Chapter Summaries

Plot points

Chen Lin discovers that Zhang Zitong is from the Tianxuan Realm and confirms his identity by asking about the Golden Spirit Mountain Range, the Tianyun Sect, and Medicine God Valley. Zhang shares news of the Northern Wilderness Continent and Qianyuan City, which remains under the Qianyuan Sect’s control.
Chen asks Zhang to locate Princess Qinghua (also known as Sima Qing) and Luo Xiaoyu in Qianyuan City. He gives Zhang a steamed bun as a medium and has him sign a contract to protect the women’s safety. Zhang agrees, but explains that the Tianxuan Realm’s failed fusion destroyed or destabilized most of its space nodes, so he cannot bring their true bodies into the Nightmare Realm.
In return, Chen reveals the method for leaving the scenario: disguise oneself as a beggar and request a basket of buns from the Liu Family Steamed Bun Shop. Zhang is astonished that he overlooked such a simple task, though Chen notes that even a powerful predecessor died without discovering it. Zhang completes the mission and prepares to return to the Tianxuan Realm. Chen then heads to the sealed Li Family residence, where the constables let him pass out of fear of his influence.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin is relieved to meet someone from his former world and hopeful that Zhang can help reconnect him with the two women. He remains cautious, verifying Zhang’s claims and requiring a contract before entrusting him with their safety. He also insists that revealing the departure mission is a fair exchange, not a favor—though he admits he will not give the information away for nothing.
• Zhang Zitong is eager to leave the scenario and grateful for Chen’s help. He is sincere in offering assistance, accepts the contract without offense, and praises Chen’s integrity. Privately, however, he suspects Chen’s control of the bun shop gives him leverage over newcomers and that his claim of not exploiting the mission is less than candid.
• Their relationship is courteous but transactional: each provides something the other needs, while Chen’s precautions and Zhang’s unspoken suspicions expose a gap between their polite words and private judgments.

Significant themes

• Trust balanced with caution: Even apparent allies must be verified, and important people are protected through explicit agreements.
• Fair exchange and leverage: The characters negotiate help as a trade, while control of crucial information and resources creates unequal power.
• Hidden simplicity: A seemingly trivial task can conceal the key to escape, and experience or status alone does not guarantee insight.
• The cost of upheaval: The failed realm fusion has damaged travel routes and complicated Chen’s efforts to reunite with people from his past.

Summary

• The narrator celebrates reaching 1,000 chapters without missing an update.
• They argue that the milestone deserves a standalone post and a monthly vote.

Character and relationship developments

• No story characters or interactions appear; the passage addresses readers directly.

Themes

• Persistence and consistency: completing a thousand chapters without a missed update.
• Celebration and audience engagement: the narrator playfully insists that recognition and reader participation are reasonable rewards.

Key events

• County magistrate Zhang Zitong confirms Chen Lin exited through the node. He orders his constables to withdraw and forbids them from troubling the Liu Family Steamed Bun Shop, deciding it is safest to honor their contract and avoid provoking Chen.
• Outside the node, Chen tests his projection body and finds that his improved soul lets him remain in the Reality Realm longer.
• He questions Zhuang Yinlian, a former maid of Sun Caiyi who now guards the site, about the Yucai Sect. Before leaving, he gives her a Nine Star Return Pill to aid her chances of forming a Nascent Soul.
• Rather than risk teleportation, Chen flies toward the sect while testing his projection’s capabilities. He can use soul-based techniques, weapons, defensive treasures, and the Spirit Treasure Scholar, but not mana-dependent items such as the Cyan Vine Shield.
• Chen discovers that a Nascent Soul Pill restores his projection’s soul power. He concludes that the projection functions as a kind of body and recognizes that bringing in pills and soul-powered treasures through the Nightmare Realm may be a valuable loophole, especially for his peerage mission. Replenished, he continues toward the Yucai Sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Zitong shifts from suspicion to cautious respect, choosing compliance over confrontation.
• Zhuang Yinlian shows deference to Chen and is delighted by his generous gift.
• Chen is increasingly confident in his projection’s strength, but remains careful about its limits and avoids untested teleportation.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and discovery: Chen learns that his projection can use more of the material world’s resources than he expected.
• Caution and power: He tests his abilities methodically, balancing growing confidence with awareness of risk.
• Generosity and good karma: His gift to Zhuang Yinlian is a small act that may benefit Sun Caiyi’s former household.
• Exploiting rules: Chen recognizes that the Nightmare Realm’s limitations can be worked around, creating new strategic possibilities.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin projects into the real world and visits Yue Tianyi and Xue Honglan at the Yucai Sect. He jokes with them, confirms that his soul has grown strong enough to project through a node, and congratulates them before leaving.
• Back on Ruyi Island, Chen Lin reviews the limits of projection: he cannot return directly to his physical body from the real world and must re-enter the Nightmare Realm first. He plans to test whether proximity to his body changes this.
• Xue Wa reports that the Explorer Chen hired has returned from the Blood Handkerchief Scenario. The Explorer found Yun Xiumian, but she is imprisoned and cannot be rescued. Yun asks Chen to stop trying, keep her belongings safe, and let them absorb pure Yin Nether Qi if possible.
• The Explorer returned permanently transformed into a woman and is now withdrawn and unwilling to discuss what happened. Though the rescue failed, Chen agrees to pay her the remaining ten thousand Nightmare Coins as compensation.
• Chen concludes Yun Xiumian’s situation is unlike that of other captives because of her connection to the Yellow Springs Scroll. He accepts that he cannot help her for now and preserves her wooden hairpin.
• A bartender delivers a letter from Feng Sanniang, who has left Gourmet Island and closed the Music Tavern. Her warning says the Great Heavens Projection is imminent and the Nightmare Realm may change; Chen should obtain an official position and noble rank or risk becoming unable to leave.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin displays growing confidence in his projection abilities, but remains cautious about the Nightmare Realm’s rules. He also shows loyalty and compassion by paying the Explorer despite the failed mission and respecting Yun Xiumian’s request.
• Yue Tianyi and Xue Honglan are surprised by Chen’s projection. Their exchange with him is warm and teasing, revealing familiarity and affection beneath the mock scolding.
• Xue Wa has advanced to rank three, giving her a lifespan of several hundred years. She acts as Chen’s trusted messenger and reports the Explorer’s news.
• The Explorer has endured a disturbing, unexplained transformation and appears deeply traumatized.
• Feng Sanniang is absent, but her cryptic letter establishes a looming danger and urges Chen to prepare.

