Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• One year after refining the Source Soul Bead, Chen Lin completes a yearlong process that brings his purple soul up to the strength of his original golden and ink souls. His three-colored soul reaches the peak of his self-defined third rank, and his soul spells—including Soul-Destroying Finger and Soul Armor Art—become several times more powerful.
• The awakened beings have vanished, and the Earth Cave in the Black Mist Forbidden Land has been sealed. Though the world seems peaceful and prosperous, the merged continents and disappearance of the Silent Sea signal that greater upheaval may be coming.
• Chen Lin travels to Bamian City to gather information and pursue a share of the All-Direction Trading Firm’s wealth. With its founder, Ancestor Qingyun, missing, the firm is vulnerable to rival factions seeking resources.
• Chen Lin reunites with Yue Tianyi, Zhang Zhenqian, and Lu Xiaoyi. They establish a loose alliance, the Five Friends of Tiancang, also including Xin Yueling, who cannot attend because of restrictions from her lineage. The four present then go to the trading firm’s headquarters to pursue their plans.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin gains confidence from his greatly strengthened soul and now feels capable of countering powerful soul cultivators such as High Person Yunhai. He also reflects that the Cheng Sisters, whose souls were likely damaged by the Source Soul Bead, have repaid their debt to him.
• Chen Lin, Yue Tianyi, Zhang Zhenqian, Lu Xiaoyi, and Xin Yueling agree to support one another when possible, while keeping any owed compensation separate from their friendship. Their alliance is practical rather than based on unquestioning loyalty.
• Lu Xiaoyi appoints herself eldest because she has cultivated the longest; Yue Tianyi is second, Xin Yueling third, Zhang Zhenqian fourth, and Chen Lin fifth. Chen Lin plays along, greeting her as “Eldest Sister.” The group’s joking banter and shared meal build camaraderie.

Significant themes

• Power and uncertainty: Chen Lin’s advancement is substantial, but even he cannot tell what further stages of soul cultivation exist.
• Temporary peace before turmoil: The world appears calm, yet its transformation and the scramble for resources suggest instability ahead.
• Pragmatic cooperation: The Five Friends form an alliance to improve their chances of survival, balancing mutual aid with clear expectations and material interests.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin attends a gathering at the All-Direction Trading Firm with Qin Lingyu, Lu Xiaoyi, Zhang Zhenqian, and Yue Tianyi. Lu Xiaoyi makes their alliance public, hoping to discourage anyone from targeting them.
• Chen learns that the trading firm’s leaders, including Great Elder Yan Jiujiang, are under pressure to surrender its wealth and interests to powerful factions. With Ancestor Qingyun missing and the old balance of power broken, they can no longer defend the firm.
• Xin Shangxiu arrives with allies Ba Yeyu and Duanmu Jue, along with several Void Refinement cultivators. Madam Miaoyin soon enters with her own formidable entourage, including the Ninth Layer Dao Rhyme powerhouse Ye Hongdao.
• Xin Shangxiu and Madam Miaoyin trade barbed remarks. Their exchange hints at a personal rivalry: Ye Hongdao, formerly Xin Shangxiu’s lover according to rumor, now serves Madam Miaoyin.
• Chen wonders why such influential figures have come in person over the trading firm. No one can explain their motives before a terrifying aura suddenly fills the hall with black mist. Chen reacts immediately, activating the Soul Armor Art as green vines appear around him.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen is cautious and observant, gathering information about the attendees and assessing potential threats. He appreciates Lu Xiaoyi’s concern but doubts her reliability as a self-appointed “eldest sister.”
• Lu Xiaoyi openly promotes the group’s alliance and warns Chen about Ye Hongdao.
• Zhang Zhenqian, now Chen’s sworn brother, introduces the major figures. Their joking “brother and sister” titles also leave Chen wary of being treated as the youngest and most easily ordered around.
• Xin Shangxiu and Madam Miaoyin maintain outward politeness while openly needling each other. Ye Hongdao’s reaction suggests the exchange touches a sore point.

Significant themes

• Wealth and power: Even eminent cultivators are drawn to the trading firm’s riches, while its former protections collapse.
• Shifting alliances and political uncertainty: With Ancestor Qingyun missing and awakeners reshaping the world, factions maneuver for advantage.
• Hidden motives and personal rivalries: The leaders’ unexplained attendance and the tension between Xin Shangxiu, Madam Miaoyin, and Ye Hongdao suggest deeper conflicts behind the gathering.
• Preparedness amid danger: Chen relies on caution and quick action as the situation abruptly turns threatening.

Key plot points and events

• Liren Chou, the feared Resurrectionist, materializes in the hall and challenges Madam Miaoyin, revealing that her damaged Immortal Puppet cannot truly stop him.
• Madam Miaoyin urges everyone to attack together. Liren Chou answers with black arrows that pierce even powerful defensive treasures, kill their targets, and absorb their blood. The arrows pursue survivors throughout the sealed hall.
• Chen Lin realizes the All-Direction Trading Firm’s members have vanished. He concludes they used the gathered cultivators as bait, hoping Liren Chou would eliminate their rivals.
• Three arrows target Chen Lin at once. His Innate Lightning Ray destroys two, while his Green Vine Shield traps and ultimately absorbs the third. He discovers that lightning and the vine treasure can counter Liren Chou’s attacks.
• Liren Chou, unsettled by Chen Lin’s aura, focuses his stronger arrows on him. Chen Lin binds them with vines and weakens them with lightning, then also frees Lu Xiaoyi and the others from their pursuers.
• The arrows are formed from Liren Chou’s origin essence, so destroying them injures him. Chen Lin exploits this backlash and strikes him with the Soul-Destroying Finger, causing Liren Chou’s body to stiffen and his aura to weaken.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin moves from desperate evasion to active resistance, quickly identifying how to counter the arrows and protecting his companions while exploiting the cost of Liren Chou’s technique.
• Madam Miaoyin reveals the limits of her strength: despite her reputation and her damaged puppet, she cannot face Liren Chou alone and depends on the gathered cultivators’ support.
• Liren Chou demonstrates overwhelming power, but his confidence is shaken when Chen Lin withstands his attacks. His fixation on Chen Lin gives Chen an opening.
• Lu Xiaoyi warns Chen Lin when he is surrounded; Zhang Zhenqian, Yue Tianyi, and Xin Yueling can only watch while occupied with their own threats. Chen Lin later intervenes to save Lu Xiaoyi and the others.
• Xin Shangxiu, despite her strained relationship with Madam Miaoyin, joins the collective attack, recognizing the common danger.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: even celebrated cultivators and formidable treasures can be helpless against a superior force.
• Pragmatic cooperation: rivals unite when survival requires it.
• Cunning and betrayal: the Trading Firm’s disappearance exposes the gathering as a trap and underscores the dangers of greed.
• Adaptability under pressure: Chen Lin survives by observing, experimenting, and turning the enemy’s costly technique against him.

