Chapter Summaries

Zhang Ming explored a submerged tower, defeated a phantom warrior of the Blue Crystal People, and received a token granting him guest privileges. After returning to the Black-Awning Boat, he realized the tower had begun an ancient reception procedure, leaving him to consider the dangers of exploring the vanished civilization’s legacy.

• Zhang Ming rode a car through the tower and faced Tea Valley, a phantom warrior who challenged him to a fight.
• Zhang Ming fought Tea Valley, adapting to his growing strength and golden aura before defeating him with a shoulder throw.
• Tea Valley vanished and left a crystal behind, while the tower gave Zhang Ming an engraved token and returned him to the entrance.
• Zhang Ming returned to the Black-Awning Boat and concluded that the tower had recognized him as a guest from another race.
• Zhang Ming sailed around the area looking for a coral reef to repair the boat, while the Giant Pelican hunted for food.

Zhang Ming hauled his sailboat onto a coral reef, repaired its hull, and coated it against marine growth. As night fell, he examined a speck of golden light inside his body that had seeped into him during his fight with the Blue Crystal man.

• Little White led Zhang Ming to a small coral reef after the pelican agreed to guide him in exchange for a fish.
• Zhang Ming carried the sailboat onto the reef while the pelican, Little White, and Stone Mama flew overhead and Brother Hao raced around below.
• Zhang Ming reflected on how his low body weight limited his ability to move heavy objects and use his strength effectively, and he planned to contact the turtles on Turtle Island for help.
• Brother Hao brought Zhang Ming his tools, and Zhang Ming scraped marine growth from the hull and patched the damage caused by the exploding fish.
• Zhang Ming finished repairing and coating the boat, then examined his body and found a tiny speck of golden light inside it.

Zhang Ming used his soul to investigate the token and experienced a Blue Crystal person’s death and the civilization’s struggle against Demon Gods before escaping the vision at great mental cost. After recovering from a long sleep, he found his companions safe and decided to make them more offensive Strange Objects.

• Zhang Ming concluded that the golden light weakened opponents and resisted staggering, then tested the bronze token and discovered it could summon the Black-Awning Boat.
• Zhang Ming sent a Soul Sub-Entity into the token’s gem and received a vision of the Blue Crystal civilization building a tower to hunt the Space-Time Worm beneath a living Blood Moon.
• Zhang Ming experienced a Blue Crystal worker’s death, fell into absolute nothingness, and escaped when a purple electric current reached him.
• Zhang Ming woke in his workshop after three hours, suffering severe mental backlash, and slept for sixteen hours to recover.
• Zhang Ming confirmed that Brother Hao, Little White, and the others were safe, then resolved to make more offensive Strange Objects for his companions.

After recovering memories from the diamond-shaped gem, Zhang Ming concluded that the Blue Crystal People had used the supernatural power of their dead people's last wishes to build their civilization and fight Demon Gods. He left determined to seek transcendence himself, while the Blue Crystal Civilization’s fate remained mysterious.

• Zhang Ming recalled a vision of the Red Moon and realized that powerful civilizations in the Demon God's Sea hunted Demon Gods.
• Zhang Ming told Stone Mama that he would seek transcendence through strength and asked how to become a Demon God.
• Zhang Ming offered the pelican her deck space and asked to ride her coattails once she became a Demon God.
• Zhang Ming examined the gem’s memories and inferred that Blue Crystal People used gem-embedded puppets to build their tower.
• Zhang Ming deduced that the crystals gained supernatural properties through their owners’ last wishes, which could reinforce materials, power puppets, aid cultivation, and challenge Demon Gods.

After recovering from his previous ordeal, Zhang Ming returned to the tower to investigate the submerged Blue Crystal civilization. Stone Mama deciphered a book that showed young Blue Crystal people advancing to the rank of Shi, leaving Zhang Ming with a glimpse of the civilization’s hierarchy.

• Zhang Ming persuaded Pelican to search for underwater ruins with Little White, and spent ten days recovering while they found little of value.
• After fifteen days, Zhang Ming summoned the Black-Awning Boat and traveled with Stone Mama to a different entrance of the tower.
• Zhang Ming entered a hall filled with the skeletons of Blue Crystal people and found mold-covered books, machines, and strange crystals.
• While Stone Mama studied the books, Zhang Ming discovered that crystals in the tower could repair damage and sensed that the structure had powerful defenses.
• Stone Mama deciphered a passage that revealed students had advanced from Ding to Shi and were encouraged to strive for the rank of Neng.

