Chapter Summaries

Duan Rong searched for a way to escape the zombie-filled CBD and reach the outskirts, first settling on a route along the railway. After scouting the roads from the rooftop, he devised a new plan to reach the railway by climbing along the high-voltage power lines and prepared to explain it to the others.

• Alone in Qin Yuan's office, Duan Rong considered how the group could reach the outskirts and came up with following the railway line.
• Duan Rong told Guo Tian he had an idea, then led the group to the rooftop to inspect the roads southeast of the CBD.
• Using binoculars, Duan Rong mapped a route toward the railway but found intersections blocked by crashed and overturned cars.
• Duan Rong noticed that a high-voltage power line ran southeast and realized the group could climb tower to tower to reach the railway.
• Duan Rong planned to drive the Land Rover to a nearby building, climb onto the power lines, and explain the route to Guo Tian and the others.

Duan Rong led the group through the parking garage and drove Qin Yuan’s Land Rover into a massive zombie horde to reach the office building across the intersection. After the vehicle broke through the jam and became trapped near the entrance, the group hid from the zombies, then escaped across car roofs toward the revolving doors.

• Jiang Hanyan killed the zombies blocking the stairwell while Duan Rong searched for Qin Yuan’s Land Rover in the dark garage.
• Duan Rong found the Land Rover, killed the zombie child inside, and led everyone into the vehicle as Jiang Hanyan learned to use a seat belt.
• Duan Rong drove through the garage exit and along the sidewalk, crushing zombies as he headed for a gap in the traffic jam at the intersection.
• When the Land Rover failed to break through the blocked intersection, Duan Rong had Guo Tian and the others cover the windows with newspapers and shut off the engine until the zombies dispersed.
• Duan Rong restarted the Land Rover and rammed through the intersection, then stopped near the office building entrance when cars blocked the way.
• The group covered the windows again, waited for the nearby zombies to disperse, then climbed across car roofs toward the revolving glass doors.

Duan Rong and his group fought through a massive zombie horde to reach an empty office floor near the high-voltage cable. He broke through the windows and revealed a route along the cable to the Railway Line, which could lead them out to the suburbs and complete their mission.

• Jiang Hanyan and the others slaughtered zombies in the Great Hall while Duan Rong braced the revolving door, and Lu Chu and Du Wan wedged it shut with a sofa.
• Duan Rong led the group through the stairwell to the sixth floor, where they picked the fire-door lock and rested in an empty office area.
• Duan Rong asked Jiang Hanyan to guard him as he smashed through the floor-to-ceiling window, while she killed a zombie that charged at her.
• Duan Rong showed the group the high-voltage cable and explained that following it southeast would take them to the Railway Line and onward to the suburbs.

Duan Rong’s group attempted to cross a zombie-filled street on a high-voltage cable, but the horde climbed the power tower and nearly trapped him. After escaping, Duan Rong searched a storage room with Jiang Hanyan and found sleeping bags, leaving the group waiting for his next plan.

• Duan Rong crossed the cable to the power tower, and Guo Tian followed after securing his Fire Axe.
• The zombie horde piled up the tower, so Duan Rong warned Guo Tian to return and waited until Guo Tian reached safety before leaving the tower himself.
• Duan Rong crossed back to the building, then told the others to wait while he and Jiang Hanyan searched for supplies.
• Duan Rong picked the lock on a storage room and found a stack of sleeping bags.
• Jiang Hanyan drew close to Duan Rong while asking about the bags, but Duan Rong turned away and carried them back to the group.

Duan Rong led Guo Tian and the others southeast out of the CBD by climbing a cable, using sleeping bags to hide their infrared signals from the zombies. Near sunset, he chose an old residential building as their resting place, but a zombie appeared at its balcony doorway as Guo Tian approached.

• Duan Rong showed the group that covering themselves with sleeping bags caused the zombies to lose interest, and they began climbing southeast along the cable.
• The group rested on steel lattice pylons along the route, and Duan Rong saw that the roads and overpass beyond the CBD were still jammed with zombies and traffic.
• Duan Rong decided the group would stop for the night at an old residential building whose balcony lay close to the cable.
• Duan Rong swung from the cable onto the balcony, landed between flowerpots, and cleared the plants so the others could follow.
• As Guo Tian approached the balcony, Duan Rong spotted a gray-brown zombie in a nightgown at the doorway to the master bedroom.

Duan Rong and the others searched the apartment after killing a zombie, but a Zombie Baby bit Du Wan. Duan Rong amputated Du Wan’s leg to try to stop the infection, then left him alone to observe him; blue-black veins had already spread across Du Wan’s calf.

