Recaps

Stelle and the others prepared to enter the Alchemy Commission, where poisonous smoke from burning Great Medicine had halted the Cloud Knights’ advance. Fu Xuan tasked the Astral Express Crew with shutting down the alchemy furnaces so they could open the route to Scalegorge Waterscape.

• The Ebon Deer’s sudden restlessness let Stelle and March 7th escape the crowd, and Bailu asked Stelle whether she had made progress on her commission concerning Banxia.
• Fu Xuan contacted the group at dawn and ordered them to set out for the Alchemy Commission, while Dan Heng fell behind after Stelle forgot their meeting arrangements.
• Stelle, March 7th, Welt, Tingyun, and Chu Mu’s doppelganger traveled to the Alchemy Commission by starskiff, while Chu Mu followed with Qingque aboard the Ebon Deer.
• Chu Mu saw that poisonous white smoke from alchemy furnaces blocked the way to the Ancient Sea Dock, where the remaining Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were resisting.
• Fu Xuan explained that the burning Great Medicine could turn Cloud Knights mara-struck and assigned the Astral Express Crew to shut down the furnaces.

Chu Mu learned that a Lord Ravager had allied with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and might be hiding on the Luofu as Tingyun, while Fu Xuan revealed the tragic truth of Banxia and Liang Mu. In the Netherworld’s trial, Banxia finally severed her attachment to Liang Mu by killing him.

• Fu Xuan told Chu Mu that Dan Shu’s memories confirmed a hidden Lord Ravager had promised to destroy the Xianzhou if the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus failed.
• Chu Mu suspected the Lord Ravager was the one who secretly fomented unrest and learned that Yukong was coming to identify whether Tingyun was genuine.
• Fu Xuan explained that Banxia had met Liang Mu in the Prison of Deep Seclusion and that he had deceived her for the sake of immortality.
• A Judge found Liang Mu guilty of inducing Banxia to become mara-struck and other grave crimes, while Banxia died still believing in their love.
• In the Netherworld’s trial, Banxia fought Liang Mu, declared that she had already died for him, and severed his head.

As the Astral Express Crew shut down the furnaces in the Alchemy Commission, the remnants revealed that Lord Ravager Phantylia was involved. Chu Mu exposed Phantylia, who had been disguised as Tingyun, and the chapter ended as she asked whether he was familiar with her body.

• The Astral Express Crew fought through the white smoke and shut down all three furnaces while Chu Mu's double watched them.
• The remaining Disciples of Sanctus Medicus retreated to the Supreme Truth Elixir Chamber and called on Lord Ravager Phantylia to fulfill her promise.
• Welt believed the disciples were telling the truth and prepared to face an Emanator so Stelle and March 7th could escape.
• Chu Mu confronted Tingyun and revealed that he knew she was Phantylia.
• Tingyun smiled at Chu Mu and asked whether he was familiar with her body.

Phantylia tried to provoke Chu Mu by exploiting his history with Tingyun, whom she possessed, and aimed to drive him into madness by destroying her body. She attempted to snap Tingyun’s neck, but an unseen restraint stopped her.

• Chu Mu reflected on how the amnesiac Tingyun had preserved his humanity during their year together on Sand Sea Planet.
• Phantylia addressed Chu Mu by name, startling him and the Astral Express crew; Welt suggested she had learned it when Stelle asked about him.
• Phantylia taunted Chu Mu with his attachment to Tingyun and said she wanted to see him abandon reason and go mad.
• Phantylia declared that Chu Mu should accept her blessing of Destruction and tried to snap Tingyun’s neck, but an invisible restraint prevented her.

Chu Mu learned that Phantylia had possessed Tingyun and claimed she had died after steering a ship into a sun, though Phantylia admitted she had not witnessed her death. Phantylia then set her fake body ablaze to demonstrate a Heliobus host’s spontaneous combustion, leaving Chu Mu with ash and no proof of Tingyun’s fate.

