs the damaged City Wall, and prepares to enclose the Sinkhole so intruders will be forced into a deadly bottleneck.
• Chen Fan builds a Green-Grade Warehouse for 300 Eerie Stones. Its five specialized rooms provide enormous storage capacity, food preservation, concealment, custom environments for rare treasures, and an unalterable record of all warehouse activity.

Character developments

• Chen Fan shows strategic patience and resourcefulness: he uses the incense to find a reliable shortcut rather than gambling repeatedly on a rare upgrade. Though cautious with his last incense stick, he is willing to spend heavily when the information could secure a major advantage.
• His ambition to strengthen his Camp grows; he sees the Training Room as a way to make his people superior to Northbank City’s factions.
• Weiwei proves useful and cooperative. The crocodile eagerly approaches Chen Fan, follows his directions, and contributes both by locating the Mountain-Skeleton Embryo’s scent and excavating the Warehouse chamber.

Character interactions

• Chen Fan questions heaven through the incense, using its answers to guide his plans.
• He treats Weiwei affectionately, praising it and promising seafood, but quickly puts it back to work digging.
• Chen Fan’s thoughts about the Concealment Room reveal his willingness to consider using it to hide murders and evade powerful families, even though he has no immediate target.

Significant themes

• Preparation and strategic advantage: Chen Fan seeks powerful facilities before he urgently needs them.
• Scarcity and calculated risk: Rare buildings and expensive resources make information valuable, while Chen Fan weighs costs against long-term gains.
• Practical innovation: The Warehouse’s rooms and the Copper Pipe network show how specialized structures can make the Camp far more efficient and secure.
• Power and secrecy: The Concealment Room offers a means to hide valuables—and potentially crimes—raising the stakes of Chen Fan’s growing capabilities.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Fan completes Warehouse No. 1, a Camp building whose Access Rights he controls, and appoints Wang Kui its manager. He gives Wang a Token that lets him enter and leave the Warehouse and pass through its City Wall gates.
• As the exhausted Camp settles for the night, Chen Fan sends Crocodile to dig and expand the Meat Grinder’s firing passages, tempting him with the promise of grilled octopus. Chen also names the route “Meat Grinder Passage.”
• Before sleeping, Chen tells Crippled Monkey he hopes to visit Northbank City after the Rainy Season—not to reclaim his place as heir, but to see other people and find recruits. Monkey realizes he had mistaken Chen’s earlier unhappiness for a continuing desire to regain status.
• Wang stays up testing his new authority, then transfers and organizes the Camp’s supplies in the Warehouse. The responsibility gives him a renewed sense of purpose after thirteen stagnant years in the Wang Family.
• The next day, Wang reports the Camp’s inventory: 2,922 eerie stones, over a thousand dried Strange Entity corpses and other materials, and two exotic treasures. Chen notices that the eerie stones carried by Thousand Lakes, one of the Wraith King’s Four Chiefs, are missing.
• Crippled Monkey and Zhou Mo search the Canyon but find no trace of them. Chen orders Zhou Mo and Big Fish to search the Canyon entrance and Seaside, reasoning that the stones may have been hidden near the route taken by the previous night’s Strange Tide. He suspects they may still recover them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan shows practical leadership by delegating authority and organizing the Camp, while remaining pragmatic about uncertain gains. He values companionship and recruitment more than reclaiming his family title.
• Wang Kui moves from long-term frustration to confidence and gratitude. He takes pride in his new authority and resolves to earn it through hard work.
• Crippled Monkey is loyal and hopes Chen will reclaim his inheritance, but accepts Chen’s changed priorities. He is quick to act when the missing stones are discovered.
• Crocodile eagerly digs through the night, motivated by the promise of food; Chen encourages his work with playful bargaining.
• Zhou Mo and Big Fish respond promptly to Chen’s search orders, while the Camp’s members gather around Chen for a communal meal and discussion.

