Recaps

Xu Le defeated Duo En after revealing that his apparent near-death struggle had been a puppet’s performance, then captured her real body. He left Duo En gravely wounded as Meilis watched her daughter’s candle flicker at the temple.

• Duo En’s Iron Ghost formation reduced Xu Le and the battlefield to dust, but Xu Le crawled from the rubble and tore out the Mechanical Core of her last Human Puppet.
• Duo En hesitated to confront Xu Le directly as he opened a Darkness Boundary-Crossing Gate, then charged when she feared he would escape.
• Meilis watched Duo En’s Spirit Tablet candle flicker and accepted her daughter’s possible death as a way to appease Xu Le.
• Duo En attacked Xu Le with poison-coated blades, but he knocked her down and restrained her with Toad as he revealed that a damaged Doll had taken all the injuries she had inflicted.
• Duo En tried to strike Xu Le again, but he evaded her attack, broke her arm, and tore it off as darkness began corroding her body.

Xu Le killed Duo En, erased the battlefield, and left the Red Moon Holy Temple aboard an airship bound for Lighthouse to seek Cangming. As Bai Ya called him for advice about her strained relationships with Chi Xiao and the others, Xu Le insisted that knowing an ending did not mean he would stop trying to change it.

• Xu Le told Duo En that her death had been part of his and Meilis’s test of each other, and Duo En accepted her fate as darkness corroded her body.
• After Toad departed, Xu Le used fading fire to erase the battle traces and boarded an airship to Lighthouse, sensing that his search for Cangming could affect the war between Guyinduo and Red Moon.
• Meilis noticed Duo En’s Everlasting Candle had gone out while Bai Ya, conflicted in the main hall, decided to contact someone.
• As Xu Le’s airship left the Red Moon Holy Temple, he sensed the vast spirit energy of the Red Moon Barrier and received a call from Bai Ya.
• Bai Ya asked Xu Le about friendship and the rift between her and Chi Xiao’s group, then asked whether he would keep going if he knew his ending; Xu Le answered that his arrival would make the ending different.

Xu Le learned that Cangming was a formidable former Temple Master whose resolve would be difficult to influence, then left an airship and met him near Lighthouse. Cangming praised Xu Le’s reforms in Zion and revealed that he had been watching him even before he went there.

• Bai Ya warned Xu Le that Cangming could abandon the world and would be difficult to affect with Heart Energy.
• Xu Le gave an attendant identity papers and money so he could start a new life in Lighthouse, then leaped from the airship and descended through a bolt of thunder.
• Xu Le encountered a tiny dwarf who had escaped his perception and recognized him as Cangming, the former Temple Master and a near-godlike Level 8.
• Cangming greeted Xu Le warmly and praised the impact of his reforms in Zion.
• Cangming compared their reform efforts, said his own plan for the Red Moon Holy Temple had failed, and revealed he had noticed Xu Le before his trip to Zion.

Xu Le accepted Cangming’s invitation to inspect his secret plan, but Cangming sent him down a dangerous passage to prove his strength. Xu Le crushed the passage’s first monster and unleashed Black Wind as more threats appeared.

• Cangming praised Xu Le’s past choices and exploits, then asked him to join forces to kill a Guyinduo.
• Xu Le insisted on seeing Cangming’s plan for himself, and Cangming led him to a secret underground passage.
• Cangming disappeared after warning that Xu Le would have to prove his strength on the path ahead.
• A stone monster tried to drag Xu Le into the passage, but Xu Le slapped it apart in one blow.
• Chi Xiao and Ding Ke watched Xu Le’s progress from Cangming’s Secret Base and discussed his confidence and violence.
• Xu Le unleashed Black Wind through the passage and called out that he was coming in.

Xu Le unleashed his power of darkness in Cangming’s underground passage, destroying its defenses and forcing Zeximi to act to prove his worth. As Xu Le approached, Chi Xiao decided he could become Xiao’s new leader and began explaining to Ding Ke why ending the Dark Age required action.

