Recaps

Xu Le guided Bai Jing through a Warlock ritual that awakened a new ability and helped her dispel the water vapor suffocating the mercenaries. After choosing the Jewel card and enduring the black flames, Bai Jing sensed hidden Heart Energy and followed it into the Ancient City, where she demonstrated her newfound strength.

• Xu Le instructed Bai Jing to choose a Guyinduo Card and take the black flame of his Fate-Puppet on Strings.
• Bai Jing chose the Jewel card and endured the flames as they burned away her past and ignited the gathered firewood, clearing the water vapor and saving the mercenaries.
• Bai Jing sensed the mercenaries’ guilt and decided she would no longer live to help others at her own expense.
• Xu Le told Bai Jing to follow the Heart Energy she sensed, and she began tracking its source through the Ancient City.
• A Level 2 venomous Malformed-Type Oddity attacked Bai Jing, and she sliced it in half with a single chopping strike.
• Bai Jing identified her new ability as Heart Energy Sight and continued toward the source of the Heart Energy.

Bai Jing killed a Level 3 Guyinduo Offspring called the Soul-Sucking Monster and realized how much stronger her new darkness, lightning, and Heart Energy abilities had made her. After returning to the group, she thanked Xu Le for helping her change her fate and offered to help him once they returned to Tianrui Lifeng.

• Bai Jing fought through the Soul-Sucking Monster’s Water Curtain and killed it with a lightning-charged Thunder Tail Sweep, releasing the souls of its victims, including her ten teammates.
• Xu Le identified the creature as a Level 3 Guyinduo Offspring with Soul Absorption and Water Curtain, and told Bai Jing that her current strength surpassed her old limits.
• Bai Jing returned to the mercenaries with Xu Le and announced that she might quit being a mercenary after the mission, while keeping her distance from the group.
• Xu Le reflected that Bai Jing’s changed understanding had helped her merge with darkness and gain an endless supply of Dark Particles.
• Bai Jing asked whether Xu Le had come to Tianrui Lifeng for a purpose, thanked him for helping her gain power, and offered to help him after they returned.

After returning from the failed Pioneer mission, Bai Jing rejected her family’s demands and went drinking alone, while Xu Le parted ways with her. As several people followed Bai Jing into a dark alley, the black cat watched the darkness deepen until she emerged.

• Bai Jing led the survivors back to Tianrui Lifeng after they found six bodies and failed to locate four missing Squad Two members.
• Xu Le and the other Mercenaries received unusually high commissions and death benefits, then Xu Le and Bai Jing went their separate ways.
• Bai Jing refused to give her mother money for her older brother’s wedding and left home to seek work and live for herself.
• Bai Jing drank nine glasses of strong liquor at a tavern, then walked into a dark alley as several vagrants and others followed her.
• The black cat watched the alley become darker than night, and Bai Jing eventually walked back out.

Ding Ke encountered Bai Jing and Chang Fengle's Mercenaries, unwittingly encouraging the formation of the Polluters and the Tree Herders. Over the following days, both organizations rapidly gained influence in Changfeng District.

• Bai Jing told Ding Ke she had used darkness to corrupt her followers, and he urged her to continue; she named the group the Polluters as the homeless men pledged themselves to her.
• Chang Fengle proposed that his Mercenary team form an organization called the Tree Herders, and Ding Ke offered him guidance.
• Xu Le questioned Ding Ke about his late return and learned only that the cat had set people on the right path.
• The Polluters began recruiting sinners who confessed and accepted punishment, while the Tree Herders organized wandering Mercenaries to hunt Oddities in exchange for Lightning-enhancing Fruits.
• The Polluters and the Tree Herders rapidly expanded across Changfeng District and drew widespread attention.

Ai Li discovered that Xu Le was in Tianrui Lifeng and arranged a discreet assignment that would take her there. Meanwhile, Xu Le met Chang Fengle, who revealed that he had founded the Tree Herders in Xu Le’s name.

