Chapter Summaries

Li Chen confronted Yuan Keshan, an envoy of the Heavenly Dragon Gate, and attacked when Yuan Keshan tried to leave. Yuan Keshan escaped several li away after his Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede and its linked bodies struck back.

• Yuan Keshan introduced himself as an envoy of the Heavenly Dragon Gate after Li Chen’s Signal Towers ordered him to stop.
• Li Chen identified himself as Broad Cloud Peak’s master and partner of the Golden Sun Gate, prompting Yuan Keshan to abandon his plans to recruit or threaten him.
• Li Chen invited Yuan Keshan to stay, but Yuan Keshan declined and attempted to fly away.
• Li Chen attacked Yuan Keshan, who blocked the blow with a water shield while the Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede sprayed poisonous flames and black grit.
• The centipede’s youth head fired Sword Qi at Li Chen, but Li Chen intercepted it with Solar Divine Light as Yuan Keshan escaped several li away.

Li Chen and his Puppet Chassis fought Yuan Keshan and the Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede after Yuan Keshan occupied Li Chen’s spirit peak. Yuan Keshan escaped gravely wounded while Li Chen defeated the centipede, leaving Xiao Die and Xiao Ying in pursuit.

• Li Chen’s Puppet Chassis and Floating Divine Light Cannon wounded the Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede as Yuan Keshan tried to flee.
• Xiao Die and Xiao Ying blocked the escape and attacked Yuan Keshan, while he used his Crimson Flame Divine Fire Baleful Art against the Puppet Chassis.
• Xiao Ying stabbed Yuan Keshan in the waist, and he fled at high speed as Li Chen ordered Xiao Die and Xiao Ying to pursue him.
• Li Chen’s Puppet Chassis fought the Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede with support from the Floating Divine Light Cannon and eventually subdued it.
• Li Chen severed the centipede’s female human head and both remaining heads to stop the Corpse Puppet from fighting.

Li Chen’s pursuit of Yuan Keshan was halted when three Heavenly Dragon Gate cultivators and five Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipedes arrived as reinforcements. After hearing Yuan Keshan’s warning about Li Chen’s possible four-star Battle Puppet, they returned to the city, where the Centipede Daoist had unexpectedly arrived in person.

• Li Chen sent the Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede’s corpse back to Qi Maigu while repairing his own damaged Puppet Chassis.
• Xiao Die and Xiao Ying pursued Yuan Keshan until three Foundation Establishment cultivators and five Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipedes blocked them.
• Xiao Die and Xiao Ying fought the three cultivators and their centipedes, but Li Chen ordered them to retreat toward Broad Cloud Peak.
• Yuan Keshan warned the three cultivators that Li Chen might have a four-star Battle Puppet, so they abandoned the pursuit and returned to the nearby city.
• The four cultivators reached the city and discovered that the Centipede Daoist had come there in person.

Centipede Daoist learned that Li Chen had arrived to claim a second spirit peak blessed land on the same barren star, threatening Heavenly Dragon Peak’s plans. He proposed an alliance to Li Chen, while concealing that he intended to lull him into complacency before acting.

• Yuan Keshan reported that Li Chen claimed to be a Territorial Lord of the Golden Sun Gate, and Centipede Daoist revealed Li Chen’s reputation as the Twin Fish Master Artisan.
• Centipede Daoist told the Heavenly Dragon Gate elders that Li Chen’s arrival endangered their plans, and they agreed that war might be necessary after first making him complacent.
• Centipede Daoist contacted Li Chen and revealed that Heavenly Dragon Peak was also a lower-grade blessed land.
• Centipede Daoist proposed that he and Li Chen join forces to rule the star, drive away other rogue cultivators, and potentially fight demons in the Eastern Continent.

Li Chen recognized the Centipede Daoist’s offer to cooperate as a delaying tactic and prepared for the threat gathering against Broad Cloud Peak. When the Centipede Daoist’s forces advanced, Li Chen revealed that he could disguise his Warrior Constructs as Foundation Establishment cultivators, giving him a way to stall the coming battle.

