Chapter Summaries

Lin Yun killed a Mountain-Carrying Whale and completed his Hundred-Spirit Demon-Slaying Sword. Back in Tianxing City, he found requests for Spell Pellets, including an unusual commission involving a rare Thunder Whale, and learned that an old acquaintance wanted him to refine a level-six Demon Core.

• Nangong Wan helped Lin Yun hold the fishing rod as he used the baleful sword light to kill the Mountain-Carrying Whale and retrieve its Demon Core.
• The sword embryo absorbed the whale's demonic soul, reaching minor completion, and Lin Yun renamed the weapon the Hundred-Spirit Demon-Slaying Sword.
• Lin Yun collected materials from the whale's corpse and left with Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin, while nearby cultivators fought over what remained.
• Lin Yun returned to Tianxing City and found Sound Transmission Talismans requesting Spell Pellets, including one from the former proprietor of the Jade Ring Residence seeking a level-six refinement.
• Lin Yun told Nangong Wan that another request concerned a level-eight Spell Pellet made from a rare Thunder Whale Demon Core.

Lin Yun learned that the beautiful woman seeking a grade-eight Spell Pellet served Man Huzi, who wanted him to refine a Thunder Whale Spell Pellet. Lin Yun offered Man Huzi a grade-seven Mountain-Carrying Whale Spell Pellet in exchange for rare artifact-refining materials, hoping to obtain the Geng Essence he needed.

• Lin Yun gathered his monthly quota of Demon Cores at his shop as cultivators flocked to offer them.
• A beautiful woman asked Lin Yun to refine a grade-eight Spell Pellet and warned that a powerful master stood behind her.
• Lin Yun recognized Man Huzi as the likely owner of the Thunder Whale Demon Core and agreed to consider the refinement.
• The woman revealed that Man Huzi had sent her to confirm Lin Yun could refine a grade-eight Thunder Whale Spell Pellet, but she had not brought the core.
• Lin Yun offered to refine a grade-seven Mountain-Carrying Whale Spell Pellet for Man Huzi and asked him to provide rare artifact-refining materials.
• The woman agreed to relay Lin Yun's proposal to Man Huzi and hurriedly left Tianxing City.

Lin Yun met Man Huzi on Bluewave Island to trade the Mountain-Carrying Whale Spell Pellet for rare materials and a level eight Thunder Whale Demon Core. Man Huzi tested the Spell Pellet and was delighted with its effect on his Heaven-Supporting Demon Art, while Lin Yun received the Demon Core.

• Man Huzi sent his disciple to Tianxing City with two rare artifact-refining materials and arranged to exchange them for Lin Yun’s Mountain-Carrying Whale Spell Pellet in person.
• Fellow Daoist Cai led Lin Yun to Bluewave Island, where he sensed Man Huzi’s powerful demonic aura and met him outside his temporary cave dwelling.
• Lin Yun handed Man Huzi the Mountain-Carrying Whale Spell Pellet, and Man Huzi tested it by enlarging and shrinking his body while using the Heaven-Supporting Demon Art.
• Man Huzi praised the Spell Pellet, gave Lin Yun the level eight Thunder Whale Demon Core, and Lin Yun opened the jade box to inspect it.

Lin Yun refined a Level Eight Spell Pellet from Man Huzi’s Thunder Whale Demon Core while secretly extracting most of its origin qi for himself. Two months later, he delivered the pellet, and Man Huzi confirmed that it could unleash the Thunder Whale’s powerful lightning ability.

• Man Huzi paid Lin Yun fifty thousand Spirit Stones and gave him a section of Thunder Whale spine, then asked him to keep the Spell Pellets’ secrets.
• Lin Yun agreed to refine Man Huzi’s Level Eight Spell Pellet in two months and used Man Huzi’s cave abode so he would not have to return to Tianxing City.
• Lin Yun sealed the Pill Room, extracted seventy percent of the Demon Core’s origin qi for himself, and planned to refine its thunder essence into a secret treasure.
• Man Huzi failed to probe the Pill Room’s restrictions, then welcomed his disciple, the Beautiful Woman, and rewarded her for bringing Lin Yun to him.
• After two months, Lin Yun delivered the purple Spell Pellet, and Man Huzi tested it by blasting a large crater into the cave abode’s floor with a bolt of lightning.

