Chapter Summaries

Lu Heng spent a rainy day stocking seafood and agates through the trading interface before resting in the Fortress. The next morning, he discovered a hailstorm battering the mountain forest and checked whether the Bloodthirsty Vine seeds he had planted could withstand it.

• Lu Heng checked the Purifying Water Lotus and concluded that it had reached a growth bottleneck, so he left it to develop naturally.
• Lu Heng traded surplus beast meat for seafood from the Island Region and stored the supplies in the cellar.
• Lu Heng continued trading for agate until he had exactly two hundred stones, then browsed the other regional markets.
• Lu Heng spent the day inside the Fortress and went to bed early after organizing his supplies.
• Lu Heng woke to a hailstorm and watched the ground where he had planted the Bloodthirsty Vine seeds, checking whether the hail had exposed or damaged them.

During a relentless hailstorm, Lu Heng bonded with the newly sprouted Bloodthirsty Vine and protected it with a wooden shelter. Once the cross-region trading event ended, he ignored the flood of messages and settled into quiet survival tasks, beginning to make a toothbrush.

• Lu Heng inspected the Bloodthirsty Vine seedling and found it had instinctively sheltered itself from the hail beneath flesh and soil.
• Lu Heng formed a crude master-servant bond with the Bloodthirsty Vine and sensed its instincts for absorbing blood, hiding, and ambushing nearby creatures.
• Lu Heng built a sturdy, layered wooden roof over the seedling to protect it from the hail.
• Lu Heng saw that the three-day cross-region trading event had ended, ignored the public chat and unread messages, and cleared the notifications.
• Lu Heng began crafting a basic toothbrush from wooden sticks and soft animal hair while the hail continued outside.

Lu Heng used a hail-bound afternoon to make a crude toothbrush and enjoy a rare moment of rest at the Cliffside Shelter. When his monitoring system detected several kinds of mutated beasts scouting the Shelter, he replenished his arrows and readied his weapons, then heard an animal caught in one of his traps.

• Lu Heng made a crude toothbrush from a wooden stick and animal hair, then tested it successfully.
• With the hailstorm keeping him indoors, Lu Heng watched the damaged forest from the second-floor balcony and enjoyed a brief rest.
• The Silk-Peeping Bugs detected Red Cliff Jackals, forest wolves, and feral dogs gathering and probing the Shelter’s perimeter.
• Lu Heng suspected the beasts were targeting the Shelter and hurried to prepare for an attack.
• Lu Heng made thirty arrows, checked his weapons, and returned to monitor the beasts.
• Lu Heng heard pained howls from the forest and realized one of his animal traps had caught a beast.

Lu Heng watched jackals, wolves, and wild dogs surround his Cliffside Shelter during a hailstorm, then realized they had united to take revenge for his hunts. After the beasts killed and ate their injured companion, Lu Heng stayed inside the Fortress and decided to wait for them to weaken.

• The jackals, wolves, and wild dogs emerged from the forest and surrounded Lu Heng’s Shelter, keeping out of range of his Giant-Feather Crossbow.
• Lu Heng stayed calm inside the Fortress, trusting its shelter and supplies to outlast the beasts in the hail.
• Lu Heng used the Wristband to watch the Silk-Peeping Bug’s feed as the beasts devoured their trapped, grievously injured companion.
• Lu Heng concluded the beasts had united in revenge for the many jackals, wolves, and wild dogs he had hunted.
• Lu Heng remained at his observation point and waited for the beasts’ patience to run out and their defenses to falter.

As jackals, wolves, and wild dogs kept watch outside the Shelter during a day of hail, Lu Heng built and set traps to reinforce the perimeter. After exhaustion caused him to fall asleep, the beasts launched a coordinated nighttime attack, and he prepared to defend the Shelter with his Giant-Feather Crossbow.

• Lu Heng made ten ordinary beast traps and two stronger Frost-Patterned Iron traps to cover routes and blind spots around the Shelter.
• Lu Heng set the new traps along the fence and checked the existing trap at the front entrance, creating thirteen trap positions.
• Lu Heng watched the motionless beasts from the second-floor platform but eventually fell asleep from exhaustion.
• A beast's anguished howl woke Lu Heng, who used his Wristband to pull up the spying bugs' live surveillance feeds.
• Jackals, wolves, and wild dogs charged the fence together, and Lu Heng took down his Giant-Feather Crossbow to face the attack.

