Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu delayed breaking through to the Dharma Saint Realm because he had not fully understood how to nurture its inner world. He joined Wei Shuang and her officers to investigate the Otherworldly Demon army camp, where they spotted fighting and a silent right-wing camp from afar.

• Chen Mu reviewed the dangers of breaking through to the Dharma Saint Realm and decided to wait until he was more confident.
• Lu Xiaoyun told Chen Mu that the Otherworldly Demons outside Suspended Sword Pass had stopped moving, and Wei Shuang invited him to investigate.
• Chen Mu learned that his virus had infected over a million Otherworldly Demons, driving them to attack their own kind while leaving humans unharmed.
• Chen Mu, Wei Shuang, Lu Xiaoyun, two officers, and the unseen Aunt You approached the Otherworldly Demon camp and observed it from a distant peak.
• The group saw no movement in the right-wing camp and fierce fighting near the central camp, so Chen Mu handed out sights to help them see farther.

Chen Mu gave Wei Shuang and the generals his powerful “thousand-mile eyes” as they watched Demon Emperor Luo Peng battle the zombie outbreak. By dusk, the Otherworldly Demons had suffered devastating losses, and Wei Shuang declared the threat to Suspended Sword Pass had passed for now.

• Chen Mu gave Wei Shuang and the generals the “thousand-mile eyes” and said he would make more for sale in the Chen Capital market.
• Luo Peng attacked the Otherworldly Demon Zombies with his black whip, then ordered ordinary soldiers to retreat and led the Demon Kings and elite troops against them.
• The zombie virus spread among the elite legions as well, and by dusk the observers estimated that more than half of the Otherworldly Demon soldiers had died.
• Lu Xiaoyun asked whether the enemy would withdraw, and Wei Shuang said they would not dare return their siege ships the next day.
• Wei Shuang invited the others to a victory feast and said they should thank Chen Mu.

Chen Mu left Suspended Sword Pass after helping defeat the Otherworldly Demons, collected infected zombies for Chen Xuejun, and returned to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion. He found the pavilion badly damaged by battle and still recovering.

• Chen Mu declined Wei Shuang’s victory banquet and vanished from Suspended Sword Pass.
• Chen Mu gathered several T1 Virus-infected zombies and stored them in his spatial bracelet for Chen Xuejun’s research.
• Chen Mu traveled to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion because he believed it was in danger.
• Chen Mu met Long Yin at the mountain gate, and Long Yin let him enter without announcing his arrival.
• Chen Mu climbed to the summit and saw that the pavilion’s halls, bridges, peaks, and inner pavilion had been damaged in battle.

Chen Mu returned to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion after seeing Heavenly Court envoys fight its elders, and he met with Elder Ming to ask who they were. The pavilion remained under threat from the Otherworldly Demon army, while Chen Mu’s reunion with his master left their next steps unresolved.

• Yan Tengzhi and two Celestial Person Race companions tried to make the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion submit to the Heavenly Court, but Yang Huiming refused.
• Elder Ming threatened the three envoys with a giant runic cannon, forcing them to retreat.
• The elders worried about facing the Otherworldly Demon army without Heavenly Court support, but Elder Ming refused to submit.
• Chen Mu arrived at the Inner Pavilion, and Elder Ming took him to his room to talk.
• Chen Mu asked Elder Ming who the three powerful gold-robed men had been.

Elder Ming explained the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion’s factions and its history with the Heavenly Court, then reassured Chen Mu that the pavilion could withstand the Otherworldly Demons. After Chen Mu announced he would move against them next month, Elder Ming led him into the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven to show him a gift.

• Elder Ming told Chen Mu that the Heavenly Court had tried to make him submit, but he had refused.
• Elder Ming described the pavilion’s three factions: those hostile to the Heavenly Court, those close to it, and the neutral majority.
• Elder Ming explained that former students had rallied to help defend the pavilion from the Otherworldly Demons.
• Chen Mu told Elder Ming he planned to move against the Otherworldly Demons next month, and Elder Ming decided to give him something.
• Elder Ming led Chen Mu to the entrance of the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven and invited him inside.

