Chapter Summaries

At the Chen Kingdom’s founding ceremony, Chen Mu learned about the Ice Spirit Sect and arranged to discuss cooperation with its leader, Chu Chunbing. Later, Chen Duo told him that the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion was besieged after a rebellion orchestrated by the Heart Demon Emperor, prompting Chen Mu to decide the Chen Kingdom should act against the Otherworldly Demons.

• Chen Mu asked Gu Zi'an about the Ice Spirit Sect and sent word for Chu Chunbing to discuss its proposal to cooperate with the Chen Kingdom.
• After the founding ceremony, Chen Mu returned to his residence and ate with Meng Hui and Chen Duo, who discussed the kingdom’s progress and their mother’s wish for them to marry.
• Chen Duo reported that rebels controlled by the Heart Demon Emperor had killed Ding Danxi and other elders, leaving the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion surrounded by Otherworldly Demons.
• Chen Duo assured Chen Mu that Elder Ming and the Wentian Divine Spear could defend the pavilion for at least half a year to a year.
• Chen Mu decided that the Chen Kingdom could no longer remain quiet and should make a move against the Otherworldly Demons.

Chen Mu argued that the Chen Kingdom should prepare to aid the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion against the Otherworldly Demons, despite Chen Duo’s concerns about provoking the Demon Emperors. Later, he received the Ice Spirit Sect and questioned its sect master, Chu Chunbing, about two women in her group.

• Chen Mu told Chen Duo that helping the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion could strengthen the Chen Kingdom, while she warned that confronting the Otherworldly Demons risked drawing the attention of a Peak Creation Realm Demon Emperor.
• Chen Mu explained that the approaching war left the Chen Kingdom little time to grow, but agreed to discuss the decision with others before acting.
• The next morning, Chen Mu cultivated the True Explanation of Runes and received a message from Chen Hongjie that Chu Chunbing was coming to meet him.
• Chu Chunbing arrived with more than a dozen Ice Spirit Sect members and explained that the Otherworldly Demons had taken most of the sect’s spirit and mineral veins.
• Chen Mu pointed out two women, Weizi and Jinglan, and asked whether they knew him, prompting Chu Chunbing to question them.

Chen Mu punished Lin Weizi and Ye Jinglan for their past mistreatment by making them servants at his residence, while agreeing to aid the Ice Spirit Sect against the Otherworldly Demons within half a year. On his way to the imperial palace, he reflected on the Chen Kingdom’s technological progress and resolved to explore power beyond his world.

• Chen Mu reminded Lin Weizi and Ye Jinglan that they had threatened him on Ghost Yin Mountain and demanded that they sell themselves as slaves to his residence.
• Chu Chunbing accepted Chen Mu’s demand, and he promised to send aid against the Otherworldly Demons within half a year.
• Meng Hui learned why the women had become servants and said she would train them to be obedient.
• Chen Mu left for the imperial palace in his rune-puppet flying vehicle and admired the prosperous capital he had helped build.
• Chen Mu reflected on his dependence on runes and Spiritual Power and resolved to explore the power of the universe beyond his world.

Chen Mu outlined preparations for war with the Otherworldly Demons, including three military bases and a massive expansion of the military rune puppet army. He left without a plan for defeating the six Demon Emperors but promised to find one within two months, and ordered Chen Rufeng to accompany him to Demon-Defending City.

• Chen Mu met Chen Hongjie, Chen Zihu, and the ministers in Xuanshu Hall to discuss dealing with the Otherworldly Demons.
• Chen Mu proposed building three military bases in the west, northwest, and north, saying they would support the battlefields and let ultra-long-range missiles strike targets within a hundred thousand kilometers.
• Chen Hongjie asked how Chen Mu would handle the six Otherworldly Demon Emperors, and Chen Mu admitted he had no answer yet but promised to find one within two months.
• Chen Mu announced that the kingdom's factories would shift production to military rune puppets, adding more than five million over two months; Nan Yuanshan supported the plan.
• Chen Mu assigned preparations to Yin Zhan, Chen Rufeng, Nangong Feng, and Zheng Fengdao, then ordered Chen Rufeng to bring the Five Elements Army to Demon-Defending City with him in two days.

Chen Mu accompanied Meng Hui and her two slaves, Lin Weizi and Ye Jinglan, to the imperial capital’s bustling commercial center. After the women split up to shop for clothes, Hou Sailei invited Chen Mu and Meng Hui to visit the Vast Sea Theater, and they agreed.

