Chapter Summaries

Cheng Yu learned that Demon Monsters were attacking the ship and weighed whether to intervene as the soldiers struggled to contain the crisis. After retreating to his room, he considered using Mad Song to turn the vessel into a Ghost Ship, but worried it might not reach the Eastern Continent.

• Cheng Yu screamed to summon the soldiers, then told their leader that little black figures covered the ship's underside.
• The leader gathered the lowest-deck passengers in the hall and sealed their rooms while soldiers guarded them.
• A rain-soaked soldier reported that tiny black shadows had attacked a wealthy young master on the highest deck, prompting the leader to take most of his men upstairs.
• With few soldiers left, order on the lowest deck collapsed, and Cheng Yu returned to his room to avoid the passengers.
• Cheng Yu let Niu Ba out and considered using Mad Song to turn the ship into a Ghost Ship, but wondered whether it would still follow its route to the Eastern Continent.

Cheng Yu rejected the options that would put Niu Ba at risk and faced a sudden visitor aboard the ship. After introducing himself as Ink Emperor, the visitor asked to discuss truth, and Cheng Yu argued that power determined what counted as truth.

• Cheng Yu considered his choices and dismissed the first and third, while Niu Ba offered to burn his essence blood to summon the Old Ancestor’s spirit and escape.
• Cheng Yu refused to let Niu Ba risk his future, but a muscular Demon Monster crashed through the window as Niu Ba prepared to attack.
• Cheng Yu held Mad Song at the intruder’s chest until the Demon Monster introduced himself as Ink Emperor and requested a conversation.
• Ink Emperor repaired the window, dried the room, and sat down with Cheng Yu, who stored Niu Ba in the Spirit Beast Bag and System Space.
• Ink Emperor said he wanted to discuss truth, and Cheng Yu answered that power determined truth; a tremendous thunderclap followed.

Cheng Yu let the Ink Emperor’s Demon Monsters take the passengers’ identities, while the Ink Emperor seized the commander’s body and resolved to enter a Humankind Heavenly Dynasty. As the ship reached the Eastern Continent, Cheng Yu prepared to disembark with Niu Ba and limited travel funds.

• Cheng Yu chose to let the Ink Emperor’s followers impersonate the passengers, believing their lack of Humankind fortune would keep them from gaining influence in the Eastern Continent.
• The Ink Emperor took over the commander’s body after learning about the powers and fortune of Humankind, then told the upper-deck passengers that the Demon Monster incident had been handled.
• Cheng Yu resumed his routine aboard the ship and, after Nuan Yu repeatedly asked for guidance, told her stories until she saluted him as her teacher.
• Cheng Yu warned Niu Ba not to take his advice to Nuan Yu to heart because Niu Ba was a demon and she was human.
• Cheng Yu counted his remaining Grain-Avoidance Pills, Niu Ba’s food, and Origin Stones, then saw the Eastern Continent on the horizon.

Cheng Yu arrived in the Eastern Continent and observed its peaceful human society while remaining wary of its hidden strengths. After learning that spirit beasts were unwelcome in its cities, he went to the Spirit Beast Pavilion to buy feed for Niu Ba.

• Cheng Yu disembarked in the Eastern Continent and found its people more relaxed than those in Baiyue Prefecture.
• Cheng Yu checked into a cheap inn, where the innkeeper warned him not to release his spirit beast inside the cities.
• Cheng Yu bought Grain-Avoidance Pills and headed to the Spirit Beast Pavilion without Niu Ba.
• Cheng Yu saw a greasy middle-aged man leading a beast-featured girl but chose not to question him.
• Cheng Yu asked the shopkeeper for the best bovine spirit-beast feed and learned it cost one Origin Stone for two hundred jin.

Cheng Yu bought feed for Niu Ba, learned about wild demons in the Eastern Continent, and set out on the road after resting at an inn. He explained that he wanted to travel across the mortal world and witness its wonders, leaving the pair walking beneath a clearing sky.

• Cheng Yu bought two thousand jin of feed for Niu Ba, and the shopkeeper explained that captured wild demons could be sold as beast slaves.
• Cheng Yu bought a map, worried about his dwindling money, and returned to the inn, where he chose to save the Old Village Chief's wine for his other self.
• Cheng Yu left the inn at dawn with two steamed buns, released Niu Ba outside the city, and shared the food with him.
• As Niu Ba carried him along a forest path, Cheng Yu explained that he preferred seeing the world on his way to the Northern Abyss Islands rather than taking a Teleportation Array.
• Niu Ba admitted he did not understand Cheng Yu's ambitions, and the Sun broke through the clouds as they traveled.

