Chapter Summaries

Plot and key events

• After returning to his underground base, Shen Bing questions Watanabe Koichi, the man who arranged an attempt to poison him. A memory-reading device reveals that Watanabe acted on orders from his employer, Mutō Masaru.
• Qiuqiu investigates Mutō and finds no direct business motive, but discovers he is the younger brother of the head of Tokyo Electric Power Company. The company opposes Japan adopting Phantom Immortal Technology’s geothermal power project, giving it a likely motive to eliminate Shen Bing.
• Shen orders Thorne and Lu Shiwu to go to Japan, with further instructions to follow. He also authorizes Thorne to begin the second set of the Body-Strengthening Exercise and asks Qiuqiu to advance qualified security personnel through the training sets automatically.
• After reviewing the extracted memories, Shen reflects on how his ambitions have changed. Wealth and business growth no longer feel like meaningful goals; he now worries about what humanity will face if the passage between the mortal and immortal realms opens.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen responds to the assassination attempt with confidence and decisive action, treating it as a threat to be investigated and answered—not a reason to panic. His sarcastic “Hello Kitty” comparison captures his anger at being underestimated.
• Qiuqiu efficiently connects Mutō’s family ties to the political and commercial opposition to geothermal power, helping Shen identify the likely force behind the attack.
• Thorne remains disciplined and understated, but shows quiet pride at completing the first exercise set. Shen recognizes his progress and invests further in his combat development.
• Shen’s exchanges with Gene, Qiuqiu, and Thorne show him directing increasingly capable staff and systems rather than handling every task himself.

Significant themes

• Corporate power and political resistance: New technology threatens entrenched interests, which may use violence to protect profits.
• Growing responsibility: Shen’s expanding operation demands planning, delegation, and stronger personnel.
• Humanity and the divine: Shen questions whether the gods’ apparent concern for humans is genuine or merely self-interested, and whether humanity will be treated as an equal if the realms connect.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing reflects that gods, however powerful, should not be allowed to dominate humanity. He believes equality requires strength and sees technological development—especially expansion beyond Earth—as humanity’s path to competing with gods and other supernatural beings.
• A recording of Shen Bing’s speech about humanity’s future among the stars spreads online. His university celebrates him as its most famous alumnus, while the public debates whether his company, Phantom Immortal Technology, can truly lead humanity into space.
• Most commenters doubt that leap is realistic, but they eagerly anticipate the advanced phone Phantom Immortal Technology may release. The company and Shen Bing remain silent despite reporters’ attention.
• Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other firms announce a jointly developed operating system with artificial intelligence. Apple’s phone sales have fallen sharply since Dragon Scale became popular, so the company hopes the new system will help it recover.
• Apple unexpectedly moves the Apple 10 launch forward to July 3. Shen Bing suspects the company is provoking a direct contest, but Wang Sheng argues Apple is likely trying to avoid competing with Phantom Immortal Technology’s future phone release.
• Shen Bing accepts Wang Sheng’s business reasoning and leaves competitive maneuvering to him, while ending with confidence that Phantom Immortal Technology can still surprise its rivals.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing reveals his larger ambition: technological progress is not only about business, but about securing humanity’s independence and equal standing with the gods. He also recognizes that Wang Sheng has more experience in business strategy and is comfortable delegating that work.
• Wang Sheng demonstrates practical commercial insight, interpreting Apple’s accelerated launch as a defensive move rather than a challenge.
• The public shifts from joking skepticism about space travel to intense interest in Phantom Immortal Technology’s rumored phone, reflecting the company’s growing influence.

Significant themes

• Power and equality: Shen Bing believes peaceful coexistence with gods depends on humanity gaining comparable strength.
• Technological ambition: Earth’s limits make space exploration essential to humanity’s future.
• Public expectations versus skepticism: People admire Shen Bing but doubt that his achievements can extend to space.
• Competition and strategy: Apple’s response to Dragon Scale shows how disruptive technology can reshape markets and provoke hurried moves.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing decides Phantom Immortal Technology can meet a rival phone launch with sheer production capacity. He tells Doudou to post the cryptic Weibo message, “See you on 7.3,” and says he can prepare stock on the scale of Apple’s highest monthly sales.
• Wang Sheng worries that one month is too little time to build up inventory. Shen Bing reassures him: overseas-purchased equipment will be adapted into phone production lines, while the company will pause contract chipmaking and focus on its own Intelligent Chips. In reality, Shen Bing manufactured the equipment himself.
• Online users interpret the post as a challenge to Apple, whose product launch is also scheduled for July 3. They speculate that Phantom Immortal Technology will unveil its first phone. Polls show many still favor Apple, though others are attracted by Phantom Immortal’s reputation and its Phantom Vision display.
• Separately, Zhang Zi’an’s delegation arrives in Tokyo to advance plans for a power station. TEPCO refuses to meet, claiming its executives are busy. Zhang rebukes the Japanese coordinator, Yamaguchi, and says his company need not negotiate with TEPCO under the contract; Japan only has to provide land.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is confident and deliberately mysterious, using a short Weibo post to stir anticipation while privately preparing for large-scale production.
• Wang Sheng questions the feasibility of Shen Bing’s plans but trusts him, despite not knowing the full story behind the equipment.
• Netizens collectively decode the likely meaning of the post and debate whether an untested phone maker can compete with Apple.
• Zhang Zi’an proves blunt and assertive when TEPCO’s refusal threatens to delay the project. Yamaguchi is caught between satisfying Zhang and avoiding conflict with the powerful utility company.

