Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan and Preaching continue drilling through the Crystal Wall. One breach leads to a dying void containing only an Ancient God’s corpse; another reveals a powerful, many-eyed monster disguised as a little girl. Xu Yuan refuses its invitation and seals the passage.
• A later opening leads back to the Three Realms Universe, where Xu Yuan reunites with Lu Feiming. He earns a Merit Fruit for discovering a surviving universe and spends his Merit to upgrade Peerless into a level 1 Mystic Art: for one second, it makes him invulnerable and lets his attacks ignore defenses.
• Xu Yuan hopes to bring Lu Feiming to Earth through a Contract, but Olifia refuses. The Returners’ Alliance bars beings from alternate universes from entering Earth, while permitting Ancient Gods to participate because the Alliance believes it can control them and exploit the universes they reach.
• Li Bai reveals a hidden Floating City and explains that the Alliance is built on humanity’s history of conquest and enslavement. Xu Yuan rejects that approach, reveals that he has preserved a universe inside the Cube, and proposes building an independent force with Li Bai.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan grows from a determined explorer into an outspoken moral dissenter. Rather than accept the Alliance’s rules, he chooses to stand with the people of the other universe and turn his convictions into action.
• Lu Feiming welcomes Xu Yuan’s return and is eager to travel to Earth, though the force separating the universes prevents him from crossing unaided.
• Olifia calmly enforces the Alliance’s strict security policy, treating the exclusion of alternate-universe beings as necessary protection.
• Li Bai challenges Xu Yuan to choose a path, then supports his humane alternative, saying they may be the Alliance’s only members who share it. Their exchange shifts from philosophical disagreement to a potential partnership.

Significant themes

• Conquest versus solidarity: The Alliance treats other civilizations as resources to plunder; Xu Yuan argues for cooperation and mutual aid.
• Ideals proved through action: Xu Yuan’s final offer to build a new force gives practical meaning to his disagreement.
• Security and exploitation: The Alliance justifies exclusion as protection while selectively admitting Ancient Gods for its own benefit.
• Humanity’s moral contradictions: Li Bai frames conquest and enslavement as recurring features of human civilization, while Xu Yuan insists another path is possible.

Summary

• Xu Yuan leaves the Iron Gate Universe’s Cube with Lu Feiming, judging him the safest person to guard it. He uses the Three Realms Universe’s power to seed the Iron Gate Universe with minerals, plants, life-forms, and new terrain, helping its civilization grow.
• This act triggers the ultra-advanced, “Match Point” mission Stealing the Three Realms: gain the full support of three universes and establish a Sacred Land. Xu Yuan already has the support of the Three Realms and Iron Gate Universes; he believes the Black Coffin Universe may become the third once he helps defeat its enemies.
• Lu Feiming, newly empowered after killing Ancient Gods, explores the Cube’s emerging world. Though his mission concerns destroying Ancient Gods and universes, he reassures the frightened Cube that he will not harm it.
• Xu Yuan considers returning to the Three Realms but decides to wait until he is strong enough to face its Ancient God. At the Returner Rampart, he transfers his 75 Merit points to Li Bai in gratitude for his support.
• Carrollus asks what Xu Yuan intends to do with the Iron Gate key. Xu Yuan says he plans to sell it once he understands its value, easing the Alliance’s concerns about the key’s ownership.
• Andrei welcomes Xu Yuan into the Mystic Arts Association and shows him his new quarters. Xu Yuan agrees to join Andrei’s team the next day to explore a Blue Hole Alternate Universe, but first teleports away to pursue the Black Coffin mission.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan balances caution with ambition: rather than confront powerful enemies immediately, he plans to grow stronger and pursue the new three-universe objective. He also shows gratitude to Li Bai and Andrei, repaying their support and accepting a role in the Association.
• Lu Feiming has become powerful enough to frighten the Cube, but acts with restraint and curiosity as he observes its rebirth.
• Andrei reinforces his friendship with Xu Yuan by offering him a home and a place on an expedition team; Xu Yuan responds by readily agreeing to help.
• Carrollus tests Xu Yuan’s intentions regarding the key, and Xu Yuan’s willingness to sell it opens the door to a potential transaction.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and renewal: Xu Yuan’s power helps a damaged universe begin rebuilding its civilization.
• Strategic patience: He prioritizes preparation and strength over rash confrontation.
• Reciprocity and trust: Xu Yuan answers others’ support with generosity and willingness to contribute.
• Expanding alliances: The mission links the fates of multiple universes, making cooperation central to the coming struggle.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan travels cautiously through the Ice Fissure toward the Black Coffin, aware that others want the key to the Iron Gate Universe.
• A group of masked Returners ambushes him, demanding the key and claiming it is unfair that he alone controls access to the weakened Universe. They use Mystic Runes to restrict space, hoping to counter his Teleportation.
• The Song of Boiling Blood reveals that the Iron Gate, Three Realms, and Black Coffin Universes have jointly blessed it with the authority to define obstructors of Xu Yuan’s mission as Ancient God followers. Xu Yuan uses this ruling to kill all seventeen attackers with Night Rain Sealed Cage, earning Merit.
• Xu Yuan reaches the Black Coffin and awakens in the Black Coffin Universe, before a castle surrounded by monsters. Powerful beings arrive soon after, apparently drawn by the commotion.
• To avoid attracting more attention, Xu Yuan uses Deep Dive to conceal himself. He speaks to the castle, then activates Open Theft to steal items from its collection. By examining their histories with Cycle Field, he learns that the castle was once the center of the Universe’s civilization and that its unfinished crowning achievement was hidden in three pieces.
• A vision from a ruby scepter shows the civilization’s emperor ordering the achievement divided and concealed as monsters broke into the castle. Xu Yuan locates one piece hidden in a wall and retrieves it.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains shrewd and pragmatic: he questions his enemies before acting, adapts when the sword’s power draws attention, and uses stealth and stolen objects to investigate the castle. Once the attackers are classified as enemies of his mission, he kills them without hesitation.
• The Song of Boiling Blood is eager to return to its Universe and fight. Its excitement amplifies Xu Yuan’s attack beyond his expectations, but its new authority also turns the ambush into a source of Merit.
• The Returners confront Xu Yuan over his exclusive control of the Universe key, but their spatial trap fails to restrain him.
• Xu Yuan treats the Black Castle almost as a conversational partner, addressing it as a symbol of civilization while covertly stealing its treasures. The castle itself does not respond.