• Ai Li found a Tianrui Lifeng newspaper report naming the Tree Herders and concluded that Xu Le was there, then decided to travel to him without drawing attention.
• Ai Li asked Li Wen for a roaming assignment in other cities, and he approved her plan to find Xu Le.
• Li Wen arranged for Ai Li to lead a Bodyguard Corps delegation, which departed for Lighthouse before continuing to Tianrui Lifeng.
• Xu Le, staying in Tianrui Lifeng under the name Red Beard Ding Ke, received a desperate Chang Fengle, who asked him for more Lightning Fruits.
• Chang Fengle told Xu Le that he had founded the Tree Herders for him.

Xu Le gave Chang Fengle three Soul Tree seeds to secretly support the Tree Herders, then left with Ding Ke to seek toxins and prepare for Level 5. As the Tree Herders began building a base and gathering Oddity corpses to nourish their sapling, Chang Fengle kept two seeds for himself.

• Chang Fengle begged Xu Le for fruit to help the Tree Herders oppose the Polluters, and Xu Le gave him three seeds that needed Oddity corpses to grow.
• Xu Le told Ding Ke he would support the Tree Herders in secret because their fruit would spread his Soul Tree’s mark, then decided they had to move before other forces noticed.
• Xu Le explained that he planned to study toxins and advance to Level 5, and Ding Ke revealed that a Whisperer was a failed Level 7 who had once been a Forbidden Warlock.
• Ding Ke admitted that she had rushed her own advancement because she could not bear to fall behind Chi Xiao, and Xu Le promised to avoid repeating her mistake.
• Xu Le left the tavern, and Ding Ke returned to steal half the money he had left to pay the bill.
• Chang Fengle rented a ruined factory as the Tree Herders’ base, urged his followers to collect Oddity corpses for the sapling, and secretly kept two of the three seeds.

Chang Fengle persuaded the Tree Herders to hunt Oddities and nourish their tree, while secretly diverting resources to a second tree of his own. At midnight, the base tree bore fruit and began offering it to members, leaving Chang Fengle with a new power and the mercenaries eager for their rewards.

• Chang Fengle demonstrated his lightning abilities and angrily challenged doubters to leave, convincing the new Tree Herder members to hunt Oddities for the tree.
• Over six days, the tree at the Tree Herder Base Factory Building grew rapidly as mercenaries brought it Oddity corpses, while Chang Fengle secretly diverted some corpses to his own tree.
• As the Black Tide approached, Chang Fengle promised the members that the base tree would bear fruit that night, concealing that his own tree had already given him a fruit.
• At midnight, the base tree flowered and produced blue Lightning Fruits, red fruits, and one black fruit.
• The tree offered Chang Fengle a red fruit, which he ate before announcing he had gained a new power.
• The tree then offered a Lightning Fruit to a newly joined Level 3 Warrior, as Chang Fengle called it the Tree's blessing.

Chang Fengle distributed Soul Tree fruits to the Tree Herders, proving that they granted real abilities and rallying the mercenaries ahead of the Black Tide. As Xu Le watched the organization take shape, Bai Jing prepared her darkened fighters and Ai Li arrived in Changfeng District with Zion’s negotiating team.

• Zhang Laosan ate a Lightning Fruit, manifested lightning, and declared himself a Tree Herder.
• The Soul Tree offered Zhou Fu a Lightning Fruit and an unknown red fruit; Zhou Fu chose the Lightning Fruit, gained lightning power, and thanked the tree.
• The Soul Tree bestowed fruits on other mercenaries who met its contribution threshold, and Chang Fengle urged the group to prepare for the Black Tide.
• Xu Le observed that Chang Fengle had pocketed two of the three seeds and discussed the coming Black Tide with Ding Ke.
• Bai Jing gathered eleven survivors of her darkness contamination and told them to prepare to cleanse themselves before the Black Tide.
• Ai Li arrived in Changfeng District with Zion’s negotiating team, then slipped away to scout for information.

Ai Li left the visiting delegation to investigate Tianrui Lifeng in disguise and learned that the Tree Herders were collecting Oddity corpses, linking them to Xu Le. Thirteen Sister told her where Red Beard Ding Ke lived, and Ai Li set out to see him.

