Chapter Summaries

Meng Le, Ju Lei, and Che Quan investigated the dream’s connection to the Instance’s guides and learned the legend behind Eternal Life Lake while Zhang Yun taught them a song in the same strange language. As Che Quan imitated the song, an unseen breeze carried him a leaf and seemed to bring Jiang Cong’s laugh.

• Meng Le refused to open her door to the false Ju Lei and later learned the real Ju Lei had stayed in his room all night.
• Zhang Yun began teaching the group a song, and Meng Le recognized its ancient language from her dream before asking to delay the lesson.
• Meng Le told Ju Lei and Che Quan about her dream, and Che Quan linked the male guide in it to the Vengeful Spirit’s memory of her boyfriend.
• Zhang Yun recounted how the mayor’s daughter returned from drowning with a god statue, giving Eternal Life Lake its name.
• Che Quan imitated the song while a strange breeze brought him a leaf and the sound of Jiang Cong’s chuckle.

Che Quan, Ju Lei, and Meng Le followed Zhang Yun into Miracle Town and searched the mayor’s office for the statue believed to be behind the strange events. They found a photograph of the mayor and his daughter holding the statue, but the office and the image raised questions about what had happened to the town.

• Zhang Yun gave up trying to make the three sing and led them on an afternoon visit to Miracle Town.
• Ju Lei and Meng Le suspected the town’s miracle involved returning from the dead, then asked Zhang Yun to let them explore alone.
• Che Quan led Ju Lei and Meng Le to the mayor’s office, where the locked entrance opened through his power.
• The three searched the mayor’s office, and Che Quan warned Ju Lei not to touch a photograph beside a withered plant.
• The photograph showed the mayor and his daughter holding a strange deity statue, labeled with the word “Miracle.”

Che Quan, Meng Le, and Ju Lei discovered that the mayor’s daughter and statue concealed a curse, then escaped the office through a town suddenly filled with monstrous “people.” As they neared the edge of town, Meng Le and Ju Lei spotted something that left them speechless.

• Meng Le compared the statue-holding girl’s expression to Zhang Yun’s, and a falling photograph revealed the mayor and his daughter as monstrous figures.
• The mayor arrived, called security on Che Quan, and watched as Che Quan froze the monster guards and walked out with Meng Le and Ju Lei.
• The trio found the deserted town crowded with sinister people who watched them but did not attack while Che Quan was present.
• A little girl asked Meng Le and Ju Lei whether they were a couple, but Meng Le covered both their mouths and kept walking.
• Near the edge of town, Meng Le saw something overhead, and Ju Lei followed her gaze in alarm.

Meng Le and Ju Lei endured a night with the Vengeful Spirits who had once been their companions, while Che Quan warned them not to speak the spirits’ language and to wake when Zhang Yun clapped. The chapter ended with Jiang Cong approaching Che Quan in the dark, shocking the livestream viewers because he was not an Instance player.

• Sang Shiwen, Xia Lan, Ke Jiaxi, and Gong Yan reunited with Meng Le and Ju Lei as Vengeful Spirits, and the group failed to choose option A after using their save-and-retry opportunities.
• Che Quan selected option B, and Zhang Yun led the reunited group back to Talles Camp for dinner.
• Before leaving the dining hall, Che Quan warned Meng Le and Ju Lei not to speak the Vengeful Spirits’ language and to pinch themselves awake when Zhang Yun clapped.
• Xia Lan urged Meng Le to join her in death during the night, but Meng Le resisted the temptation and resolved to survive.
• Ke Jiaxi and Gong Yan tormented Ju Lei through the night, while Jiang Cong approached Che Quan as he slept.

Che Quan fed on Jiang Cong, then rejected his advances, while Jiang Cong cherished the small sign of softness he saw in Che Quan. The next morning, Che Quan woke in a foul mood as Meng Le hurried to report a problem.

• The audience saw an emergency-repair notice on the blacked-out screen and could not continue watching.
• Che Quan asked why Jiang Cong could move freely between instances, but Jiang Cong offered to answer only in exchange for a kiss.
• Che Quan drank Jiang Cong’s blood, then pushed him away when Jiang Cong pinned him to the bed and released a bewitching scent.
• Jiang Cong left, pleased that Che Quan had treated him more gently than before, and returned to his shabby room in Instance City, recalling how Che Quan had once offered him hope.
• Che Quan slept poorly and woke in a foul temper, and Meng Le hurried over to report something to him.