Significant themes

• Competition and confidence: Phantom Immortal Technology is willing to challenge an established industry leader directly.
• Public perception versus capability: Enthusiasm for the company’s technology does not automatically translate into confidence—or purchases—when it enters a new market.
• Secrecy and suspense: Shen Bing reveals little, while his hidden manufacturing capabilities exceed what even his associates understand.
• Power and leverage: Zhang’s response underscores that contractual terms can limit the influence of a dominant local company.

Plot points and events

• In Tokyo, Zhang Zi’an returns to the hotel with his team after a tense meeting with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Once alone, he drops his show of anger and concludes that TEPCO may be resisting Phantom Immortal Energy’s geothermal project.
• Zhang realizes Shen Bing regards geothermal power as a strategic tool, not merely a business. Building stations abroad could give the company leverage in countries where trade barriers threaten its other products—but the company must also win TEPCO’s cooperation, since it needs the grid to deliver electricity.
• Zhang asks the company’s Network Department to investigate TEPCO’s leadership, structure, and internal power dynamics. His small team quickly divides up the work.
• At home, Shen Bing calls Gao Jingchuan and asks for help obtaining several high-capacity military transport planes. He says the company needs to airlift large, heavy equipment and may need the planes again.
• Gao objects that military aircraft are sensitive, but Shen persuades him by promising extra doses of the gene-enhancement drug. Gao agrees to make inquiries and claims the planes can be ready that evening.
• Shen then opens the Gate to the Immortal Realm. Five days have passed, so he teleports to the Marvelous Solemn Palace to meet Celestial Venerable Taiyi about the newly unlocked main quest. A guard’s oddly sympathetic look leaves Shen uneasy.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Zi’an shows himself to be a strategic thinker: his apparent anger in Tokyo is a calculated performance, and he recognizes energy infrastructure as a source of international influence. He directs his team to gather intelligence before proceeding.
• Shen Bing remains focused on expanding his company’s capabilities, using wealth and the gene-enhancement drug to secure military transport planes. His confidence contrasts with his growing anxiety about the game’s main quest.
• Gao Jingchuan shifts from teasing and skepticism to cooperation once Shen offers a tangible reward. Their familiar, joking relationship is marked by Gao’s wariness of Shen’s schemes.
• Zhang’s team responds efficiently to his instructions, while the palace guards treat Shen respectfully—but one guard’s pitying expression hints that trouble may be ahead.

Significant themes

• Energy as geopolitical leverage: Geothermal power is presented as a strategic asset that can help a company overcome national protectionism and gain influence.
• Infrastructure and dependency: Generating electricity is not enough; access to the grid is essential to make the project effective.
• Power, money, and persuasion: Shen uses his resources and promised drugs to obtain help with a sensitive logistical need.
• Unease before the unknown: Shen’s apprehension about the main quest, reinforced by the guard’s expression, closes the chapter on a note of foreboding.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing enters the immense inner hall where Celestial Venerable Taiyi and other immortals are trying to reopen the Gate to Hell, using the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage as the spell’s focus.
• The nine-headed lion struggles to sustain the green vortex while the immortals reinforce it with their artifacts. After roughly an incense stick’s time, the gate stabilizes, leaving the Primordial Sage exhausted.
• Taiyi reveals that the gods assigned to accompany Shen Bing have all withdrawn, claiming to be unwell. Shen Bing agrees to enter Hell alone, partly because that leaves him free to pursue the Judge’s Brush without competition.
• Shen Bing learns that the gate is high overhead and that flying immortal implements could destabilize it. He teleports above it with a talisman and dives in—but passes through without incident and continues falling headfirst toward the ground.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains cocky and irreverent, joking about the gate’s green color and treating the dangerous mission casually. His confidence briefly gives way to practical concern when he learns the gate could collapse, but he presses on.
• Celestial Venerable Taiyi manages the ritual and politely praises Shen Bing’s supposed compassion, despite having just used a flimsy excuse to explain why the other gods refused to go.
• The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage resents Shen Bing for thwarting his earlier chance to escape, then bears the strain of opening the gate until he collapses.
• The absent gods’ fear of dying in Hell contrasts with Shen Bing’s apparent fearlessness.

