Recaps

Ziyue identified the poisonous blood infecting Xiao Mingyue and Gu Ying as power from the Outer Heaven Demon Statues and led Chen Baifeng toward the Dragon King as their safest refuge. Liu Yu trapped the pursuing forces and spreading blood in sealed spatial fragments, then vowed to uncover Chen Qing’s origins and find him.

• Ziyue explained that the Outer Heaven Demon Statues’ powers spread like viruses and that Xiao Mingyue and Gu Ying would grow stronger as they were corrupted.
• Ziyue deduced that Liu Yu had used Painted Skin Mister to control the Dragon King and that the Dragon King’s vicinity was safe from the divine blood.
• Chen Baifeng opened a wind path toward the Dragon King, and the Chen Household charged through it with Xiao Mingyue and Gu Ying close behind.
• Liu Yu shattered the wind path with a spatial formation, dividing the pursuers and the spreading blood among sealed spatial fragments.
• Liu Yu told Chen Qing that the Dragon Palace would soon be his and promised to uncover Chen Qing’s origins and find him.

The emperor and empress watched the North Sea battle and Xiang Tianyu unleash terrifying giant snakes into the Dragon Palace. Meanwhile, Chen Qing revealed that Wang Ye had survived and that Painted Skin Mister had secretly been the last Ancient Insect, leaving Liu Yu caught in a collision of spatial fragments.

• The emperor praised the foremost imperial preceptor and learned from the empress that the North Sea Plan was proceeding smoothly.
• Xiang Tianyu opened a bronze gate in the North Sea Dragon Palace and unleashed enormous snakes from beyond it.
• Chen Qing challenged Liu Yu’s claim that Wang Ye was only his puppet and explained Liu Yu’s demon-seeding method.
• Chen Qing revealed that Wang Ye had been waiting nearby and used Flying Star to guide Xiao Mingyue and Gu Ying’s spatial cages toward Liu Yu.
• Chen Qing deduced that Painted Skin Mister was the last Ancient Insect and had hidden inside Liu Yu.
• Liu Yu twisted Painted Skin Mister’s body, but several spatial fragments crashed together around him.

Liu Yu detonated the energy threaded through the East Sea to escape Xiao Mingyue and destroy the Dragon King, while Chen Baifeng survived through the sacrifice of his ancestors. Liu Yu then reunited with Ziyue, only to discover that Chen Qing had followed her.

• Xiao Mingyue seized Liu Yu and demanded an antidote, but Liu Yu told her no antidote could cure divine blood and escaped through the Dragon King.
• Liu Yu snapped the Thousand Net Threads and detonated their stored energy, engulfing the Dragon King and the East Sea in white light.
• Chen Baifeng was nearly killed by the blast, but his grandfather and other ancestors gave their dragon souls to protect him and entrusted the Chen Household's future to him.
• Liu Yu met Ziyue far from the explosion and challenged her over why she had not searched for him after realizing he survived.
• Ziyue and Liu Yu argued about their past, and Chen Qing appeared behind her, surprising Liu Yu.

Chen Qing confronted the fully corrupted Xiao Mingyue after discovering that Liu Yu’s spatial techniques had let the divine blood infect his Evening Elephant and the surrounding land. He sealed himself inside a wall of wind with Xiao Mingyue and prepared to fight, while honoring her choice not to unleash her Red Lotus Karmic Fire and destroy humanity.

• Chen Qing explained that forces beyond the heavens could bypass Liu Yu’s spatial defenses, and Liu Yu blamed Chen Qing for giving the divine blood an opening.
• Ziyue revealed that Liu Yu’s Evening Elephant had been corrupted since his first attempt to trap the divine blood, and explained how his spatial techniques had allowed the enemy to reach him.
• Chen Qing summoned a trident from a vast current of wind as Xiao Mingyue emerged from the spatial rupture and corrupted the land around her.
• Chen Qing declared that Xiao Mingyue had protected humanity by withholding her Red Lotus Karmic Fire, then vowed to clean up Liu Yu’s mess one last time.
• Chen Qing enclosed himself and Xiao Mingyue within a wall of wind, formed dragon-scale armor, and formally bid farewell to the eldest princess of Great Jin.

