Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu received envoys from the Haotian Imperial Family, who invited the Chen Kingdom to join the Devil-Expelling Alliance. He postponed the decision but welcomed their offer to help defend against the Black Demon Emperor's army.

• A Huo warned Chen Mu that the Black Demon Emperor might intervene if Chen Mu tried to kill the enemy generals, and Chen Mu arranged a military meeting after A Huo returned.
• Chen Mu learned that three War Emperors from the Haotian Imperial Family had arrived and met them in the reception hall with Chen Duo and Mingye.
• Tie Feng introduced himself and explained that he had come on the emperor's orders to invite the Chen Kingdom to join the Devil-Expelling Alliance.
• Chen Mu asked for time to consider the invitation, citing the immediate threats facing the kingdom.
• Tie Feng offered for himself, Ye Zitao, and Huang Rongfang to help drive back the Black Demon Emperor's forces, and Chen Mu accepted their assistance.

Chen Mu weighed whether the Chen Kingdom should join Long Bo’s Devil-Expelling Alliance and instead assigned Chen Duo to form an organization for powerful Emperor Level experts. At the ruins of Military Base No. 1, Abyss Devil Race generals debated what to do after the base’s destruction.

• Chen Mu consulted Mingye and Chen Duo about Long Bo’s offer, and Mingye warned that joining the alliance could limit the Chen Kingdom’s future independence.
• Chen Mu explained that Long Bo wanted the Chen Kingdom to fight his nearby rivals and that revealing its true strength could make the empire move against it.
• Chen Mu asked Chen Duo to establish an organization that would appoint powerful Emperor Level experts as Attendants, and she agreed.
• Chen Mu received word that A Huo had arrived and headed with the others to the command hall for a military meeting.
• At Military Base No. 1’s ruins, Ahriman reviewed a report while Anlagong urged him to return to the devil capital.

After devastating No. 1 Base, Ahriman withdrew his battered Devil Race army toward Moon Capital Pass when Katelin warned that War Emperors were approaching. Chen Mu and Zheng Fengdao launched their planned interception, and the chapter ended as the Devil Race army encountered a hidden fleet of Chen Kingdom combat airships.

• Ahriman argued with Anlagong, then agreed to withdraw after Katelin reported that the Haotian Imperial Family had sent War Emperors to the area.
• Ahriman led more than 1.2 million surviving Devil Race elites north toward Moon Capital Pass.
• Chen Mu entered the Spirit Network and coordinated the Chen Kingdom army's response with Zheng Fengdao.
• Ahriman ordered his army to charge through the human forces as the Chen Kingdom troops approached from both sides.
• A large fleet of Chen Kingdom combat airships appeared, including the repaired Pioneer Number One and Number Two.

The Chen Kingdom used warships and soldiers equipped with Instant Movement Talismans to harass and wear down Ahriman’s elite Devil Race army. Ahriman ordered his troops to press on toward Moon Capital Pass, while Katelin worried that more human forces would soon surround them.

• The Chen Kingdom split its warships into two groups to attack the Devil Race army’s flanks, and Ahriman ordered Anlagong to send the aerial forces against them.
• The Chen Kingdom’s soldiers fought the Devil Race, then used Instant Movement Talismans to escape once they were exhausted and continue harassing the advancing army.
• Ahriman realized the humans were trying to wear down his troops and ordered the Devil Race army to move faster and leave the skirmishers behind.
• Katelin warned Ahriman that nearby city armies might surround them after they advanced another two or three hundred kilometers.
• Ahriman reassured Katelin that Moon Capital Pass had sent reinforcements and said they would meet them if the legion held out for five or six days.

The Chen Kingdom’s warships and ground forces used overwhelming ranged firepower to blunt the Devil Race’s advance, forcing Ahriman’s generals to recognize its weapons as a serious threat. After the devils marched onward, Katelin detected another Chen Kingdom army ahead, and the fleet began attacking again.

• The Chen Kingdom’s warships withdrew to low altitude under cover of ground-based fire, and Anlagong ordered the devils to leave the low airspace and focus on control of the skies.
• Ahriman and Katelin assessed the Chen Kingdom’s alloy equipment, Rune pistols, and steel Talisman Puppets, and Ahriman resolved to find counters to their ranged weapons.
• The Devil Race’s elite army broke through the human encirclement and marched more than two hundred kilometers in a little over two hours.
• Katelin detected a Chen Kingdom force of more than three million soldiers ahead, and its warships attacked the devils in the same formation as before.
• Ahriman’s killing aura rose, but powerful presences aboard the human warships appeared and held him in check.

