Chapter Summaries

Chen Lin prepared to refine Soul Refining Pills after Princess Qinghua sold her estate to fund a risky Soul Fusion attempt. When he tested a pill on Lvliu, her Soul Pouch cracked, leaving her unconscious after he used three Little Circumambulations to stabilize her.

• Princess Qinghua sold her manor, dismissed her servants, and moved into a small courtyard to pursue Soul Fusion.
• Chen Lin settled into his own residence, prepared protective formations, and began refining pills with a One-Arm Circumambulation.
• Chen Lin finished several bottles of pills and gave one to Lvliu to test.
• Chen Lin helped Lvliu assimilate a pill, but her Soul Pouch developed cracks and she collapsed in pain.
• Chen Lin crushed three Little Circumambulations and applied their juice to Lvliu's Soul Pouch, easing her condition before she lost consciousness.

Chen Lin refined a second-rank Soul Refining Pill and confirmed that Lvliu could use Soul Refining Pills to transform her soul, then learned that his family had reached a cultivable plane beyond a space node. With his family safe, he focused on improving his pills and asked the Cat-headed Monster how treasures appeared in Qi Luck Treasure Chests.

• Lvliu asked Chen Lin to help her try Soul Refining Pills again, and after nearly a month of careful doses, her soul developed a faint silver light particle.
• Chen Lin refused Lvliu's attempt to seduce him for more pills, negotiated with the All Things Pavilion over his refining methods, and spent three months developing a second-rank Soul Refining Pill.
• Chen Lin tested the new pill on a bandit chief, found it had no side effects, and later exchanged first-rank pills for another Double-Arm Circumambulation.
• Needing qi luck fish to refine more second-rank pills, Chen Lin entered the Nightmare Realm and met the Cat-headed Monster at Gambling Fortune Lake.
• The Cat-headed Monster told Chen Lin that his family and companions had entered a desolate but cultivable plane through a space node, and said she would go into seclusion after obtaining what she wanted from the Treasure Chest.
• Chen Lin asked the Cat-headed Monster how treasures in Qi Luck Treasure Chests appeared to match an angler's wishes.

Chen Lin left Gambling Fortune Lake with a haul of valuable catches, refined second-rank Soul Refining Pills, and wiped out a mountain stronghold. Princess Qinghua summoned him as Spirit Welcoming Day approached and asked him to practice a secret art with her before they attempted soul fusion together.

• The Cat-headed Monster explained how Qi Luck Treasure Chests selected treasures for whoever opened them, then gave Chen Lin a Golden Crab.
• The Golden Toad charged Chen Lin three Nightmare Coins, so he used his qi luck force to catch many fish, Golden Crabs, and a Giant Lobster before leaving the Nightmare Realm.
• Chen Lin refined second-rank Soul Refining Pills, then cleared a bandit stronghold and killed its chief, Zhen Sanjiang, with his Natal Flying Sword.
• Lvliu told Chen Lin that Princess Qinghua had come looking for him, and he went to meet her.
• Princess Qinghua noticed Chen Lin's improved soul and asked whether Soul Refining Pills could be improved further; Chen Lin said Quad-Arm Circumambulation and time-related materials might help.
• Princess Qinghua told Chen Lin that she wanted him to practice a secret art with her and undergo soul fusion together.

Princess Qinghua revealed that Chen Lin came from another realm and offered to practice a royal secret art with him to help them advance. She told him that reaching the silver soul level was necessary to approach a possible passage out of the realm, leaving him to weigh her proposal against his suspicions.

• Chen Lin refused Princess Qinghua's offer to become a spirit guide, and she clarified that she wanted him to practice a dual-cultivation secret art with her instead.
• After Chen Lin rejected the proposal, Princess Qinghua revealed that Lvliu was her clone and identified his flying sword as a tool from another realm.
• Princess Qinghua explained that she had used Lvliu to test whether Chen Lin qualified for the secret art, Soul-Pulling Guide, a divine ability Chen Lin had given her through the Divine Ability Treasure Box.
• Chen Lin withheld a final answer, and Princess Qinghua told him that her clan had found a secret realm that might contain a passage out, but only silver souls could approach it.

Chen Lin negotiated with Princess Qinghua for a Quad-Arm Circumambulation in exchange for considering soul fusion, and learned that Silver Soul advancement relied on a secret art left by a mysterious powerhouse. As he waited and weighed his options, an unexpected visitor entered and called him Lin Feiyu.

