Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan uses Fate Deception, the power of his Crown, to erase others’ memories of his role in the Ancient God’s death and conceal the abilities he revealed during their fight. To complete the concealment, he must continue living as an ordinary mortal and finish his school-assigned task that day.
• As the Mortal Realm faces an imminent invasion by the Corrosive Nebula Devil Master, Xu Yuan sends his Attendant God Xi to support Ming He. He equips Xi with powerful resistance armor and a massive battleaxe, supposedly birthday gifts he had prepared for her.
• The All Things Unity Society summons Xu Yuan to discuss the crisis. Its members plan to travel to the Imperial Capital and observe the coming clash, while Xu Yuan is assigned to report from the Imperial Palace.
• At the palace, Master Fu Xiuyi sends Xu Yuan to Yanmen to consult the Ritual Executors about the Demon. Before he can leave, Crown Prince Lu Qingxuan offers to transport him and tells him that Xu Yuan’s senior brother, Sun Changfei, received an easier assignment after mentioning his connection to Xu Yuan.
• Xu Yuan delays leaving by claiming he needs the restroom. There, he senses danger but chooses not to intervene, deciding that exposing himself while the Human Emperor is present would be too risky.
• The Immortal Lord appears above the capital and attacks the palace, declaring that he will kill the Human Emperor and take his place. Emperor Lu Chaowu deflects the attack and destroys the invading monsters with a punch, but the Immortal Lord reforms their remains into a black spear, setting the stage for a direct confrontation.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains wary and strategic despite his hidden strength. He prioritizes secrecy, sends Xi in his place to the battlefield, and resists the urge to interfere with the attack on the palace.
• Xi shows affectionate loyalty toward Xu Yuan, gratefully accepting the armor and weapon. Ming He, initially doubtful of Xi’s abilities, is impressed by her sudden display of power and agrees to take her along.
• Ming He consults Xu Yuan about the coming battle, unaware that he has erased the relevant memories of the Ancient God conflict.
• Qi Canghai reprimands Xu Yuan for being unreachable, then assigns him a role at the Imperial Palace. Their tense exchange is softened by Xu Yuan’s joking invitation to go racing with Bai Yuanze.
• Fu Xiuyi checks on Xu Yuan, discusses his sword practice, and gives him the Yanmen task. Lu Qingxuan helps arrange his journey and privately asks Xu Yuan to secure him easier conditions for a future trial.
• Lu Chaowu demonstrates why he is considered the Mortal World’s strongest fighter by stopping the Immortal Lord’s opening strike and annihilating his summoned monsters.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and survival: Xu Yuan’s power depends not only on strength but on controlling what others know about him.
• Restraint versus intervention: He chooses concealment over joining the battle, even as danger reaches the palace.
• Hidden strength and trust: Xu Yuan quietly equips Xi for combat, while others judge her capabilities only after seeing her in action.
• Escalating conflict: The invasion of the Mortal Realm and the Immortal Lord’s assault signal a wider struggle whose outcome remains uncertain.

Plot points and events

• In the Imperial Capital, Lu Chaowu confronts the Immortal Lord, accusing him of releasing the Demons that have been hanging over ordinary people. The Immortal Lord confirms it: the Demons rise as black light and strengthen him.
• The two exchange devastating attacks that send shockwaves through the capital. The Immortal Lord reveals that Lu Chaowu has reached the Mahayana Realm and offers to spare him if he submits.
• Lu Chaowu refuses. To protect civilians, he proposes taking their fight high above the city. The Immortal Lord accepts and boasts that he killed Lu Chaowu’s elder brother.
• Just as the duel is about to begin, an advertisement appears in the sky, delaying them. Meanwhile, Demons continue rising across the capital and feeding the Immortal Lord’s power.
• Xu Yuan hides in the palace washroom rather than reveal himself. Suspecting the enemy may be waiting for him, he watches events from a distance and decides to support Lu Chaowu covertly through a “Team Battle.”
• Using Divinity Collapse, Xu Yuan creates the Immortal-Slaying Gauntlets. Fate Deception warns that the creation exposes suspicious traces and requires Xu Yuan to complete a school assignment at the Mist Sea within three days. He accepts, and the traces are erased.
• Xu Yuan also retrieves a powerful, single-use grenade designed to strike gods. Taking advantage of his ability to skip the advertisement, he invites the Immortal Lord onto the team and assigns the grenade to him.
• As the Immortal Lord prepares to attack Lu Chaowu, the grenade appears in his hand. The chapter ends as it explodes.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Chaowu is revealed as an exceptionally powerful and battle-hungry ruler who reached Mahayana soon after the world’s ascension. Despite his eagerness to fight, he tries to move the duel away from civilians. He vows to destroy the Immortal Lord and his forces if he wins.
• The Immortal Lord is openly ruthless and confident, seeking Lu Chaowu’s submission while admitting responsibility for the Demons and Lu Chaowu’s brother’s death. His power grows as the Demons return to him.
• Xu Yuan shows caution and strategic restraint: he recognizes that revealing himself could play into the enemy’s plans, yet finds a way to help Lu Chaowu indirectly. His creation of the gauntlets and use of the grenade demonstrate both his resourcefulness and the risks of wielding Crown powers.
• Lu Chaowu and the Immortal Lord negotiate, threaten, and provoke one another, settling on a duel to the death. Xu Yuan, meanwhile, turns the battle into an unconventional team effort without either combatant’s knowledge.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Lu Chaowu’s strength is paired with concern for civilian lives.
• Caution versus courage: Lu Chaowu openly confronts the threat, while Xu Yuan chooses secrecy to avoid a trap.
• Hidden influence and fate: Xu Yuan’s covert team mechanic and Fate Deception shape events behind the scenes.
• Chaos and exploitation: The Demons’ attacks turn the capital into chaos while directly empowering the Immortal Lord.
• Absurdity amid danger: The skybound advertisement interrupts a life-or-death showdown, and Xu Yuan’s privileged ability to skip it becomes a tactical advantage.

