Chapter Summaries

Tai Yin discovered that Lu Changzhi’s strange power was making him younger and erasing his abilities, then summoned the other Tai Clan members for help. The four suspected Lu Changzhi was responsible, but his wooden token and the Huaxia Sect’s presence kept them from acting against him.

• Tai Yin realized that techniques he had learned in recent years were vanishing from his memory as he tried to escape.
• Tai Yin asked the four other Tai Clan members to help kill the man, but they refused to join him.
• One Tai Clan member pointed out that Tai Yin looked younger, and Tai Yin confirmed his appearance had changed before discovering that his hair was gone.
• Tai Yin showed the four what had happened to him, and they concluded that Lu Changzhi was responsible.
• Lu Changzhi displayed the Huaxia Sect’s small wooden token, and a Tai Clan member warned that the Tai Clan would not forgive the Jiang Clan if Tai Yin were harmed.
• Lu Changzhi replied that no one was attacking Tai Yin and nothing would happen to him.

The Tai Clan sealed Tai Yin inside a small tower while Lu Changzhi continued watching the fighting in the World in the Painting. A mysterious young woman appeared before Tai Xukun, and Lu Changzhi recognized her as the Artifact Spirit of the Scroll of the Falling Brush.

• The Tai Clan decided Tai Yin's strange regression was not an immediate threat and prioritized the World in the Painting over confronting the Jiang Clan or Huaxia Sect.
• One of Tai Yin's clansmen used a small tower to take him inside and keep him safe, and the others resumed focusing on the World in the Painting.
• Lu Changzhi judged that Reverse Idling was slowly affecting Tai Yin and stopped watching when the tower hid him from view.
• Lu Changzhi turned his attention to Gu Chen and Jiang Kui's intensifying battle, then sensed a new presence near Tai Xukun.
• A young woman appeared in front of Tai Xukun, and Lu Changzhi recognized her as the Artifact Spirit of the Scroll of the Falling Brush.

The Artifact Spirit of the Scroll of the Falling Brush confronted the Tai Clan and demanded that they release the man inside their tower. After she revealed herself as the World Spirit and forced them to comply, she focused on Tai Yin as he continued changing in the frozen World in the Painting.

• The Artifact Spirit demanded that Tai Xukun release the man in the tower, and threatened him when he questioned her.
• The four Tai Clan members attacked the Artifact Spirit, but she made their attacks vanish.
• Tai Xukun asked whether she was the World Spirit, and she made the four Tai Clan members’ presences vanish as well.
• Tai Xukun brought out the tower and released Tai Yin, whose appearance had changed to that of a teenager.
• The Artifact Spirit froze everything in the World in the Painting except Tai Yin, who continued changing.

A mysterious woman’s power of time made Tai Yin regress through his entire life until he vanished. Chu Ping'an and Gu De suspected Li Baimei might be connected to the power, while the other observers coveted it but remained unable to move.

• Tai Yin realized the woman was attacking him as his thoughts and body grew weaker.
• The observers saw Tai Yin grow younger and suspected that the woman was using the power of time.
• Chu Ping'an asked his system whether Li Baimei was responsible, but it could not identify the source of the power.
• Gu De recalled the Land of Contemplation’s repeating timeline and began to doubt Li Baimei’s motives.
• Tai Yin regressed from adulthood to infancy, then shrank into a speck and disappeared.

The woman’s control over the World in the Painting suddenly vanished, allowing Jiang Kui and Gu Chen to ambush and kill their Cao Clan opponents. After investigating the power of time, the woman drew the Tai Clan’s attention to Lu Changzhi, whom they accused of causing the strange events.

• The woman murmured that someone in the world could control time, then the force restraining everyone disappeared.
• Gu Chen urged Jiang Kui to attack, and Jiang Kui killed both Cao Clan fighters with a prepared killing method.
• Jiang Kui asked Gu Chen how he had reacted so quickly, and Gu Chen explained that the unexpected moment was an ideal chance for a sneak attack.
• Lu Changzhi concluded that Reverse Idling was too slow to be useful in battle, while the Scroll of the Falling Brush’s Artifact Spirit appeared interested in the power of time.
• The woman searched the gathered people and seemed to find no answer, while the Tai Clan members regained their senses and accused Lu Changzhi of causing the events.

Chu Ping'an suspected the Tai Clan had falsely accused Lu Changzhi of mastering the power of time, while Lu Changzhi revealed that he had stolen items from the Tai Clan and used one during Tai Yin's attack. The Tai clansmen were left unable to explain how their intact, clan-issued storage rings had ended up in Lu Changzhi's hands.

