Chapter Summaries

Gu Jiancheng explained the Immortal Alliance’s Attribute Panel and addressed the cultivators’ concerns about privacy, True Names, and factional control. Lin Chen suspected the Alliance’s factions were carrying out a mission inherited from the Ancient Cultivators, and Gu Jiancheng began explaining transaction currency.

• Gu Jiancheng warned the cultivators that they needed Attribute Panels to be recognized as members of the Immortal Alliance and avoid being treated as monsters and ghosts.
• Zhang Hao asked whether the panels could track their actions, and Gu Jiancheng said the Alliance could use them to display personal information and conduct spiritual energy transactions but did not currently control them beyond that.
• Zhang Mengyao questioned why their True Names had to be inscribed, and Gu Jiancheng said they were stored in the Death River and protected from outsiders.
• Lin Chen asked which factions managed the panels’ attributes, and Gu Jiancheng explained their responsibilities and said the Taiyi Immortal Sword Sect and Nanhua Dream Sect did not control the formation.
• Lin Chen suspected the Nine Great Factions served a purpose inherited from the Ancient Cultivators, while Gu Jiancheng moved on to explain transaction currency.

Gu Jiancheng explained how the Immortal Alliance used the Heaven-Covering Heaven and Earth Great Formation to measure and regulate spiritual energy, while Lin Chen questioned the system and the Heavenly Mystery Gate’s control over it. As Lin Chen and the others traveled toward the Central Lands, a Spirit Steed of Clear Sight detected their Spirit Boat and reported its position.

• Gu Jiancheng explained that the Immortal Alliance traded in measured units of spiritual energy and used the formation to regulate its supply and prevent market manipulation.
• Lin Chen asked how spiritual energy was measured and monitored, and Gu Jiancheng said the formation tracked spiritual veins, possessions, and transactions through Attribute Panels.
• Lin Chen questioned why the Heavenly Mystery Gate controlled the currency system, but Gu Jiancheng could only say that the arrangement had existed since ancient times.
• Gu Jiancheng began explaining the Immortal Alliance’s faction system after the cultivators had no further questions.
• Gu Jiancheng, Lin Chen, and the others traveled by concealed Spirit Boat toward the coast beyond Lingnan.
• The Spirit Steed of Clear Sight Clan Leader detected the Spirit Boat, reported its location and speed, and two unseen figures departed.

Aboard the Spirit Boat, Gu Jiancheng explained the Central Lands Immortal Alliance’s sect–Dao academy system and how its unified examination assigned cultivators to sects. Lin Chen then asked how the East Sea Immortal Alliance was organized.

• Gu Jiancheng explained that the Central Lands used Dao academies to examine children’s Spirit Roots and direct them toward different paths of cultivation.
• Gu Jiancheng said academy cultivators took a unified Dao Examination after ten years, with successful students choosing sects by rank and those who failed assigned to major sects by Immortal Alliance Headquarters.
• Zhang Hao praised the system’s fairness, but Lin Chen argued that it screened for talent, including aptitude in the Hundred Arts of Cultivation.
• Gu Jiancheng said the system had been passed down from the Ancient Inheritance for nearly a million years, though its inventor was unknown.
• Lin Chen asked Gu Jiancheng what kind of system the East Sea Immortal Alliance had.

Gu Jiancheng explained the East Sea’s Age of Discovery, where cultivators explored newly formed islands and fought over spiritual resources. As Lin Chen considered heading there, a blazing vision engulfed the room and revealed a phoenix amid the flames.

• Gu Jiancheng explained that the East Sea’s struggle for spiritual energy centered on war between the Immortal Alliance and the Dragon Palace and exploration of newly emerged islands.
• Gu Jiancheng described the East Sea’s island-lord system, its dangers and rewards, and the obligations island lords owed the Immortal Alliance.
• Lin Chen became eager to reach the East Sea and asked Gu Jiancheng how the group would be arranged after arriving in the Central Lands.
• Gu Jiancheng abruptly turned toward the window when he saw unnatural golden clouds outside.
• Flames flooded the room and engulfed Lin Chen and the others as Lin Chen saw a five-colored, birdlike figure surrounded by spirit birds and recognized Nirvana Fire and Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.

Gu Jiancheng fought the Fire Phoenix Monster King and Black Flood Dragon Monster King after their domains and Primordial Heavy Water trapped Lin Chen and the others. As the battle escalated into a clash of ancient bloodline powers and Gu Jiancheng's hidden sword, Lin Chen was ambushed while trying to land.