Zhang Ming learned about the Blue Crystal Civilization’s ranks and its Last Wishes, then reflected on the tension between individual and collective purpose as he described himself as a “hero-coward.” He remained trapped in the eerie tower and asked Stone Mama to help, but Stone Mama needed to rest after reconstructing the past.

• A middle-aged man explained that the Blue Crystal Civilization’s people advanced through service, cultivation, and recognition, and that worthy and sage Last Wishes could guide later generations.
• Zhang Ming learned about the civilization’s five social ranks and heard a student question whether people lived only to contribute their final Last Wishes.
• Stone Mama confirmed that the student’s lament had appeared in the historical reconstruction, and Zhang Ming reflected on individual freedom and the meaning of life.
• Zhang Ming said life involved both individual and species-level continuation and called himself a “hero-coward.”
• Zhang Ming found that the crystal-embedded western door would not open and asked Stone Mama for help, but Stone Mama needed time to rest.

Zhang Ming searched the High Tower’s records for a way to gain higher access, then used Soul Split to read the memories of a Blue Crystal Person. The painful memories revealed an old man’s final last wish and left Zhang Ming recovering aboard the Black-Awning Boat, where he began examining the man’s fragmented childhood memories.

• Zhang Ming and Stone Mama translated old documents, but Zhang Ming found no way to bypass the High Tower’s verification process.
• Zhang Ming chose a crystal on an office desk and sent a soul sub-entity into it after leaving the High Tower aboard the Black-Awning Boat.
• Zhang Ming experienced the final memories of an elderly Blue Crystal Person, who accepted his approaching death and urged his descendants to keep building the Pillar of Heaven.
• The old man’s final last wish was to shout, “Passing the Torch can slay Demon Gods!” before he died, and Zhang Ming endured the terror of the experience.
• Pelican carried Zhang Ming onto the boat, where he recovered from the mental backlash and later examined the old man’s fragmented memories of childhood and political instruction.

After spending ten days studying the Blue Crystal People’s memories, Zhang Ming learned about their civilization and found several recurring number strings that might be important. As a persistent sense of danger grew, the pelican fled, leaving Zhang Ming and his companions aboard the ship facing an approaching crisis.

• Zhang Ming discovered that the Blue Crystal People relied on Last Wish, had limited industrial development, and feared the Demon God called the Space-Time Worm.
• Zhang Ming found over thirty recurring strings of numbers that might be passwords, but he delayed investigating while his Mental Value recovered.
• The pelican sensed danger, rejected Zhang Ming’s offer to carry everyone away, and vanished into the night.
• Zhang Ming and his companions realized they could not escape quickly as his sense of danger intensified and Little White repeatedly divined with the Ancestor Turtle Shell.

Zhang Ming and his companions survived a red-moon disaster that aged the ship and killed most life in the surrounding sea, then returned to the High Tower to investigate the Blue Crystal People’s access system. Stone Mama uncovered a recording explaining how outsiders could earn merit and trade for sanctuary, goods, knowledge, and Diamond.

• Zhang Ming prepared the ship and assigned Brother Hao’s Alternate Space ability to shelter the group from supernatural disasters.
• A crimson moon appeared and rapidly aged exposed materials while killing sea life; Zhang Ming and his companions survived inside Alternate Space.
• After the red moon vanished, Zhang Ming and Stone Mama concluded that the Space-Time Worm’s escape attempt depended on a rare alignment with the natural moon.
• Bird Mama returned after fleeing the disaster, and Zhang Ming cleaned the ship before using the Black-Awning Boat to reach the High Tower.
• Zhang Ming successfully accessed the Blue Crystal People’s information system, and Stone Mama uncovered Cha Lang’s explanation that outsiders could earn merit through contributions and exchange it for sanctuary, trade, and Diamond.

Zhang Ming registered for access to the Blue Crystal People’s Pillar of Heaven and learned how its merit system worked. He traded the Herculean Strength Technique for 1,400 merit points and suspected he had found a pricing loophole.

• Cha Lang explained that merit could be earned by selling lifespans, contributing knowledge, trading materials, or taking on special duties, while outsiders could enter Blue Crystal territory only in emergencies.
• Zhang Ming copied the registration records, verified his identity with the antique bronze token, and gained access to the Pillar of Heaven.
• Zhang Ming explored the tower’s rooms, found equipment for extracting lifespan and a combat assessment area, then encountered a golden sphere that accepted knowledge for merit.
• Zhang Ming transmitted the Herculean Strength Technique, accepted the sphere’s offer of 1,400 merit points, and realized its novelty as an animal-derived ability might have earned it an unusually high price.