Plot

• Chen Lin’s Soul-Destroying Finger weakens Liren Chou, allowing Madam Miaoyin, Xin Shangxiu, Ye Hongdao, and the other cultivators to attack together. Their combined blows destroy his body, but he disperses into black mist.
• Madam Miaoyin’s flute slows the mist while Xin Shangxiu’s bird manifestation and Ye Hongdao’s blade destroy its fragments. The group eventually eliminates every visible wisp, though Chen Lin suspects Liren Chou may not truly be dead.
• Madam Miaoyin confirms that a being who survived the Primordial Era cannot be permanently destroyed so easily, but says his origin essence has been damaged and may take a long time to recover.
• With many cultivators dead and their attempt to claim the All-Direction Trading Firm’s assets unsuccessful, Madam Miaoyin distributes the fallen cultivators’ belongings. Chen Lin receives eight storage bags and two spirit-transforming treasures; she and the other leading fighters divide the rest.
• School Head Xiao objects that the spoils should be shared more broadly, proposing a public inventory and a distribution based on cultivation level. Several cultivators support him, and the chapter ends before the dispute is resolved.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin proves crucial to the group’s survival but deliberately holds back, avoiding use of his Thunder God Sword and declining to attack the black mist further. He fears attracting attention to his limited but specialized power. He accepts Madam Miaoyin’s generous share without protest.
• Madam Miaoyin leads the counterattack, uses her White Jade Xiao to restrain the mist, and rewards Chen Lin for his contribution. Having relieved her own threat, she is comparatively unconcerned about the danger of Liren Chou’s possible return.
• Xin Shangxiu and Ye Hongdao deliver powerful attacks that help destroy Liren Chou’s body and pursue the escaping mist.
• Lu Xiaoyi urges Chen Lin to take advantage of the battle to build the Five Friends of Tiancang’s reputation; Chen Lin refuses, and Lu joins the fight without pressing him.
• Ba Yeyu and Duanmu Jue decline to involve themselves in the dispute over the spoils. Other cultivators, though wary of challenging the strongest figures, support School Head Xiao’s proposal.

Significant themes

• Survival over triumph: The victory is costly, with nearly half the gathering dead, and the group remains uncertain whether the threat has truly passed.
• Power and discretion: Chen Lin’s specialized ability is decisive, but he believes revealing too much could invite future danger.
• Greed and unequal rewards: A shared crisis gives way to conflict over who deserves the survivors’ spoils, exposing resentment and self-interest.
• Fragile alliances: The cultivators cooperate against a common enemy, but fear, dependency, and competition shape their relationships afterward.

Key plot points and events

• Madam Miaoyin and Xin Shangxiu decide to punish the All-Direction Trading Firm for deceiving cultivators and colluding with demonic beasts. Madam Miaoyin kills a late Void Refinement sect leader with a single attack, then orders his possessions—and, if needed, his sect’s assets—given to the families of cultivators who died.
• Madam Miaoyin declares that the Trading Firm’s remaining properties are up for grabs, while warning that she will punish anyone who exploits the chaos to loot others.
• Xin Shangxiu invites Chen Lin to help discuss the fate of reincarnated powerful figures and the redistribution of Western Continent resources. Chen declines because he has urgent business, and sends Lu Xiaoyi to represent the Five Friends of Tiancang instead.
• Chen returns to his underground Nightmare Realm node and brings Qin Lingyu, Chen Ling’er, Sun Caiyi, and the others inside. He shows them Taiqing Mountain, warns them that its beauty does not make the Nightmare Realm safe, and distributes Bone Shards to protect them from nightmare qi.
• The group explores the mountain and chooses sites for immortal caves. Chen spends three days sorting the spoils from the Storage Bags he acquired, finding a huge trove of treasures and rare spirit herbs.

Character developments and interactions

• Madam Miaoyin demonstrates overwhelming authority and ruthlessness, making clear that even powerful sect leaders cannot defy her. Her easy partnership with Xin Shangxiu suggests their earlier barbs were a performance or part of an existing alliance.
• Xin Shangxiu treats Chen as strong enough to participate in major political decisions and accepts his choice to delegate to Lu Xiaoyi.
• Chen Lin recognizes the political imbalance between Madam Miaoyin and Xin Shangxiu, but focuses on securing his own interests and keeping his companions safe. He deliberately avoids the resource negotiations and brings his group to his comparatively protected territory.
• Lu Xiaoyi eagerly takes the chance to represent the group. Chen Ling’er is excited by Taiqing Mountain, prompting Chen to caution her and the others about the Realm’s dangers.
• Li Qing, the steward, reports carefully on construction progress, reflecting his diligence and Chen’s growing household arrangements.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: A Dao Rhyme powerhouse can decide a sect’s fate with a single command.
• Justice and retribution: The Trading Firm’s assets are redirected as compensation for those harmed, though the promised redistribution also carries the potential for opportunism.
• Safety versus appearance: Taiqing Mountain looks idyllic, but the Nightmare Realm remains dangerous and rule-bound.
• Pragmatism and self-interest: Chen avoids political entanglements while securing a safe base and benefiting from the spoils.

