Chapter Summaries

Lin Fan refined puppets in Puppet Palace while investigating its numb cultivators, then used the Pre-emptive Dao Fruit to master the Sky Swallowing Bright King Art and awaken a true Inner Landscape. Bloodlight Demon Saint confirmed the rare transformation, and Lin Fan learned that his Inner Landscape could store treasures and was evolving toward an independent space.

• Sun Zhao warned Lin Fan to stay away from Li Hanru, but Li Hanru confronted him and advised Lin Fan to be wary.
• Li Hanru sat beside Lin Fan and demonstrated her powerful Mudman Puppet technique.
• Lin Fan spent four hundred years of lifespan to bring the Sky Swallowing Bright King Art to mastery, forming a deity within his Inner Landscape and breaking through a limit on life.
• Lin Fan placed treasures, including the Wuji Sail, into his Inner Landscape and saw them appear within its sea.
• Bloodlight Demon Saint explained that Lin Fan had awakened a true Inner Landscape capable of nurturing a True Spirit and developing toward an independent space.

Lin Fan learned about Inner Landscape stages and sent a Shadow Talisman to investigate Li Hanru, while a mysterious woman destroyed a Spirit Puppet spying on her. The Puppet Palace received a request from the Bianlin Guard for reinforcements, and its cultivators faced the prospect of leaving the city.

• Bloodlight Demon Saint explained the four Inner Landscape stages and revealed that his own had nearly reached the Mid Stage.
• Lin Fan considered bringing the Primal Divine Statue into his Inner Landscape, then sent a Shadow Talisman to watch Li Hanru.
• A mysterious man warned a woman that she was running out of time, and she destroyed a Spirit Puppet that had overheard them.
• Lin Fan refined Lion-faced Human Paper Figure Puppets, passed their inspection, and returned to copying books.
• The Puppet Palace Master's Crimson Gold Puppet announced that the Bianlin Guard had requested aid and that cultivators needed to leave the city.

Lin Fan learned that Puppet Palace cultivators had to undertake dangerous missions outside Bianlin City, and he saw the grim aftermath of one such expedition. He advanced the Sky Swallowing Bright King Art to minor mastery, raising his cultivation by one minor realm.

• The Crimson Gold Puppet recruited Ming Yuan and forced a new Puppet Palace cultivator to join a mission outside the city.
• Li Hanru explained that Puppet Palace cultivators had to complete one mission each year, and Lin Fan continued refining puppets.
• Ming Yuan returned from the mission missing an arm, while the other Puppet Palace cultivator and most of the Bianlin Guards had perished in the Black Demon Fog.
• Li Hanru told Lin Fan that Weird Cultivators included powerful mutants and even deadlier beings from the fog, which no one had survived encountering.
• Lin Fan spent four hundred and fifty years pre-empting the Sky Swallowing Bright King Art to minor mastery and advanced one minor realm.

Lin Fan received Dao Crystals at the Puppet Palace and learned they could be spent at Wuyou Marketplace, where he hoped to find Yin energy and a Yin-attribute treasure to help the Wuji Sail’s ghost generals become Ghost Kings. Li Hanru warned him that the Puppet Palace was not peaceful, and Lin Fan set out to seek the marketplace on his own.

• Lin Fan asked Ghost Mother Wuji about the Wuji Sail’s ghost generals and learned that their breakthroughs required sufficient Yin energy and a Yin-attribute treasure.
• Ghost Mother Wuji said she had a six- or seven-in-ten chance of succeeding if Lin Fan gathered the needed resources.
• The Crimson Gold Puppet distributed Dao Crystals at the Puppet Palace, giving Lin Fan a hundred and Li Hanru nearly two hundred.
• Li Hanru praised Lin Fan’s efficient Paper Figure Puppet Technique and warned him not to reveal it because the Puppet Palace was full of hidden rivalries.
• Li Hanru told Lin Fan that Dao Crystals could buy supplies at Wuyou Marketplace, but declined to accompany him.

