Chapter Summaries

Chen Lin traveled toward the Danding Sect with Hu Xishan and Yu Zimo, who discussed Wuzhen Tower’s beauties and dual cultivation. Hu Xishan revealed that Wuzhen Tower was a continent-spanning superpower backed by a Nascent Soul True Lord.

• Chen Lin destroyed the black qi that had latched onto him after he killed the Divine Child, then left the area to avoid further danger.
• Half a month later, Chen Lin traveled down the Jinshui River toward the Danding Sect with Hu Xishan and Yu Zimo.
• Hu Xishan and Yu Zimo talked about Wuzhen Tower’s fairy attractions and claimed dual cultivation could help cultivators break through.
• Chen Lin asked how Wuzhen Tower could protect its many beauties from powerful cultivators seeking to seize them.
• Hu Xishan said Wuzhen Tower was a superpower spanning the continent and had a Nascent Soul True Lord backing it.

Chen Lin traveled with Hu Xishan and Yu Zimo to Danding City, where he considered joining the Danding Sect to settle down and cultivate. Near the city, a white-haired woman on a passing boat attacked him with a chilling aura, and Hu Xishan recognized her as a wicked woman.

• Hu Xishan told Chen Lin and Yu Zimo that Wuzhen Tower was protected by a Nascent Soul True Lord and warned them not to cause trouble there.
• The three arrived in Danding Sect territory, and Chen Lin learned that the prosperous city was protected by powerful factions because of its Pill Grandmaster.
• Seeing Danding Peak, Chen Lin decided to ask about joining the Danding Sect, while Hu Xishan and Yu Zimo eagerly anticipated meeting fairies.
• As the group approached Danding City, Chen Lin sensed Yin Nether Qi from a white-haired woman aboard a lavish boat.
• The woman’s icy aura struck Chen Lin, but he dispelled it with his mana and Red Lotus Phantom; her boat soon sailed away.
• Chen Lin questioned Hu Xishan about the women, and Hu Xishan admitted that he was frightened to encounter the wicked woman.

Chen Lin learned about Madam White Bone after she attacked his divine soul, while Madam White Bone rejected a Prayer Cult offer to join the Nethergod Hall. Chen Lin entered Danding City and learned that its costly fees could be paid with points, though he did not yet know how to earn them.

• Madam White Bone warned Chen Lin with a divine-soul attack after he stared at her, and Hu Xishan explained her reputation and connection to Li Xuanming.
• Yu Zimo remembered that Madam White Bone had once been Li Xuanming’s companion and had turned against him after he took a concubine.
• A veiled woman named Mo Xian tried to recruit Madam White Bone into the Prayer Cult, but Madam White Bone refused and urged Mo Xian to abandon the cult.
• Madam White Bone flew toward Danding City after Mo Xian vanished from her ship.
• Chen Lin, Hu Xishan, and Yu Zimo each paid one medium-grade spirit stone to enter Danding City.
• Hu Xishan told Chen Lin that the entry fee covered three days and that later stays cost one medium-grade spirit stone per day, while Yu Zimo explained that points could also pay the fees.

After learning how Danding City’s points system rewarded cultivators for selling treasures to the Danding Sect, Chen Lin joined Hu Xishan and Yu Zimo on a trip to Wuzhen Tower. The three ate at Xianshan Restaurant, where Chen Lin asked about the dangers and resources of the Wuding Sea.

• Hu Xishan explained that selling heaven and earth treasures earned points Chen Lin could use to offset Danding City’s residence tax, and Chen Lin decided to sell his spiritual herbs to the sect.
• Yu Zimo urged Chen Lin and Hu Xishan to stock up on points, and Hu Xishan gave Chen Lin a Jade Slip containing a Dual Cultivation Secret Art in exchange for payment at Wuzhen Tower.
• Chen Lin accepted the art and joked that he would arrange fine girls for Hu Xishan and Yu Zimo, and Yu Zimo offered to treat them to spirit food at Xianshan Restaurant.
• At the restaurant, Yu Zimo ordered costly seafood and spirit wine, and the three ate while discussing monster-beast hunting in the Wuding Sea and the dangers facing Qi Condensation cultivators.
• Yu Zimo said he planned to stay in Danding City and cultivate toward Qi Condensation Level 9, while Hu Xishan redirected the conversation to Wuzhen Tower and the three toasted.