Plot points and events

• Chen Lin leaves his family at Taiqing Mountain under Hua Ruyu’s protection. He postpones testing the mysterious pattern, planning to send Fat Tiger instead because of its ability to revive.
• He gives Chen Ling’er and the others Level 3 Road Guides and teaches them how to navigate the Nightmare Realm, then sets out for the Tiancang Realm to investigate the pattern, search for other nodes, and gather information while facing the looming calamity.
• At the Yucai Sect, Chen Lin learns from Xue Honglan that powerful beings are awakening across many different planes and cultivation systems. He suspects this may be connected to the enormous sword that appeared when he advanced to Void Refinement, after sensing a faint fluctuation in his talent origin.
• He rewards Xue Honglan with a Chongxu Pill to help her reach Nascent Soul late stage and promises further support if she continues progressing.
• The Divine Will Sect asks to relocate near the Yucai Sect, citing its leader Yue Tianyi’s sworn-brother relationship with Chen Lin. Chen Lin sees the move as a possible source of protection for his sect, so he temporarily conceals that he plans to leave.
• Zhang Zhenqian and Lu Xiaoyi invite Chen Lin to explore a newly discovered Golden Palace beneath the Soul-Severing Sea. He declines, judging that the ruin is likely to attract Awakeners and that he cannot safely fight all of them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin becomes more confident after his fight with Liren Chou, but remains cautious. He chooses to confront danger away from his family, while continuing to investigate the foretold calamity and the mysterious sword.
• Hua Ruyu agrees to guard Chen Ling’er and the others, allowing Chen Lin to travel without constantly worrying about their safety.
• Xue Honglan is shown to be a capable, trusted acting sect master. Chen Lin invests in her advancement and encourages her to become stronger.
• Lu Xiaoyi and Zhang Zhenqian seek Chen Lin’s help exploring the Golden Palace, hoping his strength will protect them. Chen Lin refuses despite their persuasion.

Significant themes

• Facing fate rather than hiding: Chen Lin believes the prophesied calamity may follow him even into the Nightmare Realm, so he chooses to meet it directly.
• Protection and responsibility: He separates from his family to keep danger away from them, while making arrangements to secure their safety and strengthen the Yucai Sect.
• Uncertainty and foreshadowing: The simultaneous awakening of powerful beings and Chen Lin’s reaction to the enormous sword suggest a larger, unexplained threat.
• Caution over treasure: Despite the Golden Palace’s promise of riches, Chen Lin prioritizes survival and information-gathering over a risky expedition.

Plot points and events

• Chen Lin refuses to support Lu Xiaoyi and Zhang Zhenqian after they fail to persuade him. Though they are sworn siblings, he feels they are not close enough for him to give away his resources or risk himself on their behalf.
• A month later, as the Divine Will Sect begins relocating, Chen quietly leaves. Disguised as a burly, bearded man and traveling under the alias Ye Fan, he visits several cities to buy books. He avoids using another old alias because he does not want to draw the attention of the mysterious High Person Yunhai.
• After leaving a city, Chen notices a tiny insect on his robe—apparently a tracking device—and flies to a secluded valley, expecting an ambush.
• Two Nascent Soul cultivators attack him with a powerful purple hammer. Chen easily neutralizes the Spirit Treasure, captures them, kills the older attacker, and uses a Soul Search on the other before killing him as well.
• Chen then calls out a hidden woman, Dong Yunqiu, who claims the ambush was arranged by someone else and offers to bargain for her life. Chen recognizes her as the Black Mountain Old Devil, a woman he met years earlier, despite her now claiming to serve Immortal Baiyun rather than Spirit Demon Ancestor. He binds her with vines, intending to search her soul.

Character developments

• Chen Lin remains cautious, self-reliant, and unwilling to take responsibility for acquaintances he does not trust deeply. He is also resourceful, using disguises, aliases, and a staged journey to expose those tracking him.
• Lu Xiaoyi and Zhang Zhenqian are shown struggling financially after reaching Void Refinement, emphasizing how sharply cultivation costs rise at higher realms.
• Dong Yunqiu appears adaptable and evasive: she invokes her status and offers any bargain, but Chen’s memories and the Soul Search link her to an earlier identity and a formidable demon puppet.

Themes

• Self-preservation and boundaries: Chen distinguishes nominal bonds from genuine closeness and refuses to jeopardize himself for others.
• Deception and hidden identities: Chen’s disguise, the tracking insect, the false information behind the ambush, and Dong Yunqiu’s changing affiliations all underscore a world of concealed motives.
• Power and vulnerability: The attackers’ confidence in their Spirit Treasure proves useless against Chen’s overwhelming strength.
• The cost of cultivation: Advancing to higher realms demands resources far beyond what lower-level cultivators can afford.

Character interactions

• Chen parts coolly from Lu Xiaoyi and Zhang Zhenqian, offering neither aid nor persuasion.
• He bargains briefly with a bookseller, maintaining his forceful disguise while the shopkeeper secretly sends a message.
• Chen confronts and interrogates the two attackers, then challenges Dong Yunqiu’s identity and alleged change of allegiance. When she disputes his recollection, he chooses a Soul Search over negotiation.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin captures the Seductress, who identifies herself as Dong Yunqiu, and tries to frighten him with the name of her master, Immortal Baiyun. When soul-searching fails because her soul is protected, Chen Lin uses an illusion spell to question her instead.
• Dong reveals that Immortal Baiyun is actually the Spirit Demon Ancestor, a fourth-layer Dao Rhyme cultivator from the Spirit Demon Realm. He now resides beneath the Soul-Severing Sea.
• The Spirit Demon Realm supports spirit cultivation, demonic cultivation, and spirit-demon dual cultivation. Practitioners can combine opposing energies, gaining unusual strength and the ability to defeat stronger opponents, though their progress is slower.
• Chen Lin confirms that this is the same realm he once visited, home to the Hundred Flowers Fairy and the Ocean Floor Ruins. The Spirit Demon Ancestor was transported out while exploring a Primeval Relic, not through the Nightmare Realm.
• Dong and another female disciple are the Ancestor’s concubines as well as disciples. He withheld resources from them, driving them to rob others. Dong also admits to impersonating the Black-Hearted Old Devil, who has since died.
• Chen Lin has Dong write down the portions of the dual-cultivation technique she knows, hoping they may help Hua Ruyu, whose innate nature unites spirit and demon.
• Dong offers to help Chen Lin obtain the rest of the technique and the Ancestor’s treasures, even proposing to help kill her master. Chen Lin instead binds her with a powerful soul pact and orders her to continue her existing role until he contacts her.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin is cautious and methodical: he tests Dong’s claims, gathers information, and turns her potential usefulness into a controlled alliance. He believes her demonic temperament may reflect an imbalance from favoring the faster-progressing demonic side of her cultivation.
• Dong Yunqiu shifts from threats to pleading and then to bargaining. Though she appears cooperative, she initially intends to escape the pact’s control and have the Spirit Demon Ancestor kill Chen Lin. The pact leaves her frightened and uncertain.
• Their interaction is defined by coercion and distrust: Chen Lin spares Dong, but only after securing binding control over her. He assures her the pact will leave no trace detectable by her master.