Lin Fan rejected Ni Miao’s offer to become Dao companions and heard her warning about Li Hanru. After Li Hanru told him the safest time to visit the marketplace, Lin Fan left the Puppet Palace disguised as an old man and sent decoy figures in several directions, but a watcher still suspected he was headed to Wuyou Marketplace.

• Ni Miao introduced herself as a cultivator from Great Gan’s Inspectorate and asked Lin Fan to explain killing the Yunmeng Sect Master.
• Ni Miao offered to become Lin Fan’s Dao companion to recruit him, but he refused and she warned him to be careful around Li Hanru.
• Lin Fan observed other cultivators making quick trips to the marketplace while he continued crafting Paper Figure Puppets.
• Li Hanru secretly told Lin Fan that the afternoon was the safest time to visit the marketplace.
• Lin Fan left the Puppet Palace disguised as an old man and sent transformed decoys in different directions.
• A hidden watcher recognized Lin Fan’s decoy tactic but believed he could still confirm Lin Fan had gone to Wuyou Marketplace.

A mysterious figure learned that Lin Fan might be the person who took the Earth Vein Spirit Flower and ordered an attempt to recruit him or eliminate him if necessary. In Bianlin City's Wuyou Marketplace, Lin Fan sold treasures for Dao Crystals and spotted a Ghostly Nether Pill that could help his Ghostly Creatures transform.

• A mysterious figure told a woman that Lin Fan might possess a shocking secret, identified him as the one who took the Earth Vein Spirit Flower, and ordered her to recruit or eliminate him.
• Lin Fan bought three frigid ghost cultivator weapons for six Dao Crystals at a Wuyou Marketplace stall.
• Lin Fan saw a ten-thousand-year Earth Vein Spirit Flower for sale but chose to sell his spoils because he lacked Dao Crystals.
• Lin Fan sold the Illusion Cloud Sword and other treasures for fifty Dao Crystals, bringing his remaining total to 114.
• Lin Fan spotted a black bottle of Ghostly Nether Pills, which could nourish Ghostly Creatures and help them transform.

Lin Fan bought Ghostly Nether Pills and their formula in Wuyou Marketplace, then was ambushed on the way to Puppet Palace by the stall owner, Black Ghost Hermit. Lin Fan killed the old man’s true form, the Hundred-Eyed Evil Ghost, and left after erasing every trace.

• Lin Fan bought all ten bottles of Ghostly Nether Pills for thirty Dao Crystals and obtained the pill formula from the old man.
• Lin Fan purchased materials for paper figures and talismans, changed his appearance and aura while circling Wuyou Marketplace, then headed toward Puppet Palace.
• Black Ghost Hermit ambushed Lin Fan in the mountains and revealed that he hunted ghost cultivators to sustain himself with his Asura Art of Devouring Ghosts.
• Lin Fan evaded Black Ghost Hermit’s blood-light attack, then destroyed the old man’s body and faced his true form, the Hundred-Eyed Evil Ghost.
• Lin Fan summoned Ten Halls of Yama, swallowed the Hundred-Eyed Evil Ghost, and killed the old man when he begged for mercy.
• Lin Fan took the storage jade pendant, burned away all traces, and left before several figures arrived.

Lin Fan examined Black Ghost Hermit's belongings and found a mysterious locked wooden box and a valuable Ghost King Pill recipe. He then advanced Sky Swallowing Bright King Art to Great Accomplishment, increasing his strength while the box's contents remained unknown.

• A woman from the Bianlin Guard used the Time Mirror to identify Black Ghost Hermit and ordered her people to search for the person who killed him.
• Lin Fan searched Black Ghost Hermit's storage jade pendant, kept useful pills, and found a recipe for the Ghost King Pill.
• Lin Fan could not break the wooden box's purple restriction and discovered a keyhole on its base, so he stored the box in his inner landscape.
• Lin Fan gave Ghostly Nether Pills to Ghost Mother Wuji for selected Ghost Generals in the Wuji Sail.
• Lin Fan used the Pre-emptive Dao Fruit to advance Sky Swallowing Bright King Art to Great Accomplishment and reached the Harmonization Realm (Seventh Grade).