• Li Chen’s Auxiliary Brain judged the Centipede Daoist’s proposal to be deceptive, and Li Chen invited Qi Maigu to discuss preparations.
• Li Chen sent Flying Discs to scout, while the Heavenly Dragon Gate mobilized troops and resources at Biyuan City.
• The Centipede Daoist led five Foundation Establishment cultivators and more than a dozen Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipedes toward Broad Cloud Peak.
• Qi Maigu assessed the enemy’s strength and warned Li Chen that the expedition was likely a probe before a larger invasion.
• Li Chen used Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting to make Chang Clan Soldiers look lifelike and give a Warrior Construct a Foundation Establishment aura.
• Qi Maigu realized Li Chen had concealed his Skin-Painter abilities and agreed to keep them secret.

Li Chen revealed his plans to use a false body of Wushi Yan to turn the Shaman Folk against the Heavenly Dragon Gate, then confronted the sect’s forces and accepted their declaration of war. His remarks about the Twin Fish Master Artisan and the two Spirit Peaks left both sides considering whether Heaven’s Mandate favored him.

• Li Chen showed Qi Maigu his assembled Foundation Establishment avatars, including a convincing false body of Wushi Yan, and explained his plan to use it to command the Shaman Folk.
• Li Chen told Qi Maigu that the Shaman Folk’s true enemy was the Heavenly Dragon Gate and hoped to bring the tribes into Broad Cloud Peak’s fold.
• Centipede Daoist and the Heavenly Dragon Gate party arrived to find Li Chen’s forces assembled, with Li Chen concealed within the Giant Puppet.
• Centipede Daoist declared war on Broad Cloud Peak, and Li Chen accepted, claiming that the Twin Fish Master Artisan deserved the opportunity presented by the two Spirit Peaks.
• Li Chen’s words unsettled Centipede Daoist and made Qi Maigu reconsider the significance of the two Spirit Peaks and Heaven’s Mandate.

After forcing the Heavenly Dragon Gate to withdraw, Li Chen began building a reconnaissance network around Biyuan City while concealing his limited supply of powerful munitions. Centipede Daoist mobilized the sect’s vast forces, and the conflict escalated into total war.

• Li Chen explained to Qi Maigu that his incarnations had deterred the Heavenly Dragon Gate, but a real battle would expose his weakness and threaten Broad Cloud Peak.
• Li Chen sent mass-produced Flying Discs to survey Biyuan City, and Yuan Keshan shot down several before Centipede Daoist ordered his forces to ignore them when possible.
• Li Chen intensified the reconnaissance flights, but Centipede Daoist dispersed his forces and guarded the city against another attack.
• Li Chen held back his five remaining Thunderfire Thunderclaps and avoided provoking the Heavenly Dragon Gate while searching for a suitable target.
• Centipede Daoist mobilized six armies, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, and thousands of Human-Head Centipedes for a total war against Broad Cloud Peak.

Government forces hunted Shaman Folk rebels through Biyuan City and terrorized its residents with Human-Head Centipedes. As resistance fighters considered fleeing east to join the Ancient Shamans, Heavenly Dragon Gate agents began clearing villages and scouting routes for an army advance.

• Shaman Folk soldiers chased two rebels through Biyuan City's crowded market, shooting one and losing the other in an alley.
• A cultivator arrived with elite soldiers and five Human-Head Centipedes, frightening the market crowd and ordering a search for the escaped rebel.
• Hidden resistance fighters discussed the worsening persecution and decided they might have to head east toward the Sacred Mountain to fight alongside their compatriots.
• Government soldiers killed a child in the eastern mountains while a young craftsman checked the body for spiritual roots and called it useless.
• The young craftsman and a rogue cultivator discussed scouting routes and clearing villages ahead of the army's advance, while warning of the Ancient Shamans and their surviving allies.

