Chapter Summaries

Yu Sheng exposed Poison Bee’s lies about the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit and found a hidden passage beneath the stone tablet. After guessing the fruit was about to ripen, he followed the gray aura in the opposite direction, leaving Poison Bee silent and suspicious.

• Yu Sheng deduced that Poison Bee had shed its body to approach the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit and had lied about the timing of its ripening.
• Yu Sheng used his hammer to break through the ground beneath the stone tablet and uncover a narrow passage.
• Yu Sheng explained that Poison Bee’s urgency, the untouched arrays, and missing hairs at the entrance led him to guess the fruit would ripen that day.
• Poison Bee wondered whether Yu Sheng was trying to distract it, while Yu Sheng followed the gray aura and realized he had initially chosen the wrong passage.
• Yu Sheng turned toward the other end of the passage and disappeared into the darkness.

Yu Sheng saw through Poison Bee’s misleading directions and followed the Gray Aura toward the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit. Poison Bee abandoned his act and summoned a Demon Beast to block Yu Sheng’s path.

• Poison Bee asked how Yu Sheng had discovered the passage’s misdirection, then warned him that the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit’s poisonous gas would kill him.
• Yu Sheng ignored Poison Bee’s pleas and used the Gray Aura to guide himself through the passage toward the fruit.
• Yu Sheng accused Poison Bee of acting poorly and compared him unfavorably to Old White Ape.
• Poison Bee stopped pretending, called Yu Sheng a deceitful human, and summoned a Demon Beast that demanded Yu Sheng step over its corpse to pass.

Yu Sheng pushed through Poison Bee’s Demon Beast attacks and reached the chamber where the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit was ripening. He entered the fruit’s deadly forbidden zone unharmed by mimicking a soul’s aura, leaving Poison Bee stunned.

• Yu Sheng killed the Demon Beasts sent to stop him while mocking Poison Bee’s threats.
• Poison Bee stopped sending weak Demon Beasts and prepared something as Yu Sheng continued down the passage.
• Yu Sheng reached a vast chamber containing a half-black, half-white stele and Poison Bee’s phantom.
• Poison Bee warned that approaching within ten meters of the ripening Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit would annihilate any physical being.
• Yu Sheng stepped into the forbidden zone unharmed, explaining that he had mimicked a soul’s aura and adapted Aura Mimicry to fool the fruit.

Yu Sheng foiled Poison Bee’s Sky Orchid Fragrance poison trap with Energy Fluid and tested Poison Bee’s warnings about the stone tablet. He left Poison Bee’s scheme exposed but did not strike the tablet, whose connection to the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit remained uncertain.

• Poison Bee revealed that Starfall Fruit and Demon Crystals became deadly when combined with Sky Orchid Fragrance, but Yu Sheng was unaffected because he had applied Energy Fluid instead.
• Yu Sheng explained that he had applied the Energy Fluid because Poison Bee’s nagging annoyed him and he felt embarrassed about stripping in front of outsiders.
• Poison Bee warned Yu Sheng not to touch the stone tablet before the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit ripened and threatened to take him down with it.
• Yu Sheng raised his flaming hammer while watching Poison Bee, then put it away without striking the tablet.
• Yu Sheng noticed that Poison Bee released gray aura only after he lowered the hammer, suggesting that striking the tablet would have aided Poison Bee or harmed Yu Sheng.

Poison Bee revealed that he had manipulated Yu Sheng and began using the array to revive by merging with the Turtle Corpse. Yu Sheng triggered explosions with a remote control, breaking the array and ending Poison Bee’s revival attempt.

• Yu Sheng recorded the stone tablet as its words faded, while Poison Bee approached it and claimed he did not want to fight over the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit.
• Poison Bee admitted he planned to kill Yu Sheng and use his corpse, then explained that the Heaven and Earth Oath could not restrain him because he existed between life and death.
• Poison Bee began the revival array, causing the Mountain Cave to shake and the Turtle Corpse’s demon aura to press down on Yu Sheng.
• Yu Sheng pressed a button on his remote control, setting off distant explosions that broke the array and stopped Poison Bee from merging with the Turtle Corpse.

Yu Sheng repeatedly detonated bombs hidden around the Mountain Cave, interrupting the Poison Bee’s attempts to repair the arrays and take control of the old turtle’s corpse. As the Poison Bee’s plan fell further behind schedule, Yu Sheng revealed he had planted a basketful of bombs, and another blast killed the demon beast the Poison Bee controlled.

