Arc 17The Moon’s Influence

Divine Land captured Eagle Country and dealt with the aftermath of nuclear war and a released virus, while Li Xingkong turned to large-scale construction and secluded cultivation. His growing Divine Sense transformed people and animals across Earth Star, leaving him to pursue a formation capable of controlling the planet.

  • Li Xingkong and Divine Land’s commanders sent a Spatial Beacon to Eagle Country, captured its capital and leaders, and took control of the country as its forces and civilians were battered by nuclear strikes.
  • After Eagle Country’s army seized Chouyue City, its commander released an experimental virus that spread through the capital, the army, and other cities before Divine Land developed a way to eliminate it.
  • Divine Land planned Eagle Country’s surrender and debated how to integrate its people while confronting nuclear fallout, environmental damage, and tensions between cultivators and newcomers.
  • Li Xingkong studied the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique, tested it by constructing buildings in the Gobi, and built a lunar nuclear power plant that used a Spatial Beacon to create an External Core.
  • Li Xingkong secluded himself on the moon, used the External Core to accelerate his cultivation, and expanded his Divine Sense until it reached across Earth Star.
  • As Li Xingkong trained control over his Divine Sense by tracing the character “Human” across the moon, people and animals exposed to moonlight changed toward humanlike bodies and minds, and Divine Land accepted the transformed beings as yao citizens.
  • Li Xingkong brought his Divine Sense under control, found it could cover the moon and manipulate objects across its range, and began studying advanced formations to meet the system’s demand that he control Earth Star.
Chapters 401–425 Vol. 5 Read

Ch. 401Delivery

Divine Land planned to send a Spatial Beacon to Eagle Country by launching it in a customized missile and dropping it near the capital. As Russia's nuclear missiles reached Eagle Country, Divine Land launched its own missile to prepare a spatial-gate strike.

  • Li Xingkong joined the commanders as they planned how to get a Spatial Beacon onto Eagle Country's mainland.
  • The commanders reviewed Eagle Country's defenses and chose its capital as their target while its forces focused on intercepting Russia's nuclear missiles.
  • The commanders approved a plan to launch a DF-31 to near-space altitude and release the beacon among the missile fragments above Eagle Country.
  • Staff officers customized the missile's trajectory, installed one of Li Xingkong's Spatial Rings, and launched it.
  • Russia's nuclear missiles reached Eagle Country, where interceptions damaged equipment with EMPs and left many cities poorly defended.

Ch. 402Cross-Space Assault

Divine Land used a Spatial Beacon to send its forces into Eagle Country's capital and launch a surprise assault on Congress. The old general's troops surrounded the building and captured Eagle Country's top brass without a direct attack.

  • Eagle Country's troops struggled to clear traffic as residents fled the capital after nuclear strikes hit other cities.
  • A missile scattered fragments over the capital, and the fragment carrying the Spatial Beacon landed on a golf course near the White House.
  • Divine Land's cultivators emerged through the spatial gate, concealed it, and deployed troops and armored vehicles around Congress.
  • Eagle Country's top brass left the shelter beneath Congress and argued over national damage and plans to seize territory.
  • After a cannon shot silenced the building, Eagle Country's leaders found Congress surrounded by Divine Land's soldiers and surrendered.
  • Cultivators took the leaders prisoner, while the old general explained that he had chosen to capture them without storming the building.

Ch. 403A Big Mess

Divine Land's cultivators seized Congress and captured Eagle Country's president and senior officials in a lightning strike. The old general confronted the president, who warned that Eagle Country's army could still fight, while the country descended into chaos after widespread nuclear strikes and disrupted roads.

  • Divine Land's cultivators entered Congress and surrounded the legislators, who realized they had been cut off from the outside.
  • The old general and his party arrived through a portal after the cultivators secured Congress and ordered a check of the captured officials.
  • The old general recognized Eagle Country's president, suspected he had regained his youth by consuming blood, and told him he would be taken to Divine Land.
  • Eagle Country's president insisted the war was not over because troops remained at the front, but walked out under guard.
  • Divine Land's forces expected Eagle Country's military to be hampered by nuclear attacks on cities, paralyzed roads, and soldiers trying to reach their families.

