Chapter Summaries

After the others left the Mother Tree Realm, Xu Le and Chi Xiao discussed the Mother Tree’s strange behavior and the possibility that it was preparing to create perpetual daylight. They agreed that Chi Xiao would help Xu Le reclaim Lightforging’s remains in Tianrui Lifeng, while Zhang Ji gained new power from an Ash Fruit.

• Shorty and the others left the Mother Tree Realm, and Wang Wei departed after Xu Le told him to step into the darkness.
• Xu Le hid nearby while Chi Xiao answered Liu Lan’s questions, then reappeared after Liu Lan left and asked about the missing Large Insect.
• Chi Xiao explained that she had killed the Large Insect and judged Liu Lan to be pretending, then gave Xu Le an Element Fusion Fruit to process for her.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao suspected the Mother Tree was gestating a plan to restore Lightforging’s power and bring perpetual daylight, potentially weakening darkness and the Red Moon.
• Xu Le suggested the Mother Tree might have summoned the insects during the Black Tide and asked to reclaim Lightforging’s remains in Tianrui Lifeng; Chi Xiao agreed to help him.
• In Tianrui Lifeng, Zhang Ji beheaded Xu Daqiang, ate an Ash Fruit, and felt a powerful heat surge through his body.

After eating the Ash Fruit, Zhang Ji transformed into an insect-like creature and flew toward Tianrui Lifeng after hearing a mysterious call. Xu Le and Chi Xiao traced the fruit’s power, then Xu Le considered who should receive his Night Demon Fruits while Chang Fengle and Bai Jing prepared their battered groups for further growth.

• Zhang Ji developed compound eyes, needlelike hairs, wings, and a destructive ash flame after eating the Ash Fruit, then followed an ancient voice toward Tianrui Lifeng.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao discussed the Element Fusion Fruit and learned that someone had eaten the Ash Fruit, which had formed from Slaughter, chaos, and Chi Xiao’s lingering flames.
• Xu Le took two Night Demon Fruits and considered giving them to Chang Fengle and Bai Jing to control the growth of the Tree Herders and Polluters.
• Chang Fengle and Bai Jing assessed their groups’ losses after the Black Tide, and Chang Fengle urged Bai Jing not to remain indecisive.
• Chang Fengle sent the Tree Herder members home with their spoils and promised rewards after dark, while Oddity corpses were gathered around the factory tree and his own tree remained in the basement.

Xu Le reunited with Ai Li and left Bai Jing to pursue her own growth, while Chi Xiao returned to Xiao and faced Jidu’s refusal to fight. At Xiao’s meeting, Chi Xiao sensed Xu Le’s dark power in Zhang Ji and questioned him about the Mercenary who had carried it.

• Chang Fengle left the factory sewer, and Xu Le attached the Night Demon Fruit to his Soul Tree before heading to find Bai Jing.
• Xu Le reunited passionately with Ai Li at Bai Jing’s location, while Bai Jing learned they knew each other and remained uncertain about advancing to Level 4.
• Xu Le and Ai Li left for a hotel, and Xu Le told Bai Jing to rely on herself for her growth.
• Chi Xiao returned to Xiao and asked Jidu for a fight, but he refused and urged her to consider finding a boyfriend.
• Jidu began Xiao’s meeting, but Zhang Ji arrived late, and Chi Xiao sensed Xu Le’s dark power in him and asked whether he had killed the Mercenary.

Chi Xiao confronted Zhang Ji over a mercenary’s death, then listened as Jidu revealed that the Red Moon Holy Temple was divided by internal conflict. The meeting ended with Xiao considering a plan to exploit the split, while Chi Xiao raised the subject of insects.

• Chi Xiao demanded to know whether Zhang Ji had killed a mercenary, and he said he had executed the man for colluding with the Red Moon Holy Temple.
• Jidu urged Chi Xiao to hold back, and she agreed while privately concluding that she could defeat him in a fight.
• Jidu explained that the Red Moon Lineage and Holy Temple Lineage were fighting, and Chi Xiao described the differences between their members.
• Chi Xiao asked for a concrete proposal before agreeing to contact the Holy Temple Lineage, so Jidu made splitting the Red Moon Holy Temple Xiao’s next major objective.
• As Jidu prepared to end the meeting, Chi Xiao said she wanted to ask about the insects she had encountered the previous night.

