Recaps

Wang Hu and Taowu Squad fought the Weeping Cypress Demon, but the fifth-tier tree creature overwhelmed their attacks. After hurling Wang Hu away, it turned its branches on Shi Ruiyuan and his teammates, leaving Shi Ruiyuan facing an incoming strike.

• Wang Hu dodged the Weeping Cypress Demon's wooden spikes and branches, then continued attacking despite his shallow wounds.
• Shi Ruiyuan and the others supported Wang Hu, with Huang Jun using Flowing Wind to boost his speed and Li Liang illuminating the battlefield.
• The Weeping Cypress Demon changed its branch strikes, used supple force to fling Wang Hu toward the battlefield's edge, and immediately targeted the squad.
• Shi Ruiyuan raised a Rock Barrier, but the demon's wooden spikes pierced and shattered it while his teammates tried to distract the creature.
• A branch sprang up from the ground toward Shi Ruiyuan, who barely had time to turn aside before it reached him.

Shen Heng arrived as Wang Hu retreated from the Weeping Cypress Demon, and the inspectors joined him in confronting it head-on. Elsewhere, Lin Zhaoran killed a group of ambushing Calamity Beasts but faced nearly forty more, including three especially dangerous ones.

• Shen Heng and his teammates reached Shi Ruiyuan, who warned them that the Weeping Cypress Demon’s attacks and defenses were beyond an ordinary Fourth Tier.
• Wang Hu withdrew to the group after enduring the demon’s attacks with only minor injuries, while Shen Heng admitted they had no special method to overcome its defenses.
• The Weeping Cypress Demon charged at Shen Heng and the inspectors, and Wang Hu led the group in attacking it head-on.
• Shi Ruiyuan rallied himself and Huang Jun to join the fight, repeating Shen Heng’s order to kill the demon head-on.
• Lin Zhaoran froze and killed more than a dozen ambushing Calamity Beasts, then faced nearly forty remaining enemies, including a yellow-furred beast, a rock-armored mandrill, and a shadow blade bat.

Lin Zhaoran’s squad fought the Calamity Beasts while Gu Lingxuan’s attack helped Cao Mingyu kill a fourth-tier beast in the main battle. As three squads continued wearing down the Weeping Cypress Demon, Shen Heng understood its order for all Calamity Beasts to gather at its location.

• Lin Zhaoran assigned her teammates to hold off the fourth-tier Calamity Beasts while Li Rui and Zhao Feng dealt with the other beasts.
• Lin Zhaoran escaped the Rock-Armored Mandrill’s bite with a water-and-ice retreat and tossed an object into its mouth.
• Gu Lingxuan used Pressure Collapse to slow three fourth-tier beasts and kill or cripple many lower-tier beasts.
• Cao Mingyu used Tyrant Spear: Mountain Breaker to pierce one of the slowed beasts beneath its throat.
• Shen Heng heard the Weeping Cypress Demon order all Calamity Beasts to converge on it.

As the battle against the Weeping Cypress Demon continued, Shen Heng realized it was preparing to flee and warned the team that they had to kill it before it could reunite with the other Calamity Beasts. He laid out a coordinated forced-kill plan, assigning the team members roles to destabilize, deceive, and strike the demon.

• The Weeping Cypress Demon angrily called for the other Calamity Beasts, then cursed them when none came to help.
• Shen Heng intercepted the demon's thoughts and realized it was about to flee, so he warned the team to prepare for a forced kill.
• Liang Yanhao and Wang Hu questioned whether they could kill the demon before it escaped, and Shen Heng said they would repeatedly attack the same wound.
• Shen Heng told Shi Ruiyuan to use all his Origin Power to raise a stone pillar beneath the demon and throw it off balance, and instructed him to replenish his power with Origin Crystals.
• Shen Heng assigned Lin Xiao to create an illusion after the demon lost its balance, then planned to use sound waves to make it lose consciousness before Zhou Xuan called on Mother of Lightning to attack with lightning.