Significant themes

• The limits of power and rescue: Chen can cross realms and hire help, yet Yun’s imprisonment remains beyond his reach.
• Duty and compassion: Chen honors both Yun’s wishes and the Explorer’s losses, even when he cannot achieve the mission.
• Uncertainty and transformation: Projection, the Explorer’s altered body, and the coming changes to the Nightmare Realm all suggest that its rules are unstable.
• Urgency and survival: Feng Sanniang’s warning raises the stakes, implying that failing to secure status may trap people in the Nightmare Realm.

Key plot points and events

• After receiving Feng Sanniang’s warning that the Nightmare Realm was facing major changes, Chen Lin tries to reach the Gourmet Guardian but is turned away. He then finds the Music Tavern and many Gourmet Houses closed, lending weight to the warning.
• He Xiuqin confirms that rumors of trouble in the Nightmare Realm are spreading. She is closing her shop and refuses Chen Lin’s request to help locate Ximen Wuxue, unwilling to risk angering the Myriad Spirit Sect’s remaining forces.
• Chen Lin closes his own business, tells his associates to leave the Nightmare Realm for several decades while gathering advanced resources, and arranges for Fat Tiger to deliver Feng Sanniang’s letter and a voucher to Gege Yun.
• He helps Chouya form her Golden Core successfully, while making clear that this is the last time he will provide special assistance.
• Zhang Zitong reports that Princess Qinghua and Luo Xiaoyu left Qianyuan City two centuries earlier; Luo Xiaoyu had already reached Spirit Transformation. He also confirms reports of unusual activity among powerful Nightmare Realm creatures, though he knows nothing about the “Great Heavens Projection.”
• Chen Lin asks Zhang Zitong to seek the Tianyun Sect’s Qi Luck Pill formula, offering to let the Sect Master know about a local departure mission if necessary.
• Chen Lin abandons his plan to enter long-term seclusion and raise his cultivation. Believing the coming changes may restrict access to the Nightmare Realm, he decides that completing his peerage mission is now urgent.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin grows increasingly alarmed as multiple sources confirm that something is approaching. He shifts from cultivation plans toward securing continued access to the Nightmare Realm.
• He Xiuqin chooses self-preservation, closing her shop and declining to help find Ximen Wuxue. She nevertheless advises Chen Lin to stay cautious.
• Chouya reaches Golden Core successfully, but Chen Lin emphasizes that she must now progress independently.
• Zhang Zitong remains grateful to Chen Lin for helping him escape his predicament and agrees to investigate the Great Heavens Projection and approach the Tianyun Sect.
• Chen Lin’s absent connections remain unresolved: he cannot contact Gege Yun directly, and he only gains reassurance that Qinghua and Luo Xiaoyu likely survived.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and foreboding: Closures, rumors, and strange creature behavior suggest a crisis whose nature remains unknown.
• Preparation and survival: Chen Lin and others weigh risk, withdraw from dangerous places, and adjust plans before events unfold.
• Dependence and access: The Nightmare Realm is vital to Chen Lin’s goals, making the prospect of being barred from it a serious threat.
• Responsibility and independence: Chen Lin helps Chouya reach a major milestone but insists she must take responsibility for her own path afterward.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin decides to undertake the peerage mission immediately. The Nightmare Realm is his crucial refuge from Luo, the approaching millennial tribulation threatens his chance to become a truly “real” existence, and the Gourmet Guardians’ promised assistance may not remain available.
• Before leaving, he lowers Ruyi Island by two levels and leaves it under Zhou Shiwu’s protection, taking Grass and Blind Girl with him in his plans. However, neither is summoned when he enters the mission.
• The Task Invitation Letter transports Chen Lin to a desolate space dotted with enormous black pillars. Unlike his expectations, he enters with his true body and can use his abilities and treasures, though they are somewhat suppressed.
• The letter now shows a moving arrow, a countdown hourglass, and five unexplained stars. Chen Lin discovers there is no flight ceiling or Road Guide Barrier, then follows the arrow.
• He kills an elite Tianluo believer and recognizes that the mission likely requires earning military merit by fighting Luo’s enemies. He collects the enemy’s crystal and blade but cannot determine how merit is redeemed.
• A powerful one-eyed evil beast attacks. Chen Lin defeats it with repeated Soul-Destroying Fingers. Its body does not turn to ash, suggesting the battlefield is real rather than an illusion.
• Unable to leave and increasingly aware of the danger, Chen Lin stores the beast’s corpse and continues following the arrow.

Character developments

• Chen Lin acts decisively, choosing action over hesitation. He is cautious and strategic, making preparations for Ruyi Island and testing the mission’s rules before engaging its threats.
• His soul seed and experience fighting Tianluo believers and asuras prove vital: they let him resist the evil beast’s influence and exploit the Soul-Destroying Finger’s effectiveness.
• Grass and Blind Girl remain behind despite expecting to accompany him, leaving their situation uncertain.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus passive acceptance: Chen Lin rejects the possibility of simply undergoing Voidification because he wants to reach the world beyond.
• Preparation and uncertainty: He plans carefully, yet the mission’s rules, deadline, and five-star symbol remain unclear.
• Escalating danger and commitment: Entering with his true body makes the mission more consequential; the apparent reality of the battlefield means failure could carry real costs.
• Merit and conflict: The peerage mission appears tied to military service against Luo’s forces, turning advancement into a matter of survival as well as combat.

