Chapter Summaries

Zhongli challenged Kaecilius’s belief that eternal life through Dormammu was worth the cost, while Kaecilius accused the Ancient One of hiding her own source of longevity. When the sorcerers chose to fight, Zhongli’s golden shield blocked Kaecilius’s attack, leaving Lin Ze and the others protected.

• Zhongli argued that eternal life would eventually erode the soul and compared Kaecilius’s goal to an old friend’s pursuit of eternity.
• Kaecilius defended Dormammu’s Dark Dimension and claimed the Ancient One had been practicing true magic to live far longer than ordinary people.
• Mordo and Wong rejected Kaecilius’s accusations, and Wong pointed out that Kaecilius had killed Fubien.
• Mordo called for a fight, and Lin Ze drew his silver sword as Kaecilius formed a massive magical attack.
• Zhongli’s golden barrier stopped Kaecilius’s blast, astonishing Mordo and Wong, while Lin Ze privately worried that Zhongli might unleash Planet Befall.

Kaecilius warped the London Sanctum, separating Lin Ze and Paimon from Zhongli and the others. Lin Ze defeated two corrupted sorcerers, but Paimon’s comment left him shocked that he had thrown a Three-Star Weapon.

• Kaecilius twisted the room and carried Lin Ze and Paimon away from Zhongli and the others.
• Lin Ze fought a corrupted sorceress, used Starfell to destroy the floor beneath her, and kicked her into the falling Geo construct.
• A sorcerer attacked Lin Ze after the space stopped twisting, and Lin Ze defeated him with a barrage of weapons and a kick.
• Paimon caught up with Lin Ze and pointed out that he had thrown a Three-Star Weapon, shocking him.

Zhongli fought Kaecilius, overwhelming him with his spear and stone attacks before Kaecilius lured him into the Mirror Dimension. Zhongli realized he could probably break free by force but decided to sit down for tea while considering the Ancient One's plan.

• Kaecilius taunted Zhongli until Zhongli lowered his shield and summoned a spear.
• Zhongli defeated Kaecilius in combat, and Kaecilius asked who he was before Zhongli gave his name.
• Kaecilius warped reality and attacked again, but Zhongli struck him down with stone spears.
• Kaecilius used Dormammu's power to rise, then fled and drew Zhongli into the Mirror Dimension.
• Zhongli recognized the Mirror Dimension and considered whether breaking out would interfere with the Ancient One's plan.
• Zhongli noticed a low table and chairs and decided to sit down for tea.

Lin Ze and Wong waited as the New York Sanctum fell, while Stephen and Mordo dealt with the Ancient One’s death and returned to Hong Kong. Dormammu descended on the last remaining Sanctum, where Zhongli protected the sorcerers and accepted a commission.

• The Ancient One told Lin Ze that Kaecilius had cornered Stephen at the New York Sanctum, then sent her to find him while Lin Ze brought Zhongli out of the Mirror Dimension.
• Lin Ze, Paimon, and Wong found Zhongli calmly drinking tea in the Mirror Dimension.
• The New York Sanctum went dark, leaving Hong Kong as Earth’s last defense, so Wong and Lin Ze went outside to defend it.
• Stephen told Mordo that only the Hong Kong Sanctum remained and reminded him of his oath, prompting Mordo to return with him through a Portal.
• Stephen and Mordo arrived in Hong Kong amid destruction and battle, where they saw that Dormammu had descended and Zhongli was protecting the sorcerers.
• Zhongli spoke with an unseen presence, then accepted a sorcerer’s commission.

Stephen used the Eye of Agamotto to reverse time and restore the Hong Kong Sanctum, then flew toward Dormammu’s Dark Dimension after realizing how to stop the invasion. The chapter left Lin Ze and the others thinking Stephen had defected, while Stephen declared that he had come to bargain.

• Stephen reversed time with the Eye of Agamotto, but Zhongli, Lin Ze, and Paimon remained unaffected.
• Kaecilius broke free of the spell and tried to stop the Sanctum from being restored, while Lin Ze held him back.
• Stephen restored the other sorcerers, and they hurried to protect the Sanctum as time returned to normal.
• Kaecilius warned that Dormammu’s followers would keep threatening Earth, prompting Stephen to consider the Dark Dimension.
• Stephen flew toward Dormammu, and Lin Ze punched Kaecilius as he laughed and claimed Stephen had defected.
• Stephen called out to Dormammu and said he had come to bargain.

