Chapter Summaries

Chen Lin met Xue Honglan in the scenario and learned how the Immortal Palace’s departure had changed the Tiancang Realm and why his wife might be unable to visit him. At the Gourmet Island scenario, Xue Wa showed him Starlight Grass, which could repel Nightmare Qi, but Chen Lin’s first test left him confused.

• Chen Lin spoke with Xue Honglan, who reported that Yue Tianyi and several other experts had stayed in the Tiancang Realm while Chen Ling'er and many of Chen Lin’s acquaintances had departed with the Immortal Palace.
• Xue Honglan told Chen Lin that Lord Zi had said Immortal Realm residents could rarely enter low-level Nightmare Realm scenarios, easing his worry that Chen Ling'er could not contact him.
• Chen Lin asked Xue Honglan to watch for monks near the Yucai Sect, established a new secret sign with her, then returned to Ruyi Island, left Grass to guard it, and taught Shi Jian a cultivation technique.
• Chen Lin entered the Gourmet Island scenario and reunited with Xue Wa, who explained that she used Starlight Grass to resist Nightmare Qi erosion.
• Xue Wa gave Chen Lin a stalk of Starlight Grass, and he tested it by letting Nightmare Qi invade; the grass repelled the aura, but Chen Lin then frowned and looked at his hand in confusion.

Chen Lin arranged for Xue Wa to buy Starlight Grass and pursue a powerful snail shell, then learned how Gourmet Island distributed invitations and permissions. After gathering ingredients, he successfully refined Mortal Dust Spirit Dew by using qi luck force and drank it.

• Chen Lin learned that Starlight Grass drained quickly for him, so he gave Xue Wa Nightmare Coins to buy two hundred stalks and asked her to arrange a meeting with the shell’s owner.
• Xue Wa told Chen Lin that the shell belonged to a rank-nine Divine Snail who had failed to become a divine being, and that its current owner was a Rank Seven expert.
• Xue Wa explained that Gourmet Invitation Letters served as tourist Teleportation Tokens, while star-rated delicacies earned Identity Tokens and greater permissions.
• Chen Lin gathered ingredients for three batches of Mortal Dust Spirit Dew and bought other rare materials at the market.
• Chen Lin failed his first attempt at refining Mortal Dust Spirit Dew, then used qi luck force from the Fortune Accumulation Orb to complete a batch and drank it.

Chen Lin refined Mortal Dust Spirit Dew, explored Gourmet Island, and encountered the Golden Goblet Marquis, whose magical wine purified his body. After learning about Batu’s cultivation and collecting starlight grass from Xue Wa, Chen Lin asked whether the seller of a snail shell had arrived.

• Chen Lin drank Mortal Dust Spirit Dew and experienced vivid memories that helped him comprehend the Great Dao.
• Chen Lin saw the Golden Goblet Marquis arrive on a golden ship and collected a cup of the Marquis’s magically varied wine, which burned away bodily impurities.
• Chen Lin met Batu, who explained the three cultivation stages of the Valley Millet Realm: form transformation, Far Sowing, and Boundless.
• Chen Lin reunited with Xue Wa, accepted the starlight grass she had bought at a discount, and asked whether the snail-shell seller had arrived.

Chen Lin met Lord Yin to discuss trading for the Divine Snail Shell and discovered that his Innate Power could activate it, revealing a terrifying Divine Seal. Lord Yin invited Chen Lin and Xue Wa to the Music Tavern, where they prepared to discuss the trade further.

• Xue Wa told Chen Lin that Lord Yin loved exploring the Nightmare Realm and had gone to eat tofu at the Tofu Fairy Gourmet House.
• Xue Wa explained that her plane had a Nightmare Realm Explorers' Association and described Golden Scenarios, exclusive scenarios, and Guardians to Chen Lin.
• Chen Lin and Xue Wa compared their cultivation systems, and he learned that his pills had no effect on her.
• Lord Yin arrived, let Chen Lin test the Divine Snail Shell, and Chen Lin activated its mark with his Innate Power.
• Chen Lin asked to discuss the trade somewhere private, and Lord Yin led him and Xue Wa to the Music Tavern.

