Chapter Summaries

Lu Heng reclaimed the Bone Demon from the Blood Taisui’s control by burning away the parasitic hyphae, then used his remaining mental energy to strike the Blood Taisui’s core. The attack interrupted the creature’s advancement, leaving it in violent disarray as Lu Heng was left severely weakened.

• The Blood Taisui parasitized the Bone Demon and turned it against Lu Heng, whose attempts to dispel the infestation only briefly slowed it.
• After the Bone Demon wounded him in repeated attacks, Lu Heng used his high-temperature Talent to burn away the fungal network and regain control of the puppet.
• Lu Heng ordered the Bone Demon to clear a path and directed a concentrated torrent of scorching energy at the Blood Taisui’s core.
• The Blood Taisui’s advancement was interrupted, its accumulated source energy fell into disorder, and Lu Heng collapsed into exhaustion and pain.

Lu Heng interrupted Blood Taisui’s advancement and attacked its core, but the enraged fungal collective unleashed the full corpse tide against him. He remained trapped underground, fighting an endless horde as Blood Taisui fixed its attention on him.

• Blood Taisui’s advancement was interrupted, and the fungal network and dormant corpses throughout the nest awakened in fury.
• Lu Heng restored his mental power with a Soul Crystal and healed his injuries with a Flesh Core.
• Tens of thousands of corpses surged toward Lu Heng, who fought them with the Deboning Knife while the Bone Demon defended him.
• Lu Heng sent the King Snake to tear at the hyphae protecting Blood Taisui’s core, further enraging the fungal collective.
• Blood Taisui mobilized every hypha, reserve, and corpse into an unrelenting assault, trapping Lu Heng beneath the severed escape route.

Lu Heng forced his way through Blood Taisui’s corpse tide and reached the fungal nest’s core, where exhaustion left him unable to fight. He provoked Blood Taisui into attacking him directly, and its fungal consciousness began taking control of his body.

• Blood Taisui sent its corpses and hyphae into a relentless assault that overwhelmed Lu Heng and pinned down the Bone Demon.
• Lu Heng used his High-Temperature Talent, then swallowed a Soul Crystal, Starwater, and an unused Energy Core to restore his strength for one last charge.
• Lu Heng fought through the corpse tide and reached the edge of Blood Taisui’s main nest, where his burst of strength collapsed.
• Lu Heng spat onto the pulsing fungal nest, openly defying Blood Taisui despite being unable to stand or fight.
• Enraged, Blood Taisui halted the corpse tide and extended its main hyphae toward Lu Heng, while its consciousness began stripping away his control of his body.

As Blood Taisui’s fungal invasion nearly took over Lu Heng, the Greedy Wolf Star awakened within him and restored his body, allowing him to turn the battle around. He cleared the corpse tide and advanced to the fungal nest, where he paused to adjust to his new power.

• Blood Taisui’s hyphae nearly overwhelmed Lu Heng’s consciousness and seized control of his body.
• The Greedy Wolf Star awakened through Lu Heng’s Survival Bracelet and sent restorative power through him, breaking the fungal invasion.
• Lu Heng used his enhanced high-temperature talent to burn away the hyphae and cut down the corpses, replenishing himself as they fell.
• Lu Heng sent the King Snake to block the passage, then expanded his heat across the cavity and destroyed the remaining hyphae and corpses.
• Lu Heng advanced to Blood Taisui’s nest and faced its core, while the Greedy Wolf Star’s pale-blue power remained dormant within him.

Lu Heng fought the Blood Taisui’s Deep Red Corpse Puppet and discovered that Greedy Wolf Star Power could steal accumulated energy from its opponents. He left the Blood Taisui nearly powerless, but sensed that his newly awakened power had a dangerous appetite for plunder.

• The Blood Taisui sensed Lu Heng’s Greedy Wolf Star Power and released a Deep Red Corpse Puppet fueled by its remaining reserves.
• Lu Heng fought the puppet, but its relentless attacks and rapid replenishment made his heat waves ineffective at stopping it.
• When the puppet lunged at his heart, Lu Heng pressed his palm against the fleshy growth in its chest and destroyed the nutrient supply node.
• Greedy Wolf Star Power awakened on its own and drained the puppet’s remaining reserves, causing it to collapse and the fungal threads to crumble.
• Lu Heng realized Greedy Wolf Star Power could plunder accumulated energy, suppressed an urge to drain the entire cavity, and saw that the Blood Taisui was no longer a threat.

