Chapter Summaries

As darkness consumed You Teng’s world and began swallowing the city, two men reached the same layer as You Teng and tried to understand what was happening. You Teng saw something in the darkness and vanished, leaving them convinced their understanding was still incomplete.

• Darkness enveloped the two men, and as their sanity declined, they encountered You Teng in a deeper layer of the unknown world.
• The darkness spread silently across roads, buildings, people, and the sky while the city remained unaware.
• You Teng told the two men to listen, and they heard footsteps and saw newly swallowed people approaching through the darkness.
• The two men tried to help the newcomers understand, but the people screamed and fled when they appeared.
• After returning to You Teng, the two men saw him grow ecstatic, claim he could see something, and vanish into the darkness.
• The two men glimpsed that something else existed in the darkness and began trying to understand it.

Darkness spread across the city, baffling Chi Yan and the Giant God Cult as they ordered people to flee. The Fool suggested to the Tarot Club that Shen Hui might be behind it, but the cause remained unconfirmed.

• Chi Yan saw the darkness swallowing parts of the city, ordered an evacuation, and contacted World Association headquarters for help.
• The Water District's major families and factions began evacuating after learning that the World Association had no explanation for the darkness.
• The High Priestess sensed that the darkness resisted Giant God Power and warned the Enforcer to flee, calling it a power on the level of the great Titan God.
• The Fool told Zhiyue and the other Tarot Club members that everyone had been warned and moved to safety.
• When Zhiyue asked about Shen Hui, The Fool implied that Shen Hui might have caused the darkness, then left the question unanswered.

Feng Qingming recognized the all-consuming darkness as resembling the miracle he had experienced when his Creation World collapsed during an attempt to imprison deities. In the darkness, You Teng’s companions and their growing crowd finally perceived a colorful sea and found You Teng staring at the stars.

• Feng Qingming told Zhuge Zhaixing and Zhuge Hongjing that the darkness recalled the deity-related miracle he had once witnessed.
• Feng Qingming explained that his experiment to summon and imprison deities had corrupted his Creation World and left him crippled.
• Zhuge Zhaixing said humanity’s plan was not ready and that they were testing potential Creation Worlds before using the unusual world belonging to a certain young man.
• You Teng’s two companions searched the darkness for what he had seen, drawing more people into their increasingly frenzied search.
• The crowd’s distorted perception transformed the darkness into a vivid seaside, where they heard the tide and tasted the fruit.
• You Teng’s companions found him standing motionless beneath a sky full of stars.

Shen Hui watched Cthulhu’s sleeping attention distort the Real World into a false scene of ordinary beachside fun while its inhabitants became mutated monsters, and he could not stop the effect. You Teng’s recognition of the misplaced stars drove the people to question their purpose, causing the illusion to collapse as Cthulhu began to emerge.

• Shen Hui observed that the beach, flowers, trees, and fruit seen by the maddened people were actually corpses, flesh, and tentacles, and he concluded that Cthulhu’s sleeping attention had caused the distortion.
• Shen Hui determined that his Creation World could not control Cthulhu’s power until He fully awakened, so he waited for the influence to dissipate.
• You Teng noticed that the stars were in the wrong places, and his companions began wondering why they had come to the beach.
• You Teng urged everyone to remember their purpose, and the crowd stopped playing as their madness began to grow again.
• The people looked toward the stars as the blue sky shattered and the world returned to darkness beneath a brilliant starry sky.
• A shooting star fell, and a great, unspeakable figure began to emerge.

Cthulhu projected an image and revealed that Gla'aki must align the stars so he could awaken. After Cthulhu's attention withdrew and the darkness vanished, the world began to undergo a subtle transformation.

• Cthulhu appeared among the stars and sent a message that he would awaken when the stars aligned.
• Shen Hui realized Cthulhu wanted the people to summon Gla'aki, whose Music of the Spheres could align the stars and awaken sleeping beings.
• Cthulhu forced knowledge of Gla'aki into the minds of the flesh-twisted people, and they exploded when they could not withstand it.
• Cthulhu's projection faded, the darkness vanished, and the surviving people returned to the moonlit world with varying degrees of mental damage.
• Shen Hui saw that the strange events had left no visible clues, even as the world began to change.

