Chapter Summaries

Chen Lin learned how Yun Xiumian could help detect the Soul-Pulling Guide and prepared for the worsening war by securing a teleportation formation for his family. He led a rescue mission to the ruined Crystal Immortal City, but his scout found no trapped cultivators or monsters there.

• Yun Xiumian explained that a Soul-Pulling Guide could survive its caster's death in a clone and that she could detect the art as it was activated, so Chen Lin agreed to bring her along when possible.
• Chen Lin considered whether Mu Linglong's destroyed body had lost its Soul-Pulling Guide seal, then continued cultivating as the war worsened and Shuguang City assigned him a rescue mission.
• Chen Lin obtained two teleportation array disks from Xu Chengyue and arranged for Qin Lingyu and the others to use one to escape with his family if Shuguang City faced a crisis.
• Chen Lin led his team out of Shuguang City, avoided several distant monster hordes, and reached the ruined Crystal Immortal City.
• Chen Lin sent his Foundation Establishment-level Crow Puppet into the city, where it found neither monsters nor the team of cultivators needing rescue.

Chen Lin discovered that a powerful red-threaded monster in Crystal Immortal City had taken control of his team, while his silver soul particles protected him from being enslaved. After fleeing to Qingguang Mountain with the surviving cultivators, he reported the mission’s failure and awaited command’s instructions.

• Chen Lin searched Crystal Immortal City with puppets, then sent Huang Yuan inside to investigate after headquarters reported another distress call from the same location.
• The monster seized control of Tan Lingyu and the team members, but Chen Lin resisted its red thread with the silver particles in his soul.
• Chen Lin used mingqing spiritual water to reveal the monster’s enormous shadow and cut at the threads with the Golden Axe before ordering the team to retreat to Qingguang Mountain.
• Chen Lin reached the summit and waited as only twenty-odd team members arrived, less than half the original group.
• Chen Lin sent headquarters a Transmission Talisman explaining the losses and waited for further instructions.

Chen Lin learned that Shuguang City was under a massive demonic-beast siege and prepared a hidden Teleportation Formation as an escape route for Qin Lingyu and the others. After waiting for news underground, he heard from Luo Qinglan that Starry City, headquarters of the Southern Immortal Cultivation World, had fallen.

• Tan Lingyu told Chen Lin that some team members had charged into Crystal City, and he led the others away to await orders.
• When Chen Lin could not contact headquarters, Qin Lingyu, or his other contacts, he sent Tan Lingyu and the team back toward Shuguang City and secretly set up a Teleportation Formation in his underground shelter.
• Tan Lingyu reported that demonic beasts had surrounded Shuguang City, and Chen Lin saw the city sealed in by a vast horde and attacked by powerful monsters.
• Chen Lin returned to his shelter, waited for Qin Lingyu and the others, and refined Soul Refining Pills while tracking the siege through Tan Lingyu's Transmission Talismans.
• After Shuguang City's formation held for more than ten days, Luo Qinglan contacted Chen Lin and told him that Starry City had fallen to the monsters.

After learning that Luo Qinglan had escaped Starry City, Chen Lin witnessed the Battle of Shuguang, where the city's cultivators used a spirit transformation tribulation to destroy the seven clones of an outer realm evil demon. Twenty years later, he rescued a group of young cultivators from an Iron Demon Eagle and asked them to take him to the Chenguang Secret Realm to search for someone.

• Chen Lin reassured Luo Qinglan that he was safe, left supplies and a message behind, and traveled toward Shuguang City.
• Chen Lin watched Shuguang City's cultivators use self-detonations and a golden tribulation to trap and destroy the Giant Demons, then charged into battle as the city fell.
• Twenty years later, an Emaciated Old Man told young cultivators about the Battle of Shuguang while leading them toward newly discovered immortal city ruins.
• An Iron Demon Eagle attacked the group, and Chen Lin arrived in time to kill it and save the Emaciated Old Man and the young cultivators.
• Chen Lin learned that the group came from the Chenguang Secret Realm and ordered the Emaciated Old Man to take him there so he could search for someone.