Lin Yun returned to Tianxing City and reunited with Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin, discussing the Lotus Pond's developing spaces before a Star Palace message summoned a visitor. The visitor introduced herself as Ling Yuling, a young Foundation-Building cultivator whose appearance and bearing strangely resembled Lin Yun.

• Lin Yun left Man Huzi's island, confirmed he was not being followed, and used Thousand-Mile Courtyard, Shrinking Shadow in a Pouch to reach Tianxing City.
• At his cave dwelling, Lin Yun found Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin studying the Lotus Pond's lotuses, whose hearts were developing spaces that Xin Ruoyin could not identify.
• Lin Yun told Nangong Wan about the Heaven-Supporting Demon Art, but a Star Palace Sound Transmission Talisman arrived before he could continue.
• Lin Yun read the message and waited for the visitor, while Nangong Wan learned that the Star Palace had sent only a Foundation-Building cultivator.
• The visitor arrived and introduced herself as Ling Yuling, a Star Palace steward whose androgynous appearance and bearing surprised Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin and reminded them of Lin Yun.

Ling Yuling asked Lin Yun to refine her rare seventh-grade Thunder Roc demon core into a Spell Pellet, and he agreed. After she left, Lin Yun decided to make three Thunder-Escape Spell Pellets, reserving two to protect Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin.

• Ling Yuling visited Lin Yun and asked him to refine her demon core, and he agreed to accept it without making her wait in line.
• Ling Yuling gave Lin Yun a seventh-grade Thunder Roc demon core and arranged to return in a month for the Spell Pellet.
• After Ling Yuling left, Nangong Wan and Lin Yun speculated about her powerful background, while Xin Ruoyin listened.
• Lin Yun proposed refining the demon core into three Thunder-Escape Spell Pellets, one for Ling Yuling and two for Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin.

Lin Yun completed the Thunder Roc Spell Pellets and condensed heavenly lightning essence before delivering Ling Yuling’s commissioned pellet. After declining her invitation to join the Star Palace, he prepared to enter seclusion and advance to the Fifth-Turn Realm, while Nangong Wan planned to form her Nascent Soul after the sixth turn.

• Lin Yun finished three Thunder Roc Spell Pellets and spent a month condensing heavenly lightning essence for future divine thunder.
• Lin Yun gave Ling Yuling the Thunder Escape Spell Pellet she had commissioned, and she invited him to join the Star Palace as an elder and island lord.
• Lin Yun declined to join the Star Palace, and Ling Yuling left after offering to recommend him if he changed his mind.
• Nangong Wan appeared after Ling Yuling departed, and Lin Yun gave her two Thunder Roc Spell Pellets for her and Ru Yin before announcing his planned retreat.
• Lin Yun said he had enough resources to break through to the Fifth-Turn Realm, while Nangong Wan said she would form her Nascent Soul after reaching the sixth turn of Core Formation.

Lin Yun emerged from four years of seclusion having reached the fifth turn of the Origin Pill, then learned that Ling Yuling had grown close to Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin. Meanwhile, Han Li arrived in Tianxing City and sent a greeting to Lin Yun’s cave abode.

• Lin Yun emerged from seclusion after refining the pills made from Man Huzi’s Origin Qi and reached the fifth turn of the Origin Pill.
• Lin Yun found Ling Yuling visiting Nangong Wan and Xin Ruoyin, and Xin Ruoyin explained how Ling Yuling had become close to them during his seclusion.
• Nangong Wan noted that Ling Yuling knew secrets and possessed resources beyond what an ordinary Star Palace deacon would have.
• Han Li arrived in Tianxing City with Qu Hun after Qu Hun condensed a Fiend Core and rented a cave abode on the thirty-ninth level of the Sacred Mountain.
• Han Li learned that Lin Yun’s Spell Pellet shop had been closed during Lin Yun’s four years of seclusion, then sent a Sound Transmission Talisman to Lin Yun’s cave abode.

