Chapter Summaries

Chu Xuanzi attacked Iron Soul City with his Baleful Demon Blood Domain, but the city’s rune defenses and battle formations resisted his forces. After Chen Mu refused to submit, Chu Xuanzi struck at him, only to destroy a substitute talisman and suspect Chen Mu was connected to the Divine Talisman Gate.

• Chen Mu challenged Chu Xuanzi’s claim that he was a fiend from beyond the realm and refused his demand to submit or die.
• Chu Xuanzi unleashed his Baleful Demon Blood Domain, summoning twelve blood corpses and tens of thousands of evil spirits to attack Iron Soul City.
• Mingye assigned Shi Xing and Han Xiao to defend the flanks while Li Wei commanded the city’s defenses, which bombarded the attacking spirits.
• Han Xiao led the Rushing Thunder Battle Team in driving back one of the blood corpses, while the rune barrier held against the others.
• Chu Xuanzi demanded that Chen Mu submit, and Chen Mu refused.
• Chu Xuanzi appeared behind Chen Mu and struck him, but the attack destroyed a substitute talisman; Chu Xuanzi wondered whether Chen Mu was an inheritor of the Divine Talisman Gate.

Mingye discovered that the blue-and-white porcelain bottle could absorb the blood corpses and evil spirits sustaining Chu Xuanzi’s domain, giving Iron Soul City’s soldiers a chance to recover. As Chu Xuanzi pressed his attack, Chen Mu began breaking through in his remaining dantians to form 107 Law Cores, while Mingye prepared to evacuate the city’s core forces.

• Chen Mu and Little Blue fought Chu Xuanzi while Mingye and Iron Soul City’s soldiers struggled against regenerating blood corpses and evil spirits.
• Mingye summoned the blue-and-white porcelain bottle, which absorbed blood corpses and spirits and began weakening Chu Xuanzi’s Baleful Demon Blood Domain.
• Chu Xuanzi attacked Mingye, but the bottle’s seven-colored barrier stopped his blow long enough for Chen Mu to shield her.
• Wounded and running out of strength, Chen Mu told Mingye to evacuate Iron Soul City’s core forces when his breakthrough triggered a lightning tribulation.
• Chen Mu released the power of his remaining 107 dantians to condense their liquid into Law Cores.

Chen Mu used heavenly lightning and his regenerative vitality to hold Chu Xuanzi back while Iron Soul City’s people tried to escape Fang Yin’s blockade. As Chen Mu launched a Saint Level missile at Chu Xuanzi, heaven and earth froze, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Chen Mu drew heavenly lightning with the Four Pillars Heaven-Reaching Formation, Eight Trigrams Fate-Changing Disc, while Chu Xuanzi withdrew his Baleful Demon Blood Domain and resumed attacking him.
• Chen Mu’s body repeatedly broke and healed as he fought Chu Xuanzi, buying time for Iron Soul City’s people to escape.
• Fang Yin and the Yin Baleful Intent Sect blocked Mingye and the others, and Han Xiao led the Rushing Thunder Battle Team in a desperate attack that was suppressed.
• Mingye led the others into battle after the celadon bottle failed to respond, but they soon fell into a disadvantage outside Iron Soul City’s talisman formation.
• Chen Mu threatened Chu Xuanzi with a missile launcher and then fired a Saint Level missile, but time and space abruptly stopped before it could strike.

Chen Mu witnessed the Manju Sacred King destroy his missile and learned that she had come searching for Mingye. After mother and daughter reunited, the Sacred King killed Chu Xuanzi for attacking Iron Soul City and threatening her daughter.

• The Manju Sacred King appeared between Chen Mu and Chu Xuanzi and turned Chen Mu's silver missile to powder.
• Mo Kesha arrived, and Chen Mu greeted the Manju Sacred King, who asked where the person she was seeking could be found.
• Chen Mu summoned Mingye, and the Manju Sacred King recognized her as her daughter; they embraced after sensing their shared bloodline.
• Chu Xuanzi tried to flee, but the Manju Sacred King suppressed his domain and forced him to face her accusations.
• The Manju Sacred King rejected Chu Xuanzi's excuses and killed him, making his body collapse into a black hole and vanish.