• A long-haired zombie lunged at Duan Rong on the balcony, and he killed it with the Entrenching Tool after Guo Tian accidentally crashed into him.
• Duan Rong led the group through the apartment to search for more zombies, and Du Wan was bitten by a Zombie Baby in a bedroom.
• Duan Rong cut off Du Wan’s leg at the knee and had Su Xinjue bandage the wound, hoping the amputation would prevent corpse transformation.
• Duan Rong ordered everyone to leave Du Wan alone while they watched for signs of transformation, and the group shut him inside the room.
• Du Wan noticed blue-black veins spreading around the bite marks on his severed leg.

Duan Wan’s infection worsened overnight while the others sheltered in the apartment, and he turned into a zombie. The chapter ended as the one-legged zombie crawled out of his room toward the group.

• Duan Rong cooked a meal, and Lu Chu brought a bowl to Du Wan, who acted strangely and showed early signs of zombification.
• Du Wan realized he was turning into a zombie, considered killing himself, then lost consciousness as the infection spread.
• Duan Rong assigned sleeping arrangements and warned everyone to avoid the bathroom overnight because Du Wan might zombify.
• Jiang Hanyan accompanied Su Xinjue to the bathroom, and they heard two muffled thuds from Du Wan’s room before hurrying back to bed.
• In the morning, Duan Rong opened Du Wan’s door and found him transformed into a one-legged zombie, which crawled out toward the group.

After Du Wan transformed into a zombie and Duan Rong killed him, Xu Hui privately recorded the death for Liu Su. The group left the cable route near a railway line, and Duan Rong devised a risky way to swing everyone across the street toward a hotel for a vehicle.

• Du Wan turned into a zombie and lunged at Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue, so Duan Rong killed him with his Entrenching Tool.
• Lu Chu asked Guo Tian to kill him if he was bitten, and Guo Tian promised to give him a quick death.
• Xu Hui inspected Du Wan's corpse and decided to report that Duan Rong had killed a mutated monster, not a fellow disciple.
• Duan Rong located the nearby railway line and decided the group should find a vehicle instead of continuing along the cables.
• Duan Rong had Jiang Hanyan cut the cable so it swung toward the steel tower, where she landed safely.
• The six gathered on the tower and prepared to use the severed cable to swing across the street.

Duan Rong led Guo Tian, Jiang Hanyan, Lu Chu, and the others from a besieged hotel through a railway workers’ residential area to an abandoned railway access gate. They entered the zombie-free railway line and set off south toward the small station on their route.

• Duan Rong and the others escaped the horde by swinging across the street, then barricaded themselves inside a hotel lobby.
• Duan Rong found a Volkswagen key in a hotel room, and the group drove toward the railway line before abandoning the vehicle in a narrow alley.
• Duan Rong led the group through the residential footpaths, where they killed scattered zombies and replenished their snacks at a convenience store.
• Duan Rong found a rusted gate concealing railway tracks, and Jiang Hanyan cut the padlock so the group could enter.
• Duan Rong checked the map and led the group south along the empty railway line toward a small station.

Duan Rong’s group traveled along the Railway Line, fought scattered zombies, and found shelter in a railway apartment building for the night. As they rested, Su Xinjue considered how to use her body to kill Duan Rong before the group completed the mission.

• Duan Rong warned Lu Chu and the others about distant zombies, and the group killed several railway maintenance workers who charged them.
• At dusk, Duan Rong led the group over a fence to a railway apartment building, where Guo Tian killed a zombie and they avoided a yard full of Zombie Dogs.
• Duan Rong picked a lock to enter a duplex, and Jiang Hanyan killed the zombie inside before the group searched the rooms.
• Duan Rong cooked spicy beef instant noodles with eggs and lettuce, and the group ate dinner before going to bed.
• Duan Rong wondered whether Blue Star and the Nine Provinces World shared the same moon and worried whether the Railway Line would lead them safely out of S City.
• Su Xinjue remembered Shen Tu Ying’s order to kill Duan Rong and considered using her body to carry out the plan before the mission ended.

Su Xinjue tried to use her body and a concealed Swiss Army Knife to assassinate Duan Rong, but he exposed her plan and killed her before she could strike. He disposed of her corpse in a courtyard full of Zombie Dogs, whose bites turned her into a zombie.

