Arc 17Under the Netherworld Tree

Yang Yong’s convoy fled a powerful Eerie and became trapped beneath the Netherworld Ancient Tree, where its captives were turned against one another by a deadly illusion. As Yezi sacrificed herself to protect Yang Yong, the Finger Bone offered him a chance to save the survivors through symbiosis.

  • Yang Yong captured the Red Raincoat and other Eerie in his furnace as the convoy traveled south, but a powerful Eerie’s roots later overwhelmed the vehicles and knocked everyone unconscious.
  • Yezi remained awake, freed Yang Yong, and led him to the enormous tree where Wang Ying, Cao Xianming, and the others hung among its branches.
  • Yang Yong summoned the Eerie General to save Wang Ying, and the rescued Transcendents freed captives before following Cao Xianming’s route beneath the tree.
  • Yang Yong and Yezi led the convoy past the tree’s base, but the tree awakened, trapped everyone, and released a sweet scent that plunged them into illusions.
  • Yang Yong witnessed the White-Bone Giant battle demons in an abyss, then awoke to find the survivors attacking one another while the tree’s branches drained and transformed its victims.
  • The Finger Bone urged Yang Yong to use its power, but the tree’s spikes drained Yezi as she shielded him, and the Finger Bone offered symbiosis while Yang Yong hesitated.
Chapters 401–425 Vol. 5 Read

Ch. 401Lin, bing, dou, zhe, jie, zhen, lie, qian, xing... vanquish evil!

As the Bone Mountain Giant’s skeletal hand threatened the Steam Train, Taoist and Monk each used a costly talisman or relic to delay it. Monk’s summoned old monk immobilized the hand, leaving the group with three and a half seconds still to survive.

  • Yang Yong destroyed a damage-absorbing doll to reduce his injuries as the others’ attacks failed to slow the Bone Mountain Giant.
  • Taoist used his Life Talisman and summoned a golden divine dragon, which coiled around the giant’s hand before the giant crushed it.
  • Taoist vomited blood and collapsed in the Off-Road Vehicle, while Xiao Yuxia kept driving and Yang Yong prepared to use the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring again.
  • Monk took out a relic and prayer beads, then called on his patriarch for aid.
  • An old monk’s luminous form appeared and halted the Bone Mountain Giant’s advancing hand with an Immovable King Dharma Form.

Ch. 402365 Light Points

Yang Yong and the last vehicles escaped the ghost domain after the Thousand-Hammer, Hundred-Refinement Furnace diverted the Bone Mountain Giant’s fatal blow. The survivors fell unconscious, while an unexplained change began among some of the people aboard the Never-Ending Steam Train.

  • The Bone Mountain Giant struck at Yang Yong’s Off-Road Vehicle and Demoness Pickup Truck as they neared the ghost domain’s exit, while the monk’s Dharma Form collapsed.
  • A Black Hole appeared at Yang Yong’s dantian, and the Thousand-Hammer, Hundred-Refinement Furnace phantom emerged and redirected the giant’s fist into the ground.
  • The Off-Road Vehicle and Deep-Blue Enchantress Pickup Truck escaped through the barrier, and Yang Yong glimpsed 365 Light Points and an indistinct figure inside the furnace’s glow.
  • The Evil Eye Master opened the eyes on Yang Yong’s left arm, and he forced them closed again with the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring.
  • Yang Yong and the other survivors lost consciousness after escaping, while an unexplained change quietly began in some people aboard the Never-Ending Steam Train.

Ch. 403Absolutely Not

Yang Yong dreamed of opening apertures in the Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace and realized he must fully build its foundation before advancing to Sequence Three. He woke on the Never-Ending Steam Train to learn that only five minutes had passed.

  • Yang Yong resisted the urge to advance to Sequence Three after an unseen warning told him not to rush.
  • He opened the furnace's sixteenth aperture, which broke through the barrier in his physical body and revealed that the furnace, not the body, was his foundation.
  • Yang Yong's scripture transformed into a path suited to the apocalyptic world as he continued opening furnace apertures.
  • After opening 365 apertures, Yang Yong felt the furnace awaken its spirit and resolved to reach the utmost limit of every realm.
  • Yang Yong woke on the Never-Ending Steam Train and learned from Wang Ying and the others that he had been asleep for about five minutes.

