Chapter Summaries

Lu Hai’s Jing Province army failed to capture the Chen Kingdom’s imperial palace and was routed, but the capital remained vulnerable to another attack. Chen Mu then led more than fifty warships to ambush the King Who Pacifies Jing’s Residence’s approaching army, leaving the battle underway.

• Lu Hai pressed his attack on the Chen Kingdom’s capital, but the palace fortress and the defenders stopped his army after a day and a night of fighting.
• Chen Mu pursued Lu Hai and killed most of the fleeing Emperor Level experts, while Lu Hai and two old Daoists escaped.
• Chen Hongjie ordered the capital’s defenses repaired and refused Chen Mu’s suggestion to bring troops back from the front.
• Chen Mu gathered experts and more than fifty warships to meet the next Jing Province army, while Chen Hongjie stayed to defend the capital.
• Chen Mu ambushed the King Who Pacifies Jing’s Residence’s army as it passed a forest.

Chen Mu’s forces weakened the King Who Pacifies Jing’s army and forced it to retreat, while Long Xiang abandoned his failed surprise attack. Chen Kingdom then secured its capital and expanded its territory by capturing key passes in the Devil Race’s lands.

• Chen Mu and his four companions fought the King Who Pacifies Jing’s forces, destroying thirty-six warships and killing more than twenty thousand soldiers before withdrawing.
• Long Xiang learned that his attack on Chen Kingdom had failed and ordered Lu Hai to return.
• Jing Province’s more than two million troops retreated from Chen Kingdom’s imperial capital, and Chen Mu’s group planned to rest before helping Senior Wei Shan.
• Wei Shan and Chen Zihu led more than ten million robots and human troops to capture Martial Marquis Pass, Southern Yong Pass, and Heavenly Yang Pass.
• Chen Kingdom expanded its territory by two-thirds, then stopped advancing and began consolidating its new lands.

After emerging from seclusion at the peak of the Dharma Saint Realm, Chen Mu agreed to let Chen Hongjie lead an attack on Jing Province. He then visited Mingye and invited her to travel with him to the Netherworld.

• Chen Mu finished cultivating and learned that his rapid progress had been aided by the growing number of Battle Talisman Master cultivators and the Chen Kingdom's expanding Spirit Network.
• Chen Mu reviewed the Rune Research Institute's latest results and set plans for its research departments.
• Chen Mu agreed to Chen Hongjie's plan to attack Jing Province and left the campaign's details to him, offering help if the Heavenly Puppet Sect caused trouble.
• Chen Mu visited Mingye at the Shadow Guards' headquarters and demonstrated that he was nearing Saint Level.
• Chen Mu invited Mingye to travel with him to the Netherworld, explaining that her Nether Clan blood might make her want to learn where she came from.

Chen Mu reassured Mingye that the Chen Kingdom would remain safe while they traveled, and she agreed to discuss the plan with everyone. At the imperial preceptor's residence, Chen Mu promised his mother he would settle his marriage and said he intended to ask for Mingye's hand after they visited the Netherworld; he then escorted her to the feast.

• Chen Mu explained that the balance between the Haotian Imperial Family and the Abyss Devil Realm would protect the Chen Kingdom while he and Mingye were away, and Mingye agreed to consult everyone.
• Chen Mu gathered with Meng Hui at the imperial preceptor's residence, where she had arranged a grand welcome and urged him to marry.
• Chen Mu promised Meng Hui he would settle his marriage soon and revealed he planned to ask for Mingye's hand after their trip to the Netherworld.
• Chen Mu went to Mingye's guest room and found her dressed for the feast; after she asked whether her outfit looked good, he praised her and escorted her to the banquet hall.

Chen Mu held a banquet before leaving the Pan Emperor Continent and arranged for the Chen Kingdom’s leaders to manage affairs in his absence. He entrusted A Huo and Chen Duo with Taichu’s emergency shutdown controls, leaving the kingdom protected while he was away.

• Chen Mu greeted Chen Zihu’s children and caught up with Gu Ruoyun, who accepted that he did not return her feelings and resolved to marry someone else.
• After the banquet, Chen Mu told the Chen Kingdom’s senior figures he planned to leave for six months to a year, and they agreed to his absence.
• Chen Mu assigned Gu Zi'an responsibility for the Shadow Guards and reassured Chen Zihu that he would send word if he could not return as expected.
• Chen Mu gave A Huo and Chen Duo control chips that could force Taichu to shut down if she malfunctioned or became dangerous.
• Chen Mu explained that Taichu’s growing strength and connection to the kingdom’s national fortune made her a powerful defense for the Chen Kingdom.

