Chapter Summaries

Lu Yuan and his companions negotiated with an unknown group behind a pile of stones, learning that the old man knew about the Source Seed, the door, and the Key. When a dangerous energy tide erupted in the ruins, Lu Yuan agreed to cooperate with the group and asked how they could help.

• Lu Yuan asked the people behind the stones about the door and the Source Seed, and the old man demanded to know which of them was the Key.
• The old man demanded that Lu Yuan hand over the Source Seed, but Lu Yuan refused and asked for information in return.
• A powerful energy tide surged from the direction of the power room, shaking the ruins and threatening to bury everyone alive.
• The old man said he could temporarily calm the energy tide with reverse Soul Power interference and asked for someone with precise control.
• Su Yan stepped forward, and Lu Yuan agreed to help the group.

Lu Yuan and his companions joined forces with Yun Youzi to suppress the energy escaping from the Source Seeds. Afterward, Lu Yuan agreed to meet Yun Youzi alone in one shichen to exchange information about the Source Seed and the door.

• Yun Youzi told Lu Yuan how to carve and activate a rune sequence that would temporarily suppress the escaping energy.
• Lu Yuan, Mo Chen, and Shen Moxin carved the runes while Lin Xiao and Shi Jian guarded the entrance.
• Su Yan precisely followed Yun Youzi's rhythm, and the runes stopped the energy leak and sealed the cracks in the crystals.
• Yun Youzi introduced himself as a history-seeker who had arrived with students, and Shen Moxin and Mo Chen noted the group's unusual skill.
• Lu Yuan agreed to meet Yun Youzi in one shichen, requiring him to come alone and accepting that they would exchange information about the Source Seed and the door.

Lu Yuan met Yun Youzi, who explained the ancient origins of the Source Seeds, Gates, Keys, and Shackles, then traded ruin knowledge for supervised access to the Source Seeds. Yun Youzi warned that the Secret Keepers had noticed the energy anomalies, leaving Lu Yuan’s group facing another possible enemy.

• Yun Youzi entered the storeroom alone and introduced himself as a scholar of ruins who had sensed the Source Seed and a possible Key among Lu Yuan’s group.
• Yun Youzi explained that ancient sages studied the world’s rules and Shackles, and created Source Seeds and Gates in experiments that ultimately failed.
• Lu Yuan shared his theories about Soul Power and demonstrated how his mutated Blue Silver Grass resonated with a Source Seed.
• Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi agreed to share research under supervision, and Yun Youzi gave Lu Yuan a map of the middle level of the ruins.
• Yun Youzi warned that the Secret Keepers sought to bury the ancient knowledge and might have noticed the energy anomalies before leaving.
• Lin Xiao and Shen Moxin questioned the new threat as Lu Yuan gripped the map, realizing the group might have another enemy.

Lu Yuan’s group explored an ancient research base, discovered a dangerous spatial rift, and learned that the Source Seed could strengthen Key-type Martial Souls but was dangerously unstable. The chapter ended with the discovery of a corpse bearing a Secret Keepers token, confirming that the group had arrived in the ruins.

• Lu Yuan led Lin Xiao and Shen Moxin along the eastern route while Mo Chen and Su Yan explored westward and established another escape route.
• Lu Yuan’s group found evidence of experiments on Soul Power and artificial Martial Souls, then discovered a forbidden spatial rift that Lu Yuan ordered them to avoid.
• Lu Yuan carefully tested the Source Seed and found that it released energy that supported his Blue Silver Grass, but even a slight fluctuation risked triggering a violent outburst.
• Su Yan reported that Li Wangye’s group had returned with a recently killed stranger dressed in black and wearing a metal mask.
• Lu Yuan found an ominous eye token in the corpse’s hand, suspected the Secret Keepers were present, and ordered the camp’s defenses and patrols strengthened.

Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi identified the dead scout’s token as the mark of the Eye of Shadow, an organization targeting the Source Seed, and joined forces to fortify the ruins. When an intruder breached a hidden crack, Lu Yuan ordered the first phase of the “Hive” plan.

• Yun Youzi identified the token as belonging to the Eye of Shadow and warned that its members were likely hunting the Source Seed.
• Lu Yuan agreed to cooperate with Yun Youzi’s group, and they strengthened defenses, organized patrols, and mapped the ruins.
• Lin Xiao urged Lu Yuan to search for the enemy, and Lu Yuan agreed to scout if nothing happened by the following day.
• A warning formation detected an intruder at a concealed mountainside crack, and Lin Xiao and Su Yan found fresh blood and traces matching the dead scout’s Soul Power.
• Lu Yuan concluded that the Eye of Shadow had entered the ruins and ordered Mo Chen to begin the first phase of the “Hive” plan.

Lu Yuan and his allies used traps and ambushes to break the Eye of Shadow’s forces in the ruins and capture their suspected leader. They found a hidden map marked with the Gate of Finality, leaving Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi shocked by its discovery.

• Lu Yuan assigned teams to defend the camp and hunt the intruders using the ruins’ traps and passages.
• Lin Xiao’s team triggered traps that injured and trapped Eye of Shadow members, while other attacks scattered the intruders through the labyrinth.
• Lin Xiao, Su Yan, and Li Wangye cornered the suspected leader and sealed him inside a storeroom.
• Lu Yuan and the others subdued the leader with paralytic darts and found a hidden piece of beast hide in his armor.
• Lu Yuan recognized an ancient symbol on the hide, and Yun Youzi identified it as the Gate of Finality.

Lu Yuan interrogated a captured Eye of Shadow operative and learned that the organization feared the Gate of Finality and had ordered it stopped at any cost. After locating the mark beneath the fissure near the Source Seed laboratory, Lu Yuan decided to investigate the energy connection cautiously and designate the fissure a restricted zone until they were prepared.

• Lu Yuan used Soul Power suggestions to break the captive, who revealed that his Seven Four squad had orders to recover or destroy the Source Seed and investigate the Gate of Finality.
• The captive said the Eye of Shadow feared the gate could cause a collapse of the rules and had authorized destroying the ruins if signs of activation appeared.
• Lu Yuan compared the hide’s symbol with Yun Youzi’s map and located the Gate of Finality mark beneath the fissure in the failed laboratory.
• Shen Moxin suggested the Source Seed’s fluctuations might be connected to approaching or activating the gate, while Yun Youzi warned that they needed more information and preparation.
• Lu Yuan ordered an investigation of the fissure’s energy and its resonance with the Source Seed, and designated the fissure a highest-level restricted zone until they were ready.

Lu Yuan’s attempt to strengthen the Source Seed resonance revealed a vision of chains and a stone door, and he sensed something in the fissure looking back at him. As the group warned that the door might be perceptive, scouts reported that three factions were approaching Black Stone Mountain Range.

• Lu Yuan placed the cracked Source Seed in the array and used Soul Power threads to activate it, revealing bright paths leading toward the vertical fissure.
• Lu Yuan pushed the resonance too far, triggering a violent energy backlash and a vision of dark golden chains and a massive stone door.
• Lu Yuan severed the connection, and the Source Seed’s cracks healed as he told Yun Youzi that something deep in the fissure had looked at him.
• Yun Youzi warned that the door or what lay behind it might possess perception and urged everyone to proceed with caution.
• A perimeter scout reported that groups from the Cloud Mist Sect, Stone-Splitting Sect, and Blood Saber Stronghold were heading deeper into Black Stone Mountain Range.

As rival forces closed in on the ruins, Lu Yuan proposed using a controlled energy eruption to sow chaos and create a chance to escape or turn the tables. The group approved the dangerous plan and began preparations with only two days to act.