Ziyue and the watchers struggled to identify Chen Qing, whose words suggested a connection to the Development Team, while Chen Qing fought Xiao Mingyue and discovered that another presence was speaking through her. The chapter left Chen Qing’s origins unresolved as the old man and young man debated whether he could be their missing lead designer.

• Ziyue wondered whether Chen Qing was a pioneer, Chen Xiaopang, or another member of the Development Team, since he was not among the people she and the King of Qin had found.
• Chen Qing struggled to hit Xiao Mingyue, whose martial skill let her repeatedly wear down his dragon scales with corrosive fire poison.
• Xiao Mingyue questioned where Chen Qing’s power came from, then revealed that someone else was speaking through her and asked whether he belonged to the King of Qin’s people.
• Two hidden observers agreed Chen Qing did not seem to be one of their people and ruled out Chen Xiaopang and Xiaohui as his identity.
• The old man noted that Chen Qing sounded like the young man, the Development Team’s lead designer, when he spoke of cleaning up Xiaopang’s messes.

Chen Qing defeated the entity possessing Xiao Mingyue with a sword technique she had taught him, and Xiao Mingyue regained control of her body. A white-clad man who looked exactly like Chen Qing appeared, then crushed Xiao Mingyue’s head as he passed.

• The emperor and empress discussed the danger of the divine blood and the King of Qin’s Abyssal Extreme Cold technique, while the emperor hoped Chen Qing would win.
• Chen Qing struggled against the entity controlling Xiao Mingyue, which mocked his fighting ability and reminisced about earlier cycles of the world.
• Chen Qing challenged the entity to a single move and beheaded it with Xiao Mingyue’s Three Scorching Wind Forms.
• The entity threatened Chen Qing and mentioned a passage before Xiao Mingyue expelled its consciousness and regained control.
• Xiao Mingyue praised Chen Qing’s swordsmanship and greeted a returning man in white who looked exactly like him.
• The white-clad man ignored Xiao Mingyue’s affection and crushed her head beneath his foot.

Chen Qing learned from the King of Qin that this world was built on the game’s original model and that its powerful ancient beings were largely controlled by players. The King of Qin explained that reincarnation cost players their memories, while the pioneers’ pursuit of immortality had turned the world into one where the strong preyed on the weak, leaving latecomers like him and Ziyue dispossessed.

• Chen Qing recognized the King of Qin, who confirmed that they had met before but that this was Chen Qing’s first time seeing him.
• Ziyue questioned the King of Qin for killing Xiao Mingyue despite her devotion, and he said Xiao Mingyue was beyond saving and that he could take over her forces.
• The King of Qin showed Chen Qing a model of the world that matched the game’s original design, prompting Chen Qing to suspect that he and Ziyue were connected to the project team.
• The King of Qin explained that the pioneers arrived in the ancient era and used endless reincarnation to find ways to contend with ancient beings.
• The King of Qin revealed that players now controlled most powerful ancient beings, but their pursuit of immortality and power had made them fight over scarce resources.
• The King of Qin said that reincarnation gradually erased players’ memories, while he, A Li, and Ziyue had arrived too late to rise and had been forced into repeated reincarnations.

The King of Qin explained how players could become ancient demons and described his plan to stop the Ancient Revival by controlling humanity and sealing the demons. He concluded that the people of this world were unworthy of cooperation, leaving Chen Qing to consider whether humanity could be trusted to resist the ancients.

• Chen Qing asked the King of Qin how he had survived in this world, and the King explained that outsiders could take the place of reincarnating demons by killing them.
• The King of Qin described how he had unified the Central Plains, allied with the great clans, and sealed the ancients to give humanity time to grow.
• Chen Qing agreed that the King of Qin's plan had been reasonable, but remained wary of his motives and his connection to A Li.
• The King of Qin said his plan had failed because the great clans rebelled out of greed and his supporters turned against him after learning he was a demon.
• The King of Qin asked Chen Qing whether humans were worth cooperating with, arguing that both the powerful and the common people had betrayed him.

