Chapter Summaries

Xu Le and his companions used Yu Long’s Swallow Heaven to reach the Golden Radiance Tree, where Xu Le investigated its Red Moon ascetics and the flow of Heart Energy. The group crossed a rune formation and discovered that blood mixed with Red Moon Spirit flowed toward the canopy, leaving the tree’s decay and purpose unresolved.

• Chi Xiao questioned Xu Le about his relationship with Yu Long and revealed she was waiting for a chance to act against her.
• Yu Long summoned Swallow Heaven, and the group traveled through its esophagus to the Golden Radiance Tree’s upper levels.
• Xu Le saw the tree’s Red Moon ascetics and observed that its radiance dispelled Heart Energy, which then flowed higher into the tree.
• Wang Man sensed Lightforging at the tree’s summit, and the group gained permission to proceed after meeting a Transcendence Swordsman.
• Xu Le identified invisible Golden Wraiths around a rune formation, and the group crossed it as red liquid welled from the tree.
• Xu Le determined the liquid contained blood from Guyinduo creatures, animals, and humans, and said it flowed toward the canopy.

Xu Le and the Red Moon Holy Temple team fought their way up the Golden Radiance Tree after its ascetics revealed themselves as Oddities. As Xu Le probed the tree’s rot, he discovered its failed attempt to create Red Moon Fruit and encountered a terrifying presence, until Night Fiend spoke to him.

• Xu Le noticed that higher-level ascetics carried heart energy and watched the group maliciously as they climbed toward the floating jade platforms.
• Golden Yan Luo recognized Xu Le as someone from Guyinduo’s Yellow Springs and attacked, but Yu Long killed it after its madness erupted.
• Rotten ascetics attacked the group, and Yu Long used her Legendary Secret Technique, Chaos, to crush dozens of Oddities and clear their path upward.
• Xu Le pierced the Golden Radiance Tree with a disguised Guyinduo Branch of Reality and found that it collected heart energy in a failed attempt to produce Red Moon Fruit.
• A red moon and its watching eye appeared in Xu Le’s mental world, leaving him frozen with fear until Night Fiend asked what he was afraid of.

Xu Le confronted the Red Moon with Night Fiend and used Heart Energy to disrupt the Red Moon’s system by restoring desire and the laws of reproduction to the Golden Radiance Tree. The Red Moon’s link to the tree was severed and it vanished, but Night Fiend warned that it might remember Xu Le as a threat.

• Night Fiend lent Xu Le the power of darkness as the Red Moon pressured them, and explained that the Red Moon was alive and had been defeated.
• The Red Moon tempted Xu Le with visions of women and tried to strip away his desires, but Xu Le broke free and unleashed his stored Heart Energy.
• Xu Le spread Heart Energy through the Golden Radiance Tree, awakening desire in its ascetics and Oddities and disrupting the tree’s belief system.
• As the Red Moon changed the rules governing birth, Xu Le guided the Golden Radiance Tree back toward reproduction, causing ascetics to become golden fruits and severing the Red Moon’s connection to the tree.
• Night Fiend broke through the Red Moon’s suppression and drove it away, then warned Xu Le that his actions might have made him memorable to the Red Moon.
• Xu Le awoke and saw ascetics burst apart and turn into fruits, then said that something being wrong was exactly right.

Xu Le and his companions climbed into the Golden Tree’s Sky Garden, where a mysterious voice spoke only to him and claimed to be the answer he had sought. The voice’s floral figure attacked Yu Long, leaving Xu Le to face the garden’s hidden threat as Chi Xiao ravaged the tree below.

• Xu Le confirmed that the Golden Radiance Tree was absorbing heart energy and that its altered rules were forcing ascetics to become fruit.
• Gargoyles shattered the stairway, and Xu Le caught Wang Man before she fell from the tree.
• Chi Xiao stayed behind, trapped seven Gargoyles with her Metal Control and sent them smashing the jade steps throughout the tree’s crown.
• Xu Le, Yu Long, Duo Lei, and Wang Man reached the Sky Garden, where a mysterious voice told Xu Le that it had cultivated the flowers and called itself the answer he had sought.
• A woman formed from the drifting petals and stabbed Yu Long with a red shortsword, while Xu Le alone heard her declare that events had gone as he wished.

