Chapter Summaries

After helping expose those who concealed the infant deaths in Feiniao City, Lu Wu prepared to leave for Japan, but the Nine Nether Queen delivered word that the Ancient King had acquired a temporary body. Lu Wu received a death energy crystal and planned to absorb it to break through to the Super Level, while Mu Ningxue went to cultivate after Lu Wu questioned whether she or the Nine Nether Queen had been intimate with him earlier.

• Lu Wu, Nan Jue, and Ai Jiangtu agreed to investigate the infant deaths while continuing their National Team duties.
• Mu Bai and Lin Junxian helped Lu Wu's team expose people in Feiniao City who had concealed the infant incidents, but the trail went cold and the mentors told them to stop investigating.
• The Nine Nether Queen possessed Mu Ningxue and told Lu Wu that the Ancient King had made a deal and obtained a temporary body.
• The Nine Nether Queen gave Lu Wu a death energy crystal, and he decided to devour its energy to seek a breakthrough to the Super Level.
• Mu Ningxue warned Lu Wu to be careful with the crystal, then went to cultivate after he asked whether she or the Nine Nether Queen had been intimate with him.

During the voyage to Japan, Lu Wu avoided explaining how he had grown strong, and the bored team passed the time playing cards. Near the end of the trip, they spotted an enormous, hard-to-detect creature beneath the ship, which disappeared into the depths before reaching Japan.

• Nan Rongni and the others asked Lu Wu about his experiences, but he dodged their questions and suggested playing three-card brag instead.
• As the team grew impatient with the slow voyage, Zhao Manyan and the other Water Element mages used magic to speed up the ship.
• After Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan returned to the deck, Jiang Yu spotted a vast black shadow beneath the clear water.
• Lu Wu activated his Nirvana Domain and sensed that the enormous creature had unusual signs of life, then prepared to escape with Mu Ningxue if it attacked.
• The creature sank deeper and left the area, and the team continued toward Japan until the coastline appeared.

After Zhao Manyan fell into a mysterious, deathlike sleep at Yanming Temple, Lu Wu and the team suspected a supernatural demon beast that could snatch souls. With Zhao Manyan’s condition worsening over time, Ai Jiangtu organized an investigation of the temple and the places Zhao Manyan had visited.

• The team reached Yanming Temple and settled in after disguising themselves to pass a harbor inspection without legal papers.
• Xu Wu sensed a sudden cold and found Zhao Manyan unconscious with a deathly pallor; Lu Wu sounded the alarm and checked that Mu Ningxue was safe.
• Nan Rongni found that Zhao Manyan had fallen into a deep sleep that Healing Element magic could not cure, and warned that forcing him awake could kill him.
• Jiang Shaoxu recounted a tavern owner’s story that young men at Yanming Temple had collapsed after having their souls snatched, while Mo Fan said he had seen a girl there.
• Lu Wu suspected a supernatural demon beast, and Ai Jiangtu assigned the team to question the monks and inspect the places Zhao Manyan had visited.
• Lu Wu told Mu Ningxue to stay with him, then urged the team to move quickly because Zhao Manyan did not have much time.

The group searched the mountain behind Yanming Temple and found an ancient wooden fish drum covered in powerful magical restrictions. As Nan Jue studied it, she concluded that Miyata was likely the drum’s artifact spirit, leaving the group with a new lead in the mystery of Zhao Manyan’s stolen soul.

• Jiang Yu split the search, taking Jiang Shaoxu to investigate the temple while the others followed Lu Wu into the mountain.
• Lu Wu’s group found an abandoned path and a hidden temple hall containing a rune-covered wooden fish drum.
• Nan Jue identified the drum as an ancient Shield Magic Tool with additional powers and began studying its writing and restrictions.
• Nan Jue concluded that Miyata was likely an artifact spirit, though the group wondered why Mo Fan could see her when the drum’s lightning rejected him.

Lu Wu, Mo Fan, and Ai Jiangtu entered the wooden fish vessel’s world to find its Artifact Spirit, but discovered a lifelike illusion of Yanming Temple. They realized their souls could be killed inside and continued cautiously, with the others’ whereabouts still unknown.