Lin Fan advanced his cultivation, tested the Ghostly Nether Pill, and began making pills to strengthen the Ghostly Creatures in the Wuji Sail. After Li Hanru warned him about mutants infiltrating Bianlin City, he stayed inside the Puppet Palace until a Crimson Gold Puppet suddenly appeared before him.

• Lin Fan advanced the Starry Sky Sword Control Technique to Great Accomplishment and rose to the eighth grade of Dao Integration.
• The Ghost Mother Wuji tested a Ghostly Nether Pill on a ghost general, whose strength nearly doubled, and reported the result to Lin Fan.
• Lin Fan studied the pill formula, bought materials through the Shadow Talisman, and refined a first, small batch of Ghostly Nether Pills.
• Li Hanru told Lin Fan that the stronger Black Demon Fog had allowed mutants to infiltrate Bianlin City and advised him to stay in the Puppet Palace.
• Lin Fan remained in the Puppet Palace refining puppets and pills until a Crimson Gold Puppet appeared before him.

Lin Fan was ordered by the Puppet Palace Master to join the Bianlin Guard on a dangerous mission to retrieve a spiritual treasure from the Sea of Suffering. After preparing and meeting his fellow Puppet Palace cultivator Qi Zhen, he boarded the guard’s flying boat, which stopped at the Myriad Poison Palace as two figures emerged.

• The Puppet Palace Master pressured Lin Fan into accepting the mission, promising five hundred Dao Crystals and another reward if he succeeded.
• Li Hanru warned Lin Fan that the Sea of Suffering could trap visitors in worlds formed from its water, though the Bianlin Guard’s presence might reduce the danger.
• Lin Fan questioned the Bloodlight Demon Saint about the Sea of Suffering and learned that it held Undying Monks, dangerous creatures, and rare treasures.
• The next morning, Lin Fan and Qi Zhen met Qin Yan and the Bianlin Guard, then boarded their flying boat.
• The flying boat stopped above the Myriad Poison Palace, and two figures emerged from a building below.

Lin Fan traveled with Qi Zhen and cultivators from Myriad Poison Palace and Ghost Array Palace toward the Sea of Suffering, suspecting the mission involved more than retrieving a spirit treasure. As the flying boat neared the sea, he examined his improving inner landscape, recognized Zhou Yun, and learned about Qi Zhen's water puppets.

• An old man and Zhou Yun boarded the flying boat, and Qi Zhen warned Lin Fan that the four Bianlin Guards and cultivators from two other palaces made the mission unusually serious.
• Lin Fan examined his inner landscape and reflected on how its Bridge of Longevity, Enlightenment Tree, and divine phantoms steadily strengthened his cultivation.
• Lin Fan recognized Zhou Yun, the Youlan Valley Mistress, as the woman from Myriad Poison Palace who had been watched by the old man in gray.
• Qi Zhen showed Lin Fan his Water Puppet technique, explaining that it grew much stronger near water and that the Bianlin Guards might use them as scouts or bait.
• The flying boat shook as a Bianlin Guard announced they were nearly there, and the cultivators saw the blood-red sky and vast waves of the Sea of Suffering.

Lin Fan and the Bianlin City group entered the Sea of Suffering, where Qi Zhen used puppet birds to scout its shifting worlds. A naturally formed array killed a Ghost Array Palace cultivator, and Qin Yan ordered the survivors to continue toward the Forbidden Battlefield.

• Lin Fan entered the Sea of Suffering aboard the flying boat and learned from Bloodlight Demon Saint that each drop of water contained a world of its own.
• Qin Yan ordered Qi Zhen and Lin Fan to contribute, and Qi Zhen sent a Snow Bird puppet ahead to find a safe route through the sea.
• The flying boat followed the Snow Bird through a desolate world, but Qi Zhen discovered it was trapped in a naturally formed array filled with raging flames.
• A Ghost Array Palace cultivator tried to destroy the array core, but the Nine Heavens Departing Fire Array's spirit killed him before the group escaped its attack.
• Qin Yan warned the group that anyone who fled would die under Bianlin City's rules, and Qi Zhen sent more birds to scout ahead.

