Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Chen Shu talks with the New Sage by the Mirror Sea about the New Sage’s travels across seven universes and the mysteries of different cosmic structures.
• The New Sage explains that many universes have Spacetime Nodes and administrators. Chen Shu’s original universe has an awakened Node whose administrator lives on Chen Shu’s home planet, so Chen Shu can return safely and is likely to arrive there.
• Chen Shu plans to visit his homeland before the coming war, once he reaches the Ninth Tier, and bring the Sacred Ancestor’s ashes and final wish home. He remains committed to his life and loved ones in this universe rather than pursuing endless exploration or power.
• The New Sage plans to visit his own homeland, then prepare methods for extending lifespans to give Chen Shu to the administrator of Chen Shu’s original universe. He and Chen Shu part on warm terms, hoping to become close friends.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing return home on New Year’s Day. He gives Ning Qing a smartwatch for Peach, who is delighted once Xiaoxiao sets it up and teaches her how to use it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu shows curiosity about the wider cosmos but stays grounded in his attachments, seeing cultivation as a means to reach a peaceful life rather than an endless contest for strength. He speaks candidly and warmly with the New Sage, and playfully negotiates with Ning Qing over spoiling Peach.
• The New Sage emerges as a seasoned, reflective traveler who trusts Chen Shu and shares important knowledge. His offer of lifespan-extending methods reflects gratitude toward the universe and its allies.
• Ning Qing remains reserved and practical, teasingly wary that a smartwatch may distract Peach, but still gives it to her.
• Peach eagerly welcomes her owner, then innocently explores the unfamiliar gift. Xiaoxiao’s patient help lets her understand that it can connect her with her family.

Significant themes

• Cosmic vastness versus personal belonging: The universes contain limitless wonders, but Chen Shu values his relationships and familiar life most.
• Mortality and making life matter: The New Sage describes the limits placed on intelligent beings’ lifespans; the fireworks evoke how brief lives can still shine brightly.
• Gratitude, trust, and friendship: Chen Shu and the New Sage recognize each other’s help and hope to remain friends.
• Care expressed through ordinary gestures: The smartwatch becomes a small but meaningful way for Peach to stay connected to those she loves.

Key plot points and events

• After a busy New Year spent cooking, cultivating, and studying, Chen Shu and his companions leave Yuanzhou for Jade Capital on the seventh day. Lawyer Wei is reluctant to see them go, while Chen Banxia jokes that Chen Shu is about to become the Spirit Sect’s Vice Sect Master.
• The group reunites in Jade Capital with Zhang Suannai, who brings Sword Province specialties, including Wisdom Tea, wild mushrooms, and the Sword Sect’s famed Braised Chicken. The dish is delicious, though its smell makes Zhang Suannai nauseated.
• Life resumes its usual routine in Jade Capital. Xiaoxiao returns to work at a research institute, where she is studying artificial life powerful enough to rival high-tier cultivators.
• The Great Yi Heavenly Palace stops above Green Mountain Ridge near Jade Capital, prompting worldwide speculation. Chen Shu learns that Xiaoxiao’s team plans to study its power source: it may provide the immense energy needed to sustain powerful artificial life for battles in other planes.

Character developments

• Chen Shu remains overworked but takes comfort in familiar routines and in caring for Peach. He gradually recognizes the scale of the preparations being made to protect the Rear Plane.
• Xiaoxiao’s research has become strategically important: her work may depend on understanding the Heavenly Palace’s extraordinary energy source.
• Zhang Suannai proudly shares her home region’s food, but her unexpected nausea at its aroma adds a comic note.
• Chen Banxia continues to tease and defend her brother, while Lawyer Wei’s warmth toward Xiaoxiao quickly resurfaces.

Significant themes

• Personal routine against immense stakes: Ordinary family meals, travel, and work continue alongside preparations for a possible interplanar conflict.
• Cooperation and preparation: The Main Plane appears to be mobilizing its resources to protect the Rear Plane.
• Mystery and technological limits: The Heavenly Palace’s ancient, seemingly inexhaustible power source represents knowledge beyond modern understanding.
• Family and affection: The group’s teasing, farewells, shared food, and Chen Shu’s tenderness toward Peach ground the larger events in everyday relationships.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Chen Banxia bicker playfully, including over his status and their farewell visit; Lawyer Wei alternates between scolding them and warmly praising Xiaoxiao.
• Chen Shu carries Peach during the journey, while Qingqing watches them in silence.
• Zhang Suannai presents her specialties and watches the others enjoy the chicken from a distance, caught between pride and aversion.
• Xiaoxiao’s explanation of the Heavenly Palace’s research role helps Chen Shu connect the island’s arrival to the wider preparations for the coming conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu buys Peach a small cartoon schoolbag and jokes dramatically that attending school will end her carefree childhood. Peach happily wears it, oblivious to the warning.
• He takes Peach to a Spirit Sect pre-school center and enrolls her in a Pre-school Class, reasoning that her age and existing knowledge make kindergarten unsuitable. Though attendance is optional, it could prepare her for first grade and build her confidence.
• Chen Shu explains Peach’s daily school schedule and tells her to get along with classmates, avoid bullying others, and seek help if bullied. When Peach says she would hit a bully, he advises her to control her strength and keep her claws in.
• On Peach’s first day, Chen Shu accompanies her to the classroom. Nervous but curious, she follows Teacher Wang’s directions and sits attentively. Chen Shu watches through the window, proudly claims her as “his” catgirl, and spends the morning chatting with other parents.
• At home, Ning Qing asks why Chen Shu returned late. He describes the school’s generous lunch and is in high spirits. The chapter ends by revealing that Xiaoxiao has gone to the Northern Desert with the Heavenly Palace, where preparations are complete for its fall in February—a looming event that has shaken the world.