• The Fire Phoenix Monster King engulfed Lin Chen and the others in Nirvana Fire, but Gu Jiancheng severed the flames with his sword and revealed the demon king.
• The Fire Phoenix Monster King summoned a blazing sun, and Gu Jiancheng pierced it with layered sword light before discovering it concealed Primordial Heavy Water.
• The Black Flood Dragon Monster King used the water to attack and draw everyone into his Abyss Domain, but Gu Jiancheng countered with a torrent of sword light.
• Gu Jiancheng and the two demon kings unleashed their hidden powers, with the demon kings burning their True Spirit Bloodline to perform the Ancient Sacrificial Dance.
• Gu Jiancheng sent Lin Chen and the others away from the battle, but a ghostlike figure appeared behind Lin Chen and stabbed at his back with a dark gleam.

Lin Chen killed a Golden Core mantis demon beast that ambushed him with a Law Breaking attack, but he emerged wounded and weakened. As he considered escaping the battlefield, he sensed nearly invisible spider threads surrounding him.

• A ghostlike mantis demon beast pierced Lin Chen’s spirit shields with its Law Breaking attack and stabbed toward his back.
• Lin Chen counterattacked with Yin Yang Five Elements Dissolution Spiritual Light, dissolving part of the mantis’s body.
• The wounded mantis tried to trade its life for Lin Chen’s, but Lin Chen let it pierce his shoulder, gripped its forelimb, and destroyed most of its body with his spiritual light.
• Lin Chen extracted the demon beast’s shadow poison, treated his wound, and took pills to restore his body and mana.
• Lin Chen considered using an Instant Thousand Mile Talisman to flee while Gu Jiancheng and two Nascent Soul Demon Kings remained locked in battle.
• Lin Chen detected dense, nearly invisible spider threads covering the area around him.

The Human-bodied Demon Spider used Heavenly Net Earthly Snare to sense Lin Chen’s group, weaken their abilities, and assign demon beasts to ambush them. When Ghost Mantis was killed almost immediately, she recognized that the Law Cultivator was far stronger than expected and ordered a more powerful demon to hunt him.

• The Human-bodied Demon Spider used her web to locate Lin Chen’s group, steal information about them, and assign specialized demon beasts to each target.
• She explained how Heavenly Net Earthly Snare drained spiritual energy, disrupted cultivation techniques, and let demon beasts attack weakened Cultivators.
• The Human-bodied Demon Spider ordered her forces to end the fights quickly, but sensed that Ghost Mantis had been killed within a few breaths.
• She concluded that the Law Cultivator was exceptionally powerful and prepared to fully activate Heavenly Net Earthly Snare.
• The Human-bodied Demon Spider ordered the tallest demon on the field to hunt down the Law Cultivator.

Lin Chen realized the spiderwebs were disrupting his escape attempt with the Instant Thousand Mile Talisman, while Zhang Mengyao and Zhang Hao were trapped in separate battles. The chapter ended with an Arm-reaching Demon Ape confronting Lin Chen.

• Zhang Mengyao was trapped in the Cloud Illusion Butterfly’s illusions while the Human-bodied Demon Spider’s plan wore down her focus and spiritual power.
• Zhang Hao struggled against the Silver Feather Thunder Roc and Rockheart Giant Lizard, then agreed with Tree Elder to use his trump card and flee.
• Lin Chen determined that the spiderwebs absorbed energy, obstructed communication, and divided the battlefield.
• Lin Chen tried to activate the Instant Thousand Mile Talisman, but the spiderwebs siphoned the spirit array’s energy and disrupted it.
• An Arm-reaching Demon Ape emerged from the forest and confronted Lin Chen.

Lin Chen fought an Arm-reaching Demon Ape that attacked him in the forest and killed it with a High-Frequency Light Blade that sent Mechanical Waves through its body. Afterward, he looked toward the battlefield in the sky, preparing to leave.

• An Arm-reaching Demon Ape ambushed Lin Chen and struck him with a powerful punch, forcing him into a head-on clash.
• Lin Chen recognized the demon ape and formed a High-Frequency Light Blade, then used its vibrating Sword Shadows to wound the beast.
• The demon ape enlarged its body and charged Lin Chen, but he evaded its attacks and used Mechanical Waves to disrupt its internal structure.
• The Arm-reaching Demon Ape exploded and died, and Lin Chen looked toward the battlefield in the sky before preparing to leave.

Lin Chen used a sunlight-focusing water mirror to burn away the Human-bodied Demon Spider’s webs and escape the battlefield with an Instant Thousand Mile Talisman. Just as he vanished into a wormhole, Zhang Hao appeared and was dragged into the transmission with him.

