Chapter Summaries

Tong Yan traced a signal to the Black Warship, rescued Shen Yunmai, and told him that Jing Jiu would die in three days. Shen Yunmai mourned Mr. Dan and Old Li as he learned what had happened while he was imprisoned.

• A signal from the burning Shen Household Old Residence reached the Black Warship, where it caused an employee’s head to explode and opened a gap in the hull.
• Tong Yan received the continuous signal, found a fast spaceship at a Space Pirates’ lair, and reached the Black Warship in seven days.
• Tong Yan broke into the warship and killed its crew, then shut down the gravitational force field and found Shen Yunmai’s head preserved in a basin.
• Tong Yan used medical equipment and immortal qi to help Shen Yunmai recover enough to speak.
• Shen Yunmai asked about the situation and learned that Jing Jiu would die in three days; Tong Yan recounted what had happened, and Shen Yunmai mourned Old Li.

Tong Yan and Shen Yunmai planned to seek help from the Chaotian Continent as Jing Jiu faced death, while Zhao Layue and others waited for the moment he would leave. The world showed signs of his departure, but Jing Jiu remained alive on a distant planet with Snow Ji and Little Girl as the countdown continued.

• Tong Yan told Shen Yunmai that Jing Jiu's death could not be changed and proposed seeking help from the Chaotian Continent through the Zhongzhou Sect.
• Shen Yunmai agreed to join Tong Yan's plan, despite learning that his father had intended to exile him for three hundred years rather than kill him.
• Zhao Layue waited at the cliff with the Unthought Sword, while Ran Handong, Jiang Yuxia, and Zhong Lizi watched her and worried about Jing Jiu.
• Sheep on the grassland formed a line like the character for one, then shifted into a circle as bells signaled the evening return to the sheepfold.
• Signs of a circle appeared around the world as believers bowed toward the Snow Mountain and the kun released a ring-shaped bubble.
• On a distant planet, Jing Jiu left the piano and went to boil water for pumpkin porridge and eggs while Snow Ji watched with pride.

Jing Jiu remained with Snow Ji instead of awakening or dying, while a disaster at a Scorpion Tail industrial base opened a vast Spatial Fissure to the seabed of the Dark Matter Sea. Unaware of the crisis, Jing Jiu and Snow Ji watched the distant explosion from home as the government issued an emergency notice.

• The expected change in Jing Jiu did not occur, and Zhao Layue realized that Snow Ji was with him; the Green Mountain Patriarch concluded that Snow Ji had altered what was supposed to happen.
• The Central Computer detected a failed Fusion Erosion operation at the Scorpion Tail industrial base, where a Spatial Fissure opened onto the seabed of the Dark Matter Sea.
• Jing Jiu, Snow Ji, Flower Creek, and Cold Cicada continued their quiet life at home, unaware that the government had issued a level-four warning and ordered citizens to prepare for evacuation.
• An explosion in the Scorpion Tail industrial zone triggered the Central Computer's highest-level alarm and drew the attention of Yukata the girl beside the hot spring.
• Jing Jiu and Snow Ji saw the distant explosion immediately and Jing Jiu began drawing it; then the residential alarm sounded and the television broadcast an emergency government notice that showed Teacher Eve at a meeting.

Eve left a tense city meeting with orders to prepare her neighborhood for evacuation as officials rushed to ready an underground base. Elsewhere, the spatial fissure in the Scorpion Tail Nebula continued to widen, prompting the Galaxy Alliance to mobilize fleets and prepare residents for evacuation while a researcher at Base 857 reviewed classified data.

• Eve watched the mayor order preparations for residents to enter the underground base after the Union Executive Director argued against the emergency measures and officials admitted the base inspection was unfinished.
• The girl learned that another attempt to seal the fissure had failed and decided to reopen the spatial passages so Chen Ya could bring his fleet over to prepare for evacuation.
• Zeng Ju left Base 857 aboard the Blazing Sun Warship and issued emergency orders as the fleet arrived in the Scorpion Tail Nebula.
• Zeng Ju ordered warships to support the affected industrial base and prepare inhabited planets within two spatial jumps for evacuation.
• A researcher in a gray checked shirt at Base 857 drank jasmine tea while studying classified information, with a silver bracelet around his wrist.