Cheng Yu and Niu Ba continued their northbound journey, helping others, gathering spirit plants, and hearing news about people from their past. As autumn arrived, they traveled through a forest of red leaves and argued playfully over whose footsteps made the best crunch.

• Cheng Yu and Niu Ba joined a merchant caravan, where Cheng Yu heard news about Mo Huang resolving a Demon Monster incident and Nuan Yu helping an expert break through.
• A Demon Monster attacked the caravan, and Cheng Yu used Little Red to defeat it before the others arrived; he and Niu Ba left before the caravan owner could thank him.
• Cheng Yu received a Record of Spirit Plants from the caravan owner and began collecting plants along the road, including a red-green twin life that Niu Ba said could affect the Demon Race's bloodline power.
• Cheng Yu and Niu Ba continued north as autumn arrived, and they competed over who made the nicest sound stomping on red leaves.

Cheng Yu and Niu Ba reached a village dominated by a strange entertainment club, where the Old Village Chief explained that the club had ensnared most of the villagers. Cheng Yu refused to investigate, but the elderly villagers blocked his way, prompting him to tell Niu Ba to show them he was no pushover.

• Cheng Yu and Niu Ba discovered a village and a neon-lit building called the New World Entertainment Club beside it.
• The Old Village Chief told Cheng Yu that a young villager had once defeated a demon monster, but later returned with cultivators who turned part of the village into the club.
• The Old Village Chief explained that visitors became hooked on the club and that most of the village's young people had been drawn inside.
• Cheng Yu declined to risk investigating the club and left the Old Village Chief's home.
• Elderly villagers surrounded Cheng Yu and begged him to help, so he told Niu Ba to show them he was no pushover.

Cheng Yu tried to leave the village dispute behind, but a suited transmigrator drew him into a confrontation at the New World Entertainment Club. With System’s help, Cheng Yu stripped the man of his powers and killed him, leaving no trace of him behind.

• Cheng Yu rode Niu Ba past the villagers who had blocked his way and chose not to get involved in their troubles.
• At the village entrance, Cheng Yu recognized a suited man as a likely transmigrator and ordered Niu Ba to charge, but the man stopped them with an invitation to tea.
• Cheng Yu put Niu Ba away and met the man at the club, where the man questioned him about the Three Pillar Gods and the ultimate Dao.
• Cheng Yu and System prepared to protect his true spirit, and System dragged the man’s system out of his body and destroyed it.
• After the man lost his powers and pushed women toward him, Cheng Yu released Little Red, slashed the man with Mad Song, and erased him with Fucking Eat, Eat, Eat.

Yog and Shub discussed Yog’s interest in the child and watched Nyarlathotep’s plans unfold. After killing the Transmigrator, Cheng Yu learned about the tobacco trade and persuaded Niu Ba to carry him toward the Back Mountain to investigate its source.

• Yog and Shub discussed Nyarlathotep’s repeated attempts to assimilate the child and the child’s role in Nyarlathotep’s Amusement Park.
• Cheng Yu questioned the young women at the entertainment club and learned the Transmigrator had used mind-euphoric tobacco to build wealth and supply an unknown organization.
• Cheng Yu learned the tobacco required people to grow, especially those with high cultivation, and suspected the village’s missing youths were involved.
• Cheng Yu released Niu Ba and took him outside after Niu Ba complained that the club’s smell was harming his soul.
• Niu Ba noticed the smell coming from the Back Mountain, and Cheng Yu convinced him to carry him there to investigate the tobacco.

Cheng Yu and Niu Ba uncovered a cellar where people were being poisoned by a plant-based tobacco operation, and Cheng Yu destroyed the growth with Mad Song. He left the villagers to face the consequences of their greed and reflected on the many kinds of people he had met.

• Cheng Yu persuaded Niu Ba to smash open a rocky hill, revealing a cave beneath it.
• Cheng Yu explored the cellar and found people incapacitated by tobacco, some with plants growing from their heads.
• Cheng Yu found the plants growing from a corpse and used Mad Song to flood the cellar with dark red sludge, destroying the growth.
• Cheng Yu returned to the village, where the villagers celebrated their windfall and the old village chief offered him a share of the tobacco profits.
• Cheng Yu left with Niu Ba, concluding that the villagers would face the consequences of their greed, and they discussed how varied people could be.