Key plot points and events

• An unseen attacker strikes the Immortal Lord with Metal Spirit Threads, badly injuring him. Xu Yuan reveals that he secretly assigned the Immortal-Slaying Gauntlets to Lu Chaowu.
• Xu Yuan uses the Third Crown’s Cycle Field to trace the Immortal Lord’s past. He discovers the Ancient God gave the Lord a spear meant to kill Xu Yuan and imprison his soul. The Lord is a former god who betrayed others, was fused with Song Jianzhou, and now serves the Ancient God by crushing resistance and spreading worship.
• Knowing the Immortal Lord could recognize and kill him, Xu Yuan stays hidden and secretly equips Lu Chaowu with additional powerful gear.
• Lu Chaowu gains the upper hand briefly, but the Immortal Lord reveals a Law Imago—an advanced power Lu Chaowu cannot match. Xu Yuan considers intervening but fears the spear and looks for another solution.
• Xu Yuan summons the Lord of Gui Xu, a former holder of the Mountain and Sea Crown, and gives him texts on Imago. The Lord uses his Crown to draw on a future result, learns Law Imago instantly, and prepares to help.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan acts cautiously but resourcefully: he investigates the threat, protects his identity, supports Lu Chaowu from concealment, and recruits an experienced ally rather than confronting the Immortal Lord directly.
• Lu Chaowu fights on despite repeated injuries. Though puzzled by the mysterious equipment, he trusts the advantage it gives him and continues defending the capital.
• The Immortal Lord is revealed as a long-serving collaborator of the Ancient God, now pursuing a plan to subdue the Mortal World and eventually awaken the Ancient God’s sealed servants.
• The Lord of Gui Xu proves that his Crown can make future learning happen in the present. He rapidly masters Law Imago and eagerly joins the coming fight.
• Xu Yuan and the Lord of Gui Xu share familiarity and mutual respect, while Lu Chaowu remains unaware that Xu Yuan is secretly aiding him.

Significant themes

• Caution and hidden identity: Xu Yuan’s knowledge makes direct action dangerous, so he must help without revealing himself.
• Power gained through preparation and cooperation: Secret equipment, historical knowledge, and allies become essential against a stronger foe.
• Betrayal and allegiance: The Immortal Lord’s ancient choices contrast with those who resisted the Ancient God to preserve hope.
• The burden of history: Power from past eras—and the people who once wielded it—may determine the present conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan gives the Lord of Gui Xu two Jade Slips containing knowledge intended to help modern humanity reconcile the Ninefold Nether and Mortal Realm. The Lord agrees to deliver them, hoping to make amends for his past role in the Ninefold Nether Ruins’ destruction. Xu Yuan warns him to keep his involvement secret because the Ancient Gods are preparing to kill him.
• Above the Imperial Palace, the Immortal Lord and Human Emperor Lu Chaowu unleash their Imagos. Lu’s nine earth dragons initially challenge the Immortal Lord’s Sword Forest Perching Dove, but the Immortal Lord’s Law Imago absorbs and transforms the dragons, turning the fight in his favor.
• The thirty-second advertisement interrupts the duel, forcing both combatants to pause. During the break, the Lord of Gui Xu arrives, gives Lu Chaowu the Jade Slips, and takes over the fight while Lu studies them and protects the palace.
• The Immortal Lord summons wind-aspected birds. The Lord of Gui Xu counters with his newly developed Law Imago, Judge of Life and Death, which decides victory by a dice roll. The first roll is tied, but Xu Yuan secretly supplies the Lord with numerous treasures through their team connection. The red die rises from three to four, beating the Immortal Lord’s three; the Immortal Lord is wounded and shocked.

Character developments

• Lord of Gui Xu has reached Tribulation Transcendence and grown stronger through his Law Imago. He now seeks to atone for his past and fight the Immortal Lord, bolstered by equipment created by Xu Yuan.
• Xu Yuan remains hidden from the Ancient Gods but supports his allies from afar, using his creation ability to provide the crucial treasures.
• Lu Chaowu faces the limits of his powerful Imago when the Immortal Lord absorbs his dragons. Rather than continue the fight, he accepts the Jade Slips and turns to study them.
• The Immortal Lord remains confident and ruthless, but his advantage is disrupted first by the advertisement and then by the Lord of Gui Xu’s unpredictable Imago and Xu Yuan’s intervention.

Significant themes

• Atonement and reconciliation: The Lord of Gui Xu hopes to repair the harm caused by his past actions and help reunite humanity.
• Cooperation over isolation: The battle turns through teamwork—Lu accepts help, and Xu Yuan aids the Lord of Gui Xu remotely.
• Power and its limits: Even formidable Imagos can be countered, and strength alone does not guarantee victory.
• Peace amid conflict: The recurring advertisement imposes an absurd but absolute pause, delivering a message of peace even during a battle to the death.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and the Lord of Gui Xu discuss his new strength and agree on the need for human unity; Xu Yuan entrusts him with the Jade Slips.
• The Lord of Gui Xu hands the slips to Lu Chaowu, who humorously praises his “bearing of a senior” before withdrawing to read them.
• The Immortal Lord dismisses the Lord of Gui Xu as a dead remnant of Ninefold Nether, while the latter condemns him as a traitor and lapdog.
• Xu Yuan’s unseen assistance gives the Lord of Gui Xu the edge needed to survive the duel and injure the Immortal Lord.

Plot points and events

• The Lord of Gui Xu uses the Mountains and Rivers Crown to defeat Song Jianzhou’s transformed Imago, killing him and destroying his Imago. A Monster escapes by absorbing the Demons in the city, but Xu Yuan warns that chasing it could awaken the Monsters in its lair—and that an Ancient God’s Art would unleash world-destroying power if it were captured or killed.
• Lu Chaowu thanks the Lord of Gui Xu for his help. The two clear up the history behind Ninefold Nether’s invasion, discover that the Old Gods were responsible, and begin discussing cooperation. Xu Yuan asks the Lord to keep his identity secret and help maintain peace between the realms.
• Xu Yuan teleports to Yanmen and follows a Fate Thread to the Black Flame Bar. There, he asks the Ritual Executors about the escaped Immortal Species and the Demons. They explain that Demons grow stronger by gathering people’s Malice, making them difficult to stop: even an innocent person marked as a Demon would likely face suspicion and hostility.
• The Fate Thread guides Xu Yuan to an abandoned shop, where he finds a hidden Rune array. A metal token given to him for freeing Ming He fits the array’s requirements. The text identifies it as the Three Realms Linkage Array, which can bring buildings from the divine realm and Ninefold Nether to Yanmen. Xu Yuan meets all its activation conditions.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan takes a pragmatic approach to the escaping Monster, seeks intelligence about the Demons, and recognizes how prejudice can create the very Malice that empowers them. He also begins following Fate’s guidance toward a new connection to Yanmen.
• The Lord of Gui Xu shifts from combat to diplomacy, agreeing to explain the past to Lu Chaowu and work toward peace. He agrees to protect Xu Yuan’s anonymity.
• Lu Chaowu responds with gratitude rather than resentment and is willing to hear the Lord of Gui Xu’s account.
• The Ritual Executors are anxious about the Three Realms’ decline and the dangers ahead, but acknowledge Xu Yuan’s significance as the bearer of the First Crown.

