Chapter Summaries

Chen Lin settled at Bright Peak, reunited with Shen Anning, and asked about Yesterday Manor, the Rainbow Era, and artifact refiners. He learned that Artifact King Kong Wuchui was his best hope for repairing the Xikuli Cloak.

• Chen Lin moved into the residence Shen Wenling arranged and browsed the market with Tianshu.
• Chen Lin met Shen Anning, clarified that he and Jin Ruhua were only ordinary friends, and caught up with her at a spirit tea house.
• Chen Lin asked Shen Anning to alert him if anyone from Yesterday Manor arrived, recalling Gu Chenxuan's warning about the person who had fished for him in the Destiny River.
• Shen Anning questioned Chen Lin about how he obtained the Nihility Fish, but he joked instead of explaining.
• Chen Lin asked about the Rainbow Era and the term "yuanguang," which Shen Anning did not recognize.
• Chen Lin described the damaged Xikuli Cloak, and Shen Anning directed him to Artifact King Kong Wuchui because her family's refiners likely could not repair it.

Chen Lin went to Bright Peak’s Treasure Vault to claim a treasure with his special merit and encountered Huyan Wushuang, who demanded Li Fuyao’s belongings. After returning two items, he chose the Heaven-Swallowing Golden Toad despite its flaws, leaving the vault with his choice settled.

• Shen Anning told Chen Lin that the Heaven-Swallowing Golden Toad in the Alliance’s Treasure Vault could unleash True Realm defensive power without True Realm cultivation and urged him to claim it before others did.
• Chen Lin and Shen Anning entered the Treasure Vault, where Huyan Wushuang revealed herself and questioned him about Huyan Hua’s disappearance.
• Huyan Wushuang accused Chen Lin of killing Li Fuyao and demanded her belongings, so Chen Lin returned Li Fuyao’s Tri-Color Short Bow and Peerage Token.
• Chen Lin examined the special-merit treasure list and learned that the damaged Heaven-Swallowing Golden Toad could devour attacks below the Late True Realm but had strict limits on its use and range.
• Despite Huyan Wushuang warning him that the treasure was flawed and his choice could not be changed, Chen Lin firmly selected the Heaven-Swallowing Golden Toad.

Chen Lin redeemed the Heaven-Swallowing Golden Toad despite competing with Ouyang Ye, angering the Ouyang Family heir and deepening the danger posed by Huyan Wushuang. After Shen Anning warned him about their powerful allies, Chen Lin began binding the toad and went to ask Kong Wuchui to repair his cloak before the coming war.

• Chen Lin refused to yield the Heaven-Swallowing Golden Toad to Ouyang Ye and received it from the Treasure Vault's gray bird after it confirmed the redemption rules.
• Ouyang Ye tried to stop Chen Lin, but Huyan Wushuang ordered him to let Chen Lin leave; afterward, Ouyang Ye dismissed Chen Lin's connection to Jin Ruhua and threatened to oppose him.
• Shen Anning told Chen Lin that Ouyang Ye was the Ouyang Family Ancestor's only son and that the Ouyang and Huyan families could join forces against him.
• Chen Lin returned home, began binding the damaged Heaven-Swallowing Golden Toad, and decided he needed to rely on himself for protection.
• Chen Lin went to Kong Wuchui's residence to ask him to repair the Xikuli Cloak before the Alliance's war with the dark cultivators began.

Chen Lin sought help repairing his Invisibility Cloak, but Master Kong said Sword Woman’s residual sword will had to be removed first. After other refiners failed, Chen Lin asked Jin Ruhua for help, and she recognized the cloak’s advanced Sword Will.

• Chen Lin visited Master Kong, who identified the cloak as having belonged to Invisible Master Xikeli and explained that Sword Woman’s residual sword will prevented its repair.
• Master Kong offered to repair the cloak if Chen Lin removed the sword will, first requesting the Green Ruyi from a dangerous colored scenario, then agreeing to accept a bottle of high-grade finger sand instead.
• Chen Lin visited every artifact refiner he could find, but none could repair the cloak.
• Chen Lin went to Jin Ruhua, whose guard admitted him without an announcement, and Jin Ruhua assured him that his daughter would be brought back before the great battle.
• Chen Lin showed Jin Ruhua the cloak, and she recognized its advanced Sword Will and asked which scenario he had obtained it from.

