Chapter Summaries

Lu Xiao and Calamity dispersed the mist and discovered that a group of weakened creatures, led by an octopus, had caused the disturbance. The creatures revealed that a powerful deity had forced them to act, leaving Lu Xiao and Calamity facing a new threat.

• Calamity summoned a hurricane to clear the mist, and Lu Xiao escalated their contest until Calamity admitted defeat and dissipated it.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity found twisted creatures hiding in a mountain hollow and stopped them from fleeing with their auras and whispers.
• Calamity learned that the octopus was the source of the mist and had tried to seize his authority.
• The creatures confessed that another powerful deity had threatened them and forced them to act.
• Lu Xiao asked how powerful the deity was, and Calamity said the creatures feared it as much as they feared the two of them.

Lu Xiao learned that the trembling Deities were lesser beings who could be corrupted if eaten, and he left their fate to Calamity while reserving the octopus for himself. As the Gray-White Mist vanished, Deputy Commander Zhang’s group faced the approach of a gigantic Flying Jellyfish, and a satellite image left Zhang stunned.

• Calamity told Lu Xiao that the lesser Deities could become true Deities only if given an Authority, and warned that eating them could expose him to corruption from powerful beings.
• Lu Xiao told Calamity to kill the lesser Deities but spare the octopus so he could torture it, and decided to maintain good relations with Calamity for now.
• The Gray-White Mist cleared from the seas, and Deputy Commander Zhang saw an enormous figure approaching over the water.
• Yao Ling identified the figure as Serial Number 058-Flying Jellyfish and warned that it was apparently harmless but could cause great damage accidentally, while missiles might fail to hurt it or provoke it.
• Little Well-Behaved trembled and tried to flee as the ground shook and the sea churned; a Meteorological Soldier brought Deputy Commander Zhang a satellite image, which made Zhang stare in shock.

Zhang Deputy Commander and Yao Ling learned that extreme ocean disturbances threatened the land, while Antie recovered and tried to contact Shadow. After defeating the Deities, Lu Xiao and Calamity headed toward the crescent moon, and Lu Xiao resolved to find Gambler next.

• Zhang Deputy Commander and Yao Ling watched footage of catastrophic sea-level differences and feared the consequences for humanity.
• Antie recovered, issued urgent orders to the A01 Containment Facility, and contacted the Warden to ask where Shadow was.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity defeated the Deities and took an octopus-like Deity with them for further investigation.
• Calamity noticed that the dim crescent moon was not a celestial body and carried Lu Xiao toward it.
• Lu Xiao reviewed Shadow's memories and decided that finding Gambler was his next priority.

Calamity revealed that the Dark Prison was the planet’s surface and that Lu Xiao had been traveling through the Underground World. Lu Xiao returned with Calamity to the relocated C03 Containment Facility to deliver an octopus for study.

• Calamity took Lu Xiao through a place resembling space and showed him that an invisible barrier marked the edge of the Underground World.
• Lu Xiao opened a passage to the Dark Prison and realized it was the planet’s surface; Calamity offered to show him real space, but Lu Xiao chose to deliver something first.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity flew to the ruins where C03 Containment Facility had relocated and entered a hole beneath a building.
• The Doctor and Shuns met Lu Xiao and Calamity after the facility’s alarms sounded, and the Doctor escorted them to his office.
• Lu Xiao introduced Calamity as a friend and presented the octopus for the Doctor to study, while Shuns apologized for the facility’s unfinished cleanup.

Lu Xiao introduced Calamity and the captured god to Doctor and Shuns, then arranged support for their research and facilities while trying to maintain his disguise as Shadow. Doctor appeared to see through his cover but did not expose him, and Lu Xiao left to collect his repaired Bone Spur from Ivan.

• Lu Xiao introduced Calamity as a deity and explained that he had helped deal with the source of the gray-white mist without asking for payment.
• Lu Xiao handed the captured god to Shuns for study, and Doctor quietly approved.
• Lu Xiao offered to arrange office supplies and other assistance, while Doctor requested electrical repairs, equipment, and live experiment samples from the Saints.
• Doctor said they planned for Lu Qian to take over their seat among the Saints, and Lu Xiao said he would speak with Gambler about settling the matter.
• Shuns said Bai Suoyi and Lucilla had gone to get household supplies, possibly from the U01 Containment Facility.
• Doctor told Lu Xiao that Ivan had repaired his Bone Spur, and Lu Xiao left to retrieve it.

