Chapter Summaries

Cao Bing met King Kuihuan to arrange entry into the Illusory Void Secret Realm, and King Kuihuan offered him a warm welcome and a warning about its dangers. After agreeing to leave the next morning, Cao Bing studied the available intelligence and considered an unknown treasure King Kuihuan had once wanted him to retrieve.

• King Kuihuan greeted Cao Bing warmly and tried to repair their relationship after their past conflict.
• Cao Bing told King Kuihuan he wanted to enter the Illusory Void Secret Realm, and King Kuihuan warned him that it was extremely dangerous.
• King Kuihuan arranged for them to travel to the secret realm the following morning, with the journey expected to take about ten days.
• Cao Bing reviewed King Kuihuan’s intelligence alongside the Virtual Universe Company’s records and found the company’s information more extensive.
• Cao Bing noted that King Kuihuan no longer asked him to retrieve the unknown treasure, but resolved to keep any treasure he found.

Cao Bing entered the Illusory Void Secret Realm, where he discovered that technology and all powers beyond physical strength were unusable. He landed near a surveyed exit but emerged in dense fog, leaving him to locate the marker stones that could guide him.

• Cao Bing entered the pale-blue planet and crashed face-first into the ground when the secret realm changed his surroundings.
• Cao Bing found that the realm disabled technological devices, prevented flight, and blocked the use of energy, spiritual power, soul power, and laws.
• Cao Bing recalled that the secret realm could only be exited through a naturally formed passage and that he had entered near a known exit.
• Cao Bing surveyed the milky-white ground and dense fog, which limited his view to a little over two hundred meters.
• Cao Bing knew marker stones had been placed every twenty kilometers throughout the surveyed area to indicate the direction to the exit.

Cao Bing set out toward a supply point 600,000 kilometers away through the Illusory Void Secret Realm, where he was ambushed by a Mist Beast. After studying the creature’s attacks, he easily destroyed it with his bare hands.

• Cao Bing found a waypoint marker showing that the nearest supply point was 600,000 kilometers away.
• Cao Bing sensed danger and dodged a sudden attack by a jade-like Mist Beast mantis.
• Cao Bing recognized the creature as a common, unpredictable threat in the Illusory Void Secret Realm and estimated its strength at peak World Lord level.
• Cao Bing watched the Mist Beast mantis attack before deciding it posed no real danger to him.
• Cao Bing severed the mantis’s blade-arms and shattered its body with a punch.

Cao Bing learned about Mist Beads after killing a Mist Beast and traveled with veteran explorer Ju Du to Supply Point 0714. At the city gate, guards demanded two units of Mist Beads from each of them to enter.

• Cao Bing killed a Mist Beast, collected its Mist Bead, and found that it barely restored his energy or improved his physical strength.
• Cao Bing set out for the nearest human outpost and met Ju Du, a ninth-level Domain Lord who had survived in the secret realm for more than three hundred years.
• Cao Bing and Ju Du traveled toward Supply Point 0714, and Ju Du shared useful information about the secret realm.
• Two guards stopped Cao Bing and Ju Du at the supply point's gate and demanded two units of Mist Beads per person.

Cao Bing and Ju Du entered Supply Point 0714 after a guard demanded a higher fee, and Cao Bing kept Ju Du from confronting him. Noticing the supply point was unusually deserted, they decided to look for Ju Du’s friends and find out what had happened.

• Ju Du objected when the gate guard demanded two units of Mist Beads instead of one, and Cao Bing paid four Cosmic-level Mist Beads to get them inside.
• Ju Du tried to challenge the guard, but Cao Bing pulled him away and explained that the guard might have powerful backing.
• Ju Du told Cao Bing that he had friends at Supply Point 0714 but could not contact them because technological devices were forbidden.
• Ju Du offered to take Cao Bing to the rental office, where ordinary residences cost about one unit of Mist Beads for ten years.
• Cao Bing and Ju Du noticed the streets were nearly empty and agreed to check whether Ju Du’s friends were at the supply point.

Cao Bing and Ju Du learned from Man An that a Universe Mercenary Alliance Young Master had made Supply Point 0714 prohibitively expensive, driving explorers away. A rumored precious treasure in the unexplored region then drew most of the remaining adventurers out, including the Young Master, and the chapter left the situation there unknown.

• Ju Du reunited with his sworn brother Man An and introduced him to Cao Bing.
• Ju Du told Man An that his five-year expedition had been deadly, with only seven of his fifteen teammates remaining when he left.
• Man An explained that a Universe Mercenary Alliance Young Master had raised the supply point’s fees and rents, including the cost of an ordinary residence to one Mist Bead unit per month.
• Man An said a half-year earlier that a thirty-person team had discovered possible traces of a precious treasure 13.5 million kilometers into the unexplored region, but only two explorers returned alive.
• Man An reported that hundreds of teams had gone to investigate, most had vanished, and the Young Master had also led powerful experts toward the suspected treasure.

