Chapter Summaries

Chen Lingling told Li Muchen that Lu Qing'an had used the Rule of Cause and Effect to make him seal his own memories, but Li Muchen rejected the idea and sealed those memories again. Back on the Five Lakes Continent, Li Wensong realized Chen Lingling might return to find him after completing a test.

• Chen Lingling explained to Li Muchen that Lu Qing'an had secretly controlled his actions through the Rule of Cause and Effect.
• Li Muchen asked Chen Lingling not to discuss Lu Qing'an with him again and ended their communication.
• Li Muchen examined himself, found no trace of outside influence, threatened Lu Qing'an, and resealed his memories.
• Chen Lingling decided to find Li Wensong after reflecting on her encounter with Lu Qing'an and Li Muchen.
• Li Wensong realized Lu Qing'an might have sent him away because Chen Lingling would return to find him after completing a test.

Li Wensong interpreted Lu Qing'an's words as a prediction that Chen Lingling would return, and she arrived within ten breaths. Chen Lingling accepted her place among Lu Qing'an's chess pieces and joined Li Wensong's group, who then asked what had happened after she left.

• Li Wensong predicted Chen Lingling would return within ten breaths, and Lianxin, Qian Xiuzhu, and Qian Mingjing sensed her approaching the Five Lakes Continent.
• Lianxin brought Li Wensong and the others to meet Chen Lingling, who admitted she had been wrong to doubt Lu Qing'an and called Li Wensong Brother Song.
• Chen Lingling accepted that she was one of Lu Qing'an's chess pieces and promised to help advance his plans.
• Li Wensong told Chen Lingling that Lu Qing'an would not blame her and that the Fallen God Sea could help her reach the Late Eternal Realm.
• Chen Lingling sat beside Jin Lin at Lianxin's residence and agreed to follow Li Wensong's guidance, and he asked her what she had experienced after leaving.

Chen Lingling recounted how Lu Qing'an had sealed Li Muchen's memories, and Li Wensong interpreted her experience as a test that brought her into their group of chess pieces. The group speculated about their tasks and breakthroughs on the upcoming trip to the Fallen God Sea, while Lu Qing'an sensed that people were gossiping about him.

• Chen Lingling told Li Wensong, Lianxin, and the others about her conversation with Li Muchen and how she realized Lu Qing'an had sealed his memories.
• Li Wensong concluded that Li Muchen was also a chess piece and welcomed Chen Lingling into their organization.
• Li Wensong proposed that the group discuss Lu Qing'an's plans for the Fallen God Sea, and Qian Xiuzhu predicted that more than ten Eternal Realm experts might join them.
• Li Wensong suggested they recruit Eternal Realm experts during the trip, and the others agreed to prepare for the task.
• Jin Lin proposed that they investigate the biggest changes in the Fallen God Sea, while Chen Lingling and Qian Xiuzhu discussed their possible cultivation breakthroughs.
• Lu Qing'an drank tea and wondered why he felt people were gossiping about him.

Lu Qing'an learned that Chen Lingling had joined him after misinterpreting his bluff about sealing her memory, and he prepared for the upcoming trip to the Fallen God Sea. With fewer than three days before it opened, Wang Duanshan and He Hong returned with the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror ready to search for a Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein.

• Li Wensong reported that Chen Lingling had joined them after she concluded Lu Qing'an had used a mysterious technique to control Li Muchen and seal her memory.
• Lu Qing'an told Li Wensong to get along with Chen Lingling and accepted her as a valuable subordinate.
• Lu Qing'an admitted to Xue Tianfei that he had only been bluffing, then asked her to gather information about advancing from the Mid Eternal Realm to the Late Eternal Realm.
• As the Fallen God Sea's opening drew near, Wang Duanshan and He Hong emerged from the Time Cultivation Tower with the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror.
• Lu Qing'an asked whether the mirror could locate a Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein and how to use it.

Lu Qing'an poured vast amounts of Power of the Dao Source and cultivation into the incomplete Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror until it finally awakened. After allowing its ancient consciousness into his sea-of-consciousness star field, he felt it convey a profound rule.

• Lu Qing'an examined the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror and learned that completing its missing pieces would require Sovereign Realm artifact-refining skill.
• Lu Qing'an fed the mirror Power of the Dao Source, then repeatedly consumed his cultivation to replenish it as the treasure continued draining him.
• Wang Duanshan and He Hong worried the mirror was defective and urged Lu Qing'an to stop, but he believed it was nearly full.
• After Lu Qing'an's cultivation fell to the Peak Sovereign Realm for the third time and returned to the Early Eternal Realm, the mirror awakened in a burst of light.
• Lu Qing'an allowed the mirror's ancient consciousness into his sea-of-consciousness star field, where it flowed in and conveyed a profound fluctuation.