Ch. 404Showing off

The old general completed the operation to capture Eagle Country’s capital and its high-ranking officials, then brought the prisoners aboard the aerospace carrier. He revealed the victory to Divine Land’s leaders and commanders, who began questioning the captured officials.

  • The old general led Eagle Country’s captured officials through the space gate and sent the president through after he joked that his status made him safe.
  • The old general brought the prisoners aboard the aerospace carrier and gathered them in a conference room before arranging a call with Divine Land’s leaders and commanders.
  • The Divine Land officials connected to the call, and the old general showed them the captured Eagle Country officials.
  • The officials reacted with surprise and celebration, then questioned the prisoners, who readily answered questions about their country’s secrets.

Ch. 405Nibbling Away

Divine Land used interrogations to plan its takeover of Eagle Country, targeting the surviving cities and exploiting the enemy army’s supply crisis. Its troops secured the capital while suppressing gangs and armed residents, and the chapter left the wider invasion poised to continue.

  • Divine Land questioned captured Eagle Country officials and marked cities that had survived the nuclear strikes as targets.
  • Divine Land’s commanders planned to secure the capital and nearby industrial and agricultural facilities, then wait for Eagle Country’s troops to run short of supplies.
  • Divine Land sent nearly three brigades of cultivator infantry through the portal to reinforce the capital after a heavy armored brigade took much of its center.
  • Divine Land’s troops executed looters, imprisoned addicts, and let surrendered gangs maintain local order while leveling bases that resisted.
  • Eagle Country residents who fired on Divine Land’s troops were subdued as the forces expanded their control of the city.

Ch. 406Engaging the Enemy

After the Divine Land took Eagle Country’s capital, Eagle Country’s military leader led his army back to retake it, but Divine Land forces stopped their advance with heavy fire. Unable to break through and facing dwindling supplies, he decided to attack nearby Chouyue City for provisions.

  • Eagle Country’s military leader learned the capital had fallen and turned his army around to counterattack.
  • Divine Land forces rapidly secured the capital and fortified its warehouses and factories.
  • Divine Land troops wiped out Eagle Country’s reconnaissance teams before they could report back.
  • Eagle Country’s army advanced on the capital but suffered heavy losses under Divine Land’s artillery barrage.
  • Eagle Country’s military leader recognized the Divine Land forces and realized they were waiting for his supplies to run out.
  • Eagle Country’s military leader chose to seize provisions from nearby Chouyue City.

Ch. 407Gene Weapon

An Eagle Country commander ordered Lao Hei to release an experimental genetic weapon near Divine Land-occupied territory, intending to devastate the capital and blame Divine Land. Lao Hei broke the vial outside the city and escaped as the virus spread toward the capital.

  • The commander decided to use Eagle Country’s experimental genetic weapon after its military offensive failed and ordered Lao Hei to carry it near the capital.
  • The commander promised Lao Hei a three-rank promotion, then instructed patrols to kill him if he returned.
  • Lao Hei changed into civilian clothes, stole a car, and drove toward the capital without entering it.
  • Lao Hei tossed the vial from his car and crushed it under a wheel before driving away.
  • A breeze carried the released virus toward the capital, where it could cause infected people to suffer nervous disorders, bite others, and howl.

Ch. 408The Plan Backfires

Lao Hei’s experimental virus spread through the Eagle Country, first erupting in the capital and then mutating across its remaining cities. The Divine Land contained the initial outbreak but delayed its advance, while the virus ultimately infected the Eagle Country’s army and plunged the country into chaos.

