Chapter Summaries

After a strange scream exposed Yang Yong’s secret, Chen Gen received an assignment from the Whale Lord and transported them both to a bizarre realm of ice and magma. The Whale Lord wanted them to investigate a numb part of its body, and they set off as scouts down a dark, winding path.

• Yang Yong put away the Screaming Wax Apple Tree and denied that the scream had come from his room when Chen Gen rushed in.
• Chen Gen received a message from the Whale Lord and took Yang Yong with him to an unfamiliar space divided between magma and ice.
• Chen Gen explained that the Whale Lord had summoned him to investigate a part of its body where it had lost sensation, and that it seemed to favor Yang Yong for feeding it Sea Demons.
• Chen Gen and Yang Yong agreed they were scouts and followed a path descending into darkness.

Yang Yong and Chen Gen were trapped inside the Whale Lord’s digestive system on a mission to collect materials. Their supposedly safe walk turned dangerous when the Eerie Entwined Crowd attacked, and Chen Gen’s blue-flame rocket engulfed it.

• Yang Yong learned that neither Chen Gen nor his Contract Mark could get him out of the Whale Lord’s digestive system, so he reluctantly continued the mission.
• Chen Gen explained that the Whale Lord’s missions usually involved collecting discarded Eerie materials, while Yang Yong stayed alert as they crossed a landscape of ice and lava.
• Chen Gen turned to reassure Yang Yong, but Yang Yong spotted the Entwined Crowd approaching behind him and warned him.
• The Entwined Crowd charged, and Yang Yong dodged by flying upward on metal wings made of knives.
• Chen Gen fired his rocket launcher, sending a blue fireball that exploded and enveloped the Entwined Crowd.

Chen Gen and Yang Yong fought the Entwined Crowd, an Eerie that could assimilate anyone it grabbed and use their abilities. After Yang Yong’s flying daggers failed to stop it from reassembling, Chen Gen fired another explosive weapon, scattering its body parts across the surrounding worlds.

• Chen Gen used a rocket launcher to set the Entwined Crowd ablaze, but it escaped the burning mass by slipping out in a smaller body and dodged his attacks.
• Chen Gen abandoned the Curio Rocket Launcher and fled to avoid being assimilated, while Yang Yong recalled how an Entwined Crowd had once destroyed a South Sea Base squad.
• Yang Yong sent his Heavenly Dragon Slash Flying Daggers into the Entwined Crowd, piercing its heads and cutting off its limbs, but the severed parts reattached themselves.
• Chen Gen produced a silver-white rune-engraved revolver and fired, blasting the Entwined Crowd’s limbs and fragments in different directions.

Yang Yong and Chen Gen used the lava pool to destroy the Entwined Crowd’s scattered body parts, shrinking it until it jumped into the lava and released a howl. The howl summoned a vast horde of Entwined Crowds, leaving the two surrounded with no clear escape.

• Yang Yong carried the Entwined Crowd’s severed limbs to the lava pool with his Heavenly Dragon Slash Flying Daggers and discovered that the lava caused it pain.
• Yang Yong threw the scattered body parts into the lava while Chen Gen used the Revolver to blast newly gathered pieces toward the pool.
• After three rounds, the Entwined Crowd had shrunk to a little over a meter tall, with only three hands, two feet, and half a head remaining.
• The Entwined Crowd jumped into the lava, then howled as it sank, summoning more of its kind.
• Yang Yong and Chen Gen found themselves surrounded by a growing horde of Entwined Crowds, including several hanging overhead and blocking their escape.

Yang Yong and Chen Gen were surrounded by a vast horde of Eerie: Entwined Crowds and decided to fight their way out. Chen Gen’s cannons and Yang Yong’s flying daggers opened a path, but Chen Gen was still struggling to catch up as more Entwined Crowds blocked him.

• Yang Yong and Chen Gen found themselves surrounded by growing numbers of Entwined Crowds, and Chen Gen said he had already notified the Whale Lord but could not contact him directly.
• Yang Yong released the Three Great Female Ghosts, while he and Chen Gen searched unsuccessfully for a Flesh Hole and agreed they had to escape.
• Yang Yong and Chen Gen stood back-to-back as Chen Gen revealed three cannons and fired blue flames into the Entwined Crowds blocking their route.
• Yang Yong launched his Heavenly Dragon Slash Flying Daggers, piercing two Entwined Crowds and opening a gap in the encirclement.
• Yang Yong flew through the opening, but two more Entwined Crowds landed in Chen Gen’s path, so Chen Gen fired his Revolver and engulfed them in blue flames.