Significant themes

• Trust and responsibility: Chen grants Wang meaningful authority, and Wang treats it as both a privilege and an obligation.
• Changing fortunes and perseverance: Wang reflects that his stagnation stemmed partly from the Wang Family’s lack of opportunity, not simply his own shortcomings.
• Moving forward: Chen has let go of his old ambition to become heir and focuses on building the Camp’s future.
• Community amid hardship: Shared work, meals, humor, and small comforts help the Camp feel human despite isolation and relentless rain.
• Uncertainty and pragmatism: The missing treasure is frustrating, but Chen counsels against treating an uncertain loss as a true defeat.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Fan deduces that the strange tide likely hid its eerie stones near the Seaside before launching its assault. Zhou Mo and Big Fish return with four chests: three full of Level-1 and Level-2 eerie stones, and one containing ghost materials. The Mountain-Skeleton Embryo is still missing.
• Chen Fan sets out with Zhou Mo and Crocodile to investigate a cave Crocodile had mentioned, hoping to find the embryo. He tells Crocodile to flee with them if danger appears.
• At the cave entrance, Crocodile’s gestures help Chen Fan infer that its parents dug the cave, left long ago, and that Crocodile has guarded it ever since. Strange entities last approached about a year earlier—the same time Big Fish’s village was destroyed.
• Chen Fan suspects an unknown Wraith King sent intelligent strange entities to distract Crocodile and attack the village, seeking a treasure beneath the Natural Eerie Fire Zone. He believes the attackers failed, since Big Fish killed them.
• Inside, Chen Fan recognizes that Crocodile’s own lair closely copies its parents’ cave. After an hour underground, they reach a vast chamber at the passage’s end.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan stays composed and jokes with Crippled Monkey about how acting like a great achiever can eventually make someone one. He also understands Crocodile’s gestures with striking ease.
• Crippled Monkey and the others are anxious about Zhou Mo’s return, but Chen Fan reassures them. His telepathic link through the Meat Strange Parent-Child Fruit lets him learn of the discovery without a talisman.
• Zhou Mo admits he has not learned any of the Water-Cutting Saber Art Chen Fan gave him the previous day. He remains quiet and bewildered by Chen Fan’s ability to interpret Crocodile.
• Crocodile is affectionate and food-motivated: it saves grilled tentacles for later, obeys Chen Fan’s travel instructions, and carefully guides him through its parents’ old home.
• Chen Fan realizes Crocodile’s willingness to bring him into the cave suggests it regards him as family.

Significant themes

• Composure and performance: Chen Fan treats calmness as something one can practice into genuine character.
• Belonging and abandonment: Crocodile’s copied den reflects a young creature’s longing for its absent parents and its attachment to their traces.
• Trust and family: Crocodile’s invitation into the cave signals deep trust and a new familial bond with Chen Fan.
• Unanswered mysteries and hidden motives: The village’s destruction, the unknown Wraith King, and the treasure beneath the eerie-fire zone point to a larger conflict still unfolding.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Fan, Zhou Mo, and Weiwei reach a vast underground cavern resembling Weiwei’s former lair. It contains a waterfall, a pool, and a long-abandoned nest.
• Chen identifies a mature Green-Grade Snow Lotus in the pool. It must be kept cold within two hours of harvesting, so he plans to store it in his Warehouse.
• Weiwei dives into the pool and brings back what appears to be a Mountain Embryo. Though Chen wanted a Mountain-Skeleton Embryo for an upgrade, the panel reveals this is its living, Yellow-Grade form. A Mountain Embryo becomes a Mountain-Skeleton Embryo if it dies prematurely, such as from a major disturbance.
• Chen leaves with both treasures, concluding that the mountain’s rainwater nourishes the Snow Lotus and may have unusual properties. He plans to return later—partly to search for more treasures, and partly for the eerie stones he hopes to find in Weiwei’s parents’ old dung pits.
• Back at camp, Chen gives the Snow Lotus to Wang Kui for cold storage. He places the Mountain Embryo in a newly built Stone House, then upgrades the building.
• The upgrade menu offers a Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion, a Rare-grade qualitative transformation. Chen chooses it, hoping it will provide a valuable alternative to the Training Room path he had originally wanted.
• The Pavilion expands into the cavern wall, creating a huge interior with smooth black-jade flooring. Chen connects it to the Eerie Fire; the chapter ends as the structure lights up.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan remains practical and resource-focused. He is disappointed that the Mountain Embryo is not the Mountain-Skeleton Embryo he needs, but quickly considers ways to use it—and whether damaging it could change its form. His relief and excitement rise sharply when the Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion becomes available.
• Weiwei is subdued in the old lair, suggesting an emotional connection to it. It nevertheless helps Chen by retrieving the Mountain Embryo from the pool and communicating that it recognizes the object’s scent.
• Zhou Mo cautiously questions the lack of signs that an important figure once lived in the cavern. Chen speculates that the figure may have been a powerful cultivator, perhaps connected to Weiwei’s past.
• Wang Kui receives the Snow Lotus and is instructed to preserve it properly.