• Ai Li changed into punk-style clothes and threw a pickpocket out of a shop after catching her stealing.
• Ai Li defeated the pickpocket’s companions, identified Thirteen Sister’s involvement in the flesh trade, and agreed to share a meal with her.
• At the restaurant, Ai Li questioned Thirteen Sister about the Polluters and the Tree Herders.
• Thirteen Sister explained that the Tree Herders hunted Oddities and collected their corpses, leading Ai Li to suspect they were connected to Xu Le.
• Thirteen Sister named Red Beard Ding Ke as a strange local and offered to take Ai Li to his home.

Ai Li tracked Xu Le to his new courtyard, where Chi Xiao had already found him and learned about his experiments. Chi Xiao agreed to help him handle the authorities’ suspicions about the Tree Herder and Polluter organizations, then accepted his offer of a meal.

• Ai Li followed Thirteen Sister to Xu Le’s former room at the Little Tavern, where she found only his lingering scent and learned he had moved.
• Xu Le was surprised when Chi Xiao located his new courtyard through the aura left by the Gundo Mother Tree’s former favor.
• Chi Xiao told Xu Le she had come to check on him before the Red Moon Calamity and confirmed she would defend Tianrui Lifeng.
• Chi Xiao asked whether Xu Le had created the Tree Herder and Polluter organizations, and Xu Le admitted they were test subjects for his research into replacing the Guyinduo Tree.
• Xu Le showed Chi Xiao his Soul Tree sapling and Lightning Fruit, and she agreed the experiments could continue as long as they were not espionage.
• Xu Le offered to treat Chi Xiao to a meal, and she accepted.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao shared street food and discussed the Gundo Mother Tree’s decline, its growing hostility toward the Red Moon, and Xu Le’s plan to cultivate a replacement tree. Chi Xiao agreed to help him, and Xu Le ended by asking whether the Mother Tree regarded her as a vessel.

• Xu Le took Chi Xiao and Ding Ke to a snack street, where Chi Xiao overcame her discomfort around crowds and eagerly ate the food.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao discussed how the Gundo Mother Tree had grown chaotic and decayed, and Chi Xiao said its condition had worsened over the past two years after the Red Moon howled during the Red Moon Calamity.
• Chi Xiao explained that the Mother Tree had grown anxious to kill the Red Moon and revealed that a passage to it lay deep within the Red Moon Holy Temple.
• Xu Le told Chi Xiao that powerful forces might threaten his plan to grow a tree and distribute its fruits, and Chi Xiao offered to help because the project concerned her too.
• Chi Xiao said the Mother Tree had marked her with its energy when she was injured and blind, prompting Xu Le to ask whether it intended to use her as a vessel.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao discussed Guyinduo, the power of gods, and the potential uses of Xu Le’s experimental fruits, while Chi Xiao warned him about angels and asked him to survive and grow stronger. After Chi Xiao left, Xu Le rejected Ding Ke’s teasing about her feelings and declared that he intended to end the Dark Age.

• Xu Le asked Chi Xiao about becoming a vessel for Ancient Yin Duo Energy, and she said she focused on growing strong enough to face future threats.
• Chi Xiao told Xu Le that she had encountered two Level 8 beings, the master of the Red Moon Holy Temple and Full Moon, and warned that angels would appear after the Red Moon Calamity.
• Xu Le explained that his three experimental fruit types were deliberately weakened and controlled, and Chi Xiao offered to help distribute them once their effects had been properly analyzed.
• Chi Xiao warned Xu Le about angels and asked him to keep growing until he could stand beside her as a companion before leaving.
• Ding Ke insisted that Chi Xiao liked Xu Le, but Xu Le called them ordinary friends and said their different priorities made a relationship impossible.
• Xu Le told Ding Ke that he would grow strong enough to protect his loved ones and declared that he intended to end the Dark Age.

As the Black Tide began, Chang Fengle prepared the Tree Herders for battle despite Bai Jing’s warning that she would purge the organization after the crisis. Xu Le flew to witness Chi Xiao fighting the Oddities and found her facing an observing eyeball, which she called Lord Angel.