The King of Qin argued that Chen Qing’s plan to strengthen humanity would eventually provoke conflict with the demons and chief gods, then proposed that they rule the living world and Underworld together. When Chen Qing asked for his name, the King of Qin said he was Pu Yunchuan, leaving Chen Qing stunned.

• The King of Qin warned Chen Qing that humans would eventually challenge demonic chief gods, and Chen Qing doubted whether humanity was worth supporting.
• The King of Qin explained that the Ghost Domain had blocked his reincarnation, but Chen Qing’s arrival opened a passage that let him hide inside Chen Qing.
• The King of Qin revealed that he had initially planned to take Chen Qing’s body, but offered instead to rule the living world while Chen Qing presided over the Underworld.
• Chen Qing asked what the King of Qin intended to do and what his name had been in their former world.
• The King of Qin identified himself as Pu Yunchuan, and Chen Qing reacted with shock.

Chen Qing investigated why the King of Qin and Ziyue seemed unfamiliar with the Divine Path Style, then heard the King of Qin's plan to control reincarnation and treat humanity as livestock. He rejected the proposal and attacked.

• Chen Qing recognized the King of Qin as Pu Yunchuan and Ziyue as Mu Ling'er, then realized several people connected to the game had suffered serious misfortune before the Divine Path Style launched.
• Ziyue said the Development Team had fifteen members, leading Chen Qing to suspect their memories came from before the game launched.
• Chen Qing pretended not to know who he was and agreed in principle to cooperate, while asking about the King of Qin's plans.
• The King of Qin said he would give most divine positions to Dragon Palace demons and use control of reincarnation to negotiate with the ancient beings, keeping humanity as nourishment.
• Chen Qing called the King of Qin a new evil dragon, refused the deal, and struck.

Chen Qing was defeated by the King of Qin but Ziyue freed him and joined his side, refusing to let humanity be treated as livestock. Chen Qing and Mr. Heavenly Secrets were pulled into the Heavenly Secrets Cave, leaving Ziyue to protect Jiangnan until Chen Qing returned.

• The King of Qin froze Chen Qing with the profound ice of the Heavenly Extremity Abyss and explained why he planned to abandon humanity.
• Ziyue shattered the ice, rejected the King of Qin's plan, and helped Chen Qing attack him.
• The King of Qin called on Heavenly Secrets to kill Chen Qing, but Heavenly Secrets instead entered the Heavenly Secrets Cave with him, sending them into the void.
• Chen Qing invested Ziyue as the Great Emperor of the Central Heaven's Purple Tenuity North Pole and asked her to protect Jiangnan.
• Ziyue agreed to cover the first half of the night, and Chen Qing recognized her as Mu Ling'er.

The giant serpents protected the Northern Wasteland kingdoms from demons in exchange for human sacrifices, while the Murong Family debated whether to flee to Jiangnan. The chief elder warned that dependence on sacrifices would drive the kingdoms to war, leaving the family itself at risk.

• A Northern Desolation Kingdom delegation delivered healthy human captives to a giant serpent and received demon flesh in return.
• The giant serpent warned the old priest to bring stronger sacrifices, recalling how it had punished a kingdom that delivered starved captives.
• Murong Yunbo welcomed his granddaughter back from Jiangnan and asked what its people had said.
• A Murong Family elder questioned whether they should still migrate, since the serpents’ demon flesh could strengthen the family.
• Murong Yunbo argued that rising slave prices would lead to wars for captives and could eventually leave the Murong Family sacrificed to the serpents.

Beiyu, Murong Qingxue, and other Northern Wasteland youths discussed how the giant snakes were driving human sacrifice and likely preparing to provoke another war. Their efforts to persuade their families to flee seemed hopeless, until news from the capital revealed that Wutu Muer had asked to marry Xiao Mingxue, Chen Qing’s betrothed.