Significant themes

• Power, fairness, and ownership: The Returners challenge Xu Yuan’s right to control access to the Iron Gate Universe, while he deflects responsibility to the Universe itself.
• Moral authority and violence: The sword’s power to define enemies as evil followers gives Xu Yuan a justification—and a reward—for killing those who obstruct his mission.
• Stealth and investigation: Rather than openly fight the monsters, Xu Yuan uses concealment and the objects’ memories to uncover the castle’s hidden history.
• Civilization under siege: The castle and its unfinished achievement represent a civilization’s last effort to resist destruction; the scattered artifact may offer a way to defeat the monsters.

Key plot points and events

• In the Primordial Era, Lu Feiming confronts the Ancient God leading the battlefield. The Ancient God taunts him for surrendering part of his power to live as a human, while Lu Feiming’s separated Mission stands beside the enemy, torn between its original duty and its alliance with the Ancient God. Lu Feiming gathers the Origin of Truth Power, and battle is about to begin.
• In the Black Coffin Universe, Xu Yuan retrieves a second fragment of the Sword in the Stone, now forged as an ordinary-looking warhammer. Surrounded by Ancient Gods and Returners, he uses Heaven-Stealing and the Primordial Chaos Umbrella to collect the final fragment from the Soli Trench. The universe itself disrupts the Ancient Gods’ attempt to trap him, allowing him to escape.
• Back at the Returner Rampart, the three fragments join Song of Boiling Blood, forming a ring-shaped guard. The sword reveals that it can complete the guard by growing underground, but Xu Yuan has no safe place to leave it.
• Olifia warns that the Ancient Gods are pressuring the Alliance over Xu Yuan’s discoveries. To avoid suspicion, he agrees to bring the Universe Key and the sword to an auction the next morning, offering at least one item.
• Xu Yuan plans to visit the Ice Fissure to earn Merit, which will make travel between Earth and the Three Realms easier.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Feiming has found a purpose beyond his original Mission: he wants to bring peace to the Three Realms and pursue life beyond them. He remains troubled by how he, the Ancient Gods, and even Mission have betrayed their intended roles.
• Mission appears conflicted, unable to act against the Ancient God despite the Rules of Truth.
• Xu Yuan shows resourcefulness under pressure, choosing to secure the final fragment despite the risk of revealing his abilities. He remains composed when the Ancient Gods pursue him and accepts the auction plan while concealing that the Iron Gate Universe Key leads to corrupted, dangerous relics.
• Li Bai supports Xu Yuan and questions the Ancient Gods’ claim over his discoveries, but worries about the risks of the public auction.
• Olifia acts as a practical intermediary, explaining the Alliance’s political pressure and reassuring Xu Yuan that cooperation will protect him from accusations.

Significant themes

• Duty versus selfhood: Lu Feiming and Mission embody the conflict between an assigned purpose and personal choice.
• Political maneuvering and mistrust: The Ancient Gods use Alliance rules and suspicion to pressure Xu Yuan, while he must manage appearances as well as danger.
• Power, cost, and incomplete strength: Lu Feiming sacrificed power to become human, and Xu Yuan’s own combat capacity is limited while key Crowns sustain the Ten Days War.
• Trust and protection: The Black Coffin Universe’s intervention suggests a bond with Xu Yuan, while his allies help him navigate threats he cannot face alone.

Chapter Summary

Plot and key events

• At the Ice Fissure, Xu Yuan crosses the Ice Lake while the Giant Serpent waits beneath it. The serpent launches a sudden ambush, but Xu Yuan’s Overlord Body, Peerless, and the Song of Boiling Blood’s bonus against followers of the Ancient Gods let him kill it with one sword strike. The kill earns him 10 Merit, far more than fighting ordinary dark monsters.
• Xu Yuan stores the serpent’s body, hoping the All Things Unity Society can turn its hide into equipment that will help him travel through the Ice Layer. Rather than face the guards at the Black Coffin, he uses Heaven-Stealing to return to the Three Realms.
• At the Society, Qi Canghai and Bai Yuanze explain that Xu Yuan’s cut ruined the serpent’s power patterns, making its hide difficult to preserve. Xu Yuan uses Void of Authority to restore the corpse to its state from ten minutes earlier—when the serpent was alive—then kills it again by striking only its brain. This leaves the outer hide intact for the Society to study and craft.
• Xu Yuan is abruptly transported back to the Antarctic barrier when his time runs out. He soon returns to the Three Realms once more, this time visiting Parrot at the Black Flame Bar. He asks Parrot to examine the Song of Boiling Blood, which he describes as an advanced achievement of another civilization.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan grows more strategic: he recognizes that the serpent offers greater rewards than the guards and adapts his method of killing once he learns the hide’s value. His control over unusual abilities also lets him repair his earlier mistake and secure a useful specimen.
• Qi Canghai and Bai Yuanze are initially shaken by the serpent’s overwhelming aura, which challenges their renewed confidence against the Ancient Gods. Their fear gives way to curiosity and ambition as they consider studying its powers through its hide.
• Parrot greets Xu Yuan with irritation at his long absence, but Xu Yuan quickly turns the encounter into a request for help examining the Song of Boiling Blood.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and resourcefulness: Xu Yuan turns setbacks—such as damaging the hide or having limited time—into opportunities through quick thinking.
• The value of knowledge and investigation: The Society sees the serpent not only as a threat but as a chance to learn and advance.
• Power and humility: The serpent’s aura reminds Qi Canghai and Bai Yuanze that humanity’s progress does not make it invulnerable.
• Cross-civilization discovery: Xu Yuan’s request to Parrot signals that the Song of Boiling Blood may hold clues about a civilization beyond the Three Realms.