Red Wolf found his village destroyed by the Heavenly Dragon Gate and led his people toward the mountains, while Wushi Yan decided to ask Li Chen to free the Shaman Folk captives and help their tribes. Li Chen agreed to release one person from each tribe, leaving the rest of Wushi Yan’s request unresolved.

• Red Wolf reached the ravaged mountain village, calmed the surviving Shaman Folk hunters, and brought them back to his tribe.
• Red Wolf warned his tribe that war was coming, and the people fled toward the mountains despite the danger to their vulnerable members.
• Li Chen learned that the Shaman Folk Kingdom’s forces were advancing toward Broad Cloud Peak and deliberately let the captive mountain folk hear news of the invasion.
• Wushi Yan stopped his warriors from attempting escape and decided to ask Li Chen to release them and lend aid to their tribes.
• Li Chen met Wushi Yan and agreed to release one captive from each tribe.

Li Chen selected ten Shaman Folk warriors for enhancement modification, using advanced puppetization techniques and implanted Auxiliary Brains to guide and control them. After sending the modified warriors into the forest with maps and access to his Heavenly Eye network, he turned to Wushi Yan to discuss payment.

• Wushi Yan objected to Li Chen sending back only one person from each tribe, and Li Chen offered enhancement modification to selected warriors instead.
• The Shaman Tribe Remnants chose ten test subjects, and Li Chen modified their bodies with artificial organs, spirit pumps, and combat equipment.
• Li Chen replaced one warrior’s lost arm with a mechanical arm fitted with an experimental Thunder Dragon Cannon.
• Li Chen implanted an Auxiliary Brain in each modified warrior and gave them maps and partial access to the Heavenly Eye network.
• The ten warriors left for the forest, while Li Chen returned the other prisoners to their cells and told Wushi Yan they would discuss settling the bill.

Li Chen forced Wushi Yan to negotiate and learned where spirit material veins and other treasures lay near Broad Cloud Peak. When Wushi Yan refused to help him enslave the Shaman Folk, Li Chen began a backup plan to use a puppet impersonating him.

• Li Chen told Wushi Yan that his tribe could survive under Li Chen’s rule if they served him, and demanded that Wushi Yan proclaim him a divine savior to the Shaman Folk.
• Wushi Yan refused to make his people Li Chen’s slaves, so Li Chen dropped the demand and asked him to pay for the modifications by revealing local spirit material veins.
• Wushi Yan gave Li Chen the locations of ten confirmed veins and information about other suspected deposits and legendary treasures.
• Li Chen ordered a puppet with Wushi Yan’s appearance to impersonate him and had Heavenly Pivot imprison the real Wushi Yan in the Magic Cube Maze.

Li Chen used his Fifth Avatar, Wushi Yan, to persuade the imprisoned Shaman Tribe Remnants that they could return home and eventually relocate their settlements to the Sacred Mountain. As Li Chen prepared for the arriving flying boat from Golden Sun Gate, Dong Pengfei announced that it had reached Broad Cloud Peak.

• Li Chen sent Wushi Yan to speak with the imprisoned Shaman Tribe Remnants and learned that their attitude toward their captivity had softened.
• Wushi Yan told the Shaman Folk that they would be freed and proposed moving their settlements to the Sacred Mountain to protect them from the Heavenly Dragon Gate.
• Wushi Yan claimed that Li Chen and his companions were envoys sent by Heaven, and the Shaman Tribe Remnants asked when they could return to tell their people about the plan.
• Li Chen resolved to use Wushi Yan to gain the tribal leaders' support and relocate the Shaman Folk, both to protect them and to deny the Heavenly Dragon Gate human material.
• On the sixteenth day of the fifth month, Li Chen prepared a landing site for the flying boat from Golden Sun Gate.
• Dong Pengfei told Li Chen over the Spirit Wave network that the flying boat had arrived near Broad Cloud Peak.

