Chapter Summaries

Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan crossed the Anchor Severing Layer, where Xie Wu tried to force Xu Zhihan to reclaim his fourth Fragment by making Lu Wenchuan suffer. Xu Zhihan rejected the trap and freed Lu Wenchuan, but the Fragment opened the door to the fourth layer, Return to Godhood, leaving them to retreat rather than advance.

• Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan entered the downward slope, where bronze tags bearing the names of past Fate Lines hung in the air.
• A white nail pinned Lu Wenchuan's shadow, and he chose to cut his own bronze tag despite Xie Wu's warning that it would show Ji Heng's final moments.
• Xie Wu urged Xu Zhihan to take back his fourth Fragment to spare Lu Wenchuan, but Xu Zhihan refused and cracked the nail by declaring that Lu Wenchuan belonged to himself.
• Xu Zhihan shattered the white nail and freed Lu Wenchuan, defeating the Anchor Severing Layer's first round.
• The fourth Fragment's containment box broke open and revealed a door to the fourth layer, Return to Godhood, so Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan retreated.

Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan left the open fourth-level door behind and returned to Headquarters, where True Shen Cheng revealed that the Return-to-God Layer would force Xu Zhihan to choose between names. Lu Wenchuan learned that an anchor could answer for Xu Zhihan once, and Xu Zhihan warned him not to do it.

• Song Zhixia took the fourth divinity fragment from Xu Zhihan and sealed it in an Isolation Box while the fourth-level door remained open.
• Xu Zhihan identified the vision beyond the door as a divine throne shadow and explained that the Oracle Tower would grow more desperate as the fragment stayed away.
• Lu Wenchuan convinced Xu Zhihan to return to Headquarters to recover rather than enter the fourth level while wounded.
• True Shen Cheng said the Return-to-God Layer would open through a name and force Xu Zhihan to choose, with a wrong choice sending him back to the Divine Throne.
• True Shen Cheng revealed that an anchor could answer once, and Lu Wenchuan offered himself before Xu Zhihan warned him to keep quiet.

After the fourth layer revealed that Xu Zhihan might be forced to choose among three names, the team found a keepsake from Lin Wan that could anchor his human identity. Xu Zhihan decided to enter the return-to-god layer, with Lu Wenchuan insisting on going despite his injuries.

• The Director revealed that the return-to-god gate required three names: Xu Zhihan, the divine spark’s true name, and the Old Gods Society’s title, “Cold Judgment.”
• Xu Zhihan said speaking the divine spark’s true name would let the gate hear it, while the team considered whether Lu Wenchuan could answer in his place.
• Xu Mingji brought Xu Zhihan a silver name tag from Lin Wan, engraved with “Zhihan” and her message that he was Xu Zhihan first.
• Xu Zhihan wore the name tag, and the knocking from the fourth Fragment’s containment case stopped.
• Xu Zhihan said they should enter the return-to-god layer, and Lu Wenchuan insisted on accompanying him despite their disagreement.

Xu Zhihan rejected the Return-to-God Layer’s demand to reclaim his names and Divine Spark, using the Silver Nameplate to resist while the fourth Fragment marked it. He escaped with Lu Wenchuan, but the layer declared that the Fifth Layer would take the Anchor.

• Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan entered the Return-to-God Layer and faced three doors offering Xu Zhihan different identities and paths back to godhood.
• The fourth Fragment escaped its containment box, and Xu Zhihan used the Silver Nameplate to refuse the Divine Throne’s claim on his name and Divine Spark.
• The Divine Throne tried to force Lu Wenchuan to answer in Xu Zhihan’s place, but Xu Zhihan rejected both the Anchor’s answer and his own return.
• Xu Zhihan claimed the name Xu Zhihan for himself, returned Cold Judgment to the Old Gods Society, and kept the Divine Spark’s true name hidden.
• Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan escaped as the layer announced that the Fifth Layer would take the Anchor, and Lu Wenchuan said they would see whether it could take him.

