Chapter Summaries

Chen Lin investigated a sealed stone coffin after miners uncovered it, but the early Qi Refinement cultivators who fell into the mine vanished and were replaced by scarecrows in their beds. His search found no explanation, and the chapter ended as the same strange aura began emanating from his sleeping body.

• Chen Lin refused to open the stone coffin and arranged to seal the mine after True Person He declined to come investigate.
• A Qi Condensation cultivator reported that the four miners who had fallen into the pit had become scarecrows, and Chen Lin inspected them with Feng Kuocheng.
• Chen Lin used the Monkey Puppet to dismantle one scarecrow, found nothing unusual, and ordered a search for the missing cultivators and a distant check of the coffin.
• Xiao Linghui's tracking spirit beast failed to find the missing cultivators, and Chen Lin dismissed the search party after reassuring them.
• As Chen Lin slept that night, an aura identical to the scarecrows' began emanating from his body.

Chen Lin entered the Scarecrow Cottage, where Niuniu warned that he would become a scarecrow unless he wove a Substitute. After using his talent to complete two scarecrows and earning a Nightmare Coin, he was forcibly expelled from the strange place.

• Chen Lin met Niuniu, the scarecrow Guardian of the Scarecrow Cottage, who explained that his fading body would turn into a scarecrow if he did not weave a Substitute.
• Niuniu demonstrated the weaving technique and showed Chen Lin a Nightmare Coin, while Chen Lin discovered that he could use only a fraction of his divine sense and none of his mana.
• Chen Lin failed several attempts as the living straw resisted him, but his talent completed a lifelike Substitute on his fifth try.
• After learning that Nightmare Coins could buy goods, Road Guides, and Substitutes, Chen Lin wove another scarecrow and received a coin from Niuniu.
• A powerful repulsive force struck Chen Lin, and the Scarecrow Cottage vanished around him.

Chen Lin escaped the mysterious space with the Nightmare Coin, then learned that Qi Yunzhi and other cultivators had turned into scarecrows. Unable to reach the Silver Fairy and pressured to finish the Satellite City before her nascent soul grand ceremony, he sought help sealing the dangerous site and gave Xu Chengyue a Shuiyun Spirit Pill for his meridian injury.

• Chen Lin found the Nightmare Coin in his quarters, sealed it away, and decided to report the mysterious space to the Silver Fairy.
• Feng Kuocheng told Chen Lin that Qi Yunzhi and several other cultivators had become scarecrows after handling the scarecrows with tools, and Chen Lin ordered everyone to stay away from them and the mine.
• Feng Kuocheng reported his suspicions about Chen Lin to True Person He while Chen Lin flew back to Silver Immortal City.
• True Person He told Chen Lin that the Silver Fairy's nascent soul grand ceremony was six months away and ordered him to resolve the Satellite City problem, but the Silver Fairy was absent.
• Chen Lin confirmed that the Silver Fairy and Mu Linglong were away, then went to the Formation Hall to ask Xu Chengyue about sealing the mine and scarecrow storage area.
• Chen Lin gave Xu Chengyue a Shuiyun Spirit Pill, which Xu Chengyue recognized as a possible treatment for his long-standing meridian injury.

Chen Lin reported the Nightmare Realm node in the spirit stone mine to the Silver Fairy and described his own escape from its dream scenario. After explaining the danger and rules of the realm, she sent him to assist Mu Linglong and offered to take him as her personal disciple.

• Xu Chengyue recognized the aura at the mine as that of the Nightmare Realm and summoned the Silver Fairy.
• Chen Lin recounted the stone coffin, the transformed cultivators, and his encounter with the little girl in the Thatch Cottage Courtyard.
• The Silver Fairy examined the mine and scarecrows, then questioned Chen Lin about his experience and the Road Guide.
• The Silver Fairy explained that the mine was a Nightmare Realm node and said Chen Lin would not be dragged back into the scenario he had escaped.
• The Silver Fairy told Chen Lin to assist Mu Linglong with relocating the top-grade spiritual vein and offered to make him her personal disciple.

Chen Lin agreed to become the Silver Fairy’s direct disciple and helped prepare Silver Immortal City for her grand ceremony, where she demonstrated her power by moving a top-grade spiritual vein. As the crowded celebration began, Chen Lin recognized someone among the newly arrived guests at the Teleportation Formation.

