Recaps

Shen Heng learned that the Calamity Beasts were beginning to forget recent events and suggested they share information regularly, while warning Stone that everyone could eventually lose their memories and remain trapped. That night, Qin Yu worried about escaping and spoke with Sister Liya in her mind, until Shen Heng revealed he had heard their conversation.

• The Two-Horned Lizard left with Shen Heng’s suggestion that the Calamity Beasts regularly share information about themselves and their goals.
• Shen Heng told Stone that he, too, could lose his memories and that they might remain trapped forever without an escape route.
• Qin Yu worried that the forgetting rule would soon affect them and asked Sister Liya whether she knew how to escape.
• Sister Liya blamed the rotten snake for trapping them and tried to console herself that even Shen Heng could not escape.
• Shen Heng answered Qin Yu’s private conversation with Sister Liya, leaving both of them frozen in surprise.

Shen Heng revealed that he could hear the thoughts of Qin Yu’s other consciousness, Sister Liya, and explained how he had discovered her. He implied that the current crisis had prompted him to speak, and Sister Liya guessed that he wanted her help finding a way out.

• Qin Yu realized Shen Heng knew about Sister Liya and wondered when he had discovered her.
• Shen Heng explained that his ability, Listening to the Cries of All Living Beings, let him hear thoughts as well as spoken words.
• Shen Heng said he had discovered Sister Liya when he kept his ability active to stop the Two-Horned Lizard from escaping.
• Sister Liya accidentally blurted out her true opinion of Shen Heng, then tried to explain herself.
• Sister Liya asked Shen Heng whether he wanted her help finding a way out.

Shen Heng negotiated with the consciousness in Qin Yu’s mind, Liya Norlandir, and learned she had no way to escape either. He proposed trying to contact the imprisoned World Tree sapling Nordrassil, and Liya began reciting its honorific name.

• Shen Heng offered to keep Liya’s existence secret in exchange for information, and she agreed to share what she could.
• Shen Heng and Qin Yu introduced themselves as humans from Blue Star, while Liya identified herself as a Night Spirit from the Ruins Realm.
• Shen Heng asked whether they could contact the World Tree sapling imprisoned in the hall, and Liya initially said it was impossible.
• Shen Heng explained that a tentacle had pulled a nuclear bomb inside, which he believed was a branch extended by the sapling.
• Liya said her clan had passed down Nordrassil’s honorific name for prayer and began reciting it as a possible way to make contact.

Shen Heng and Liya Norlandir tried to contact the World Tree sapling through a prayer, but it briefly noticed them and then severed its connection to their world. The group was left fearing they had lost their only way out.

• Liya Norlandir used Qin Yu’s body to pray to the World Tree sapling in the mine, while Shen Heng watched.
• Liya and Qin Yu felt a gaze turn toward them briefly before leaving, and Shen Heng guessed the sapling had recognized Liya as a Calamity Beast and fled in anger.
• Liya tried the prayer again several times, but found that the sapling had severed its connection with their world and could no longer be reached.
• Shen Heng and Liya realized the prayer method was no longer an option, and Liya regretted not identifying herself during the first prayer.

Shen Heng proposed using the Black Rats to help the prisoners escape by provoking them into a forceful response. At the mine, Rift Claw discovered three murdered Calamity Beasts and began searching for missing prisoners.

• After Liya Norlandir's failed attempt to open a route, Shen Heng told the Two-Horned Lizard that they should make the Black Rats see them as a threat and provoke them into taking action.
• Shen Heng explained that the Black Rats cared most about their clansmen and the mines, and the Two-Horned Lizard agreed to hear the plan.
• Rift Claw the Black Rat ordered the Calamity Beasts into the mine and later learned that three were missing.
• Rift Claw found the three dismembered corpses behind rubble in a mining tunnel and brought them outside.
• Rift Claw asked the gathered Calamity Beasts whether anyone knew who had killed the three or could identify any beasts who had not emerged from the mine.

Rift Claw questioned the Calamity Beasts after three corpses were found, but learned nothing that identified the killer. After ten more beasts went missing the next day, he tightened the mining groups again, ordering them to stay together in tens.

