Chen Qing prepared Jiangnan to expand into the Northern Wolf Kingdom and Southeast Commandery as rival factions and invading forces threatened both fronts. Ziyue headed southeast after Jiang Xiaoling summoned the Correctors, while Chen Qing entrusted Tian Heng with the campaign against the Southern Barbarians and prepared to face hidden enemies.
Chen Qing captured White Cloud City and pursued Jiang Xiaoling, uncovering the Corrector Plan and the Federation's intentions for the Demon World. He sought protection against a possible Disintegration Program while Jiangnan's expansion stalled at Tiannan Pass.
Chen Qing seized Tiannan Pass and built a system for selecting Underworld officials, then opened Jiangnan to Federation newcomers under an agreement. As new spirits arrived and the Federation prepared for Chen Qing’s return, his allies questioned whether the newcomers could be integrated without threatening the world.
The King of Qin exploited Chen Qing’s crossing and West China’s shutdown to seize the command center and launch the Illusory Moon Plan, while Chen Qing and Wang Ye worked to stop him. After Chen Qing returned and destroyed the invading forces, the Central Federation prepared to carry its counterattack into the other regions.
Chen Qing organized the Central Federation’s mass entry into the new world while investigating Northern Wolf City’s submission and the danger surrounding its hidden rulers. The trail led to vanished family heads, a frightening presence in the palace, and a possible threat linked to the Four Great Guilds.
Chen Qing escaped the Spirit Ghost and refused the Xiao Household emperor’s offer, then worked to secure the northern demons and refugees as the emperor built a ghost-powered army. The arc left the great families confronting the devastated Central Plains while refugees found a safer welcome in Jiangnan.
Chen Qing prepared Jiangnan to seize the north while using reincarnation and political pressure to divide the Federation’s factions. Wang Ye helped Xu Min’s rebellion destroy the disintegration programs, forcing the great households to concede new rules for entry into the virtual world.
As the Federation opened its new-world selection to the public, Ziyue received an invitation to Cloud Capital’s first Celestial Master succession assembly in ten thousand years. The Four Symbols Gate trials began with Zhang Zhiyun’s lethal illusion and the reveal of forbidden Flying Jiangshi Guards.
Chen Ying and the Jiangnan students advanced through the Four Saints trials as the gates exposed the power of Zhang Xiaoyun, Ziyue, and the rival contestants. Chen Ying defeated Zhou Yuntao but emerged badly wounded, and the next contest began as White Plain confronted Su Changqing and Chen Yun over their runes.
Chen Yun’s Ancient Demon was exposed and captured, while the Celestial Master revealed the Warlock Dynasty’s origins and Ziyue’s connection to Pu Yunchuan. In the South Sea, the Dragon Palace’s forces attacked the city, and Chen Zhuo killed Ye Qing as Ao Zhen and her companions confronted him.
As Jiangnan faced Tian Heng’s rebellion and the South Sea’s approaching fall, Mu Hongqing and Liu Yu uncovered a plot centered on the Capital’s Ghost Temple. Wei Gongxing was chosen by Muye and secretly assessed the conspiracy, while Wei Gongyu’s patrol discovered scarlet-eyed members of their own household.
Muye and King Chujiang seized the Ghost Temples and used the Ancient Demons to threaten the capital, but Wei Gongxing and Liu Yu exposed their weakness and the emperor confronted them. As the crisis in Jiangnan continued, Shen Yuan defeated Zhang Zhiyun in the third trial, which stood tied after Yun Ke’er lost to Master Ziyue.
The Four Saints trial exposed the Celestial Master Mansion’s plan to offer human leaders symbiosis with Ancient Demons, while the emperor and Chen Qing refused to submit. Kagura’s forces and Tian Heng’s West Sea Army reached the imperial palace, where Chen Qing confronted the old Celestial Master.
Chen Qing rescued the West Sea Army from the collapsing fragments, while Tian Heng was captured and killed by a mysterious fighter. Kagura trapped the emperor in Myriad Phenomena, but he broke through to King Level and joined her in killing the high priest, leaving the emperor and Kagura poised for a decisive clash.
As the factions fought over the Vermilion Bird Palace, Ziyue’s command and strange power kept the Four Saints Army from collapsing, but the emperor captured her and nearly burned her alive. Bai Hua intervened and trapped the emperor in a painted space with Chen Qing, leaving the emperor seeking a way out as he worried about his injured elder imperial sister.
Chen Qing exposed Bai Hua’s impersonation and helped the emperor destroy him, freeing the captives from the painted world. As Ziyue moved against the captain of the guard, he trapped her in the Void Realm, where she fought to survive until Chen Qing could reach her.
Chen Qing and Ziyue survived the Four Perils and the King of Qin’s ambush, then confronted new threats as the emperor and Chen Qing formed an alliance. The Five Color Families faced a choice over Cloud Capital or Jiangnan while Chen Qing and Ziyue questioned the truth of their identities.
Chen Qing and Ziyue uncovered the danger behind the sealed Underworlds and the abduction of newborn Reincarnators, while Ziyue led a rescue force toward the South Sea. Their recovered memories revealed Pu Yunchuan’s creation of Data City and the Origin Project, leaving Ziyue demanding to meet the powerful backers behind the experiments.
Wang Ye uncovered how the powerful had caused the world war to create data lifeforms, while their faction seized control of Data City and redirected resources to the New World. As Nie Xingjun and Jiang Xiaoling prepared to gamble on Chen Qing’s instructions, Wang Ye learned that Chen Qing was captive and Pu Yunchuan might still be alive.
Chen Qing and his allies uncovered the forces behind the New World’s power supply while the Shen Family faced the West Sea Dragon King and a Venerable’s Ancient Insects. Chen Ying used a Future Stone to reach King Level and seal Shen San, but collapsed as Shen Er fled toward Liuzhou City.