• The Poison Bee sent a duplicate through the wall to repair a damaged array, then taunted Yu Sheng while the demon beast it controlled cleared the rubble.
• After the Poison Bee restored the array and merged back into it, Yu Sheng detonated another hidden bomb and disrupted its attempt to return.
• The Poison Bee demanded to know when Yu Sheng had planted the bomb, and Yu Sheng explained that he had left it behind while collecting demon hearts.
• As only a third of the writing remained on the stone stele, Yu Sheng set off three more bombs and said he had hidden about a basketful.
• Yu Sheng detonated another bomb, killing the low-level demon beast controlled by the Poison Bee and severely injuring the soul fragment it had sent out.

Yu Sheng forced Poison Bee to admit that the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruits were his only remaining chance, then agreed to compete for them when they ripened. The bombs Yu Sheng placed around the stone tablet remained in place, leaving Poison Bee unable to stop him from destroying the fruits.

• Poison Bee warned Yu Sheng that destroying the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit would spread its poison, but Yu Sheng thanked him and surrounded the stone tablet with bombs.
• Yu Sheng started to leave, and Poison Bee panicked and admitted that he needed all three Ten Thousand Poisons Fruits to form a Demon God's Demon Core.
• Poison Bee proposed that they both grab the fruits when they ripened in fifteen minutes, since neither could harm the other in soul form.
• Yu Sheng moved farther from the stone tablet, reasoning that standing close would be dangerous because everything within five meters would be annihilated when the fruits ripened.
• Poison Bee demanded that Yu Sheng remove the bombs, but Yu Sheng refused, saying he could still blow up the fruits if he could not get them.

The Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit ripened, but Yu Sheng avoided Poison Bee’s trap and realized Poison Bee’s soul could not touch the fruit in daylight. Yu Sheng withdrew rather than take it, suspecting Poison Bee had another safeguard and advising him to wait until night.

• The stone tablet shattered, revealing the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit as a deadly domain erupted around it.
• Poison Bee retreated beyond the five-meter range, but Yu Sheng also pulled back and avoided the trap.
• When the domain weakened, Yu Sheng and Poison Bee raced for the fruit, but Poison Bee passed through it because it was physical in daylight.
• Yu Sheng stopped just before taking the fruit and told Poison Bee to wait until night or inscribe an array.
• Yu Sheng explained that he did not want to die and guessed Poison Bee had kept another safeguard after planning for decades.

Yu Sheng deduced that Poison Bee had hidden most of its soul inside the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit and planned to use it to kill him when he touched it. Poison Bee admitted Yu Sheng had outmaneuvered its decades of preparations, then considered sacrificing its chance to become a Demon God to possess a sixth-level Demon Beast and kill him.

• Yu Sheng reasoned that Poison Bee’s weak soul was only a fragment, with most of it hidden inside the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit.
• Yu Sheng concluded that Poison Bee had spent decades linking its soul to the fruit so it could use the fruit’s poison to kill him and merge with the Turtle Corpse.
• Poison Bee acknowledged Yu Sheng’s insight and said his survival threatened the Demon Domain.
• Poison Bee considered abandoning its preparations, possessing a sixth-level Demon Beast, and killing Yu Sheng, while Yu Sheng watched in silence.

Poison Bee explained that neither he nor Yu Sheng could secure the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit or the turtle corpse without the other giving way, and expected Yu Sheng to retreat. Yu Sheng tested whether the Mountains and Rivers Bottle could hold the corpse, but its space fell short, leaving the stalemate unresolved.

• Poison Bee refused to fight Yu Sheng and said he had safeguards preventing either of them from taking the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit or the turtle corpse.
• Poison Bee urged Yu Sheng to retreat, believing he would eventually lose patience and leave.
• Yu Sheng opened the Mountains and Rivers Bottle and tried to calculate whether its space could contain the turtle corpse.
• Yu Sheng revealed the bottle's enormous interior, astonishing Poison Bee, who estimated it was still about a quarter too small.
• Yu Sheng admitted the corpse would not fit, and Poison Bee said he had nearly been outmaneuvered.