• Rift Claw questioned the Calamity Beasts about a dead Phantom Shadow Leopard, and a Fanged Beast admitted he had known him but could not explain his death.
• Several Calamity Beasts shared what they knew about the three corpses, but their accounts failed to reveal who had killed them.
• Rift Claw dismissed the beasts and told a Black Rat to report what had happened.
• The next day, Rift Claw ordered the Calamity Beasts to mine in groups of ten and to travel in groups of five if anything happened.
• Ten Calamity Beasts went missing, and Rift Claw questioned the survivors again without learning how they had died.
• On the following day, Rift Claw ordered all Calamity Beasts to remain together in groups of ten as they entered the mine.

Black Rat Rift Claw and Black Rat Feixu tried different group sizes and added Black Rat guards to stop the Calamity Beasts from escaping or attacking one another, eventually suppressing the unrest. As the Steel-Mane Bear and Black Jade Lion worried that Lord Two-Horned Lizard had no solution and their memories were fading, the mine supervisor announced a new policy requiring the Calamity Beasts to spread out under patrol.

• Black Rat Rift Claw repeatedly changed the Calamity Beasts' group sizes as reports of escapes and deaths disrupted mining.
• Black Rat Feixu ordered the Calamity Beasts to work in groups of fifty while Black Rats watched them, and several incident-free days followed.
• The Steel-Mane Bear told the Black Jade Lion that Lord Two-Horned Lizard needed to explain his plan before they forgot too much, and the Black Jade Lion agreed to ask him again the next day.
• The Black Rats increased supervision and told the Calamity Beasts to spread out, claiming that working together reduced mining efficiency.

Feixu the Black Rat struggled to deal with the deaths of Black Rats sent into the mine and gathered selected Calamity Beasts to help identify the rebels hidden among them. He planned to use the next day's mining arrangement to draw the rebels out.

• Rift Claw learned that Fang had died inside the mine, and the next day he sent only Tier 3 Black Rats in with the Calamity Beasts.
• After more Black Rats died, Feixu ordered the Calamity Beasts to return to mining in groups of fifty while Black Rats watched them.
• Shen Heng told Qin Yu that the Black Rats had already figured out a hint and wanted to confirm it.
• That evening, Feixu dismissed most of the Calamity Beasts and kept more than a dozen, including Panshan and a Shadow Cat.
• Feixu admitted that the Black Rats had no good way to handle the rebels without killing useful Calamity Beasts, and ordered the selected beasts to help expose them during the next day's mining.

Lord Feixu appointed Calamity Beasts as mine overseers to keep ore production steady and help identify the rebels killing miners. The overseers suffered heavy losses, and Feixu named two extra replacements, hinting at a change in his plan.

• Feixu told the chosen Calamity Beasts to replace Black Rat mine overseers and watch for rebels, and he distributed blood whips for their protection.
• The next day, the chosen beasts went into the mines last while Feixu explained that tracking which beasts were present at each attack could expose the rebels.
• Six of the new overseers died that evening, and Feixu replaced the dead while checking the survivors for whip marks.
• Several Calamity Beasts continued to die each day, and Feixu routinely named replacements without the Black Rat mine managers intervening.
• Feixu called out two more names than usual to fill the latest vacancies.

Feixu’s attempt to capture Calamity Beasts involved in recent killings ended when two suspects killed themselves before he could question them. As he listened to a trusted Calamity Beast’s suggestions, the beast asked whether reported followers could be spared and made to keep mining.

• Feixu called forward extra Calamity Beasts and had Black Rats distribute blood whips.
• After Feixu accused two slow-moving Calamity Beasts of joining the troublemakers, they smashed their own heads and died.
• Feixu dismissed the remaining Calamity Beasts and regretted losing the chance to question the suspects about their accomplices.
• A Calamity Beast praised Feixu’s ability to identify the troublemakers and offered him ideas for catching them.
• The Calamity Beast asked Feixu why reported followers had to be killed instead of spared to continue mining.

Black Rat Feixu rewarded Panshan for helping monitor the Calamity Beasts, while Shen Heng told Two-Horned Lizard to escalate the unrest and then abruptly stop it so he could confirm something. After the deaths stopped, Feixu worried the hidden troublemakers might be planning something, and the resting grounds suddenly fell into chaos.