Significant themes

• Bravado versus danger: Shen Bing’s jokes and confidence mask a genuinely hazardous mission.
• Self-preservation and hypocrisy: The gods avoid Hell for safety while framing their refusal as illness; Taiyi’s praise of Shen Bing is similarly ironic.
• Ambition and self-interest: Shen Bing’s willingness to go alone is partly driven by the chance to claim the Judge’s Brush uncontested.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing fails to enter Hell because he tries to pass through the Gate to Hell from above. Celestial Venerable Taiyi explains that it must be entered from below, then uses his Fly-Whisk to lift Shen Bing through.
• After Shen Bing disappears into Hell, the assembled Gods admit they are uncertain whether his mission will activate the Six Paths of Reincarnation. With the Heavenly Dao hidden, they are acting on a guess and hoping for the best.
• Hell is a lifeless wasteland of black sand and mist. Using Heavenly Eye, Shen Bing explores until he finds a black river filled with enormous bones. He follows it upstream but makes little progress; his Skyflying Shuttle is too fast to let him observe the surroundings.
• Shen Bing realizes the Nine-Headed Worm could serve as a mount. He returns to Illusory Void Island to fetch it, where he learns the creature is recovering quickly thanks to the island’s rich spiritual qi.
• Before Shen Bing can return to Hell, Li Xiao reports that Wang Sichong has arrived to see him.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is embarrassed by his inability to fly and annoyed that Taiyi’s instructions were incomplete. He stays resourceful, using Heavenly Eye and reconsidering his travel options, but does not yet know what to make of Hell.
• Taiyi maintains a calm, helpful manner, though he privately views Shen Bing as an odd choice for the mission. He and the other Gods are uncertain rather than confident about the outcome.
• The Nine-Headed Worm is eager to explain its rapid recovery, while Shen Bing suspects it may have been eating his plants.
• Li Xiao interrupts Shen Bing’s preparations with news of Wang Sichong, prompting Shen Bing’s irritation and curiosity.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and risk: Even powerful Gods cannot see the Heavenly Dao’s plans and are effectively sending Shen Bing into the unknown.
• Comedic mismatch: Shen Bing’s grand role as a supposed master clashes with practical shortcomings, especially his inability to fly.
• Exploration and adaptation: Faced with Hell’s desolation and ineffective travel methods, Shen Bing keeps improvising.
• Death and abandonment: The empty landscape and bone-filled river portray Hell as a place that seems deserted even by its ghosts.

Key plot points

• Shen Bing teleports back to Hell with Little Nine, instructing him to travel quickly upstream along the river.
• Little Nine fears the Underworld’s changed and uncertain state since the Heavenly Dao withdrew and the Gate to Hell closed. Shen Bing reassures him, though he also worries about losing his weakened but valuable ally.
• Meanwhile, Wang Sichong visits on behalf of Yida Group. His father has agreed to introduce Shen Bing’s W-X movie-viewing system at Yida cinemas, potentially buying 100,000 sets—a huge order worth 50 billion yuan.
• Wang proposes that Yida provide cinemas and distribution while Shen’s company supplies the equipment, with ticket profits split 80/20 in Shen’s favor.
• Shen declines to enter the cinema business, questioning why Yida would accept such an unfavorable deal. Wang admits Yida mainly wants to build a relationship with Phantom Immortal Technology for future opportunities.
• Wang reveals that Yida’s real interest is partnering on virtual-reality games. Shen agrees that the opportunity is promising, though the technology remains uncertain.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and direct. He looks after Little Nine but treats the danger pragmatically, and he probes Wang’s proposal until its real purpose becomes clear.
• Little Nine is powerful but depleted and anxious about Hell. He reluctantly obeys Shen, using his many eyes to watch for danger.
• Wang Sichong tries to win Shen’s goodwill through an unusually generous business offer. When pressed, he shifts from polite salesmanship to explaining Yida’s strategic hopes for future cooperation.
• Their exchange contrasts Shen’s blunt skepticism with Wang’s tactful persistence; the two end aligned on the potential value of VR games, but no agreement is reached.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and risk: Hell’s transformation makes even a veteran demon cautious, while Shen weighs the danger to a valuable companion.
• Strategic partnership: Yida is willing to sacrifice immediate profit to secure access to a powerful technology company.
• Ambition and timing: Shen resists a short-term expansion into cinemas, while Wang argues that preparing early for VR could secure a place in a vast future market.

Chapter Summary

Shen Bing is discussing a proposed theater partnership with Wang Sichong, who also hopes to work with him someday on virtual-reality games. Shen Bing initially resists the idea, but a quest notification from the Gate to the Immortal Realm interrupts their conversation and captures his full attention. Wang, misunderstanding Shen’s focus on the phone as gaming, decides that Shen’s enthusiasm for games may make him receptive to entertainment ventures.
The quest sends Shen to the Sea of Rebirth, now a vast expanse of bones. With the Six Paths of Reincarnation sealed, ghosts cannot reincarnate, and their accumulated resentment has formed the skeletal remains, which are disrupting the Yellow Springs. The system says Shen must clear the bones by dissipating the resentment with supreme wish power. Wish power comes from personally helping living beings fulfill their wishes, and must be gathered using a special medium: the Most Sacred Spirit Bone, said to be somewhere in the Sea of Rebirth. Shen sees that collecting it through quests in the Immortal Realm may be slow, but wonders whether helping people in the Mortal Realm—including perhaps Phantom Immortal Technology’s customers—could provide a much larger supply.
After thinking this through, Shen abruptly agrees to Wang’s theater partnership proposal. Wang is delighted and eager to begin, while Shen delegates the practical arrangements to his company. Once Wang leaves, Shen returns to the quest and asks the Nine-Headed Worm, Little Nine, to help search for the spirit bone. Little Nine refuses: the sea’s resentment is so intense that flying over it would likely kill him. Shen gives up on taking Little Nine along, while Little Nine urges him to send it back to safety.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Shen Bing remains impulsive and single-minded when the Immortal Realm game presents a new challenge. He quickly shifts from business negotiations to quest planning, but also spots a possible connection between the quest and his real-world business.
• Wang Sichong is persistent and passionate about entertainment. He interprets Shen’s apparent gaming as evidence that they may share an interest in games, and is thrilled when Shen accepts the theater deal.
• Little Nine is wary of the Sea of Rebirth’s deadly resentment and pushes back against Shen’s request, contrasting its caution with Shen’s casual, irreverent attitude.
• The scene’s central comic interaction is Wang’s mistaken belief that Shen is simply gaming during a major business discussion, while Shen is actually dealing with a dangerous supernatural quest.