Lu Heng defended the Shelter from a nighttime assault by wolves, wild dogs, and jackals, using traps and his Giant-Feather Crossbow before fighting the pack leaders at close range. He killed the Wild Dog King and Jackal King, while the wounded Wolf King remained as the courtyard fell quiet.

• The beasts climbed over the Shelter’s side walls and triggered Lu Heng’s traps, leaving many injured or dead.
• Lu Heng shot down more than a dozen beasts with his Giant-Feather Crossbow as the survivors regrouped at the stone entrance.
• The Wolf King, Wild Dog King, and Jackal King clawed and rammed the reinforced door while Lu Heng exhausted his bolts clearing the courtyard.
• Lu Heng dropped from the platform and killed the wounded beasts that attacked him with his Bronze Hunting Blade.
• Lu Heng killed the Wild Dog King and Jackal King in close combat, then watched the panicked survivors blunder into the remaining traps.
• The courtyard fell quiet with the fleeing beasts trapped, and the wounded Wolf King was the only pack leader left alive.

Lu Heng discovered that Thread Parasites had driven three Black Iron Tier beast leaders to attack his courtyard, but his Geothermal Talisman destroyed the parasites that tried to infect him. After salvaging the carcasses and feeding materials to the Bloodthirsty Vine, he began cleaning up as snow started falling.

• Lu Heng approached the Wolf King's body, where Thread Parasites emerged and tried to burrow into his hand.
• The Geothermal Talisman activated and dissolved the parasites beneath Lu Heng's skin.
• Lu Heng concluded that the parasites had amplified the three leaders' aggression, turning the beast packs against him.
• Lu Heng dismantled the leaders, recovered a Flesh Core from the Jackal King, and processed the remaining beast carcasses.
• Lu Heng fed some materials to the Bloodthirsty Vine and noticed it had grown after absorbing blood from the battle.
• Hail stopped and snow began falling as Lu Heng used his Wristband to clean the courtyard.

After surviving the beast tide, Lu Heng stored most of his traps and saved the leader’s Flesh Core for emergencies. He set out downstream to explore the forest, but the chapter ended with him reaching the still-flowing river.

• Lu Heng left four animal traps at the fence’s corners, stored the rest, and classified the Flesh Core as an emergency supply.
• Lu Heng reasoned that unexplored areas must contain enough herbivores to support the many predators and decided to explore downstream at daybreak.
• Lu Heng rested in the Shelter and woke after daylight had already arrived.
• Lu Heng headed through the hail-damaged forest, clearing a path and collecting fallen branches for firewood.
• Lu Heng reached the river, found it flowing freely, and continued along the easier path beside it.

Lu Heng followed the river downstream and discovered a vast wetland where numerous herbivore herds had migrated for winter, explaining why predators gathered in the upstream forest. He watched a wolf pack skillfully isolate and harry a Giant-Horned Deer, leaving the hunt underway.

• Lu Heng saw that the crater had a remarkably regular shape and noticed traces of an ancient river channel at its base.
• Lu Heng reached a broad downstream wetland and scanned its abundant deer, sheep, and cattle herds, finding no mutated beasts among them.
• Lu Heng concluded that herbivores had fled the hail-damaged, snowbound upstream forest, drawing carnivores there and creating an ecosystem with hunters but few prey.
• Lu Heng spotted seven or eight wolves stalking a Giant-Horned Deer and concealed himself to observe their hunt.
• The wolves scattered the deer herd, isolated the Giant-Horned Deer, and began wearing it down with coordinated feints and attacks.

Lu Heng explored the wetland, found supplies in a wooden chest, and was attacked by a Marsh-Ridged bull. He drew the bull away from its herd and wounded it repeatedly, then pressed forward as it began to weaken.

• Lu Heng searched the wetland’s edge and found packaged bread, purified water, and towels in a wooden chest, which he stored in the Wristband Space.
• Lu Heng passed a herd of Marsh-Ridged Cattle, but an adult bull charged him and continued pursuing him despite his attempts to retreat.
• Lu Heng lured the bull away from the herd to open ground and drew his Bronze Hunting Blade.
• Lu Heng dodged the bull’s charges and slashed it repeatedly, gradually draining its strength with blood loss.
• Lu Heng saw the wounded bull begin to falter and take fright, then stepped toward it with his Hunting Blade ready.