Ch. 404Boarding?

Yang Yong and the Score-Chasing Convoy weighed the Never-Ending Steam Train’s safety against its rule that passengers could never disembark. Ye Zefeng and his convoy chose to board, and Yang Yong agreed on the condition that Zhu Yuhao and Hu Huaying join his convoy as the group approached the train’s camp.

  • Yang Yong contemplated opening the remaining apertures in his Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace before Zou Wei announced that boarding the Never-Ending Steam Train meant giving up the chance to leave.
  • Zou Wei explained that only staff on assignments could remain outside the train, while passengers were bound to it unless they became strong enough to rewrite its rules.
  • Ye Zefeng asked whether the Score-Chasing Convoy members already taken aboard could disembark, and Zou Wei confirmed that they could not.
  • Ye Zefeng, Wang Jinglan, and Liang Xiuyan decided that the Score-Chasing Convoy would join the train for safety.
  • Yang Yong agreed to let the convoy join but required Zhu Yuhao and Hu Huaying to join his convoy, and the couple accepted.

Ch. 405Should We Hit Them?

Yang Yong wondered what Cao Xianming had paid to make the Never-Ending Steam Train act as the convoy approached camp. Two women scouting the Survival Convoy considered attacking, but the train emerged from the ground, and recognition of the Curio filled them with greed and apprehension.

  • A transparent fishing line appeared from nowhere and pulled Ye Zefeng off the truck bed.
  • Yang Yong watched the scenery and wondered what price Cao Xianming had paid to activate the Never-Ending Steam Train.
  • Two women scouting the Survival Convoy judged its members weak and discussed whether to attack and steal its supplies.
  • The women heard a muffled, metallic rhythm and watched mist gather as a steam locomotive emerged from the ground.
  • The boss suspected the locomotive was the Never-Ending Steam Train, and her companion grew excited at the prospect of its safety and supplies.

Ch. 40650%: Mutual devastation

Cao Xianming’s Data Model predicted that the weakened Survival Convoy faced a 50% chance of mutual devastation against the hunters, but Zou Wei’s return with the Never-Ending Steam Train restored its strongest fighters. Wang Ying spotted the hunters’ former hiding place, and Cao Xianming explained that the Ghost Hand Mushroom they had dried had attracted attention.

  • The boss lady saw the Never-Ending Steam Train emerge with the Off-Road Vehicle and blue Pickup Truck, then fled with her subordinate after sensing Wang Ying’s killing intent.
  • Cao Xianming’s Data Model calculated a 50% chance of mutual devastation if the Survival Convoy fought the hunters while Yang Yong, Wang Ying, and Liu Hong were away.
  • The Never-Ending Steam Train returned, bringing Yang Yong and Wang Ying back to the factory.
  • Wang Ying leaped from the vehicle and pointed out the hillside spot where someone had watched the convoy with strong malice.
  • Cao Xianming said he had traded the Ghost Hand Mushroom to Zou Wei and that the drying slices had likely attracted the hunters.

Ch. 407The Ghost Hand Mushroom Changed Hands

Yang Yong returned from the Eerie Domain and collapsed into sleep while Cao Xianming traded away the Ghost Hand Mushroom to Zou Wei. After confirming the convoy was no longer being watched, Cao Xianming turned his attention to escaping Shanghai.

  • Cao Xianming gave Zou Wei dried Ghost Hand Mushroom slices, then tried to persuade him to accept a different deal while the two quietly appraised Yang Yong.
  • Yang Yong sent Zhu Yuhao and Hu Huaying to Old Yang to join the convoy, then fell asleep in the Demoness Pickup Truck with Mang Dabiao.
  • Yang Yong, Wang Ying, and Liu Hong rested after their ordeal, while the convoy avoided disturbing them.
  • Cao Xianming gave Zou Wei the living Ghost Hand Mushroom in its washbasin, and Zou Wei left aboard his flying carpet as the Never-Ending Steam Train returned.
  • The convoy finished processing the remaining mushroom into a large food reserve, and Cao Xianming used his Data Model to confirm the watchers had left before considering how to escape Shanghai.