• Lin Chen decided to flee while Gu Jiancheng remained locked in battle with the two Nascent Soul Demon Kings.
• Lin Chen used a spirit-water mirror as a convex lens to focus sunlight and Great Sun True Flame onto the Human-bodied Demon Spider and her beasts, destroying the spiderwebs.
• Lin Chen activated the Instant Thousand Mile Talisman and opened a wormhole transmission toward the east.
• Zhang Hao emerged from a tree trunk just as Lin Chen disappeared and was pulled into the wormhole after him.

After teleporting to an abandoned island hideout, Lin Chen and Zhang Hao recovered from the battle and realized that the Instant Thousand Mile Talisman belonged to Zhang Hao. Both suspected the other and weighed whether to fight over it, while Lin Chen began to question the hidden cost of repeatedly taking Zhang Hao’s fortune.

• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao emerged from the Instant Thousand Mile Talisman into an abandoned underground room on an island in the East Sea.
• Lin Chen retrieved the talisman while Zhang Hao and Lin Chen used pills and secret arts to recover from their injuries and depleted strength.
• Zhang Hao recognized his lost talisman in Lin Chen’s hands, and tension grew between them.
• Lin Chen connected his past near-death experiences to Zhang Hao and wondered whether taking the Son of Fortune’s opportunities carried a hidden cost.
• Zhang Hao considered the value of the talisman and his dream-related life-saving treasure, and both men silently wondered whether to attack.

Lin Chen and Zhang Hao discovered a blood-written diary in a cultivation chamber that confirmed they had reached the East Sea and described its Inner and Outer Domains. The diary revealed that its author gained Dual Spirit Roots after visiting Rebirth Island, leaving Zhang Hao eager to investigate while Lin Chen suspected the account concealed something.

• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao chose not to fight and confirmed they were somewhere in the East Sea or along its coast.
• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao found a diary describing the East Sea, the Return to Ruins, the Dreamscape, and a family whose members had lost their ability to cultivate.
• Lin Chen inferred that the East Sea consisted of an Inner Domain ruled by the East Sea Immortal Alliance and an expanding Outer Domain shaped by dangerous new lands.
• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao read that the diary writer visited Rebirth Island, returned with awakened Dual Spirit Roots, and could not remember the dangers encountered there.
• Zhang Hao asked whether Rebirth Island could truly improve aptitude, while Lin Chen questioned the claim and said they should keep reading.

Lin Chen and Zhang Hao read the wall writings of a cultivator whose newly acquired Dual Spirit Root and memories led him to Rebirth Island and the Death River Cult. They realized the writing was not a diary or final message, but Lin Chen had not yet explained what it was.

• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao read how the original owner gained a Dual Spirit Root and rose to prominence, and they questioned why no one investigated his sudden change in talent.
• They found passages describing the original owner's exhaustion, unexplained injuries, and fading memories after visiting Rebirth Island.
• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao read that the original owner traced his condition to Rebirth Island and eventually discovered its connection to the Death River Cult.
• Lin Chen connected the Death River Cult to the Mysterious Yin Gate's fallen Spirit Transmutation Celestial Venerable and considered the cult's hidden powers.
• Lin Chen touched the writing and said it was neither a diary nor the original owner's last words.

Lin Chen and Zhang Hao concluded that the blood-written records in the secret room were reminders left by someone losing his memories, and Lin Chen warned that Rebirth Island was dangerous. They left the cave and emerged at the East Sea, where Lin Chen planned to find a new source of spiritual qi.

• Lin Chen explained that the writing was likely meant to preserve its author's memories and sense of self, rather than serve as a diary or last words.
• Lin Chen warned Zhang Hao that Rebirth Island had serious problems, though Zhang Hao remained tempted by the possibility of changing his talent.
• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao searched the secret room, found nothing else, and opened the passage leading out.
• As they walked through the passage, Lin Chen said their priority was finding a place to establish a cultivation base and secure spiritual qi.
• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao exited the cave and found themselves facing the vast East Sea.

Lin Chen and Zhang Hao investigated an unfamiliar island and learned that local cultivators gathered qi with the help of mortals. Lin Chen suspected this practice was a convenient method of Qi Refining, leaving him worried that the East Sea was not as promising as Zhang Hao believed.

• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao surveyed the island, spotted a mortal town, and decided to investigate it cautiously.
• Lin Chen sensed signs of frequent cultivator activity despite the island's lack of spiritual energy, so the two disguised themselves and infiltrated the City Lord's Mansion.
• The city lord told them that cultivators gathered qi with mortal help and visited every ten years to recruit disciples from the islands around Spirit Yuan Island.
• After questioning the city lord, Lin Chen and Zhang Hao returned to the cliff and discussed what they had learned.
• Zhang Hao celebrated the East Sea's apparent prosperity, but Lin Chen warned that gathering qi might be a convenient method of Qi Refining Cultivation.