• Beiyu and the other youths discussed noble families abducting ordinary people to supply human sacrifices and predicted that war would break out in the Northern Wasteland within two months.
• Beiyu explained that the giant snakes were using Earth Spirit and human suffering to manipulate people, while Murong Qingxue agreed that the ancient powers would keep humanity at war.
• Beiyu urged the youths to get their families out before the fighting began, but they admitted they had little influence over their elders.
• A youth revealed that his family had secretly maintained contact with the Wang Household in the capital through deathsworn messengers.
• The youth reported that Wutu Muer had asked to marry Xiao Mingxue, prompting Beiyu and the others to question the imperial court’s intentions while Chen Qing remained absent.

Ziyue assessed Jiangnan’s rapid growth and the divisions threatening its coalition while Chen Qing remained missing. After hearing that news from the capital had spread, she called the seven prefectures’ Underworld leaders and Princess Ao Zhen to Liuzhou.

• Ziyue learned that people across the capital were discussing newly released news and ordered the Underworld leaders of the seven prefectures and Princess Ao Zhen to gather in Liuzhou.
• Ziyue reviewed how Jiangnan had secured the West Sea and half the North Sea Dragon Palace, revived its troops, resettled northerners, and rapidly expanded its armies and research.
• Ziyue recognized that Tian Heng’s unequal distribution of the Power of Faith had fueled resentment among the Dragon Palace forces, with Ao Zhen keeping them in check.
• Ziyue noted that the West Sea and Xu Hu’s Fighter Army were clashing over limited resources as they pursued expansion and defended the North Sea.
• Ziyue realized that Chen Qing’s absence and her own lack of authority left her unable to resolve Jiangnan’s disputes, and she wondered what the capital intended by releasing the news.

Jiangnan’s leaders realized the court was testing whether Chen Qing was absent by spreading news of a Southern Barbarian prince seeking Xiao Mingxue’s hand. Unable to contact Chen Qing, they decided to use A Li as his stand-in to marry Xiao Mingxue and bring her to Jiangnan, with Ao Zhen assigned as escort.

• Master Shen San warned that a traitor within Jiangnan’s faction might exploit Chen Qing’s absence and that the court was testing whether he was away.
• The officials discussed the danger of Jiangnan’s divided factions and the rumor that a Southern Barbarian prince had proposed to Xiao Mingxue.
• Ziyue argued that Jiangnan had to respond firmly to protect Chen Qing’s dignity and proposed finding someone to stand in for him.
• Ziyue nominated A Li to impersonate Chen Qing and marry Xiao Mingxue, prompting Chen Ying to object because she distrusted the Thousand-Faced Fox.
• Ao Zhen was assigned to escort A Li, and Master Shen San supported Ziyue’s proposal.

As the capital grew colder and more sinister, Xiao Mingxue mourned Little Seven and feared that she would be forced to marry the second prince of the Wutu Kingdom instead of the King of Qin. Far away, Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets struggled through a strange forest and discovered they might be trapped in the Sealed Land, where players were sealed.

• Xiao Mingxue remembered how Little Seven had died in her bed despite the warm room, and feared she might meet the same fate amid the palace’s growing deaths.
• Du Niang brought Xiao Mingxue soup and reassured her about the marriage proposal from the Wutu Kingdom, while Xiao Mingxue doubted the imperial family would protect her.
• Du Niang urged Xiao Mingxue to trust the King of Qin, prompting her to wonder whether he still remembered her and would come to marry her.
• Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets discussed their half-year journey through the forest, and Heavenly Secrets said they might be in the Sealed Land, where players were sealed.

Chen Qing learned from Heavenly Secrets that rival player guilds fought over limited resources after replacing ancient beings, leading victors to seal defeated players to prevent their reincarnation and revenge. They suspected their location was a missing part of the Southern Barbarians, possibly the sealing ground of the Sparrow Wasp Queen.

