Chapter Summaries

Yu Mo forced the laboratory team in Ink City to accelerate their experiment, threatening to kill them if they failed to finish within six months. After leaving, he reflected on the approaching New Year and wondered what Old White Ape would do.

• Yu Mo demanded that the experiment be completed within six months, but the man in charge said it could not be rushed safely.
• Yu Mo threatened to kill the researchers and display their corpses if they missed the deadline, and the man in charge immediately agreed.
• Yu Mo promised the researchers honors and continued support if they finished on time, then left the laboratory.
• The man in charge repeated Yu Mo’s threat to the staff, who shuddered and hurried back to work.
• Yu Mo looked at the sunny sky, thought about the approaching New Year and Old White Ape, then wheeled away through the busy street.

Old White Ape consolidated his rule in Skyvault Ravine while the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan was expelled and the Black Flood Dragon Clan remained dependent on him. He visited Ji Hong after half a year and brought him new clothes, hoping to reconnect despite their different paths.

• Old White Ape gained a reputation for being approachable as he brewed wine and welcomed other tribes, while the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan was stripped of its God Race status and driven from Skyvault Ravine.
• Old White Ape kept the Black Flood Dragon Clan among the God Races but withheld special treatment so it would remain loyal to him.
• Old White Ape traveled to Ji Hong's secluded mountain and complained that Ji Hong was keeping him outside.
• Ji Hong said they followed different paths, but he eventually parted the fog and let Old White Ape reach the summit.
• Old White Ape greeted Ji Hong, sat beside him, and gave him a costly outfit he had chosen for him.

Old White Ape visited Ji Hong, asked how long it would take him to reach the Demon God Realm, and speculated about Eight-Tailed Fox and the Demon Domain’s plans. Ji Hong grew fed up with Old White Ape’s chatter and tried to drive him away, but Old White Ape refused to leave.

• Ji Hong said the outfit Old White Ape brought cost 320, and the two argued over whether they were monkeys or apes.
• Old White Ape asked when Ji Hong would reach the Demon God Realm, and Ji Hong said it would take thirty years.
• Old White Ape speculated that Eight-Tailed Fox was still alive and that the Demon Gods could use him to control both Old White Ape and Ji Hong.
• Old White Ape rambled about his duties as Demon Domain Lord until Ji Hong interrupted and asked whether he feared the Demon Gods were listening.
• Old White Ape said Ji Hong’s secluded home was relaxing and announced he might stay there a week each month.
• Ji Hong released demonic aura to threaten Old White Ape, who lay down and dared him to attack; Ji Hong gave up and closed his eyes.

Ji Hong heard Old White Ape’s account of Yu Mo’s concern for him and the message Old White Ape believed Yu Mo had conveyed. Old White Ape then brought Ji Hong two jars of Monkey Wine, though Ji Hong rejected the gift and complained about the demons gathering outside his mountain gate.

• Old White Ape complained that meeting Yu Mo had cost him more than two million, and Ji Hong said the expense was reasonable.
• Old White Ape told Ji Hong that Yu Mo had called him Teacher, probed for news about him, and seemed to care about him.
• Old White Ape interpreted Yu Mo’s unspoken message as a promise that the sun would rise, but Ji Hong said Yu Mo would not say anything so sentimental and had likely only hesitated to kill him.
• Ji Hong noticed demons at the foot of his mountain, and Old White Ape explained they had brought two jars of his newly brewed Monkey Wine.
• Ji Hong said he disliked wine without a tea flavor, prompting Old White Ape to insist that the wine be brought in before he changed his mind.

Old White Ape offered Ji Hong two jars of powerful wine as a sincere gesture of friendship, despite their enmity. Ji Hong accepted the wine but not Old White Ape’s invitation to join the Demon Clan, and they drank while acknowledging their separate paths.

• Old White Ape explained that he had brewed the wine out of complicated feelings for Ji Hong and offered it as a sign of friendship.
• Ji Hong drank a jar, absorbed its energy, and asked whether Old White Ape’s gesture was genuine or another trap.
• Old White Ape admitted he could not fully explain his choice and said he considered them friends despite their rivalry.
• Ji Hong thanked Old White Ape and promised to visit his grave with wine if he died.
• Old White Ape suggested Ji Hong join the Demon Clan, then withdrew the offer when Ji Hong remained unmoved.
• Old White Ape toasted tomorrow and their road ahead, and Ji Hong took a small sip while insisting they simply press onward.