The Oracle Tower targeted Lu Wenchuan as the Anchor for its fifth level, threatening to draw in others connected to Xu Zhihan. Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan prepared to enter with a fake Anchor, and the chapter ended as they approached the waiting door.

• Song Zhixia treated Lu Wenchuan's injured wrist while Xu Zhihan watched.
• The Deputy Captain reported that the fifth-level door now demanded the Anchor, and the Director warned that the Oracle Tower was searching for people connected to Xu Zhihan.
• Lu Wenchuan proposed using Ji Heng's Counter-Tether as a fake Anchor, with Xu Zhihan severing its temporary link to his fate line.
• Xu Zhihan challenged Lu Wenchuan for putting himself at risk, and Lu Wenchuan admitted the fifth level was coming for him.
• Song Zhixia and the Director set precautions, and Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan left for the fifth-level door.

Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan entered the Fifth Layer with a fake anchor made from Ji Heng’s Student ID and stopped the White Nail from striking it. They discovered the layer was trying to turn Lu Wenchuan into a Divine Throne anchor, then withdrew as the fake anchor spoke in Ji Heng’s voice.

• Xu Zhihan used golden light to shape a fake anchor from Lu Wenchuan’s Student ID, and the Fifth Layer’s white light dragged it inside.
• Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan followed the fake anchor across a platform lined with objects tied to their past cases.
• Lu Wenchuan cut the lines holding the descending White Nail, stopping it before it could strike the fake anchor at the ticket gate.
• The ticket gate revealed wristbands bearing Lu Wenchuan’s name, and Xie Wu explained that they would change him into a Divine Throne anchor.
• Xie Wu’s force dragged Lu Wenchuan toward the steps, but Xu Zhihan pulled him back and ordered a retreat.
• The fake anchor turned toward Lu Wenchuan, spoke in Ji Heng’s voice, and the platform lights went dark.

Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan destroyed the Anchor Extraction Platform and the Old Gods Society’s First Anchor Nail, preventing Lu Wenchuan’s Anchor from being extracted and collapsing the Fifth Layer. The Sixth Layer appeared in the ashes, promising to take a life.

• Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan descended to the Anchor Extraction Platform after Xie Wu’s false anchor shadow tried to deceive them.
• The platform’s three shadows offered choices to extract Lu Wenchuan’s Anchor, take the Divine Spark, or exchange a life, while Lu Wenchuan discovered the Formation Core and its bell.
• Xu Zhihan used the Silver Nameplate to reject the platform’s claims over their names and Ji Heng’s Student ID, while Lu Wenchuan cut the bell without using blood.
• Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan broke the Old Gods Society’s First Anchor Nail together, collapsing the Anchor Extraction Platform and the Fifth Layer.
• Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan escaped the collapsing Air-Raid Shelter, and the words Sixth Layer, Life-Taking appeared in the ashes.

After the fifth layer collapsed, the sixth layer began drawing Lu Wenchuan’s Fate Line toward the underground drainage channel because it recognized his blood. Xu Zhihan went down first to hold the entrance, but the sixth layer linked a red thread to Lu Wenchuan and began taking his life.

• Song Zhixia treated Lu Wenchuan’s shoulder while the Director reported that the sixth layer had stopped spreading but appeared to be waiting.
• Song Zhixia discovered that the sixth layer could recognize Lu Wenchuan’s blood and gradually pull his Fate Line toward it.
• Xu Zhihan learned that the sixth layer lay beneath the Air-Raid Shelter and offered to hold the drainage channel entrance while Lu Wenchuan stayed eight steps behind him.
• Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan found a narrow door in the white light over the underground water, marked with Lu Wenchuan’s name.
• A pale hand reached through the door and connected a red thread to Lu Wenchuan’s old wrist wound, and Xie Wu warned that the sixth layer wanted Lu Wenchuan’s life.