Significant themes

• Power through knowledge and leverage: Chen Lin uses questioning and the soul pact to turn a dangerous captive into a potential informant.
• Duality and imbalance: Spirit-demon cultivation unites opposing forces, but its benefits come with slower progress and risks if one side dominates.
• Self-interest and betrayal: Dong’s willingness to plot against her master reflects the selfish, precarious relationships surrounding the Spirit Demon Ancestor.
• Control versus apparent cooperation: Dong’s promise to help is ultimately overshadowed by Chen Lin’s enforceable pact.

Key plot points and events

• After the Bamian City battle, Chen Lin reflects on the extraordinary losses among Void Refinement cultivators. He keeps the contract jade talismans he acquired but has no plans to challenge the Spirit Demon Ancestor. He had used one to control Dong Yunqiu because she comes from the Spirit Demon Realm and may help him understand his Transformation Technique; the talisman also lets him track her.
• Chen Lin spends a year crossing the Soul-Severing Sea, hunting beasts and exploring the Underwater World along the way. He reaches the Eastern Continent and heads to the Xuanhuang Continent to investigate Yin Jiuling, a longtime enemy whose distant base and relationship with Madam Miaoyin and Ancestor Lingtian seem suspicious.
• At Yin Jiuling’s Dark Yin Sect, Chen Lin learns from local rumors that Yin Jiuling has died. The sect has activated its protective formation because his death leaves it vulnerable to rivals. Chen Lin verifies the report by questioning a disciple, and learns the sect has no connection to Xuanyin Great King or the Dark Yin Scripture. He leaves without investigating further.
• Over the next two years, Chen Lin keeps in touch with allies and gathers news. The Golden Palace barrier remains intact, his companions have moved on, and his associates report no trouble at their sect or in the Nightmare Realm. With no sign of the predicted calamity, Chen Lin wonders whether Daoist Destiny’s divination was wrong, though he remains uneasy.
• While searching for information on the Yinguang Continent, Chen Lin buys and reads an Alien Illustrated Handbook. He recognizes an illustrated, tree-crowned woman as belonging to Kannie’s race and hopes the book will provide evidence that it is safe to use the Clone Fruit before it loses its potency.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and investigative: he avoids a dangerous confrontation with the Spirit Demon Ancestor, checks rumors about Yin Jiuling rather than trusting them, and continues seeking knowledge despite the apparent calm.
• Dong Yunqiu is now under Chen Lin’s control through the contract talisman, though he treats this as a practical precaution rather than the start of an immediate conflict.
• Chen Lin and his allies maintain contact through long-distance talismans. Lu Xiaoyi and the others leave the Golden Palace site; Xue Honglan reports normal conditions at Yucai Sect; Liu Shengyuan confirms Chen Ling’er and the others are safe.
• Chen Lin and the Dark Yin Sect interact briefly and covertly: he questions one disciple to verify Yin Jiuling’s death, then departs once he confirms there is no relevant connection.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and vigilance: The realm appears peaceful, but Chen Lin cannot dismiss the prophecy of disaster and stays alert.
• Knowledge as protection: He travels, questions people, and collects texts to reduce uncertainty and make informed decisions.
• Loss and instability: Yin Jiuling’s reported death leaves his sect exposed, echoing the wider disruption caused by the Bamian City battle.
• Time-sensitive choices: Chen Lin’s search for information is urgent because the Clone Fruit may lose its potency.

Plot points

• Chen Lin confirms from a book that Kannie’s Wood God Race and its Natal Spirit Fruits match her account, easing his doubts about using a Clone Fruit. He plans to create a clone after returning.
• Grass awakens after nearly a century in her true form. She has retained her memories and returned with a purer Sword Body.
• Grass explains that, after their plane shattered, she sacrificed her origin essence to reopen a collapsing spatial rift so Luo Qinglan and the others could escape. Their survival remains uncertain.
• Chen Lin celebrates Grass’s return, comforts her, and shares his recent adventures with her. That night, Grass attempts to serve him intimately. He accepts, partly fearing rejection would distress her, but is left uncertain about their relationship.
• The next day, Chen Lin avoids confronting the issue and asks Grass to prepare to leave. Months later, they reach the silver land of Yinguang Continent, the final stop in his search for information. He has also heard that Madam Miaoyin is organizing a Cultivator Alliance and that a mysterious underwater palace has risen into the sky.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin is relieved by Grass’s safe return and grateful for her sacrifice, while recognizing that he cannot always protect those around him. He tries to reassure her about the gap between their cultivation levels, but remains uncomfortable and unsure how to respond to her romantic overture.
• Grass remains devoted and deferential to Chen Lin. Though her strength has not yet caught up with his, she is proud of having saved Luo Qinglan and the others. Her attachment to Chen Lin is evident in her offer to attend him, followed by her embarrassment and nervousness.
• Chen Lin and Grass share a close, trusting bond: they celebrate and talk together, but their relationship becomes more complicated after her advance. Chen Lin postpones a serious conversation rather than risk upsetting her.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and loyalty: Grass spends her own essence to save Chen Lin’s companions.
• The limits of protection: Chen Lin accepts that others must ultimately face the dangers of cultivation themselves.
• Changing relationships and unspoken feelings: Grass’s devotion takes on a more intimate dimension, leaving both characters awkward and uncertain.
• Seeking knowledge amid upheaval: Chen Lin’s search continues as new political and supernatural developments emerge.