Zhang Ming sold two rare abilities for 9,800 merit points, exchanged them for the ultimate version of diamond, and used a soul sub-entity to access the memories in a Blue Crystal Person’s last wish. The memories revealed the Blue Crystal People’s prosperous civilization and ended with an elderly leader declaring that diamond alone could not ensure their survival in the Demon God's Sea.

• Zhang Ming sold [Rot Enthusiast] for 8,400 merit points and learned that [Feces Lover] required a visit to the Elders' Meeting Room for its price assessment.
• Zhang Ming spent 8,000 merit points to exchange for the ultimate version of diamond and learned that studying and cultivating it required enormous time and resources.
• Zhang Ming left the High Tower for the Black-Awning Boat, then sent a soul sub-entity into a diamond-shaped crystal to access its memories.
• Zhang Ming received a flood of memories and saw an elderly Blue Crystal Person describe the civilization's supernatural development based on last wishes.
• The elderly leader told the Blue Crystal People’s assembled leaders that diamond remained insufficient to guarantee their survival in the Demon God's Sea.

Zhang Ming witnessed Sage Yao propose the Pillar of Heaven, a plan to combine a billion Blue Crystal People’s last wishes and kill the unhatched Space-Time Worm. After Yao gave his life to begin the project, Zhang Ming returned from death and reflected on the civilization’s tragic fate.

• Yao explained that the Blue Crystal Civilization needed to become stronger before its sinking continent forced it to become Homeless.
• Yao proposed hunting the unhatched Space-Time Worm with the Pillar of Heaven, powered by the last wishes of a billion people.
• Gu warned Yao that the thousand-year project could fail and bring the Demon God’s wrath upon their race.
• Yao persuaded the Blue Crystal People to begin the plan and sacrificed himself to make his last wish the Pillar of Heaven’s foundation stone.
• Zhang Ming returned to reality after his lightning ability rescued him from the delusion void and hoped some Blue Crystal People had escaped extinction.

Zhang Ming received a Drifting Bottle carrying Wang Fumin’s news about his physical breakthrough, the struggles of the new supernatural agency, and his troubled daughter. Wang Fumin’s questions about unifying humanity led Zhang Ming to compare Earth’s dilemma with the Blue Crystal People’s failed plan, leaving him convinced that Earth would soon have to choose its path.

• Zhang Ming woke refreshed, cooked a monster meat sandwich, and worried that his limited growing area would not provide more rice or wheat.
• A Drifting Bottle arrived with letters and a foldable USB Drive, and Zhang Ming began reading Wang Fumin’s letter.
• Wang Fumin reported that he had passed the first stage of the human limit and described how factional conflicts were obstructing the Supernatural Anomaly Investigation Department.
• Wang Fumin recounted Qin Yiwei’s question about whether unifying the world justified generations of struggle, mass deaths, and the destruction of cultures.
• Wang Fumin told Zhang Ming that his daughter was struggling at school and that he might resign to raise her.
• Zhang Ming considered how the Blue Crystal People’s sacrifices resembled Earth’s predicament and concluded that Earth would soon need to choose a direction.

Zhang Ming read letters from Earth about political unification, his family, and scientific research while drifting through the Demon God's Sea. He set aside humanity’s political disputes and planned to review the research at his own pace.

• Zhang Ming wrote to Wang Fumin that a unified human government might be necessary, but he could not take responsibility for political power himself.
• Zhang Ming watched a video of his three-year-old niece and felt both happiness for her and sorrow over his lost youth and first love.
• Stone Mama teased Zhang Ming about his forgotten first-love girlfriend, then repeatedly demanded to know her name until Zhang Ming kicked it into the sea.
• Li Xianfeng warned Zhang Ming that Qin Yiwei might possess an unusual ability and argued against rushing human unification, fearing it would destabilize Earth.
• Zhang Ming decided not to intervene in the disagreement between Wang Fumin and Li Xianfeng, and he began skimming the scientific papers and greeting letters on the USB drive.

Zhang Ming read letters from powerful figures and news about how the Human Breathing Technique was changing Earth, including the return of aging sports stars and a proposed pension policy tied to children’s contributions. He then wrote to his friends and family from the Demon God's Sea, describing his life and a playful meeting with orcas.