Significant themes

• Unexpected value versus immediate need: Chen discovers rare treasures, but neither initially solves the problem he came to address.
• Growth, fragility, and transformation: A living Mountain Embryo can become a Mountain-Skeleton Embryo if damaged during growth; Chen’s upgrade plans depend on these uncertain transformations.
• Nature as a source of power: The underground waterfall and Rainy Season water appear to nurture extraordinary materials, suggesting the environment itself has unusual properties.
• Practical ambition and humor: Chen’s excitement over the Pavilion’s black-jade floor—and his continued interest in eerie stones and dung pits—juxtaposes grand cultivation goals with everyday concerns.

Plot points and events

• Chen Fan activates the newly acquired Level 4 Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion. Its blue-lit formation looks otherworldly, and its effects include up to tenfold faster cultivation and martial-arts comprehension, plus a small chance of sudden enlightenment.
• After testing it for an hour, Chen finds that cultivation progress is hard to notice and costs seven eerie stones. He decides the Pavilion is better for gradually strengthening the group and helping Zhou Mo improve than for quickly making powerful cultivators.
• Chen takes the group to Nameless Mountain to search the area around Weiwei’s parents’ lair for eerie stones supposedly buried in their dung pits.
• The first six pits they uncover contain only fossilized dung. Chen concludes that a powerful visitor from 180 years earlier must have taken the eerie stones and even filled the pits back in. The group collects the fossils anyway, reasoning they may be useful because their aura can deter strange entities.
• Zhou Mo repeatedly interprets the visitor’s frugality as a lesson in cultivation and greatness, but Chen dismisses his grand conclusions and sends everyone back to work.
• As they prepare to leave, Chen’s spear strikes something underground and comes up coated with milky liquid from a shattered eerie stone. The group digs and uncovers a deep, previously overlooked pit containing eerie stones—including conspicuous Ghostly Green pieces.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan remains pragmatic and resource-conscious. He evaluates the Pavilion by its cost and practical uses, and pursues the mountain search with comic determination. Though disappointed by the first pits, he is quick to recognize the potential value of the dung fossils and becomes excited when he finds evidence of another cache.
• Zhou Mo is eager to learn from events, repeatedly turning the visitor’s apparent thrift into philosophical lessons. His reverence is undercut when Chen points out that the visitor may simply have had attendants do the digging.
• Crippled Monkey and the others follow Chen’s search and help haul the fossils back. Crippled Monkey’s suggestion that the fossils might be useful leads Chen to identify their deterrent value.
• Weiwei enthusiastically helps search, and its crocodile form locates a pit and later digs out the newly discovered cache. Chen rewards it with the promise of blasted heads.
• Chen’s banter with Zhou Mo contrasts Zhou’s solemn interpretations with Chen’s blunt, practical attitude.

Significant themes

• Practicality over grand ambition: The Pavilion and the treasure hunt are judged by real costs and benefits, not appearances or lofty claims.
• Frugality and greatness: Zhou Mo sees the visitor’s careful recovery of eerie stones as proof that small habits can lead to great achievements, though the chapter treats this interpretation humorously and leaves the visitor’s character uncertain.
• Resourcefulness and persistence: Even an apparently fruitless search yields a useful discovery—and the group finds a hidden cache only because Chen makes one last probe.
• Humor through incongruity: An impressive cultivation pavilion sits alongside a quest to mine fossilized dung, while Chen’s earthy priorities repeatedly puncture Zhou Mo’s solemn reflections.