• Chen Lin asked Princess Qinghua to help him obtain a Quad-Arm Circumambulation before he would consider practicing soul fusion with her.
• Princess Qinghua explained the stages of souls in Soul Country and said soul fusion was the only way to advance to a Silver Soul.
• Princess Qinghua agreed to seek the Quad-Arm Circumambulation in the Imperial Palace, while Chen Lin told Lvliu she could have his old courtyard and Jiao Coins if she became free.
• Chen Lin reflected that the mysterious powerhouse might have been an outsider who brought Soul Country's divine abilities and Soul Refining Pill knowledge to the wider world.
• Chen Lin found he had little time sand for Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills and wondered whether Qin Lingyu and the others had taken the King-Tier Time Snail.
• A figure suddenly entered Chen Lin's room and asked whether he was Lin Feiyu.

The Imperial Grand Uncle revealed the truth behind Spirit Welcoming Day and used his power to verify Chen Lin’s claims about the Nightmare Realm. He left with a Nightmare Realm Item after giving Chen Lin a Divine Machine Token, while Chen Lin remained wary of the Grand Uncle’s intentions.

• The Imperial Grand Uncle told Chen Lin that a divine remnant revived each year on Spirit Welcoming Day to grant divine abilities and purge alien presences.
• Chen Lin explained the Nightmare Realm, and the Imperial Grand Uncle used his silver Soul Pouch to force him to answer questions truthfully.
• The Imperial Grand Uncle demanded a Nightmare Realm Item, and Chen Lin traded him a sealed Blood Handkerchief for the Quad-Arm Circumambulation and the Divine Machine Token.
• The Imperial Grand Uncle left with the Blood Handkerchief, and Chen Lin warned him that opening its box could drag nearby living creatures into the Nightmare Realm.
• Princess Qinghua entered and explained that she had not deliberately brought the Imperial Grand Uncle to Chen Lin; Chen Lin said he had only lost a few treasures.

Chen Lin refined Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills and used them to compress and strengthen the light particles in his soul while traveling with Princess Qinghua to Hand Country. He realized Soul Fusion could not help an outsider like him, leaving him intent on pursuing advancement through the pills instead.

• Chen Lin confirmed the Divine Machine Token was genuine and learned that the Imperial Grand Uncle planned to enter the Nightmare Realm after Soul Fusion.
• The Imperial Grand Uncle told Emperor Qian Cheng that he intended to use Chen Lin as Princess Qinghua's stepping stone and had secretly marked him with a soul imprint.
• Chen Lin refined three Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills from the Quad-Arm Circumambulation, using up his time sand in the process.
• Chen Lin absorbed the pills, compressing and increasing the density of his soul's light particles, but realized he would need more pills than he could currently make.
• While preparing to meet Princess Qinghua in Hand Country, Chen Lin concluded that Soul Fusion relied on correcting an innate deficiency he did not possess as an outsider.

Chen Lin discovered that Princess Qinghua’s Soul Fusion Secret Art would make him her soul-bound cauldron, so he seized control of her and turned the ritual against her. As Spirit Selection began, he bound her soul to his own, making her his soul slave.

• Chen Lin searched Princess Qinghua’s soul and learned that the secret art would entangle them and place his soul under her control.
• Chen Lin sealed Princess Qinghua’s divine soul and decided to become the caster, while keeping the Imperial Grand Uncle unaware of his plan.
• At Spirit Welcoming, Chen Lin took Princess Qinghua into the Nightmare Realm to evade Divine Inspection, then returned to the tent after the inspection passed.
• Chen Lin confirmed that the Divine Machine Token had activated, and Princess Qinghua remained unable to resist him.
• When Spirit Selection began, Chen Lin stopped Princess Qinghua from absorbing the mysterious energy and used the secret art to bind her soul to his, making her his soul slave.

Chen Lin used the Spirit Guide’s power to temper Princess Qinghua’s soul while keeping her bound by the Dual Cultivation Secret Art, and he received the Soul-Detaining Technique as his divine ability. Princess Qinghua later displayed her new strength to the guard leader, while Chen Lin planned to keep her under his control and make her compensate him.