The darkness disappeared, and Shen Hui confirmed to Chi Yan that he was safe before learning that The Fool had told the Tarot Club he caused it. After arranging to visit Zhiyue and Qingxue, Shen Hui encountered survivors who had been driven mad and began worshipping him.

• The darkness vanished along with You Teng, the two Lord of Night Preselected Candidates, and everyone who had died inside it.
• Chi Yan sealed off the affected area for investigation and called Shen Hui, who told her he was safe outside the darkness.
• Shen Hui called Zhiyue and learned that The Fool had informed the Tarot Club that Shen Hui caused the darkness.
• Zhiyue told Shen Hui that Qingxue was awake but in a strange condition, and Shen Hui arranged to visit her the next day.
• Shen Hui encountered survivors muttering and drawing incoherently, and they all knelt and chanted to him as he passed.

Shen Hui returned to the Red Night Organization after the darkness swallowed several people, then confronted the Lord of Night about failing to intervene during the underground auction. The Lord of Night explained that faction leaders had restrained one another and began showing Shen Hui the deity in his Creation World.

• Shen Hui arrived at the Red Night Organization, where preselected candidates begged him to teach them how to create deities.
• Shen Hui sarcastically told the candidates to dream about it, and they mistook his joke for a real method.
• Huang Lingheng warned Shen Hui that Night's other preselected candidates had vanished in the darkness and might unite against him.
• Shen Hui accused the Lord of Night of abandoning him during the auction, and the Lord of Night said the faction leaders had kept one another from interfering.
• The Lord of Night brought forth his Creation World, replacing the room with a new world as he prepared to show Shen Hui its deity.

The Lord of Night showed Shen Hui his survival-type Creation World and explained that the powerful deity within it had grown after the divinity lock opened. He revealed that the invading monsters were Fallen Gods from the Negative World, who could be devoured by a deity to gain Divine Power, and urged Shen Hui to destroy them.

• The Lord of Night showed Shen Hui humans exploring the mist-filled paths of his survival-type Creation World and introduced its strongest monster, a powerful shadow deity.
• The Lord of Night deduced that Shen Hui had unlocked his divinity lock with a Saint Ascension-quality creation, and Shen Hui confirmed it.
• The Lord of Night explained that the invaders were Fallen Gods: forgotten or abandoned deities who had fallen into the Negative World and sought faith and Divine Power.
• The Lord of Night told Shen Hui that a deity could devour Fallen Gods and gain their Divine Power, encouraging him to eliminate them in his Creation World.

Shen Hui learned that the Negative World remained only a theory before returning to the Real World and visiting Qingxue. He discovered that distortion had infected her Creation World, leaving her unconscious and embroiling her world in conflict, and prepared to restore order by making the distortion espers dominant.

• The Lord of Night told Shen Hui that the Negative World was only a theory and asked him again to become Lord of Night, but Shen Hui declined and said he preferred to remain in the Red Night Organization.
• Shen Hui left the Red Night Organization's base and went to Zhiyue's home to see Qingxue, who was half-conscious and unresponsive.
• Shen Hui sensed distortion in Qingxue and entered her Creation World to investigate.
• Shen Hui found that distortion had created monsters and distortion espers, who were fighting true espers and driving Qingxue's world into chaos.
• Shen Hui prepared to restore order in Qingxue's Creation World by making the distortion espers dominant.

Shen Hui connected his Death World to Qingxue’s Esper World, sending Eldritch Beings to force its inhabitants to adapt to aberrant powers. As the worlds’ power systems aligned, Shen Hui gained control of Qingxue’s Creation World and decided to spread faith in Cthulhu there.

• Shen Hui opened a channel between the Death World and Qingxue’s Esper World, intending to make aberration its dominant force.
• Shen Hui sent urban legends and Eldritch Beings into the Esper World, killing or maddening normal espers while many aberrant espers grew stronger.
• Normal espers began learning to control aberrant powers as the invasion drove the Esper World toward the Death World’s nature.
• Shen Hui used the Death World’s will to enter and control Qingxue’s Creation World, gaining access to its state, Hero Units, and World Origin.
• Shen Hui discovered that a faith-linked esper had first embraced Cthulhu’s power, creating the aberrant espers, and decided to spread Cthulhu’s faith throughout the world.