Plot points and events

• Chen Fan’s group finds a pit full of eerie stones. Zhou Mo assumes attendants hid them there, but Chen Fan recognizes the truth: it was Weiwei’s parents’ pit for liquid waste. Their other pits held solid waste, which had been removed long ago; rain and soil absorbed the liquids, leaving the eerie stones behind.
• The group brings the stones back to Camp. Chen Fan orders them stored and rewards Weiwei with a whole octopus head for its help.
• Crippled Monkey explains the pit’s purpose to Zhou Mo, who eventually admires the parents’ unusual “separation of solids and liquids.”
• Weiwei refuses to let Crippled Monkey pick its teeth with the Godslaying Spear, apparently because Chen Fan used it to poke the waste earlier. Crippled Monkey asks Little Qiu to make him a replacement spear.
• Chen Fan discovers Little Qiu has been using the Life Workshop’s tools and materials to handcraft useful items, including rain capes and bamboo hats. Praising his initiative, Chen Fan upgrades the Workshop to level five.
• The upgrade unlocks Ghost Nails and Ghost Banners. Chen Fan orders Ghost Nails urgently and begins planning an official faction name and banner for after the rainy season. He then heads to the Warehouse to install a long-neglected wooden board, emphasizing the Camp’s ongoing improvement.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan remains pragmatic, dismissing speculation about the stones’ ownership and focusing on their usefulness. He rewards initiative, plans ahead for the Camp’s growth, and prioritizes defenses and infrastructure during the rainy season.
• Zhou Mo is curious but easily confused; he accepts the bizarre explanation of the pit and jokes that he would have taken the liquids too.
• Little Qiu shows resourcefulness by crafting items beyond the Workshop’s formal list. Chen Fan recognizes and encourages his contribution.
• Crippled Monkey explains the pit to Zhou Mo and responds considerately to Weiwei’s discomfort by requesting a new spear.
• Weiwei enjoys being cared for but reacts warily to the Godslaying Spear after seeing it used for an unpleasant task.
• The group’s teasing, practical cooperation, and shared routines reinforce their close, familiar relationships.

Significant themes

• Making a home through small improvements: Useful equipment, organized storage, shared meals, and minor repairs steadily make Camp feel more livable.
• Resourcefulness and initiative: Little Qiu’s handmade gear demonstrates that ingenuity can extend beyond formal systems.
• Practical leadership and preparation: Chen Fan balances immediate needs, rainy-season defenses, and plans for the Camp’s future identity as a faction.
• Humor and everyday life: The crude misunderstanding about the pit and Weiwei’s reaction to the spear provide comic relief amid the group’s work.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Fan finishes organizing the Camp, hanging signs for its new buildings and making it feel more established. Zhou Mo tries the Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion, whose low current use consumes few eerie stones.
• After a successful day, the group eats well and settles in for the night. Weiwei serves as their ever-alert sentry, while a concealed level-2 wall remains lowered at the Sinkhole–Canyon junction, ready to trap enemies.
• In the Stone House, the survivors count down the remaining days of the rainy season. Wang Mazi promises to treat everyone in Northbank City afterward, and his bawdy story about a brothel lightens the mood. Zhou Mo reminds the group that surviving the season comes first.
• Chen Fan reviews the spoils from defeating Thousand Lakes, one of the Wraith King’s Four Chiefs: the Camp captured four chests, including 17,000 eerie stones. The team also collected 36,726 stones from the mountain, bringing the Camp’s total to 56,570.
• Wang Kui reports that the battle cost 654 eerie stones in repairs and tower operation. The Camp’s routine daily consumption is about 120 stones, while ten Unmanned Outposts earn roughly 700 a day. The Snow Lotus requires costly special storage—10 stones daily—but Chen Fan keeps it, expecting it to be valuable.
• Chen Fan considers the Wraith King’s other commanders, especially Millennium, and contemplates drawing them into battle before the Wraith King arrives. Sixteen days remain in the rainy season.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan is pleased with the Camp’s growth and its large reserves. He delegates detailed accounting to Wang Kui, granting him sensitive access that reflects trust, while weighing the cost and future value of the Snow Lotus.
• Wang Kui demonstrates careful, reliable management by tracking supplies, battle costs, and building upkeep; Chen Fan acknowledges his work.
• Zhou Mo helps Chen Fan install the signs, then encourages the group to focus on enduring the remaining danger rather than prematurely celebrating.
• Wang Mazi uses crude humor and a promised post-season outing to entertain and reassure the others. His story sparks laughter and brings him into friendly exchanges with Zhou Mo and Little Qiu.
• The survivors share food, jokes, and a quiet countdown, reinforcing their sense of mutual reliance. Weiwei’s dependable watch helps them sleep securely.