• Chen Lin let Princess Qinghua absorb the Spirit Guide’s power, observed her soul complete one round of compression, and stopped her before she could advance further.
• Chen Lin received the Soul-Detaining Technique, a divine ability that let him capture souls without using a talisman.
• Chen Lin told the guard leader that Princess Qinghua had failed to advance and needed rest, then kept her at the guesthouse while the secret art’s control deepened.
• Princess Qinghua woke and tried to kill herself, but the soul bond stopped her, and Chen Lin told her she had to remain alive and serve him.
• Several days later, Princess Qinghua told the guard leader that she had completed one round of soul tempering and demonstrated her Soul Cage divine ability.
• Chen Lin recognized Princess Qinghua’s strength and resolved to make her compensate him for the Divine Ability Treasure Box and the Soul Refining Pond.

Chen Lin used Princess Qinghua to investigate Tan Shiyi and discovered that the master blacksmith was secretly a powerful cultivator. After Qinghua received imperial rewards and Tan Shiyi finished forging her bracelets, he invited her to the forging room to show what he had learned about the mysterious short sword.

• Chen Lin and Princess Qinghua visited Tan Shiyi with the Cold Moon Saber fragment disguised as a short sword, and Chen Lin sensed Tan Shiyi use mana, revealing that he was a cultivator of at least the Golden Core stage.
• Tan Shiyi asked where Qinghua had obtained the sword, then agreed to study it while she requested a precious tool; Chen Lin decided to wait and watch Tan Shiyi's reaction rather than explore his residence.
• Chen Lin learned from Qinghua that the Soul Country's power and several unusual secret arts came from the inheritance of a mysterious expert.
• Days later, Tan Shiyi invited Qinghua to discuss her finished Soul-Condensing Bracelets, while a returning messenger brought an imperial edict granting her the title of Prince Qinghua, wealth, servants, and another soul-fusion opportunity.
• Tan Shiyi presented Qinghua with the bracelets, which could amplify her divine abilities by thirty percent, then said he had uncovered clues about the short sword and invited her to his forging room.

Chen Lin accompanied Princess Qinghua to Tan Shiyi’s underground forging room, where she examined a mysterious short sword. Chen Lin discovered a rare ore resembling the material of his damaged Purple Ring and suspected Tan Shiyi was concealing how he had learned to forge unusual treasures.

• Chen Lin sent a Message Pigeon to notify Princess Qinghua’s guards before allowing her to descend into Tan Shiyi’s earth fire chamber.
• Chen Lin stayed in the hall while Princess Qinghua, Commander Xu, and Tan Shiyi went to examine the short sword.
• Chen Lin identified purple spirit sand blanks as material resembling his damaged Purple Ring and learned that the scarce ore was used to forge treasures that restrained enemies.
• Princess Qinghua told Chen Lin that Tan Shiyi had controlled the short sword, which could change size and strike with great force but could not be activated by divine ability power.
• Tan Shiyi claimed his family’s unusual forging inheritance came from a Mysterious Otherworldly Being, and Princess Qinghua said she had agreed to give him the short sword for the Soul-Condensing Bracelet.
• Chen Lin suspected Tan Shiyi had concealed part of the truth because he could activate the short sword despite the realm’s limits.

Chen Lin stayed in Hand Country to investigate Tan Shiyi and search for the Xuanwu Shield, then secretly mined superior purple spirit sand at Zhi Mountain. He discovered a powerful formation concealing something inside and sent Princess Qinghua through it to investigate; she returned announcing that there was treasure within.

• Chen Lin persuaded Princess Qinghua to remain in Hand Country while Commander Xu returned, then went to Zhi Mountain to investigate its purple spirit sand deposits.
• Chen Lin bypassed the guards, discovered that a lineage restricted mining, and used puppets to collect superior purple spirit sand deep in the mine.
• Chen Lin found a powerful formation hidden in the rock and spent more than ten days locating a node, but his puppets returned without usable recordings.
• Chen Lin left the mountain, then returned at night and sent Princess Qinghua through the formation node to investigate.
• Princess Qinghua emerged safely and excitedly told Chen Lin that treasure lay inside.

Chen Lin entered the hidden cavern beneath the mine and discovered a Black Staff, a rare treasure left behind by the Void Refinement cultivator Qiu Daoxuan. He took Qiu Daoxuan’s Realm-Breaking Talisman and the staff, choosing not to risk delivering it to the powerful Qiu Clan, then left the cavern.

