Recaps

While Zhou Zhenguo and Li Boyuan worried about the Calamity Beasts’ unknown plan, Shen Heng tracked their movements across the Plateau Erosion Zone. He found that the beasts’ paths converged toward the Light Gate connected to Blue Star.

• Zhou Zhenguo and Li Boyuan reviewed the teams’ reports but found no clear clues about the Calamity Beasts’ objective.
• Li Boyuan asked what might happen if they failed to stop the plan, and Zhou Zhenguo feared it could cost tens of thousands of lives or more.
• Zhou Zhenguo recalled Shen Heng’s idea to infer the beasts’ objective by studying their movements rather than trusting their words.
• Shen Heng listened to Calamity Beasts moving across a two-hundred-kilometer radius and plotted their movements on a map in his mind.
• Shen Heng saw that the beasts’ paths generally pointed toward the Light Gate connected to Blue Star.

Zhao Yuan, Chen Zhuo, and Xiao Yu returned to Shuofang City and reported that Calamity Beasts might be planning to cut the supply lines to two nearby cities. Han Ling revealed that the city had already noticed unusual Calamity Beast activity because nearly twenty hunting teams had returned early, and she took them to brief Zhou Zhenguo in the war room.

• Zhao Yuan, Chen Zhuo, and Xiao Yu returned to Shuofang City after traveling through the Erosion Zone without a scout.
• Zhao Yuan told Han Ling that a fifth-tier Calamity Beast had claimed the Calamity Beasts were trying to cut the supply lines to two cities, and explained that Xu Yu had gone to investigate further.
• Han Ling contacted Zhou Zhenguo, who ordered her to bring the group to the war room.
• On the way, Xiao Yu asked why Han Ling had not been surprised, and she explained that the city already knew Calamity Beasts were moving unusually but did not know their objective.
• Han Ling said nearly twenty teams had returned early and reported encountering more Calamity Beasts than usual, prompting the city to recognize the anomaly.

Xiao Yu and his squad learned that Captain Shen had independently investigated the Calamity Beasts’ unusual movements. At a war-room meeting, Shen presented a map of their movements that suggested he had deduced their likely destination, though the conclusion was not yet confirmed.

• Han Ling told Xiao Yu, Chen Zhuo, and Zhao Yuan that the Calamity Beasts’ abnormal behavior was already known, but their intelligence could still help explain its cause.
• Han Ling said Shen Heng had gone deeper into the Erosion Zone to investigate the Calamity Beasts.
• Zhao Yuan and the others joined Zhou Zhenguo and Shen Heng for an operational meeting about their uncertain intelligence.
• Shen Heng asked Ringing Sound to project a map showing the Calamity Beasts’ movements, then explained that he had tracked their actions with his ability.
• Xiao Yu realized Shen Heng had inferred a likely destination from the beasts’ trajectories, and wondered whether his squad’s reconnaissance had been pointless.

At a conference, Shen Heng analyzed why large numbers of Calamity Beasts were moving toward the base and concluded they were most likely preparing to attack. The officers wondered what new condition had prompted the attack now.

• Shen Heng confirmed that the Calamity Beasts’ movement paths pointed toward the base, prompting officers to discuss a possible blockade.
• Shen Heng explained that the distance between the Light Gates would make a blockade difficult to maintain and judged that possibility unlikely.
• Shen Heng considered the base, the nearby cities, and unknown targets inside the Erosion Zone, then concluded the base was the most likely target and that the Calamity Beasts intended to attack.
• Li Boyuan asked why the Calamity Beasts had waited until now to attack, and Shen Heng suggested that some condition had been met.

Shen Heng warned that the Calamity Beasts might have gained a way to neutralize nuclear weapons and were preparing to attack the base. Zhou Zhenguo ordered Shen Heng to investigate an unknown site and destroy it if it was clear of sixth-tier beasts, while troops moved toward a nearby anchor point and scouts headed for the base.

• Li Boyuan concluded that the Calamity Beasts might be able to stop nuclear bombs or make them ineffective, prompting alarm in the meeting room.
• Shen Heng argued that the beasts’ unexplained withdrawal after the earlier capture of a sixth-tier beast suggested they had been waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.
• The officers debated sending reinforcements, but Zhou Zhenguo said they could not overwhelm the sixth-tier Calamity Beasts needed to confront the Daoist priest at the base.
• Shen Heng identified two Eyes of Earth Marrow and an unexplained site as possible targets, but Zhou Zhenguo ordered him to investigate and destroy the unexplained site if no sixth-tier beasts were present.
• Zhou Zhenguo ordered troops to approach the nearest anchor point, scouts to check it first, and others to head toward the base with the news.