Che Quan, Meng Le, and Zhang Yun entered the Central Building, where they found Ju Lei bound among the idols. Che Quan identified the town’s snake idols as evidence of Serpent God worship and realized the god demanded an annual living sacrifice, prompting him to hurry downstairs.

• Meng Le told Che Quan that Ju Lei was missing, and Che Quan found Ju Lei’s room wrecked with Ke Jiaxi and Gong Yan missing as well.
• Che Quan used the lack of meat at breakfast to infer that Ju Lei had not turned into a monster, then headed for the locked Central Building despite Zhang Yun trying to stop him.
• The Central Building’s padlock fell away and its door opened for Che Quan, while Meng Le followed him inside with a baseball bat.
• Meng Le and Che Quan found Ju Lei bound among the Evil Idols, and Zhang Yun warned them that they should not have entered.
• Che Quan examined the snake-like idols and concluded that the town worshipped a Serpent God that demanded a living sacrifice each year.
• Che Quan remembered something and hurried down the stairs.

Che Quan rescued Meng Le and Ju Lei from Zhang Yun’s attack and brought them a movie disc whose synopsis mirrored the town’s cycle of resurrection and sacrifice. He then began destroying the room’s statues and was about to give Meng Le and Ju Lei an order.

• Che Quan beat Zhang Yun with Meng Le’s baseball bat, stopping her attack and breaking the hypnotic spell that had driven Meng Le and Ju Lei toward death.
• After Zhang Yun fell silent, Che Quan went downstairs and later returned with a disc titled “Love’s Sacrifice.”
• Meng Le and Ju Lei read the synopsis and recognized its parallels to the mayor’s resurrected daughter, the statues’ yearly sacrifices, and the Vengeful Spirits.
• Che Quan crushed a small statue underfoot while Meng Le and Ju Lei watched in amazement, then turned to give them an order.

Che Quan ordered Meng Le and Ju Lei to destroy the Serpent Idols and the Serpent Sculpture, but the destruction alerted the Town’s residents and offended their Deity. A deadly group question then demanded that they choose two souls to sacrifice, leaving the three companions facing an impossible decision.

• Che Quan sent Meng Le and Ju Lei downstairs to smash the Serpent Sculpture with the Serpent Idols, and they eagerly returned for more after discovering the attacks weakened it.
• Meng Le and Ju Lei continued battering the sculpture until a crowd’s approach alarmed them, then threw their remaining Serpent Idols at it and shattered it.
• Che Quan observed that the Serpent Idol he sought was not among the destroyed ones, then led Meng Le and Ju Lei downstairs.
• The three found the Town’s residents gathered outside, each holding a sinister Serpent Idol, and a group single-choice question demanded two souls as a sacrifice.

Che Quan ignored the group Single-Choice Question and showed Meng Le and Ju Lei how to destroy the Serpent Idols, causing the Town’s monstrous residents to crumble away. The three returned to the ruined Town and headed toward the mayor’s office, but Ju Lei spotted a noticeboard along the way.

• Meng Le offered to be sacrificed, but Che Quan said he had no guilt and that no sacrifice was needed.
• Che Quan smashed two Serpent Idols together, revealing that the idols could be destroyed that way, and Meng Le and Ju Lei joined him.
• The three destroyed every Serpent Idol before the countdown ended, and the Town residents crumbled to dust when time resumed.
• Che Quan, Meng Le, and Ju Lei left the camp and returned to the Town, where they found ruined walls and corpses instead of its fairy-tale appearance.
• As the three walked toward the mayor’s office, Ju Lei spotted a noticeboard in the rubble.

Che Quan, Ju Lei, and Meng Le uncovered evidence that the Serpent Idols spread the ancient power and searched the mayor’s office for the original idol. They found a strange key, but the building’s false staff members cornered them before they could investigate it.

• Ju Lei, Meng Le, and Che Quan read an old newspaper showing that the mayor had donated the Serpent Sculpture to Talus Camp, and they suspected its idols had spread the evil influence among visitors.
• Che Quan said the affected people would remain under the idols’ influence while the original power survived, so the three headed for the mayor’s office.
• The trio found the office unchanged, except for a new photograph showing the mayor beside his monstrous daughter holding a Serpent Idol.
• Che Quan removed the photograph and told Ju Lei to empty the withered plant pot, revealing a small key made from material like the Serpent Idol.
• Ju Lei and Meng Le saw the false staff members crowding into the doorway as Che Quan lowered his eyes.