Xu Zhihan closed the main sluice gate and used the Silver Nameplate to sever the line binding Lu Wenchuan to the sixth level. The doorway opened to reveal an unbreathing Lu Wenchuan on a hospital bed, and Xie Wu said the sixth level was only beginning.

• Xu Zhihan entered the channel despite Xie Wu’s warnings, while Lu Wenchuan endured the tightening Red Line.
• Lu Wenchuan told Xu Zhihan to find and close the main sluice gate, and Xu Zhihan crossed the channel to shut it.
• As the water receded, the Deputy Captain identified the main line beneath the narrow doorway, and Xu Zhihan used the Silver Nameplate to break it.
• The Deputy Captain’s team pinned down the exposed outer lines, and Lu Wenchuan was freed from the Red Line.
• The narrow doorway opened to reveal Lu Wenchuan lying motionless on a hospital bed, and Xie Wu declared that the sixth level was only beginning.

Xu Zhihan rejected Xie Wu’s demand to take the Fragment from Lu Wenchuan and instead removed the White Nail draining Lu Wenchuan’s life. They escaped the collapsing sixth layer, but the seventh layer opened with the trial named Anchor Sacrifice.

• Xu Zhihan entered the Life-Taking Room alone while Xie Wu threatened Lu Wenchuan’s life to force him to choose whether to retrieve Lu Wenchuan’s Fragment.
• Xu Zhihan rejected Xie Wu’s two choices, and Lu Wenchuan declared that his life belonged to himself.
• Xu Zhihan used the Silver Nameplate to collapse the false hospital scene and pulled the White Nail from the outer layer of Lu Wenchuan’s Fate Line.
• Xu Zhihan drove the White Nail into Xie Wu, and Lu Wenchuan pulled Xu Zhihan out of the collapsing room after giving him the crumpled candy.
• Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan escaped the sixth layer, but Lu Wenchuan’s condition worsened as the seventh layer opened with the trial Anchor Sacrifice.

Lu Wenchuan was brought back to Headquarters after the Seventh Layer wounded him, while Xu Zhihan and the others learned that the Altar required an anchor’s blood, name, and wish. The Altar revealed it would use four people, including Xu Zhihan, to force Lu Wenchuan to sacrifice himself, and its preparations had begun.

• Song Zhixia treated Lu Wenchuan in the Medical Vehicle while Xu Zhihan stayed beside him and held onto the Mint Candy.
• The Director reported that the Seventh Layer had stopped at the bottom of the Air-Raid Shelter, where the Technical Team detected an altar-like energy reaction.
• At Headquarters, Xu Zhihan learned that the Altar required anchor blood, name, and wish, and Song Zhixia said it wanted Lu Wenchuan to step onto it willingly.
• The screen showed Ji Heng, Lin Wan, True Shen Cheng, and Xu Zhihan as figures the Altar would use to force Lu Wenchuan to sacrifice himself.
• Lu Wenchuan got out of bed to see the scan, but Song Zhixia had him returned to his room after Xu Zhihan warned him not to go back.
• The Altar displayed that the anchor wish would soon be fulfilled, as Xu Zhihan’s spectral figure smiled at the camera.

Xu Zhihan and the others discovered that Xie Wu was gathering substitute wishes to forge Lu Wenchuan’s consent for the Anchor Sacrifice. Xu Zhihan entered the seventh layer with Lu Wenchuan so he could deny the false wish himself, and they faced the Altar together.

• Xu Zhihan warned Lu Wenchuan that the Anchor Sacrifice needed his wish and left him candy to remind him to return alive.
• The Director and Song Zhixia learned that Xie Wu was using dreams and connections to gather substitute wishes on Lu Wenchuan’s behalf.
• Xu An’s Peace Amulet reacted, and Xu An and True Shen Cheng revealed that Xie Wu was collecting substitute wishes to create a false anchor wish.
• True Shen Cheng said Lu Wenchuan had to deny the false wish inside the Anchor Sacrifice Layer, with someone accompanying him but not answering for him.
• Xu Zhihan joined Lu Wenchuan at the seventh-layer gate, and they entered together as Ji Heng called to Lu Wenchuan from within.

Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan faced the Seventh Layer’s Anchor Wish, where Xie Wu tried to tempt Lu Wenchuan into sacrificing himself. They escaped after Lu Wenchuan refused, but the Eighth Layer, Returning Guilt, opened before them.

• Xie Wu used false apparitions of Ji Heng, Lin Wan, True Shen Cheng, and Xu Zhihan to tempt Lu Wenchuan into climbing onto the altar.
• Xu Zhihan struck the false Xu Zhihan apparition and told Lu Wenchuan he would return to the human world without Lu Wenchuan sacrificing his life.
• Lu Wenchuan rejected the Anchor Wish and declared that his life was not a sacrifice for anyone, breaking the altar’s Anchor Nails.
• Xu Zhihan pinned Xie Wu beneath the broken Anchor Nails as the Seventh Layer collapsed, then pulled Lu Wenchuan’s hospital bed toward the exit.
• Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan returned to the underground channel, where Song Zhixia found them and the words “Eighth Layer, Returning Guilt” appeared.

The Eighth Layer, Returning Guilt, surfaced and tried to make Xu Zhihan accept responsibility for the old crimes tied to the Xu Family and other groups. After Xu Zhihan got several perpetrators to confess, the Layer shifted its target to Lu Wenchuan, and Xu Zhihan left the Medical Room to confront it.

• The Eighth Layer appeared in the Air-Raid Shelter and named Xu Zhihan at the center of a ring of old debts.
• Xu Zhihan confronted Xu Chengyuan, who admitted his crimes, causing one Black Line to snap back into him.
• Zhou Man confessed to her own actions, and Zhao Huaide recited the names of the children he had betrayed; their guilt lines snapped back.
• The Returning Guilt Layer shifted its target to Lu Wenchuan, whose Fate Line reading fell as the door named him.
• Xu Zhihan left the Medical Room despite Lu Wenchuan's warning not to go alone, and the door displayed both their names.

Xu Zhihan used the evidence and the voices of the dead to assign old debts to those responsible, collapsing most of the Gate of Blame. Xie Wu then exposed its final layer, which opened onto a courtroom with an empty chair inviting Xu Zhihan to stand trial.

• Xu Zhihan gathered the old evidence in the Evidence Room and called on the spirits connected to it to speak.
• Zhou Yu, Xu Mingji, Xu An, True Shen Cheng, and Ji Heng’s Student ID assigned debts to their responsible parties and cleared Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan of blame.
• Xu Zhihan declared that Lin Wan did not owe repayment for those she failed to save and that her choices and the name she left him belonged to her.
• Xie Wu claimed the Old Gods Society’s untraceable debt should fall on Xu Zhihan, but Xu Zhihan identified Xie Wu as the source and drove the Society’s lines into his mask.
• The Gate of Blame’s outer ring collapsed, revealing a black courtroom and an empty chair marked for a trial.

Xu Zhihan resisted Xie Wu’s attempt to force him onto the Judgment Seat and returned the Old Gods Society’s nameless crimes to their sources, collapsing the eighth floor. The judgment revealed a door to the ninth floor and the Tower Master, leaving Xu Zhihan and the injured Lu Wenchuan to face the next level.

• Lu Wenchuan left the hospital despite Song Zhixia’s warning and reached the Judgment Hall as Xu Zhihan faced the empty Judgment Seat.
• Xie Wu urged Xu Zhihan to sit, but Lu Wenchuan reminded him that the seat belonged to the Divine Throne and that the Old Gods Society’s crimes should be returned to their perpetrators and system.
• Xu Zhihan used the Silver Nameplate to assign the nameless accounts to the Old Gods Society, Oracle Tower, and those responsible, then dragged Xie Wu’s Remnant Face into the Judgment Hall and named him as the first divine oracle vessel.
• Xu Zhihan called the names onto the Blank Spirit Tablets without sitting, causing the eighth floor to collapse as Lu Wenchuan waited at the entrance.
• The final tablet revealed the Oracle Tower Master, and a door to the ninth floor opened; Xu Zhihan helped Lu Wenchuan leave as the Judgment Hall fell into black ash.

