Recaps

Chen Mu reached Xihe City and reunited with Hou Sailei, who asked him to protect the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce from aggressive otherworldly Sages. Chen Mu agreed to help for a fee and planned to study the opponents’ information before setting out the next morning.

• Chen Mu copied a passerby’s passage jade token and entered Xihe City, then visited the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce.
• Hou Sailei welcomed Chen Mu and explained that otherworldly Sages were threatening and plundering the chamber’s mineral veins.
• Chen Mu agreed to drive off the chamber’s enemies for ten World Crystals per Sage, and Hou Sailei offered him twenty.
• Hou Sailei asked Chen Mu to stay the night and review information about the opponents before leaving in the morning.
• Chen Mu agreed to explore Xihe City and study its ancient buildings and intricate Ancient Runes.

Chen Mu reclaimed two mineral veins for the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce, using Little White to fight their occupiers and driving off a stubborn Treant Sage himself. At the third mine, he discovered that its supposed Sage was a dead cultivator whose body had been taken over by a Saint Level Sala Insect.

• Chen Mu and Little White drove Daoist Huosang from the Heavenly Crimson Copper vein, and Chen Mu arranged for the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce to secure it.
• Little White struggled against a Treant Sage, so Chen Mu struck him hard enough to make him leave, then protected the reclaimed vein with an array.
• At the third mine, Chen Mu scanned the occupant and discovered that a Saint Level Sala Insect had taken over the body of a dead cultivator.
• Chen Mu questioned whether the Heavenly Court had failed to detect the insect or had not inspected those entering the Pan Emperor Continent.

Chen Mu destroyed a Sala insect Sage that had occupied a Spirit Stone vein, collected valuable Spirit Stones, and arranged for the remaining escaped insects to be hunted. After returning to Xihe City, he asked Hou Sailei to give him the locations of the remaining Sage troubles so he could deal with them quickly.

• Chen Mu entered the Spirit Stone vein and fought the Sala insect Sage, then pursued and killed it after it fled underground.
• The dying insect Sage marked Chen Mu, and Chen Mu found eight Ninth-Grade Spirit Stones in its body and froze the corpse for Chen Xuejun to study.
• Chen Mu destroyed the insect eggs in the cave, while Little White killed the insects that had escaped; five eggs got away and Chen Mu planned to have Hou Sailei alert the Haotian Empire's soldiers.
• Chen Mu handed the vein over to the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce and returned to Xihe City.
• Hou Sailei praised Chen Mu for resolving three Sage problems in one day and said only two places remained.

Chen Mu went to Five Splendors Mountain to confront an Immortal Martial Continent Sage who had occupied the Eight Directions Trading Company's Dao Comprehension Tea Tree. The Sage proposed a one-punch wager and put his self-created martial technique at stake, leaving Chen Mu to decide whether to accept the terms.

• Hou Sailei told Chen Mu about an old man occupying the Dao Comprehension Tea Tree on Five Splendors Mountain and a powerful woman who had taken over a medicinal garden near the World Tree.
• Chen Mu agreed to handle the intruders and arranged to meet Hou Sailei in Heavenly Emperor City, hoping to investigate the World Tree and its possible connection to the Primordial Heavenly Realm.
• Chen Mu arrived at Five Splendors Mountain and found the old man meditating beneath the Dao Comprehension Tea Tree.
• The old man said he came from the Immortal Martial Continent and offered to leave if Chen Mu could withstand one punch without stepping back.
• The old man wagered a martial technique he had created against the Dao Comprehension Tea Tree and asked Chen Mu whether he objected.

Chen Mu explored the World Tree and the Eight Directions Trading Company’s secluded medicinal valley, where he found a woman tending ancient tombs. The chapter ended with her identifying the buried people as the Ancient Chen Clan Tribe.