Lin Fan and the others crossed the Sea of Suffering until the Undying Monk destroyed their flying ship and trapped Lin Fan in an illusion. Lin Fan escaped by recognizing the false world, but found himself alone in the Gobi.

• Lin Fan sent Paper Figures ahead, but they were destroyed by an approaching threat, which soon shattered the flying ship and killed a Bianlin Guard.
• Bloodlight Demon Saint identified the attacker as the Undying Monk, whose gray-white eyes swallowed Lin Fan.
• Lin Fan awoke in an illusory version of his past as a menial worker at the Blood Demon Sect and failed to contact Bloodlight Demon Saint or his powers.
• Lin Fan killed the false Zhou Wanqing, then lived through decades of success and a peaceful life with a woman posing as Feng Ling.
• Lin Fan realized the woman was unlike the real Feng Ling and struck her, exposing the Undying Monk and breaking the illusion.
• Bloodlight Demon Saint explained the Undying Monk's power, and Lin Fan found himself back in the Gobi, separated from the others.

Separated from his companions, Lin Fan traveled through the Sea of Suffering with Bloodlight Demon Saint scouting ahead. In a stone forest, a powerful Stone Person attacked a trapped woman, but an unseen intruder struck and she disappeared.

• Lin Fan learned he had spent only half a day in the Undying Monk's void illusion and ordered Bloodlight Demon Saint to scout ahead inside the Eight-armed Demonic Mara.
• With Bloodlight Demon Saint guiding him, Lin Fan crossed more than a dozen minor worlds and reached an ancient stone forest where Stone People were fighting nearby.
• A graceful woman trapped deep in the forest tried to negotiate with the Stone Person Tribe, whose leader demanded she stay and bear children.
• The woman poisoned and killed dozens of Stone People, but the blue-black Stone Person defeated her defenses, captured her, and stopped her from circulating Spiritual Energy.
• An Eight-armed Demonic Mara attacked the blue-black Stone Person and was shattered, but the woman vanished before the Stone Person could seize her again.

Lin Fan rescued Zhou Yun from the stone men and led her deeper into the Sea of Suffering, probing her account of the mission and her connection to Old Ghost Wang. In a small world where soul sense failed and his paper figures vanished, Lin Fan realized something was approaching.

• Lin Fan freed Zhou Yun from the stone man's restriction, and she explained how the Undying Monk's attack had scattered the group.
• Lin Fan led Zhou Yun through the stone forest and used paper figures to scout each spatial passage.
• Zhou Yun said Old Ghost Wang had coerced her into the mission and coveted her, though Lin Fan remained suspicious of her account.
• Lin Fan and Zhou Yun crossed dozens of dangerous passages before entering a world filled with black qi, where they lost contact with all six paper figures.
• Lin Fan sent dozens more paper figures to explore, but they all collapsed or exploded, and he warned Zhou Yun that something was coming.

Lin Fan and Zhou Yun encountered a powerful mutant and fought to survive its strange attacks. Lin Fan unleashed his strongest hidden abilities and shattered the mutant, though Zhou Yun was left unconscious.

• The mutant's attack destroyed Lin Fan and Zhou Yun's apparent bodies, but they escaped using Lin Fan's Paper Figure Puppet.
• Lin Fan and Zhou Yun recognized the creature as a mutant, prepared their strongest defenses, and faced its attack on their souls.
• The mutant trapped them in a sea of blood, destroyed Zhou Yun's porcelain Dao Artifact, and knocked her unconscious.
• Lin Fan lured the mutant into an attack, then used Sky Swallowing Demonic Sparrow, a Golden Giant Shadow, and Pure Origin Sword Intent to counter it.
• The Golden Giant Shadow struck the wounded mutant, which exploded and crumbled into a dry corpse.

Lin Fan killed the mutated being in the Sea of Suffering and received a soul-related Dao Law Seed from the freed Borderland Old Man. After discovering that cultivators could steal one another’s Dao comprehension, Lin Fan grew wary of the Puppet Palace and wondered why mutated beings had appeared in the Sea of Suffering.