• Chen Lin discussed relocating the spiritual vein with Xu Chengyue, then met Mu Linglong and told her the Silver Fairy had agreed to accept him as a direct disciple.
• After returning from the Nightmare Realm investigation, the Silver Fairy uprooted the mountain containing the top-grade spiritual vein and moved it to Silver Immortal City.
• Chen Lin kept a low profile, refined pills for the Pill Hall, and produced a double-patterned Seven-Star Pill that earned him the remaining materials.
• On the eve of the grand ceremony, crowds poured into Silver Immortal City for the Silver Fairy’s Dao discourse and auction, and Chen Lin was assigned to welcome important guests.
• When a group arrived at the Teleportation Formation, Chen Lin’s expression tightened as he recognized someone among them.

Chen Lin reunited with Yan Wuya in Silver Immortal City and encountered Alan of Wuzhen Tower, while the city filled with visitors ahead of Silver Fairy’s Grand Ceremony. Silver Fairy summoned Chen Lin to answer True Lord Huanling’s questions about Scarecrow Cottage, leaving him facing an unexplained, silent old man as well.

• Chen Lin recognized Yan Wuya at the teleportation formation, and Yan Wuya learned that Chen Lin was an elder of Silver Immortal City and the city lord’s Accepted Disciple.
• A lone woman named Alan arrived through the formation and vanished before Chen Lin could see where she went; Mu Linglong identified her as being from Wuzhen Tower and told Chen Lin not to worry.
• Yan Wuya visited Chen Lin and asked him to look out for yumo grass, the Xianji Stone, and lingyu flowers, which he needed as ingredients for a pill.
• As the Grand Ceremony approached, Silver Immortal City filled with representatives from across the Immortal Cultivation World, and Silver Fairy summoned Chen Lin.
• Silver Fairy introduced True Lord Huanling, who wanted to ask Chen Lin about Scarecrow Cottage, while an unintroduced old man sat silently nearby.

After Silver Fairy and True Lord Huanling discussed the sealed stone coffin and their coming Nightmare Realm exploration, Chen Lin tried to make amends to Silver Fairy and investigated a Xianji Stone he had acquired. The stone’s seller, Zhang Yuanqing, led Chen Lin to a startling discovery in a second box.

• Silver Fairy and True Lord Huanling concluded that the mine had no space node to the Nightmare Realm and decided to seal the stone coffin until after their exploration.
• Chen Lin feared Silver Fairy had noticed his secrets, so he assembled a gift for her and included his Nightmare Coin.
• The Old Shopkeeper showed Chen Lin a Xianji Stone that a qi condensation late stage cultivator had sold, and Chen Lin set out to find the seller.
• Chen Lin and the Old Shopkeeper caught up with Zhang Yuanqing as three men attacked him; Chen Lin killed the attackers, searched one man's soul, and rescued Zhang Yuanqing.
• Zhang Yuanqing said he had found the Xianji Stone in an ancient cultivator's immortal cave and handed Chen Lin a smaller box containing the other item he had kept.
• Chen Lin opened the smaller box and was shocked by what he saw.

Chen Lin discovered a Nightmare Coin and Xianji Stone in an ancient cave abode, then became the Silver Fairy’s third Room Disciple during her Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony. The chapter ended with the Silver Fairy and True Lord Huanling questioning him about High Person Yunhai’s search for Xianji Stone and possible plans to enter the Nightmare Realm.

• Chen Lin traded Zhang Yuanqing a Marrow-Cleansing Pill for a trip to the cave abode, where he confirmed the hidden compartment held a Nightmare Coin and Xianji Stone.
• The Silver Fairy completed her Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony, accepted Chen Lin as her third Room Disciple, and expounded on the Dao to the gathered cultivators.
• High Person Yunhai watched Chen Lin’s rise in status and decided to cultivate a relationship with him because of the nearby Space Node leading to the Nightmare Realm.
• Chen Lin prepared to attend an auction, but Mu Linglong summoned him to wait for the Silver Fairy, so he asked her about Yumo Grass, Xianji Stone, and Lingyu Flower.
• True Lord Huanling identified Yumo Grass as food for an ancient race and Lingyu Flower as legendary, while the Silver Fairy concluded that Chen Lin’s friend was collecting Xianji Stone for a trip to the Nightmare Realm and asked for his name.

