Chapter Summaries

Two-Horned Lizard questioned whether it was human or a Calamity Beast, then chose to flee with Black Jade Lion and Steel-Mane Bear. Shen Heng, Qin Yu, and Stone headed for the portal and finally reached it, where Stone remembered the hardships that had kept it trapped.

• Two-Horned Lizard heard Black Jade Lion and Steel-Mane Bear describe its past kindness to low-tier Calamity Beasts and wondered which side it belonged to.
• Two-Horned Lizard told Black Jade Lion and Steel-Mane Bear to split up and run toward the portal, then chose to follow them rather than meet Shen Heng.
• Shen Heng told Qin Yu and Stone that Two-Horned Lizard might be a Calamity Beast from another side, and the three set off for the portal.
• Shen Heng, Qin Yu, and Stone ran past the fleeing Calamity Beasts and reached a clearing filled with corpses, where the portal stood.
• Stone recognized the portal as their way out and remembered the events that had trapped it in the area.

After the Calamity Beasts defeated the Black Rats, Shen Heng, Qin Yu, and Stone reached the portal, but Shen Heng wondered whether the world’s rules could help rescue the others. He sent Qin Yu and Stone through while he went to investigate the temple alone.

• Shen Heng confirmed that the Calamity Beasts had defeated the Black Rats, and the three headed toward the portal.
• At the portal, Shen Heng recalled the world’s three events and wondered if they had been fake before people believed in them.
• Shen Heng proposed using the temple to pray for a way to rescue the others, but Qin Yu warned that they had no time.
• Shen Heng told Qin Yu and Stone to leave through the portal while he went to investigate the temple.

Shen Heng set out alone to test whether the temple could help rescue the others, while Qin Yu and Stone left through the portal. As he ran through the woods, his sounds distracted the Forest Demon only briefly, and it began searching closer to him.

• Shen Heng refused Qin Yu’s offer to accompany him and told her and Stone to leave while he investigated alone.
• Shen Heng said that if he had not returned within five days, Qin Yu would have to decide what to do next.
• Qin Yu accepted his decision and reflected that she was beginning to understand why Shen Heng was the captain.
• Shen Heng ran through the woods, using sound to draw the Forest Demon’s attention away from his path.
• The Forest Demon failed to find the sound’s source and began expanding its search toward Shen Heng.

The Two-Horned Lizard escaped the living trees by reaching the portal, leaving the Steel-Mane Bear behind. After emerging into a vast passage and recovering his memories, he found the Thunder-Scale Beast and wondered what had happened to the humans and the other survivors.

• The Two-Horned Lizard encountered the Steel-Mane Bear trapped by the living branches, ignored its pleas for help, and ran on as the bear’s cries faded behind him.
• He reached the portal and emerged in a vast passage, where his lost memories of the grasslands, clan territory, mines, conscription, and war returned.
• The Two-Horned Lizard met the Thunder-Scale Beast, which said it had come out ten or twenty minutes earlier and had not seen the Steel-Mane Bear.
• He realized that only he and the Thunder-Scale Beast seemed to have emerged, and he feared the others had been trapped in the dangerous Sacred Temple.
• The Two-Horned Lizard told the Thunder-Scale Beast they should move to the side rather than keep waiting there.

Feixu and the Black Rats halted the Calamity Beasts’ advance by promising to let half escape, then used the rush to trap and kill the beasts left behind. As two Black Rats worried that Huizong and the others had not returned, a figure approached them dragging several enormous bodies with a blood whip.

• Feixu grew frustrated as the Calamity Beasts continued charging toward the exit, and two Black Rats announced they would let half of them leave.
• The Black Rats ordered their fighters to move aside, prompting the Calamity Beasts to surge forward and crowd for the opening.
• The Black Rats ambushed the beasts still inside the valley, determined to prevent the rear half from escaping.
• Two Third Tier Black Rats discussed the riot and worried that Huizong and the others had not returned despite the fighting nearby.
• A figure approached the two Black Rats, dragging several enormous bodies with an ink-red blood whip.

Shen Heng asked the Black Rat God how to lead beings out of the real world and learned that he must use the twisted rules, found at the bottom of the mine. He pondered how to use the Underground Demon, while the surviving Calamity Beasts remained under the Black Rats’ watch.