• Chu Mu bound Phantylia’s fake body with Silken Thread and demanded to know where Tingyun was.
• Phantylia said she had possessed Tingyun, who had supposedly sacrificed herself by steering a ship toward a sun during warp.
• Chu Mu inferred that Phantylia had not seen Tingyun die and concluded Tingyun was no longer in her control.
• Phantylia revealed her blue-green flames and made her body spontaneously combust, leaving only ash.
• Chu Mu recognized Phantylia as a powerful Heliobus empowered by Nanook.

Chu Mu failed to stop Phantylia from escaping toward the Ambrosial Arbor and struggled to stay focused while protecting the Xianzhou. Yukong learned that the Tingyun who had returned was an impostor, and remembered how the real Tingyun had chosen to become a merchant despite losing her memories.

• Phantylia’s borrowed body combusted, and she escaped as a ghostly flame toward the Ambrosial Arbor.
• Chu Mu considered summoning the Red Sun into the real Xianzhou but rejected the plan because it could endanger Kafka, Stelle, March 7th, and the ship.
• Stelle told Yukong that the returned Tingyun was not real and that the real Tingyun remained somewhere in the sea of stars.
• Yukong grieved and recalled raising Tingyun alongside her adopted daughter after losing her pilot friend in war.
• Yukong remembered that the amnesiac Tingyun had asked to become a merchant so she might meet someone again, though she never recovered her memories.

Yukong recalled how Tingyun became a merchant and spent years searching the stars for the man who had protected her, while repeatedly refusing Yukong’s pleas to stay on the Xianzhou. Grieving that Tingyun had vanished before she could fulfill her promise to succeed Yukong, Yukong decided to search for her herself.

• Yukong taught the amnesiac Tingyun trade, and Tingyun learned to imitate her former self as a merchant.
• Tingyun sailed dangerous, remote routes in search of the man who had protected her, returning to Yukong without finding him.
• Yukong urged Tingyun to become her successor as chief commissioner, and Tingyun eventually promised to take responsibility for the Sky-Faring Commission after Yukong was gone.
• After Tingyun disappeared, Yukong grieved that their promise could no longer be fulfilled and rejected Phantylia’s claim that Tingyun was dead.
• Yukong decided to prepare her long-unused starskiff and search for Tingyun herself.

Chu Mu resolved to kill Phantylia as the group prepared to confront her at Scalegorge Waterscape, while Jing Yuan planned around Dan Heng’s inherited High Elder powers. Dan Heng reached the Alchemy Commission and set out alone for the Vidyadhara homeland, where his past awaited him.

• Chu Mu left Yukong to grieve and vowed to uncover the truth and kill Phantylia.
• Jing Yuan joined the group’s journey to Scalegorge Waterscape, where Phantylia and the revived Ambrosial Arbor awaited them.
• Jing Yuan expected Dan Heng to draw on Dan Feng’s inherited High Elder power and believed Blade’s arrival would force him to awaken it.
• Dan Heng reached the Alchemy Commission with Luocha and Sushang after Xueyi departed, but found that Stelle’s group had gone ahead.
• Dan Heng parted from Luocha and Sushang and went alone toward Scalegorge Waterscape, where his fragmented memories connected him to Dan Feng’s past.

Dan Heng and Sushang headed for Scalegorge Waterscape, where Dan Heng expected to face the madman who had pursued him for years. When the Stellaron Hunters appeared at the ferry dock, Dan Heng sent Sushang away on the boat and stayed behind to confront them.

• Luocha left to complete a transaction, while Dan Heng agreed to travel with Sushang to Scalegorge Waterscape and warned her not to get involved if trouble arose.
• Dan Heng and Sushang found an unmanned boat with a route to Scalegorge Waterscape, arranged in secret by Jing Yuan.
• A brooding man approached Dan Heng, bringing back memories of years spent fleeing his relentless attempts to treat Dan Heng as Dan Feng.
• Dan Heng recognized the approaching figures as wanted Stellaron Hunters, and Sushang asked whether they were the unexpected trouble he had anticipated.
• Dan Heng activated the boat's autopilot with Sushang aboard, then leapt back onto the dock as it began to depart.