Shen Heng coordinated an attack on the Weeping Cypress Demon, but the team’s control faltered when the wounded demon launched a desperate counterattack. As Liang Yanhao struggled to reach it, the battlefield fell silent after Shen Heng raised his hand.

• Shen Heng assigned Han Ling to target existing wounds, Wang Hu to follow up, Liang Yanhao to deliver the finishing blow, and the control team to keep restraining the demon.
• Shi Ruiyuan raised stone pillars beneath the Weeping Cypress Demon’s tendrils, while Lin Xiao and Zhou Xuan slowed and paralyzed it with control attacks.
• Han Ling struck a wound, and Wang Hu followed with a Fivefold Force Tiger Claw that dug into the demon before a branch knocked him away.
• The Weeping Cypress Demon recovered and lashed out wildly, preventing Liang Yanhao from reaching it as Zhou Xuan and Lin Xiao ran low on Origin Power.
• Shi Ruiyuan saw Shen Heng step forward and raise his hand, and the battlefield suddenly fell silent.

After Liang Yanhao struck the Weeping Cypress Demon’s exposed wound, the demon fell, and its anguished howl prompted Calamity Beasts across the battlefields to withdraw. Shen Heng ordered the squads to gather crystals and valuable materials before regrouping, while Wang Hu asked how they would transport the Weeping Cypress Demon’s remains.

• A figure threw what he was holding, and the Weeping Cypress Demon paused as its branches continued to swing.
• Liang Yanhao rushed to the demon’s exposed wound and struck it with his flame-wreathed saber, killing it as Shen Heng let its howl carry outward.
• Lin Zhaoran’s team heard the howl, and the Calamity Beasts disengaged and began leaving the valley.
• Shen Heng ordered all squads to follow the beasts at a distance, collect crystals and valuable materials, then regroup at the next Anchor Point.
• The One-Horned Lizard fled with several crystals, and Wang Hu asked Shen Heng how they would transport the Weeping Cypress Demon’s materials.

After defeating the Weeping Cypress Demon, Shen Heng explained his Torrent of Sound technique and helped distribute the spoils among the teams. As the Seventh Advance Team celebrated its earnings, Han Ling worried that events had been going too smoothly.

• Shen Heng told Zhou Xuan and Wang Hu to keep the Origin Crystals and bury other valuable materials for later retrieval.
• Shen Heng explained that his Torrent of Sound briefly dazed the Weeping Cypress Demon by overwhelming its ears, but creatures could instinctively filter out the sounds and recover.
• A One-Horned Lizard fled through the forest with several crystals, planning to claim a reward and fake injuries to avoid punishment.
• Shen Heng discussed the spoils with the team captains, and the Seventh Advance Team members received about one Fourth Tier Origin Crystal each.
• Han Ling told Shen Heng that things had been going a little too smoothly lately.

Shen Heng explained why the team had faced relatively few Calamity Beasts and how their forces were distributed across resource sites and Anchor Points. After destroying ten Anchor Points in half a month, the team reached the next one, where Shen Heng wondered why the Calamity Beasts had not strengthened their defenses.

• Shen Heng compared the team to the ancient Xiongnu, explaining that the Calamity Beasts had too much territory to defend and could not concentrate their forces everywhere.
• Shen Heng explained that resource sites held mostly low-tier Calamity Beasts, while Anchor Points were guarded by more powerful ones, and that three crystal-supplying locations had much larger forces.
• Zhou Xuan asked whether the team could destroy all the Anchor Points, and Shen Heng said they could if they acted before the Calamity Beasts reacted.
• Over nearly half a month, Shen Heng's team destroyed ten Anchor Points and traveled to the next one, leaving only two of the twelve they had found.
• Shen Heng observed that the defenses at the current Anchor Point had not grown stronger and wondered why the Calamity Beasts had not responded to the attacks.