Significant themes

• Survival and hope: The countdown and dreams of life after the rainy season help the group endure present hardship.
• Trust and shared responsibility: The Camp’s safety and prosperity depend on cooperation, and Chen Fan’s delegation of sensitive information signals growing confidence in his people.
• Pragmatic preparation: Walls, traps, resource accounting, and plans against the Wraith King’s commanders show that security requires foresight as well as strength.
• Prosperity amid danger: The major haul is encouraging, but continuing expenses and looming enemies make clear that wealth alone does not guarantee safety.

Key plot points and events

• With sixteen days left before the rainy season ends, Chen Fan prepares for two looming challenges: the possible arrival of the Wraith King and renewed contact with other factions.
• He completes the first stage of his defenses by installing twenty more cannon towers, bringing the Sinkhole total to thirty-eight. Together, they cover the approaches from multiple angles.
• Chen Fan begins Meat Grinder Phase Two, a trap for the Canyon Passage. He installs six Level-5 cannon towers overlooking it and connects them to an underground Level-3 Eerie Fire. The larger plan calls for twenty such fires to bring the full kilometer-long canyon within camp territory, allowing him to activate the towers against an enemy column.
• He upgrades the Wind Tower using a Windshield Bead and chooses a mysterious “qualitative transformation” over temperature-control options. The upgrade grants Storm Suction, an active skill that creates powerful, adjustable suction within camp territory. Chen Fan cannot yet find a useful application for it.
• He identifies a green-grade Soybean exotic treasure that matures in five days and slightly improves physical fitness, provided it is watered with wraith blood twice daily. He assigns Qi Chong to grow it and builds two more Level-2 farmland plots.
• After completing the morning’s work, Chen Fan rides out to exercise around the Canyon, though he remains within Nameless Mountain.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Fan continues to prioritize safety over ambition. He wants a secure, comfortable life in Jiangbei, not power or exploration, and sees the new defenses as protection from an outside world he considers dangerously unpredictable.
• His planning is pragmatic and patient: he treats the Canyon as a costly, surprise trap to be activated only against enemies worth the expense.
• He praises Crocodile for digging and urges it to keep working, while entrusting Qi Chong with the new crop.
• The chapter also shows Chen Fan’s willingness to gamble on uncertain upgrades: despite the Wind Tower’s practical heating and cooling options, he again chooses an unknown transformation.

Significant themes

• Survival through preparation: Chen Fan answers looming threats by steadily building layered defenses.
• Control versus uncertainty: He tries to make the dangerous landscape predictable, but even new powers like Storm Suction remain unexplained and hard to use.
• Comfort and self-preservation: His modest dream is simply to live safely and well, rather than seek glory or rule.
• Making use of what the world provides: Exotic treasures, terrain, and even wraith blood become resources for defense or cultivation.

Plot points and events

• In Jiangnan’s Hidden City, Gongyang Gao, head of the Gongyang Clan, speaks with a green-robed Cultivator known as the Jiangbei Old Devil. Gao warns that taking his daughter to dangerous Jiangbei could cost her life, and offers the man leadership of the clan and access to its coveted Training Room if he stays.
• The Cultivator admits the Training Room appeals to him, but refuses: he is driven by revenge and intends to infiltrate a hostile faction and kill as many people as possible, likely dying in the attempt. He says he never planned to let Gao’s daughter accompany him into the faction or die with him.
• Gao agrees to let his daughter travel with him, but moves the journey forward to half a month from now. The clan’s Grand Supreme Elder, Gongyang Yiyue, and a caravan flying the clan banner will escort her. She will wait outside the target faction’s territory; the clan will recover the Cultivator if he dies, but will not avenge him.
• The banner’s use recalls the famous journey seventeen years earlier, when Gao led the clan through enemy territories to obtain a Resurrection Pill for his dying wife. The clan will raise it again now to protect his daughter.
• Gao gives his daughter that same pill, explaining that it can save someone from near death. She is moved by his support and embraces him.
• After she leaves, a masked subordinate arrives with intelligence on the Jiangbei Old Devil, warning that his past is far from honorable and questioning whether Gao should entrust his daughter to him.