• Shen Moxin reported that the Cloud Mist Sect, the Stone-Splitting Sect, the Blood Saber Stronghold, and other forces were converging on the mountain region, likely drawn in by the Eye of Shadow.
• The group considered fleeing, defending the ruins, or provoking infighting, but Lu Yuan argued that none of those options could work quickly enough.
• Lu Yuan proposed creating a brief, powerful energy phenomenon with the Source Seed and the ruins' energy network to disrupt the invading forces and exploit their confusion.
• Yun Youzi warned that the plan had at most a thirty percent chance of success and could trigger a disaster, but Lu Yuan argued that waiting meant certain defeat.
• Lin Xiao, Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, Su Yan, Shi Jian, Lu Qinghe, Yun Youzi, and Wen Yuan joined Lu Yuan in approving the plan.
• Lu Yuan assigned combat-readiness tasks and began designing the disturbance with Yun Youzi and Wen Yuan, setting a deadline of two days.

Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi devised a dangerous plan to simulate an ancient restriction’s energy eruption and disrupt the people surrounding the ruins. With the array prepared and the Cloud Mist Sect closing in, Lu Yuan set the operation for noon the next day.

• Lu Yuan proposed using three Source Seed Crystals and a runic array to stage an energy eruption, and he and Yun Youzi refined the plan until they estimated its success chance at forty percent.
• Lu Yuan presented the plan’s risks to the core members, and Lin Xiao, Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, Su Yan, Shi Jian, Lu Qinghe, and Yun Youzi agreed to take part.
• Shen Moxin mapped the outside forces while Mo Chen, Wen Yuan, Lin Xiao, and Shi Jian prepared the runes, supplies, evacuation routes, and ruins.
• Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi tuned the array in the energy chamber, narrowly preventing two dangerous energy leaks.
• Shen Moxin reported that the Cloud Mist Sect had reached the western ridge and other search parties were closing in, so Lu Yuan scheduled the operation for noon the next day.
• Lu Yuan stood alone beside the prepared Source Seed Crystals, aware that the plan could break the encirclement or bring about their destruction.

Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi activated the Source Seeds, barely containing a violent surge of energy before it erupted as a pillar of light over the Black Stone Mountain Range. Afterward, they found that the active crystal had changed and sensed a stronger fluctuation from the fissure in the energy chamber.

• Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi channeled Soul Power into the Source Seeds, but the third crystal released a chaotic surge that damaged the array.
• Lu Yuan diverted part of the surge into a backup circuit while Yun Youzi stabilized the array, and they forced the remaining energy upward.
• A massive pillar of light burst through the mountain, shaking the Black Stone Mountain Range and startling the camps outside it.
• Elder Wang ordered the Cloud Mist Sect’s search teams back to camp, while the Stone-Splitting Sect and Blood Saber Stronghold also avoided the area.
• Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi returned to the energy chamber, where the group found a new shifting speck of light inside the third Source Seed and sensed a clearer fluctuation from the fissure.

After Lu Yuan recovered enough to study the rift, he found that its faint pulse was accelerating in sync with the light inside the abnormal Source Seed. He and Yun Youzi concluded that the trend might signal the Gate of Finality opening, an energy eruption, or the awakening of an unfinished reconstruction experiment.

• Shen Moxin warned Lu Yuan that his meridians were badly damaged and ordered him to avoid Soul Power for seven days, while Mo Chen reported damage to the defenses.
• Lu Yuan ordered the defenses repaired, sentries posted to verify the enemy's retreat, and monitoring increased after Shen Moxin revealed that the Source Seed's brightness matched fluctuations near the rift.
• After four days of rest, Lu Yuan analyzed Su Yan's records and discovered that the rift's slow pulses were steadily coming closer together as the Source Seed's speck grew brighter.
• Lu Yuan monitored the rift himself and confirmed that its pulse interval had shortened since the previous day's measurement.
• Yun Youzi estimated that the pulse could reach a critical frequency within three to six months and suggested that the Gate of Finality may have been built as a failed reconstruction experiment.