Shen Heng realized the Calamity Beasts might be watching the inspectors from beyond his fifty-kilometer detection range, using signals from the Anchor Points to track their attacks. The group decided to continue their plan despite the risk, until someone objected.

• Shen Heng explained that the Calamity Beasts had not reinforced the Anchor Points, and the inspectors debated why.
• After hearing that no threats were within Shen Heng’s detection range, Shen Heng reasoned that Calamity Beasts might be waiting more than fifty kilometers away between the last two Anchor Points.
• Shen Heng suggested the Calamity Beasts could use a signal fired into the sky to notice when an Anchor Point was attacked.
• The inspectors argued over whether to advance, and Wang Hu urged them not to retreat based on speculation.
• Several inspectors supported continuing the plan while watching for a signal, but an unnamed person objected.

Liang Yanhao argued against risking the team to destroy the Anchor Point, while others debated whether the danger was worth facing. Away from the argument, Han Ling and Gu Lingxuan discussed the likely threat and left the decision to Shen Heng.

• Liang Yanhao urged the team not to approach the Anchor Point because a Calamity Beast might be waiting nearby.
• Team members argued over whether they could destroy the Anchor Point and intercept any signal before the Calamity Beast arrived.
• Han Ling left the arguing crowd, and Gu Lingxuan joined her at the perimeter.
• Han Ling told Gu Lingxuan that the Calamity Beasts had probably taken countermeasures and that the mission would likely be dangerous.
• Han Ling said the decision should ultimately be Shen Heng's, explaining that she trusted him after four years as his teammate.

The inspectors debated whether to attack a Calamity Beast anchor point, and Shen Heng proposed a different target based on how the beasts would respond. The chapter ended before he named that target.

• Wang Hu argued that the inspectors should take the risk of attacking, while Liang Yanhao urged them to abandon the operation because its costs outweighed its likely impact.
• Wang Hu called for a vote after neither man could persuade the other.
• Three squads voted to attack, four voted against, and Shen Heng's squad had not yet chosen.
• Shen Heng said his squad would attack, but not the current anchor point.
• Shen Heng reasoned that the Calamity Beasts would likely respond by transferring a nearby beast, and Wang Hu and Liang Yanhao realized what that implied.

Shen Heng led the group to the Eye of Earth Marrow, where they found a formidable force of Calamity Beasts still guarding the crystal source. As the group argued over whether to attack, Shen Heng proposed sneaking underground to plant explosives near its core and retreat.

• Shen Heng argued that the group should target the Calamity Beasts’ source, and showed a map indicating a nearby Eye of Earth Marrow.
• Two days later, the group scouted the Eye of Earth Marrow and Shen Heng counted roughly 2,200 Calamity Beasts, including one early fifth-tier beast.
• Liang Yanhao opposed attacking because the remaining beasts outnumbered the group, while Wang Hu argued they could advance underground and fight only a few at a time.
• Shen Heng proposed sneaking underground to the Eye of Earth Marrow’s core, planting explosives, and retreating.

Shen Heng argued that the inspectors should risk entering the underground to destroy the Eye of Earth Marrow, despite Liang Yanhao’s concerns about casualties and Calamity Beasts. He reminded them that they were the first line of defense and that delaying could leave Blue Star facing a full invasion in only a few years.

• Zhou Xuan warned that leaving underground could be dangerous if the fifth-tier Calamity Beast interfered, and said killing it would be best if possible.
• Liang Yanhao opposed the plan, arguing that fighting among the many ordinary Calamity Beasts could bog down the inspectors and cause heavy losses.
• Wang Hu challenged Liang Yanhao, and the group considered putting the decision to a vote.
• Shen Heng acknowledged that the risks Liang Yanhao raised were reasonable, then argued that common sense could not guide them against an accelerating invasion by the Ruins Realm.
• Shen Heng urged the inspectors to act while they still had the opportunity, warning that otherwise they might soon watch Calamity Beasts attack ordinary people and regret not acting.

