Recaps

Chu Mu discovered Xianzhou cuisine and ate an enormous amount at an upscale restaurant, exhausting its ingredients and exhausting its chefs. The manager worried Chu Mu might dine and dash, but Qingque emerged from the private room asking for more food.

• Chu Mu tried Xianzhou stir-fried food and ordered more than ten plates of a dish he liked.
• Chu Mu asked the restaurant to serve the food in a basin, then finished an enormous basin without feeling full.
• The restaurant closed its entrance and brought in chefs and ingredients from its branches to keep feeding Chu Mu.
• By afternoon, the chefs were exhausted and the restaurant had nearly run out of ingredients, while Chu Mu still wanted more.
• The manager worried Chu Mu might leave without paying, but Qingque came out of the private room and asked for more food.

Qingque assured the restaurant owner that Chu Mu could afford their meal, only for Chu Mu to make her pay the enormous bill. Fu Xuan transferred Qingque operational funds and ordered her to submit an investigation report that night.

• Qingque dismissed the shopkeeper’s worries about Chu Mu’s ability to pay and returned to the private dining room.
• Chu Mu ate throughout the day while the cooks struggled to keep up, and Qingque grew so tired she kept nodding off.
• When the shopkeeper presented a bill for fifteen thousand Strale, Chu Mu told him that Qingque would pay.
• Qingque contacted Fu Xuan for money, and Fu Xuan transferred one hundred and fifty thousand Strale in approved operational funds.
• Fu Xuan warned Qingque not to treat the extra money as a windfall and demanded her investigation report before bedtime.

Qingque tried to spend the Xianzhou’s funds extravagantly so she could get reassigned, while Chu Mu reflected on the cost of life there and the Star Destroyer Asta had given him. When Qingque’s shift ended, she handed Chu Mu the expense card and left, while he suspected the authorities were testing him.

• Qingque paid for the meal and decided to spend the allocated funds freely in hopes of being removed from the assignment.
• Chu Mu revealed he had overheard Qingque’s conversation and said she could pay future bills from the account.
• Chu Mu asked how much a Star Destroyer cost, and Qingque said its deposit alone exceeded a hundred million Credits.
• Chu Mu said he had blown up a Star Destroyer, leaving Qingque startled, and thought about reclaiming the ship and two billion from a man he blamed for its loss.
• Qingque’s Jade Abacus signaled the end of her workday, so she gave Chu Mu the expense card and headed off.
• Chu Mu suspected the authorities had handed him the card as a test and decided to stay under their surveillance.

Chu Mu befriended Qingque, while Fu Xuan used the Matrix of Prescience to investigate his motives and concluded that he had come to the Xianzhou to pursue a fugitive, not to aid the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Fu Xuan was left with a likely explanation for his arrival, though she still knew little about Chu Mu.

• Chu Mu asked Qingque to become his friend, and she accepted, treating their relationship as a private friendship.
• Qingque spent time with Chu Mu after work, complained about her boss, and explained that she preferred slacking off and playing Imperial Jade to planning for the future.
• Chu Mu wondered why the Xianzhou authorities had placed Qingque near him and whether her apparent laziness concealed a purpose.
• Fu Xuan finished calculating with the Matrix of Prescience and determined that Chu Mu had befriended Qingque for a reason.
• Fu Xuan connected the fugitive's route to the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and concluded that Chu Mu had appeared to pursue the fugitive, who bore an Emanator of Abundance's blessing.

Fu Xuan realized that Shuhu had returned to the Xianzhou and recalled the Fanghu battle, where the old master diviner sacrificed himself to call down the Reignbow Arbiter’s arrow. She remained determined to defy fate, wondering whether her choices could have saved her master.

• Fu Xuan recognized that the young-looking fugitive was a former High-Cloud Quintet member who had gained immortality from Shuhu’s blessing.
• Fu Xuan recalled that Shuhu repeatedly attacked the Xianzhou to seize the Ambrosial Arbor’s healing power.
• Fu Xuan remembered fighting the Denizens of Abundance on Fanghu, where Shuhu brought a Living Planet and the allied defenses began to collapse.
• Fu Xuan proposed using the Cloudwatcher Mirror to summon the Reignbow Arbiter, but her old master said only he could operate it.
• The old master diviner used the Cloudwatcher Mirror and died as the Reignbow Arbiter’s arrow destroyed the enemy forces, hundreds of thousands of pilots, and part of Fanghu.
• Fu Xuan continued to reject fate and wondered whether staying on the Jade Abacus could have allowed her master to live.