Chen Lin visited Gourmet Island’s Three-Star Gourmet House with Silver Snail and tried to negotiate for the Divine Snail Shell. After Silver Snail rejected his offerings, Chen Lin served him Soul Steamed Buns, and Silver Snail offered the shell in exchange for their recipe; Chen Lin instead proposed free access to his future shop for ten years.

• Silver Snail ordered the most expensive three-star drink, while Chen Lin ordered Mutual Affection and bought Xue Wa a cheaper drink.
• Chen Lin offered Silver Snail a spirit crystal and an immortal essence stone, but Silver Snail said neither could be used by him.
• Chen Lin recognized the bartender as Qiu Mufan after seeing the Dragon Fish Goblet and hearing that the mixologist Xueniang had created Mutual Affection.
• Chen Lin brought out Soul Steamed Buns for Silver Snail to taste, and Silver Snail ate three before offering the Divine Snail Shell for the recipe.
• Chen Lin declined to hand over the difficult recipe and offered Silver Snail free access to his planned shop for ten years instead.

After trading for the Divine Snail Shell, Chen Lin spoke with Xueniang, who had lost most of her memories and could not remember her past as Qiu Mufan. He promised to seek help for her, then left the Music Cabin worried about the lingering effects of the Three-Jade Immortal Kingdom’s mutating energy on Luo Qinglan and Mu Xingchen.

• Chen Lin rewarded Xue Wa with a hundred Nightmare Coins for arranging the trade and agreed to look for more unusual treasures through her Explorer Association.
• Xueniang offered Chen Lin her new wine, Oblivion, and told him that she had forgotten much of her past but still felt haunted by an indistinct figure.
• Chen Lin showed Xueniang the Dragon Fish Goblet and explained that she was Qiu Mufan, Princess Consort of the Three-Jade Immortal Kingdom, and recounted how they had met.
• Xueniang could not remember Qiu Mufan’s past or Nan Mochu, and she asked Chen Lin to contact Nan Mochu and bring her to visit.
• Chen Lin accepted Xueniang’s invitation voucher, promised to look for a way to help her, and left the Music Cabin concerned about Luo Qinglan and Mu Xingchen.

During Gourmet Island’s festival, Chen Lin sampled its food and discovered that Tofu Fairy Gourmet House’s pudding revealed flaws in his body and soul. He met its proprietor, He Xiuqin, a cultivator from his former home in the Tianxuan Realm, and asked about the realm’s condition after its latest fusion.

• Chen Lin sampled dishes across Gourmet Island’s food street and Gourmet Houses, learning that their foods could produce remarkable effects.
• Chen Lin bought tofu pudding at Tofu Fairy Gourmet House and found that its energy exposed imperfections throughout his body, including a membrane separating his soul from his body.
• He Xiuqin approached Chen Lin, and they discovered that both had lived in the Tianxuan Realm.
• He Xiuqin told Chen Lin that the Myriad Spirit Sect had fallen to a second-class power after its Patriarch died in a failed Plane Fusion.
• Chen Lin asked He Xiuqin whether the Tianxuan Realm’s Heaven and Earth Rules had been restored to completeness.

Chen Lin learned from He Xiuqin that stable planes were scarce and that Jinglian Studio’s vegetarian meals could purify some Nightmare Realm erosion. At the Gourmet Festival’s offering competition, Xue Wa prepared to compete first, but the opening round turned deadly when a contestant threatened a judge and was eaten.

• He Xiuqin warned Chen Lin that the merged realms remained unstable and said Jinglian Studio’s vegetarian meals could purify heterogeneous energy, though its owner opened the shop irregularly.
• Chen Lin exchanged information and Transmission Talismans with He Xiuqin, then left as the Gourmet Festival moved into its food-offering competition.
• Xue Wa worried that drawing number one put her at a disadvantage, but Chen Lin encouraged her to compete first so no one could prepare the same dish ahead of her.
• The first group of ten contestants began cooking, and a Big-Mouthed Fur Ball judge spat out a contestant’s salad and called it garbage.
• When the tall contestant threatened the judge, the Big-Mouthed Fur Ball swallowed him, and the Golden Goblet Marquis explained that the man had violated the island’s rules.
• The frightened contestants resumed offering food, while Chen Lin stayed near Teleportation Square in case he needed to flee.