• Bai Jing warned Chang Fengle that she would purge the Tree Herders’ criminals after the Black Tide, and Chang Fengle refused to back down.
• Chang Fengle armed the Tree Herders with smuggled Zion weapons and rallied them to prepare for the Black Tide.
• As the Black Tide began, Xu Le decided to visit Chi Xiao, while Ai Li worried about his safety and Xu Le remembered Gouzi.
• Xu Le flew toward the distant flames and saw Chi Xiao destroy waves of Oddities with Dragon’s Breath.
• Xu Le noticed an eyeball watching Chi Xiao, who addressed it as Lord Angel and criticized it for observing without joining the fight.

Xu Le witnessed Puppet confront a Full Moon Angel, then encountered Puppet himself and learned that Night Fiend was watching him. After a Level 6 Void and Tu Shu Rammer attacked, Xu Le sent Ding Ke through a spatial gate and summoned Tree World Descent to face the creature.

• Puppet appeared before a wary Full Moon Angel, mocked it, and burned away before it could respond.
• Xu Le hid with Ding Ke, then spoke with Puppet, who said Night Fiend's attention protected Xu Le and warned that he had severed the threads of fate.
• Puppet vanished, and Ding Ke revealed that he had sealed her voice and left her unable to change back; she rejected training because she would not give up fried chicken and cola.
• After watching Chi Xiao hold back the Black Tide, Xu Le saw a meteor-like object crash nearby and identified the giant insect that emerged as a Level 6 Void and Tu Shu Rammer.
• Xu Le sent Ding Ke through a Boundary-Crossing Gate, drew the Void Rammer toward himself with dragon breath, and cast Tree World Descent.

Jin Mingzhu learned that the Red Moon Holy Temple planned to take control of Lighthouse, but a startling change in the Soul Tree bought the city more time. Far away, Xu Le used the Soul Tree to kill a giant insect, only for countless smaller insects to burst from its body.

• Duo En warned Jin Mingzhu that the Red Moon Holy Temple would seize Lighthouse and demanded that its leaders submit or face the consequences.
• The Soul Tree ignored Duo En’s control, formed a towering vine, and burrowed underground amid powerful spatial fluctuations.
• Jin Mingzhu told Zhou Bi that Lighthouse had gained roughly three to six months before the Red Moon Holy Temple acted, and Zhou Bi identified the Soul Tree’s change as the reason.
• Xu Le summoned the Soul Tree’s vine from Lighthouse to Tianrui Lifeng and used its branches to crush the giant insect.
• Countless small, firefly-like insects poured from the giant insect’s body, and Xu Le raised his middle finger at them.

Xu Le watched Chi Xiao use world power to destroy the Black Tide creatures and learned how legendary transcendents could give rules to power. Meanwhile, Bai Jing and the Polluters fought the horde in Tianrui Lifeng, where their line was close to breaking before gunfire and reinforcements arrived.

• Xu Le nearly fled from a swarm of powerful Outer God insects, but Chi Xiao protected him and destroyed them with attacks that harnessed the earth's heat, pressure, and metal.
• Chi Xiao explained world power and showed Xu Le how her compound spell formula, Meteor Shower, obliterated the remaining insects and Black Tide oddities.
• Chi Xiao told Xu Le to study how she used spell formulas to set rules and trigger attacks, and she recognized that he had already begun learning this method.
• Bai Jing led the Polluters into battle against the oddities that passed Tianrui Lifeng's First Line of Defense, but the outnumbered fighters began to fall.
• As Bai Jing's squad neared collapse, gunfire and cries from the Tree Herders sounded at a street corner.

During the Black Tide, Chang Fengle’s Tree Herders and Bai Jing’s Polluters fought side by side against swarms of Oddities and unusual insects. Bai Jing neared a breakthrough before a powerful Ghost-Type Oddity formed a Living Corpse Bear and trapped her, but a mace struck the monster just as it was about to crush her.

