Chapter Summaries

Lin Ke questioned the controlled spy Feng Jinyan and learned that the Illusionless Gu Sect planned to infiltrate the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm and attack the Cloud Frontier. He realized a larger invasion was coming and began considering how to prepare, while the sect's true objective remained unknown.

• Lin Ke stored the dragon-egg form of Lin Xuanyuan in his Niwan Palace, then brought Feng Jinyan to the surface and took control of his soul.
• Feng Jinyan revealed that the Illusionless Gu Sect planned to enslave people in the Cloud Frontier and refine their souls, bodies, and children for its purposes.
• Feng Jinyan explained that the sect had planted spies in every sect to secure places in the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm for disguised fighters to slaughter its elites and seize an unknown object.
• Lin Ke learned that the Illusionless Gu Sect had a Nascent Soul Flood Dragon that needed a True Dragon's remains to transform, but he doubted this explained the planned invasion.
• Lin Ke resolved to prepare for the coming threat and pursue the Nascent Soul Realm, while wondering whether the secret realm's unknown object was connected to the dragon race.

Lin Ke advanced toward the Golden Core Late Stage, found Feng Jinyan weakened at the bottom of the Four Symbols Sacred Spring, and discovered that Lin Xuanyuan’s Transformation Art had turned him into a dragon egg. Lin Ke explained that the technique let dragons evade Heavenly Tribulation but also made them vulnerable to dragon-egg thieves, and he eyed Lin Xuanyuan’s egg with a wicked grin.

• Lin Ke noticed his Spirit Power had grown denser and purer, bringing him close to the Golden Core Late Stage but still short of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Lin Ke found Feng Jinyan withered under the pressure of the spring and asked whether he had anything to confess, but Feng Jinyan could only make hoarse sounds.
• Lin Ke sent Spirit Insects into his Niwan Palace and tried to contact Lin Xuanyuan, then hurried into the Giant Fish’s belly when Lin Xuanyuan did not respond.
• Lin Ke chased a golden light through the fish’s belly and trapped it, discovering that it was Lin Xuanyuan transformed into a dragon egg.
• Lin Ke explained that the Dragon Clan’s egg transformation could evade Heavenly Tribulation but had inspired people to steal and eat dragon eggs, then grinned at the egg in his hands.

Lin Ke uncovered signs that the Illusionless Gu Sect had infiltrated every sect, then returned to the depths of the Four Symbols Sacred Spring to investigate why the Dragon Might remained. He discovered a Möbius Strip-shaped formation of golden threads in the abyss.

• Lin Ke learned from Feng Jinyan that Shu Frontier Secret Agents existed in every sect and could recognize one another, but Feng Jinyan passed out before explaining how.
• Lin Ke kept Feng Jinyan under the Soul-Hunting Mosquito's control and swam toward the surface, concealing his identity from the other cultivators.
• Lin Xuanyuan noticed the Dragon Might had not weakened, so Lin Ke turned back to investigate the spring's depths.
• Lin Ke descended for days and encountered the Giant Fish again, whose cries Lin Xuanyuan recognized as the Ancient Language.
• Lin Ke summoned Lin Xuanyuan and saw countless golden threads in the abyss forming a closed loop shaped like a Möbius Strip.

Lin Ke discovered that the Four Symbols Sacred Spring concealed a space where time and space were distorted, then deduced that the Dragon Might’s source might lie in the past. He reversed the flow of Spirit Power in an attempt to make time run backward.

• Lin Ke tested the darkness below the Spirit Power Light Screen and realized the Spatial Labyrinth looped back on itself, with no perceptible passage of time.
• Lin Xuanyuan sensed two shifting Dragon Might source cores somewhere within the labyrinth, but Lin Ke could not find them after searching for half a day.
• Lin Ke meditated on the labyrinth’s nature and concluded that its time, like its space, might be connected end to end, placing the Dragon Might’s source in the past.
• Lin Ke reasoned that reversing the Spirit Power that formed the space could reverse time, then poured out his power until the spring water and Spirit Power began flowing backward.

Lin Ke and his spirit insects reversed the flow of the Spatial Labyrinth, sending time and spirit power backward until he encountered a terrifying dragon eye. A powerful Dragon Clan being accused him of trespassing on its nascent soul formation ground, leaving Lin Ke and his companions unable to move.