• Chen Mu drove Meng Hui, Lin Weizi, and Ye Jinglan to the commercial center in his rune-puppet flying car.
• Meng Hui gave Lin Weizi and Ye Jinglan communication phones and sent them to choose clothes for Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu observed the busy shops and reflected on Guo Xiaohan’s role in building Chen Industries.
• Hou Sailei called Chen Mu and invited him and Meng Hui to the Vast Sea Theater’s anniversary celebration.
• Meng Hui agreed to visit the theater, and Chen Mu told Hou Sailei they were on their way.

Chen Mu attended Su Miaoyin’s performance at Vast Sea Theater with Meng Hui and Hou Sailei, where her songs touched on emotion-related rules and moved the audience. Afterward, Hou Sailei introduced Chen Mu to Su Miaoyin, who learned he was the Chen Kingdom’s imperial preceptor.

• Hou Sailei welcomed Chen Mu and Meng Hui to Vast Sea Theater and brought them to a private box to hear Su Miaoyin perform.
• Su Miaoyin sang seven songs about life’s seven sufferings, and Chen Mu sensed that her music carried a mild power of emotion-related rules.
• Meng Hui was moved by the songs and said she missed Chen Haoran, so Chen Mu promised to find his father and bring him back.
• At Meng Hui’s urging, Hou Sailei took Chen Mu to meet Su Miaoyin backstage after her performance.
• Hou Sailei introduced Chen Mu as his good brother and the Chen Kingdom’s imperial preceptor, and Su Miaoyin greeted him respectfully.

Chen Mu met Su Miaoyin, returned home, and then visited the Ancient Desolate Mining Area to inspect the Battle Talisman Department. He learned the department had grown to more than 3,600 disciples as he prepared for his war against the Otherworldly Demons.

• Su Miaoyin praised Chen Mu's work on Legend of the Immortal Sword and Gallant Heroes and asked about buying his Floating Light and Fleeting Shadow Recorder.
• Chen Mu learned that Guo Xiaohan had turned the recorder into a successful mass-produced product that helped the Vast Sea Theater dominate the Central Land's theater business.
• Meng Hui arranged for Lin Weizi and Ye Jinglan to stay in Chen Mu's side room, but the night passed without incident.
• Chen Mu traveled to the Ancient Desolate Mining Area, where he had established a base and the Rune Research Institute's Battle Talisman Branch after White Turtle warned him about the sleeping creature sealed in purple crystal.
• Nangong Tong reported that the Battle Talisman Department had more than 3,600 disciples, including eight in the Dharma Core Realm and more than 380 in the Dharma Body Realm.

Chen Mu reviewed the Battle Talisman Department’s progress and announced that its members would join his campaign against the Otherworldly Demons in two months. He then tested their strength in a sparring match, where Lu Xinghai attacked first and Chen Mu easily repelled him.

• Chen Mu explained the Battle Talisman cultivation realms and said he was seeking inspiration to break through to the Dharma Saint Realm.
• Chen Mu rewarded Nangong Tong with a Gene Enhancement Agent No. 5 and praised the department for producing eight Dharma Core Realm cultivators.
• Chen Mu summoned the department’s cultivators, announced the coming war against the Otherworldly Demons, and told them to prepare for battle.
• Chen Mu led the group to the training ground and offered a reward to anyone who could injure him.
• Lu Xinghai attacked Chen Mu with his Dharma Aspect giant, but Chen Mu blocked the punches and drove him back with blue flame.

Chen Mu overwhelmed the Battle Talisman Department’s experts, taught them to study runes and prepare for war, then took Nangong Tong into the Ancient Desolate Mining Area to pick Spirit Origin Fruit. The chapter ended with Chen Mu killing a Demon King Realm beast as they ventured deeper into the forest.

• Chen Mu defeated the Battle Talisman Department’s eight Dharma Core Realm experts by depriving them of Dharma Power and demonstrating the Five Elements Ring’s power.
• Chen Mu explained that Battle Talisman Masters needed to understand the fundamental runes and all things in heaven and earth to use their abilities effectively.
• Nangong Tong and the other experts admitted defeat, and Lu Xinghai vowed to train them through fighting demonic beasts before the war with the Otherworldly Demons.
• Chen Mu dismissed the group and asked Nangong Tong to accompany him to the mining area to pick Spirit Origin Fruit.
• Chen Mu and Nangong Tong traveled into the forest, where Chen Mu killed an attacking Demon King Realm beast with a single strike.

Chen Mu and Nangong Tong reached the Spirit Essence Fruit Tree after fighting through the jungle, and Chen Mu defeated the nine Demon King Perfection beasts guarding the valley. After finding the tree and killing the beasts sleeping beneath it, they stood in a valley whose fruits had likely produced the surrounding Demon Kings.