Character interactions

• Chen Lin makes arrangements for the people on Ruyi Island and relies on Zhou Shiwu to protect it while he is away.
• Grass and Blind Girl wait for Chen Lin to summon them, but the invitation brings only him into the mission.
• In the battlefield, Chen Lin confronts and kills a Tianluo believer, then fights and defeats an evil beast—encounters that reveal the likely purpose and severity of the mission.

Chapter Summary: “Golden Encampment”

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin reaches the golden, dome-like Frontline Camp just before his hourglass runs out. At the entrance, a Gold-Armored guard checks his mission invitation.
• The invitation replays Chen Lin’s recent actions, confirming his kills and recording his merit. The guard is impressed and escorts him inside.
• Chen Lin learns that the camp is full of mission-takers, and that his five blank Merit Star Marks can be filled only by earning enough merit. Higher-ranked enemies can count toward lower-ranked marks, but weaker enemies cannot count toward higher ones.
• The Tianluo Believer and evil beast Chen Lin killed were both two-star enemies. By the camp’s rules, ten enemies of a given rank can fill a mark of that rank, while one enemy of a higher rank can fill a lower mark.
• Chen Lin realizes that completing his fifth star will require exceptionally powerful enemies—at least ten five-star foes or one six-star foe—and understands why others doubted he could finish the mission.
• He is registered by a golden great bird, which transforms his invitation into an Identity Token marked with his baron rank and five blank stars. The bird then suddenly rages, shouting for someone to kill the enemies.
• Chen Lin learns that he may move freely around camp and hunt alone. He asks a wary cultivator about enemies and camp facilities; the man says anyone without an Identity Token or invitation is an enemy, and leads him toward the Merit Main Hall.

Character developments

• Chen Lin remains cautious and resourceful, probing for information before acting. Learning how steep the merit requirements are makes him more apprehensive, but he still intends to try completing the mission independently.
• The Gold-Armored guard initially questions Chen Lin but becomes respectful after seeing the recorded evidence of his achievements.
• The golden great bird appears to be an authority figure, but its sudden violent outburst suggests it may be unstable or deeply affected by the war.
• The cultivator is guarded toward strangers, though he eventually agrees to answer Chen Lin’s questions.

Significant themes

• Merit and escalating trials: Progress is measured through star marks, with each higher level demanding increasingly formidable accomplishments.
• Trust, verification, and danger: The invitation records Chen Lin’s actions, while camp residents treat outsiders cautiously and anyone lacking credentials is considered an enemy.
• Isolation and self-reliance: Despite the camp’s many mission-takers, Chen Lin receives little guidance and expects to face the challenge alone.
• War’s psychological toll: The great bird’s sudden frenzy hints at the strain and brutality of the ongoing conflict.

Character interactions

• Chen Lin presents his invitation to the Gold-Armored guard, who verifies his record and explains the camp’s merit system.
• The golden great bird orders Chen Lin’s registration; a maid uses its feather to convert his invitation into an Identity Token.
• After the bird’s outburst, Chen Lin turns to the guard for guidance, then seeks help from a fellow mission-taker, who directs him toward the Merit Main Hall.

Key plot points

• Chen Lin reaches the Merit Main Hall with Jing San, a martial artist who warns him not to trust anyone except the Guard Unit and the General’s Mansion.
• The hall appears empty until Chen Lin finds an emerald parrot administrator dozing on a beam. Chen redeems one of his two-star merits to light the first mark on his token; the remaining merit is stored toward the next mark.
• Chen reads the enemy catalog and learns that Luo’s clones range from four to nine stars. The pillars around the camp suppress enemies above three stars, so hunting higher-ranked targets means venturing beyond their protection. He also discovers the area is the battlefield where the Guardians defeated Luo, using a formation that draws on an unknown higher power.
• Troubled by the task’s danger and by the camp’s suspicious atmosphere, Chen visits the Dawn Inn. There he spots True Lord Wanmeng, who leaves without acknowledging him.
• Outside the camp, Wanmeng challenges Chen’s identity. Chen proves who he is with familiar techniques, accidentally causing Wanmeng serious soul damage with a restrained strike, then gives him Nascent Soul Pills to recover. Chen asks Wanmeng to explain what is happening.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin is cautious and practical, but the catalog makes him reassess his confidence in completing the task. He also shows concern for Wanmeng despite the tense reunion.
• Jing San offers Chen useful guidance but remains guarded and disappears before Chen can ask more.
• The parrot is a bizarre, impatient administrator who efficiently processes Chen’s merit and directs him to the catalog.
• True Lord Wanmeng behaves as though he cannot safely recognize Chen in public. He is wary when Chen follows him, but accepts Chen’s identity once tested.

Significant themes

• Danger and uncertainty: The task’s demands may exceed even powerful cultivators’ abilities.
• Distrust and secrecy: Warnings, Wanmeng’s behavior, and the camp’s odd atmosphere suggest hidden tensions.
• Unanswered mysteries: The Guardians’ access to power beyond their own, the true nature of Luo, and the camp’s situation remain unresolved.