• Lin Ke, the spirit insects, and Lin Xuanyuan joined forces to reverse the spring water and spirit power within the Spatial Labyrinth.
• Lin Ke reflected on the danger posed by Shu Frontier spies and resolved to grow strong enough to protect himself and those he cared about.
• The reversed flow carried Lin Ke through visions of eras passing before his consciousness fell into darkness.
• A deep purple dragon eye appeared and accused Lin Ke of intruding on the Dragon Clan's nascent soul formation ground to steal its opportunity.
• Lin Ke denied entering intentionally and explained that Lin Xuanyuan, his true dragon spirit pet, had guided him there.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan told Lin Ke that the being had immobilized them with an ancient Dragon Race power beyond spirit transformation.

Lin Ke survived his fall into the Dragon Clan’s Nascent Soul trial ground and spent half a month repairing and strengthening his damaged meridians. He learned that escape required climbing out of the ravine, while Lin Xuanyuan said they would also need to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

• Lin Ke used his Spirit Power, stone pillars, and a final palm strike to slow his fall and survive the landing in the ravine.
• Lin Ke endured a painful half-month of treatment, using the Five-Colored Glazed Body’s Spell Arts to repair and strengthen the meridians around his heart.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan returned from scouting after helping Lin Ke learn that the ravines were part of the Dragon Clan’s Nascent Soul trial ground.
• Lin Xuanyuan said they had to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm to escape, while the Dream-Eating Gecko explained they needed to climb out of the ravine because a deeper abyss lay beyond it.

Lin Ke struggled to escape a Dragon Clan trial gorge where Spirit Power was scarce, relying on his body to climb its scorching, crumbling walls. After months of repeated effort, he mastered powerful and agile physical techniques and finally reached the summit.

• Lin Ke realized he would have to rely on bodily strength to escape the gorge and began punching footholds into its hard rock walls.
• Lin Ke spent hours climbing and hammering the rock until his injured hands forced him to return to the gorge floor for the night.
• The next day, heated rock burned Lin Ke's hands, and he fell back to the bottom after losing his grip.
• Lin Ke continued climbing and punching, gradually learning to gather and redirect force as he trained through the changing seasons.
• After a rock face crumbled and he fell again, Lin Ke climbed nimbly and finally reached the top of the gorge.

Lin Ke endured the Heavenly Tribulation and reached Great Perfection of the early Nascent Soul Realm. After his companions congratulated him, the Dragon Eye transported him back to the dim world and acknowledged his perseverance.

• Lin Ke formed his Nascent Soul atop the mountain as the surrounding peaks were shattered by surging Spirit Power.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko led the Spirit Insects away with Lin Xuanyuan's dragon egg before the Heavenly Tribulation struck.
• Lin Ke absorbed successive bolts of heavenly thunder, refined his body, and reached Great Perfection of the early Nascent Soul Realm.
• Lin Ke tested his power by collapsing part of a nearby mountain peak.
• The Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan congratulated Lin Ke, and the Dragon Eye appeared and brought him back to the dim world.
• The Dragon Eye praised Lin Ke's perseverance and admitted that it had misjudged him.

Lin Ke and Lin Xuanyuan met Purple Pupil, who revealed that he had helped create the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm before being deceived into making a dangerous formation for the Flood Dragons. He began explaining how that formation summoned the Illusionless Gu Sect’s Dao Ancestor, leaving the truth of the Dragon Clan’s decline unresolved.

• Purple Pupil recognized that Lin Ke had passed the True Dragon Trial and offered to recommend him to the Dragon Lord.
• Lin Ke showed Purple Pupil Lin Xuanyuan’s egg, and Lin Xuanyuan explained that the True Dragon clan had entered the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm to seek a way to revive their clan.
• Purple Pupil admitted that he suspected his own actions had caused the Dragon Clan’s decline and described how he had built the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm’s spirit-gathering formations.
• Purple Pupil rebuked Lin Xuanyuan for pretending to be a baby dragon instead of preparing for his lightning tribulation.
• Purple Pupil recounted how the Flood Dragons tricked him into laying the Illusionless Gu Grand Formation, which summoned the damaged but still powerful Dao Ancestor of the Illusionless Gu Sect.
• Purple Pupil described the sect’s gu-infected disciples and its goal of spreading the Dao Ancestor’s insects throughout the territory to rule the mortal world.

Lin Ke learned how the Illusionless Gu Sect used gu insects to infiltrate and conquer the cultivation world. The purple dragon eyes revealed that the Dragon Clan had planned to lure the Illusionless Gu Dao Ancestor into the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm, using the narrator as bait, and that the Illusionless Gu Sect eventually recruited him by offering revenge.

