Chapter Summaries

Xiu Yuan realized that his Karmic Debt and Abyssal infection prevented him from confronting the Demon Gods, leaving Morax to grow into the responsibility with his guidance. After Morax earned Xiu Yuan’s approval for his tenth weapon, he reminded Xiu Yuan of his promise to teach him something more powerful.

• Xiu Yuan realized that intervening against the Demon Gods would resonate with the Karmic Debt inside him, so Morax would have to shoulder the fight.
• Xiu Yuan understood that guiding the over three-thousand-six-hundred-year-old Morax would be harder than guiding anyone in his previous lives.
• Morax showed Xiu Yuan a bow whose arrows accelerated by shedding part of their tails and split into five in flight.
• Xiu Yuan approved the bow as Morax’s tenth weapon, completing the challenge he had set.
• Morax reminded Xiu Yuan that he had promised to teach him something more powerful after approving ten weapons.

Xiu Yuan showed Morax a powerful skill he had spent three years developing and prepared to use it. Morax watched as Xiu Yuan launched the stone cube skyward and named the move Planet Befall.

• Xiu Yuan led Morax to a cratered area where he had tested a new skill.
• Xiu Yuan revealed a stone cube containing immense power, and Morax was astonished by it.
• Xiu Yuan explained that Morax’s peaceful life had limited his growth, while the Archon War would have pushed him to develop stronger abilities.
• Xiu Yuan tossed the cube into the sky and told Morax the move was called Planet Befall.

After Xiu Yuan demonstrated Planet Befall, Morax asked whether he could learn it and discovered it might take hundreds of years. Xiu Yuan agreed that Morax should give up for now, then asked what he thought of humans.

• Morax recovered from his shock at Planet Befall and found Xiu Yuan calmly drinking tea beside a campfire.
• Morax asked Xiu Yuan whether he could learn Planet Befall and how long it would take.
• Xiu Yuan estimated that Morax would need three or four hundred years if he learned quickly, or about a thousand years otherwise.
• Morax decided the skill was too difficult, and Xiu Yuan agreed that learning it would be unrealistic without a stronger motivation.
• Xiu Yuan asked Morax what he thought humans were like.

Xiu Yuan asked Morax what he thought of humans, and Morax described them as weak, ignorant, and difficult to understand. Xiu Yuan challenged Morax’s view, but Morax remained unconvinced, leaving him needing firsthand experience to change Morax’s attitude toward humanity.

• Xiu Yuan offered Morax tea and asked him to explain why he found humans difficult to understand.
• Morax said humans were weak, ignorant, dependent on food, water, and sleep, and preoccupied with family bonds and romantic love.
• Xiu Yuan reflected that Morax’s indifference would make it difficult to persuade him to protect humanity, a task in Xiu Yuan’s ninth life.
• Xiu Yuan explained that Demon Gods’ immense power made the Archon War necessary to prevent them from developing unchecked as a species.
• Xiu Yuan told Morax that humans were more complicated and stronger than he imagined, but Morax compared them to other animals and disagreed.

Xiu Yuan wagered that he could change Morax’s view of humanity within five years by having him experience human society firsthand. The two agreed that the winner could make three requests, and Morax remained confident that humans would prove dull.

• Xiu Yuan proposed a five-year wager to change Morax’s opinion of humans.
• Morax offered to teach Xiu Yuan Planet Befall as one of his requests if he won, and Xiu Yuan said it could be possible with enough effort.
• Morax enthusiastically misinterpreted Xiu Yuan’s condition as a promise to teach him while he slacked off.
• Xiu Yuan explained that Morax’s experiences as a Demon God had shown him only a narrow view of humanity and that firsthand experience could change his beliefs.
• Morax agreed that Xiu Yuan could make three requests if Morax won, and Xiu Yuan accepted the wager.

Xiu Yuan and Morax stabbed each other so they could enter a human village as wounded strangers, with Morax taking the name Zhongli. The villagers carried them inside and began treating their injuries.

• Xiu Yuan explained that the villagers would be more likely to trust them if they arrived wounded, then stabbed Morax through the kidney.
• Morax stabbed Xiu Yuan through the kidney, and Xiu Yuan told him to live as a human named Zhongli and keep his identity and Geo powers secret.
• Xiu Yuan and Morax staggered toward a fishing village that Xiu Yuan had observed for half a month, planning to stay there for five years.
• When a woman drying salted fish approached them, Xiu Yuan gave their signal and both men collapsed.
• The villagers carried Xiu Yuan and Morax into a room, where an older man ordered the others to fetch water, cloths, bandages, and herbs and began tending their wounds.

Old Master Lian treated Xiu Yuan and Zhongli’s wounds, and Xiu Yuan invented a story to explain their past and his mask. The villagers took pity on them and let them stay, and after three days they were well enough to leave their beds.

