Chapter Summaries

Trapped atop a pillar in the Bitterwind Wasteland, Li Chen and You An struggled to fend off thousands of Servant Demons and weighed their dwindling chances of escape. Li Chen chose to try disguising them with the Skin-Painting Art, though he doubted it would fool the Demons’ sense of their energy signatures.

• Li Chen and You An argued over whether Li Chen could escape alone on the Water Spider, but Li Chen refused to abandon You An.
• The two continued knocking climbing Servant Demons off the pillar as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm them.
• Li Chen revealed that he could use the Demons’ hides for the Skin-Painting Art, but his cultivation was too weak to conceal their energy signatures.
• You An urged Li Chen to risk the disguise, and Li Chen agreed to prepare while You An held off the Demons.

Li Chen and You An disguised themselves as Servant Demons to escape the horde and retrieve an intact Puppet Core. They reached the edge of the crowd, only to find a powerful, intelligent Servant Demon chieftain waiting for them with a plan to claim them for itself.

• Li Chen used the skins of slain Servant Demons to disguise himself and You An as demons.
• The pair jumped from the stone pillar, recovered the Puppet Core from a ruined Armored Warrior Puppet, and ran through the horde.
• Evolved Servant Demon Enforcers roared at them, but Li Chen and You An kept moving and escaped the crowd before their disguises faded.
• A fiery-red, unusually large Mutant Servant Demon confronted them on a nearby hillside, and Li Chen realized the chieftain had used its servants to save its strength for them.

Li Chen and You An fled the Demon horde, but the Servant Demon leader pursued them and fought through their Mechanism Beasts and weapons. After their mounts were badly damaged and You An was gravely wounded, they escaped upward on the Water Spider, leaving the Demon leader approaching beneath them.

• Li Chen and You An ran from the Demon horde, but the Servant Demon leader chased them alone.
• Li Chen and You An mounted their Mechanism Beasts, yet the Servant Demon leader caught up and wounded You An.
• Li Chen attacked with the Water Spider and Divine Fire Flying Crows, but the Servant Demon leader survived and continued fighting.
• The Servant Demon leader badly damaged the Fang Tiger and Water Spider, while You An suffered internal injuries.
• Li Chen carried the wounded You An away on the Fang Tiger, then sent them upward on the damaged Water Spider as the Servant Demon leader approached below.

Cornered by the Servant Demon leader, You An reflected on his failures and chose to sacrifice himself so Li Chen could survive. He detonated his War Armor with the demon in his grasp, leaving Li Chen alive beside a vast crater.

• The Servant Demon leader devoured its own subordinates to heal its wounds and strengthen its Flame Baleful Intent.
• You An spoke to Li Chen about his despair over weakness, loss, and the deaths of those he could not save.
• You An used Meridian-Severing Force to immobilize Li Chen, gave him his belongings, and urged him to live and become powerful.
• You An grabbed the pursuing Servant Demon leader and detonated his War Armor, killing them both in a massive explosion.
• Li Chen recovered as the blast subsided and saw a huge crater where You An and the demon had stood.

After You An sacrificed himself to help Li Chen escape the demon army, Li Chen took shelter in a stone forest and mourned his friend while assessing his chances of survival. He resolved to keep going, modifying his Wooden Soldiers and repairing and assembling Mechanism Puppets for the dangers ahead.

• Li Chen escaped the pursuing demons in the Water Spider and collapsed after reaching a hidden stone forest.
• After waking, Li Chen found that You An's Storage Bag held over a thousand spirit stones and supplies, and grieved over his friend's sacrifice.
• Li Chen considered whether You An could be resurrected, but realized that doing so would require power far beyond his current abilities.
• Li Chen modified his two Wooden Soldiers to target demons' vital areas and replaced damaged parts on the Water Spider.
• Li Chen assembled a new Armored Warrior and repaired the Fang Tiger Mechanism Beast using spare components and equipment You An had left behind.

Li Chen cleared the demons around the stone forest, upgraded his puppets with demon materials and cores, and rested after securing his supplies. Rain drove him to search for shelter, where he discovered a cavern containing several humanoid skeletons.

