Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qi’s group found no supernatural materials after defeating an Anomaly, then tried to contact the other convoys. Their call reached Chu Sheng in the middle of a desperate battle against a powerful, many-eyed Anomaly, just as An Xi prepared a massive spear strike.

• Zhou Qi found no supernatural materials at the Anomaly’s remains, and Li Feifei confirmed that no other Anomalies were nearby.
• Qi Yu called Captain Hui, but he did not answer, so she called Chu Sheng instead.
• Chu Sheng, An Xi, Zhu Qing, and Qingqing fought a many-eyed Anomaly that Chu Sheng estimated was near the peak of sequence seven.
• The Anomaly smashed half of Zhu Qing’s head, then flung him into the water beside the convoy, sinking vehicles and forcing survivors to escape along the Iron Chain.
• Chu Sheng used his mental power to remove the Bus Fish Vehicle’s roof while An Xi and Qingqing continued attacking the Anomaly.
• An Xi formed a spear of geng metal fire more than a hundred meters long as Qi Yu’s call connected, revealing Chu Sheng in radiant Dark-Gold Battle Armor.

An Xi used the Eternal Flame and her Mental Power to unleash a Sequence Seven attack on a serpentine anomaly while Zhu Qing and Qingqing restrained it. Chu Sheng then fired the Netherworld Ship’s laser cannon at the burning creature, and its body began to disintegrate under the combined attack.

• An Xi launched a Geng Metal Spear into the anomaly while Zhu Qing transformed and Qingqing restrained its body; Chu Sheng ended his call with Li Feifei’s convoy after noticing Zhu Qing had advanced to Sequence Seven.
• Li Feifei concluded that following Chu Sheng’s group would make their route safer, while Zhou Qi reassured Wei Haoran that they were far enough behind to avoid detection.
• The Geng Metal Spear entered the anomaly and released the Geng Metal Fire, forcing Zhu Qing and Qingqing to let go as the creature writhed in pain.
• An Xi collapsed after using all her Mental Power and the Eternal Flame, and Chu Sheng sent the Butcher to carry her to the Netherworld Ship’s cabin.
• Chu Sheng charged and fired the laser cannon at the anomaly, and the laser combined with the Geng Metal Fire to melt and disintegrate its body.

After the convoy defeated an anomaly, Zhu Qing rescued the survivors while Qingqing retrieved the supernatural materials. As the convoy set off toward a place to rest, Xingzi worried the survivors would freeze and offered them cold medicine, but Zhu Qing pointed out they had lost all their food and probably could not afford it.

• Chu Sheng asked Qingqing to recover the anomaly’s supernatural materials, while Zhu Qing rescued the survivors and hauled the submerged vehicles back onto the water.
• Qingqing returned with seven supernatural materials, and Chu Sheng told Youming to find a hilltop where the convoy could rest for the night.
• Chu Sheng recalled Butcher from Captain Hui, whom Butcher had been turning over with its tentacles while he slept unconscious.
• The convoy resumed moving, and Chu Sheng restored a roof over the Bus Fish Vehicle after Xingzi noticed the survivors shivering in the rain.
• Xingzi offered to give each survivor two cold medicine pills and waive her share, but Zhu Qing said they had lost their food and probably could not afford them.

Xingzi decided to give the survivors cold medicine despite the risk they could not repay her, and Chu Sheng's convoy stopped on a hilltop to rest. As the group regrouped, an Anomaly followed their scent to the barrier, while Chu Sheng turned his attention to the supernatural materials in his vehicle.

• Xingzi said she would provide the survivors with cold medicine and cover their debt if they died or could not repay it, and Fang Hong helped Qingqing see that the food could be replaced by catching fish.
• The Netherworld Ship stopped at a hilltop, where A Xin used a barrier to push away the water and expand the available space.
• Xingzi sent A Xin to rest and explained that An Xi was sleeping after exhausting her Mental Power; Chu Sheng told Cheng Xue to coordinate with Fang Hong and prepare food for the group.
• Chu Sheng returned to the Netherworld Light and examined the supernatural materials while Captain Hui and An Xi remained unconscious.
• An Anomaly followed the convoy's lingering scent across the water and caught up to them outside the barrier.

