Chapter Summaries

Liduhong used his blue energy threads and metal gloves to kill three Uncard Flow practitioners, while Ban Ze analyzed the strange fighters’ abilities. The battle continued with Ban Ze remaining calm and drawing Liduhong’s attention.

• Three Uncard Flow practitioners attacked Liduhong with Air Slashes, but he blocked them with a web of vibrating blue energy threads.
• The attackers created an opening with a barrage of Air Slashes, but Liduhong wrapped himself in the threads and crushed their attacks with his metal-gloved hand.
• Liduhong broke the middle attacker’s fist with a punch, then used a blue thread to kill the other two and behead the unconscious man.
• Ban Ze studied Liduhong’s mask, gloves, and energy threads, concluding that the threads strengthened and protected their wearer.
• Liduhong noticed Ban Ze’s unusual composure after finishing off the three attackers.

Liduhong fought Ban Ze with his Blue Threads, but Ban Ze's Air Bullets and speed pushed him to the brink. Just as Ban Ze pressed his attack, a surprise illusion blinded and silenced him, and an unknown attacker grabbed his throat.

• Liduhong attacked Ban Ze with a net of Blue Threads, but Ban Ze vanished and countered with a barrage of Air Bullets.
• Ban Ze battered Liduhong's defenses and pursued him as he tried to retreat, forcing him to struggle to keep the Blue Threads between them.
• Ban Ze repeatedly shifted around Liduhong, wearing him down until he spotted an opening and moved in to finish the fight.
• A sudden attack plunged Ban Ze into darkness and silence, but he recognized the illusion and dodged Liduhong's Blue Thread.
• Liduhong saw an unremarkable hand gripping Ban Ze's throat.

Wei'a, Chen Mu, and the Devil Woman helped the Wanqi Clan defeat the Uncard Flow fighters, and Wei'a revealed that the man they called the King was not the real King. After reuniting with Liduhong and learning about Alfonso’s inventions, Chen Mu left with Wei'a while reflecting that the Path Window might be near the [Undercity].

• Wei'a, Chen Mu, and the Devil Woman turned the battle around, and Liduhong encircled the Uncard Flow fighters as Wei'a slaughtered them.
• Chen Mu stopped Liduhong from interfering when he noticed Wei'a’s grief and killing intent, and the battle ended with the Uncard Flow fighters dead or surrendering.
• Wei'a freed Ban Ze and told him that the King was not the real King, leaving Ban Ze screaming for an explanation as Wei'a walked away with Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu reunited with Liduhong and examined Alfonso’s Energy Gloves and reconstructed [Square Face] masks.
• Liduhong asked Chen Mu to return to the [Undercity], but Chen Mu declined and realized the Path Window might be nearby.

Chen Mu postponed his journey to Hundred Abyss Prefecture so he could prepare his forces by adapting the Energy Gloves and exploring card implantation. The Wood Character Camp and Snow Silk Worm Card Adept Corps began gearing up for the dangerous expedition while the group remained eager to travel through the Path Window.

• Liduhong recognized Chen Mu’s description of the Path Window and offered to guide him, while Qingqing watched Chen Mu’s Energy Glove-equipped warriors arrive and worried over the Star Academy’s decline.
• Chen Mu decided to improve the Wood Character Camp and Snow Silk Worm Card Adept Corps with card implantation and modified Energy Gloves before they entered Hundred Abyss Prefecture.
• Wei'a explained the requirements for card implantation, and Zara said Hundred Abyss Prefecture had plenty of the beasts needed to make the implanted cards.
• Chen Mu stayed in Dongshang Guard City to work with Alfonso and card machinery experts on mass-producing Energy Gloves, while Liduhong trained with Wei'a and the Wanqi Clan instructed the Snow Silk Worm Card Adept Corps.
• Su Liu Cherou and Xi Ping prepared medicines and supplies as the forces eagerly anticipated the expedition, which Chen Mu learned was unusual because travel to Hundred Abyss Prefecture was strictly restricted.

As the Federation descended into chaos, Chen Mu established East Guard Base in Dongshang Guard City to protect his followers and their families. After arranging its defenses and leadership, he led an expedition into a cave believed to contain a Path Window, leaving the group facing the unknown within.

• The military entered Federation affairs, while Luo Xiju and Nick took control of Star Academy and formed an alliance with Zhongda Academy and Bitter Solitude Temple to halt Tang Hanpei's advance.
• Chen Mu gathered the families of the Snow Silk Worm Card Adept Corps and Wood Character Camp in Dongshang Guard City and established East Guard Base, where his forces purged local factions and began building defenses.
• Qingqing said she was returning to Star Academy and warned Chen Mu that he might be the one capable of stopping Tang Hanpei before departing.
• Card Adepts and Card Crafters joined East Guard Base, and Chen Mu assigned Xi Ping, Jiang Liang, Liduhong, Lei Zi, and Lan Feng to oversee its affairs while Su Liu Cherou joined the expedition.
• Chen Mu's party followed Liduhong to a hidden cave entrance in the Jungle and entered cautiously, with the group tense as they approached the suspected Path Window.