Ahriman's Devil Race army fought through repeated human ambushes on its march toward Moon Capital Pass, while Katelin discovered how the Chen Kingdom kept sending troops ahead of them. The chapter revealed that railways and trains gave the human army a rapid way to transport soldiers across the Wilderness.

• The Devil Race defeated two human encirclements, suffering heavy elite casualties while most human losses came from robots or were limited by Instant Movement Talismans.
• Ahriman dismissed the Chen Kingdom's large number of steel puppets as no serious threat and continued leading the army toward Moon Capital Pass.
• After another human army intercepted them, Katelin realized its soldiers had attacked earlier and must have been transported ahead of the Devil Race.
• Ahriman ordered Katelin to use the Eye of the Night Devil, and she discovered extremely fast transport vehicles running on tracks.
• Katelin explained that destroying nearby tracks would not stop the trains, which used the Chen Kingdom's recently opened railways to carry troops ahead of the army.

Chen Mu ordered the Devil Race army contained at Great Ridge Valley before launching the “Mushroom Sea” strike, while Chen Zihu arrived at Boulder City and introduced General Yue as a commander superior to himself. The city’s generals were left stunned and curious about their new leader.

• Hou Qi and Man Le rode an overcrowded train with Chen Kingdom soldiers heading toward the next interception.
• Katelin urged Ahriman to stop the exhausted Devil Race army and wait for reinforcements, and he agreed to move them to Great Ridge Valley.
• Chen Ju reported Ahriman’s plans to Chen Mu, who ordered two million troops to block the Devil Race army and scheduled the “Mushroom Sea” strike for the next day.
• Chen Mu assigned Chen Ju to lead a hundred warships to Boulder City after the strike and support General Yue’s operation.
• Chen Zihu arrived at Boulder City, introduced General Yue to the assembled generals, and said he was not as skilled as Yue at commanding troops.

Chen Mu launched the Mushroom Sea missile strike to devastate Devil Race forces and secure the Chen Kingdom’s advantage. As Wei Shan took command near Boulder City, Chen Ju arrived with Pioneer No. 1 and nearly a hundred warships to support him.

• Wei Shan accepted command at Boulder City after Chen Zihu introduced him to the generals and warned them to follow his orders.
• Chen Mu launched missiles from Bases No. 2 and No. 3, striking Devil Race concentrations across West Ge Province and part of Yi Province.
• The missile barrage devastated the Devil Race camp outside Boulder City, and Chen Kingdom cavalry pursued the retreating soldiers.
• Chen Ju arrived aboard Pioneer No. 1 with nearly a hundred warships and reported to Wei Shan on Chen Mu’s orders.
• Wei Shan boarded Pioneer No. 1 with two generals and examined its advanced weapons.

After the Mushroom Sea attacks devastated the Devil Race, Chen Mu went to Great Ridge Valley to confront Xilade as he led the remaining elite troops out of the Chen Kingdom. Xilade attacked Chen Mu, and black energy spheres pierced him as the chapter ended.

• Chen Mu told Wei Shan to take Moon Capital Pass, then headed to Great Ridge Valley to learn the Devil Race's plans.
• Xilade appeared at Great Ridge Valley, rebuked Ahriman, and ordered the Devil Race force to withdraw to the Devil Fortress.
• Chen Mu and a group of Emperor Level cultivators arrived with Pioneer No. 2 and blocked Xilade's retreat.
• Xilade fired black energy spheres at Chen Mu, and Tie Feng smashed them before they re-formed and pierced Chen Mu's body.

Chen Mu resisted Xilade’s Necromantic Orbs and rejected his offer to withdraw with the Black Demon Army and a hundred thousand elites. He summoned Five Elements War Soldiers, prompting Xilade to suspect Chen Mu had begun comprehending the Profound Mystery of Chaos.

• Chen Mu swallowed Xilade’s Necromantic Orbs and secretly destroyed or expelled their corrosive energy from his body.
• Xilade acknowledged Chen Mu’s strength and offered to take the Black Demon Army and a hundred thousand elite Devil Race soldiers if Chen Mu let the rest die.
• Mingye urged Chen Mu to consider Xilade’s offer, but Chen Mu refused, arguing that Xilade was preserving the Devil Race’s strongest future forces.
• Xilade warned that a direct fight would cost both sides heavily, but Chen Mu summoned Five Elements War Soldiers from ten Five Elements Ring patterns.
• Xilade sensed that the Five Elements War Soldiers drew on power beyond this world and suspected Chen Mu had begun comprehending the Profound Mystery of Chaos.