Chu Sheng and the others planned to speed up the Netherworld convoy to escape the extreme rainstorm before the one-year mark, then prepared to fight an approaching anomaly. Lu Guan sent ten powerful ghosts to locate and mark it as the battle began.

• Fang Hong estimated that reaching safety would take about two months at the Netherworld Ship's normal speed, while Old Man Li warned they did not have enough time before the one-year mark.
• Chu Sheng decided to have Youming keep the convoy moving continuously and use A Xin's ability to hide their life force, aiming to escape in ten-odd days without stopping for anomalies.
• The Netherworld Light detected an anomaly approaching the barrier, and Chu Sheng, Zhu Qing, Qingqing, and Youming prepared to attack it.
• Chu Sheng and Youming fired toward the anomaly's presumed location, while Qingqing transformed into a dragon and Zhu Qing readied his weapon.
• Lu Guan summoned ten Sequence Nine ghosts and ordered them to find and mark the anomaly so the others could target it accurately.

The Convoy killed a Sequence Seven anomaly and gathered the supernatural materials it dropped. Chu Sheng divided the materials according to the fighters’ contributions, while taking the claw for himself because its trait suited him.

• Lu Guan guided Zhu Qing, Qingqing, Chu Sheng, and Youming to the anomaly, and they killed it with a coordinated assault.
• Zhu Qing brought back the anomaly’s heart, teeth, and claw while he and Qingqing competed over who could eat more.
• Chu Sheng proposed counting the heart as two materials because he could turn it into a Perpetual Motion Engine, and Fang Hong realized it could power her Bus Fish Cart.
• Chu Sheng ranked the fighters’ contributions and assigned the first pick to himself, the second to Qingqing, the third to Zhu Qing, and the last to Lu Guan.
• Chu Sheng took the claw, whose concept was trampling and whose trait was leveraging force.

Chu Sheng distributed the supernatural materials from the group’s battle and considered how to allocate seven powerful materials. As he prepared to examine them, Xingzi embraced him and proposed an intimate encounter on top of the unconscious An Xi.

• Chu Sheng explained that the set of teeth had the concepts of devouring and closure, and Fang Hong claimed them for a possible spatial backpack.
• Lu Guan and Zhu Qing took the heart as their shared material, while A Xin, Old Man Li, and the others left after the meal.
• Fang Hong asked Chu Sheng to fuse the teeth with a backpack, and he said it seemed possible but charged one Sequence Seven material for crafting.
• Chu Sheng returned to the Netherworld Light, sent Captain Hui to the vehicle, and counted the shares owed for the seven supernatural materials.
• Xingzi hugged Chu Sheng from behind, asked if he was hungry, and proposed they be intimate on top of the unconscious An Xi.

Chu Sheng discovered that authority could be plundered and that the seals containing Anomalies were weakening. He sought Captain Hui to discuss the dangers and the reports of dwindling supernatural materials.

• Chu Sheng read the Book of Time and learned that the Heavenly Emperor Sequence had plundered the Overlord Sequence's authority to reach Sequence Seven.
• Chu Sheng found an earlier entry showing that his own Heavenly Craftsman Sequence had gained life's authority by devouring a sacrificial item, and he considered testing whether he could plunder authority from another Sequence Adept.
• Chu Sheng learned that future sacrificial items were failing, Stabilizers were overloading, and seals were wearing away as powerful Anomalies began to escape.
• Chu Sheng noted reports that Anomalies no longer yielded supernatural materials and decided he needed to stockpile them.
• Chu Sheng approached Captain Hui and asked him to talk inside his vehicle, away from A Xin's listening ears.