Character developments and interactions

• Gongyang Gao balances a father’s concern with respect for his daughter’s determination. Rather than forbid her journey, he arranges protection and gives her the clan’s most precious safeguard. His memories of his late wife help explain why he refuses to keep his daughter from pursuing what she wants.
• The Jiangbei Old Devil is revealed as more than a reckless killer: his violence is bound to deep, unresolved hatred, and he cares enough about Gao’s daughter to want her kept out of danger. He rejects security and power in favor of revenge.
• Gao’s daughter is eager and resolute, convinced that accompanying the Cultivator may save him. Her affection for her father is clear when she embraces him and thanks him for allowing her to go.
• Their conversation shifts from negotiation and mistrust to mutual understanding: Gao offers the man a future with the clan, while the man explains his motives; Gao then accepts his daughter’s choice and prepares a guarded journey.

Significant themes

• Personal choice versus protection: Gao believes his daughter should not live with the regret of abandoning what she wants, even though her choice frightens him.
• Revenge and its cost: The Cultivator’s purpose gives his cultivation meaning, but also appears to make death likely.
• Family, loyalty, and collective strength: The clan banner represents a united family’s willingness to risk retaliation to protect its own.
• Human vulnerability in a hostile world: Despite powerful Cultivators, weapons, and clan resources, all remain fragile before the world’s dangers.

Key plot points

• Gongyang Gao reviews eight years of records about the Jiangbei Old Devil, a killer responsible for repeated massacres of mortals and cultivators alike. Investigators find no shared motive or common enemy among the victims; the prevailing belief is that he kills simply for pleasure.
• Gongyang’s subordinate compares the Devil unfavorably with the Pill Sect’s young master, but Gongyang shuts him down. Though the young man is an impressive match, Gongyang dislikes him because his daughter does—and because all six of his previous wives died horrific deaths. He nevertheless agrees to receive the young man’s seventh proposal.
• At his Camp, Chen Fan has expanded his defenses: twenty new Cannon Towers and twenty buried Level-3 Eerie Fires reinforce the Canyon, while his stock of eerie stones remains low.
• A meatworm wraith tide approaches. At first, only a few drift into the Sinkhole, since the main swarm is headed toward Flat City rather than Chen Fan’s base.
• Hoping to capture the tide’s resources, Chen Fan lights the Eerie Fires through the Canyon and activates the Wind Tower. Its powerful suction pulls the passing Meatworm Wraiths into the Canyon.
• To protect the Camp from the incoming swarm, Chen Fan quickly builds a temporary wall behind the Wind Tower. This allows the tower to keep drawing the wraiths in while keeping them from reaching the Camp’s interior.

Character developments and interactions

• Gongyang Gao emerges as a discerning, protective father: he values intelligence, refuses to be swayed by his subordinate’s opinion, and puts his daughter’s wishes above an advantageous marriage.
• Chen Fan is resourceful and opportunistic. Rather than treating the wraith tide as a threat, he sees it as a chance to replenish his resources, then adapts his defenses to contain the danger.
• The subordinate provides detailed intelligence but slips into criticizing the Pill Sect’s young master; Gongyang firmly rebukes him.
• Chen Fan speaks to the Wind Tower affectionately as “little Xiaofeng,” reflecting his confidence in the device and his enthusiasm as it draws in the swarm.

Significant themes

• Information and judgment: Small details can be revealing, while a long record of killings still may not explain a person’s true motives.
• Family loyalty and autonomy: Gongyang’s personal allegiance to his daughter outweighs social status and political advantage.
• Preparation and adaptation: Chen Fan’s layered defenses let him turn a familiar danger into an opportunity.
• Danger as resource: In the world of the story, even a deadly tide can become valuable if properly managed.