Significant themes

• Crowns surpass Laws: The Crown’s power overwhelms Song Jianzhou’s Law Imago.
• Prejudice and Malice: Fear of a Demon mark may cause people to mistreat its bearer, feeding the Demons’ power.
• Cooperation over old grievances: Honest discussion opens the way for peace between the Mortal Realm and Ninefold Nether.
• Fate and connection: Xu Yuan’s Fate Thread leads him to a hidden array that may link the Three Realms to Yanmen.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan realizes the long-neglected metal piece can establish a Connection Point. Using it, he manifests his Divine Temple inside Yanmen’s abandoned Shop and receives permission to sell Yanmen’s goods, earning 70% of sales while Yanmen takes 30%. He also gets a discount on purchases and refreshes.
• He repairs and furnishes the Temple, then uses the Second Crown’s Fate Threads to choose both available goals: clear Yanmen’s remaining Monsters and seek the Core Spirit’s help in merging White Jade Capital with the Shop.
• While Xu Yuan rests, his Flying Sword slaughters the Monsters across the city. He rescues an arts-associated spirit who explains that Yanmen’s spirits are weapons stored as Corpses beneath the city, returning to that state when Yanmen is weak. The spirit’s role, when summoned, is to help Cultivators understand Imagos.
• Xu Yuan uses White Jade Capital to access Yanmen’s powers. As the First Blood Saint, he can command the Sacred Relic in Epoch battles and unlocks a defensive ability. He chooses defense against transformation, hoping it will counter the process that turns humans into Man-Demons.
• Yanmen’s Core Spirit must explain how to use the ability, but Xu Yuan cannot find it. His attempt to create a Core Spirit fails, suggesting Yanmen is already alive. A Fate Thread warns him not to approach the Core Spirit until he fulfills a request from the Black Flame Bar.
• After searching his memory, Xu Yuan recalls that the Parrot had indirectly asked for a more stylish birdcage. The request may be the condition he must fulfill before returning to speak with Yanmen’s Core Spirit.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan grows more confident in using the Second Crown, recognizing how it reveals opportunities that might otherwise be missed. He also becomes more strategic, choosing defense against transformation as a possible protection against humanity’s enemy.
• The arts spirit is revealed as one of Yanmen’s dormant weapons, with a purpose centered on spreading knowledge of Imagos.
• The Parrot’s casual remark is revealed as a meaningful request, suggesting that even seemingly minor interactions can affect Xu Yuan’s path.

Significant themes

• Fate and missed opportunities: The Second Crown helps Xu Yuan notice paths he might otherwise overlook, while its warnings emphasize that fate must be approached carefully.
• Life, death, and dormant purpose: Yanmen’s spirits appear dead but are actually stored components of a living, functioning relic.
• Interconnection and cooperation: Xu Yuan’s Divine Temple, Yanmen, and White Jade Capital can link together, while Yanmen’s spirit-workers serve broader human advancement.
• The importance of small obligations: A seemingly trivial request from the Parrot may determine whether Xu Yuan can safely proceed.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan speaks with and rescues the arts spirit, learning about the Corpses beneath Yanmen and the spirits’ roles.
• He interacts with White Jade Capital to unlock Yanmen’s defensive power, then uses the Fate Thread to determine that he must first fulfill someone’s request at the Black Flame Bar.
• He recalls the Parrot’s hint about wanting a better birdcage, identifying her as the likely person whose request remains unfinished.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan realizes Yanmen’s Core Spirit is the parrot and that its lost birdcage is in a ruined house in the Ninefold Nether.
• He travels back in time to retrieve the cage, then returns with the parrot to the Black Flame Bar. Once reunited with it, the cage activates and purges Yanmen of lingering monsters.
• The parrot explains Yanmen’s purpose: it is an ancient weapon designed to power the Dark Crown Ritual, summon the universe’s will, and help humanity fight and unite the Three Realms. Though damaged, Yanmen can now sense the Divine Realm.
• Yanmen links White Jade Capital to Xu Yuan’s Divine Temple, unlocking new capabilities. The Shop can add attributes to items, and Xu Yuan upgrades the Youhuang Sword and its scabbard. The sword gains a burning effect; the scabbard empowers its first strike after a day of storage. The weapon is revealed to be a Dao Artifact.
• Xu Yuan decides to link and fuse the Nine Nether Prefecture with Yanmen, freeing it from the Old Gods. As the process begins, he declares, “Long live the Human Race.”

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan’s ingenuity and command of time-related arts let him recover the cage and activate Yanmen’s systems. He shifts from solving an immediate problem to pursuing humanity’s liberation.
• The parrot reveals that it is Yanmen’s Core Spirit and that it lost its cage during Yanmen’s destruction. Reunited with its “nest,” it regains some strength and begins cleaning the city.
• Qianqian and the Ritual Executors witness the cage’s activation and the parrot’s explanation; Qianqian had not known the bird’s true identity.
• The parrot guides Xu Yuan through Yanmen’s history and newly awakened functions, while Xu Yuan responds with humor, practical questions, and a decisive plan.

Significant themes

• Recovery and renewal: Restoring the birdcage revives the parrot’s strength and begins repairing Yanmen.
• Human freedom and resistance: Yanmen’s ancient purpose and the planned fusion of the Nine Nether Prefecture offer a path to break humanity’s dependence on the Old Gods.
• Ingenuity and cooperation: Xu Yuan’s abilities, the parrot’s knowledge, and Yanmen’s systems combine to open new possibilities.
• Legacy and remembrance: Xu Yuan’s final words frame the turning point as a moment meant to endure in human history.