Chen Lin learned more about the dangers of the Nightmare Realm from Mu Linglong, then used five Foundation Establishment Pills to help the Old Shopkeeper break through. The Old Shopkeeper swore the Tian Family’s allegiance and proposed binding his family to Chen Lin with a Bloodline Soul Seal, which Chen Lin allowed only after urging him to consult them first.

• Chen Lin told Silver Fairy that Yan Wuya had sought the three items while posing as High Person Yunhai, and Silver Fairy gave him a Tribulation Avoidance Talisman before leaving with True Lord Huanling.
• Mu Linglong asked Chen Lin to patrol the city, but he declined because of the auction; he then asked her about the Nightmare Realm and learned that cultivators usually entered as projections while their bodies remained behind.
• Mu Linglong warned Chen Lin that the Nightmare Realm’s dangers exceeded his understanding, and Chen Lin later attended the auction, where he bought materials and two low-grade tribulation-resistant treasures.
• Chen Lin gave the Old Shopkeeper five Foundation Establishment Pills and guarded him as he used them to break through into the Foundation Establishment realm.
• The Old Shopkeeper, whose name was Tian Haifu, swore the Tian Family’s allegiance to Chen Lin and proposed that his family sign a Bloodline Soul Seal; Chen Lin agreed cautiously and told him to discuss the irreversible decision with his family.

Chen Lin sorted through his new treasures, moved into his immortal cave in Silver Immortal City, and was unexpectedly contacted by Niuniu from the Nightmare Realm. After learning that her Cloth Doll Toy was trapped in the stone coffin, he consulted Mu Linglong, who advised him to wait for Silver Fairy to return before taking any action.

• Chen Lin inspected his gifts and discovered that he now possessed three upper-grade Spiritual Tools, two Talisman Treasures, and numerous other Spiritual Tools.
• Chen Lin signed a Bloodline Soul Seal with the Old Shopkeeper alone, gave the man's son and grandsons some benefits, and sent them away.
• Chen Lin moved into an immortal cave near the summit of Silver Immortal City after the auction ended and the city's spiritual vein stabilized.
• Niuniu contacted Chen Lin from the Nightmare Realm and asked him to free her Cloth Doll Toy from a stone coffin in his realm.
• Chen Lin tried to ask Niuniu whether she had seen the Silver-Haired Woman, but their connection ended before she could answer.
• Chen Lin told Mu Linglong what had happened, and she advised him to leave the stone coffin alone until Silver Fairy returned from the Nightmare Realm.

Chen Lin grew wary of He Huahai and Mu Linglong’s conflict while Silver Fairy remained missing, so he prepared escape routes and sought a secluded place to advance his cultivation. He faced the second bolt of his minor heavenly tribulation and lay severely injured, with the final strike still to come.

• After waiting months for Silver Fairy to emerge, Chen Lin learned from Mu Linglong that He Huahai had secretly advanced to the late Golden Core realm, possibly with help from Lv Yuan.
• Chen Lin suggested Mu Linglong ask He Huahai to help open the stone coffin in Silver Tiger City Mine, but He Huahai refused, and Mu Linglong shelved the plan.
• Fearing he could become a pawn in the feud between Mu Linglong and He Huahai, Chen Lin inspected a Teleportation Formation to Island Number Nine and researched the routes from Sea of Clouds Immortal City.
• Chen Lin left to break through his foundation establishment middle-stage bottleneck, and Mu Linglong learned from the Old Shopkeeper that he expected to return within a month.
• During his breakthrough, Chen Lin endured the first two bolts of his minor heavenly tribulation, using the Thunder Apricot Spirit to absorb and channel the lightning before collapsing badly injured.

Chen Lin survived his tribulation, advanced to foundation establishment middle stage, and killed three cultivators who tried to rob him. He then learned that Mu Linglong had fallen unconscious after opening the stone coffin and went to Silver Tiger City to investigate, finding no nightmare realm aura inside it.

• Chen Lin’s third tribulation bolt strengthened his Diamond Body-Refining Technique and Thunder Apricot Spirit, and he broke through to foundation establishment middle stage.
• Chen Lin used his Foundation Establishment Puppets and other magic tools to kill the Qishan Three Friends after they blocked his way and demanded treasure.
• A young woman and a girl watched Chen Lin leave and discussed him as a possible marriage prospect for the girl.
• Cao Jinwang told Chen Lin that Mu Linglong had opened the stone coffin and fallen unconscious, so Chen Lin ordered him to keep the incident secret and hurried to Silver Tiger City.
• Chen Lin entered the mine cave and found Mu Linglong at the bottom of the pit; the stone coffin no longer held nightmare realm aura, leaving him to consider whether her body could still connect to the Nightmare Realm.