Chen Mu and his team discovered a Path Window and entered the gray layer, where Bagnell recognized a landscape resembling a place the Black Hibiscus Card Adept Corps had visited. Following the Devil Woman’s warning, they hurried into a fissure to escape an approaching sandstorm, and the Fern Disks sounded an alarm as it arrived.

• Chen Mu, the Devil Woman, and Wei'a entered the mass of light and emerged in the gray layer.
• Bagnell told Chen Mu that the landscape resembled a place he had visited with the Black Hibiscus Card Adept Corps more than ten years earlier.
• The Devil Woman warned the team to find a ground fissure before the frequent sandstorms struck, and Wei'a confirmed her warning.
• The Devil Woman led the convoy across the wilderness to a wide fissure, where the team found moist air and hoped for water.
• The Fern Disks sounded an alarm as the sandstorm arrived.

Chen Mu’s convoy survived a devastating sandstorm in the Gray Layer and discovered enormous mineral wealth in the great rift. He decided to establish a base to develop the deposits, then asked Bagnell about his past as the group prepared to wait out the next storm.

• Devil Woman led Chen Mu’s convoy to shelter in deep pits, and the group lost three Shuttlecraft during the six-hour sandstorm.
• Bagnell warned Chen Mu that another sandstorm would not come for six days and described the rarer, more powerful Frost Crystal Storm.
• The convoy discovered numerous valuable mineral deposits, and Chen Mu decided to establish a base in the rift to oversee their development.
• Chen Mu assigned Lu Xiaoru and One-Brow to help manage the base, while Devil Woman Zara assisted with finding water and Su Liu Cherou collected specimens.
• Su and Yangshan Fei discussed the journey to Hundred Abyss Prefecture and what they would do afterward.
• Bagnell told Chen Mu they would need to wait for the next sandstorm to pass before departing, and Chen Mu asked about Bagnell’s past.

Bagnell told Chen Mu how a devastating frost crystal storm destroyed the Black Hibiscus Card Adept Corps and killed his friends, including his wife, Celia. Meanwhile, Chen Mu’s team completed a fortified base in the gray layer, while Tang Hanpei advanced toward Star Academy and a mysterious notebook appeared.

• Bagnell recounted how he and his companions entered a path window in Fanasi District and were scattered by a sudden frost crystal storm that killed the Black Hibiscus Card Adept Corps.
• Bagnell remembered Black King, Scent-Seeking Civet, Draw Blade, and his wife Celia, and told Chen Mu that Black King had asked him to teach his younger brother tactics.
• Chen Mu and Bagnell agreed that they needed to explore the gray layer and find its other path windows to protect their base.
• Chen Mu organized the team to mine local ores and build a small, enclosed fortress against the fissure’s cliff wall before the next sandstorm.
• The team sheltered safely inside the completed fortress during the second sandstorm as they celebrated the abundant mineral deposits.
• Tang Hanpei led Tang Camp toward Star Academy while a pale hand opened a black notebook bearing a message to its owner’s younger brother.

After Su Heiming conquered Thousand Lakes City and expanded across the Tiandongli District, Chen Mu led his force deeper into the Gray Layer. Their monotonous march ended when Bagnell recognized a deadly Frost Crystal Storm approaching, leaving them scrambling for shelter as it descended.

• Su Heiming massacred Thousand Lakes City's inhabitants and conquered the Tiandongli District, while news of the massacre damaged Tang Hanpei's reputation and halted his advance.
• Chen Mu left personnel at the Great Rift Base with Lu Xiaoru and One-Brow, then led the rest of his force onward through the Gray Layer.
• The second group arrived at the Great Rift Base, where Bu Erna oversaw expansion as the base's population and development grew.
• After thirty days of marching, Chen Mu's force spotted a blue phenomenon spreading across the sky, and Bagnell identified it as a Frost Crystal Storm.
• Chen Mu and the others blasted caves into the cliffs for shelter, and Chen Mu warned the Great Rift Base before the storm descended.

A collapsing cave and a violent ice storm forced Chen Mu to drag Bagnell and the Devil Woman out of the path of falling rock. Chen Mu and the Devil Woman were swept away by the storm, and after drifting for more than seventy hours, he struck something and lost consciousness.