Significant Themes

• Duty and wish fulfillment: Shen’s new task turns helping others into a resource-gathering mechanism, raising the possibility that ordinary acts of service can have supernatural consequences.
• Business and personal ambition: Shen’s agreement with Wang is motivated partly by the chance that his company’s customers’ wishes might help solve the quest.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter pairs grave imagery—a sea of bones and deadly resentment—with Shen’s casual slang, Wang’s misinterpretation, and Little Nine’s exasperation.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing leaves the Nine-Headed Worm on Illusory Void Island. The worm tends a strange, rainbow-haloed tree while a Demon Puppet Artisan carefully waters the island’s plants.
• Shen Bing buys an Immortal Carriage to search the Sea of Rebirth for the Most Sacred Spirit Bone. But the sea is covered in bones, and hours of scanning turn up nothing.
• Gao Jingchuan arrives to collect ten doses of Gene-Enhancement Drug and reports that three Il-76 transport planes have been provided for Shen Bing’s company.
• Shen Bing plans to use the planes to retrieve equipment from Germany, asking Gao to help find pilots. Gao directs him to Liu Jin, whose family’s shipping business gives him useful contacts.
• The military escorts the Gene-Enhancement Drug shipment with elite soldiers. Shen Bing also has Qiuqiu track it by satellite, wary after a previous shipment-related incident.
• Shen Bing sends ten Demon Puppet Artisans to overhaul the aircraft overnight and secretly modify their internal systems once the German cargo is aboard.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains resourceful and cautious, using his advanced technology and supernatural helpers to pursue several plans at once. His search for the spirit bone, however, exposes how little guidance he has.
• The Nine-Headed Worm stays on Illusory Void Island, curious about Shen Bing but unable to escape. His lack of foresight is linked to the past mistake that led to his capture.
• Gao Jingchuan acts as a trusted, practical ally. He supports Shen Bing’s requests, explains the limits on active military pilots, and points him toward Liu Jin.
• Shen Bing and Liu Jin do not interact directly here, but Gao’s recommendation begins a new professional connection.
• The Demon Puppet Artisans follow Shen Bing’s orders without question, carrying out the covert aircraft modifications.

Significant themes

• Ambition and problem-solving: Shen Bing takes on a near-impossible search and a complex international transport operation, relying on improvisation and technology.
• Trust and cooperation: His plans depend on allies ranging from Gao Jingchuan and the military to Liu Jin and the Demon Puppet Artisans.
• Secrecy and security: The guarded drug transfer and covert aircraft alterations show the risks surrounding Shen Bing’s valuable inventions.
• The limits of power: Despite his extraordinary resources, Shen Bing cannot easily find the spirit bone, underscoring that some problems resist even advanced tools.

Chapter summary

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing sends ten Demon Puppet Artisans to Qingliu International Airport to deal with three transport planes. The planes are meant to carry more than just their intended “props”: Shen has arranged for them to pick up ten production lines purchased through Jibada Company from Germany’s Baima Machinery Manufacturing Company.
• The equipment is old enough to fall outside export restrictions. The unusual buyer has requested no installation help or after-sales service and has left the seller unconcerned about where the lines will be used.
• Shen asks Liu Jin to find pilots capable of flying transport planes. Liu agrees to seek help through his company’s connections with SF Express.
• Liu asks Shen for another sparring match, hoping to make up for his earlier defeat. Shen agrees, though he expects the fight to be easy.
• Shen continues searching inside the Gate to the Immortal Realm, while crews begin converting three buildings at Phantom Immortal Industrial Park into highly advanced dust-free factories.
• In Japan, Zhang Zi’an learns that TEPCO’s senior executives oppose Phantom Immortal Technology’s geothermal power stations to protect their interests, although many lower-level employees welcome the technology because of nuclear safety concerns.
• Zhang’s team publicizes TEPCO’s resistance, provoking a strong online backlash from a public eager to move beyond nuclear power. While the delegation travels outside Tokyo to find a site for a power station, armed attackers ambush their convoy, shoot out its tires, and approach Zhang’s vehicle.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing acts strategically and matter-of-factly, coordinating the aircraft operation, cargo purchase, pilot arrangements, and factory preparations. He also treats Liu Jin’s request to spar with amused confidence.
• Liu Jin remains eager to prove himself after his previous loss. His admiration for Shen is evident, but he is also determined to test his recent improvement.
• Zhang Zi’an responds to TEPCO’s resistance with a public-pressure strategy, then continues the practical work of locating a site for the power station. His plan draws attention but also leaves the delegation exposed to the ambush.
• TEPCO’s leadership and staff are shown as divided: executives seek to protect their position, while many employees fear the dangers associated with nuclear power.

