Chapter Summaries

During Chen Lin’s tribulation, a mysterious voice from the Abandoned Land nearly overwhelmed him, but he survived and heard a broken plea for help that might have come from Shadow Scholar. After the tribulation, he found he could no longer reach the Zodiac Secret Realm, and the Langdang King arrived to conscript him.

• The murmuring voice affected everyone on Lu Island, and Chen Lin used the Silence Technique and Zodiac Arts to resist it while the Crimson Man and others countered it with sound.
• After the voice weakened, Chen Lin heard an aged voice cry, “Save me... Ninth District Third...” before the tribulation ended.
• Chen Lin declined the cultivators’ invitations and returned to the Grocery Store, where he wondered whether the plea had come from Shadow Scholar.
• Chen Lin failed to connect to the Zodiac Secret Realm or any other region, then learned that someone was breaking the shop’s Defensive Formation.
• Lu Ming entered the shop and declared that he represented Langdang Mountain as its king, formally conscripting Chen Lin as his second Grand General.

Chen Lin accepted Lu Ming’s offer to serve as his Attendant in exchange for generous rewards and help dealing with the bizarre creatures on Lu Island. After Lu Ming left, Su'er warned Chen Lin that Lu Ming’s maid was a powerful Dominator, and the group suspected Lu Ming had a deeper reason for reclaiming the island.

• Chen Lin showed Lu Ming his Azure-Crested Heavenly Palace token and Seven-Star Ladle, then accepted Lu Ming’s offer after receiving variegated crystals and a promise of nine-tentacle divine conch.
• Lu Ming warned Chen Lin to avoid Adaiah, whose real identity he did not know for certain, and gave Chen Lin a King Command token and a task to help deal with the bizarre creatures.
• Lu Ming revealed that he had built Lu Island and intended to reclaim it from the Thousand Towers Alliance, offering Chen Lin a twenty-percent share if they succeeded.
• Chen Lin agreed to follow Lu Ming’s lead, while Lu Ming said he would look for other talents to recruit.
• After Lu Ming left with his maid, Su'er identified the maid as a Dominator-level expert, and Chen Lin and Little White Snake speculated that Lu Ming’s plans might involve the Ascension Trial.

Chen Lin drew competing offers because of his Punishment Monarch abilities, but he declined Fang Jingwang’s recruitment and negotiated over a request to protect an old man’s grandson. He returned toward his shop with a new Innate Spirit Bead and a possible job that could earn him an Outspoken Bird Talisman.

• Chen Lin met Fang Jingwang, who offered him clan-attendant benefits and a hundred years of cultivation with the Primal Ancient Wood in exchange for help returning to Panlong Island.
• Chen Lin refused Fang Jingwang’s offer, saying he had joined the Langdang King and could not risk offending him.
• Chen Lin bought several treasures at the market, including an Innate Spirit Bead to improve the grotto-heaven in his jade pendant.
• Tang Shenggu asked Chen Lin to protect his eighteen-year-old grandson through the crisis in return for an Outspoken Bird Talisman.
• Chen Lin told Tang Shenggu to bring his grandson to the shop, demanded additional payment, and refused to sign a contract.

Chen Lin accepted Tang Shenggu’s payment to protect Tang Nian and discovered that the Black Jade Slip contained a valuable talisman inheritance. Three days later, Lu Ming summoned him to the Hibiscus Pavilion, leaving Chen Lin to wonder whether the meeting place was meant to pressure him.