Ji Hong and Old White Ape debated their beliefs and the Demon Domain’s future beneath the stars, and Old White Ape invited Ji Hong to Skyvault Ravine. After Old White Ape left, Ji Hong suppressed his feelings and resumed cultivation, determined that he would eventually come to Skyvault Ravine and kill him.

• Old White Ape questioned Ji Hong about whether the Human Race’s actions were protection or plunder, and the two debated their motives.
• Old White Ape declared that he would become the Demon Domain’s king and admitted he could not be sure what his future self would do.
• Old White Ape said he would wait for Ji Hong at Skyvault Ravine, and Ji Hong answered that he would come.
• Ji Hong recalled his place in the Human Race’s fourth generation, then repeated that everything was an illusion and Old White Ape had to be killed.
• Ji Hong cultivated on the mountaintop, forcing the energy from the wine out of his body as demon aura gathered into a thick fog.

After returning to his palace, Old White Ape privately acknowledged that he could only be himself from then on. In the Yellow Springs Graveyard, Yu Sheng continued to evade demon kings and slaughter demon beasts while the Reserve Corps gathered demon plants amid the chaos.

• Old White Ape returned to his palace, dismissed his cheerful manner, and murmured that after today he could only be himself.
• Yu Sheng fled an oddly shaped demon king for an hour before using Teleportation to escape its pursuit.
• Shi Guang appeared and told Yu Sheng that he could not overcome the demon king’s abilities; Yu Sheng agreed that the gap between their realms was too great.
• Reserve Corps soldiers followed Yu Sheng through the Yellow Springs Graveyard, collecting demon plants and fleeing when danger approached.
• Demon kings attacked humans despite Skyvault Ravine’s unenforced decree, while Yu Sheng killed two demon kings and many demon beasts before fleeing stronger pursuers.
• The demon beasts learned to recognize Yu Sheng and feared him because demon kings could not catch him and weaker foes could not hold him off.

Yu Sheng used Shi Guang’s information and an illusion to ambush Demon Beasts, killing two sixth-level targets before escaping an encirclement. The Radical Faction’s Demon Kings hunted him while ordinary soldiers plundered Yellow Springs Graveyard, until another Demon King fell out of nowhere.

• Shi Guang reported a cluster of Demon Beasts and the time it would take reinforcements to arrive, and Yu Sheng went to attack them.
• Yu Sheng used an illusion to approach the herd, then struck with his hammer and killed two sixth-level Demon Beasts as an ambush closed in.
• Yu Sheng teleported away under cover of another illusion, leaving the Demon Beasts terrified and the Demon King furious.
• The Radical Faction’s Demon Kings joined forces to search Yellow Springs Graveyard for Yu Sheng while ordinary soldiers plundered without interference.
• Two hours later, a Demon King fell out of nowhere, frightening the Demon Beasts again.

As the Demon Kings launched a ruthless search for Yu Sheng, they ordered the destruction of Demon Plants and the slaughter of every human in the Yellow Springs Graveyard. The human soldiers quietly passed their supplies to younger or lower-ranking comrades and returned to fight, while those carrying the Demon Plants continued toward the Ghost Gate.

• The Demon Kings searched the Yellow Springs Graveyard in pairs, but Yu Sheng used Teleportation to evade them while hunting Demon Beasts himself.
• On the fifth day, a Demon King ordered the Demon Beasts to harvest all Demon Plants and kill every human they found.
• Three senior soldiers gave their gathered Demon Plants to the youngest soldier and ordered him to carry them back to the Human Race.
• The three senior soldiers returned to the battlefield, while soldiers across the graveyard passed supplies to designated survivors or buried them beneath red cords.
• Soldiers carrying supplies continued toward the Ghost Gate, collecting buried Demon Plants and accepting handovers from comrades returning to fight.

Wang Cheng organized the Reserve Corps to exploit the Demon Beasts’ confusion and help Yu Sheng by throwing the Yellow Springs Graveyard into chaos. He assigned soldiers who resembled Yu Sheng to act as decoys, while planning to spread word that Yu Sheng should change into a Reserve Corps uniform.

• Over a thousand Reserve Corps soldiers gathered as Demon Beasts searched the Yellow Springs Graveyard, and Wang Cheng stepped forward as the highest-ranking officer.
• Wang Cheng explained that the corps should disrupt the Demon Beasts so Yu Sheng could attack effectively, and the soldiers rallied to the plan.
• Wang Cheng selected fifty soldiers with builds similar to Yu Sheng’s to travel alone as decoys, despite the danger.
• Wang Cheng planned to have people tell Yu Sheng to take a uniform from a corpse and change clothes, making the decoys harder to distinguish.