Lu Heng killed the Marsh-Ridged Cattle after it pursued him across the wetland, then harvested medicinal herbs from the surrounding marsh. He decided to return to the enormous meteorite crater and retrace his route to better understand the area's terrain.

• Lu Heng crippled the Marsh-Ridged Cattle by severing its hind-leg tendon and vocal cords, then killed it before its blood scent could attract predators.
• Lu Heng stored the cattle's carcass in his Wristband Space and withdrew from the exposed mudflat.
• Lu Heng searched the wetland and harvested abundant White Fuzz Grass and rare Silt-Root Orchid.
• Lu Heng judged the deeper wetland too risky to explore and chose to return to the enormous crater by following the river.

Lu Heng returned to the meteorite crater and discovered that an unknown object at its center created an increasingly powerful gravitational field. After storing the meteorite and finding Falling Star Sand and a Star Chest beneath it, he began collecting the sand before opening the chest.

• Lu Heng returned to the meteorite crater and tested how its crushing gravity intensified as he approached the center.
• Lu Heng crawled through the strongest pressure and found a meteorite surrounded by silvery grains.
• Lu Heng scanned the grains and identified them as Bronze Tier Falling Star Sand, then stored the meteorite in his Wristband.
• The crater’s gravity abruptly vanished, and Lu Heng collapsed into the snow before recovering.
• Lu Heng began digging up the Falling Star Sand and uncovered a Star Chest beneath the meteorite’s former position.
• Lu Heng scanned the chest and continued carefully collecting the sand, intending to open it afterward.

Lu Heng collected the Falling Star Sand and stored the Star Chest just before a pack of Spotted Hyenas charged into the crater, drawn by the scent of blood on his blade. He fought off their opening attacks and struck down several beasts, but the pack continued pressing him as the battle began.

• Lu Heng gathered the last of the Falling Star Sand and stored the Star Chest when more than twenty hyenas rushed down into the crater.
• Lu Heng scanned the pack with his Wristband, identified them as Spotted Hyenas, and spotted a larger beast he believed was their leader.
• Lu Heng shot two hyenas with his Giant-Feather Crossbow, then switched to his Bronze Hunting Blade and bracer as the pack closed in.
• Lu Heng slashed one hyena and kicked another down, then wounded a third as it circled him.
• Lu Heng evaded a hyena's ambush at his thigh and kicked it into a frozen rock, leaving it unable to move.

Lu Heng returned from the meteorite crater after defeating a pack of spotted hyenas and discovered a human skeleton in the cave where he had spent his first night. He cleared hail-damaged branches from the mountain path and reached the Shelter.

• Lu Heng killed the wounded spotted hyenas, donated their carcasses, and confirmed the crater held no resources worth staying for.
• Lu Heng visited the cave where he had spent his first night and found the remains of an unknown person, which he left untouched.
• Lu Heng cleared fallen branches from the mountain path, storing the wood and cutting down branches still hanging from trees.
• Lu Heng emerged from the obstructed trail and walked toward the Shelter along the path he had repaired.

Lu Heng returned to the Cliffside Shelter with two minerals and a Star Chest from the crater expedition. The chest yielded three stellar treasures that offered a way to regulate his growing room, acquire resources, and resist supernatural interference.

• Lu Heng cleaned up in the Cliffside Shelter and briefly felt the gravity-pressing stone's field before storing it and the featherlight falling star sand.
• Lu Heng opened the Star Chest and found a crystal pearl, a stone pedestal, and a silver-patterned scroll.
• Lu Heng scanned the crystal pearl and learned that the Star Tear produced Star Water, repelled malevolent entities, and regulated nearby plant growth.
• Lu Heng scanned the pedestal and discovered the unique Star Altar could turn sacrificial offerings into random equipment, materials, or special items.
• Lu Heng scanned the scroll and learned the Starlight Meditation Method could cultivate mental energy to dispel evil, break illusions, and resist mental intrusion.
• Lu Heng set the altar inside the Shelter and considered how to place the Star Tear and practice the meditation method.