  • A day after Lao Hei released the virus, infected people in the Eagle Country’s capital began behaving aggressively, but the early cases went unnoticed.
  • The Eagle Country’s military defeated Chouyue City’s National Self-Defense Force, occupied the city, and took control of supplies and military facilities.
  • The outbreak erupted in the capital as the Divine Land prepared to advance, forcing its forces to contain infected people and send virology experts to investigate.
  • The Divine Land brought the capital’s outbreak under control, but virus carried along Lao Hei’s route spread into other cities and mutated to infect people of every race.
  • The virus reached the Eagle Country’s army, and its military commander realized the experimental weapon had turned against his own people without any effective cure.

Ch. 409Two Continents Under Sole Control

The Divine Land developed a targeted weapon against the genetic virus and treated infected people in its occupied capital while the outbreak and internal disorder weakened Eagle Country. After the Divine Land took Eagle Country’s remaining major cities, its captured leaders agreed to surrender, leaving the country under Divine Land control and the long work of unification ahead.

  • Medical cultivators used the Gene Dictionary and genetic research to develop a weapon that could eliminate the virus, while spells remained necessary to treat those already infected.
  • The Divine Land treated infected residents in its occupied capital, but held back the cure elsewhere because the virus could not spread beyond the Americas and was weakening Eagle Country.
  • As Eagle Country’s remaining cities descended into disorder, Divine Land troops took them without losing a soldier and began planning further rescue and cleanup operations.
  • Eagle Country’s captured leaders agreed to sign a surrender agreement in exchange for having their lives spared and serving as scapegoats in the future integration of the population.
  • The chapter described how the Divine Land planned to build cultural and spiritual unity after military conquest, drawing lessons from earlier Chinese unification.

Ch. 410Troubles Within and Threats Without

The Divine Land had secured most of Earth Star, but nuclear fallout threatened its food supply, cultivators, and climate. It also faced growing tension between its original cultivators and more than a billion newly incorporated ordinary citizens, leaving the question of how to integrate them unresolved.

  • The Divine Land assessed how nuclear dust and environmental damage could disrupt cultivation, food production, temperatures, and air quality.
  • The Divine Land recognized that its few cultivators capable of reaching high altitudes could not clear the dust quickly, especially amid severe manpower shortages.
  • The Divine Land faced a new divide between its original cultivators and the large population of newly joined ordinary people.
  • The Divine Land considered whether to establish a class distinction, while recognizing that unequal access to cultivation could breed resentment over time.
  • The Divine Land rejected simply treating the newcomers like the people of Eagle Country, since it had chosen to accept and integrate them.

Ch. 411Reviewing What He Had Seen and Heard

After observing the great battle, Li Xingkong used the Hexagram to simulate battlefield scenarios and considered how cultivation could address the work beyond fighting. The system introduced him to war cultivator spells for fortifications, repairs, army-wide enhancements, and prisoners, leaving him more convinced that cultivators could solve anything if they were strong enough.

  • Li Xingkong reviewed the battles and realized that cooperation could handle some problems more efficiently than individual cultivation, though vast differences in realm still made defeating stronger opponents nearly impossible.
  • He used the Hexagram after battles to simulate how he would act, finding that his Sword Control Technique could easily overwhelm ordinary enemies but could not handle tasks like construction, rescue, and prisoner management.
  • Li Xingkong asked the system for relevant spells and learned about the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique, which could build a fortress from a mental blueprint using local materials.
  • The system also showed him the Mechanical Repair Technique, large-scale enhancement spells, and spells for managing prisoners, including brainwashing and soul-draining methods.
  • Li Xingkong concluded that cultivation could accomplish anything, provided the cultivator was strong enough.

Ch. 412The Foundation Establishment Assessment Announced in Advance

After observing the nuclear war’s aftermath, Li Xingkong learned that the Nation-Protecting Grand Formation had kept the smoke and dust out of the Divine Land’s original territory. He asked the system about the Foundation Establishment Perfection assessment and, despite its daunting demands, resolved to focus on cultivation and formations after refining the External Core.