• Qing'er chewed the herbs, and Old Master Lian packed them into Morax and Xiu Yuan’s wounds to stop the bleeding.
• Xiu Yuan told the villagers that he and Zhongli were orphaned foundlings whose village had been destroyed, and claimed a fire had burned his face beneath his mask.
• When Xiu Yuan said he had nowhere to go, the villagers offered him and Zhongli a place to stay, and the Village Chief approved.
• The villagers prepared a house for Xiu Yuan and Zhongli, who stayed in bed for three days before Xiu Yuan let Morax get up.

Morax began to feel the warmth of human kindness after villagers welcomed him and Xiu Yuan, but months later the village faced a new threat when an immortal demanded two children’s lives and captured Qing'er. A hotheaded villager set off to confront the immortal.

• Villagers brought food and supplies to Xiu Yuan and Morax, leaving Morax baffled by their generosity.
• An old woman comforted Morax, gave him sweets, and told him to think of the village as home.
• Morax thanked the old woman, tasted a sweet, and felt an unfamiliar warmth as Xiu Yuan watched his attitude toward humans change.
• Months later, Liu Hong told the villagers that an immortal had captured Qing'er and demanded two children as a sacrifice.
• An angry, hotheaded young man grabbed his weapons and went to confront the immortal.

The villagers debated how to rescue Qing'er from the Demon God, weighing negotiation against the danger of fighting or surrendering two children. Xiao Long offered himself in exchange for Qing'er, explaining that her father had drowned saving him and he felt responsible.

• The Village Chief calmed the angry villagers and urged them to consider negotiating with the Demon God.
• Xiao Rou suggested apologizing and bringing food and drink, and several villagers supported her idea.
• The villagers argued over what to do if the Demon God demanded two children, but rejected an attack as too dangerous.
• Xiao Long asked his mother to let him go in exchange for Qing'er.
• Xiao Long explained that Qing'er's father had drowned saving him and that he could not stand by while Qing'er was in danger.

Xiao Long volunteered to go to the mountain to save Qing'er, believing he owed her family for the life her father had saved. After his mother tried to stop him, the Village Chief helped him leave and began explaining the plan.

• Xiao Long remembered how Qing'er's father had died saving him from a flood and decided he could not let Qing'er face danger alone.
• Xiao Long's mother pleaded with him to stay, but he insisted he would go and said he regretted not having been a dutiful son to her.
• A blaze erupted from the mountain, and the Village Chief ordered the villagers to prepare food and weapons.
• Xiao Long signaled the Village Chief, who had a young man knock his mother unconscious so she could not stop him.
• Xiao Long apologized to his mother, accepted a small dagger from the Village Chief, and listened as he began outlining the plan.

The Village Chief, Xiu Yuan, Morax, and the villagers went to confront the Demon God and try to rescue Qing'er. The Demon God rejected their apology and gifts, then erupted in anger when they brought only one child.

• The Village Chief planned to negotiate with the Demon God while villagers prepared to ambush her if needed.
• Morax realized the boy’s willingness to risk his life for Qing'er deserved his admiration.
• The villagers reached the Demon God’s mountain and found Qing'er unconscious beside her.
• The Village Chief apologized and offered food, fruit, and vegetables, but the Demon God dismissed their gifts.
• The Village Chief brought the little boy forward, and the Demon God accused him of playing games and unleashed her flames.

The Demon God captured a village boy, but reassured him that she wanted to play with the children rather than eat them. The boy realized she planned to toss them away when she got bored and became terrified.

• The Village Chief promised to find a second child within half an hour after the Demon God threatened the villagers.
• The Demon God drew the frightened boy close and told him she would not eat him.
• The boy questioned why she had captured the children, and the Demon God said she wanted to play with them.
• The Demon God said she would toss the children away once she got bored, leaving the boy trembling with fear.

Morax spent the day playing with village children after a Demon God cleared up a misunderstanding with the villagers. He wondered what having parents would be like, but found comfort in his bond with Xiu Yuan as they headed home together.

• The Demon God explained that she meant to return the children to their village, and the villagers learned she was kind and refused their offer to become the village's deity.
• A little girl persuaded Morax to join the children at play, and they spent the afternoon together beneath the setting sun.
• After the children went home, Xiu Yuan came to fetch Morax, who realized Xiu Yuan had encouraged the children to invite him.
• Morax imagined what his parents might be like and admitted that the idea of having a family seemed nice.
• Xiu Yuan stayed silent and led Morax home, where Morax felt that having an older brother was pretty nice, too.

After three peaceful years in the village, Morax and Xiu Yuan faced the return of a massive flood. The villagers began evacuating and building defenses as the flood surged around the mountain.

• Ning Ping stumbled into the village and warned that a flood much larger than the one four years earlier was coming.
• The Village Chief realized the villagers could not outrun the flood and ordered the women and children to head west.
• A crash from beyond the mountain announced that the flood had reached them, and Ning Ping urged the able-bodied men to stay and fight.
• The villagers passed their stored flood-barrier bags toward the western edge of the village as towering floodwaters surged around the mountainside.