Character developments

• Peach begins to grasp that school will be a serious daily commitment, but embraces the idea of becoming an educated “higher life-form.” Her first-day nervousness is tempered by curiosity and trust in Chen Shu.
• Chen Shu is affectionate and protective, taking pride in Peach’s education and well-being. His fondness shows in his playful coaching, his worry about her treatment, and his delight in showing her off.
• Ning Qing remains composed and teasing, noticing Chen Shu’s unusually cheerful mood.
• Xiaoxiao is absent, but her influence appears in Peach’s blunt advice about fighting back.

Significant themes and interactions

• Education and growing up: School is presented as a step toward knowledge, confidence, and social development, while Chen Shu’s joking warning highlights the loss of childhood freedom.
• Care and protection: Chen Shu encourages Peach to be kind without leaving herself vulnerable, while reminding her to use restraint because of her strength.
• Belonging and pride: Peach’s place in Chen Shu’s household is underscored by his public claim that she is his.
• Domestic warmth alongside looming danger: The lighthearted school-day scenes contrast with the ominous news of the Heavenly Palace’s impending fall.

Key plot points

• Chen Shu continues cultivating in the Quiet Chamber, reaching the peak of the Eighth Tier and sensing how formidable his Spirit Sea could become at the Ninth. He notices he has neglected his Game Pods and jokingly resolves to prioritize gaming over cultivation.
• News reports that Lanya has accepted reparations from Duqin for the first time, while the Yi Nation’s Heavenly Palace—now landed in the Northern Desert—fuels public speculation. The leading theory is that its energy source has been extracted for another purpose.
• In late February, the little girl returns from a month away, dressed formally after meeting with the emperor and chancellor. She reunites with Chen Shu and visits Peach at preschool.
• Peach impresses the adults by jumping rope with extraordinary speed and stamina. She has settled into preschool, learned addition, and rides her bicycle home alongside Chen Shu and the little girl.
• The little girl reveals that her work involved extracting the Heavenly Palace’s energy source to create a Ninth-Tier Artificial Cultivator. She then rushes to finish and submit her thesis before an early-March defense.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu remains powerful and ambitious in cultivation, but his playful side is prominent. He warmly welcomes the little girl and enjoys watching her interact with Peach.
• The little girl has become busier and more accomplished after her research trip. She misses her sister but is too embarrassed to admit it, deflecting with jokes and questions. With Peach, she adopts a mock-parental tone, while Peach eagerly imitates her maturity.
• Peach appears increasingly capable and self-assured: she excels at jump rope, answers arithmetic questions, and carries herself like a serious student. Her exchanges with the little girl are affectionate and amusing.
• Ning Qing stays absorbed in her book and responds to her sister’s return with a brief, knowing look. She finds Chen Shu and the little girl’s chatter noisy, revealing a quieter, more reserved contrast.
• The little girl’s conversations with Chen Shu and Peach show their easy affection; her unspoken longing for Ning Qing hints at a more complicated sisterly bond.

Significant themes

• Cultivation and scientific progress: The Ninth Tier is both a personal goal for Chen Shu and the aim of the Yi Nation’s artificial-cultivator project.
• Education and achievement: Peach’s preschool learning and the little girl’s thesis defense frame different stages of learning and ambition.
• Family affection expressed through teasing: The characters often conceal or soften sincere feelings with jokes, playful questions, and mock formality.
• Everyday life beside world-changing events: Domestic scenes of study and school pickup coexist with major political and technological developments.

Key plot points and events

• The New Sage revisits places tied to his youth: the preserved school where he studied and the monument honoring the Celestials. The visit stirs fragmented memories of youthful mistakes, friendships, and lessons.
• He then visits Chen Shu and Ning Qing, bringing notes on using Spacetime Artifacts and research on the Plane Origin, including a method for merging with it. He asks them to deliver the research to the administrator of a node space.
• Chen offers to borrow the New Sage’s Wooden Bead, but the New Sage gives it to them permanently, explaining that it already has a new owner and that he no longer needs it.
• Zhang Suannai drops in, recognizes the New Sage, and is unusually respectful. She listens as he and Chen discuss matters she cannot follow.
• Ning Qing shares the other Ning Qing’s memories of future events with the New Sage. The knowledge makes him feel close to Chen and Ning Qing, and he accepts Chen’s invitation to dinner and a visit to the Sage Ancestor Secret Realm.

Character developments

• The New Sage is shown as humble, courteous, reflective, and nearing the end of his life. His memories and newly gained knowledge deepen his emotional connection to Chen and Ning Qing.
• Chen Shu treats the New Sage with sincere respect while comfortably welcoming him into his home. He recognizes the practical and personal value of the materials and the Wooden Bead.
• Ning Qing quietly facilitates the exchange of memories and helps the New Sage understand the future.
• Zhang Suannai is awed by the New Sage’s moral legacy, revealing a more thoughtful and reverent side beneath her usual irreverence. She also feels left out of the group’s hidden knowledge.

Significant themes

• Memory and the passage of time: Returning to familiar places brings back scattered memories, while the New Sage’s long life has left him with little time remaining.
• Legacy and moral courage: The New Sage’s choice to defend ordinary people, rather than preserve the advantages of cultivators, earns profound respect.
• Knowledge and connection: Shared information—especially Ning Qing’s memories—bridges the gap between people who have only recently met.
• Humility and generosity: Despite his fame and power, the New Sage behaves modestly and freely gives away resources that could still be valuable.

Character interactions

• Chen and Ning Qing welcome the New Sage warmly, offer him tea, and discuss his gifts and research.
• The New Sage praises Ning Qing’s flowers and speaks openly with the couple, eventually accepting Chen’s dinner invitation.
• Zhang Suannai first mistakes the New Sage for Chen’s grandfather, then recognizes him and bows respectfully. Her confusion and comic self-deprecation contrast with the serious regard she feels for his deeds.
• The New Sage’s response to Ning Qing’s shared memories transforms a formal visit into a more personal relationship with Chen and Ning Qing.