• Xu Le’s darkness spread through the Netherworld Corridor, eroding the passage and killing the special Oddities hidden there.
• Cangming dismissed Zeximi’s complaints and warned that his value to Xiao was declining, prompting Zeximi to prepare to intercept Xu Le.
• Chi Xiao reflected that she could not replace Cangming herself, but Xu Le’s growing strength and shared ideals made him a potential new leader for Xiao.
• Chi Xiao revealed to Ding Ke that Xu Le’s arrival was worth celebrating, while Ding Ke worried that Cangming would endanger him.
• Chi Xiao told Ding Ke that true peace required ending the Dark Age because even the cities could no longer remain safe.

Ding Ke questioned Chi Xiao’s happiness about Xu Le’s arrival while Zeximi prepared to prove his worth to Cangming. Xu Le fought his way through Cangming’s underground passage, discovered powerful Godspawn Oddities, and reached the stone door at its end, sensing a dangerous presence beyond it.

• Ding Ke told Chi Xiao that she was explaining too much when Chi Xiao denied being happy because Xu Le had arrived.
• Zeximi decided to demonstrate his value to Cangming and prepared to confront Xu Le in the underground passage.
• Xu Le identified the Oddities in the passage as Godspawn and clashed with Zeximi, whose Stone Sword resisted his Black Sword.
• A Flesh-and-Blood Puppet seized Xu Le, but Xu Le broke it apart with his darkness power and continued deeper underground.
• Xu Le formed a black version of Chi Xiao’s Flame Emperor, which burned through the Godspawn Oddities blocking his way.
• Xu Le reached the stone door at the end of the passage and sensed a dangerous presence beyond it.

Xu Le broke through the Godspawn Gate and fought Zeximi, a grotesquely altered Godspawn warlock, inside the dark room beyond it. Xu Le evaded Zeximi’s tracking vines and remained hidden in the darkness as the fight continued.

• Xu Le poured increasing amounts of the Power of Darkness into the Godspawn Gate until he shattered it with a combined blast of thunder, flame, and darkness.
• Zeximi’s vines restrained Xu Le and his skeletal leg struck him, but Xu Le countered with the Black Staff and pierced the leg.
• Xu Le saw Zeximi’s monstrous form and launched a full-power sword attack, which Zeximi blocked with walls of bone.
• Xu Le vanished into darkness and attacked Zeximi from behind, cutting off several snake heads before Zeximi twisted aside.
• Zeximi sent tracking Vine Headbutts after Xu Le’s black mist, forcing him to keep moving and preventing him from taking solid form.

Xu Le fought Zeximi through the destruction of Cangming’s underground base, first surviving Zeximi’s vines and then overwhelming him with dark attacks. Zeximi revealed that he sought revenge for Gu Jianuo and, near death, unleashed a godlike power that left Xu Le facing a blooming field of flowers.

• Xu Le weakened Zeximi’s vines with repeated feints, then destroyed the underground base with a dark Flame Emperor, leaving Zeximi gravely injured but alive.
• Cangming chose to let the battle continue so he could see the limits of Xu Le’s strength, while Zeximi’s godspawn power began transforming his body.
• Xu Le learned that Zeximi hated him because of Gu Jianuo, and the two resumed their fight with Dragon Slaves and dark Sword Qi.
• Xu Le used Disaster Strike to nearly cleave Zeximi in two, but Zeximi evaded a finishing blow and confessed that Cangming had treated him as a discarded pawn.
• Zeximi sacrificed his blood and life to unleash Godspawn’s Touch, causing countless Vine Headbutts to bloom as Xu Le sensed the presence of a God.

Xu Le survived Zeximi’s God-powered Rain of Flowers by secretly preparing the Soul Devouring Tree, then defeated Zeximi and reached the Dawn Group’s base. Cangming welcomed him as a new member and asked for his guidance in hunting the Children of Guyinduo, while Xu Le reunited with Chi Xiao and learned Ding Ke was nearby.