Shen Hui helped Qingxue’s Creation World recover by spreading the Death World’s churches and integrating distortion into its Superpower system. After Qingxue reunited with him in the Real World and confessed her fear of losing him, the two grew closer and spent the night together.

• Shen Hui spread the churches from his Death World through Qingxue’s Creation World, allowing both worlds to gain power.
• Qingxue’s consciousness awakened as order returned to the Esper World, and she told Shen Hui she admired his Creation World and welcomed their worlds’ connection.
• Shen Hui returned to the Real World and found Qingxue holding him, crying because she had feared losing him.
• Shen Hui comforted Qingxue and urged her to strengthen her Creation World, offering to guide her.
• Qingxue and Shen Hui shared an intimate night together.

Shen Hui discovered that Qingxue had been chosen by The Fool for the Tarot Club’s sixth position, The Lovers, and wondered whether her ritual had already been completed. A woman identifying herself as The High Priestess appeared and offered to guide Qingxue, addressing Shen Hui as a Death God candidate.

• At breakfast, Zhiyue told Shen Hui and Qingxue about a Starry Sky Leaderboard mission involving the Laughing Moon Cult, scheduled to depart from World Association headquarters at one in the afternoon.
• Shen Hui agreed to join the mission after taking Qingxue home.
• On the way, Shen Hui and Qingxue passed a woman offering children tarot readings, but the woman disappeared before Shen Hui could question her.
• Qingxue showed Shen Hui the tarot card The Lovers, which she said a masked clown had given her after promising she would find a lover.
• A middle-aged woman introduced herself as The High Priestess and offered to guide The Lovers, calling Shen Hui a Death God candidate.

The High Priestess explained that Qingxue had been chosen by The Lovers and invited her to activate her authority, while Shen Hui left to join a World Association mission. At the headquarters, Shen Hui joined a ten-person team assigned to investigate Laughing Moon Cult strongholds.

• The High Priestess told Qingxue that The Lovers had chosen her and invited her to activate her authority; Qingxue agreed to go with her after returning home.
• Shen Hui parted from Qingxue and returned to Zhiyue, who accepted that Qingxue had been chosen and urged him to head to the World Association headquarters.
• Shen Hui and Zhiyue arrived at the headquarters, where Bai Fan, Tu Xingchen, Zhuge Hongjing, and Ye Long also gathered.
• A World Association elder announced rewards for investigating Laughing Moon Cult strongholds and warned that the sites might still be dangerous.
• Shen Hui, Zhiyue, Ye Long, and Zhuge Hongjing were assigned to the same ten-person team to investigate the strongholds.

Shen Hui and the others entered the Land of Ruins to investigate a Laughing Moon Cult hideout believed to be hidden underground. After navigating old passages and avoiding spatial rifts, they found signs of digging and reached a widened underground space.

• Shen Hui and the others surveyed the ruined landscape beyond the five major cities and learned why humanity had retreated behind the walls.
• Zhuge Hongjing suggested that the group enter their Creator Forms before descending into the underground passage.
• Raven detached from Shen Hui's arm and transformed, then Shen Hui followed Zhiyue and the others down the stairs.
• Ye Long uncovered an iron hatch beneath a pile of junk, revealing a passage into the old city's underground drainage channels.
• The group traveled several kilometers, carefully passed a spatial rift, and found a widened area with signs of recent digging.
• Shen Hui examined the underground space and found combustible material on the wall.

Shen Hui and the others explored a tunnel marked with murals and found an apparently abandoned Laughing Moon Cult bedroom. Shen Hui discovered a photograph with a cryptic message and took it as a possible clue, just before someone called the group outside.

• Zhuge Hongjing and Shen Hui offered different interpretations of the mural showing a dark figure swallowing the moon and a red moon appearing.
• After the group moved on, the mural revealed that the figure had died after swallowing the moon, and its blood had turned the bamboo forest and moon red.
• Shen Hui and the others found rooms along the tunnel and searched a clean, simply furnished bedroom with a worn circular array on the floor.
• Shen Hui found a childhood photo beneath a cup, with a message on the back saying, "In the dark of night, He watches over us like a warm mother. Today, I will follow Mother."
• Shen Hui wondered whether the message echoed the Giant God Cult, then pocketed the photo to have it investigated.
• Someone outside shouted for everyone to come out and look.