• Chang Fengle led the Tree Herders to rescue Bai Jing and the Polluters, and the two groups fought together against the Oddities.
• Bai Jing and Chang Fengle noticed that the Black Tide contained unusually numerous insects that attacked alongside other Oddities.
• After Chang Fengle rebuked Bai Jing for losing focus, she unleashed a surge of Darkness and overwhelmed the surrounding enemies as she approached Level 4.
• A Ghost-Type Oddity gathered the corpses into a Living Corpse Bear, wasting the bodies Chang Fengle had hoped to exchange for fruit.
• Bai Jing damaged the Living Corpse Bear but was immobilized by the Ghost-Type Oddity’s Grip of the Void as the monster prepared to crush her.
• A mace made in Zion struck the Living Corpse Bear’s head.

Ai Li saved Bai Jing from a Level 4 Ghost-Type Oddity, while Bai Jing killed the Living Corpse Bear but failed to break through to Level 4. As the Black Tide continued, Chi Xiao realized Tianrui Lifeng might be facing an additional attack and rushed back to the city, leaving Xu Le to confront the Oddities.

• Ai Li used Moonwalk and red sha to destroy the Ghost-Type Oddity while Bai Jing fought the Living Corpse Bear.
• Bai Jing killed the bear with her Dark Chaos Sword, and Ai Li suspected that Bai Jing’s weapon and abilities were connected to Xu Le.
• Bai Jing asked Ai Li about her failed breakthrough, but they postponed their conversation when more Oddities appeared.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao discussed the unusually large number of Oddities, and Chi Xiao suggested the bugs had been drawn to Tianrui Lifeng by an outside power.
• Chi Xiao realized the city might be facing an attack beyond the routine Black Tide and flew back, while Xu Le stayed behind to handle the advancing Oddities.

Xu Le planted a Soul Tree during the Black Tide and used Night Demons to protect it while it absorbed Oddities. Their slaughter caused the tree to produce a genuine Night Demon Fruit, and Xu Le ended the chapter preparing to extend the assault as dawn approached.

• Xu Le found unscorched ground, planted a Soul Tree seed, and fed it Spirit Energy until it began hunting Oddities.
• Xu Le summoned Night Demons from the Dark World and ordered them to kill Oddities while preserving their heads and hearts for the Soul Tree.
• The Soul Tree absorbed the slaughtered Oddities’ life energy and spontaneously grew a black fruit that Guyinduo Vision identified as an intermediate Night Demon Fruit.
• Xu Le plucked and hid the Night Demon Fruit, then ordered the Night Demons to resume killing as dawn neared.
• Xu Le considered creating a larger bank of thunderclouds and summoning more Night Demons to continue the assault.

As dawn ended the Black Tide’s attack on Tianrui Lifeng, Ai Li and Bai Jing realized the insects remained a threat while Oddities turned toward a thundercloud outside the city. Xu Le gained a second Night Demon Fruit, then faced the converging Oddities as daylight weakened his Night Demons, until an unknown voice called him.

• Chang Fengle volunteered to warn the city through the Evil Wolf Gang about the insects and the need for torches and wet cloths.
• Ai Li urged Bai Jing to master her unusual abilities and find the friend who taught her after the Black Tide, while privately hoping to find Xu Le.
• The Oddities retreated from the city toward the thundercloud, but the insect swarm continued advancing.
• Xu Le obtained a second Night Demon Fruit and concluded that his experiments depended on reclaiming life energy and Oddities.
• Oddities from the city converged on Xu Le, whose Night Demons weakened in daylight as he fought them with thunder.
• An unknown voice called Xu Le to come to it as he considered whether to flee.

Xu Le visited Night Fiend in the Land of Darkness, where she asked him to investigate the outside bugs that appeared during the Red Moon Calamity and listened to his story of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Before he left, Night Fiend explained that Xu Le’s fruit-making ability was limited by his reliance on darkness and suggested he let the Soul Tree grow freely.

• Xu Le entered the Land of Darkness and met Night Fiend, who asked him to investigate the outside bugs that appeared during the Red Moon Calamity before the next Black Tide.
• Night Fiend asked Xu Le for a new story, and he told her Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and described why its tragic ending still felt fulfilling to him.
• Xu Le said he hoped to reach the pinnacle of the world with Night Fiend as his witness, and she affirmed that he had the chance.
• Xu Le asked Night Fiend about the Night Demons and the two fruits he had created, and she said he was someone she had chosen.
• Night Fiend explained that Xu Le lacked the will to create all things, so his fruits became Night Demon fruits, and she advised him to let the Soul Tree grow freely.