Blade and Yanqing fought at the Dock after Kafka released Blade’s suppressed memories, while Dan Heng tried to explain he was not Dan Feng. The fight ended with Blade’s thrown sword piercing Dan Heng’s chest.

• Sushang sped away on the Jade Abacus, leaving Dan Heng at the Dock as Blade and Kafka arrived.
• Kafka lifted the Word Spirit Art’s suppression, and Blade confronted Dan Heng over Dan Feng’s past.
• Yanqing arrived to arrest Blade and Kafka, then challenged Blade to a sword fight.
• Blade and Yanqing fought evenly until Blade threw his sword past Yanqing and struck Dan Heng in the chest.

Dan Heng awakened as Imbibitor Lunae after Blade stabbed him, and Yanqing recognized him as the exiled High Elder blamed for a past rebellion. Dan Heng tried to avoid a fight, but Yanqing demanded that he come to the Prison of Deep Seclusion, so Dan Heng asked Blade to stop him.

• Blade told Yanqing that the man he had been protecting was Imbibitor Lunae, and Dan Heng vanished into the Ancient Sea Waters as his wounds healed.
• Yanqing recalled the rebellion involving Dan Feng, Yingxing, Jingliu, and Baiheng, and concluded that Dan Heng and Blade should both be arrested.
• Dan Heng emerged from the water with dragon horns and took the form of Imbibitor Lunae, prompting Yanqing to raise his sword formation against him.
• Dan Heng's memories of his former life began to return, and he realized the Stellaron Hunters had forced his transformation while Blade still wanted him dead.
• Dan Heng told Yanqing he did not want a conflict, but Yanqing ordered him to come to the Prison of Deep Seclusion, so Dan Heng asked Blade to stop him.

Dan Heng left Blade and Kafka after Blade promised they would meet again, while Yanqing failed to capture the pair. At Scalegorge Waterscape, Jing Yuan and the others waited for Dan Heng to open the flooded route to the Ambrosial Arbor, and Chu Mu asked to borrow Jing Yuan's Divine Foresight.

• Dan Heng acknowledged his painful past but chose to leave Blade behind and return to the people and things he wanted to protect.
• Yanqing tried to stop Dan Heng, but Blade kept him occupied while Kafka released another layer of Blade's restraints.
• Blade and Kafka defeated Yanqing, who vowed he would capture Blade next time.
• At Scalegorge Waterscape, March 7th and Stelle waited for Dan Heng while Jing Yuan recalled the High-Cloud Quintet's tragic end and the burden of governing the Luofu alone.
• Chu Mu approached Jing Yuan and asked to borrow the Divine Foresight.

Chu Mu borrowed Divine Foresight from Jing Yuan and learned that Phantylia was likely a heliobus, a spirit the Xianzhou had found impossible to kill. Jing Yuan hoped to drive Phantylia away and seal the Ambrosial Arbor, while Chu Mu remained intent on killing her.

• Jing Yuan agreed to lend Divine Foresight to Chu Mu, who sent the frightened wight to Red Sun's plane.
• Jing Yuan thanked Chu Mu for joining the fight against Phantylia and asked that they leave her a chance to escape to protect the Luofu's civilians.
• Chu Mu asked Jing Yuan whether Phantylia was a heliobus, and Jing Yuan said the evidence pointed to that conclusion.
• Jing Yuan explained that heliobi originated as astral spirits formed from Eldbeast remains and developed consciousness by absorbing human emotions.
• Jing Yuan told Chu Mu that the Xianzhou had tried many methods but could not find a way to kill heliobi, leaving sealing as its only known solution.