Lu Qing'an used the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror to map thirty Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone veins across ten nearby intermediate star regions. With three days before the Fallen God Sea opened, he set out with Xue Tianfei to inspect the veins, leaving Wang Duanshan and He Hong behind.

• Lu Qing'an activated the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror and found thirty Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone veins, including a remarkably bright one near the edge of the map.
• Lu Qing'an compared the map with the Fallen God Sea’s location and identified one of the marked veins there.
• Lu Qing'an told Wang Duanshan, Xue Tianfei, and He Hong about the map and explained that activating the mirror required an enormous amount of Power of the Dao Source.
• Lu Qing'an planned to use the Five Lakes Continent to visit all thirty vein locations before the Fallen God Sea opened and claim any unowned veins or those belonging to evildoers.
• Xue Tianfei agreed to accompany Lu Qing'an, while Wang Duanshan and He Hong stayed behind.
• Lu Qing'an had Cang Ru teleport him and Xue Tianfei beyond the Five Lakes Continent, then called for Lianxin.

Lu Qing'an took Lianxin, Li Wensong, Chen Lingling, and the other Eternal Realm experts to search for unclaimed Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone mines. At their first destination, the Seven Heavens Continent's Heavenly Dao admitted there was a mine but claimed it belonged to an Eternal Realm expert, so Lu Qing'an moved on.

• Lu Qing'an summoned Lianxin and gathered the Eternal Realm experts, then told them to act as his enforcers if anyone interfered with his search for mines.
• Lu Qing'an showed Lianxin a map of mine locations and had her teleport the group and the Five Lakes Continent to a nearby Seven Heavens Continent.
• The Seven Heavens Continent's Heavenly Dao appeared and admitted that her continent contained a Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone mine, claiming she was nurturing it for an Eternal Realm expert.
• Lu Qing'an decided not to investigate the mine and directed Lianxin to take them to the next location.
• After Lu Qing'an and the others departed, the Heavenly Dao wondered how they had found her mine and realized they might have a way to locate such deposits.

Lu Qing'an and his companions searched for a Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein and finally found a hidden star domain secret realm. They uncovered its entrance, but a powerful Nine Mysteries Sealing Array blocked the way inside.

• Lu Qing'an visited several marked locations and found that each Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein belonged to a continent or merchant association.
• Lu Qing'an considered trading cultivation for a vein and decided to ask a suitable continent for one in exchange for helping it advance.
• Lu Qing'an and his companions reached a location in the void with no nearby continent and began searching for the hidden secret realm.
• Li Wensong spotted ripples in the void, and Chen Lingling opened a rift that revealed the secret realm's entrance.
• Chen Lingling identified the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array and said she could neither unravel nor force it open.

Lu Qing'an let Chen Lingling and the others attempt to open the star-domain secret realm array, believing it might help them grow. Their combined assault failed, and the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array absorbed their attacks and prepared a lethal counterattack.

• Li Wensong persuaded Chen Lingling that opening the array might be crucial to her breakthrough, and Lu Qing'an agreed to let the group try.
• Chen Lingling, Lianxin, Qian Xiuzhu, Qian Mingjing, and Li Wensong approached the array and decided to attack after Chen Lingling admitted she could not open it through array techniques.
• Chen Lingling, Lianxin, and the Qian brothers entered the Eternal Supreme State, while Li Wensong entered the Sovereign Deity State, and they launched their attacks together.
• The Nine Mysteries Sealing Array absorbed their attacks, repaired its damage, and grew stronger by devouring their Rules.
• Chen Lingling realized the array also possessed the Backlash Rule and warned everyone as it formed a destructive sphere to attack them.

Chen Lingling and the others failed to break the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array, which absorbed their attacks and unleashed a powerful backlash. As they reconsidered their approach, Lu Qing'an realized his sea of consciousness was automatically deducing the rules he had witnessed.

• Chen Lingling, Lianxin, Qian Xiuzhu, Qian Mingjing, and Li Wensong joined forces to withstand the array's chaotic backlash, which devastated nearby asteroids and planets.
• Chen Lingling and the others recognized that attacking the array only made it stronger, and Qian Xiuzhu concluded that brute force would not break it.
• Li Wensong suggested that Lu Qing'an had made them attack to show them how far they still had to go, prompting Chen Lingling to consider whether mastering the Backlash Rule could help her reach the Late Eternal Realm.
• Lu Qing'an realized that his sea of consciousness was rapidly using the Power of the Dao Source to deduce the rules he had just seen, including the Space, Destruction, Metal Element, Devouring, and Backlash Rules.
• Lu Qing'an wondered whether observing more Eternal Realm cultivators would let him master their rules and become invincible.