Fu Xuan concluded that Blade might be helping Shuhu reach the Ambrosial Arbor and decided to hunt him down, while Chu Mu tried to stay inconspicuous in the Exalting Sanctum. After tasting a local pastry called deep-fried Shuhu, Chu Mu discovered that his body had become hungry again.

• Fu Xuan connected Blade's blessing and return to the Xianzhou with a possible deal to help Shuhu obtain the Ambrosial Arbor.
• Jing Yuan worried that Blade was becoming mara-struck and that he might have to kill his old friend to protect the Xianzhou.
• Fu Xuan decided to devote every effort to hunting Blade and cutting off Shuhu's reach into the Xianzhou.
• Chu Mu listened to a storyteller recount wars against the Denizens of Abundance and felt uneasy as the audience cursed Shuhu.
• Chu Mu planned to secretly seek help from Tingyun to leave the Xianzhou, while Qingque ordered deep-fried Shuhu for him to try.
• Chu Mu enjoyed the pastry, then realized his body had inexplicably become hungry again.

Qingque took Chu Mu to the Rain-Listening Pavilion in Aurum Alley, where he reflected on his uncertain return to Deep Blue Star and the Aeons’ competing plans for him. The chapter left Qingque facing Fu Xuan’s demand for an investigation report she had little information to write.

• Qingque booked a quiet pavilion at an inn in Aurum Alley so Chu Mu could stay near his double and avoid the crowds in Central Starskiff Haven.
• Chu Mu listened to simulated rain in the Rain-Listening Pavilion and remembered Deep Blue Star, Asta, and his promise to Yaoshi.
• Chu Mu considered how the Aeons might be divided over whether his present self or his past self should survive, and doubted his theory would unfold smoothly.
• Qingque settled into her guest room and began to fall asleep while listening to the rain.
• Fu Xuan messaged Qingque demanding her investigation report before bed, leaving Qingque worried because she had spent the night playing cards and the day accompanying Chu Mu.

Qingque submitted a running-log investigation report about the Emanator, while Fu Xuan used its details to infer his movements and motives. Fu Xuan concluded that he had threatened the Xianzhou through Qingque and continued to focus on Blade as the key to the investigation.

• Qingque submitted her detailed running log to Fu Xuan and worried that writing it after work counted as overtime.
• Fu Xuan analyzed Qingque’s report and deduced that the suspect had planned to leave Aurum Alley by the docks but stayed after Qingque revealed the authorities had noticed him.
• Fu Xuan reasoned that the suspect had broken with the counterfeit Disciples of Sanctus Medicus after discovering their followers and scriptures were false.
• Fu Xuan saw Yanqing return injured but excited by his fight with Blade, then continued reading Qingque’s report.
• Fu Xuan interpreted the suspect’s claim that he had blown up a Star Destroyer as a possible reference to a Xianzhou ship and recognized it as a deliberate threat.

Fu Xuan praised Qingque for her investigation, leaving Qingque dreading the attention from her boss. Meanwhile, Chu Mu tested whether the authorities were still watching his double and encountered a woman who recognized him as Heavenly Deficient.

• Fu Xuan scolded Qingque in her thoughts for ending her investigation report at the end of her shift, then praised her by message, which made Qingque despair.
• Chu Mu sent his green-glowing double into Aurum Alley dressed as a blind man to test whether the authorities were tracking it.
• Cloud Knights offered to escort Chu Mu’s double through the Exalting Sanctum, and he concluded that the authorities had stopped monitoring it after it reached a guarded pavilion.
• A gentle-looking woman asked Chu Mu’s silent double whether he was one of the Heavenly Deficient.
• Chu Mu recalled the dangers of artificial eye surgery for long-life species and doubted the Xianzhou belief that Yaoshi inflicted congenital disabilities as punishment.

Chu Mu’s Sampo disguise was exposed by Dan Shu, a blind physician who had undergone Artificial Eye surgery herself. Dan Shu offered to help him cope with the surgery’s dangers and asked him to describe the scenery outside Ruomu Pavilion.