A Rock Beast discovered Shen Heng and Zhou Xuan’s group moving through the underground tunnels and alerted the Scalearmor Lizard. The humans hurried toward the Crystal Melting Zone as the Scalearmor Lizard ordered the Calamity Beasts to gather there and notify Lord Feather Owl.

• The Rock Beast sent the Digging Weasel to investigate underground movement, then realized the humans were approaching and shouted an alarm.
• Shen Heng told Zhou Xuan and the others that they had been discovered, and the group ran toward the Crystal Melting Zone.
• The Rock Beast reported the underground attack to the Scalearmor Lizard, who learned that more than forty humans were heading for the Crystal Melting Zone.
• The Scalearmor Lizard ordered a messenger to summon the Calamity Beasts and send the Gray-Winged Sparrow to inform Lord Feather Owl.
• At the bottom of the Eye of Earth Marrow, the Earth Wolf scolded the Calamity Beasts working to produce crystals and wondered about the commotion above.

Human forces entered the Crystal Melting Zone, where Shen Heng used his voice to rout the Calamity Beasts and kill their overseers. He divided his squad to guard the passages and led Zheng Guomin toward the last one, ordering everyone to hold off the stronger, more numerous beasts.

• Earth Wolf ordered the Calamity Beasts to keep working, but humans emerged through the rock wall and killed it before it could raise the alarm.
• Fourth-tier Calamity Beast overseers rallied hundreds of beasts to charge the humans.
• Shen Heng shouted “Scram!”, frightening the charging beasts into fleeing through the passages.
• A fourth-tier overseer killed several fleeing beasts to stop them, but the humans killed the overseers in under a minute.
• Shen Heng assigned the Taowu Squad, Deep Blue Squad, Wang Hu, and Liang Yanhao to guard the passages, then led Zheng Guomin toward the remaining passage and told the group to hold the beasts off.

Wang Hu and Liang Yanhao confronted an early fifth-tier Scalearmor Lizard and decided to try killing it instead of merely holding it off. While Zhou Xuan and the demolition team worked to destroy the Eye of Earth Marrow, Shen Heng assessed his dwindling strength and considered going to support the other fighters.

• Wang Hu proposed killing the Scalearmor Lizard, and Liang Yanhao agreed to try as the beast charged toward them.
• Zhou Xuan recovered Origin Power after using much of it to transport more than forty people underground and maintain their passage.
• Qin Yu and the demolition team planted bursting bombs around the Crystal Melting Zone, while Zhou Xuan worried that their remaining supply might not be enough to destroy the Eye of Earth Marrow.
• Zhou Xuan heard terrified voices from another passage and worried about Shen Heng and Old Zheng as the team quickened its demolition work.
• Shen Heng faced several Calamity Beasts after using Fear Invasion and considered going to support the other fighters despite having only about thirty percent of his Origin Power left.

Shen Heng planned with Zheng Guomin to lure a Shadow Nightmare Leopard into position and exploit a chance to strike, while the Calamity Beasts debated how to respond. The beasts spotted Shen Heng charging toward them.

• Shen Heng took responsibility for the battle's problems and asked Zheng Guomin to help draw a Shadow Nightmare Leopard away.
• Shen Heng told Zheng Guomin to feign focus on his own fight, endure attacks if needed, and intervene when a leopard tried to ambush him.
• The injured Shadow Nightmare Leopard and its larger brother decided to keep Shen Heng and Zheng Guomin occupied, while the Bloodclaw Jackal questioned their plan.
• The larger Shadow Nightmare Leopard warned the others as Shen Heng charged toward them.

Shen Heng and Zheng Guomin fought the Bloodclaw Jackal and two Shadow Nightmare Leopards, then Shen Heng changed their approach as the battle shifted. Elsewhere, Wang Hu and Liang Yanhao struggled to break through the Scalearmor Lizard’s defenses.