Lu Xiao introduced Calamity to Ivan, who believed the deity could help him attain godhood despite his inability to contain divinity or master a trait. Ivan revealed that he planned to build an unprecedented alchemy array called Alchemy Modification.

• Lu Xiao found Ivan scrubbing the floor in a pink apron knitted by Lu Qian, who had settled into life in Prison.
• Lu Xiao introduced Calamity as a powerful deity and introduced Ivan as his friend.
• Ivan stared at Calamity, then told him he saw a hope of attaining godhood and asked for help.
• Lu Xiao offered to give Ivan divinity, but Ivan said he could not contain it and had another plan.
• Ivan revealed that he planned to construct an unprecedented alchemy array called Alchemy Modification.

Ivan explained that he could use Calamity’s unusual bodily elements in an Alchemy Array, but Calamity said removing them could cause a planetary catastrophe and offered to provide what he needed through excretion instead. Ivan then gave Lu Xiao the Bone Spur, now fitted with a crimson gem containing a pupil and radiating a powerful aura.

• Ivan described how alchemy used equivalent exchange and asked Calamity to provide elements from his body for a ritual.
• Calamity warned that his elements had to remain balanced and that an imbalance could destroy the planet.
• Calamity said he could provide elements when he next needed to excrete, and Ivan eagerly asked when that would be.
• Ivan handed Lu Xiao a decorated bone box and explained that the Mirror Gentleman had given him the powerful being’s true form to replace the Bone Spur’s eye.
• Lu Xiao opened the box and saw a crimson gem with a pupil embedded in the Bone Spur, while he and Calamity sensed its powerful aura.

Lu Xiao learned that the Bone Spur gave him control over the Gravity Authority and arranged for Calamity to conceal its box inside his body. The two set off toward the Universe, while Ivan realized he had forgotten to tell Lu Xiao how to shrink the box.

• Ivan told Lu Xiao that the Bone Spur represented the Gravity Authority, and Lu Xiao left with Calamity.
• Lu Xiao decided the aura-emitting Bone Spur should stay inside its white bone box and considered how to carry the box safely.
• Calamity suggested hiding the box inside his body, and Lu Xiao entrusted it to him.
• Lu Xiao asked Calamity to take him to the Universe, and they flew toward the horizon.
• Ivan remembered that the box could change size with an incantation and assumed Lu Xiao would work it out.

Lu Xiao asked Calamity about the universe, learning that powerful deities may have imposed rules that drove civilizations into endless slaughter. After they entered space, they saw Earth looking lifeless, and Calamity could not sense its planetary will.

• Lu Xiao asked why gods went mad and corrupted lesser life-forms, and Calamity described how powerful beings became obsessed with strength and set rules that made civilizations fight for their amusement.
• Calamity said his account was speculation based on his own experiences, leaving Lu Xiao to wonder about the destruction of Calamity's homeland.
• Calamity told Lu Xiao they were nearing Earth's atmosphere, and the two passed through it into space.
• Lu Xiao adapted to the vacuum and learned to communicate through consciousness from Calamity.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity looked back at Earth and saw a dim, dilapidated planet without visible lights.
• Calamity exclaimed that he could not sense Earth's will and asked whether the planet had been destroyed.

Lu Xiao explained to Calamity that Doctor Li had created a deity with creation authority, convincing him not to abandon their search for the planet will. They examined the moon and discovered a gigantic moth-like creature filling its missing section, while a corpse-like sun was draped with a colossal, many-eyed tentacle staring at them.

• Calamity learned that the planet will was gone and said he would leave to wander through deep space, but Lu Xiao stopped him.
• Lu Xiao explained that Doctor Li had artificially created the Creator, and Calamity was shocked but eventually believed him.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity decided to investigate the scarlet moon and saw a huge moth-like creature covering its missing section.
• The moon's movement revealed a dark, lifeless sun with a massive tentacle covered in eyes staring at Lu Xiao and Calamity.