Lu Yuan chose a limited, carefully prepared exploration of the rift before its energy reached a critical point, with the findings to determine whether the group would intervene or evacuate. As the collective began war preparations, the pulse intervals continued to shorten and Lu Yuan wondered how the expedition would affect his search for the Key.

• Shen Moxin reported that the rift’s pulse intervals had shortened, leaving at most three months before the danger escalated, and Lu Yuan called the core members together to discuss the risks.
• The group debated evacuation versus continued exploration, and Lu Yuan decided they would make a staged final expedition before choosing whether to control the rift or leave.
• Lu Yuan worked to improve his cultivation and study the abnormal Source Seed while Yun Youzi, Mo Chen, and Shen Moxin developed detection and protection equipment.
• Lin Xiao and Shi Jian trained the combat personnel, while Su Yan recorded each pulse and tracked the rising frequency of the rift’s energy.
• Late at night, Lu Yuan studied the latest Simulation data as the projected trend climbed toward the critical point.

Lu Yuan used the Mutated Source Seed to cultivate Primordial Qi, broke through to Soul Emperor, and learned to soothe and read the rift’s chaotic energy. His experiments revealed a ninety-day deadline and ended with a malicious presence seemingly noticing him, while a dark-red stain appeared on the Source Seed’s light.

• Lu Yuan repeatedly absorbed energy from the Mutated Source Seed until he discovered Primordial Qi and used it to break through to Soul Emperor.
• Lu Yuan resonated with the rift and briefly smoothed its chaotic fluctuations, revealing fixed ancient nodes and their energy pathways to Shen Moxin and Yun Youzi.
• Lu Yuan’s repeated experiments revealed the impressions of restraint, imbalance, and awaiting correction, and he revised the rift’s predicted critical point to ninety days.
• Lu Yuan experienced a hostile gaze during a deep resonance, found no intrusion in the ruins, and noticed a dark-red trace staining the Mutated Source Seed’s light.

After Lu Yuan discovered a hostile presence attached to the Source Seed, he learned that the rift could expose people to mind-eroding Shadow Whispers and organized preparations to resist them. A research assistant’s contamination forced Lu Yuan to shrink the investigation squad as the Source Seed’s dark-red mark continued spreading and the ninety-day countdown advanced.

• Lu Yuan told the core members that the Source Seed had marked him with a hostile gaze, and Yun Youzi identified the threat as Shadow Whispers that could erode minds and contaminate souls.
• Lu Yuan ordered Shen Moxin to develop mind-stabilizing talismans, Yun Youzi to compile cleansing incantations, and Lin Xiao and Shi Jian to add mental-interference resistance to combat training.
• Over the following days, Shen Moxin completed a talisman prototype, the group learned meditation and cleansing methods, and Lu Yuan trained to strengthen his mental power.
• On the fourteenth night, A Chang collapsed after weeks of monitoring the rift, and Shen Moxin diagnosed him with mild contamination that required at least half a month of rest.
• Lu Yuan saw that the dark-red mark on the Source Seed had spread and ordered the investigation squad reduced to a handful of members with exceptional willpower and mental cultivation.

Lu Yuan finalized the five-person team that would enter the rift and oversaw several days of preparations. As dawn approached, Shi Jian promised to guard the base while Lu Yuan packed the Mutated Source Seed and prepared to depart.

• Lu Yuan chose himself, Yun Youzi, Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, and Lin Xiao for the rift mission, and ordered Shi Jian to stay behind with the evacuation plan.
• The team trained and tested resonance, mental defenses, detection equipment, and stabilizing anchors while preparing backups for the operation.
• On the eve of departure, Lu Yuan walked through the camp, and Shi Jian promised to look after home.
• Lu Yuan packed the Mutated Source Seed and essential supplies as dawn neared.

Lu Yuan and the team descended into the rift and found the Gate of Finality surrounded by chaotic energy and hostile Shadow Whispers. When Lu Yuan touched the vortex with his consciousness, the dark red energy masses attacked, and a fine crack appeared on the ancient stone door.