• Chen Lin sensed that intruders were attacking his Isolation Array and sent Princess Qinghua to guard the passage with nine Spirit Puppets while he entered through a Space Node.
• Chen Lin found the Black Staff inside a cavern protected by four Stone Pillars and a barrier that allowed cultivators, but not puppets or noncultivators, to pass.
• Chen Lin uncovered a Storage Bag and retrieved a Jade Slip, a sealed Spirit Treasure throwing knife, and a high-grade Realm-Breaking Talisman.
• Chen Lin learned from the Jade Slip that Qiu Daoxuan had left the staff for delivery to the Qiu Clan and offered the other items as payment.
• Chen Lin decided against seeking the Qiu Clan’s reward, dug up the Black Staff with its roots, stored it with spirit crystals and ten-thousand-year spirit milk, and left the cavern.

Chen Lin escaped Zhi Mountain with Princess Qinghua and captured Tan Shiyi to learn whether he threatened them and whether he possessed the Xuanwu Shield. After searching Tan Shiyi’s memories, Chen Lin recruited him to repair the Purple Ring and bound him to secrecy, leaving the artifact’s restoration in Tan Shiyi’s hands.

• Chen Lin escaped Zhi Mountain with Princess Qinghua after the Lan Family broke through the vanished Formless Barrier.
• Princess Qinghua lured Tan Shiyi into revealing his interest in the saber fragments, then knocked him out and brought him to Chen Lin.
• Chen Lin examined Tan Shiyi and discovered that a mana-filled white bead connected to his life cord let him activate Dharmic Treasures.
• Chen Lin searched Tan Shiyi’s memories and learned that he had obtained only five Cold Moon Saber fragments and did not possess the Xuanwu Shield.
• Chen Lin gave Tan Shiyi an Artifact Refining Tome and the Purple Ring, ordering him to repair it in exchange for a more advanced inheritance.
• Tan Shiyi swore to keep the encounter secret and left the guesthouse under Chen Lin’s watch.

Chen Lin learned that the Imperial Grand Uncle had entered the Nightmare Realm and returned to the Soul Country while Princess Qinghua prepared to guard the royal family. Seeking the Xuanwu Shield, Chen Lin discovered it was likely held by the powerful bandit chief Black Tyrant, then obtained a Quad-Arm Circumambulation from Princess Qinghua and began considering how to refine a Soul Refining Pill.

• Princess Qinghua awoke and told Chen Lin that the Imperial Grand Uncle had entered the Nightmare Realm and lost all signs of life three days earlier, prompting her to return to the Soul Country.
• Chen Lin traveled to Eye City, found a message identifying Green Peak Stronghold as the likely holder of the Xuanwu Shield, and learned that its chief Black Tyrant commanded a formidable bandit force.
• Chen Lin decided to strengthen his soul before confronting Black Tyrant and returned to Life City to obtain another Quad-Arm Circumambulation.
• Princess Qinghua gave Chen Lin the Quad-Arm Circumambulation, and he began considering how to refine a Soul Refining Pill.

Chen Lin used the Soul Refining Pond but replenished only ordinary soul light particles, leaving him short of advancing to a silver soul. After investigating the secret realm’s black mist and securing time-related materials through Princess Qinghua, he returned to the Prince Consort Manor.

• Princess Qinghua secured Chen Lin permission to use the Soul Refining Pond in exchange for helping the Emperor resist the Four Great Clans.
• Chen Lin absorbed the pond’s Soul Refining Liquid for three days, replenishing missing light particles but failing to complete his second condensation.
• Chen Lin decided he still needed Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills and asked Princess Qinghua to look for time-related treasures.
• Princess Qinghua led Chen Lin to the secret realm’s black mist, whose deadly aura matched the energy of the Soul-Destroying Finger.
• Chen Lin disposed of the Flying Knife Spirit Treasure, sealed away the Realm-Breaking Talisman and black staff spiritual herb, and returned to the Prince Consort Manor.
• Princess Qinghua informed Chen Lin that she had found time-related items.

Chen Lin learned about Sima Liancheng’s time-related Divine Ability and agreed to help the Royal Family eliminate the Four Great Clans in exchange for meeting him. After they exchanged the dangerous Blood Handkerchief for a safer Nightmare Realm item and crushed the clans, Chen Lin used Sima Liancheng’s power and qi luck fish to refine a Tier-4 Soul Refining Pill, then vanished before the emperor arrived.