• Shen Heng sacrificed several Fourth Tier Black Rats and asked the Black Rat God how to lead beings out of the real world.
• The Black Rat God told Shen Heng to use the twisted rules.
• When Shen Heng asked how to use the rules, he received no answer, then asked where they were and learned they were at the bottom of the mine.
• Shen Heng suspected the Underground Demon was the relevant twisted rule and considered whether he could harness it by offering sacrifices or letting it engulf Black Stone Valley.
• The surviving Calamity Beasts huddled and trembled as the Black Rats watched them with malice.

The Black Rats changed the Calamity Beasts’ mining rules after a failed riot, keeping them alive but exhausted and punishing anyone suspected of escape. Two Calamity Beasts were killed after being reported, and the chapter ended with the Gray Claw Beast facing furious Black Rats beside one of their dead kin.

• A Black Rat announced new mining quotas and punishments, while the Calamity Beasts returned to work in smaller, subdued groups.
• A wolf-like Calamity Beast questioned a green-thorned Calamity Beast about whether anyone had escaped, and another Calamity Beast reported them for discussing escape.
• The Black Rat questioned nearby witnesses, and the Gray Claw Beast confirmed that the pair had discussed the previous night’s events.
• The Black Rat killed the two accused Calamity Beasts and rewarded the one who had reported them with three days off mining and extra food.
• On the second evening, the Gray Claw Beast found a dead Black Rat in a pool of blood as another Black Rat accused the Calamity Beasts of killing their kin.

Broken Tooth and the Black Rats debated how to deal with the Calamity Beasts after another riot and the death of a Black Rat. The council ended with Broken Tooth proposing they use another group of their own clansmen for a temple prayer, leaving Feixu shocked by the suggestion.

• Broken Tooth questioned the confined Calamity Beasts about who had killed the Black Rat, then ordered them kept apart from the others.
• Feixu joined a nighttime council where the Black Rats discussed the recent riots and suspected that the culprit was still hiding among the beasts.
• A scar-faced Black Rat proposed killing the Calamity Beasts, but One-Eye objected that the clan needed them to mine.
• The Black Rats considered having their own clansmen mine, but Feixu warned that it would harm the clan’s cultivation and future.
• A Black Rat suggested praying at the temple, and Broken Tooth proposed using another group of clansmen, leaving Feixu stunned.

Shen Heng struggled to decide whether to awaken the Underground Demon or seek escape, then noticed a surge of scarlet beside him. The Coiling Mountain Beast awoke with his memories missing and began mining among the other Calamity Beasts.

• Shen Heng considered releasing the Underground Demon but feared what would happen after it woke.
• Shen Heng nearly chose to flee through the portal or over the mountains, then struck his own face to clear his thoughts.
• Shen Heng noticed scarlet surging beside him.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast awoke among Calamity Beasts and wondered who he was.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast followed a group to the mine and learned that he was expected to dig.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast continued mining despite the pain in his paw.

The Coiling Mountain Beast noticed mysterious pictures carved into its arm, including scenes of a circle-marked figure moving through different places and a flood. After a grueling day in the mine, it returned to the herd still questioning what it was, then spotted a pitch-black figure flying toward an argument.

• The Coiling Mountain Beast rested from mining and discovered strange pictures carved into its left arm.
• It studied images of a circle-marked figure, a house, a flooded place, and a vortex but could not fully understand them.
• Black Rat entered the tunnel, and the Calamity Beasts resumed mining under its watch.
• At evening, the Coiling Mountain Beast handed over its ore, collected food, and returned to gnaw on a drained corpse.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast heard two Calamity Beasts arguing and saw a pitch-black fellow flying toward them.

Broken Tooth learned that the Underground Demon would emerge soon and ordered the Black Rats to pause their work when it did. The Coiling Mountain Beast watched the black tide sweep over the plain, and the images on his arm flashed before him as he wondered whether this was the Underground Demon.