• Nan Jue explained that they could enter the Vessel World through their souls and warned that injuries there would harm them.
• Jiang Shaoxu hypnotized Lu Wu, Mo Fan, and Ai Jiangtu, while Mu Ningxue and the others stayed behind to guard their bodies.
• Lu Wu, Mo Fan, and Ai Jiangtu awoke in a version of Yanming Temple where the wooden fish and their companions were gone.
• The three explored the temple and found it bustling with monks and worshippers, unlike the deserted place they remembered.
• Lu Wu identified the surroundings as an illusion inside the Vessel World, and Ai Jiangtu warned that death there could destroy their souls.

Lu Wu, Mo Fan, and Ai Jiangtu followed clues inside the wooden fish vessel and witnessed Miyata’s death and the false accusation that connected her to Narahara Sora. Lu Wu woke as the others returned and asked whether they had found information about Narahara Sora.

• Jiang Yu used burning mugwort to send the trapped team a clue, and Lu Wu, Mo Fan, and Ai Jiangtu followed it to Miyata’s herb garden.
• The three found Miyata at the coastal rocks, where she reenacted her suicide after carving Narahara Sora’s name.
• At the temple, Lu Wu learned that Miyata and Narahara Sora had been falsely accused of an affair because Miyata claimed to have visited an island that no one else could see.
• Lu Wu watched Narahara Sora leave the temple and carve into rocks on a mountain before Nan Jue could no longer sustain the vision.
• Lu Wu woke beside Ning Xue, Jiang Shaoxu, Nan Jue, Jiang Yu, Mu Tingying, Nan Rongni, Li Kaifeng, and the others, then asked whether they had information about Narahara Sora.

Lu Wu, Ai Jiangtu, and Mo Fan realized that Narahara Sora was an Artifact Spirit who had cursed Manying Mountain to avenge Miyata and himself, and that he had taken Zhao Manyan's soul. Lu Wu confronted Narahara Sora at the mountain and left him in his grasp after overpowering his spirits with Nirvana Domain.

• Li Kaifeng said Narahara Sora had died years ago, leading Lu Wu, Ai Jiangtu, and Mo Fan to realize that Narahara Sora and Miyata were both Artifact Spirits.
• Lu Wu concluded that Narahara Sora had carved curse runes into the stones on Manying Mountain, then used Instantaneous Movement to rush there with Ai Jiangtu.
• Lu Wu found Manying Mountain covered by a blood-red curse diagram and demanded that Narahara Sora return Zhao Manyan's soul.
• Narahara Sora sent blood-red evil spirits to attack the monks, while the curse formed a tombstone among them.
• Lu Wu unleashed Nirvana Domain, burned Narahara Sora's evil spirits, and seized Narahara Sora by the throat after refusing to wait for him to release Zhao Manyan's soul.

Lu Wu purified Narahara Sora, and Zhao Manyan claimed the wooden fish vessel after waking from a dream. The team boarded a train to Tokyo, where Lu Wu and Mo Fan spotted what might have been an island near the sea cliffs.

• Lu Wu purified Narahara Sora, and the team decided to leave Manying Mountain before local law enforcement arrived.
• At Yanming Temple, Lu Wu found Zhao Manyan with the wooden fish vessel, which Zhao Manyan had retrieved after dreaming about the mountain.
• Nan Jue reasoned that the vessel had acknowledged Zhao Manyan as its master and suspected Lu Wu and Mo Fan carried powerful vessels of their own.
• The team boarded a train bound for Tokyo after the matter at Yanming Temple ended.
• When Jiang Yu mentioned an island Miyata had described, Lu Wu and Mo Fan used Shadow Escape to reach the train roof and search for it.
• Lu Wu and Mo Fan thought they briefly saw an island, but a tunnel interrupted their view.

Lu Wu and the Chinese National Team arrived at Osaka’s Twin Guardian Pavilion to challenge its team. After the pavilion’s members questioned their status and boasted of their strength, Guan Yu threatened to knock them down, leaving a fight poised to begin.