• Tang Shenggu offered Chen Lin variegated crystals and a Black Jade Slip in exchange for protecting Tang Nian, and Chen Lin agreed to keep the young man safe and find him a place to live if they left Lu Island.
• Chen Lin placed Tang Nian in a One-Time Grotto-Heaven Talisman and discovered the inheritance contained crafting methods for the Outspoken Bird, Live and Die Together, and Disorderly Boat talismans.
• Chen Lin suspected Tang Shenggu had withheld part of the inheritance to ensure Tang Nian’s continued protection, but set the matter aside to discuss dangers and next steps with Puda and the others.
• Three days later, Lu Ming’s King Command summoned Chen Lin to the Hibiscus Pavilion, and Chen Lin wondered whether Lu Ming intended to use Chen Siyang and his sister to keep him in check.
• Xinya packed the shop, and Chen Lin stored Xinya, Little White Snake, and the others in the Grotto-Heaven Jade Pendant before heading to the Hibiscus Pavilion with Puda.

Lu Ming gathered Chen Lin and several powerful recruits in the Hibiscus Pavilion, where Chen Lin learned more about the Marriage Document and the threat from the Bizarre Kingdom. Lu Ming then discussed the broken Punishment Monarch Inheritance with Chen Lin and gave him a Myriad Thoughts Pill, warning that its highest stage could not be deduced alone.

• Lu Ming introduced Yuan Nianzhen, Xiahou Shenyu, and Wang Yan as his new generals and guard, while Yuan Nianzhen provoked Chen Lin over his Marriage Document with Yue Bingling.
• Lu Ming gave Chen Lin a bottle of variegated essence as compensation and ordered everyone to remain in the building while he pressured Lu Sheng's faction on Lu Island.
• Xiahou Shenyu reported that King Tier bizarre creatures, including the Dark King, had appeared, and Chen Lin recalled the danger posed by the Dark King's Apostle.
• Lu Ming asked about Chen Lin's Punishment Monarch abilities, and Chen Lin explained that his inheritance was incomplete and that he knew only the Soul-Destroying Finger.
• Lu Ming said the Punishment Monarch Inheritance came from the absent Creator of the World and warned that the Punishment Master stage could not be deduced independently.
• Lu Ming gave Chen Lin a Myriad Thoughts Pill to help him develop his inheritance and said he would need the Creator's true teachings or an Exquisite Treasure Chest to obtain the Punishment Master portion.

Chen Lin learned about Exquisite Treasure Chests and decided to risk entering the Darkness Zone to search for them and the Punishment Monarch Inheritance. After Yuan Nianzhen offered to help his children in exchange for the secret of how he bypassed her Hibiscus Pavilion’s rules, Chen Lin demonstrated his soul power, and she agreed to fulfill her promise; he then began refining the Innate Spirit Bead into the Grotto-Heaven Jade Pendant.

• Lu Ming told Chen Lin that Exquisite Treasure Chests were rare opportunities left by the Creator of the World, found mainly in the Darkness Zone, and could appear during the Ascension Trial.
• Lu Ming confirmed that his own name was on the Celestial Monument and explained that the strange voice Chen Lin heard during tribulation was harmless so long as it was not a clear unknown language.
• After six months of refining the Myriad Thoughts Pill, Chen Lin improved his understanding of the Soul-Destroying Finger but realized he needed more Punishment Technique knowledge to advance.
• Chen Lin decided to explore the Darkness Zone for Exquisite Treasure Chests and the Punishment Monarch Inheritance despite the risk of encountering the Suihan Beast.
• Yuan Nianzhen asked Chen Lin to explain how he had neutralized the Hibiscus Pavilion’s rules and offered to help his children, Chen Siyang and Wen Siyue, in exchange.
• Chen Lin demonstrated his soul power to Yuan Nianzhen, who agreed to fulfill her promise, then began refining the Innate Spirit Bead into the Grotto-Heaven Jade Pendant.

Chen Lin and Lu Ming’s group prepared to confront the King Tier Bizarre Creature threatening Lu Island, after Lu Ming secured an agreement for most of the island’s ownership. Chen Lin warned them about the creature’s power, but Lu Ming insisted they act before the island’s protective array failed, and the group set out together.