Morax, Xiu Yuan, and the villagers struggled to hold back a flood so the women and children could escape. The Village Chief ordered the young people to flee when the current weakened, while the elderly villagers prepared to face the coming wave.

• The Village Chief and the elderly villagers braced behind the flood barriers as the torrent struck, and the young people joined them to steady the line.
• Morax and Xiu Yuan resisted the flood using only human strength while the village was swallowed behind them.
• The Village Chief warned that a larger second wave would come and ordered the young people to run when the current weakened, leaving the old folks behind.
• After the villagers had held the line for some time, the Village Chief told those at the back to move forward, claiming the flood would soon weaken.
• The Village Chief and the elderly villagers resolved to face the flood instead of hiding from it again.

Morax struggled to leave the elders behind as they held back the flood, but Xiu Yuan insisted he survive the trial. Morax rejected the claim that humans were insignificant and unleashed his elemental power just as a second wave surged toward the village.

• The Village Chief rallied the remaining elders to hold the flood barrier while the young men moved toward the front.
• Grandfather Pan and the other elders ordered the young men to release their grips and leave them behind.
• Morax hesitated to leave the old woman, but Xiu Yuan urged him onward and pulled him toward the front.
• Morax broke free of Xiu Yuan and declared that humans were not insignificant, then surrounded everyone with brilliant golden light.
• The flood seemed to vanish and the elders stumbled away from the barrier, but a second wave swept in and blotted out everything.

Xiu Yuan and Morax saved the village from a second flood, revealed themselves as gods, and began protecting the survivors. Morax named the settlement Liyue, and Xiu Yuan recognized the raised mountain as Mt. Tianheng.

• Xiu Yuan raised a mountain that blocked the second flood and told the villagers that he and Morax were Demon Gods who would protect them.
• The village chief asked what to call the two gods, and Xiu Yuan told the exhausted villagers to rest until the flood receded.
• Xiu Yuan and Morax raised stone houses for the villagers after the flood destroyed their homes.
• Xiu Yuan recognized the landscape from the mountain summit and realized the mountain he had raised was Mt. Tianheng.
• Morax said he wanted to protect the land and its people, then named the village Liyue after the pact formed through his wager with Xiu Yuan.

After Morax helped save the village from the flood, Xiu Yuan asked whether he was prepared to become Liyue’s guardian deity despite having to endure the deaths of the humans he protected. Morax chose to protect them, and the villagers named their settlement Liyue and gave him and Xiu Yuan new honorific titles.

• Morax realized his views of humans had changed and asked Xiu Yuan whether he had endured many unavoidable partings.
• Xiu Yuan warned Morax that becoming Liyue’s guardian deity meant watching Qing'er, Xiao Rou, Old Master Lian, the old woman, and the Village Chief eventually die.
• Morax resolved to protect the people, accepting that he would witness their deaths because they could live safely and their children could grow up happy.
• Xiu Yuan and Morax returned to the village, where they and the villagers celebrated the flood’s aftermath with roasted seafood and dancing.
• The villagers officially named their settlement Liyue and honored Xiu Yuan and Morax as Rex Lapis and the Dark Night King.

After a meteor created a mineral-rich chasm, Xiu Yuan and Morax guided Liyue’s growth through mining, trade, and the creation of Mora. Fifteen years later, Morax confronted Xiu Yuan about how the people had forgotten him, insisting that his brother deserved recognition for shaping Liyue.

• A meteor struck northwest of Liyue, and Xiu Yuan and Morax led the people to discover a vast chasm filled with valuable minerals.
• Liyue began mining and trading minerals with merchants, driving rapid growth in its homes and commerce.
• At the Rite of Descension in year fifteen, Morax introduced Mora, a currency whose divine power made it impossible for other gods to counterfeit.
• Morax asked Xiu Yuan whether he disliked humans because the people remembered Rex Lapis but had forgotten the King of the Night.
• Morax told Xiu Yuan that his ideas had shaped Liyue and that he deserved more recognition than Morax received.

Xiu Yuan asked Morax to let Liyue forget him, but Morax feared the people would erase Xiu Yuan’s role in founding the city. Xiu Yuan compromised by proposing the Lantern Rite, an annual festival to keep his memory alive, and explained how it would work.

• Xiu Yuan told Morax he would rather be forgotten than remembered as a masked God, and urged Morax to lead Liyue.
• Morax objected that the people were already forgetting Xiu Yuan and insisted that they must remember his name and role in founding Liyue.
• Xiu Yuan invoked one of Morax’s three owed favors, then offered to compromise rather than burden Morax further.
• Xiu Yuan proposed creating an annual festival in his honor, and Morax asked him to explain the idea.
• Xiu Yuan named the festival Lantern Rite and described releasing wish-filled lanterns over the sea to honor the Gods and reassure people far from home.