Ch. 408Found... You...

Yang Yong woke to learn that the Survival Convoy had gained a village warehouse of supplies, then set out south through Shanghai No-Man’s Land under Qi Peiliang’s guidance. As a vine-covered pursuer followed Yang Yong’s trail, the convoy spent the day dodging Eeries and eventually realized it had returned to where it started.

  • Cao Xianming let Yang Yong sleep, while the vine-covered woman sensed Yang Yong had moved and left Tuanjie Village to pursue him, causing the village’s ivy to wither.
  • Mang Dabiao woke Yang Yong, and Cao Xianming learned that Yang Yong had collected a village warehouse’s worth of supplies from Tuanjie Village.
  • Cao Xianming sent the Survival Convoy south, with Qi Peiliang scouting ahead and Wang Ying ready to protect him.
  • Qi Peiliang repeatedly warned the convoy about Eeries, forcing it off the highway, to turn around, and to change course throughout the day.
  • After the Blood Moon rose, Qi Peiliang realized the convoy had returned to its starting point and said, “We’re... we’re back?”
  • White mist seeped from cracks in the abandoned factory floor where the Ghost Hand Mushrooms had dried, while the vine-covered pursuer continued following the convoy’s route.

Ch. 409Flame Rune

After the Survival Convoy returned to the abandoned factory complex, Cao Xianming led it to a hill without Eerie and watched an unknown supernatural creature approach. On watch, Yang Yong tested his new Sequence Two abilities, especially Flame Rune, and began experimenting with the dead Screaming Wax Apple Tree’s wood.

  • The Survival Convoy returned to the abandoned factory complex after a day of travel, and Cao Xianming used the Data Model to locate a nearby hill without Eerie.
  • Cao Xianming ordered the convoy to camp on the hill as a vine-covered figure sensed its presence and ran toward it.
  • Cao Xianming watched an unknown supernatural creature approach their camp on the Light Screen and anticipated a confrontation.
  • Yang Yong reviewed his new Artifact Condensation Realm abilities while taking watch with Zheng Xiaofeng.
  • Yang Yong tested Flame Rune on a leaf, found that a second layer made it burn, and then took wood from the dead Screaming Wax Apple Tree to continue experimenting.

Ch. 410Someone Who Had Been Following the Convoy All Along

Yang Yong discovered that rune layering could turn ordinary material into a powerful explosive, then exhausted his supernatural power while testing the limit on a bone. Vines ambushed and dragged him away, but after he cut free, a tall figure rushed in and tightly embraced him, leaving him bewildered.

  • Yang Yong's third rune on a piece of wood triggered a huge explosion, waking the group and prompting Wang Ying to threaten him against doing more tests.
  • Yang Yong realized the runes could be a powerful weapon and tried layering them onto a bone, but his supernatural power ran out after five layers.
  • Dozens of vines bound Yang Yong and dragged him into the grass while Zheng Xiaofeng slept through the commotion.
  • Yang Yong recovered a little power, used Heavenly Dragon Slash to cut through the vines, and broke free.
  • A tall figure lunged at Yang Yong and caught him in a tight embrace.

Ch. 411That incident made her see you as... the person closest to her

Yang Yong spent the night trapped in the embrace of a sleeping plant sequence Transcendent who had been following the convoy. Cao Xianming’s analysis suggested that an incident had made her regard Yang Yong as the person closest to her.

  • The vine-covered woman hugged Yang Yong, fell asleep against him, and tightened her grip whenever he tried to move.
  • Yang Yong flew back to Zheng Xiaofeng’s side with the sleeping woman still clinging to him, and Wang Ying found him that way when she arrived for the watch.
  • The next morning, the convoy saw the woman still asleep in Yang Yong’s arms, and Cao Xianming laughed before Yang Yong slapped him and demanded an explanation.
  • Cao Xianming analyzed the woman and said she had likely gone a long time without sleep and now saw Yang Yong as the person closest to her.

Ch. 412She Saw You as Family, Her Only Family

Yang Yong learned that the nameless woman who clung to him had lost her ability to speak and considered him her only family after he buried her family. After hearing she had demolished half of Tuanjie Village while searching for him, he tried to get her off him, but threatened to send her away when she refused.