  • Li Xingkong left the aerospace carrier and flew home after the Divine Land began planning environmental cleanup.
  • He saw that the Nation-Protecting Grand Formation had held back the smoke and dust, limiting the cleanup needed within the Divine Land’s original territory.
  • Li Xingkong concluded that he needed stronger cultivation to affect Earth Star on a larger scale and asked the system about the next assessment.
  • The system said the assessment required him to control the planet’s surface, including its weather, mountains, rivers, atmosphere, and crust, and hinted that formations and artifact refining were key.
  • Li Xingkong decided to prioritize cultivation and formation design, while refining the External Core before beginning secluded cultivation.

Ch. 413Lending a Hand with Refining the External Core

Li Xingkong planned to accelerate his cultivation by helping build the lunar nuclear power plant that would serve as his External Core. After deciding that construction was the main obstacle, he learned the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique to see if it could speed up the project.

  • Li Xingkong returned to Dragon City and reassured his parents that he was safe.
  • Li Xingkong reviewed the nuclear power plant project and concluded that its design and construction were the main obstacles to completing it quickly.
  • Li Xingkong realized the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique might let him build the power plant and asked the system to teach it to him.
  • Li Xingkong examined the spell's civil engineering theory and began studying its modules, starting with one that processed earth and other materials into bricks and concrete.

Ch. 414Thick Earth City Fortification Technique

Li Xingkong studied the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique and planned to ask Old Tang about the nuclear power plant project before beginning its cultivation. On the aerospace carrier, Old Tang’s colleagues discussed finding a match for Li Xingkong and settled on contacting the woman who had been his first love.

  • Li Xingkong learned that mastering the spell would take at least a month and decided to check the project’s progress with Old Tang first.
  • Li Xingkong messaged Old Tang, who was taking a break from a meeting aboard the aerospace carrier.
  • Old Li stopped Old Tang from replying and urged him to arrange a marriage match to strengthen Li Xingkong’s ties with Divine Land.
  • Old Tang explained that Li Xingkong rarely met anyone and said finding a suitable woman would be difficult.
  • Old Tang showed Old Li a photograph of the woman who had been Li Xingkong’s first love, proposing her as a possible match.

Ch. 415Practicing the City-Fortifying Technique

Li Xingkong learned that the lunar nuclear power plant was nearly ready for construction, so he asked the Earthly Capital to hold the materials and send him the completed plans. He then secluded himself to study the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique and had nearly mastered it by the end of the month.

  • Old Tang contacted Li Xingkong’s assistant, Zhang Yumeng, to arrange a meeting and begin the marriage plan.
  • Li Xingkong called Zhang Yumeng and learned that the lunar nuclear power plant’s design was nearly complete, its materials were ready, and construction had not yet begun.
  • Li Xingkong asked Old Tang to send him the finished plans and told the Earthly Capital to store the materials rather than ship them to the moon.
  • Li Xingkong cleared his room, posted a do-not-disturb sign, and began studying the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique.
  • Li Xingkong used several hexagram calculations to analyze the technique’s nested structures and nearly finished learning its mastery-level spell structure.

Ch. 416Blueprints Get

Li Xingkong completed the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique’s Mana Seed and traveled to the Earthly Capital to collect the nuclear power plant plans for his External Core. He received the plans from Zhang Yumeng and asked her to find other building plans so he could test the spell first.

  • Li Xingkong completed the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique and discovered that it let him sense a building’s weakest point.
  • Li Xingkong read Zhang Yumeng’s messages and decided to visit the Earthly Capital for the finished plans.
  • Li Xingkong arrived at the Earthly Capital and contacted Zhang Yumeng instead of Old Tang.
  • Zhang Yumeng delivered an outline and a USB drive containing the nuclear power plant plans.
  • Li Xingkong asked Zhang Yumeng for plans to other buildings so he could test his spell, and she agreed to retrieve some from the archives.

Ch. 417Trying It Out

Li Xingkong received building plans from Zhang Yumeng and went to the Gobi Desert to test the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique. He used it to construct a transparent, life-sized Altissia and confirmed the result matched the plans.