• Heavenly Secrets explained that the first players to arrive were closed-beta guild members who had united to replace ancient beings, but later split into factions.
• Chen Qing learned that guild players used closed-beta information to exploit loopholes and seize the power of sealed players.
• Heavenly Secrets said that players fought over limited resources and power, then sealed defeated rivals because demons could reincarnate and seek revenge.
• Heavenly Secrets identified their location as a likely missing part of the Southern Barbarians, where one of three sealing grounds might be nearby.
• Heavenly Secrets warned Chen Qing that they might be in the Sparrow Wasp Queen's sealing ground.

Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets discussed the sealed monster Quefeng before she appeared beside them without warning. In the West Sea, Ziyue persuaded Ao Zhen to escort the West Sea Dragon Palace’s matriarch to Jiangnan, offering her political allies and a share of the Power of Faith.

• Heavenly Secrets explained that players had sealed Quefeng because her talent let her steal abilities and grow dangerously powerful.
• Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets worried Quefeng might be nearby, and she suddenly spoke beside them despite neither sensing her approach.
• Ziyue explained that the West Sea still faced threats from the sealed Heavenly Ghost Octopus, the Dragon King, and the living corpses.
• Ziyue showed Ao Zhen the dragon woman’s eyeballs and asked her to escort the woman, whom she identified as the West Sea Dragon Palace’s matriarch, to the capital.
• Ziyue proposed that Ao Zhen build a matriarch faction and promised her Dragon Palace guard a role protecting Jiangnan’s leaders and an equal share of the West Sea God’s Power of Faith.

Ziyue explained the mission lineup for welcoming Chen Qing’s principal wife back to Jiangnan, then told Chen Ying that Chen Qing was trapped in the Southern Barbarians and in danger. She revealed that he had escaped a sealed realm, but the player imprisoned there had escaped with him.

• Wei Gongcheng introduced the mission team, including Ao Zhen, Feiyi, Nuyi, Chen Ying, Mr. Yang, and Eighth Master Shen.
• Ziyue explained why Ao Zhen would deter the capital, Mr. Yang would handle court protocol, and Chen Ying would deal with sorcerer households.
• Eighth Master Shen complained about being assigned to the mission, but Ziyue said he was Jiangnan’s strongest available sorcerer.
• Chen Ying stayed behind and asked Ziyue whether she had news of Chen Qing.
• Ziyue told Chen Ying that Chen Qing was in the Southern Barbarians, could not return, and was in danger.
• Ziyue revealed that Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets had escaped a player’s sealed grounds, but the player had escaped with them.

Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets confronted a stealthy cross-dressing youth sealed in the land, who revealed that the Four Great Guilds had monopolized power for three cycles. The youth deduced that the Earth Spirit Revival had been delayed and suspected Chen Qing was involved, while Chen Qing realized the youth was lying about how he identified the Dragon Palace.

• Chen Qing invited the youth to speak and deduced that his stealth and tracking skills outweighed his direct combat strength, while the youth confirmed he had been watching them.
• The youth asked whether the Four Great Guilds still held a monopoly, then revealed that someone inspected the sealed land on a regular schedule and that the monopoly had lasted three cycles.
• Heavenly Secrets acknowledged that he was a first-version demon, and the youth remarked on how weak their auras were compared with those of past cycles.
• The youth reasoned that the Earth Spirit Revival had been delayed and wondered whether a newbie like Chen Qing had changed the situation.
• Chen Qing asked how the youth recognized his Dragon Palace origin, and the youth claimed he had smelled Chen Qing's fishy scent through his Howling Heaven Nose.
• Chen Qing recognized that the youth was lying about how he had identified the Dragon Palace.

Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets questioned a hidden entity about Earth Spirit Revival and the ancient seal, while learning that it could detect lies and had been divided into four counterparts. The entity urged them to confront the two counterparts waiting near the eastern barrier, and Chen Qing ended the chapter wondering whether the Ghost Domain’s involvement in the seal was connected to his fiancée’s impending abduction.

• Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets discussed how the King of Qin’s plan to preserve the first-version world had failed when human clans and reincarnating demons betrayed him.
• The entity recognized that Chen Qing was lying about how they had entered and revealed it had watched them for half a year.
• The entity explained that it had been split into four, that two barriers had already been destroyed, and that the eastern barrier was the only one still intact.
• The entity proposed that Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets help destroy the eastern barrier, warning that its two counterparts were likely waiting there and that Earth Spirit had already revived.
• Chen Qing learned that the entity’s captors were from the Ghost Domain and wondered whether their presence was connected to his fiancée’s impending abduction by the Southern Barbarians.

Ma Yunchang led starving refugees from the Wutuo Kingdom through the Southern Barbarian mountains, fleeing ghost temples and human sacrifices. They found a fertile, sheltered mountain settlement and learned from its guards that they had somehow arrived in Jiangnan.

• Ma Yunchang refused to turn back, leading nearly a thousand refugees deeper into the mountains despite their hunger and thirst.
• The refugees recalled how the Wutuo Kingdom’s Ghost General Temples demanded children for cruel sacrifices, driving villagers to flee.
• A forest filled with fruit trees and clear water appeared as the miasma parted, and the desperate refugees rushed toward it.
• Ma Yunchang followed the refugees into the settlement and found the water, fruit, and fresh air were real.
• Two armored soldiers and a young woman confronted the refugees, and Ma Yunchang identified them as people from the Wutuo Kingdom.
• A soldier said they were in Jiangnan, leaving Ma Yunchang bewildered about how the refugees had crossed from the Southern Barbarians.

Ma Changyun and a group of Southern Barbarian refugees appeared on Great Azure Mountain, where Lady Xiaomu arranged food and reported their arrival. Ziyue suspected that Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets had been forced to open Heavenly Secrets Cave, and warned that someone was plotting against Jiangnan.

• Ma Changyun told Lady Xiaomu that his group came from the Southern Barbarians, and she warned them not to eat too many medicinal fruits.
• Ma Changyun pointed toward the route his group had taken, but found only a cliff, leaving the soldiers suspicious of their origins.
• Lady Xiaomu reasoned that the refugees had appeared through spatial fluctuations and sent a spirit bird to report them, while arranging meat porridge for the children.
• Ziyue told Seventh Master Shen that this was the fourth group of Southern Barbarian civilians to arrive and suspected Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets were trying to escape a sealed place.
• Ziyue concluded that someone had tracked Chen Qing and forced the opening of Heavenly Secrets Cave, causing people to be transported indiscriminately and suggesting a plot against Jiangnan.

Three days earlier, Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets traveled with Quefeng toward the eastern barrier, where Quefeng’s two counterparts were preparing to escape. After learning how dangerous Quefeng’s divided powers were, Chen Qing suspected Quefeng was lying about the illusion barrier ahead.

• Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets questioned Quefeng about his identity and traveled east with him across the vast sealed space.
• Quefeng pointed out the unstable eastern barrier and explained that his counterparts might be cooperating to escape.
• Quefeng revealed that his powers came from four demon bloodlines: Howling Heaven, Dark Shadow, Heavenly Wildcat, and White Phoenix.
• Quefeng said the Heavenly Wildcat counterpart had swallowed the other, combining illusion powers with an assassin’s abilities.
• Quefeng claimed the illusion barrier ahead was limited and posed little danger, but Chen Qing privately suspected he was lying.

Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets discovered that Quefeng had deceived them and poisoned them to force them toward White Phoenix, the last avatar of a powerful being. As they headed into the black forest, White Phoenix sensed the newcomers and feared the attacker would reclaim his final avatar before the barrier fell.

• Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets agreed to wait near the barrier while Chen Qing suspected Quefeng was withholding information.
• The sky shattered, and Chen Qing rushed at Quefeng, only to find that he was an illusion in a dead, poisonous forest.
• Chen Qing realized Quefeng had already gathered three avatars and had lured them into the poison domain to make them probe White Phoenix.
• Chen Qing saw black lines spreading through his blood vessels and concluded that they had been poisoned, so he and Heavenly Secrets headed toward White Phoenix.
• White Phoenix sensed the two outsiders and realized that his fellow had brought them in, leaving him to decide how to survive until the barrier broke.