Chen Lin learned that Jin Ruhua could not remove the sword will from the Xikuli Cloak, then asked her to protect the Cheng Sisters from being used as vessels for the Purple Emperor’s reincarnation. She agreed to bring them to her, and Chen Lin left to seek a Realm-Protecting Array for the Kaiyuan Realm.

• Jin Ruhua told Chen Lin that the sword will embedded in the Xikuli Cloak was too profound for her or even her master to remove.
• Chen Lin explained how he obtained the cloak and told Jin Ruhua about Kong Wuchui’s request to retrieve something from Sword Woman’s scenario.
• Jin Ruhua revealed that the Purple Emperor’s reincarnation had been canceled after her master awakened, but the prepared descendants would be kept under control rather than killed.
• Chen Lin asked Jin Ruhua to take in the Cheng Sisters, and she agreed to bring them to her while warning that she would not prevent one from becoming the Purple Emperor’s vessel.
• Chen Lin left Jin Ruhua and went to visit the formation masters to continue searching for a Realm-Protecting Array.

Chen Lin sought Master Wen for a realm-protecting array to secure the Kaiyuan Realm, but she offered him the powerful Divine Pagoda Coiling Dragon Array in exchange for exploring a Nightmare Realm scenario. The chapter ended with Chen Lin asking what kind of scenario she wanted him to enter.

• Chen Lin considered the risks of revealing the Kaiyuan Realm and went to visit Master Wen at Xinzhao Cottage.
• A formation trapped Chen Lin in an endless bamboo sea before it returned him to the entrance, where Wen Xinzhao invited him inside.
• Chen Lin asked Wen Xinzhao to sell him a realm-protecting array capable of resisting late True Realm experts, and she explained that Void Beasts required stronger defenses.
• Wen Xinzhao showed Chen Lin the Divine Pagoda Coiling Dragon Array, which could withstand attacks from even an Eternal Expert.
• Wen Xinzhao offered to complete the array if Chen Lin explored a Nightmare Realm scenario, and Chen Lin asked her to describe it.

Wen Xinzhao told Chen Lin about a Nightmare Realm scenario that might contain a treasure increasing his chances of reaching the True Realm. After learning its strange departure missions, Chen Lin agreed to send Tianshu in first to scout, and Wen Xinzhao took Tianshu into the scenario.

• Wen Xinzhao explained that Xitina had once brought her into the scenario, where she gained power and later suffered a problem that only a treasure inside could resolve.
• Wen Xinzhao revealed that Chen Lin was the first person besides the mysterious visitor to enter her Bamboo Sea, then offered him a treasure that could raise his odds of reaching the True Realm by fifty percentage points.
• Wen Xinzhao described the scenario's valley, its hidden conditions, and three bizarre departure missions.
• Chen Lin left to consult other Formation Masters, but none could provide a Realm-Protecting Array strong enough for his needs.
• Chen Lin confirmed that Tianshu could be cultivated anew if its essence survived, then returned with Tianshu to Xinzhao Cottage to propose sending it in first.
• Wen Xinzhao agreed and vanished with Tianshu after taking out a section of bamboo.

Chen Lin entered the valley scenario with Wen Xinzhao and learned how its departure mission and hidden inner scenario worked. After hearing Wen Xinzhao’s account of the treasures and spring within, he agreed to enter the valley, and she took his hand to test whether he was the Destined Person.

• Wen Xinzhao brought Chen Lin into the scenario, where he inspected the valley and saw that only three bamboo stalks remained for departure missions.
• Chen Lin and Wen Xinzhao each cut down a bamboo stalk and completed the mission by laughing and declaring that their fates were their own.
• Wen Xinzhao warned Chen Lin that each person could cut only one stalk per visit and described how she and Xitina had entered the beautiful inner scenario.
• Wen Xinzhao explained that its Spring Eye could improve the body and speed cultivation, and that she planned to revisit a building she had explored with Xitina.
• Chen Lin decided to enter the valley, and Wen Xinzhao took his hand to test whether he was the Destined Person.

Chen Lin and Wen Xinzhao entered a high-level nightmare realm scenario, where he questioned her about its nature and the Rainbow Realm. After Wen Xinzhao explained their destination, she told Chen Lin to hold her hand and follow her toward an inconspicuous triangular building.