Key plot points and events

• Parrot identifies Yanmen’s damaged sword ring as part of a self-restoring “Sword in the Stone,” but repairing it naturally would take 3,000 years. Xu Yuan uses Cycle Field to recover and record the locations of Yanmen’s scattered components, then gives the information to Parrot. Parrot plans to reward Cultivators with laws for finding the parts.
• Back at the Antarctic Returner Rampart, Xu Yuan learns that the Ancient God’s forces have surrounded the Black Coffin Universe. He remains unconcerned because he has already made plans.
• Li Bai has bought Xu Yuan a bottle of expensive Spirit Wine on credit in Xu Yuan’s name. Xu Yuan drinks it, advances to the middle stage of the Void Meditation Realm, and replenishes the strength he spent fighting the snake. He later prepares for the auction, where he intends to sell the Universe Key.
• At the auction, Xu Yuan registers the Key but keeps it with him. Olifia reassures him that he is safe, and the Ancient Gods appear content to compete for the Key rather than attack him. The first two auction lots are spatial-themed, which makes Xu Yuan suspect a distraction.
• Using Cycle Field, Xu Yuan discovers that someone has altered the auction’s history so that he handed the Key to the staff. The real Key has vanished from his Storage Waist Pouch, though the conspirators still need to steal it from the auction house to complete their plan.
• Xu Yuan counters by activating Honor Among Thieves and using Covert Plunder on himself. He creates a historical branch in which the Key he handed over was a fake and the real one remained with him. This lets him recover the Key without directly undoing his opponent’s alteration.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows growing resourcefulness and control of his abilities: he uses Cycle Field both to help Yanmen and to detect the auction’s manipulation, then turns the enemy’s scheme to his advantage. The Spirit Wine also strengthens him, but he recognizes that further cultivation is important.
• Parrot moves from frustration at Xu Yuan’s lack of help to excitement when given a comprehensive list of Yanmen’s missing parts.
• Li Bai demonstrates concern for Xu Yuan by staying nearby before the auction, though his generous gesture is undercut by charging the wine to Xu Yuan’s account. Their teasing, familiar exchange conveys trust and friendship.
• Olifia quietly reassures Xu Yuan at the auction, while the staff and auction crowd treat him as a prominent, valuable contributor to the Alliance.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity over brute force: Xu Yuan solves problems by reading, shaping, and exploiting history rather than confronting his opponents directly.
• Trust and deception: The auction becomes a contest of concealed intentions, manipulated memories, and false appearances.
• Responsibility and contribution: Xu Yuan’s information may help restore Yanmen, while his standing in the Alliance offers protection.
• Power and its costs: Xu Yuan’s advancement helps replenish his strength, but the wine’s steep price—and Li Bai’s casual debt—adds humor to the pursuit of greater power.

Key events

• Xu Yuan returns to the auction and watches from a private box, detached from the schemes around him.
• Joaquin and Marcelo join him for drinks. Joaquin has just advanced in rank and credits the team’s recent success; Xu Yuan says the team has helped him as well.
• Joaquin explains that Andrei’s Mystic Arts Association is connected to the powerful residents of the Floating City, whose people conceal how far civilization and knowledge have progressed. They intend to follow Xu Yuan and buy any remarkable discoveries he makes.
• Andrei, then S-rankers Carrollus and Charlotte, join the gathering. Xu Yuan welcomes them, recognizing that the group could become a formidable force.
• The auction begins bidding on the Key to a Universe, which Xu Yuan registered after the previous day’s battle. Representatives—many from the Floating City—drive the price to extraordinary heights.
• At last, a black-haired girl offers the inheritance rights to the Ye Residence in Earth Central City. The room falls silent. Andrei reveals that Earth Central City is the Floating City.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains calm and strategically self-assured. He is willing to cooperate with powerful interests as long as they do not obstruct him, but intends to make clear that he cannot be exploited.
• Joaquin has advanced and expresses gratitude to Xu Yuan; their mutual respect reinforces the team’s trust.
• Marcelo brings easy familiarity and humor to the gathering, while sharing insight into the auction and the Floating City.
• Andrei joins the team’s circle and reveals the political significance of the Floating City.
• Carrollus and Charlotte appear as additional S-rank allies. Their presence underscores Xu Yuan’s growing influence.
• The group’s casual drinking contrasts with the tense, high-stakes auction, bringing the team together before its planned expedition.