Chen Mu and Xilade negotiated over the Devil Race forces, but an enemy army suddenly attacked the imperial capital while Xilade was supposedly deciding who would stay. Chen Mu coordinated with Chen Hongjie and sought help as the chapter ended.

• Xilade recognized that Chen Mu had touched upon the Profound Mystery of Chaos and decided he could not let him grow unchecked.
• Chen Mu raised his Domain of Laws and demanded that Xilade leave behind half of the Demon King Realm experts and five Demon Emperor Level experts.
• Xilade accepted Chen Mu's demand and enclosed himself and several hundred Devil Race experts in an energy barrier to decide who would stay.
• Xiaozhi reported that an enemy army of over 2.4 million had appeared outside the imperial capital and was attacking its gates.
• Chen Mu told Chen Hongjie to raise the capital's defenses and evacuate residents, then cursed the Heavenly Puppet Sect and the King Who Pacifies Jing.
• Chen Mu contacted someone and saw a little girl with Guo Xiaohan watching a street performance while eating candied hawthorn.

Chen Mu arranged for Taichu to defend the Chen Kingdom’s capital and secured the War Emperor Palace’s promise of aid by agreeing to join the Devil-Expelling Alliance. Meanwhile, Jing Province’s army continued its siege, with Wang Zhan expecting its cannons to break the capital’s gates.

• Chen Mu sent Taichu to help defend the Chen Kingdom’s imperial capital from the attacking army.
• Chen Mu asked War Emperor Tie Feng to contact his emperor and send troops against the King Who Pacifies Jing.
• Tie Feng explained that the War Emperor Palace could mobilize border troops immediately if the Chen Kingdom joined the Devil-Expelling Alliance.
• Chen Mu agreed to join the alliance and said he would issue the Ministry of Rites’ statement after the enemy troops left the capital.
• Jing Province’s army attacked the capital with siege cannons and engines as Wang Zhan predicted the crouching tiger cannons would destroy its gates.

The Heavenly Puppet Sect and King Who Pacifies Jing’s forces prepared to destroy the Chen Kingdom’s imperial capital and the Rune Research Institute, which they saw as a threat to traditional rune cultivation. After explaining how Chen Mu’s Rune Technology relied on analyzed rules of heaven and earth, Lu Hai led several experts into the sky to attack.

• Wu Cang praised the sect for secretly bringing an army of millions to the Chen Kingdom’s imperial city, and an old Daoist said the Heavenly Puppet Sect could counter Chen Mu’s Rune Technology.
• The chapter explained how Chen Mu’s technology built rune devices from fundamental rules of heaven and earth, while traditional rune cultivation combined existing runes with greater waste.
• Chen Mu’s Rule Analysis Device collected experts’ understanding of the rules and stored it as data, giving the Rune Research Institute access to knowledge beyond that of other rune masters.
• The Heavenly Puppet Sect and King Who Pacifies Jing’s forces used Saint Level powerhouses and magic treasures to evade the Chen Kingdom’s reconnaissance Rune Artifacts.
• Lu Hai, commander of the surprise attack, and several other experts took to the sky to begin their assault on the imperial capital.

Lu Hai and Jing Province's forces attacked the Chen Kingdom's imperial capital, whose defenses seemed too weak to resist. Taichu arrived, overwhelmed the attackers with his powers, and forced them to retreat, leaving the capital safe for now.

• Chen Hongjie confronted Lu Hai as six Emperor Level cultivators and two rune masters attacked the imperial capital.
• Lu Hai ordered an assault, while the Heavenly Puppet Sect Daoist and other Jing Province experts attacked Chen Hongjie's guards and allies.
• Taichu appeared beside Chen Hongjie and suppressed the Jing Province soldiers' strength and control of Spiritual Power.
• Taichu evaded the experts' attacks and struck them and their soldiers with lightning as Chen Hongjie led the capital's defenders in a counterattack.
• Lu Hai ordered his army to retreat thirty kilometers, and Chen Hongjie and Taichu let them withdraw.

After Chen Mu let Xilade’s forces leave Great Ridge Valley, Xilade trapped him in a black barrier while the Devil Race attacked the humans. The battle spread across the valley, and Gu Zi'an ordered the human army to strike the Black Demon Army.

• Chen Mu let Xilade and one hundred thousand Devil Race elites depart while the remaining Devil Race forces stayed behind.
• Xilade and three generals trapped Chen Mu inside a black barrier, and Mingye and A Huo failed to break through it.
• Devil Race experts attacked the humans and tied down their Emperor Level fighters as Mingye, A Huo, and Tie Feng fought back.
• Gu Zi'an ordered the human army to attack, and the Demon-Slaying Sword and Hegemon Cavalry joined the assault.