After the photograph changed, Che Quan, Ju Lei, and Meng Le searched the transformed mayor’s office for the Serpent Idol. A hidden slime attacked in the darkness, and after Meng Le saved Ju Lei from its hypnosis, an invisible hand seized her by the throat.

• Che Quan changed the photograph, and the mayor’s office transformed into a filthy, cobweb-covered room matching its background.
• Ju Lei and Meng Le realized the Serpent Idol and monster might have emerged from the photograph, then searched the office while Che Quan stayed back.
• A camouflaged slime crept up on Ju Lei, but Meng Le spotted it and pulled him out of the way.
• The slime extinguished the light, and its ancient words hypnotized Ju Lei and Meng Le.
• Meng Le pinched herself to break the hypnosis, then pinched Ju Lei until he awoke and screamed in ancient words.
• An invisible hand grabbed Meng Le by the neck and lifted her as she struggled to breathe.

Che Quan destroyed the Serpent Idol hidden inside the gelatinous monster, causing the monster and the creatures outside the mayor’s office to vanish. Meng Le and Ju Lei followed Che Quan out of the building as he wiped his arm clean.

• Meng Le recovered after landing on Ju Lei, and the two saw that Che Quan had driven back the enlarged gelatinous monster.
• The monster hid in the floor, and Meng Le and Ju Lei resumed searching the office for the Primitive Idol but could not find it.
• Che Quan asked Ju Lei for the key, then pushed him aside as the monster rose behind him to attack.
• Che Quan thrust the key into the monster’s mouth and struck the Serpent Idol hidden inside, shattering it and turning the monster to powder.
• The office returned to its bright, spotless state, and Meng Le and Ju Lei saw powder where the monsters outside had stood before following Che Quan out.

Che Quan led Meng Le and Ju Lei through the deadly final obstacles and out of the “Single-Choice Question” Instance. After earning their rewards, Meng Le spent her points on two Soul Crystals to bring her friends back.

• Che Quan destroyed the Primitive Idol, and the mayor’s office building collapsed as the Instance’s Monsters were wiped out.
• Meng Le and Ju Lei spotted the Life Gate, then rushed toward it as venomous snakes and reanimated Town residents blocked their way.
• Meng Le fought through the snakes in a rage while Ju Lei followed and Che Quan walked safely ahead of them.
• The three reached the Life Gate and cleared the Instance, earning their rewards and thirty thousand bonus points each for unlocking its complete storyline.
• Meng Le exchanged her points for two Soul Crystals so she could bring Lanlan and Shiwen back.

Meng Le spent her points to revive Sang Shiwen and Xia Lan, and the group returned to Instance City after the instance ended. Che Quan went home for a bath, sensed Jiang Cong nearby, and threatened to eat whoever was spying on him.

• Meng Le used two Soul Crystals to bring Sang Shiwen and Xia Lan back to life in the ruined Town.
• Xia Lan embraced Meng Le, and Sang Shiwen thanked her for the rescue and promised to repay the points.
• The group passed through the life gate and returned to Instance City as viewers reacted emotionally to the rescue.
• Che Quan returned to his courtyard residence and went to the bathroom to soak in a hot bath.
• Che Quan sensed Jiang Cong's presence, called him out for peeping, and said he was hungry.

Che Quan fed on Jiang Cong in the bathtub and read his memories, confirming that the masked boy from the Old Castle had been Jiang Cong as a child. The memory revealed that the night had begun normally, and Che Quan reached the moment when an unexpected turn occurred.

• Jiang Cong entered the bathtub and offered his neck to Che Quan so he could feed.
• Che Quan drank Jiang Cong’s blood while Jiang Cong held him beneath the water and suppressed his hunger.
• Che Quan read Jiang Cong’s memories and confirmed that the masked boy from the Old Castle was Jiang Cong as a child.
• Che Quan followed Jiang Cong’s memory of the night at the Old Castle until an unexpected turn began after Jiang Cong went to sleep.