Summary

Xu Yuan discovers that Yanmen now requires the password “Long live the Human Race” before the Parrot can use its power. The Parrot explains that it has reassembled the Divine, Mortal, and Ninefold Nether realms around itself, and that its former “arts worker” was one of its functional modules cycling through reincarnation to keep its systems updated.
A foreboding sensation prompts Xu Yuan to use his Third Crown, Faceless Lord, to search the Divine Temple for its cause. His investigation reveals two urgent problems: a secret connected to the Parrot’s past, and Ming He and Xi losing a deadly fight against the Corrosive Nebula Devil Master in the Outer Heavens. The Parrot cautions that even it cannot know Xu Yuan’s Crown abilities or full secrets, and recommends additional safeguards before they discuss anything sensitive.
Xu Yuan first intervenes in the battle. He pulls Ming He and Xi to him, uses his Boss-designation ability to raise each woman’s power by one level, then sends them back to continue fighting. The Devil Master appears before Xu Yuan and attacks. A Universe-backed advertisement—part of a Third Crown’s World Setting—wounds the monster when it tries to force its way through. Xu Yuan follows up with Night Rain Sealed Cage and sends the badly injured Devil Master back to the Outer Heavens, leaving the empowered women in a stronger position.
With the immediate threat addressed, Xu Yuan joins the three Ritual Executors and the Parrot in the Bar’s underground secret chamber. The Parrot orders Qianqian to secure the Bar and activate its defenses. Once the chamber is sealed, the Cook asks why such precautions are necessary, setting up Xu Yuan’s disclosure.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows his instinct to investigate danger rather than ignore it, and his willingness to act swiftly for allies. His unconventional powers—boosting Ming He and Xi, and weaponizing an advertisement—turn the tide without directly joining their battle.
• The Parrot proves perceptive and cautious. It recognizes the significance of Xu Yuan’s behavior, openly explains the limits of what it knows, and insists on layered secrecy.
• Ming He and Xi are badly wounded and near defeat, but Xu Yuan’s intervention restores their strength and improves their chances.
• Qianqian follows the Parrot’s orders, helping protect the meeting.
• The Cook and the other Ritual Executors are brought into the confidential discussion, though the Cook does not yet know what prompted the precautions.

Significant themes

The chapter pairs preparedness with secrecy: Xu Yuan responds to uncertainty by “checking the answer,” while the Parrot insists that sensitive knowledge needs protection. It also explores power and responsibility, as Xu Yuan uses his abilities to support allies and contain a threat. The chapter’s playful humor—especially the “ad skipped for Dad” screen—contrasts with the high stakes of the cosmic battle.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan reveals his multiple Crowns and uses Fate Deception to keep the secret discussion hidden, accepting the unusual condition of living as an ordinary Mount Luofu student through the semester.
• He tells the Ritual Executors that the corpse concealed beneath Yanmen is not an Ancient God’s spy. It belongs to a powerful Monster that devoured the Ancient God’s corpse and the beings within it.
• Because this Monster is at least as strong as the Ancient God, Xu Yuan abandons the plan to fight in the Primordial Battlefield. The group agrees they must escape the Ancient God’s corpse, though the details remain unresolved.
• To seek help, Xu Yuan travels back to the moment the Ancient God leaves Yanmen and contacts the Universe’s Will. He warns it that the Monster will consume the Ancient God’s corpse after the Ancient God and Universe perish, and asks how Yanmen can escape without alerting the Monster.
• The Universe responds by empowering Xu Yuan’s “Stealing the Three Realms” competition and creating a hidden quest: Four Symbols, the Universe’s Fourth Dark Crown. Completing it will grant the Universe’s ultimate power and may let the Three Realms escape.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan acts decisively under pressure, choosing retreat over a hopeless battle and taking responsibility for informing the Universe.
• The Ritual Executors—Vendor, Cook, and Retainer—move from alarm and speculation to acceptance that escape is their only viable choice. Parrot is shaken by what he senses beneath Yanmen.
• Xu Yuan’s Crowns, initially chosen for self-protection and uncovering secrets, prove crucial to discovering the hidden Monster and communicating across time.
• The Universe’s Will is presented as a thoughtful force: it considers Xu Yuan’s warning before answering with a new path forward.

Significant themes

• Survival over sacrifice: A new, overwhelming threat makes a planned heroic battle pointless.
• Hidden truths and trust: Xu Yuan risks revealing what he knows to allies and the Universe, while using Fate Deception to protect the secret.
• Power and unintended consequences: Xu Yuan’s Crowns enable him to uncover dangers and alter the course of events, but also lead to a greater, more demanding quest.
• Uncertainty and adaptation: With the old plan invalidated, the characters must reconsider their strategy and seek an escape route.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan escapes the Ancient God’s sudden attack by using Void of Authority. The Universe then reveals the complete Dark Crown Ritual: Four Symbols: he must win the allegiance of four decaying organs of the Ancient God, beginning with Ming He Maiden, and combine their support with the power of Truth’s Two Aspects to obtain the Fourth Crown and perhaps reach the Origin of Truth.
• Back in Yanmen, Xu Yuan suggests a celebratory drink, signaling that the group has agreed to escape. As soon as he disappears, Parrot and the Ritual Executors fuse into an old fisherman and deploy a multidimensional prison over Yanmen. Cook powers it, though it can hold for only ten minutes. Parrot explains that an enemy god attacked Xu Yuan as soon as the secret chamber was breached.
• Xu Yuan finds himself trapped in a frozen version of his high-school hospital stay on Earth. He realizes the enemy’s Mystic Art has caught him, but a television advertisement’s thirty-second duration temporarily interrupts it.
• Remembering his Master’s assigned swordsmanship practice, Xu Yuan performs a Sword Seal. This fulfills the hidden Daily Task for his Fate Deception and restores the Second Crown, Lord of Silent End Times. The Crown hides him from the enemy, freeing him from its direct influence.
• A fishing net connects him to Parrot. The two devise a counterattack: Parrot can reflect Mystic Arts, while Xu Yuan can manipulate memories through Fate Deception.
• Xu Yuan constructs a convincing false hospital scenario to trap the enemy in a fabricated identity. The final clue is the television’s strange line, “Daddy can skip the ad,” which leaves the enemy confused.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan moves from surviving the attack to taking control of his Fate Deception. He recognizes its memory-altering power as something he can wield deliberately, not merely endure.
• Parrot proves quick-thinking and fiercely loyal: he coordinates the prison, trusts Xu Yuan to survive, and proposes using their abilities together.
• Vendor and Retainer fuse into the fisherman form, while Cook sustains the prison despite the strain. Their agreement to escape is clear, though Cook remains uneasy about the danger.
• Xu Yuan and Parrot shift from rescue and warning to a coordinated plan against the enemy.