Xu Le watched Andy, a level 7 Legendary Creature, overpower Yu Long with her silent teleporting attacks and a transformation that corrupted Yu Long’s scales. After Yu Long fell, Xu Le and Wang Man climbed onward while Chi Xiao stayed behind to fight Andy, ending with Chi Xiao gathering a massive fireball.

• Xu Le identified Andy as a level 7 Legendary Creature with the Silent Blade ability, but she continued attacking Yu Long before he could explain it fully.
• Yu Long covered herself in scales to withstand Andy’s attacks, but Andy’s petals turned the scales red until they grew, cracked, and fell away.
• Duo Lei ordered Xu Le and Wang Man to climb higher, and Yu Long fell before them, urging them to leave as seven Gargoyles landed on the platform.
• Andy pursued Xu Le and the others, but Chi Xiao stopped her with Dragon Roar and set the flowers of decay ablaze.
• Chi Xiao revealed her burning armor and Prosthetic Limbs, fought Andy with fire and the chained Gargoyles, and formed a huge fireball as Andy emerged from the flames.

Chi Xiao revealed the Golden Radiance Tree’s failed origins and burned Andy and the tree while confronting Yu Long about her role in Chi Xiao’s family’s destruction. She disclosed that she leads the Reformists of Tianrui Lifeng and planned to free the Red Moon Holy Temple from the Red Moon, while Xu Le continued climbing with a flower growing on his Soul Tree.

• Chi Xiao overwhelmed Andy with her Flame Emperor spell, explained that the Red Moon had abandoned the failed Golden Radiance Tree project, and described how its attempted conversion of the Lightforging Head had led to contamination and Andy’s birth.
• Chi Xiao burned Andy and the Golden Radiance Tree, then confronted Yu Long about foreseeing Chi Xiao’s fate and destroying her family to prevent it.
• Chi Xiao offered Yu Long a chance to defy fate and revealed that she had founded the Reformists of Tianrui Lifeng to lead the world’s transformation and separate the Red Moon Holy Temple from the Red Moon.
• Yu Long warned that Duo Lei could ruin Chi Xiao’s plan, but Chi Xiao said Duo Lei would die because she intended to kill Xu Le, then asked Yu Long to reveal Xu Le’s fate.
• Xu Le continued climbing the ladder and noticed that a flower had grown on his Soul Tree.

Xu Le discovered that Lightforging’s polluted blood was decaying the Golden Radiance Tree as Duo Lei collected evidence and Wang Man embraced the Child of Guyinduo’s light. Wang Man freed Lightforging by severing the branches binding his head, while Duo Lei was gravely wounded.

• Xu Le and Duo Lei climbed to the Golden Radiance Tree’s canopy with Wang Man and Ding Ke as fire spread below and Guyinduo’s light threatened them.
• The group found the Lightforging Head, and Xu Le pierced it with the Guyinduo Branch of Reality, discovering that its blood caused the tree’s decay.
• Xu Le deduced that Lightforging’s blood had polluted the tree and helped bring about Andy, while Duo Lei photographed the head and collected its blood.
• Lightforging warned Duo Lei that she understood none of the schemes around her, then Wang Man attacked and crushed Duo Lei’s lung and spine.
• Wang Man declared herself Lightforging’s offspring and cut through the Golden Radiance Tree’s branches, freeing his head.

Xu Le corrupted Duo Lei with unrestricted darkness, turning her into a Night Demon and testing whether he could control the creature he had created. Night Demon Duo Lei attacked Wang Man instead, while Lightforging remained trapped by Xu Le’s branch and struggled to regain power.