Twenty years after the battle at Shuguang City, Chen Lin continued searching the Northern Immortal Cultivation World for Qin Lingyu and the others, learning that they had escaped the city before its fall. While traveling through a newly formed yin domain, he destroyed a ghostly creature, but another presence emerged to confront him.

• Chen Lin refused a secret realm leader’s plea to stay and warned him to rely on the realm and remain cautious.
• Chen Lin recalled that Qin Lingyu, Sun Caiyi, and Chen Qingying had been evacuated from Shuguang City before the defenders’ final battle, but he still did not know where they had gone.
• Chen Lin reflected on his twenty years of unsuccessful searching, the abyss at Myriad Souls Ridge that blocked travel south, and his decision to preserve his remaining transmission talisman linked to Silver Fairy.
• Chen Lin entered a yin domain by mistake and destroyed a ghostly creature with his Soul-Destroying Finger.
• Yun Xiumian emerged from Chen Lin’s wooden hairpin, and an icy voice challenged him as an Eight-Bearer Palanquin appeared from the gloom.

Chen Lin fought off a powerful ghost princess in the Yin Domain and escaped before returning to ruined Silver Immortal City. He planned to attempt a breakthrough to late Golden Core there, then seek resources and eventually travel south to reunite with Luo Qinglan and search for Qin Lingyu and the others.

• Chen Lin struck the ghost princess and her palanquin with lightning, Soul-Destroying Finger, the Thunder Sword, and the Golden Axe, then escaped using Lightning Escape.
• The ghost princess stayed within the Yin Domain, and Chen Lin discussed her flower treasure and the unexplained origins of the Yin Domains with Yun Xiumian.
• Chen Lin and Yun Xiumian returned to Silver Immortal City, where Chen Lin reflected on its destruction and their memories of the place.
• Chen Lin told Yun Xiumian he would attempt to advance from peak mid Golden Core to late Golden Core in Silver Immortal City, then prioritize cultivation resources and seek a route south.
• Chen Lin marked the city gate with the Thunder Sword and flew into Silver Immortal City with Yun Xiumian.

After three years of secluded cultivation in Silver Immortal City's hidden secret room, Chen Lin broke through to the late Golden Core realm and prepared to leave. Yun Xiumian spotted someone outside the City Lord Manor just as they were about to depart.

• Chen Lin inspected the ruined Chen Family Firm and City Lord Manor, then used his old Identity Token to enter the hidden secret room.
• Chen Lin sent his puppets to check the inner chambers, retrieved three Storage Bags, and began cultivating while Yun Xiumian monitored the manor.
• Three years later, an old man recognized Chen Lin's secret mark at Silver Immortal City's gate and told his grandson that his employer had returned.
• Chen Lin emerged after breaking through to the late Golden Core realm, packed his belongings, and agreed to leave with Yun Xiumian.
• Yun Xiumian called to Chen Lin after spotting someone in the outer room.

Chen Lin reunited with the dying Tian Haifu and learned that Qin Lingyu and the others had been taken to the Yunding Secret Realm, which would not reopen for decades. After Tian Haifu died, Chen Lin searched for Baili Pill ingredients and prepared a teleportation route near the secret realm before approaching a dangerous swamp three years later.

• Chen Lin found Tian Haifu at the City Lord Manor, reunited with him, and met his descendants.
• Tian Haifu explained that Qin Lingyu and the others had been evacuated to the Yunding Secret Realm, while Chen Qiaoyun and He Yuqing had been separated during their breakout.
• Chen Lin gave Tian Haifu's descendants cultivation supplies, then Tian Haifu died while speaking with him.
• Chen Lin explored the Liuyun Mountain Range and installed a Teleportation Formation near a Spiritual Vein as a route to the Yunding Secret Realm.
• Three years later, Chen Lin prepared to enter a swamp to search for a Baili Pill ingredient, but three streaks of light suddenly approached him.