• Broken Tooth ordered two Calamity Beasts killed for arguing, then had their bodies taken away as an extra meal for the others.
• A Black Rat told Broken Tooth that the Underground Demon would emerge in two or three days, and Broken Tooth ordered the Black Rats to stop for a day once its arrival was certain.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast heard that the Underground Demon was coming and rested while the other Calamity Beasts reacted with fear and relief.
• A huge black tide surged from the mine and swept across the plain, stopping at a curtain of light as the Calamity Beasts lay motionless.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast watched the tide and saw the images on his arm flash before him as he thought, “Underground... Demon?”

The Coiling Mountain Beast recognized that carvings on its body seemed to depict the valley and wondered if the final image urged it to fight the Underground Demon. Despite its terror, it pressed onward as Broken Tooth the Black Rat pursued it, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• The Coiling Mountain Beast studied the carvings on its forelimb and suspected the last image showed black waves and circular lines, perhaps directing it to fight the Underground Demon.
• Trembling with fear, the Coiling Mountain Beast stood and trudged forward past the other Calamity Beasts.
• Broken Tooth the Black Rat spotted the Coiling Mountain Beast and decided it was responsible for the recent incidents, then chased after it.
• Broken Tooth caught up and tried to strike the Coiling Mountain Beast, which struggled to dodge while continuing onward.
• Broken Tooth flew ahead and let itself fall freely toward the Coiling Mountain Beast.

The wounded Coiling Mountain Beast fled toward the Underground Demon, using Broken Tooth’s fear and anger to delay its pursuit. When it entered the black wind, Shen Heng’s memories and a fallback drawing returned to him, but a shadow engulfed him before a voice announced he had obtained an opportunity to use the Authority of Distortion.

• Broken Tooth wounded the Coiling Mountain Beast repeatedly as it chased it toward the black tide.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast provoked Broken Tooth into striking it and used the blows to gain distance.
• The Coiling Mountain Beast stepped into the black wind, where maddened voices and fear overwhelmed it.
• Shen Heng recovered memories of Linhai, school, and the Supervision Bureau, and checked the drawing on his left hand.
• A shadow engulfed Shen Heng after he weakly struck at it, and a voice announced that he had obtained one opportunity to use the Authority of Distortion.

Shen Heng emerged from Black Stone Valley with mental pain and a molten-gold hook-shaped mark on his forehead, which he believed granted him one chance to use the authority of distortion. After learning Qin Yu and Stone had waited seven days and found strange, fused Calamity Beasts in the surrounding palace, he went with them to a nearby room to rest.

• Shen Heng regained consciousness in a vast corridor and reunited with Qin Yu and Stone.
• Qin Yu told Shen Heng that she and Stone had waited seven days for him to emerge.
• Shen Heng discovered a molten-gold hook-shaped mark on his forehead and connected it to the authority of distortion.
• Qin Yu reported that the palace had connected rooms and corridors, with bizarre Calamity Beasts that appeared to be fused together.
• Shen Heng sensed no nearby Calamity Beasts, but his mental pain worsened, so he asked Qin Yu and Stone to take him to a room where he could rest.
• Stone carried Shen Heng and Qin Yu toward the second room they had explored while Shen Heng asked what they had found there.

Shen Heng reunited with Qin Yu and Stone inside the vast palace, explained that he had gained one opportunity to use the Authority of Distortion, and recounted his encounter with the Underground Demon. Night Spirit Liya Norlandir and Qin Yu struggled to understand how he had survived, and Liya began to explain the significance of the authority.

• Qin Yu described the palace’s enormous rooms and warned that amalgamated Calamity Beasts could wield much of their strength despite the Origin Prohibition.
• Shen Heng learned that Qin Yu and Stone had gone without food because Qin Yu feared eating the distorted beasts, then gave Stone something to eat.
• After Stone fell asleep, Shen Heng told Qin Yu and Night Spirit Liya Norlandir that a voice had said he gained one opportunity to use the Authority of Distortion.
• Shen Heng recounted losing most of his memories and confronting the Underground Demon, shocking Qin Yu and Night Spirit Liya.
• Night Spirit Liya said the Authority of Distortion might have shaped the palace and the world Shen Heng had visited, then asked whether he understood what it meant.

Shen Heng learned that the Authority of Distortion could help him rescue the others trapped in the temple, but Night Spirit Liya urged him to consider its greater value as a chance to comprehend a path to the Seventh Tier. She revealed that Distortion was the Ruins Realm’s second strongest known authority, leaving Shen Heng asking what power its path would grant him.