• The team traveled to Osaka to challenge Japan’s National Pavilion, while Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Ningxue, and the other girls went out to eat and shop.
• Jiang Yu explained Osaka’s sea-battle defenses and led the group to the Twin Guardian Pavilion, built atop two facing mountains.
• Two samurai guards barred the Chinese team from entering, but Lu Wu and Jiang Yu told them they had come to challenge the pavilion.
• Mochizuki Meiken recognized the group as China’s National Team and questioned Lu Wu about his magic elements, then accepted Ai Jiangtu’s identity badge without checking it.
• A blond pavilion member claimed that only a few teams in Japan could match them, and Guan Yu angrily promised to knock him and his companions down.

Lu Wu encountered Mochizuki Chiharu at the Twin Guardian Pavilion, where she attacked him over their past and Mochizuki Meiken and Watanabe turned hostile. As Chiharu broke down and Lu Wu sensed a familiar aura near the East Guard Pavilion, Ai Jiangtu stepped in to stop Watanabe from attacking.

• Mochizuki Meiken led the guests through the Twin Guardian Pavilion, and Lu Wu sensed a familiar aura from its forbidden opposite side.
• Lu Wu encountered Mochizuki Chiharu, who attacked him with thorny bellflower vines, but his Space Element stopped them.
• Mochizuki Meiken recognized Lu Wu as the person Watanabe had mentioned and let Chiharu confront him.
• Lu Wu defended himself by saying the Mochizuki people had broken their word first, while Chiharu reacted with intense resentment and tears when he looked toward the East Guard Pavilion.
• Watanabe prepared to attack Lu Wu, but Ai Jiangtu stepped forward and invoked the National Team's status.

Lu Wu learned why Mochizuki Chiharu had been hostile toward him: after returning from his country, she had been poisoned by Rock Lava Crab Demon parasites while pregnant. Mochizuki Meiken revealed that her child was born, but had turned into a freak.

• Lu Wu confronted Watanabe and the Twin Guardian Pavilion, then agreed to hear Mochizuki Meiken out in the upper pavilion.
• Mu Ningxue arrived with the Ice Phoenix Insect, and Mochizuki Meiken brought her and Lu Wu upstairs with Mochizuki Chiharu.
• Mochizuki Meiken explained that Rock Lava Crab Demon parasites caused infected people’s bellies to swell and could not be treated with Healing Element magic.
• Mochizuki Meiken revealed that Chiharu had been pregnant when she was infected, and the parasites and their treatment had harmed the fetus.
• Mochizuki Meiken told Lu Wu that Chiharu’s child had been born but had turned into a freak.

Lu Wu learned that Mochizuki Chiharu had given birth to their gravely ill son, Yan, whose body had been damaged by Rock Lava Crab Demon parasites. After learning that only a rare Rock Green Flower could save him, Lu Wu decided to risk entering the powerful Rock Lava Crab Demon Tribe to find one.

• Lu Wu learned that Mochizuki Chiharu’s pregnancy had gone unnoticed because of the Rock Lava Crab Demons and that their son had been born deformed and barely alive.
• Mochizuki Meiken led Lu Wu, Mu Ningxue, and the others to see the infant, who was being kept alive with Rock Lava Crab Demon roe.
• Lu Wu named the child Lu Yan, but Mochizuki Chiharu insisted he was Mochizuki Yan and had nothing to do with Lu Wu.
• Watanabe explained that the parasites had fused with Yan’s organs and that only a Rock Green Flower could save him.
• Mochizuki Meiken warned that the Rock Lava Crab Demon Tribe had several Rulers and was too dangerous to raid, but Lu Wu vowed to try.

Lu Wu learned that obtaining the Rock Green Flower would mean escaping the Rock Lava Crab Demon tribe and its Great Monarch, but he focused on using nirvana origin to ease Yan’s suffering. After a costly treatment, Yan had recovered only about a tenth.