• Lu Ming summoned Chen Lin and introduced Hu Changjiu, a former Jingyun Trading Firm employee appointed to manage business on Lu Island.
• Lu Ming explained that he had negotiated for seventy percent ownership of Lu Island if his group destroyed the King Tier Bizarre Creature threatening it.
• Chen Lin warned that the creature, Divine King Manifesting All-Saints of Duotian, could pluck the sun from a high-dimensional plane, based on his earlier experience in Nana’s plane.
• Lu Ming insisted that the group rely on improvisation and act quickly because the creature was attacking the island’s protective array and could corrupt its inhabitants.
• Chen Lin persuaded the hesitant Yuan Nianzhen and the others to follow Lu Ming’s orders, and the group left the Hibiscus Pavilion to confront the creature.

Chen Lin and Xiaolan led Lu Ming’s forces against the Capital Sky Manifestation God King, whose strange feather corrupted Xiahou Shenyu into a bird. Xiaolan killed the enemy with her Must-Die Sword, and Lu Ming rewarded the survivors before giving Chen Lin the withered branch from the battlefield.

• Lu Ming appointed Xiaolan commander and sent her, Chen Lin, Yuan Nianzhen, Xiahou Shenyu, and Wang Yan to attack the black bird outside the formation.
• The bird’s feather corrupted Xiahou Shenyu, transforming him into a bird that attacked Wang Yan, who trapped him in a Character Cage.
• Chen Lin’s rebuke briefly restrained the black bird, and Xiaolan killed it with her Must-Die Sword.
• Xiaolan killed the transformed Xiahou Shenyu and ordered Chen Lin to erase his bizarre aura, but his body remained a bird.
• Lu Ming rewarded the fighters, promoted Xiaolan and Yuan Nianzhen, and granted Chen Lin fifteen percent ownership of Lu Island and other treasures.
• Lu Ming gave Chen Lin the withered branch, which briefly seemed to flash in his hand.

After the withered branch mysteriously vanished, Chen Lin feared the Divine King Manifesting All-Saints of Duotian might return and learned that Lu Ming had left Lu Island. A message from Luo Qinglan brought him a new Zodiac Heritage and a map pointing toward Huqiu and a rumored secret order.

• Chen Lin failed to uncover the withered branch's secret, arranged for Lu Ming to send the nine-tentacle divine conch to Luo Qinglan, and suspected Lu Ming might be Lu Jiuxuan reincarnated.
• Chen Lin found the sealed box empty in the void, searched his belongings without finding the branch, and returned to Lu Island to report his concern about the Divine King Manifesting All-Saints of Duotian.
• Fatty Hu told Chen Lin that Lu Ming had left to seek a Formation Grandmaster and materials, then gave him a Storage Bag containing Luo Qinglan's reply and delivered items.
• Chen Lin read that Niuniu had sent a Character Card bearing the Void Devourer's mark, giving him his seventh Zodiac Heritage, and considered whether his Chiyuan identity might lead to the monkey heritage.
• Chen Lin read that Zhao Qingchuan had sent a map, noticed its hidden message about a secret order in the Purple Bamboo Forest, and found that its route led toward Huqiu.

Chen Lin and his companions were transformed into birds by the Divine King Manifesting All-Saints of Duotian, and he discovered he could not return to Lu Island. After reaching Huqiu and finding no way to destroy the wind chime tied to Nana, he activated the Burning Passion Sword Formula and struck it with Sword Qi.

• Chen Lin found that Little White Snake, Hongchen, Puda, Su'er, and others had been transformed into birds, while his own body remained unchanged and their powers were impaired.
• Chen Lin could not return to Lu Island through the Zodiac Secret Realm, but obtained the Zodiac Dog inheritance, escaped the realm, and learned from Dugu Batian that the transformation could not be undone.
• Chen Lin asked Su Wanyi to hire investigators to check on Lu Island, sealed the Grotto-Heaven Jade Pendant, and traveled for thirty years to Huqiu.
• Chen Lin examined the number sixteen Everlasting Bell connected to Nana, met Bai Yujing, and failed to damage the bell with several methods.
• Chen Lin investigated the dangerous Goose-Feather Well but chose not to enter, then returned to Huqiu after Bai Yujing left.
• Chen Lin successfully activated the Burning Passion Sword Formula and slashed at the number sixteen wind chime with Sword Qi.