Cheng Yu and Niu Ba traveled down the Tianlan River toward Tianlan City, where they planned to teleport to the Central Capital. After Cheng Yu sang for the passengers and went fishing with the old fisherman, he returned to the boat’s cabin, leaving their journey still underway.

• Cheng Yu and Niu Ba rode a boat down the Tianlan River, expecting to reach Tianlan City the next morning.
• Cheng Yu admired the river scenery and sang a song about the joys and disappointments of mortal life.
• The old fisherman praised Cheng Yu’s song, and Niu Ba asked him to sing again.
• Cheng Yu and the old fisherman fished from the moving boat, and the old fisherman caught a large fish.
• Cheng Yu took in the moonlit river and returned to the boat’s cabin.

Cheng Yu traveled by boat with Niu Ba for two months before reaching Tianlan City. He parted ways with the kind old fisherman after giving him ten Origin Stones and expressed hope that they would meet again.

• The old fisherman served fish soup, and Niu Ba happily ate Cheng Yu's portion while praising the old man's kindness.
• Two months later, the old fisherman pointed out Tianlan City and told Cheng Yu about its busy waterways, importance, and Imperial Palace.
• Cheng Yu reached Tianlan City around noon and offered the old fisherman ten Origin Stones for his care and guidance.
• The old fisherman tried to return the money, but Cheng Yu insisted he keep it and asked him to make fish soup for Niu Ba if they met again.
• Cheng Yu and Niu Ba said goodbye to the old fisherman and arrived in Tianlan City.

Cheng Yu entered Tianlan City and discovered that residents from countless subordinate worlds, including Orcs, Elves, and cybernetically modified humans, mingled there as ordinary visitors. He joined a queue to exchange goods for travel money and surprised the Orcs ahead by treating them with unusual humility.

• Cheng Yu saw many beings from Western fantasy and science-fiction worlds in Tianlan City, which he realized was far stranger than he had expected.
• Cheng Yu reflected on the vast gap in strength between inhabitants of the Eternal True World and creatures from subordinate worlds, and on how some subordinate-world races had ascended and joined the great world’s populations.
• Cheng Yu headed to a shop that bought goods, hoping to raise travel money, and joined a queue of Foreign Races from subordinate worlds.
• Several Orcs stepped aside after seeing Cheng Yu’s attire, and he told them there was no need to stand on ceremony.
• An Orc asked whether Cheng Yu was from another world, and Cheng Yu explained that he had been born in the Eternal True World.
• Cheng Yu said his birthplace was only a matter of luck, leaving the Orc staring at him in astonishment.

Cheng Yu learned how Heru’s Orc Empire had been brought under the Great Qin Celestial Dynasty and watched representatives from other worlds trade tribute in Tianlan City. After declining a suspicious job offer, he headed for the Central Capital and became curious about attending the Myriad Races’ tribute ceremony.

• Heru told Cheng Yu how a Great Qin envoy destroyed the Orc Empire’s capital after the Beast Emperor refused to pay tribute, and how Heru later vowed to make the Orcs one of the Myriad Races of the Eternal True World.
• Cheng Yu watched a representative from a science-fiction world trade high-tech devices for Origin Stones, then saw Heru sell a rare jade-like fish skeleton for twenty-eight hundred Origin Stones.
• Cheng Yu sold his spirit plants for one hundred Origin Stones and declined the old man’s offer of a job, suspecting it would lead to trouble.
• Cheng Yu took a city Teleportation Array toward the Central Capital and met Heru, who explained that tribute missions from other worlds also gathered in Tianlan City.
• Cheng Yu wondered whether he should attend the Myriad Races’ tribute ceremony while he was in the Central Capital.

Cheng Yu reached the Central Capital and learned that reaching Beiyou Prefecture cheaply required an overland journey through Heavenly Gate Pass and the Haiyou Mountains. He accepted a map in exchange for recording the route and dangers, then planned to take it to the shop’s branch in Fuzhou City.

• Cheng Yu arrived in the Central Capital, where an official welcomed the visiting ambassadors and announced that the Human Emperor would receive them in three days.
• Heru said goodbye to Cheng Yu before leaving, and Cheng Yu found an inn and consulted a map of the region.
• The shopkeeper explained that teleportation to nearby cities was restricted and described a long sea route and a shorter overland route to Beiyou Prefecture.
• Cheng Yu chose the overland route through Heavenly Gate Pass and the Haiyou Mountains after learning the sea voyage could take around fifteen years.
• The shopkeeper gave Cheng Yu a map in exchange for his promise to mark the route and dangers through the Haiyou Mountains and deliver it to the shop’s Fuzhou City branch, Traveling the World.