• Su Xinjue prepared a Swiss Army Knife and went to Duan Rong’s room, intending to seduce him and stab him when his guard was down.
• Duan Rong recognized Su Xinjue and let her into his room while concealing his suspicions.
• Su Xinjue tried to disarm Duan Rong, but he seized her hair, found the knife, and slit her throat.
• Duan Rong dragged Su Xinjue’s corpse onto the terrace and threw it into the courtyard among the Zombie Dogs.
• The Zombie Dogs devoured Su Xinjue and infected her with corpse poison, causing her to rise again as a zombie.

Duan Rong covered up Su Xinjue’s death and received a God and Demon Imprint after the God and Demon Will recognized him. The others discovered Su Xinjue was missing and an open door, while Xu Hui began to suspect Duan Rong’s involvement but kept his doubts to himself.

• Duan Rong disposed of the bloodied blanket and Su Xinjue’s clothes, then left the apartment door open and returned to his room.
• A red light entered Duan Rong’s brow, granting him a God and Demon Imprint that he could refine to unlock Mystical Power.
• Jiang Hanyan discovered Su Xinjue was missing and encountered a zombie in the corridor, which Guo Tian and Lu Chu killed.
• The group found the apartment door open and Su Xinjue’s flashlight on the floor, then searched the house without finding her.
• Xu Hui recalled hearing faint knocks during the night and suspected Su Xinjue’s disappearance was connected to Duan Rong, but said nothing because he was unsure.

Duan Rong led the group along the Railway Line toward the outskirts, but they encountered a massive zombie horde formed around two derailed trains. He brought everyone back to the Fuxing Hao high-speed train and entered its empty driver's cab, where he prepared to use its controls to get them through.

• Duan Rong, Jiang Hanyan, Guo Tian, Lu Chu, and Xu Hui searched the apartment building and nearby street for Su Xinjue and found her badly mutilated corpse in a yard full of Zombie Dogs.
• The group returned to the Railway Line, killed more than twenty zombies, and passed a Fuxing Hao high-speed train with many zombies sealed inside its carriages.
• As they continued toward South Station, Duan Rong and the others discovered two overturned trains and a horde of roughly one or two thousand zombies blocking the Railway Line.
• Duan Rong turned the group around and said he had a way to rush through the horde using the Fuxing Hao high-speed train.
• Duan Rong and the others checked the train's empty driver's cab, and Duan Rong gripped the traction and braking control handle while thinking, Read Artifact Spirit..

Duan Rong drove the Fuxing Hao through a zombie horde and used it to push a stranded train out of South Station. When the train’s battery ran low, the group continued on foot toward the outskirts, leaving the second train behind.

• Duan Rong learned to operate the Fuxing Hao, started it, and accelerated through a dense zombie horde.
• Duan Rong slowed near South Station, covered the windows with newspapers, and cautiously entered the station’s corpse-filled tracks.
• Duan Rong rammed the train ahead at low speed until the Fuxing Hao pushed both trains forward as one.
• Duan Rong drove the linked trains out of South Station, but an alarm warned that the battery was nearly depleted, so he stopped.
• Duan Rong and the others left the Fuxing Hao, fought zombies emerging from the stranded train, and found its empty, locked driver’s cab.
• Duan Rong led the group on foot toward the nearby outskirts after realizing he could not take control of the second train.

The group emerged from the second God and Demon Illusion, where Su Xinjue and Du Wan had died, and continued their journey through the God and Demon Ruins toward the passage back to the Nine Provinces World. Just as they expected to reach safety, the Blood Moon appeared and empowered the malevolent entities.

• The group escaped the illusion and buried Su Xinjue and Du Wan in the sea of flowers; Duan Rong concealed that he had obtained the God and Demon Imprint while reassuring the others that they probably would not face a third illusion.
• The group traveled through the Ghost Bride and Ghost Infant's territory without an attack, then chose a longer detour around the stone heap to avoid the place where the Ghost Infant had cursed Jiang Hanyan.
• The group reached the pool and rested, expecting to arrive at the passage before dawn the next day.
• Duan Rong noticed the moon's reflection turn red, and the group looked up to see the Blood Moon shining over the ruins and strengthening the malevolent entities.

As the Blood Moon strengthened the Ghost Bride Evil Spirit, Duan Rong led his companions back toward the Ghost Infant, hoping to hide beneath the rubble field. The Ghost Bride captured and swallowed the Ghost Infant, then searched the Blood Moon-lit ruins for Duan Rong and the others, who had slipped into hiding.