Chu Sheng showed Captain Hui the Book of Time, revealing that sequences could plunder authorities and that the seal was gradually lifting. They considered how to verify the rules of plundering and address the convoy tailing them, leaving Captain Hui ready to mislead the pursuers.

• Chu Sheng showed Captain Hui the Book of Time, whose records revealed someone was following them, sequences could plunder authorities, and the seal was gradually lifting.
• Chu Sheng explained that his completion of the heavenly craftsman sequence had involved plundering the Authority of Life, and Captain Hui accepted the record as evidence.
• Chu Sheng asked Captain Hui to divine whether plundered authorities had to be compatible with the sequence; Captain Hui agreed, provided Chu Sheng kept him safe if the divination made him unconscious.
• Chu Sheng and Captain Hui discussed the anomaly that yielded no supernatural materials, and Captain Hui suggested asking Fang Hong whether such materials would continue to appear.
• Captain Hui decided to feed false information to Li Feifei's convoy, which had been secretly following them, in hopes of shaking them off.

As the Convoy weathered the flooding, Wu Meng guarded her group’s dwindling food while Chu Sheng and Captain Hui spoke with Li Feifei’s convoy about Anomalies no longer dropping supernatural materials. Chu Sheng warned them about the flooded route, then asked Fang Hong to investigate the cause of the missing drops.

• Wu Meng warned Zhou Dun and Wu Jie to guard their food and avoid fighting Anomalies unless they had no choice.
• Li Feifei told Captain Hui that her convoy had killed Anomalies that dropped no supernatural materials, and Zhu Qing’s reaction revealed the group had not known about the problem.
• Chu Sheng told Li Feifei about the heavy rain and deep floodwaters ahead, advising her convoy to find boats.
• Chu Sheng explained that the Book of Time had recorded Li Feifei’s convoy’s experience and said they might test something with them after leaving the flooded area.
• Captain Hui asked Fang Hong to use her Sequence to find out why Anomalies were no longer dropping supernatural materials, and she began praying.

Fang Hong learned that revived Anomalies no longer dropped supernatural materials because they had already been killed, and that a world restriction would vanish in twenty-two days. After Captain Hui divined something at great cost, Chu Sheng ordered the Convoy to leave immediately; the chapter then introduced Zhuo Wu’s group traveling through the Southern Wasteland’s volcanic ranges.

• Fang Hong explained that revived Anomalies had been killed before, and that the world’s restriction had begun loosening three days earlier and would disappear in twenty-two days.
• Chu Sheng ordered the Convoy to depart without stopping, while Captain Hui divined something, turned half his hair white, and collapsed.
• Chu Sheng told Old Man Li that Captain Hui’s information would be worth any price, then instructed Cheng Xue to keep every vehicle moving and gave her the Magic Conch.
• Zhuo Wu led more than seventy people through the Southern Wasteland’s active volcanoes and stopped to rest.
• Zhuo Wu told Zeng Lei that his Sequence depended on understanding Taoist culture, despite his lack of education.

Zhuo Wu used talismans to refresh the survivors, gather water, summon a guardian shell of Sun Wukong, and clear nearby dangers, then studied Taoist mythology. Aboard the Netherworld Ship, Chu Sheng teased An Xi about her powerful White Tiger abilities and got her to recite part of her grandiose White Tiger description.

• Zhuo Wu used a talisman to ease the survivors’ exhaustion and then created water for them to collect under Zeng Lei’s supervision.
• Zhuo Wu summoned a corporeal but unconscious shell of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and asked it to guard the group.
• Zhuo Wu used Evil-Repelling and Path-Guiding talismans, then studied the Taoist System book while reflecting on his growing abilities.
• An Xi argued with Chu Sheng that her White Tiger sequence was not overpowered, despite her strength, advancement, and Qiongqi-like wings.
• Chu Sheng climbed onto An Xi’s back and pressed her to recite her White Tiger description; she recited part of it before admitting the rest was too embarrassing.