Significant themes

• Technological change versus entrenched interests: TEPCO’s opposition shows how established institutions may resist innovations that threaten their power.
• Public pressure and nuclear safety: The Japanese public’s fear of contamination makes the geothermal project a source of hope and a political flashpoint.
• Hidden preparation and strategic logistics: Shen’s aircraft, cargo, and factory plans reveal how major operations depend on careful coordination behind the scenes.
• Escalating danger: The chapter shifts from business and planning to violence, ending on a cliffhanger as armed men surround Zhang’s convoy.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing dispatches ten Demon Puppet Artisans to Qingliu International Airport to prepare three transport planes for a covert operation. The planes will carry German-made production lines bought by Jibada Company—equipment chosen because it is outdated, unrestricted for export, and comes with no installation or after-sales support.
• Shen asks Liu Jin to find transport-plane pilots. Liu arranges to borrow some through his family’s business connections with SF Express.
• Shen continues searching the Gate to the Immortal Realm, while workers begin converting three new factory buildings at Phantom Immortal Industrial Park into exceptionally advanced cleanrooms.
• In Japan, Zhang Zi’an learns that TEPCO’s senior executives oppose Phantom Immortal Technology’s geothermal power stations to protect their interests, although many ordinary employees favor the safer alternative.
• Zhang counters the opposition by publicizing the issue. Reports portraying TEPCO as obstructing geothermal energy to preserve nuclear power spread rapidly online, drawing public pressure onto the company.
• Zhang and his delegation head to Tokyo’s outskirts with Yamaguchi Masamitsu to scout a site for a large power station. Their convoy is ambushed: gunmen shoot out the vehicles’ tires and approach Zhang’s car.

Character development and interactions

• Shen Bing remains practical and decisive, quietly coordinating the aircraft operation, securing pilots, and continuing his search. His restrained humor shows in his exchange with Liu Jin.
• Liu Jin is enthusiastic and eager to help Shen, arranging pilots without hesitation. He also remains determined to redeem himself after losing their previous sparring match and challenges Shen again.
• Zhang Zi’an demonstrates political savvy by turning TEPCO’s resistance into a public-relations liability, then proceeds with site scouting despite the controversy. The ambush places him and his companions in immediate danger.
• TEPCO’s employees and executives are divided: frontline workers fear nuclear hazards and welcome geothermal energy, while senior leaders resist it to protect their position.

Significant themes

• Technological progress versus vested interests: safer energy threatens institutions invested in the old system.
• Public opinion as leverage: media attention can pressure powerful organizations when private negotiations fail.
• Covert preparation and strategic planning: Shen’s aircraft and cargo arrangements reveal a carefully staged operation.
• Danger and uncertainty: Zhang’s mission shifts abruptly from public controversy to physical peril.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Zi’an and his companions are surrounded in their cars by armed Japanese gangsters. Their leader orders them killed, and Zhang fears the attackers’ pistols will penetrate the car windows.
• Before the gangsters can fire, concealed marksmen disable their weapons by shooting away the triggers and injure their hands. Two men who flee are shot in the thighs, forcing the others to surrender.
• Seven masked gunmen emerge from a nearby grove. Claiming—jokingly—that they intervened to uphold justice, they ask Zhang and his companions to leave their cars.
• The masked leader questions the gangsters’ leader, Okamoto Taishi. He shoots Okamoto when he suspects him of lying, then orders Zhang to record the questioning.
• Under pressure, Okamoto admits he was ordered to kill the group to prevent the construction of a geothermal power station in Japan. He names Muto Rong, chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company, as the person behind the order.
• The masked men leave as abruptly as they arrived, urging one another to continue their “justice” work.

Character developments

• Zhang Zi’an faces his fear of death but remains committed to his decision to handle the Japanese venture personally. Once the immediate danger passes, he quickly follows the masked leader’s instruction to record Okamoto’s confession.
• Okamoto Taishi initially tries to bargain and conceal the truth, but the masked men’s violence and unpredictable conduct break his resolve. He ultimately reveals the political and business motive behind the attack.
• The masked leader presents himself as a righteous rescuer, but his methods are coercive and brutal. His awkward speech and casual, self-congratulatory manner contrast with his deadly marksmanship.

Significant themes

• Justice versus brutality: The masked men stop a murder, but use intimidation and violence to extract a confession, leaving their claim to uphold justice morally uneasy.
• Power and intimidation: Superior skill and force quickly shift control from the gangsters to the masked rescuers.
• Corporate interests and political conflict: The attack is linked to opposition to the geothermal power station, revealing that the investment project has powerful adversaries.
• Appearance and credibility: The rescuers’ theatrical masks, awkward claims, and ruthless actions make it difficult to know who they are or what truly motivates them.

Character interactions

• Zhang and his companions are helplessly caught between the gangsters and the masked gunmen.
• The masked leader dominates Okamoto through threats and gunfire, turning the attempted attack into a recorded interrogation.
• Okamoto’s attempt to negotiate with the rescuers fails; once they take control, he has little choice but to confess.

Key plot points and events

• After the attack in Japan, Zhang Zi’an tells Yamaguchi Masamitsu that Phantom Immortal Technology expects a satisfactory explanation from the Japanese government and may reconsider investing if security remains poor.
• Police arrive and question Zhang. They suspect the attackers in black may have been working with him, but cannot prove it. They pursue the seven men, who disappear without leaving a trace.
• Zhang refuses to surrender his phone, citing confidential company information, but offers the police a copy of the recording. They insist on the original; he answers only, “Heh…,” and the officer is unable to compel him.
• Back at the hotel, Zhang reports the incident to Shen Bing. Shen confirms the company has already arranged protection, while avoiding any direct acknowledgment of the men in black.
• Zhang sees the attack as leverage against Tokyo Electric Power Company and proposes releasing the video to create public pressure. Shen authorizes him to act and promises the company’s support.
• Meanwhile, Shen oversees the arrival of equipment shipped from Germany to Phantom Immortal Technology’s industrial park. The shipments are only part of the total, and the narrator reveals that importing the equipment is largely a cover.