Significant themes

• Deception and control: Xu Yuan turns the enemy’s illusion and his own memory-altering power into weapons.
• Cooperation against overwhelming power: The group combines distinct abilities to resist a godlike threat.
• The unexpected as a weakness: The enemy’s haste, the ad’s interruption, and Xu Yuan’s mundane swordsmanship task all create openings.
• Ordinary life amid cosmic conflict: Familiar hospital details make the supernatural trap more unsettling—and provide the tools Xu Yuan uses to escape it.

Key plot points and events

• In Yanmen’s Black Flame Bar, Xu Yuan receives an energy drink and advice from the old fisherman: the dangerous Mist Sea holds ancient treasures, lost Yanmen components, and advanced techniques that could help humanity and Yanmen prepare for the Ancient Gods.
• The fisherman also warns that Xu Yuan’s Nascent Soul cultivation is too low to sustain his powerful Law Imago. Xu Yuan accepts the criticism and plans to ask the Imperial Court to let university students join an expedition.
• A mysterious prisoner in Yanmen’s hospital begins breaking out by transforming the room into black, living tissue. Xu Yuan distracts him with a story about television ads, prompting him to enter the TV.
• Xu Yuan uses the Second Crown to create a convincing artificial world and Fate Deception to erase the prisoner’s memories. The prisoner wakes as a brain in a vat, believes it is being tested for a new body, and sets out into the fabricated landscape. Xu Yuan then unfolds the Third Crown, the Faceless Lord’s Crown, intending to discover the entity’s true nature.
• At the Imperial Palace, the Human Emperor and the Lord of Gui Xu hold a lengthy, cordial meeting. Lu Qingxuan learns that Yanmen’s Core Spirit has summoned the Emperor.
• In Yanmen, the Ritual Executors tell the Emperor that Ancient Gods threaten humanity and urge him to send people to the Mist Sea to find power and treasures. The promise of advanced Law Imago knowledge persuades him to prepare an expedition.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan acts on the fisherman’s counsel, recognizing that he has neglected his cultivation. He also shows growing confidence in controlling the Crowns, using deception and constructed reality to contain the escaping prisoner.
• The old fisherman and the Ritual Executors guide Xu Yuan and work with the Human Emperor, presenting the Mist Sea expedition as essential to humanity’s survival.
• The Human Emperor weighs the warning against the Ancient Gods and decides to mobilize for the Mist Sea, while considering whether nearly the whole human race should go.
• The Lord of Gui Xu accompanies the Emperor and is treated as a trusted ally; his past help and candor ease concerns about the Ninefold Nether.
• Lu Qingxuan quietly manages the palace meeting and anticipates that the Emperor’s discussion could turn into a sparring match.

Significant themes

• Preparation and sacrifice: Humanity must risk entering a deadly region to gain the strength needed to face the Ancient Gods.
• Power requires cultivation: Xu Yuan’s abilities have outpaced his spiritual foundation, making personal growth urgent.
• Reality, memory, and identity: Xu Yuan’s constructed world and memory manipulation leave the prisoner uncertain of who he is, raising questions about what is real and what defines a self.
• Cooperation under threat: Yanmen, the Imperial Court, and the Ninefold Nether’s representatives must work together despite the looming danger.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan uncovers the hidden history of a person who lived an apparently ordinary life, returned to Yanmen, and then vanished during an ancient war. Someone had shaped his life with extraordinary subtlety, leaving no suspicious traces.
• The person—now revealed as a powerful Monster imprisoned in a simulated world—recovers his memories and repeatedly breaks free. Xu Yuan uses Fate Deception to suppress those memories, but the Monster eventually remembers again.
• Hoping to remove the threat from the Three Realms, Xu Yuan sends the Monster to the Outer Heavens. It arrives amid Ming He and Xi’s battle with the weakened Corrosive Nebula Lord. The Monster kills the Lord with a single move, astonishing both women.
• The Monster returns to the Three Realms again, making clear that it is drawn to Yanmen. Unable to defeat or contain it, Xu Yuan decides to keep it close instead. He turns it into an apparently ordinary young man, fabricates a human past for him, and arranges Luofu University student status through Bai Yuanze.
• Xu Yuan plans to keep refreshing the Monster’s false memories so it remains stable and under his watch.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shifts from investigating the Monster to managing it as an overwhelming danger. Though outwardly composed, he is alarmed by its strength and accepts responsibility for bringing it into Luofu.
• The Monster is patient, immensely powerful, and fixated on returning to the Three Realms and Yanmen. Its true past and motives remain unclear.
• Xi and Ming He briefly disagree over whether to intervene in the battle: Xi wants to conserve her strength, while Ming He questions her loyalty. They ultimately break free together, only to find the Monster has already killed their opponent.
• Bai Yuanze hesitates over the political risk of placing someone at Luofu, but complies after Xu Yuan takes responsibility.

Significant themes

• Identity and memory: Xu Yuan’s control of the Monster depends on repeatedly replacing its memories, raising questions about the person it might become.
• Hidden histories and manipulation: A seemingly normal life can conceal deliberate, long-term design.
• Power and helplessness: Even Xu Yuan’s abilities cannot safely restrain a force strong enough to kill a major enemy instantly.
• Control through proximity: Rather than risk sending the Monster away again, Xu Yuan chooses to keep it near and manage it directly.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan arranges housing and school enrollment for Lu Feiming, a new student from the Ninefold Nether. He also organizes help for the ruins of Lu’s village and tries to contact a prince about Lu’s records.
• Xu reminds Lu of the story Lu believes about his past: his village was destroyed by a Nine-Tailed Fox, its people sealed the Monster inside him, and the deceased Lord of Gui Xu sent him to the Mortal Realm to study. Xu warns him to keep the Monster secret.
• Lu finds classes dull and returns to the dorm. Searching his wardrobe, he discovers a strange superhero-style costume and mask. The discovery restores a fragment of memory—though the “truth” he recalls is that he is a Kryptonian with limitless power.
• Wearing the costume, Lu flies through the city, absorbs the word “Demon” from a desperate man, and is thanked as a savior. His growing enjoyment of the role raises the possibility that he may become a threat.
• Xu receives a warning that his Fate Deception has activated again, along with a new daily task: eat in the cafeteria and drink three beverages.
• Noticing Yang Xiaobing struggling to understand a new insight, Xu uses his Cycle Field to see her life and recognizes her exceptional, long-neglected talent. He gives her verses to guide her cultivation.
• Yang immediately forms an Imago: a huge talisman that summons the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Her breakthrough amazes the teachers and students. Lu, newly returned, watches with interest.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan balances the demands of Fate Deception with his desire to live an ordinary student life. He also shifts from managing distant crises to actively nurturing the people around him, especially Yang.
• Lu Feiming appears compliant with Xu’s cover story, but his recovered memories and powerful abilities lead him to embrace a heroic identity. His amusement at being thanked hints at a potentially troubling attraction to power and acclaim.
• Yang Xiaobing emerges as a gifted cultivator whose abilities were stifled by family responsibilities. With Xu’s encouragement, she makes a major breakthrough.
• Xu and Lu discuss Lu’s supposed history and the need for secrecy. Xu and Yang exchange teasing banter before Xu gives her serious cultivation guidance. The teacher and other cultivators protect and recognize Yang during her breakthrough.