• Chen Mu withstood an old man’s Sun-Chasing Sage-Exterminating Fist, took the secret manual, and departed for his next destination.
• Chen Mu examined the World Tree, sensed that its summit was sealed, and found no clues about the Primordial Heavenly Realm.
• Chen Mu entered the medicinal valley and searched its abandoned ancient buildings for the missing woman.
• Chen Mu spotted the woman beside a tomb and found her cleaning and repainting thousands of tombstones.
• The woman asked for one more day to finish tending the graves and told Chen Mu that the dead belonged to the Ancient Chen Clan Tribe.

Chen Mu discovered that the overgrown courtyard was the ancient Chen Clan Tribe’s place of origin and met Gu Ningbi, a Soul Clan woman paying respects to her ancestors. He left without revealing his connection to the clan, then decided to keep the discovery from Chen Hongjie for now and remotely control a satellite.

• Gu Ningbi told Chen Mu that the courtyard was where the ancient Chen Clan Tribe, also called the God-Slaying God Clan, had originated and lived for generations.
• Gu Ningbi introduced herself as a member of the Soul Clan, and Chen Mu said he was from the Chen Kingdom and had learned about the clan from his master’s notes.
• Chen Mu admitted he was the Chen Kingdom’s runemaster and named the Rune Ancestor as his master, prompting Gu Ningbi to greet the Rune Ancestor’s successor respectfully.
• Chen Mu left Gu Ningbi and hid in a secluded cave, weighing whether to tell Chen Hongjie about the clan’s place of origin.
• Chen Mu decided to ask Hou Sailei to protect the site and postpone telling the Chen Village clansmen, then used a formation to control the satellite remotely.

Chen Mu returned to the ancient Chen Clan’s abandoned settlement after Gu Ningbi left, hoping to find traces of his ancestors. When he revealed the soul imprint in his hand, the ancestral hall shook and uncovered a rockery made of divine blood scarlet gold.

• Chen Mu watched Gu Ningbi through a rune satellite, waited until she left the valley, and then returned with Little White.
• Chen Mu explored the abandoned Chen Clan settlement and wondered why the tribe had been wiped out.
• Chen Mu searched the ancestral hall but found only decayed tablets, weeds, and debris.
• Chen Mu revealed the eight-trigram soul imprint in his left hand, triggering a quake and an ancient war song.
• A rockery rose in the ancestral hall, and Chen Mu recognized it as precious divine blood scarlet gold.

Chen Mu uncovered his ancestor’s legacy, including essence blood and the God-Slaying Art, but rejected the idea that the Chen Kingdom should risk itself protecting the Pan Emperor Continent. He left the valley for Heavenly Emperor City, unaware that Gu Ningbi had discovered his connection to the Chen clan.

• Chen Mu found a message from his ancestor, three drops of essence blood, the God-Slaying Art, and a rockery of Divine Blood Scarlet Gold ore.
• Chen Mu stored the legacy and ore, deciding that the Chen Kingdom had to prioritize survival over his ancestor’s pact to protect the Pan Emperor Continent.
• Gu Ningbi returned to the valley, identified traces of Chen Mu’s use of the mechanism, and concluded he might be a surviving member of the Chen clan.
• Chen Mu sent Hou Sailei a message to meet him in Heavenly Emperor City and entered using the more reliable identity token Hou Sailei had provided.
• Chen Mu headed toward the Haotian Empire’s imperial palace, located beneath a pillar of light at the center of the vast city.

Chen Mu and Hou Sailei explored Heavenly Emperor City and visited the lavish Flower Moon Palace, where Hou Sailei showed off his growing wealth and status. They settled into a private room overlooking the palace’s performance stage as they waited for their meal.

• Chen Mu enjoyed noodles at a street stall while Hou Sailei urged him to try Heavenly Emperor City’s finer pleasures.
• Hou Sailei led Chen Mu to the Flower Moon Palace and ordered a top-floor private room with fresh signature dishes.
• Chen Mu remarked on Hou Sailei’s generous spending, and Hou Sailei credited Chen Mu’s help for his prospects of becoming president of the Eight Directions Chamber of Commerce.
• An attendant escorted Chen Mu and Hou Sailei to their suspended private room, where Chen Mu dismissed the maids and sampled the tea.

