Recaps

Chen Lin learned that a remnant of Youruo was hidden in Lu Xiaoyi’s soul after she advanced to Void Refinement, and agreed to use his Soul-Destroying Finger to remove it. The chapter ended as he began the attempt in a heavily isolated underground room.

• Lu Xiaoyi asked Chen Lin to teach her the Soul-Destroying Finger, but he refused because it was a secret art from his master.
• Lu Xiaoyi used a crystal to reveal a Pitch-Black Eyeball and Youruo’s aura within her, then explained that a hidden entity had entered her soul through a treasure from the Earth Cave.
• Chen Lin concluded that the remnant might be connected to the soul treasures that helped Lu Xiaoyi and the others advance to Void Refinement.
• Lu Xiaoyi agreed to let Chen Lin attempt to destroy the remnant and offered him copies of her soul secret arts in return.
• Chen Lin took Lu Xiaoyi to an isolated underground room, set up protective formations, and unleashed the Soul-Destroying Finger.

Chen Lin helped Lu Xiaoyi remove the Youruo remnant thought, then traded with her for soul secret arts and materials before studying the Soul Armor Art. He went to Yue Tianyi’s Void Refinement ceremony suspecting that Yue Tianyi and Zhang Zhenqian were also affected by Youruo remnant thoughts, and arrived to find Lu Xiaoyi, Zhang Zhenqian, Xin Yueling, and Yan Jiujiang already gathered.

• Chen Lin removed the Youruo remnant thought from Lu Xiaoyi, leaving her soul source badly damaged but free of the entity.
• Lu Xiaoyi gave Chen Lin five soul secret arts, including the Soul Armor Art, and Chen Lin traded her pills that could restore her soul source for pill formulas and spiritual herbs.
• Lu Xiaoyi left Tianbao Peak after recovering somewhat, and Chen Lin secluded himself to study the Soul Armor Art.
• After more than two months, Chen Lin learned that Yan Jiujiang had sought him out, then set off for Yue Tianyi’s Void Refinement ceremony, suspecting Yue Tianyi and Zhang Zhenqian had Youruo remnant thoughts.
• Yue Tianyi personally welcomed Chen Lin at the Divine Will Sect and led him into the Sect Master's Manor, where Chen Lin found Lu Xiaoyi, Zhang Zhenqian, Xin Yueling, and Yan Jiujiang.

Chen Lin attended a gathering hosted by Yue Tianyi, where he learned that western-continent factions were discussing how to redistribute their shares of Duobao Island after several Void Refinement cultivators died or disappeared. He also identified a hostile Dao Rhyme expert from the eastern continents, and the gathering’s main figures arrived as the chapter ended.

• Chen Lin concealed his Void Refinement cultivation, greeted Xin Yueling, and agreed to speak with her privately after the gathering.
• A cyan-robed Dao Rhyme expert sent a chilling aura into Chen Lin, and Lu Xiaoyi told him the man was likely from the eastern continents.
• Zhang Zhenqian identified the stranger as the Dark Yin Sect’s Great Elder from the Xuanhuang Continent, who had arrived with Ba Yeyu.
• Lu Xiaoyi explained that representatives had gathered to discuss reallocating control of Duobao Island after several western-continent Void Refinement cultivators died or vanished.
• Xin Shangxiu, Ba Yeyu, and Duanmu Jue entered the hall, and the assembled cultivators rose to greet them.

At a gathering in the Divine Will Sect, Chen Lin learned that ancient spiritual herbs had been discovered beneath Duobao Island and that the factions were organizing to claim them. Xin Yueling later revealed that a remnant of Luo had possessed her during her breakthrough, and Chen Lin offered to use a technique against it.