Lu Xiao survived the catastrophic voices in space by using the Bone Spur to return to Earth, where he endured repeated regeneration and madness before recovering the bone box and Bone Spur. Meanwhile, the leaders of several factions investigated a new rift and learned it connected the Present World to Dark Prison, leaving He Shang poised to investigate despite Driver’s warning.

• Calamity exploded when the murmurs flooded space, and Lu Xiao collected the scattered elements in the bone box before using the Bone Spur to pull himself to Earth’s second layer.
• Lu Xiao crawled from a vast crater with most of his body missing, then lost consciousness as his body began to regenerate.
• After waking to voices calling “Alfred,” Lu Xiao twisted off his own head and bit into his abdomen to force himself to calm down.
• Lu Xiao recovered again, found the bone box and Bone Spur at the bottom of the crater, and said Calamity owed him a life.
• Ding Dan told Morati that the dark red hole on the horizon had changed the situation and considered moving his people into Hell as a last resort.
• Driver told He Shang that the hole connected the Present World to Dark Prison, then warned him not to go because the people sent to investigate the shooting star might already be dead.

He Shang worried that the missing scouts had been corrupted and, after Driver left to investigate, used Past and Future to observe the past. He witnessed Shadow questioning Shuns about the Creator and creation authority, but the reason for Shadow’s question remained unclear.

• He Shang feared the missing scouts had been corrupted, but Driver insisted on taking the Transforming Vehicle to investigate while He Shang stayed to guard Mocking Heaven Palace.
• When He Shang failed to contact his teacher, Future suggested looking into the past, and Past warned him not to interfere or risk disrupting his teacher’s plans.
• Past enveloped He Shang in light, and He Shang entered the River of Time with Past and Future to observe an earlier scene.
• He Shang saw Shadow speaking with Shuns in a dim, foul-smelling place, where Shuns said he did not know how Doctor Li had made the Creator.
• Shadow told Shuns he only wanted to ask about using creation authority.

Shadow asked the Doctor whether Creation Authority could raise his level of existence, as he planned to use it to set events in motion and create a powerful god. The Doctor advised him to leave the Authority in the new world if he used it to create one for the Spark Plan.

• Shadow told Shuns he wanted to use Creation Authority to create a powerful god who could break the deadlock, and Shuns warned him not to fuse with it.
• Shadow arranged for a broken, blade-less exhaust fan to start running, then found the Doctor and the Prison Doctor examining an unkillable woman with the life Trait.
• Shadow suggested that higher-order contamination was suppressing the woman and that removing it might restore her; the Prison Doctor planned to test medical treatments on her.
• Shadow asked the Doctor whether Creation Authority could raise his level of existence, and the Doctor explained that it did not make him a god outside the world he created.
• The Doctor advised Shadow to leave Creation Authority behind in the new world if he used it to create one for the Spark Plan, and Shadow said he understood.

He Shang returned from the past believing Lu Xiao had become the new Creator, but Lu Xiao soon arrived with Driver and hurried into a secret chamber. There, Lu Xiao used his skin to contain the unknown elements from a bone box, and the swelling balloon eventually settled into a human shape.

• He Shang concluded that his teacher had merged with the Authority of Creation and become the new Creator, then returned to the Mocking Heaven Palace.
• Driver arrived with Lu Xiao, explaining that he had found him by the road and had also inspected the meteor’s landing site, where he found only a crater.
• Lu Xiao asked He Shang to find a quiet place, then entered a secret chamber and ordered He Shang and Driver not to disturb him.
• Lu Xiao removed his skin, used it to open the bone box, and stuffed the escaped unknown elements back inside before stitching the skin closed around them.
• The skin balloon expanded until it filled the chamber, then shrank and settled into a human shape.

Lu Xiao revived Calamity and left the Mocking Heaven Palace with him, while He Shang mistook Lu Xiao’s silence for a sign that he could not reveal the truth. He Shang investigated the crater and concluded that a powerful being had descended, unaware that Lu Xiao himself had caused the impact.