Plot points and events

• True Lord Wanmeng warns Chen Lin that many Main Camp residents may be infected with Youruo’s parasitic seeds. Some seeds can divide and spread through physical contact, so residents avoid one another.
• The camp’s defenses come from giant pillars that form a powerful formation. It draws energy from the Nightmare Realm, detects and weakens Luo clones of level-four strength or higher, and helps keep the camp secure.
• Wanmeng admits he cannot confirm Chen Lin is uninfected; he approached him out of desperation after centuries trapped in the Nightmare Realm, where its and Luo’s auras have badly eroded him.
• Chen Lin tells Wanmeng that Central City was destroyed by Asura and that Luo Qinglan and the others remain missing. Wanmeng, who entered the Nightmare Realm through a node, had hoped the Southern Star Realm survived.
• Wanmeng initially assumes Chen Lin was sent to the realm as punishment. Chen explains he came on a peerage mission. Wanmeng recalls meeting an alien woman who claimed to be on a similar mission, easing Chen’s concern that the Gourmet Guardian may have sent him here to die.
• Chen learns that remaining in the Main Camp requires either earning merit by hunting monsters or paying a substantial number of Nightmare Coins. Outside the camp, monsters pose a serious threat.
• Since Chen has plenty of coins and can detect parasitic seeds, he judges himself safe for now. He decides to hunt lower-ranked monsters within the formation to advance his mission, then sets out despite Wanmeng’s warnings.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen remains guarded, concealing his ability to remove parasitic seeds because he fears attracting Youruo’s attention. He questions Wanmeng’s claims and gathers information before acting.
• Wanmeng is wary but desperate for an ally. His grief over the ruined world and his longing to escape emerge as he speaks with Chen.
• Their exchange shifts from cautious interrogation to tentative cooperation: Wanmeng shares what he knows, warns Chen of the dangers, and Chen offers to help if needed, though he ultimately leaves to hunt.

Significant themes

• Trust and hidden danger: Parasitism makes even the Main Camp’s inhabitants potential threats, while appearances offer little assurance.
• Survival and compromise: Safety requires balancing the risks of the camp, the dangers outside, and the cost of staying.
• Isolation and loss: Both men face a devastated world, missing companions, and few reliable allies.
• Caution versus resolve: Chen protects himself by withholding crucial knowledge, yet chooses to pursue his mission despite the hazards.

Plot points and events

• Chen Lin scouts around the Golden Encampment to verify what True Lord Wanmeng told him, wary that centuries in the Punishment Land may have changed people.
• He encounters Wu Meng’an, a disguised late-Nascent-Soul cultivator carrying the Purple Spirit Ring. To test whether she is infected by the Bichu Youluo, he strikes her with his Soul-Destroying Finger, then stops and gives her a Soul Refining Pill to heal her damaged soul.
• Wu confirms that purification at the Merit Hall removes the land’s corrupting energy, while rooms at the Dawn Inn block it at great cost. Merit is hard to earn and cannot be traded, though purification vouchers can. Luo monsters have become scarce within the giant pillars, forcing some cultivators to hunt more dangerous ones outside.
• Wu says contracted creatures cannot enter the Punishment Land, and that she was sent there for violating a scenario rule. Leaving requires lighting three star marks.
• Chen gives Wu a stunned one-star Luo monster. She withstands its rule-force effects and kills it, earning merit for a purification. He then questions an alien cultivator and, after corroborating their accounts with Wanmeng’s, heads toward the outskirts.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen is cautious and methodical: he independently checks information, tests Wu for possible parasitism, and weighs the risks of summoning his own contracted companions.
• Wu is frightened by Chen’s overwhelming power but adapts quickly, cooperating rather than resisting. Her ability to endure the monster’s effects and kill it shows she is resourceful despite her low cultivation.
• Their interaction shifts from intimidation to practical assistance: Chen’s test harms Wu, but he treats her injury, questions her, and rewards her with a chance to earn purification merit.

Significant themes

• Trust and verification: Chen does not rely on a single source, even when dealing with an ally.
• Survival under harsh rules: Safety, purification, and escape depend on scarce merit and dangerous choices.
• Power and adaptability: Raw strength matters, but surviving also requires knowledge, special methods, and quick judgment.
• Rules and consequences: Violating a scenario rule can condemn someone to the Punishment Land, where escape has specific conditions.

Chapter Summary: “Shock and Suspicion”

Key plot points and events

• While exploring near the giant pillar, Chen Lin discovers he can summon Blind Girl but not Grass. Blind Girl confirms Grass is safe on Ruyi Island and suggests her contract is stronger because she came from deeper within Wanhuagu Valley.
• Chen Lin takes Blind Girl with him. Her heart power can injure Tianluo believers, though it is less effective than Chen Lin’s strongest techniques. She kills a two-star believer, and Chen Lin wonders whether the resulting merit will count toward his own record.
• Hoping to complete the first three stars on his task token, Chen Lin searches for more monsters. He finds few, realizing that the giant pillar’s protected area is heavily hunted and that further progress may require venturing beyond it.
• At the camp gate, Chen Lin learns that Nightmare Realm contract servants may enter with their masters. A Golden-Armored Guard watches Blind Girl suspiciously and then goes to report to the General’s Mansion.
• At Dawn Inn, Chen Lin reunites with True Lord Wanmeng. Wanmeng is astonished that Chen Lin has killed several two-star Luo monsters and assumes Blind Girl helped.
• Chen Lin rents lodging at the inn, where rooms block heterogeneous energy and protect guests from nightmare-qi erosion. Superior rooms allow two occupants and can suppress all energy, including parasitic seeds. Wanmeng, misreading the innkeeper’s insinuation, insists on taking a standard room.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and practical. He investigates why Grass cannot be summoned, tests Blind Girl’s abilities, avoids exploring beyond the protected zone too soon, and asks the camp guards and innkeeper about their rules and services.
• Blind Girl proves both dependable and powerful, explaining the likely reason she can be summoned and successfully fighting a Tianluo believer. Her calm obedience reinforces Chen Lin’s trust in her.
• Grass is absent from the chapter, but Chen Lin’s failed summons makes her safety and the difference between the two servants’ contracts a source of concern.
• True Lord Wanmeng recognizes how much Chen Lin’s strength and standing have changed. He is impressed and envious of Chen Lin’s Nightmare Realm servants, and now treats him more like a superior than an equal.
• The Golden-Armored Guard reacts with suspicion to Blind Girl and reports her presence to higher authorities. The Emaciated Old Man, meanwhile, openly hints at the special use of superior rooms, prompting an awkward misunderstanding with Wanmeng.