A spatial fissure inside the burning industrial planet Dreamfire widened, unleashing a vast tide of Dark Matter Sea monsters that overwhelmed the defenses. Just as Zeng Ju prepared to sacrifice the remaining Iron Dandelions, a black-robed Daoist returned through the fissure and destroyed the monsters with his sword light.

• Jiang Zhixing and Zeng Ju reviewed the expanding spatial fissure inside Dreamfire and the danger posed by the Dark Matter Sea.
• Zeng Ju took command of the defense fleet, ordered the warships to retreat, and had seven thousand Iron Dandelions resume firing.
• The fissure suddenly expanded, and a massive tide of monsters and spores poured into space, eventually exhausting the Iron Dandelions' ammunition.
• Zeng Ju prepared to make the disabled Iron Dandelions offer their final contribution as the monster tide threatened to engulf the industrial base.
• A cold voice told Zeng Ju to wait, and a black-robed Daoist arrived through the fissure and destroyed the monsters with a streak of sword light.

The black-robed Daoist fought Dark Matter Sea monsters and worked to seal the expanding Spatial Fissure despite severe injuries. After killing four Mother Nests and replacing his left arm, he resumed fusion erosion, but sensed something approaching beyond the fissure.

• The black-robed Daoist returned from the Dark Matter Sea and launched his Immortal Sword through the Spatial Fissure to hold back the Beast Tide.
• The black-robed Daoist used a Fusion Erosion Device to try sealing the fissure, but a tentacle interrupted the forming light net and ruined the attempt.
• Four Mother Nests emerged, and the black-robed Daoist killed them with his Immortal Sword and Iron Dandelions, though one tentacle infected his injured left shoulder.
• The black-robed Daoist cut off his left arm, fitted a Mechanical Arm, and received another Fusion Erosion Device from the warships.
• The black-robed Daoist resumed fusion erosion as the fissure remained quiet, then sensed something on the far side and looked toward it.

Seventeen warships attacked a spatial fissure, but their weapons revealed that a Darkness Warden was blocking it and beginning to emerge. Sword Immortal En Sheng chose to fight the monster despite his grave wounds, until the Monk of Joy arrived and sent him to safety to face the Warden himself.

• The black-robed Daoist fled the spatial fissure as Zeng Ju triggered an attack with seventeen warships and thousands of nuclear devices.
• The attacks failed to penetrate the fissure, revealing that a Darkness Warden was filling it and squeezing into the human world.
• Zeng Ju ordered En Sheng to retreat, but En Sheng identified himself as the first Sect Master of the No-Grace Gate and declared he would die fighting.
• En Sheng attacked the Darkness Warden, but its deathly aura froze his sword and began encasing him in silver frost.
• The Monk of Joy arrived, shattered the frost, hurled En Sheng toward a warship, and turned to confront the Darkness Warden.

The Monk of Joy stopped the Darkness Warden by drawing on the planet’s molten core, but its self-detonation shattered his golden body and worsened the Spatial Fissure. After the battle, he reunited with his teacher Zeng Ju aboard the Blazing Sun Warship, where Zeng Ju asked whether he had come to kill him.

• The Monk of Joy used the planet’s molten metal and Buddhist power to strike the Mother Nest and hold back the Darkness Warden.
• The Darkness Warden detonated itself, blasting the Monk of Joy into space and tearing open more of the planet around the Spatial Fissure.
• The Blazing Sun Warship and reinforcements helped contain the monster tide, while Zeng Ju refused to send crewed warships after escaped monsters.
• Zeng Ju visited the recovering En Sheng, who urged him to bring Shen Yunmai back despite Shen Yunmai having been dead.
• The Monk of Joy reunited with Zeng Ju in the medical area and admitted that he had wanted to come kill him.