Wang Cheng led the Reserve Corps in a counterattack through the Yellow Springs Graveyard, using hit-and-run tactics to pressure the Demon Kings while Yu Sheng joined the fighting in a Reserve Corps uniform. As Demon Kings avoided the human swarm, Yu Sheng instead charged into the Demon Beasts’ midst and killed them all.

• Wang Cheng ordered the Reserve Corps to scatter, draw the Demon Beasts’ attention, and attack Demon Kings in coordinated groups.
• Reserve Corps soldiers lured Demon Beasts away while more than a thousand troops advanced into the Yellow Springs Graveyard.
• Yu Sheng put on a Reserve Corps uniform and began killing Demon Beasts that mistook him for an ordinary soldier.
• The Reserve Corps repeatedly attacked Demon Kings, forcing one to flee and another to avoid them.
• Yu Sheng struck directly into the Demon Beasts’ nest and left none alive.

Yu Sheng attacked the Demon Beast horde alone, using his hammer and hidden Demon Crystals to throw the beasts into disarray. As the dust cleared, he stood atop a corpse with his sword in hand, surrounded by the slaughtered horde.

• Yu Sheng plunged into the horde and struck down Demon Beasts with his Giant Hammer.
• A sixth-level Demon Beast rallied the horde, but Yu Sheng intimidated it and killed it with repeated hammer blows.
• Yu Sheng escaped the encirclement by leaping onto a vulture, while a pitch-black Demon Crystal he had dropped spread black flames through the horde.
• Yu Sheng tossed down another Demon Crystal, then used the beasts’ chaos to attack them with a flexible sword and score one-hit kills.
• As the dust cleared, Yu Sheng stood on a Demon Beast’s corpse with blood dripping from his longsword.

Yu Sheng and the Reserve Corps routed the Demon Beasts, but the returning Demon Kings forced a retreat. Yu Sheng drew the Demon Kings away while Wang Cheng ordered the soldiers to finish the battle and regroup outside Ghost Gate.

• Yu Sheng advanced through the Beast Tide as the Demon Beasts fled in terror, and Wang Cheng led the Reserve Corps in a charge.
• The Demon Kings returned, and Wang Cheng offered to cover Yu Sheng’s retreat, but Yu Sheng suggested they escape and return after he reached the Seventh Awakening.
• Yu Sheng flew off with his hammer, drawing the Demon Kings after him.
• Wang Cheng ordered the soldiers to kill the remaining Demon Beasts, scatter, and assemble outside Ghost Gate in two days.
• The soldiers searched the battlefield while Wang Cheng sat alone, healing and thinking.

After the Reserve Corps drove back the Demon Kings, Wang Cheng ordered the soldiers to scatter before their enemies could return. Yu Sheng escaped the pursuing Demon Kings with an illusion that killed the black eagle, and the surviving Demon Kings retreated to wait out the seven days.

• The Reserve Corps collected the Demon Plants and cleared away the corpses, and Wang Cheng berated the soldiers for lingering before ordering them to disperse.
• Wang Cheng reflected on Yu Sheng’s ability to draw the Demon Kings’ hatred, then left the battlefield.
• Yu Sheng used a hundred-meter Teleportation Skill while fleeing, but the Demon Kings caught up and the black eagle attacked what appeared to be him.
• The apparent Yu Sheng vanished as an illusion, and ghost fire entered the black eagle and killed it.
• The Demon Kings returned to find the humans gone, then decided to shut themselves away for seven days to avoid further casualties.

The human soldiers returned from the Yellow Springs Graveyard with a rich haul after hunting Demon Beasts, while the black-robed old man dismissed a Demon Lord’s threat. Yu Sheng and Shi Guang decided to delay going to Ink City until after the Spring Festival and discussed buying a house.

• The soldiers spent two days hunting Demon Beasts in the Yellow Springs Graveyard, then left on the seventh day with their spoils after Shi Guang warned them against staying long-term.
• At Ghost Gate, the Demon Lord accused the humans of going too far, but the black-robed old man challenged him to attack the city.
• The soldiers sent their harvested Demon Plants to Ink Pavilion under escort, then hurried off to other tasks.
• Yu Sheng read messages from his older brother about Ink City and the path to the Seventh Awakening, but said they should wait because the New Year was near.
• Yu Sheng invited Shi Guang to celebrate the Spring Festival with him, and she agreed.
• When Yu Sheng said they had no home, Shi Guang suggested buying a house, and he agreed.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang bought their first home in Cangshui City and began learning how to prepare for the Spring Festival together. After their first round of shopping went poorly, they kept gathering supplies and searched the city for what they still needed.