• Chu Ping'an checked Lu Changzhi with the system, found him unremarkable, and decided he could spread a rumor about Gu De instead.
• The Artifact Spirit confronted Lu Changzhi and warned him to hand over the power of time if he possessed it.
• Lu Changzhi said Tai Yin had attacked him because he had stolen something from the Tai Clan, and a clansman claimed Tai Yin had simply wanted to kill him.
• Lu Changzhi challenged the clansman to give a better reason and suggested he had stumbled upon a Tai Clan secret.
• Lu Changzhi produced several storage rings and a used item, saying he had taken the rings from the Tai Clan and used something inside during the attack.
• The assembled people recognized the rings as matching those worn by the Tai clansmen, while the Tai clansmen were shocked that their intact clan-issued rings had been stolen.

Lu Changzhi revealed the Huaxia Sect's little wooden plaque, prompting the sect's members and representatives to prepare to protect its holder. He gave the plaque to Gu Chen and agreed to let the Tai Clan investigate him, leaving the confrontation poised to begin.

• A Tai Clan member asked the Artifact Spirit to set aside an area where the clan could force Lu Changzhi to surrender the power of time.
• Lu Changzhi accused the Tai Clan of pursuing him despite knowing he had the Huaxia Sect's protection, then revealed the little wooden plaque.
• Huaxia Sect members prepared to act, and one told Li Baimei that they had to help whoever held the plaque; Gu De and Chu Ping'an also learned they would be expected to fight.
• A Huaxia Sect representative asked the Artifact Spirit to excuse their intervention, while the Tai Clan weighed the risks of attacking Lu Changzhi.
• Lu Changzhi handed the plaque to Gu Chen and agreed to let the Tai Clan investigate him.

Lu Changzhi tossed aside the Huaxia Sect's token and challenged the four members of the Tai Clan, then used his speed and the power of time to make it appear that one of them had used it. The woman confronted the suspected Tai Clan member, while the onlookers realized Lu Changzhi was trying to expose a scapegoat scheme.

• Lu Changzhi threw away the Huaxia Sect's small wooden token, prompting onlookers to wonder whether he could control time.
• The woman isolated Lu Changzhi and the four Tai Clan members in a separate realm, and Lu Changzhi urged them to attack.
• Lu Changzhi charged at the Tai Clan members at extraordinary speed, then suddenly darted away from his apparent target.
• Chu Ping'an asked the system whether Lu Changzhi was really not the protagonist, and the system said he was not.
• Lu Changzhi accused the Tai Clan of being thieves crying 'Stop thief!' as the woman confronted the man he had targeted.
• A Tai Clan member warned the man that Lu Changzhi had deliberately made it look as if he used the power of time.

A strange power emerged from within a Tai Clan member, while Lu Changzhi began irreversibly growing younger. After the woman struck the Tai Clan member and he vanished into the void, she watched the power and said she had found a way to bring A Diao back.

• The Tai Clan member denied causing the earlier death, but a familiar fluctuation appeared within his body and made the onlookers suspect the Tai Clan possessed the power of time.
• Lu Changzhi noticed that he was growing younger and asked the woman to stop the fluctuation; she sealed the Tai Clan member’s power, but Lu Changzhi’s change continued.
• As the crowd urged Lu Changzhi to share his movement technique, the ordinary-looking Tai Clan member insisted that Lu Changzhi had framed him.
• The power inside the Tai Clan member flashed toward the woman, who dodged and struck him, causing him to dissolve into the void while the power remained suspended in midair.
• The woman watched the mysterious power for more than ten breaths, then said she had finally found a way to bring A Diao back, leaving Lu Changzhi wondering whether Artifact Spirits could change between male and female.

A Luo summoned a Venerable One to claim the power of time, but it resisted his attempt to seize it. He ordered A Luo to annihilate everyone in the World in the Painting, leaving Chu Ping'an wondering whether Li Baimei had planned this too.

• A Luo lit incense to summon someone while Lu Changzhi continued growing younger under the power of time.
• The incense smoke formed a figure that exploded when it looked toward the power of time, and the incense fragments formed a spatial gateway.
• An old man emerged from the gateway, whom A Luo greeted as the Venerable One.
• The Venerable One reached for the power of time, but it consumed his power and began aging his hand; he withdrew, delighted by its apparent spirituality.
• The Venerable One told A Luo to annihilate everyone present, and Chu Ping'an wondered whether Li Baimei had arranged the danger as part of a plan.

