Chapter Summaries

After a man disappeared into the ground and died, Gu De suspected the emperor road had changed, while Ma Ze found a way to travel above the dangerous ground by climbing the vines. As Ma Ze moved forward, a small dragon appeared from a tear in the void and struck him for stopping, leaving the others to consider what awaited them.

• A shoot grew where the man had sunk into the ground, and the group concluded that he had died beneath it.
• Gu De suspected the emperor road had changed beyond the effects of the gold coins and wondered whether fortune had brought him there.
• Ma Ze climbed a tree and began moving along the overhead vines to avoid the ground.
• A small dragon appeared from a split in the void and lashed Ma Ze when he stopped to rest.
• Ma Ze heard the dragon warn him that stopping would earn him a beating, then continued swinging along the vines.

Gu De chose to coexist peacefully with the Beast Race on the Emperor Road, despite the doubts of those watching, and led the others into a forest where they had to swing from vines. Chu Ping'an followed, suspected the road had been designed by someone from Blue Star, and quietly planned to wait for Gu De to need his help.

• Ma Ze continued through the forest after a Dragon Race member struck him with its tail, while onlookers debated the danger.
• Gu De decided that peace with the Beast Race might reduce the risk, though he worried about how the choice would affect his standing as Human Emperor.
• Gu De chose to coexist peacefully with the Beast Race, and his companions followed him into the forest as others expressed surprise.
• Gu De climbed a tree and dismissed the Human Emperor title as less important than minimizing danger.
• Chu Ping'an entered the forest, suspected Li Baimei had designed the Emperor Road, and followed Gu De while waiting for a chance to help him.

Li Baimei’s group reached the forest after crossing the lightning-filled waterway and chose to rest before continuing. Meanwhile, Lu Changzhi’s plan steered the crowd toward peaceful coexistence with the Beast Race, while observers outside the secret path debated whether to let him continue.

• Li Baimei and the Li Clan experts escaped the lightning in the waterway and learned that the Human Emperor had chosen peaceful coexistence with the Beast Race.
• Li Baimei agreed to rest briefly before entering the forest, but he still felt weak when he got up.
• The crowd followed the Human Emperor’s example and chose to coexist peacefully with the Beast Race before entering the forest.
• Lu Changzhi told Gu De that a good example had made it easier to guide the crowd’s choices.
• Observers outside the secret path criticized Lu Changzhi’s plan, but the elder who had left a token for the Five Symbols Sect decided they should let it continue.

Mu Fan received a mountain range of 99% enriched uranium and a trait that made radiation strengthen him, then tried to trigger an explosion by smashing two lumps together. His uranium experiment ended at the moment of impact, with the people on the Emperor Road watching the strange object in the sky.

• Mu Fan received a vein of 99% enriched highly enriched uranium and the trait Enjoying Great Fortune Amid Radiation after completing the task.
• Mu Fan realized the uranium was raw material for nuclear weapons and found that the vein covered a whole mountain range.
• Mu Fan learned that radiation would make him stronger, but he still did not know how to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
• Mu Fan decided to experiment by hurling one lump of uranium at another, hoping the collision would cause an explosion.
• People on the Emperor Road noticed the object streaking across the sky, and the uranium lumps collided.

Mu Fan's uranium device triggered a nuclear-like blast on the Emperor Road, alarming the cultivators there and startling Chu Ping'an in the woods. Lu Changzhi gave Mu Fan the knowledge to improve the device, and Mu Fan prepared to put his new plans into action.

• Two masses of enriched uranium touched on the Emperor Road, unleashing a shockwave that distorted the void and frightened the cultivators nearby.
• The system warned Chu Ping'an of a nuclear strike, and he used an artifact to shield himself from the shockwave before suspecting Li Baimei had caused it.
• Lu Changzhi judged that Mu Fan's device had wasted most of its material and explained that he had received its technology as a mission reward.
• Mu Fan asked Lu Changzhi for guidance, and Lu Changzhi passed him the system's handcrafting memories.
• Mu Fan became excited about improving his inventions, while onlookers outside the secret road reacted to the latest surprise.

Travelers entering the woods were thrown from the vines by a sudden explosion, while Mu Fan finished his task and Lu Changzhi sent Qin Li and the Beast Race to launch a surprise attack. The fallen travelers discovered that sinking into the ground returned them to the woods’ entrance, and Gu De hurried onward as someone warned him of danger behind.