  • Cao Xianming examined the woman, waking her and provoking her vines to aim at him with lethal intent.
  • Yang Yong asked the woman who she was, but she could only babble, and he realized she had aphasia.
  • Mang Dabiao translated the woman's sounds, explaining that she had forgotten her name and Yang Yong was her only family.
  • Mang Dabiao revealed that the woman had followed the convoy, rampaged through Tuanjie Village after losing Yang Yong's presence, and demolished half the village.
  • Yang Yong told Mang Dabiao to tell the woman to get off him, but she refused, so he threatened not to let her stay by his side.

Ch. 413Egg fried rice

Yang Yong gave the vine-covered woman the name Yezi after Zhang Bihuang helped her change into clean clothes, but Yezi continued clinging to his shirt and said she was hungry. At the camp kitchen, Yang Yong learned that breakfast was egg fried rice and eagerly accepted a bowl.

  • After Mang Dabiao relayed the message, the woman got off Yang Yong but kept hold of his shirt and followed him around camp.
  • Yang Yong called the woman his adopted daughter and asked Zhang Bihuang to help her change out of her vines.
  • Zhang Bihuang dressed and cleaned the woman, who immediately returned to Yang Yong and clutched his shirt again.
  • Mang Dabiao translated the woman's request for food, and Yang Yong named her Yezi.
  • Yezi rushed toward the smell at the makeshift kitchen, but Yang Yong pulled her back and learned breakfast was egg fried rice.
  • The middle-aged cook filled a bowl for Yang Yong.

Ch. 414Red Raincoat

Yang Yong cared for Yezi after she went three months without eating, then joined the Transcendents in deciding to fight weaker Eerie and avoid stronger ones as the convoy tried to leave Shanghai. After an hour of travel, a dark cloud Eerie approached under the rain, with a figure in a red raincoat racing beneath it.

  • Yang Yong stopped Yezi from finishing the egg fried rice and gave her porridge, which she accepted as a sign of his care.
  • Cao Xianming proposed that Qi Peiliang sense approaching Eerie so the Transcendents could decide whether to fight or detour, and the group agreed.
  • Xiao Ma announced the convoy's departure from Shanghai, and the vehicles set out.
  • After traveling without incident, the convoy saw a dark cloud Eerie that Wang Ying had driven away before, now approaching through the rain.
  • A figure in a red raincoat raced toward the convoy beneath the dark cloud as the Transcendents waited for Cao Xianming's analysis.

Ch. 415Her Specialty Was Curses

The Red Raincoat reached the group and asked whether anyone had seen her child, while an invisible curse made a man believe he was drowning in blood. Cao Xianming ordered the Transcendents to attack, and Yang Yong trapped the Red Raincoat inside his furnace before a metallic clatter sounded from the void.

  • The Red Raincoat arrived at unnatural speed and asked the group, "Have you... seen my child?"
  • A middle-aged man inside the bus screamed that he was covered in blood, though his body showed no sign of it, and began convulsing.
  • Cao Xianming told ordinary people to cover their ears and ordered the Transcendents to kill the Red Raincoat, explaining that her specialty was curses.
  • Wang Ying sliced the Red Raincoat in half, but her body flowed back together unharmed.
  • Yang Yong engulfed the Red Raincoat in flames and captured her inside the Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace, where she pounded against its walls.
  • A sudden clatter of metal came from the void.

Ch. 416No One Noticed...

After the convoy survived Red Raincoat’s curse, Yang Yong took the lead and refined several weak Eerie with the Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace. The convoy camped for the night, unaware that strange signs were appearing on two of its members.

  • Four black chains dragged Red Raincoat and the Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace into an unknown space, ending the rain and allowing the convoy to continue.
  • Qi Peiliang spotted a hanging ghost ahead, and Yang Yong captured and refined it with the furnace.
  • Yang Yong took over the lead vehicle, while Yezi bound three more Eerie with vines for him to refine.
  • At night, Yang Yong cultivated while the convoy settled in an abandoned house.
  • No one noticed a middle-aged man apparently chewing something with a fishhook in his mouth, or the red patch spreading across the back of the man who had shouted that he saw blood.

Ch. 417Run! Run!