After the eighth layer collapsed, Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan recovered in the Medical Vehicle before the Tower Master opened the Ninth Layer and offered Xu Zhihan a way to sever Lu Wenchuan from the Oracle Tower. Lu Wenchuan saw Xu Zhihan consider the offer and warned that if he meant to push him away, they did not need to enter the Ninth Layer.

• Song Zhixia treated Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan while the Director reported activity on the Ninth Layer.
• The Ninth Layer opened with a request for an audience, and its Tower Master introduced himself as Shen Yu.
• Shen Yu explained the Oracle Tower's origins and showed Xu Zhihan photographs of Lu Wenchuan dying beside him across multiple layers.
• Shen Yu offered Xu Zhihan a Mortal Realm Severance Agreement that would stop the Oracle Tower from pulling Lu Wenchuan into its trials.
• Xu Zhihan destroyed Shen Yu's image, but Lu Wenchuan accused him of considering the agreement and said they did not need to enter the Ninth Layer if Xu Zhihan planned to push him away.

Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan confronted their disagreement over whether to separate for safety, then chose to enter the ninth floor together. Shen Yu showed them countless dying versions of Lu Wenchuan and said he still had the outcome.

• Xu Zhihan studied Shen Yu's footage while Lu Wenchuan left his hospital bed to confront him about considering the severance agreement.
• Xu Zhihan admitted he feared Lu Wenchuan would die, but Lu Wenchuan insisted he wanted to live with Xu Zhihan rather than be pushed away.
• Song Zhixia checked Lu Wenchuan's wound after Xu Zhihan helped him sit down, while the ninth-floor door reacted again and displayed medical records for both men.
• Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan decided to enter the ninth floor together despite their injuries and Song Zhixia's objections.
• Shen Yu showed Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan a snowy field filled with dying versions of Lu Wenchuan and said he still had the outcome.

In the Ninth Layer, Shen Yu tried to make Xu Zhihan abandon Lu Wenchuan by showing visions of Lu’s death and warning that their bond put them both in danger. Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan defeated Shen Yu’s layer and reached the Tenth Layer, leaving Xu’s answer about what Lu meant to him unresolved.

• Shen Yu showed Xu Zhihan Lu Wenchuan’s damaged Fate Line and warned that staying together would lead to Lu’s death.
• Lu Wenchuan confronted Xu Zhihan about planning to enter the Tenth Layer alone and insisted he wanted to live with him.
• Phantoms of Lu Wenchuan urged Xu Zhihan to push him away, but Lu told Xu he would never say those words.
• When Lu asked what he was to him, Xu Zhihan tore up Shen Yu’s Severance Letter and promised to answer before the Tenth Layer.
• Xu Zhihan attacked Shen Yu as Lu severed the black threads beneath him, and together they broke open the Ninth Layer to reveal the Tenth Layer’s Heart-Questioning door.

Before entering the Tenth Layer, Xu Zhihan told Lu Wenchuan that he was the person he liked, and Lu Wenchuan admitted he had liked Xu Zhihan for a long time. They held hands and walked through the Heart-Questioning door as the Ninth Layer collapsed behind them.

• Before the Heart-Questioning door, Lu Wenchuan asked Xu Zhihan what he was to him.
• Xu Zhihan told Lu Wenchuan he had chosen him and called him the person he liked.
• Lu Wenchuan said he liked Xu Zhihan too and had felt that way since their first meeting.
• Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan held hands, and the Heart-Questioning door opened as Shen Yu praised their answer.
• Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan entered the Tenth Layer together while the Ninth Layer collapsed.