• Yun Youzi shielded Lu Yuan, Mo Chen, Shen Moxin, and Lin Xiao as they entered the rift and struggled down its unstable passage.
• The team reached a vast underground space where they saw the Gate of Finality's chaotic vortex, the ancient stone door, and drifting masses of dark red energy.
• Mo Chen deployed detection bases and strengthened the Stabilization Anchor while Shen Moxin laid calming runes and Lin Xiao watched the energy masses.
• Lu Yuan reached toward the vortex with his consciousness and received fragments of ancient records, visions of collapsing rules, and an appeal tied to stability and growth.
• The dark red energy masses turned toward the team and attacked after sensing Lu Yuan's contact, forcing everyone to prepare their defenses.
• Lu Yuan saw the stone door tremble and a fine, straight crack of light appear on its surface.

Lu Yuan learned that the unstable space beyond the stone door needed correction or resealing, while his team struggled to hold back the shadows. After Lin Xiao took a fatal-looking hit protecting him, Lu Yuan began matching his Soul Power to the door and prepared to enter the interstitial space.

• Lu Yuan learned through his connection to the stone door that an ancient failed experiment had left a broken interstitial space that needed a template to correct it or had to be sealed.
• Mo Chen was struck by shadow energy, and Shen Moxin dispersed most of it while Lu Yuan protected her from shadows that slipped through her barrier.
• As Lu Yuan weighed whether to enter the interstitial space or reseal it, a powerful shadow attacked him from behind, and Lin Xiao took the hit in his place.
• Lu Yuan ordered Yun Youzi to hold off attacks, Mo Chen to direct the Stabilization Anchor at the fissure, and Shen Moxin to protect herself and Lin Xiao.
• Lu Yuan concentrated his Soul Power and Primordial Qi into matching the stone door's need for correction, causing the fissure to flare with surging light.

Lu Yuan entered the unstable rift with the mutated Source Seed, hoping his key trait would let him calibrate the stone door, while his teammates escaped the collapsing ruins. The door sealed and the ruins stabilized, but Lu Yuan did not return; a compass he had given Shen Moxin registered a steady, unknown energy as the survivors prepared to evacuate.

• Lu Yuan told Yun Youzi, Shen Moxin, and Mo Chen to evacuate with the wounded and supplies if he failed to stabilize the stone door.
• Lu Yuan took the Source Seed and core notes into the rift, and the stone door erupted before sealing as the ruins stabilized.
• Yun Youzi, Shen Moxin, and Mo Chen escaped to the upper hall with Lin Xiao, whose life Li Wangye confirmed was not in immediate danger.
• Shen Moxin activated Lu Yuan's compass, and its needle settled on an unmarked spot while its crystal glowed steadily.
• Shi Jian ordered the survivors to treat the wounded and evacuate, reminding them to carry on with the tasks Lu Yuan had entrusted to them.

As the forces withdraw from the silent Black Stone Mountain Range, Yun Youzi’s group prepares to evacuate to Sunken Mist Valley while keeping watch for Lu Yuan. On their last night, Shen Moxin’s compass trembles and brightens, suggesting that Lu Yuan may still be alive beyond the Gate of Finality.

• Elder Wang orders the Cloud Mist Sect and the other treasure seekers to leave the Black Stone Mountain Range.
• Shi Jian and Su Yan finish packing supplies and research materials as the group prepares to travel to Sunken Mist Valley.
• Mo Chen tells Shen Moxin that he and Su Yan have placed hidden Soul Power beacons to detect Lu Yuan or the stone gate.
• Yun Youzi confirms the evacuation route, and Shi Jian says the group will leave before daybreak carrying the still-unconscious Lin Xiao.
• On the last night, Shen Moxin speaks to Lu Yuan and notices the compass needle tremble as its connection rune brightens.