Chen Lin used dual cultivation to make a small gain in his stalled cultivation, then continued refining pills to earn points in Danding City. Huang Su invited him to explore a Pill Refining Grandmaster’s Ascension Cave, but Chen Lin refused and Huang Su left alone.

• Chen Lin recalled how dual cultivation had helped him reach the Qi Condensation 8th Layer and mourned Lao Hu and Yu Zimo, who had both died.
• Chen Lin visited Jinfeng Pavilion’s new top courtesan and gained a slight improvement in cultivation before returning to refine pills.
• Huang Su visited Chen Lin and offered him a share of the treasures in a Pill Refining Grandmaster’s Ascension Cave.
• Chen Lin refused to join the expedition despite Huang Su’s claims about the cave’s pill formulas, treasures, and strange fire.
• Huang Su explained that he had approached Chen Lin because his body tempering could help break the cave’s formations, then left after Chen Lin continued to refuse.

Chen Lin discovered that Huang Yu and Yue Baifeng were plotting to lure him out of the city so a Divine Child could devour his vital essence. After learning that Yue Baifeng was a Divine Attendant of the Prayer Cult, Chen Lin recognized the danger but remained in Danding City.

• Chen Lin distrusted Huang Yu's invitation to hunt for treasure and considered changing his identity after his lease expired.
• Chen Lin refined God-Nourishing Pills and reflected on how they had greatly strengthened his spiritual sense and his ability to control puppets.
• Huang Yu met with the veiled Yue Baifeng, who ordered him to find a way to lure Chen Lin out so the Divine Child could devour Chen Lin's vital essence.
• Chen Lin's Scout Bird recorded Huang Yu and Yue Baifeng's conversation, and Chen Lin listened to it back at his residence.
• Chen Lin recognized Yue Baifeng as Jinfeng Pavilion's star courtesan and realized she was a Divine Attendant of the Prayer Cult.

Chen Lin secretly followed Huang Yu out of Danding City, killed him, and captured his soul to interrogate him about the Prayer Cult. After learning who was connected to Jinfeng Pavilion, Chen Lin decided not to attack Yue Baifeng, Yue Ningzhi, or Madam Xu until he understood their strength and connections better.

• Chen Lin disguised himself as a young man and used a Crow Puppet to monitor Huang Yu until Huang Yu left Danding City.
• Chen Lin ambushed Huang Yu with the Splitting Mountain Seal, Hanbing Sword, and Lotus-Burning True Fire, then captured Huang Yu's soul with a Soul-Detaining Talisman.
• Chen Lin tortured Huang Yu's soul until he revealed that Yue Baifeng and Yue Ningzhi were Divine Attendants and Divine Child of the Prayer Cult, and that Madam Xu was also a member.
• Chen Lin questioned Huang Yu about the women's abilities and cultivation, then destroyed his soul and cleansed the area.
• Chen Lin decided not to attack the Jinfeng Pavilion members yet, visited Yue Baifeng to probe her, and later reentered the city in another disguise.

Chen Lin hid in Danding City after uncovering Yue Baifeng’s scheme, but she and the Divine Child tracked him down and attacked. He resisted their ambush and ended the chapter charging Yue Baifeng with a fist wreathed in Burning Lotus True Fire.

• Chen Lin changed his identity, rented a new room, and used his Crow Puppet to watch his old residence for Yue Baifeng’s followers.
• Madam Xu came to Chen Lin’s old residence, then Yue Baifeng and a petite woman arrived the following day.
• The petite woman detected and destroyed the Crow Puppet, striking Chen Lin through his spiritual sense and inflicting a lustful illusion that he dispelled with the Red Lotus Phantom.
• Yue Baifeng and the Divine Child found Chen Lin at his new residence, and Yue revealed that her Soul-Pulling Thread had tracked him through a hair.
• Madam Xu activated a formation around Chen Lin as Yue Baifeng demanded he surrender to the Divine Child, but Chen attacked with a Fire Crow Talisman and then charged Yue with a Burning Lotus True Fire fist.