Plot points

• Xiaoxiao returns from her thesis defense upset because she refused to answer a question she considered foolish, leaving an awkward silence. Chen Shu reassures her that the mistake may become a memorable, even amusing, part of her youth.
• The New Sage overhears their conversation and reflects on how, after more than ten thousand years, memories matter simply because they preserve the fact that one has lived. He recognizes why his other self valued spending time with Chen Shu.
• Xiaoxiao greets the New Sage, then briefly feels better—until she encounters her sister and realizes she likely heard the whole conversation. Embarrassed, Xiaoxiao retreats to her room.
• Chen Shu and the New Sage visit the Jingguan City Secret Realm. The New Sage explains that he suspected the Sacred Ancestor came from there and chose not to open the Southern Continent’s sealed Cube, believing it had been left for someone or some future age.
• At the Divine Dragon Hall, the New Sage explains how Spacetime Artifacts enable travel both between universes and within one universe. He teaches Chen Shu what he knows about controlling Spacetime Energy and using the Fourth-Level Rune.
• The next day, Chen Shu leaves with practical guidance: an artifact can be sent to a region where time passes faster, allowed to recharge there, and then recalled. He realizes this may explain the Wooden Bead’s faster charging—and wonders whether the Sacred Ancestor might have returned home had he known the technique.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu acts as Xiaoxiao’s guardian, offering reassurance rather than criticism. He also continues learning to use Spacetime Energy, benefiting from the New Sage’s experience.
• Xiaoxiao is shown as capable but socially inexperienced; her blunt silence causes regret, and Chen Shu’s kindness lifts her spirits until her sister’s silent scrutiny renews her embarrassment.
• The New Sage reveals a more reflective, tender side. His long life has softened old regrets into valued memories, and he feels a deeper understanding of his former self’s bond with Chen Shu.
• Chen Shu and the New Sage share a trusting, instructive relationship: the New Sage offers knowledge, while Chen Shu listens and considers the consequences of what the Sacred Ancestor never learned.
• Xiaoxiao and her sister interact without words, but the sister’s apparent awareness of Xiaoxiao’s private conversation is enough to unsettle her.

Significant themes

• Memory and time: Even painful or embarrassing events become precious landmarks in a long life.
• Compassion and growing up: Chen Shu helps Xiaoxiao treat a mistake as part of her youth rather than a lasting failure.
• Knowledge and missed possibilities: Better understanding of Spacetime Artifacts could have changed the Sacred Ancestor’s fate.
• Restraint and timing: The New Sage’s decision not to open the sealed Cube reflects respect for the Sacred Ancestor’s intended purpose and the right moment.

Plot points

• Chen Shu sees widespread news coverage of Xiaoxiao’s graduation and her work in artificial-life technology. Amused by comparisons between her and her older sister Ning Qing, he copies a flattering comment under several videos—until Zhang Fish Ball recognizes him and calls him a shill. Chen Shu deletes it.
• Xiaoxiao follows the coverage closely, privately scoring herself and Ning Qing in their sibling rivalry. Though she concedes points to her sister, she decides she still has a slight advantage.
• On March 10, the courtyard flowers bloom as they do every year under Ning Qing’s control. The group celebrates Chen Shu’s birthday with their customary quiet meal.
• That night, Chen Shu attempts to break through to the Ninth Tier, the highest cultivation level in the mortal world. Ning Qing watches and reminds him of their bet: he must reach the Ninth Tier before Zhang Suannai.
• After struggling through the night, Chen Shu survives the breakthrough but is exhausted. Ning Qing gives him two Ninth-Tier Essence-Returning Pills, which help only partly: medicine and pharmaceutical methods are beginning to fail at this level.
• Chen Shu falls asleep and dreams of being alone in an empty Jingguan, then discovers he can leap between rooftops without harm. On waking in the Secret Realm, he realizes the experience was real rather than a dream. Ning Qing has left him there, apparently treating this version of him—who remembered only his past life—as a stranger. He leaves the realm to retrieve his phone.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu remains playful and self-mocking, but his Ninth-Tier breakthrough reveals the strain and limits of his cultivation. His unusual Spirit Sea and divine power give him confidence, though the recovery process is harsher than before.
• Ning Qing supports Chen Shu’s breakthrough while keeping a cool, practical manner. Her concern emerges through her insistence that he beat Zhang Suannai, but she also keeps emotional distance from the past-life version of him in his altered state.
• Xiaoxiao is ambitious and competitive, measuring her achievements against Ning Qing’s while taking pride in her own early graduation and scientific work.
• The group’s low-key birthday meal shows their comfortable closeness, while Chen Shu’s online mischief and Zhang Fish Ball’s teasing add a comic counterpoint to the chapter’s cultivation drama.

Significant themes

• Sibling rivalry and achievement: Xiaoxiao’s success is framed through comparisons with Ning Qing, even as she tries to claim her own spotlight.
• Intimacy in ordinary rituals: A simple birthday meal matters more to the group than ceremony or gifts.
• Limits of progress: Reaching the Ninth Tier pushes beyond what existing medicine can reliably repair.
• Identity and emotional distance: Chen Shu’s past-life memories create a version of him that Ning Qing regards, at least temporarily, as a stranger.