• Xin Shangxiu took the seat of honor and told the gathered cultivators that a mysterious place beneath Duobao Island held many ten-thousand-year-old herbs, prompting Chen Lin to consider seeking ingredients for the Holy Void Pill.
• Xin Shangxiu, Ba Yeyu, and Duanmu Jue left the gathering, and Yue Tianyi continued entertaining the remaining cultivators before they departed.
• Xin Yueling met Chen Lin on a nearby mountain and confronted him about hiding his Void Refinement cultivation, then asked whether he had advanced using a treasure from the Earth Cave.
• Xin Yueling confessed that she had used the soul treasure's mysterious energy to advance and that a remnant thought of Luo had possessed and fused with her.
• Xin Yueling explained what she knew about Luo, and Chen Lin offered to try a technique suited to countering heretical entities.

Chen Lin negotiated with Xin Yueling to remove the heretical entity in exchange for rare spiritual herbs, a Void Refinement pill formula, and true spirit blood, then asked Lu Xiaoyi to discreetly tell Yue Tianyi and Zhang Zhenqian that he could resolve their possession. Yue Tianyi and Zhang Zhenqian arrived at Tianbao Peak in a panic, seeking Chen Lin’s help.

• Chen Lin demonstrated the Soul-Destroying Finger on Xin Yueling and weakened the heretical entity within her more than her own soul source.
• Chen Lin agreed to remove Xin Yueling’s hidden danger in exchange for spiritual herbs, a Void Refinement pill formula, and true spirit blood, but said she had to find the herbs before he could proceed.
• Chen Lin asked Lu Xiaoyi to tell Yue Tianyi and Zhang Zhenqian about the possession and discreetly reveal that he had removed her hidden danger; she agreed after he warned the entity might possess her again.
• Chen Jiliang visited Chen Lin, who gave him pills and told him to bring his unborn daughter to visit after she was born.
• After Lu Xiaoyi helped Yue Tianyi and Zhang Zhenqian sense the heretical entity’s influence and Xin Yueling confirmed it, they hurried to Tianbao Peak to see Chen Lin.

Chen Lin arranged for Yue Tianyi and his companion to gather spiritual herbs for him, then sparred with Chen Ling'er to examine her Primordial Spirit Domain. He was stunned when her domain manifested Void spirits, and the chapter left him turning his attention toward something in the distance.

• Chen Lin used the Soul-Destroying Finger to secure benefits from Yue Tianyi and his companion and arranged for them to seek spiritual herbs on Duobao Island.
• Chen Ling'er told Chen Lin she had established her Primordial Spirit Domain, and he took her to a barren valley to test it while suppressing his cultivation to the Spirit Transformation Stage.
• Chen Ling'er attacked Chen Lin with an earth-element hammer, flying swords, and durable earth puppets, but he countered them with lightning spells.
• Chen Ling'er summoned hazy Void spirits within her domain, astonishing Chen Lin, who broke the domain using his Void Refinement cultivation.
• Chen Lin praised Chen Ling'er's achievement, then suddenly looked into the distance.

Daoist Destiny warned Chen Lin of an approaching calamity as immortals and deities rose again, prompting him to seek shelter in the Nightmare Realm. At the underwater immortal cave, Bai Yuzhou revealed that he had seen writing like the characters on the sealed node in Huanyin Palace’s secret realm.

• Daoist Destiny and Zhenyangzi arrived, and Chen Lin learned that Guangxuanzi remained trapped in the Nightmare Realm’s prison.
• Daoist Destiny removed a hidden Transmission Treasure from Chen Lin, then warned him that great upheaval was coming and he would face a major tribulation.
• Chen Lin suspected Youruo might be connected to the warning, skipped Yue Tianyi’s void refinement ceremony, and returned with Hua Ruyu to the underwater immortal cave beneath Nameless Island.
• Bai Yuzhou told Chen Lin that he had seen similar characters carved on a stone tablet in Huanyin Palace’s secret realm while visiting Madam Miaoyin.

Chen Lin went to Duobao Island to contact Madam Miaoyin and check on the Mysterious Place, but learned that Xin Yueling and the others had already entered it. After hearing of strange signs at the Earth Cave, he sought Madam Miaoyin and discovered that she was throwing her embroidered ball.

