Chapter Summaries

Chu Sheng forged fourteen sacrificial items from umbral iron and discovered that Sequence Adepts with the right mental-power characteristics could create them. He and An Xi discussed the items’ abilities and costs as the convoy continued its journey aboard the Netherworld Ship.

• Over ten days of uneventful travel, Chu Sheng forged fourteen sacrificial items from umbral iron: nine daggers, two long sabers, and two shields.
• Captain Hui praised the items’ potential to arm survivors, and Chu Sheng explained that An Xi and Captain Hui had failed to forge sacrificial items themselves.
• An Xi proposed that Sequence characteristics in mental power enabled the forging, and Chu Sheng concluded that Sequences capable of making creations could infuse items with mental power and personal will.
• Chu Sheng explained that the sacrificial items’ costs reflected his subconscious wariness of survivors, while An Xi asked why her Black Jade Bone Spear’s cost had not changed after he added umbral iron.
• An Xi went to practice with her spear, while Chu Sheng silently resented Captain Hui for lingering in the Netherworld Ship’s bedroom and then lay down to read the Book of Time.

As the Convoy escaped the endless rain, the sky shattered and powerful new Anomalies appeared, but a summoned Great Sage Equal to Heaven scattered them. Zhuo Wu, exhausted after summoning the Great Sage, decided to bring his group to Chu Sheng's Convoy and seek safety.

• Chu Sheng, An Xi, and Captain Hui discussed the end of the rain and the active volcanoes ahead as the Convoy emerged into sunlight.
• Xingzi confronted An Xi over her closeness to Chu Sheng, while Chu Sheng and Captain Hui set up a table beside the Netherworld Light.
• Old Man Li began to warn the group before black cracks split the sky, releasing mist that formed monstrous Anomalies, including an enormous Sequence Six creature.
• The Anomalies flew toward different parts of the world, but a golden staff and two beams of light destroyed the four heading toward Chu Sheng's group, and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven appeared and drove back the black mist.
• Zhuo Wu returned to his body after summoning the Great Sage, used a talisman to restore his group, and proposed approaching Chu Sheng's Convoy to join it.

After Zhuo Wu’s summoned Great Sage destroyed the surrounding Anomalies, Captain Hui explained the limits of Zhuo Wu’s Taoist Sequence and proposed recruiting his group into the Convoy. The Sequence Adepts agreed, and Captain Hui led the Convoy onward to meet them.

• Zhuo Wu gave Zeng Lei the Anomaly materials to process, set aside unusual drops for himself, and rested while warning the survivors to stay alert.
• Captain Hui told Zhu Qing and the others that the Great Sage had been summoned by a Taoist Sequence with strict preparation and faith-offering requirements.
• An Xi explained that her Lesser Thunderclap Temple also gained power from incense offerings, while Captain Hui predicted the Convoy would reach Zhuo Wu’s group the next day or the morning after.
• Captain Hui described Zhuo Wu as a former scooter-riding delinquent who had protected dozens of people, including children and elders, without losing anyone.
• Chu Sheng, Xingzi, Fang Hong, An Xi, and A Xin agreed to recruit Zhuo Wu’s group, and Captain Hui ordered the Convoy to set out.

Chu Sheng watched hungry survivors and discussed their plight with Youming before the Convoy crossed the volcanic region. As the group prepared to reach a distant Supply Point, Captain Hui warned that food would become harder to find, and Chu Sheng's companions explained why the Convoy had seen no wild animals.

• A starving father shared his last dried fish with Xiao Ling, warned her to beware of others, and told her how to survive if he died.
• Chu Sheng observed Xiao Ling on the Projection, rejected Youming's suggestion that he felt compassion, and wondered why she looked so much like someone unrelated to her.
• The Convoy traveled toward the Endless Volcanic Range, where survivors relaxed after receiving a little food and hearing that a Supply Point was ahead.
• Captain Hui explained that the nearest usable Supply Point was over twenty thousand kilometers away and warned the group that supplies would grow scarcer.
• Fang Hong asked whether creatures inside volcanoes could be eaten, and Chu Sheng's companions explained that animals' life energy attracted Anomalies.

Fang Hong and the others discussed how Anomalies had driven most large animals to extinction and learned that living creatures could turn into Anomalies and possess Sequences. Fang Hong began asking Fate about creatures with Sequences, entering a place of complete nothingness.

• Fang Hong asked whether all animals had disappeared, and Xingzi explained that small creatures such as insects, fish, and shrimp had survived because they had little life energy.
• Xingzi explained that large animals had attracted Anomalies and that most animals larger than humans had died out.
• Captain Hui said that animals, plants, and humans could turn into Anomalies, and that life energy nourished black energy.
• Captain Hui explained that his divinations had confirmed that some creatures had Sequences, though he could not learn which creatures had them or what their Sequences were.
• Fang Hong agreed to ask Fate about creatures with Sequences and entered a colorless void as she prayed.