Key plot points and events

• In the group chat, Grandma Always Says claims she is at least a month away from Ninth Tier, then admits she plans to attempt it within a week. Chen Shu reveals that he has already reached Ninth Tier, startling her and prompting playful boasting about who would win a fight.
• The group discusses a coming expedition to the Southern Continent. Revived High Tiers—including Ninth Tiers—have been left there as opponents so the younger generation can gain combat experience. It will likely happen around May to July, and most participants are expected to wait until they reach Ninth Tier.
• Chen Shu tells the group that he and Qingqing are planning a long trip and may miss the expedition. Grandma asks whether they are taking Chen Banxia; Chen Shu says it will just be the two of them.
• Chen visits the Wish-Granting Dragon and confirms that, now he is Ninth Tier, he can control Spacetime Energy easily.
• He asks the dragon to accompany him and Qingqing on their journey back to Earth. The dragon agrees, explaining that granting this wish is the reason it exists.
• Chen leaves the secret realm and prepares to borrow the Seven-Star Stele, which holds the route to Earth. His status and accomplishments should allow him to secure it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu has reached Ninth Tier and can now wield Spacetime Energy. He is preparing to return to his homeworld with Qingqing, while reflecting that the crossing may keep them away for months.
• Grandma Always Says is close to attempting Ninth Tier and remains competitive, but quickly retreats into joking humility when challenged. Her banter with Chen Shu shows their close friendship.
• The Wish-Granting Dragon shows warmth beneath its imposing manner: it willingly agrees to help Chen Shu, treating the journey as fulfillment of its purpose.
• The group’s teasing—especially over old bets and exaggerated claims—underscores its familiarity and camaraderie. Unknown Person, who won an earlier Ninth-Tier race, listens in as the others joke about past contests.

Significant themes

• Friendship and playful rivalry: The group’s teasing and competition coexist with genuine closeness.
• Duty and sacrifice: The Wish-Granting Dragon accepts its role in helping Chen Shu, despite the uncertainty of what crossing universes may demand.
• A transition toward home: Chen Shu’s new power and access to the Seven-Star Stele make his long-awaited return to Earth possible, even as it may take him away from his friends and the coming expedition.

Key plot points and events

• After reaching the Ninth Tier, Chen Shu finds it much easier to borrow the seven stone tablets needed to complete the route map for his journey to a Spacetime Node.
• He makes practical preparations, tells the Spirit Sect about his breakthrough and absence, and leaves explanations for those close to him. The New Sage’s letter describes how events from the Main Plane have gradually influenced this world and gives Chen Shu background on the Node’s administrator, along with gifts to bring him.
• On March 22, Chen Shu and Ning Qing set out without Xiaoxiao and Peach, who must stay behind for work and school. Chen Shu keeps the journey small because he is inexperienced with Spacetime Artifacts and wants to conserve energy.
• Using the artifact, the pair open a black spatial gate and cross between universes. During the passage, Chen Shu loses all ordinary sensation, then begins receiving streams of information from countless worlds—Spirituality Force.
• They arrive at a vast, dark Spacetime Node, where the artifact protects them from the oppressive conditions. A door opens, and they meet a group of casual, Mandarin-speaking visitors. Chen Shu recognizes their central figure as the stationmaster and greets him.

Character developments

• Chen Shu has become the third person of his generation to reach the Ninth Tier. He is increasingly confident in his abilities, but remains aware of his inexperience with inter-universal travel and takes precautions.
• Ning Qing accompanies him as a calm, knowledgeable guide. Her expertise helps Chen Shu understand the Spacetime Node and the Spirituality Force he encounters.
• Xiaoxiao and Peach show their closeness through their matching expressions and quiet reluctance to see the pair leave, while accepting the responsibility of staying behind.
• The New Sage emerges as an informed, reflective figure with a personal connection to the stationmaster.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Chen Shu’s new strength brings greater freedom, but also practical duties and careful decisions.
• The vastness of the multiverse: The passage exposes Chen Shu to information from innumerable worlds, emphasizing the scale and complexity of existence.
• Knowledge through experience: Chen Shu’s firsthand encounter with Spirituality Force deepens his understanding beyond theory.
• Farewell and companionship: The leave-taking is understated but affectionate, while Chen Shu and Ning Qing rely on one another during a dangerous journey.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing exchange playful, familiar banter before departing, revealing their comfortable relationship.
• Chen Shu gives Xiaoxiao and Peach mutual instructions to look after each other; their restrained responses make the farewell touching.
• At the Node, Chen Shu greets the stationmaster politely, but the group’s casual conversation and surprise make their first meeting unexpectedly informal.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing meet Cheng Yun, administrator of a spacetime transit station, along with his companions: Cheng Yan, Yaoyao, Yin Dan, and Little Princess, a powerful Snowfield King who dislikes being called a cat.
• Chen Shu explains that he was born on this Earth, left for another universe, and has now returned. His Crystal and Ning Qing’s Wooden Bead confirm his story.
• Cheng Yun says it is 2033. Chen Shu learns that although only a few years have passed for Cheng Yun since meeting Lü Xiang, more than ten thousand years passed for Lü Xiang during his travels.
• Chen Shu delivers Lü Xiang’s promised research on Plane Origins and merging with an Origin. The knowledge may help Cheng Yun surpass the limits of his existence, but Lü Xiang asks that it remain secret until its risks are understood.
• Chen Shu also gives the group various gifts from his world. Cheng Yun accepts him warmly and helps recharge the Spacetime Artifacts.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing leave the station, now located in Chunming, and step into the sunlight. Chen Shu takes in the familiar world and privately wishes Lü Xiang could have returned too.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is gracious and observant, using introductions, gifts, and Lü Xiang’s message to build trust. Though he calls Earth his birthplace, his stronger sense of belonging remains with his other world.
• Cheng Yun is gentle and hospitable, but the news of Lü Xiang’s ten-thousand-year journey reveals the loneliness and emotional cost of his long-lived role. Lü Xiang’s research gives him hope of transcending his limits.
• Ning Qing remains close and supportive, sharing Chen Shu’s return and accompanying him into the world outside.
• Little Princess is proud and formidable, reacting sharply when Chen Shu mistakes her for a cat.
• The companions move from cautious curiosity to trust after Chen Shu proves his identity and delivers Lü Xiang’s gift.