Chen Lin entered Scarecrow Cottage to rescue Mu Linglong and learned more about the Nightmare Realm, including how the Xianji Stone and Road Guides worked. After returning to reality, he and Mu Linglong discussed Silver Fairy’s whereabouts and the suspicious He Huahai and Lv Yuan.

• Chen Lin entered Scarecrow Cottage and gave Niuniu a Nightmare Coin so she could buy Mu Linglong a straw substitute and send her back safely.
• Chen Lin discovered that his Xianji Stone weakened the Nightmare Realm’s rejection and learned that Silver Fairy had bought a Road Guide and left Scarecrow Cottage while True Lord Huanling and True Lord Anmu had returned to their original realm.
• Niuniu gave Chen Lin a Straw Button that could summon her cloth doll in an emergency, then explained that he could not return to Scarecrow Cottage until she recovered and summoned him.
• After the Nightmare Realm expelled him, Chen Lin found Mu Linglong safe in the mining pit and explained what had happened.
• Mu Linglong warned Chen Lin to watch He Huahai and Lv Yuan, while Chen Lin privately resolved to avoid getting involved until Silver Fairy returned.

Chen Lin strengthened his escape plans while Silver Fairy was in seclusion, then received a valuable spell inheritance after she returned. He remained wary of He Huahai and began studying the inheritance in his immortal cave.

• Chen Lin expanded his underground escape network with help from his Foundation Establishment Puppets and sent the Old Shopkeeper to Xuanguan Immortal City to investigate its Cross-Region Teleportation Formation.
• Silver Fairy emerged from seclusion, questioned her disciples, and warned He Huahai that the Eight Extremes Purgatory Pill would bring severe tribulations and backlash.
• Silver Fairy confined Mu Linglong for a year for disobeying orders and told Chen Lin to maintain his connection with the little girl from the Nightmare Realm.
• Silver Fairy asked whether Chen Lin had a dual cultivation companion, then gave him an Inheritance Jade Slip containing a spell as thanks for his help in the Nightmare Realm.
• Chen Lin activated the Jade Slip in his immortal cave, and its white light entered his brow, imparting Silver Fairy's insights through divine empowerment.

Chen Lin received the Soul-Destroying Finger inheritance and reluctantly entered a political marriage with Qin Lingyu, a daughter of the Qin Lineage. After half a year of separate cultivation, he reached Initiation in the secret art, then went to Qin Lingyu’s cave after her Transmission Talisman summoned him.

• Chen Lin tested the Soul-Destroying Finger on a mouse and found that his new secret art was still weak.
• The Silver Fairy told Chen Lin to marry Qin Lingyu to strengthen ties with the Qin Lineage, and he reluctantly agreed.
• Qin Lingyu arrived, and Chen Lin proposed a marriage in name only; she agreed to live in a separate immortal cave beside his.
• Chen Lin learned that Qin Lingyu’s father sought the alliance to protect his standing in the Qin Lineage and suspected they also wanted his Three-Stripe Seven-Star Pill.
• After six months of training, Chen Lin reached Initiation in the Soul-Destroying Finger and turned to cultivating the Sanyang Burning Wood Technique.
• Qin Lingyu’s Transmission Talisman summoned Chen Lin, and he headed to her immortal cave.

Lin Wanru visited Chen Lin to ask him to refine a Seven-Star Pill and urged him to consider Qin Lingyu’s needs, while Chen Lin continued cultivating and building connections. After Mu Linglong’s confinement ended, she asked Chen Lin to find promising disciples and urged him to master the Soul-Destroying Finger, hinting that it would be useful.

• Lin Wanru gave Chen Lin Qi-Locking Pills and their formula, then asked him to refine a Seven-Star Pill; he agreed if the Qin Lineage supplied enough ingredients.
• Chen Lin refined a Three-Stripe Seven-Star Pill, helping Qin Lingyu establish her foundation, but Qin Yuandao failed to reach Golden Core and lost his chance to try again.
• Chen Lin learned from the Old Shopkeeper that he had established himself and found promising leads on the Teleportation Formation, prompting Chen Lin to plan to cultivate more trusted agents.
• Chen Lin welcomed Mu Linglong after her year of confinement, and she insisted He Huahai would eventually betray them but refused to explain without evidence.
• At a feast, Mu Linglong asked Chen Lin to scout promising young talents for her disciples and urged him to master the Soul-Destroying Finger at a special training site.