Chen Mu and Mingye left for the Netherworld, using a spatial rift at Nether Luo Mountain that Chen Mu stabilized with a one-use formation. After more than half a month traveling through the chaotic void, they still had not found the Netherworld’s entrance.

• Chen Mu packed supplies, said goodbye to Meng Hui, and promised to return after settling matters in the Netherworld.
• Chen Mu took Mingye to Nether Luo Mountain and explained that the nearby spatial rift might help them learn about her origins.
• Chen Mu used his enhanced perception of spatial rules to set up a one-use formation and open a spatial rift.
• Chen Mu and Mingye entered the rift holding hands and began traveling through the chaotic void.
• After flying for over half a month, Mingye questioned why they had not found the Netherworld despite the ancient star route map placing it nearby.

Chen Mu and Mingye searched the chaotic void for the Netherworld and finally found a rift that led into it. Their cultivation was suppressed inside, and a Nether Clan Saint blocked their escape and tried to enslave them.

• Chen Mu reassured Mingye and searched near the old map coordinates, surviving several dangerous chaotic calamities along the way.
• A month and a half after leaving the Pan Emperor Continent, Chen Mu and Mingye found a spatial rift that carried the breath of Death Spiritual Power.
• Chen Mu opened a stable passage through the rift, and he and Mingye entered together.
• Inside the passage, Chen Mu and Mingye discovered that the local Heavenly Dao was suppressing their inner worlds, so they turned back.
• A Nether Clan elder intercepted them, refused Chen Mu's plea to leave, and attacked them with a giant palm, declaring that they would become his slaves.

Chen Mu and Mingye fought the Nether Clan elder inside the Nine Nether Netherworld, where the Heavenly Dao had sealed their inner worlds and left them unable to replenish their power. Mingye escaped with an Instant Teleportation Talisman while Chen Mu injured the elder with his Ultimate Devil Spirit Cannon and teleported away, leaving the elder to order a search for both humans.

• Chen Mu and Mingye combined their attacks to shatter the Nether Clan elder's palm, but the elder attacked again and sealed the spatial passage.
• Chen Mu gave Mingye an Instant Teleportation Talisman, and she used it to vanish; the elder then unleashed his domain and disrupted the spatial laws around them.
• Chen Mu fired three missiles from his Ultimate Devil Spirit Cannon at the elder, and their explosion injured him and damaged his robes.
• Chen Mu activated his talisman to escape, and the injured elder failed to track him.
• The Nether Clan elder reached a towering pagoda and ordered three cultivators to find Chen Mu and Mingye within three months.

Chen Mu traveled through the Nine Nether Netherworld, disguised himself to avoid the Nether Clan elder’s search, and reached the village where he sensed Mingye. He slipped inside and found the house where Mingye was staying, waiting for a chance to approach her.

• Chen Mu watched Nether Clan hunters and human laborers kill and butcher a Ghost Wolf, learning more about the world and its people.
• Chen Mu used Demonic Patterns to change his appearance, despite the difficulty of adapting them to the Netherworld’s laws.
• Chen Mu reflected that his sealed dantian left him unable to cultivate or use divine abilities, then followed the hunting party toward its settlement.
• Chen Mu found the village where Mingye was staying and sneaked past patrols and villagers to reach her house.
• Chen Mu heard a woman offer Mingye Ghost Wolf soup and waited until the elderly woman left the house.

Chen Mu reunited with Mingye in the Netherworld, where both had lost most of their power and could not cultivate normally. He revealed his plan to use Rune Core No. 4 to become a computing vessel and grow stronger, while their food supplies would sustain them only for a month or two.

• Chen Mu entered the house and checked that Mingye was safe, and she explained that her Spiritual Qi and strength had been drained.
• Chen Mu reassured Mingye that he had a way to grow stronger despite being unable to cultivate in the Netherworld.
• Chen Mu showed Mingye Rune Core No. 4 and explained that he planned to replace Taichu as an information-processing vessel and develop the Dharma Network Realm.
• Chen Mu and Mingye discussed the Netherworld's poor food, and Chen Mu shared beggar's chicken from his supplies.
• Chen Mu estimated that their food would last them a month or two.