Che Quan watched memories of two guards attempt to kill his sleeping past self, only for an unseen force to compel them to kill themselves. Back in the bathtub, Jiang Cong offered to reveal the whole truth, and Che Quan agreed to keep reading his memories by drinking his blood, this time insisting on taking the dominant position.

• Che Quan saw two guards enter his Old Castle bedroom on Dess's orders and raise Pure Silver Crosses to kill his sleeping self.
• An invisible force made the guards leave the bedroom and plunge their crosses into their own chests, and Che Quan recognized it as resembling the force from the evil-spirit instance.
• Jiang Cong pulled Che Quan's fangs from his neck and offered to tell him the whole truth if Che Quan let him carry him to bed.
• Jiang Cong dressed Che Quan, and Che Quan felt unexpectedly unsettled by his touch before demanding answers.
• Jiang Cong invited Che Quan to keep reading his memories through his blood, and Che Quan agreed on the condition that he would be on top.
• Jiang Cong leaned against the headboard and exposed his neck for Che Quan to bite.

Che Quan recovered his memories of Jiang Cong’s return to the Old Castle and the events that led to his exile. He remembered that his father had trained him to become strong only so he could drain Che Quan’s blood and give it to his beloved youngest son.

• Che Quan saw Jiang Cong negotiate with a terrifying darkness in an ancient language and leave the wasteland without his mask.
• Jiang Cong killed a guard who called him a traitor, then rushed into the Old Castle and encountered Che Quan.
• Dess urged Che Quan to kill Jiang Cong and return to the Royal Court, but Che Quan refused and accused his father of wanting his blood for his youngest son.
• Che Quan remembered the truth about his father’s plan and lost his appetite.
• Jiang Cong gently held Che Quan and asked whether he had remembered everything, and Che Quan confirmed that he had.

Che Quan watched a memory of Dess betraying him after he refused to return to the vampire court or fight Jiang Cong. The memory ended with Jiang Cong unleashing terrifying power to destroy the blood-draining array and tear Dess apart.

• Jiang Cong comforted Che Quan and used his power to send him back into the memory of what happened after Che Quan rejected Dess.
• Dess accused Che Quan of dooming their race and abandoning his brother, but Che Quan refused to yield and ordered her to leave.
• Dess summoned vampire soldiers to attack Che Quan and Jiang Cong, but Che Quan drove them back while Jiang Cong showed surprising combat skill.
• Dess activated a blood-draining array that trapped Che Quan and wounded him faster than his body could heal.
• Jiang Cong struck the array with overwhelming power, destroying it and annihilating the guards before tearing Dess in half.

After Che Quan was gravely wounded destroying the Blood Array, Jiang Cong kept vigil over him in a Crystal Coffin and turned on the vampires who had harmed him. When Che Quan failed to wake, Jiang Cong carried him to the Royal Court and began his revenge.

• Jiang Cong placed the unconscious Che Quan in a Crystal Coffin, cleaned and changed him, and stayed beside him as Che Quan watched in spirit form.
• When elite pureblood vampires came to the Old Castle, Jiang Cong wounded them and drove them away without letting their blood stain Che Quan’s resting place.
• A mass of black mist spoke with Jiang Cong, after which he pleaded with the sleeping Che Quan to wake before he killed the vampires who had hurt him.
• Jiang Cong waited for Che Quan to wake, then carried him to the Royal Court when he did not.
• Jiang Cong discovered that the king had fed Che Quan’s blood to his youngest son and tore the young vampire prince apart before the court.

Jiang Cong avenged Che Quan by killing the vampire king and seizing control of the world, then spent centuries guarding Che Quan in a crystal coffin and trying to become someone he would admire. When Che Quan still showed no sign of waking, Jiang Cong decided to make another deal with the dark chaos.

• Jiang Cong killed the favored consort and her son for disturbing Che Quan’s sleep, then trapped the vampire king in a blood-draining magic circle and killed him.
• Jiang Cong crushed the pureblood nobles who tried to seize the throne, and the vampires’ former human and half-vampire victims became their hunters.
• Jiang Cong razed the Royal Court, built a new palace, and placed Che Quan in a crystal coffin inside a forbidden area.
• Jiang Cong guarded Che Quan for hundreds of years, studied his diary, and changed his appearance and manner to match the qualities Che Quan admired.
• After Che Quan showed no sign of awakening, Jiang Cong decided to make another deal with the dark chaos.