Lu Qing'an let the group seek another way to break the formation while he quietly studied its rules. Chen Lingling summoned her Late Eternal Realm friend Han Li, who arrived as the story left the formation unopened.

• Lu Qing'an told Xue Tianfei he would wait and watch the formation while the Power of the Dao Source deduced its rules.
• Chen Lingling revealed that her friend Han Li, a Late Eternal Realm continent's Heavenly Dao, might be able to break the formation, though she might demand half of its contents.
• Li Wensong asked Lu Qing'an whether Chen Lingling should summon Han Li, and Lu Qing'an agreed.
• Chen Lingling contacted Han Li, who appeared in the star region in less than half an incense stick's time.
• Xue Tianfei and Lu Qing'an remarked on Han Li's resemblance to her, while Lu Qing'an teased Xue Tianfei.
• Han Li arrived beside Chen Lingling and asked what was wrong.

Han Li joined Chen Lingling’s group to break the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array, negotiating a thirty-percent share of what lay inside. As the group attacked the array, Lu Qing'an studied Han Li’s rules and found that doing so consumed his Power of the Dao Source at an accelerating rate.

• Chen Lingling invited Han Li to help break the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array, and Han Li noticed the Devouring Rule and Backlash Rule in it.
• Li Wensong told Han Li that Lu Qing'an was a Peak Eternal Realm expert whose true strength was concealed, then asked her to help break the array.
• Han Li demanded thirty percent of the discoveries, and Li Wensong agreed after Chen Lingling asked his opinion.
• Han Li and the others entered their Eternal Supreme states and unleashed their strongest attacks on the array, drawing the attention of Eternal Realm experts across the star domain.
• Lu Qing'an identified the rules Han Li used and realized that studying them rapidly consumed the Power of the Dao Source in his sea of consciousness.

Chen Lingling, Han Li, Lianxin, and the others failed to break the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array, which swallowed their combined attack and struck back with devastating force. Han Li asked Lu Qing'an to act, but he told them to find another way while he continued deducing the array’s rules, and Han Li openly questioned what was keeping him from acting.

• Chen Lingling, Han Li, Lianxin, and the others attacked the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array, but it absorbed their power and returned it as a sphere of chaotic energy.
• Han Li used the Rule of Heavenly Scars to open a vast void rift and divert the explosion, though Chen Lingling and Lianxin were injured and Han Li’s sword was damaged.
• Han Li identified the array as the work of a Peak Eternal Realm array master and wondered whether Lu Qing'an was secretly a peak expert.
• Han Li bowed to Lu Qing'an and asked him to break their predicament, but he told her to think of another way because he was still deducing the array’s rules.
• Li Wensong urged Chen Lingling to seek more help, and Han Li asked Lu Qing'an directly what was preventing him from acting.

Lu Qing'an watched as Li Wensong and Chen Lingling gathered ten Eternal Realm cultivators to attack the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array, but the array absorbed their assault and endured. With every other option exhausted, the group turned to Lu Qing'an, who prepared to act.

• Li Wensong and Chen Lingling decided to gather the approaching Eternal Realm cultivators and use their combined strength against the array.
• Li Wensong persuaded ten cultivators to join the attack, promising to divide whatever they found according to strength.
• Han Li, Chen Lingling, and the other cultivators struck the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array together, but its devouring and backlash rules repelled them.
• The cultivators survived the array's backlash, realized it could withstand a peak Eternal Realm expert, and looked to Lu Qing'an for help.
• Lu Qing'an said he would have to act after all.

Lu Qing'an discovered that converting cultivation into the Power of the Dao Source accelerated his deduction of rules, then prepared to test his new abilities against the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array. The chapter ended with him entering his Eternal Supreme state as Li Wensong and the others gathered their strength to attack the array again.

• Lu Qing'an realized that cultivation-converted Power of the Dao Source let him deduce rules more than twice as fast and found over ten rules available in his sea of consciousness.
• Lu Qing'an told Xue Tianfei to watch from a safe distance, then asked Chen Lingling, Han Li, Li Wensong, and the others to attack the array with him.
• Li Wensong rallied the Eternal Realm experts, promising they could share the secret realm's treasures after they broke the array.
• Lu Qing'an entered his Eternal Supreme state, manifesting his Eternal Night Emperor Position and gaining effortless control of the rules he had deduced.
• Li Wensong and the others gathered their strength for another attack on the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array.