Significant themes

• Power and hidden influence: The Floating City’s elites wield immense resources while keeping their advanced civilization secret.
• Cooperation over isolation: Xu Yuan sees strength in assembling capable allies rather than facing threats alone.
• Wealth, status, and leverage: The auction shows that treasures can reshape even an S-rank Returner’s life—and that political claims may matter more than money.
• Suspense and shifting stakes: The mysterious girl’s offer, and the revelation that Earth Central City is the Floating City, leave the Key’s fate—and the auction’s true power dynamics—unresolved.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan’s bid for the Iron Gate Universe key is accepted in exchange for inheritance rights to the Ye Residence, a valuable position that would also bring prestige and access to centuries of accumulated resources.
• When the chest is opened, it is empty. The auctioneer orders the Returners’ Alliance to search the auction house for the thief.
• Xu Yuan reveals that he anticipated the security risk: the chest held a fake key, while the real one remained with him. He hands it to the Ye family’s black-haired representative, who confirms the transaction is complete.
• Xu Yuan is taken to the Floating City to meet the Ye family head, an old man relaxing by a pool. The head explains that the family’s Breathing Method relies on substances tainted by evil—resources the Ye family has exhausted on Earth. Access to the Iron Gate Universe could restore its power.
• The old man admits the family originally planned to kill Xu Yuan after acquiring the key, using his death as a warning to rival factions. But after meeting him, he decides to honor the deal instead.
• He gives Xu Yuan a document naming him first in line to inherit the Ye family. The chapter ends when the old man suggests Xu Yuan is hiding his true nature; Xu Yuan drops his act and acknowledges the old man’s insight.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan stays calm and cautious throughout. Rather than pursue the auction-house theft, he prioritizes his cultivation and mission, then protects himself by using a decoy key. His composure gives way to genuine unease when the Ye family head reveals the original plan to kill him—but he quickly regains control.
• The Ye family head appears laid-back but proves calculating and pragmatic. He is willing to abandon a murderous plan when he judges Xu Yuan to be someone worth accommodating.
• The black-haired girl manages the transaction with confidence, verifies the real key, and brings Xu Yuan to the family head.
• The auctioneer reacts to the apparent theft by mobilizing the Alliance, but his authority cannot prevent the deal from being completed.

Significant themes

• Caution and deception: Xu Yuan’s fake key prevents him from being trapped by the auction’s compromised security.
• Power and political leverage: The key is valuable not just as an object but because it could restore the Ye family’s strength and shift the balance among the Floating City’s factions.
• Pragmatism over principle: The Ye family’s willingness to kill Xu Yuan—or, once circumstances change, elevate him—reflects its hard-nosed approach to survival.
• Hidden identity and judgment: The old man senses that Xu Yuan is concealing his real capabilities, while Xu Yuan recognizes the family head’s shrewdness.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and the auctioneer exchange wary signals as the theft investigation begins; Xu Yuan publicly reveals the real key rather than letting suspicion escalate.
• The black-haired girl confirms receipt of the key and escorts Xu Yuan to the Ye family head.
• In their conversation, the old man tests Xu Yuan by explaining the family’s need for the universe’s evil-tainted resources and disclosing its former plan. Their final exchange becomes a quiet contest of perception: the old man calls out Xu Yuan’s pretense, and Xu Yuan respects his judgment.

Plot points and events

• Ye Baidi appoints Xu Yuan as the Ye Residence’s first heir and gives him a card carrying a monthly allowance of thirty million Merit. Xu accepts without asking for much else, declines a formal banquet, and leaves.
• After Xu’s departure, Ye Baidi reveals that he regards the appointment as part of a larger bargain: Xu is to become the next Household Head, and Ye Baidi wants him to protect the lineage from rival families pursuing the dangerous practice of Divine Descent. He orders his granddaughter to marry Xu.
• The granddaughter accepts the duty but resolves to win Xu’s affection, recognizing that a marriage without genuine goodwill may not secure his help.
• Xu returns to his team and assures them that the deal went smoothly. The group discusses a new mission at the Black Coffin, where they are to establish a permanent base and search for anything valuable left by its civilization.
• Though his teammates speculate that Xu’s new status might help them secure exclusive access, Xu argues against making a special effort. He wants to avoid attracting attention to anything valuable he may know about.
• While the team’s Mages construct an Invisible Bunker and Xu guards them, a message from the Black Coffin Universe appears. It thanks him for helping complete the Sword Ring and promises him occasional “surprises.” Xu immediately finds a brilliant World Heart, a rare and valuable ore.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan remains practical and guarded. The allowance excites him, but he treats his new title as a promise rather than a reason to change his plans. He deliberately keeps the Black Coffin’s potential value quiet.
• Ye Baidi demonstrates the keen judgment for which he is famous. He interprets Xu’s modest demands as evidence of his character and sees him as both a capable protector and a dangerous opponent if provoked.
• Ye Baidi’s granddaughter shifts quickly from accepting an arranged marriage as a political necessity to actively seeking Xu’s affection.
• Xu’s teammates are initially curious about his new status, then relax when he makes clear that he intends to keep working with them.

Significant themes

• Judgment and character: Ye Baidi’s “keen eye” lets him see beyond Xu’s casual manner and recognize his restraint and power.
• Political obligation versus personal choice: Xu’s appointment and proposed marriage are arranged to protect the Ye lineage, while the granddaughter hopes to make the relationship genuine.
• Secrecy and self-interest: Xu avoids drawing attention to the Black Coffin, preferring quiet progress over public advantage.
• Unexpected reward: The universe’s gratitude turns Xu’s seemingly routine work into a source of valuable gifts.