Yu Sheng used the Twin-Bloom Flower to fuse the Mountains and Rivers Bottle with his hammer, while the Poison Bee hurried to redraw its array before the fusion was complete. As Yu Sheng gained insight into the rules of space, dangerous spatial rifts formed around him.

• Yu Sheng considered which Awakening Objects to fuse with the Mountains and Rivers Bottle, then chose the hammer over the Dragon-Patterned Staff.
• Yu Sheng swallowed the Twin-Bloom Flower, and the Mountains and Rivers Bottle and hammer began fusing their energies.
• The Poison Bee split off soul avatars and hurried to redraw its array inside the Mountain Cave.
• Yu Sheng's space filled with flames that melted the Demon Plants, while patterns of mountains, rivers, and Phoenixes appeared on the hammer.
• Yu Sheng sensed the rules of space, and spatial rifts flickered around him as he contemplated what lay beyond the Seventh Awakening.

Poison Bee raced to repair its arrays while the Eight-Tailed Fox arrived at the front lines with the Demon God Drum and challenged the Human Race to battle at Demon-Suppressing Pass. Yuan Qingshan answered the challenge and revealed a Purple Giant Drum, demanding a fight to the death.

• Poison Bee recalled a soul fragment and headed for the two remaining locations, hoping to finish the arrays within half an hour.
• The Demon God Drum arrived, and the Eight-Tailed Fox declared that the Demon Domain would ascend Demon-Suppressing Pass at noon the next day.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox projected a colossal fox of Demon Aura and pressured the soldiers, who held their ground.
• Yuan Qingshan mocked the Eight-Tailed Fox, and they traded insults about Yu Mo and fox-fur coats.
• Yuan Qingshan summoned a Purple Giant Drum and challenged the Eight-Tailed Fox to fight him to the death.

Yuan Qingshan challenged the Eight-Tailed Fox to a fight to the death, but it refused, prompting Ji Hong to step forward and rally the Demon Domain. Ji Hong left the Eight-Tailed Fox resentful and suspicious that it would defy orders in the coming battle.

• Yuan Qingshan challenged the Eight-Tailed Fox to fight to the death, and the Human soldiers roared their support.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox refused the duel and withdrew into the Demon Domain, drawing jeers from Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Old White Ape urged Ji Hong to act, and Ji Hong challenged the Human Race to a fight to the death at noon the next day, restoring the demon beasts' morale.
• Yuan Qingshan mocked the Eight-Tailed Fox for its distrust of Ji Hong, then left as Ji Hong withdrew after holding the field for half a minute.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox privately resented Ji Hong's display and suspected it would defy orders, but publicly praised it before the Demon Lords.
• Old White Ape questioned Ji Hong's risky attempt to sway morale, but Ji Hong gave no answer.

Old White Ape told Ji Hong about his dream of becoming a screenwriter and imagined a life where humans and demons could coexist. He ended by admitting that, without a peaceful sanctuary, both sides could only keep striving for power despite how exhausting it was.

• Old White Ape pestered Ji Hong until Ji Hong answered with a single indifferent “oh.”
• Old White Ape described a human TV drama, criticized its plot, and shared his plans for improving it.
• Old White Ape proposed making a show called Please Call Me Ghost Messenger Lord and asked Ji Hong to repair the Signal Tower.
• Old White Ape imagined writing stories and becoming a screenwriter if humans and demons could live together without war.
• Old White Ape told Ji Hong that he wished for a quiet life but believed the world offered only the strong preying on the weak.

Old White Ape and Ji Hong reflected on their hidden selves and the darkness of the path they had chosen, while anticipating a decisive battle. Ji Hong remained in the shadows, resolved to kill Yu Mo when they met and hoping he would not disappoint him.

• Old White Ape left after describing his yearning for justice and his sense that he was destined to be a villain.
• Ji Hong asked whether Old White Ape was truly himself or the white-haired monkey from his story, and Old White Ape briefly revealed a menacing expression before dismissing the question.
• Ji Hong sat between light and darkness and questioned whether Old White Ape’s confession had been another act.
• Ji Hong said he would kill Old White Ape without hesitation when the time came, and that neither of them could turn back.
• Ji Hong affirmed his belief in the Human Race and addressed Yu Mo, hoping he would not disappoint him.

Old White Ape met An Xin and Zhao Qingyi on Eagle Ravine Mountain and offered them a chance to change their minds. After they explained why they had chosen to remain, he prepared to help them enter the sixth awakening, despite the cost to their remaining lifespans.