Significant themes

• Home and belonging: Returning to Earth is meaningful, but “home” is complicated by Chen Shu’s deeper ties elsewhere.
• Time and separation: Different rates of time turn friendship into a source of profound loneliness.
• Trust and reciprocity: Chen Shu’s honesty and gifts establish goodwill, while Lü Xiang’s promise shows enduring loyalty.
• Knowledge and responsibility: Powerful discoveries may help individuals, but sharing them recklessly could endanger entire worlds.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Cheng Yun establish a warm, respectful bond, strengthened by their shared language, Chen Shu’s personal history, and Lü Xiang’s message.
• Chen Shu teases and compliments Little Princess, prompting her defensive hiss and a correction about her identity.
• Cheng Yun introduces Chen Shu to his close-knit companions and offers him lodging, money, and help.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing leave hand in hand, quietly sharing the significance of his return.

Plot points and events

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing arrive in Chen Shu’s original world, a modern city with familiar technology and no trace of the Spirit Power civilization they know.
• They settle into the Peaceful Living Hotel, whose administrator offers them a room and support. Chen Shu eagerly explores the surroundings, while Ning Qing quietly studies the unfamiliar universe.
• Yaoyao brings them cakes from her half-sister’s bakery, along with smartphones and spending money. Chen Shu gets to know the hotel’s unusual, welcoming residents.
• The return stirs conflicting emotions in Chen Shu: he is excited to revisit his former life but also hesitant. Ning Qing comforts him by suggesting he treat the experience like a dream.
• After several days exploring the city and preparing himself, Chen Shu tells the administrator they plan to visit Jinguan, retrieve the Sacred Ancestor’s Ashes, and then return to their own world, which faces a grave crisis.
• Yaoyao calls the administrator “brother-in-law.” Chen Shu and Ning Qing discover that the administrator, Cheng Yun, is married to Yaoyao’s older sister. Chen Shu is startled and leaves with Qingqing, who gives him a cold stare.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Shu is delighted by the familiar world and acts comfortably in it, but his phone and thoughts of home awaken a deeper, uneasy nostalgia. He remains focused on returning to help his adopted world.
• Ning Qing is composed and observant, less impressed by modern technology than Chen Shu. She understands his emotional hesitation and quietly reassures him; at the end, her disapproving stare adds comic tension.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share affectionate, easy companionship: he takes her hand, introduces her to the city, and offers her cake, while she supports him without making a show of it.
• The administrator, Yaoyao, and the hotel community grow more familiar with the visitors through small acts of hospitality. Chen Shu notices apparent flirtation between Yaoyao and the administrator, only to learn their relationship is much more complicated—and, to him, scandalously so.

Significant themes

• Belonging and home: Chen Shu’s old home remains emotionally powerful, but his sense of duty and belonging now lies in the other world.
• Cross-world contrast: Familiar technology and ordinary urban life highlight how different the two worlds are, even as Chen Shu adapts naturally.
• Memory and emotional uncertainty: Returning prompts nostalgia, excitement, and reluctance all at once.
• Hospitality and connection: Food, phones, money, and casual conversation help strangers become friends.
• Comic misunderstanding: The revelation about Cheng Yun and Yaoyao turns a warm reunion into an awkward punchline, with Chen Shu insisting he is not involved in their family drama.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing travel to the real Jin Guan City, where they visit a familiar noodle shop associated with the Sacred Ancestor’s old life. Their meal prompts Chen Shu to imagine the Sacred Ancestor once eating there with his family.
• Chen Shu explains that he originally planned to scatter the Sacred Ancestor’s ashes freely, but chose instead to return them to his wife and provide closure. Ning Qing quietly supports his decision.
• They leave an urn of ashes, a box of gemstones as financial compensation, and a letter at the home of Liu Xin, the Sacred Ancestor’s wife. The letter says he did not abandon his family, describes his death as a sacrifice, and expresses gratitude for his life.
• Liu Xin recognizes the significance of the remains and eventually takes them inside. After a period of silence, she breaks down in tears. Chen Shu and Ning Qing leave, having fulfilled the Sacred Ancestor’s final wish.
• The next day, Chen Shu and Ning Qing walk through another city. Chen Shu reflects on his former life, his unhappiness, and the choice he had made shortly before being transported to another world.

Character developments

• Chen Shu shows a growing sense of responsibility and compassion. Though he prefers a carefree, decisive approach, he chooses to honor the Sacred Ancestor’s family and give them closure.
• Reflecting on his former life, Chen Shu recognizes that his crossing over was an accident rather than a grand destiny. He comes to value it as an unexpected chance to begin again and live more authentically.
• Ning Qing remains restrained and emotionally steady, but her quiet participation—sharing Chen Shu’s meal, listening to his thoughts, and staying beside him—shows her support and closeness.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share playful, familiar banter over food, revealing their comfort with each other. He offers her bites of his meal, and she accepts without fuss.
• Their conversation about the Sacred Ancestor’s family shows a difference in style: Chen Shu wrestles openly with sentiment and responsibility, while Ning Qing listens and offers little judgment.
• After leaving the ashes, Chen Shu turns to Ning Qing for a silent moment of understanding; her presence steadies him as he reflects on his past.

Significant themes

• Closure and remembrance: Returning the ashes gives Liu Xin a long-awaited answer and a chance to grieve.
• Responsibility and compassion: Chen Shu chooses a considerate act over the easier, more carefree option.
• A second chance: Chen Shu sees his new life not as destiny, but as an opportunity to make choices he once struggled to make.
• Quiet companionship: Ning Qing’s understated support provides Chen Shu with comfort without needing many words.