Character interactions

• Xu and Ye Baidi trade relaxed, teasing remarks by the pool, masking the serious bargain behind Xu’s appointment.
• Ye Baidi’s granddaughter questions his decision, then accepts his command and sets out to win Xu over.
• Xu’s team treats him as a valued comrade despite his new status; he joins their mission rather than distancing himself.
• During the construction work, Xu’s discovery of the World Heart surprises Andrei, who recognizes its immense worth.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan’s team begins establishing a permanent base in the Black Coffin Universe. Xu discovers a World Heart nearby, and the team treats the find as a promising start.
• Xu senses a distant battle but decides not to intervene. He then receives messages from a black-haired young woman he met in Floating City. She hopes to secure his protection by offering access to her family’s resources; Xu cautiously agrees to help if she can make good on her promises.
• A powerful earthquake interrupts construction. Charlotte senses that vast underground structures are shifting and that their seals have come undone. The Alliance orders the team to explore the newly exposed complexes.
• Xu transports the team underground, where they find a huge iron coffin suspended by silk from a fabricated, spider-bodied creature. The creature says each person must defeat enemies in three rounds to earn a chance to approach the coffin, which contains the secrets of the universe and the Ancient God.
• The others are forced into separate battles, but Xu’s opponents crumble as soon as they appear. The universe seems to be granting him gifts, including gems, because he wears the Sword in the Stone.
• The spider creature privately reveals that the Ancient God once cut off and sealed away three parts of itself. Though the Ancient God considered them flawed, they embodied its rational side. One is inside the coffin, and Xu is invited to examine it.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu remains cautious and practical: he refuses to abandon his team’s mission for a distant fight, and he doubts the young woman’s belief that he is exceptionally powerful. Still, he agrees to protect her if she can provide the promised resources.
• The young woman is revealed to be calculating. She intends to use her family’s wealth to bind Xu to her and ultimately secure power within her household through a future child.
• Joaquin acts as the team’s link to the Alliance, while Charlotte’s deeper ability to sense and manipulate energy helps her identify the underground upheaval. Andrei is eager to investigate; the others follow the Alliance’s instructions.
• The spider creature treats Xu with unusual deference because of his sword and apparent divine protection, setting him apart from his teammates’ dangerous trials.

Significant themes

• Chance, favor, and destiny: Xu’s effortless victories and the universe’s gifts suggest that he is unusually protected—or being singled out.
• Power and ambition: The young woman seeks security and authority through her planned alliance with Xu.
• Hidden history and fractured identity: The Ancient God’s sealed-off rational aspects raise questions about what it means to be flawed and whether the universe’s definition of normality differs from its own.
• Exploration and risk: The team’s effort to establish a foothold turns into an unexpected test in a dangerous, long-sealed complex.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan investigates the enormous Iron Coffin after learning it may contain one of the Black Coffin Ancient God’s rational parts.
• When opened, it reveals a cluster of talking bone fragments. The bones explain that the Ancient God split into a mad half, which became monsters, and three sane parts that sought to destroy the madness.
• Xu Yuan removes the bones from their world and brings them to his Divine Temple, where they are safe from the monsters.
• The bones reveal that they, an eyeball, and a sole are meant to unite with the Black Coffin Universe’s power of “life.” Together, they can create a weapon capable of opposing the Ancient God’s “destruction.”
• The intended weapon is the Sword in the Stone that Xu Yuan already carries. He realizes the three parts are meant to be fused into it, using treasures as materials, and prepares to begin.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains practical and unshaken by the bones, quickly prioritizing their safety and questioning their plan. He recognizes that the weapon’s forging may require substantial resources and decides to test the process with the treasures at his disposal.
• The bone fragments are revealed as one of the Ancient God’s rational components. Though wary and initially skeptical of Xu Yuan, they trust him once he removes them from danger and explain the plan.
• Lu Feiming briefly appears in his animal-treatment business, treating two customers’ stressed cat. Xu Yuan visits, but avoids interrupting him and quickly takes the bones elsewhere.
• Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming’s brief exchange contrasts Lu’s ordinary workday with Xu Yuan’s urgent cosmic mission.

Significant themes

• Rationality versus madness: The Ancient God’s sane parts deliberately oppose the corrupted, destructive half.
• Cooperation and sacrifice: The Universe and the Ancient God’s rational components must combine their powers to create a weapon.
• Hope through preparation: The sealed parts were hidden until the Universe judged that a chance of success had arrived.
• Practicality amid the extraordinary: Xu Yuan treats a cosmic threat as a problem of protection, materials, and crafting.

Plot points and events

• In the Divine Temple at Yanmen, Xu Yuan completes the Song of Boiling Blood’s first Fusion by spending nearly all his accumulated Gold Coins on treasures. Its new Divine Might, Mist Field, can summon a Dimension to conceal him for ten seconds, at the cost of all his Spiritual Power.
• The sword’s bone fragments warn that the Fusion may alert the Ancient God’s Second Component and prompt it to break free of its Seal. They cannot explain why the sword gained concealment powers rather than simply growing stronger.
• Back in the Black Coffin Universe, Xu Yuan tests Mist Field. He is swept through what he realizes is the Ancient God’s bloodstream and into its brain, where he glimpses a vast pool of glowing, tentacled forms. The vision ends when his ten seconds are up.
• Xu Yuan concludes that the Black Coffin Universe may be investigating the Ancient God from within. He rests and restores his Spiritual Power while his team finishes its battles.
• The team discovers the iron coffin is empty. Joaquin reports that earlier treasure sites and coffin locations were decoys, while Monsters are becoming increasingly violent. A final warning reveals that Monsters are merging, and the organization fears they are trying to resurrect the Ancient God.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows resourcefulness by investing his savings to complete the Fusion, then immediately tests its unfamiliar power despite the risk.
• The sword’s bone fragments are enthusiastic about the successful Fusion but admit they do not understand its outcome or the sword’s new abilities.
• Xu Yuan’s teammates—Joaquin, Marcelo, and Andrei—are exhausted and frustrated by the empty coffin and the Universe’s deception. Joaquin relays Alliance updates; Xu Yuan stays focused on recovering and considering what he witnessed.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and hidden purposes: The Fusion’s result surprises both Xu Yuan and the fragments, while the supposed treasure sites prove false.
• Dangerous discovery: Mist Field offers a rare glimpse into the Ancient God, but its short duration and Spiritual Power cost limit what Xu Yuan can learn.
• Escalating threat: The Monsters’ growing frenzy and apparent fusion suggest a major crisis and possible attempt to restore the Ancient God.

