Chapter Summaries

The Origin Prosperity Commercial Alliance’s public warehouses gained customers after a user described how they protected his valuables during a Flying Boat robbery. Traditional storage artisans, alarmed by falling sales, decided to launch a competing alliance called Eternal Fidelity.

• A Puppet Master Artisan’s account of escaping a Flying Boat robbery by storing his valuables in a Ten-Direction Storage Grid spread through the puppet world heavenly net.
• Cultivators began renting public warehouse slots, attracted by their security, convenience, and low fees.
• Grandmaster Artisan Fang Ze met with traditional storage practitioners as sales of Storage Rings and Space Pouches plummeted.
• Fang Ze reminded the gathering that Li Zun backed the Origin Prosperity Commercial Alliance and warned them not to repeat Xia Yutang’s fate.
• Fang Ze proposed that they compete by offering trusted, dedicated storage compartments, and the practitioners formed the Eternal Fidelity Commercial Alliance.

Li Chen and the Puppet Master Faction oversaw the rapid expansion of imaginary number space, while commercial alliances competed to provide storage, transport, and summoning services. After Mei Xuan reviewed the market’s development three years later, Li Chen proposed consolidating the scattered alliances or registering them under a unified organization.

• Commercial alliances and major powers built public and private imaginary number spaces, while Li Chen created his own warehouse in Materialized Heaven.
• The Puppet Master Faction approved regulations for imaginary number space as the Immortal Alliance struggled to catch up with the technology.
• Over three years, the Origin Prosperity Commercial Alliance became the leading public warehouse and logistics provider despite service failures that damaged its reputation.
• The Eternal Fidelity Commercial Alliance and the Heavenly Dragon Commercial Alliance established specialized services, including valuables storage, creature transport, summoned-beast rearing, and shared Battle Puppets.
• Mei Xuan briefed Li Chen on the market’s development, and Li Chen proposed merging the commercial alliances or placing them under a unified organization.

Li Chen proposed integrating Imaginary Number Space resources, but private interests forced the plan to proceed gradually, strengthening his resolve to develop materialized heaven independently. In Desireless Heaven, newly ascended practitioners completed mechanical rebirth and were guided toward their new home in a cloud-wreathed Blessed Land.

• Li Chen discussed coordinating the Origin Prosperity Commercial Alliance and the Myriad Heavens Marketplace with Mei Xuan, who explained that competing interests would make unified coordination difficult.
• Li Chen submitted his proposal to integrate Imaginary Number Space resources to the Elders' Council, and the Grandmasters and Grandmaster Artisans agreed in principle to pursue it gradually.
• Newly ascended practitioners from Freedom Heaven emerged from the Rebirth Pool with powerful Celestial Person Bodies and became Celestial People of the Desireless Realm.
• The Celestial People learned that their new bodies reduced instinctive desires but could not erase habits rooted in the mind.
• A beautiful Celestial Person led the newly reborn group through the void to a Mountain Gate in a cloud-filled Blessed Land.

Li Chen discovered that Desireless Heaven’s Celestial Persons had lost much of their drive for research, forcing him to revise his approach to balance reason, freedom, and productivity. As successive batches were born, he refined their transformation and moved closer to harmonizing instinct with reason.

• Heavenly Pivot told Li Chen that the second batch of desireless Celestial Persons had become less motivated to pursue research and intellectual development.
• Li Chen rejected Heavenly Pivot’s proposal to implant a Primordial Spirit Virus, deciding that mechanically imposed obsessions would not address the underlying problem.
• Li Chen introduced a flexible work system with mandatory duties and contribution targets, backed by the possibility of returning Celestial Persons to the lower realms.
• Li Chen selected proactive Celestial Persons for greater authority and innate gifts as he prepared for the next stage of development.
• The fourth and fifth batches of desireless Celestial Persons were born, while Li Chen refined his control over biological instincts and drew closer to balancing reason and instinct.

Li Chen questioned newly ascended Celestial Persons about how their transformation had changed them, and they warned him that further ascension could erase their humanity and free will. Their concerns led Li Chen to consider testing whether his own primordial spirit could survive reincarnation and the mystery of the womb.

• Li Chen concluded that balancing the Celestial Persons’ flaws and desires had made them more lively and productive, then summoned Luo Jin to ask how the transformation felt.
• Luo Jin said he felt he had finally found his true nature, but warned Li Chen that further changes could threaten life's free will.
• Li Chen summoned Bu Qingyun, Tie Jin, An Feng, Mei Yicheng, and other leaders, who cautioned that further ascension might turn them into something no longer human.
• Li Chen promised not to experiment on them before understanding the risks, then wondered whether he could test the mystery of the womb on himself.
• Li Chen considered whether surviving reincarnation with his true self intact could prove his primordial spirit immortal.