Chi Xiao noticed signs that Zhang Ji was becoming an insect-like creature but chose not to expose him, while she challenged Jidu to a fight and he refused. After feeding on a man, Zhang Ji followed an insect signal to the ruins, where Jidu revealed himself and introduced the Devourers.

• Chi Xiao observed Zhang Ji’s pale fuzz, twitching ears, and hidden wings while the meeting addressed how to investigate and remove the insects from Tianrui Lifeng.
• Chi Xiao left Zhang Ji alone, then challenged Jidu to a fight, but Jidu refused because he did not want to risk infighting before dealing with the Red Moon Holy Temple.
• Zhang Ji returned to his safe house, transformed, killed a man for flesh and blood, and realized the fruit’s power had made him a slave to something.
• Zhang Ji followed rhythmic signals out of the city to the ruins, where red-and-gold insects gathered before him.
• Zhang Ji crushed one insect, which became black liquid and spawned Black-Spot Insects that devoured the ruins.
• Jidu emerged from the void and called the Black-Spot Insects Devourers, surprising Zhang Ji.

Jidu persuaded Zhang Ji to learn to control the Insect King's Power and carry Devourer Mother Insects to Tianrui Lifeng's eastern Heroes' Monument. Elsewhere, Bai Jing and Chang Fengle ate mysterious fruits, while Xu Le and Ai Li also began eating fruits above the sewer.

• Jidu explained the Devourers' power and short lifespan, then asked Zhang Ji to take Devourer Mother Insects to the eastern Heroes' Monument in Tianrui Lifeng; Zhang Ji agreed after Jidu promised to teach him control.
• Chi Xiao returned home, struggled to cook instant noodles, and went to sleep planning to eat something better with Xu Le after waking.
• Bai Jing returned to her family home to collect her documents and leave, found a black fruit in a drawer, and ate it, transforming as a tail grew from her body.
• Chang Fengle distributed Lightning Fruits to the Tree Herders, then found a single extraordinary black fruit growing on the sewer tree and ate it.
• Xu Le and Ai Li stood above the sewer and ate fruits from a plastic bag, and Ai Li felt electricity enter her body.

After the Black Tide, Xu Le identified swarms of harmless-looking insects as Peeping Hounds and sent Ai Li, Bai Jing, and Chang Fengle to collect and investigate them. He also taught Chang Fengle to use the Night Demon Fruit’s darkness powers, leaving Chang Fengle able to merge into darkness and see Night Demons.

• Xu Le returned home with Ai Li, rested while she massaged his shoulders, and explained that he was more exhausted than usual after the Black Tide.
• Xu Le spotted the Peeping Hounds’ oddity classification and told Ai Li that the insects might be connected to the hidden Large Insect.
• Xu Le ordered Chang Fengle to gather and classify insects, then explained that his Night Demon Fruit was an intermediate creature fruit and began teaching him to master its darkness powers.
• Chang Fengle learned to merge into darkness, and Xu Le told him that mastering the fruit could ultimately transform him into a Night Demon.
• Chang Fengle followed Xu Le’s instructions to merge with the darkness and saw pairs of eyes, realizing they belonged to Night Demons.

Xu Le examined rare insects and theorized that the Gundo Mother Tree had recruited them to locate Lightforging’s limbs. He and Chi Xiao decided to investigate Danong Pool, where they suspected a powerful, high-ranking protector was shielding the insects.

• Xu Le left Chang Fengle among the Night Demons to learn to live with his new Night Demon abilities, then returned home.
• Ai Li brought Xu Le carefully sorted insect specimens, and he identified three rare insects with talents related to magnetism, faith, and pinpointing locations.
• Chi Xiao arrived and shared the insects her people had collected; Xu Le said their poor handling had made many specimens unusable.
• Xu Le told Chi Xiao his hypothesis that the Gundo Mother Tree had turned to insects after losing its other helpers, and that they might be searching for Lightforging’s limbs.
• Chi Xiao revealed that she knew one Lightforging sealing site was at Danong Pool, so Xu Le proposed investigating it and finding whoever was protecting the insects.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao investigated Dalong Reservoir for a sealed part of Lightforging while Xu Le searched underground with his Soul Tree roots. They found swarms of insects throughout the reservoir but no sign of the relic, and Chi Xiao suggested evaporating the water.