• Li Chen used his puppets to hunt the nearby demons and collected inner cores, organs, hides, and flesh.
• Li Chen fitted his puppets with demon skins, circulating demon blood, and Demon Cores to improve their camouflage and reduce their reliance on spirit stones.
• Li Chen set his puppets and Flying Discs to guard him, then fell asleep from exhaustion.
• Rain woke Li Chen, who left his stone pillar to look for shelter and found a hidden cavern beneath a massive boulder.
• Li Chen sent a Flying Disc into the cavern and spotted several humanoid skeletons scattered beneath a rock wall.

Li Chen explored a cave filled with the remains of cultivators and Demonic Beasts, then recovered their possessions and discovered the relics of a skilled Puppet Master. He found that the Modified Armored Warrior's control permissions were completely open.

• Li Chen entered the hot cave and found a Demon chieftain's Inner Core crystal among the skeletons.
• He retrieved the crystal and discovered Storage Bags, several Puppets, and a Puppet Master's Robe bearing a Craftsman mark.
• Li Chen guarded the cave entrance and cautiously searched the Storage Bags, keeping useful coins, Inner Cores, and components.
• The final Storage Bag contained The Hundred Crafts, Part One, ten Inner Core crystals, and the Puppet Master's research notes on Refinement Enhancement.
• Li Chen probed the Modified Armored Warrior and discovered that its core had been decrypted and its permissions were open.

Li Chen repaired and reprogrammed a damaged Armored Warrior Puppet using his Worker Bee system, then found a hidden cavern and learned from a dead Puppet Master's records that a Void Gate inside opened during the Midmonth Full-Moon Alignment. The records suggested the gate could lead him back to the Eastern Victory Continent, so he decided to investigate.

• Li Chen inspected the unguarded Armored Warrior Puppet, installed his Worker Bee system in its Puppet Core, and tested its sword techniques.
• Li Chen examined the dead Puppet Master's belongings, collected the remains, and had the puppet bury them.
• Li Chen discovered a vine-hidden fissure and used his Reconnaissance Flying Disc to find a vast underground cavern.
• Li Chen searched the Puppet Master's Image-Recording Jade Slip and found a map and records identifying a Void Gate that opened during the Midmonth Full-Moon Alignment.
• Li Chen learned that the dead Ruins Seekers had found the hidden passage and decided to explore the cavern for a possible route back to the Eastern Victory Continent.

Li Chen found the Boundary Gate beneath the Bitterwind Wasteland and spent the waiting period studying craftsmanship and refining his puppets. When the portal opened, he chose not to return home yet, deciding to gain more from the demons before going back.

• Li Chen followed the Image-Recording Jade Slip through the underground fissures and located the Boundary Gate above a lava river.
• He camped nearby while studying the Puppet Master Craftsman's notes, practicing his craft, and strengthening his Mechanism Puppets.
• As the full moon approached, Li Chen grew restless despite his progress in cultivation and craftsmanship.
• Li Chen found that the Void Gate had opened, but lost his desire to return through it.
• Li Chen turned away from the Boundary Gate and headed back into the depths to seek more from the demons.

Li Chen conserved his dwindling supplies and disguised himself to infiltrate a Servant Demon settlement, where he captured a lone Demon without alerting the others. He brought the captive to a secluded riverbank and began cutting open its chest to pursue a way of overcoming his resource shortage.

• Li Chen found a river, replenished his water, and disguised himself as a Servant Demon with Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting.
• Li Chen approached a settlement of about a hundred Servant Demons and lured a lone, scrawny Demon into a fight.
• Li Chen used two Armored Warrior Puppets to subdue and bind the Demon, then carried it away on a Mechanism Beast.
• Li Chen hid with the captive by the river and confirmed that attacking could expose his energy signature despite his disguise.
• Li Chen infused a steel knife with magic power and cut open the captive Servant Demon's chest.

Li Chen spent more than a year dissecting Demons and studying their instincts to create a device for controlling them. He implanted his completed Potter Wasp Core into a Servant Demon and made it submit through unbearable pain whenever it tried to attack or flee.