• Chen Mu killed the Demon Kings he encountered on the way while Nangong Tong guided him toward the Spirit Essence Fruit Tree.
• Chen Mu found the valley guarded by nine Demon King Perfection beasts and protected Nangong Tong before confronting them.
• Chen Mu used Absolute Insight and his Spirit Particle Cluster Blades to kill all nine beasts.
• Chen Mu and Nangong Tong entered the valley and found the Spirit Essence Fruit Tree at its center.
• Chen Mu killed the demonic beasts sleeping beneath the tree, which he believed were transforming into Demon Kings.

Chen Mu and Nangong Tong collected Spirit Origin Fruits from a guarded tree, and Chen Mu brought the harvest and a branch to Chen Xuejun at the Rune Research Institute. Chen Xuejun’s laboratory displayed ongoing biological research, including a wolf-like creature held in a reinforced container.

• Chen Mu and Nangong Tong picked several hundred ripe Spirit Origin Fruits, leaving the unripe fruit on the tree.
• Chen Mu took branches for research, promised Nangong Tong a share of the fruits after Chen Xuejun refined them into medicine, and set up an array to protect the tree.
• Chen Mu returned to the Rune Research Institute headquarters and went to the Hall of Living Beings to find Chen Xuejun.
• Chen Xuejun met Chen Mu at his laboratory, where a wolf-like creature pounded against a rune-reinforced container.
• Chen Mu presented Chen Xuejun with the Spirit Origin Fruits and a branch from the Spirit Essence Fruit Tree for research.

Chen Mu traveled aboard the Chen Kingdom’s first main battleship, Pioneer No. 1, to Demon-Defending City to prepare for war against the Otherworldly Demons. There, Yin Zhan pledged his support, and Chen Mu went to inspect the forge factory’s industrial rune puppets.

• Chen Mu gave Chen Xuejun several hundred Spirit Origin Fruits and asked him to send some of the resulting potion to Nangong Tong.
• Chen Mu boarded Pioneer No. 1 and ordered Little Tuo to take control as the battleship launched.
• Pioneer No. 1 used the Wind-Warding Rune and astral wind to travel at supersonic speed to Demon-Defending City.
• Chen Mu met Yin Zhan, who enthusiastically supported his plan to attack the Otherworldly Demons.
• Chen Mu asked Yin Zhan to take him to the forge factory to inspect its supply of industrial rune puppets.

Chen Mu led a large construction convoy to the site of the first military base and supervised the craftsmen as they finalized its plans. The base’s construction began with thousands of rune puppets clearing the mountain forest.

• Chen Mu presented a scale model of the base to six top craftsmen, including Jing Zishi, and asked them to complete the design.
• Jing Zishi and the other craftsmen used the artificial intelligence system to refine the base plan while Chen Mu explained its tools and materials.
• After about a day of travel, the convoy reached the base site, and Jing Zishi reported that the first-stage foundation plan was ready.
• Chen Mu ordered construction to begin, and the rune puppets and construction vehicles cleared more than ten square kilometers of forest.
• Chen Mu planned the base as one of three advanced military defenses that would consume half the Chen Kingdom’s treasury.

After overseeing the construction of three military bases, Chen Mu headed for the Central Land to assess the war and test his strength. At Suspended Sword Pass, Wei Shuang struggled to find a way to defend Yi Province as the Otherworldly Demons closed in, then noticed intelligence from the Chen Kingdom and thought of Chen Mu.

• Chen Mu completed most of the work on three military bases and sent Landuo to inspect them while he set out for the Central Land.
• The Central Land’s human territory had shrunk, with the Otherworldly Demons occupying more than a third of it and advancing through several provinces.
• Wei Shuang told her generals that Suspended Sword Pass could not fall, but ended the meeting when they could offer no plan.
• Wei Shuang broke down in front of Aunt You, fearing that the Mountain Army could hold the pass for only three days and that the people of Yi Province would be lost.
• Aunt You urged Wei Shuang to calm down, and Wei Shuang regained her resolve and reviewed the scouts’ reports.
• Wei Shuang found a report from the Chen Kingdom and wondered how Chen Mu was doing.

Chen Mu visited Wei Shuang at Suspended Sword Pass, where his use of Phase Shift startled her and triggered an attack from Aunt You. After Wei Shuang recognized him and stopped the fight, Chen Mu explained that he had come simply to see her.

• Wei Shuang considered the Chen Kingdom's invitation and continued searching war reports for a way to address the conflict.
• Chen Mu appeared unexpectedly in Wei Shuang's command room, and she attacked him with the Wei Clan's Thousandfold Mountain technique.
• Chen Mu blocked Wei Shuang's sword strike with Spirit Particle Shield, while Aunt You appeared with a purple longsword to protect her.
• Wei Shuang recognized Chen Mu and stopped Aunt You from attacking him further.
• Aunt You questioned how Chen Mu had concealed his presence, and he said he had created the technique Phase Shift himself.
• Chen Mu apologized for arriving without notice, and Wei Shuang explained that she had meant he should have let her welcome him.