• Xu Le embedded the Guyinduo Branch of Reality in Lightforging’s head and injected darkness into him, but Lightforging ordered Wang Man to seize Xu Le.
• Xu Le fought Wang Man, then attacked Duo Lei to silence her and stop her from escaping with a Red Moon teleportation book.
• Ding Ke knocked the teleportation book away, allowing Xu Le to impale Duo Lei and flood her with darkness until she became Night Demon Duo Lei, a Level 3 Guyinduo Polluter and Child of Darkness.
• Xu Le tried to direct Night Demon Duo Lei, but she focused on Wang Man and Lightforging rather than attacking him.
• Toad helped Xu Le strike Wang Man, while Xu Le used darkness to heal Toad and grew stronger.
• Wang Man asked Lightforging for more power and essence, then questioned whether he could still remove Xu Le’s branches himself.

Xu Le and Toad fought Wang Man after Lightforging possessed her, while Xu Le pieced together Mo Chen’s possible connection to Lightforging. Their combined attack struck Wang Man even in her particle form and released a swarm of souls, leaving Xu Le questioning what the Children of Guyinduo were.

• Wang Man killed Night Demon Duo Lei and stabbed Lightforging, but Lightforging’s concealed tentacles pulled them together as he began absorbing her.
• Xu Le suspected Lightforging had guided Mo Chen’s experiments and choices, possibly explaining Mo Chen’s search for a suitable vessel.
• Lightforging fully possessed Wang Man, and she returned to her original form before dodging Xu Le and Toad’s first attacks.
• Xu Le and Toad used Fate Black Flame and summoned the Black Sword Familiar, but Wang Man defeated and decapitated the familiar.
• Toad and Xu Le launched a combined black-and-red strike that hit Wang Man in her particle state, releasing countless souls from her body.

Wang Man reclaimed Lightforging’s power on behalf of the Gundo Mother Tree and revealed that she had long planned to bring Xu Le into its scheme. She stopped Xu Le from escaping and entered his mental world, telling him the Mother Tree was disappointed in his choices.

• Wang Man’s white roots absorbed the Living Corpses’ Guyinduo Spirit Energy and reclaimed Lightforging’s power.
• Wang Man told Xu Le that she planned to reclaim the Sun next and revealed Guyinduo had sent her to complete this mission.
• Wang Man explained that she had once hoped Xu Le would accept the Mother Tree’s offer and become a new embodiment of the world’s rules.
• Xu Le tried to flee through a dark portal, but Wang Man used her power over the rules to stop him and pin him against a wall.
• Wang Man sent Lightforging energy into Xu Le’s body and entered his mental world, where she told him the Mother Tree was disappointed in his choices.

Xu Le resisted the Gundo Mother Tree’s attempt to claim him and survived the depths of the Soul River with help from four powers, though Wang Man sacrificed her light and fell into the abyss. He severed the Spirit Energy Pool’s connection to the Guyinduo lineage, became a Level 4-Soul Reaper, and went with Ding Ke toward the center of the Golden Radiance Tree.

• Xu Le summoned his Soul Tree to resist Wang Man and the Gundo Mother Tree’s roots, but the roots dragged him into the Soul River’s abyss.
• As his body and soul began to dissolve, Xu Le drew on Night Fiend’s darkness, the Sky Ring’s Dragon power, and the Guyinduo Cards’ Fate power to slow his fall.
• Wang Man gave Xu Le her light and pushed him upward, then fell into the Soul River as Xu Le’s four powers helped him withstand the Mother Tree.
• Xu Le devoured Soul River creatures while rising, then transformed the Spirit Energy Pool until its connection to the Gundo Mother Tree broke.
• Xu Le left the Spiritual Space, picked up Ding Ke, and headed toward the center of the Golden Radiance Tree as he advanced to Level 4-Soul Reaper.

Xu Le harvested the souls within the Golden Tree and worked with Chi Xiao to transform it into an enduring Soulfire beacon, then appointed Andy to guard it as the Soul Torch. Lighthouse’s residents watched the tree’s grayish-blue flames and realized it had become a furnace that burned souls.