Chen Lin used a Talisman Treasure to kill Yue Baifeng and her two companions, then hurried to leave the city before the Danding Sect’s enforcers could detain him. After the gate briefly closed, it reopened, allowing him to escape and flee underground beyond the Jinshui River.

• Chen Lin’s Buddhist power dispelled the Divine Child’s attack, and Yue Baifeng ordered Madam Xu to kill him with a formation sword.
• Chen Lin activated his Talisman Treasure, whose Fire Phoenix destroyed the sword and burned Yue Baifeng, Madam Xu, and the Divine Child to ashes.
• Chen Lin collected the group’s belongings and hurried toward the West City Gate as Danding Sect enforcers arrived to investigate the fight.
• A brocade-robed captain and an elderly foundation establishment cultivator identified the Talisman Treasure’s aura and the Prayer Cult’s black qi, then decided not to interfere.
• Chen Lin found the city gate temporarily closed, changed his appearance, and considered reporting the attack himself before the gate reopened.
• Chen Lin surrendered his Identity Token, left the city, discarded his Jade Token Receipt, crossed the Jinshui River, and used an Earth Escape Talisman to flee.

Chen Lin traveled away from Danding City and encountered Prayer Cult members using strange abilities to make cultivators attack one another. He killed their Divine Child, questioned the Divine Attendant about the cult, then killed her and continued on his way.

• Chen Lin hid underground for a month, then emerged in the wilderness and traveled away from Danding City.
• Three months later, Chen Lin saw a Divine Child and Divine Attendant using their abilities to make a group of cultivators fight one another.
• Chen Lin attacked the pair, burned the Divine Child to ash, captured a black thread from his remains, and knocked out the Divine Attendant and the other cultivators.
• Chen Lin tried to capture the black thread with a Soul-Detaining Talisman, but the talisman exploded along with it.
• Chen Lin questioned the Divine Attendant and learned about Divine Children, their trials, and the Prayer Cult's growing ranks.
• After finding out that she knew nothing more useful, Chen Lin killed the Divine Attendant and continued on his way.

After surviving repeated ambushes amid spreading war and the Prayer Cult’s rise, Chen Lin traveled to the Wuding Sea in search of a safe place to cultivate. He encountered Xu Ruolan in disguise and learned that even the cheapest island rental was costly and offered no protection.

• Chen Lin decided to seek a secluded island in the Wuding Sea after discovering that war, the Prayer Cult, and heretical cultivators made the mainland unsafe.
• At a busy transit island, Chen Lin recognized Xu Ruolan from Kaiyuan City but passed her without revealing his identity, and she did not recognize him.
• Chen Lin visited the Sea King Sect Reception Office and examined its map and rental manual for available islands.
• Chen Lin learned that fifth-grade islands cost two high-grade spirit stones a year and lacked sect protection, while protected islands were far more expensive; he concluded that renting one would be unaffordable or draw too much attention.

Chen Lin rented Xiaoqiu Island as a safe base and equipped it with defensive and sound-blocking formations. After setting up fishing devices, he began refining pills to prepare for secluded cultivation.

• Chen Lin rented Xiaoqiu Island for a year and learned that its ink seed fish could help offset the cost.
• Chen Lin inspected the island, traveled to Xuanyuan Island, and bought seafood and a Lesser Five Elements Defense Array.
• Chen Lin installed the defensive array, which drew power from an underground spiritual vein and withstood his spiritual tool.
• Chen Lin set up a sound-blocking Trapping Formation around his cultivation building using equipment taken from the three women at Jinfeng Pavilion.
• Chen Lin placed devices for catching ink seed fish around Xiaoqiu Island and began refining pills for secluded cultivation.