Shen Heng and the others prepared for an operation against the Calamity Beasts, even though they believed the beasts’ plan would probably succeed. He chose to pursue a slim chance of stopping them and then waited for the final adjustments to a nuclear bomb.

• After the meeting, soldiers hurried through the city to carry out the orders, and Shen Heng cautioned Zheng Guomin, Wu Hao, and Han Ling to stay safe.
• Zheng Guomin and Wu Hao took Han Ling down the left fork while Shen Heng remained with Qin Yu.
• Qin Yu questioned why they were proceeding with the operation instead of scattering and hiding, and Shen Heng said he wanted to seize even a possibly nonexistent chance of a turnaround.
• Shen Heng and Qin Yu headed onward because the Sixth Tier Calamity Beasts might already be moving.
• At an enormous steel building, Shen Heng learned that the nuclear bomb needed about ten more minutes of final adjustments before it could be manually or remotely timed for detonation.

Shen Heng stored the prepared nuclear bomb while Xu Yu and Lu Ning continued investigating the Calamity Beasts’ mission. A powerful sixth-tier Calamity Beast swept across the Erosion Zone, and the base’s warning lights began flashing red.

• Shen Heng listened to the technicians’ safety instructions, stored the nuclear bomb in his storage space, and left with Qin Yu.
• Xu Yu and Lu Ning planned to seek out a powerful Calamity Beast when they reached their destination and investigate its mission.
• Lu Ning sensed a threat and urged Xu Yu to hide; they concealed themselves as an overwhelmingly powerful sixth-tier Calamity Beast passed overhead.
• Captain Zhao’s squad and other groups saw the enormous figure flying through the sky, but it ignored them.
• A figure in the base’s training room opened his eyes as red warning lights began flashing throughout the base.

Zhang Weijun assessed the Calamity Beasts’ approaching attack as three Sixth Tier threats gathered outside the base, while the command staff considered how to defend themselves. The chapter left the danger unresolved when a new target with a high concentration of Origin Power appeared to the northeast.

• Zhang Weijun entered the command center and learned that two more Sixth Tier Calamity Beasts were approaching the one already outside the city.
• An officer reported that only a small number of lower-tier Calamity Beasts had appeared and that they were moving slowly and without coordination.
• Zhang Weijun warned the command staff to prepare for an attack unlike the Calamity Beasts’ previous assaults.
• Officers debated whether to use nuclear bombs, but Zhang Weijun knew a strict prohibition barred destroying the Erosion Zone because of the consequences for Blue Star.
• A female soldier reported a suspected new target with a high concentration of Origin Power to the northeast, and officers ordered teams to confirm it.

As a fourth sixth-tier Calamity Beast approached, Zhang Weijun ordered the base to evacuate the Erosion Zone rather than risk losing the soldiers. Lin Wei and the martial arts students learned they had to withdraw, while someone nearby angrily questioned what would happen to those still outside.

• The radar and reconnaissance teams confirmed that a fourth Calamity Beast was approaching at about 200 meters per second, and Zhang Weijun feared it might be mid- or late-sixth tier.
• Li Daoyi advised evacuating because the soldiers could not withstand four sixth-tier beasts, and another voice agreed that surviving troops could return later.
• Zhang Weijun ordered the soldiers to withdraw from the Erosion Zone and directed personnel to warn Shuofang City and North-Pacifying City.
• Lin Wei and the martial arts students heard the evacuation announcement, and their instructor confirmed that they also had to leave immediately.
• An unidentified person angrily demanded to know what would happen to everyone still outside.

As Lin Wei and the martial arts students evacuated toward the Light Gate, she overheard soldiers objecting to the retreat and saw missiles launched beyond the city. At the command center, Zhang Weijun realized the nuclear strikes had not exploded and suspected the Calamity Beasts had found a way to counter them.

• Lin Wei overheard Han Shuo protest the retreat because Zeyu and other soldiers remained outside, but he ultimately obeyed orders.
• Lin Wei followed her group toward the Light Gate as missiles streaked out of the city.
• The evacuation staff organized the units at the Light Gate, and Lin Wei's instructor arranged for the students to wait their turn.
• Zhang Weijun and the generals saw no explosions on the projected view and debated whether the nuclear weapons had misfired.
• Zhang Weijun concluded that the Calamity Beasts had probably worked out how to counter nuclear bombs.