• The travelers were shaken from the vines by an explosion and began sinking into the soft ground, while those still in the trees pushed ahead more urgently.
• Mu Fan said he had finished his tasks and left to put his craftsmanship to work, and Lu Changzhi sent Qin Li with the Beast Race to pressure the travelers in a surprise attack.
• The rules for entering the woods changed, and someone who had previously seen a choice no longer received one.
• The people sinking underground were returned to their starting point, realized that falling only sent them back, and prepared to try the route again.
• Gu De urged his group to move faster and grew wary of the woods’ hidden dangers before someone shouted for him to watch his back.

Gu De and the others struggled along the vine path as Beast Race fighters launched repeated sneak attacks, knocking travelers to the ground. Gu De led part of the group through a light curtain marked “Land beyond the beasts' reach,” but a staff suddenly thrust from a tree trunk just after he warned them to stay alert.

• Gu De dodged a Beast Race claw and identified the attacks as ambushes emerging from the void.
• A companion was struck and left swinging from the vines, while another was knocked to the ground and joined the group’s chant.
• Chu Ping'an watched as attacks sent people farther back falling from the vines, and Li Baimei reflected on how exhausting the Emperor Road had become.
• Gu De spotted the light curtain marked “Land beyond the beasts' reach” and led some companions through it.
• Gu De warned the group not to relax, and a long staff thrust out of a nearby tree trunk.

Gu De dodged a staff ambush on the Emperor Road, but a saber severed his vine and sent him plunging into the ground. His followers rushed to rescue him, only making him sink faster, while the rest jumped down to join them.

• A staff swung out of a tree, and Gu De twisted aside to dodge it.
• A saber cut through the vine Gu De was holding, and he fell into the ground below.
• Gu De realized his followers could pull him out, but several leaped down beside him and churned the ground, making him sink faster.
• Gu De cursed his followers and told them to stop jumping, but he sank nearly to his chest before they stopped.
• His followers reached for him and vowed to pull him free, while those still on the vines jumped down to join the rescue.

Chu Ping'an waited for Gu De to reach a desperate situation so he could rescue him and make him his leek, while Gu De and his followers sank into the ground. Lu Changzhi restored the ground’s deadly state to create the peril Chu Ping'an needed, and the old man demanded that Lu Changzhi’s token be disabled.

• Gu De’s followers jumped into the sinking ground to save him, making the danger worse, while Chu Ping'an waited for the right moment to rescue Gu De.
• Gu De sank with his followers and, facing what seemed like death, regretted having played it safe and wished for another chance.
• The old man refused to intervene, saying Gu De needed to face death to find life, while Lu Changzhi watched from above and recognized Chu Ping'an’s plan.
• Lu Changzhi used his token to restore the ground’s deadly state so that anyone who fell in would be buried instead of sent back to the woods.
• The old man realized what Lu Changzhi had done and demanded that his token be disabled.

Chu Ping'an rescued Gu De and his companions from beneath the maze’s ground with a net after Lu Changzhi’s token stopped working. Gu De thanked Chu Ping'an and continued onward, while the reason for the token’s failure remained unresolved.

• Lu Changzhi realized his token had stopped working and suspected someone had intervened to save Gu De.
• Chu Ping'an cast a net beneath the ground and hauled Gu De and his companions out of the maze’s earth.
• Chu Ping'an swung the net toward the vines, allowing Gu De and the others to grab hold and return to safety.
• One of Gu De’s companions accused Chu Ping'an of staging the rescue to show off, but another quickly apologized on his behalf.
• Gu De thanked Chu Ping'an, then scolded the outspoken companion after Chu Ping'an left and ordered the group to keep moving.

Chu Ping'an discovered that an unseen expert had changed the woods’ rules to protect Gu De, and he welcomed the prospect of exploiting the support Gu De received. As Gu De’s group advanced through the Emperor Road, ambushes struck the travelers behind them, and Li Baimei was finally sent flying by a blow to his back.