• Dan Shu recognized that Sampo was pretending to be Heavenly Deficient because his footsteps betrayed that he could see.
• Dan Shu warned Sampo that Artificial Eye surgery could lead to mara-struck and described the suffering she experienced after her own surgery.
• Sampo asked Dan Shu why she wanted to help, and she explained that she was a physician with the Alchemy Commission and would prepare a prescription for him.
• Dan Shu introduced herself and told Sampo to find her at Ruomu Pavilion when darkness returned.
• Dan Shu asked Sampo to describe the scenery, and Chu Mu looked out at the sea of clouds and the withered Ambrosial Arbor.

Chu Mu’s double encountered Bailu, the Vidyadhara High Elder, after leaving Ruomu Pavilion. Bailu suspected him of carrying poisons and decided to follow him, leaving Chu Mu’s plans to head to Central Starskiff Haven at risk of scrutiny.

• After saying goodbye to Dan Shu, Chu Mu sent his double away from Ruomu Pavilion and began planning its trip to Central Starskiff Haven.
• Bailu stopped the double and accused him of carrying many poisons, while an Alchemy Commission woman tried to quiet her.
• Chu Mu recognized Bailu as the Vidyadhara High Elder and recalled that she lacked the power traditionally held by the office.
• The double told Bailu to leave him alone and called her Lady Dragon.
• Bailu refused to report him but vowed to follow him and stop him if he released poison in public.

Chu Mu sent Bailu and her companion away from his home, then learned that Purple Moonflower and every other senior disciple in the Exalting Sanctum branch had died overnight, leaving his clone in charge. The messenger blamed their green faces on choking while asleep, and Chu Mu realized the deaths might be connected to poison.

• Bailu followed Chu Mu's clone home and discovered that he was a green Vidyadhara afflicted with poison.
• The clone carried Bailu outside and sent her and her companion away.
• A messenger told the clone that Purple Moonflower had been murdered and that the clone was now in charge of the Exalting Sanctum branch.
• The messenger revealed that all the other senior disciples had also died overnight with green faces, and Chu Mu suspected poison was involved.

Chu Mu’s clone was forced to become the Exalting Sanctum Branch’s regional leader after the messenger warned that refusing would make him a traitor. He left the Branch running on recruitment and scripture-copying quotas, while its members struggled to meet his demands.

• Chu Mu’s clone tried to refuse the leadership position, but the messenger insisted that the rules required him to take over after Purple Moonflower’s death and threatened to report him if he refused.
• The clone accepted the position and became the man in charge of the Exalting Sanctum Branch, whose members earned points to obtain Great Medicine.
• Chu Mu canceled tasks involving harvesting vidyadhara marrow and ordered the Branch to focus on recruiting believers.
• When recruitment proved difficult, Chu Mu imposed scripture-copying punishments on members who went more than three days without recruiting anyone.
• A veteran warned that recruiting openly might attract the authorities, so Chu Mu sent him out to recruit and told him to bring in one person each day.

Chu Mu decided to leave for Cloudford after his clone drew scrutiny as a branch leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Qingque informed Fu Xuan of his plans, and Fu Xuan agreed to let the visit proceed while suspecting Chu Mu had another purpose.

• Chu Mu learned that the authorities had likely infiltrated the Exalting Sanctum branch, while an urgent letter asked Lord Green Pheobe to help capture Banxia, a suspected traitor.
• Chu Mu’s clone refused to answer the other branch leader’s request, and a follower secretly recorded his defiant words in the reply.
• Chu Mu resolved to travel to Cloudford and create another clone, then woke in the Rain-Listening Pavilion as Qingque enjoyed the storm.
• Chu Mu told Qingque to bring him food and said he would go to Cloudford that afternoon, calling it just a visit.
• Qingque messaged Fu Xuan about Chu Mu’s plans, and Fu Xuan told her to agree to the request for now.

Fu Xuan prepared Cloudford for the suspected arrival of Shuhu and sought reinforcements from Yaoqing, but received only an elite Cloud Knight. Jing Yuan declined to oversee the situation and sent Fu Xuan to take Divine Foresight, which could unleash an Emanator-level strike.

• Fu Xuan reasoned that Shuhu might target Cloudford to cripple Luofu's trade and requested aid from Yaoqing.
• Yaoqing replied that it would transfer an elite Cloud Knight to Luofu that afternoon, leaving Fu Xuan worried the support was inadequate.
• Fu Xuan ordered the Cloud Knights to inspect Cloudford and remove hazardous goods, prohibited cargo, and unauthorized personnel.
• Fu Xuan called Jing Yuan and asked him to oversee Cloudford, but he refused because he wanted to avoid trouble.
• Jing Yuan told Fu Xuan to collect Divine Foresight from the Divine Strategy Office, explaining that it could deliver an Emanator-level strike after gathering enough power.