Lu Qing'an let Han Li and the others trigger the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array's backlash, then combined Divine Abilities with Rules to redirect and amplify their attacks. He shattered the array and calmly told the stunned group that it was done.

• Han Li and the others struck the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array again, and it swallowed their attacks before sending a devastating backlash toward them.
• Lu Qing'an told the group to leave the attack to him and stepped in front of the approaching backlash.
• Lu Qing'an summoned countless Demon God Phantoms, which used the Devouring Rule to absorb the counterattack and the Backlash Rule to turn it toward the golden tower.
• Lu Qing'an empowered the phantoms with more than ten Rules and unleashed a combined strike that cracked and broke the Nine Mysteries Sealing Array.
• Lu Qing'an dismissed the phantoms and told Han Li, Li Wensong, and the others that the array was broken, leaving them speechless.

Lu Qing'an revealed strength far beyond his apparent Early Eternal Realm cultivation, opened the star region secret realm, and led the group inside to search for treasures. The explorers found an intermediate-grade Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein, leaving them excited by the realm’s riches.

• Han Li and the others realized Lu Qing'an possessed numerous Rules and the strength of a Peak Eternal Realm expert.
• Lu Qing'an collected the damaged Nine Mysteries Sealing Array and confirmed the group would divide the secret realm’s discoveries according to strength.
• Li Wensong, Qian Xiuzhu, and several others entered the secret realm first, and the group followed into a small, lifeless star region.
• Han Li ordered everyone to search thoroughly and share their finds, and the group split up to explore.
• Lu Qing'an followed the map in his sea of consciousness and found a Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein that proved to be intermediate-grade.

Lu Qing'an arranged to nurture the intermediate Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein on the Eternal Night Continent and share its yearly yield with the other Eternal Realm experts. After dividing the Nine Mysteries Arrays, the group discovered seven Peak Eternal Realm Dao Source Rule Fragments, including a Backlash Rule Inheritance Fragment that captivated Chen Lingling.

• Lu Qing'an proposed nurturing the Heavenly Mandate Soul Stone vein on the Eternal Night Continent and sharing the stones it produced each year.
• Han Li agreed to Lu Qing'an's proposal, and the other Eternal Realm experts followed her lead.
• Lu Qing'an took the Nine Mysteries Array containing the spatial Principle, while the group agreed to sell the remaining four on the Nine Heavens Continent.
• The group examined seven Dao Source Rule Fragments inherited from a Peak Eternal Realm expert, including fragments for spatial, time-cold, destruction, devouring, and backlash rules.
• Chen Lingling stared at the Backlash Rule Inheritance Fragment and realized it could give her the chance to comprehend the rule.

The group debated how to divide the Rule inheritance fragments, and Han Li and Chen Lingling agreed to share the Backlash Rule fragment. After Lu Qing'an left Li Wensong to handle the matter, Li Wensong told the bewildered Eternal Realm cultivators that a Peak Eternal Realm expert who had mastered the Rule of Cause and Effect had taken an interest in them.

• Chen Lingling and the others eyed the Rule inheritance fragments, and Han Li claimed the Backlash Rule fragment.
• Chen Lingling proposed sharing the fragment with Han Li, and they agreed to seek another fragment or compensation as well.
• Lu Qing'an left with Xue Tianfei, entrusting Li Wensong with dividing the remaining spoils.
• Li Wensong reminded Qian Xiuzhu that Lu Qing'an had told him to obtain the Realm-Stabilizing Stele, and the group realized his hidden intent.
• Li Wensong told the Eternal Realm cultivators that a Peak Eternal Realm expert who had mastered the Rule of Cause and Effect had taken an interest in them.

Li Wensong convinced Han Li and the others that Lu Qing'an was a peak Eternal Realm expert who had already guided them into becoming his pawns. He left them stunned by linking their plans to explore the Fallen God Sea to Lu Qing'an's control over their fate.

• Han Li asked whether the senior who had intervened was a peak Eternal Realm expert who had mastered the Rule of Cause and Effect, and Chen Lingling confirmed it.
• Li Wensong explained Lu Qing'an's plans and revealed that he, Chen Lingling, and the others were Lu Qing'an's pawns.
• Chen Lingling described her gains and her expectation that comprehending the Backlash Rule would let her reach the late Eternal Realm.
• Qian Xiuzhu recounted how Lu Qing'an had directed them to obtain Realm-Stabilizing Steles, persuading the newcomers that he had guided their arrival.
• Li Wensong connected the star region secret realm to the fallen expert behind the Fallen God Sea and asked who planned to explore it; everyone present raised a hand.