Lu Heng subdued the weakened Blood Taisui and fed it Greedy Wolf star power, restoring it enough to transform into living Blood Armor. He left the cavern wearing the armor, while the armor and the Greedy Wolf power within him showed an instinctive mutual hunger.

• Lu Heng found the nearly dissolved Blood Taisui and used his mental energy to make it acknowledge him as its master.
• Lu Heng fed the Blood Taisui mental energy infused with Greedy Wolf star power, restoring its color and vitality.
• The Blood Taisui spread over Lu Heng and transformed his damaged Combat Suit into self-repairing Blood Armor.
• Lu Heng tested the armor with a heat wave and found that it could channel the heat without burning.
• Lu Heng sensed the Blood Taisui's hunger for Greedy Wolf star power and the star power's covetousness toward the Blood Taisui's essence, then left the cavern.

After defeating Blood Taisui, Lu Heng explored its underground nest, collected its hidden treasures, and climbed out of the collapsed pit. He left with a new understanding that his world was a fragment and with Greedy Wolf Star still watching him.

• Lu Heng tested the Blood Armor and used its mycelia to form a sturdy rope anchored in the pit wall.
• Blood Taisui guided Lu Heng to a concealed Blood-Colored Treasure Chest, which he stored in his Wristband.
• Lu Heng found three more treasure chests—one silver and two bronze—and stored them as well.
• Blood Taisui lifted Lu Heng out of the thirty-meter-deep pit with the mycelial rope.
• Lu Heng considered that the sky, earth, corpse tide, Blood Taisui, and Greedy Wolf Star were all part of a World Fragment.
• Lu Heng sensed Greedy Wolf Star watching him, suppressed the resonance in his eyes and the Blood Armor, and left the pit.

Lu Heng ignored a patrol that tried to question him and continued toward Lakeside Base, focused on learning about the world fragment from the Blood Taisui. After a soldier fired at him, Lu Heng subdued the shooter without killing him, and the patrol let him go.

• More than a dozen soldiers confronted Lu Heng and ordered him to return with them for questioning.
• Lu Heng released psychic pressure that overwhelmed the soldiers, and a young soldier accidentally fired a bullet that the Blood Armor stopped.
• Lu Heng suppressed his urge to kill the patrol, then kicked the young soldier aside without killing him.
• The patrol leader lowered his weapon and ordered the others to stand down, recognizing that Lu Heng had spared them.
• Lu Heng continued toward Lakeside Base, while the patrol leader ordered a report about the man, his armor, and the disturbance.

Lu Heng secured the Lakeside Base, replenished his strength, and meditated until he could unlock Greedy Wolf Star Power’s devouring ability. The chapter left him prepared to wield Wolf’s Kiss, though he understood that its power would tie his future to slaughter and the brink of death.

• Lu Heng fed mental energy to the Water-Covering Vine, which advanced to Black Iron Tier and strengthened the Lakeside Base’s underwater defenses.
• Lu Heng returned to the Stone Cave Fortress Shelter and ate Purifying Water Lotus seeds to recover from his exhaustion and injuries.
• Lu Heng meditated beneath the Greedy Wolf Star, while his Blood Armor absorbed a small amount of overflowing star power.
• Lu Heng inspected his sealed awakening assessment and unlocked the Greedy Wolf astrological talent Wolf's Kiss, which let him replenish himself by draining and absorbing the essence of others.
• Lu Heng recognized that Greedy Wolf’s power could sustain him through desperate battles but would make his future path increasingly dangerous.

Lu Heng emerged from the Shelter into an organized Insect Tide and used the Blood Taisui’s mycelia to clear contamination and devour the swarming insects. After discovering the insects were advancing from the northeast toward the great river, he headed in that direction.

• Lu Heng opened the Shelter door and found the forest overrun by Grey Carapace Insects, Rotleaf Insects, and Flying Stingers.
• Lu Heng recognized the insects’ coordinated roles and realized the Insect Tide was an organized hunting system.
• Lu Heng ordered the Blood Taisui to cleanse the Shelter’s pond and reinforce the entrance barrier.
• Lu Heng stepped into the swarm, where the Blood Taisui devoured the insects and grew stronger as he walked through the forest.
• Lu Heng noticed that the swarm and Flying Stingers were moving from the northeast toward the southwest and set off toward the great river.