• Feixu warned Panshan not to ask about certain matters, then praised its work and promised it food and a chance to join the Black Rats.
• Two-Horned Lizard told Shen Heng that a Black Rat had selected it to join them, and Shen Heng instructed it to gather information indirectly.
• Shen Heng decided to escalate the unrest and then bring it to a sudden halt so he could confirm something, leaving Two-Horned Lizard uncertain about his plan.
• The number of Calamity Beasts dying each day increased, then stopped after several days, leading Feixu to suspect the hidden troublemakers were lying low or planning something.
• Feixu returned to the Black Rat clan grounds, while the Black Rats left watching the resting grounds saw it suddenly descend into chaos.

Shen Heng learned from Qin Yu that Black Rats had been entering a guarded cave and taking their own clan members inside, leading him to suspect they were sacrificing them to the Black Rat God. He concluded the god might grant items, answers, or altered rules, but reassured Qin Yu and Night Spirit Liya that the Black Rats had not gained a way to find them.

• Shen Heng met Qin Yu in the mine and heard that Black Rats had flown to a guarded cave outside their clan grounds.
• Qin Yu reported that a Black Rat repeatedly brought other Black Rats into the cave, and none of those brought inside had emerged.
• Shen Heng proposed that the missing Black Rats had been offered as sacrifices to the Black Rat God in exchange for things such as answers or twisted rules.
• Shen Heng suggested that sacrifices might have created the mine's no-speaking rule and the nighttime forest after the riot.
• Qin Yu noted that only four fifth-tier Black Rats had gone to the statue, and Shen Heng said the god might require Black Rats as sacrifices.
• Night Spirit Liya worried the Black Rats had gained another advantage, but Shen Heng said they had not obtained a way to find them.

Shen Heng questioned Liya about divine offerings and learned how the Ruins Realm’s cultivation paths and abilities worked. He considered learning the Night Spirit Clan’s shadow path if his own ability could no longer develop.

• Shen Heng asked Liya whether beings in the Ruins Realm could respond to offerings, and she explained that only some eighth-tier and all ninth-tier beings could normally do so.
• Liya explained that the World Tree sapling had sensed her because it was a branch of Nordrassil and shared a close connection and path with him.
• Liya revealed that cultivation paths shaped growth beyond seventh tier, and Qin Yu admitted that Liya had taught her to cultivate shadow rather than awaken an ability.
• Liya described the advantages and limits of Shen Heng’s group developing abilities independently, including the difficulty of creating a systematic cultivation method.
• Shen Heng said he might learn the Night Spirit Clan’s path if his own ability could not evolve, and Liya explained that she could teach it to people below seventh tier.

Shen Heng discussed the Night Spirit paths with Night Spirit Liya and considered whether the Black Rat God could help them escape. The chapter ended as Liya began to object to his plan, leaving their approach unresolved.

• Night Spirit Liya explained the strengths and weaknesses of the Moon, Shadow, and Wood paths, and said she could teach Shen Heng the most about Shadow.
• Liya said Shen Heng would need to pass her assessment before learning how to break through to the seventh tier, and refused to sell her clan’s inheritance but might allow one other person to learn it.
• Qin Yu and Liya discussed how the Black Rat God’s gifts could make their situation more dangerous.
• Shen Heng proposed using the Black Rat God to create a new escape route rather than asking it to transfer them directly.
• Liya questioned the danger of Shen Heng’s plan, and he began to respond before the chapter cut off.

Shen Heng planned to capture Black Rats and raid their cave to seek a way out, while the Two-Horned Lizard prepared to help. Their plans were delayed when the Black Rats canceled mining for the day, then a vast wave of blackness surged from the woods.

• Shen Heng told the Two-Horned Lizard he planned to capture at least a dozen Black Rats, including a fourth-tier one, and enter their cave, luring away its guards if possible.
• The Two-Horned Lizard contacted the other Calamity Beasts and prepared to follow their escape plan the next day.
• A Black Rat announced that there would be no mining that day and that food would be delivered that night, prompting the Calamity Beasts to cheer.
• The Two-Horned Lizard learned that the group would delay its plan by a day and rested beside Shen Heng.
• A tremendous sound rang out, and a tide of blackness surged from the direction of the mine.