Jing Yuan explained that Phantylia could not truly be killed because heliobi could only be divided and contained, but Chu Mu began considering ways to hack or drain her energy. As he and Jing Yuan left the matter unresolved, Stelle and March 7th reached shore without Dan Heng, who appeared to be flying toward them across the sea.

• Jing Yuan told Chu Mu that heliobi were energy masses whose consciousness could return if their fragments merged, making Phantylia impossible to kill through conventional means.
• Jing Yuan warned that capturing Phantylia could provoke the other Lord Ravagers and endanger the Xianzhou, while Chu Mu considered Silver Wolf's hacking methods and the possibility of draining heliobi energy.
• Chu Mu told Jing Yuan he understood, and Jing Yuan urged him to stop if his plan proved impossible.
• A boat carrying Stelle crashed onto the shore, where Fu Xuan, Stelle, and March 7th discovered that Dan Heng was missing.
• March 7th and Stelle saw a figure flying over the waves toward them, seemingly Dan Heng.

Dan Heng reunited with Jing Yuan in Scalegorge Waterscape and insisted that he was not Dan Feng, despite the memories and appearance he had inherited. Jing Yuan offered to revoke Dan Heng’s exile if he helped with one last task, then insisted that Dan Heng must do it.

• March 7th revealed that her earlier prediction about the mastermind had only been a guess, while Dan Heng arrived transformed into a figure resembling the former High Elder.
• Jing Yuan greeted Dan Heng as an old friend, but Dan Heng rejected the connection and said he wanted to live as a Nameless aboard the Astral Express.
• Jing Yuan acknowledged that Dan Heng could not change how others saw him simply by denying he was Dan Feng.
• Jing Yuan promised to revoke Dan Heng’s exile if he helped him one last time as Dan Feng.
• Dan Heng warned that he might not possess Dan Feng’s abilities, but Jing Yuan insisted that he must complete the task.

Dan Heng recovered enough of Dan Feng’s memories to use the Sea-Splitting Technique and reveal the Palace Ruins beneath the Ancient Sea. Jing Yuan led the subjugation squad inside, while Chu Mu waited behind for Phantylia to appear.

• Jing Yuan recounted Dan Feng’s attempt to alter the Dragon Transformation Wonderful Art, the creation of the Evil Dragon, and the events that led to Dan Heng inheriting part of Dan Feng’s power and memories.
• Dan Heng pieced together his fragmented memories as he entered the great hall and recalled how to wield the High Elder’s power.
• Fu Xuan told Chu Mu that Dan Heng was the reincarnation of the former Vidyadhara High Elder, but Chu Mu warned her that betting on him alone was unwise.
• Dan Heng rose above the Palace Ruins and split the Ancient Sea with the Sea-Splitting Technique, revealing the submerged ruins and the path blocked by the Ambrosial Arbor’s Mysterious Root.
• Jing Yuan left Fu Xuan to guard the passage and led Dan Heng, Welt, Stelle, March 7th, and a green Doppelganger into the ruins, while Chu Mu stayed behind to wait for Phantylia.
• The ground shook violently, and Phantylia appeared.

Chu Mu and the others confronted Phantylia at the Ambrosial Arbor’s final sealing site, where she used the Arbor’s power to create a gigantic body. As Jing Yuan, Dan Heng, Welt, Stelle, and March 7th fought her, Chu Mu failed to take control of her body, and Jing Yuan held back from using Divine Foresight.

• Chu Mu’s group found Phantylia waiting beside the Stellaron at the Ambrosial Arbor’s roots.
• Phantylia revealed a giant flesh body created by the Ambrosial Arbor and attacked with golden lotuses.
• Jing Yuan led the assault while Welt and Dan Heng protected Stelle and March 7th.
• Chu Mu tried to control Phantylia’s body, but the combined power of Phantylia and the Ambrosial Arbor repelled his threads.
• Jing Yuan, Dan Heng, and Welt struck Phantylia together, but failed to seriously injure her.
• Dan Heng urged Jing Yuan to have Divine Foresight attack, but Jing Yuan told him to wait.