Chen Lin encountered three Yin Elixir Cultivators searching a swamp and killed two who tried to seize Yun Xiumian. After learning that a Xuanyang Ghost Ganoderma might be hidden deeper in the swamp, he placed a Soul Restriction on He Jinhua and prepared to follow her there.

• Chen Lin gave the name Lin Feiyu when Mo Jiukun asked who he was, but Mo Jiukun demanded that he hand over Yun Xiumian.
• Mo Jiukun attacked Chen Lin, who killed him with the Soul-Destroying Finger; Chen Lin then killed the other male cultivator when he begged for mercy.
• He Jinhua identified herself as He Yuqing's aunt, and Chen Lin learned that she had not heard from He Yuqing since the fall of Shuguang City.
• He Jinhua revealed that she and the two men had been searching for a rumored Xuanyang Ghost Ganoderma in the swamp.
• Chen Lin placed a Soul Restriction on He Jinhua, and she offered to guide him to the dangerous area where the Ganoderma might be found.

Chen Lin and He Jinhua traveled through the toxic Black Mist Region toward a forest where the Xuanyang ghost ganoderma grew. After encountering a mysterious creature and finding the dead cultivator High Person Biguang, they reached the edge of the Yin Domain, where Chen Lin suddenly sensed danger and struck toward it.

• Chen Lin asked He Jinhua about the Demon-Suppressing Temple in Black Horn City, and she said a small sect had taken it over after its monks left.
• As they entered the Black Mist Region, Yun Xiumian returned to the Wooden Hairpin and asked Chen Lin to help her obtain the Xuanyang ghost ganoderma.
• A concealed dark creature evaded Chen Lin's Diamond Great Handprint, and He Jinhua admitted she had barely noticed it.
• Chen Lin and He Jinhua found High Person Biguang dead in the swamp, apparently with his soul attacked, and Chen Lin took his Storage Bag before burning the corpse.
• He Jinhua led Chen Lin through increasingly dense mist to the forest where the ganoderma grew, warning that it lay within a dangerous Yin Domain and could only be picked at midnight on a full moon.
• At the forest's edge, Chen Lin sensed something beside him and jabbed a finger toward it.

Chen Lin encountered a weak Soul-Devouring Buddha bearing the face of his former incarnation, then continued into the forest after He Jinhua left. As he searched for the Xuanyang Ghost Ganoderma, Yun Xiumian vanished without warning.

• Chen Lin struck a shadowy figure with his Soul-Destroying Finger and recognized it as a Buddha statue with his former face.
• He Jinhua denied knowing the figure, guided Chen Lin toward the Xuanyang Ghost Ganoderma, and hurried away after warning him to be careful.
• Chen Lin released Yun Xiumian, who identified the figure as a Soul-Devouring Buddha and said Chen Lin's Soul-Destroying Finger could harm it.
• Yun Xiumian explained that a powerful being likely controlled the Buddha and offered to help resist that being if Chen Lin obtained an old enough Xuanyang Ghost Ganoderma.
• Chen Lin entered the forest and noticed an unusual abundance of rare spiritual herbs, but when he turned to speak to Yun Xiumian, she had disappeared.

Chen Lin escaped the black-mist illusion after destroying the Soul-Devouring Buddha, then found the Xuanyang Ghost Ganoderma. He waited nearby for the treasure to mature while searching for the missing Yun Xiumian.

• Chen Lin failed to find Yun Xiumian and suspected a dangerous force had taken her, so he left a mark and headed deeper into the forest.
• Chen Lin realized the forest might be an illusion, tested the gathered herbs by refining Baili Pills, and confirmed they were real when his talent produced two pills.
• Chen Lin used the Xuanwu Shield to ascend through the black mist and destroyed the Pitch-Black Buddha Statue with the Soul-Destroying Finger, then fell back into the forest exhausted.
• The Withered Monk learned that his Soul-Devouring Buddha had been destroyed and sent a clone to investigate and deal with whoever was responsible.
• Chen Lin recovered, followed the map to the Xuanyang Ghost Ganoderma, and discovered five powerful cultivators nearby after searching for Yun Xiumian with his divine sense.
• Chen Lin withdrew his divine sense, apologized to the cultivators, and hid nearby to wait for the Rat Hour.