Chen Mu learned that Suspended Sword Pass was running short on supplies and would soon face an overwhelming assault, so he took Wei Shuang’s token and went to inspect the front lines. He surveyed the defenses and their unusual Rune Artifacts, determined to find a way to help.

• Wei Shuang told Chen Mu that traitors might have exposed the pass’s defense rotation, supplies were dwindling, and eighteen siege ships would arrive in two days, forcing her to retreat.
• Chen Mu promised to help, but Aunt You rebuked him and attacked with Sword Qi until Wei Shuang intervened and defended him.
• Wei Shuang gave Chen Mu her personal token, allowing him to move freely throughout Suspended Sword Pass.
• Chen Mu visited the front lines and saw the pass’s terrain, the relentless attack by Otherworldly Demons, and an array of Rune Artifacts defending the walls.

Chen Mu learned that Dragon Veins protected Yi Province’s mountain ranges and then prepared to test a way to fight the Otherworldly Demons. He set up an isolated laboratory in a barracks and began preparing to release the T1 Virus on a large scale.

• Chen Mu asked Lu Xiaoyun why the Otherworldly Demons did not carve another passage through the mountains, and she explained that powerful Dragon Veins guarded the ranges.
• Chen Mu asked Lu Xiaoyun about the Misty Moon Water Mirror and other battlefield defenses, and she answered his questions.
• Chen Mu told Lu Xiaoyun he had ideas for fighting the demons and asked her to find him a quiet barracks.
• Chen Mu isolated the barracks with formation flags, contacted Chen Xuejun through the Spirit Network, and asked him to help release the T1 Virus on a large scale.
• Chen Mu requested three condemned Otherworldly Demon prisoners of different ranks, and Lu Xiaoyun brought them to his makeshift laboratory.
• Lu Xiaoyun placed the three bound prisoners on stone beds as Chen Mu prepared his equipment.

Chen Mu and Chen Xuejun tested the T1 Virus on three Otherworldly Demon prisoners, then Chen Mu released the matured hosts in demon territory. One host spotted a group of Otherworldly Demons attacking humans and charged toward them.

• Chen Mu injected three restrained Otherworldly Demon prisoners with the T1 Virus while Chen Xuejun monitored their progress remotely.
• Chen Mu sampled the hosts’ tissue and sent the data to Chen Xuejun, who confirmed the virus had matured.
• When the infected demons awoke and attacked, Chen Mu subdued them while Lu Xiaoyun refrained from interfering.
• Chen Mu sterilized the barracks, froze the hosts, and asked Lu Xiaoyun where he could release them without drawing attention.
• Lu Xiaoyun led Chen Mu to mountain territory where Otherworldly Demons hunted humans, and Chen Mu tossed one host into the forest.
• The host thawed, spotted demons attacking a group of humans, and ran toward them.

Chen Mu spread the T1 Virus among the Otherworldly Demons by releasing infected hosts near their troops, wounded soldiers, and water supply. At the military camp, Luo Peng learned the infection could not be stopped and ordered every affected soldier killed.

• Chen Mu watched his virus host infect dozens of Otherworldly Demons, then ordered the zombies to head for the military camp.
• Chen Mu and Lu Xiaoyun released additional hosts near the wounded soldiers' camp and a dam before returning to Suspended Sword Pass.
• Luo Peng planned an all-out assault on Suspended Sword Pass as a messenger reported that soldiers were biting others like wild beasts.
• Shineika returned battered and said he could not stop the spreading sorcery, warning that seeking divine help would take too long.
• Luo Peng ordered his forces to kill every soldier affected by the sorcery.

At Suspended Sword Pass, Chen Mu’s plan triggered infighting among the Otherworldly Demons, turning the enemy siege into chaos. Wei Shuang ordered her forces to pursue carefully while Chen Mu expected the virus outbreak to intensify by noon the next day.

• Wei Shuang outlined a contingency plan to evacuate Suspended Sword Pass and said she would stay behind to cover the retreat if necessary.
• A scout reported that the Otherworldly Demons were killing one another, leaving the attackers beneath the walls trapped between the fighting.
• Wei Shuang asked Chen Mu whether his plan had caused the infighting, and he confirmed it, predicting that at least half the demons in the nearby camp would die by night’s end.
• Chen Mu told Wei Shuang that her troops could pursue the demons but should avoid those attacking their own kind, whom he called his masterpieces.
• Wei Shuang led the officers out to witness the chaos, while Chen Mu told Lu Xiaoyun that the outbreak would likely reach a preliminary result by noon the next day.