As the Survival Convoy neared the edge of the Shanghai No-Man's Land, Yezi warned Yang Yong that something dangerous lay ahead, and Cao Xianming ordered everyone to run. They were too late: a mass of black roots trapped the convoy, and a sweet fragrance caused everyone, including the Transcendents, to collapse.

  • The convoy struggled toward the boundary at thirty kilometers per hour because Qi Peiliang's off-road vehicle and Liu Hong's van had run out of fuel.
  • Yezi urgently warned Yang Yong that they could not go farther because a powerful Eerie was ahead, one she did not dare face.
  • Cao Xianming ordered the convoy to turn around and run, but the earth began shaking before they could escape.
  • Countless black roots erupted from the ground and surrounded the vehicles, resisting the convoy's attempts to cut, burn, and smash them.
  • A cloyingly sweet fragrance spread after the roots sealed around the convoy, and everyone collapsed.

Ch. 418I have to go

Yezi defended Yang Yong from the roots and protected him while the unconscious group was dragged away. After the Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace woke him, Yang Yong learned that everyone had been taken and insisted that Yezi lead him to them.

  • The fragrance knocked Wang Ying, Zheng Xiaofeng, Cao Xianming, and Yang Yong unconscious, but Yezi remained awake and used a Virginia creeper to repel the roots.
  • The roots skirted Yezi’s green barrier and carried away the unconscious people, including Mang Dabiao.
  • After two hours, Yezi pricked Yang Yong with a vine, and the Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace appeared and jolted him awake with a wisp of flame.
  • Yang Yong recalled dreaming that he was a fruit among countless people hanging from a tree and found the others missing when he awoke.
  • Yezi confirmed she knew where the captives had been taken, and Yang Yong insisted that she lead him there despite her fear.

Ch. 419A Man-Eating Tree That Mutated and Evolved in the Apocalypse

Yang Yong and Yezi reached a colossal man-eating tree and found the missing convoy members hanging from its branches. Yang Yong began cautiously approaching Wang Ying to plan a rescue, but the tree’s roots reacted to his movements.

  • Yezi disguised Yang Yong with vines, and he stored the convoy vehicles in the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring, though the Demoness Pickup Truck drove away and hid in the trees.
  • Yang Yong and Yezi crossed the mountains and discovered an enormous tree with thousands of people bound upside down among its branches.
  • Yang Yong recognized Wang Ying, Cao Xianming, Zheng Xiaofeng, Liu Hong, Xiao Xuan, Fox Immortal, and Mang Dabiao among the tree’s captives.
  • Yang Yong decided to rescue Wang Ying first and studied the captives’ positions before moving closer under Yezi’s camouflage.
  • The exposed roots reacted whenever Yang Yong moved, forcing him to stop and wait as he tried to approach Wang Ying.

Ch. 420All the "fruit" hanging from the tree opened their eyes

Yang Yong watched a tree branch choose and kill one of the people wrapped in the giant tree, then saw it target Wang Ying. He summoned the Eerie General to save her, but the tree’s thousands of awakened captives turned on the General as Yang Yong raced toward Wang Ying.

  • Yang Yong saw a branch pierce an unfamiliar person wrapped in the tree, and evil ghosts below devoured the falling body and began growing flesh from it.
  • The branch hesitated over Wang Ying before pointing its spike between her eyebrows and thrusting toward her.
  • Yang Yong shouted for the Eerie General, who emerged from Wang Ying’s Black Gold Bone Blade, severed the roots around her, and cut off the attacking spike.
  • The thousands of people wrapped in the tree opened their eyes and fixed their oppressive attention on the Eerie General.
  • Yang Yong called out to Yezi and flew toward Wang Ying while the Eerie General fought off the tree’s attack.

Ch. 421Once its true body awakens, all of us will die

Wang Ying awakened, reclaimed the Black Gold Bone Blade, and helped Yezi and the Transcendents free people from the enormous tree’s roots. Qi Peiliang warned that the tree’s true body was still asleep and that everyone would die if it awakened, while Cao Xianming identified a route beneath it.