Li Chen welcomed Dong Pengfei and representatives of several factions and merchants’ associations arriving aboard the Rainbow Glow Flying Boat to help develop his territory. In Biyuan City, Centipede Daoist and the Heavenly Dragon Gate elders discussed the potential threat and decided to monitor the visitors and seek support from the Everflow Merchants’ Association.

• Dong Pengfei arrived aboard the Rainbow Glow Flying Boat and greeted Li Chen, saying he had come to help open new frontiers.
• Representatives of the Yu Household, Yan Household, Jin Household, Huang Household, Universal Profits Merchants' Association, and Sea Dragon Merchants' Association met Li Chen to deliver supplies and establish businesses.
• Li Chen welcomed the visitors and invited them to a banquet at the Market Chief's Residence.
• A Heavenly Dragon Gate Steward reported to Centipede Daoist that the Star-Viewing Platform had detected the Flying Boat, prompting concern among the sect's leaders.
• Elder Zhu argued that the civilian vessel was unlikely to join the local conflict, and Centipede Daoist ordered the sect to watch its movements and request support from the Everflow Merchants' Association.

Li Chen’s allies brought personnel, supplies, machinery, and investment to help establish his domain on Broad Cloud Peak. After inspecting the Market District, Li Chen appointed Dong Pengfei as the first ward master of Broad Cloud Ward.

• Dong Pengfei arrived with Old Gong, guards, and subordinates, intending to settle as the Dong Household’s representative and share in Li Chen’s fortunes.
• The Yan, Huang, and Jin Households delivered artisans, laborers, machinery, materials, and parts, while the Universal Profits Merchants' Association and Sea Dragon Merchants' Association provided interest-free loans and supplies.
• Li Chen led his allies through the Market District, where they chose plots for residences and trading houses and arranged their payments.
• Li Chen proposed Dong Pengfei as ward master of Broad Cloud Ward, and Dong Pengfei accepted despite Old Gong’s discreet warning.

Li Chen brought the new market district under control, where Dong Pengfei took its ceremonial leadership and more than ten thousand newcomers registered. With the district running smoothly and his resources secured, Li Chen turned to strengthening his forces and preparing to confront the Heavenly Dragon Gate.

• Li Chen appointed Dong Pengfei as the market district’s first head while keeping its operations under Opened Yang’s control.
• Dong Pengfei registered at the Hall of Public Affairs, and more than ten thousand newcomers completed registration with help from Li Chen’s virtual personalities.
• Li Chen persuaded over a hundred wilderness rogue cultivators to register as pioneers in exchange for the prospect of future rewards and privileges.
• After reviewing his supplies, Li Chen planned to expand his Worker Bee Puppets, develop both mass-produced and elite combat forces, and pursue new technical research.
• Li Chen decided that Puppet Conversion and forging a powerful body had become urgent for his cultivation, combat strength, and research.

Li Chen postponed his own Puppet Conversion because he lacked materials worthy of his Dragon Pearls, and instead modified Jingang to gain foundation-establishment combat power. As Li Chen implanted Five Elements spirit materials into Jingang, he recognized that the method shared a deep origin with the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede.

• Li Chen decided to modify Jingang first while he accumulated experience and resources for his own Puppet Conversion.
• Li Chen began the second phase of Jingang’s modification, aiming to give the Blue-Faced Mountain Ogre foundation-establishment combat power.
• Li Chen replaced Jingang’s bones and marrow with special materials designed to let him fly.
• Li Chen fused Fire, Earth, and Metal Spirit Pearls into Jingang’s heart, spleen, and lungs, then used lower-grade Water and Wood Spirit Pearls for the remaining organs.
• Li Chen recognized that Jingang’s Five Elements Organ-Shaping modification shared a profound origin with the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede.