Chen Mu entered the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven, where Elder Ming explained how cultivators developed their inner worlds into domains and eventually became gods. Elder Ming revealed that the grotto-heaven was the remains of Patriarch Wentian’s inner world and showed Chen Mu its core, which could help him create his own small world.

• Chen Mu entered the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven and admired its spiritually rich landscape.
• Elder Ming explained that Creation Realm cultivators strengthened their inner small worlds, while Domain Realm experts could extend their power into the outside world.
• Elder Ming said the Heavenly Dao had restricted Domain Realm experts after the Otherworldly Demons invaded, forcing powerful cultivators to leave the Pan Emperor Continent.
• Elder Ming revealed that the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven was the remnant of Patriarch Wentian’s inner world, most of which had collapsed after his death.
• Elder Ming led Chen Mu to a golden palace and showed him the grotto-heaven’s core, saying that observing it would help Chen Mu create his own small world.

Chen Mu accepted Elder Ming’s World Essence and began preparing to break through to the Dharma Saint Realm. Meanwhile, Duoduo attacked A Huo as he practiced his Sword Dao, and he asked what had brought her there.

• Elder Ming offered Chen Mu a drop of World Essence to help him shatter his core and create a small world.
• Chen Mu agreed to enter seclusion and attempt to reach the Dharma Saint Realm while Elder Ming stood guard.
• A Huo meditated in a valley before the words “Justice” and “true heart,” refining his Sword Dao.
• Duoduo appeared in silver armor and launched a golden fist at A Huo, but his Sword Qi ground it away.
• A Huo opened his eyes and asked Duoduo what had brought her there.

Chen Duo returned to summon A Huo back within two months and challenged him to a fight, using her advanced combat equipment against his sword techniques. The chapter ended with her firing a powerful cannon at him and urgently asking whether he was all right.

• Chen Duo told A Huo that her brother wanted him back within two months to prepare for war with the Otherworldly Demons, and A Huo agreed.
• A Huo called the Demon-Slaying Sword back from the mountains so he could train them on new upgrade components.
• Chen Duo challenged A Huo and attacked with a wrathful Buddha phantom, energy blades, infrared lasers, Gatling guns, and a giant cannon.
• A Huo evaded and blocked Chen Duo's attacks, then entered a deeper state of Sword Dao to face the cannon shot.
• Chen Duo's cannon blasted A Huo and carved a trench through the mountain, and she called out to ask if he was all right.

Chen Duo found A Huo undergoing a breakthrough to the Creation Realm and guarded him while the Demon-Slaying Sword assembled. She distributed upgrade components and weapons to the unit, leaving its members ready to upgrade their auxiliary armor.

• Chen Duo discovered A Huo had shed his charred shell and realized he was breaking through to the Creation Realm.
• Chen Duo moved A Huo aside to meditate and stood guard as the Demon-Slaying Sword squad leader Pan Yuanhua arrived with his members.
• Chen Duo told Pan Yuanhua that she would upgrade their auxiliary armor once the entire unit had gathered.
• The remaining Demon-Slaying Sword members arrived, and Chen Duo distributed one weapon with an upgrade component chip to each of the 999 present.

Chen Mu comprehended the cycles of change in the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven and broke his Dharma Core to enter the Dharma Saint Realm, creating a small world with the Law of the Five Elements. After discovering that its byproducts lacked power, he left the Sun Palace to test his new law.

• Pan Yuanhua received a Spirit Particle beam sword and submachine gun, and Chen Duo told the Demon-Slaying Sword members to complete their weapon training or return to the reserves.
• Chen Mu spent fifteen days observing the cycles of change in the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven and understood the path to the Creation Realm.
• Chen Mu shattered his Dharma Core and absorbed World Essence to form a small world in his dantian.
• Chen Mu established the Law of the Five Elements in his small world, which produced soil, trees, a mountain, a stream, and fire.
• Chen Mu brought a leaf out of his small world and found that its byproducts lacked world power, then flew toward the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven's entrance to test his new law.

After breaking through to the Creation Realm, Chen Mu stayed at the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion and discussed talisman techniques with Elder Ming. Elder Ming was impressed by Chen Mu’s Rune Technology System and promised the pavilion’s full support for the Chen Kingdom.