Chen Lin watched cultivators battle over the xuanyang ghost ganoderma, hoping to find Yun Xiumian, when a Nascent Soul True Lord seized it and a ghostly Princess appeared in an Eight-Bearer Palanquin to steal it. A giant rooster's head then snatched the ganoderma and vanished, leaving the treasure's fate uncertain.

• As midnight arrived, cultivators emerged from hiding and fought over the maturing xuanyang ghost ganoderma, while Chen Lin stayed concealed and searched for Yun Xiumian.
• Blood Blade killed Zhao Tianxing and seized the treasure, but the cultivators attacked and another figure took it from him amid the melee.
• A short old man revealed himself as a Nascent Soul Cultivator, killed the current holder, and gave the xuanyang ghost ganoderma to the beautiful woman beside him.
• An Eight-Bearer Palanquin appeared, and its red silk ribbons stole the ganoderma; the ghostly Princess inside defeated the old man and captured his fleeing nascent soul.
• A giant rooster's head emerged from space, snatched the xuanyang ghost ganoderma, and vanished.

Chen Lin reunited with Chen Bao and discovered that the girl he had rescued from the Palace-Attired Female Ghost was his daughter, Chen Ling'er. After learning how she and Chen Bao had left the Yunding Secret Realm, he set out to reunite their family.

• Chen Bao stole the Xuanyang ghost ganoderma and escaped the Palace-Attired Female Ghost with Chen Ling'er, while Yun Xiumian and Chen Lin helped them get away.
• Chen Lin met Chen Bao and Chen Ling'er outside the swamp, and Yun Xiumian revealed that the girl was his daughter.
• Chen Ling'er told Chen Lin that her mother was Sun Caiyi and explained that she and Chen Bao had sneaked out of the Yunding Secret Realm.
• Chen Lin rebuked Chen Ling'er and Chen Bao for their recklessness, then agreed to take them home and reunite the family.

Chen Lin entered the Yunding Secret Realm with Chen Ling'er and Chen Bao, then headed for his family's home. His arrival drew the attention of local cultivators, and the chapter ended with Qin Lingyu, Sun Caiyi, and the others coming out to greet him.

• Chen Lin tested the teleportation array with puppets before using it to enter the secret realm with Chen Ling'er and Chen Bao.
• Chen Bao opened a spatial aperture at Chen Ling'er's direction, and Chen Lin flew through into the secret realm.
• Chen Lin and Chen Ling'er met Jiang Zihan and four other young Foundation Establishment cultivators, who greeted Chen Lin as a senior and later scattered to report his arrival.
• Chen Lin warned Chen Ling'er to control her temper and stay cautious around other cultivators, then used the Lightning Escape Technique to take her and Chen Bao to her home.
• Chen Ling'er called out that her father had returned, and Qin Lingyu, Sun Caiyi, and the others flew out of the courtyard to meet them.

Chen Lin reunited with Qin Lingyu, Sun Caiyi, and Chen Ling'er in the Secret Realm, then met its elders and told them what had happened outside. He confirmed Shuguang City’s fall and the death of True Lord Xuanguan, while agreeing to help Xun Ji leave the Secret Realm when he was ready.

• Chen Ling'er reunited Chen Lin with Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi, while Chen Qingying watched nearby.
• Chen Lin and his family shared their experiences, and he learned how much Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi had advanced in cultivation.
• Chen Lin met Yuan Zhenhai, Xun Ji, and the other Golden Core Cultivators in the main hall.
• Chen Lin explained how he entered the Secret Realm and recounted Shuguang City’s fall, the upheaval at Myriad Souls Ridge, and the severing of contact with the southern Immortal Cultivation World.
• Chen Lin confirmed that True Lord Xuanguan had died fighting the demonic beasts, and Xun Ji asked to use Chen Lin’s spirit pet to leave the Secret Realm later.
• Chen Lin said he had no news of Silver City’s city lord or the missing Nascent Soul seniors, though he hoped they might have reached the Southern Immortal Cultivation World.