Plot points and events

• Chen Lin and Grass travel incognito to Yinguang City, hoping to buy mithril, a material used to make treasures that break formations.
• The city’s ruling Yinguang Hall controls most of the mithril supply, and high-level resources are scarce. Chen Lin does find old texts, but they reveal nothing about the stone tablet’s pattern or the giant-sword image he has been investigating.
• Passing Wuzhen Tower reminds Chen Lin of Fairy Alan and Yun Xiumian. He worries about Yun Xiumian’s fate in the Blood Handkerchief Scenario, but admits to himself that he has not tried to rescue her largely because they were not close. He puts away the wooden hairpin associated with her.
• After several days of gathering what he can, Chen Lin prepares to leave. He considers asking Madam Miaoyin about the stone tablet, but has no lead on the giant-sword image.
• Before he can depart, an Awakener named Jinyao rides a Golden Great Bird over Yinguang City’s protective formation and confronts Hall Master Wu Xingma.
• Jinyao urges Wu to help explore the newly emerged Immortal Palace, claiming it may offer a way out of the realm and warning that an imprisoned evil demon could escape. Chen Lin connects the palace to the structure that rose from the seabed and the demon to Youruo’s Clone.
• Wu initially refuses involvement with the Awakeners, but then agrees to discuss the mithril essence Jinyao wants. Jinyao enters the Yinguang Hall complex.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains focused on gathering resources and solving the mysteries of the tablet and sword. His memories of Yun Xiumian reveal both lingering concern and his awareness that he has not treated her as someone close enough to risk everything for.
• Grass continues to address Chen Lin formally as “Master,” despite his request that she call him “husband.” She grows jealous when he lingers near Wuzhen Tower, teasing him about visiting the brothel; her barely visible smile suggests she enjoys provoking him.
• Jinyao and Wu Xingma meet in a tense but measured exchange. Wu asserts his independence from the Awakeners, while Jinyao presses him to join the Immortal Palace expedition. Their discussion shifts toward a possible bargain over mithril essence.

Significant themes

• Unresolved attachment and emotional limits: Chen Lin’s thoughts about Yun Xiumian contrast affection and memory with his admission that he would take greater risks for those closer to him.
• Hidden dangers and escape: The Immortal Palace may offer a route out of the realm, while the warning about the demon suggests that existing seals and protections may fail.
• Power and negotiation: Wu Xingma’s refusal to be drawn into the Awakeners’ affairs shows his confidence, but Jinyao’s request for mithril creates an opening for negotiation.

Plot points and events

• After seeing the Immortal Palace reveal a passage out of the realm, Chen Lin decides to investigate it, while recognizing that he is no match for Youruo’s clone and may eventually need to flee into the Nightmare Realm.
• He returns to the underground node, checks that it remains secure, and finds no change in Li Fuyao’s painting.
• Back in Zhiwu County Town, Chen Lin learns that County Magistrate Xiong Ziqi and Chief Constable Jin Zhenshan have repeatedly sought him. He worries briefly that something has happened to his family.
• Hua Ruyu assures him that Taiqing Mountain is safe. Chen Ling’er and the others have built a fortified cultivation area using a Nightmare Realm Array Disk, which costs one Nightmare Coin per month to activate.
• Chen Lin visits Xiong, who explains that the repulsive force pushing him and Jin out of the Nightmare Realm has sharply increased over the past year. They fear they may be forced out within a century, before finding a way to leave safely.
• Xiong suspects the change may be a thousand-year tribulation. Since their long search has uncovered no departure mission, he asks Chen Lin to contact Princess Gege Yun—or a Guardian—through the Shepherd Token for help escaping.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and practical: he checks his outpost, confirms his family’s safety, and considers the risks of prolonged residence in the Nightmare Realm.
• His relationship with Grass is close, though he awkwardly introduces her to Xiong as his “maid.” Grass is affectionate toward Hua Ruyu but distant toward strangers.
• Chen Ling’er’s resourcefulness is evident in her having acquired a powerful Nightmare Realm Array Disk; Chen Lin is impressed but privately worries about its ongoing cost.
• Chen and Xiong now treat each other as friends or allies. Xiong’s usual cheer gives way to anxiety as he asks Chen for help.

Significant themes

• The cost of survival: Even secure refuge requires scarce Nightmare Coins, while the increasing repulsive force threatens long-term survival.
• Uncertainty and hidden rules: The possible thousand-year tribulation and the absence of a known departure mission underline the Nightmare Realm’s unpredictability.
• Preparation versus escape: Chen Lin weighs building a foothold in the Nightmare Realm against the danger of being trapped there, while the Immortal Palace offers another possible route out.