• Chen Mu emerged from the Mystic Spirit Grotto-Heaven after breaking through to the Creation Realm, and Elder Ming invited him to rest at the pavilion.
• Chen Mu and Elder Ming exchanged insights into the Dao of Talismans for three days.
• Chen Mu showed Elder Ming products from the Rune Research Institute and described the Chen Kingdom’s development.
• Elder Ming asked whether Chen Mu intended to dominate the Pan Emperor Continent, and Chen Mu said he wanted to protect himself and those around him, including by acting against the Otherworldly Demons.
• Elder Ming promised the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion’s full support for the Chen Kingdom, and Chen Mu accepted on behalf of the kingdom and the Rune Research Institute.

Chen Mu left the inner pavilion to check on friends from his years at the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion. At the exchange center, he found Wen Shan in a drastically weakened state, and Wen Shan recognized him.

• Chen Mu told Elder Ming he wanted to walk around the exchange center, and Elder Ming left to handle pavilion affairs.
• Chen Mu flew to the exchange center and found it far quieter than he remembered.
• Chen Mu headed toward the Pear Rain Tower to check on Hou Tian.
• Chen Mu spotted a thin, pale man selling medicinal herbs and recognized him as Wen Shan.
• Wen Shan studied Chen Mu and excitedly asked if he was Chen Mu.

Chen Mu learned that He Xiao had spread rumors branding him a foreign-race spy and had Wen Shan beaten for defending him. Chen Mu confronted He Xiao at the Talisman Rune Hall, where He Xiao summoned two flaming monsters to attack him.

• Chen Mu reunited with Wen Shan and asked why his cultivation had fallen to the Early Stage of the True Spirit Realm.
• Wen Shan explained that He Xiao had labeled Chen Mu a spy and that He Xiao's people had beaten him for speaking in Chen Mu's defense.
• Chen Mu flew with Wen Shan to the Talisman Rune Hall, insisting he no longer feared He Xiao.
• Chen Mu shouted for He Xiao to come out, and He Xiao flew up to confront him.
• He Xiao accused Chen Mu of disrespecting his elders and sent two red-flamed monsters charging at him.

Chen Mu fought He Xiao, using the Law of the Five Elements to overcome his scrolls and destroy his sea of consciousness. He Xiao tried to escape as Chen Mu fired a soul-extinguishing attack, leaving his fate in Chen Mu’s hands.

• Chen Mu matched He Xiao’s flame monsters with two of his own, then absorbed the fire from He Xiao’s Blazing Flame Scroll and damaged it.
• He Xiao unleashed his other three scrolls, but Chen Mu summoned Five Elements War Soldiers that drove back their wind, lightning, and sealing-chain attacks.
• Chen Mu shot He Xiao between the brows with his Rune Gun, tearing apart He Xiao’s sea of consciousness and forcing him to manifest his Divine Soul True Body.
• Chen Mu said he had sworn to kill He Xiao after He Xiao blocked his escape from the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion and had hurt his friends.
• He Xiao dispersed his Divine Soul to flee, but Chen Mu fired a Spirit Particle Binding Bullet infused with a Soul-Extinguishing Rune.

Chen Mu destroyed He Xiao’s Divine Soul and left with Wen Shan. Elder Ming then declared that He Xiao had been killed by an assassin and appointed Elder Ding Yuan as the new Hall Master of the Talisman Rune Hall.

• Chen Mu’s Spirit Particle Binding Bullet struck He Xiao’s dispersed Divine Soul and melted away much of his Soul Power.
• Chen Mu used the Heaven-Burning Blaze to destroy every remnant of He Xiao’s Divine Soul.
• Chen Mu called Wen Shan over, and the two flew toward the exchange center.
• Elder Ming arrived at the Talisman Rune Hall with a group of elders after Chen Mu had left.
• Elder Ming announced that an assassin had killed He Xiao and appointed Elder Ding Yuan as Hall Master of the Talisman Rune Hall.

Chen Mu visited Hou Tian at the Pear Rain Tower and bought Glazed Gold Mother Ore while the Otherworldly Demons' blockade hurt business in the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion. He gave Wen Shan a potion and an offer of future help before returning to the inner pavilion.