After the Manju Sacred King destroyed Chu Xuanzi’s inner world, Mingye left for the imperial capital with him while Chen Mu stayed behind to settle Iron Soul City. Chen Mu later traveled to the Manju Imperial Capital with Shi Xing, Han Xiao, and two teams of soldiers, entering after the city garrison checked their documents.

• The Manju Sacred King destroyed Chu Xuanzi’s small world, causing the Saint’s Return to the Ruins phenomenon across Iron Soul City.
• Mingye agreed to return to the imperial capital with the Manju Sacred King, while Chen Mu promised to follow after settling Iron Soul City.
• Mo Kesha offered to punish the Yin Baleful Intent Sect members who had attacked and gave Chen Mu compensation for the city’s damage.
• Chen Mu repaired Iron Soul City and reassured its residents before agreeing to bring Shi Xing and Han Xiao to the imperial capital.
• After three days of fighting along the way, Shi Xing ordered the soldiers to clean up and rein in their killing intent before approaching the capital.
• Shi Xing presented Iron Soul City’s documents at the gates, and Chen Mu told the garrison commander they had come to request an audience with His Majesty Manju; the commander let them enter.

After Mingye brought Chen Mu to the Manju Imperial Palace, he settled into the Sacred Hall and used its rare resources to strengthen his body and stabilize his cultivation. Shen Hongye discovered that much of the Nether Spring’s precious liquid had vanished and went to confront him, believing he had stolen it.

• Shen Hongye complained to Manju Sacred King that Mingye had brought two legions into the palace and let Chen Mu live in the Sacred Hall, but Manju Sacred King defended Mingye and praised Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu settled into the Sacred Hall, where its treasures, cultivation manuals, and bathing pool let him improve his Divine Soul and physical body while stabilizing his breakthrough.
• After a week, Shen Hongye found that a third of the Nether Essence Liquid in the Sacred Hall’s rear garden had disappeared.
• Shen Hongye assumed Chen Mu had secretly taken the Nether Essence Liquid and angrily headed to his residence to confront him.

Chen Mu was accused by Shen Hongye of stealing Nether Essence Liquid from the Nether Spring, but Mingye defended him and stopped her from attacking. After Shen Hongye left, Chen Mu and Mingye discussed building a machine army and planned to ask the Manju Sacred King for support at dinner.

• Shen Hongye interrupted Chen Mu's meditation and demanded that he return the Nether Essence Liquid she believed he had stolen.
• Chen Mu denied taking any liquid and endured Shen Hongye's Saint Level pressure by activating his 108 Law Cores.
• Shen Hongye prepared to strike Chen Mu, but Mingye arrived and said she had authorized him to soak in the Nether Spring.
• Mingye refused to let Shen Hongye harm Chen Mu and told her to take the complaint to the Manju Sacred King if she objected.
• Chen Mu apologized to Mingye and proposed speeding up their plan to build a machine army.
• Mingye said she would raise Chen Mu's request for military support with the Manju Sacred King at their dinner that night.

At a banquet, the Manju Sacred King approved Chen Mu’s plan to build a Rune Puppet Legion and granted him the rank of Might-Distant General. She then used the Netherworld Pearl to undo the Heavenly Dao Restraint Seals in Chen Mu and Mingye, leaving them to adjust to the released power while she recovered.

• The Manju Sacred King discussed Chen Mu’s Rune Puppet Legion plan and approved it, granting him the military rank of Might-Distant General.
• The Manju Sacred King offered Chen Mu and Mingye a way to undo their Heavenly Dao Restraint Seals using the Netherworld Pearl.
• Mingye and Chen Mu accepted the pearl’s power as the Manju Sacred King channeled it into their bodies.
• The seals broke, releasing their power and forcing them to endure the impact of the change.
• Chen Mu fused his yin- and yang-attribute Dharma Power despite severe pain, while the Manju Sacred King rested after the process.