Chen Lin destroyed an Everlasting Bell with the Burning Passion Sword Formula, helping Bai Yujing confront his feelings and prompting him to intervene against the Lake-Fishing Old Man. Three years later, Chen Lin reached Dream Illusion City, where he learned Bai Yujing had forced the Four Seasons Villa to seal itself and began seeking rare materials at the Treasure-Gathering Trading Firm.

• Chen Lin used the Burning Passion Sword Formula to destroy one of the Everlasting Bells, and Bai Yujing explained the technique's limits before using it to destroy the second bell himself.
• Bai Yujing thanked Chen Lin, revealed that his strength had increased, and agreed to visit the Four Seasons Villa to protect Chen Lin from the Lake-Fishing Old Man.
• Chen Lin set out for the Seven Passions Sect and Soul Interrogation Academy, stopping three years later at Dream Illusion City to gather information and materials.
• Shen Xiaoyu told Chen Lin that Bai Yujing had immobilized the Four Seasons Villa's elders and fought its Old Manor Lord, after which the villa sealed its gates.
• Chen Lin let Shen Xiaoyu bring her father, Shen Wenming, into a sale at the Treasure-Gathering Trading Firm despite Lian Wuzhou's attempt to take over the customer.
• Chen Lin gave the shopkeeper a list of rare materials and a deposit, then asked him to check a second list of items.

Chen Lin settled in Dream Illusion City, recruited Shen Xiaoyu and her father as subordinates, and helped Shen Xiaoyu advance to the Semi-Void Realm while he pursued his own cultivation. At the Azure-Crested Heavenly Palace’s trading convention, Bai Lingyu assigned him a distant mission and asked him to help someone named A Wen if he could.

• Chen Lin asked the Treasure-Gathering Trading Firm to search for rare talisman materials, then learned that Shen Xiaoyu and her father descended from the West Courtyard Shen Clan and offered them work gathering information.
• Chen Lin rented an immortal cave, gave Shen Xiaoyu a powerful pill and resources, and spent five years helping her cultivate until she reached the Semi-Void Realm and awakened a faint bloodline talent.
• Chen Lin spent ten more years severing alter ego lines, establishing a Zodiac Secret Realm anchor point near Dream Illusion City, and helping Shen Wenming improve his cultivation and secure a trading-firm manager position.
• Chen Lin entered the Azure-Crested Heavenly Palace’s trading convention after receiving notice through his Qingxuan Token.
• Bai Lingyu sent Chen Lin a mission and offered to transport him to its distant location, asking him to help A Wen at a critical moment if possible.

Chen Lin attended the Azure-Crested Heavenly Palace trading convention, acquired shadow-reflecting sand, and reunited with the Silver Fairy through a trade. After hearing her warning about the Lake-Fishing Old Man and telling Bai Lingyu about Bai Yujing, Chen Lin was sent to Matihai Mountain to begin his mission.

• Chen Lin reviewed his compulsory mission to slay Marquis Di at Matihai Mountain and asked the convention for a way to counter King Tier bizarre rules affecting Sun Caiyi, but learned that only a High-tier Punishment Monarch or mastery of special power might help.
• Chen Lin traded a Thousand Tribulation Pill for shadow-reflecting sand to refine Outspoken Bird Talismans.
• Chen Lin recognized the Silver Fairy when she sought emperor phase silver, then traded her variegated crystal and other treasures for a Jade Talisman, inheritance materials, and news from her.
• The Silver Fairy told Chen Lin she was in the Black Stone Forest, had reached Quasi-Dominator, and suspected the Lake-Fishing Old Man was a revived Primordial Era powerhouse with ambitions beyond what he had revealed.
• Chen Lin told Bai Lingyu that Bai Yujing had shattered the Second Everlasting Bell in Huqiu, and Bai Lingyu promised gratitude if she verified his claim.
• Bai Lingyu sent Chen Lin to the shore of a lake near Matihai Mountain and suggested he might claim the location as a headquarters after the bizarre creatures retreated.