• Chen Mu spotted cracks spreading above Bagnell and pulled him out just before the cave ceiling collapsed.
• As the ceiling began to crack above them again, Chen Mu dragged the Devil Woman into the storm to save Bagnell from being buried.
• Chen Mu used the Zero Style State and his Airflow Card to dodge flying ice while the storm carried him and the Devil Woman away.
• Chen Mu and the unconscious Devil Woman drifted through the storm for more than seventy hours as his strength and perception faded.
• Chen Mu felt himself collide with something, then lost consciousness.

After surviving the Frost Crystal Storm, Chen Mu and the Devil Woman found themselves deep in the Hundred Abysses, surrounded by the dangerous Mituo Blue. Chen Mu discovered that his perception had grown stronger, and the pair headed onward through the blue sea after finding water.

• The Devil Woman told Chen Mu that Mituo Blue crowded out all other life and that they had to escape its vast sea.
• Chen Mu realized his perception and zero style state had greatly improved, and he practiced adapting to his stronger abilities as he followed the Devil Woman.
• Noticing that they were both exhausted from hunger and thirst, Chen Mu carried the Devil Woman toward water she had sensed.
• They found a shallow pool and drank until they regained some strength.
• The Devil Woman explained that Hundred Abyss Prefecture lay underground and that no one had escaped the Hundred Abysses; she said they would learn where they were once they left the Mituo Blue sea.
• The Devil Woman led the way onward while Chen Mu followed and continued training.

Chen Mu and the Devil Woman escaped the sea of Mituo Blue, climbed into a cliff fissure, and found food in the dark terrain beyond. The chapter left them facing a fast creature the Devil Woman identified as a Shadow Bee.

• Chen Mu carried the Devil Woman up the towering cliff and found a wind-blown fissure that might lead outside.
• The Devil Woman spotted starvine in the fissure, and Chen Mu used Chess Cage Thousand Cuts to sever a length for her.
• They passed through the fissure into a dark region, where the Devil Woman used the starvine to gather edible black fruits.
• After regaining some strength, Chen Mu sensed a small creature approaching at tremendous speed.
• The creature halted before them, and the Devil Woman identified it as a Shadow Bee.

Chen Mu and the Devil Woman fought their way through the dangers of Hundred Abyss and learned that even a Shadow Bee ranked only seventeenth among its recorded threats. After the Devil Woman crafted a stronger weapon from starvine, the pair continued advancing toward the outer reaches, still determined to escape.

• A Shadow Bee attacked Chen Mu and the Devil Woman, but Chen Mu trapped and killed it with [Chess Cage Thousand Cuts].
• The Devil Woman told Chen Mu that Shadow Bees ranked seventeenth in the Hundred Abyss bestiary and lived in colonies.
• Seven days later, Chen Mu learned that the Devil Woman had gathered the materials needed to turn starvine into a stronger weapon.
• The Devil Woman spent fifteen days processing the starvine and transformed it into a card that greatly increased her strength.
• Chen Mu and the Devil Woman fought their way toward the outer reaches, and by the thirtieth day they had advanced much farther through Hundred Abyss.

After thirty days of fighting in the Hundred Abyss, Chen Mu and the Devil Woman slowed their advance so he could study materials and find a way to replenish his Energy Cards. The chapter ended with Chen Mu using unfamiliar materials to make three cards.

• Chen Mu discovered sapphire-like crystals with an immense energy density and salvaged depleted Energy Cards and other cards to use with them.
• Chen Mu examined plants, ores, and biological tissue with his perception, improving its precision and his ability to sense danger.
• Chen Mu and the Devil Woman killed a Powder-Poison Rainbow Moth, and Chen Mu realized its poisonous powder could serve as a natural catalyst.
• The Devil Woman reflected that Chen Mu had surpassed her in combat, while their growing strength gave her hope they could escape the Hundred Abyss.
• At camp, Chen Mu processed unfamiliar materials for four hours and completed three cards.

Chen Mu and the Devil Woman left their depleted campsite in the Hundred Abysses, while the story shifted to East Guard Base two years after Chen Mu disappeared in a storm. It left Su and Yangshan Fei longing to leave Great Rift Base, but still bound to Wei'a until Chen Mu returned.

• Chen Mu examined the Devil Woman's Starvine and discovered its natural channels and internal energy made it a form of natural card machinery, though he could not modify it.
• Ten days later, Chen Mu and the Devil Woman packed supplies and cautiously left their campsite after the local food supply ran out.
• Over two years, East Guard grew into a powerful refuge and military force as war devastated the Federation, while Great Rift Base became its training ground and source of rare materials.
• Wei'a returned to Great Rift Base with Little Bu Mo, Su, and Yangshan Fei after another exhausting journey, bringing card implants as he often did.
• Su and Yangshan Fei discussed how they could not leave Great Rift Base without Chen Mu's return, since Wei'a required them to accompany him on long trips for security.