Key events

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing revisit his former hometown, walking along the river where he used to spend time with classmates. He points out familiar places and explains local habits, while they share milk tea, snacks, and tea by the river.
• They enjoy the busy riverside scene—dancers, mahjong players, tea drinkers, and anglers—before continuing through the city. Chen Shu hums along to a song from his school days.
• Over several days, Chen Shu revisits old streets, favorite foods, and former family and friends. He chooses not to seek out people who might be hurt or unsettled by his return, treating the visit as a way to fulfill a wish and put the past to rest.
• Back in Chunming, the stationmaster tells Chen Shu that his Crystal should recharge in about half a month and his Wooden Bead in about a month. Chen Shu then explains that he must find an uninhabited, life-supporting planet on which to plant the Crystal’s seed—a remnant of a destroyed civilization tied to a long war among the Deities.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is calm about returning, but the familiar surroundings stir complicated feelings. Revisiting them helps him savor his memories and say goodbye without becoming trapped in the past.
• Ning Qing stays close, listening and teasing him about his age and former romances. Her quiet attention helps her understand his past more deeply, and their affectionate banter shows their ease with one another.
• Ning Qing recognizes that Chen Shu’s real appeal lies not in the songs and poems he performs, but in his actions and character.
• Chen Shu and the stationmaster have become friendly through their recent conversations. Chen Shu thanks him for speeding up the devices’ recharge, recognizing the value of goodwill and favors.

Significant themes

• Memory and closure: Returning to familiar places lets Chen Shu revisit his past and lay old attachments to rest.
• Intimacy through listening: Ning Qing grows closer to Chen Shu by quietly sharing his memories and understanding what matters to him.
• Letting go: Chen Shu deliberately avoids causing needless pain, accepting that he must leave this world again.
• Legacy and survival: The Crystal’s seed offers a destroyed civilization a chance to begin anew, linking Chen Shu’s personal journey to the wider conflict among the Deities.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu recounts to the inn’s rooftop gathering the long war between his civilization and the Withered Plane, ending with the Sacred Ancestor’s decision to preserve the defeated civilization’s Biological Seed and Cultural Seed. The seeds could allow its life and culture to be reborn elsewhere.
• The listeners are moved by the story. Afterward, Chen Shu answers their questions about finding a suitable planet and promises to explain Spirituality Force another time.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing use Spirituality Force to search a series of planets for a viable home for the seeds. After inspecting multiple candidates, Chen Shu chooses the sixth planet, partly because it has a moon—something its future inhabitants might find comfort in.
• They release the Biological Seed, an enormous protected incubation complex that can adapt organisms to local conditions, and the Cultural Seed, a Totem Pillar containing guidance and the history of the Withered Plane.
• After staying about a month to ensure both are functioning, they return to Earth, carrying memories of an extraordinary journey.

Character developments

• Chen Shu reveals himself as a skilled storyteller and thoughtful custodian of the Withered Plane’s legacy. His choice of planet shows his empathy for the future civilization’s emotional needs, not just its survival.
• Ning Qing is a steady companion, joining Chen Shu in the search and helping oversee the seeds’ safe establishment.
• The Sacred Ancestor, described through Chen Shu’s story, emerges as magnanimous: despite the destruction caused by the war, they chose to preserve the defeated civilization’s future.
• The rooftop gathering’s members show curiosity and admiration. Cheng Yan is especially drawn to history, while the station master’s younger sister displays a strong desire to learn.

Significant themes

• Compassion amid conflict: Even enemies can choose mercy and preserve life after devastating war.
• Memory and cultural continuity: The Totem Pillar ensures the reborn civilization can learn its origins and retain a link to its past.
• Wonder and exploration: The unfamiliar planets’ landscapes and life highlight the vastness and variety of the universe.
• Loneliness and connection: The travelers feel isolated on distant worlds, while their work gives them a meaningful connection to future generations.
• The meaning of small choices: Chen Shu’s preference for a planet with a moon reflects care for the lives and feelings of people yet to be born.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu’s tale draws the rooftop group into conversation; the heroine’s blunt question about the Sacred Ancestor’s mercy prompts him to explain the choice’s significance.
• The station master offers help locating planets, while the front-desk writer asks permission to use the story in a novel.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing discuss the planet choice with playful disagreement: she leaves the decision to him, and he eventually settles on the sixth planet.
• The pair work together to place and monitor both seeds, then return to Earth planning to share the journey with their curious friends.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing return from their spacefaring journey after nearly two months away, only to learn that about five months have passed on Earth because time flows differently across the universe.
• Chen gives the Spacetime Inn’s residents a diamond as a souvenir and explains Spirituality Force: a kind of information emitted by worlds and celestial systems that can help reveal where they come from and how far away—and how fast they are moving.
• The group reflects on the possibility that stories written in one world might be real in another. Chen offers to leave them a way to study Spirituality Force.
• While the Spacetime Artifacts recharge, Chen spends relaxed days with the inn’s residents, exploring the node space and enjoying food, films, music, and conversation.
• When the artifacts are fully charged, Chen decides to return to the war rather than remain somewhere safe. Before leaving, he and Ning Qing go with friends to buy flower seeds, intending to take them back to their world.
• At a nursery, they meet its friendly owners and staff, learn that the owners studied life sciences, and choose seeds. The nursery’s carefully tended, diverse garden—including its clumsy cat—leaves Chen reassured about the people selling them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu remains warm and playful, but shows resolve in choosing to return to danger despite his friends’ pleas. He takes pride in explaining Qingqing’s research, though he notices her unimpressed look and knows the work is hers.
• Ning Qing stays quiet during Chen’s explanation, silently reminding him that he is presenting her research. Her interest in flowers motivates the nursery visit.
• The innkeeper and residents are fascinated by Spirituality Force and saddened by Chen’s departure. The swordswoman especially tries to persuade him to stay, while the receptionist finds comfort in the idea that stories may exist across worlds.
• Cheng Yan is more interested in the science of Spirituality Force than in the diamond.
• The nursery owners come across as knowledgeable and gentle, carefully explaining the risks of growing roses from seed.