• Chen Lin questioned Bai Yuzhou about the writing he had seen, then paid him with pills for his cooperation.
• Chen Lin and Hua Ruyu arrived at Duobao Island, where Chen Lin planned to contact Madam Miaoyin and wait for Xin Yueling and the others.
• Chen Lin met Lu Xiaoyi and learned that the Major Factions had sent experts into the Mysterious Place ahead of the auction, while Xin Yueling and the others had also entered.
• Lu Xiaoyi reported roiling yin qi and radiant clouds near the Earth Cave, prompting Chen Lin to seek Madam Miaoyin urgently.
• Chen Lin learned that Madam Miaoyin was staying on an outer satellite island, but a colorful bird announced that she was throwing her embroidered ball.

Chen Lin and Hua Ruyu went to Huanyin Island to meet Madam Miaoyin, but Yin Jiuling ambushed Chen Lin in her bedchamber. Madam Miaoyin demanded the passage to the outside world and Ancestor Lingtian’s belongings, leaving Chen Lin to realize the attack was connected to Ancestor Lingtian.

• Madam Miaoyin played her jade xiao over the city and tossed an embroidered ball toward Chen Lin, but Hua Ruyu caught it while Chen Lin concealed his identity.
• Chen Lin and Hua Ruyu traveled to Huanyin Island, where Madam Miaoyin allowed them both into her palace.
• Yin Jiuling attacked Chen Lin with a spirit-transforming grade dagger, but Chen Lin’s Cyan Vine Shield blocked and destroyed it.
• Madam Miaoyin recognized the shield’s grade and questioned Chen Lin about his origins and plans.
• Madam Miaoyin demanded that Chen Lin reveal the passage to the outside world and surrender Ancestor Lingtian’s belongings, and Chen Lin realized that Ancestor Lingtian was the reason for their hostility.

Chen Lin traded Ancestor Lingtian’s Black Stone to Madam Miaoyin for a translation of the Wall Inscription. Madam Miaoyin identified Hua Ruyu as a demon descendant and warned that Chen Lin would soon die, leaving the group to depart Huanyin Island wary of the danger.

• Chen Lin admitted killing Ancestor Lingtian and offered Madam Miaoyin a trade, showing her a copy of the Wall Inscription so she could explain its characters.
• Madam Miaoyin recognized the script, but Yin Jiuling urged her to kill Chen Lin and use Soul Search; Hua Ruyu prepared to defend her master.
• Madam Miaoyin recognized Hua Ruyu as a demon descendant and warned Chen Lin that he had little time left.
• Chen Lin gave Madam Miaoyin the Black Stone in exchange for a Jade Slip containing the inscription’s translation, and she reacted with intense emotion upon receiving it.
• Chen Lin and Hua Ruyu left Huanyin Island, and Chen Lin explained that Hua Ruyu’s origins could draw danger from revived gods and demons.

After returning to Duobao Island, Chen Lin unexpectedly met Yan Wuya, whose ability to see through Chen Lin’s concealed cultivation deepened his suspicions about the mysterious cultivator. They shared a guarded meal, and Yan Wuya explained how he had crossed between realms before Chen Lin asked why he did not seek a higher-level plane.

• Chen Lin returned Madam Miaoyin’s translated wall inscriptions to Cheng Lingdie, then went back to Duobao Island to await Xin Yueling and the others.
• Reflecting on friends and acquaintances lost to time, Chen Lin gained a small improvement in his state of mind before spotting Yan Wuya in the crowd.
• Chen Lin and Yan Wuya greeted each other as old friends, though Chen Lin privately suspected Yan Wuya might have followed him and asked Hua Ruyu to watch discreetly.
• During their meal, Yan Wuya offered Chen Lin a secret boundary-breaking art through an inheritance mote, but Chen Lin dispersed it rather than accept an unknown mental inheritance.
• Yan Wuya said he had used the secret art to escape White Bone Sage Lord’s Holy Domain, reach the Southern Star Realm, and later arrive in the Tiancang Realm, where he hoped to find herbs for a breakthrough.
• Chen Lin asked Yan Wuya why he did not use his boundary-breaking art to leave the Tiancang Realm for a higher-level plane.