• Ji Hong and the Eight-Tailed Fox silently reaffirmed that only one of them would survive the coming battle at Skyvault Ravine.
• Old White Ape crossed the Thousand-Li Demon Plain and flew to the summit of Eagle Ravine Mountain.
• Old White Ape offered An Xin and Zhao Qingyi the chance to refuse, but they remained resolute.
• An Xin said she was grateful for her past greed and felt guilty for dragging Zhao Qingyi into their choices; Zhao Qingyi said joining her had been her own choice.
• Old White Ape said he admired them and that their beliefs transcended their opposing sides, then had the branches of an old tree envelop them.

Old White Ape helped An Xin and Zhao Qingyi advance their Awakening, then told them their lives had about a month left and let them leave. He gave An Xin a bloodstained package of lollipops as a parting gift.

• Old White Ape used a liquid to make the old tree release energy while An Xin and Zhao Qingyi underwent the process inside its branches and vines.
• An Xin awakened to an incomplete Sixth Awakening, and Old White Ape said she could never advance further; he also handed her and Zhao Qingyi Demon Cores.
• Old White Ape said his part of their cooperation was finished and warned that they probably had about a month left to live.
• An Xin said she trusted Ji Hong and hoped Old White Ape would stand with the Human Race, then she and Zhao Qingyi started down the mountain.
• Old White Ape stopped An Xin and gave her a package of mostly edible lollipops, which she shared with Zhao Qingyi.

An Xin and Zhao Qingyi left Old White Ape and continued across the silent Demon Plain, resolved to face their deaths while secretly preparing to save the world. Old White Ape dressed for his final game and set out to place his own pieces as humans celebrated the New Year.

• An Xin and Zhao Qingyi bickered as they walked away from Old White Ape, now at the sixth awakening and accepting that they were nearing death.
• Old White Ape reflected on the feelings stirred by giving a gift and concluded that pure souls deserved respect.
• Old White Ape put on a festive red robe and announced that the final game was about to begin, calling on the Eight-Tailed Fox to make a move.
• People across human territory celebrated the New Year with lanterns, family greetings, festive programs, and a dumpling-making contest at the Ink Pavilion.

As a vast Beast Tide gathered at Demon-Suppressing Pass, the defenders prepared for a battle Yu Mo expected to become a prolonged war of attrition. Yu Mo urged Yuan Qingshan to wait for an opportunity, but when Yuan refused to abandon the pass, Yu Mo committed himself to fighting beside him.

• The soldiers and Ink Academy graduates prepared for the Beast Tide, while Shi Guang told Chu Yu she had to catch up with someone who would need her in the future.
• Yu Mo arrived at Demon-Suppressing Pass and warned Yuan Qingshan that the Eight-Tailed Fox would use waves of Demon Beasts to exhaust the defenders and consolidate its power.
• Yu Mo said they had to wait for an opportunity, and that he believed someone would not disappoint him.
• Yu Mo proposed retreating three thousand li if no opportunity came, but Yuan Qingshan refused to abandon Demon-Suppressing Pass or the civilians it protected.
• Yu Mo praised Yuan Qingshan as a worthy Ink Pavilion Head and vowed to fight rather than retreat.

At noon, the Demon Clan began its third assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass, with Yuan Qingshan countering the Demon God Drum while the Eight-Tailed Fox arranged the battlefield. As the Eighth Awakening fighters engaged, Ji Hong held back, certain the Human Race would lose and planning to fight afterward.

• Yuan Qingshan declared that the Human Race had to preserve its unity and pride, while Yu Mo quietly approved of his resolve.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox ordered the beasts to charge, and Yuan Qingshan used his own drum to counter the Demon God Drum’s effect on the soldiers.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox forced the battle into direct matchups and watched for Zhong Yushu to emerge from Deep Mountain, but the mountain remained silent.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox called for a Demon Lord to fight, and Zhu Yan and Bifang charged toward Demon-Suppressing Pass as two elderly men came out to meet them.
• Red Dragon restrained itself from joining the battle, while Black Flood Dragon King stood obsequiously behind the Eight-Tailed Fox.
• Ji Hong told Old White Ape that the Human Race could not win and that he would fight only after their defeat.