Significant themes

• Power and unequal rules: Tianluo believers seem nearly immune to ordinary attacks, but sufficiently powerful or compatible energy can harm them.
• Trust amid uncertainty: Chen Lin trusts Grass despite the unexplained summoning failure, while remaining alert to possible risks.
• Status and shifting relationships: Wanmeng’s deference reflects Chen Lin’s rise in strength and the reversal of their former positions.
• Scarcity and survival: Safe shelter and monster-hunting opportunities are limited, and both require weighing expense against danger.

Plot points and events

• Chen Lin chooses a superior room at the inn so he can stay near Blind Girl, since even the Main Camp may not be safe. The room is free of abnormal energy, though he decides to focus on his mission rather than cultivate.
• True Lord Wanmeng asks about Chen Lin’s plans. Chen Lin intends to hunt Luo Monsters, but learns that those within the giant pillars’ protection are too weak to earn meaningful merit; he will need to venture outside.
• Wanmeng explains that the territory beyond the pillars is largely unknown. Even the General’s Mansion appears to have little information, perhaps because the Main Camp is only a branch of the original battlefield.
• Wanmeng recounts his past: after surviving two expeditions, he encountered a Five-Star Asura whose mere glance transformed him into a monster. Though Purification Light restored him physically and spiritually, the experience left a lasting psychological wound, keeping him from hunting for over two centuries.
• Chen Lin learns that Wanmeng’s four-star mission requires killing ten Four-Star Luo Monsters—or one Five-Star creature—something Wanmeng considers nearly impossible. Chen Lin, whose own mission is five-star, realizes his task may be even more daunting.
• Chen Lin gives Wanmeng Soul Steamed Buns, which soothe his wounded heart. Wanmeng is deeply grateful, but Chen Lin stresses that the basket is worth ten thousand Nightmare Coins so its value is clear.
• Seeking practical intelligence, Chen Lin asks about other experts in the Main Camp. Wanmeng says some live atop abandoned giant pillars, where they avoid parasitic seeds but must withstand attacks from Three-Star Luo Monsters.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and pragmatic, keeping his distance from Blind Girl and weighing the risks of exploring outside the pillars. He also uses the buns both compassionately and strategically, establishing their value while earning Wanmeng’s trust.
• True Lord Wanmeng reveals the trauma behind his long inactivity and his fear of Luo Monsters. The buns offer him a possible path toward emotional recovery, renewing his hope of completing his mission. He responds to Chen Lin with sincere gratitude and becomes more open about what he knows.
• Their relationship shifts from Wanmeng’s urgent attempt to enlist Chen Lin’s help toward a tentative, more balanced exchange: Chen Lin offers valuable aid and seeks information in return.

Significant themes

• Psychological wounds and recovery: Physical and spiritual purification cannot heal every trauma; Wanmeng’s fear persists until the buns soothe his heart.
• Risk and uncertainty: The wilderness is poorly understood, and even powerful figures face sudden, overwhelming threats.
• Value and reciprocity: Chen Lin’s gift is generous, but he makes its worth explicit, balancing kindness with practical self-interest.
• Isolation and survival: Experts live apart, while the Main Camp’s uncertain status and defenses leave everyone dependent on cautious choices.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin learns from True Lord Wanmeng that some giant pillars were damaged in an ancient battle, but the formation remains stable. Its damage allows low-level Luo Monsters to enter the perimeter.
• Wanmeng brings Chen Lin and the Blind Girl to a pillar where the Cyan-Robed Divine Sword, a powerful Dao Inquiry Stage cultivator, lives.
• Chen Lin visits the sword cultivator alone to seek information about the outside and offer a trade. The man initially dismisses him because Chen Lin’s mission is five-star.
• Chen Lin reveals that he has fought a five-star Luo Monster and lets the man sense his unusually advanced, golden-hued soul. The man recognizes its near–True Soul qualities and asks whether Chen Lin belongs to the Soulless Sect; Chen Lin says he does not.
• The two discuss whether Chen Lin can complete his mission. Chen Lin says he could kill a five-star Luo Monster if he could restrain it, but the sword cultivator explains that four-star and higher Luo Monsters are linked to one another and can command weaker ones. A prolonged attack would draw interference, making Chen Lin’s plan impractical.
• When Chen Lin asks about other ways to hunt them, the sword cultivator admits he has none but points him toward someone on the first giant pillar, who could kill a five-star Luo Monster effortlessly if Chen Lin can persuade him.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and direct. He conceals his most sensitive abilities, offers wealth to secure information, and reveals only enough of his soul’s power to change the sword cultivator’s assessment of him. The new information forces him to reconsider his strategy.
• True Lord Wanmeng acts as Chen Lin’s guide, introducing him to the senior who once saved his life. He and the Blind Girl wait below while Chen Lin makes contact alone.
• The Cyan-Robed Divine Sword begins aloof and dismissive, but grows interested after discovering Chen Lin’s extraordinary soul. He speaks candidly about the danger of high-level Luo Monsters and ultimately directs Chen Lin to a possible solution.
• The exchange is wary but practical: Chen Lin seeks useful intelligence, while the sword cultivator evaluates his strength and explains why his proposed approach would fail.