Chen Mu and Mingye planned to seize control of Iron Soul Village by using Mingye’s marriage scheme to get close to its leader, Gao Fenghai. Their preparations were interrupted when Li Wei arrived to help Mingye escape before the wedding night.

• Chen Mu discussed recruiting followers and using the village as a base with Mingye, who told him how Gao Fenghai had brought her to the village and planned to take her as a concubine.
• Chen Mu used his Biological Intelligent Brain to pass his understanding of the Netherworld’s language to Mingye.
• Chen Mu proposed controlling Gao Fenghai with the Divine Soul Secret Art and using him to take over the village, and Mingye agreed.
• After Chen Mu and Mingye cultivated for more than two hours, Li Wei entered and tried to lead Mingye away from the village.
• Mingye pretended that her throat had only recently healed, and Li Wei warned that Gao Fenghai intended to spend the wedding night with her that evening.

Mingye and Chen Mu witnessed an Undead Tide attacking the village and watched its poorly equipped defenders struggle against the horde. As Li Wei joined the battle, Chen Mu considered how to protect her and preserve the village as his first base.

• Li Wei warned Mingye about Gao Fenghai and urged her to flee, but Mingye insisted she had her own plan.
• Copper gongs announced an Undead Tide, and Li Wei ran outside as Chen Mu and Mingye followed to investigate.
• Chen Mu and Mingye climbed a watchtower and saw more than ten thousand undead charging toward the village.
• The village defenders fought the horde, and Chen Mu judged that their rigid tactics would cause heavy casualties.
• Mingye asked Chen Mu whether they should find another base, but he tried to think of a way to save the village.
• Li Wei charged into battle with a massive cleaver, and Mingye and Chen Mu resolved to keep her safe.

Mingye and Chen Mu helped Iron Soul Village fight an unexpectedly large undead tide, with Chen Mu using a Thunder Control Umbrella to create a lightning barrier that destroyed more than a thousand undead. The Skeleton King then charged toward the village, and Gao Fenghai led his guards to confront it.

• Mingye used Chen Mu's Rune Gun to shoot down undead while Li Wei continued fighting.
• Chen Mu assembled a Thunder Control Umbrella from Rune Artifact parts as the undead tide overwhelmed Iron Soul Village.
• Gao Fenghai recognized the Skeleton King's roar, ordered the villagers to use oil arrows, and prepared them to fight for their lives.
• Chen Mu activated the Thunder Control Umbrella and formed a lightning force field around the village entrance, burning undead to ash.
• A red Skeleton King charged out of the undead tide, and Gao Fenghai led his personal guards to stop it.

Chen Mu and Iron Soul Village defeated an undead tide after he killed its King Level Skeleton King with a specially prepared Rune Gun shot. With the village safe, Chen Mu told Gao Fenghai that he planned to recruit troops and build a city, and asked him to serve.

• Chen Mu and the village warriors used the Thunder Force Fields to destroy most of the undead while Gao Fenghai and his guards fought the Skeleton King.
• As Gao Fenghai’s guards began to falter against the King Level creature, Chen Mu gave the Thunder Control Umbrella to Mingye and prepared a rune-inscribed silver bullet.
• Chen Mu shot the red Skeleton King with a lightning-wreathed bullet, and the creature crumbled to dust.
• Gao Fenghai presented Chen Mu with all the Yin Power collected from the undead and offered to serve him.
• Chen Mu told Gao Fenghai he intended to recruit troops and build a city, then asked whether Gao Fenghai would join his ranks.

Chen Mu took control of Iron Soul Village and asked Li Wei about the Netherworld’s surrounding powers, but she knew little beyond the three great imperial courts. Three days later, Chen Mu finished forging a set of parts after learning that Li Taiping was the village’s most skilled blacksmith.

• Gao Fenghai readily pledged his service to Chen Mu, who told him to gather Iron Soul Village’s senior figures for an assembly.
• Chen Mu met Li Wei and learned that Iron Soul Village was in Sinai Ridge, over two hundred kilometers from Nine Yama City.
• Li Wei said she had never heard of the Nether Imperial Court and had only heard that three great imperial courts ruled the world.
• Gao Fenghai brought the village’s senior figures, and Chen Mu formally took control of Iron Soul Village.
• Chen Mu learned that Li Taiping was the village’s strongest human and best blacksmith, then spent three days forging parts at his home.