Li Chen reflected on his cultivation and the widening inequalities caused by the cultivation world's rapid development. When Mei Xuan reported that an Immortal Alliance Steward had vanished after exposing a corrupt mine transfer, Li Chen concluded that the man had likely been killed for challenging powerful interests.

• Li Chen considered other routes to primordial spirit immortality and realized he had already confronted the mystery of the womb through transmigration.
• Materialized heaven expanded as Li Chen drew on innovations and expertise from across the cultivation world to strengthen his Dao Fruits.
• Li Chen recognized that the reforms concentrated wealth and power among titans and Great Powers while making advancement harder for ordinary cultivators.
• Mei Xuan told Li Chen that an Immortal Alliance Steward had disappeared after exposing a scheme to transfer productive public mines to the Heavenly Reach Money House.
• Li Chen recalled that the investigators had failed to trace the Steward and suspected he had been murdered by those whose interests he threatened.

Li Chen and Mei Xuan discussed why the Heavenly Reach Money House’s corruption could not be solved by introducing artificial intelligence, and Li Chen reflected on how powerful figures protected the system. Nearly half a year later, hundreds of thousands of Slave Workers revolted across Ling Island.

• Mei Xuan questioned why Li Chen had not insisted on using Mind Cores in the Heavenly Reach Money House, and he explained that the Immortal Alliance would never accept the Puppet Dao’s control of it.
• Li Chen told Mei Xuan a myth about the Truth Listener, using it to illustrate how even those who could uncover the truth had to stay silent before powerful figures.
• The Heavenly Reach Money House’s scandal faded, while corruption and exploitation continued under the protection of titans and Great Powers.
• On Ling Island, Brother Huo led Slave Workers in seizing a watchtower, then urged them to revolt against those who had taken their homes and enslaved them.
• The rebels seized the mine’s Armory and defeated its returning Garrison Guardian with mining Mecha and a Puppet Dao Flying Sword.
• The uprising spread to mines and Medicine Gardens, and hundreds of thousands of Slave Workers revolted across Ling Island.

A widespread uprising by slave workers and artisans nearly drove Xue Lansheng’s followers out of Pian Province, exposing their corruption and the growing power of Outer Dao weapons. As the Immortal Alliance prepared to negotiate, Li Chen learned of the crisis and welcomed the upheaval.

• Slave workers and artisans across Pian Province rebelled, assembled a formidable Mecha force, and defeated Xue Lansheng’s suppressors.
• After emerging from seclusion, Xue Lansheng learned his eldest disciple had concealed the rebellion and ordered him arrested while notifying the Immortal Alliance.
• The Immortal Alliance recognized that the Rebel Armies had gained powerful local cultivator allies and chose appeasement over a costly military campaign.
• Li Chen learned that the Immortal Alliance’s envoys were heading to Pian Province and praised the uprising, noting that Outer Dao weapons had overturned old assumptions about strength.

Li Chen explained how oppressive rule bred rebellion and secretly supplied the Rebel Army in Pian Province with powerful weapons, armor, and cultivation resources. The grand marshal realized someone was deliberately fanning the flames, and learned that other rebel leaders had received similar aid, making the uprising a threat the Immortal Alliance might not be able to suppress.

• Mei Xuan questioned why the cultivators in Pian Province had mishandled the uprising, and Li Chen explained how excessive exploitation could provoke rebellion.
• Li Chen predicted that the Immortal Alliance would suppress the uprising through force and appeasement, then said he intended to help the people of Pian Province.
• Li Chen secretly delivered weapons, supplies, and battle puppets to the camp of a Rebel Army led by a grand marshal who had inherited the forces of the slain leader surnamed Huo.
• The grand marshal recognized that an unknown benefactor was trying to fan the flames, but accepted the gifts and distributed the powerful equipment and cultivation resources.
• The grand marshal learned that other Rebel Army leaders had received similar aid, transforming the scattered rebels into a force the Immortal Alliance could scarcely defeat without Primordial Spirit intervention.

Constable chief Yan Fan investigated the latest in a series of baffling murders in Ji Shan Market, where healthy men had died from fatal depletion of their vital energy. The chapter left Yan Fan with no leads as the death toll reached fifty-eight.

• Yan Fan and the Ji Shan Constables hurried to a reported killing and learned it matched the recent series.
• A patrol officer identified the dead homeowner as Ma Yi, a withdrawn university dropout whose family had suffered several tragedies.
• Yan Fan found Ma Yi's uninjured body in his bedroom, surrounded by strange splattered substances and with no sign of another person entering.
• The market coroner confirmed Ma Yi had died from depleted essence and vital energy, with no soul remnants or traces of contact with anyone else.
• Yan Fan learned that fifty-eight similar murders had occurred in the area over the past month, leaving the constables without a lead.