Fang Hong asked Fate whether animals and plants could awaken Sequences and learned that all things had them, though their names were only human approximations. She returned to the group, who discussed humanity’s place in the world and feared the black mist might turn survivors into Anomalies, while the Blood Moon strengthened Sequence Adepts and Anomalies alike.

• Fang Hong consulted Fate and learned that animals and plants could possess Sequences, which were rules beyond Fate and included elemental, seasonal, and other types.
• Fate told Fang Hong that heaven and earth treated all things impartially, then stopped answering her questions.
• Fang Hong told Captain Hui and the others that animals and plants could awaken Sequences and described their names in terms humans could understand.
• Xingzi and Captain Hui reasoned that Sequence names were approximations, while Chu Sheng reflected that humanity was not special and that survival depended on strength.
• Captain Hui warned that black mist entering survivors might turn them into Anomalies and urged the group to prepare.
• The Blood Moon’s light strengthened the group’s Sequences and was absorbed by Anomalies, with higher-level Anomalies directing more of it toward their strength.

Chu Sheng and An Xi crossed the lava field in the Netherworld Light to find Zhuo Wu’s group, while Xingzi joined them to treat the children and traded barbed remarks with An Xi. Chu Sheng introduced himself under a false name, and Zhuo Wu explained that he had spotted their convoy using the Fiery Golden Eyes.

• Chu Sheng agreed to fly An Xi across the lava field ahead of the convoy, warning that he would flee if they encountered danger.
• Xingzi insisted on joining them to treat the children, and she and An Xi exchanged pointed remarks as they boarded the Netherworld Light.
• After the Netherworld Light departed, Zhu Qing complained about the women’s quarrel, and Captain Hui and the others teased him about his own partner.
• Zhuo Wu decided his group would go around the lava field, but the flying Netherworld Light appeared overhead and landed nearby.
• Chu Sheng introduced himself as Chu Ci and An Xi as An Xin, withholding their real names while asking Zhuo Wu about the group’s Guide.
• Zhuo Wu said he had seen their convoy from the sky after transforming into the Great Sage and using his Fiery Golden Eyes.

Chu Sheng and An Xi met Zhuo Wu and his survivors in volcanic ash, and Chu Sheng tried to entice Zhuo Wu with the Convoy’s fuel-free vehicles. The chapter ended with Zhuo Wu admitting that his isolated group had never encountered another convoy and that he did not know what a Sacrificial Item was.

• An Xi urged Chu Sheng and Zhuo Wu to leave the volcanic ash so the survivors would not be harmed, and Zhuo Wu sent Zeng Lei to lead the group back.
• Chu Sheng offered to build Zhuo Wu a vehicle, then explained that the Convoy’s vehicles were Sacrificial Items with perpetual-motion engines and did not need fuel.
• Chu Sheng hoped to secure the Sequence Six supernatural materials Zhuo Wu had obtained before other Convoy members could influence their negotiations.
• Zhuo Wu asked what a Sacrificial Item was, explaining that his group had no Guide and had not met another convoy since he gathered the survivors outside the city.

Chu Sheng invited Zhuo Wu and the survivors he protected to join the convoy, and Zhuo Wu signed the Iron Hoop Contract. Chu Sheng then offered to build them a Sacrificial Item war vehicle in exchange for the supernatural materials Zhuo Wu had collected, leaving the trade under discussion.

• Zhuo Wu used talismans to gather drinking water for the survivors and ease their fatigue and the heat.
• Chu Sheng invited Zhuo Wu to join the convoy, and Zhuo Wu accepted after An Xi explained that all Sequence Adepts had to sign the group contract.
• Chu Sheng brought Xingzi to meet Zhuo Wu, who shared how helpless he had felt when several children in his group died from illness.
• Zhuo Wu read and signed the Iron Hoop Contract, which bound its signatories against harming one another and prohibited forced transactions.
• Chu Sheng offered to build a Sacrificial Item vehicle for Zhuo Wu's group in exchange for the supernatural materials dropped by the Anomalies they had killed.

Chu Sheng pressed Zhuo Wu to trade Sequence Six supernatural materials for a war chariot, explaining that his concept sequence made him uniquely capable of building one. Zhuo Wu weighed the offer as Chu Sheng warned that the deal would disappear if he refused.

• Chu Sheng explained that Zhuo Wu’s promised war chariot would be worth the Sequence Six materials and that keeping Zhuo Wu alive in the Convoy benefited him more than killing him for his possessions.
• Zhuo Wu tried to bargain, saying he needed the materials to improve his talismans, but Chu Sheng refused to negotiate below his stated price.
• Chu Sheng described ordinary, myth, and concept sequences, then said his ability had made the Netherworld Light a living war chariot assembled from many sacrificial items.
• Chu Sheng claimed no one else could build a comparable war chariot, while Xingzi and An Xi confirmed that his offer was fair and his crafting fees were low.
• Chu Sheng told Zhuo Wu to decide immediately, warning that he would not honor the offer later because he wanted the materials to prepare for future Sequence Six anomalies.

