Chapter Summaries

The King of Huainan asked Zhang Xuezhou to help him meet Yao Yuanguang, hoping the physiognomist could determine whether he was destined to become emperor. The chapter ended with the King of Huainan deciding to teach Zhang Xuezhou the Fortune Technique more carefully instead of letting him skim Vast and Brilliant.

• The King of Huainan reflected on how bad luck had dragged him into the struggle over the Fortune Technique and asked Zhang Xuezhou to introduce him to Yao Yuanguang.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the King of Huainan that Yao Yuanguang had read Nezha's fate at the hidden Supreme One Palace.
• The King of Huainan urged Zhang Xuezhou to seek a proper reading from Yao Yuanguang and relay his request for a meeting.
• Zhang Xuezhou said Yao Yuanguang had once predicted he would die in twenty years, and the King of Huainan wondered whether the reading had accounted for Zhang Xuezhou's head injury.
• The King of Huainan promised Zhang Xuezhou wealth and honor if Yao Yuanguang came to see him, but Zhang Xuezhou said he wanted to master the Fortune Technique.
• The King of Huainan decided to explain the Fortune Technique to Zhang Xuezhou because he thought the young man had only skimmed Vast and Brilliant.

The King of Huainan explained the Vast and Brilliant Fortune Technique to Zhang Xuezhou and lent him a dragon-shaped Fortune Artifact to help him cultivate Fortune and change his fate. The King then learned that Yao Yuanguang possessed a Life-Extending Golden Elixir and became eager to obtain one.

• The King of Huainan explained how the Vast and Brilliant Fortune Technique blended with the emperor's Fortune more subtly, helping Zhang Xuezhou understand what he had studied.
• The King of Huainan gave Zhang Xuezhou a dragon-shaped Fortune Artifact to protect him and aid his cultivation.
• Zhang Xuezhou promised to praise the King of Huainan to Yao Yuanguang and convey his goodwill.
• The King of Huainan asked about Yao Yuanguang's health, and Zhang Xuezhou told him that Yao had a Life-Extending Golden Elixir said to extend life by twenty years.
• The King of Huainan recognized the elixir as a likely gift from the Immortal Court and yearned to study it and reproduce it for Huainan.

Zhang Xuezhou left Room A with the King of Huainan’s Fortune implement, Tenglong, and knowledge that could help him withstand a Fortune Technique conflict. After receiving Liu Ling’s warning that the Red Empyrean Sword protected the new emperor, the King of Huainan decided that Crimson Firmament had to be destroyed.

• The King of Huainan gave Zhang Xuezhou Tenglong, promised him pills after the Huai River Water Mansion was excavated, and left Room A.
• Zhang Xuezhou tied Tenglong close to his body, reflecting that it could nourish his Fortune Body and draw the King of Huainan into a future Fortune Technique contest.
• After Tian You reported that Zhang Xuezhou had browsed Room A’s books at random, the King of Huainan ordered three Holy Blood Pills and one Minor Restoration Pill prepared for him.
• Tian You told the King of Huainan that a message had arrived from Liu Ling, and the king read her warning that the Red Empyrean Sword protected the new emperor.
• The King of Huainan recalled the Red Empyrean Sword’s power and concluded that Crimson Firmament must be destroyed.

After waking in Qinmeng, Zhang Xuezhou heard that a fire meteor had crashed there and rejected Tuer Kelanduo’s plan to search for it, judging their team unprepared for the dangers. As their ship approached Huli Port, the group prepared to continue toward Gallon Unmanned Port, while Tuer Kelanduo reluctantly accepted that she could not pursue the meteor on her own.

• Zhang Xuezhou returned to reality aboard a ship bound for Qinmeng and heard Ren Anran and Tuer Kelanduo arguing about his long unconsciousness and their plans.
• Ren Anran explained that a fire meteor had fallen in Qinmeng, drawing exploration teams and delaying the ship during six hours of inspection and repairs.
• Tuer Kelanduo urged the group to change course toward the meteor, but Zhang Xuezhou questioned whether she could quickly secure transport and supplies at Gallon Unmanned Port.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided their unprepared team should avoid the meteor site, then stopped his Grain Avoidance Instruction and ate.
• Ren Anran asked how Tuer Kelanduo would reach the meteor without a car, and Tuer Kelanduo gloomily conceded that she could not manage the journey alone.

Zhang Xuezhou and his companions arrived in Huli Port and bargained with a restaurant owner for information about Zhou Xin. The owner revealed that he was Qimeng Haige, the former Aomeijia Alliance chairman, and recognized Zhang Xuezhou’s feather as a Ferocious Beast product.