After reaching Qi Condensation Level 9, Chen Lin learned that a blood-red phenomenon was spreading across the Broken Dream Mountain Range and prepared for the turmoil he feared was coming. He made Demon-Suppression Talismans, then set out from Xiaoqiu Island toward the Outer Sea.

• Chen Lin broke through to Qi Condensation Level 9 and visited Xuanyuan Island under the alias Ye Fan.
• At Tongtian Pavilion, Chen Lin traded a Marrow-Cleansing Pill for a peak first-rank metal-attribute monster core and learned that the red phenomenon was rapidly spreading across the Broken Dream Mountain Range.
• The shopkeeper warned Chen Lin to prepare Evil-Repelling and Demon-Subduing measures and improve his cultivation, while Chen Lin suspected the phenomenon was connected to the monstrosity from Kaiyuan City.
• Chen Lin bought materials for Foundation Establishment Pills, a Foundation Establishment Puppet, Demon-Suppression Talismans, and the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd, but still lacked ingredients for the pills.
• After returning safely to Xiaoqiu Island, Chen Lin made Demon-Suppression Talismans and then headed toward the Outer Sea.

Chen Lin attended High Person Yunhai’s underwater Exchange Meeting in search of ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills. The gathering opened with a confrontation between the demon foundation cultivator Huoyunzi and another attendee, which High Person Yunhai stopped before trading began.

• Chen Lin buried Monkey Puppets and Thunderbolt No. 4 on two islands near the meeting site as precautions before approaching the guides.
• Chen Lin verified the guides’ Identity Token, paid the participation fee, and followed one of them underwater to the submarine-like venue.
• Chen Lin entered the hall, declined an attendant’s offer, and took a seat among the masked cultivators.
• High Person Yunhai opened the gathering, and Huoyunzi angrily attacked a Qi Refining cultivator after misinterpreting his flattery.
• High Person Yunhai forced Huoyunzi to stop and gave him a Qingxin Pill, after which Huoyunzi sat quietly.

Chen Lin traded for a water-attribute Monster Core, spiritual herbs, and purple gold glazed liquid at High Person Yunhai’s convention. After Yunhai warned that demons might be reviving, Chen Lin took precautions to evade possible tracking and left the sea three days later.

• High Person Yunhai opened the trading convention, where early offers from Huoyunzi and other cultivators drew no buyers.
• Chen Lin exchanged ten Ninghua Pills for a water-attribute Monster Core and learned that his pill refining had earned Yunhai’s favor and a Transmission Talisman.
• Chen Lin traded a Marrow-Cleansing Pill for four spiritual herbs and a Demon-Suppression Talisman for purple gold glazed liquid.
• High Person Yunhai said that strange phenomena likely signaled demons reviving and described how demons had once been slain at the cost of cleaving the Tianyuan Continent from the Main Continent.
• Chen Lin left using a Water Escape Talisman, sent Yunhai’s Transmission Talisman away on a fish, hid underwater for three days, then changed his appearance and emerged.

Chen Lin killed a second-rank Giant Prawn, then survived an ambush by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator through escape talismans and explosives before killing him. After destroying the cultivator’s escaping soul, Chen Lin gathered the spoils and returned to Xiaoqiu Island in disguise.

• Chen Lin fought the Giant Prawn, trapped it with the Emerald Bracelet, killed it with the Hanbing Sword, and took its corpse.
• A Foundation Establishment Cultivator ambushed Chen Lin with a sword strike, but Chen Lin fled with a Gold Escape Talisman and detonated explosives on the island.
• The cultivator survived the first explosion with a defensive Jade Talisman and chased Chen Lin, who escaped into the sea and triggered another explosive trap.
• Chen Lin crushed the badly injured cultivator with the Splitting Mountain Seal, then burned away the soul that fled from the Blood-red Dagger.
• Chen Lin gathered the spoils, washed the island clean, disguised himself, and returned to Xiaoqiu Island as Chen Zhili.