• Shen Heng charged the three Calamity Beasts, while the Bloodclaw Jackal tried to flank him and the larger Shadow Nightmare Leopard hurled a huge clod of earth at them.
• Shen Heng and Zheng Guomin drew the two Shadow Nightmare Leopards toward the battlefield where Zheng Guomin was fighting the Bloodclaw Jackal.
• Zheng Guomin wounded the Bloodclaw Jackal, and Shen Heng joined their fight before telling Zheng Guomin they were changing their approach.
• The Scalearmor Lizard knocked Wang Hu into a wall and extinguished his flames with an Origin Power attack.
• Liang Yanhao urged Wang Hu to fight harder, and Wang Hu suggested concentrating their attacks on the Scalearmor Lizard.

Qi Yue and Cao Mingyu fought a horde of Calamity Beasts while Zheng Guomin drew the Shadow Nightmare Leopard and Bloodclaw Jackal into a trap. The chapter ended as Zheng Guomin unleashed a fourfold vibrating blade strike at the charging Bloodclaw Jackal.

• Qi Yue used metal threads to injure the charging Calamity Beasts, and Cao Mingyu struck a Scythe Mantis that broke through his net.
• Qi Yue worried about the other fighters as he and Cao Mingyu prepared to face the remaining beasts.
• The smaller Shadow Nightmare Leopard attacked Zheng Guomin alongside the Bloodclaw Jackal, but Zheng grabbed its leg and held on despite its blows.
• The Shadow Nightmare Leopard expected the Bloodclaw Jackal and its big brother to rescue it, but Zheng stopped to face the Jackal’s attack.
• Zheng Guomin used Fivefold Force · Vibrating Blade · Fourfold against the charging Bloodclaw Jackal.

Shen Heng and Zheng Guomin drove off two Shadow Nightmare Leopards but had to decide whether to reinforce the other passages or guard against the beasts’ return. Shen Heng left Zheng Guomin to hold their passage and ran to help, while Lin Yang and Chu Yu struggled to last until the explosives were ready.

• Zheng Guomin killed the jackal-headed beast, and he and Shen Heng fought off the Shadow Nightmare Leopards, which fled with the remaining Calamity Beasts.
• Shen Heng decided Zheng Guomin should guard their passage while he went to reinforce the others, warning him that the leopards might return.
• Shen Heng ran toward the Crystal Melting Zone and learned from Qin Yu that the team needed about fifteen more minutes to finish placing explosives.
• Lin Yang told Chu Yu that his Origin Power was running low and he could hold out for only seven or eight more minutes.
• A voice sounded beside Lin Yang, and the tide of low-tier Calamity Beasts began retreating; Lin Yang and Chu Yu resumed their attacks.

Wu Hao and Liu Yue struggled to hold back the Calamity Beasts after losing a teammate, but Liu Yue fell to Rotfang and Wu Hao nearly died trying to protect him. Shen Heng arrived and stabilized the battle, prompting Wu Hao to ask whether their sacrifice really meant so much.

• Wu Hao fought off the Calamity Beasts while Liu Yue, badly wounded, continued fighting beside him.
• Rotfang ambushed Liu Yue and crushed his shoulder, but Liu Yue stabbed the beast in the eye before collapsing.
• Wu Hao tried to protect Liu Yue, but Zhao Gang urged him to put Liu Yue down so they could keep fighting; the beasts then devoured Liu Yue's corpse.
• Wu Hao and Zhao Gang lost ground and suffered more wounds as the remaining Calamity Beasts pressed their attack.
• Shen Heng arrived, cut down several beasts, and halted the advance; Wu Hao asked whether it really meant that much.

Shen Heng regrouped the injured inspectors at the Eye of Earth Marrow’s Crystal Melting Zone after their plan drew the Calamity Beasts into a standoff. He investigated how the crystals formed, but learned that the living branches had suddenly died, leaving their harvesting method unclear.