Key events

• Xiong Ziqi asks Chen Lin to help him approach Princess Gege Yun, hoping she can resolve his group’s predicament. Chen Lin agrees to keep it in mind, but warns that Gege Yun has been absent for a long time and may never return.
• Chen Lin privately considers contacting Xiaohong through Kannie’s Mushroom Medium. He might ask her to rescue Yun Xiumian and also raise Xiong Ziqi’s request, though he remains cautious because Xiaohong’s situation is uncertain.
• Xiong Ziqi explains that he may soon seek Chen Lin’s help through Taiqing Mountain, and says he will continue looking for Gege Yun himself. Chen Lin agrees to have his people meet him.
• Chen Lin believes Xiong Ziqi and his companions may have no bodies left in the outside world after a thousand years. Their best hope may be a Guardian who can help their projections survive or return.
• On the way to Taiqing Mountain, Hua Ruyu asks whether a strange cave pattern might be tied to the scenario’s mission. Chen Lin thinks it unlikely and suspects the clue is instead in the Dilapidated Courtyard, where Li Fuyao is hiding.
• Chen Lin reunites with Chen Ling’er and Grass at Taiqing Mountain. Chen Ling’er is delighted to see them and offers to show Grass a Dharmic Treasure—her troublesome copper coin ability.
• After briefly catching up with his family, Chen Lin returns to the Reality Realm and travels toward the Southern Waters of the Soul-Severing Sea. He sees the Immortal Palace floating above the sea, then meets a group of cultivators whose leader suggests they travel together.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin balances caution with loyalty: he avoids promising Xiong Ziqi more than he can deliver but preserves their relationship and continues investigating possible solutions.
• Xiong Ziqi is fearful of Gege Yun because she once killed their companion Mo Wentian, yet he is willing to seek her help because he has few alternatives.
• Hua Ruyu questions Chen Lin’s intuition about the mission clue; Grass remains quietly trusting and uninvolved.
• Chen Ling’er warmly welcomes Chen Lin and Grass, showing her affection for both. Chen Lin privately recognizes the trouble her treasure has caused the sect.
• Chen Lin shares a brief reunion with Qin Lingyu and Sun Caiyi before moving on to the Immortal Palace.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and mortality: The group’s bodies may be lost after a thousand years, making escape from the Nightmare Realm perilous.
• Trust and dependence: Xiong Ziqi relies on Chen Lin’s connection to Gege Yun, while Chen Lin relies on intuition and trusted allies to pursue clues.
• Family and reunion: The return to Taiqing Mountain offers a warm contrast to the dangers and uncertainties of the scenario.
• Clues and intuition: Chen Lin weighs evidence against his strong instinct that the Dilapidated Courtyard holds the mission’s key.

Plot points and events

• Chen Lin, disguised as the early Spirit Transformation cultivator Ye Fan, and Grass join Yuan Kaijiang’s traveling group, which is heading toward the Golden Palace. Yuan presents the journey as safer in numbers and hopes the gathering will improve his chances of gaining a place inside the Immortal Palace.
• As the group nears the palace, they see vast numbers of cultivators gathered beneath its golden barrier. Powerful figures are attacking it, but Chen avoids approaching them or drawing attention to himself.
• Yuan recruits three more Spirit Transformation cultivators, bringing the group to ten. He warns everyone not to provoke the Void Refinement experts and encourages them to wait for the barrier to break.
• Gu Jianfang, a veiled late-Nascent Soul cultivator, privately asks Chen whether he has something to help her advance to Spirit Transformation. Chen offers her an Ending Hostility Pill, which he says increases her breakthrough chances by thirty percent, in exchange for her unknown information.
• Gu gives Chen a jade slip. Its contents appear important enough that he questions whether they are true and asks her to enter the spirit boat’s private chamber so he can verify her account by questioning her.
• Their departure prompts suspicion from Gu Yuanjing, who suggests to Yuan that Chen and Gu Jianfang may be meeting for improper reasons. Yuan approaches Grass and then heads for the cabin. Grass blocks him with a sudden sword strike.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin stays cautious and concealed, presenting himself as Ye Fan while quietly assessing the crowd and avoiding powerful cultivators. His willingness to trade a valuable pill shows he is interested in Gu’s information, but his insistence on verifying it reveals deep distrust.
• Grass remains alert and protective of Chen. When Yuan approaches the cabin, she responds immediately and forcefully, showing that she will not let others interfere.
• Yuan Kaijiang acts as a genial recruiter and self-appointed leader, but his ambition is apparent: he hopes the group will help him secure an advantage at the palace. His jealousy or concern over Gu Jianfang’s time with Chen is suggested, though he masks it with courtesy.
• Gu Jianfang is bold enough to approach powerful cultivators in search of a breakthrough aid. After recognizing the pill, she becomes composed and offers information she claims only she possesses, though she cannot prove it is accurate.
• Gu Yuanjing needles Yuan with insinuations about Chen and Gu, escalating tension within the group.

Significant themes

• Caution amid ambition: The Immortal Palace draws cultivators of every level, but its riches and rumored route to the Immortal Realm make the gathering perilous.
• Trust and verification: Gu’s information may be valuable, yet Chen refuses to rely on promises or a spirit pact; both the trade and the group’s cooperation remain uncertain.
• Power and self-preservation: Strong cultivators command respect, while weaker ones risk being overwhelmed. Even within a powerful group, suspicion and personal interests can disrupt unity.