Lin Yun reunited with Han Li in Tianxing City and learned why Han Li had taken so long to arrive. Lin Yun gave Han Li a Water Astral Thunder Spell Pellet made from an Infant Carp Beast Demon Core, while Xin Ruoyin prepared to cultivate the Supreme Yin Chain Form with Han Li's help.

• Lin Yun reassured Nangong Wan that Xin Ruoyin needed to cultivate the Supreme Yin Chain Form and said Han Li's help would make the process faster.
• Han Li arrived at Lin Yun's cave abode after more than twenty years apart, and the two exchanged news over Spirit Tea.
• Han Li explained that dispersing and rebuilding his cultivation, practicing the Great Evolution Art, refining Qu Hun into an External Incarnation, and hiding after the Sixfold Palace hunt had delayed his trip to Tianxing City.
• Lin Yun recognized Han Li's Infant Carp Beast Demon Core as the source of a Spell Pellet he had refined years earlier.
• Lin Yun gave Han Li the Water Astral Thunder Spell Pellet, explaining that he had made it from the Origin Qi he withheld from the Demon Core.

Lin Yun gave Han Li a Monster-Luring Pill formula and a Qi-Discernment Method, then exchanged Cosmic Light True Water with him. Months later, Lin Yun began Xin Ruoyin’s Supreme Yin Chain Form seclusion in a jade coffin.

• Lin Yun gave Han Li a Spell Pellet containing seventy percent of a Demon Core’s spiritual power and warned him to keep the refining secret.
• Lin Yun gave Han Li a formula for Monster-Luring Pills to help him attract Demon Beasts while hunting Demon Cores.
• Han Li asked Lin Yun to separate more green liquid, and Lin Yun requested two drops of Cosmic Light True Water in return.
• Lin Yun gave Han Li a Qi-Discernment Method for learning to separate the green liquid himself, and Han Li left after struggling to read it.
• Months later, Lin Yun brought Xin Ruoyin, Nangong Wan, and Xiao Mei to a cave abode and prepared Xin Ruoyin to enter seclusion for Supreme Yin Chain Form.
• Xin Ruoyin entered a spiritual coffin with a Supreme Yin Cold Pill in her mouth, and Lin Yun began the ritual.

Lin Yun sealed Xin Ruoyin in a formation that would accelerate her Supreme Yin Chain Form, then explained that it might let her form a powerful Nascent Soul. His discussion of cultivation spurred Nangong Wan to begin seclusion, leaving Lin Yun free to cultivate Gui Water Essence.

• Lin Yun buried Xin Ruoyin’s jade coffin beneath a Six Directions Yin-Gathering Formation and used a golden bottle to shorten her transformation to about seventy-two years.
• Lin Yun reassured Nangong Wan that Xin Ruoyin might form a Nascent Soul through the Supreme Yin Chain Form, though her chances were slim.
• Lin Yun gave Nangong Wan his remaining Spirit Pills refined from an Eighth-Level Demon Core and a jade slip explaining yin spirits, yang spirits, and Nascent Soul cultivation.
• Nangong Wan entered seclusion after reading the jade slip, while Xiao Mei remained at the cave abode and Han Li prepared for the Outer Sea.
• Lin Yun began condensing and refining Gui Water Essence from the ocean’s essence energy.

Lin Yun agreed to accompany Ling Yuling to the Outer Sea in search of the Thunder Roc's remains, and the two traveled through the Star Palace's teleportation network to Strange Abyss Island. They left Blackstone City together and headed toward the Ancient Cultivator Ruins.

• Lin Yun agreed to join Ling Yuling's search for the Thunder Roc's remains, then checked that Xin Ruoyin's Supreme Yin Chain Form was proceeding properly.
• Two early Nascent Soul elders secretly followed Ling Yuling and Lin Yun as they entered the Starry Sky Hall.
• Ling Yuling and Lin Yun teleported to Strange Abyss Island, where she explained that independent cultivator factions ruled the island.
• After arriving in Blackstone City, Ling Yuling chose to skip exploring and asked Lin Yun to take her along toward the Ancient Cultivator Ruins.
• Lin Yun enveloped Ling Yuling in his sword light and flew in the direction she indicated.