• Shi Ruiyuan reinforced a rock wall to separate the fourth-tier Calamity Beasts, then led his teammates to regroup at the Crystal Melting Zone after receiving orders over the team channel.
• Shi Ruiyuan saw many injured inspectors and missing teammates as the pursuing Calamity Beasts stopped at the crowded zone.
• Shen Heng arrived with Zheng Guomin, Zhou Xuan, and Qin Yu, checked Zheng Guomin’s injuries, and inspected the soil and branches Zhou Xuan had collected for the Research Department.
• Shen Heng explained that Calamity Beasts compressed energy around the Eye of Earth Marrow and that branches condensed it into crude crystals before a central pit refined them.
• Zhou Xuan told Shen Heng that the branches died whenever he separated them from the main branch, and Zheng Guomin and Qin Yu reacted with concern.

Shen Heng led the inspectors out of the Crystal Melting Zone after they discovered the branch was dying and counted eleven casualties. He used a stone wall and deception to help the group escape the Fourth Tier beasts and the Scalearmor Lizard, then explained how he had prevented it from pursuing them.

• Zhou Xuan suspected that taking pieces from the branch had accelerated its death, and Shen Heng decided its destruction was unavoidable.
• Shen Heng counted thirty-one inspectors present and ordered everyone to withdraw, leaving eleven of the forty-four who had entered the Eye of Earth Marrow unaccounted for.
• Shen Heng told Shi Ruiyuan to use his remaining Origin Power to raise a wall that blocked the Calamity Beasts behind them.
• The group reached Wang Hu and Liang Yanhao, who were fighting the Scalearmor Lizard, and Shen Heng signaled Zhou Xuan to open a way through the rock wall.
• Shen Heng spoke with the Scalearmor Lizard, convincing it to stay behind while the inspectors withdrew.
• Wang Hu asked how Shen Heng had stopped the Scalearmor Lizard from pursuing them, and Shen Heng explained his deception.

Han Ling rejoined Shen Heng’s group after killing Calamity Beasts trying to carry news from the Eye of Earth Marrow, where eleven inspectors had died. Shen Heng refused to say whether the operation’s results justified the losses, while the Scalearmor Lizard realized the returning beast tide meant it had been tricked.

• Han Ling told Shen Heng she had killed every Calamity Beast attempting to relay news, though a group led by a fourth tier Calamity Beast had wounded her.
• Han Ling asked whether the missing inspectors had died, and Shen Heng confirmed they had, without their bodies being recovered.
• Lin Yang asked whether the operation had achieved its purpose, and Shen Heng said it had a considerable effect but could not say whether that justified the deaths.
• Cao Mingyu questioned Shen Heng’s grim response, while Qi Yue explained that facing the reality of their losses could help the survivors grow; Gu Lingxuan reflected that the world was cruel.
• The Scalearmor Lizard encountered hundreds of Calamity Beasts returning from ahead and realized it had been tricked into leaving them behind.

One-Horned Lizard followed Feather Owl and a barbed-tail Calamity Beast up to the Lion King’s palace, where he learned that a Nordrassil sapling and the Eye of Earth Marrow had been destroyed. The Lion King accepted responsibility for approving the plan and revealed that he had not expected the humans to reach Feather Owl’s territory.

• Scalearmor Lizard and the other beasts heard a rumble that shook their passage near the Crystal Melting Zone.
• One-Horned Lizard followed Feather Owl and a barbed-tail Calamity Beast up a mountain road to a vast white palace.
• Feather Owl and the two Calamity Beasts knelt before the Lion King, who asked whether the Eye of Earth Marrow had been destroyed.
• Feather Owl admitted that the Eye’s destruction had killed a Nordrassil sapling and left the Eye unable to be repaired for some time, then asked the Lion King to grant him death.
• The Lion King dismissed Feather Owl’s request, saying he had approved the plan and had not expected the humans to go to Feather Owl’s territory.