Chen Mu completed a Multifunction Refining Machine and used it to turn plants, rocks, and soil into tasty nutrition bars. After Li Taiping and Li Wei confirmed the food was good, Chen Mu promised Iron Soul Village would not run out of food.

• Gao Fenghai told Chen Mu that refugees were flocking to Iron Soul Village and warned that the village's food stores would soon run out.
• Chen Mu finished assembling the Multifunction Refining Machine and powered it with two third-grade Yin Stones from Li Wei.
• Chen Mu fed plants, rocks, and soil into the machine, which analyzed the materials and produced a high-calorie nutrition bar.
• Li Wei tasted the bar, praised its flavor, and gave the remaining half to Li Taiping, who also found it delicious.
• Chen Mu promised to build more machines if needed, and Li Taiping knelt to thank him on behalf of Iron Soul Village.

After expanding Iron Soul Village and building a production workshop, Chen Mu faced a shortage of Yin Stones that threatened his plans for further development. A cavalry squad from Nine Yama City arrived to inspect the village, surprised by its rapid growth and towering walls.

• Chen Mu established an automated production workshop that made food, armor, weapons, and tools, freeing villagers for construction and other work.
• Gao Fenghai warned Chen Mu that Iron Soul Village was consuming Yin Stones too quickly and said thousands of miners and a military escort would be needed to maintain supplies.
• Chen Mu rejected Gao Fenghai's suggestion to sell food in Nine Yama City and decided to consider other ways to obtain Yin Stones.
• Yan Qingtai and Yin Guang led a cavalry squad of about five hundred to Iron Soul Village and were startled by its population and stone walls.
• Yan Qingtai ordered Yin Guang to summon Iron Soul Village's leader so he could ask how the settlement had changed so quickly.

Chen Mu met a Nine Yama City cavalry squad and reassured its captain that Iron Soul Village still recognized the city's authority. He arranged a possible weapons deal with the captain's cousin, then concealed that he and Mingye were the people shown in the Profound Baleful Intent Sect's wanted portraits as the squad departed.

• Yin Guang introduced Chen Mu to cavalry captain Yan Qingtai, who asked how Iron Soul Village had built its new wall.
• Chen Mu claimed he was an artifact refiner planning to turn the village into an artifact-refining city and promised it would continue paying tribute to Nine Yama City.
• Yan Qingtai asked about buying weapons, and Chen Mu invited him to arrange an order through a younger male cousin.
• Yan Qingtai sent a letter to his cousin, who was expected to arrive that evening to discuss the weapons.
• Yan Qingtai showed Chen Mu portraits of Chen Mu and Mingye and warned that the Profound Baleful Intent Sect was offering a reward for information about them.
• Chen Mu denied recognizing the people in the portraits, and Yan Qingtai led his cavalry squad away.

Yan Qingshu of Nine Yama City visited Iron Soul Village to arrange an equipment order with Chen Mu. They agreed that Chen Mu would produce five thousand sets within three months, leaving the village poised to supply Nine Yama City’s urgent military needs.

• Yan Qingshu received Lord Qing Tai’s letter about an equipment crafting city and hurried to Iron Soul Village.
• Chen Mu examined the Yan Lineage’s battle saber and armor and confirmed he could design lower-grade versions using available materials.
• Chen Mu gave Yan Qingshu a list of materials, and Yan Qingshu agreed to supply them.
• Yan Qingshu ordered five thousand sets within three months and offered to pay twenty percent above market price.
• Chen Mu accepted the terms and asked for a twenty percent deposit when they signed the contract.

Chen Mu used the central computer room and Death Spirit Yin Power to open 108 Qi Seas in his body, restoring a formidable foundation for cultivation. Little Blue consumed most of Chen Mu’s stored Yin Power, and Li Wei rushed into the room as Chen Mu confronted him.

• Chen Mu used the central computer room’s computing power to devise a way to cultivate without a dantian.
• Chen Mu absorbed Spiritual Power and Yin Stones, then opened 108 Qi Seas inside his body.
• Chen Mu decided not to open more Qi Seas, saving his Thoughts for other uses and recognizing that he needed more Yin Stones to advance.
• Little Blue ate more than 800 streams of Death Spirit Yin Power from Chen Mu’s pouch, and Chen Mu caught him and scolded him.
• Little Blue heated the room until Chen Mu released him, and Li Wei rushed in with a tense expression.