Su Heiming, Tang Hanpei, Xie Yanbai, and the Star Academy learned that the East Guard Base might possess a Path Window, drawing powerful factions’ attention toward Chen Mu’s territory. Bagnell received the urgent intelligence at the Great Rift Base and recognized that the anticipated confrontation had arrived.

• Su Heiming ordered his men to intercept two visitors from the Mohadi Domain who were heading toward Tang Hanpei, then heard that the East Guard Base might be trading rare materials from a Path Window.
• Su Heiming suspected the East Guard Base had found a new Path Window and ordered an immediate investigation, while wondering whether the Star Academy had known about it earlier.
• Tang Hanpei read a report about the possible Path Window, and Xie Yanbai and Cao Zhengqiu decided to keep friendly relations with the East Guard Base while rival factions focused on it.
• At the Star Academy, Luo Xiju dismissed Nick’s excitement about the Path Window and warned that Su Heiming could pose a serious threat to Chen Mu.
• At the Great Rift Base, Bagnell read urgent intelligence from the East Guard Base and said that what had to come had finally come.

Bagnell and Xi Ping convened East Guard Base’s senior officials after Lan Feng warned that the Federation Comprehensive Academy and Desert Camp were preparing to attack over the base’s path window. Jiang Liang revealed the contingency plan and reported that the long-distance shuttlecraft routes into the Common District had been destroyed, leaving the enemy to cross dangerous wilderness without reliable guides.

• Lan Feng reported infiltrators, investigations into the base’s rare materials, rising energy card prices, and enemy forces gathering near Huahua District.
• Bagnell recalled his continued search for Chen Mu and then asked Jiang Liang to explain the Staff Headquarters’ contingency plan.
• Jiang Liang said the base had installed explosive card machinery along the seventeen key long-distance shuttlecraft routes into the Common District.
• Lichuan Station was destroyed in a massive blast, and Jiang Liang announced that all route demolitions had succeeded.
• Jiang Liang explained that the base had also hired or coerced local jungle experts, making it harder for enemy forces to find guides through the wilderness.

Jiang Liang outlined the East Guard Base’s contingency plans for isolating the Common District from the Huahua Districts, and Bagnell and Xi Ping declared the base on a war footing. East Guard began expanding its control across the Federation, while Sanchez assembled his battalion for the coming conflict.

• Xi Ruiyi explained that the Hunter Corps had released Sanchez Sheath Beetles and Symbiotic Vine along the borders, where they could hinder enemy crossings.
• Su Liu Cherou described the beetles’ rapid reproduction and the vine’s lethal neurotoxic gas, while Jiang Liang reported that the released species were thriving.
• Jiang Liang said East Guard had severed the passageways between the Common District and the Huahua Districts, established jungle observation posts, and met its expansion targets.
• Bagnell and Xi Ping announced that the East Guard Base was on a war footing, prompting panic across the Federation as East Guard took over Dongxing District and neighboring factions submitted.
• Sanchez ordered the Fifteenth Battalion to assemble, and his five hundred soldiers formed up in under a minute.

Gallop and Katherine watched a battle over a piece of flowerbone wood, then witnessed a mysterious man deflect the Nether-Piercing Blowpipe’s final arrow. His collection of legendary weapons stunned everyone, leaving the ambushers facing an overwhelmingly equipped stranger.

• Gallop and Katherine crept toward a fight after hearing its sounds and spotted a fighter holding rare flowerbone wood.
• The blowpipe wielder killed three attackers and their leader with the Nether-Piercing Blowpipe, forcing the rest to flee.
• The surrounded group and hidden ambushers held their positions while the blowpipe wielder warned of further enemies nearby.
• The blowpipe wielder fired his last arrow at a man who appeared, but the man’s round shield shattered the projectile.
• Gallop, Katherine, and the other Flexible Assassins recognized the stranger’s legendary equipment, including an Oblivion Lotus Blade-Leaf Shield and Blood-Eyed Horn Darts, and the scene fell silent.

Chen Mu and Devil Woman emerged from Hundred Abysses, killed an attacker, and took Katherine along as their guide to Menderson Fort. Their rare equipment attracted the Nine-Tail Bandit Group, and Chen Mu drew the White Midge Bone Spike as hundreds surrounded them.

• Devil Woman killed the man who attacked Chen Mu with starvine, and Chen Mu took his Nether-Piercing Blowpipe.
• Chen Mu and Devil Woman seized Katherine and made her guide them toward Menderson Fort.
• The trio traveled through the outer reaches as rumors of Chen Mu and Devil Woman’s treasures and strength spread, drawing greedy pursuers.
• Several hundred members of the Nine-Tail Bandit Group surrounded the trio and demanded their belongings.
• Chen Mu drew the White Midge Bone Spike and unleashed a terrifying killing intent against the bandits.