• Chu Ping'an learned from the system that the woods now sent people back to its entrance instead of killing them, and concluded that an expert was protecting Gu De.
• Chu Ping'an decided that Gu De’s powerful backing would help him find better opportunities within the system’s reach.
• Gu De’s group wondered why the ambushes had stopped, while a wave of attacks swept through the crowd following them.
• Li Baimei’s clan was caught in the ambushes, and its members struggled to rescue those trapped in the ground with ropes made from their clothes.
• Li Baimei ordered some people to stay behind and rescue the fallen while the others pressed on, but someone warned him just before a blow launched him away.

Li Baimei and Qian Guiyi were struck by a second round of attacks in the forest, while the people outside the Secret Road brought a giant figure onto the Emperor Road. Lu Changzhi recognized the figure as an unexpected change caused by someone else's intervention, but its purpose remained unclear.

• Li Baimei was struck by a hidden force and plunged into the ground, then struggled toward a nearby tree.
• Qian Guiyi was flung from a vine after a claw stretched and released it, and he crashed into the ground.
• The fallen cultivators caught up with those at the front and learned that they could restart from the back after falling.
• People outside the Secret Road discussed changing their approach, and a giant figure appeared in the waterway behind them.
• Chu Ping'an suspected that the new change had affected the waterway as well as the forest.
• Mu Fan and Zhong Ming asked Lu Changzhi about the giant figure, and he said it was an unexpected development caused by someone else.

The Tai Clan arrived in the maze through a stone giant, accompanied by a member of the Cao Clan who paid respects to Taijun. Taijun exposed the Jiang Clan elders watching from outside the Emperor Road, leaving everyone in the maze shocked.

• The elders outside the maze wondered whether a traitor had alerted the Tai Clan and debated what to do about its arrival.
• The stone giant stepped forward and raised several Tai Clan figures on its palms above the maze.
• A Cao Clan member knelt before the group and greeted their leader as Taijun, prompting Mu Fan to react with surprise.
• The elders recognized the Cao Clan member as an enemy and worried they could not act against them while the Tai Clan was present.
• Taijun called out the Jiang Clan for lacking manners, stamped a foot, and revealed the elders watching from beyond the Emperor Road.

The taijuns and the Jiang Clan transformed the Emperor Road into a boundless plain, restoring everyone’s powers and senses. As the travelers tried to understand the powerful newcomers, the leading taijun seized Mu Fan from somewhere unknown.

• Gu De recognized an old man among the figures beyond the heavens and wondered about the Jiang Clan, while Li Baimei concluded that everyone was trapped in a jar.
• The Jiang Clan appeared, saluted the taijuns, and the leading taijun told them to be quick if they wanted the place.
• A figure used a token to change the Emperor Road into a plain, restoring the travelers’ spiritual senses and powers.
• Li Baimei sensed the immense strength of the taijuns and the Jiang Clan, while Gu De considered venturing into the greater world.
• The leading taijun grabbed someone from afar, revealing Mu Fan and shocking Gu Chen and the others.

Mu Fan escaped Tai Jiuling’s grasp several times before Lu Changzhi stored him away and used his system to evade the Tai lords. The Tai and Jiang clans then turned their attention to Longwang Clan, who resisted their interrogation.

• Gu Chen asked Lu Changzhi for instructions while the Jiang and Tai clans watched Mu Fan.
• Mu Fan vanished from Tai Jiuling’s grasp, but Tai Jiuling caught him again and anticipated one of his escapes.
• Mu Fan disappeared completely, and Lu Changzhi used the system to store him away; Tai Jiuling traced the technique toward Lu Changzhi.
• Lu Changzhi selected Tai Jiuling as his target, bundled Gu Chen, Qin Li, and the others together, and exchanged places with his External Avatar.
• Tai Jiuling told the Jiang Clan experts to handle the rest, and one of them seized Longwang Clan and demanded to know who Mu Fan was and where he had gone.
• Longwang Clan cursed at the Jiang Clan expert instead of answering.

Lu Changzhi intervened to save Longwang Clan from a Jiang Clan expert, but the expert returned the attack and moved to confront Lu Changzhi. A mysterious elder appeared, halted the realm, and identified himself as Jiang Tong, leaving the Jiang Clan experts stunned when one realized his staff was missing.