The Monk of Joy explained that he planned to find Snow Ji in the Dark Matter Sea and enlist her help against its spread, even if that meant surrendering humanity to her. After warning Zeng Ju that he might have to kill him to secure the plan, he set out alone through the Spatial Fissure, leaving the fleet to continue repairing it.

• The Monk of Joy told Zeng Ju that the Dark Matter Sea was overwhelming their universe and that he intended to find Snow Ji, whom he believed could perceive and control its dark energy.
• Zeng Ju and Sword Immortal Ensheng realized the Monk of Joy planned to make Snow Ji sovereign over the Dark Matter Sea and acknowledged that neither could defeat him.
• The Monk of Joy asked Zeng Ju to consider completing the second half of his plan while he went to the Dark Matter Sea to find Snow Ji and draw away its monsters.
• The Monk of Joy rode a metal disk through the Spatial Fissure as the fleet watched, and Zeng Ju confirmed that he knew he was entering hell.
• A researcher from Base 857 understood the Monk of Joy’s choice and left with his jasmine tea.

As the fleet prepared to reduce the threat from the Dark Matter Sea, the Monk of Joy traveled deep into it to draw away monsters and Mother Nests. On Earth, Jing Jiu’s household prepared for a possible evacuation and received frozen pears from a neighbor, while the Monk of Joy lured dozens of Mother Nests after recording what he saw.

• The Blazing Sun Warship sailed toward the burning planet as Zeng Ju prepared to use Fusion Erosion Devices, while a gray-shirted researcher retrieved a black Go stone from the warehouse.
• Flower Creek tried to prepare for evacuation, and Jing Jiu and Snow Ji remained largely indifferent to the warnings and preparations.
• A neighbor from Building 714 left the household a basket of frozen pears, which Flower Creek tried to eat before setting the rest in the sunlight to thaw.
• The Monk of Joy traveled far into the Dark Matter Sea, where he found dozens of Mother Nests and recorded the dark scene and his observations.
• The Monk of Joy placed his drawing inside the Great Nirvana, then beckoned the Mother Nests and flew away to lure them after him.

Monk of Joy endured the Dark Matter Sea and a Darkness Warden’s hallucinations, which made him relive his past defeat and encounter with Snow Ji. He escaped the illusion believing His Majesty had warned him, but wondered whether the warning came from Snow Ji herself or from his own heart.

• Monk of Joy used golden flames to repel the Mother Nests and told Zeng Ju that their behavior suggested a commander was nearby.
• As dark energy and a Darkness Warden’s will clouded his mind, Monk of Joy relived memories of his life and his crushing defeat beneath Snow Ji.
• In the illusion, Monk of Joy drifted beneath the frozen Snow Sea until Snow Ji appeared above a fissure and told him to wake before he died.
• Monk of Joy realized the Darkness Warden had trapped him in successive illusions and felt relieved that His Majesty had warned him.
• Monk of Joy wondered whether Snow Ji had awakened him or whether the warning had come from His Majesty in his own heart.

The Monk of Joy encountered two Darkness Wardens in the Dark Matter Sea and escaped through a Spatial Fissure to Moonwatch Star. After sealing off the fissure’s opening and warning the planet’s residents to evacuate, he began building a formation and sensed someone watching him from a nearby city.

• The Monk of Joy studied an approaching Darkness Warden, then fled when a second one appeared.
• He followed a newly forming Spatial Fissure and used the Great Nirvana to separate its opening from Moonwatch Star, but the force hurled him across the wilderness.
• The Monk of Joy identified his location, sent a warning to the Blazing Sun Warship, and broadcast evacuation orders to more than a dozen cities.
• He rode to the factory ruins and constructed a thirteen-story formation tower to stabilize the Spatial Fissure.
• The Monk of Joy sensed a watcher on the planet and looked toward a run-down city with dormitory buildings and a deserted basketball court.