• Xu Le found the Calamity of Light in the Golden Tree’s rotting wood and fitted it onto Ding Ke’s leg as a collar.
• Xu Le used Soul Harvest on the Golden Tree, drawing out its souls and expanding his Soul Tree and mental world.
• Xu Le asked Chi Xiao to ignite the extracted souls, creating Soulfire that could attract Guyinduo creatures and use them as fuel.
• Xu Le revived the Flower Maiden Andy and named her the Soul Flower Maiden, assigning her to guard the tree, which he renamed the Soul Torch.
• Zhou Bi, Jin Mingzhu, and Lighthouse’s residents saw the grayish-blue flames and realized the Golden Tree had become a furnace that burned souls.

Jin Mingzhu and Zhou Bi took control of a collapsing Lighthouse, hoping to rebuild it through cooperation with Xu Le as the wealthy and the councilors fled. As Xu Le prepared to leave Chi Xiao’s Little Red Building, he kept his knowledge of the Soul Torch to himself, while the tree stirred beneath it and blood spilled in the High Tower.

• Jin Mingzhu convinced Zhou Bi to help stabilize Lighthouse, profit from airship tickets, and seek an energy and weapons deal with Xu Le.
• As the Soul Torch’s blue flames brightened, crowds fled Lighthouse, the three Upper City councilors departed, and Jin Mingzhu and Zhou Bi took over the city’s remaining government and soldiers.
• Xu Le reviewed research materials collected from Lighthouse University, while he and his companions weathered the chaos at Chi Xiao’s Little Red Building.
• Chi Xiao announced that she was returning to the Red Moon Holy Temple, and Xu Le and Ding Ke saw her off.
• Xu Le withheld information about the tree from Chi Xiao and watched the Soul Torch as he crushed a few unseen ants.
• Thugs sneaked into the unguarded High Tower to search for valuables, and the tree’s trunk twisted as blood ran down the stairs.

Xu Le reflected on how killing had made him colder as Ding Ke explained that powerful beings grew apart from ordinary people. At the Soul Tree’s crown, he met Jin Mingzhu and Zhou Bi, who pleaded with him to save the Lighthouse.

• Xu Le admitted to Ding Ke that killing no longer stirred him, and she explained how advancing in power changed a being’s perspective on ordinary life.
• The Soul Tree lifted Jin Mingzhu and Zhou Bi on a rootstock and carried them toward its crown, where Ding Ke warned them not to touch her.
• Ding Ke led the councilors to Xu Le beside the soul fire, and Jin Mingzhu realized he was connected to the tree.
• Xu Le eased the soul fire’s chill so Jin Mingzhu could keep Zhou Bi warm, then praised Zhou Bi for staying to help the Lighthouse.
• Zhou Bi proposed working with Xu Le to secure affordable energy and weapons, then knelt and begged him to save the Lighthouse.

Xu Le agreed to supply Lighthouse with cheap energy and weapons, then transformed the city with the Soul Tree’s roots as Zhou Bi and Jin Mingzhu organized its people. As Xu Le left for Zion, he revealed the Calamity of the Sky’s power and ordered Lighthouse’s steel, copper, and rare earth minerals sent to Zion.

• Zhou Bi and Jin Mingzhu knelt and asked Xu Le to help Lighthouse, and Xu Le agreed to trade energy and weapons for thirty cents per unit of energy.
• Xu Le told Zhou Bi and Jin Mingzhu to restore order and prepare Lighthouse for the Black Tide, promising further help before it arrived.
• Xu Le made the Soul Tree shake and spread its roots through Lighthouse, while Jin Mingzhu organized the army and Zhou Bi moved residents to the Upper City.
• Xu Le gave Zhou Bi Guyinduo Technological Crystallization and weapons before leaving Lighthouse with his group aboard an airship.
• Jin Mingzhu described the legend of the Primordial Guyinduo Tree to Zhou Bi as they wondered what the growing tree beneath Lighthouse might become.
• Xu Le used the Calamity of the Sky to bring down attacking Bird-Type Oddities, then told Ai Li to demand Lighthouse’s steel, copper, and rare earth minerals for Zion.

Xu Le returned to Zion and told Li Wen he had an urgent plan to discuss: Sky City. Meanwhile, Chi Xiao reported the Lighthouse disaster to Meilis, who learned of Xu Le and ordered someone to contact him.

