Chapter Summaries

Bai Jingshu struggled to adapt her astrological divination to the unfamiliar stars of Dragon Beast Sea Ridge, treating the challenge as practice. Her attention soon shifted to Ling Wuyuan’s astonishing cooking, while Wu Yanlian became captivated by the food’s fragrance.

• Bai Jingshu studied a star chart and realized that the star signs of Dragon Beast Sea Ridge made her usual astrological divination impractical.
• Bai Jingshu decided to gradually revise her knowledge and use the safe setting to practice adapting to unfamiliar circumstances.
• Bai Jingshu smelled Ling Wuyuan’s cooking and watched him expertly cut meat from a dragon beast resembling a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
• Bai Jingshu and Wu Yanlian were astonished when Ling Wuyuan’s knife work made the dead meat twitch with renewed vitality.
• Wu Yanlian smelled the meat cooking and decided that she wanted to eat Ling Wuyuan’s meal for the rest of her life.

Ling Wuyuan’s serious approach to cooking led him to develop techniques that could restore meat’s freshness, and he imagined creating legendary kitchen utensils and glowing dishes. Twenty days later, Bai Jingshu and her companions documented an unknown plant while discussing Ling Wuyuan’s mysterious animal research and the sect elders’ confidence in him.

• Ling Wuyuan reflected on how his cultivation techniques could revive and improve meat ingredients, and considered forging legendary kitchen utensils someday.
• Bai Jingshu recorded the appearance and habitat of an unknown plant while Xi Xianlan and Wu Yanlian guarded the area.
• An elder asked whether Ling Wuyuan was still researching beast-taming, and Xi Xianlan confirmed that he was capturing, taming, and dissecting local creatures.
• Wu Yanlian recalled Ling Wuyuan’s bloody research and accepted it more readily because he used the ingredients to develop recipes.
• Xi Xianlan and the sect elders speculated that Ling Wuyuan had discovered something important and agreed that she should support him.

Ling Wuyuan studied a shared mental protective organ in Dragon Beast Sea Ridge’s native creatures and questioned how such different species could possess the same structure. He realized he had been imposing assumptions from his previous life on this world, broadened his thinking, and strengthened his mind through that change in perspective.

• Ling Wuyuan examined a dismembered experimental subject and identified an organ that used the creature’s cells to create a mental protective force field.
• Ling Wuyuan observed that creatures across Dragon Beast Sea Ridge possessed force fields with similar structures, which could resist his mental attacks.
• Ling Wuyuan considered whether the creatures shared an ancestor, then recognized that his assumptions about biology might not apply in a world with Extraordinary Power.
• Ling Wuyuan accepted that the creatures or even the world might have been created by an existence, and resolved to investigate seemingly absurd possibilities without binding his thoughts to old beliefs.
• Ling Wuyuan’s self-awareness grew stronger, and he recalled the line, “The road ahead is long and far; I shall search high and low.”

Ling Wuyuan questioned his experimental approach to uncovering the truth behind Dragon Beast Sea Ridge. Meanwhile, two independent cultivators reached the island and considered ambushing members of the major factions for profit, leaving their plan open to the opportunity.

• Ling Wuyuan reflected on how the wonders of his new world demanded new ways of thinking and considered whether experiments were too inefficient to reveal Dragon Beast Sea Ridge's secrets.
• Two Spirit Infusion Realm independent cultivators arrived above the island after days at sea and discussed the rare opportunity to gather treasures in the secret realm.
• The two men recalled how the major factions controlled entry slots, limiting powerful cultivators while presenting the remaining places as generosity toward the weak.
• One cultivator considered ambushing members of major factions, reasoning that their deaths could be concealed amid the dangers of Dragon Beast Sea Ridge.
• After hearing the proposal, his companion replied, "We'll see," signaling that they might attack if the potential gains were worthwhile.

Two opportunistic cultivators examined the devastation left by a battle between a dragon beast and a cultivator, then considered searching for survivors to rob. When one warned that Ling Wuyuan was among the people they must not provoke, his reputation left his companion wary despite his envy.

• The two cultivators inspected the vast lava lake and destruction left by a dragon beast, and one detected residual true qi.
• The cultivators deduced that a powerful cultivator had fought an indigenous creature and discussed searching for valuables among the possible survivors.
• One man warned his companion that Ling Wuyuan and the other members of [Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion] were too dangerous to target carelessly.
• The other man recalled Ling Wuyuan's rumored victory over more than a thousand [Source Gathering Realm] opponents and agreed to observe cautiously and flee if necessary.