Li Chen completed Jingang’s Five Elements Organ-Shaping enhancement, then reforged and upgraded his Fifth Avatar to impersonate Wushi Yan and lead the Shaman Tribe Remnants. The avatar reached first-level Foundation Establishment strength and received a device that could influence mortals’ emotions.

• Li Chen finished Jingang’s enhancement using five-element organs and experimental flesh metal.
• Li Chen began enhancing his Fifth Avatar for his undercover mission and plan to gather the Shaman Tribe Remnants under his rule at Broad Cloud Peak.
• Li Chen reforged the avatar with a stronger body, five-element spirit viscera, and the Self-Derivation Art.
• After a day of work, Li Chen brought the avatar to first-level Foundation Establishment strength.
• Li Chen installed a Qi-Mechanism Generator that emitted fluctuations capable of guiding biological hormone secretion and influencing emotions.

After the Flying Boat departed, Li Chen sent his newly strengthened Jingang to attack Heavenly Dragon Gate scouts, while the Centipede Daoist mistook Jingang for a powerful reinforcement and remained cautious. Elsewhere, Red Wolf and the other tribal leaders, driven from their mountain homes and running out of food, decided to seek the Great Shaman at the Sacred Mountain.

• After the Flying Boat left, Li Chen learned that Human-Head Centipedes were scouting nearby and ordered Heavenly Jade to send Jingang against them.
• Jingang flew to Broad Cloud Peak and slaughtered the Demon Centipedes there, demonstrating his enhanced combat strength.
• Two hidden scouts witnessed Jingang's attack and hurried to report the powerful new enemy to the Centipede Daoist.
• The Centipede Daoist and Elder Zhu discussed their strategy, mistaking Jingang for a reinforcement from the Flying Boat and deciding to deal with the Shaman Folk before advancing.
• Red Wolf and the other tribal leaders discussed their losses, dwindling food, and inability to hold the mountains.
• The tribal leaders agreed to return to the Sacred Mountain and seek the Great Shaman's guidance.

After Red Wolf brought his exhausted people to Broad Cloud Peak, Li Chen and the Fifth Avatar welcomed them, housed and treated them, and convinced them that Li Chen was a heavenly holy man rather than an enemy. More tribal groups arrived seeking help, and Li Chen sent Red Wolf and the Fifth Avatar to persuade the remaining tribes to move under Broad Cloud Ward’s protection.

• Red Wolf led his people to the foot of Broad Cloud Peak, where they prayed to the Ancestral Spirit and reunited with Wushi Yan and the freed tribal warriors.
• The Fifth Avatar told Red Wolf that Li Chen was a holy man sent by heaven, and Red Wolf’s people cautiously accepted the explanation as they saw the camp’s buildings and automatons.
• Wooden Soldier puppets and Clay People escorted the Shaman Folk to their accommodations, while food was distributed and the sick and injured were taken to the Medical Clinic.
• More tribal advance parties arrived, and Li Chen promised to cover their supplies and expenses if they moved their people to Broad Cloud Ward.
• Li Chen asked Red Wolf and the other warriors to recruit the remaining tribes, and the Fifth Avatar volunteered to accompany them.

The Centipede Daoist decided to target Li Chen and the mountain folk as the Heavenly Dragon Gate shifted toward provoking clashes between Foundation Establishment cultivators. Li Chen secured the Market District’s supply commitments and asked Qi Maigu to resume the Blazing Sun Divine Thunder Project.

• The Centipede Daoist learned that Li Chen was relocating mountain folk to Broad Cloud Peak and decided to attack the Great Shaman if an opportunity arose.
• Li Chen detected the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s changed movements and discussed its Foundation Establishment forces with Qi Maigu, Dong Pengfei, Helm Master Qiu, and the others.
• Li Chen asked the Market District’s leaders to prioritize his manpower and supplies, and they agreed to keep business running smoothly.
• Li Chen privately asked Qi Maigu to restart the Blazing Sun Divine Thunder Project with funding and materials to create a weapon of mass destruction.