Cheng Yu struggled to find work in the Central Capital after calculating that he needed another 150 Origin Stones to feed himself and Niu Ba on the journey to Beiyou Prefecture. When the Myriad Races came to pay homage, he realized the occasion might offer a chance to earn money and went out to look for an opportunity.

• Cheng Yu negotiated with the owner of Traveling the World for maps and tools, agreeing to mark dangers in the Haiyou Mountains and identify at least fifteen resource sites.
• Cheng Yu calculated that his remaining provisions and Origin Stones left him 150 Origin Stones short of what he needed for the journey.
• Cheng Yu searched for legitimate work but was rejected by employers and refused to consider selling himself or breaking the law.
• Cheng Yu resolved to spend a year gathering resources if he could not find work within two days, then went to sleep.
• Cheng Yu heard the Human Emperor announce an audience for ambassadors of every race, recognized the Myriad Races' homage as a chance to make money, and headed into the streets.

Cheng Yu struggled to find work in the Central Capital and unexpectedly met Ji Han again. After he warned her about suspicious figures near the Human Emperor's Palace, Ji Han caught him before he left the city and offered him a job, which he accepted for a deposit of Origin Stones.

• Cheng Yu watched foreign envoys enter the Human Emperor's Palace and noticed suspicious figures moving across nearby rooftops.
• Cheng Yu met Ji Han at his inn and told her he had spotted several black-clad individuals near the palace; she said she would keep watch.
• Cheng Yu waited for Ji Han the next morning, then checked out and headed for the city gates to search for herbs.
• Ji Han caught up with Cheng Yu at the gate, heard about his money troubles, and offered him a job.
• Ji Han gave Cheng Yu a deposit of Origin Stones, and he agreed to help her.

Cheng Yu used Little Red’s illusion mist to reveal a hidden Demon-Worshipping Cult entrance near the Central Capital and watched Little Red seize two Demon Monsters. He decided against entering the hideout himself and considered using Little Red to clear it out safely.

• Ji Han hired Cheng Yu to destroy a Demon-Worshipping Cult hideout, and he suspected the Great Qin Celestial Dynasty was monitoring the cult and arranging bounties to suppress it.
• Cheng Yu urged Niu Ba to sprint toward the marked area for the sake of their food money, and they outran the other bounty hunters.
• After failing to find the hideout entrance, Cheng Yu disguised himself as Juexin and released part of Little Red through Mad Song.
• Little Red’s red mist made two Demon Monsters at the hidden entrance fall under an Illusion Technique, after which its tentacles dragged them into a river of blood.
• Cheng Yu chose not to enter the hideout because of the danger and wondered how to make Little Red flow into the cave and devour everyone inside.

Cheng Yu used Mad Song to unleash Little Red through a rift into the mountain, where it flooded the Demon-Worshipping Cult’s hideout. After the flood subsided, Cheng Yu retrieved Little Red without entering the hollowed-out mountain.

• Cheng Yu opened a circular rift at the cave entrance and sent Little Red into the mountain.
• The cult leader accused his subordinates of leaking their operation to the Demon Suppression Bureau, but remained convinced that a spy might be among them.
• The cult members heard rushing water, discovered that they had lost contact with several Demons and Demon Monsters, and prepared for danger.
• A Dark Red Blood River surged down the corridor, overwhelmed the leader and his subordinates, and broke through their reinforced stone door.
• Cheng Yu waited outside, then used Mad Song to retrieve Little Red and decided not to inspect the hollowed-out mountain.

Cheng Yu collected the rest of his payment from Ji Han and prepared to leave the Central Capital, reflecting on how little he trusted the Heavenly Dynasty despite her reassurances. At the teleportation plaza, he unexpectedly met Heru, who gave him a gift before they parted.

• Cheng Yu returned to the Central Capital with Niu Ba and collected the remaining Origin Stones from Ji Han, who urged him to trust the Heavenly Dynasty.
• Cheng Yu said goodbye to Ji Han, then bought ten years of provisions for himself and Niu Ba and treated Niu Ba to a roast beef leg.
• At the teleportation plaza, Cheng Yu ran into Heru, who was heading home after the tribute visit and had learned new cultivation methods.
• Heru gave Cheng Yu a package of specialties from his world, and Cheng Yu accepted it before they parted.