Yan Fan’s investigation into the murders of male residents stalled, so he welcomed three Immortal Masters from Ji Shan to take over. Senior Brother Wang exposed a major blind spot in the inquiry, and the group began a fresh investigation of the latest crime scene and collected evidence.

• Yan Fan and his subordinates discussed the mysterious murders and admitted they had found no useful leads.
• A constable announced that Immortal Masters from Spirit Peak had arrived, and Yan Fan went out to welcome them.
• Senior Brother Wang questioned Yan Fan’s failure to investigate male cultivators and pointed out that cultivators could change their sex or form.
• Yan Fan agreed to take the Immortal Masters to Ma Yi’s home, but Senior Brother Wang sent Junior Brother Chen to inspect the scene while he and Junior Sister Lu examined the evidence.

Senior Brother Wang and Junior Brother Chen investigated evidence from a series of murders, but neither found useful clues at the scenes. When Junior Brother Chen used the Mind-Reading Art on Ma Yi, he discovered something in the victim’s mind and suddenly collapsed, leaving the investigation in danger.

• Yan Fan led Senior Brother Wang and Junior Sister Lu to inspect evidence from the murder scenes, while Junior Brother Chen went with constables to examine Ma Yi’s home.
• Senior Brother Wang used the Trace-Seeking Art and his analytical abilities but found no signs that an outsider had touched the collected objects.
• Junior Sister Lu secretly assessed Yan Fan and the yamen runners and reported no clear signs of collusion.
• Junior Brother Chen confirmed that the scene and Ma Yi’s body matched the case file, then decided to use the Mind-Reading Art despite its risks.
• Junior Brother Chen found something in Ma Yi’s mind and collapsed, his vitality draining away.

After Chen died while using the Mind-Reading Art, Senior Brother Wang and Yan Fan suspected that an invisible killer was spreading through the Puppet World Heavenly Net. Their investigation pointed to a possible catastrophe, and Senior Brother Wang learned that the Mountain Gate had reported the same incident in the Peaceful Sheep Market.

• A constable reported that Chen had died in the same blissful state as Ma Yi after touching the envoy's head.
• Senior Brother Wang suspected Chen had seen something fatal while using the Mind-Reading Art and warned that the culprit might be a Nascent Soul expert or an incorporeal meme.
• Yan Fan realized that the victims had all used Mind Cores to access the Puppet World Heavenly Net, suggesting the killer originated there.
• Senior Brother Wang ordered Junior Sister Lu and Yan Fan to seal the case files, keep quiet, and requested urgent aid from the Mountain Gate.
• The Mountain Gate told Senior Brother Wang that an incident in the Peaceful Sheep Market matched his case, and he feared the outbreak had already begun.

Li Chen investigated the bizarre deaths in Ji Shan and traced a pink phantom into a strange domain ruled by an Incarnation of Beauty. He discovered that the mysterious figure wielded law-level power, but her identity and connection to the killings remained unknown.

• Heavenly Pivot reported that bizarre incidents in Ji Shan had killed tens of thousands, and Li Chen decided to investigate while Han Li underwent fusion.
• Li Chen entered the outside world in an undetectable incarnation and found an uncanny law domain that seemed to be an extension of its user’s power.
• He expanded his Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear across the region, tracking events through the Puppet World Heavenly Net.
• Li Chen witnessed a scarlet-eyed young man die as a Pink Phantom fled, then sent his spiritual awareness after it.
• His spiritual awareness entered a pink-lit palace and found a beautiful, enigmatic figure on a throne: an Incarnation of Beauty.

Li Chen recognized the mysterious figure as a human nearing transformation into a Heavenly Demon, then attacked and erased its avatars with his law domain. After he returned to the materialized heaven, a man in a Sky City died, prompting the city's intelligence to activate a backup fusion plan.

• Li Chen identified the figure's demonic arts, avatar invocation, and memetic transmission as the laws behind its growing power.
• Li Chen approached the figure on its throne and tapped its brow, unleashing his law domain.
• Li Chen's domain overwhelmed the figure and decayed the palace, destroying its many avatars in the Chaos Void.
• Li Chen returned to the materialized heaven without checking whether the figure had survived.
• A man in a Sky City died, and the city's intelligence activated the backup fusion plan.

The Puppet Dao Faction’s Elders’ Council voted to force entry into Heavenly Soul City after Master You was reported murdered, and Han Tong volunteered to investigate. After leaving the meeting, Han Tong traveled toward the sealed city and used flames to awaken a Paper Beauty bearing a faint trace of Heavenly Demon aura.