Xue Wa earned a one-star rating for her Clear Skies pastries, while the first four groups of contestants mostly failed to qualify. Chen Lin entered the competition with Mortal Dust Spirit Dew, which the Golden Goblet Marquis rated three stars, though another judge argued it deserved only two.

• Xue Wa received a one-star rating from all nine judges for her Clear Skies pastries and won generous rewards, including a Gourmet Identity Token and permission to open a shop.
• Chen Lin learned from Xue Wa that past festivals had featured many more successful dishes, but Gourmet Island rejected dishes that had already been offered.
• After the first four groups produced only one qualifying dish among forty entries, Chen Lin entered his group and prepared Mortal Dust Spirit Dew using the Fortune Accumulation Orb.
• Chen Lin served the Mortal Dust Spirit Dew to the judges, and the Golden Goblet Marquis praised it and awarded it three stars.
• A square-headed judge tasted the spirit dew and argued that its limited effects and flavor warranted only two stars.

Chen Lin received a two-star rating for his Mortal Dust Spirit Dew, then learned that the Guardian had raised the rewards for high-rated delicacies. The announcement of a Baron Quest Invitation Letter for four-star offerings made him stop as he prepared to return to the Floating Realm.

• Square Head and most of the judges gave Chen Lin's Mortal Dust Spirit Dew two stars, and the administrator awarded it a final two-star grade.
• Chen Lin received four exemptions from punishment, ten thousand points, two Universal Food Vouchers, a Treasure Vault purchase, and permission to add a destination to his Teleportation Token.
• Qiu Mufan entered her Oblivion wine in the competition, but all nine judges gave it two stars.
• The coordinator announced that the remaining offerings would be postponed for ten days and that a five-star delicacy could earn its presenter a request of the Guardian and help obtain Viscount Peerage Rank for a recommended Gastronomist.
• Chen Lin headed toward Teleportation Square, but the coordinator announced that a four-star delicacy would earn a Baron Quest Invitation Letter, making Chen Lin stop.

Chen Lin investigated peerage permissions and sought better ingredients for the Soul Steamed Bun while preparing to visit Gambling Fortune Lake. After refining the Divine Snail Shell, he tested it and discovered that it retained its enlarged size without continued power.

• Xue Wa told Chen Lin that peerage ranks granted access to higher-level Road Guides and promised to investigate their permissions at future exchange meetings.
• Chen Lin learned he needed a Location Bead to add the Tianxuan Realm to his Teleportation Token, then returned to Ruyi Island and sent Wang Tianlin and Zhang Xuanwang to gather Spirit Food Recipes.
• Chen Lin asked Liu Sanniang, the Old Butler, and Liu Shengyuan to help search for delicacies, and learned that the Soul Steamed Bun's soul-purifying effect came from its compassionate artistic conception rather than its filling.
• Chen Lin decided to obtain Plum Blossom Colorful Wing Shrimp from Gambling Fortune Lake to improve the bun's taste, and began preparing to bring Grass while protecting Ruyi Island.
• Chen Lin refined the Divine Snail Shell with Kannie's Artifact Refining Art and tested it with Chouya and Shi Jian, finding that it consumed enormous innate power to enlarge but stayed enlarged after he stopped.

Chen Lin tested the Divine Snail Shell, enlarged it into a shelter for the island, and returned to Gambling Fortune Lake, where the Golden Toad charged him an unusually high fishing fee. After catching shrimp and preparing bun ingredients, Chen Lin found that a shrimp filling broke his destiny line, while plain cabbage restored it.

• Chen Lin and Grass tested the Divine Snail Shell with powerful attacks and found that it could withstand even Grass's Sword Qi.
• Chen Lin enlarged the shell to a hundred zhang, secured it at the island's center, and entered the Gambling Fortune Lake Scenario with Grass.
• Chen Lin found the lake open again and caught a Plum Blossom Colorful Wing Shrimp before the Golden Toad arrived and charged him one hundred Nightmare Coins, with a penalty of one thousand for failure.
• Chen Lin caught more than two hundred shrimp and a Giant Crab, then returned to the Reality Realm and prepared shrimp-filled buns.
• Chen Lin discovered that the shrimp filling broke his destiny line, but switching to plain cabbage and ordinary flour restored it.