Stephen trapped Dormammu in a time loop until he agreed to leave Earth, ending the invasion and condemning Kaecilius and his followers to the Dark Dimension. Mordo left after arguing that the sorcerers had broken natural laws, while Wong treated everyone to food and discovered Paimon had eaten far more than he expected.

• Stephen repeatedly confronted Dormammu in a time loop until Dormammu agreed to leave Earth and never return.
• Stephen returned to Hong Kong, where Kaecilius and his followers began crystallizing and were taken into the Dark Dimension.
• The Hong Kong Sanctum returned to normal, and Mordo left after warning that the sorcerers would face consequences for breaking natural laws.
• Wong proposed celebrating with a meal in Hong Kong and promised to pay for whatever Paimon wanted.
• Paimon and the others emptied Wong's wallet with their feast, and Zhongli asked whether anyone had brought money.

After returning to New York, Lin Ze completed his mission and learned that his luck had improved, then discovered that Minister Wu could control multiple heroes at once. His questions about superheroes and the Space-Time Gate left him bewildered as Lucy rushed him off to make gacha pulls.

• Lin Ze paid for another meal in Hong Kong, drank too much liquor, and passed out beside Paimon.
• Back at Kamar-Taj, Lin Ze told Stephen he would fund renovations to the New York Sanctum, then left with Paimon and the others.
• Lin Ze received an A-rank mission completion, met Zhuang Ruo, and asked whether he had relatives who resembled Ceros; Zhuang Ruo denied having any.
• Lin Ze found Minister Wu playing a game, handed him paperwork, and learned Wu had touched the Tesseract to team up with heroes before Wu ordered Lin Ze to copy the Code of Conduct a hundred times.
• Lin Ze wondered whether America had superheroes, and Lucy jokingly answered that Super Mario was one before hurrying him along to make gacha pulls.

Officer Vito helped Paul escape an illegal lender and directed him to Northland Bank for a loan to cover his daughter Sasha’s medical bills. As Paul searched for the bank, he encountered a distressed woman and then a funeral parlor owner who eagerly tried to sell him burial services.

• FBI agents raided the illegal lender’s house, found evidence of blackmail and other crimes, and Officer Vito told Paul that his loan agreement was invalid.
• Paul explained that Sasha’s hospital bed had been moved to the lobby because he could not pay her medical bills, and Officer Vito gave him Northland Bank’s address.
• Officer Vito told Paul that Northland Bank offered fair loans and work opportunities, so Paul set out to find it.
• A frightened woman directed Paul to the bank and hurried into the Paranormal Affairs Research Institute.
• Paul found a young man playing a board game with a blond boy outside a shop covered with wreaths, and a girl from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor rushed out to pitch him coffins and headstones.

Hu Tao tried to attract customers to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and learned that Chongyun had been asked to investigate a woman’s strange experiences, possibly caused by her missing husband’s ghost. She welcomed the case as a chance to find the man and bring business to the parlor.

• Hu Tao tried to pull Paul into the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, then directed him to the Northland Bank and gave him flyers to distribute at the hospital.
• Lin Ze doubted Paul could bring Hu Tao any business, while Hu Tao complained that hospital guards kept driving her away.
• Paimon and Chongyun arrived at the parlor, and Chongyun gave Hu Tao an ice pop.
• Lin Ze offered to ask Tony about technology that could help Chongyun manage his Pure Yang Constitution during exorcisms.
• Chongyun told Hu Tao that a woman had heard a voice resembling her missing husband’s and suffered sleep paralysis for months.
• Chongyun asked Hu Tao to help investigate whether the voice came from the woman’s husband’s ghost, and Hu Tao eagerly agreed.

Lin Ze, Hu Tao, Chongyun, and the others investigated Yvette’s claim that her missing husband Simon’s voice haunted her, and went with her to her isolated home. As they entered, Yvette heard the voice again, then fainted after mistaking Hu Tao’s little ghost for a real one.