• The Borderland Old Man emerged from the mutated being’s bones, thanked Lin Fan for freeing him, and gave him a Dao Law Seed before his remnant soul dissipated.
• Lin Fan absorbed the seed into his Inner Landscape, strengthening the Enlightenment Tree and advancing his Eight Divisions Soul Refining Art to the proficient stage.
• Lin Fan realized that a Dao Law Seed’s attributes could directly improve compatible techniques and considered using other cultivators’ Dao comprehension to strengthen himself.
• The Bloodlight Demon Saint told Lin Fan that some cultivators seized others’ Dao comprehension, making Lin Fan suspect the cultivators and leaders of Bianlin City’s three palaces.
• Lin Fan revived Zhou Yun and concealed how he had defeated the mutated being; they discussed how unusual it was to encounter mutated beings in the Sea of Suffering.

Lin Fan and Zhou Yun entered another small realm in the Sea of Suffering, where Undying Monk’s ambush killed Zhou Yun. After strengthening his cultivation, Lin Fan learned from Bloodlight Demon Saint what he would need to advance beyond Dao Integration, leaving his next breakthrough dependent on refining his divine soul into a primordial spirit.

• Zhou Yun gave Lin Fan the Orchid Gold Hairpin and asked him to take it to Orchid Valley if she died and he escaped the Sea of Suffering.
• Undying Monk trapped Lin Fan and Zhou Yun in an illusory dreamscape, and Zhou Yun’s divine soul vanished before Lin Fan broke free and handled her corpse.
• Lin Fan used the pre-emptive Dao fruit to perfect Sky Swallowing Bright King Art, then advanced Starry Sky Sword Control Technique to perfection.
• Lin Fan summoned Bloodlight Demon Saint and asked how to reach the realm above Dao Integration.
• Bloodlight Demon Saint explained that advancement required an initial-stage inner landscape and a primordial spirit developed through the True Spirit, Spirit Separation, and Spirit Refining stages; Lin Fan was currently at the True Spirit stage.

Lin Fan merged two soul-cultivation arts into the Eight Divisions Yama Scripture, seeking a path to advance his divine soul. Meanwhile, Qin Yan and her companions broke through a Flame Vein in the Sea of Suffering, only to be ambushed by Old Ghost Wang and the Mutants.

• Lin Fan realized he needed a stronger ghost-cultivation art to improve his divine soul and used the Fusion Dao Fruit to combine the Eight Divisions Soul Refining Art with the Black and White Yama Art.
• The fusion succeeded, producing the uninitiated Eight Divisions Yama Scripture.
• Qin Yan and the Bianlin Guard used an imitation of the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors to destroy the Flame Vein blocking their way through the Sea of Suffering.
• Old man Wang poisoned Qi Zhen with Cloud-Scattering Powder and disappeared while Qin Yan and the Bianlin Guard were distracted.
• Old Ghost Wang and several Mutants emerged from black mist and confronted Qin Yan and the Bianlin Guard.

Qin Yan and the Bianlin Guard fought Old Ghost Wang and his mutants, who argued that Bianlin City was no more righteous than the Saint Clan. As Qin Yan faced three attackers, the Puppet Palace Master revealed himself and exposed the mission as a trap, leaving Old Ghost Wang’s group on the verge of defeat.

• Qin Yan rejected Old Ghost Wang’s offer to join the Saint Clan, and he accused Bianlin City of sending its cultivators as expendable bait.
• Old Ghost Wang sent mutants to attack; Qin Yan used the Ice Fire Immortal Scripture to trap one while the other Bianlin Guard fought another mutant.
• A mutant wielding a strange giant hand and a third attacker pressured Qin Yan until she called for help.
• Qi Zhen appeared, killed two mutants, and revealed himself as the disguised Puppet Palace Master in a Crimson Gold Puppet.
• The Puppet Palace Master told Old Ghost Wang that a spiritual treasure did exist in the Sea of Suffering, but said the group would not reach the minor world where the Endless Soul Flower was born.