• Lu Wu asked where the Rock Lava Crab Demon tribe lived, and Mochizuki Meiken and Watanabe warned him about the dangers of fighting in offshore waters.
• Watanabe explained that a volcanic eruption could create an opportunity to steal the Rock Green Flower, though its scent would draw the tribe’s Monarchs, including a Great Monarch.
• Lu Wu judged that Little Fire and his own abilities might give him a chance to escape the Rock Lava Crab Demons.
• Mochizuki Meiken said they would notify Lu Wu when the next eruption approached, while Rock Lava Crab Demon roe remained the only way to ease Yan’s suffering in the meantime.
• Lu Wu wrapped nirvana origin around Yan, and Yan’s finger lightened slightly without making him cry.
• Lu Wu continued treating Yan with the nirvana origin in his Nirvana Bone until his own condition worsened, but Yan recovered by only about a tenth.

After collapsing from the strain of treating Lu Yan, Lu Wu woke beside Mu Ningxue and learned that she had defeated the Osaka Twin Guardian Pavilion’s defenders while he was asleep. The group prepared to continue helping Lu Yan and planned to return home after their trip through Japan.

• Lu Wu woke after sleeping through the night and told Mu Ningxue that he had mostly recovered from exhausting his mental energy.
• Mu Ningxue said Lu Yan’s breathing had improved, while Lu Wu explained that treating his internal organs would require the Rock Green Flower.
• Lu Wu decided to restore Lu Yan’s health before returning home from Japan and took Mu Ningxue to get food.
• Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu told Lu Wu that Mu Ningxue had challenged and defeated the Osaka defenders, then fought Mochizuki Chiharu until Mochizuki Meiken intervened.
• Mu Ningxue said Mochizuki Chiharu had not used her full strength and that her magic equipment had helped her keep up; Lu Wu praised Mu Ningxue’s strength.

Lu Wu learned that Mu Nujiao was pursuing a Star Sea Heavenly Vein and made plans with Mu Ningxue before contacting Mu Nujiao. Later, Mochizuki Chiharu hinted that the East Guard Pavilion concealed more than Lu Wu believed, leaving him to investigate while her brother Tsuruta remained imprisoned there.

• Mu Ningxue told Lu Wu that Mu Nujiao had a lead on a Star Sea Heavenly Vein and could buy one after more time.
• Lu Wu discussed his plans for Lu Yan with Mu Ningxue, then contacted Mu Nujiao.
• General Takagi spoke with a commander about the Chinese team and Tsuruta, then concealed the conversation when Mochizuki Chiharu arrived.
• Mochizuki Chiharu warned Lu Wu that the East Guard Pavilion was forbidden ground and told him to investigate what lay there.
• Mochizuki Chiharu suspected that Tsuruta was imprisoned in the East Guard Pavilion.

Lu Wu sought answers about the forbidden East Guard Pavilion, where Lu Yan was being kept, but Mochizuki Meiken refused to explain and told him to obtain the Rock Green Flower first. That night, an enormous Sea Monster appeared offshore, and General Takagi flew out on his Sky Ridge Beast to investigate.

• Lu Wu asked Mochizuki Meiken to let him return to the East Guard Pavilion and explain what lay beyond it, but Mochizuki Meiken refused and urged him to obtain the Rock Green Flower to bring Lu Yan out.
• Lu Wu resolved to visit the East Guard Pavilion as soon as he had an opportunity, then rejoined Mu Ningxue and the others as if nothing had happened.
• Red warning lights and sirens alerted the Twin Guardian Pavilion that more than a hundred offshore warning devices had been destroyed by what appeared to be a single Sea Monster.
• Lu Wu used Space Traversal to join Mochizuki Meiken and General Takagi at the watchtower, where they watched the sea churn without seeing or sensing the creature.
• An Advanced Level military commander reported that the Sea Monster was diving toward the deep sea, but General Takagi decided to investigate and departed on his Sky Ridge Beast.

Lu Wu evaded his guards and joined Mochizuki Chiharu on a dangerous route toward the East Guard Pavilion, where she believed her older brother Yan was imprisoned. Chiharu revealed that Yan needed the pavilion’s restrictions to survive and that Takagi held most of the authority to grant entry.

