Chapter Summaries

After Melita recovered from her Soul Mutation, Jason and his companions celebrated with her and invited her to join the Rhine Clan, but she declined so she could search for her dead brother. The group then bought Floating Shadows for the clan, and Jason gained insight into his original body's Edicts of Destruction.

• Jason told Landon and Kasabu that Melita's soul had stopped weakening and that light and fire elements were gathering around her divine sense.
• Melita awoke after seven months, thanked Jason, Landon, and Kasabu for saving her, and said her soul felt stronger than before.
• Landon offered Melita an elder position in the Rhine Clan, but she declined and explained that she had come to the Netherworld to find her dead brother.
• Melita accepted Landon's Blood Blade and gave him a jade pendant as a token, then joined the group for a celebratory meal before leaving.
• Jason, Landon, and Kasabu bought Floating Shadows for the Rhine Clan, and Jason sensed that his original body's Edicts of Destruction were nearing the Deity level.

Jason and his companions were ambushed on their journey back to the Rhine Clan by a bandit leader who controlled Soul Seed slaves. After Jason nearly killed one of her Highgod followers, the leader confronted him and demanded that he become her slave.

• Jason, Landon, and Kasabu disguised themselves and left Falling Rain City, but seven bandits—including three Highgods—blocked their path and attacked.
• The trio fled with their Deathgod Golems, while the bandit leader destroyed Kasabu’s golem and sent her slaves after them.
• A Wind Element Highgod pursued Jason into a cave, where Jason used his clones, Edicts of Death, and poisoned arrows to mortally wound him.
• The Highgod self-detonated to let his Lowgod clone escape, but the bandit leader killed that clone at the cave entrance and cornered Jason.
• Jason warned the leader that the Rhine Clan would retaliate, but she praised his abilities and held out a Soul Seed, ordering him to become her slave.

Delisha learned that Kasabu had died and rushed to save Landon, while a Highgod used Soul Seeds to control Jason’s Lightning Clone and Death Clone. Jason returned to the Yulan Continent and, after losing contact with his clones, agreed with Veronica to leave the Netherworld behind.

• Delisha discovered that Kasabu’s Interspatial Ring had become ownerless and flew toward Landon, whose Death Clone was surrounded by four Midgods.
• Delisha warned Landon to keep what he was about to witness secret, then unleashed her power and sped toward him.
• A female Highgod used a Soul Seed to control Jason, learned about his Lightning cultivation and Thunderwing Angel bloodline, and planned to make him a Highgod.
• Jason returned to his home on the Yulan Continent after sensing that his Lightning Clone and Death Clone had been controlled and losing contact with them.
• Veronica comforted Jason, and he agreed that they would stay on the Yulan Continent and stop concerning themselves with the Netherworld.

Monica’s parents sent her away to travel while they took refuge on Crescent Island, leaving her with supplies and a Rhine Clan badge. Meanwhile, Delisha rescued Jason and Landon from a Highgod, and the group headed west after losing Kasabu and much of their wealth.

• Jason and Veronica gave Monica an Interspatial Ring, a defensive robe, cultivation notes, and her Rhine Clan badge, then told her they were going into hiding.
• Monica asked to accompany her parents, but Jason and Veronica persuaded her to travel on her own and promised she could find them at Crescent Island once she reached Peak Saint.
• Jason and Veronica left Cangbai City, and Monica resigned from her teaching post, gave belongings to neighbors, and set out at sunrise in the spring of Yulan Calendar 9640.
• Veronica confronted Jason after he revealed that Delisha had rescued him and his Lightning Clones by killing the Highgod who controlled him.
• Jason, Landon, and Delisha flew west, and Landon explained that Kasabu’s death had cost them fifty million Nether Stones, several artifacts, and Kasabu’s belongings.
• Jason regretted becoming careless in the Netherworld and resolved to be more cautious.

After the Rhine Clan assessed the goods from Falling Rain City, Jason began seeking dangerous fights downstream to strengthen himself. He discovered a massive tree root in the caverns and chose to investigate nearby Deities instead, suspecting a Highgod protected the tree.

• The Rhine Clan’s elders and councilors reviewed the supplies and Battle Projections brought back from Falling Rain City, then discussed how cautiously to resume trips there after Kasabu’s death.
• Delisha decided the Rhine Clan should wait another hundred years before regularly taking members to Falling Rain City.
• Jason began exploring downstream, where he faced ambushes and used dangerous encounters to temper himself after his Edicts of Death advanced and his strength more than tripled.
• Jason sensed an aquatic Deity in a wide underground river but waited until it left rather than attack without knowing its strength.
• Jason killed a black catfish near a branching stone pillar and searched its memories, learning that the pillar was a huge tree root.
• Jason avoided approaching the tree root, reasoning that a Highgod must be protecting the tree, and headed toward a smaller cavern where several Deities were hiding.