Jin Wuliang and A Luo trapped everyone in the World in the Painting, sealing their powers and leaving them unable to resist. Li Baimei accepted help from the mysterious voice, allowing Lu Changzhi to take control of his body and present Jiang Tong’s Forcibly Twisted Melon to A Luo.

• Jin Wuliang dismissed the Huaxia Sect as too small to concern him and focused on the power of time.
• A Luo raised the pressure throughout the space and silently sealed everyone’s powers and spiritual senses.
• A mysterious voice asked Li Baimei if he wanted to live, and he agreed to let it take control of his body.
• Lu Changzhi remotely entered Li Baimei’s body and used the system to take out Jiang Tong’s Forcibly Twisted Melon.
• Lu Changzhi showed the object to A Luo and asked whether A Luo recognized it.

Li Baimei, temporarily controlled by Lu Changzhi, offered Jin Wuliang a melon that seemed connected to an old farmer, drawing his attention away from the power of time. Jin Wuliang spared Li Baimei but turned back to the danger, leaving everyone else anxious as Li Baimei tossed the melon to A Luo.

• Li Baimei stepped forward with an ordinary-looking melon, and Jin Wuliang recognized it as something grown by an old farmer.
• Gu De was shocked by Li Baimei's apparent advantage, while Chu Ping'an concluded he had been hiding his strength.
• Li Baimei suspected that Lu Changzhi had supplied the power of time and grew resentful toward the Jiang Clan for sending Lu Changzhi away.
• Jin Wuliang questioned Li Baimei's relationship with the old farmer, then told the Artifact Spirit to leave him alone and returned his attention to the power of time.
• Li Baimei tossed the melon to A Luo and told her to catch it.

Lu Changzhi revealed that Jin Wuliang had broken A Luo’s brush and manipulated her into seeking the power of time, while the brush’s remains offered hope of bringing A Diao back. When Lu Changzhi challenged Jin Wuliang’s motives, Jin attacked Li Baimei, but the melon rind shielded him; the confrontation continued as Lu Changzhi urged A Luo to hear the truth.

• A Luo caught Lu Changzhi’s melon, which burst and revealed the broken shaft of the Fucking Awesome Brush.
• Jin Wuliang told A Luo that mastering the power of time could let him use the shaft to bring A Diao back.
• Lu Changzhi realized Jin Wuliang had broken the brush and played the villain to make A Luo seek the power of time for him.
• Lu Changzhi accused Jin Wuliang of fearing A Diao’s revenge, prompting Jin to threaten him and attack Li Baimei with a bow.
• The melon rind shielded Li Baimei from Jin Wuliang’s arrow, and Lu Changzhi asked A Luo whether she wanted to know the truth.

Lu Changzhi revealed that Jin Wuliang had defeated A Diao to obtain the power of time, forcing A Luo to choose between cooperating with him and attacking. As the World in the Painting shook and A Luo seemed ready to submit, the trapped crowd pleaded with Li Baimei to save them.

• Lu Changzhi showed A Luo a scene of Jin Wuliang defeating A Diao and turning him into part of the broken brush.
• A Luo demanded to know why Jin Wuliang had done it, and he said he wanted the power of time and could restore A Diao only if she cooperated.
• A Luo gathered power to attack, but Jin Wuliang stopped it and warned her that he would keep her alive while separating her from A Diao forever.
• Jin Wuliang asked A Luo to choose between A Diao and the people present, and the World in the Painting shook as she appeared ready to submit.
• The crowd shouted for Li Baimei to help them, while Gu De realized their survival depended on whether Li Baimei acted.

Lu Changzhi, controlling Li Baimei’s body, drew the power of time into himself after reciting a strange phrase, confirming Chu Ping'an’s suspicions. He demonstrated his new control over time while Jin Wuliang’s attacks remained blocked by the melon rind.

• Lu Changzhi walked toward the power of time while Jin Wuliang let him proceed, and Li Baimei worried about what might happen to his body.
• Lu Changzhi told the power of time that they were fated, then recited, “Odd! Changes! Even! Doesn't! Signs! Depend! On! The! Quadrant!!!”
• The power of time rushed into Li Baimei’s body after Lu Changzhi beckoned, and Chu Ping'an recognized the phrase and realized his suspicions were correct.
• Jin Wuliang attacked Li Baimei, but the melon rind blocked his punches while Li Baimei sensed the power of time.
• Li Baimei used the power of time to make a seed sprout, grow, and wither rapidly, then told Jin Wuliang he would accept the power he had handed over.