Chen Lin joined Cyan-Faced’s mission to rescue the people trapped in Matihai Mountain, which Marquis Di had turned into a bizarre land. After six months of studying Silver Fairy’s Soul-Destroying Finger inheritance, Chen Lin entered the mountain with the other cultivators and gave A Wen Silver Fairy’s jade talisman for protection.

• Cyan-Faced gathered the mission participants at his treasure and explained that Matihai Mountain had been occupied by Marquis Di, so they would wait six months before setting out to eliminate him and rescue the survivors.
• Chen Lin studied Silver Fairy’s inheritance, absorbed most of her insights into the second phase of the Soul-Destroying Finger, and achieved an initial resonance between it and his natal runic inscription.
• After the wait, Cyan-Faced introduced the four external participants, then led the group through the Upper Void aboard his Azure Spirit Boat toward Matihai Mountain.
• Cyan-Faced explained the mountain’s terrain and the use of colored items from the Bizarre Kingdom, while a Gray-Bearded Old Man asked to withdraw and was told he would face penalties.
• Chen Lin recognized the Gray-Bearded Old Man as A Wen and lent him Silver Fairy’s jade talisman, promising to help if they were separated.
• Cyan-Faced led the group into Matihai Mountain, and Chen Lin entered through its opening with the others.

Chen Lin entered a bizarre domain where people’s worship turned visitors into divine statues, and he began searching for his missing companions. After Siguang disappeared into the All-Living Tavern, Chen Lin accepted the tavern’s drinking challenge, whose outcome would determine his fate.

• Chen Lin found himself on an altar surrounded by worshippers, resisted their influence, and heard a voice announce that ten points had been added.
• Chen Lin crossed into a street where a fellow full member was transformed into a three-halo divine statue, and he spotted the Black-Skirts Woman and Feng among the statues.
• Siguang told Chen Lin that at least six members of their group had become divine statues, and they agreed to search for the others without touching the statues.
• Chen Lin and Siguang found the All-Living Tavern open; after Siguang entered, Chen Lin heard that he had gotten drunk and left to deliver all living beings from suffering.
• The tavern keeper presented Chen Lin with a three-cup drinking challenge, and Chen Lin drank the first cup in one gulp.

Chen Lin drank wine in the All-Living Tavern, learned about the God Realm and earned points while Siguang completed a merit task there. After Siguang vanished following a failed attempt to probe the rules, Chen Lin set off alone to find Cyan-Faced and gather enough points to face Marquis Di.

• Chen Lin resisted the wine's influence, gained cultivation, and encountered Marquis Di's phantom, who ordered him to leave but could not attack him directly.
• Chen Lin paid Seven-Color Nightmare Coins for Mortal Dust Drunk and experienced its strange effects in the tavern.
• Siguang emerged from the God Realm, explained that he had delivered all living beings from suffering for merit, and compared his fifteen points with Chen Lin's thirty.
• Siguang tried to probe the rules with his power of brilliance, suffered a backlash, and disappeared before Chen Lin could determine what had happened to him.
• Chen Lin decided to search for Cyan-Faced and stepped around the alley's barrier with the Crystal Needle and Seven-Star Ladle.

Chen Lin used his Destiny divination to win a high-stakes dice game at the Golden Money House, earning twenty points and forcing its owner to offer compensation. The owner offered a God-Sealing Token, which he explained could help its holder obtain a genuine Divine Position.