• Chi Xiao told Xu Le that Zhang Ji had gained a strange aura and displayed insect-like reactions, but neither of them could locate him.
• Xu Le and Chi Xiao went to Dalong Reservoir, where Ai Li searched for and collected rare insects.
• Chi Xiao confirmed that part of Lightforging was sealed somewhere at the reservoir, while a hazy power blocked Xu Le's attempt to sense it.
• Xu Le used Soul Tree-Dead Root to search underground and discovered insects covering the reservoir and its surroundings, with no Lightforging found.
• Chi Xiao proposed burning the pool and evaporating its water.

Xu Le, Chi Xiao, and Ai Li investigated the dried reservoir for Lightforging’s sealed limbs, while Xu Le used Lightforging’s power despite its unsettling risks. He discovered a hidden prism-like seal above the pool, identifying it as the location of the Lightforging Hand.

• Chi Xiao evaporated the reservoir with Sun's Tears and sent the Divine Image Society guards away after warning them that One-Eye was working there.
• Xu Le, Chi Xiao, and Ai Li entered the exposed pit, where Xu Le reasoned that the insects and their master knew the seal’s location, suggesting Tianrui Lifeng’s upper ranks had been infiltrated.
• After Ai Li found no useful scents, Xu Le decided to use Lightforging’s ability to locate the seal while Chi Xiao guarded him.
• Xu Le reached Lightforging’s spore in his Soul World and endured its blinding light under Night Fiend’s protection, using darkness to shield his vision.
• Xu Le used Lightforging Energy to reveal a concealed prism about five meters above the pool and identified it as the Lightforging Hand.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao uncovered and retrieved the sealed Lightforging Arm at Dalong Reservoir, but the insect invasion forced them to separate as Chi Xiao fought a Legendary Void Breather and Xu Le traced the insects to Tianrui Lifeng’s Heroes' Monument. There, Xu Le sensed another sealed Lightforging body and a familiar aura linked to the fruit that had been eaten.

• Guyinduo compelled Xu Le to open the hidden seal at Dalong Reservoir, revealing the Lightforging Arm, which Chi Xiao stored in her Alternate Space.
• Insects emerged around the reservoir, and Xu Le deduced that they had multiplied by feeding on Black Tide Oddity corpses, possibly with help from someone inside Tianrui Lifeng.
• Chi Xiao fought the Legendary Void Breather, recognized that its energy left marks capable of opening a passage between worlds, and blasted apart half its face before Jidu arrived.
• Xu Le and Ai Li followed the insects through the air to the Heroes' Monument, where they found the insects swarming the monuments and suspected another Lightforging body was sealed there.
• Xu Le sensed darkness and ash energy at the monument and wondered whether it came from the fruit that had been eaten.

Xu Le watched Zhang Ji lead a successful battle against the insect swarm, but divination and Ai Li’s senses revealed Zhang Ji had secretly planted insect eggs on the Heroes' Monument. When the eggs hatched into insects that devoured energy, air, and space, Xu Le and Ai Li retreated and were accused of being insect spies.

• Zhang Ji led gang members and mercenaries in defeating the insects near the Heroes' Monument while Xu Le and Ai Li watched from a rooftop.
• Xu Le divined that Zhang Ji was a puppet controlled by someone else, but held back from confronting him as Zhang Ji gained the group’s trust.
• Zhang Ji inspected all thirteen monument tablets and secretly planted black insect eggs in their inscriptions before leading everyone away.
• Ai Li detected insects on the tablets, and Xu Le illuminated the inscriptions to reveal the black specks.
• The specks hatched into dangerous insects that devoured the monument and Xu Le’s afterimage, forcing Xu Le and Ai Li to retreat.
• Someone called Xu Le and Ai Li insect-race spies and ordered them captured.