A black tide overwhelmed the Calamity Beasts, leaving them terrified but alive after a barrier stopped it. Shen Heng identified the threat as the Underground Demon, and later two figures emerged in front of Black Whiskers and Broken Tooth.

• A black tide swept across the forest and crashed against a shimmering barrier while the Calamity Beasts and Black Rats stood frozen in fear.
• After the tide receded, the Two-Horned Lizard asked Shen Heng what had happened, and Shen Heng suggested the Underground Demon was responsible.
• The Two-Horned Lizard realized that a creature once considered a made-up story had become real in this world.
• Shen Heng told the Two-Horned Lizard that they would continue as usual the next day, despite the Underground Demon's strength.
• Black Whiskers and Broken Tooth spotted two figures darting out from the trees, and the four Fourth Tier Black Rats stared at one another.

Broken Tooth pursued two fleeing Calamity Beasts while Black Whiskers kept watch at the temple and sent messengers to Lord Black Spine. Two-Horned Lizard and eight Calamity Beasts began their operation against the remaining Black Rats, who spotted them approaching the cave.

• Broken Tooth convinced Black Whiskers to let him pursue the two Calamity Beasts with several Black Rats while the others guarded the temple.
• Black Whiskers sent Single Fang to report the incident to Lord Black Spine and ordered another Black Rat to follow him.
• Two-Horned Lizard realized the Calamity Beasts could no longer intercept the pursuing group and prepared to attack the cave guards.
• Two-Horned Lizard led eight Calamity Beasts toward the Black Rats guarding the cave entrance and began the operation.
• Black Whiskers noticed the approaching Calamity Beasts, and the Black Rats reacted with alarm and anger.

Shen Heng’s group fought their way to the Black Rat temple after a diversionary battle drew most of its guards away. Inside, Shen Heng prepared to approach the statue, but Qin Yu noticed it resembled the Black Rat Clan patriarch.

• Qin Yu and Shen Heng decided to kill a Black Rat messenger to delay news from reaching the clan grounds.
• Two-Horned Lizard and the others lured the temple’s Black Rat guards away, killing several but losing two of their own.
• Black Whiskers survived the battle with the remaining guards, then spotted two unfamiliar Calamity Beasts approaching the temple.
• Shen Heng, Qin Yu, and Stone killed a Black Rat and carried its corpse into the temple.
• Qin Yu told Shen Heng that the dark green statue looked like the Black Rat Clan patriarch.

Shen Heng and Qin Yu found a statue that might be connected to the missing Black Rat Chief, while the Black Rats learned that Calamity Beasts had gone to the temple to seek the Black Rat God’s help escaping. Lame Claw set out to stop them, and the Two-Horned Lizard returned to the cave to find the sacrifice was not enough.

• Qin Yu said the statue resembled the Black Rat Chief, and Shen Heng wondered whether the chief and the other Black Rats’ memories had been altered.
• A Black Rat returned to report that Calamity Beasts had gone to the temple, and Black Spine and Lame Claw realized they might be praying to the Black Rat God for a way out.
• Black Spine deduced that the returning scouts had been killed while the Calamity Beasts kept watch outside the temple.
• Lame Claw agreed to go to the temple quickly and use its Origin Power to stop the Calamity Beasts.
• The Two-Horned Lizard sent the remaining fellows away, returned to the cave, and asked whether there were not enough offerings.

Shen Heng and the Two-Horned Lizard repeatedly tried to use Black Rat offerings to pray for their escape, but every attempt failed. As they considered whether they needed more offerings, Stone reported that a fifth-tier Black Rat was flying toward them.

• The Two-Horned Lizard joined Shen Heng and the others in the cave and confirmed that their earlier prayer had succeeded but the offerings had been insufficient.
• Shen Heng and the Two-Horned Lizard gathered the dead Black Rats, then the Two-Horned Lizard prayed for the group to be teleported out of the valley; the offerings vanished, but the prayer failed.
• The Two-Horned Lizard prayed again, claiming the Black Rats had oppressed them, but the statue remained still.
• Shen Heng had the two surviving Black Rats pray in turn, but both attempts also failed.
• The Two-Horned Lizard suggested killing the surviving Black Rats, while Shen Heng wondered if they lacked offerings; Stone then reported that a fifth-tier Black Rat was flying toward them.