Significant themes

• Relativity of time and distance: Travel between worlds can make a short journey elsewhere span months on Earth.
• The wonder of knowledge and exploration: Spirituality Force offers a way to interpret the universe, and its mysteries move even those unfamiliar with the science.
• Stories and reality across worlds: The chapter suggests that imagined tales—and lived experiences—might exist somewhere beyond one’s own world.
• Belonging, friendship, and farewell: Chen enjoys the safety and companionship of the inn, but chooses to return to his responsibilities.
• Care and caution across worlds: The group avoids transporting unfamiliar organisms, while the nursery’s ecosystem reflects attentive, interconnected stewardship.

Plot points and events

• While returning from buying flower seeds, Chen Shu reflects that life in the peaceful world around the Spacetime Node is far safer than returning to their war-torn home. Ning Qing suggests staying, and he readily agrees—but that night they choose to leave and defend their world.
• The stationmaster and their other friends bid them farewell, offering encouragement and a promise that they can return if things go badly. Chen Shu and Ning Qing cross the Node, travel through a vast cosmic expanse, and arrive back in their own universe in late 5026.
• They return to Jade Capital and find their courtyard mostly cared for, though the neighboring courtyard is overgrown. A note from Chen Banxia says she has been busy at a research institute and that Peach is staying with her.
• Chen Shu catches up on messages. The Spirit Sect wants him to join the fighting in Southern Continent, where the others have been since June, but he decides to rest for a few days before going.
• Chen Banxia and Peach arrive. Chen Shu learns that Banxia has been working intensely at the institute and staying up all night, while Peach has attended school and earned top marks. Banxia promises to stop her all-night work now that he and Ning Qing are home.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing leave the Node world despite its safety, showing their commitment to their home and its people. Their easy banter also shows their affection and comfort with one another.
• The Node’s residents offer warm, personal farewells, underscoring the friendships Chen and Ning have formed there.
• Chen Shu resumes his familiar role at home: checking on the family, managing messages, teasing friends, and looking after Peach. He is amused but concerned by Banxia’s unhealthy work habits.
• Banxia has become an authoritative young researcher, but her dedication has led her to neglect sleep. She is relieved by Chen Shu’s return and agrees to change her routine.
• Peach is quiet, earnest, and pleased by Chen Shu’s attention. Her excellent grades contrast humorously with her vague explanation of what learning means.
• Ning Qing and Banxia begin to interact separately with Peach and Chen Shu, ending with Qingqing turning her attention to Banxia—who immediately grows wary.

Significant themes

• Home and duty: The peaceful Node world offers safety, but Chen and Ning choose to return to the conflict they left behind.
• Friendship and belonging: The heartfelt farewell shows that bonds formed during their stay matter even across worlds.
• Ordinary life amid extraordinary stakes: Cosmic travel and looming war give way to domestic concerns, family teasing, school, and chores.
• Care and responsibility: Chen’s concern for Banxia’s health and Peach’s education highlights the family’s mutual support.

Plot points and events

• Unable to sleep, Doctor Ning broods over being beaten by her older sister, Chen Banxia, and decides Banxia must have been taking out her frustration over Chen Shu on her. This lets her feel vindicated and go to bed.
• At home, Chen Shu and Ning Qing relax together. Peach, who has mastered transformation but still speaks out of habit as a cat, asks to skip her winter-break homework. Chen Shu persuades her to finish it by invoking her fear of being criticized at school, then sends her off to write.
• The next morning, Banxia arrives with candied hawthorn and homemade “capsule popsicles” made in empty medicine blister packs. The family samples them and complains that they taste faintly medicinal.
• Banxia presses Chen Shu about his long absence. He gives her a partial explanation: he and Suannai visited the recently rediscovered Southern Continent, where Suannai went to cultivate. He tells Banxia to keep it secret.
• Banxia also asks why Chen Shu returned early. He says it was because he missed her and came back for New Year. She is pleased, though she seems to suspect she has cleverly uncovered a secret.
• Chen Shu suggests adding peach to the popsicles next time. The little catgirl reacts with alarm.

Character developments and interactions

• Doctor Ning feels wronged by her sister’s harshness but reinterprets it as displaced anger on Chen Shu’s behalf, showing both her resentment and affection for him.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share a quiet, comfortable domestic moment, while Chen Shu playfully takes charge of Peach’s homework.
• Peach is eager to play, but Chen Shu’s teasing appeal to her ambition and fear of public embarrassment convinces her to study. She leaves determined to do her homework.
• Banxia shifts from scolding Chen Shu at a distance to openly welcoming him in person. Her pride and affection show through her teasing, and she enjoys believing she has uncovered his secret.
• Chen Shu gives Banxia just enough information to satisfy her curiosity while keeping the real details guarded; he also reassures her that he missed her.

Significant themes

• Family affection expressed through teasing: Characters show care through scolding, jokes, and playful persuasion.
• Home and belonging: The couple’s relief at being back in their own home contrasts with the uncertainty of their travels.
• Secrecy and partial truths: Chen Shu shares news about the Southern Continent but limits what Banxia learns.
• Everyday comedy: Peach’s homework negotiation and the medicine-pack popsicles bring humor to the chapter’s domestic reunion.