Chen Lin received a Glazed Cup from High Person Yunhai and later collected spiritual herbs from Zhang Zhenqian and Yue Tianyi in exchange for removing their Youruo remnant thoughts. He left them with pills to restore their damaged soul origins, while the Secret Realm’s sealed central area remained beyond his reach.

• High Person Yunhai explained the risks of his boundary-breaking secret art, gave Chen Lin a Glazed Cup tied to a Nightmare Realm scenario, and taught him its rules.
• Chen Lin met Hua Ruyu and browsed market shops, while deciding not to explore the Glazed Cup scenario without verifying its dangers.
• After the auction, Chen Lin met Zhang Zhenqian and Yue Tianyi, who delivered spiritual herbs from the Secret Realm but lacked most of the varieties he needed.
• Zhang Zhenqian and Yue Tianyi said the Secret Realm’s central area was sealed by major powers and that two cultivators had died exploring it, so Chen Lin abandoned plans to enter.
• Chen Lin removed the Youruo remnant thoughts from both men, damaging their soul origin essence, then sold each a qi luck version of the Nascent Soul Pill to aid recovery.

Chen Lin fled after Hua Ruyu sensed a powerful being awakening, only to witness the continents collide as the plane’s geography shifted. Beneath Duobao Island, Madam Miaoyin and Yin Jiuling prepared to revive an immortal, but Yin Jiuling turned against her and attacked.

• Chen Lin waited for Xin Yueling and searched for spiritual herbs, then grew uneasy when she and the other cultivators failed to emerge from Duobao Island.
• Hua Ruyu sensed a powerful existence awakening, so Chen Lin left with her; space had locked, forcing them back out of the void.
• Chen Lin tried to contact Qin Lingyu and the others, but his Transmission Talisman failed, so he flew toward the Nameless Island to find them.
• Chen Lin saw islands converge on Duobao Island and the Beiyuan Continent collide with the True Spirit Continent, causing widespread destruction.
• Hua Ruyu sensed that the plane’s space remained intact, easing Chen Lin’s fear that it was collapsing.
• Beneath Duobao Island, Madam Miaoyin and Yin Jiuling watched an immortal’s statue awaken around the Black Stone, but Yin Jiuling suddenly attacked Madam Miaoyin with a beam of black light.

Yin Jiuling was killed when Madam Miaoyin and High Person Yunhai used the Immortal Soldier Shell against him, while Yunhai took the Immortal Soul Crystal and warned that a Great Tribulation was coming. After the continents merged and a vast formation activated, Chen Lin returned to Tianbao Peak, where Qin Lingyu told him that Caiyi and Ling'er had taken the Cheng Sisters toward the Nightmare Realm Node.

• Yin Jiuling’s attack on Madam Miaoyin failed when she revealed her substitute and trapped him, and he admitted that he possessed the Immortal Soul Crystal and served the Superior Deity.
• Madam Miaoyin and High Person Yunhai used the Immortal Soldier Shell to cut Yin Jiuling in two, and Yunhai retrieved the Soul Crystal from his corpse.
• High Person Yunhai warned Madam Miaoyin that the Great Tribulation was approaching, then asked her to help kill Chen Lin, but she refused because of his powerful defenses and demon descendant servant.
• Madam Miaoyin shrank the Immortal Soldier Shell and left the hall, while Chen Lin watched the True Spirit Continent merge with the Beiyuan Continent and recognized the lights spreading across the land as a colossal Grand Formation.
• Chen Lin returned to Tianbao Peak with Hua Ruyu and learned from Qin Lingyu that Caiyi and Ling'er had taken the Cheng Sisters toward the Nightmare Realm Node, while she stayed to manage the disciples.