Significant themes

• Power and preparation: Great strength alone is insufficient; understanding the enemy’s coordination and abilities is crucial.
• Caution and trust: Both men conceal information at first, and Chen Lin carefully reveals his capabilities only when it serves his purpose.
• Isolation and dependence: Trapped within the formation, even powerful cultivators lack easy solutions and may need to rely on difficult-to-reach allies.
• Risk versus opportunity: The first pillar may hold the key to Chen Lin’s mission, but persuading its resident is an uncertain next step.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin learns that the abandoned outermost pillar is occupied by Crazy Daoist, reputed to be the strongest cultivator in the region. He can kill powerful Luo Monsters—including, according to rumor, six-star ones—but also attacks cultivators and has even struck the Main Camp.
• Hearing this, Chen Lin decides not to seek Crazy Daoist out. Instead, he plans to strengthen his Thunder God Sword by hunting four-star Luo Monsters and using the origin light particles they leave behind.
• Chen Lin asks True Lord Wanmeng about the great heavens projection. Wanmeng explains that it is a Nightmare Realm-wide event triggered when the realm’s losses become too great. Its powerful rules can transform outsiders into Nightmare Realm creatures and force independent Nightmare beings back under the rules.
• Chen Lin reveals that the projection may begin within ten years. He urges Wanmeng to spread the warning, hoping fear will drive cultivators to hunt Luo Monsters and help everyone complete their tasks.
• Once the General’s Mansion confirms the news, panic spreads through the Main Camp and cultivators begin heading outside the giant pillar formation to hunt.
• Chen Lin and Blind Girl join the expedition, cautiously choosing a direction after Chen Lin consults his fate screen. They avoid other explorers and eventually encounter a three-star Tianluo believer, which Blind Girl detects and destroys with her heart fire.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin weighs the danger of Crazy Daoist against the urgency of his task, then adopts a practical plan to build his power gradually. The projection news shifts his focus toward motivating the wider community to act.
• True Lord Wanmeng provides crucial background on the projection and initially reacts with alarm to its imminent arrival. He agrees to spread the information.
• Blind Girl remains quiet but proves highly capable: her power of heart detects a concealed, energy-silent enemy and kills it before it can attack. Chen Lin is impressed by her ability.

Significant themes

• Survival under a looming deadline: the coming projection turns a gradual mission into an urgent race.
• Power and risk: Crazy Daoist’s strength is immense, but his instability makes him more dangerous than useful.
• Collective action and self-interest: Chen Lin spreads the warning partly to increase the chance that others will help clear the monsters.
• Hidden abilities and uncertainty: the dangers beyond the pillars are unpredictable, and Blind Girl’s unusual perception demonstrates how much may be concealed.

Key plot points and events

• Reassured that the Blind Girl can detect Tianluo, Chen Lin investigates a nearby battle and finds three cultivators fighting a Four-Star Asura Giant Eye.
• The trio’s specialized treasures let them wound the monster and block its devastating blood-red arrow. When it signals for help, they retreat—just as a second Four-Star Giant Eye appears.
• Chen Lin and the Blind Girl seize the opportunity to attack the two monsters. Chen Lin kills the uninjured one with his Soul-Destroying Finger; the wounded one withstands the Blind Girl’s heart fire but dies when struck by the Thunder God Sword. Chen Lin collects the monsters’ red light particles, and they return to camp.
• Chen Lin asks True Lord Wanmeng about the trio’s anti-monster equipment. Wanmeng identifies it as Pseudo-Source Treasures, imitations of rare, rule-based Origin Treasures.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin’s confidence grows as he confirms that the Blind Girl can counter Tianluo. He remains cautious, but acts decisively when a rare chance to kill Four-Star monsters appears.
• The Blind Girl proves useful both as a detector and combat partner, quickly transporting Chen Lin into the fight and engaging the injured monster.
• The three unknown cultivators demonstrate effective teamwork: one weakens the Giant Eye, another blocks its arrow, and the third lands a dagger strike. They recognize the danger of the monsters’ call for help and withdraw promptly.
• True Lord Wanmeng provides Chen Lin with new information about the treasures and their place among the artifacts used in the Heavens and Myriad Realms.

Significant themes

• Specialized defenses change the balance of power: Luo Monsters are overwhelming to those vulnerable to their strange energy, but can become manageable when met with equally powerful energy or suitable treasures.
• Caution and opportunity: Chen Lin waits while the others fight, then strikes when the monsters are weakened and their attention divided.
• Knowledge expands through exchange: Chen Lin’s understanding of Origin Treasures grows through his conversations with other cultivators.

Plot points and events

• Chen Lin questions True Lord Wanmeng about Origin Treasures: they require matching rule-forming origin essence to activate, are exceptionally rare, and are said to rival or surpass immortal artifacts. Pseudo-Source Treasures are more common at the Main Camp, though their power varies widely. Wanmeng has no reliable information about Innate Spirit Treasures, leaving their classification unresolved.
• Chen Lin realizes he may be able to use Destiny- or Soul-type Origin Treasures, and possibly lightning-type ones if the Thunder God Sword’s power qualifies as rule energy.
• Wanmeng invites Chen Lin to a small trading convention. Chen Lin accepts, partly hoping to obtain more Luo-origin light particles.
• Back at his lodging, Chen Lin tests the particles from the Giant Eyes on the Thunder God Sword. The sword absorbs them far faster than before, but its improvement is now slight: its stronger body requires much more energy. Chen Lin expects that eventually he will need particles from more powerful, Five-Star Giant Eyes.
• Three days later, Chen Lin and Blind Girl join Wanmeng at the convention, held in an open area beside the General’s Mansion to reduce the danger of parasitic seeds. Twenty participants take seats spaced far apart. The emerald-green organizer opens by urging everyone to trade useful items rather than let them become spoils for the Luo Monsters.