Chen Gen fled a relentless horde of Entwined Crowds after Yang Yong abandoned him, using his weapons to hold them off. When the monsters broke through his defenses and closed in, Chen Gen drew the Flesh-and-Blood Submachine Gun, sacrificing his own flesh to load it.

• Chen Gen escaped the Entwined Crowds behind an ice sculpture, then discovered Yang Yong had vanished and left him alone.
• Chen Gen ran while firing his Revolver, but the intelligent Entwined Crowds dodged his shots and mocked him as they pursued.
• Chen Gen launched a rocket that created a wall of blue fire, but the lead Entwined Crowd rolled through it in a ball and sacrificed its outer bodies to protect itself.
• Three more Entwined Crowds broke through the flames and called to Chen Gen as he ran, while his other usable firearms ran low on ammunition.
• Chen Gen drew the Flesh-and-Blood Submachine Gun, whose tentacles drained his muscle to form bullets, as the Entwined Crowds closed to within three meters.

Chen Gen and Yang Yong used a flesh-and-blood fissure as a defensive barrier against the Entwined Crowds. After one creature fell into it and began sinking, fleshy tendrils emerged and wrapped around it while the Whale Lord remained silent.

• Chen Gen's Flesh-and-Blood Submachine Gun failed to harm the charging Entwined Crowd, and Yang Yong rescued him with a bone whip after a blade formation briefly cut the creature apart.
• Yang Yong led Chen Gen across a long fissure of flesh and blood that he had found as a natural defensive line.
• The Entwined Crowds argued among their many consciousnesses at the fissure's edge, and Yang Yong pulled one of them into it with his bone whip.
• The trapped Entwined Crowd began sinking into the fissure as its heads screamed and struggled.
• Chen Gen sensed the Whale Lord's consciousness but received no reply, while buds of flesh emerged and curled around the sinking Entwined Crowd.

Yang Yong and Chen Gen used a flesh bud granted by the Whale Lord to lure and devour the Entwined Crowds, then chased the survivors deeper into the Abyss. They reached a dark red river and found that the fleeing Entwined Crowds had stopped.

• The Whale Lord's flesh buds strangled and devoured the Entwined Crowds gathered near a fissure.
• Chen Gen explained that the Whale Lord had given him a flesh bud that could open a fissure and summon the Whale Lord's tendrils.
• Yang Yong and Chen Gen lured a crowd of Entwined Crowds together, then used the flesh bud to open a fissure that devoured them all.
• The surviving Entwined Crowds fled, and Yang Yong and Chen Gen chased them through the changing terrain.
• Yang Yong and Chen Gen reached a dark red river bordered by dead trees and discovered the Entwined Crowds had stopped running.

Yang Yong and Chen Gen discovered that the Entwined Crowds were gathering around a weakened Corpse Mass, which appeared to have created them to gather flesh and feed it. When a pod of whales confronted them, one whale’s glance sent Yang Yong and Chen Gen back to the Wooden House, where the Survival Convoy’s core members rushed to find out what had happened.

• Yang Yong noticed the Entwined Crowds had stopped fleeing and, with Chen Gen’s bone telescope, spotted the weakened Corpse Mass buried behind them.
• Yang Yong surmised that the Corpse Mass had created the Entwined Crowds to hunt for flesh and feed it.
• Chen Gen reported the discovery to the Whale Lord, which opened a fleshy fissure in the sky and sent a pod of whales through it.
• The Entwined Crowds flew up to attack the whales, and Yang Yong urged the two sides to fight.
• One whale looked at Yang Yong, cutting off his senses and transporting him and Chen Gen back to the Wooden House.
• Wang Ying and the other core members of the Survival Convoy rushed in to question Yang Yong and Chen Gen.

Yang Yong returned with Chen Gen from a dangerous Forced Dispatch Mission and told Mang Dabiao and Hu Xian'er what they had faced. They concluded the Whale Lord had not fully mastered his own body, and Yang Yong began laying out three possible outcomes, starting with the safest one.

• Yang Yong and Chen Gen returned to the Survival Convoy, where everyone gathered to check on them and Yang Yong explained they had survived a Forced Dispatch Mission.
• Xiao Xuan worried that the sudden disappearances might happen to others, but Chen Gen assured her that Yang Yong had been caught up because of him.
• Yang Yong learned Captain Cao had still not emerged from seclusion and brought Mang Dabiao and Hu Xian'er aside to discuss what had happened.
• Yang Yong recounted how he had been pulled into a strange space and forced to face the Eerie Entwined Crowd, prompting concern that the Whale Lord's inner Small World was not safe.
• Hu Xian'er said the Whale Lord's rapid growth had left him unable to control his body, while Mang Dabiao warned that he might develop another consciousness or burst apart.
• Yang Yong said the Whale Lord knew his condition was dangerous and began listing three possible outcomes, first describing the best case: the Whale Lord eliminated the Eerie inside him and kept the consciousness he had as Little Goldfish.