Chen Mu fought Xilade and three generals inside the Dark Domain of Annihilation, where Xilade’s attacks wounded him and threatened to overwhelm his Runic Body. As Chen Mu faced death, Taichu contacted him and reported that the imperial capital was safe.

• Chen Mu endured repeated attacks in Xilade’s barrier and then fought off three generals in close combat.
• Xilade revealed that he intended to kill Chen Mu because his potential threatened the Devil Race.
• Xilade pierced Chen Mu’s shoulder and increased his attacks after concluding that Chen Mu’s chaos transformation had limits.
• Chen Mu realized his War Soldiers were absent and that he could neither escape the barrier nor dispel the wound.
• Taichu contacted Chen Mu and told him that the attackers had been driven from the imperial capital and Third Granduncle and the others were safe.

Taichu pulled Chen Mu out of Xilade’s Dark Domain of Annihilation, and Chen Mu returned to the battle at Great Ridge Valley. With Taichu’s power, he began suppressing Xilade while the Devil Race suffered heavy losses, and A Huo called for Nangong Feng’s help.

• Taichu brought Chen Mu back from the Dark Domain of Annihilation to Great Ridge Valley.
• Chen Mu summoned the Five Elements War Soldiers as Xilade and his three generals attacked him and his allies.
• After Xilade wounded Tie Feng and threatened Chen Mu, Chen Mu called on Taichu and used its power to break Xilade’s attacks.
• The Five Elements War Soldiers joined the fighting, and A Huo killed Anlagong by piercing his heart.
• As Devil Race fighters fell and Chen Mu continued battling Xilade, A Huo called for Nangong Feng to help him.

Chen Mu and A Huo joined forces to defeat Xilade after he transformed into a demon god, forcing the Demon Emperor to flee. Chen Mu recovered from using Taichu’s power and turned to the remaining devils, whose escape the human forces tried to prevent.

• Nangong Feng left Yin Zhan to fight the Black Demon Army and led the Demon-Slaying Sword to assist A Huo.
• A Huo’s Edge Strike broke through two Rashomon gates, while Chen Mu struck Xilade and knocked him back.
• Xilade used Demon God Transformation, gaining enough power to briefly overwhelm Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu used Taichu’s power and the Five Elements Ring’s metal element to attack Xilade’s weak points alongside A Huo and the Demon-Slaying Sword.
• Wounded and unable to maintain his transformation, Xilade fled into the void, and Chen Mu and A Huo chose not to pursue him.
• Chen Mu withdrew Taichu’s power, recovered his composure, and ordered the humans to stop the other devils from escaping.

After defeating the Devil Race, Chen Mu returned to the Chen Kingdom’s imperial capital as the Jing Province army prepared to attack again. He confronted Lu Hai while Taichu and the defenders fought to hold the gate.

• Chen Mu ordered Yin Zhan and Zheng Fengdao to assist General Yue at Moon Capital Pass, then took Gu Zi'an and the battleship forces back to the imperial capital.
• Taichu reappeared above the eastern gate and fought two Heavenly Puppet Sect elders, whose Soul-Suppressing Golden Talismans only partly restrained her.
• Lu Hai ordered the Jing Province army to assault the gate, and Chen Hongjie led the defenders as their mechanisms ran low.
• Chen Mu arrived with A Huo, Mingye, and Chen Duo, then summoned the Five Elements War Soldiers and charged toward Lu Hai.
• Chen Mu's attacks dented Lu Hai's ninth-grade armor, so Lu Hai switched to evasive tactics and tried to wear the defenders down.

Chen Mu and the Chen Kingdom’s defenders fought to hold the imperial capital after Lu Hai’s forces broke through its gates. Pioneer Number Two returned with warships that destroyed the Jing Province army’s siege weapons, but Lu Hai ordered his troops to press on toward the imperial palace.

• A Huo and Mingye attacked the Dragon Yang Battle Formation, but the Blazing Sun Legion broke through the city gates.
• Chen Mu summoned two Rune Clones to hold off the Heavenly Puppet Sect’s old Daoists while Taichu weakened the invading soldiers inside the city’s maze of barricades.
• Chen Mu tried to persuade Lu Hai to withdraw by invoking the Devil-Expelling Alliance and the War Emperor Palace, but Lu Hai refused and continued fighting.
• Chen Mu’s defenders inflicted heavy losses, but more than a million were killed as the inner city came under threat.
• Pioneer Number Two returned with the other warships, which destroyed Jing Province’s cannons and siege engines.
• Lu Hai ordered his troops to ignore the warships and break into the Chen Kingdom’s imperial palace.