Character developments

• Chen Lin remains inquisitive and cautious, carefully weighing the value and limitations of unfamiliar treasures. He is also pragmatic: he attends the convention with an eye toward acquiring resources for his weapon.
• His experiment tempers his expectations about the Thunder God Sword. Although it can still refine Luo-origin essence, its increasing strength means progress now demands substantially more material.
• True Lord Wanmeng acts as Chen Lin’s knowledgeable, helpful guide to the Main Camp, while acknowledging the limits of what he knows.
• Blind Girl continues to serve as Chen Lin’s trusted guard and potential combat partner.

Significant themes

• Power has a cost: as the Thunder God Sword grows stronger, its energy needs rise and improvements become harder to achieve.
• Knowledge is incomplete: even rare, powerful treasures remain poorly understood, and reports about their relative grades are uncertain.
• Caution and cooperation: the threat of parasitic seeds shapes how people gather, while the trading convention encourages mutual exchange amid danger.
• Resourcefulness: Chen Lin looks for multiple ways to obtain what he needs, including hunting and trading.

Character interactions

• Chen Lin and Wanmeng discuss Origin Treasures and compare them—imperfectly—with other treasure classes; Wanmeng’s answers help Chen Lin refine his assumptions.
• Wanmeng invites Chen Lin to trade and accompanies him to the venue, where they maintain safe spacing.
• Chen Lin brings Blind Girl and keeps her close, prioritizing their ability to respond together if trouble arises.
• The organizer addresses the gathered participants, setting a practical, cooperative tone for the convention.

Key events

• At a Trading Convention organized by the Emerald Creature, he offers a strange blue leaf said to connect its user with the seductive Tree Demon Blue Phantom. True Lord Wanmeng explains its risks to Chen Lin.
• The Emerald Creature tries to trade the leaf for a wood-element Pseudo-Source Treasure. Snow-White Young Master Xue refuses, demanding that the Emerald Creature kill three Five-Star Luo Monsters in exchange for his Wood Spirit Axe.
• Chen Lin spots a chance to buy Luo Monster origin essence. He pays 30,000 Nightmare Coins per bottle, then buys six portions from several traders. Though the price is likely inflated and the material has serious drawbacks for most users, it is valuable to him.
• Wanmeng offers five Illusion Dream Beads for an Exorcism Stone. His remarks about needing to take a gamble, and the group’s grim reaction, hint at a looming danger.
• Xue asks whether Wanmeng’s report about the Great Heavens Projection is accurate. Wanmeng hesitates, so Chen Lin vouches for the information.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin shows business sense and strategic self-presentation: he eagerly buys the essence despite suspecting he has overpaid, and acts meek so others may offer him more. He also steps in to shield Wanmeng from Xue’s pressure.
• True Lord Wanmeng advises Chen Lin about the blue leaf and warns him about the essence’s limitations. His desperate offer of the beads suggests his situation is worsening.
• Young Master Xue appears influential and self-assured, refusing the Emerald Creature’s trade and later questioning Wanmeng directly.
• The Emerald Creature is opportunistic, seeking a rare Pseudo-Source Treasure, but backs down when Xue sets a dangerous price.

Themes

• Information and bargaining power: Chen Lin’s ignorance nearly costs him, while others use their knowledge to set terms.
• Different values and hidden uses: Material considered flawed or undesirable by others can still be valuable to Chen Lin.
• Risk and desperation: Wanmeng’s trade and the group’s reaction suggest growing danger tied to the Great Heavens Projection and the need to gamble for survival.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin reveals that news of a possible Great Heavens Projection came from Gourmet Island. Young Master Xue argues that the island’s surviving Gourmet Guardians would know the truth, so the group treats the warning as credible. Chen Lin leaves the source vague, allowing others to assume it came directly from a Guardian.
• Chen Lin has a practical motive for spreading the warning: if people feel threatened, they may venture out to hunt Luo Monsters, giving him opportunities to collect Merit and Luo Monster Origin Essence.
• At the Trading Convention, True Lord Wanmeng exchanges an Illusion Dream Bead for an Exorcism Stone. Chen Lin learns that the bead creates a space for cultivation, while the stone protects against the bodily mutations caused by Asura Evil Aura—but not other Luo Monster abilities or damage to the soul.
• Chen Lin buys a large Green Scale and a fragrant purple flower, and acquires several portions of Luo Monster Origin Essence. He also announces that he wants Time Sand, Eight-Arm Circumambulation, Qi Luck Objects, pure Origin Orbs, Endless Water, True Spirit Essence Blood, and Spirit or Spiritual Herbs, offering rewards for useful information.
• After the convention, Chen Lin visits Wanmeng to ask about the Illusion Dream Bead. Wanmeng reveals that he has a rare “Dream Physique,” which lets him use dream energy. Its abilities are mainly supportive, and his weak Spiritual Body limits its power. He once thought the Nightmare Realm was a dream connected to his gift, but concluded that dreaming there is only an effect of one of its Rules.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin is cautious about the projection warning’s reliability but deliberately presents it as credible. He remains commercially minded, using the gathering to trade, learn about unfamiliar treasures, and publicize what he needs.
• Young Master Xue becomes eager to trade for Chen Lin’s Star-Tier Gourmet Food and arranges to discuss it later at the Dawn Inn. His confidence in the warning helps persuade the group to take it seriously.
• True Lord Wanmeng is unusually candid about his Dream Physique, though he admits its limitations and his lack of comparable practitioners to consult. Chen Lin listens with curiosity but does not press for more than Wanmeng wishes to share.
• The Emerald Creature tries to keep the gathering focused on the projection news before allowing discussion of trade, and ends the convention when no one has more to offer.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and calculated trust: Chen Lin cannot verify the warning fully, yet the group accepts it based on its supposed source and the authority of the Gourmet Guardians.
• Survival through preparation and exchange: The convention reveals that participants have resources for dealing with some dangers, but survival still requires specialized protections, knowledge, and willingness to take risks.
• The limits of understanding: Wanmeng’s dream-based power and the Nightmare Realm’s strange Rules reinforce how much remains unexplained, even to experienced cultivators.