• Longwang Clan cursed the Jiang Clan expert, who intensified the force crushing him until a token interrupted it.
• The Jiang Clan expert caught the token, then sent it flying back toward its source at even greater speed.
• Lu Changzhi vanished and reappeared elsewhere as the Jiang Clan expert prepared to pursue him.
• A voice condemned the Jiang Clan as unfilial descendants, and an elder appeared, stopping everything in the realm.
• The elder named himself Jiang Tong and brought down a staff, prompting one Jiang Clan expert to realize his staff was gone.

Jiang Tong returned to the Jiang Clan and opposed the clan’s cooperation with the Tai Clan, but his descendants refused to follow him. He challenged Tai Jiuling, and a sudden sound interrupted the confrontation.

• The Jiang Clan experts recognized Jiang Tong through the long staff and asked how he had entered the sealed secret passage.
• Jiang Tong explained that changes in the Land of Contemplation had destroyed his blessed paradise, and he criticized the Jiang Clan for serving the Tai Clan.
• Jiang Hui argued that the Jiang Clan had to cooperate with the far stronger Tai Clan, while Jiang Tong rejected his old willingness to be used by powerful factions.
• The Jiang Clan experts decided not to heed Jiang Tong, and one told him that he had grown old.
• Jiang Tong ordered the Tai Clan experts to leave, but Tai Jiuling challenged the Jiang Clan to defy the Tai Clan’s will.
• Jiang Tong asked Tai Jiuling whether he knew his name, and a forceful sound came from Tai Jiuling before he could answer.

Jiang Tong stopped the Tai Clan experts after their outburst killed many people, devastating the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom and terrifying the assembled factions. As Li Baimei grappled with the existence of a world far beyond his own, Jiang Tong singled out Lu Changzhi and asked why he was not afraid.

• Jiang Tong's staff pierced Tai Jiuling, and the Tai Clan experts unleashed a shock wave that killed people across the surrounding area.
• Jiang Tong stopped the shock wave and condemned the Tai Clan for slaughtering the weak to salvage its dignity.
• A Great Qian Ancient Kingdom expert taunted the Tai Clan, while the survivors faced the ruin of their faction.
• Li Baimei watched Qian Guiyi and realized that the world beyond his own was far stronger than he had imagined.
• Jiang Tong looked at Lu Changzhi, appeared before him, and asked why he was not afraid.

Lu Changzhi learned from Jiang Tong that the Land of Contemplation repeatedly reset to a point in the past, but its cycle had now stopped for unknown reasons. Jiang Tong said the Five Symbols Sect’s ancestors were still investigating who had created the place and left its mysteries behind.

• Lu Changzhi revealed a Five Symbols Sect token, convincing Jiang Tong to put away his weapon and acknowledge him as an ally.
• Lu Changzhi explained that he had recognized Jiang Tong from the Heaven-Piercing Sect technique, and asked why Emperor Realm fighters could have such vastly different strength.
• Jiang Tong explained that the Five Symbols Sect had trained its people to move from one isolated world into ever vaster worlds, so they would not mistake any single place for the limits of existence.
• Jiang Tong revealed that the Land of Contemplation repeatedly returned to the past, erasing what had happened and beginning again from a fixed point.
• Jiang Tong told Lu Changzhi that the Land of Contemplation’s cycle had suddenly stopped instead of resetting, and that the ancestors were investigating who had created it.
• Jiang Tong said the Five Symbols Sect had to keep seeking and exploring the unknown, even when its ancestors could not yet find the answers.

Jiang Tong explained that the Land of Contemplation lacked Emperor Source, leaving its long-time inhabitants poorly suited to advance in the outside world, and offered Lu Changzhi support before confronting the Tai Clan. He spared the Tai Clan powerhouses, but Tai Jiuling killed the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom powerhouses before leading his people away.

• Jiang Tong told Lu Changzhi that Emperor Source had disappeared from the Land of Contemplation and that its inhabitants would struggle to adapt to an environment containing it.
• Jiang Tong agreed to help Li Baimei and Gu De overcome that difficulty, then said he would drive the Tai Clan away.
• Lu Changzhi said he planned to prepare for a journey into the outside world, and Jiang Tong gave him several objects taken from Tai Clan powerhouses.
• Jiang Tong returned Lu Changzhi to the crowd and spared the Tai Clan powerhouses, warning them not to return.
• Tai Jiuling killed the Great Qian Ancient Kingdom powerhouses, then led the Tai Clan through a portal as the onlookers watched.