Jason accidentally entered an enormous underground maze dug by Copper-Toothed Burrowing Worms and was trapped by five Midgods who attacked him with earth magic. He held them off with his Death Clone while his Lightning Clone kept digging toward the exit.

• Jason searched a Copper-Toothed Burrowing Worm's memories and learned that the underground maze was vast and home to Deity-level worms.
• Jason found that a stone wall had sealed the passage behind him, so he sent his Lightning Clone to dig while his Death Clone guarded him.
• Five Midgods attacked Jason with Earth Spikes, but his Death power and Highgod Defensive Divine Artifact protected him from their ranged assault.
• Jason resisted as the passage walls contracted, then identified the attackers' limits when two Midgods emerged from the stone to fight him.
• Jason offered the Midgods five Soul Gold Beads to let him leave, but they refused, so he used Deathly Stillness to weaken their charge while his Lightning Clone continued digging.

Jason fought five Copper-Toothed Burrowing Worm midgods in their underground labyrinth and defeated them after luring them into a trap. He collected their bodies and resumed digging toward the Rhine Clan.

• Jason reached the underground labyrinth and tried to persuade the five Copper-Toothed Burrowing Worm midgods to withdraw.
• The five midgods attacked Jason with gravity, quicksand, and coordinated strikes, badly injuring him and knocking away his saber.
• Jason revealed a black blade and killed one midgod with a soul attack, then destroyed the gauntlet-wearing midgod with soul poison.
• Jason’s Lightning Clone revealed golden wings and killed the staff-wielding midgod, while Jason’s Death Clone pursued the rock-armored midgod.
• Jason defeated all five Copper-Toothed Burrowing Worms, stored their bodies, healed his wounds, and resumed tunneling toward the Rhine Clan.

Jason discovered the Lightning Strike Profound Mystery, while Delisha’s Destruction Clone broke through to Highgod and led the Rhine Clan’s Midgods to attack a nearby bandit group. The two sides began fighting, with Delisha facing the bandit leader and Jason urging his fellow clan members to defend themselves.

• Jason reported the underground maze and the five Copper-Toothed Burrowing Worms to Delisha, who ordered the passages blocked and the worms’ teeth tested as weapon material.
• Jason recognized Lightning Strike as a new Lightning Element Profound Mystery and began cultivating in seclusion.
• Delisha emerged after her Destruction Clone became a Highgod and announced plans to take the Rhine Clan to Falling Rain City.
• Delisha flew south with thirty-one Midgods, including Jason, intending to wipe out a nearby bandit group while leaving Anya to guard the clan.
• Jason urged the Rhine Clan’s Midgods to defend themselves until Delisha defeated the bandit leader, and the bandits flew up to meet them.

Delisha led the Rhine Clan in an assault on the bandits, while Jason fought to protect his clansmen and help turn the battle in their favor. After Delisha killed the bandit leader, most of the bandits fled, and the Rhine Clan prepared to search their hideout despite losing six members.

• Delisha clashed with the bandit leader, a crimson ape, and sent him flying with a powerful strike.
• The bandits attacked the Rhine Clan from both flanks, but the clansmen held their defensive formation as Jason fought a red ape.
• Jason abandoned his opponent to save Ailin, then killed the ape after his Death Clone stunned it with a soul attack.
• Delisha beheaded the bandit leader, breaking the bandits' morale and prompting many to flee or surrender.
• Jason and the Rhine clansmen killed the remaining resisters, and Delisha led the survivors to count six clan deaths and thirteen bandit deaths.
• Delisha ordered the Rhine Clan to search the bandit hideout for valuables before returning.

The Rhine Clan traveled to Falling Rain City to establish a regular presence, with Jason guiding the group through the city and its trade. After registering their residence and selling goods at Northbone Hall, the clan began exploring, while Delisha bought large quantities of Water of the Yellow Springs River.

• Delisha led Jason, Anya, Maisiji, and fifty-three Rhine Clan members toward Falling Rain City aboard her metal airship, killing bandit leaders who tried to intercept them.
• Jason paid the entrance fees, gave out badges, explained the city’s three castles, and led the clan to its new residence, where the group registered its owners.
• Maisiji sold five Blue Jade Fruits to Volvo for testing and sold one hundred Blood Blades and a High Godhead for a total of 7.65 million Nether Stones.
• Delisha bought a bottle of Water of the Yellow Springs River, tried it, and then purchased more than twenty additional bottles.

Jason brought Delisha and Anya to Falling Rain City to qualify for Fiend titles, and they joined Cheryl’s Five-Star Fiend promotion mission to raid Tungsten Copper Stronghold. After a ten-month journey into Black Snake City territory, the group approached the bandits’ stronghold with tensions among the participants and a plan to profit from the mission.