Character developments and interactions

• Yamaguchi Masamitsu is anxious about the diplomatic and business fallout, but tries to reassure Zhang and promises a proper investigation.
• Zhang Zi’an remains composed and strategically turns the attack into an opportunity to pressure TEPCO. His refusal to hand over the original recording reflects his distrust of the police and concern for company security.
• Shen Bing shows confidence in the company’s preparations and gives Zhang broad authority, while quietly coordinating other plans.
• The police are caught between suspicion and lack of evidence; they cannot force cooperation from Zhang and fail to track the attackers.

Significant themes

• Power, evidence, and the law: Strong suspicions are not enough to prove a case, while the police’s authority is limited by the visitors’ status.
• Corporate leverage and public opinion: Zhang intends to use the attack and its recording to put pressure on TEPCO and the Japanese government.
• Secrecy and hidden agendas: The men in black vanish without a trace, Shen neither confirms nor denies involvement, and the German equipment shipment is revealed to be a cover.

Key plot points and events

• Phantom Immortal Technology begins assembling its first phones. Demon Puppet Artisans help install equipment, while highly automated production lines handle everything from components to packaging without human workers.
• Shen Bing’s target is 700,000 phones per day, or more than twenty million a year. Production starts at the industrial park, with Jinli’s former facilities also being brought into use.
• Wang Sheng visits a factory with Shen Bing and learns that the company may eventually enter aerospace. Shen describes space exploration as a plausible future venture, given the company’s vast resources.
• Production activity at Jinli draws public attention. The company has been reorganized as Phantom Immortal Technology’s Electronic Communications Division, and its restarted factories confirm that the company is entering the phone market.
• The phones’ specifications remain secret. Even most company staff—and former Jinli chairman Li Rong—do not know what is being made. Finished boxes are guarded by Phantom Immortal Security.
• Other manufacturers react with growing concern. Apple remains comparatively confident, while Huawei and other domestic brands fear losing market share.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing presents automation as a way to free people from repetitive labor and imagines human expansion beyond Earth. His remark that the company has “more money than we can spend anyway” reinforces his confidence and ambition.
• Wang Sheng questions the social consequences of workerless factories, but Shen answers with a far larger, interstellar perspective. Wang leaves impressed and newly convinced that Shen’s aerospace ambitions may be real.
• Apple’s leadership is portrayed as confident in its accumulated expertise and resources, though still wary of Shen’s record and Phantom Immortal Technology’s unknown capabilities.
• Huawei and other phone makers face an existential competitive threat: Phantom Immortal Technology’s reputation makes its entry far more alarming than that of an ordinary newcomer.

Significant themes

• Automation and social change: Machines can eliminate tedious work, but the chapter raises concerns about unemployment and social conflict.
• Ambition on a cosmic scale: Shen sees humanity’s future not only in industry or national competition, but in expanding into the galaxy.
• Secrecy and uncertainty: Phantom Immortal Technology’s tightly guarded production leaves rivals and the public unable to assess its product.
• Disruption through technological credibility: Competitors are unsettled less by what Shen has revealed than by his history of delivering seemingly impossible advances.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing abandons his search for the Most Sacred Spirit Bone in the vast Sea of Rebirth, deciding to pursue the Judge’s Brush first because the main quest has no deadline.
• He visits Mount Huaguo hoping Sun Wukong can help, but learns Wukong is away at the Heavenly Court. Shen Bing then returns to Illusory Void Island and brings the reluctant Nine-Headed Worm, whom he calls “Little Nine,” back to Hell.
• Little Nine explains that the Judge’s Brush belongs to King Yama of the Fifth Hall, though it may be difficult to find if the Underworld’s inhabitants were displaced or destroyed. He knows the route, but the journey is expected to take about a day.
• In the United States, the President is impeached after a series of disasters, including the disappearance of two nuclear submarines. His successor discovers that Area 51 was stripped bare and that a supposedly terrorist underground base was actually a secret U.S. facility.
• The new President suspects Shen Bing is connected to these setbacks, but recognizes that scheming against him is risky and direct confrontation would require overwhelming force. As an initial response, the administration imposes new tariffs on Chinese imports, including telescopes, while preparing to ease restrictions on the Dragon Scale operating system to support a rival American product.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains pragmatic: he shifts priorities when a search proves inefficient and treats consulting Lord Lao as a costly last resort. His ambition to obtain the Divine Puppet Artisan—and advance his technology—keeps him pushing forward.
• Little Nine proves useful as a guide, explaining the Underworld’s structure and the uncertainty surrounding the Judge’s Brush. Shen Bing’s casual “mantis shrimp” joke contrasts with the worm’s bewilderment and reluctance.
• The new U.S. President inherits the consequences of his predecessor’s decisions and realizes that public explanations have concealed major government failures. Though he suspects Shen Bing, he chooses economic pressure over immediate military action.

Significant themes

• Power and consequences: The former President’s decisions leave his successor with political, military, and diplomatic crises.
• Uncertainty and risk: Shen Bing cannot know whether the Underworld’s artifacts remain where they should be, while the U.S. President cannot prove Shen Bing’s involvement.
• Technology as leverage: Shen Bing’s inventions shape both his personal goals and international policy, including tariffs and competition over operating systems.
• Pragmatism amid absurdity: Shen Bing treats fantastical quests, expensive divine consultations, and bizarre travel with the same matter-of-fact attitude.