Chen Lin tested how spiritual ingredients affected Shrimp Buns and found their negligible improvement in soul-soothing power did not justify the qi luck required. He learned that Wang Tianlun returned from the Black Finger Scenario only to die after warning him not to trust something, then secured a Tianxuan Realm location for his Teleportation Token and discovered that Gourmet Island’s Origin Orbs cost a million points apiece.

• Chen Lin found that spiritual ingredients made buns harder to produce, but Plum Blossom Colorful Wing Shrimp barely improved their soul-soothing effect, so he reserved the Shrimp Buns for the Gourmet Festival.
• Chen Lin visited Wang Tianlun and heard him warn, “Don’t trust,” before he died; Chen Lin decided not to send anyone else into the Black Finger Scenario for now.
• Chen Lin judged the recipes gathered by Wang Tianlin, Zhang Xuanwang, and Liu Shengyuan inferior to Gourmet Island’s offerings, then entered the Gourmet Island scenario.
• Chen Lin traded Holy Void Pills with Tofu Fairy for a Location Bead and added the Tianxuan Realm to his intermediate Teleportation Token, learning that it had only two unused location slots.
• Chen Lin asked the Feathered Man about Origin Orbs and learned they were five-star treasures requiring permission and a million points each.

Chen Lin learned about the Treasure Vault’s costly offerings, then entered the Gourmet Festival when the Gourmet Guardian demanded star-tier delicacies. His Soul Steamed Buns pleased the Guardian, whose sudden recovery left Chen Lin suspecting that Guardians were sealed in childlike forms.

• Chen Lin learned that a full portion of origin essence was fist-sized and that the Dao-Inquiring Stone required higher authority, then left the Treasure Vault.
• Chen Lin met Xue Wa, who told him her Explorer rank had risen and that a patron wanted to invest in her shop.
• At the resumed Gourmet Festival, contestants performed poorly, and the judges offered double rewards while threatening failures with a hundred years of forced labor.
• The Gourmet Guardian appeared, ordered contestants to present delicacies without following their numbers, and chilled everyone with his power.
• Chen Lin volunteered and prepared two baskets of Soul Steamed Buns, which the Guardian eagerly ate and praised.
• Chen Lin noticed the Guardian’s withered appearance improve after eating and suspected that Guardians were sealed into childlike forms.

Chen Lin’s Soul Steamed Buns earned four stars at the Gourmet Festival, bringing him a fortune in rewards and a chance to summon the Gourmet Guardian during his peerage mission. As other contestants presented dishes, Chen Lin discovered that a young gentleman’s tea could strengthen mental intent and resolved to seek out its leaves.

• The Gourmet Guardian and the judges rated Chen Lin’s buns four stars, praising their transcendental ingredients and Gambling Fortune Lake shrimp.
• The Guardian’s comments about Gambling Fortune Lake led Chen Lin to connect its dangers, the Qi Luck Guardian, his destiny talent, and Niuniu’s talisman.
• Chen Lin received one million points, treasure-exchange privileges, food vouchers, teleportation benefits, a Baron Invitation Letter, and a token to summon the Guardian during his peerage mission.
• Zhao Dingshan presented two dishes, and the Guardian rejected them as garbage and sentenced him to a hundred years of harsh labor.
• An elegant young gentleman served tea that the judges and Guardian rated three stars for its ability to strengthen mental intent, and Chen Lin decided to seek out the tea leaves.

Chen Lin traded for Zhao Lingyi’s Fearless Tea, then made another food offering and opened a shop on Gourmet Island. He exchanged his remaining points for an Origin Orb and returned to Ruyi Island.

• Chen Lin traded Four-Star Gourmet buns with Zhao Lingyi for Fearless Tea and arranged to receive shop invitation vouchers later.
• After the Gourmet Festival ended, Chen Lin offered beef-filled Soul Steamed Buns, which the judges rated three stars.
• Chen Lin obtained a shop permit, chose a scenic location, and tasked Grass with overseeing construction.
• Chen Lin exchanged his remaining points for an Origin Orb and returned to Ruyi Island.