After completing the Gui Water Divine Thunder, Lin Yun accepted Ling Yuling’s invitation to explore Ancient Cultivator Ruins in search of a tenth-grade Thunder Roc’s remains. He realized the expedition could be tied to his Sixth-Turn Human Tribulation.

• Lin Yun ended more than twenty years of secluded cultivation after creating a bead of Gui Water Divine Thunder.
• Lin Yun reviewed the Sound Transmission Talismans and invited Ling Yuling to visit after finding her invitation to explore Ancient Cultivator Ruins.
• Ling Yuling explained that Star Palace records placed the remains of a tenth-grade Thunder Roc in ruins deep in the Outer Sea.
• Ling Yuling offered Lin Yun everything they found in the ruins except the Thunder Roc’s remains, which she wanted to turn into a Thunder Escape Magic Treasure.
• Lin Yun connected the Thunder Roc’s remains to the skeleton owned by the Noble Bird and realized his Sixth-Turn Human Tribulation would come through Demon Cultivators.

Lin Yun and Ling Yuling traveled from Strange Abyss Island toward the distant ancient cultivator ruins, while two Star Palace elders pursued them. After using repeated spatial jumps to cover the distance, they reached the area near the ruins and approached a vast, deserted island.

• Elder Ma and Elder Zhao arrived at Strange Abyss Island, learned Lin Yun and Ling Yuling had left, and set off after them.
• An old man on the island wondered about the two Nascent Soul cultivators but decided to remain in his territory.
• Lin Yun learned the ruins were six months away by ordinary flight, then used spatial jumps while carrying Ling Yuling to travel much faster.
• Elder Ma and Elder Zhao failed to find Lin Yun and Ling Yuling, so they planned to head to the ruins and wait for them.
• After half a month of spatial jumps, Ling Yuling identified the ruins' location, and Lin Yun flew with her toward a massive deserted island.

Lin Yun and Ling Yuling searched the shattered archipelago for the Thunder Roc's remains and discovered an intact Star Palace formation. Lin Yun rushed inside to confront the powerful demonic presence, while Ling Yuling waited anxiously and then saw an azure light flee into the sky.

• Lin Yun and Ling Yuling searched the archipelago for days but found only ruined relics and minor herbs.
• Lin Yun discovered an intact formation, and Ling Yuling recognized it as the Star Palace's Illusory Star Formation, which likely concealed the Thunder Roc's remains.
• The formation shattered before Lin Yun could break it, revealing the Thunder Roc's remains and the powerful demonic aura of Feng Xi.
• Lin Yun lent Ling Yuling the Supreme Goodness Pearl and entered the formation's center with the Hundred-Spirit Demon-Slaying Sword.
• Ling Yuling waited as Lin Yun confronted the presence, then heard a scream and saw an azure light flee into the sky.

Lin Yun confronted Feng Xi at the Thunder Roc Skeleton and used the Demon-Slaying Sword to wound and suppress the Wind-Splitting Beast. Feng Xi’s attacks failed, and he demanded to know who Lin Yun was.

• Lin Yun found Feng Xi examining the Thunder Roc Skeleton’s damaged wings and claimed the remains as his treasure.
• Feng Xi attacked Lin Yun with a claw, but the Taiyi Five-Smoke Gauze dispersed the strike.
• Lin Yun pierced Feng Xi’s palm with the Demon-Slaying Sword, whose sword qi restrained Feng Xi’s demonic power and numbed his arm.
• Feng Xi unleashed dozens of wind blades, but Lin Yun’s sword lights cut them apart and struck Feng Xi, stripping away his crown and robes.
• Feng Xi assessed Lin Yun’s strength and asked who he was.