• Zhang Ming received letters offering him an honorary citizenship medal, an investment stake, and a lakeside estate, but he ignored the offers and did not reply.
• Zhang Ming read news about the Human Breathing Technique restoring the youth of sports stars and prompting famous athletes to return to competition.
• Zhang Ming learned from Lu Tuyu's letter that Great Xia was drafting a pension scheme that would direct part of children's contributions to their parents, amid debate over the falling birth rate.
• Zhang Ming wrote to his friends and family, saying he had met friendly orcas and played with them in the Demon God's Sea.

Zhang Ming sent warnings and research about the Blue Crystal Civilization to Earth, then spent a month organizing the Sage’s memories. He learned from Stone Mama that Demon Gods’ unique rules could help civilizations break through major limits, leaving him to consider why powerful races hunted them.

• Zhang Ming wrote letters warning Earth about the Blue Crystal People and the danger of revealing themselves to powerful beings in the Demon God’s Sea.
• Zhang Ming sent his sister a golden turtle and a note suggesting she might have another child, then released the Drifting Bottle.
• Zhang Ming spent a month sorting the Blue Crystal Sage’s memory fragments for clues to the Pillar of Heaven’s control system.
• Zhang Ming asked Stone Mama about other civilizations and their struggles to survive.
• Stone Mama explained that Demon Gods’ rules remained in their corpses after death and could strengthen a civilization or help it break through spiritual limits.

After studying Sage Yao’s memories, Zhang Ming pieced together how the Blue Crystal civilization had planned to use the Pillar of Heaven to combine billions of last wishes against the Space-Time Worm, though he still did not know why the plan failed. Exploring the High Tower under his Foreign Guest status, he found a shortcut to its upper levels through the sewage pipes.

• Zhang Ming concluded that the Pillar of Heaven was designed to combine ordinary Blue Crystal people's last wishes, using Sages' wishes as its core, into a force capable of killing the Space-Time Worm.
• Zhang Ming asked Stone Mama and Little White why the Blue Crystal people had failed, and they suggested that their combined wishes might have been too weak or that the people had fled.
• Zhang Ming and Stone Mama traveled by Black-Awning Boat to the High Tower, where Zhang Ming entered using his Foreign Guest status.
• Zhang Ming received the second installment of the diamond inheritance, bringing his progress to 2/300, then explored the rooms open to him.
• Zhang Ming used the layout from Sage Yao's memories to find a shortcut to the upper levels through the sewage pipes.

Zhang Ming crawled through the High Tower’s sewage pipes to reach a restroom near its summit, where he watched Red Moon begin to writhe and send moonlight into the room. As the moonlight advanced, he fled and left Stone Mama a warning to avoid it.

• Zhang Ming used Woodification to squeeze through the sewage pipe, while Stone Mama hauled his backpack behind him.
• After two hours of climbing, Zhang Ming emerged near the top of the Pillar of Heaven and saw Red Moon twisting into grotesque shapes.
• Zhang Ming sent Stone Mama outside with a phone to scout the central control level and record what it found.
• While Zhang Ming waited in the restroom, Red Moon formed dozens of human faces and its moonlight spread across the floor.
• Zhang Ming realized the moonlight was closing in, wrote Stone Mama a warning on his phone, and retreated without it.

Zhang Ming escaped the Red Moon’s deadly moonlight and reviewed Stone Mama’s footage of the High Tower, finding clues that complicated the mystery of the Blue Crystal People’s disappearance. Stone Mama then used Historical Regression to show the Pillar of Heaven’s completion celebration, where the Blue Crystal leaders confronted the approaching destruction of their homeland.

• Zhang Ming used the Invisibility Cloak and the Source of the World's Sanctuary to flee the Red Moon’s moonlight down the Sewage Passage.
• After Stone Mama returned from scouting, Zhang Ming collected his phone and retreated with Stone Mama to the Knowledge Trading Room.
• Zhang Ming watched Stone Mama’s footage and saw that the top floor’s Control Room and Archive Conference Room contained no skeletal remains, while the door to Nirvana remained shut.
• Stone Mama used Historical Regression to show the Blue Crystal People celebrating the completion of the Pillar of Heaven, which had trapped the Space-Time Worm at its summit.
• At a meeting on the tower’s top floor, more than a dozen Sages and hundreds of Wise Ones learned that the continent would sink completely in just over a hundred years.