• Li Chen dissected a series of Demons, including Servant Demons, Spine Demons, Horned Demons, and Earth Demons, to study their bodies and reactions.
• Li Chen examined Demon brains and used thunder gang to identify ways to stimulate instinctive responses such as fear, pain, hunger, and anger.
• Li Chen spent more than a year studying and dissecting over a hundred Demons before completing a walnut-sized crystal he called the Potter Wasp Core.
• Li Chen implanted the core in a Servant Demon and released it from its restraints.
• The Servant Demon tried to attack Li Chen and flee, but the core caused it intense pain until it became fearful and submissive.

Li Chen developed Potter Wasp Cores to control low-tier Demons and began building a Mingling Legion to avenge Old You and grow stronger. After weeks of hunting and refining Demon Cores, his host insects numbered nearly a hundred.

• Li Chen tested his Potter Wasp Core on a Servant Demon and decided to use the controlled Demons to hunt the legions that had killed Old You.
• He implanted Potter Wasp Cores in three captive Demons and confirmed that the cores could control low-tier Demons with similar brains and cultivation.
• Li Chen led his four controlled Demons to attack a group of Servant Demons, capturing several and growing his force to ten host insects.
• Li Chen ambushed a Demon group led by a Servant Demon Enforcer, killed more than half, and used the Enforcer's Demon Pellet to make additional cores.
• For nearly half a month, Li Chen hunted with his host insects, replacing injured or dead ones and turning fresh Demon Cores into Potter Wasp Cores.
• After more than two months of repeated hunts, Li Chen's Mingling Legion had grown to nearly a hundred host insects.

Li Chen used his Host Insects and Potter Wasp Cores to expand the Mingling Legion, then launched it against a Spine Demon tribe. The legion wiped out the tribe’s leaders and routed the rest, leaving Li Chen with captives to replenish his troops.

• Li Chen considered how to expand the Mingling Legion and reflected that he lacked the skills to miniaturize the cores or command the demons through battle formations.
• Li Chen led nearly a hundred Host Insects toward a Spine Demon tribe he had scouted earlier.
• Li Chen used Azure Glow and his Mechanism-Performance Method to drive the Host Insects into a frenzied attack.
• The Mingling Legion killed several Spine Demon chiefs and routed the tribe’s ordinary demons.
• Li Chen stopped the Host Insects, captured wounded and fleeing demons as reserve troops, and let the legion feed on the dead.

Li Chen expanded the Mingling Legion to three hundred Host Insects, then realized he could not control or sustain a larger force. He disrupted the Bitterwind Wasteland to harvest Demon Cores and planned one final massacre, beginning with the Horned Demon Chief who kept the local tribes in order.

• Li Chen grew the Mingling Legion to three hundred Host Insects but found that controlling and feeding them had become too difficult to manage.
• Li Chen returned to the fertile region beneath the World Barrier and used his disguised followers and Demon Cores as bait to provoke fights among the demons.
• Li Chen's schemes caused thousands of indirect casualties and made the demons across the Bitterwind Wasteland increasingly hostile toward one another.
• Li Chen watched a powerful Horned Demon kill his frenzied Host Insects and recognized it as a Demon Chief who could prevent the region from descending into chaos.
• Li Chen decided to use the Horned Demon Chief as bait for a final battle so he could collect more Demon Cores before leaving the wasteland.

Li Chen ambushed a Demon Chief by tricking it into swallowing a hooked mechanism hidden inside a Servant Demon’s heart. The Demon Chief tore the device out, but Li Chen’s follow-up attack took effect, and he watched as the leader spat up strange silver particles.

• Li Chen watched the Demon Chief eat a Servant Demon’s heart, which concealed a hooked mechanism.
• The mechanism expanded inside the Demon Chief’s throat, causing it severe pain and preventing it from swallowing food.
• The Demon Chief tried to remove the mechanism through its mouth, then cut open its belly and pulled the device out through its stomach.
• The Demon Chief retched and spat bloody fluid mixed with pale-silver particles, and Li Chen smiled as he confirmed his second attack had worked.