• Chongyun introduced Yvette to Lin Ze, Hu Tao, Aether, and Paimon, and Lin Ze and Paimon pretended Paimon was a powerful benevolent spirit to reassure her.
• Yvette explained that Simon had vanished five years earlier and that she had recently begun hearing his voice and dreaming of him attacking her.
• Lin Ze and Chongyun agreed to investigate Yvette’s home, and Yvette drove them to the remote house where the voice had first appeared.
• Yvette heard Simon’s voice as soon as she opened the door, and Hu Tao tried to comfort her while the others prepared to search the house.
• Paimon panicked when Hu Tao’s little ghost flew past, and Lin Ze pretended to be scared too, causing Yvette to scream and faint.

Lin Ze, Hu Tao, and Paimon investigated Yvette’s house and discovered a ghost upstairs, while Yvette told Chongyun about her years searching for Simon and her relationship with Cook Rodney. Lin Ze and Hu Tao revealed that Simon’s voice had been warning Yvette and urged her to call the police because Rodney was dangerous.

• Hu Tao explored Yvette’s house with Lin Ze and Paimon, then learned from her ghost that a spirit was upstairs.
• Lin Ze climbed upstairs with Paimon and sensed an unnatural cold as he activated Elemental Sight.
• Yvette told Chongyun that she had searched for Simon for five years, then developed feelings for Cook Rodney, who had proposed to her.
• Lin Ze told Yvette that Simon loved her and had been trying to protect her by warning her with his voice.
• Hu Tao warned Yvette that Rodney was not a good man, and Lin Ze urged her to call the police.

Lin Ze and his companions called the police after finding Yvette’s husband’s body sealed beneath her floor, but the officers doubted their account. Paimon and a mischievous ghost proved that the supernatural was real, leaving both officers terrified.

• Yvette told Officer Ryan that her missing husband’s body should be beneath the second-floor hallway, and Lin Ze explained that it had been sealed in concrete.
• Officer Ryan and Officer Nelly found no visible evidence and suspected the group had made a false report.
• Paimon flew into view and frightened Officer Nelly, while Lin Ze showed Officer Ryan the Paranormal Affairs Research Institute’s business card.
• Hu Tao’s little ghost appeared behind the officers, and Officer Ryan saw it before Officer Nelly turned around and screamed.

Chongyun and Hu Tao helped the police uncover a body hidden beneath the floorboards, likely identifying it as Simon and prompting the arrest of Cook Rodney. Hu Tao then overwhelmed Officer Nelly with a sales pitch until he agreed to buy a funeral package.

• Officer Nelly saw Hu Tao's pet ghost and accepted that ghosts and Chongyun's explanation were real.
• Officer Ryan called for forensic and demolition teams, who found a body wrapped in vacuum-sealed packaging beneath the second-floor floorboards.
• Officer Ryan told Yvette that the body was likely Simon's, though DNA testing was still needed, and said Cook Rodney was in custody.
• Hu Tao handed the officers Wangsheng Funeral Parlor brochures and pitched its funeral products and services.
• Hu Tao's relentless pitch left Officer Nelly bewildered, and he agreed to buy a package and asked whether he could pay by cash or card.

Lin Ze explained Simon’s death and his last message to Yvette, who broke down in grief. As the group set off for the city, they tried to flag down a taxi driven by Du Mingde with Deadpool riding along, and the chapter ended as the taxi reversed back toward them.

• Lin Ze told Yvette that Rodney had murdered Simon and revealed Simon’s final message of love and hope for her.
• Yvette wept over Simon’s death while Lin Ze and Chongyun left her to grieve, and Hu Tao reassured Chongyun that she would recover.
• Lin Ze declined to call Tony for a ride, and the group tried to hail a passing taxi instead.
• Deadpool told Du Mingde about his lost loves and recognized the golden-haired hitchhiker as his first love, Aether.
• Du Mingde sped past Lin Ze and the others, then reversed the taxi toward them as Lin Ze recognized the red head leaning out the window.

Deadpool reunited with Lin Ze, but his obnoxious embrace earned him a blast from Chongyun’s icy sword. After Hu Tao pretended he was dying, Lin Ze tricked taxi driver Du Mingde into uncovering Deadpool’s puckered lips, leaving Du Mingde horrified as Wade revived to kiss him.