Lu Heng reached the stagnant pool and encountered a swarm of Black Iron Tier insects guarding a Bronze Tier presence underwater. The Blood Taisui annihilated the swarm and produced Insect Crystals, and Lu Heng walked toward the pool’s center.

• Lu Heng found a stagnant pool surrounded by dead trees and sensed a powerful Bronze Tier creature beneath the water.
• He identified nearly fifty Black Iron Tier Grey Carapace Insects, Rotleaf Bugs, and Flying Stingers gathered at the pool’s edge.
• The Blood Taisui erupted from Lu Heng’s armor and erased the attacking insects in fewer than ten breaths.
• Lu Heng collected three Insect Crystals from the ashes and identified them as energy cores.
• Lu Heng sensed the Blood Taisui’s wariness toward the creature underwater, then headed toward the center of the hollow.

Lu Heng killed the Bronze Tier Insect Mother with Blood Taisui and had it purify the poisoned depression. After finding an Insect Plague Treasure Chest, he collected its items and continued northeast, knowing the wider Insect Plague would persist.

• Lu Heng identified the Insect Mother as the source of the insect swarms and resisted its mental enticement.
• Blood Taisui overwhelmed and consumed the Insect Mother despite its corrosive venom.
• Lu Heng ordered Blood Taisui to purify the stagnant water by absorbing the venom and mucus.
• Blood Taisui uncovered an Insect Plague Treasure Chest, which Lu Heng opened to obtain Insect Repellent, Insect Carapace Fertilizer, and an Insect Carapace Shield.
• Lu Heng stored the items and continued northeast toward the source of the insect tide.

Lu Heng encountered a wolf pack controlled by parasites left behind by the Insect Mother and used his high-temperature talent to try to save them. He rescued the Wolf King and three wolves, but the rest could not be saved, and he prepared to deal with them as the Wolf King stood back.

• Lu Heng sensed a silent encirclement and discovered that a pack of wolves had been taken over by parasites.
• He restrained the wolves and used controlled heat to burn the parasites out of their bodies.
• The Wolf King and three wolves recovered, while the remaining wolves convulsed as the parasites drove them to attack.
• The Wolf King prepared to kill his irreversibly infested packmates, but Lu Heng warned him that he could be reinfested.
• The Wolf King yielded and stepped back as Lu Heng gathered mental energy again.

Lu Heng cleared two insect nests near the Shelter, killing an Insect Mother and a swarm of Rot-pouch Fly maggots while collecting crystals and supplies. He noticed both new nests lay along the same hundred-meter line and decided to expand his patrol perimeter the next day.

• Lu Heng used the Blood Taisui to devour the parasites and mutated wolves, and the Wolf King led the surviving wolves back into the forest.
• Lu Heng found Black-spotted Wood-boring Beetle larvae in trees near the Shelter and killed the attacking Insect Mother, recovering an Insect Crystal and a treasure chest from the collapsed nest.
• Lu Heng found a Rot-pouch Fly maggot swarm and burned it, then killed the toxin-dusting adults and collected three crystals and a treasure chest.
• Lu Heng assessed the cleared area and noticed both new insect nests were along the hundred-meter line, then returned to the Shelter and planned to expand the perimeter patrol.

Lu Heng traded Insect Repellent for eggs and planting supplies, then shared a meal and meditated in the Shelter. At midnight, the Wolf King led a group of animals to Lu Heng’s fence and pleaded to be let in after insects drove them from the collapsing forest.

• Lu Heng traded two bottles of Insect Repellent for ten eggs and exchanged three more bottles for seeds and seedlings.
• Lu Heng planted the crops in the Planting Room, then cooked eggs and had the Furniture Puppet prepare a meal with the traded ingredients.
• Lu Heng meditated in the Astrology Room as the Blood Taisui absorbed some of the gathered energy and returned the rest to him.
• A Scrying Bug spotted the Wolf King and more than thirty animals waiting at the Shelter’s northern perimeter.
• The Wolf King brought Lu Heng a branch bearing shells from Black-spotted Wood-boring Beetle eggs, and Lu Heng realized the animals had been driven out by the spreading insects.