• Xu Le used his Guyinduo Vision to expand his territory as the airship passed, then admitted he would need a group to go further.
• Ai Li gave Xu Le the resource requisition agreement, and he insisted Zion needed large amounts of steel to build a sturdy city.
• Chi Xiao killed a Warlock who confronted her, then reported Duo Lei’s death and the Lighthouse mission to Meilis.
• Meilis noticed that Chi Xiao’s report omitted Xu Le, reviewed his earlier importance in Duo Lei’s report, and ordered contact with him while offering help to Lighthouse.
• Xu Le returned to a public welcome in Zion and went with Li Wen to discuss an urgent plan instead of attending his reinstatement meeting.
• Xu Le told Li Wen that the plan was Sky City.

Xu Le proposed building a gravity-defying Sky City and persuaded Li Wen to organize its planning and construction. He then turned to his next idea: bringing Ancient God Species into Zion as workers, beginning by asking Toad to help.

• Xu Le revealed that Sky City would be a flying fortress powered by the Guyinduo Core, and Li Wen agreed to gather specialists and materials for the project.
• Xu Le completed his reinstatement ceremony and became a Zion councilor, gaining the right to propose new policies.
• Xu Le planned an Ancient God Species labor initiative, believing Oddities such as Rain Woman could help solve Zion’s food and construction needs.
• Xu Le summoned Toad and pitched a plan for Ancient God Species to live safely among humans in exchange for simple work and a steady food supply.
• Toad questioned why Xu Le expected him to help, and Xu Le tried to persuade him by praising his ambitious, progressive outlook.

Toad opened a snack shop in Zion as Xu Le began his plan to integrate the Ancient God Species into society. Xu Le forced his recruitment policy through the council despite opposition, and Li Wen ordered Wang Anna disposed of after she walked out.

• Toad sold a lollipop to a little girl and began promoting Golden Toad Wonder House, reflecting on whether the Ancient God Species could live alongside humans.
• Zion residents flocked to Toad’s shop, beginning the Ancient God Species’ integration into society.
• Xu Le submitted his Ancient God Species recruitment proposal and faced opposition from the councilors.
• Xu Le invoked his authority to implement the policy, argued that Zion needed strength to face the Red Moon Holy Temple, and drove Wang Anna from the council chamber.
• Li Wen watched Wang Anna leave and ordered Secretary Liu to dispose of her.

After Wang Anna died, Xu Le faced suspicion at the council meeting and pushed ahead with recruiting Ancient God Species. Li Wen admitted he had killed Wang Anna to deter obstruction, while Xu Le later visited Golden Toad and noticed two strangers who seemed to be looking for him.

• News framed Wang Anna's bathtub death as a drinking accident, and the Zion Councilors suspected Xu Le when he arrived at their next meeting.
• Xu Le dismissed the accusations, pressured the councilors, and secured the Ancient God Species recruitment plan for the following Monday.
• Li Wen admitted to Xu Le that he had killed Wang Anna, explaining that her death would discourage others from obstructing Xu Le's policies.
• Xu Le watched Golden Toad interact with children at Zion Tourist Plaza, then promised to bring him fruit that night.
• A striking man and woman spotted Xu Le at the plaza and identified him as the person their mother had mentioned.

Xu Le discovered that Red Moon Holy Temple agents had marked him while he discussed human and Ancient God Species coexistence in an interview. The chapter ended with Duo Min receiving intelligence from Gu Beichen as Mei Li'en was knocked unconscious at Nevernight City.

• Xu Le let reporter Mindo interview him about the possibility of humans and Ancient God Species Oddities coexisting, then found Red Moon Spirit Energy on a mark Mindo had left on his hand.
• Ai Li returned with a severed finger from the person who had been watching Xu Le, and Xu Le decided to send Gu Beichen instructions at the Furnace.
• Duo Min and Mei Li'en discussed their contact with Xu Le and waited for Gu Beichen at the Red Moon Holy Temple's informant outpost.
• Gu Beichen arrived late, disguised as a drunken reveler, and Duo Min asked him to share what he knew about Xu Le.
• Mei Li'en went to Nevernight City, where a bald man called him Strong Fool and struck him unconscious with an ashtray.