As the base evacuated ahead of an attack by sixth-tier Calamity Beasts, Li Daoyi refused to leave before the soldiers and chose to hold the enemy off. His divination gave a dire omen as he walked out to face the coming battle.

• After learning that nuclear weapons had been neutralized, Zhang Weijun ordered every available resource devoted to evacuation.
• Li Daoyi sensed something had vanished from the surrounding space and wondered if a Calamity Beast ability or relic was responsible.
• Zhang Weijun urged Li Daoyi to withdraw and said he had requested Lieutenant General Jiang Xingwei’s help, but Li Daoyi refused to leave before the soldiers.
• Li Daoyi insisted he would hold off the Calamity Beasts until the evacuation was complete, despite Zhang Weijun warning that sixty thousand people would take hours to evacuate.
• Li Daoyi ended the call, read a dire omen from scattered copper coins, and walked out to face the threat.

Shen Heng and Qin Yu surveyed the heavily guarded Mountain of Truth and concluded that its summit hall was their target, but its defenders made an attack seem impossible. Qin Yu proposed drawing away the early sixth-tier Bronze Skull Beast by imitating a sixth-tier aura, and Shen Heng watched her demonstrate the transformation.

• Shen Heng observed the Mountain of Truth, its summit hall, and the Calamity Beasts guarding it.
• Shen Heng estimated that the mountain held more than a dozen fifth-tier Calamity Beasts and an early sixth-tier Bronze Skull Beast.
• Shen Heng considered abandoning the mission because he and Qin Yu could not overcome the mountain's defenses.
• Qin Yu offered to lure away the Bronze Skull Beast by using Environmental Assimilation to imitate a sixth-tier aura.
• Qin Yu produced an aura that seemed to Shen Heng to be early sixth tier, surprising him.

Qin Yu and Shen Heng finalized a plan to lure away the Bronze Skull Beast, destroy the palace with a nuclear bomb, and escape through prepared tunnels. Meanwhile, Li Daoyi confronted the Lion King, learned how the Calamity Beasts had disabled the nuclear bombs, and faced an attack.

• Qin Yu explained how she would lure the Bronze Skull Beast underground and proposed preparing a second tunnel to help Shen Heng escape after detonating the nuclear bomb.
• Shen Heng agreed to Qin Yu’s plan, and she headed down to prepare while he activated the Fluid Battle Armor’s Concealment inscription.
• Li Daoyi approached the Lion King and defended his decision to protect the humans escaping the base.
• The Lion King let Li Daoyi ask one question, and the Profound Crystal Griffin showed him an eyeball that could suppress an element and prevent reactions, disabling the nuclear bombs.
• The eagle-headed Calamity Beast charged Li Daoyi after the Lion King rose, ending his attempt to stall through conversation.

Li Daoyi trapped the Lion King and its allies in White Clouds, Gray Dogs, but the Thunder Falcon found his position and forced him to prepare another technique. Elsewhere, Qin Yu emerged from a pit and set out to lure a Bronze Skull Beast toward it.

• Li Daoyi filled the area with mist that blocked perception, and the Lion King, Feather Owl, and Thunder Falcon searched for him inside it.
• The Lion King rejected dispersing the mist or attacking the human base, while the Thunder Falcon used its electricity to detect Li Daoyi’s movements.
• The Thunder Falcon pinpointed Li Daoyi and lunged toward him, prompting Li Daoyi to form another sword gesture and begin using Clear Void.
• Qin Yu discussed the distance and depth of a pit with the voice in her mind, then surfaced and prepared to lure a Bronze Skull Beast toward it.

The Bronze Skull Beast spotted a sixth-tier human approaching the Mountain of Truth but chose not to chase her, suspecting her arrival might be a trick. When the human took advantage of its restraint to approach the mountainside, it warned her off, but she dove toward the mountain anyway.

• A Calamity Beast warned the Bronze Skull Beast that a sixth-tier human was approaching the Mountain of Truth.
• The human met the Bronze Skull Beast's gaze and retreated, but the beast decided to let her go.
• The human stopped retreating and cautiously approached the mountainside as the Bronze Skull Beast watched.
• The Bronze Skull Beast ordered its subordinates to warn the human not to come closer.
• The human ignored the warning and dove toward the mountainside.

At the Mountain of Truth, the Bronze Skull Beast watched a human hunt Calamity Beasts and tried to deduce why she had come while Lord Lion King was away. Convinced she might be a decoy for a human attack, it ordered the nearby Calamity Beasts to prepare, then set out to confront her.