Plot points

• The group rests and regroups in an underground area while Monsters move across the surface, causing occasional tremors overhead.
• Charlotte and Andrei use concealment Mystic Arts to hide the area. They believe it should remain safe unless another major earthquake strikes.
• After the group has rested, Xu Yuan says they can move on.

Character developments and interactions

• Charlotte and Andrei demonstrate their magical skill and work together to protect the group.
• Xu Yuan takes the lead in deciding when the group is ready to continue.

Themes

• Survival and caution: The group must stay hidden from the Monsters above.
• Teamwork: Their safety depends on the spellcasters’ cooperation and the group’s readiness to move.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan claims the team saw an empty Iron Coffin fall after a Monster attack. The account is technically true, since he obtained the bone fragments earlier, while the others were still fighting.
• A gigantic living mass of flesh—nicknamed Bad Meat—offers the Returners work in exchange for treasures. Its coins prove valuable to the Alliance, and the team considers the offer.
• Xu Yuan proposes capturing Bad Meat rather than working for it. The group attacks, but their blows barely injure it.
• Xu Yuan uses Incense to teleport Bad Meat to a kindergarten in the Three Realms Universe, where Lu Feiming punches it away. Bad Meat crashes back underground, badly injured and spilling more treasures. Xu Yuan explains that this is a costly use of his power, leaving him with only twenty-three Merit points.
• Under threat, Bad Meat reveals that it is a fragment of the Ancient God’s flesh that developed its own consciousness. It seeks the Ancient God’s three powerful organs, hoping to fuse with them and grow stronger.
• Before Xu Yuan can respond, the underground structure begins collapsing as deadly Black Water—identified as Ancient God Blood—surges upward. The team’s attacks cannot stop it, and their escape seems impossible.
• Xu Yuan demands Bad Meat’s help as the price of its survival. Since the water does not harm it, Bad Meat lies down and offers to carry the group out.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows strategic cunning, using a technically truthful account to conceal the bone fragments and turning Bad Meat’s teleportation into an attack. He is resourceful but keenly aware of the steep cost of his abilities.
• Bad Meat shifts from confident recruiter to battered captive, then bargains for its life. Its vulnerability reveals that it is driven by a desire to become stronger and is uniquely resistant to the Black Water.
• Marcelo enthusiastically tries to negotiate with Bad Meat, using his social talents, while remaining deferential to team decisions.
• Joaquin consults the team’s senior members rather than deciding alone, demonstrating responsible leadership. When the Black Water rises, he prioritizes retreat.
• Andrei and Callerose test the threat and confirm the water’s destructive nature; they also defer to Xu Yuan’s judgment.

Significant themes

• Truth and deception: Xu Yuan’s technically accurate story hides crucial context, showing how truth can be used strategically.
• Power and its cost: Xu Yuan’s extraordinary ability gives the team an advantage, but it consumes scarce Merit points.
• Pragmatism and survival: The team considers working with a Monster, then must rely on the very creature they had tried to capture.
• Uncertain boundaries of life: Bad Meat is a conscious fragment of a god, raising questions about identity, corruption, and what counts as a living being.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan and the others travel through a black current toward the Ancient God’s coffin, learning that the Ancient God will soon awaken and fight the Universe.
• The group’s superiors order them to stay and search for treasures, despite the danger. Andrei explains that neither destruction nor creation alone can achieve true Ascension: the Ancient God and the Universe must sustain each other. The only known case of this balance occurring was on Earth.
• At the coffin, Xu Yuan offers the aimless rotten-flesh Monster an Attendant Bond, promising to show it change. The Monster accepts, and the bond completes a Celestial Court mission, earning Xu Yuan a merit edict.
• The edict empowers Xu Yuan’s Primordial Chaos Umbrella, randomly enhancing its Overlord Body ability so that, for two seconds, no magic treasure or force can control him.
• When a hostile Ancient God attacks, Xu Yuan uses the umbrella to make it vanish, revealing his power and deterring further challengers. He declares the real fight has begun.
• A black-haired girl arrives and warns that the coffin will open in five minutes. She gives Xu Yuan a box containing an Ancient God Official discovered by the Ye Family, then disappears.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows compassion toward the rotten-flesh Monster, offering it a way forward rather than simply using or abandoning it. He also reveals that his strength includes the umbrella’s power, not just teleportation, and becomes openly determined to protect the mission and the three universes.
• The rotten-flesh Monster admits it has no purpose beyond seeking the Ancient God’s Three Components. It agrees to follow Xu Yuan, while reserving the right to dissolve their bond if it sees no meaningful change.
• Andrei clarifies the relationship between creation, destruction, and Ascension, and later recognizes the umbrella as an exceptional treasure.
• Ye Baidi’s granddaughter treats Xu Yuan as family, secretly delivering a valuable item and trusting him with something the Ye Family would not give to others.
• Xu Yuan and the Ancient God clash briefly: the Ancient God threatens him, but Xu Yuan’s umbrella swiftly neutralizes it.