• The Ghost Bride Evil Spirit absorbed the Blood Moon's bloodlight, regained her beautiful appearance, and followed Duan Rong and his companions as they fled.
• Duan Rong turned the group back toward the Ghost Infant, believing they could survive by hiding beneath the rubble field.
• The Ghost Bride intercepted the Ghost Infant and swallowed it into her belly as Duan Rong and the others reached the rubble field.
• Duan Rong slipped through a gap beneath the rubble field with his companions while the Ghost Bride quieted the struggling Ghost Infant inside her.
• The Ghost Bride flew above the rubble field and searched the crimson-lit ruins for the hidden humans.

Duan Rong led Guo Tian, Lu Chu, and the others to hide from the Ghost Bride in the Ghost Infant’s lair, using Azure Flame Grass to conceal their scent until dawn. They reached the sect’s grand formation passage, but the Ghost Bride appeared before it stabilized, forcing Duan Rong to face her as his Divine Soul Thorn barely affected her.

• Duan Rong guided the group to the Ghost Infant’s hiding place and told them to smear crushed Azure Flame Grass leaves over its walls to mask their scent.
• The Ghost Bride searched the underground space twice, but the leaves kept her from detecting the group, and she eventually left until daylight.
• At dawn, Duan Rong and the others rubbed Azure Flame Grass on themselves, escaped the rocks, and ran toward the passage to the Nine Provinces World.
• The group reached the passage site and waited as the formation began to open, but the Ghost Bride appeared before the passage stabilized.
• Duan Rong struck the darkness beneath the Ghost Bride with a Divine Soul Thorn, but it barely harmed her as Red Veils emerged and eerie children’s voices rang out.

Duan Rong and the others survived the Ghost Bride’s attack by remaining within the area protected by the laws of the Nine Provinces World, which flowed through the forming sect passage. After the Ghost Bride retreated and the passage stabilized, the group left the God and Demon Ruins.

• Xu Hui and Lu Chu fled from the Ghost Bride, but Red Veils appeared above them and entranced them with ghostly faces.
• Duan Rong used two Divine Soul Thorns to destroy the ghostly faces and free Xu Hui and Lu Chu, then explained that the Red Veils could not enter the area around the passage.
• When Red Veils pursued Xu Hui and Lu Chu back toward the group, they crumbled as they crossed into the area protected by the Nine Provinces World’s laws.
• The Black Crystal Mirror Surface appeared and expanded the protected area, forcing the Ghost Bride to withdraw her Red Veils and fly away.
• The sect formation passage stabilized, and Guo Tian, Duan Rong, Jiang Hanyan, Xu Hui, and Lu Chu entered it and left the God and Demon Ruins.

Duan Rong and four other disciples returned alive from the God and Demon Ruins, where Duan Rong had obtained mature herbs to save Lü Qingzhu. After the survivors parted ways at the sect, Duan Rong left Jiang Hanyan behind and flew into the mist; elsewhere, Xiao Yu's long wait ended when Duan Rong appeared before her.

• Guo Tian, Jiang Hanyan, Duan Rong, Xu Hui, and Lu Chu emerged from the God and Demon Ruins, and Guo Tian confirmed that no one else was coming.
• Duan Rong gave Lü Yinlin the Red Arrow Flower and Azure Flame Grass, and Lü Yinlin said the herbs would save Lü Qingzhu.
• After the group recovered and left the Gloomy Dark Forest, Lin Youjian and Liu Su took Xu Hui to Cuiwei Peak while the others went their separate ways.
• Jiang Hanyan thanked Duan Rong and departed for Sky Pillar Peak, and Duan Rong decided not to seek her out again before flying into the mist.
• At Shang Xiangyu's residence, Xiao Yu abandoned her chess game with Zhu Xiaoqi, saw Duan Rong standing by the lake, and cried out, "Husband!"

Duan Rong reunited with Xiao Yu, returned to the courtyard, and examined Shen Mizhi’s swordsmanship before summoning Xi Men Kan Kan for news. The sect leader had changed, and the Divine Intent Gate’s Old Ancestor had died, leaving the Nine Provinces’ alliance in upheaval.

• Duan Rong reunited with Xiao Yu and spent the evening with her and Zhu Xiaoqi after returning to the courtyard.
• Duan Rong watched Shen Mizhi practice swordsmanship, pointed out that she relied on force instead of adaptable, concealed killing intent, and sent her to fetch Xi Men Kan Kan.
• Xi Men Kan Kan reported that Zhu He had become the Taiyi Sect’s sect leader after Chu stepped down.
• Xi Men Kan Kan told Duan Rong that the Divine Intent Gate’s Old Ancestor had died and Zhuang Tairu had succeeded him as its only Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
• Xi Men Kan Kan explained that the Old Ancestor had suffered lasting injuries and used the last of his cultivation to help Zhuang Tairu form his Nascent Soul.