Chen Lin brought Yan Wuya’s Nightmare Realm finger bone to Silver Fairy, then set out to practice the Soul-Destroying Finger at Ten Thousand Caves Mountain. After checking on his Xuanguan Immortal City shop, he asked Tian Haifu about negotiations for a teleportation slot to the Southern Immortal Cultivation World.

• Chen Lin met Yan Wuya, who gave him a Nightmare Realm finger bone and asked him to arrange a meeting with Silver Fairy.
• Silver Fairy examined the finger bone, agreed to meet Yan Wuya, and urged Chen Lin to practice the Soul-Destroying Finger.
• Qin Lingyu gave Chen Lin a Jade Slip from Mu Linglong containing a map to a place where he could practice the spell, and Chen Lin learned Mu Linglong had hurried into the wilderness.
• Chen Lin traveled through Sea of Clouds Immortal City to Xuanguan Immortal City, disguising himself and paying to use the Teleportation Formation.
• Chen Lin met Tian Haifu at the branch shop, instructed him to prioritize gathering information and treasures, and asked about negotiations for a teleportation slot to the Southern Immortal Cultivation World.

Chen Lin traveled to Black Horn to investigate Ten Thousand Caves Mountain and learned that the local Demon-Suppressing Temple’s monks were rumored to turn into monsters. After confirming the cave Mu Linglong had marked, he arrived just as four Foundation Establishment cultivators entered it, and chose to wait rather than join them.

• Chen Lin learned that Xuanguan Immortal City had no available Cross-Region Teleportation Formation slots, so he told Tian Haifu to bid for one at the coming auction.
• Chen Lin hired Wang Erniu to guide him around Black Horn and learned about the city’s factions and the nearby Demon-Suppressing Temple.
• Wang Erniu told Chen Lin he had seen two monks from the Demon-Suppressing Temple turn black and grow fangs, so Chen Lin decided not to visit the temple.
• Chen Lin gathered information and materials in Black Horn before traveling to the cave Mu Linglong had marked in Ten Thousand Caves Mountain.
• Four Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived at the cave entrance and entered after Chen Lin declined their invitation to explore with them.

Chen Lin explored the Earth Cave, discovered that the Soul-Destroying Finger could kill the batlike monsters and leave behind Black Beads, and reached the Soul-Washing Pool. He prepared a Silver-Tailed Monkey for an experiment to test the pool’s effects on the bond between soul and body.

• Chen Lin entered the Earth Cave, where batlike monsters grew stronger by absorbing the black qi of their slain companions, and he trapped them with the Golden Silk Net.
• Chen Lin found that the Soul-Destroying Finger killed the monsters without making them burst apart, leaving behind Black Beads, and he used it to clear the creatures in his path.
• Chen Lin found a Storage Bag beside a corpse belonging to one of the four people he had seen outside the cave, then continued down a passage while a monk watched him and returned toward the surface.
• Chen Lin followed the Map Jade Slip to the Soul-Washing Pool, hoping it would strengthen the connection between his soul and body.
• Chen Lin uncovered a Silver-Tailed Monkey he had brought along to test the pool.

Chen Lin cultivated in the pool, then ambushed and killed a demonized monk who had followed him into the cave. After returning to Silver Immortal City and inspecting the monk’s nearly empty storage bag, he was shocked by the Buddha statue inside.

• Chen Lin tested the pool’s strange energy on the Silver-Tailed Monkey, then entered it and spent half a year cleansing his soul and dissolving the barrier between his soul and body.
• Deputy Director Yan led Three Spirits Society cultivators into the cave to search for his missing younger brother, while a monk watched from nearby.
• Chen Lin used his Foundation Establishment Puppets to ambush the monk, who transformed into a powerful demon and destroyed several puppets.
• Chen Lin defeated the monk with He Huahai’s talisman treasure, gathered the storage bags, and fled to Silver Immortal City.
• Chen Lin discovered that the monk’s storage bag held only a Buddha statue and a few scriptures, then cried out in disbelief when he examined the statue.