After An Xi recited the White Tiger Sequence’s proverb, Chu Sheng theorized that proverbs appeared only for mythological Sequences, unlike his and Zhu Qing’s conceptual Sequences. He shared the theory with the convoy, where the discussion turned to whether the captain’s Sequence was mythological or conceptual.

• Chu Sheng persuaded An Xi to recite the White Tiger Sequence proverb, which described its origins and abilities.
• Chu Sheng realized the proverb matched An Xi’s powers and wondered why he and Zhu Qing had received none when they advanced to Sequence Seven.
• Chu Sheng asked Fang Hong whether Qingqing had recited a proverb, and Fang Hong confirmed she had spoken a passage about a divine dragon.
• Chu Sheng concluded that An Xi’s, Lu Guan’s, and Qingqing’s mythological Sequences produced proverbs, while his Heavenly Craftsman and Zhu Qing’s Giant Sequences were conceptual.
• A Xin cautioned that Chu Sheng’s theory needed more evidence, and Zhu Qing raised the captain as another possible mythological Sequence user.
• Chu Sheng argued that the captain probably had a conceptual Sequence and explained why An Xi’s White Tiger and Qingqing’s True Dragon were specifically mythological.

Chu Sheng, An Xi, and the Convoy discussed how myth sequences differ from concept sequences, using their abilities to explain the distinction. Xingzi and Old Man Li summarized the idea, leaving the group with a clearer framework for understanding their powers.

• Chu Sheng explained that Zhu Qing's endurance, strength, and recovery suggested his sequence was conceptual rather than mythical.
• An Xi said myth sequences let their users become the beings they represent, while concept sequences deepen their original abilities.
• An Xi described how Chu Sheng's crafting abilities and A Xin's barriers had developed in line with their sequences' concepts.
• An Xi contrasted the fixed range of myth-sequence abilities with the potentially limitless development of concept-sequence abilities.
• Xingzi compared myth sequences to mechanics and concept sequences to stats, and Old Man Li agreed that this was a sound interpretation.

Captain Hui explained how Sequence advancement greatly extended lifespans, then Chu Sheng distributed the supernatural materials recovered from an Anomaly. He began combining the hammer tail with other materials and his black flame, leaving the forging process underway.

• Captain Hui woke after sleeping for more than two days and revealed that divining had cost him a hundred years of lifespan.
• Captain Hui explained the lifespan gains tied to Sequence advancement, including that a Sequence One adept could live for 960,000 years.
• Chu Sheng offered to bring one of Captain Hui’s possessions to life if he supplied a Sequence Seven supernatural material, and Captain Hui realized he could use one of the recovered materials.
• Chu Sheng arranged the distribution of seven supernatural materials according to everyone’s contributions, and An Xi chose the hammer tail before the others selected their materials.
• Chu Sheng assembled the hammer tail, an iron hammer, gold, magnets, and a Self-Heating Pack, then added his black flame as white light enveloped the materials.

Chu Sheng revealed that his Flame Hammer could forge other sacrificial items and discussed the newly discovered flame stone with Captain Hui. Captain Hui calculated the world’s regions and found that even the Southern Wasteland stretched farther than the Solar System, leaving Chu Sheng and An Xi stunned by the world’s scale.

• Chu Sheng explained that he had used his black flame to give the Flame Hammer the ability to forge sacrificial items.
• Chu Sheng and Captain Hui discussed flame stone as a possible material for making sacrificial items and agreed that they were no longer on Earth.
• An Xi read the Book of Time and saw an entry about Chu Sheng before he hid it from her.
• Captain Hui outlined the world’s twelve regions, including the Southern Wasteland, the Four Seas, and the Four Extremes.
• Captain Hui calculated that the Southern Wasteland’s shortest span was 25,902,068,371 kilometers, and An Xi realized it was larger than the Solar System.