Cao Bing learned that the dangerous destination 13.5 million kilometers south of Supply Point 0714 was the same place King Kuihuan had suspected held a treasure. He joined Man An and Ju Du’s expedition, and the chapter ended with their team assembled and introductions complete before departure.

• Cao Bing confirmed that the destination Man An described lay due south of Supply Point 0714, matching King Kuihuan’s lead about a possible treasure site.
• Man An invited Cao Bing and Ju Du to join his expedition; after hearing that veteran Domain Lords would travel with them, Ju Du agreed, and Cao Bing joined as well.
• Cao Bing and Ju Du prepared for the journey at the supply point, and Man An set their departure for three days later.
• Man An, Ju Du, Cao Bing, Fierce Wind, Xin, Beierfugang, Scissors, and Ran introduced themselves and described their exploration experience or physical strength.

Cao Bing led Man An and the other explorers south through the Illusory Void Secret Realm, protecting the team from its dangers with his overwhelming strength. At the entrance to a dangerous canyon leading into the unknown region, Cao Bing insisted they take the route and promised to get them through safely.

• Man An advised Cao Bing to stay vigilant and learn from the experienced explorers before the eight-person team set out south.
• The team traveled across the secret realm, and Cao Bing became their core after he killed a level-nine World Lord Mist Beast with one punch.
• Man An warned Cao Bing that the canyon ahead contained dangerous Wind Callers and twisting passages, and suggested going around it.
• Cao Bing insisted on leading the team through the canyon and promised to introduce them to an Immortal God teacher if they were not out within two days.

Cao Bing led the exploration squad through a canyon and killed a Wind Caller that attacked them. Before he could return to help the injured Scissors, two more hurricanes targeted him.

• Cao Bing and the squad entered the canyon, where a Wind Caller swept them with a powerful hurricane.
• Man An warned that the squad needed to attack when the hurricane stopped and asked Cao Bing to lead the assault.
• When the wind ceased, Cao Bing rushed ahead and split the Wind Caller with his saber.
• Cao Bing heard Scissors cry out in pain and suspected a Mist Beast had attacked the squad.
• As Cao Bing prepared to return, two more hurricanes struck toward his position.

Cao Bing killed two Wind Callers and returned to save Man An’s group from a giant octopus Mist Beast. He collected its Mist Bead and continued onward with the injured adventurers.

• Cao Bing killed two Wind Callers after deciding that Man An and the others could handle the Mist Beasts without him.
• The giant octopus Mist Beast injured Scissors and Ju Du and sent Ran crashing into the canyon wall.
• Cao Bing arrived in time to punch the octopus away from Ran, then killed it instantly and took its Mist Bead.
• Cao Bing told Man An’s group to treat their injuries and arranged for two people to carry Scissors and Ran onward.

Cao Bing’s team crossed the dangerous canyon, buried the remains of fallen explorers, and continued through increasingly hazardous territory while collecting valuable resources. At a black mountain marked by a purple treasure light, they found dozens of explorer teams gathered, including the powerful Universe Mercenary Alliance team led by Abelial.

• Cao Bing’s team crossed the canyon, survived repeated attacks, and buried the remains of more than twenty explorers.
• After leaving the canyon, Cao Bing’s team slowed down to avoid poorly documented hazards and detoured around a group of explorers killed by poison.
• Cao Bing’s team encountered other explorers cautiously and collected valuable herbs and minerals, including a massive chunk of precious ore.
• Thirty-five million kilometers into the unknown region, explorer teams gathered at an unusual black mountain whose summit emitted a deep purple treasure light.
• Abelial’s well-equipped team from the Universe Mercenary Alliance occupied the center of the campsite without opposition.

Abelial ordered the Universe Mercenary Alliance to force explorer squads into the sacred mountain to search for its entrance and treasure, treating their lives as expendable. The Alliance’s red-haired brute carried out the order, leaving the camp in terror as escape became impossible.

• Abelial ordered the red-haired brute to keep sending explorers into the sacred mountain, even if they had to be forced.
• The red-haired brute accepted Abelial’s order and went to select explorers and Alliance Martial Artists.
• The red-haired brute killed explorers who resisted being used as cannon fodder, and several squads suffered casualties.
• The red-haired brute’s men stopped explorers from fleeing and sent anyone who tried to escape into the sacred mountain.

Cao Bing led Man An and the other explorers toward the sacred mountain, where a Universe Mercenary Alliance prince was forcing people to scout a dangerous route. When three of the prince’s men tried to capture Cao Bing’s group, Cao Bing killed them instantly.

• Cao Bing recognized the sacred mountain from King Kuihuan’s information and led his team toward its purple treasure light.
• Explorers warned Cao Bing’s group that Prince Abelial was capturing people to scout the mountain and that hundreds had already died.
• Cao Bing ignored the warning and continued toward the mountain, with Man An and the others following him.
• Three of Abelial’s subordinates ordered Cao Bing’s group to surrender and began eyeing their supplies.
• Cao Bing killed the three men before they could attack, leaving Man An and the others stunned by the headless corpses.

Cao Bing learned that 10,080 dangerous caves were the only entrances into the divine mountain, then decided to seek help from the Universe Mercenary Alliance’s prince. He arrived at the Alliance camp with two captured explorers and waited for its leader to appear.