Li Chen used spirit mercury to poison the Horned Demon Chief, then led his Host Insects and puppets in a close assault. After the chief fell, Li Chen took his Demon Core and resolved to keep advancing until he was strong enough to roam freely.

• Li Chen injected spirit mercury into the Horned Demon Chief while concealing the needles’ effects.
• Li Chen ordered hundreds of demons to swarm the chief, pinning him down as two Armored Warrior Puppets stabbed through his chest.
• The spirit mercury caused blood clots that slowed the chief, and Li Chen struck him with a Divine Fire Flying Crow.
• Li Chen’s Wooden Soldiers and Armored Warrior Puppets repeatedly stabbed the weakened chief until he collapsed.
• Li Chen reflected on Old Huang’s past, then dug the Demon Core out of the chief’s body.

Li Chen exploited the Demon Chief's Inner Core to incite Demons across the region into slaughtering one another, then led his Mingling Legion through repeated ambushes that nearly wiped out the tribes surrounding him. After gathering Demon Cores and spirit materials, he disguised himself and returned to the Void Gate leading to Coldwind Valley.

• Li Chen used the Demon Chief's flesh and Inner Core to drive the Mingling Legion and nearby Demons into a chaotic battle, then lifted his restrictions and let them kill one another.
• Li Chen commanded the surviving Host Insects to ambush arriving Demons, forming new Mingling Legions and luring rival tribes into deadly fights.
• Li Chen repeatedly used the Demon Chief's Inner Core as bait, wiping out Demon tribes until he had nearly exterminated the Demons across the region.
• Li Chen gathered Demon Cores and spirit materials, then crossed the wilderness in disguise while avoiding powerful True Demons.
• Li Chen found the Void Gate to Coldwind Valley and slipped through it among thousands of Demons.

Li Chen crossed the Boundary Gate disguised among the Demons, then revealed himself and fought his way toward the city. On the way, he rescued five Creation Sect disciples by terrifying their Demonic attackers into fleeing.

• Li Chen passed through the Boundary Gate with the Demons and reached the battlefield near Octagonal Fort.
• He dropped his Painted Skin, summoned his Armored Warrior Puppets, killed a group of Servant Demons, and set out for the city on Fang Tiger.
• Li Chen noticed five Creation Sect disciples being overwhelmed by Demons and turned aside to help them.
• He unleashed an aura like that of a Demon Chief, causing the Demons to freeze and then flee as he approached.

Li Chen rescued a group of Creation Sect disciples from Demons, then returned to Octagonal Fort to eat, drink, and plan his next steps. He resolved to sell his accumulated materials and Demon Cores, while investigating who had endangered him and You An so he could take revenge.

• Li Chen drove the Demons away from the Creation Sect disciples and revealed that Uncle He had been secretly guarding them.
• Uncle He warned the disciples not to seek out Li Chen, whom he judged extremely dangerous, and promised to report the encounter to his employer.
• Li Chen returned to Octagonal Fort and eagerly ate beef and drank wine after more than a year of hardship in the Demon Domain.
• Li Chen planned to sell his spirit materials and Demon Cores to fund his cultivation and increase his strength.
• Li Chen resolved to investigate who had arranged the incident that endangered him and You An, then kill whoever was behind it.

Li Chen sold more than four hundred thousand talisman coins' worth of demon materials while disguising himself to avoid attention. With funds in hand, he began preparing to strengthen his body through flesh puppetization and bought spirit blood to replace his own blood himself.

• Li Chen disguised himself and sold demon materials in batches at several trading houses, earning more than four hundred thousand talisman coins.
• After hearing merchants compare unusually large hauls, Li Chen stopped selling and returned to the inn with his rarer goods still in storage.
• Li Chen considered the body a lifebound puppet and decided that replacing parts with natural treasures was an efficient way for Puppet Masters to strengthen themselves.
• The next morning, Li Chen went to Master Artisan Bu's spirit-blood shop and paid for ten jin of spirit blood.
• Li Chen declined the shop's offer to perform the transfusion and took the finished spirit blood so he could replace his blood himself.