  • Yang Yong tried to stab Wang Ying, but she awakened and seized his wrist.
  • Wang Ying recalled the Eerie General into the Black Gold Bone Blade and cut the people trapped in the tree’s fruit free.
  • Yezi’s vines ensnared the evil ghosts beneath the tree, while the freed Transcendents used their abilities to escape and rescue others.
  • Qi Peiliang sensed the tree’s terrifying power and warned Cao Xianming that its true body was asleep and its defenses were acting automatically.
  • Cao Xianming used his Rubik’s Cube-like model to point out a route ahead beneath the enormous tree.

Ch. 422The only way

Yang Yong led the Survival Convoy toward the base of the Giant Tree, using the Demoness Pickup Truck and his abilities to clear a path through Shanghai’s monsters and obstacles. The Taoist and the Monk rejoined the convoy, while Yang Yong called for Yezi to come back.

  • Yang Yong used a Loudspeaker to urge the other Transcendents to follow him and summoned vehicles, including the Demoness Pickup Truck.
  • Mang Dabiao returned, and the convoy boarded vehicles and charged toward the base of the Giant Tree.
  • Yang Yong’s Flame Blades burned attacking evil ghosts while Wang Ying used Sky-Splitting Slash to clear trees and vines from the road.
  • Survivors tried to catch the convoy, and some were struck when they blocked its vehicles.
  • The Taoist and the Monk fought through the horde of evil ghosts and leaped into the Demoness Pickup Truck’s bed.
  • Yang Yong called for Yezi to come back.

Ch. 423That Giant Tree Had Awakened

Yang Yong and the convoy passed beneath the giant tree, but it awakened as the last vehicle escaped its base and trapped them with roots and blood-red flowers. The flowers’ scent plunged Yang Yong into an illusion of an ancient battle between a White-Bone Giant and monstrous creatures, including the Evil Eye Lord.

  • Yang Yong and Yezi led the convoy through the darkness beneath the giant tree, which remained dormant until the last vehicle passed its base.
  • The giant tree awakened, immobilized the convoy with a flash of deathly white light, and sent roots surging from the ground to bind the vehicles and their occupants.
  • Blood-red flowers bloomed around the trapped convoy and released a sweet scent that overwhelmed everyone with an illusion.
  • Yang Yong found himself watching countless monsters besiege a White-Bone Giant in an abyss, with the Evil Eye Lord attacking it with red beams.

Ch. 424Yang Yong was running out of time

Yang Yong watched the White-Bone Giant fall in an illusion, then awakened to find the people around him lost to madness beneath the enormous tree. As the tree’s branches turned victims into evil monsters and the Evil Eyes’ suppression weakened, Yang Yong had no way to summon his furnaces and was running out of time.

  • Yang Yong saw the White-Bone Giant fight waves of powerful demons before being shattered, vowing, “I will return.”
  • Yang Yong awoke to find people around him thrashing, attacking one another, or using their abilities while trapped in illusions.
  • Yang Yong found that no one else in the Survival Convoy was lucid, and his attempts to summon the Thousand-Hammer, Hundred-Refinement Furnace and Ten-Thousand-Forged Primordial Furnace failed.
  • Yang Yong felt the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring’s suppression of the Evil Eyes weakening as the sweet scent affected him.
  • Over a hundred spiked branches pierced people’s skulls, drained them, and transformed them into evil monsters that attacked those still trapped in illusions.

Ch. 425Enter symbiosis with me

Yang Yong was trapped beneath the Netherworld Ancient Tree as its spikes attacked him, and Yezi sacrificed herself to save him. With Yezi reduced to a wooden figure and her green light fading, the Finger Bone offered Yang Yong a chance to enter symbiosis, leaving him torn.

  • The Finger Bone told Yang Yong that he could not escape while the Netherworld Ancient Tree was awake and urged him to use its power.
  • The Netherworld Ancient Tree’s spikes turned on Yang Yong, while his supernatural power and curios were suppressed.
  • Yezi broke free of the illusion and shielded Yang Yong, but the spikes drained her life force until she became a wooden figure.
  • The Climbing Vines withered after Yezi’s fall, allowing the evil spirits beneath the tree to attack the people around them.
  • The Finger Bone offered to enter symbiosis with Yang Yong and help him save the survivors, and he hesitated as Yezi’s green light faded.
Arc 17 of 33