Xu Le unleashed deadly wide-area attacks against Zhang Ji’s forces, revealing a chilling indifference to killing as he confronted Zhang Ji. After Zhang Ji’s men died, Zhang Ji transformed into an insect-like creature and attacked Xu Le, who answered with Demon Eye - Stasis.

• Zhang Ji ordered his mercenaries to capture Xu Le and Ai Li, and Xu Le sent Ai Li back before facing them alone.
• Xu Le used Taboo-Dance of Thorns to kill over a hundred mercenaries and showed no remorse for their deaths.
• Xu Le summoned the Tree Herder and used Evil Curse Blackwater to spread Zhang Ji’s decaying flames among the mercenaries, killing them in droves.
• Zhang Ji held back while his forces died, then transformed with Ashes Flapping Wings and charged at Xu Le.
• Xu Le underwent Elementalization and activated Demon Eye - Stasis against Zhang Ji.

Xu Le defeated Zhang Ji, but a distant attacker struck him with powerful red lightning and nearly killed him. A golden Cross-Shaped Pupil appeared from the Dark Vortex to stop the attack, while Zhang Ji was ordered to retrieve the Lightforged right leg.

• Xu Le turned the fight around with Demon Eye and Element Boundary-Crossing Gate, then restrained Zhang Ji with Darkness Grasp.
• Xu Le cut off Zhang Ji’s wings, pierced his heart with the Black Sword, and absorbed his heart energy as a fear fruit.
• A distant attacker sent red lightning at Xu Le, piercing his defenses and destroying his lower body.
• Xu Le survived with the Substitute Life Technique and escaped into the Dark Vortex, where a golden Cross-Shaped Pupil stopped the attacker’s next strike.
• The attacker rebuked Zhang Ji for losing to a Level 4 Warlock and ordered him to retrieve the thing.
• Zhang Ji went to the corroded stone tablets and began materializing the Lightforged right leg.

After Black Sheep rescued Xu Le, they struck a bargain for three tall Soul Trees in exchange for Black Sheep’s help, and Xu Le reunited with Ai Li. Meanwhile, Chi Xiao and Jidu fought a Void Breather, and Chi Xiao asked Jidu whether Teacher had told him about the Lightforging Body.

• Black Sheep demanded chewy roots as repayment for rescuing Xu Le, and Xu Le negotiated a deal for three Soul Trees over ten meters tall in exchange for Black Sheep’s help once.
• After Zhang Ji left, Ai Li found Xu Le, who explained that a powerful enemy had nearly killed him and said they would collect two trees before going to Chi Xiao.
• Jidu joined Chi Xiao’s fight against the Void Breather and struck it hard enough to draw Chi Xiao’s approval.
• Chi Xiao burned the Insect Race corpses and asked Jidu whether Teacher had ever told him about the Lightforging Body.

Chi Xiao discussed Lightforging’s sealed body parts with Jidu, then Xu Le and Ai Li made their way through insect-attacked Tianrui Lifeng. After using Lightforging’s power to locate Chi Xiao, Xu Le reached her in the Mother Tree Realm and warned that a high-ranking Tianrui Lifeng official had defected.

• Chi Xiao told Jidu that she had seized Lightforging’s arm from the insects, and Jidu said he knew the location of another sealed site.
• Jidu left to investigate that site while Chi Xiao turned back to the burning Void Insect and wondered about his arrival and the earlier battle near Xu Le.
• Xu Le and Ai Li traveled through the chaotic city toward Chi Xiao as Xu Le prepared a new Substitute Life Technique and explained his developing teleportation Spell Formula.
• At the site of Chi Xiao’s battle, Xu Le used Lightforging’s power to sense the other body parts and locate Chi Xiao, then entered the Mother Tree Realm.
• Xu Le told Chi Xiao that a high-ranking Tianrui Lifeng official capable of coordinating the response had defected.

Xu Le and Chi Xiao identified a powerful attacker as a likely Legendary and agreed to split up to pursue the remaining Lightforging body parts. After negotiating with the Gundo Mother Tree for unrestricted access to Lightforging’s power, Xu Le located the attacker and sent Chi Xiao to investigate, where she found Jidu alone.