Chen Mu and Hou Sailei watched Su Miaoyin perform at the Flower Moon Palace and discussed her past and the northern rebels. After learning that Su Miaoyin had been reserved for the powerful guests in Heaven Room One, Chen Mu used his Eye of Runes to look inside.

• Little White drank from the teapot, and Chen Mu scolded him for being rude to Hou Sailei.
• Chen Mu recognized Su Miaoyin performing and learned from Hou Sailei that she had joined the Flower Moon Palace after her workshop was shut down and she was imprisoned.
• Chen Mu asked Hou Sailei about the northern rebels and considered contacting them because he saw the Heavenly Court as a potential enemy.
• Hou Sailei asked an attendant to invite Su Miaoyin, but the attendant said she was reserved for the guests in Heaven Room One.
• Chen Mu noticed Su Miaoyin fly toward Heaven Room One and activated his Eye of Runes to peer inside.

Chen Mu secretly watched Su Miaoyin attempt to poison and kill Long Xiang in Heaven Room Number One. When Long Xiang's Celestial Person bloodline thwarted her attack, Chen Mu intervened and killed him, leaving Su Miaoyin wary of her rescuer.

• Chen Mu used his calculations to bypass the Flower Moon Palace's isolation formation and discovered that Long Xiang was in Heaven Room Number One.
• Su Miaoyin poisoned Long Xiang's wine and used music to weaken him, but his Celestial Person bloodline restored his life force and revealed his Peak Emperor Level cultivation.
• Long Xiang seized Su Miaoyin and demanded to know who had sent her, but she used a Dharma treasure to escape his grasp.
• Long Xiang's gourd trapped Su Miaoyin, so Chen Mu teleported into the room and killed Long Xiang with a single strike.
• Su Miaoyin recognized Chen Mu and asked who had sent him, and he explained that he had wanted to kill Long Xiang himself.

Chen Mu killed Long Xiang after Su Miaoyin’s poison failed, then escaped the Flower Moon Palace with Hou Sailei. As Dowager Consort Zhuang investigated her son’s death, she and Zhan Fengxiu suspected a second assassin and considered whether Emperor Long Bo had helped Su Miaoyin.

• Su Miaoyin left the Flower Moon Palace after warning Chen Mu that the authorities would investigate Long Xiang’s death.
• Chen Mu told Hou Sailei that he had killed Long Xiang after Su Miaoyin’s poison failed, and Hou Sailei continued eating while they waited for the commotion to begin.
• Chen Mu and Hou Sailei left the Flower Moon Palace during the chaos and checked into a luxurious inn in Heavenly Emperor City.
• Dowager Consort Zhuang grieved over Long Xiang’s corpse and learned that Su Miaoyin had been identified as the poisoner.
• Zhan Fengxiu concluded that Long Xiang’s fatal head wound pointed to another expert, since his Imperial Heaven Hegemon Body made him immune to poison.
• Dowager Consort Zhuang and Zhan Fengxiu suspected the rebels or Emperor Long Bo might have aided Su Miaoyin, and Zhan Fengxiu began investigating.

Chen Mu followed Su Miaoyin and watched Duan Tianlong rescue her from the Imperial City Bureau, learning that someone in the imperial court had manipulated her into killing Long Xiang. As Duan Tianlong prepared to take Su Miaoyin to You Province, Chen Mu revealed himself and invited him to drink.

• Dowager Consort Zhuang ordered Zhan Fengxiu to capture Su Miaoyin and vowed to make Long Bo pay if he was responsible.
• Chen Mu used the Rune Heavenly Eye to track Su Miaoyin, then hurried into the wilderness with Little White.
• The Imperial City Bureau squad trapped Su Miaoyin, but she fought back with sound-wave blades while Chen Mu waited to see who would come for her.
• Duan Tianlong arrived and killed the Imperial City Bureau squad, then told Su Miaoyin that someone from the imperial court had manipulated her into killing Long Xiang.
• Duan Tianlong prepared to take the injured Su Miaoyin to You Province, but Chen Mu stopped them and invited him to drink.