Significant themes

• Balance and interdependence: True Ascension requires creation and destruction to coexist; either side winning outright prevents it.
• Change and hope: Xu Yuan argues that change need not mean upward progress—any movement beyond stagnation matters. His offer gives the Monster a tentative reason to hope.
• Responsibility amid danger: Though the coming battle could be catastrophic, Xu Yuan chooses to stay and protect the broader alliance.
• Trust and loyalty: The Monster accepts Xu Yuan’s bond, while the Ye granddaughter’s gift reflects family loyalty and confidence in him.

Key plot points and events

• On the Black Coffin, Xu Yuan uses the Old World Creation Art to give life to the delivery box. It reveals that the box contains an eyeball meant to be fused with his Long Sword, but the fusion requires valuable treasures and time.
• Before Xu Yuan can act, the Black Coffin opens and unleashes black birds, Dark Knights, and Dark Mages. Their attacks cause instant petrification and death on contact.
• The Returners fight from behind Joaquin’s defensive fortifications. Andrei targets the Mages, Callerose attacks with his bow, Marcelo uses a machine gun, and Xu Yuan fires a rocket launcher and submachine gun.
• Bad Meat warns that the awakened Ancient God is gathering power for a universe-destroying strike. If the Universe survives it, the Ancient God will exhaust its strength and fall asleep again. Xu Yuan refuses to flee and persuades Bad Meat to fight; Bad Meat produces swarms of velociraptor-like creatures to attack the Dark Knights.
• Xu Yuan secretly arranges reinforcements from the Three Realms Universe. Bai Yuanze brings the Lord of Gui Xu to a passage beyond the world. Though the Lord cannot enter, Xu Yuan passes him the unfinished Song of Boiling Blood.
• The Lord uses the Mountain and Sea Crown’s power to bring about a future result immediately. The sword completes its Triple Forging, and Xu Yuan’s Sword Ring is finished.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains pragmatic under pressure: he accepts that he cannot withstand the Ancient God’s attack, but stays to protect the Universe because it is too important to lose. He also turns to allies and uses an unconventional plan to finish the weapon.
• Bad Meat is frightened but ultimately chooses to fight after Xu Yuan reassures him. His transformation into a large breeding ground for combat creatures makes him a major contributor to the defense.
• The Lord of Gui Xu is initially disappointed that he is only being asked to lend the Crown’s power, but readily abandons his post temporarily when told Xu Yuan needs help.
• The squad cooperates under Joaquin’s leadership, while the other Ancient Gods remain passive and untouched by the battle.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and resolve: Xu Yuan and his allies risk themselves rather than abandon a Universe whose survival matters.
• Cooperation and delegation: Xu Yuan’s request for reinforcements shows him learning to rely on others instead of carrying every burden alone.
• Resourcefulness and urgency: Allies, unusual abilities, and the Crown’s power provide a way to overcome a crisis that ordinary preparation cannot solve.
• Indifference amid catastrophe: The Ancient Gods’ refusal to intervene contrasts with the Returners’ desperate effort to protect everyone.

Plot points and events

• The Sword Ring is completed through the combined power of the Three Realms, the Black Coffin, and the Iron Gate. The Lord of Gui Xu gives Xu Yuan the finished weapon, and Xu Yuan returns to the Black Coffin Universe.
• The completed Song of Boiling Blood gains two Divine Might abilities: Evil-Breaking, which deals vastly increased damage to Ancient Gods and their mutations, and Nebula Mist Field, which creates a concealed dimension that counters Origin of Truth Power.
• Xu Yuan’s squad fights off waves of Dark Knights. He buys them time by teleporting grenades into the enemy ranks, but other teams are beginning to fall back as the battlefield worsens.
• The Ancient God begins lifting the Coffin lid. As the others retreat, Xu Yuan uses Nebula Mist Field to enter the Ancient God’s bloodstream, where the blood-current carries him toward its brain.
• Inside the enormous brain, Xu Yuan observes glowing tentacles that appear to be involved in thought. Most suddenly go still. He suspects something has obstructed the flow and wonders if the Ancient God has suffered a stroke.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains focused under pressure, treating the fight as a decisive match point. He secures the completed sword, uses his abilities strategically, and risks entering the Ancient God’s body to learn what is happening inside its mind.
• The Lord of Gui Xu briefly wonders what lies beyond the Three Realms, but puts that uncertainty aside to concentrate on winning the battle.
• Joaquin, Marcelo, Andrei, and Callerose continue fighting as a squad. Andrei boosts morale by promising that the Ancient God’s destruction will release treasures, while Joaquin organizes the retreat once the Coffin begins to open.
• Xu Yuan’s sudden disappearances concern Marcelo, but Xu Yuan stays focused on setting up his next move rather than explaining himself.

Significant themes

• Cooperation across worlds: Three Universes pool their power to create a weapon capable of countering a threat beyond ordinary combat.
• Resolve at the decisive moment: The battle tests characters’ will as much as their strength, especially when victory seems close and the danger intensifies.
• Curiosity amid danger: Xu Yuan risks entering the Ancient God to uncover the cause of its madness.
• The boundary between cosmic and biological: The Ancient God’s immense, alien mind is described through physical processes, suggesting its apparent madness may have a bodily cause.