Key plot points and events

• Xiaocao abruptly attacks Yuan Kaijiang after he tries to assert control over the spirit-boat group. Her single sword strike knocks away his treasured sword, shatters his spiritual domain, and cuts off his arm, revealing that her strength far exceeds what her apparent cultivation suggests.
• Chen Lin stops Xiaocao from killing Yuan. He orders Yuan and the other cultivators to leave, but kills Gu Yuanjing as the old man tries to flee.
• Madam Miaoyin invites Chen Lin and Xiaocao to join her Cultivator Alliance. Using the aliases Ye Fan and Ye Xiaocao, they accept and immediately receive elder tokens.
• Chen Lin intends to use his new position to gain access to the Immortal Palace, then explore independently. He is especially interested because Gu Jianfang’s jade slip contains a map to a rare Spiritual Herb Garden, possibly containing Dao Rhyme Fruits.
• In the alliance hall, Chen Lin spots Xin Yueling, Xin Shangxiu, Zhang Zhenqian, and Lu Xiaoyi among the attendees.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiaocao demonstrates overwhelming swordsmanship but remains quiet and obedient when Chen Lin tells her to stop.
• Chen Lin shows restraint by sparing Yuan, while still punishing Gu Yuanjing. He continues concealing his identity and accepts the alliance’s loose affiliation for practical reasons.
• Yuan Kaijiang is humbled and frightened by Xiaocao’s power. He abandons his followers and retreats with his severed arm and sword.
• Gu Jianfang declines to join Chen Lin, choosing instead to pursue a breakthrough to spirit transformation; she teleports away after he accepts her decision.
• Madam Miaoyin welcomes Chen Lin and Xiaocao into the alliance, which appears intended to gather powerful cultivators against the Awakeners rather than impose strict discipline.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: Yuan’s attempt to command others collapses when confronted with Xiaocao’s superior strength; his hastily assembled group proves to be “loose sand.”
• Restraint and selective justice: Chen Lin avoids a wider massacre but does not spare Gu Yuanjing.
• Pragmatism and concealed identity: Chen Lin joins the alliance for access and protection, while keeping his true identity hidden and planning to act independently.
• Opportunity and uncertainty: The Immortal Palace and its rumored treasures draw Chen Lin forward, though the map’s authenticity and origins remain unclear.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin and Grass join the assembled Void Refinement experts, who are confident the Immortal Palace’s barrier can soon be broken. Madam Miaoyin selects them to help with the next assault.
• Near the palace, Chen Lin discovers that the barrier’s oppressive force eases when he cloaks himself in the Dao Rhyme of his Blade of Destiny. He withdraws the aura to conceal his ability, realizing that revealing an early-stage Void Refinement cultivator’s mastery of a Dao Art would attract dangerous attention.
• Grass is barely hindered by the pressure, demonstrating that her Sword Will has grown considerably. She offers to carry Chen Lin, but he refuses to avoid appearing weak.
• The group reaches a large, house-shaped device used in the assault. Chen Lin learns it is a top-grade Spirit-Condensing Grade treasure from the Tiangong Sect; when charged, it can unleash an attack comparable to a True Spirit Tier treasure.
• Chen Lin spots Yinguang Hall master Wu Xingma and Jinyao among the gathered experts. He is startled to find Zhenyangzi with the Awakeners, confirming that the Daoist is a reincarnated mighty being.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin recognizes that he has neglected his own Talent Ability and Dao Art while focusing on other matters, and resolves to make better use of his abilities. He remains cautious about concealing his strength and identity.
• Grass has become much stronger but apparently hid that growth, using a show of discouragement to draw Chen Lin closer. He suspects she acted deliberately, though she ignores his knowing looks. He also worries she may lose control if he is threatened and warns her to be careful.
• Madam Miaoyin takes charge, expects prompt cooperation from Chen Lin, and explains how the assault device works once he asks. Her irritation eases when he addresses her respectfully.
• Seeing Zhenyangzi among the Awakeners makes Chen Lin reflect on the danger posed by reincarnated mighty beings and feel relieved that he removed such an imprint from his own Talent Origin.

Significant themes

• Power and secrecy: Exceptional abilities can bring unwanted scrutiny and exploitation, so Chen Lin hides his Dao Art.
• Growth and self-discipline: Chen Lin recognizes that talent alone is not enough; he must cultivate and understand his own methods.
• The cost of reincarnation: The presence of Awakeners suggests that a person’s body or Talent Origin may be harvested by a powerful being, turning apparent advantages into a trap.
• Collective ambition and danger: Experts from across the plane gather around the Immortal Palace, drawn by the barrier and the possibility of immense treasure.

Key events

• Chen Lin and four other Void Refinement Cultivators are assigned to operate the Tiangong Sect’s Heaven-Opening Bow. The artifact accepts any kind of energy, but requires five different types at once.
• Chen Lin contributes Soul Power, Grass contributes Sword Will, and the others supply Divine Sense Power, mana, and Fire Element Power. Their energies combine to form a huge, multicolored arrow.
• The bow drains its operators heavily. Its first shot hits one point on the barrier, leaving a small black mark that soon disappears. Chen Lin hides how well he has retained his strength, while Grass and the others are exhausted.
• Rotating teams keep firing at the same point. The mark grows with each strike; later shots shake the barrier and unleash dangerous backlash, killing nearby lower-level cultivators.
• Chen Lin watches the barrier weaken and anticipates the treasures inside, especially the spiritual herbs, but remains cautious about the dangers of an Immortal Palace. He also suspects the Awakeners know more about its master and the rumored route to the Immortal Realm.
• A final arrow spreads cracks across the barrier, which collapses.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin’s resourcefulness and caution show in his choice to conserve his own recovery pills, conceal his remaining strength, and weigh potential rewards against the palace’s dangers.
• Grass participates despite lacking mana, using her Sword Will instead; she is drained by the bow and must recover naturally.
• Madam Miaoyin organizes the operators, supplies replenishment pills suited to several of their energies, and directs the group to recover between attacks.
• The Awakeners near Zhenyangzi remain on the sidelines, prompting Chen Lin to question whether they have made arrangements with powerful cultivators.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and cost: The bow’s extraordinary power depends on five distinct contributors, but its energy demands quickly exhaust them.
• Risk versus reward: The palace promises rare treasures and possibly access to the Immortal Realm, yet its defenses and unknown dangers could be lethal.
• Secrecy and political maneuvering: Chen Lin suspects that some powerful factions know more than they reveal and may be coordinating behind the scenes.

Key plot points and events

• The palace barrier collapses completely after the Heaven-Opening Bow pierces it, allowing everyone to enter. Cultivators rush inside, though Chen Lin cautiously sends a Crow Puppet ahead first.
• Chen Lin enters with Grass and encounters the Xin Family. Lu Xiaoyi recognizes him as her sworn younger brother despite his disguise, explaining that she has an unusual ability to sense souls. She promises to keep his identity secret.
• Chen Lin spots Dong Yunqiu passing by with the Spirit Demon Ancestor and another disciple, but chooses not to contact her.
• Following a map from Gu Jianfang, Chen Lin selects the route to the Spiritual Herb Garden. He intends mainly to investigate whether the palace contains a passage out of the realm and to visit the garden, rather than pursue powerful treasures.
• At a later hall, he chooses the black Light Gate, which tests the soul—the area in which he is strongest. Instead of the trial described on the map, he finds himself aboard a mysterious black boat surrounded by soul-damaging mist. More cultivators appear aboard, and a strange voice announces that there are enough passengers and orders the boat to set sail.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and pragmatic. He scouts before entering, avoids competing recklessly for treasure, and protects Grass when he recognizes the danger of the mist.
• Grass remains utterly loyal, stepping forward to shield Chen Lin before obeying his order to hide in the Space Bag.
• Lu Xiaoyi reveals a hidden talent for sensing souls and confirms that she recognizes Chen Lin beneath his disguise. Their warm, teasing exchange underscores their familial bond, while she chooses not to accompany him.
• Chen Lin senses Dong Yunqiu through their unusual soul pact but keeps his distance, judging that contact is unnecessary.