Manju Sacred King explained that the Netherworld Pearl had once belonged to Wangchuan and revealed her own history as the first red spider lily born from Wangchuan’s grief. She began recounting the events that led to Mingye’s years alone, leaving the story just before explaining what changed over fifty years ago.

• Mingye and Chen Mu confirmed that the Netherworld Pearl had undone their restraints, and Manju Sacred King explained that it had once belonged to Wangchuan.
• Manju Sacred King revealed that she had placed the pearl inside Mingye before her birth to protect her.
• Chen Mu asked why Manju Sacred King had let Mingye wander alone, and Manju Sacred King sent Shen Hongye away before answering.
• Manju Sacred King explained that Wangchuan’s true form was the Nether River and that Manju had been born from Wangchuan’s tears after her lover died.
• Manju Sacred King said Wangchuan left the Nine Nether Netherworld around five thousand years ago to pursue her lover’s killer and never returned.
• Manju Sacred King described how the Nether Imperial Court divided among the three Sacred Kings and said their uneasy peace lasted until a little over fifty years ago.

The Manju Sacred King told Chen Mu and Mingye how Chen Fusheng infiltrated her life for the Heavenly Court, invaded the Netherworld, and forced her to send Mingye away for safety. Mingye accepted her mother’s explanation and vowed to face the future with her, while Chen Mu and Mingye agreed that Chen Fusheng deserved to die.

• The Manju Sacred King explained that she saved Chen Fusheng, a descendant of the God-Slaying God Clan, and later fell in love with him.
• The Manju Sacred King revealed that Chen Fusheng had pursued her as part of the Heavenly Court’s plan to seize her Netherworld Pearl and invade the Netherworld.
• After the Heavenly Court’s invasion caused heavy losses, the Manju Sacred King sealed Mingye’s Nether Clan bloodline and sent her to the Pan Emperor Continent for protection.
• Mingye reassured the Manju Sacred King that she would face whatever came next alongside her.
• The Manju Sacred King said Chen Fusheng had vanished after the invasion, and Mingye supported her mother’s resolve to kill him.

Chen Mu learned that the Manju Imperial Court was losing its long war against the Extreme Evil Imperial Court and agreed to help the Manju Sacred King protect the Netherworld’s Human Clan. Appointed a general, he sent Shi Xing and Han Xiao’s legions to the front lines while preparing to build his robot legion.

• The Manju Sacred King explained that the three Imperial Courts’ failed attempt to unite had led the Supreme Evil Sacred King to wage war, leaving her court in a precarious position.
• Chen Mu questioned why the Manju Sacred King and Asura Sacred King did not join forces, and she said Asura’s support was only verbal.
• Mingye urged the Manju Sacred King to entrust the war to Chen Mu, and she agreed to rely on them.
• The Manju Sacred King appointed Chen Mu General of Far-Reaching Might and gave him military authority and funds.
• Chen Mu told Shi Xing and Han Xiao to learn their new equipment’s combat command systems and lead their legions to the front lines in three days.

Lu Yi learned that Chen Mu had sent two small surprise forces to support Evil Wind City, then saw them disrupt the Extreme Evil army’s supplies and intelligence routes. After Chen Mu’s forces intercepted a secret letter revealing an imminent assault, Lu Yi ordered the Black Phoenix Clan to send supplies to help develop the Rune Puppet Legion.

• Lu Yi heard that General Weiyuan would send two thousand troops to attack the enemy by surprise, but doubted they could make a difference.
• Han Xiao led the Rushing Thunder Legion toward an enemy provisions depot while Shi Xing and the Yin Five Elements Legion ambushed and captured enemy cultivators carrying a sealed letter.
• Chen Mu broke the letter’s seal, discovered the Extreme Evil Imperial Court’s plan for an all-out assault on Evil Wind City, and sent its contents to Lu Yi.
• Over three days, the Rushing Thunder Legion destroyed enemy armament stores and granaries while Shi Xing’s legion hunted scouts and transport teams.
• Lu Yi praised the surprise forces and ordered the Black Phoenix Clan to send supplies for puppet talisman masters to General Weiyuan.