• Lu Xiao revived Calamity in a humanoid skin, and Calamity emerged as a white-mustached old man.
• Lu Xiao nodded and shook his head in response to He Shang’s questions, leading He Shang to assume he could not speak about the Spark Plan or the hole leading to the Dark Prison.
• Lu Xiao told He Shang he had other matters to attend to and left the Mocking Heaven Palace with Calamity.
• Driver told He Shang that Lu Xiao had stopped him, accompanied him to the crater, and helped him withstand intense mental corruption at its bottom.
• He Shang concluded that the shooting star had been a powerful being’s descent and suspected his teacher knew the cause but could not say it.

Lu Xiao and Calamity discussed the overwhelming threat of Alfred, who had sealed off the planet, then traveled to Northern Europe to find Gambler. They reached Gambler’s casino, Las Vegas, and entered its lavish hall.

• Calamity explained that Alfred had attacked him with an information flood and warned that the planet was sealed off by a vastly stronger being.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity decided to focus on what they could do and hope for a miracle rather than dwell on the threat.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity headed to Northern Europe to find Gambler and collect the Sin traits for Bai Suoyi.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity found the deserted city containing Gambler’s casino, whose Las Vegas sign announced that it was open for business.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity entered the casino, where Lu Xiao spotted a drinks counter across the lavish hall.

Lu Xiao met Gambler at a bar after attaining Godhood and asked to get down to business. When Gambler’s seductive magic failed to distract Lu Xiao, Lu Xiao attacked him, leaving Gambler’s head embedded in the floor and breaking one of his legs.

• Lu Xiao sat beside Gambler, and the bartender served him his favorite tequila on the rocks.
• Gambler confirmed Lu Xiao had attained Godhood and credited Lu Xiao’s planning for the successful ritual.
• Gambler used the bartender’s and the displayed beauties’ seductive magic, but Lu Xiao saw them as writhing flesh and told the Temptress to put away her magic.
• Lu Xiao and Gambler agreed to get down to business, and Lu Xiao punched Gambler through the shelves and into the floor.
• Lu Xiao snapped Gambler’s leg and reached for his other one while asking why Gambler was not fighting back.

Lu Xiao repeatedly attacked Gambler, who regenerated and claimed their Wager made him impossible to kill, while Calamity questioned Lust about Gambler’s ability. Lust identified it as Fate and gave Calamity her name, Amanda, or Lust.

• Lu Xiao broke Gambler’s legs and shot his head, but Gambler regenerated without bleeding, as did Lu Xiao’s damaged arm.
• Gambler said a Wager had been inherited and prevented Lu Xiao from killing him, though Lu Xiao’s Eye of Truth showed no connection between them.
• Calamity told Lu Xiao that Gambler’s Authority seemed unrelated to Fate, then asked Lust about Gambler’s ability while she made him drinks.
• Lust said Gambler wielded Fate and usually activated it through Wagers, but had never made one with her.
• Calamity learned that the seductive woman could be called Amanda or Lust and complimented her as they continued talking.

Lu Xiao questioned Gambler about his past with the Saints and his motives after watching Calamity dance with Lust. Gambler revealed that his next move was to advance his Deification Ritual, leaving Lu Xiao to consider the plan’s implications.

• Calamity invited Lust to dance, and the two performed while Lu Xiao and Gambler watched.
• Lu Xiao asked Lust whether she was worried about what lay ahead, and she said she knew what she would face.
• Calamity told Lu Xiao that Gambler’s Authority was not Fate, though its true nature remained unknown.
• Gambler explained that Niclade had led him to join the Saints and that he later persuaded Shadow to join as well.
• Gambler said his plan was to begin the next stage of his ritual.

Gambler told Lu Xiao that a deity called Fate was scheming behind everyone’s actions, then recounted how he grew up in a casino and eventually became a gambler himself. He ended by explaining that his casino’s design came from a dream he had once nurtured.

• Gambler told Lu Xiao that Fate was a separate deity whose plans encompassed everyone’s actions, and wondered whether even his own rebellion was part of those plans.
• Gambler described how his mother abandoned him as a newborn in a hotel toilet and how the casino owner paid for his rescue, leaving him burdened with a debt.
• Gambler said casino cleaners raised him in their break room, where he learned from books and watched gamblers.
• Gambler explained that tips and loans to losing gamblers made him a millionaire by fourteen and allowed him to repay his debt.
• Gambler told Lu Xiao that greed led him to gamble using his knowledge of casinos and cheating, and he gestured around the casino whose design came from his dream.