Plot points and events

• Xiaoxiao shows Chen Shu a small pimple. He jokes that she is going to die, then warns her—backed up by Chen Banxia—that prolonged sleep deprivation can seriously harm even cultivators. Xiaoxiao is skeptical, but the warning is taken seriously.
• Chen Shu plans a brief trip to Yuanzhou before returning to the Southern Continent with Qingqing. Qingqing prepares for a six-month stay, including a bus-sized motorhome and supplies.
• Before leaving, Chen Shu asks Peach to study hard and secretly appoints her to keep Xiaoxiao from staying up all night. Peach enthusiastically accepts, becoming the “Night Watch Officer” again.
• Back on the Southern Continent, Ning Qing connects with the scattered geniuses and coordinates their efforts against the native population, whose vast underground tunnels make them difficult to locate and defeat. Her guidance dramatically improves the campaign, while interference from the Other Plane’s Deities provides a useful simulation of the challenges they may face there.
• For New Year’s Eve, Ning Qing gathers the geniuses at a mountain summit for a one-day truce. Chen Shu, Master Tongdeng, and Young Master Xuanzhen arrive; Zhang Suannai soon follows, eagerly greeting the group and asking about Chen Shu’s cultivation.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu shows concern for Xiaoxiao’s health, but uses teasing and Peach’s trust in him to make sure someone keeps an eye on her.
• Peach takes her responsibility seriously, while Qingqing quietly tolerates Chen Shu’s dramatic instructions.
• Chen Banxia is disappointed that Chen Shu will miss New Year’s with her, partly because she expects her family to compare her cooking unfavorably with his.
• Chen Shu jokes about Xuanzhen and Tongdeng becoming a couple, but stops when Ning Qing gives him a warning look.
• Chen Shu realizes the others’ cultivation has caught up with, or surpassed, his after his time away. He suppresses his spiritual power when Zhang Suannai asks how strong he has become.

Significant themes

• Health and responsibility: Cultivation does not eliminate ordinary physical limits; sleep and rest still matter.
• Teamwork and strategy: Ning Qing’s coordination turns a stalled campaign into an effective operation.
• Preparation for greater dangers: The Southern Continent’s hostile conditions foreshadow the difficulty of fighting in the Other Plane.
• Changing power dynamics: Chen Shu’s former cultivation advantage has faded, making his concealed strength—and the potential danger of using it—more significant.

Key events

• Chen Shu arranges a New Year’s Eve celebration on Table Mountain, promising to cook Chicken with Taro. Zhang Suannai carves tables, chairs, and counters from the rock, while the others help prepare the gathering.
• The group shares a lavish meal, sets off fireworks, and spends the evening talking or resting. The festive scene briefly makes their hard-fought campaign feel like a camping trip. On New Year’s Day, Chen Shu cooks fermented rice dumplings before the group resumes its mission.
• Over time, the Southern Continent’s ordinary inhabitants are eliminated, leaving only High-Tier Cultivators gathered at a heavily defended stronghold.
• Some companions suspect Chen Shu’s cultivation is lagging behind theirs. When they hesitate to let him lead the attack, he demonstrates his strength: using Spacetime Energy channeled through the Crystal, he blasts a vast hole through the stronghold’s deep defenses. The others quickly drop their objections and descend to fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu uses cooking, humor, and generosity to ease the group’s tension, but also keeps his abilities and cultivation progress partly concealed. He responds to his companions’ suspicions with a show of overwhelming power.
• Zhang Suannai is enthusiastic about Chen Shu’s cooking and takes charge of carving the outdoor furniture. She jokes with him and joins in the group’s playful teasing.
• The Group Leader and the others grow comfortable in the warm, communal atmosphere, but remain wary of Chen Shu’s apparent cultivation gap. Their caution turns to awe after witnessing his attack.
• Master Tongdeng and Young Master Xuanzhen pitch in with the preparations, while the group shares friendly banter and later resumes its combat roles under Ning Qing’s guidance.

Significant themes

• Companionship amid hardship: A shared meal and celebration restore warmth and solidarity to a group shaped by months of battle.
• Appearances versus reality: Chen Shu seems weaker than his peers, but possesses extraordinary power they have not accounted for.
• Pragmatism and comic deference: The companions quickly decide that yielding is wiser than challenging Chen Shu after seeing what he can do.

Plot points and events

• The surviving cultivators split into two teams to clear the Southern Continent’s eastern and western sanctuaries. Zhang Suannai was unhappy to be separated from Chen Shu’s team, partly because she missed his cooking and partly because she hoped to watch his friends challenge him.
• Zhang’s team spent six months clearing a heavily fortified underground stronghold, finishing in June 5027. Their work was difficult despite Zhang’s immense power.
• Reunited on Mount Zhuo, the teams learned that Chen Shu’s side had finished even faster. Chen Shu had destroyed the enemy’s defenses with a single finger, leaving his allies to handle traps and hidden Ninth-Tier cultivators.
• Senior Sister Jin revealed that Chen Shu’s companions had planned to gang up on him, believing he had fallen behind in cultivation. Chen Shu felt betrayed, while the group leader tried unsuccessfully to dismiss the accusation as a misunderstanding.
• Jin then teased Zhang about expecting to see Chen Shu beaten. Zhang cursed at her, and the assembled group appeared ready to beat Jin instead.
• A few days later, Ning Qing confirmed that the corrupted “humans” on the continent were probably all gone. The cultivators packed up, exchanged farewells, and departed in separate directions.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Suannai is eager, food-motivated, and competitive, but follows the team arrangement despite her frustration. She is left stunned by Chen Shu’s overwhelming display of strength.
• Chen Shu is revealed to be far stronger than his friends expected. His playful disappointment at their plan to challenge him highlights the affection—and rivalry—within the group.
• Senior Sister Jin is blunt, teasing, and unusually confident that others secretly like her. Her remarks repeatedly irritate Zhang and the group, eventually putting her at risk of a beating.
• The Group Leader tries to protect the group’s image and deny Jin’s claims, but her insistence that she never lies traps him in an awkward contradiction.
• Yan Keling enthusiastically praises Chen Shu, emphasizing how decisively he ended the battle.

Significant themes

• Power and mistaken expectations: Chen Shu’s effortless victory overturns the belief that he had grown weaker.
• Camaraderie through teasing and rivalry: The cultivators’ banter, planned sparring, and informal farewells reveal close bonds beneath their insults.
• Food and ordinary comforts: Chen Shu’s cooking gives the fighters a welcome connection to home amid a harsh campaign.
• A bittersweet transition: The mission ends successfully, but the parting suggests the group will reunite mainly for future battles.