• Zeximi sacrificed his life, flesh, and Godspawn Oddities to unleash the Rain of Flowers, which appeared to overwhelm Xu Le.
• Cangming recognized that Xu Le was still alive and rebuked his disciples for misjudging the battle.
• Xu Le’s Soul Devouring Tree consumed the Rain of Flowers and the Godspawn Oddities, revealing that he had planted a Seed of Darkness while Zeximi restored his body.
• Xu Le sensed Ding Ke nearby, then made his way through the ruins to the Dawn Group’s base.
• Cangming welcomed Xu Le to Dawn and asked for his guidance in the hunt for the Children of Guyinduo, and Chi Xiao greeted him.

Xu Le met Cangming at Dawn’s base and was made the third executor of the God Luring Plan. Cangming then revealed that his Level 8 Rule, Thousand Soul Lure, could enslave Gods, and that he had used it to enslave one in the past.

• Ding Ke leaped onto Xu Le’s shoulder after Chi Xiao greeted him.
• When a disciple challenged Xu Le’s standing, Cangming struck him and named Xu Le the third executor of the God Luring Plan, with authority second only to Cangming and Chi Xiao.
• Cangming led Xu Le and Chi Xiao through Dawn’s base and explained that the organization began as his personal wish to end the darkness.
• Cangming said Red Moon had not told Xu Le the full truth about why he had been sent to Dawn, then offered to disclose his past and abilities.
• Cangming explained that his Level 8 Rule, Thousand Soul Lure, used a thousand qualifying souls to enslave another soul and had no known limits on its targets.
• Cangming revealed that he had successfully used Thousand Soul Lure to enslave a God, leaving Xu Le and Chi Xiao stunned.

Cangming explained how the God Enslavement Plan failed, how Red Moon spared him and ordered him to hunt the Children of Guyinduo, and revealed that the god he enslaved was still held by the Dawn Organization. He offered to show Xu Le and Chi Xiao the captive god, while Xu Le wondered whether Cangming was concealing the truth.

• Cangming told Xu Le and Chi Xiao that Full Moon defeated him after the God Enslavement Plan was exposed and that Red Moon later ordered him to continue the plan and hunt the Children of Guyinduo.
• Cangming revealed that Red Moon had cut away part of his soul and forced him into an unequal bargain, and Xu Le questioned how Cangming had learned about his Fading Fire.
• Cangming said the god he had enslaved remained with him and had become the Dawn Organization’s foundation and source of nourishment.
• Chi Xiao grew suspicious of Cangming’s sudden openness with Xu Le and asked why her teacher valued him so highly.
• Cangming offered to show them the captive god, and Xu Le eagerly asked when they could go.

Cangming summoned the God of Putrid Flesh-Feiying, revealing the immense power he gained through the Thousand Soul Lure. Feiying recognized Xu Le as a possible ninth Child of Guyinduo and questioned whether he could still call himself human, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Cangming led Xu Le and Chi Xiao to a remote gobi and used the Thousand Soul Lure to summon Feiying.
• Cangming displayed tremendous Spirit Energy while summoning Feiying, whose roar shook Xu Le and Chi Xiao.
• Chi Xiao sensed that Feiying’s God-level aura differed from the divine blood Cangming had previously shown her.
• Feiying recognized Xu Le as a possible ninth Child of Guyinduo, and Xu Le replied that he was human.
• Feiying laughed and claimed that Guyinduo Pollution and Darkness had tainted Xu Le’s body and soul, challenging his humanity.

Xu Le persuaded Feiying that personal identity mattered more than bloodline, and she began to consider him a partner against the Red Moon. Cangming then revealed that the God Luring Plan would target Forest, whose nature was more compatible with Feiying than the cautious Puppet or Rose.

• Xu Le asked Chi Xiao whether she acknowledged him as human, and she affirmed that she did.
• Feiying questioned Cangming about his intentions, then discussed her conflict with the Red Moon and agreed that she and Xu Le might share a path.
• Feiying transformed into a feathered bird-person form and asked Cangming to explain what came next.
• Cangming announced that the God Luring Plan would target Forest, the King of Mist and ruler of plants.
• Cangming explained that Puppet and Rose were too cautious to lure easily, while Forest was a better target because of its compatibility with Feiying.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao agreed to Cangming’s plan to lure Forest into a hunt, but Chi Xiao revealed that Cangming had changed after bringing back God Blood and proposed Xu Le eventually become Dawn’s leader. In Dawn’s underground prison, Xu Le sensed a familiar, rotten aura like the one beneath Guyinduo’s Soul River, leaving its source unresolved.