• Zhang Xuezhou and his companions disembarked at Huli Port, where Tuer Kelanduo tried to enlist local youths to find them a car.
• Ren Anran explained that they should ask the port restaurant owner for help locating Zhou Xin.
• Qimeng Haige demanded five hundred thousand for Zhou Xin’s whereabouts, and Zhang Xuezhou tried to bargain despite the group’s limited money and supplies.
• The owner revealed his name and warned Zhang Xuezhou that he was the Seventh Sequence Holder and former Aomeijia Alliance chairman.
• Zhang Xuezhou offered a white feather as payment, and Qimeng Haige identified it as a Ferocious Beast product.

Zhang Xuezhou traded information about a Ferocious Beast feather with Qimeng Haige while discussing the path to higher sequences with Wang Li. Qimeng Haige offered to exchange the feather for products he had developed for weak genes.

• Qimeng Haige asked what the Ferocious Beast feather did, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that it briefly boosted flight before putting it away.
• Qimeng Haige let Zhang Xuezhou enter his restaurant to wait for Zhou Xin, who was away searching for supplies.
• Wang Li asked why the Aomeijia Alliance had so many Seventh Sequence Holders, and Zhang Xuezhou attributed it to luck and the available Ferocious Beasts.
• Qimeng Haige challenged Wang Li to consider why he wanted to grow stronger, and Zhang Xuezhou explained how conviction could help someone advance their sequence.
• Qimeng Haige guessed that Zhang Xuezhou had weak genes and offered to trade his weak-gene products for the feather.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed trading Ferocious Beast feathers for Qimeng Haige’s R32 catalyst, but insisted on Zhou Xin’s guarantee before accepting an injection. After Zhang and the others left Huli Port, a youthful-looking Zhou Xin arrived at Qimeng Haige’s restaurant asking about a young man in a photograph.

• Qimeng Haige offered to trade his R32 catalyst for Zhang Xuezhou’s Ferocious Beast feathers and explained how the catalyst worked.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed in principle but said he would only accept an injection with Zhou Xin’s guarantee, citing his near-fatal experience with genetic drugs.
• Tuer Kelanduo wondered why the group was waiting for Zhou Xin and doubted he would help them deal with the giant moth ferocious insect.
• Ren Anran and Wang Li prepared a vehicle while Zhang Xuezhou waited for Zhou Xin, then left when he did not return on time.
• Qimeng Haige closed his restaurant after Zhang Xuezhou and the others drove away, but Zhou Xin arrived and asked whether he had seen the young man in a photograph.

Zhang Xuezhou and his companions discussed how to recruit Qimeng Haige to help them in Tuer District while Zhou Xin was missing. Their plans were interrupted when Zhou Rihui arrived searching for Zhang Xuezhou.

• Zhang Xuezhou and his companions camped near Huli Port after their three-wheeler ran low on fuel.
• Ren Anran worried that Zhou Xin might be away chasing the fire meteor for months, leaving them without his help.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested asking Qimeng Haige for help, but explained that persuading him would require offering something he valued.
• Tuer Kelanduo offered to share her ideas for high-sequence research with Qimeng Haige if he was willing to cooperate.
• Zhou Rihui called for Zhang Xuezhou through a megaphone, and Zhang recognized his voice.

Zhou Rihui caught up with Zhang Xuezhou’s group near Huli Port, hoping to continue his treatment, but Zhang postponed it while they sought help dealing with a dangerous insect. The group discussed contacting Zhou Xin and approaching Qimeng Haige, who appeared at their tent unnoticed.

• Zhou Rihui met Zhang Xuezhou and the others near Huli Port and asked to resume his treatment.
• Ren Anran reminded the group that they needed help dealing with a vicious insect threatening the Tuer Clan, and Zhang explained that it came from the Thousand Islands Alliance.
• Zhang told Zhou Rihui that he could not treat him yet because the group needed to seek the Tuer God’s favor and recruit help for their mission.
• Zhou Rihui said he could not contact his father, Zhou Xin, because Qinmeng had no satellite coverage or reliable infrastructure.
• Zhang said they would try to persuade Qimeng Haige to help, and Qimeng Haige suddenly appeared at the tent entrance to ask what they would offer in exchange.

Qimeng Haige hesitated to cooperate with Tuer Kelanduo because he distrusted her research and doubted it could help him in his lifetime. Zhang Xuezhou redirected the negotiations toward lifespan medicine, leaving Qimeng eager to visit the laboratory and try it.

• Qimeng Haige rejected Tuer Kelanduo's offer, saying her eighth-sequence research was theoretical and he did not trust her.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested that the research institute was developing lifespan medicines and described its analysis report and long-lived laboratory animals.
• Qimeng Haige asked to try the medicine and offered R32, R33, R34, and R35 Catalysts as possible rewards.
• Zhang Xuezhou raised concerns about testing Qimeng's R32 Catalyst, and Zhou Rihui refused to guarantee that it would be safe.
• Qimeng Haige became eager to pursue Zhang Xuezhou's offer of lifespan medicine despite recognizing it as bait.