Chu Mu opened a passage to the Plane of the Red Sun and brought its immense presence over the battlefield, frightening Phantylia into staying put. He then asked Jing Yuan and the others to charge the Red Sun with their attacks, leaving them confused about his plan.

• Chu Mu sent the Abundance Ebon Deer into the Red Sun to replenish his energy, and Phantylia sensed his Silken Thread again before shaking it off.
• Phantylia drew down a meteor and crushed it, forcing the others to endure the strike while Welt warned Stelle and March 7th to stay behind him.
• Chu Mu opened a passage between Planes, bringing the Red Sun's presence over Scalegorge Waterscape and making Phantylia fear it might absorb her.
• Phantylia decided to stay still, believing Chu Mu would not risk harming the Xianzhou by casting the Red Sun into the battlefield.
• Chu Mu asked Jing Yuan to have the Divine Foresight strike the Red Sun and requested a full-power attack from everyone to charge it.

Chu Mu and the others attacked Phantylia with the Red Sun, which absorbed their strikes and threatened to devour her. When Phantylia forced the Ambrosial Arbor to lend her more power, she broke free of Chu Mu’s threads and turned the battle in her favor, leaving Jing Yuan to provoke her.

• Chu Mu and the others struck the Red Sun, but their attacks only increased its power, and Jing Yuan realized it could absorb energy beyond the force they could muster.
• Phantylia recognized the Red Sun as a threat and tried to bluff, while Jing Yuan explained that heliobi often did so when they were afraid of dissipating.
• Chu Mu’s threads began stiffening Phantylia’s body, so she demanded that the Ambrosial Arbor give her all its remaining power.
• The Ambrosial Arbor hesitated until Phantylia threatened to bring Destruction’s armies to the Xianzhou, then sent her a vast surge of power.
• Phantylia deflected Chu Mu’s threads and claimed victory as Jing Yuan and the others ran out of strength.
• Jing Yuan mocked Phantylia as a first among the Lord Ravagers, enraging her.

Chu Mu destroyed the Ambrosial Arbor and killed Phantylia by trapping her in the Red Sun, where her scattered fragments were consumed as well. The chapter ended the Luofu volume, then the author explained that the novel was nearing its promised million-character milestone and likely had only one volume left.

• Chu Mu used the Red Sun to pull the Ambrosial Arbor away from the Xianzhou and burn it, ending the Luofu's ancient threat.
• After absorbing the Ambrosial Arbor's power, Chu Mu defeated Phantylia and trapped her in a Doppelganger inside the Red Sun.
• Phantylia's scattered fragments turned crimson and dissipated, while her largest fragment died after finding Nanook blocked by a man in a crimson smiling mask.
• The author reflected on the Luofu volume, the declining earnings, and the challenges of writing original material in fanfiction.
• The author said the story was nearing its million-character goal and asked readers to continue with Lion through its final stretch.

After the Xianzhou Luofu’s Stellaron Disaster ended, Chu Mu reunited with the Astral Express Crew, and Dan Heng explained the history that had led Fu Xuan to mistake him for Shuhu. Fu Xuan stormed off after realizing Jing Yuan had known the truth, while Jing Yuan joked with Chu Mu about delaying his retirement.

• The Astral Express Crew emerged from the Palace Ruins and reunited warmly with Chu Mu, leaving Fu Xuan, Qingque, and Sushang stunned.
• Fu Xuan realized that assuming Chu Mu was Shuhu had caused her to waste time and fall behind Jing Yuan.
• Dan Heng explained that Shuhu had died seven hundred years earlier and recounted how Shuhu’s flesh had transformed Yingxing into an immortal being who became Blade of the Stellaron Hunters.
• Fu Xuan concluded that Jing Yuan had known the hidden history all along, called him a scoundrel, and left in embarrassment.
• Jing Yuan defended Fu Xuan’s temperament, and Chu Mu teased him about how she might treat him after taking over; Jing Yuan then said he would delay handing over his position.