Plot points and events

• Chen Fan activates the Wind Tower’s Storm Suction to pull part of a Meatworm Wraith Tide into the canyon. The suction proves far stronger than expected, funneling countless wraiths into the canyon and smashing them against the rock walls.
• Rather than worry about the damage, Chen Fan decides the resulting dark-green impact pits will advertise the Camp’s survival. He plans to build a market along the canyon so visitors can see the evidence.
• The tide passes, leaving the Wind Tower intact thanks to the Altar’s repairs. The City Wall’s Wraith Blood Vein Patterns absorb the wraiths’ green fluid, apparently becoming stronger.
• Chen Fan sends the Camp’s people to collect the enormous number of eerie stones scattered through the canyon. The Warehouse will record their deposits automatically.
• While they work, he considers recruiting more workers after the rainy season, offering room, board, advancement, access to the Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion, and martial arts training in exchange for below-average wages.
• The cleanup yields only two Exotic Treasures, but one is a green-grade Eerie Eye, a material for upgrading an Arrow Tower to Level 6. Chen Fan spends it and 2,000 eerie stones to upgrade a tower into an Eerie Eye Cannon Tower.
• The tower offers increased firing speed, increased firepower, or an unknown qualitative transformation. Hoping for another useful transformation, Chen Fan begins his luck-bringing ritual before choosing.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan is thrilled by the unexpected scale of the slaughter, sees the destruction as both proof of strength and future marketing, and focuses on turning the harvest into defenses and recruitment resources. His experience with the Wind Tower makes him increasingly confident in choosing qualitative transformations.
• Crippled Monkey, Zhou Mo, and the others share Chen Fan’s shock at the canyon spectacle, then eagerly collect eerie stones. Monkey reports the Exotic Treasure haul.
• Chen Fan weighs how to retain Zhou Mo and future workers, recognizing that loyalty alone is not a sustainable substitute for fair incentives.

Significant themes

• Survival turned into advantage: A dangerous tide becomes a source of eerie stones, stronger defenses, and public proof of the Camp’s resilience.
• Pragmatism and resource management: Chen Fan plans around labor costs, recruitment, rewards, and tower upgrades.
• Power and risk: The Storm Suction upgrade is dramatically effective but difficult to control; choosing unknown transformations likewise involves uncertainty.
• Humanity amid catastrophe: The rainy season is dangerous, but for a sufficiently strong faction it also creates opportunities to gather resources and rebuild.

Plot points and events

• Chen Fan completes the qualitative transformation of the Camp’s first Level-6 Cannon Tower. It becomes an Eerie Eye: a narrow-range weapon that emits a continuous, powerful ray suited to attacking a single target rather than groups.
• Considering how to draw a powerful Strange Entity within the tower’s one-meter range, Chen Fan asks Wang Kui about the Wraith hide kept in storage. He begins imagining ways to exploit an intelligent enemy’s emotional vulnerabilities and combine that distraction with the Wind Tower’s suction.
• Later, Chen Fan and Wang Kui review the Camp’s haul from the Meatworm Wraith Tide: 92,022 eerie stones. Chen Fan decides that, once the Rainy Season ends and monster-hunting yields decline, the Camp will need to establish a merchant association.
• Wang Mazi explains how trade works. Small associations gather goods and sell them to city-level associations such as the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association, which then sells to the larger Northbank Merchant Association. A White Grade Exotic Treasure typically earns only a modest markup, and identifying it can risk a loss.
• Frustrated by the slim margins, Chen Fan asks how powerful the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association is. Wang Mazi claims its defenses are inferior to the Camp’s and proposes eventually replacing it. He advises against a direct assault, instead suggesting that they build ties with the North Merchant Association and gradually divert smaller suppliers away from their rival.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan shows his usual habit of preparing for unlikely situations, while also thinking strategically about both combat and future business. He is skeptical of the small profits trade offers and quickly considers how to turn the Camp’s military advantage into commercial influence.
• Wang Mazi reveals his merchant experience and ambition. The prospect of leading a trade association excites him, but he gives cautious, practical advice about weakening a rival rather than attacking it head-on.
• Wang Kui demonstrates his reliability and familiarity with Camp stores, then reacts irritably when Wang Mazi uses his former low salary as an example.
• Zhou Mo arrives hoping to share good news, but waits for Chen Fan to return from his customary bath after good fortune. Crippled Monkey and the others eventually sleep after a long day.