Chu Sheng explained why he was trading a combat vehicle for rare Sequence Six materials, while Ling Yun’s convoy was pursued through the Endless North Sea by a Sequence Six anomaly. Ling Yun struck it with Heavenly Punishment, but the anomaly began reforming, leaving the group’s fate uncertain.

• Chu Sheng decided to trade a vehicle assembled from unwanted sacrificial items for Zhuo Wu’s supernatural materials, securing supplies to prepare for future threats.
• Ling Yun’s convoy fled across the Endless North Sea on three enormous fish while an unknown pursuer chased them for two days.
• Old Wang said his Fishing Sequence could barely control the fish, and Ling Yun admitted that she sensed a lethal danger behind them.
• The Sequence Six anomaly swallowed one of the fish and its passengers, prompting Ling Yun to order the remaining fish onward and invoke Heavenly Punishment.
• Ling Yun’s Flame-Thunder Heavenly Punishment blasted apart the anomaly’s head, but its remains turned into black vapor and began gathering together.

Ling Yun’s convoy fled a Sequence Six Anomaly, which abandoned them to pursue more plentiful prey, while another survivor sensed someone watching them. Captain Hui explained his divinations to Cheng Xue as his convoy crossed dangerous volcanic terrain and neared its destination, where a dragon roared behind them.

• The Anomaly finished taking shape but chose to pursue tastier, slower prey in another direction instead of Ling Yun’s group.
• Ling Yun warned her survivors to watch for the Anomaly beneath the water, and a woman reported feeling watched by something that could see but not hear them.
• Captain Hui told Cheng Xue that he divined information about ordinary survivors and argued that anyone capable of finding them across vast distances would be too powerful to resist.
• As the volcanic ash cleared, Captain Hui announced that the convoy was seventy kilometers from its destination and that new members had joined after signing a contract with Chu Sheng.
• Captain Hui defended his dangerous volcanic route as the fastest safe way to reach their destination, and a dragon roared behind the convoy.

Qingqing flew ahead of the Convoy while Zhou Dun’s group discussed their dwindling fuel and lack of materials. Chu Sheng received four Sequence Six supernatural materials from Zhuo Wu and began fusing a blinking eyeball into the flame mark between his brows.

• Qingqing set Zhou Dun’s sedan down and flew off to play near the Convoy.
• Wu Meng, Wu Jie, and Zhou Dun discussed upgrading their car, trading for a heart-type material, or risking a hunt for an Anomaly.
• Chu Sheng accepted four Sequence Six supernatural materials from Zhuo Wu and agreed to build him a battle vehicle once Zhuo Wu found a base vehicle.
• An Xi and Xingzi raced to enter the Netherworld Light, with An Xi edging ahead of Xingzi.
• Chu Sheng picked up the blinking eyeball and pressed it against the flame mark between his brows, turning both into a streak of white light.

Chu Sheng inspected the Eternal Vertical Eye and learned its powers and severe usage costs, then realized its hidden condition posed no cost to him. He negotiated with An Xi over an azure bead that seemed to attract her, leaving its fate unresolved.

• Chu Sheng examined the Eternal Vertical Eye’s abilities and learned that using it could awaken its Anomaly or burn him, though its hidden attribute removed the cost for him.
• Chu Sheng realized the restriction on killing artisan-creation-type Sequence Transcendents related to other creatures awakening sequences, and he told An Xi the item’s cost meant he could not let anyone else use it.
• Xingzi expressed concern for Chu Sheng and teased An Xi, while Chu Sheng took her words as friendly concern.
• Chu Sheng assessed the supernatural materials and recognized that the azure bead seemed especially suited to An Xi.
• An Xi admitted the bead drew her in, and Chu Sheng argued that it was worth a quarter of a battle vehicle before asking whether she wanted it to disappear before her eyes.

Chu Sheng made An Xi sign a contract to repay him for the blue-green bead, which strengthened her wind abilities and let her fly. He then fused two other supernatural materials into the Netherworld Light, whose scales changed as its upgrade finished.

• An Xi agreed to give Chu Sheng one Sequence Six supernatural material and ten Sequence Seven materials in exchange for the blue-green bead, and they signed an Iron Hoop Contract with a one-year deadline and a fallback payment.
• An Xi absorbed the bead and gained Tailwind, which let her fly, move faster, and increased her strength by at least fifty percent.
• Chu Sheng reminded An Xi that she still owed him twenty Sequence Seven supernatural materials.
• Chu Sheng fused the writhing flesh-and-blood bark and serrated biscuit into the Netherworld Light as Zhuo Wu and the survivors watched its white light.
• The Netherworld Light's red scales turned black, gained fine serrated edges, and revealed a writhing skeletal framework beneath them.