Lin Yun severed one of Feng Xi’s wings, but Feng Xi escaped with a Thunder Roc Bone Wing. Lin Yun entered seclusion while Ling Yuling stayed behind, and the wounded Feng Xi fled to purge the sword energy and vowed revenge.

• Feng Xi used a Short Halberd and his wind-escape speed to evade Lin Yun’s Demon-Slaying Sword, grabbing a Thunder Roc Bone Wing as he fled.
• Feng Xi threatened Lin Yun over Ling Yuling, so Lin Yun slashed off one of his feathered wings, though Feng Xi escaped with the bone wing.
• Lin Yun chose not to pursue Feng Xi, regretted losing the chance to kill him, and reflected that his journey had clarified his Dao heart.
• Ling Yuling arrived with a healing Spirit Pill, and Lin Yun reassured her before entering seclusion in a cave to prepare for a breakthrough.
• Three days later, Feng Xi changed course after confirming Lin Yun had not pursued him, then plunged into the sea to purge the sword energy and swore to avenge his severed wing.

Lin Yun broke through to the sixth origin pill turn, and he and Ling Yuling explored the ruined islands before returning toward Strange Abyss Island. The Star Palace elders encountered the badly injured Feng Xi, who escaped before they could catch him.

• Lin Yun awakened with his spiritual sense extended to five hundred li and demonstrated his improved control by forming several Five-Element Spells with a thought.
• Ling Yuling offered Lin Yun the Thunder Roc skeleton, and he accepted it along with Feng Xi's wing to refine into Wind-Thunder Wings.
• Lin Yun revealed that he had refined the Supreme Goodness Pearl, then traveled with Ling Yuling to search the other islands; after finding only useless fragments, they headed back.
• Lin Yun and Ling Yuling returned near Strange Abyss Island after ten days of travel.
• Elder Zhao and Elder Ma spotted the badly injured Feng Xi and pursued him, but Feng Xi fled before they could catch him.

Lin Yun and Ling Yuling returned from Strange Abyss Island to Tianxing City, where the island’s secrecy and Elder Zhao and Elder Ma’s failed search for them were revealed. Lin Yun went back to his cave abode and reunited with Nangong Wan, who teased him about his journey with Ling Yuling.

• Ling Yuling and Lin Yun toured Blackstone City, discussed its harsh customs, and learned that the Star Palace’s control of teleportation and the cultivators’ shared profits helped keep Strange Abyss Island secret.
• Two Core Formation cultivators warned Lin Yun and Ling Yuling not to reveal the island’s situation, and Ling Yuling explained how the Star Palace enforced secrecy.
• Ling Yuling paid for their teleportation, and the Star Palace guard watched them return to Tianxing City.
• Elders Zhao and Ma returned months later and learned that Lin Yun and Ling Yuling had already left, after searching the sea for them and the missing Thunder Roc Skeleton.
• Lin Yun parted ways with Ling Yuling, who reflected that her journey had still brought her benefits, then returned to his cave abode.
• Lin Yun found Nangong Wan out of seclusion, and she teased him for taking a long journey with someone.

Lin Yun advised Nangong Wan to refine a magic treasure to understand her cultivation, and five years later she completed the Vermilion Phoenix Sword and neared the sixth turn. After Elder Chen challenged them to a fight outside Tianxing City, Nangong Wan volunteered to face him.

• Lin Yun told Nangong Wan that refining a magic treasure could help her understand her true essence and break through to the sixth turn.
• Five years later, Nangong Wan emerged with the Vermilion Phoenix Sword, and Lin Yun praised the weapon and her progress in cultivating the Separation Flame.
• Nangong Wan said she knew how to reach the sixth turn but felt unsettled about the breakthrough, and Lin Yun urged her to undergo the Human Tribulation.
• Lin Yun told Nangong Wan that Elder Chen had recovered and challenged them to a battle outside the city in three days, and he gave her the Supreme Goodness Pearl and Taiyi Five-Smoke Gauze.
• Word of the challenge spread through Tianxing City, where most cultivators expected Elder Chen to defeat the two Core Formation cultivators, and Elder Chen kept the battle's location secret.