Zhang Xuezhou used the prospect of a life-extending drug to secure Qimeng Haige’s cooperation with Tuer Kelanduo and their journey to the Thousand Islands Alliance. As the group set out from Huli Port, a fiery object streaked across the night sky, leaving them startled but unharmed.

• Qimeng Haige agreed to partner with Tuer Kelanduo after Zhang Xuezhou offered him a chance to examine the life-extending drug and test the R32 Catalyst.
• Tuer Kelanduo promised to get the group through the Aomeijia Alliance and onward to the Thousand Islands Alliance.
• Zhang Xuezhou, Qimeng Haige, and the others prepared to depart, while Zhou Rihui refused to look after Qimeng Haige’s restaurant.
• Wang Li’s repaired three-wheeler carried the group toward Huli Port as Zhou Rihui and Qimeng Haige argued.
• A violent explosion startled the group, and they saw a giant comet-like trail of red flames crossing the sky.

After a second fire meteor fell near Qinmeng, Zhang Xuezhou suspected its impact would unleash a Spiritual Qi tide and a devastating beast tide. As the group fled by speedboat, Zhou Rihui's warning about elite Ferocious Beasts left Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran doubtful that Qimeng Haige could handle the threat in Tuer District.

• Zhang Xuezhou speculated that the fire meteors were uncontrolled secret lands and realized their impacts could trigger Spiritual Qi and beast tides.
• Qimeng Haige urged everyone to leave Qinmeng, and the group headed for Huli Port as tremors from the meteor reached them.
• Qimeng Haige went to lock up his restaurant while Zhou Rihui prepared the speedboat for their escape.
• Zhou Rihui explained that elite Ferocious Beasts had strange abilities and that even Zhou Xin would avoid confronting one.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran suspected the giant moth in Tuer District was an elite Ferocious Beast and feared Qimeng Haige could not defeat it.

The group raced to leave the Aomeijia Alliance after the second fire meteor, while Tuer Kelanduo disguised Qimeng Haige to get them through the harbor and airport. As they flew toward Saint Louis Airport, a third fire meteor appeared in the sky, with a purple glow and a figure visible inside it.

• Tuer Kelanduo disguised Qimeng Haige as Tuer Bato, a paladin of the Tuer Religion, and made him a credential.
• Zhang Xuezhou, Zhou Rihui, Ren Anran, and their companions saw the Montes Lineage heading toward Qinmeng, including Montes Clark.
• Zhou Rihui learned that flights after theirs had been grounded because the geomagnetic storm was strengthening, likely to keep foreign high-Sequence Holders out of Qinmeng.
• The group boarded a flight bound for Saint Louis Airport, while Tuer Kelanduo suffered dizziness from using her ability to hurry them through their travel arrangements.
• Passengers spotted a third fire meteor, and Tuer Kelanduo saw a purple glow and what appeared to be a figure within its flames.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran watched a third fiery meteor fall toward Qinmeng and feared it might bring Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons. Facing the growing danger, Zhang Xuezhou considered rushing his cultivation toward the Divine Ability Realm by fusing two Realm Techniques, despite the long-term cost.

• Qimeng Haige and the others worried that the fiery meteor could devastate a city as it fell toward Qinmeng.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw what looked like a natural array and a struggling creature within the meteor, and feared another Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon might reach the human world.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran agreed the meteors seemed to bring risks rather than opportunities and wondered what Qinmeng held that drew them.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Anran that fusing the Yin Yang Great Joy Nine People Incantation with their Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation could accelerate his path to the Divine Ability Realm.
• Ren Anran warned that rushing ahead would sacrifice the fusion's later benefits, but Zhang Xuezhou weighed that cost against his growing fear that he would not survive long enough to face an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran discussed the dangers of fusing the Yin-Yang School’s Realm Techniques and agreed to seek a way forward without Human Pills. After Zhang Xuezhou decided to follow Jin Chang’s method, Ren Anran began getting to know Zhou Rihui while offering to treat him.

• Ren Anran warned Zhang Xuezhou that the fused Realm Techniques could lead to reliance on Human Pills, and urged him to revise his cultivation method before reaching the Divine Ability Realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran agreed that they and others, including Manqian, could work together to develop a path beyond the old method.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to follow Jin Chang’s instructions and took a Potent Spirit-Forging Pill aboard the airbus.
• Zhou Rihui asked Ren Anran about the fireball and lamented that his Fifth Sequence status left him unable to influence events among Sixth Sequence Holders.
• Zhou Rihui asked to meet the Tur People’s former divine maiden for treatment, and Ren Anran offered to help him in exchange for dealing with the vicious insects.