Chu Sheng assessed the Netherworld Light’s new scale abilities after its ranking rose to 518, then explained how Youming’s soul had grown by absorbing supernatural concepts. The chapter ended with Youming preparing to explain its permission levels to An Xi and Xingzi.

• The Netherworld Light gained powerful scale abilities after Chu Sheng fused two Sequence Six supernatural materials into it.
• Chu Sheng realized Scale Armor Root, Vigorous Growth, and Gluttonous Desire could combine with its other abilities to restrain and attack powerful targets.
• An Xi and Xingzi learned that Youming’s voice and intelligence had changed, and Youming explained that it absorbed supernatural concepts from materials to nourish its soul.
• An Xi asked about Youming’s permission levels, and Chu Sheng allowed it to explain them without revealing anything else.

Youming explained the Netherworld Light’s access levels, while An Xi and Xingzi argued over their standing and then vowed to protect the Book of Time. After several hours inside the vehicle, Chu Sheng, An Xi, and Xingzi stepped out beneath a red evening sky as a distant volcano erupted.

• Youming explained the five access levels of the Netherworld Light, including the privileges granted to members of the Convoy and the emergency succession rules Chu Sheng had established.
• An Xi and Xingzi asked who had higher priority, and Chu Sheng told them they shared the same level and Youming would follow whichever executable command came first.
• Chu Sheng reflected that the Book of Time could preserve their civilization, prompting An Xi and Xingzi to promise to protect it.
• An Xi and Xingzi resumed bickering, while Chu Sheng recognized that their rivalry concealed a mutual acceptance rooted in guilt.
• After four or five hours, Chu Sheng, An Xi, and Xingzi left the vehicle beneath a red sky as the volcano rumbled in the distance.

Chu Sheng and his companions learned that Zhuo Wu’s survivors had found lava-dwelling creatures to eat, but their meal was interrupted by an approaching figure. Chu Sheng recognized the figure as Qingqing in her azure dragon form, while An Xi began revealing her White Tiger transformation.

• Xingzi healed An Xi after she and Chu Sheng returned from their encounter with him, then she and An Xi each hugged one of Chu Sheng’s arms.
• Zhuo Wu explained that his group had survived by catching and eating Fire-Rock Lizards, Fire-Segment Crocodiles, and Fire-Molten Moths from the lava.
• Chu Sheng saw the survivors grilling the strange creatures and agreed to try the food.
• An Xi sensed something approaching, and Zhuo Wu ordered the survivors to get back as a black dot drew near.
• Chu Sheng stopped Zhuo Wu from attacking and identified the approaching figure as Qingqing, a Convoy Sequence Adept transformed into an azure dragon.
• An Xi began transforming into a Geng Metal White Tiger, manifesting tiger ears and a tail as Qingqing approached.

An Xi transformed into her White Tiger True Form and met Qingqing’s Azure Dragon in a distant sparring match. As the Convoy watched, Chu Sheng explained its trading rules to Zhuo Wu, who learned that his talismans could be valuable.

• An Xi became a gigantic winged White Tiger and flew toward Qingqing’s Azure Dragon, astonishing Zhuo Wu.
• Zhuo Wu asked whether he could invoke An Xi, and Chu Sheng told him he would need to trade supernatural materials for her help.
• Xingzi explained that Convoy members paid for services and goods, while Chu Sheng said Zhuo Wu could trade his talismans for supernatural materials.
• Zhuo Wu listed his talismans and doubted their value, but Chu Sheng and Xingzi recognized their broad usefulness and advised him to set prices.
• An Xi and Qingqing began sparring in the sky as Zeng Lei returned; Chu Sheng told him to bring everyone back and explained that the pair were Convoy members, not Anomalies.

An Xi and Qingqing fought in the sky, and Qingqing's Azure Beam left An Xi with scorched, patchy fur before Qingqing retreated to the Convoy. An Xi later punished Zhu Qing for boasting that he was stronger than her.

• Qingqing wrapped around An Xi and unleashed an Azure Beam, but An Xi blocked it with her winds and geng metal fire as the blasted land burst into new growth.
• Qingqing stopped fighting and flew to the Convoy to seek comfort from Fang Hong, leaving An Xi with a bald patch and mottled fur.
• An Xi returned to human form and flew back to the Convoy, where Zhu Qing bragged that he was the strongest fighter and called An Xi a pushover.
• An Xi hurled the Black Jade Bone Spear through Zhu Qing and covered him with geng metal fire, forcing him to cut away the burning flesh.
• Zhu Qing apologized when An Xi raised her spear again, and An Xi slung it across her back.