Li Baimei demonstrated that he could immediately use the power of time, provoking Jin Wuliang and drawing attention to the danger of the ability. Jin Wuliang threatened Lu Changzhi with the World in the Painting’s ability to destroy everyone trapped inside, demanding that Lu Changzhi surrender the power or cooperate.

• Li Baimei used the power of time on a withered plant, astonishing the onlookers and stirring resentment in Chu Ping'an and suspicion in Gu De.
• Jin Wuliang angrily attacked Li Baimei, but the melon rinds around him withstood the barrage.
• Jin Wuliang warned Li Baimei that others would come after him if news of his power spread, and a Huaxia Sect member revealed Li Baimei belonged to their sect.
• Lu Changzhi challenged Jin Wuliang’s threat, and Jin Wuliang explained that A Luo could destroy the World in the Painting with everyone inside it.
• A Luo confirmed that no one trapped in the World in the Painting could escape if she chose to burn jade and stone alike, and Jin Wuliang demanded that Lu Changzhi hand over the power of time or cooperate.

Lu Changzhi used his control over the World in the Painting to prevent Jin Wuliang from leaving, then traded the power of time for A Luo's release. He gave Jin Wuliang the power and left it to him to decide whether to keep his promise.

• A Luo said she would not perish together with Jin Wuliang, but Jin Wuliang attacked her and severed her right arm when she refused to back down.
• Lu Changzhi decided that the situation had changed and told A Luo to perish together with Jin Wuliang.
• Jin Wuliang discovered that he could no longer leave the World in the Painting after Lu Changzhi challenged him to try.
• Lu Changzhi offered Jin Wuliang the power of time in exchange for A Luo's release.
• Jin Wuliang sent an object to Lu Changzhi, who placed the power of time inside it and returned it to him.

Lu Changzhi traded the power of time to Jin Wuliang to secure A Luo’s release, then demanded that Jin Wuliang free her. When Jin Wuliang refused, Lu Changzhi threatened to keep him trapped in the World in the Painting, where Jin Wuliang discovered he could no longer escape.

• Li Baimei placed the power of time in a vessel and handed it to Jin Wuliang, who hid it among nested storage vessels.
• Jin Wuliang kicked A Luo toward Lu Changzhi, and Lu Changzhi removed her restrictions.
• Lu Changzhi offered to grant A Luo a wish if she accepted him as her master, but A Luo declined because she already had a master.
• Lu Changzhi told Jin Wuliang to free A Luo after checking that the power of time remained in the vessel, but Jin Wuliang refused.
• Lu Changzhi threatened to leave Jin Wuliang trapped in the World in the Painting, and Jin Wuliang realized he could no longer escape.

Lu Changzhi summoned help from the Huaxia Sect, and six powerful melons appeared around Li Baimei, unsettling Jin Wuliang. Jin Wuliang returned A Luo’s freedom, but Lu Changzhi revealed that he still could not leave the World in the Painting.

• After another incense stick of time passed, Lu Changzhi lit an ordinary-looking incense stick that formed the words “Come quickly!” in the air.
• Six melons fell from above and floated around Li Baimei as an unseen voice promised to arrive soon.
• Lu Changzhi told Jin Wuliang to summon someone in turn, and Jin Wuliang demanded to know his relationship with the voice’s owner.
• Jin Wuliang gave up the Scroll of the Falling Brush and returned his strand of willpower to A Luo, severing their connection.
• Lu Changzhi told Jin Wuliang that he had lied: freeing A Luo still would not let Jin Wuliang leave.

Lu Changzhi took control of the painting after A Luo agreed to follow him, then prepared to grant her wish while Jiang Tong hinted that Jin Wuliang had been lured into a trap. As Li Baimei settled into a recliner, Lu Changzhi identified someone as the person A Luo wanted and sent an object toward her.

• Lu Changzhi offered A Luo one wish if she followed him, and she agreed, surrendering a strand of origin power.
• Lu Changzhi used A Luo's origin power to take control of the painting and judged that suppressing Jin Wuliang would still be difficult.
• Jiang Tong said Jin Wuliang had treasure-finding skills and hinted that the time had come to harvest the gains from his discoveries.
• Lu Changzhi declined Jiang Tong's offer to experience a high-level battle and brought out a recliner, which Li Baimei sat on.
• Lu Changzhi told A Luo that he believed he had found the person she wanted, then tossed an object toward her.