• The Bronze Skull Beast watched a human kill several fourth-tier Calamity Beasts and collect their Origin Crystals while it held back from intervening.
• A bear-type Calamity Beast asked why the Bronze Skull Beast was letting the human hunt, and the Bronze Skull Beast pointed out that the humans had arrived just as Lord Lion King left.
• The Bronze Skull Beast concluded the humans were too weak to stop Lord Lion King's operation and that the human might be trying to lure it away from the mountain.
• The Bronze Skull Beast ordered the bear-type Calamity Beast to spread out patrols, prepare to hold off a surprise attack, and contact it if anything went wrong.
• After making the bear-type Calamity Beast repeat its instructions, the Bronze Skull Beast prepared to pursue the human without going too far.

The Red Mane Beast watched as a sixth-tier human lured Lord Bronze Skull Beast away from the Mountain of Truth, then heard an explosion on the mountain’s opposite side. Lord Barbarian Bear ordered the Calamity Beasts to respond, and the Red Mane Beast joined them after briefly checking its former position.

• The Red Mane Beast watched the human kill Calamity Beasts while Lord Bronze Skull Beast descended and pursued her away from the mountain.
• The Red Mane Beast stayed near the summit as patrol Calamity Beasts began searching the area.
• An explosion sounded from the opposite side of the Mountain of Truth, and the Calamity Beasts realized the human might have lured Lord Bronze Skull Beast away to enable a surprise attack.
• Lord Barbarian Bear announced that Lord Bronze Skull Beast had anticipated the attack and ordered the Calamity Beasts to confront the humans.
• The Red Mane Beast hesitated, then headed for the other side of the mountain and briefly looked back at the spot it had left.

Li Daoyi fought four Calamity Beasts while Zhang Weijun and the evacuation forces watched from the command center. When Li Daoyi flew back alone, the officers ordered the troops to halt the evacuation and prepare for a Sixth Tier Calamity Beast.

• Li Daoyi dodged the beasts’ lightning and used a fierce wind to sweep the clouds and mist toward them.
• Zhang Weijun said Li Daoyi could likely escape if the humans were not holding him back, while the officers reported that only a quarter of the evacuation was complete.
• A huge crash sounded, and one figure flew out of the clouds toward the command center as the mist stopped pursuing it.
• Zhang Weijun ordered Tianshu to take control of available weapons and equipment and recalled artillery and logistics units to defensive positions.
• An officer at the Light Gate announced that all artillery and logistics units must turn back and prepare to face an approaching Sixth Tier Calamity Beast.

As four Sixth Tier Calamity Beasts approached the base, soldiers turned back to help while Li Daoyi fought three of them and tried to drive the Profound Crystal Griffin away. Meanwhile, Shen Heng reached a vast, strange hall and discovered a warped gateway that appeared to be a portal.

• Soldiers abandoned the evacuation column and returned to the base, while others saluted them as they passed.
• Li Daoyi failed to stop the Profound Crystal Griffin from flying toward the base and assessed the three Calamity Beasts still pursuing him.
• Li Daoyi hurled a mountain peak at his pursuers to buy time, then prepared a stronger wind attack against the Thunder Falcon, Wind-Chasing Beast, and Lion King.
• Shen Heng reached a towering hall and sensed that it held unusual Origin Power.
• Shen Heng saw a warped barrier inside the hall's gateway and suspected it was a portal.

Shen Heng tried to destroy the palace’s distorted portal with a nuclear bomb before the returning Bronze Skull Beast could stop him. A tentacle pulled the bomb inside, and its explosion blasted the world apart as the Barbarian Bear and the other Calamity Beasts charged toward the mountain.

• Shen Heng tested the distorted doorway with Calamity Beast meat and concluded that it was a portal, then weighed how best to destroy the palace.
• Qin Yu warned Shen Heng that the Bronze Skull Beast had realized the deception and was heading back.
• Shen Heng set the nuclear bomb’s countdown and threw it toward the portal, but the bomb became stuck as the doorway began pushing it back out.
• A tentacle appeared inside the doorway, wrapped around the bomb, and dragged it through just before it exploded.
• The Barbarian Bear led the other Calamity Beasts up the mountain and watched a waterlike surface rapidly expand above them.

The Mountain of Truth shattered as slabs reflecting the scenery swept across the Plateau Erosion Zone. Li Daoyi killed the Thunder Falcon but faced the Lion King, until the approaching shards and emerald green made the Lion King realize something unexpected had arrived.