Lin Chen explained how the East Sea Immortal Alliance’s qi-gathering method let cultivators refine their spiritual energy step by step, potentially improving cultivation and breakthroughs. He suspected the method was connected to a much larger system, and Zhang Hao asked how it would affect their cultivation in the East Sea.

• Lin Chen explained that distinguishing types of spiritual energy could reduce impurities and injuries while improving cultivation.
• He outlined a progression from refining specific spiritual energy to developing a Golden Core and Nascent Soul aligned with that energy.
• Lin Chen described the method as a universal, step-by-step path for refining spiritual energy, and Zhang Hao asked whether it could help them reach the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Zhang Hao said the method was absent from his inherited memories, leading Lin Chen to suspect the information had been deliberately erased.
• Lin Chen connected the method to Gu Jiancheng’s [Natal] attribute and the Immortal Alliance’s factions, then Zhang Hao asked how it would affect their future cultivation in the East Sea.

Lin Chen explained how a qi-gathering method could intensify competition in the East Sea, then considered his goal of studying spiritual energy with a particle accelerator. He and Zhang Hao agreed to investigate Spirit Yuan Island, while Lin Chen wondered how to reach the East Sea’s outer regions and establish a foothold.

• Lin Chen told Zhang Hao that the qi-gathering method could help cultivators with poor talent but intensify competition for limited resources in the East Sea.
• Lin Chen reasoned that the method would raise demand and prices for Spirit Stones and other spiritual resources, making Zhang Hao’s cultivation plans more difficult.
• Lin Chen resolved to advance to Nascent Soul and study spiritual energy, envisioning a particle accelerator around the East Sea to uncover its fundamental nature.
• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao agreed to contend for Immortal Destiny and travel to Spirit Yuan Island the next day to investigate.
• After Zhang Hao left, Lin Chen considered opening up the outer regions but wondered how he could reach them.

Lin Chen and Zhang Hao spotted a fleet heading toward them and decided to approach it to test whether East Sea cultivators could identify outsiders. Before they reached the ship, Lin Chen demonstrated his memory-distorting sorcery on Zhang Hao, leaving their partnership strained as they flew toward the fleet.

• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao traveled east over the sea, each privately planning to part ways once they reached Spirit Yuan Island.
• Lin Chen spotted a vessel marked [Human Seed Deployment] and detected two Golden Core Cultivators aboard its approaching fleet.
• Lin Chen persuaded Zhang Hao to meet the fleet so they could test whether its cultivators could recognize them as outsiders.
• Lin Chen used Soul-Seizing Nether-Piercing on Zhang Hao, making him mistake Lin Chen for his father until Zhang Hao's soul power broke the sorcery.
• Zhang Hao warned Lin Chen not to try that again, then followed him toward the fleet in silence.

Lin Chen and his companion approached an East Sea Immortal Alliance Human Seed Deployment Ship, where two Golden Core cultivators mistook them for newly advanced experts and tried to stop them. True Person Luo recognized Lin Chen as a familiar senior brother, revealing that Lin Chen’s Soul-Seizing Art had succeeded.

• An old cultivator and a young cultivator aboard the ship discussed its remote route, the dangers of the outer domain, and the recent disappearance of other Human Seed Deployment ships.
• Two powerful figures approached, and the ship’s Golden Core cultivators, True Person Luo and an azure-robed cultivator, prepared to bar them from boarding.
• Lin Chen dispersed the pair’s Spirit Pressure and said that he and his companion had just reached the Golden Core realm and wanted information about the area.
• True Person Luo recognized Lin Chen as Senior Brother Lin and began to greet him, while Lin Chen realized his Soul-Seizing Art had succeeded.

Lin Chen and Zhang Hao used the Soul-Seizing Method to influence True Person Luo and True Person Yang, then boarded their ship to gather information. As the ship sailed onward, an unseen mirror phenomenon began drawing it into a reflected world.

• True Person Luo mistook Lin Chen for an old acquaintance, and Lin Chen strengthened the illusion until True Person Yang also accepted him.
• True Person Luo invited Lin Chen and Zhang Hao aboard, and Lin Chen agreed while secretly continuing to influence him.
• True Person Luo warned Lin Chen that ships in the East Sea inner waters, especially Human Seed Deployment Ships, had recently been disappearing.
• Lin Chen and Zhang Hao entered the cabin with True Person Luo and True Person Yang while the other deck cultivators returned to their posts.
• A Bronze Mirror appeared by the cabin entrance, captured the ship in its reflection, and vanished as the sea beneath the vessel turned perfectly still and mirrorlike.