Two cultivators tracked Ling Wuyuan to the valley, hoping to seize the spoils from the Dragon Beast, but they underestimated him. Ling Wuyuan ambushed them, and their true qi abruptly went silent as Bai Jingshu dismissed their strength.

• Using a compass and a strand of Ling Wuyuan's lingering true qi, two cultivators traced him to the valley and worried that its formation barrier and their target's power posed a danger.
• One cultivator urged them to retreat, but his companion persuaded him to continue by pointing out the potential spoils and their advantage as Spirit Infusion Realm cultivators.
• The two cultivators boasted that joining forces would let them defeat Ling Wuyuan, who suddenly appeared behind them and contradicted their confidence.
• Ling Wuyuan swiftly drew his sword and attacked before the two cultivators could escape or defend themselves.
• Bai Jingshu sensed the unfamiliar true qi fluctuations cease and dismissed the pursuers as weak.

Ling Wuyuan returned to the valley with the heads of two men who had followed the group out of greed, not as part of a larger scheme. Wu Yanlian and Bai Jingshu reflected on their mistaken suspicions, while Ling Wuyuan treated the killings as an ordinary matter.

• Ling Wuyuan arrived at the valley carrying two heads, and the barrier opened to reveal the fortress and the three waiting figures.
• Ling Wuyuan explained that the men had followed the group by chance, hoping to profit, and had not been sent by another faction.
• Ling Wuyuan said he had killed the men without questioning them because they posed no real challenge and showed no will to fight back.
• Wu Yanlian said she had suspected a hidden scheme, while Bai Jingshu lamented that her divinations had been wasted.

Ling Wuyuan used his heightened intuition to detect and ambush the pursuers who tracked his true qi, then joined Wu Yanlian and the others in planning new explorations. Fifteen days later, he found a strange artifact inside a Dragon Beast and suspected it came from an intelligent civilization native to Dragon Beast Sea Ridge.

• Ling Wuyuan sensed hostile intent from the duo tracking him and waited in the valley until they arrived.
• After the duo were killed, Ling Wuyuan discarded their heads for the Dragon Beast to swallow and asked Wu Yanlian and the others where they should explore next.
• Bai Jingshu proposed exploring the island's southern region and then investigating the ocean around Dragon Beast Sea Ridge.
• Fifteen days later, Ling Wuyuan found a dark green pillar statue inside a Dragon Beast's stomach.
• Ling Wuyuan recognized the statue's unusual designs as the work of an intelligent civilization that was not human.

Ling Wuyuan and Bai Jingshu examined an indestructible, rune-covered squid-like statue and tried to work out how to activate it. After their usual methods failed, Ling Wuyuan decided to test whether lightning could power it, summoning a massive storm as the others worried about the destruction it might cause.

• Ling Wuyuan and Bai Jingshu studied the strange statue and concluded its markings followed a deliberate pattern and that it must have a special function.
• Wu Yanlian asked Xi Xianlan whether the statue was valuable, but Xi Xianlan said she did not know and let the others continue studying it.
• Ling Wuyuan and Bai Jingshu tried using True Qi, spirit stones, and mental power to activate the statue, but none worked.
• Ling Wuyuan proposed testing electrical energy and explained that he meant lightning, while describing solar energy as concentrated sunlight.
• Ling Wuyuan changed his True Qi to Wind Attribute and raised a violent storm full of lightning above the group.
• Bai Jingshu, Wu Yanlian, and Xi Xianlan questioned whether the lightning would destroy the statue, and Ling Wuyuan promised to control its output.

Ling Wuyuan bombarded the pillar statue with a vast thunderstorm and confined the resulting extreme heat, but the statue began absorbing both heat and lightning. Sensing that it was becoming dangerous, he ordered Wu Yanlian and the others to retreat, leaving them observing from the turbulent sea.

• Ling Wuyuan unleashed a massive thunderstorm against the pillar statue and contained the million-degree heat within a barrier of true qi.
• The pillar statue remained unharmed, convincing Ling Wuyuan that it was abnormal and worth investigating.
• Ling Wuyuan noticed the statue slowly absorbing the heat and lightning while his sense of danger grew.
• Ling Wuyuan sent Wu Yanlian and the others a warning to retreat as far as possible.
• Wu Yanlian and the others retreated more than ten thousand miles to the turbulent sea and watched Ling Wuyuan through special instruments.