• Princess Qinghua told Chen Lin about Sima Liancheng, whose inherited time-related Divine Ability helped the Sima Clan produce Soul Refining Liquid, and said the emperor would let Chen meet him if he helped defeat the Four Great Clans.
• Princess Qinghua explained that the Imperial Grand Uncle’s corpse had mutated after he entered the Nightmare Realm with the Blood Handkerchief, and Chen Lin questioned her about the mutation and the dangers of the realm.
• Chen Lin asked the emperor to return the Blood Handkerchief and exchanged it for lightning-struck wood, a safer Nightmare Realm Medium Object.
• Chen Lin, Princess Qinghua, and Grass secretly eliminated the Four Great Clans before their rebellion could begin.
• Chen Lin met Sima Liancheng in the Imperial Secret Realm, used his time-related power with the qi luck fish to refine a Tier-4 Soul Refining Pill, and disappeared just before the emperor arrived.

After failing to reach Silver Soul with Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills, Chen Lin sought a stronger Circumambulation Beast but found none. Princess Qinghua brought him Sima Liancheng’s time-infused blood crystals, giving Chen Lin a way to try strengthening his pills.

• Chen Lin escaped the Royal Family's Secret Realm by teleportation and absorbed several Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills, but could not complete his soul fusion.
• The emperor urged Princess Qinghua to keep the Soul Refining Pills under Royal Family control, while Sima Liancheng gave her blood crystals for Chen Lin and soon died after exhausting his vitality.
• Three months later, Chen Lin concluded that Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills were too weak to advance him and learned that no Five-Arm Circumambulation was known or recorded.
• Chen Lin considered multiplying the pill ingredients and using greater qi luck to make a stronger pill, but worried that Sima Liancheng might not be able to provide enough power of time.
• Princess Qinghua gave Chen Lin Sima Liancheng’s blood crystals, which contained concentrated power of time, and Chen Lin decided they could help him test his plan.

Chen Lin refined a genuine Tier-4 Soul Refining Pill with the Quad-Arm Circumambulation and used it to strengthen his soul to a silver state, but a mysterious gaze made him decide to leave the Soul Country quickly. At Green Peak Stronghold, he recovered the Xuanwu Shield from the Black-Clothed Woman and told her about the dangerous space node in the Royal Family’s Secret Realm before flying away.

• Chen Lin used his destiny ability and four Golden Crabs to repair a broken section of his line of destiny, then successfully refined a pill with the whole Quad-Arm Circumambulation.
• After testing the pill on a condemned prisoner, Chen Lin consumed it and merged his silver soul particles, greatly strengthening his soul and spiritual abilities.
• Chen Lin sensed a mysterious gaze while testing his new powers, hid his divine soul, and resolved to leave the Soul Country as soon as possible.
• Chen Lin went to Green Peak Stronghold to demand the Xuanwu Shield from Black Tyrant, but the Black-Clothed Woman appeared and claimed the treasure was hers to return.
• The Black-Clothed Woman asked Chen Lin how to leave the realm, and he described the space node in the Royal Family’s Secret Realm and warned her about the black mist.
• Chen Lin recovered the Xuanwu Shield from the Black-Clothed Woman and flew away after saying they had nothing more to discuss.

Chen Lin left Soul Country after warning Princess Qinghua about the divine being and entered the black mist, where he encountered Mu Fenglan. After agreeing to carry her message to her lineage in exchange for information about the outside world, he continued deeper into the mist.

• Chen Lin gave Tan Shiyi artifact-refining inheritances and removed the Soul Seal before leaving Hand Country.
• Chen Lin gave Princess Qinghua three Tier-4 Soul Refining Pills, warned her that a divine being had noticed him, and revealed his real name before departing.
• Chen Lin entered the black mist, found that its annihilating energy affected his soul, and suspected it was connected to Qiu Daoxuan.
• Chen Lin met Mu Fenglan, who asked him to take her Jade Pendant and letter to her lineage in exchange for a Spirit Treasure.
• Chen Lin agreed to deliver Mu Fenglan's message if he reached her plane and asked her to tell him about the cultivation world; after their conversation, he went deeper into the mist.