• Chen Lin and Wen Xinzhao cautiously entered the valley and found that Chen Lin could use his energy without suppression.
• Chen Lin asked Wen Xinzhao why the valley felt comfortable, and she explained that it was a genuinely superior environment within the Nightmare Realm.
• Wen Xinzhao told Chen Lin that the Inner World, Void Realm, and Lower Primal Domain were parts of the Rainbow Realm, whose apparent levels resulted from the Cage Array and other factors.
• Chen Lin asked about star whirlpools and Goddess Xitina, and Wen Xinzhao explained that Xitina had arrived in the Rainbow Realm by accident and was not from a star whirlpool.
• Wen Xinzhao told Chen Lin to hold her hand and follow her steps toward a drab triangular building among the valley's other structures.

Chen Lin and Wen Xinzhao followed Xitina’s route through the mysterious realm, but a twin-lotus courtyard’s fragrance nearly made them lose themselves. After Chen Lin escaped its influence and separated them, Wen Xinzhao explained that he could now collect the pool’s treasure, leaving him to decide whether to risk entering the courtyard again.

• Wen Xinzhao led Chen Lin across the grass toward the Spring Eye and explained that the buildings represented different attributes.
• They passed a courtyard of paired flowers, where blooming twin lotuses released a fragrance that clouded their minds and drove them toward the pool.
• Chen Lin regained some clarity with Death Gaze and other methods, dragged Wen Xinzhao out, then threw her across a stream to break the fragrance’s influence.
• Wen Xinzhao told Chen Lin that they had broken the pool’s rule and that he could collect its treasure without entering the building.
• Chen Lin questioned whether the opportunity was safe, and Wen Xinzhao urged him not to pass up his chance to overcome the pool’s power.

Chen Lin obtained the Twin Lotus, learning that its influence was affecting his state of mind, then drank from the Spring Eye and gained powerful nourishment before the water lost its special energy. He and Wen Xinzhao prepared to move on to retrieve the treasure she had mentioned.

• Chen Lin approached the courtyard pool, where the Twin Lotus transformed into a treasure and bound itself to him.
• Chen Lin and Wen Xinzhao left the courtyard, and she explained that high-grade treasures could influence their owners’ state of mind.
• Wen Xinzhao and Chen Lin reached the Spring Eye and determined that visitors could drink from it only once for its benefits.
• Chen Lin drank from the spring until he felt full, then found that the water had become ordinary after he paused.
• Chen Lin told Wen Xinzhao he was ready to go retrieve the treasure she had mentioned.

Chen Lin and Wen Xinzhao returned from the Triangular Building empty-handed, though Wen Xinzhao gave Chen Lin the promised scroll and Exquisite Pagoda. Back in his Immortal Cave, Chen Lin examined the Yin-Yang Lotus and learned how its power worked and what limits it had.

• Chen Lin warned Wen Xinzhao that the Triangular Building seemed abnormal, but she entered and found it empty.
• Wen Xinzhao agreed to leave and return another time, and she and Chen Lin safely returned to the Bamboo Pavilion.
• Wen Xinzhao gave Chen Lin the scroll and Exquisite Pagoda as promised, and Chen Lin hurried back to his Immortal Cave with Tianshu.
• Chen Lin examined the Yin-Yang Lotus and learned that it disrupted Yin-Yang balance within its range rather than relying on its fragrance.
• Chen Lin determined that the lotus could affect ordinary True Realm cultivators but had a range of only about a hundred zhang and needed Taiyin Power and Solar Power to grow.

Chen Lin reunited with Chen Ling'er after Jin Ruhua brought her back, and the two returned to his cave dwelling to catch up. Chen Lin learned that Mingyue Shuanghua had taken Chen Ling'er as her disciple to prepare her as a vessel for the Purple Emperor’s reincarnation, then asked her to recount what had happened to their companions.