After the Soul Tree died, Xu Daqiang claimed the newly formed Mystery Fruit-Ashes, while Xu Le followed him and considered whether to retrieve it. In Tianrui Lifeng, Chi Xiao searched for an outsider, agreed to breakfast with Zhang Ji, and unexpectedly encountered Xu Le at a beef soup shop.

• Warrior Mercenaries cleared the remaining Oddities and discovered the battered Soul Tree outside Tianrui Lifeng.
• Xu Daqiang stabbed the Soul Tree, causing it to produce a ripe Ashes Fruit, then took the fruit and drove off the other Mercenaries.
• Xu Le identified the fruit as a Mystery Fruit-Ashes and followed Xu Daqiang, unsure whether he should intervene.
• Chi Xiao returned to Tianrui Lifeng, sensed an outsider somewhere in the city, and began searching for it.
• Zhang Ji invited Chi Xiao to breakfast before an organizational meeting, and she agreed to stop at a beef soup shop.
• Chi Xiao found Xu Le inside the shop, where he noticed Zhang Ji's dragon tattoo and asked, "Got a tattoo, huh?"

Xu Le and Chi Xiao tacitly left their breakfast companions to investigate matters in the Mother Tree Realm, while Zhang Ji targeted Xu Daqiang and the Ash Fruit he carried. Xu Le and Chi Xiao entered a hotel room together, where she invited him into the Mother Tree Realm.

• Xu Le noticed the unusual Ash Fruit carried by Xu Daqiang, while Chi Xiao also watched the mercenary and Zhang Ji grew suspicious of him.
• After breakfast, Xu Daqiang waited outside the auction house, and Xu Le decided to leave the fruit alone while turning to other matters with Chi Xiao.
• Chi Xiao departed from Zhang Ji and reunited with Xu Le, while Zhang Ji approached Xu Daqiang and accused him of spying for the Red Moon Holy Temple.
• Zhang Ji demanded that Xu Daqiang hand over what he had hidden in his clothes, and Xu Daqiang refused to go with him.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao met again and entered the same hotel room, where Chi Xiao lifted her eye patch and told Xu Le to come in.

Chi Xiao brought Xu Le into the Mother Tree Realm, where two newcomers appeared and the old group tested whether they had the Mother Tree’s favor. Wang Wei gained four fruits and revealed he could identify them too, leaving Xu Le no longer unique; Liu Lan then received five fruits.

• Chi Xiao opened a Guyinduo Vortex into the Mother Tree Realm, and Xu Le followed her inside despite the realm’s apparent limit of seven people.
• The group noticed that Wang Wei and Liu Lan had replaced a dead member and suspected the newcomers or one of their own might be a spy.
• The others made Wang Wei pray to the Mother Tree, which granted him four fruits.
• Wang Wei identified the fruits aloud, revealing that he could observe their attributes like Xu Le, and chose the Haze Fruit on Chi Xiao’s advice.
• Liu Lan prayed next, and the Mother Tree sent her a branch bearing five fruits.

Liu Lan received five fruit choices despite being an ordinary girl, and she traded Elemental Fusion to Chi Xiao for a Flame Demon fruit and guidance. When Xu Le approached the supplication site to claim his reward despite the Gundo Mother Tree having rejected him before, an unusual branch descended with three fruits.

• Xu Le questioned Liu Lan about the Oddities she had killed, and she said she had killed three while protecting her family.
• Liu Lan revealed that she could see the fruit types, including Rejuvenation, alarming the gathered veterans and reinforcing Xu Le and Chi Xiao’s suspicion that the Mother Tree had malfunctioned.
• Chi Xiao offered to teach Liu Lan in exchange for Elemental Fusion, then gave her a Flame Demon fruit as payment.
• The group learned that Liu Lan and Wang Wei could correctly identify the results of their fruit selections, just as Xu Le could.
• Xu Le calmly demanded that the Mother Tree return what belonged to him, and an unusual branch descended bearing two black fruits and one red fruit without blue mist.