Ling Wuyuan used [Abyssal Divine Speed] to observe the pillar-shaped statue in extreme detail as it began to change. He discovered that it might be alive, leaving him uncertain whether it was an indigenous being, a pet, or a weapon from Dragon Beast Sea Ridge.

• Ling Wuyuan raised his vigilance when he sensed the pillar-shaped statue beginning to awaken.
• He activated [Abyssal Divine Speed] and adjusted his perception and thinking to roughly three hundred and sixty times normal, balancing the strain against his regeneration.
• Ling Wuyuan observed the statue’s patterns changing and its dark green surface becoming more lifelike.
• He noticed the tip of one tentacle move by two or three micrometers and wondered whether the statue was a living being or a creature’s pet or weapon.

Ling Wuyuan fed energy to a dormant giant squid-like creature to bring it back to life, secretly preparing to attack while it revived. When it awakened, he struck its blue defensive shield with a powerful rune weapon, and the creature opened its three eyes in terror.

• Ling Wuyuan realized the creature was gradually becoming alive and dangerous, but continued feeding it energy so his mental power could affect it.
• He watched the creature and its metal armor absorb energy while readying a black longsword from the Azure Lake White Stream Palace.
• When the creature's consciousness began to awaken, Ling Wuyuan accelerated his movements and swung his sword.
• The armor formed a blue shield, and the creature abruptly opened its three eyes as Ling Wuyuan's blade struck the shield.

Ling Wuyuan struck the newly awakened giant squid, broke through its mental attack and armor, and drove his sword into its head. As the creature died, he sent a Mind Seed into its mind to seize its consciousness and memories.

• The giant squid awakened and launched a powerful mental attack at Ling Wuyuan.
• Ling Wuyuan used his mental power, true qi, and runic sword to shatter the attack and continue his strike.
• Ling Wuyuan pierced the squid's armor and drove his sword through its fragile body into its head.
• As the squid's life force faded, Ling Wuyuan sent his Mind Seed into its head to swallow its collapsing consciousness and plunder its memories.

Ling Wuyuan used the Mind Secret Technique—Seed of Memory Plunder to extract memories from the dying giant squid, but it regained consciousness and destroyed its own mind before he could take everything. He retrieved and isolated the harvested memories, planning to purify them before reading them.

• Ling Wuyuan planted a Mind Seed in the unconscious giant squid and began extracting its memories.
• The squid awoke and tried to resist, but Ling Wuyuan twisted the sword in its forehead to disrupt its mental counterattacks while keeping it alive.
• The squid realized its resistance had given Ling Wuyuan more time to plunder its memories, then decisively destroyed its mind and wiped its memories.
• Ling Wuyuan retrieved the Mind Seed before the squid's mental power could destroy it and stored it in his own mind.
• Ling Wuyuan planned to clean up the scene and purify the Mind Seed before reading its contents.

Wu Yanlian, Bai Jingshu, and Xi Xianlan discovered that the giant squid Ling Wuyuan had killed was the stone statue they had found, and Bai Jingshu realized its armor suggested a hidden alien civilization. Faced with the danger, Xi Xianlan considered ending their exploration early, while Wu Yanlian tested the creature’s armor and was stunned by the difference between her weapon and Ling Wuyuan’s.

• Wu Yanlian, Bai Jingshu, and Xi Xianlan examined the nearly twenty-meter corpse and realized it had transformed from the small stone statue.
• Bai Jingshu studied the creature’s armor and concluded that it might belong to a hidden marine or alien civilization.
• Bai Jingshu recalled that explorers had long suspected the Dragon Beast Sea Ridge’s alien civilization was extinct, but Ling Wuyuan’s discovery proved dangerous secrets remained there.
• Xi Xianlan asked whether the group should withdraw from the exploration early because the danger exceeded expectations.
• Wu Yanlian tested the creature’s armor with her longsword and true qi, but the armor barely dented and quickly repaired itself.
• Wu Yanlian compared her failed test with Ling Wuyuan’s sword piercing the creature’s head and wondered whether their strength was really equal.

After Ling Wuyuan defeated the giant squid, he revealed that he had used the Mind Secret Technique Seed of Memory Plunder to take some of its memories, alarming his companions. The four agreed to contact Yuan Yujun and investigate further, then returned to camp with the squid’s corpse and concealed their tracks.