• Xu Le explained that the insects’ numbers suggested a nest near the Black Tide Oddity disposal site and described the attacker who had shattered his defenses with red lightning.
• Chi Xiao concluded the attacker was likely a Legendary and agreed to pursue them while Xu Le tracked the other Lightforging body parts.
• Xu Le exchanged information with the Gundo Mother Tree, securing her promise not to interfere with his use of Lightforging’s rules.
• Using Lightforging energy, Xu Le pinpointed the attacker 146 kilometers northwest, and Chi Xiao gave him Lightforging’s arm before they split up.
• Xu Le reunited with Ai Li and set off to find another target while Chi Xiao reached the sealing point and found only Jidu.

Chi Xiao discovered that Jidu had destroyed the Lightforging seal and stolen the Lightforging Body, so they fought with powerful Spell Formulas. Meanwhile, Xu Le ambushed Zhang Ji, who consumed the last section of the Lightforging arm and transformed; Xu Le summoned Golden Toad Toad to face him.

• Chi Xiao exposed Jidu's illusion over the destroyed Lightforging seal and confronted him for stealing the Lightforging Body.
• Jidu and Chi Xiao exchanged attacks, including red lightning, iron weapons, and Chi Xiao's Flame Emperor, while Jidu revealed a Substitute Life Technique.
• Xu Le and Ai Li raced to Zhang Ji and ambushed him, piercing his chest and destroying his heart.
• Zhang Ji released Devouring Insects, then ate the last section of the Lightforging arm and began transforming with its energy.
• Xu Le blocked Zhang Ji's chaotic Light Blade, moved Ai Li back, and summoned Golden Toad Toad.

Xu Le fought Zhang Ji after Lightforging transformed him into a monstrous form, but a hidden signal from the Gundo Mother Tree left Xu Le frozen while Toad and Ai Li sacrificed themselves to protect him. Refusing to escape, Xu Le consumed the Lightforging limb and began transforming into a Child of Guyinduo, ending the chapter as he blocked Zhang Ji’s attack with a newly restored Lightforging arm.

• Xu Le, Toad, and Ai Li attacked Zhang Ji, and Xu Le pierced his skull with the Black Sword, but Zhang Ji reformed as a swarm of insects hiding a powerful Light Blade.
• Zhang Ji’s Light Blade tore apart Xu Le’s body and nearly exhausted his Substitute Life uses, while Xu Le froze after seeing Zhang Ji’s complete Lightforging form.
• Toad broke his Steel Fork and took a Light Blade meant for Xu Le, then Ai Li pushed Xu Le aside and sacrificed herself against Zhang Ji’s next attack.
• Xu Le realized the Gundo Mother Tree had planted a signal in their information exchange that trapped him in the Tranquil State, and he discarded the Black Staff that could have taken him to Night Fiend.
• Xu Le bit into the Lightforging limb and struggled to process the flood of energy and information, while Zhang Ji declared that he was Lightforging.
• Xu Le’s missing body parts were restored as he instinctively blocked Zhang Ji’s Light Blade with a Lightforging arm.

Xu Le devoured Zhang Ji and the Mother Tree’s projection, stabilized his life-form, and revived Ai Li and Toad as Level 5 beings. As Xu Le collapsed from exhaustion, Chi Xiao seized an opening against Jidu and trapped him beneath a sky full of magma.

• Xu Le rejected the Mother Tree’s plan for him to become a new Child of Guyinduo, then used Night Fiend’s Approval to contaminate his lightforged body with darkness as his life-form began to aberrate.
• Xu Le pierced Zhang Ji with the Soul Tree, devoured his powers, gained four Mystery-type fruits, and ate them to complete his life-form as Forbidden Warlock Level 5-Soul Devouring.
• Xu Le revived Ai Li and Toad in newly constructed bodies, and both awakened as Level 5 beings before Xu Le collapsed into Ai Li’s arms.
• Xu Le devoured the Mother Tree’s projection, retracted his aberrations, and left the Mother Tree’s delighted laughter to reach Chi Xiao during her fight with Jidu.
• Chi Xiao turned the earth into magma, concealed it in the clouds, then unleashed Spell Formula—Purgatory Flame Rock Burial on Jidu.