Jing Yuan taught Fu Xuan Edicts to summon and command Divine Foresight, then left it in her care for the Cloudford situation. At Cloudford, Fu Xuan confronted Chu Mu and attempted to divine him, but his third eye opened in response.

• Jing Yuan explained Divine Foresight's power and showed Fu Xuan how to make it withdraw into another plane.
• Fu Xuan discussed fate with Jing Yuan, who taught her two Edicts and entrusted Divine Foresight to her.
• Chu Mu finished Qingque's enormous meal, then boarded a Starskiff to Cloudford.
• Fu Xuan watched Chu Mu arrive and briefly lost focus because of his appearance before suspecting him of being an Abomination of Abundance.
• Fu Xuan activated her Third Eye to divine Chu Mu, and the golden line on his forehead split open as Qingque noticed their matching third eyes.

Chu Mu searched Cloudford for materials to make a puppet double but discovered Fu Xuan had already removed his cargo during an inspection. After their tense exchange, he left without an answer about his identity and asked who had given Fu Xuan her Third Eye.

• Chu Mu found his numbered section in Cloudford empty and encountered Fu Xuan, who said her inspection had removed prohibited items and suspicious frozen corpses.
• Fu Xuan introduced herself as a member of the Divination Commission while Qingque spaced out and fantasized about being assigned to a quiet gate.
• Chu Mu recognized Fu Xuan as Qingque’s boss, and Fu Xuan took his remark as an insult to her ability to control her subordinates.
• Fu Xuan claimed she had seen through Chu Mu’s identity, and Chu Mu stayed silent while wondering whether she was involved in keeping him on the Xianzhou.
• Fu Xuan asked whether Chu Mu still wanted to tour Cloudford, and Chu Mu asked who had given her the Third Eye.

Chu Mu and Fu Xuan discussed the origins and pain of their Third Eyes, with Fu Xuan believing his was an imitation and Chu Mu calling his a family heirloom. The chapter ended as Divine Foresight entered another plane and encountered an enormous crimson sun.

• Fu Xuan explained that Nous had bestowed her Third Eye and rebuked Chu Mu for speaking of an Aeon casually.
• Chu Mu asked how Fu Xuan had implanted the Third Eye despite being a member of the Xianzhou's Long-Life Species.
• Fu Xuan said Nous's power kept the Third Eye from being rejected by the power of Abundance, and admitted she had endured constant pain since receiving it.
• Fu Xuan asked who had given Chu Mu his Third Eye, and he answered that it was a family heirloom.
• Fu Xuan sensed Divine Foresight enter a new plane, where it stopped before an enormous crimson sun.

Chu Mu bound a giant Golden Armored General in the Red Sun’s plane while Fu Xuan struggled to summon Divine Foresight. Fu Xuan unleashed its final edict, and the General’s powerful strike was swallowed by the Red Sun, revealing that Chu Mu could absorb attacks to replenish its hunger.

• Chu Mu spotted a Golden Armored General in the Red Sun’s plane and discovered that his threads could bind the apparently inanimate figure.
• Chu Mu bound the enormous General’s joints, unaware that Fu Xuan was struggling to restore her connection to Divine Foresight.
• Fu Xuan invoked the edict “Slay without mercy,” releasing Divine Foresight’s accumulated power in a full Emanator-strength strike.
• The Golden Armored General broke many of Chu Mu’s threads, grew larger, and struck the Red Sun with his Formation Blade.
• The Red Sun swallowed the General’s attack, and Chu Mu realized that it could devour incoming energy while his hunger remained a problem.

Chu Mu learned that the golden-armored Divine Foresight belonged to Fu Xuan and was an Emanator-level Wight associated with General Jing Yuan. After the clash ended, he told Fu Xuan to keep it on a leash, leaving her furious but relieved that the conflict had paused.