• Chen Mu assured Hou Tian that the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion would soon recover and asked to see the tower's most valuable goods.
• Chen Mu gave Wen Shan a potion that could heal his hidden injuries and improve his cultivation potential, and offered to help him in the future.
• Hou Tian brought Chen Mu a list of the best goods, and Chen Mu chose the Glazed Gold Mother Ore.
• Hou Tian arranged for the ore to be delivered, and Chen Mu said goodbye to Hou Tian and Wen Shan before flying back to the inner pavilion.

Chen Mu convened a war council in Demon-Defending City, where Gu Zi'an explained the worsening Central Land conflict and the uncertainty surrounding the Heavenly Court and Abyss Devil Realm. The council then discussed a preliminary campaign plan for Chen Mu’s forces to attack the Otherworldly Demons.

• Landuo reported that the three military bases and border deployments were ready for Chen Mu’s order to attack.
• Gu Zi'an briefed Chen Mu and the generals on the war at Heavenly Defense Pass and warned that the Haotian Imperial Family might lose the pass within a year.
• Gu Zi'an speculated that the Heavenly Court had either encountered trouble or diverted its main forces elsewhere, while Chen Mu recognized that the Abyss Devil Realm’s strength remained unknown.
• Chen Mu urged the generals to prepare for the worst and vowed to address their lack of information about the Abyss Devil Realm.
• Gu Zi'an summarized the fighting across Central Land, and Chen Zihu presented the campaign plan as overall commander.
• Chen Mu and the generals discussed operations for a day before settling on a preliminary plan.

After settling the war plan, Chen Mu sought intelligence on the forces behind the Otherworldly Demons and used the central intelligent computer to advance his cultivation. He completed a program to convert rules into laws, leaving it running to strengthen him even when he was not cultivating.

• Chen Mu ordered Gu Zi'an to arrange a meeting with the master of Listening Wind Tower in Yang Province so he could learn about the Abyss Devil Realm and other powerful factions.
• Chen Mu connected to the Spirit Network and used the central intelligent computer's computing power to consolidate his Dharma Saint Realm cultivation.
• Chen Mu reviewed the incomplete rule data in the central intelligent computer's database and considered using laws to create powerful inventions within his inner world.
• Chen Mu completed a program that converted rules into laws and placed it in the central intelligent computer's process pool to run on its idle computing power.

Chen Mu and Gu Zi'an traveled by public teleportation arrays to Guangling City so Chen Mu could meet the master of the Listening Wind Tower. As they flew toward the tower, a demonic beast suddenly blocked their rune-puppet flying car.

• Gu Zi'an told Chen Mu that the meeting with the master of the Listening Wind Tower had been arranged and that they could leave.
• Chen Mu finished organizing his rune-code work, then took Gu Zi'an in his rune-puppet flying car to the public teleportation array.
• Gu Zi'an explained that the Listening Wind Tower's headquarters was in Guangling City and that its master was staying there.
• Chen Mu and Gu Zi'an transferred through cities in the Chen Kingdom and reached Guangling City in less than two hours.
• Chen Mu followed Gu Zi'an's directions toward the Listening Wind Tower, but a demonic beast blocked their flying car.

Chen Mu immobilized Nie Hantian and his Gale Winged Dragon when they tried to stop his Rune Puppet Flying Car, prompting Nie Hantian to suspect he was a senior member of the Rune Research Institute. Chen Mu then reached the Listening Wind Tower headquarters in Guangling City with Gu Zi'an.

• Nie Hantian tried to buy Chen Mu's Rune Puppet Flying Car, but Chen Mu struck him and his Gale Winged Dragon with an Immobilization Ray and flew past them.
• After breaking free, Nie Hantian recognized the vehicle as a likely sign of Rune Research Institute ties and hurried back with Xiao Feng to report to the Heavenly Puppet Sect.
• The Heavenly Puppet Sect had been unable to copy the institute's rapidly improving products and had planned to capture senior members to obtain their rune techniques.
• Chen Mu flew more than six hundred kilometers to the Listening Wind Tower headquarters with Gu Zi'an and landed outside its main entrance.
• Chen Mu stored the Rune Puppet Flying Car in his spatial wristband and headed inside with Gu Zi'an to meet the tower master.