• Cangming explained that Feiying would bait Forest in the wetlands in three days while Xu Le removed Forest’s rule protection and Chi Xiao burned the area.
• After leaving Cangming, Chi Xiao asked Xu Le to become Dawn’s leader, saying her teacher had grown ruthless and might use people as cannon fodder.
• Chi Xiao told Xu Le that Cangming changed after returning with the first barrel of God Blood three and a half years earlier, and that Dawn’s research had turned to cruel experiments on divine bloodlines.
• Xu Le asked to inspect Dawn’s remaining Godspawn Oddities, and Chi Xiao took him to the underground prison, where he reasoned their divine rules counteracted the Dark Rules.
• As they entered the prison holding hands, Xu Le sensed a familiar rotten aura and recognized it as like the one beneath Guyinduo’s Soul River.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao investigated Godspawn oddities in the underground prison, where Xu Le drew hidden Guyinduo power and a Yellow Springs soul from a Red Moon creature. The creature exploded after regaining its senses, but Xu Le resolved to keep searching for answers and led Chi Xiao to another dangerous cell.

• Xu Le sensed Guyinduo auras in several prison cells and took Chi Xiao to a grotesque oddity that she could not detect.
• Xu Le used Guyinduo Soul Whisper to make the oddity vomit out hidden Guyinduo power and a bound soul from the Yellow Springs Soul River.
• The oddity changed from a Level 6 Godspawn into a Level 5 Red Moon Prayerful One as it regained its humanoid form and lucidity.
• The Red Moon creature panicked and exploded, and Chi Xiao shielded Xu Le from the blast.
• Xu Le considered the creature's divine blood contamination and Yellow Springs soul, then resolved to continue investigating with Chi Xiao.
• Xu Le directed Chi Xiao to another cell and warned her that the next oddity might be in more danger than they were.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao explored the prison, where Xu Le stripped Yellow Springs souls from several Godspawn Oddities and watched them die. Finding no answers, they approached the dangerous depths, and Xu Le summoned Night Demons to scout ahead.

• Xu Le approached a Level 6 Godspawn Oddity, endured its Phantom Pain, then restrained it with Soul Devouring Tree branches and stripped the souls from its halo until it exploded.
• Xu Le asked whether killing the imprisoned Oddities would provoke Cangming or others, and Chi Xiao said her teacher valued Xu Le more and others would not dare object while she was there.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao tested four more Godspawn Oddities and found that they went berserk and exploded after their Ancient Yin Duo Energy and Yellow Springs souls were removed.
• After the experiments yielded no answers, Xu Le and Chi Xiao decided to investigate the prison's deepest area, which felt dangerous even to Chi Xiao.
• Xu Le went ahead to scout and spread dark spirit energy, forming several Night Demons.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao pushed deeper into Dawn’s Oddity dungeon, where they found Godspawn Oddities and tested their abilities while approaching the source of the contamination. When red angel feathers attacked and the corridor warped under powerful rules, Xu Le used the Fading Fire to stabilize the passage and prepared to confront the source with Chi Xiao.

• Xu Le sent a Night Demon past a slug-like Level 6 Godspawn Oddity, watched it get trapped and dissolved, then had Chi Xiao burn the creature inside its cell.
• Xu Le rejected Chi Xiao’s plan to clear every cell and continued down the corridor, using a ring of fire for protection as Godspawn contamination intensified and more Night Demons died.
• Several red feathers attacked Xu Le and Chi Xiao, and Xu Le identified them as belonging to an angel.
• The corridor warped under the source of the Godspawn’s rules, but Xu Le used the Fading Fire to restore it and judged the source’s power to be near Level 8.
• Xu Le unleashed the Soul Devouring Tree with Faded Flames, and Chi Xiao prepared to attack with Flame Emperor.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao fought Chi Yu, a powerful imprisoned oddity, in the ruined research institute. When Chi Yu’s Death Gaze targeted Xu Le and threatened to turn the battle against Chi Xiao, Xu Le launched a counterattack using his Black Sword and Spell Formula.