Chen Mu advanced production of a robot legion for the Manju Imperial Court while he and Mingye discussed returning to the Pan Emperor Continent. In the Extreme Evil Imperial Capital, the Supreme Evil Sacred King ordered an investigation into Mingye's return and sent assassins after Chen Mu.

• Chen Mu told Mingye that the machine legion was progressing smoothly and that its first robots could reach the battlefield in about half a month.
• Mingye said the Imperial Court's Spirit Network base stations would soon be installed and that Mother Empress was impressed by Chen Mu's exploits in Evil Wind City.
• Chen Mu and Mingye agreed they needed to contact the Pan Emperor Continent after being away for over a year.
• The Supreme Evil Sacred King reprimanded Wei Di for failing to take Evil Wind City and promised to send someone to deal with Manju's puppet talisman master.
• After hearing a rumor that Manju's daughter had returned, the Supreme Evil Sacred King ordered an investigation because she might possess the Netherworld Pearl.
• The Supreme Evil Sacred King sent Ye Feng and Qin Yue to assassinate Chen Mu in the Manju Imperial Capital.

Chen Mu discussed returning to the Pan Emperor Continent with Manju Sacred King and began considering a cross-realm teleportation array as a safer way to travel between the worlds. Manju Sacred King revealed that the Netherworld Pearl had guided Chen Mu and Mingye to the Netherworld, and she explained that ending the war depended on choosing a new Nether Lord.

• Manju Sacred King thanked Chen Mu for the robots that had strengthened her army and asked whether he planned to return to the Pan Emperor Continent.
• Manju Sacred King explained that the Netherworld Pearl had guided Chen Mu and Mingye through the void and offered to send them back, though returning afterward would be dangerous.
• Chen Mu proposed researching a cross-realm teleportation array, and Manju Sacred King agreed they could remain in the Netherworld while he worked on it.
• Manju Sacred King asked whether Chen Mu and Mingye knew of the God-Slaying God Clan, prompting Chen Mu to change the subject to his research and the war.
• Manju Sacred King said she wanted only to defend her people and believed the war could end if they found a new Nether Lord, but she had not reached God Level.

Mingye agreed to cultivate the Netherworld Scripture near the Nether River, while the Manju Sacred King planned to formally reveal her identity at the annual sacrificial ceremony. As preparations began, Mingye helped receive guests and met General Lu Yi.

• The Manju Sacred King offered to teach Mingye the Netherworld Scripture, and Mingye agreed to cultivate it to minor mastery before deciding whether to return to the Pan Emperor Continent.
• Chen Mu told Mingye that his cross-realm teleportation array would be ready in about two years.
• The Manju Sacred King explained that the annual sacrificial ceremony would be an opportunity to announce Mingye's identity and grant her a formal title.
• Mingye went to help Shen Hongye receive guests at the Nether Emperor Temple.
• Shen Hongye led Mingye to meet General Lu Yi, who recognized her and greeted her warmly.

Mingye received Lu Yi at the palace, while Chen Mu continued developing a spacecraft to cross a wormhole for a cross-realm teleportation array. After an experiment destroyed part of the craft, Chen Mu joined Li Wei and Shi Xing at the Stargazing Platform and admitted his latest approach had failed.

• Mingye escorted Lu Yi to his room and promised to introduce him to the Might-Distant General when he arrived the next day.
• Chen Mu worked at the Rune Research Institute on a spacecraft designed to pass through a wormhole near the Netherworld.
• A spacecraft component exploded during testing, destroying half the craft and covering Chen Mu in soot.
• Chen Mu went to the Stargazing Platform, where Li Wei and Shi Xing asked about his new wormhole-traversal idea.
• Chen Mu said his latest method had failed.

Chen Mu explained to Li Wei why he supported Iron Soul City's people and gave her his social development plan, then learned that the Extreme Evil Imperial Court's ace legions had disappeared. At the Nether Emperor Temple, Mingye visited the Nether River, where Lu Yi warned her of its danger, and the Manju Sacred King and Shen Hongye discussed pairing them together.