• Shi Guang asked Yu Sheng where they should buy a home, and the two randomly chose Cangshui City from a map.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang visited a sales office, toured a show apartment, and bought it without knowing its price in advance.
• Shi Guang researched Spring Festival customs and planned to buy couplets, fireworks, and New Year supplies.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang filled their new home with purchases, then realized some items were impractical and their advance-bought fish would spoil.
• Yu Sheng sorted the usable supplies and listed what they lacked, and he and Shi Guang spent the next two days searching Cangshui City for more.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang spent New Year’s Eve together, sharing a quiet celebration that ended with homemade dumplings and their first faint smiles. Elsewhere, Yu Mo learned that the Demon Domain had sent New Year’s greetings and gifts to four Human Race fortified passes.

• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang put up Spring Festival couplets, joined the 140th Cohort group chat, and sent red packets that prompted Sun Wen to send eighty-eight in a row.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang cooked eight dishes, watched the Spring Festival Gala, and set off fireworks across the night sky.
• Shi Guang asked Yu Sheng whether he knew how to make dumplings, and the two followed a tutorial to prepare and eat their misshapen dumplings after midnight.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang wished each other a happy Spring Festival and smiled faintly at one another.
• In Ink City, Yu Mo read that Demon Lords had wished the Human Race a happy New Year at four fortified passes and left Demon Plants and Demon Crystals as gifts.

On New Year’s Eve, Yu Mo’s gifts and peace message sparked debate among the Human Race, while Yu Mo prepared a counteroffensive. The next day, his hidden speakers and bird-borne broadcasts spread slogans throughout the Demon Domain, leaving the Demon Beasts intrigued.

• Chu Yu ordered the soldiers to collect the Demon Clan’s gifts despite the Garrison Commander’s warning, and soldiers at the other Three Passes did the same.
• The Demon Domain broadcast a New Year’s message urging peace and warning the Human Race not to be used for schemers’ interests.
• People argued online about the Demon Domain’s motives, while soldiers’ families hoped the fighting might end.
• Yu Mo dismissed the online discussion and decided to speed up communication in the Demon Domain with devices he had prepared.
• On New Year’s Day, hidden speakers broadcast political slogans across the Demon Domain’s outer reaches, and azure birds and hawks carried the same messages over its inner regions.

Yu Mo used recordings from the four passes to counter the Human Race’s debate over coexistence with the Demon Clan, shifting public opinion toward supporting the soldiers and joining the Reserve Corps. As the online climate improved, he wondered what Old White Ape’s hidden killing move would be.

• Demon Beasts across the Demon Domain panicked as sounds spread through their bodies, while Yu Mo watched the Human Race’s heated online debate.
• The Ink Pavilion released videos recorded at the four passes, showing soldiers facing the Demon Beasts and dying in battle.
• The Ink Pavilion urged viewers to remember that the Reserve Corps soldiers endured such horrors every day and asked whether people still wanted to forgive the Demon Clan on their behalf.
• Young people vowed to watch all the videos and join the Reserve Corps, while a post titled “I am sorry” gained popularity and its author said he would defend the city on the front lines.
• Yu Mo read the comments and concluded that the controversy posed little threat to the Ink Pavilion, but he remained wary of Old White Ape’s unknown killing move.

Old White Ape discussed the failed attempt to inflame turmoil among the Human Race and explained why the Demon Domain’s sleepers had stayed hidden. He identified the Reserve Corps as the humans’ greatest strength and suggested it could be weakened from within, then asked about Yellow Springs Graveyard.

• Yu Mo suspected Old White Ape was concealing his true target and returned to his work.
• A Demon King told Old White Ape that the turmoil among the Human Race had quickly died down and cost the Demon Domain demon plants and Demon Crystals.
• Old White Ape explained that the sleepers had not been used because Yu Mo was watching and their lives should not be wasted.
• Old White Ape described the Reserve Corps as brave fighters who endured oppression by suppressing their thoughts and focusing on killing enemies.
• Old White Ape said the Reserve Corps could be dismantled from within and noted that many young humans wanted to join it.
• Old White Ape asked the Demon King how things had turned out at Yellow Springs Graveyard.