• Chen Lin entered the Golden Money House and learned that its local Di Coins could be exchanged for Nightmare Coins.
• Chen Lin bet on small and won twice as disturbances changed the dice, while the sickly young man and a One-Armed Man also wagered Bizarre Coins.
• The owner took over the final round, and Chen Lin bet all his Bizarre Coins on double six after divining the outcome.
• Chen Lin's bet won when the dice showed three sixes, earning him twenty points and a payout owed by the Golden Money House.
• The One-Armed Man warned Chen Lin that Bizarre Coins were essential for surviving there, while the owner offered other treasures instead of paying Chen Lin's full winnings.
• Chen Lin examined a God-Sealing Token, and the owner explained that it could help obtain a genuine Divine Position and was worth a thousand Divine Coins.

Chen Lin traded for a Seven-Color Road Guide and learned from Ye Sheng about Grand Court Worship, the God Realm, and the Divine Seal’s energy-gathering hunts. Ye Sheng revealed that he had entered the Bizarre Kingdom through a Nightmare Realm scenario from the Boundless Realm, leaving Chen Lin with a possible lead on the route that brought him there.

• Chen Lin exchanged the Appointment Document for a Seven-Color Road Guide and left the Golden Money House.
• Ye Sheng approached Chen Lin and Ximen Yu, then explained that four Divine Temples held nine new statues of their companions, who could recover by fulfilling vows in the God Realm.
• Ye Sheng told Chen Lin that Grand Court Worship depended on activating the Divine Seal, prompting a massive hunt for cultivators across the Heavens and Myriad Realms.
• Ye Sheng explained that God-Sealing Tokens opened the God Realm, where title missions could make qualified people Orthodox Gods with exclusive divine abilities.
• Chen Lin said his group had entered from the Azure-Crested Heavenly Palace to rescue someone, while Ye Sheng disclosed that he had come from the Boundless Realm through a Nightmare Realm scenario.

Chen Lin questioned Ye Sheng about his journey through the Nightmare Realm and learned that Marquis Di controlled the territory and that points might reveal a way out. Ye Sheng agreed to join Chen Lin’s group, and they headed to the Dragon-Elephant Martial Arts Hall to earn points.

• Chen Lin doubted Ye Sheng’s story, but Ye Sheng explained that he came from the Boundless Realm and could temporarily wield a Title Divine Ability through a Title Badge.
• Ye Sheng told Chen Lin that he had reached the Bizarre Kingdom through a single-use Road Guide Document, had been trapped for ten years, and believed that reaching one hundred points would reveal a way to leave.
• Ye Sheng described Marquis Di’s forces and explained how points could be earned from the streets and shops, while Chen Lin shared his method of probing areas with soul mind.
• Ye Sheng warned that Marquis Di could resurrect in the God Realm, but Chen Lin said his group had a way to handle the situation, and Ye Sheng agreed to cooperate.
• Chen Lin left Ximen Yu to keep watch and went with Ye Sheng to the Dragon-Elephant Martial Arts Hall, where Ye Sheng warned him that the Hall Master had to be defeated in a direct fight.
• Chen Lin entered the Dragon-Elephant Martial Arts Hall.

Chen Lin earned points by defeating the Dragon-Elephant Martial Arts Hall’s master and identifying the three courtesan queens at the Pavilion of a Hundred Beauties. As he continued searching for his companions and waited for the All-Living Tavern to open, he discovered that one courtesan had secretly asked him to deliver her sachet to her father.

• Chen Lin used the Law Character Symbol to defeat the Dragon-Elephant Martial Arts Hall’s master in one move and earned twenty points.
• Chen Lin and Ye Sheng found Fang Ye and Chuming Wu among the Divine Statues, then visited the Pavilion of a Hundred Beauties.
• Chen Lin used his talent ability to select the three courtesan queens, earned twenty points, and received a sachet from one of them.
• Chen Lin asked Ye Sheng to watch for the All-Living Tavern’s opening, then continued searching for Cyan-Faced and the others.
• Chen Lin examined the sachet and discovered a message from Qin Nianjun asking him to deliver it to her father, Qin Wanggu, in the Black Stone Forest.