• Chi Xiao blasted open the dungeon and fought the Three-Tailed One, whom Xu Le identified as the full moon angel Chi Yu.
• Xu Le sensed that Chi Yu was watching him, used Guyinduo Vision to reveal its traits, and learned it possessed the Death Gaze talent.
• Chi Yu’s Death Gaze tore through Xu Le, but the Substitute Life Technique helped him survive the first attack.
• The Death Gaze reappeared at a safer distance, and Xu Le realized its attacks could leave Chi Xiao vulnerable to Chi Yu.
• Xu Le sent out Black Sword-Thousand Needles and used his Spell Formula against the eye as its gaze began to tear at him again.

Xu Le used Darkness Shuttle and the Boundary-Crossing Gate to destroy the Eye of Death, giving Chi Xiao an opening to fatally wound Chi Yu. As Xu Le approached the defeated Chi Yu, Full Moon’s gaze stunned them both, and Chi Yu’s feathers burned away to reveal golden eyes beneath them.

• Xu Le discovered that injuring the Eye of Death caused Chi Yu pain, then survived its attacks by teleporting among Black Needles.
• Xu Le recognized the Eye of Death’s phantom and used the Darkness Boundary-Crossing Gate to appear behind the real eyeball and split it in two.
• Chi Yu screamed from the injury, and Chi Xiao seized the opening to impale him with her Flame Prison-Lance and metal spikes.
• Xu Le moved to join Chi Xiao, but Full Moon’s gaze briefly stunned them both.
• Chi Yu’s burning feathers crumbled away, revealing a golden eye beneath each feather.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao escaped Chi Yu’s thousand-eyed divine attack, then discussed whether their battle counted as a victory and tended their wounds. As they prepared for the God Luring Plan in three days, Chi Xiao asked Xu Le what he thought of Cangming and hinted that her teacher was not as kind as he seemed.

• Chi Xiao and Xu Le fled Chi Yu’s Death Gazes through the Darkness Gate, and Xu Le was badly wounded while covering her retreat.
• Chi Xiao treated Xu Le’s wound, and Xu Le argued that Chi Yu had probably died after Full Moon’s divine power overwhelmed his body.
• Xu Le convinced Chi Xiao to regard their survival and Chi Yu’s likely death as a victory, lifting her spirits.
• After they rested and recovered in the Soul Devouring Tree’s world, Chi Xiao raised the upcoming God Luring Plan and asked Xu Le about Cangming.
• Chi Xiao told Xu Le that Cangming was not as kind and approachable as he appeared.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao discussed Cangming’s past soul-possession experiments and the strange origins of Godspawn oddities, then decided Xu Le would leave the dungeon alone after making a Substitute Life Doll. The chapter ended with Chi Xiao awkwardly revealing her Guyinduo spirit energy as Xu Le offered to teach her the technique.

• Chi Xiao warned Xu Le that Cangming’s unusual interest in him might relate to past experiments in possessing other creatures, and Xu Le agreed to be careful around Cangming.
• Xu Le concluded that Yellow Springs souls and Ancient Yin Duo Energy had been injected into Red Moon oddities, and Chi Xiao suggested the creatures had not truly returned to normal because their hearts had been shattered.
• Xu Le proposed that the Red Moon and the Red Moon gods were not on the same side, then he and Chi Xiao decided to eat hot pot.
• After six hours in the dungeon, Xu Le chose to go outside alone and created a Substitute Life Doll from a branch of the Soul Devouring Tree.
• Chi Xiao showed interest in the Substitute Life Technique, revealed her Guyinduo spirit energy, and Xu Le offered to teach her.

Xu Le taught Chi Xiao the Substitute Life Technique, then discovered Chi Yu had survived and transformed after consuming the darkness he left behind. Xu Le escaped through a Darkness Gate, but Chi Yu followed him, while Cangming and Flying Feather discussed whether to delay their plan for Xu Le and Chi Xiao.