Chen Mu met Duan Tianlong and Su Miaoyin, healed Su Miaoyin with a potion, and began discussing cooperation against the Haotian Empire. At Duan Tianlong’s residence, Chen Mu explained why he had to answer Long Bo’s summons before the group settled in to drink and eat.

• Chen Mu revealed that he had followed Su Miaoyin to investigate Long Xiang, then introduced himself to Duan Tianlong and proposed an alliance against the Haotian Empire.
• Duan Tianlong invited Chen Mu and Su Miaoyin to his nearby residence, and Chen Mu gave Su Miaoyin a Cell Repair Potion that healed her injuries.
• Duan Tianlong asked about the Chen Kingdom’s Talisman Medicine, and Chen Mu offered to provide a batch for the Heavenly Dragon Society.
• At the residence, Duan Tianlong warned Chen Mu that Long Bo’s palace summons might be a trap, but Chen Mu said he had to go and was confident he could protect himself.
• Su Miaoyin brought wine, and Chen Mu served beggar’s chicken and Teng Snake soup as they began their meal.

Chen Mu and Duan Tianlong discussed cooperation between the Chen Kingdom and the Dragon-Toppling Society, sharing Teng Snake soup as they negotiated. Chen Mu proposed high-altitude transport ships and revealed that the Chen Kingdom could supply fast transport vessels, while keeping its combat ships exclusive.

• Duan Tianlong shared roasted demon beast meat, and Chen Mu served him and Su Miaoyin rare Teng Snake soup.
• Duan Tianlong identified transportation as the main obstacle to cooperation because their territories lay far apart and between hostile lands.
• Chen Mu showed Duan Tianlong a map and proposed teleportation arrays for emergencies and high-altitude transport ships for regular trade.
• Duan Tianlong raised concerns about the expense and slow travel time of high-altitude ships.
• Chen Mu explained that the Chen Kingdom specialized in building large flying vessels and would sell outsiders transport ships, but not combat ships.

Chen Mu and Duan Tianlong agreed on a transport-ship deal and a high-altitude trade route, then tested each other’s strength in a spar. Their fierce fight continued after Chen Mu used Law Cloak to withstand Duan Tianlong’s full-power punch.

• Chen Mu offered Duan Tianlong ten high-speed transport ships for ten Eighth-Grade Spirit Stones each, and Duan Tianlong accepted the deal.
• Chen Mu explained his high-altitude transport plan, gave Duan Tianlong three communication Rune Artifacts, and received half the ship cost as a deposit, promising delivery in two months.
• Duan Tianlong asked Chen Mu to spar, and the two exchanged probing blows that blasted holes into the surrounding mountains.
• Duan Tianlong unleashed his Saint Body and struck with full force, while Chen Mu used Law Cloak to boost his strength to the Saint Level Late Stage.
• Chen Mu was knocked back more than ten zhang without serious injury, and Duan Tianlong charged in to continue the fight.

After sparring with Duan Tianlong, Chen Mu returned to Heavenly Emperor City and finalized plans for cooperation with the Dragon-Toppling Society. He went boating with Hou Sailei to survey the Haotian Imperial Palace from the river, preparing for his upcoming meeting with Long Bo.

• Chen Mu sparred with Duan Tianlong, admitted defeat, and parted ways with him.
• Chen Mu returned to Heavenly Emperor City and told Chen Hongjie about the agreement with the Dragon-Toppling Society; Chen Hongjie arranged for transport ships to be built.
• Hou Sailei invited Chen Mu to boat on the Canglan River, and Chen Mu asked to see the Haotian Imperial Palace from a distance.
• Chen Mu and Hou Sailei sailed upstream near the palace moat, where other pleasure boats were gathered.
• Chen Mu explained that boating gave young women from noble families a rare chance to meet men and warned Hou Sailei that romantic outings could lead to heartbreak.