Lu Heng agreed to keep the beasts near his shelter as scouts and fed an unripe Star Lotus Seed to the Blood Taisui. The Blood Taisui reached Bronze Tier, gained the ability to weave protective mycelium, and became strong enough to root itself and gather energy.

• Lu Heng decided the beasts could serve as scouts to warn him when people entered the forest, and he agreed to let them stay nearby until the next day.
• The Wolf King and the herd settled along the edge of the wasteland as Lu Heng returned inside.
• Lu Heng plucked an unripe Lotus Seed, and the Star Lotus subdued the Blood Taisui when it reached for the seed.
• Lu Heng used his mental power to hold the Blood Taisui in place while it absorbed the Lotus Seed.
• The Blood Taisui reached Bronze Tier and showed Lu Heng that it could weave resilient mycelium for protection and draw energy from the soil.

Lu Heng spent a day recovering his mental strength while the Blood Armor absorbed energy, then unleashed the fungal threads across the wasteland’s perimeter. The threads overwhelmed the insects at the forest entrance and formed an invisible net, while the beasts watched from a distance.

• Lu Heng stayed inside for a day, deciding to make the beasts wait before helping them.
• Lu Heng meditated in the Astrology Room as the Blood Armor covered his body and absorbed energy alongside him.
• Lu Heng went outside the next morning and found the beasts waiting, with the Wolf King standing at the front.
• Lu Heng connected his mental power to the dark-red mass and released it, sending fungal threads across the ground.
• The fungal threads drained insects in their path, overcame the insects that tried to resist, and spread to the forest entrance.
• Lu Heng sensed that the mass had once reached the peak of Silver Tier but was now bronze, and the beasts remained where they were.

After Lu Heng returned to the Shelter, the Mycelium Nest he had left behind attracted scattered insect swarms with the remains of the Rotleaf Bug population. The swarms gathered into a vast tide and attacked the mycelium, beginning a battle that Lu Heng watched from inside the Fortress.

• Lu Heng left the woodland to the mycelium and returned to the Shelter, believing the situation was settled.
• Tusked Boars and other beasts emerged from hiding when the Rotleaf Bug harassment stopped and the mycelium did not attack them.
• Insects from nearby areas were drawn by the remains of the destroyed swarm, and the mycelium killed those that entered its territory.
• The surviving insect swarms gathered into a massive black tide and advanced toward the mycelium-covered woodland.
• The insect tide and Mycelium Nest clashed in a fierce battle as the beasts fled and watched from near the cliffside Fortress.
• Lu Heng observed the ongoing fight from inside the Fortress as neither side retreated or collapsed.

Blood Taisui defeated the ordinary insect tide, but five Bronze Insect Armor Warriors sent by the hidden Insect Queen broke through its defenses. With the Shelter threatened, Lu Heng left the Fortress to face them himself.

• Blood Taisui depleted the insect tide and strengthened its mycelial network by feeding on the dead insects.
• A deep rumble announced the arrival of five Insect Armor Warriors, whom Lu Heng appraised as Bronze combat units bred by the Insect Queen.
• The warriors’ heavy armor resisted Blood Taisui’s threads, and they tore five breaches through the mycelial defense.
• Lu Heng realized the warriors would soon reach the Fortress and endanger the Shelter, so he decided to intervene.
• Lu Heng opened the Fortress’s heavy stone door as Blood Taisui transformed into Blood Armor and the five warriors approached.

Lu Heng fought five Insect Armor Warriors, using his speed, mental power, and the power of Greedy Wolf to weaken and kill one. He faced the four remaining warriors as they closed in, restored but still outnumbered.

• Lu Heng dodged the Insect Armor Warriors’ attacks while staying close enough for the power of Greedy Wolf to replenish him.
• The five warriors coordinated their attacks, forcing Lu Heng onto open ground and striking him hard enough to injure his hand and bruise his ribs.
• Lu Heng spread mental power through the area to raise the temperature, gradually disrupting the warriors’ bodies beneath their armor.
• Lu Heng used Mind Spike at point-blank range to kill one Insect Armor Warrior, then absorbed its essence and recovered his strength.
• The four remaining Insect Armor Warriors advanced on Lu Heng, still uninjured and in peak condition.