Chen Lin comforted Chen Qingying and Qin Lingyu over their missing relatives, then decided to help Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi attempt breakthroughs to the Golden Core Realm before he left the secret realm. While teaching Chen Ling'er and preparing Seven-Star Pills, he had the women draw lots for the pills and urged them to begin their breakthroughs together.

• Chen Lin told Chen Qingying and Qin Lingyu that he had found no news of their missing parents and aunt, and encouraged them to focus on cultivation.
• Chen Lin decided that Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi should attempt breakthroughs so one of them might reach the Golden Core Realm and protect the others after he left.
• Chen Lin spent a month teaching Chen Ling'er pill refining, talisman crafting, and other skills while she showed remarkable aptitude.
• Chen Lin finished refining five Seven-Star Pills, including only one Five-Mark pill, and had Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi each take a sealed jade box by lot.
• Chen Lin stopped the women from exchanging their pills and told them to prepare to attempt their breakthroughs together within the next few days.

Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi attempted to form Golden Cores at the same time, and both survived their tribulations, though Chen Lin had to help Qin Lingyu overcome a powerful inner demon. With his family secure in the secret realm, Chen Lin helped Xun Ji leave and prepared to remain behind.

• Chen Lin watched as Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi underwent their Golden Core tribulations, while Xun Ji offered to pass the Great Elder position to him if he stayed until the secret realm opened.
• Both women endured the third lightning strike with their tribulation treasures, but Qin Lingyu collapsed under an inner demon after Sun Caiyi completed her breakthrough.
• Chen Lin used Buddhist power to disperse Qin Lingyu's inner demon, and she stabilized her newly formed Golden Core.
• The Golden Core cultivators suspected Chen Lin had helped his wives break through with rare Seven-Star Pills, and Qin Lingyu resumed meditation after Chen Lin reassured her.
• Chen Lin opened a space passage with Chen Bao, and Xun Ji left the secret realm after bidding him farewell.

Chen Lin celebrated Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi’s Golden Core breakthroughs with the Chen Family and reassured Qin Lingyu about her inner demon. Yun Xiumian prepared to enter years of secluded cultivation after receiving the xuanyang ghost ganoderma, while Chen Lin gave Chen Qingying pills and urged her to grow strong enough to survive outside the Secret Realm.

• Chen Lin comforted Qin Lingyu by explaining that an inner demon could be overcome through experience, and Yun Xiumian suggested that Alan’s Mortal Dust Heart Intent could help temper her state of mind.
• Yun Xiumian told Chen Lin she would begin condensing a yang soul the next day and gave Chen Ling'er an inherited secret art and Chen Bao the ability to speak.
• Chen Bao celebrated his newfound speech by flying around the courtyard and crowing, while Yun Xiumian returned to the Wooden Hairpin to rest.
• After the family’s celebration, Chen Lin gave Chen Qingying cultivation pills and a Four-Pattern Seven-Star Pill, warning her to keep it secret and cultivate toward the Golden Core Realm.

Chen Lin considered the danger posed by the Soul-Devouring Buddha and how he could cross the Great Rift, while Chen Ling’er received the Immortal Spirit Formula and prepared to share it with her mother. He then met He Shouchu, who offered him a sealed item from the Nightmare Realm.

• Chen Lin learned that Yun Xiumian had given Chen Ling’er the Immortal Spirit Formula, warned her to keep it within the family, and instructed her to master the Earth Escape Technique.
• Chen Lin packed away the xuanyang ghost ganoderma and wooden hairpin, then weighed the threat of the Soul-Devouring Buddha and the difficulties of crossing the Great Rift.
• Chen Lin concluded he needed a way to draw out more of the Xuanwu Shield’s power, but found its artifact spirit still too weak and his own cultivation insufficient.
• Chen Qingying told Chen Lin that He Shouchu had come with a treasure he claimed Chen Lin would need.
• He Shouchu presented a sealed box containing a powerful-aura Nightmare Realm item and said he had brought it because Chen Lin explored the Nightmare Realm.