Significant themes

• Memory and manipulated identity: Lu’s recollections are uncertain, while Xu’s Fate Deception actively alters what people remember.
• Hidden potential and opportunity: Yang’s talent flourishes once she gains time and guidance.
• Power, responsibility, and recognition: Lu’s sudden freedom and strength tempt him toward a self-fashioned heroic role, while Yang’s power develops through disciplined insight.
• The ordinary amid the extraordinary: Xu’s school duties, friendships, and small acts of help coexist with world-threatening schemes and immense cultivation powers.

Key events

• Yang Xiaobing is sent into seclusion. Xu Yuan reflects that Imagos are extraordinarily rare—even among the most powerful institutions and families—signaling the decline of cultivation civilization.
• At university, Xu Yuan carefully acts like an ordinary student during combat training, exhausted by the effort of suppressing his power and by the repeated use of Fate Deception, which also requires him to refresh Lu Feiming’s memories every five hours.
• Lu Feiming asks whether he has always felt hostile toward the world and wanted to destroy it. Xu Yuan blames an Inner Demon influencing his thoughts.
• Lu Feiming demonstrates his power by destroying the entire Void, including the Mortal Realm and other realms. Reality then resets. He repeats this several times, apparently fascinated by the cycle.
• Xu Yuan rebukes him, pointing out that surrendering to the Inner Demon will keep him childish. Lu Feiming recognizes that destroying the world accomplishes nothing and begins reconsidering his behavior.
• At lunch, Xu Yuan eats frantically to calm his nerves. Lu Feiming joins him, while Xu Yuan discovers that overusing Fate Deception has triggered a new daily task: explain a problem to his classmates.
• Jiang Xueyao, prompted by Xu Yuan, helps Lu Feiming reflect on the emptiness of destroying something that simply resets. She encourages him to distinguish an illusion from a meaningful life and think about his future.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan maintains his student façade despite the strain of managing Lu Feiming and his own powers. His irritation is genuine, but he uses it to speak plainly rather than attempt a deception Lu Feiming might detect.
• Lu Feiming begins to recognize that his destructive impulses are being shaped by his Inner Demon. He admits his behavior was childish and responds thoughtfully to Jiang Xueyao’s advice.
• Jiang Xueyao shows tact and insight in helping a dangerous stranger without sounding condescending. Xu Yuan trusts her judgment and quietly asks her to help.
• Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming’s relationship remains tense: Xu Yuan is exasperated by Lu Feiming’s destructive experiments, while Lu Feiming watches Xu Yuan closely and seeks his opinion.

Significant themes

• Power without purpose: Lu Feiming’s ability to destroy the world is immense, but repeated resets leave him with nothing.
• Agency and maturity: The chapter frames yielding to an Inner Demon as a loss of self-control, and reflection as the first step toward growing up.
• The fragility of civilization: The rarity of Imagos suggests that humanity’s cultivation traditions have declined from their former heights.
• Ordinary life amid catastrophe: Xu Yuan’s immediate concern—getting lunch—contrasts comically with the destruction of the cosmos, while university life and its obligations continue.

Key events

• Lu Feiming asks Xu Yuan what gives life meaning. Xu Yuan says his dream is a simple, carefree moment by the sea, but he postpones it until he has met his duties. Jiang Xueyao recognizes his sense of responsibility; Lu Feiming interprets their restraint as putting off happiness for reasons that may not truly exist.
• Lu Feiming abruptly leaves and goes to a beach on Southwind Island to experience Xu Yuan’s dream. Hearing the worries of nearby people, he realizes that everyone carries burdens—and that he need not let his own anxieties and destructive impulses spoil the present.
• At a bar, Lu Feiming asks the owner about his dream. The owner wants a boat so he can fish alone at sea. Inspired, Lu Feiming heads out to try fishing.
• When a world-destroying monster confronts him, Lu Feiming initially lets it go, saying destruction is ultimately pointless. When it attacks anyway, he effortlessly hurls it out of the world, killing it. He then turns back to fishing.
• At Luofu, Xu Yuan and Jiang Xueyao cultivate together before Swordsmanship Class. Xu Yuan explains a passage from her scripture by passing his understanding directly into her mind. He realizes he grasped it instantly because of an innate ability granted by the Crown of the Faceless Lord.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Feiming begins to understand ordinary human concerns and the value of enjoying the present. His conversation with Xu Yuan—and then with the bar owner—gives him a new, less nihilistic perspective, though he remains overwhelmingly powerful.
• Xu Yuan presents himself as dutiful and responsible, while casually claiming he will attend class despite his poor attendance record. His effortless insight into Jiang Xueyao’s scripture reveals a new ability he had not recognized.
• Jiang Xueyao appreciates Xu Yuan’s sense of duty and hopes his renewed participation in university life will give them more time together. She invites him to train and study with her, and is surprised by his sudden mastery of the scripture.
• The exchanges between Xu Yuan and Jiang Xueyao show their growing closeness through shared cultivation and mutual learning; Lu Feiming’s conversations with them and the bar’s patrons help him reconsider what makes life worthwhile.

Significant themes

• Everyday life and meaning: Simple pleasures—sea air, beer, fishing—can matter precisely because they are ordinary.
• Responsibility versus happiness: People often defer their wishes because of obligations, but the chapter questions whether they must always postpone joy.
• Shared burdens: Lu Feiming discovers that anxiety is not unique to him; everyone carries worries.
• Understanding and restraint: He moves beyond his urge to destroy, recognizing that there are more interesting ways to live—though he still responds decisively when attacked.