• Wu Fangdao told the assembled Grandmasters and Grandmaster Artisans that Master You had been killed and Heavenly Soul City had sealed itself off.
• Li Chen supported opening the city, and the council voted to send an investigation party inside.
• Han Tong volunteered to lead the mission, citing his long relationship with Master You.
• Han Tong traveled to the Eastern Victory Continent but could not locate the sealed Heavenly Soul City, so he stopped on a barren mountain.
• Han Tong burned a portrait of a Paper Beauty, which began to reveal signs of life.

Han Tong discovered that Youxuan had survived his apparent death through the Substitute Death Paper Painting and learned that an unknown attacker had struck him down. After Youxuan resolved to pursue heavenly demon rebirth, Han Tong set out to investigate the Sky City but sensed someone following him and called out to Fellow Daoist Li.

• The painted beauty spoke to Han Tong, revealed he was Youxuan, and explained that the Substitute Death Paper Painting had preserved his spirit and memories after his death.
• Youxuan recounted his plan to use Heavenly Demon Rebirth to escape his curse and advance to the primordial spirit realm through a heavenly demon Dharma body.
• Han Tong considered how someone had killed Youxuan before he could react, but did not reveal his suspicions.
• Youxuan decided to pursue heavenly demon rebirth rather than restore his soul body, and Han Tong agreed to support him and investigate the Sky City.
• Han Tong vanished into the void to head for the Sky City, sensed someone following him, and called out, “Come out, Fellow Daoist Li. I know it's you.”

Li Chen revealed himself to Han Tong after Han Tong exposed him with a Paper Effigy Art, and admitted that he had attacked Youxuan. Their discussion left Han Tong resolved not to report him, while Li Chen defended his pursuit of collective progress and his refusal to let cultivators place themselves above mortals.

• Han Tong used a burning paper effigy to reveal Li Chen, who explained that his Mysterious Nonbeing Art had kept him undetected until then.
• Li Chen admitted that he had attacked Youxuan because Youxuan harmed people with an Evil Cultivation Art.
• Han Tong said he would neither report Li Chen to the Elders' Council nor tell Youxuan, since doing so would bring no benefit.
• Han Tong questioned Li Chen's efforts to raise mortals' status, arguing that the divide between immortals and mortals could not be overcome.
• Li Chen said he accepted temporary disparities but opposed cultivators treating themselves as separate from mortals, and declared that he would kill even a celestial immortal who built their Dao Fruit on harming their own people.

After Youxuan’s failed ambush, the Puppet Dao Faction lifted its alert but approved Li Chen’s plan to screen the Heavenly Net and restrict Youxuan’s meme power. Pan Ning then found inspiration in Youxuan’s methods and proposed spreading a demon enchantress persona to harvest prayer power, leaving Li Chen intrigued by the idea.

• Han Tong reported that the Sky City lockdown had resulted from Youxuan cultivating a secret art, and the Elders’ Council lifted the combat alert.
• Li Chen proposed a screening mechanism for the public Heavenly Net, and the Grandmasters approved it, including Han Tong.
• The Puppet Dao Faction quickly enacted restrictions to block memes and limit the spread of Youxuan’s alluring primordial spirit image, which could drain victims’ life force through fantasy.
• Pan Ning studied Youxuan’s technique and proposed disguising an avatar as Hu Meiniang to spread teachings and harvest prayer power on the Earthly Immortal Continent.
• Pan Ning asked Li Chen to help create poems, songs, and dances for Hu Meiniang, and Li Chen said the plan could work while expressing surprise at Pan Ning’s ambitions.

Li Chen and Pan Ning prepared to gather prayer power overseas by turning Pan Ning’s incarnation into a demon enchantress, with Han Li joining the plan. As they arranged music and disguise techniques, Mo Qing asked to join with Li Baiyan after sensing the scheme could offer a path to advancement.

• Pan Ning explained that Hu Meiniang’s incarnation could nurture his primordial spirit, and Li Chen agreed to help him gather prayer power on the condition that Han Li accompany him.
• Li Chen transformed Hu Meiniang’s incarnation into a new identity and prepared songs, while Pan Ning transferred his main soul and true spirit into her body.
• Pan Ning struggled to sing convincingly, so Li Chen proposed teaching him through Spirit-Particle Memory Memes and installing a Broadcast Mechanism Device for lip-syncing.
• Pan Ning chose both singing instruction and lip-syncing, and Li Chen began modifying the incarnation.
• Mo Qing offered to record vocals and support their plan, asking to bring Li Baiyan and learn their true intentions.