Jingliu, Blade, and the other survivors of the High-Cloud Quintet gathered in Scalegorge Waterscape to confront their past and account for their crimes. Jingliu turned herself in and revealed that she had revived the Ambrosial Arbor as a warning about Abundance, hoping to steer the Xianzhou toward Nanook in the coming conflict between gods.

• Jingliu arrived with Yanqing and asked Jing Yuan to hear her confession, while insisting that Dan Heng stay and wait for someone else.
• Kafka and Blade arrived, and Blade went to join Jingliu, Jing Yuan, and Dan Heng in the hall where the High-Cloud Quintet had once gathered.
• Chu Mu reflected that Dan Heng could not escape Dan Feng's past, while Bailu was a new life rather than Baiheng reborn.
• Jingliu named Dan Feng and Yingxing as offenders in the disaster and confessed that she had succumbed to mara, killed her comrades, and betrayed their fellowship.
• Jingliu admitted that she had placed the Stellaron in the Ambrosial Arbor, explaining that she meant to remind the Xianzhou of Abundance's danger and prepare them to side with Nanook against it.

Chu Mu reflected on the danger posed by Yaoshi’s blessings and questioned whether Abundance could remain pure if Yaoshi fell. Remembering how Yaoshi had helped him, he began to suspect she had granted his wishes without expecting a bargain.

• Chu Mu recalled how Propagation’s uncontrolled Swarm had threatened the Sea of Stars and why the other Aeons had brought Propagation down.
• Chu Mu considered how Yaoshi’s blessings had created the Denizens of Abundance, whose unchecked growth drove people to seek Yaoshi’s fall.
• Chu Mu wondered whether Abundance without Yaoshi could still be Abundance, drawing on his encounters with her from Belobog’s Underworld to Sand Sea Planet.
• Chu Mu remembered that Yaoshi had restored his sight after he asked for it, despite never answering him about their supposed bargain.
• Chu Mu concluded that Yaoshi might have granted his wish without needing a bargain at all.

Chu Mu reflected on why mortals blamed Yaoshi for the costs of immortality while condemning the Aeon despite their kindness. At Scalegorge Waterscape, Luocha arrived carrying a coffin and confessed that he had placed the Stellaron in the Ambrosial Arbor.

• Chu Mu argued that Yaoshi was unfairly hated for granting mortals longevity and questioned why people feared other Aeons more than they feared Yaoshi.
• Luocha arrived at Scalegorge Waterscape carrying an ornate coffin, and March 7th recognized him.
• Stelle confirmed that the visitor was Luocha, while Welt watched him gravely and introduced himself.
• Luocha greeted Welt and said he was a traveling merchant passing through the Luofu.
• March 7th asked why Luocha had come, and he claimed he had come to surrender as Jingliu's accomplice and had placed the Stellaron inside the Ambrosial Arbor.
• Stelle joked that March 7th must have read the script, and Kafka clarified that March 7th was not Elio.

Dan Heng rejected Jingliu’s attempt to make him confront his past as Imbibitor Lunae and left the gathering. Jingliu revealed that her surrender was a scheme to reach the Xuling and persuade the Xianzhou’s leaders to join a plan against Abundance.

• Luocha admitted that his power came from Abundance but said he was Yaoshi’s enemy, while Dan Heng prepared to leave.
• Jingliu called Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae and urged him to stop running from the past, but he left without turning back.
• Jing Yuan argued that Dan Heng should choose his own future, while Jingliu believed he and Blade would find release after Abundance fell.
• Jingliu explained that she had surrendered so the Ten-Lords Commission would escort her to the Xuling for a joint trial before the Reignbow’s six generals or the Marshal.
• Luocha and Jing Yuan recognized that Jingliu’s confession was part of a plan to enlist the Xianzhou leaders in a campaign against Abundance.