Significant themes

• Caution amid competition: The rush to reach treasures may bring rewards, but the first to arrive may also face the greatest risks.
• Practicality over ambition: Chen Lin prioritizes his own objectives and useful, suitable gains over prestigious treasures.
• Hidden identities and perception: Chen Lin’s disguise fools others, but Lu Xiaoyi’s unusual soul-sense penetrates it.
• Uncertainty and danger: The unexplained boat and altered trial suggest that the palace’s interior may differ from the map and contain unforeseen threats.

Chapter summary

Key events

• Chen Lin and roughly fifty cultivators find themselves aboard a ship moving through black mist. A human-headed, snake-bodied statue at the bow has awakened and is driving the vessel, but refuses to answer questions.
• Chen learns that the passengers entered through different Golden Gates but all chose a Black Light Gate, suggesting the ship is part of a trial. The mist increasingly corrodes their souls.
• Several cultivators are suddenly swept off the ship and disappear into the mist. The losses include people of widely differing cultivation levels—even a Void Refinement expert—leaving the passengers unable to identify a clear pattern.
• Chen suspects the trial tests resistance or aptitude related to the soul. His inquiries support the idea that those who chose the Black Gate may have had some soul-related affinity.
• He meets Zhao Mengru, a vulnerable Qi Condensation cultivator who entered the Immortal Palace while fleeing someone powerful. She says her soul has been unusually strong since birth. Chen agrees to let her stay beside him.
• After five more cultivators are swept away and the mist grows more dangerous, Chen checks that Grass is safe, then turns his attention to the statue. The survivors appear to be considering an attack rather than waiting passively.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and analytical, gathering information before acting. Though he initially questions Zhao Mengru’s recklessness and expects to refuse her request for protection, he ultimately takes her under his wing.
• Zhao Mengru is frightened and out of her depth, but resourceful enough to seek protection from stronger cultivators. Her trust in Chen is immediate; in her relief, she accidentally announces aloud that she is “yours,” drawing everyone’s attention.
• The other cultivators move from silent observation to anxious speculation as casualties mount. Dong Yunqiu and her companions are among the passengers, while the Spirit Demon Ancestor remains wary and withdrawn.
• The snake-bodied figure remains silent and inscrutable, becoming the passengers’ prime suspect as the ship’s dangers intensify.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and survival: The passengers face an unexplained trial whose rules and selection criteria remain hidden.
• Soul, aptitude, and vulnerability: The growing soul-corrosive mist and the Black Gate suggest that spiritual qualities, rather than cultivation rank alone, may determine who survives.
• Protection and trust: Zhao’s plea and Chen’s unexpected acceptance offer a small moment of human connection amid escalating danger.

Key plot points and events

• A Spirit Transformation cultivator attacks the Snake-Bodied Woman with a Purple Hammer Spirit Treasure, but the blow passes through her and the ship as if they were illusions. She glances at him, and he abruptly explodes into blood mist.
• As the ship speeds through the black mist, the mist increasingly erodes the passengers’ souls. Those who panic and leave the ship are swallowed, while many others disappear without explanation.
• The Spirit Demon Ancestor urges the survivors to attack the Snake-Bodied Woman together. Chen Lin agrees in principle but refuses to strike first, exposing that the Ancestor expects others to take the risk. The group abandons the plan.
• The ship eventually leaves the mist and enters a magnificent walled city. The Snake-Bodied Woman announces that the passengers may disembark and receive their rewards.
• Seven identity tokens appear for the seven survivors aboard Chen Lin’s ship. Chen Lin can take only one himself; Grass can take the second, suggesting the place treats them as separate individuals.
• Inside the city, a mysterious force suppresses mana and the Nightmare Realm’s power. Chen Lin cannot use his usual projection method, though his soul force, talent origin, Thunder God Sword, and Grass’s partially suppressed sword qi remain available.
• Chen Lin flies ashore using his Soul Wings, carrying Grass and Zhao Mengru. Other survivors reach the landing by soul techniques or the Spirit Demon Ancestor’s black qi.
• More than twenty ships deliver survivors before the city gates close. Of over a thousand original passengers, only about a hundred remain—roughly a 90% death rate.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and observant, preparing for danger but refusing to join a reckless attack. He protects Zhao Mengru, reassures her that she need not fight, and helps her disembark. He quickly adapts to the city’s restrictions and checks which abilities still work.
• The Spirit Demon Ancestor tries to rally the survivors but appears to be manipulating them, hoping they will attack while he holds back. His lost disciple may have prompted his outburst, and he later exits with Dong Yunqiu using black qi.
• Zhao Mengru is frightened of being forced into the attack and relieved when Chen Lin excuses her from it. She moves closer to him, relying on his protection.
• Grass is treated as an independent person by the city’s rules and can still use sword qi, though with significant suppression. This gives Chen Lin some reassurance about her ability to defend herself.
• The Snake-Bodied Woman remains eerily detached. She kills the attacker effortlessly, ignores the passengers’ plotting, and later calmly announces their arrival and disembarkation.

Significant themes

• The helplessness of cultivators before incomprehensible power: Conventional attacks and cultivation strength offer little protection against the Snake-Bodied Woman or the black mist.
• Survival and self-interest: Fear turns the passengers toward desperate plans, while the Spirit Demon Ancestor’s leadership is undermined by his apparent unwillingness to share the risk.
• Rules and restricted power: The city imposes unfamiliar conditions that limit ordinary abilities and even disrupt access to the Nightmare Realm, forcing the survivors to adapt.
• The cost of entering the unknown: Reaching the Immortal Palace comes at a devastating price, with only about one in ten passengers surviving the journey.