• Li Wei asked Chen Mu why he treated Iron Soul City's people well despite automation, and Chen Mu described his commitment to social development and sent her his plan.
• Chen Mu asked Shi Xing about the Yin Five Elements Legion, and Shi Xing reported that its synchronization rate had passed sixty percent among five thousand members.
• Chen Mu received an alert that rune satellites had lost sight of several Extreme Evil Imperial Court ace legions and suspected the annual sacrificial ceremony would face trouble.
• At the Nether Emperor Temple, Mingye approached the Nether River, and Lu Yi warned her that its water could dissolve spirit bodies.
• Lu Yi told Mingye that the Nether River had once been much larger, while the Manju Sacred King and Shen Hongye watched them and Shen Hongye suggested bringing them together.

At Mingye’s public ceremony, Supreme Evil Sacred King launched an attack and demanded the Netherworld Pearl, forcing Manju Sacred King into a confrontation. He revealed that he had secured the Night Watchers’ agreement and offered to withdraw if Manju defeated him; otherwise, she had to surrender the pearl and let him compete to become Netherworld Lord.

• Manju Sacred King brought Mingye, Lu Yi, and Shen Hongye to the ceremony, which began without Chen Mu.
• Manju Sacred King sensed danger and told Shen Hongye to summon the legion as Supreme Evil Sacred King’s troops emerged from the woods and surrounded the altar.
• Supreme Evil Sacred King demanded that Manju hand over the Netherworld Pearl, while Manju met his domain with her own.
• Shen Hongye called for soldiers from the imperial capital, and Manju challenged Supreme Evil Sacred King’s ability to stop her from leaving with her people.
• Supreme Evil Sacred King claimed the ten million soldiers would die if Manju fled, said he had reached an agreement with the three Night Watchers, and demanded a chance to compete for the Netherworld Lord’s position.
• Supreme Evil Sacred King surrounded the temple with more than six thousand elite Core Formation Realm troops, prepared to use the Blood Slaughter and Absolute Evil battle formations.

The Supreme Evil Sacred King attacked the Manju Sacred King’s altar after she refused to surrender Mingye’s bonded Netherworld Pearl. As the battle raged, Lu Yi helped Mingye escape toward the Manju Imperial Capital while he stayed behind to hold off Qin Yue.

• Shen Hongye proposed leading the personal guards in a breakout, but the Manju Sacred King said the enemy’s battle formations made escape impossible and ordered them to hold their ground.
• The Manju Sacred King asked Mingye if she would accept handing over the Netherworld Pearl, and Mingye suggested seeking help from the powerful guests at the ceremony.
• The Supreme Evil Sacred King announced that the Night Watchers had approved his bid for the Netherworld Lord position and demanded the Netherworld Pearl.
• The Manju Sacred King offered to lend him the pearl for three years, but he demanded complete control, and she refused because it was bonded to Mingye.
• The Supreme Evil Sacred King ordered Blood Slaughter and the Utter Evil Legion to attack the altar’s defenders.
• Lu Yi tried to escort Mingye out, fought Qin Yue when he blocked them, and Mingye fled toward the Manju Imperial Capital.

Mingye escaped the Supreme Evil Sacred King’s attack but was captured by Ye Feng and the Spiderweb Legion. When Chen Mu revealed that Asura was attacking the Supreme Evil Sacred King’s palace, the Supreme Evil Sacred King chose to save the Netherworld Pearl, taking Mingye and abandoning his troops as he fled.

• Mingye dodged the Supreme Evil Sacred King’s attack and headed toward the approaching Maha Legion, but Ye Feng and the Spiderweb Legion trapped and captured her.
• The Maha Legion arrived, but the Spiderweb Legion joined the Blood Slaughter Legion and Utter Evil, while the Manju Sacred King fought the Supreme Evil Sacred King.
• The Supreme Evil Sacred King ordered his forces to retreat as more Manju legions approached.
• Chen Mu used a Talisman Puppet to show the Supreme Evil Sacred King that Asura was attacking his imperial palace and demanded that he release Mingye.
• The Supreme Evil Sacred King took Mingye, ordered his troops to scatter, and escaped through a spatial tunnel; the Manju Sacred King pursued him while her forces attacked the fleeing troops.