• Deadpool leaped out of Du Mingde’s taxi, hugged Lin Ze, and ignored his protests about the smell.
• Paimon tried to free Lin Ze, and Chongyun struck Deadpool with his ice-infused greatsword, sending him flying.
• Lin Ze, Paimon, and Chongyun found Deadpool unresponsive, so Hu Tao pretended his heart had stopped and urged Lin Ze to perform CPR.
• Lin Ze had Du Mingde uncover Deadpool’s mask, and Wade began to rise toward him with puckered lips.
• Du Mingde screamed as Deadpool’s lips approached him.

Lin Ze and his companions drove off with Wade, whose strange dream hinted at familiar figures from their world. Wade then began recounting a painful memory about his ex-girlfriend Vanessa, leaving the story mid-anecdote.

• Lin Ze made Wade sit in the front passenger seat after the others roughed him up for trying to squeeze into the back.
• Wade told Lin Ze he had dreamed that Lin Ze and Paimon walked through a door, then described Lin Ze as a busty girl and Paimon as a tall man who beat him.
• Lin Ze suspected Wade's dream had involved Lumine and Dainsleif, while Paimon, Hu Tao, Chongyun, and Du Mingde laughed at Wade's story.
• Wade began crying as he remembered his former girlfriend Vanessa and their anniversary, then started describing the gift she gave him.

Wade told Lin Ze and the others how Vanessa had died, and they offered him their support before he left. While Lin Ze and Paimon rested, Zhongli received a call asking the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to clean up a grisly incident at the Central Park Zoo.

• Wade recounted how an enemy’s gunshot had killed Vanessa and blamed himself for her death.
• Lin Ze and the others comforted Wade, who thanked them with awkward hugs before leaving in Du Mingde’s taxi.
• Paimon said she had obtained Wade’s address, and Lin Ze planned to visit him with her; the group then realized they had forgotten to pay the taxi fare.
• Lin Ze and Paimon returned to their room and fell asleep after a sleepless night.
• Officer Nelly called the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor about a man who had fed himself to a polar bear, and Zhongli agreed to send help.

Hu Tao and Zhongli collected the remains of a man who had jumped into a polar bear enclosure, then arranged to keep him at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor while the police confirmed his identity. As Zhongli started to reminisce about an old friend, something inside the bag grabbed his thigh, and he flung it away.

• Officer Nelly led Hu Tao and Zhongli to the zoo’s crime scene, then became sick and stayed outside while Hu Tao went in alone.
• Hu Tao quickly gathered the scattered remains into her bag, and Officer Nelly arranged payment and asked her to keep the client until his identity was confirmed.
• Zhongli remembered past directors of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and began recalling an old friend as he and Hu Tao left.
• Something inside the bag grabbed Zhongli’s thigh, so he hurled the bag through the air as Hu Tao shouted that her client was still inside.

Hu Tao recovered Wade after polar bears had eaten most of his body and worked on his head in her basement. Wade bought several funeral services for his remains, just as Paimon and the Traveler arrived to see Hu Tao.

• Hu Tao washed and applied makeup to Wade’s regrown head while he insisted he had approached the polar bears only to observe them.
• Wade saw his makeup in a mirror, protested the result, and explained that the polar bears had eaten his other body parts.
• Wade told Hu Tao he had greeted Zhongli from inside a bag by rubbing his lips against Zhongli’s leg, prompting Zhongli to throw him away.
• Hu Tao burned Wade’s recovered body parts, and Wade ordered the value package, special offers, and a gold coffin for his souvenirs.
• Paimon and the Traveler knocked at the basement window to visit Hu Tao.

Lin Ze and Paimon visited Wade’s blind roommate Alicia, who told them Wade had attempted suicide after Vanessa’s death and had not returned home. Lin Ze used his mental energy to learn that Wade was at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and he and Paimon set off to find him.

• Lin Ze and Paimon visited Alicia, who mistook them for Wade’s children before learning they were concerned friends.
• Alicia recounted how Wade overdosed after Vanessa’s death, briefly stopped breathing, then left to do terrible things.
• Lin Ze and Paimon asked Alicia where Wade might be, but she had no other useful leads.
• Lin Ze used his mental energy to search for Wade, and Venti sensed the wind’s news while resting in a park.
• Lin Ze learned that Wade had gone to the Zoo to kill himself and had been taken to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor by Hu Tao.
• Lin Ze told Paimon they should go find Hu Tao.