After the Silent Sea vanished in a realm-shaking upheaval, Chen Lin reunited with his family and learned that the Nightmare Realm node remained intact. He chose to establish a new base near the node, and Wu Wanshan revealed that a peculiar stone slab had been found in the collapsed cave abode.

• Chen Lin reunited with Sun Caiyi, Chen Ling'er, and the Cheng Sisters, then told them he suspected a sealed heretical entity was beginning to break free.
• Wu Wanshan arrived and reported that he and Liu Shengyuan had kept the Nightmare Realm node from collapsing, though the cave abode above it had been crushed.
• Chen Lin found Wu Wanshan, Bai Yuzhou, and the other cultivators near a newly risen mountain and decided to build a settlement there.
• Chen Lin and Wu Wanshan flew to the node, which remained beneath a vast stretch of seawater turned to marshland and lakes.
• Wu Wanshan told Chen Lin that a damaged, unmarked stone slab had appeared behind the inscribed wall when the cave abode collapsed, and that he and Liu Shengyuan had kept it.

Chen Lin inspected a stable spatial node and activated a mysterious stone slab with his talent origin, but Hua Ruyu could not decipher its pattern. After returning outside, he rescued Xin Yueling from a demonic transformation, and she woke and thanked him.

• Chen Lin inspected the node, confirmed it remained usable despite spatial confinement, and left it unsealed while planning to reinforce it.
• Chen Lin activated the cracked Cyan Stone Slab with his talent origin, revealing a pattern that Hua Ruyu could not identify.
• Chen Lin set up a formation near the node, while Liu Shengyuan and Wu Wanshan expanded the space into an immortal cave.
• Bai Yuzhou and Chen Ling'er brought the weakened Xin Yueling to Chen Lin, who used the Soul-Destroying Finger five times to suppress the demonic aura threatening to transform her.
• Chen Lin gave Xin Yueling an Authentic Nascent Soul Pill and helped her refine it; after recovering enough to speak, she thanked him and promised to repay his help.

Chen Lin traded the spirit herbs he recovered for pill formulas from Xin Yueling, then told her what he knew about Luo and the danger posed by Youruo's Clone in the Earth Cave. After Xin Yueling left to report his revelations to her lineage, Chen Lin returned to studying the stone slab.

• Xin Yueling gave Chen Lin most of the spirit herbs she had obtained and a jade slip containing ancient pill formulas, including the difficult-to-use Bailing Pill formula.
• Xin Yueling told Chen Lin that continents had merged in the east as well as the west, and described strange omens that had appeared across the plane before vanishing, including the disappearance of the Twin Lakes Desert lakes.
• Chen Lin concluded that the omens might signal the revival of powerful beings and asked Xin Yueling to share what she learned about the Twin Lakes Desert.
• Chen Lin explained Luo's nature and the danger of Youruo's Clone sealed in the Earth Cave, and Xin Yueling decided to report the information to her lineage.
• After Xin Yueling left, Chen Lin returned to his room and examined the stone slab.

After Cheng Lingdie revealed that the purple essence in her and Cheng Lingchan’s souls was merging, Chen Lin gave up extracting it to protect them. He entered the Nightmare Realm to meet Kannie at a gathering, where he learned Blue Butterfly had raided the huge birds’ nests, and she appeared as Jin Xuanzi challenged her ability to take a Colored Bird Egg.

• Cheng Lingdie told Chen Lin that the purple essence in her and Cheng Lingchan’s souls was spreading, and Chen Lin decided not to extract it because doing so might kill them.
• Cheng Lingchan celebrated that Chen Lin had spared their soul source, while Cheng Lingdie wondered what his decision meant for their relationship.
• Chen Lin entered the Nightmare Realm to retrieve Hua Ruyu and learned that Kannie wanted to meet him at the next gathering.
• Chen Lin attended the Myriad Realms Alliance gathering and heard from Jin Xuanzi that Blue Butterfly had raided the huge birds’ nests but had not taken a Colored Bird Egg.
• Blue Butterfly appeared and challenged Jin Xuanzi to prove that he could take a Colored Bird Egg.