Yang Yong and the others considered the danger of the Whale Lord becoming an Eerie, but they had no plan to escape. When darkness and a spatial rift appeared, a Corpse Mass monster emerged, and Yang Yong led Chen Gen and Mang Dabiao toward it to alert the Whale Lord.

• Yang Yong, Mang Dabiao, and Hu Xian'er discussed possible outcomes for the Whale Lord and found no way to deal with the threat.
• The space suddenly went dark, thunder rolled, and a rift opened in the sky as something tore through from outside.
• A Corpse Mass monster made of corpses squeezed out of the rift, and Yang Yong realized it had escaped the Whale Lord again.
• Yang Yong grabbed Chen Gen and told him to use the Whale Lord's flesh bud to send a warning, but Chen Gen said it could not reach the Whale Lord from so far away.
• Yang Yong summoned the pickup truck, ordered Mang Dabiao to drive east, and the group sped toward the Corpse Mass monster.

Yang Yong, Chen Gen, and Mang Dabiao raced across the sea to reach the Corpse Mass monster before it escaped through a spatial rift. After the monster severed part of its own body and tried to flee underwater, Chen Gen launched a flesh bud on his Automatic Cruise Missile 001, opening a larger rift whose tendrils reached for the monster.

• Yang Yong planted Blood Moon Energy Curios in the Pickup Truck to boost its speed while he directed Mang Dabiao toward the Corpse Mass monster.
• Mang Dabiao drove the Pickup Truck at extreme speed, and Chen Gen finally reported that the Whale Lord's flesh bud was reacting.
• The Corpse Mass monster tore itself free of the spatial rift by cutting off part of its body, then tried to escape.
• Yang Yong ordered Chen Gen to attach the flesh bud to his Automatic Cruise Missile 001 and fire it toward the monster.
• The missile locked onto the Corpse Mass monster, and the flesh bud opened a huge spatial rift whose tendrils reached out to coil around it.

Yang Yong discovered that a remnant of the Corpse Mass Monster had escaped the spatial rift and realized he could unseal the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring inside the Whale Lord. As the monster rapidly grew by absorbing dead sea creatures and charged the Pickup Truck, Yang Yong and Mang Dabiao prepared to face it.

• The Corpse Mass Monster was swallowed by a flesh-and-blood rift, but a person-sized piece fell through the original spatial rift before it closed.
• Yang Yong realized the remnant could contaminate living creatures and decided to use the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring against it.
• Yang Yong replaced the bone ring with the Heavenly Dragon Slash blades to suppress the Evil Eyes on his arm, then unsealed the ring.
• The remnant plunged into the sea and resurfaced three breaths later, swollen to the size of a basketball court with dead fish and rotting shrimp attached to it.
• The Corpse Mass Monster charged the Pickup Truck and marked Mang Dabiao as its primary target, prompting him to summon the Evil-Slaying Blade and slow the truck.
• Yang Yong readied his weapons, three female ghosts, and the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring, planning to strike when the monster drew near.

Yang Yong used the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring to prepare an ambush for the Corpse Mass monster, while Mang Dabiao lured it toward a barren island. The monster closed in on the convoy, and Yang Yong waited for it to come within range before attacking.

• Yang Yong concealed the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring's aura, while Chen Gen nervously aimed his Rocket Launcher at the approaching Corpse Mass monster.
• Yang Yong instructed Mang Dabiao to turn around and keep the Pickup Truck slow enough for the monster to chase them.
• Mang Dabiao led the Corpse Mass monster toward a barren island as Yang Yong searched for a suitable place to fight.
• The Corpse Mass monster, eager to assimilate Yang Yong and recover its strength, chased the convoy onto the island.
• Yang Yong declared that the time had come and told his companions to wait until the monster was close before attacking; Chen Gen kept the Rocket Launcher trained behind them.

Yang Yong, Mang Dabiao, and Chen Gen attacked the Corpse Mass Monster with blue flames and Mang Dabiao’s lifespan-powered blade, but the monster survived by shedding its outer layers. It then charged at Yang Yong, who began acting.

• Yang Yong ordered the convoy to slow down and lure the Corpse Mass Monster closer before attacking.
• Chen Gen fired the Rocket Launcher, setting the monster’s outer layer ablaze, but it shed the burning corpses and emerged unharmed.
• Mang Dabiao used his Evil-Slaying Blade and his lifespan to split the Corpse Mass Monster in two.
• The monster shed its shell again, merged its two smaller halves, and survived as a truck-sized mass.
• The Corpse Mass Monster judged Yang Yong the weakest target and charged at him as he began acting.