Chen Mu prepared to answer Haotian Emperor Long Bo’s summons, hoping to secure time for the Chen Kingdom to grow stronger despite the danger of entering the palace. On the winter solstice, he arrived at Heavenly Emperor City and announced himself at its gates, beginning his imperial audience.

• Chen Mu tactfully suggested that Hou Sailei use a cosmetic-alteration potion, and Hou Sailei accepted the advice.
• As the Heavenly Court’s activity increased, Hou Sailei urged Chen Mu not to enter the palace, but Chen Mu insisted that the Chen Kingdom needed the time his audience might secure.
• Chen Mu said goodbye to Hou Sailei and left Heavenly Emperor City, while Hou Sailei promised to wait for news in Xihe City.
• A eunuch told Long Bo that a man suspected of being Chen Mu had left the city, and Long Bo ordered his forces to watch the Eight Directions Trading Company and report any news of Chen Mu.
• On the winter solstice, Chen Mu flew to Heavenly Emperor City aboard a black warship and declared at the gates that he had come by imperial decree to attend an audience.

Chen Mu forced his way through Heavenly Emperor City and the Haotian Imperial Palace, overcoming its defenses to answer the Haotian Emperor’s summons. He reached Long Bo during morning court, where his display of strength left the emperor’s planned show of force in disarray.

• Chen Mu entered Heavenly Emperor City by using his runic robe to withstand the gate’s defensive barrier, despite the Imperial City Bureau commander’s orders.
• Wei Lirong and his men tried to stop Chen Mu outside the palace, but Chen Mu’s warship destroyed their Imperial Heaven Ascending Dragon Formation.
• Chen Mu used formation flags to evade the palace’s attacks, damaging palace buildings as the defenses fired blindly.
• Gao Hanfei and two other Sages confronted Chen Mu, who apologized for unfamiliarity with the rules and landed his warship in the palace.
• Chen Mu reached the throne hall during morning court, introduced himself to Long Bo, and angered the emperor by demonstrating that the palace formations could not stop him.

Chen Mu rejected Long Bo’s offer to make the Chen Kingdom submit and endured the emperor’s Imperial Dragon Qi rather than kneel. Divine Lord Xuanji intervened to save him, revealing that the Heavenly Court needed his talisman skills for a future expedition to the Tomb of the Gods.

• Long Bo offered Chen Mu kingship, the Chen Kingdom’s territory, and one thousand Starry Sky Passage trips in exchange for submission, but Chen Mu refused.
• Long Bo unleashed his Imperial Dragon Qi and demanded that Chen Mu submit, but Chen Mu resisted with golden runes and refused to kneel.
• Long Bo prepared to kill Chen Mu despite the risk to the Haotian Imperial Family’s reputation.
• Divine Lord Xuanji arrived with Divine Lord Cangmu and Divine Lord Tianlang and ordered Long Bo to spare Chen Mu.
• Divine Lord Xuanji said the Heavenly Court needed Chen Mu’s talisman mastery for a future journey to the Tomb of the Gods, and Long Bo questioned whether another talisman master could replace him.

Divine Lord Xuanji forced Chen Mu to submit by placing a Soul-Devouring Insect larva inside him, then left him in Long Bo’s custody. Long Bo tried to secure Chen Mu’s help in taking the Chen Kingdom, but Chen Mu asked for time to consult its emperor.

• Long Bo agreed to hand Chen Mu over to Divine Lord Xuanji after she explained that she needed his talisman mastery for the Tomb of the Gods.
• Divine Lord Xuanji implanted a Soul-Devouring Insect larva in Chen Mu and threatened to make it devour his soul if he disobeyed her.
• Chen Mu attempted to escape using earth-escape runes, but the insect’s pain forced him to return and promise to obey Divine Lord Xuanji.
• Divine Lord Xuanji ordered Long Bo to keep Chen Mu safe until she and the other Divine Lords descended to the lower realm in half a year, then departed.
• Long Bo asked Chen Mu to help take the Chen Kingdom’s territory, but Chen Mu said he needed time because his third uncle was the kingdom’s emperor.