After defeating the elderly Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Chen Lin inspected his spoils and learned the man had pursued him for purple gold glazed liquid to cultivate Golden Body Transformation and suppress the dangers of his yin foundation. A map to the Ocean Floor Ruins and the first volume of the yin-foundation technique left Chen Lin shocked by what he read.

• Chen Lin safely inspected the elderly cultivator’s Storage Bag and found a Jade Slip containing the Golden Body Transformation method, an imitation of the Ziguang Tribe’s innate ability that required purple gold glazed liquid and a compatible Body-Refining Technique.
• Chen Lin read Zhou Ping’s diary and learned that Zhou had achieved Foundation Establishment by devouring yin spirits, but suffered from corrosive yin qi and the spirits’ lingering memories.
• Chen Lin realized Zhou had pursued him after failing to trade for the purple gold glazed liquid at the convention, and that Zhou’s yin foundation explained his weakness against the explosions.
• Chen Lin found a map to the Ocean Floor Ruins and the first volume of Zhou’s nameless yin-foundation technique, then was shocked as he read it.

Chen Lin discovered that the Yin Foundation Method offered a possible path to Core Formation, but realized the scroll or a Dark Red Dagger had stirred an unnatural urge in him. After cleansing the dagger and deciding to avoid the ruins and technique, he refined the weapon, recovered from his injuries, and set off for Xuanyuan Island.

• Chen Lin studied the Yin Foundation Method and considered searching the Ocean Floor Ruins for its Yin Elixir Formation Technique.
• Chen Lin sensed that his desire to explore the ruins was unnatural, then found and burned a hidden strand of black qi inside the Dark Red Dagger with Burning Lotus True Fire.
• Chen Lin discarded the Yin Foundation Method scroll, the ruins map, and related materials, then refined the dagger and tested its speed and power.
• Chen Lin inspected the Foundation Establishment old man's remaining treasures, processed the giant shrimp, and began healing and preparing to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.
• A month later, Chen Lin left the Quiet Room and rode his Flying Shuttle toward Xuanyuan Island.

Chen Lin discovered his Talent Ability could produce two Foundation Establishment Pills per batch and traveled to Xuanyuan Island to obtain more ingredients. After refusing the Sea King Sect’s alchemy recruitment because it would keep all pills he made, he reconsidered the shopkeeper’s offer to trade ingredients for a pill and decided the risk was worth taking.

• Chen Lin realized his Talent Ability had produced two Foundation Establishment Pills in one batch, doubling his expected yield.
• Chen Lin met the Tongtian Pavilion shopkeeper, who explained that the Prayer Cult had demanded the continent’s factions submit and that the major Golden Core sects had allied against it.
• The shopkeeper offered Chen Lin generous rewards to refine Foundation Establishment Pills for the Sea King Sect, but Chen Lin refused because the sect would retain every pill he produced.
• The shopkeeper offered to exchange a hundred sets of ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill, explaining that he was seventy and had only one more chance to break through.
• Chen Lin decided to accept the risk and pursue the ingredient trade so he could refine enough pills for his own breakthrough.

Chen Lin established his foundation after consuming twelve Foundation Establishment Pills, then hid from the Righteous Alliance and Prayer Cult while the war reshaped the cultivation world. After more than a year in seclusion, he emerged and headed for Danding City as the Righteous Alliance gained momentum against the Prayer Cult.

• Chen Lin returned to Xiaoqiu Island and secluded himself while the Prayer Cult conquered Yan Country and the Righteous Alliance formed to oppose it.
• Sea King Sect patrol disciples found Xiaoqiu Island deserted and discovered that Chen Zhili had left.
• Chen Lin successfully established his foundation using twelve Foundation Establishment Pills, recovered, and learned that Danding City had become a Righteous Alliance headquarters.
• Unable to cultivate freely outside the two powers, Chen Lin hid in a mountain cave and waited as the conflict settled into a stalemate.
• Over the next two years, the Righteous Alliance’s merit system drew rogue cultivators into its ranks, and the Prayer Cult began to falter.
• After more than a year in seclusion, Chen Lin emerged and headed for Danding City.