Yang Yong lured the Corpse Mass Monster into grabbing him, then revealed his twenty Evil Eyes and overwhelmed it with their powers. He trapped the monster and unleashed the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring's complete form to devour its flesh and blood.

• Yang Yong pretended to be terrified until the Corpse Mass Monster lunged at him and grabbed his left hand.
• The bandages on Yang Yong's left arm burst open, revealing twenty Evil Eyes that attacked the Corpse Mass Monster with different abilities.
• The Corpse Mass Monster recognized Yang Yong as Evil Eye Lord and tried to flee, but Yang Yong held it fast with the Evil Eyes' suppressive powers.
• Yang Yong expanded the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring until it encircled the Corpse Mass Monster and began stripping away its flesh and blood.

Yang Yong’s Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring devoured the Corpse Mass Monster and every trace of it across the Small World, leaving Yang Yong unconscious from the strain. He woke the next day to Li Haijian begging him to save his sister, whom Old Cao had said Yang Yong was most likely to help.

• The Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring overwhelmed and devoured the Corpse Mass Monster, then searched the Small World for hidden remnants before returning to Yang Yong’s palm.
• Yang Yong lost consciousness from exhausting his mental energy, and Mang Dabiao carried him to the Pickup Truck while reassuring Chen Gen.
• The next day, Yang Yong woke weak and hungry amid noise outside, and Li Haijian knelt to beg him to save his sister.
• Yang Yong learned that Li Haijian’s sister still had not woken despite the blood bead he had given her, and that Old Cao had identified Yang Yong as her best chance.

Yang Yong woke and suggested using broth from his enormous sweet potatoes to try to save Li Haijian’s sister. Later, Cao Xianming explained that the Corpse Worms spread through stages like a virus and confirmed that they were a virus.

• Yang Yong woke, ate sweet potato porridge, and learned that Cao Xianming believed he had the best chance of waking Li Haijian’s sister.
• Yang Yong found that the Screaming Wax Apple Tree had withered inside the Nine Nether Yuanchen White Bone Ring, then suggested feeding his sister broth made from one of the enormous sweet potatoes.
• Li Haijian thanked Yang Yong and hurried off to ask Chen Gen for the sweet potato broth, while Yang Yong went back to sleep from exhaustion.
• Yang Yong woke hungry after dark, ate more sweet potatoes, and joined Cao Xianming, who showed him a model of the Whale Lord.
• Cao Xianming explained that the finger was part of a powerful being and that its Corpse Worms turned hosts into sea demons before spreading through the air as single-celled organisms.
• Yang Yong compared the process to a virus, and Cao Xianming confirmed that it was one.

Cao Xianming told Yang Yong that the Whale Lord was deliberately swallowing dangerous sources of Eerie to contain them, but its condition made staying inside it perilous. They decided to seek ways to help the Whale Lord and earn its permission to leave, and Yang Yong called Mang Dabiao to join their discussion.

• Cao Xianming explained that the Whale Lord was devouring sources of Eerie to keep them from spreading through the world.
• Cao Xianming argued that he and Yang Yong should find a way to help the Whale Lord, both to support its mission and to win permission for the Survival Convoy to leave.
• Yang Yong realized the Whale Lord might lose control and release the Eerie trapped inside it, putting everyone in its Small World at risk.
• Cao Xianming said Wang Ying, Zheng Xiaofeng, and Xiao Xuan did not know the danger, and Yang Yong suggested consulting Mang Dabiao and Hu Xian'er.
• Yang Yong messaged Mang Dabiao to come, while Li Haijian gathered people around the six huge sweet potatoes after persuading Chen Gen to let them cut one open and share it.

Yang Yong and Cao Xianming asked Mang Dabiao and Hu Xian'er why the Whale Lord seemed to be deliberately devouring Sources of Eerie. Hu Xian'er recalled an ancestor’s account of a vast whale-like creature that appeared wherever Eerie contamination arose, swallowed it, and was named the Abyss-Swallowing Mystic Whale.

• Mang Dabiao and Hu Xian'er left the enormous sweet potatoes and went to the Wooden House's main hall after Yang Yong summoned them.
• Cao Xianming shared his deduction about the Whale Lord devouring Sources of Eerie and asked for their thoughts.
• Mang Dabiao admitted he had no explanation, while Hu Xian'er searched her inherited memories for clues.
• Hu Xian'er recalled an ancestor's memory of a black, corrupted sea and an immense mouth that swallowed the dead water and something unseen.
• Hu Xian'er found her ancestor's writings describing a six-finned whale that appeared whenever Eerie contamination arose and naming it the Abyss-Swallowing Mystic Whale.