• Lin Ke realized that the Illusionless Gu Sect's disciples had detonated gu insects inside their bodies and that the insects could disguise their human hosts.
• The purple dragon eyes explained how the Illusionless Gu Sect spread through the cultivation world, corrupting sects and building armies under Gu Kings.
• The Illusionless Gu Sect infiltrated great sects and nearly destroyed the Qilin Clan after its Unity Realm cultivator was injured.
• The Dragon Lord summoned the surviving great sects and allied with the White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise clans to lure the Illusionless Gu Dao Ancestor into the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm.
• The narrator volunteered to become infected and act as bait, so the Dragon Lord staged his punishment and banished him from the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm.
• Years later, members of the Illusionless Gu Sect approached the narrator and asked whether he wanted revenge by razing the Dragon Clan's secret realm.

The purple Dragon Eye recounted how it infiltrated the Illusionless Gu Sect, helped the Dragon Lord resist its invasion, and was left to guard the trial after the war destroyed the four clans. It gave Lin Ke the Dragon Eye before he returned to the Giant Fish and discovered his Nascent Soul had formed, while the prodigies outside the Four Symbols Sacred Spring continued waiting or gave up.

• The purple Dragon Eye told Lin Ke how it endured torture and infiltrated the Illusionless Gu Sect to send the Dragon Lord information about its plans.
• The Dragon Eye described the battle in the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm, where the four clans were devastated and the Dragon Lord and Illusionless Gu Dao Ancestor vanished.
• Lin Ke asked the Dragon Eye to return with him and help the Dragon Clan, and Lin Xuanyuan invited it to leave the trial as well.
• The Dragon Eye gave Lin Ke its power as a mark between his brows, and Lin Ke awoke in the Giant Fish's mouth with his Nascent Soul formed.
• On the twenty-ninth day outside the Four Symbols Sacred Spring, most prodigies had surfaced, while Luo Yichuan and several Cloud Ink Sect disciples remained below.

After a corpse bearing Witch Gu Qi emerged from the Sacred Spring, the Dali Domain Imperial Sovereign ended the Trial early and ordered a later trial to select the final ten candidates. Luo Yichuan said Lin Ke was still underwater with a Shu Frontier spy, but his memories failed him, and the crowd began suspecting Lin Ke himself.

• A Jade Great Radiance Church prodigy emerged dead, his blood essence drained and Witch Gu Qi writhing in his wounds, prompting Yin Jue to confirm the qi.
• The Dali Domain Imperial Sovereign declared the Trial over because Shu Frontier spies had compromised it and counted everyone still underwater as having advanced.
• Hua Wujiang and others rescued the cultivators, while Luo Yichuan emerged last and insisted that Lin Ke was still interrogating a spy underwater.
• Feng Jinyan questioned Luo Yichuan about the spy, but Luo could not remember who he was and claimed spies were present in every sect.
• The crowd discovered Lin Ke was the only person still missing and began wondering whether he was the Shu Frontier spy, while Lin Ke heard their suspicions from inside the Sacred Spring.

Lin Ke used Feng Jinyan to steer the sect leaders toward guarding against Shu Frontier spies while keeping suspicion away from himself. He then led Hua Wujiang to the bottom of the Sacred Spring, where Feng Jinyan accused the elder of being an Illusionless Gu Sect member who intended to kill Lin Ke.

• Feng Jinyan argued that the sects should send elders and trusted prodigies into the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm and root out Shu Frontier infiltrators before it opened.
• Luo Yichuan warned that Lin Ke might be in grave danger, but the other sects left without searching for him.
• Hua Wujiang ordered the Golden Wing Sect disciples to search for Lin Ke and insisted they bring back either him or his body.
• Lin Ke made Feng Jinyan guide Hua Wujiang deeper into the Sacred Spring to test whether the elder was a Shu Frontier infiltrator.
• Feng Jinyan revealed the Illusionless Gu Sect’s witchcraft and gu aura and accused Hua Wujiang of coming to kill Lin Ke, prompting Hua Wujiang to ask how he had figured it out.

Lin Ke used Feng Jinyan’s body to reveal himself to Hua Wujiang, but Hua Wujiang mistook him for a Shu Frontier spy and attacked. Lin Ke struggled to evade him, and the chapter ended as Hua Wujiang struck at Feng Jinyan after he broke free of a crushing rock.

• Hua Wujiang accused Feng Jinyan of being a Shu Frontier brat who had seized a Golden Wing Sect disciple’s body, and Lin Ke revealed that he was controlling Feng Jinyan.
• Lin Ke used Feng Jinyan’s Spirit Transformation power to break the giant stone hand and nearly strike Hua Wujiang, but Hua Wujiang remained convinced he was being deceived.
• Lin Ke dodged Hua Wujiang’s attacks while trying to persuade him that he was Lin Ke, but Hua Wujiang continued to fight with lethal intent.
• Hua Wujiang dropped a massive rock onto Feng Jinyan and waited to attack when he tried to escape it.
• Feng Jinyan shattered the rock and flew upward, and Hua Wujiang struck at him with his palm.