Plot and events

• Jiang Xueyao accepts Xu Yuan’s explanation of a cultivation method, while he privately admits he made it up. She assumes he has been training with Headmaster Fu.
• A school announcement orders all students and faculty to assemble that evening and travel to the dangerous Mist Sea for field cultivation. Xu Yuan understands the order as part of the effort to rebuild Yanmen’s strength, while Jiang Xueyao is alarmed and goes to investigate.
• Before she leaves, Xu Yuan urges Jiang to prioritize awakening her Imago. She agrees, then playfully lifts his chin and praises him as her guest retainer—apparently fulfilling a dream Lu Feiming has just discovered.
• Lu Feiming reveals that he has developed the ability to perceive people’s dreams. He recognizes that Jiang dreams of not “going bad,” and later explains that the Outer Heavens’ powerful beings dream of controlling Xu Yuan, destroying the Three Realms, and gaining power.
• Ming He arrives with a request from those beings for Xu Yuan to meet them. Xu Yuan refuses, judging their intentions treacherous. Lu Feiming then uses the Imago technique Xu Yuan teaches him, creating an attack called Ultimate Punishment. Its first effect guarantees a hit; its second lets Lu Feiming’s fists strike targets remotely through the Void. He kills the beings he targeted.
• Ming He disappears after witnessing the attack. Xu Yuan cleans the dormitory and gives Lu Feiming a bottle of juice in thanks. Lu Feiming, still uninterested in the wider conflict, leaves to wander, taking supplies Xu Yuan gives him. Xu Yuan secretly uses Fate Deception so they can be apart for five hours, then resumes cultivating.
• In an epilogue, Lu Feiming follows a celebrity’s dream by tasting her bathwater, finds it unpleasant, and continues exploring people’s dreams—finding that more entertaining than destroying the world.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan is resourceful and relaxed under pressure. He advises Jiang, teaches Lu Feiming about Imagos without hesitation, and remains confident about his own strength.
• Jiang Xueyao takes Xu Yuan’s advice seriously and shifts her cultivation focus toward awakening an Imago. Their exchange is affectionate and teasing, though Xu Yuan is startled by her gesture.
• Lu Feiming shows signs of stabilizing: he pursues a curious, non-destructive interest in dreams and calls Xu Yuan a good brother. Yet his overwhelming power remains evident in his effortless remote killing.
• Ming He is wary of Lu Feiming and alarmed by his attack, but respects Xu Yuan’s insistence that Lu is a trusted ally.
• Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming’s friendship deepens through trust, instruction, and practical support, even as Lu’s interests remain eccentric and unpredictable.

Significant themes

• Escalating danger and collective duty: The Three Realms are deteriorating, forcing institutions to prepare even students for dangerous cultivation missions.
• Imagos as a turning point: Awakening an Imago is presented as crucial to future cultivation and power.
• Trust amid hidden agendas: Xu Yuan rejects negotiations with the Outer Heavens’ beings because he believes their apparent diplomacy conceals self-serving plans.
• Human connection and recovery: Lu Feiming’s growing interest in ordinary dreams—and his bond with Xu Yuan—suggest a shift away from world-destruction toward curiosity and companionship.

Plot points

• In the Outer Heavens, Ming He discovers that Lu Feiming has effortlessly killed the rotting-organ lords who had asked to join her. Alarmed by his power, she realizes Xu Yuan’s warning not to provoke him may have saved her life.
• At Luofu, the school prepares students for a group trip to the Mist Sea. Sun Changfei brings Xu Yuan supplies and, knowing Xu Yuan must focus on battle preparations, spares him the school’s busywork. Xu Yuan has little to pack and waits in his dorm.
• Ming He returns to warn Xu Yuan that Lu Feiming is extraordinarily dangerous and asks whether he can be stopped. Xu Yuan insists that they are close friends who would protect one another.
• Lu Feiming has overheard their conversation. Grateful to Xu Yuan for saving him and teaching him the Imago Method, he shares his own understanding of its stages and techniques. He asks Xu Yuan to share any future advances in return.
• Xu Yuan realizes that his limited Spiritual Power would not let him use Lu Feiming’s powerful Intermediate Imago techniques. He calls Sun Changfei and obtains permission to pursue a breakthrough in preparation for the Mist Sea.
• Xu Yuan activates Nibelung and Void of Authority, returning to the Primordial Era to cultivate. There, he reunites with Chen Feng and Shen Baiyu after driving off Song Jianzhou, then focuses on growing stronger.

Character developments and interactions

• Ming He shifts from confidence to fear after witnessing Lu Feiming’s strength. She warns Xu Yuan but accepts his trust in their friendship.
• Xu Yuan remains calm about Lu Feiming’s danger, while recognizing the gap between their abilities. He turns that realization into motivation to cultivate.
• Lu Feiming shows gratitude and a practical, reciprocal view of friendship: he shares knowledge with Xu Yuan, expecting them to benefit from each other’s discoveries.
• Sun Changfei supports Xu Yuan’s preparations by giving him supplies, then promptly arranges access to the Heavenly Tribulation Platform when Xu Yuan asks.
• Chen Feng and Shen Baiyu return after fleeing their encounter with Song Jianzhou; Xu Yuan does not blame them for being outmatched.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty: Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming’s bond is rooted in past help and mutual protection, even though Lu Feiming’s power frightens others.
• Reciprocity and shared learning: Lu Feiming treats the exchange of cultivation insights as a virtuous cycle.
• Power and the need to grow: Xu Yuan’s admiration for Lu Feiming is tempered by awareness of his own limitations, driving him to seek greater strength.
• Duty and preparation: Xu Yuan frames his breakthrough as preparation for the school’s Mist Sea mission, balancing personal cultivation with his obligations as a student and Vanguard.