Key plot points and events

• Beneath the Ancient God’s brain, Xu Yuan discovers a centipede-like creature that transforms into his exact double. It explains that it began as a “Mission” but became a new Xu Yuan when the real one reached this hidden place.
• The double reveals the Origin of Truth’s purpose: it wants Life and Death—and, ultimately, all existence—to end so its power can return to a state of nothingness. The double intends to kill the Ancient God, gain authority over all living beings, and destroy every universe, including Earth.
• The double immobilizes Xu Yuan and absorbs a sphere containing his powers, then apparently kills him. Wearing Xu Yuan’s face, it attacks the Ancient God with Song of Boiling Blood, but the sword shatters. A message explains that it cannot use the sword’s completed form.
• Xu Yuan’s reclaimed power from the First Crown activates Nibelung, reversing time to the moment the teams first arrived. The real Xu Yuan returns and uses Fate Deception to erase nearby beings’ memories, but the double resists and pursues him.
• Xu Yuan escapes to the Three Realms Universe, outside Little Red Flower Pet Kindergarten. He uses Nibelung to hold the Ten Days in place, while the Crowns Lord of the Time Cage and Chosen Lord of Demon Subjugation help sustain the universe.
• A system message confirms that Xu Yuan has uncovered why the Ancient God went mad: the Origin of Truth destroyed its own two aspects. He completes the “Stealing the Three Realms” Competition and gains the Three Realms, which will become a Sacred Land.
• Lu Feiming emerges, senses danger, and learns that Xu Yuan has provoked an enemy stronger than expected. Xu Yuan has only ten minutes remaining and wonders whether the creature can reach them before then.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains resourceful under extreme pressure, using the First Crown, time reversal, memory manipulation, and Nibelung to survive and protect the Three Realms. He recognizes the double as a threat beyond any he has previously faced.
• The double presents itself as a replacement Xu Yuan and carries out the Origin of Truth’s goal of ending existence. Its inability to wield Song of Boiling Blood reveals that it does not truly possess Xu Yuan’s knowledge or mastery, despite taking his form and powers.
• Lu Feiming responds to the danger with an immediate premonition and checks whether the enemy is stronger than he is. Xu Yuan confirms that it probably is, establishing their shared awareness of the crisis.

Significant themes

• Existence versus nothingness: The Origin of Truth seeks to reclaim its power by undoing life, death, and the universes themselves.
• Identity and imitation: The double looks and acts like Xu Yuan, but its failure with the sword distinguishes it from the original.
• Time, fate, and resistance: Xu Yuan uses time reversal and deception to counter an apparently inevitable catastrophe.
• Power and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s success in gaining the Three Realms comes with the burden of protecting them from a foe intent on universal destruction.

Key plot points and events

• A powerful force is battering the Crystal Wall, threatening to break through. Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming sense that a dangerous enemy is approaching.
• Xu Yuan uses the Primordial Chaos Umbrella to strip away seventy percent of Lu Feiming’s power, intending to narrow the gap between him and the Ancient God. He sends Lu Feiming to fight an Ancient God elsewhere, while he sets off alone.
• In the Mist Sea’s Primordial Ruins, Xu Yuan draws the Ancient God out by slaughtering the surrounding Fiendish Monsters.
• Xu Yuan shows the Ancient God a vision of what he saw inside the Ancient God’s mind and tells him that the force of “Death” is not his true nature, but a parasite controlling him.
• After initially suspecting a trick, the Ancient God examines himself and discovers the truth. Rather than allow the entity to control him, he tears off his own head and impales it on his spear, revealing and pinning the black, centipede-like creature inside.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan acts urgently and strategically, sacrificing time and taking a risk by confronting the Ancient God with the truth. He also entrusts Lu Feiming with a major fight and leaves to pursue another task.
• Lu Feiming is willing to face the Ancient God but worries about Xu Yuan’s safety. His power is drastically reduced by the umbrella, apparently to make his strength more comparable to his opponent.
• The Ancient God shifts from suspicion and aggression to shocked self-recognition. He learns that “Death” has been influencing his thoughts, then acts decisively to destroy the intruder rather than submit to it.

Significant themes

• Identity and influence: A being’s apparent nature may be imposed by an outside force rather than reflect its true self.
• Truth versus manipulation: The Ancient God must overcome distrust to test Xu Yuan’s claim for himself.
• Agency and self-determination: Once he understands what is controlling him, the Ancient God chooses to resist it—even at the cost of his own head.
• Urgency and sacrifice: The approaching threat forces Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming to divide their efforts and accept dangerous, unconventional measures.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Lu Feiming share information about the approaching danger; Lu Feiming urges Xu Yuan to stay, but Xu Yuan leaves to pursue his own objective.
• Xu Yuan confronts the Ancient God with evidence rather than attacking him, challenging him to investigate his own mind.
• The Ancient God initially treats Xu Yuan as a potential deceiver, but after verifying the revelation, he turns his violence against the parasitic creature controlling him.

Plot points and events

• The centipede-like creature shifts into a smaller copy of the Ancient God and begins explaining that it is helping both Xu Yuan and the “Origin of Truth.”
• Before it can finish revealing its mission, the blood-red spear erupts with power, repeatedly piercing the creature and spraying blood mist.
• Xu Yuan watches silently as the attack unfolds.

Character developments

• The creature presents itself as an ally—or at least as serving multiple sides—but its interrupted explanation leaves its true purpose unclear.
• Xu Yuan remains composed and observant rather than intervening.

Significant themes

• Uncertain loyalties: The creature claims to assist opposing or mysterious forces, raising questions about its allegiance.
• Abrupt violence and interrupted revelation: The creature is attacked before it can explain its mission, leaving important information unresolved.

Character interactions

• The creature attempts to explain its role to Xu Yuan.
• The blood-red spear violently interrupts it, while Xu Yuan silently witnesses the confrontation.