At Saint Louis Airport, Zhang Xuezhou continued balancing his cultivation while the group waited for a flight to the Thousand Islands Alliance. Their uneasy wait ended when Zhou Rihui recognized Genas fighting at the airport, with Qimeng Haige apparently caught up in the encounter.

• Zhang Xuezhou meditated through Spirit-Forging Pill hallucinations and used the Poison Avoidance Art to make them fade.
• Qimeng Haige complained about the long wait and left with Tuer Kelanduo to clear his head.
• Wang Li asked Zhou Rihui to sell him twelve doses of blood agent for sixty million, and Ren Anran urged Zhou Rihui to agree.
• An explosive noise sounded from the airport, where Zhou Rihui saw Genas pursued by a tall man wielding a longsword.
• Zhou Rihui realized Genas had been stranded at the airport after the Aomeijia Alliance cut off air routes and suspected Qimeng Haige had run into him.

Nagesi pursued Qimeng Haige while Ren Anran, Zhou Rihui, Wang Li, Zhang Xuezhou, and Tuer Kelanduo were cornered by British Alliance State forces. The group surrendered, but Tuer Kelanduo invoked her former status as a Tur chieftain to prevent the officers from handcuffing her.

• Nagesi recognized Qimeng Haige in the British Alliance State and chased him, convinced he posed a threat.
• Ren Anran decided the group could not escape the airport lockdown and chose to cooperate with the approaching officers.
• British Alliance State forces burst into the hotel room and accused the group, including Zhou Rihui, of subversive activity.
• Ren Anran and Zhou Rihui surrendered, while officers found Zhang Xuezhou too unsteady to resist and discovered Tuer Kelanduo was missing.
• Tuer Kelanduo emerged from the corridor, identified herself as a former Tur chieftain, and demanded humane treatment, prompting the officers to avoid handcuffing her.

After Nagesi’s chase with Qimeng Haige ended, he interrogated Zhang Xuezhou and the others about why they had entered the country. The group’s explanations appeared credible, but Nagesi found suspicious traditional medicine among Zhang Xuezhou’s belongings and reacted with sudden nausea after tasting it.

• Nagesi failed to catch Qimeng Haige, who insisted he had only stopped to rest and was passing through.
• Qimeng Haige decided to wait and hoped Zhang Xuezhou could persuade Nagesi to let the group go without serious punishment.
• Nagesi questioned Omega about the group and learned they all claimed to be heading back to the Thousand Islands Alliance after leaving Qinmeng.
• Nagesi questioned Wang Li and Zhou Rihui, then went to question Zhang Xuezhou.
• Omega told Nagesi that Zhang Xuezhou seemed to be on drugs and had several bottles of medicine.
• Nagesi tasted one of Zhang Xuezhou’s pills, enjoyed its fragrance briefly, then felt a wave of nausea.

Nagesi interrogated Zhang Xuezhou and discovered his distinguished academic record, including a paper about controlling and taming exotic beasts. Recognizing Zhang Xuezhou’s connection to Sinkhole No. 2, Nagesi questioned him about the fire meteors and other descenders, trying to determine whether they were rivals or potential allies.

• Nagesi ordered Omega to investigate Zhang Xuezhou while he questioned the rest of the group and considered demanding money or technology from the Zhou Household in exchange for Zhou Rihui.
• Omega reported Zhang Xuezhou’s academic accomplishments and his connection to Sinkhole No. 2, and Nagesi read Zhang’s paper about exotic beasts.
• Nagesi introduced himself to Zhang Xuezhou as the owner of No. 1 Sinkhole and realized Zhang was connected to another sinkhole.
• Nagesi asked whether Zhang had sent the coordinates for the fire meteors, and Zhang denied it.
• Nagesi questioned Zhang about the owner of Sinkhole No. 3 and which chief god he served, weighing whether to kill him or cooperate against other descenders.

Zhang Xuezhou negotiated with Nagesi while concealing his uncertainty about whether Nagesi was an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon or the original human. They agreed their abilities could be useful to each other, but Zhang Xuezhou still could not determine what had happened inside Nagesi’s body.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Nagesi that his body was being rejected by the world and that he relied on medicine to stay stable.
• Nagesi learned that Zhang Xuezhou had beast-taming and healing abilities, while Zhang Xuezhou learned that Nagesi controlled flames.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he needed Egret Bird blood serum and a catalyst to advance his weak gene to the Third Sequence.
• Nagesi offered to help strengthen Zhang Xuezhou in exchange for his potential help taming Ferocious Beasts, and the two agreed they might cooperate.
• Zhang Xuezhou remained unsure whether Nagesi was an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon or a human who had resisted one.