• Two captured Universe Mercenary Alliance explorers told Cao Bing that the divine mountain could only be entered through 10,080 caves, where nearly everyone who entered had died or been injured.
• Cao Bing could find no clues to a safe cave and considered using Luo Feng’s Insect Race army, but decided against it.
• Cao Bing chose to meet the Universe Mercenary Alliance’s prince and set off with Man An and the others, taking the two explorers with them.
• At the Alliance’s central camp, the red-haired burly man learned that two squads had gone missing and worried about losing pathfinders for Abelial.
• Cao Bing reached the camp entrance and demanded to see whoever was in charge; the guards recognized the captured explorers and challenged him as someone approached.

Cao Bing confronted the Universe Mercenary Alliance camp and, using an overwhelming aura, walked past its guards to reach Abelial’s tent. He introduced himself to Abelial, who had mistaken his arrival for a stealthy infiltration.

• Cao Bing told the red-haired brute he had captured Alliance members because the Alliance had captured people too.
• The red-haired brute named Abelial as the camp’s leader, but Cao Bing’s pressure left him and the guards unable to stop Cao Bing from entering.
• Cao Bing walked into Abelial’s tent while Abelial rested, and Abelial opened his eyes and demanded to know who he was.
• Abelial assumed Cao Bing had sneaked into the tent using stealth and criticized his guards for failing to protect him.
• Cao Bing introduced himself as Cao Bing and asked whether Abelial had heard of him.

Cao Bing met Abelial at the foot of the Divine Mountain, where Abelial had spent nearly two years trying to find a way inside. Cao Bing claimed he had a simple method, but Abelial grew angry when Cao Bing told him to try it himself.

• Abelial recognized Cao Bing and greeted him respectfully, then invited him to sit and poured him wine.
• Cao Bing accepted Abelial’s wine and asked about the Divine Mountain.
• Abelial admitted he had been unable to enter the mountain and had forced captured explorers to test its caves.
• Cao Bing said he had a simple method for entering the Divine Mountain.
• Abelial asked Cao Bing to explain, but Cao Bing told him to try it himself, angering Abelial.

Cao Bing asked Prince Abelial to bring him the two adventurers who had survived Divine Mountain’s caves, despite Abelial’s warnings that they had lost their minds. Once they arrived, Cao Bing focused his attention on them.

• Cao Bing told Abelial that he intended to enter Divine Mountain and wanted to meet its surviving cave explorers.
• Abelial warned Cao Bing about the caves’ dangers, then agreed to show him the two surviving adventurers who had become fools.
• Abelial ordered his subordinates to bring the two men to his tent.
• A red-haired burly man escorted the two men in and left after Abelial dismissed him.
• Cao Bing turned his full attention to the two adventurers.

Cao Bing examined two explorers who had escaped the Divine Mountain cave but were left mentally incapacitated, and concluded the cave attacked willpower. After learning which caves they had entered, he prepared to investigate while leaving Man An and the other explorers in the Universe Mercenary Alliance’s care.

• Cao Bing determined that the two explorers’ bodies and souls were mostly unharmed, but their consciousness had been damaged by an attack on their willpower.
• Cao Bing decided that the surviving explorers proved the caves could be entered and asked Abelial which caves they had explored.
• Abelial warned Cao Bing but gave him the locations of the two caves when Cao Bing stood by his decision.
• Cao Bing stayed another day in the Universe Mercenary Alliance’s territory and arranged for Man An and the other explorers to remain there.
• Man An and the others accepted that they could not safely enter Divine Mountain and recognized that Cao Bing’s status would protect them.

Cao Bing reached Divine Mountain Cave and chose to enter despite Abelial's warnings. After checking and activating Abelial's Life-Bearing Lamp, he stepped into the cave and vanished from sight.

• Abelial led Cao Bing and his group to the eerie, light-swallowing entrance of Divine Mountain Cave.
• Cao Bing told Man An and the others to wait for him and return if he had not emerged within twenty years.
• Abelial gave Cao Bing the Life-Bearing Lamp and explained that its flame would show his condition, hoping to gauge the cave's danger.
• Cao Bing inspected the lamp, confirmed it had no hidden function, and dripped his blood into it, causing its flame to burn brightly.
• Cao Bing entered Divine Mountain Cave and disappeared into its darkness.

Cao Bing entered the Divine Mountain Cave and endured its continuous assaults on his willpower and body. He discovered that both forces doubled with each step, and continued deeper to test how far he could go.

• Cao Bing resisted the cave’s powerful, unceasing willpower assault and adjusted to the pressure.
• Cao Bing found the cave pitch-black and nearly silent, with only a small white patch of the entrance visible behind him.
• Cao Bing was struck by invisible vibrations and recalled that the cave could cause severe physical injuries.
• Cao Bing took another step and found that both the willpower assault and physical force doubled.
• Cao Bing reasoned that the pressure increased with each step, then saw the entrance had shrunk to a fist-sized patch behind him.