Shen Hui and Ye Long discovered that the Laughing Moon Cult had used its followers as sacrifices in a ritual, and the team assumed the ritual had failed. As darkness swallowed the chamber, Shen Hui saw the remains on the formation melting, revealing that the ritual was only beginning.

• Shen Hui and Ye Long joined the others in a vast chamber, where they found a formation surrounded by human remains.
• The team guessed that the Laughing Moon Cult had sacrificed its followers, and Ye Long helped Shen Hui recognize one of the heads from a photo.
• The investigators found no further passages and decided to leave, though Shen Hui doubted the ritual had failed.
• As the group turned back, darkness spread through the tunnel and blinded everyone, prompting them to call out and prepare for danger.
• Shen Hui saw the flesh and heads on the formation melt into pools of bloody water, confirming that the ritual was starting.

Shen Hui and the others witnessed the Laughing Moon Cult’s ritual summon a sphere of dense Divine Power, though no deity or danger appeared. The group agreed to divide the power, and one man cautiously reached out to touch it.

• Shen Hui warned everyone that the array ritual had begun, and the darkness receded after the corpses vanished into blood.
• The group saw the blood activate the array, but an invisible barrier stopped one man from disrupting it.
• Everyone started toward the tunnel to return to the surface, but the array erupted with cold divine aura and drew them back.
• The ritual produced a sphere of Divine Power that the group suspected belonged to the Laughing Moon Cult’s deity.
• The group agreed to share the Divine Power, and one man approached and reached out to touch it.

Shen Hui refused to absorb the Divine Power because its convenient appearance seemed suspicious, and he left with Ye Long, Zhiyue, and Zhuge Hongjing. On their way out, Shen Hui noticed that the murals had changed and found a new image of the moon tearing through darkness to become a red moon.

• One person absorbed the Divine Power, and the others took turns drawing from the shrinking mass.
• Shen Hui and Zhiyue suspected the Laughing Moon Cult had left the power as a trap, and Zhuge Hongjing warned Shen Hui not to absorb it.
• Shen Hui stopped Ye Long from taking a share and said they would leave; Zhiyue and Zhuge Hongjing also declined the Divine Power.
• The remaining people were pleased to divide the four companions' shares as Shen Hui led them out through the tunnels.
• Shen Hui noticed the murals had changed and found a new image showing the moon tearing through a black shadow and becoming a red moon.

Shen Hui and the others discovered that the Laughing Moon Cult’s divinity absorbed people’s Creation Worlds and drove them to explode. The chapter ended with Shen Hui, Zhiyue, Zhuge Hongjing, and Ye Long also smiling strangely before their bodies burst apart into blood moons.

• Zhiyue interpreted the new mural as showing a shadow devouring the moon before exploding, and Shen Hui realized the shadow might represent them.
• Shen Hui urged the group to leave, but four survivors of the divinity ritual fled toward them, chased by two deranged companions.
• The two pursuers stopped at the moon carving, declared they would pursue Mother, and exploded, leaving red spheres containing their divinity and Creation Worlds.
• The red moons unfolded the absorbed Creation Worlds, merging them with the tunnel and trapping Shen Hui and the others in altered space.
• Shen Hui, Zhiyue, Zhuge Hongjing, and Ye Long began smiling like the possessed men, proclaimed their pursuit of Her, and exploded into four blood moons.

Shen Hui and the others discovered that the Laughing Moon Cult had fused six Creation Worlds into a blood-red battlefield, using divinity to control them. Unable to escape, they unfolded their own Creation Worlds and prepared to fight the attacking armies.

• The four people who had absorbed the Laughing Moon Cult's divinity burst apart, and their blood moons joined the six fused Creation Worlds.
• Zhuge Hongjing warned that the cult's deity could control Creation Worlds and turn their inhabitants into puppets, while Ye Long feared they were trapped.
• Shen Hui revealed his monstrous creation form and used his World Power to overcome the fused worlds' suppression.
• Zhiyue, Zhuge Hongjing, and Ye Long unfolded their Creation Worlds, with Zhuge Hongjing revealing his armored creator form and golden dragon.
• The six fused worlds sent vast armies to attack, and Shen Hui, Zhiyue, and Zhuge Hongjing deployed their own forces to meet them.