• Bai Jingshu was shocked by Ling Wuyuan’s strength after seeing his sword pierce the giant squid where Wu Yanlian’s attack had failed.
• Bai Jingshu suggested contacting Yuan Yujun and the others before deciding what to do about the unknown civilization in the Dragon Beast Sea Ridge.
• Ling Wuyuan revealed the Seed of Memory Plunder and said he had taken only fragmented memories from the resistant target.
• Xi Xianlan, Bai Jingshu, and Wu Yanlian worried about the technique’s dangers, and Ling Wuyuan promised not to absorb the memories rashly.
• The four agreed to contact Yuan Yujun, stored the giant squid’s corpse, cleaned the battlefield, and reinforced their camp’s defensive barrier.

Ling Wuyuan and Bai Jingshu dissected the giant squid while Wu Yanlian and Xi Xianlan recorded their findings. The discovery of its six brains and unusual body left Ling Wuyuan and Bai Jingshu unsettled about what the creature’s kind might be capable of.

• Ling Wuyuan and Bai Jingshu removed the giant squid’s armor, sealed it in a spatial ring, and began dissecting the corpse as Wu Yanlian and Xi Xianlan recorded everything.
• Ling Wuyuan discovered that the squid had six linked brains and realized that his sword had struck only one before his techniques forcibly shut the creature down.
• Ling Wuyuan feared the squid might have recovered and summoned reinforcements if he had not killed it swiftly.
• Bai Jingshu noted the creature’s fragile tissues and formidable armor, and worried that its corpse or armor could reveal their location to its kin.
• Ling Wuyuan and Bai Jingshu continued examining the corpse and became increasingly certain that its bodily structure differed greatly from known life forms.

Ling Wuyuan purified the Seed of Memory Plunder far beyond the prescribed amount and then began absorbing its scattered memories. He endured the influx without much strain but could not yet decipher many fragments, leaving their analysis for later.

• Ling Wuyuan spent three days purifying the Seed of Memory Plunder for three hundred rounds while carefully monitoring it.
• After restoring his mental energy and will, Ling Wuyuan immersed his consciousness in the seed and began receiving chaotic memory fragments.
• Ling Wuyuan found that many fragments were impossible to understand without the target's missing memories, such as books written in an unfamiliar language.
• Ling Wuyuan endured the swelling pain and confusion from the memories without significant difficulty because he had lived two lives.
• Ling Wuyuan recognized that he still needed to analyze and sort the fragments, or they would remain useless information in his mind.

Ling Wuyuan experienced a vivid memory of a powerful Giant Squid civilization thriving across a vast star system. The revelation left him questioning how an interstellar civilization had appeared in the fantasy-world secret realm he was exploring.

• Ling Wuyuan's consciousness sank into lingering memory fragments and absorbed them without being able to filter out irrelevant details.
• Ling Wuyuan saw a flourishing starry territory ruled by Giant Squids, with developed worlds and biological warships traveling between the stars.
• Ling Wuyuan observed the memory's original owner chatting with companions aboard a warship and inferred that it held a middling status among them.
• Ling Wuyuan sensed that dozens of beings aboard the warship could contend with the [Divine Ability Realm] when properly equipped.
• Ling Wuyuan grew wary of the powerful interstellar civilization hidden within the [Dragon Beast Sea Ridge] and wondered how his fantasy-world exploration had led him there.

Ling Wuyuan discovered that the beings behind Dragon Beast Sea Ridge belonged to a biological interstellar civilization, but their memory revealed that their fleets had been nearly wiped out by a colossal cosmic monster. He realized they were probably refugees rather than a super civilization, yet remained unsure whether he should flee with Wu Yanlian and the other two women.

• Ling Wuyuan learned from a giant squid's memories that its people possessed a biological interstellar civilization and cosmic warships.
• Ling Wuyuan feared that the Snow Moon Cloud Heaven Pavilion and Golden Mist Continent could not withstand the civilization's fleets and considered fleeing.
• Ling Wuyuan witnessed millions of biological warships attack a colossal tiger-like monster with eagle wings and a scorpion tail as it emerged from a void.
• The monster distorted space and swallowed stars, warships, and powerful beings while shrugging off the fleets' attacks.
• Ling Wuyuan saw surviving warships drift through space and realized the squids were desperate refugees who had survived the monster's attack.
• Ling Wuyuan remained uncertain whether to flee with Wu Yanlian and the other two women.