At a gathering of the Myriad Realms Alliance, Chen Lin learned that the Northern Wilderness Realm had formed from fragments of the Northern Star Realm and other planes. The gathering continued as a four-armed youth sought a Bailiff for an unexplained task, leaving the others unsure what the role meant.

• Blue Butterfly suspected Chen Lin had advanced to the Void Refinement Realm after he said he regretted trading away the Demonic Pupil, and he offered no denial.
• With Kannie absent, Sarina proposed exploring a dangerous Silver Scenario for lifespan-extending fruit, but no one accepted.
• Chen Lin traded information with a gray-robed newcomer, learned that the Northern Wilderness Continent had become the stable Northern Wilderness Realm, and discovered the man had lived near the Black Pagoda.
• Blue Butterfly interrupted Chen Lin's questions and drew the gray-robed man back to her side, while Chen Lin decided he could ask other newcomers about their realm later.
• A four-armed youth offered one hundred Nightmare Coins to a Bailiff for a task, but refused to explain what a Bailiff was when Blue Butterfly asked.

Chen Lin attended a Myriad Realms Alliance gathering, where the Four-Armed Youth revealed a loophole in the Cave’s rules and asked Chen Lin for help. After returning to the current world, Chen Lin discovered that Hua Ruyu was gone and a burly man in a Black Crown stood in her place.

• Blue Butterfly tried to trade information about the Northern Wilderness Continent for Chen Lin’s explanation of bailiffs, but he refused.
• Alliance members traded scenario objects, then most of them left the Cave.
• The Four-Armed Youth ordered Blue Butterfly to leave and used his aura to hurl her against a wall, then explained that nightmare realm creatures could attack people in the Cave.
• The Four-Armed Youth asked Chen Lin for help, but Chen Lin declined because his plane was in danger; the man said he could not cross to the Tiancang Realm.
• Chen Lin waited for Kannie, marked the Cave wall, and returned to the current world, where he found Hua Ruyu missing and a burly man wearing a Black Crown watching him.

Chen Lin learned that the Black-Crowned Man had taken the Cheng Sisters to the Purple God Clan’s plane, then discovered that several powerful ancient beings had revived. Xin Yueling warned him to lie low while they fought the Youruo remnant thought.

• The Black-Crowned Man confronted Chen Lin, warned him not to target his clan, and vanished after taking the Cheng Sisters.
• Hua Ruyu returned and told Chen Lin that the Black-Crowned Man had come for the Cheng Sisters, not her.
• Chen Ling'er gave Chen Lin a letter and Soul Source Bead from the sisters; Chen Lin chose to store the bead until he could verify it was safe.
• Chen Lin sent Hua Ruyu into White Cloud Pasture and asked Xin Yueling about the Black-Crowned Man.
• Xin Yueling reported that Zishu, Liren Chou, and Zhenyangzi had revived, and warned that Madam Miaoyin possessed a terrifying Armored Puppet.

Chen Lin tested the Level 3 Road Guide and confirmed it could bring up to ten people into a scenario, easing his plans to explore the node with his family. After preparing for the journey amid the awakened powerhouses’ silence, he learned that Madam Miaoyin was forming the Tiancang Alliance and chose to stay out of it as he began securing the node.