Key plot points

• While waiting outside a skyscraper, Xu Yuan focuses on cultivation and leaves patrol and defense duties to Chen Feng and Shen Baiyu. He still guides them at meals, answering questions about Imagos and swordsmanship.
• On the seventeenth day, Xu Yuan survives a four-hour Thunder Tribulation and reaches Spirit Transformation, widening the gap between himself and his two companions.
• When the trio is recalled to headquarters, Xu Yuan detours into an ancient era to cultivate in seclusion. In about six months, he reaches Body Integration, but recognizes that pushing further without deeper understanding could be dangerous.
• Xu Yuan develops sword techniques by adapting Lu Feiming’s teachings. Returning to his own era, he responds to an urgent call for help and single-handedly turns the tide against Demonic Beasts attacking a camp. His new technique combines an Imago with his sword, concentrating its power into a devastating strike.
• Lu Feiming appears after the battle and explains that Xu Yuan has reached the “Intermediate” level of turning Imagos into moves; the next known level is complete Law, while the highest level remains unknown.
• Lu Feiming then reveals an ominous “dream” about consuming the Three Realms and using their energy to nourish something. Xu Yuan realizes they must investigate.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan becomes stronger both as a cultivator and swordsman, reaching Body Integration and mastering an advanced way to channel his Imago. Despite his power, he recognizes the limits of his understanding and chooses not to force further cultivation.
• Chen Feng and Shen Baiyu benefit from Xu Yuan’s patient instruction and admire his breakthrough, though his rapid progress also makes them acutely aware of how far behind they are. They work alongside him on patrol and defense, then join him in answering the emergency summons.
• Lu Feiming reconnects with Xu Yuan after the battle, praises his rapid mastery, and asks him to identify the unknown fourth level of Imago development. His discovery of the strange dream shifts their reunion from casual companionship toward a new mystery.

Significant themes

• Disciplined growth: Xu Yuan pursues strength, but understands that advancement without adequate insight can be dangerous.
• Learning and mastery: His breakthrough comes from applying another person’s knowledge creatively, not merely copying it.
• Uneven progress and humility: Xu Yuan’s achievements inspire his companions while highlighting the gap between them; he himself remains aware of how much he does not know.
• A looming cosmic threat: The dream’s threat to the Three Realms introduces a mystery that may be far more serious than ordinary cultivation or battle.

Plot points and events

• After the battle with the Demonic Beasts, Lu Feiming leaves Xu Yuan with a turtle, bread, and a book about caring for cats and dogs while he searches for a hidden Monster. Xu Yuan suspects Lu Feiming may not be able to find it, since even the Ancient God and the Universe failed to detect it.
• Chen Feng and Shen Baiyu arrive and thank Xu Yuan for helping defeat the invasion. Xu Yuan claims he fought alongside an old comrade, concealing how much Lu Feiming contributed.
• Lu Feiming returns unsuccessful. Xu Yuan uses his Crown’s Cycle Field to trace the Monster’s dream, and the two locate it in an abandoned village. Lu Feiming draws it out with a punch.
• The Monster is revealed to be hiding as one of the eyes of a living dog, having suppressed nearly all its power. Lu Feiming removes what remains of its power and leaves to pursue its dream, intending to take its place and consume the Ancient God and the Universe.
• The dog then speaks to Xu Yuan, offering “Truth” and unimaginable power in exchange for energy. Xu Yuan realizes Lu Feiming may have planned this all along—and may have been testing him. He uses the rope originally meant for the turtle to leash the dog, then takes it back to Luofu.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan stays cautious and pragmatic: he helps Lu Feiming, but hides his own concerns and avoids confronting someone he cannot defeat. Once the Monster is weakened, he turns the situation to his advantage by securing the dog.
• Lu Feiming appears playful and impulsive, but may be far more calculating than he lets on. His advance preparation of the pet-care book suggests he anticipated finding the dog and may have been testing Xu Yuan’s ability or willingness to help. He remains fascinated by the Monster’s dreams and plans to replace it.
• Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming cooperate in tracking down the Monster, while Xu Yuan carefully manages their relationship through agreeable remarks and a relaxed façade.
• The dog/Monster shifts from a seemingly harmless animal to a persuasive, powerful-sounding being, attempting to recruit Xu Yuan. Its eagerness for bread—and its doglike behavior—undercuts its grand claims.

Significant themes

• Deception and concealed motives: The Monster hides inside a dog’s eye, while Lu Feiming’s apparent failure and casual preparations hint at a hidden plan.
• Power and survival: Xu Yuan chooses cooperation and caution over open resistance, then takes control when circumstances allow.
• Appearance versus reality: The “Monster” is concealed within an ordinary dog, and the dog’s lofty promises coexist with its comically familiar appetite and behavior.
• Uncertain danger: Lu Feiming’s plan to consume the Ancient God and the Universe may change the balance of power, leaving Xu Yuan unsure whether the situation has become safer or more perilous.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan questions a strange dog, which reveals that Lu Feiming is a newly manifested “backup” aspect of Truth: even if the Ancient God and the Universe die, Truth endures and can create new aspects.
• The dog asks Xu Yuan to provide souls so it can regain its power. Xu Yuan kills it instead, earning a Truth-tier Spotlight from Lu Feiming. He saves the reward, which can later improve his Imago abilities.
• Xu Yuan activates his Fate Position, reviving the dog as his double. Its inherited memories reveal that its eye belongs to a powerful nonhuman civilization. The dog had been sent to exploit the deaths of the Ancient God and the Universe, devour the Ancient God’s power, and destroy the Three Realms.
• Xu Yuan learns that other civilizations and demons will soon enter the Ancient God’s body and may attack the Three Realms. He tells Lu Feiming they must prepare, planning to retrieve a weapon from the Mist Sea to strengthen Yanmen.
• Instead of waiting for the invasion, Xu Yuan uses Nibelung to reset the world by seven days. Everyone returns to an earlier point but keeps their memories and abilities, giving humanity extra time to prepare.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows caution and independence: he refuses to serve or trust the dog, kills it when it seeks power, and saves his reward for a more valuable future upgrade. He takes responsibility for humanity’s survival by repeatedly resetting time until it is ready to face the coming threat.
• Lu Feiming confirms his extraordinary nature as an aspect of Truth and remains a close, cooperative ally. He questions Xu Yuan’s decision to reset time but listens to his reasoning.
• The dog shifts from apparent captive to manipulator and would-be predator. Its memories expose the wider danger, but its plan is thwarted; its revived form becomes Xu Yuan’s double.
• Yang Xiaobing experiences the reset firsthand and realizes that her memories, Imago, and progress remain intact.

Significant themes

• Truth and renewal: Truth survives the death of its aspects and can produce new ones.
• Preparation and responsibility: Xu Yuan delays catastrophe so humanity can grow stronger before confronting it.
• Memory and time: Nibelung rewinds events without erasing knowledge, turning repeated time into an opportunity for progress.
• Trust and self-determination: Xu Yuan cooperates with Lu Feiming while refusing to let others dictate his choices.