• Mochizuki Meiken sent Lu Wu back to his lodgings and posted guards to prevent him from leaving.
• Lu Wu slipped away and Mochizuki Chiharu confronted him, then agreed to guide him toward the East Guard Pavilion.
• Ai Jiangtu’s group learned that sea monsters had entered Osaka’s coastal waters and that Lu Wu had angered the Military Commander by going to the upper pavilion.
• Lu Wu told Mu Ningxue that Mochizuki Chiharu suspected her older brother Yan was imprisoned in the East Guard Pavilion, and they set out together.
• Mochizuki Chiharu guided Lu Wu along a cliff concealed by powerful restrictions and explained that Yan needed them to stay alive.
• Mochizuki Chiharu revealed that Takagi had gained most of the authority over entry to the East Guard Pavilion after arguing with Mochizuki Meiken about Yan.

Lu Wu and Mochizuki Chiharu infiltrated the East Guard Pavilion to find her half brother, Tsuruta, and learned that General Takagi had imprisoned him after he discovered the Ninghua Pearl. They reached the pearl in a hidden chamber, but Lu Wu warned Mochizuki Chiharu not to touch it, and she prepared to take it anyway.

• Mochizuki Chiharu explained that the East Guard Pavilion’s curses weakened prisoners, and Lu Wu used Instantaneous Movement to help them enter and search it.
• Lu Wu and Mochizuki Chiharu checked that Yan was safe, then headed to the Nightmare Chamber, where Lu Wu knocked out four guards.
• Mochizuki Chiharu spoke with Tsuruta through his cell and learned that Takagi had imprisoned him after he found the Ninghua Pearl.
• Tsuruta revealed that Takagi planned to use the pearl, formed from prisoners’ souls, to advance his Sky Ridge Beast to the Monarch Level.
• Following Tsuruta’s directions, Lu Wu and Mochizuki Chiharu found the Ninghua Pearl in a hidden room, and Lu Wu warned her not to touch it.

Mochizuki Chiharu was corrupted by the Condensed Evil Bead and nearly became a Red Demon, but Lu Wu stopped her and took the bead. Mochizuki Meiken explained the bead’s history and sent Lu Wu to Tokyo to find the only person who could purify it.

• Mochizuki Chiharu attacked Asaoka and unleashed Ghost Wood Hands and Magic Vine roots on people in Osaka while the Red Demon’s shadow appeared behind her.
• Lu Wu used the Light Scale Holy Robe to break the corruption’s hold on Mochizuki Chiharu, and the Condensed Evil Bead fell from her hand.
• Lu Wu took control of the bead and brought Mochizuki Chiharu back to Mochizuki Meiken, who warned that she might have become a Red Demon.
• Mochizuki Meiken explained how the Condensed Evil Bead had corrupted people in the past and how Yi Qiu had taken it away before disappearing.
• Mochizuki Meiken told Lu Wu to take the Condensed Evil Bead to Tokyo and find his old friend, who could purify its resentment.

Lu Wu agreed to escort the Condensed Evil Bead to Tokyo, hoping to use it as a source of soul energy and reach the Rock Lava Crab Demon tribe for the Rock Green Flower. Mochizuki Meiken allowed him to take Yan if he obtained the flower, while Mochizuki Chiharu went to ask Meiken once more about Lu Wu’s plan for the bead.

• Mochizuki Meiken warned Lu Wu about the Red Demon inside the Condensed Evil Bead and asked him to deliver it to an old friend in Tokyo.
• Lu Wu asked to take Yan with him and learned that Yan could leave only if he obtained the Rock Green Flower from the dangerous Rock Lava Crab Demon tribe near Tokyo.
• Mochizuki Meiken told Mochizuki Chiharu to escort the bead with Lu Wu and promised to protect Yan and Tsuruta; Mochizuki Chiharu reluctantly accepted the possibility that Yan could leave if Lu Wu found the flower.
• After Lu Wu returned, Zhao Manyan and the others mistakenly assumed he had become involved with Mochizuki Chiharu when they saw him leave her room, while Mu Ningxue was nearby.
• Lu Wu planned to use the Condensed Evil Bead’s soul energy during demonization and told Mochizuki Chiharu he intended to use it to escape after infiltrating the Rock Lava Crab Demon tribe; she went to ask Mochizuki Meiken about it again.