Plot points and events

• The United States imposes new tariffs on telescopes and naked-eye 3D televisions, clearly targeting Phantom Immortal Technology’s successful Spirit Vision Telescope and anticipated Phantom Vision TVs. Huaxia condemns the move, though the announcement marks the start of renewed trade friction.
• Shen Bing hears the news while searching Hell’s Fifth Hall for the Judge’s Brush. The halls are deserted, and he cannot explain what happened to the underworld officials and ghosts who once lived there. He sets aside the mystery to focus on his search.
• Secretary Jiang calls Shen Bing to explain the government’s response: it plans both to demonstrate Huaxia’s military strength and to challenge the dollar-based economic order. Shen has already helped with the first effort by providing stealth-material technology, which can be used to outfit stealth fighters.
• For the economic initiative, Secretary Jiang arranges a meeting with Shen and the payment-services leaders from Taobao and Penguin. Shen contacts Niu Yu and Hua Teng, who agree to attend.
• Shen suspects the government wants to build on the international reach of the Dragon Scale Operating System. Because its licenses are priced in yuan, the system has already created demand for yuan—and, where direct conversion is unavailable, made the dollar a temporary intermediary in payments.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains calm about the tariffs, believing his company’s capacity is already stretched by demand elsewhere. He is nevertheless willing to support the government and quickly understands that the planned payment meeting may concern Dragon Scale’s influence on international currency use.
• Secretary Jiang takes a firmer stance than Shen expects, arguing that Huaxia must respond when the United States breaks the rules. He frames the response as both a display of military capability and a deeper economic challenge.
• Niu Yu jokes with Shen but promptly agrees to send Penguin’s representative; Hua Teng responds in a more polished, diplomatic manner and also agrees.
• The chapter also introduces the unexplained disappearance of Hell’s inhabitants, leaving Shen with a mystery that remains unresolved.

Significant themes

• Trade conflict and national power: The tariffs expose the political stakes behind commercial competition.
• Technology as strategic leverage: Shen’s stealth materials and Dragon Scale OS give Huaxia tools beyond ordinary trade.
• Currency and influence: A popular operating system can shape payment habits and gradually affect the dollar’s role as an intermediary.
• Networks and dependence: As Dragon Scale spreads, users tolerate inconvenient payment arrangements because the system has become difficult to live without.

Plot and events

• Shen Bing finishes an unsuccessful search of the Fifth Hall for the Judge’s Brush. With time running short, he stops for the night, judging that another few hours would not help.
• He also expects to attend government talks the next day about the Dragon Scale Operating System and its possible effect on the U.S. dollar. He is eager to support efforts that could weaken American influence—and sees the possibility of personal profit.
• The next morning, Shen Bing visits Donghua Dijun. Rather than being delayed, he is told that Donghua has received an order to go to Tusita Palace and can take Shen Bing along to meet his master, Lord Lao.
• Donghua uses a Daoheart Cushion to transport them rapidly across the Heaven of Separation from Hatred. Shen is amazed by its speed and speculates that it might use technology resembling wormholes or anti-gravity.
• They arrive before Tusita Palace, whose towering, radiant architecture overwhelms Shen. Donghua leads him toward its grandest palace, where the chapter ends.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is impatient to find the Judge’s Brush and eager to meet Lord Lao after waiting more than half a year. His practical, opportunistic side also shows in his interest in studying the Daoheart Cushion’s technology. He agrees to heed Donghua’s etiquette warning, though privately he thinks it unnecessary.
• Donghua Dijun acts as a courteous guide, arranging Shen’s visit and explaining how the cushion works. He assumes Shen is impressed by its speed, unaware that Shen is already imagining ways to analyze it.
• Their exchange is respectful and cooperative, though Shen’s private thoughts add a humorous contrast to Donghua’s sincere advice.

Significant themes

• Technology and wonder: Shen interprets supernatural objects through scientific ideas, turning immortal travel into speculation about advanced transport.
• Ambition and opportunity: He sees both political and technological developments as potential sources of influence or profit.
• Scale and spectacle: Tusita Palace’s grandeur underscores the immense power and magnificence of the immortal world.

Key plot points

• Shen Bing and Donghua Dijun arrive at Lord Lao’s Tusita Palace, where Shen Bing is struck by its grand, otherworldly setting.
• Lord Lao is surprised that he cannot divine Shen Bing’s past or intentions, despite Shen Bing’s comparatively low cultivation.
• Shen Bing explains that he wants a Great Luo Golden Immortal Remnant Soul so Lu Ban can create a Divine Puppet Artisan, a device capable of producing Immortal Artifacts on its own.
• Lord Lao says no such remnant souls exist anywhere in Pangu’s world—including the Heaven, Demon, and Devil Realms, the Mortal Realm, and Hell. They may be found in the vast Primordial Chaos beyond that world, where many ancient Great Golden Immortals perished.
• Though Lord Lao warns that none who entered the Primordial Chaos have returned, Shen Bing focuses instead on how to capture a remnant soul. His willingness to go there astonishes both Lord Lao and Donghua.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains irreverent and practical, privately mocking Lord Lao’s dramatic presentation while showing respect aloud. His determination to obtain the remnant soul is undeterred by the danger.
• Lord Lao struggles to preserve his Sage-like composure because Shen Bing is impossible to read. He offers a warning that doubles as a reminder of how hopeless the quest should be.
• Donghua Dijun respectfully introduces Shen Bing and gently signals when Shen Bing’s manners become too casual. He is ultimately stunned by Shen Bing’s plan.