• Chen Lin read Cheng Lingdie’s Wall Inscription notes, decided to explore the node again, and tested the Nightmare Realm’s barriers with Xue Honglan.
• Chen Lin confirmed that a Level 3 Road Guide could bring up to ten other people into a scenario, while repeated trips could not exceed that limit.
• Chen Lin assigned Xue Honglan to gather information in the Myriad Realms Alliance’s Cave and spent the following months preparing pills, studying the inscription, and obtaining defensive Array Disks.
• Xin Yueling told Chen Lin that Madam Miaoyin had summoned the realm’s powerhouses to form the Tiancang Alliance, but Chen Lin declined to join.
• After Xin Yueling left, Chen Lin went to the underground node and began setting up formations.

Chen Lin entered the Nightmare Realm node and found that Li Fuyao had vanished from the now-ordinary painting, while the town outside had grown deserted. At the County Office, he discovered a bounty for a fearsome Yaoguai rampaging through the region and considered the meager merit offered for killing it.

• Chen Lin sent cultivators into the node to inspect the painting and Nightmare Coins, then entered himself and confirmed that Li Fuyao had disappeared and the painting could be cut with a sword.
• Chen Lin inspected the courtyard, found no sign that anyone had entered or left, and discovered that the wedding procession and bloodstains outside had vanished as time passed.
• Chen Lin found the town empty and was stopped from flying by a Road Guide Barrier before reaching the County Office on foot.
• Chen Lin read a bounty notice describing a powerful Yaoguai with a pig's snout, tusks, and a Five-Tooth Rake that had terrorized the town for half a year.
• Chen Lin noted that the bounty offered ten thousand Nightmare Coins and permanent tax exemption but only ten merit points.

Chen Lin learned that the Wall Inscription pointed to a cave on Taiqing Mountain, but refused the Black Bear Magistrate’s request to help defeat the yaoguai there. The magistrate and the Golden-Haired Chief Constable then discussed their conflict with Zhu Sankui and the dangers of escaping the Nightmare Realm.

• Chen Lin recalled that the Wall Inscription placed a secret chamber behind a waterfall on Taiqing Mountain, twenty li into the range.
• The bloodied Golden-Haired Chief Constable brought Chen Lin to the Black Bear Magistrate, who asked him to help deal with a monster on Taiqing Mountain.
• Chen Lin repeatedly refused the task, despite the magistrate offering him land and other rewards, and claimed Hua Ruyu was on duty at White Cloud Pasture.
• The Black Bear Magistrate and the Golden-Haired Chief Constable privately agreed not to attack Chen Lin, judging him too dangerous and worrying they would lose to him.
• The Golden-Haired Chief Constable reported that Zhu Sankui had defeated him with a Five-Tooth Rake and was gathering men with an Appointment Document.
• The Black Bear Magistrate said breaking the seal on Li Fuyao’s courtyard would violate fundamental rules and likely destroy anyone who tried.

Chen Lin was caught between the Black Bear Magistrate Xiong Ziqi and Zhu Sankui’s invading Black Bull Army, and accepted a mission contract to help defend the County Office. As Zhu Sankui’s forces attacked, the defenders were quickly overwhelmed, leaving Chen Lin to decide how to act amid the battle.

• Chen Lin tried to leave the County Office after the Black Bear Magistrate and Jin Zhenshan exchanged secret voice transmissions, but Zhu Sankui’s Black Bull Army arrived and surrounded the building.
• Xiong Ziqi gave Chen Lin a mission contract promising him exclusive territory if he helped kill Zhu Sankui, and Chen Lin accepted and summoned Hua Ruyu.
• Zhu Sankui broke through the gates with more than twenty riders and claimed his Appointment Document let him take the magistrate’s seat.
• Hua Ruyu assured Chen Lin that Zhu Sankui and his followers were Outsiders subject to Nightmare Realm rule suppression, while Chen Lin watched warily from beneath the Road Guide Barrier.
• Zhu Sankui ordered his forces to kill everyone, and Xiong Ziqi and Jin Zhenshan fought back as Chen Lin held his position.
• Zhu Sankui offered Chen Lin double the promised benefits to stand aside, then wounded Xiong Ziqi, while the Black Pagoda Bruiser disarmed the injured Jin Zhenshan.