After a Spatial Fissure appeared near Moonwatch, Zeng Ju sent the Blazing Sun Warship toward the planet while its residents began evacuating underground. Eve reached Building 720 to check on Jing Jiu and his siblings, where Flower Creek greeted her with a bowl of porridge.

• Zeng Ju learned that the Monk of Joy had emerged from the Dark Matter Sea near an inhabited planet, then ordered a rescue mission after a Spatial Fissure was reported on Moonwatch.
• Zeng Ju persuaded the other Ascension Ones that they should go to Moonwatch, and most of the Blazing Sun Warship's crew volunteered to join him.
• The Monk of Joy announced a first-sequence event, and Mayor Ai Lun recovered from his shock and began coordinating Moonwatch's evacuation.
• Eve helped evacuate residents from the old factory dormitories, then left to check Building 720 for Jing Jiu and his siblings.
• Eve found Flower Creek at home with a bowl of porridge, and Flower Creek asked whether she had eaten.

Jing Jiu and Flower Creek evacuated with the residents of Wushi City as Monk of Joy suppressed the Dark Matter Sea's Spatial Fissure. When the Alloy Door to their Underground Bunker jammed shut, Jing Jiu approached it and offered help.

• Eve took Jing Jiu and Flower Creek to the evacuation point, then left to collect another family.
• An earthquake struck as Jing Jiu and Flower Creek passed through the Inspection Gate, while Snow Ji watched the Spatial Fissure and Monk of Joy held back the Dark Matter Sea.
• Jing Jiu, Flower Creek, and Snow Ji boarded the Subway and reached the Underground Bunker with the last evacuees.
• The Alloy Door failed to open for four thousand residents of the Old Industrial Dormitory District, and Mayor Ailun learned that it was physically jammed.
• As fear spread among the trapped residents, Jing Jiu walked up to the Alloy Door with Flower Creek and asked, "Need a hand?"

Jing Jiu opened the Alloy Door so Wushi City’s residents could evacuate, then left with Flower Creek rather than remain among the people. Back at 720, he and Snow Ji watched the deserted city and considered whether helping others gave their existence meaning.

• Jing Jiu touched the Alloy Door and sent metal flowing through its lock and mechanisms, opening it for the evacuating residents.
• Mayor Allen announced that Wushi City’s people had reached the underground bases and that the Alliance fleet was coming to help.
• After the final evacuees arrived, Jing Jiu told Eve he would leave, then used two fingers to close the Alloy Door behind himself and Flower Creek.
• Jing Jiu returned to 720 and played the piano while Snow Ji watched a distant, crumbling tower.
• Flower Creek complained that their trip had made her miss her cartoons, and Cold Cicada wondered whether helping people was what their existence meant to them.
• Jing Jiu said that a field of rye did not seem to need a catcher, and Cold Cicada agreed that children did not need one either.

The Monk of Joy fought to contain the Spatial Fissure on Moonwatch Star Planet, destroying waves of monsters until nine Darkness Wardens emerged. Outmatched, he watched them rise into the sky and blot out the sun.

• The Monk of Joy suppressed the Spatial Fissure with Buddha light as monsters escaped into the surrounding fields and attacked him.
• He abandoned the pagoda formation and used a Great Hand Seal to cover the fissure, holding back the monsters through the night.
• When tentacles and Mother Nests broke through, the Monk of Joy tore apart the tentacles and destroyed Mother Nests with his blade arts.
• A Darkness Warden emerged, followed by another, and the Monk of Joy retreated to a mountain northwest of the Factory Ruins.
• Seven more Darkness Wardens emerged as monsters poured across Moonwatch Star Planet, leaving the Monk of Joy too weakened to resist.
• The nine Darkness Wardens rose into the sky, where their presence blotted out the morning sun.