• Jason paid for Delisha and Anya to take the Fiend examination, then reunited with Cheryl, who offered to hire them for her Five-Star Fiend promotion mission.
• Delisha accepted Cheryl’s offer in exchange for two Highgod Artifacts, and Jason joined the mission to recover stolen Violet Light Pearl Mussels and deal with Tungsten Copper Stronghold’s leaders.
• Delisha revealed that Johanna, the Falling Rain City lord’s daughter, was an enemy of hers, though Delisha was on good terms with the lord, Lloyd, who was her lover.
• Jason joined the Midgod Fiends in a plan to capture Violet Light Pearl Mussels alive and sell them to the examinees, while the group estimated that the stronghold held at least two thousand bandits.
• After ten months of travel, the mission party crossed beyond Falling Rain City’s jurisdiction into Black Snake City territory.

Jason and the other Fiends watched the attack on Tungsten Copper Stronghold, where the Fiend examinees fought the tribe while its three leaders battled the Four Star Fiends. An ambush against Johanna revealed her identity as the daughter of Falling Rain City’s lord, forcing the thirty observing Fiends to intervene.

• More than eight hundred Deity-level examinees charged into Tungsten Copper Stronghold while its three Five-Star Fiend leaders confronted the Four Star Fiends.
• Jason assessed the fighting and noted that the examinees outnumbered the stronghold’s fighters, though many residents would fight desperately.
• Two masked Highgods ambushed Johanna, and one used a lightning technique to strike her and send her flying.
• Delisha intervened in her Thunder Angel form and stopped the attacker from striking Johanna again.
• Johanna announced that she was Lloyd’s daughter, prompting the thirty observing Fiends, including Jason, to join the fight.

Johanna’s group drove off the assassins and began attacking Parasol Tree Stronghold, while Jason searched the lake for Violet Light Pearl Mussels. Jason encountered and killed a seemingly Lowgod opponent, then realized the fighter had been a clone of Tungsten Copper Stronghold’s chief, who was killed by Cheryl.

• The thirty Midgod Fiends forced the darkness-element assassin to flee, and the returning Four Star Fiends helped Johanna and Delisha drive off the lightning-element assassin.
• Johanna offered the Midgods a million Nether Stones each to destroy Parasol Tree Stronghold, while the Highgods pursued Tungsten Copper Stronghold’s leaders.
• Jason searched the lake for Violet Light Pearl Mussels and fought a concealed darkness-element Lowgod who used several fused Profound Mysteries.
• Jason killed the Lowgod with the help of his Deathgod Golem, collected the body and longsword, and found that the sword accepted his blood.
• Cheryl killed Tungsten Copper Stronghold’s chief, and Jason realized the Lowgod he had killed had been the chief’s clone.

On the airship back to Falling Rain City, Jason bought Violet Light Pearl Mussels for Delisha and Anya, while Johanna paid the survivors their promised rewards. After Delisha and Anya met the city lord’s wife, Jason counted the spoils he had taken from the Tungsten Copper Stronghold leader and asked Maisiji how to sell his Violet Light Pearls.

• Jason bought two Violet Light Pearl Mussels for Delisha and Anya for 1.5 million Nether Stones.
• Johanna paid the surviving participants their promised rewards, including a million Nether Stones to Midgods who had failed the mission.
• Delisha and Anya visited North Skeleton Castle, where the city lord’s wife gave them a Falling Rain City token for the Rhine Clan.
• Jason counted his loot from the Tungsten Copper Stronghold leader, including two billion Nether Stones, over a hundred Violet Light Pearls, and two Deathgod Golems.
• Maisiji advised Jason to sell the Violet Light Pearls at Northbone Hall and claim he had taken them from the stronghold leader’s lover.

Lord Lloyd offered Delisha and Jason a partnership to raise Violet Light Pearl Mussels in exchange for killing the traitor Kelier, and Delisha agreed to prepare for the deal. On the journey home, the Rhine Clan discussed strengthening its forces, and Delisha offered Maisiji a Death High Godhead and Bili a Water Element High God Spark.

• Lord Lloyd invited Delisha and Jason to Falling Rain City and offered the Rhine Clan a Violet Light Pearl Mussel partnership if Delisha killed Kelier, a peak Five-Star Fiend and traitor.
• Delisha reviewed Lloyd's contract and agreed to complete the transaction within a hundred years after making preparations.
• Delisha planned to send the clan members home before bringing her three divine clones to kill Kelier.
• Maisiji argued that the clan needed stronger fighters to protect the mussels, and Delisha proposed that several clan members refine High Godheads.
• Jason asked Delisha to give his father Maisiji a Death High Godhead, and she agreed to give him the spark of the Highgod who had ambushed Jason.
• Delisha asked for a Water Element High God Spark for Bili, and Jason gave her one he had in his Interspatial Ring.