Significant themes

• Limits of divine knowledge: Even a Sage cannot understand Shen Bing, suggesting he exists outside ordinary fate and karmic order.
• Ambition versus danger: Shen Bing treats the deadly Primordial Chaos as a manageable obstacle, revealing his unusual confidence and persistence.
• Status and irreverence: Lord Lao’s grandeur contrasts with Shen Bing’s down-to-earth, humorous perspective.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing insists on entering the dangerous Land of Primordial Chaos to find a Great Luo Golden Immortal Remnant Soul, despite warnings from Donghua Dijun that he would almost certainly die.
• Impressed by Shen Bing’s resolve, Lord Lao sets a test: bring him one hundred pieces of purgatory demon gold from the Netherworld Blood Sea within a month.
• Shen Bing immediately produces the required amount, explaining that he had previously gathered it while helping Tu Xingsun. Lord Lao and Donghua are astonished, and Lord Lao is embarrassed that he had doubted Shen Bing.
• Lord Lao honors his promise by giving Shen Bing a replica of the Demon-Refining Pot. Though not the original, it can capture even a Great Luo Golden Immortal Remnant Soul: point it at the target and tap its base three times.
• Lord Lao explains that the Land of Primordial Chaos lies beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens and is accessible from his Tusita Palace.
• Shen Bing then asks to exchange merit for something to strengthen him. Lord Lao offers, among other things, his Purple-Gold Red Gourd for two hundred thousand merit.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains determined and willing to risk his life for a goal. His unexpected stockpile of demon gold reveals that he is more capable and resourceful than others assume. He is practical and opportunistic, quickly turning the conversation toward equipment and further trades.
• Lord Lao begins by setting an apparently impossible challenge to discourage Shen Bing, but keeps his word once Shen Bing succeeds. He remains composed despite his embarrassment and treats Shen Bing’s requests with surprising patience.
• Donghua Dijun tries to protect Shen Bing by warning him against the journey. He is stunned by Shen Bing’s achievement and later dismayed when Shen Bing casually tries to bargain with Lord Lao.
• Their exchanges mix sincere concern and respect with Shen Bing’s irreverent inner commentary and the others’ reactions to his audacity.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus self-preservation: Shen Bing argues that having something to strive for matters more than simply staying safe.
• Testing resolve and hidden ability: Lord Lao’s challenge exposes how badly he has underestimated Shen Bing.
• Promises and honor: Lord Lao must fulfill his offer once Shen Bing meets the condition.
• Power, danger, and preparation: Shen Bing seeks tools and strength before venturing into a realm far beyond his current cultivation.
• Humor and irreverence: Shen Bing’s modern, blunt thoughts contrast with the dignified immortals and puncture the scene’s grandeur.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing considers buying the Purple-Gold Red Gourd from Lord Lao, but asks instead for pills that can increase his strength.
• Lord Lao explains his pricing: newly refined golden cores range from 30,000 immortal jade for lower grade to 300,000 for top grade. His “old stock” consists only of top-grade pills, which cost 300,000 each. Shen Bing cannot afford one and buys a lower-grade pill for 30,000, despite already owning one.
• Donghua Dijun warns Shen Bing that the Land of Primordial Chaos is dangerous: its violent energies suppress ordinary gods, while powerful Outworld Demons become even stronger. He urges Shen Bing not to take unnecessary risks, though he bluntly admits escape may be impossible if Shen Bing encounters a demon.
• Shen Bing departs in the Skyflying Shuttle. After more than two hours of travel, a work call interrupts him: Secretary Yan Lexuan reports that Secretary Jiang and business representatives from Taobao and the Penguin Group have arrived in Rongcheng.
• Shen Bing heads to Phantom Immortal Technology’s office. He finds reporters crowding the building and, inside, a group gathered in the Administration Department—among them two people he recognizes.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is resource-conscious but willing to spend on survival: he balks at the cost of premium pills, yet buys another lower-grade core after Donghua’s advice.
• His irreverent inner commentary contrasts with his respectful behavior toward powerful immortals. He jokes about Lord Lao’s sales pitch and bristles at Donghua’s pessimism, but accepts the warning.
• Lord Lao acts as a calm, patient merchant, explaining his grading system and prices without reacting to Shen Bing’s complaints.
• Donghua shows concern for Shen Bing, offering practical warnings even when his blunt delivery undercuts his reassurance.
• Shen Bing coordinates with Yan Lexuan and Doudou about the company meeting and arrival logistics; reporters then surround his car, forcing security to clear a path.

Significant themes

• Survival versus ambition: Shen Bing enters a perilous realm despite knowing that even greater strength may not guarantee safety.
• Power and resources: Immortal strength has a steep price, and Shen Bing’s limited funds shape his choices.
• Humor amid danger: Shen Bing’s sarcastic thoughts and banter lighten the ominous warnings about the Land of Primordial Chaos.
• Dual responsibilities: His supernatural journey is interrupted by corporate duties, underscoring his divided life as an adventurer and company chairman.