• Chen Lin studied Wen Xinzhao’s formation scroll and realized that building a powerful Realm-Protecting Array would require 108 high-grade Coiled Dragon Pillars beyond his ability to refine alone.
• Tianshu told Chen Lin that Elder Jin had brought Chen Ling'er back, and Chen Lin hurried to Jin Ruhua’s residence.
• Chen Lin reunited with Chen Ling'er, thanked Jin Ruhua, and saw that the Cheng Lingdie Sisters were safe with her.
• Chen Ling'er told Chen Lin that her cultivation had fallen to the early Semi-Void stage, though an Innate Cultivation Technique and treasure protected her from True Energy corrosion.
• Chen Lin explained Mingyue Shuanghua’s connection to the Purple Emperor and warned Chen Ling'er that she might be intended as a vessel for his reincarnation.
• Chen Lin asked Chen Ling'er to tell him what had happened to her and the others who had gone to the Immortal Realm.

Chen Ling'er reunited with Chen Lin and gave him a Merit Coin that Luo Qinglan had sent through a Nightmare Realm Creature. Chen Lin learned the coin's extraordinary powers and resolved to investigate the Pipe Scenario for clues about Luo Qinglan, but Elder Jin summoned him before he could hear Chen Ling'er's full account.

• Chen Lin and Chen Ling'er shared their experiences, and Chen Ling'er told him that few who had followed Zishu to the Immortal Realm had survived.
• Chen Ling'er gave Chen Lin a round object from Luo Qinglan and explained that a Nightmare Realm Creature had passed it to her in the Pipe Scenario.
• Chen Lin realized Luo Qinglan had sent the object after entering the Immortal Kingdom Scenario, leaving him uncertain why she had not returned or contacted him directly.
• Chen Lin identified the object as a Merit Coin in the Alliance archive hall and learned it could grant exemptions, obtain treasures, and secure other powerful favors within the Nightmare Realm.
• Chen Lin told Chen Ling'er what he had learned and asked her to describe the Pipe Scenario in detail, but Tianshu arrived with Elder Jin's summons.
• Chen Lin told Chen Ling'er to stay inside the Immortal Cave and hurried to meet Elder Jin.

Chen Lin met with Jin Ruhua and revealed that he had fused with only the physical part of his Nightmare Realm projection, learning that this might be advantageous but remained uncertain. Jin Ruhua then took him through a bronze mirror to meet her master, Sword Saint Situ Nan, who wanted to examine the sword will on Chen Lin’s cloak.

• Chen Lin found the Cheng Sisters safely serving as Jin Ruhua’s maids and warned them to report any unusual changes in their reincarnated bodies.
• Jin Ruhua asked Chen Lin about the Yin-Yang Lotus, and he explained that he could use Nightmare Realm treasures normally in the Reality Realm.
• Chen Lin told Jin Ruhua he had fused with his physical projection, and she said the fusion might be part of a Fiend’s experiment to merge the Nightmare Realm with the Reality Realm.
• Chen Lin revealed that his body and soul projections were separate and that he had fused only with his physical projection, which Jin Ruhua considered potentially beneficial.
• Jin Ruhua told Chen Lin that Sword Saint Situ Nan wanted to examine the sword will on his cloak, then took him through a bronze mirror to meet her master.

Chen Lin and Jin Ruhua visited Sword Saint Situ Nan, who could not undo the cloak’s exclusive Sword Will and directed Chen Lin toward a Nightmare Realm Scenario. After returning, Chen Lin learned that hiding in the Inner World or a Void Realm Nightmare Scenario would not necessarily protect him from the coming war.

• Chen Lin and Jin Ruhua entered the courtyard and met the unassuming young man Jin Ruhua identified as her master, Sword Saint Situ Nan.
• Situ Nan examined Chen Lin’s cloak, said its exclusive Sword Will was beyond his ability to unravel, and sent them away.
• Jin Ruhua asked the sweeping old man when the date had been set, and he answered that it would be one year from then.
• Jin Ruhua told Chen Lin that the Nightmare Realm Scenario was his only option for resolving the cloak and asked him to investigate how the Sword Woman obtained her exclusive Sword Will.
• Chen Lin agreed to go because repairing the cloak might let him return to the Inner World and see his family and friends.
• Jin Ruhua warned Chen Lin that the Inner World would be destroyed if the Alliance lost and that Void Realm Nightmare Scenarios were dangerous places to hide.

With the Alliance’s counteroffensive looming, Chen Lin prepared to leave Bright Peak and traded a Nihility Fish and finger sand to Kong Wuchui for a sword scabbard tied to the Sword Woman Scenario. He then met Li Xiangru, whose account of escaping through the Nightmare Realm’s Outer Realm Battlefield gave Chen Lin a possible route forward if he could repair his Xikuli Cloak.