  • Li Xingkong remembered his childhood friend while speaking with Zhang Yumeng, whose appearance resembled the girl from his past.
  • Zhang Yumeng showed Li Xingkong plans for ancient and conceptual buildings, and he chose some to test his spell.
  • Li Xingkong flew northwest to an uninhabited stretch of the Gobi Desert and selected the plans for Altissia, the City on the Water.
  • Li Xingkong cast the Thick Earth City Fortification Technique, which processed sand, soil, and stones into building materials and assembled the city.
  • The spell set the construction's form, and Li Xingkong saw that the transparent city matched the plans, down to windows that could open.

Ch. 418Everything Was Ready

Li Xingkong tested his construction spell by building elaborate structures across the Gobi, then flew to the moon to begin work on a nuclear power plant. He chose a remote crater on the lunar near side and prepared its ground with a seamless foundation.

  • Li Xingkong confirmed that his spell could reproduce detailed blueprints while using less than a tenth of his Magic Power.
  • Li Xingkong constructed and combined buildings from the blueprints across the Gobi until he reached the Nation-Protecting Grand Formation.
  • Li Xingkong returned home, told his family he was leaving, and flew to the moon after calculating his fastest route.
  • Li Xingkong chose a large crater on the lunar near side for the nuclear power plant, away from the residential areas.
  • Li Xingkong leveled the site and melted rock from the crater wall into a seamless foundation for the plant.

Ch. 419The External Core Was Forged

Li Xingkong used his Thick Earth City Fortification Technique to build a lunar nuclear power plant and modify its energy systems for cultivation. He placed a Space Pellet in the heat chamber to form an External Core, leaving the plant unable to supply electricity.

  • Li Xingkong studied the blueprints and planned to construct the enormous nuclear power plant in stages on the completed lunar foundation.
  • Li Xingkong processed materials through his array and built the plant’s rooms, then hardened them.
  • Li Xingkong formed steel, aluminum, and alloys into reactors and inscribed arrays that gathered their heat in a central chamber.
  • Li Xingkong replaced the electricity conversion array with a Spatial Beacon that would transmit the chamber’s heat into an External Core.
  • Li Xingkong inscribed the modified array in the heat chamber and tossed a Space Pellet inside to create the External Core.

Ch. 420Endless Uses

Li Xingkong completed a lunar nuclear plant and discovered that its External Core continuously strengthened his cultivation. Before entering seclusion until Foundation Establishment Perfection, he arranged Foundation Establishment methods for the Divine Land and informed his family.

  • Li Xingkong completed the nuclear power plant on the moon and started its reactor, activating the External Core.
  • Li Xingkong found that the External Core’s heat accelerated his Qi circulation and continuously strengthened his Divine Sense, and he considered its other uses.
  • Li Xingkong planned to provide Foundation Establishment methods to the Divine Land before pursuing Golden Core and the Physical Body Tribulation.
  • Li Xingkong obtained several Foundation Establishment methods, recorded them on materials, and asked Zhang Yumeng to collect them from the warehouse.
  • Li Xingkong informed his parents, built a secluded cultivation house beside the plant, and entered it to cultivate until Foundation Establishment Perfection.

Ch. 421Accelerating Cultivation

Li Xingkong cultivated without access to Spiritual Qi, adapting to rely on his Divine Sense before using the External Core to accelerate the seventh round of the Heavenly Evolution Foundation Establishment Method. After his Divine Sense expanded to nearly 4,000 kilometers, he rested briefly and began the next stage, which would take about two and a half years with the External Core.

  • Li Xingkong secluded himself beyond the Earth Vein's reach and spent nearly a month adapting to cultivation without Spiritual Qi.
  • Li Xingkong activated the External Core and doubled his Divine Sense growth rate, cutting the seventh round's expected duration from 128 weeks to 64.
  • Li Xingkong completed the seventh round and expanded his Divine Sense from just over 1,000 kilometers to nearly 4,000 kilometers.
  • Li Xingkong rested for a few days, then began the next stage of cultivation, which the External Core would shorten from five years to two and a half.