Chen Lin tested a purer origin orb on Yuan Zhenhai, then absorbed it to strengthen his talent origin. A hidden glowing orb tried to possess him, but Chen Lin had baited it out and destroyed its clone, though he remained wary that others might still exist.

• Chen Lin brought Yuan Zhenhai to his secret chamber and had him test a portion of the origin orb, confirming that it caused no abnormalities.
• Chen Lin absorbed the remaining origin energy, but his aura turned chaotic as the glowing orb hidden in his fate screen emerged and attempted to seize his body.
• The glowing orb attacked Chen Lin's destiny line, but a Light Blade struck it and shattered it into pieces that the fate screen absorbed.
• Chen Lin revealed that he had pretended to lose control to lure out the hidden orb, then examined his fate screen for hours and concluded that other clones might remain.

Chen Lin examined how absorbing the Origin Orb and a mighty figure’s Light Orb had changed his innate talent, gaining a destiny river that could predict danger about three days ahead and greatly strengthening his abilities. After testing his Blade of Destiny and deciding to focus on cultivation, he entered the Nightmare Realm to deal with matters on Gourmet Island.

• Chen Lin reasoned that the awakened mighty figure might seek to devour him, and resolved to strengthen himself while staying wary of Daoist Destiny and other destiny-related figures.
• Chen Lin found that his talent origin had nearly doubled and concluded that the Light Orb had helped complete his destiny rule by merging another clone’s power.
• Chen Lin discovered that his fate screen now showed his own destiny river, whose ripples warned of danger and could forecast events roughly three days ahead.
• Chen Lin tested his enhanced abilities in the Liangtian Continent, where his Blade of Destiny crippled opponents’ qi luck and earned him the name Envoy of Bad Luck.
• Chen Lin settled Yuan Xi’s grudge, gained treasures as compensation, and decided to raise the Floating Island before secluded cultivation.
• After checking his destiny river for danger, Chen Lin used the Teleportation Token to enter the Nightmare Realm.

Chen Lin and Xue Wa opened their Gourmet Houses on Gourmet Island, where Chen Lin’s low-priced Soul Steamed Buns drew a huge crowd. His shop earned him roughly one hundred thousand Nightmare Coins after its first day, leaving him astonished at his sudden wealth.

• Chen Lin agreed to open the Soul Steamed Bun Shop alongside Xue Wa’s Xue Wa Cabin and gave her three hundred Nightmare Coins to recruit a promotional team.
• Chen Lin prepared drinks and Soul Steamed Buns, pricing the buns at one hundred Nightmare Coins per basket and the drinks at their maximum permitted prices.
• Customers flocked to both Gourmet Houses on opening day, and Chen Lin used Scholar and Golden Core Puppets to help serve them.
• Chen Lin told customers that his three-star buns had effects almost identical to the four-star buns he had presented at the Gourmet Festival.
• Chen Lin sold three pots of Drunken God Brew despite its ten-thousand-Nightmare-Coin price and earned two hundred thousand Nightmare Coins in revenue for the day.

Chen Lin's Gourmet House made a fortune, but he was punished for unfair competition and ordered to close for a year. He adjusted his plans, asked Xue Wa to find staff and Advanced Nightmare Treasures, then left to sample other cuisine after failing to obtain a boundary-breaking treasure.

• Chen Lin sold out his Drunken God Brew and Mortal Dust Spirit Dew, then learned that Gourmet Island's rules required him to keep every registered dish available.
• A Management Office official fined Chen Lin ten thousand Nightmare Coins and ordered his shop closed for a year after a complaint about unfair competition.
• Chen Lin paid the fine, raised the price of Soul Steamed Buns to ten thousand Nightmare Coins per basket, and decided to visit the Tianxuan Realm to gather ingredients and seek out his disciples and acquaintances.
• Chen Lin visited Xue Wa, asked her to find two attendants and a manager and to inquire about Advanced Nightmare Treasures, then gave her two baskets of buns.
• Chen Lin failed to exchange his permission slip for a boundary-breaking treasure, so he bought Gourmet Vouchers and began sampling the island's cuisine.