Shen Heng and the Two-Horned Lizard failed repeatedly to use the cave’s statue to teleport away, even after reducing the number of Calamity Beasts in the prayer. With a fifth-tier Black Rat approaching, Shen Heng sent Qin Yu and the Two-Horned Lizard to leave while he stayed behind to try again.

• Shen Heng suggested that the failed prayer might mean the teleportation cost exceeded their offerings or was based on their original tiers.
• The Two-Horned Lizard proposed removing names from the prayer list, and the group tried again with fewer Calamity Beasts, but the prayer still failed.
• A lookout warned Shen Heng that the approaching fifth-tier Black Rat had covered about half the distance to the cave.
• Shen Heng ordered Qin Yu to take the Two-Horned Lizard and Stone back while he stayed behind to make another attempt.
• Qin Yu helped conceal Shen Heng, then left the cave with the Two-Horned Lizard.

Shen Heng prayed in the temple for a way to escape Black Stone Valley, and a strange light suggested his request had worked. Black Spine concluded that Shen Heng and the others had completed their prayer and were likely hiding in the forest, leaving the Black Rats unsure how to stop them.

• Shen Heng tried several versions of a prayer to escape, then prayed about the night, the forest, and being followed.
• A Calamity Beasts' character appeared briefly in the cave after Shen Heng finished praying.
• Black Spine and Lame Claw learned that blood whips had been used in the fight and realized the fugitives had killed their kin with them.
• Lame Claw proposed searching the forest, but Black Spine argued that the fugitives had already evaded their watch and would not be found by a sweep.
• Black Spine said the fugitives had probably completed their prayer and obtained what they needed to escape.

Shen Heng revealed that his prayer had made gateways out of Black Stone Valley appear randomly at night, leaving the group to find a way to locate one and reach it. As they watched from high ground, a gateway appeared nearby, giving them a promising first clue.

• The Two-Horned Lizard, Stone, and Qin Yu learned that Shen Heng’s prayer had succeeded but that they still needed to find an exit.
• Shen Heng explained that gateways appeared randomly throughout Black Stone Valley at night, and the group planned to watch from high ground for signs of one.
• Shen Heng led the group to find the surviving Calamity Beasts, replenish their strength, and choose high ground near the enclosure.
• From a hill, Shen Heng considered how Feixu might believe him dead, while Stone spotted a faint glimmer among the trees.
• Shen Heng recognized the glimmer as a sign of a nearby gateway and realized it had appeared close to them.

Shen Heng and the others debated whether the light in the woods marked a randomly appearing portal or a trap, and whether they should approach it. As they waited, an unknown figure rushed toward the light and vanished, leaving Two-Horned Lizard wondering if it had escaped.

• Stone, Two-Horned Lizard, and Shen Heng considered whether the illuminated trees marked the portal created by their wish.
• Shen Heng warned that the portal’s appearance so close to them seemed suspicious, and Two-Horned Lizard agreed to wait rather than scout ahead himself.
• The trees began trembling and crashing as an unknown figure moved through the forest toward the light.
• The figure vanished near the illuminated area, and Two-Horned Lizard wondered whether it had escaped.

Shen Heng’s group decided the humans near the distant light had escaped and set out for the portal, with the Two-Horned Lizard signaling the remaining Calamity Beasts to join them. As the group ran through the forest, the trees attacked with growing force, and Shen Heng wondered whether their movement had awakened the hidden threat faster.

• Shen Heng concluded that the humans near the light had most likely escaped and ordered his group to move quickly while staying together.
• The Two-Horned Lizard signaled the waiting Calamity Beasts by throwing a branch-covered boulder into the air.
• Several Calamity Beasts left their hiding places and ran toward the light as the trees around them began to move.
• Shen Heng and the Two-Horned Lizard ran with the others while branches and vines attacked them from multiple directions.
• A vast shadow descended as eerie voices called them bad children, and Shen Heng noticed the branches were attacking more strongly than before.