• Chen Lin decided he needed to leave Bright Peak before the Alliance issued its battle orders and asked Kong Wuchui to sell him his Medium Object.
• Chen Lin traded Kong Wuchui a Nihility Fish and one bottle of high-grade finger sand for the Sword Woman Scenario’s wooden sword scabbard.
• Tianshu told Chen Lin that Li Xiangru had arrived from the Cangyuan Secret Realm, and Chen Lin welcomed the Alliance deacon into his cave abode.
• Li Xiangru delivered a Transmission Bead and a Jade Slip from the Qingyang Treasure Pavilion and said he had reached the Outer World through the Nightmare Realm’s Outer Realm Battlefield.
• Chen Lin realized that his dog hair might protect him from Void Beasts on that route, but he still needed to repair his Xikuli Cloak.

Chen Lin prepared to leave for the Kaiyuan Realm with Chen Ling'er as war approached, then learned that Wen Xinzhao was suffering a loss of lifespan caused by the scenario. Wen Xinzhao asked him to obtain a Yunming Flower and revealed that the Yin-Yang Lotus had bound them so neither could refuse becoming the other's companion.

• Chen Lin exchanged information and Transmission Beads with Li Xiangru, then bought Rare Resources and sold treasures in preparation for the coming war.
• Chen Lin asked Chen Ling'er whether she wanted to go to the Kaiyuan Realm, and she agreed after he explained the Black and White Jade Pendant and the danger of remaining.
• Chen Lin visited Wen Xinzhao and found her aged and near death, then learned she believed the scenario had drained her lifespan because she gained nothing in the valley.
• Wen Xinzhao asked Chen Lin to obtain a Yunming Flower and offered to provide Coiled Dragon Pillars, arrange his Realm-Protecting Array, and become his Dual Cultivation Companion.
• Chen Lin discovered he could not refuse Wen Xinzhao's offer, and she explained that the Yin-Yang Lotus had made refusal impossible and suspected Xitina had arranged their entanglement to resolve his cultivation's hidden danger.

Chen Lin learned that Wen Xinzhao had only a year to live unless she found a Yunming Flower, but he hesitated to risk helping her. He decided to leave Bright Peak after refusing to meet Yesterday Manor’s representative, Gu Siming, only to find her waiting at his rear exit and asking him for a favor.

• Wen Xinzhao told Chen Lin that her lifespan was draining rapidly and that a Yunming Flower from the River of Time could extend her life.
• Chen Lin agreed to wait for Gu Chenxuan’s arrival, while he and Chen Ling'er discussed whether to stay or leave Bright Peak.
• Chen Lin gathered supplies, contacted Qian Ziduo, and later refused to meet Gu Siming because he feared Yesterday Manor’s connection to the Angler.
• Chen Lin prepared to leave for the Kaiyuan Realm with Chen Ling'er and Tianshu, planning to refine Coiled Dragon Pillars himself.
• Gu Siming intercepted Chen Lin at the cave abode’s rear entrance, claimed him as her older brother, and asked him not to refuse her request.

Gu Siming attacked Chen Lin and tried to extract his destiny fish, but he counterattacked and drove her off, then framed the encounter as an unprovoked assault for Ge Jinxiu. Gu Siming’s fate remained uncertain, and Chen Lin inspected the objects she left behind while awaiting the Elder Council’s response.

• Gu Siming admitted she had tried to fish out Chen Lin’s destiny fish before and used a translucent thread to pull it from him.
• Chen Lin and Chen Ling'er unleashed a barrage of attacks that destroyed Gu Siming’s apparent body, though Chen Lin suspected she had escaped or sent a clone.
• Chen Lin picked up Gu Siming’s embroidered pouch and cracked plaque as Ge Jinxiu arrived with patrolling Guards.
• Chen Lin showed Ge Jinxiu the Time-Mirror Shell and claimed Gu Siming had attacked him without warning, asking him to report the matter to the Elder Council.
• Ge Jinxiu took the recording to report to Elder Jin and told Chen Lin to remain on Bright Peak.
• Chen Lin reassured Chen Ling'er, then began inspecting the spoils in case Yesterday Manor demanded them back.