Chen Mu left Heavenly Emperor City after Long Bo gave him half a year to make the Chen Kingdom surrender. In a secluded canyon, he revealed a powerful clone created with cell-cloning technology and prepared to return to the Chen Kingdom despite the Soul-Devouring Insect lodged in the clone.

• Long Bo dismissed court and warned Chen Mu that the Divine Lords would intervene if the Chen Kingdom had not surrendered in half a year.
• Chen Mu left Heavenly Emperor City aboard his space battleship and flew to an abandoned mine in a secluded canyon.
• Chen Mu met his clone, which he had grown from his own cells and equipped with a third of his Divine Soul.
• Chen Mu found that the Soul-Devouring Insect reacted whenever the clone's Divine Soul stirred, so he postponed retrieving the soul fragment and planned to consult Xuejun.
• Chen Mu decided to return to the Chen Kingdom and sealed the runic-robed body before placing it aboard the space battleship.

After returning to the Chen Kingdom, Chen Mu briefed A Huo, Chen Hongjie, and Chen Zihu on his plans to strengthen the kingdom, spread the God-Slaying Art, and build a trade route to the Netherworld. The group divided their responsibilities as Chen Mu prepared to support the kingdom through the Spirit Network.

• Chen Mu sealed his cyan-clad self in the talisman robe, packed away the mine’s equipment, checked for traces, and flew back to the Chen Kingdom.
• Chen Mu told A Huo, Chen Hongjie, and Chen Zihu about Central Province, withheld the ancestral land’s location, and announced that the Chen Clan would begin cultivating the foundational section of the God-Slaying Art.
• Chen Mu urged the kingdom to use Long Bo’s presumed belief that he was afflicted by a Soul-Devouring Insect to gather resources, expand trade, and train its army, while he worked on a two-way teleportation passage to the Netherworld.
• A Huo planned to eliminate the Heavenly Puppet Sect’s remaining forces in Jing Province, while Chen Zihu arranged discreet trade with the Dragon-Toppling Society and agreed to prioritize keeping the society as a customer.
• Chen Hongjie took charge of spreading the God-Slaying Art, and Chen Mu told A Huo to contact him through the Spirit Network if danger arose.

Chen Mu brought Chen Xuejun a drop of God-Slaying essence blood and tasked him with researching how to purify and strengthen the Chen Clan’s bloodline. He then led Chen Xuejun to a genetics laboratory to investigate another problem.

• Chen Xuejun told Chen Mu he had extracted the Teng Snake Progenitor, a factor that could help snake-type demonic beasts evolve, and was studying how to cultivate it.
• Chen Mu gave Chen Xuejun one of three drops of God-Slaying essence blood and made its study the Biology Department’s top-secret priority.
• Chen Mu asked Chen Xuejun to set up a separate genetics laboratory so they could investigate another problem together.
• Chen Xuejun led Chen Mu to the ninth-floor laboratory, which had become available after an Otherworldly Demon Emperor from the Abyss killed himself.

Chen Mu and Chen Xuejun found a way for Taichu to remove Chen Mu’s Divine Soul from his clone without provoking the Soul-Devouring Insect. Chen Mu recovered his full Divine Soul, while Taichu agreed to maintain the clone until he needed it in six months.

• Chen Mu brought his clone, which was parasitized by a Soul-Devouring Insect, to Chen Xuejun’s laboratory and explained why he needed to preserve it and recover the Divine Soul inside.
• Chen Xuejun proposed replacing the clone’s Divine Soul with a similar power to trick the insect, and Chen Mu summoned Taichu to use her Power of Faith.
• Taichu gradually extracted Chen Mu’s Divine Soul while filling the clone with Power of Faith, and the Soul-Devouring Insect did not react.
• Chen Mu felt his Divine Soul restored and asked Taichu to maintain the clone until he needed it in six months.
• Chen Mu reassured Chen Xuejun that trade with the Netherworld would bring valuable yin-attribute materials and advised him to strengthen his cultivation foundation.