• Shen Heng asked how to use the Authority of Distortion, and Night Spirit Liya explained that he could touch his forehead mark with Origin Power and sketch his intention with mental power.
• Night Spirit Liya advised Shen Heng not to use the authority immediately to bring the others out of the temple.
• Night Spirit Liya explained that comprehending a path was the greatest obstacle to reaching the Seventh Tier, and that the Authority of Distortion offered Shen Heng a rare chance to understand the path of distortion.
• Night Spirit Liya declared that Distortion was universally acknowledged as the Ruins Realm’s second strongest authority.
• Shen Heng asked what effects following the path of Distortion would have, and Night Spirit Liya said it meant distorting things and principles according to his wishes.

Night Spirit Liya explained the powers and costs of the authorities of distortion and order to Shen Heng and Qin Yu. Shen Heng learned that distortion could make him nearly unbeatable at his tier, but only one being could reach the ninth tier on any path, leaving him troubled.

• Night Spirit Liya told Qin Yu and Shen Heng that distortion could alter objects and principles according to its wielder's will, though using it consumed substantial Origin Power and mental power.
• Night Spirit Liya explained that distortion struggled against authorities of the same tier but was difficult for ordinary paths to counter.
• Shen Heng asked what authority ranked above distortion, and Night Spirit Liya said Nordrassil commanded order, which could wield other authorities and was stronger in combat.
• Night Spirit Liya said distortion could contend with every authority except order, making its wielder nearly invincible among those of the same tier.
• Night Spirit Liya revealed that only one being could reach the ninth tier on any path, and she worried that Shen Heng might refuse to follow distortion.

Shen Heng weighed whether to pursue the Authority of Distortion after Liya Norlandir explained its immense power and the rarity of Ninth Tier beings. He left the choice open for later and asked how to bring the others out of the hall.

• Liya Norlandir urged Shen Heng to pursue the Authority of Distortion, describing it as the Ruins Realm’s second-strongest authority and a rare path to great power.
• Qin Yu realized more clearly how valuable the Authority of Distortion was and considered that Shen Heng held its key.
• Shen Heng asked whether he could follow a different path later, and Liya Norlandir said it was possible but would take much longer.
• Liya Norlandir pressed Shen Heng to choose the path of distortion, but he said he would decide when the time came.
• Shen Heng asked whether he could bring the others out by sketching with his mental power.

Shen Heng continued learning from Night Spirit Liya about paths beyond the Seventh Tier, including how their scope and type affected their strength and difficulty. He wondered whether Distortion and Order were truly laws, while the group continued onward with Stone.

• Night Spirit Liya explained that using the Authority of Distortion consumed mental power, and Shen Heng rested before continuing his questions.
• Shen Heng asked whether unknown paths could be judged by their names and effects, and Liya said their scope and type offered only rough clues.
• Liya explained that broader paths such as Earth and Ocean were generally stronger than narrower paths, but harder to comprehend and enter.
• Liya described the Night Spirit Clan's three path types as physical phenomena, conceptual phenomena, and laws, noting that their boundaries were blurry and their strengths could vary.
• Shen Heng considered whether Distortion and Order were truly laws as he listened and walked with Qin Yu and Stone.

Liya Norlandir explained how Nordrassil’s three authorities made him the strongest being in the Ruins Realm, then recounted the chaos and mass slaughter that preceded the first Ninth Tier being. She left the story at the rise of the Night Spirit Clan’s Sun King, who helped bring that era to an end.

• Liya Norlandir explained that Nordrassil held the authorities of Order, Sun, and Life, making him the strongest in the Ruins Realm and protecting the Night Spirit Clan during the War of Antiquity.
• Liya Norlandir described how expanding clans fought over territory and resources, enslaving smaller clans and killing vast numbers of Calamity Beasts.
• Liya Norlandir said that Nordrassil became the first Ninth Tier being and gained the Authority of Order, but lacked the ability to resolve the chaos by himself.
• Shen Heng suggested that Nordrassil could not stop other races from developing without killing them, and Liya Norlandir said Nordrassil could not think freely like an ordinary being.
• Liya Norlandir began explaining how the Night Spirit Clan survived under the leadership of its king, the Sun King.