After learning that the world’s vast expansion could make finding the City of Dawn nearly impossible, Chu Sheng and his companions considered building their own safe settlement and continued pursuing the shifting Floating Island. Chu Sheng then tested the Flame Hammer by forging Old Man Li’s supernatural Iron Pot with ordinary steel, producing an unfamiliar black metal whose nature he could not explain.

• An Xi lamented that the enlarged world might prevent them from finding the City of Dawn, while Chu Sheng suggested they could build their own safe city with A Xin’s ability.
• Captain Hui proposed finding a large Floating Island, and Chu Sheng said its location kept shifting despite their pursuit.
• Chu Sheng tested the Flame Hammer’s weight, discovered its pull changed depending on who held it, and confirmed it had acknowledged him as its owner.
• Chu Sheng built an iron table and began forging Old Man Li’s Iron Pot with the Flame Hammer.
• The Iron Pot melted into the table, and the supernatural and ordinary metals fused into a rapidly cooling, deep-black material that Chu Sheng could not identify.

Chu Sheng discovered that umbral iron could be forged into sacrificial items and, after more than a thousand failed attempts, created the Frostshade Dagger. He completed the dagger and learned its abilities and cost, then prepared to reinforce An Xi's Black Jade Bone Spear.

• Chu Sheng named the new pseudo-supernatural material umbral iron after combining supernatural and ordinary materials.
• An Xi suggested that forging sacrificial items might require another step, prompting Chu Sheng to channel his mental power into his hammer and produce an unfinished Frostshade Dagger.
• Chu Sheng offered to reinforce An Xi's Black Jade Bone Spear with umbral iron, and she accepted.
• Chu Sheng sharpened the dagger, fitted it with a wooden handle and sheath, and learned that it ranked 10,699, stored and released energy, inflicted wounds that would not heal naturally, and could not be used to attack anyone of the Heavenly Craftsman Sequence.

Chu Sheng tested the Frostshade Dagger, discovered An Xi could use its stored geng metal power, and traded it to her for a sequence eight supernatural material. Meanwhile, Li Feifei's convoy entered the extreme rainstorm in a converted boat, unaware that a sequence seven anomaly was waiting underwater ahead.

• Chu Sheng considered using sacrificial items to arm ordinary survivors and recruit workers to forge them, but decided to wait until the convoy settled down.
• An Xi infused the Frostshade Dagger with geng metal power and demonstrated how it strengthened the blade and its wound-causing ability.
• An Xi traded her share of a sequence eight Human-Head Anomaly's supernatural materials for the dagger and renamed it the White Tiger Dagger.
• Li Feifei, Zhou Qi, Wei Haoran, and Qi Yu agreed to enter the extreme rainstorm, and Zhou Qi began converting their vehicles into a single boat.
• A sequence seven anomaly waited underwater as Li Feifei's steel vessel approached its hiding place.

Zhou Qi’s Mechanical Ship was attacked by a Sequence Seven Anomaly, and the survivors struggled to escape after his strongest laser attack failed to kill it. Li Feifei called on the wind to drive the ship to safety, but the help cost her much of her lifespan, leaving her aged and with only a few years to live.

• Zhou Qi explained that the Mechanical Ship ran on the survivors’ pedaling and could catch fish, store water, and withstand rough seas.
• A fish-crocodile Anomaly attacked the ship, and Wei Haoran used most of his Mental Power to block one strike before collapsing.
• Zhou Qi fought back with electric currents and laser cannons, but the Anomaly survived his strongest attack and continued pursuing the ship.
• Li Feifei asked the wind for help, and the storm gave the Mechanical Ship a powerful tailwind that carried it away from the Anomaly.
• Li Feifei revealed that the wind’s aid had consumed much of her lifespan, leaving her with white hair, an aged body, and only two or three years to live.