• Chu Mu asked Fu Xuan whether the shrunken Divine Foresight belonged to her and whether he could buy one.
• Qingque explained that Divine Foresight was Jing Yuan’s unique Wight, whose power matched an Emanator’s, and invoked the general’s presence to discourage further conflict.
• Chu Mu concluded he could not buy another Divine Foresight and told Fu Xuan to keep hers on a leash.
• Divine Foresight tied Fu Xuan’s hair around its hands like a prisoner, while Fu Xuan felt humiliated and privately blamed Jing Yuan’s indulgent teaching.
• Fu Xuan realized Chu Mu’s remark meant the conflict had paused, though she suspected his kindness was part of an attempt to tame her.

Fu Xuan met Sushang, a new Cloud Knight transferred from Yaoqing, and assigned her a task in Aurum Alley. Sushang got lost and mistook a strange sound in a dark alley for a monster before discovering it came from a young woman.

• Fu Xuan met Sushang at Cloudford and questioned why Yaoqing had sent a new recruit carrying the heirloom sword Xuanyuan.
• Fu Xuan welcomed Sushang to the Luofu and assigned her a task.
• Sushang arrived at Aurum Alley, got lost because she could not read the signs, and wandered into a dim alley.
• Sushang heard an eerie sound, raised Xuanyuan, and prepared to attack what she thought was an Abomination of Abundance.
• The creature turned out to be a young, red-haired Outworlder woman.

Sushang met an acrobat named Guinevere while lost on the Xianzhou Luofu, and the two became friends as Guinevere guided her to the Xiaomiao Inn. Guinevere adopted the Xianzhou name Guinaifen and planned to use it for her livestream.

• Sushang mistook Guinevere's handstand for a monster and explained that her Jade Abacus had run out of power.
• Guinevere offered to guide Sushang to the inn, and Sushang misread its name as the Whitewater Inn.
• Guinevere learned that Sushang was strong and asked her to help someday, and Sushang promised she would.
• Guinevere led Sushang to the Xiaomiao Inn and told her about her acrobatics work and plans to succeed at livestreaming.
• Sushang suggested the name Guinaifen, and Guinevere decided to use it for her stream.

At the Rain-Listening Pavilion, Qingque welcomed Sushang to her so-called maid team and tried to pass her the daily investigation reports. After learning Sushang had come from the Yaoqing at her mother's request, Qingque assumed she was a well-connected officer sent to gain experience, while Sushang revealed her dream of becoming a famous hero.

• Qingque welcomed Sushang to the maid team and explained that they served Chu Mu while writing daily investigation reports.
• Qingque persuaded Sushang that writing reports was like writing letters and assigned her to write them herself.
• Qingque learned that Sushang had transferred from the Yaoqing because her mother told her to come.
• Qingque concluded that Sushang was a well-connected officer being sent to gain experience and decided she could pass credit to her.
• Sushang told Qingque that she dreamed of becoming someone whose name would go down in history like a hero's.

Sushang watched Guinaifen’s first livestream, which unexpectedly became a sensation across the Xianzhou after Guinaifen performed her stunts. When Chu Mu came downstairs, Sushang startled him by calling him “Young master.”

• Sushang told Qingque that she hoped to become a Cloud Knights hero, and Qingque warned her that promotion on the Luofu required skills beyond combat.
• Sushang opened Guinaifen’s livestream and watched the viewer count surge after Guinaifen introduced her as the friend who had given her a new name.
• Guinaifen performed acrobatics, including eating noodles while doing a handstand, and gained a huge audience and gifts.
• Chu Mu came downstairs, startling Qingque and Sushang as they put away their Jade Abacuses.
• Sushang called Chu Mu “Young master,” leaving Chu Mu confused and Qingque exasperated.

Chu Mu corrected Sushang after she awkwardly called him “young master,” then helped her retrieve her Jade Abacus when she got trapped holding a sofa upside down. While waiting for Qingque to return with dinner, Chu Mu used his Heavenly Eye to watch Fu Xuan, who was waiting outside the Xiaomiao Inn.

• Chu Mu asked Sushang why she had called him “young master,” and she mistakenly suggested calling him “old master” instead.
• Chu Mu told Sushang to follow Qingque’s example in how she addressed him, then sent Qingque to buy a light dinner.
• Sushang struggled to retrieve her ringing Jade Abacus from the sofa cushions, lifted the sofa overhead, and became stuck balancing it on one leg.
• Chu Mu took the Jade Abacus from Sushang, lowered its volume, and handed it back so she could set the sofa down.
• Chu Mu activated his Heavenly Eye and saw Fu Xuan waiting outside the Xiaomiao Inn; Qingque returned a little while later.