While Delisha was away, the Rhine Clan discovered an enemy scouting their territory and prepared for an invasion. The Bagdi Tribe attacked in force, and its leader charged at Anya as the Rhine Clan fought to defend itself.

• Delisha left for Falling Rain City with ten Midgods, leaving Anya and Jason to protect the Rhine Clan.
• Anya discovered an outsider scouting the clan, and the elders suspected the Scaled Earthwalker Beast tribe was watching them.
• Jason killed one of three Midgod scouts, while Rhine clansmen killed the other two, prompting Anya to order preparations for battle.
• Jason and Bili distributed the clan’s resources and artifacts as the Rhine Clan readied for an attack.
• The Bagdi Tribe arrived with two Highgods and more than sixty Midgods, demanding that the Bladewing Fiends join them and everyone else surrender their wealth.
• The Bagdi Tribe’s leader charged at Anya through the ranged attacks, while the Rhine Clan suffered casualties.

The Rhine Clan defeated an invading force after Jason, Anya, and Landon killed both Highgod leaders and used Godslaying Arrows to turn the battle. The survivors fled, but the clan suffered heavy losses, including the death of Angela, as they awaited the patriarch’s return.

• Anya, Jason, Landon, and Bili fought the two Highgods, and Anya killed the first after their combined attacks weakened him.
• Landon ordered the Midgods to fire Maisiji’s poisoned Godslaying Arrows, while five Deathgod Golems joined the fight and killed many of the invading Midgods.
• Jason, Landon, and Anya wore down the remaining Highgod, and Anya killed him with soul attacks.
• The surviving invaders fled underground, but Jason and the Rhine Clan killed five more before the rest escaped beyond pursuit.
• The clan counted five Midgods and forty Lowgods dead, and Rita reported that Angela had been killed.

After the Rhine Clan’s battle losses, Delisha dealt with the aftermath and discussed the clan’s growing dangers with Jason. She revealed that she had reached the level of a newly advanced Six-Star Fiend, and they planned to deal with the Bagdi Tribe once their allies were ready.

• Delisha told the clan that Angela had died, waived the supply repayment for those who defended the clan, and appointed Landon to replace her.
• Delisha explained that Jason’s angel form came from a secret technique they shared and warned the clan not to reveal it.
• Jason and Delisha discussed the Violet Light Pearl Mussels, the pressures facing the clan, and Delisha’s regret over Angela’s death.
• Delisha told Jason how she had lured out and killed Kelier, after Lloyd brought him to their aid.
• Delisha revealed that her Destruction Clone and Thunderwing Angel gifts gave her the strength of a newly advanced Six-Star Fiend.
• Jason and Delisha agreed to hire an Earth Travel Technique expert and attack the Bagdi Tribe after Maisiji and Bili refined their High Godheads.

After hiring Fiends to investigate the Bagdi Tribe, Delisha sent Anya and Mozhiyou into the underground maze, where they were trapped in a formation. Delisha set out with Jason, Landon, and Cheryl to rescue them and confront the five Highgods.

• Bili finished refining her High Godhead, while Maisiji continued refining his, and the Rhine Clan raised Violet Light Pearl Mussels.
• Delisha hired Cheryl and Mozhiyou to help eliminate the Bagdi Tribe, then considered narrowing the target to the Scaled Earthwalker Beast group after Mozhiyou explained the tribe was an alliance.
• Anya and Mozhiyou entered the underground maze with five Rhine Clan Midgods to capture prisoners and verify Mozhiyou's information.
• A Lowgod clone reported that Anya and Mozhiyou had been ambushed and trapped in a powerful formation.
• Cheryl warned that the five Bagdi Tribe Highgods were luring them into a trap, but Delisha took Jason, Landon, and Cheryl to rescue the captives.

Anya and Mozhiyou remained trapped while Delisha and Cheryl fought the Bagdi Tribe’s Highgods and hired Fiends. Delisha killed two Four Star Fiends and mortally wounded a Highgod, leaving Cheryl to face the last surviving Fiend.

• Anya and the trapped Rhine Clan members learned Delisha was nearby and prepared to help occupy the enemy.
• The Bagdi Tribe’s leaders discovered the reinforcements and sent their chief leader and three hired Fiends to intercept them, while a formation expert stayed to hold the captives.
• Delisha and Cheryl met four Highgods in battle, with one Fiend attacking Cheryl and the others focusing on Delisha.
• A Bagdi Tribe Highgod tried to separate Delisha from her opponent, but she broke through the rock barrier, killed two Four Star Fiends, and fatally wounded the Highgod.
• Cheryl charged the remaining Four Star Fiend with her spear.