As nine Darkness Wardens appeared over Moonwatch Star, the Monk of Joy realized that His Majesty was waiting in the nearby city. When monsters from the Dark Matter Sea invaded, Snow Ji kept them away from the building where Jing Jiu and Flower Creek sheltered, but a cat suddenly appeared in the birch tree.

• The Monk of Joy saw the nine Darkness Wardens and realized that His Majesty was on Moonwatch Star.
• Jing Jiu, Snow Ji, and Flower Creek returned home, where the nine Darkness Wardens darkened the sky and the monster tide approached.
• The monsters contaminated plants, animals, and buildings as they swept into Wushi City, terrifying the humans sheltering underground.
• Jing Jiu played the piano at Snow Ji's request while she warned the monsters away, and the beast tide left their building untouched.
• A frightened cat appeared on a branch in the birch tree.

Jing Jiu defended Building 720 from waves of Dark Matter Sea monsters using an invisible net of sword threads, even as his body shrank and his sword abilities returned. After Snow Ji told him to keep playing the piano, the summoned mosquitoes destroyed the nearly invisible Blood Thumbs, and Cold Cicada returned to the windowsill.

• A frightened pregnant Little Flower called for help, and Jing Jiu sliced apart the black bird attacking her before she escaped into the apartment.
• Snow Ji placed her hand on Jing Jiu’s shoulder, and his left middle fingernail extended into fine metal threads that cut apart the monsters swarming Building 720.
• Jing Jiu’s unease ignited the monsters’ scattered remains, burning most of them in a vast fireball.
• The flames revealed that Jing Jiu’s threads had formed an invisible cage around Building 720, while he realized his body had become smaller and childlike.
• When Blood Thumbs approached, Snow Ji told Jing Jiu to keep playing, and the music summoned mosquitoes that preyed on them.
• Cold Cicada returned to the windowsill and watched the nine black suns without fear.

As nine Darkness Wardens overwhelmed Moonwatch, Jing Jiu finished playing the piano and prepared to leave residential building 720 with Flower Creek and Snow Ji. The Monk of Joy continued fighting the Wardens while the people in the underground bases faced an uncertain fate.

• Reports showed that the Monk of Joy had temporarily suppressed the Spatial Fissure, so Chen Ya sent warships toward Moonwatch, but a second expansion and the appearance of nine Darkness Wardens forced her to recall them.
• Jiang Zhixing and Zeng Ju watched monsters avoid building 720, then saw Jing Jiu’s flames destroy wave after wave while he played piano; the monsters later surged toward the building again.
• The monsters overran Wushi City and battered the underground base’s Alloy Door, so Ms. Eve and thousands of residents were sealed inside behind the Gravitational Force Field Generator.
• The Monk of Joy rose from the rubble after fighting three Darkness Wardens and looked toward Wushi City, wondering when His Majesty would act.
• Jing Jiu finished playing, gathered his belongings, and prepared to leave with Flower Creek and Snow Ji; he left a Sword Flame to warm the pregnant tabby before they stepped outside building 720.

Jing Jiu and Flower Creek left the residential complex as the Dark Matter Sea monsters converged on them, and he froze the creatures along their path. At the basketball court, they met the wounded Monk of Joy and faced nine Darkness Wardens while Jing Jiu began killing distant monsters with fine metal threads.

• When Jing Jiu stepped outside, the monsters across Moonwatch Star stopped, then rushed toward his residential building, drawing the attention of Yukata and observers aboard the Blazing Sun Warship.
• Jing Jiu led Flower Creek away from the building and froze the attacking monsters, birds, and Blood Thumbs as they crossed the freezing landscape.
• At the basketball court, nine Darkness Wardens appeared, and the wounded Monk of Joy arrived on a metal disc while Flower Creek held Snow Ji.
• As more monsters approached from across the planet, Jing Jiu used fine metal threads to kill them from the basketball court, beginning with those at a distant station.