• The Bronze Skull Beast watched the Mountain of Truth burst apart and was struck by a reflecting slab.
• Zhang Weijun learned the base could hold out for only about ten minutes while soldiers fought the dark shadow and evacuees escaped.
• Li Daoyi killed the Thunder Falcon after a fierce battle, then faced the Lion King, who prepared to kill him.
• The Lion King and Li Daoyi saw reflecting slabs sweep toward them and noticed emerald green within them.
• People and Calamity Beasts throughout the Plateau Erosion Zone turned toward the horizon as the shards swept over the region.

Zhao Yonggang joined an emergency briefing after soldiers and Calamity Beasts were inexplicably squeezed out of the Plateau Erosion Zone. The officials reviewed footage of the sudden arrivals and ensuing battle, then asked Zhao Yonggang what he thought as they awaited more intelligence.

• Lü Mingzhe told Zhao Yonggang that soldiers and Calamity Beasts had suddenly been squeezed out of the Plateau Erosion Zone.
• The intelligence department showed officials footage of tens of thousands of humans and Calamity Beasts appearing in midair and falling toward the ground.
• A powerful wind softened their fall, and the displaced humans and Calamity Beasts began fighting after the battle overhead moved away.
• The intelligence department reported that Chief Zhang had sent fighter jets to support Daoist Master Li and that Lieutenant General Jiang Xingwei was nearly there.
• Officials questioned why the figures had appeared and where the other Sixth Tier Calamity Beasts were, then the elderly man asked Zhao Yonggang for his thoughts.

After the Erosion Zone battle, officials considered why everyone had been expelled and learned that a Calamity Beast could no longer enter through the Light Gate. Jiang Xingwei and the injured Li Daoyi went to investigate, while Jiang confirmed that the Lion King had escaped into White Elephant.

• Zhao Yonggang suggested an unexpected event inside the Plateau Erosion Zone had made it unable to contain living creatures, and officials ordered an investigation into what happened.
• The head of the Intelligence Department reported that an expelled Calamity Beast had failed to re-enter the Erosion Zone through the Light Gate.
• Jiang Xingwei and Cao Yiyi found Li Daoyi trying to leave despite his serious injuries, and Jiang agreed to support him as he went to investigate the Light Gate.
• Li Daoyi met Gu Nan and reassured her that he was fine.
• An officer asked Jiang Xingwei whether the Lion King had escaped, and Jiang confirmed it had fled to White Elephant.

Zhang Weijun and Wang Yuanshan learned that Shen Heng had led a mission to disrupt the Calamity Beasts’ plans before the Light Gate abruptly expelled the others. Shen Heng and Qin Yu had not emerged, leaving the officers waiting anxiously for news of the more than twenty thousand missing soldiers.

• A soldier reported that Shuofang City had noticed unusually many hunting teams returning early with casualties, prompting Shen Heng to investigate the Calamity Beasts.
• The soldier explained that Old General Zhou had ordered troops to attack the Eye of Earth Marrow, sent Shen Heng and Qin Yu to destroy a gathering place of Calamity Beasts, and dispatched a messenger to warn the base and North-Pacifying City.
• Zhang Weijun and Wang Yuanshan concluded that Shen Heng and Qin Yu’s mission was the likeliest cause of the sudden expulsion, since the troops sent to the Eye of Earth Marrow had not reached it.
• The soldier confirmed that neither Shen Heng nor Qin Yu had emerged, and Li Daoyi urged the officers to focus on their situation and the many soldiers still unaccounted for.
• Wang Yuanshan asked how Shuofang City had detected the Calamity Beasts’ unusual movements.

Wang Yuanshan learned how Shuofang City had detected the Calamity Beasts’ plan, while Yan Yu explained that the Light Gate had fractured into several spaces and might have transported Shen Heng and the others elsewhere. The chapter ended with Shen Heng waking beneath a blue sky, apparently in an instance rather than the Ruins Realm.

• A soldier reported that Captain Shen had tracked Calamity Beasts moving toward the base, and Li Daoyi said Shen Heng could monitor them across a range of at least two hundred kilometers.
• Wang Yuanshan concluded that the Calamity Beasts’ plan had been difficult to uncover and that discovering it in time had been a close call.
• Yan Yu said the Light Gate’s chaotic space might have transported people elsewhere, including to the Ruins Realm, and warned that they might not return.
• Yan Yu explained that the Light Gate now exposed several spaces at once and that he knew no way to rescue those transported through it.
• Shen Heng slowly opened his eyes beneath a blue sky, with white clouds and sunlight overhead.