Ch. 422Divine Sense Out of Control

While cultivating on the moon, Li Xingkong struggled to control his rapidly growing Divine Sense and used a system-provided method to train it by writing with it. His enormous character for “Human” spread information across Divine Land, and the chapter ended with people and animals changing under its influence.

  • Li Xingkong’s Divine Sense grew rapidly but became difficult to control, causing destructive effects whenever he used his senses.
  • Li Xingkong asked the system for a way to improve his control, and it taught him to trace knowledge patterns with his Divine Sense.
  • Li Xingkong spread his Divine Sense across the near side of the moon and repeatedly wrote the character “Human” until it became clear.
  • People on Earth Star who saw the moon heard and understood a passage describing humans, prompting Divine Land authorities to investigate its lunar source.
  • Divine Land’s investigation found that people of other races and animals exposed to Li Xingkong’s writing were changing toward a humanlike form and mind.

Ch. 423Pollution

Li Xingkong’s writing on the moon gradually altered the minds and bodies of people and animals exposed to it, an effect Divine Land named the Source of Pollution. Divine Land accepted the transformed beings as citizens and struggled to manage the growing changes while Li Xingkong remained in seclusion.

  • Li Xingkong continued training his Divine Sense, unaware that his lunar cultivation was affecting Earth Star.
  • People outside Divine Land who looked at the moon began adopting the mindset of Divine Land natives, prompting authorities to warn them to stay indoors at night.
  • Two years later, the moon’s influence began changing people’s genetics and bodies, making those affected physically indistinguishable from people of Divine Land.
  • Animals exposed to moonlight developed bizarre humanlike traits, and a human-headed dog arrived at the Cultivation Technique Bureau seeking help.
  • Mutated animals organized online and demanded recognition, while Divine Land moved unaffected species away from the moonlight and debated how to handle those already transformed.
  • Divine Land decided to accept the affected beings as citizens and use the word “yao” for their race, since Li Xingkong’s influence could not be stopped and the country needed people.

Ch. 424Regaining Control

The Divine Land responded to the widespread animal transformation caused by Li Xingkong’s cultivation by organizing research and warning the world about an abnormal change on the moon. Li Xingkong finished a round of cultivation with a Divine Sense spanning fourteen thousand kilometers, enough to cover Earth Star from its surface.

  • Officials in the Earthly Capital discussed the transformation’s effects and the strain it placed on government departments.
  • Old Tang introduced Calico Cat as a new colleague and lead researcher for the transformation experiment at the Earthly Capital Research Institute.
  • Diplomats in the Divine Land broadcast a worldwide warning not to look at the moon, prompting some countries to plan launches despite the warning.
  • Li Xingkong completed a round of cultivation, bringing his Divine Sense to a halt in growth so he could focus on controlling it.
  • Li Xingkong’s Divine Sense reached a range of fourteen thousand kilometers, enough to envelop Earth Star from its surface.

Ch. 425Studying Formations

After mastering his expanded Divine Sense, Li Xingkong tested its far-reaching abilities and realized he might be able to meet the system’s Foundation Establishment assessment by building a planet-spanning formation. He began studying advanced formation theory, leaving his cultivation focused on the knowledge needed to control Earth Star’s weather.

  • Li Xingkong rested after gaining control of his Divine Sense, then tested its range and discovered it could cover the moon and manipulate objects within that area.
  • Li Xingkong assessed his cultivation and concluded that his Divine Sense was near its physical limit, while his strength had reached Late Foundation Establishment.
  • Li Xingkong considered the system’s requirement that he gain complete control over Earth Star and decided a vast formation would be more practical than manipulating the weather himself.
  • Li Xingkong obtained advanced formation texts from the system and absorbed a mountain of theoretical knowledge.
  • Li Xingkong began studying, reflecting that his cultivation demanded constant effort and offered him few shortcuts.
Arc 17 of 38
Arc 17 of 38