• Xu Le taught Chi Xiao the Substitute Life Technique and made her a wooden doll, and she inscribed its incantation seal within seconds.
• Xu Le returned to the battlefield, found no trace of Chi Yu, and prepared to leave, but Chi Yu struck and tore off his left arm before the Substitute Life Technique saved him.
• Xu Le saw that Chi Yu had transformed after consuming his leftover dark energy and fled through a Darkness Gate, judging that he and Chi Xiao could not defeat him.
• Chi Yu used the darkness in his palm to open a Darkness Gate with the same coordinates as Xu Le's and followed him.
• Cangming and Flying Feather discussed Chi Yu's disappearance and agreed to wait at most seven days for Xu Le and Chi Xiao before proceeding with their plan.

After escaping Chi Yu, Xu Le realized that Chi Yu had absorbed his darkness so completely that even his perception could not distinguish him. Xu Le and Chi Xiao suspected that the Red Moon and the Gundo Mother Tree had secretly joined forces, leaving the truth and the consequences of their possible betrayal unresolved.

• Xu Le escaped Chi Yu’s attack through a Darkness Gate and returned to the Soul Devouring Tree World, where Chi Xiao checked whether he was injured.
• Xu Le told Chi Xiao that Chi Yu had survived, become covered in Eyes of Death, and absorbed Xu Le’s darkness without leaving any detectable difference.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao connected Chi Yu’s condition to the Gundo Mother Tree’s ability to reclaim Supreme Rules and identified the source of Godspawn as a possible explanation.
• Xu Le theorized that the Red Moon and the Gundo Mother Tree had cooperated against the Children of Guyinduo, and that Godspawn Oddities were Red Moon beings corrupted and imprisoned by Guyinduo power.
• Xu Le concluded that Godspawn Oddities self-destructed after their Yellow Springs Souls were extracted because their restored Red Moon selves could not bear the Red Moon’s apparent betrayal.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao discovered that Chi Yu had invaded the Soul Devouring Tree World, where his Darkness Shuttle and Eyes of Death overwhelmed Xu Le. As Chi Yu prepared to kill Xu Le, Chi Xiao attacked with her Flame Emperor and engulfed him in flames.

• Xu Le and Chi Xiao decided to leave the Soul Devouring Tree World and contact Cangming without delaying the God Luring Plan, but Xu Le sensed someone watching them.
• Chi Yu tore through the Soul Devouring Tree and attacked Xu Le, while Chi Xiao sent Ding Ke away aboard her Firebird and stayed to help.
• Chi Yu used a Darkness Shuttle that surpassed Xu Le's, revealed that he knew Xu Le's identity, and repeatedly wounded him with more than three hundred Eyes of Death.
• Xu Le's Faded Flame failed to harm Chi Yu, who pierced Xu Le and seized his heart with a sealing ability.
• Chi Xiao used her Flame Emperor to force Chi Yu to release Xu Le and retreat, then appeared behind him and launched Flame Serpent: Hundred Fangs.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao fought Chi Yu as he grew stronger and revealed that he could assimilate the Soul Devouring Tree. Chi Yu’s corruption gave him a way to attack Xu Le from within the tree, leaving the battle increasingly dangerous.

• Chi Yu’s Death Gaze destroyed Chi Xiao’s Flame Serpents, but the Soul Devouring Tree shielded her and repaired its damaged branch with power from the Spirit Energy Lake.
• Chi Yu tried to contact the Gundo Mother Tree through the Soul Devouring Tree, but Xu Le’s will had already merged with the tree, and Xu Le mocked him.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao attacked together, but Chi Yu appeared behind Xu Le and forced Chi Xiao to blast him back with Flame Halo.
• Chi Yu opened more than three hundred eyes, increasing his Death Gaze and bringing him closer to Level 8, while Xu Le and Chi Xiao discussed a plan that might require her sacrifice.
• Chi Yu’s power assimilated into the Soul Devouring Tree and opened a red eye behind Xu Le, which wounded him with Death Gaze before he destroyed it.