Significant themes

• Power and leverage: Chen Fan considers how an unusual weapon, emotional weaknesses, and the Camp’s defenses might shape future conflicts.
• Preparation through imagination: Chen Fan believes mentally rehearsing unexpected scenarios can reduce the shock of facing them in reality.
• Economic power and gradual strategy: The chapter presents trade as a layered system where profit depends on routes, protection, and influence—and suggests that supply control can undermine a rival more safely than direct warfare.
• Ambition tempered by pragmatism: Wang Mazi dreams of rising in the merchant world, but recognizes the dangers of confronting an established association on its own territory.

Chapter summary

Key plot points

• Wang Mazi warns Chen Fan that attacking the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association would draw the powerful Northbank Merchant Association into the conflict. Chen Fan ignores the cautious approach and decides he can justify revenge by framing it as a persecuted heir reclaiming his place and avenging his family.
• He proposes surrounding the enemy’s territory with high-level walls and Cannon Towers. Wang Mazi confirms the tactic could work, though he points out its expense and the risk of patrols discovering the construction. Chen Fan believes his structures can appear instantly, making both objections manageable.
• The group formally names its faction the Mortal Sect, with a banner bearing the character “fan.” Other proposals include Heaven Valley, Villains’ Valley, Eternal Night Hall, and Mortal Domain; Chen Fan approves Wang Mazi’s dramatic “Eternal Night Hall” idea before the group settles on the more modest final name.
• Qi Chong’s carefully tended Sunflowers mature. Their exceptional quality gives 50% more Cultivation than ordinary Sunflowers. Using the Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion to refine them quickly, Chen Fan consumes ten and advances to Level Two.
• Chen Fan tells Zhou Mo to return and use the Sunflowers to advance toward Level Three.
• Chen Fan expands the Canyon defenses: he adds twenty Level-5 Cannon Towers, bringing the total to eighty-nine Level-5 towers and one Level-6 tower. Confident in the growing defenses, he taunts the Wraith King and considers how they compare with Northbank City’s.
• In Northbank City, the North River Chen Family gathers to discuss the rainy season. An Elder observes that, on the eighteenth day, the city has not fallen and may avoid severe losses unless a major crisis strikes.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fan remains ambitious and pragmatic, but his plans grow more aggressive: he intends to build his faction’s power, exploit his unusual ability to assess Exotic Treasures, and eventually destroy the Chen Family and Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association. He also gains a modest physical improvement with his breakthrough, while recognizing that Level Two brings little combat advantage.
• Wang Mazi acts as Chen Fan’s cautious adviser on political risks and siege tactics. He is also enthusiastic about the faction’s public identity and proposes the theatrical Eternal Night Hall.
• Zhou Mo offers an imposing, comical faction name, then retreats when Chen Fan rejects it. Chen Fan later contacts him through the Meat Strange Parent-Child Fruit to encourage his cultivation.
• Qi Chong is rewarded for his patient, intensive care of the Sunflowers, which produces unusually potent crops. Wang Kui handles their storage.
• Weiwei joins the naming discussion with a drawing that the others misunderstand, and continues digging the rock walls for Chen Fan’s defenses.
• At the chapter’s close, the North River Chen Family’s Head and members sit in tense silence before an Elder raises the question of Northbank City’s prospects.

Significant themes

• Power through preparation: Chen Fan favors engineered defenses and infrastructure over direct confrontation.
• Ambition versus caution: Wang Mazi sees the political consequences of war, while Chen Fan focuses on finding a justification and a workable strategy.
• Collective contribution: The faction’s progress depends on members’ different strengths, from Qi Chong’s farming to Wang Kui’s storage and Weiwei’s digging.
• A modest identity with grand aspirations: The Mortal Sect chooses a restrained name even as Chen Fan dreams of dominating rivals and expanding his influence.