Plot and events

• True Lord Wanmeng gives Chen Lin his last three Illusion Dream Beads in thanks. Chen Lin accepts them, then warns Wanmeng that an Exorcism Stone alone will not make hunting a Four-Star Asura Clone safe. Wanmeng says he is gathering ways to protect himself, not rushing into a fight.
• Back in his room, Chen Lin examines six bottles of Four-Star Origin Essence Light Particles. Five contain red particles and one black; none contain the rare golden Tianluo variety. He reasons that Asura’s bodily corruption is comparatively manageable, while Youruo threatens the soul through damage and parasitism, and Tianluo is especially deadly.
• Chen Lin tests the particles on the Thunder God Sword, then studies the Green Scale and purple flower. He also reflects that the rule forces of Luo’s three clone types seem to correspond to body, soul, and intent, supporting the idea that Luo, True Immortals, and Nightmare Realm Guardians occupy comparable levels of power.
• Bai Ruxue—also referred to as Young Master Xue—visits. Chen Lin offers him spirit tea and then Mortal Dust Spirit Dew, a two-star Gourmet Island drink. Bai praises it and asks to sample Chen Lin’s other gourmet foods, but Chen Lin first insists they discuss the trade.
• Bai offers the Pseudo-Source Treasure known as the Wood Spirit Axe. He warns that Si Qi is likely already parasitized and that Blue Enchantress may have become a Youruo parasitic seed. He has personally sensed a Seven-Star Youruo Monster in the Wilderness, making Chen Lin’s plans to hunt there much more dangerous.
• Chen Lin examines the axe but cannot activate it with his available powers. Rather than accept a treasure he cannot use, he asks Bai to offer something else.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Lin remains cautious and practical. He accepts gifts without creating offense, protects his rare Fearless Tea, and judges treasures by their usefulness to his mission rather than their prestige or price. He also avoids revealing his Thunder God Sword to Bai, whose perception is keen.
• True Lord Wanmeng appears grateful but vulnerable, seeking defensive tools while recognizing the danger of hunting powerful Luo Monsters. Chen Lin is sympathetic but does not commit to helping him before completing his own mission.
• Bai Ruxue comes across as confident and perceptive: he identifies Blind Girl’s likely ancient lineage, drinks Chen Lin’s spirit dew without hesitation, and brings valuable intelligence along with the axe.
• Blind Girl briefly shows confusion when Bai identifies her as a possible Ancient Heart Clan descendant, but otherwise remains detached from information about her forgotten past.
• Chen Lin and Bai’s courteous exchange turns into firm negotiation: Bai wants to sample Chen Lin’s delicacies, while Chen Lin insists on knowing what he will receive in return.

Significant themes

• Practical value over nominal worth: A powerful treasure is of little use if Chen Lin cannot wield it.
• The danger of parasitism and incomplete knowledge: Youruo can threaten the soul and take over hosts, while a newly discovered Seven-Star monster may overturn Chen Lin’s assumptions and plans.
• Caution and self-preservation: Chen Lin and Wanmeng both weigh risks carefully, though Chen Lin refuses to take on obligations that could jeopardize his mission.
• Power and cosmic hierarchy: Chen Lin’s reflections connect Luo, True Immortals, and Nightmare Realm Guardians through their comparable rule-based powers.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Lin agrees to trade the Wood Spirit Axe despite being unable to use it, reasoning that someone else—such as the Emerald Creature Si Qi—might want it.
• He offers Bai Ruxue a jar of Myriad Phenomena Porridge, a rare Three-Star cuisine made by his disciple. Bai is captivated by its unusual effects and praises it.
• Bai asks about entering Gourmet Island. Chen Lin considers trading one of his unused Gourmet Invitation Letters, but first completes the porridge-for-axe exchange.
• Chen then offers Bai an invitation letter, cautioning that it should be used before the coming great heavens projection because the island may change afterward. He also explains that the isolated space they occupy prevents their usual tokens and travel methods from working.
• In return for the invitation, Bai gives Chen a mysterious token: an invitation to the Carefree Assembly, a vast, high-level gathering spanning the Heavens and Myriad Realms. The token creates a passage to the assembly, which is safe and uses barter, though attendees must bring valuable goods.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen shows himself to be a practical, opportunistic trader, but also careful and transparent: he does not reveal all his offers at once and openly warns Bai about possible risks.
• Bai’s enthusiasm for food reveals his strong appreciation for cuisine, while his casual attitude toward the Wood Spirit Axe suggests he has access to considerable wealth or resources.
• The two build a mutually beneficial exchange through friendly conversation. Bai’s questions about Gourmet Island lead Chen to offer an invitation, and Bai’s knowledge of the Carefree Assembly gives Chen a valuable opportunity in return.

Significant themes

• Barter and differing values: An item Chen cannot use still has trade value, while food becomes a means to obtain rare treasures.
• Opportunity and preparation: Chen turns an unused invitation into a useful exchange and unexpectedly gains access to a major inter-realm gathering.
• Uncertainty and limits: The sealed space disrupts familiar abilities and tools, while the coming projection may alter access to Gourmet Island.
• Trust and caution: Both characters negotiate cordially, but Chen balances openness with care as he assesses the value and risks of each trade.