Lu Heng placed the Star Altar in his cave, set up the Star Tear in his growing room, and planted a wild tea sapling. After the Starlight Meditation Method entered his mind and he practiced it, his Wristband detected his Mental Energy awakening and unlocked its panel at zero.

• Lu Heng carried the Star Altar upstairs, where it moved by itself and fixed itself to an unexplained spot in the floor.
• Lu Heng placed a pumpkin on the altar and kowtowed to it as an offering.
• Lu Heng fitted the Star Tear beside the Sunlight Pearl and Moonlight Pearl, planted his wild tea sapling, and decided to check the Star Tear for water in the morning.
• Lu Heng touched the Starlight Meditation Method scroll, which dissolved into silver radiance and imprinted its instructions in his mind.
• Lu Heng practiced the meditation method until the Wristband announced his Mental Energy awakening and unlocked a panel showing a value of zero.

Lu Heng offered his accumulated unused materials at the Star Altar and received a Bronze Tier Ghost Claw gauntlet that completed his arm protection. After checking the Shelter for the night, he went to bed exhausted from the day’s exploration and discoveries.

• Lu Heng decided to offer the unused materials from his Storage Space at the Star Altar.
• Lu Heng spread the materials across the altar, and they vanished before a Ghost Claw took shape.
• Lu Heng scanned the Ghost Claw and found that its retractable claws offered strong offense while its armor protected and strengthened one arm.
• Lu Heng tried on the Ghost Claw and felt more confident about fighting beasts at close range.
• Lu Heng checked and sealed the second floor, then went to bed to recover from the day.

Lu Heng discovered that the Star Tear’s Starfall Divine Water transformed his nearly ripe pumpkin into a Pumpkin Star, then prepared new combat gear and chose to travel to Geothermal Valley during the blizzard to recharge his Geothermal Talisman. He left the Shelter with two bars of talisman energy and his route decided.

• Lu Heng found the Star Tear steadily producing Starfall Divine Water and collected it in a bottle.
• The nearly ripe pumpkin vine snapped and withered under the Star Tear’s nourishment, then new shoots grew and Lu Heng identified the plant as a Pumpkin Star.
• Lu Heng decided to save the remaining Starfall Divine Water for the Blood-Devouring Vine outside the Shelter.
• Lu Heng equipped the Ghost Claw on his right hand and his defensive gauntlet on his left, then finished preparing his outdoor gear.
• Seeing the heavy blizzard, Lu Heng chose to head to Geothermal Valley and absorb geothermal energy to refill the Geothermal Talisman.
• Lu Heng stepped out of the Shelter into the snow.

Lu Heng chose to enter the frozen swamp to seek the Bronze Tier Swamp Giant Snake and a chance to advance. As he moved deeper, he found signs that an unknown danger was keeping birds away, and he worried that the Cold Crows might attack him after a fight.

• Lu Heng waited at Geothermal Valley for his Geothermal Talisman to recharge, then chose the swamp over Frost Forest and the grazing plain.
• Lu Heng entered the frozen swamp and saw Cold Crows digging a Swamp Lizard out of the frozen mud and eating it.
• Lu Heng scanned the flock, found most Cold Crows unranked and a few Black Iron Tier, and continued deeper without fighting them.
• Lu Heng noticed birds grew scarce toward the swamp's middle and found broad drag marks leading into its darker depths.
• Lu Heng concluded that an unknown creature lurked in the swamp and feared the Cold Crows might attack if he emerged from a fight weakened.

Lu Heng discovered that Swamp Slippery Fish were parasitizing birds in the swamp and tried to flee after one attacked him. His bloodied strike stirred the creatures beneath the frozen ground, leaving him surrounded by approaching movement.

• Lu Heng turned back from the swamp's lifeless middle reaches after deciding the dangers outweighed any chance of finding supplies.
• Birds began falling from the sky, and Lu Heng cut open a jackdaw to discover a writhing Swamp Slippery Fish inside it.
• Lu Heng scanned the creature with his Wristband and learned that Swamp Slippery Fish burrowed into living bodies to feed.
• As Lu Heng ran toward the outskirts, a Swamp Slippery Fish burst through the frozen ground and lunged at his head.
• Lu Heng blocked the attack with his bracer and cut the fish with his blade, spilling blood onto the snow.
• The frozen ground trembled and cracked as countless movements beneath it converged on Lu Heng.