Hua Wujiang attacked a giant fish to avenge Lin Ke, believing the Golden Wing Sect prodigy had died, until Lin Ke emerged and claimed to be alive. Hua Wujiang remained convinced Lin Ke was an impostor, and the chapter ended as he launched a lethal punch at the motionless Lin Ke.

• The giant fish rammed Hua Wujiang away from Feng Jinyan and smashed the boulder pinning him down.
• Hua Wujiang attacked the giant fish, believing Lin Ke had been swallowed and killed, but his blows had no effect.
• Lin Ke emerged from the giant fish’s mouth and told Hua Wujiang he was alive and that Feng Jinyan had told the truth.
• Hua Wujiang tested Lin Ke with a powerful palm seal, and Lin Ke redirected its force into a rock wall.
• Lin Ke cited a secret he and Hua Wujiang shared to prove his identity, but Hua Wujiang accused him of stealing Lin Ke’s memories.
• Hua Wujiang launched a lethal punch at Lin Ke, who remained motionless.

Lin Ke convinced Hua Wujiang that he was himself, then revealed the Shu Frontier’s infiltration plans and the return of the Illusionless Gu Sect’s Dao Ancestor. Hua Wujiang realized that the Cloud Frontier might have no one powerful enough to resist the threat.

• Lin Ke stopped Hua Wujiang from striking by arguing that the Dream-Eating Gecko and his memories proved he was not an impostor, and Hua Wujiang confirmed his identity.
• Hua Wujiang and Lin Ke rescued Feng Jinyan from the Dragon Power at the bottom of the water.
• Lin Ke told Hua Wujiang that he had a Soul-Hunting Mosquito and had taken control of the Shu Frontier’s secret agent.
• Lin Ke revealed that Shu Frontier spies planned to enter the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm as sect prodigies, kill Cloud Frontier’s prodigies, and claim a treasure before invading.
• Lin Ke reported that the Illusionless Gu Sect’s Dao Ancestor had appeared again, and Hua Wujiang considered how few cultivators could oppose a Unity Realm expert.

Lin Ke persuaded Hua Wujiang that he should infiltrate the Illusionless Gu Sect to uncover the Shu Frontier’s plan for the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm. Hua Wujiang accepted that Lin Ke was best suited for the mission and gave him the Sect Master’s armor to protect him.

• Lin Ke and Hua Wujiang concluded that the Illusionless Gu Sect’s scheme had advanced and that a treasure in the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm might awaken its Dao Ancestor.
• Hua Wujiang explained that the Spirit-Locking Formation prevented nearly all cultivators above the Nascent Soul Realm from entering the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm.
• Lin Ke proposed using Feng Jinyan to infiltrate the Illusionless Gu Sect and argued that he could disguise his cultivation, send messages with spirit insects, and resist gu insects.
• Lin Ke privately recalled the hidden Dragon Eye between his brows and suspected the Dragon Lord and the Illusionless Gu Sect’s Dao Ancestor were connected.
• Hua Wujiang agreed that Lin Ke was the right person for the mission and gave him the Sect Master’s mid-grade divine-level armor, which could suppress his cultivation and withstand several blows from a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

Lin Ke arranged for Hua Wujiang to make the sect believe he was dead so he could hide in the Sacred Spring and later approach the Illusionless Gu Sect. As the sects began purging Shu Frontier infiltrators, Zong Ya received a sign that Lin Ke was alive and found a message from him.

• Lin Ke accepted armor and Spirit Stones from Hua Wujiang, then asked him to stop the search and claim Lin Ke had died so Lin Ke could hide until the Cloud Dragon Secret Realm trial.
• Hua Wujiang told the disciples that Lin Ke was likely dead, and they speculated that Hua Wujiang had killed him for being corrupted by the Illusionless Gu Sect.
• Several sect leaders began purging their sects, uncovering more than sixty Shu Frontier affiliates among the prodigies, while Hua Wujiang ordered the Golden Wing Sect into seclusion.
• A Purple-Gold Longhorn Beetle delivered Hua Wujiang's Inspection Group list to Zong Ya, who realized its arrival meant Lin Ke was alive.
• Zong Ya found a slip of paper and saw another Amethyst Longhorn Beetle appear beside her.

Zong Ya deciphered Lin Ke’s invisible note and sneaked out to meet him, but the patrol delayed her. She hid in a tree while elders argued about Hua Wujiang, and the chapter ended with one relieving himself beneath her.

• Zong Ya used an oil lamp to reveal Lin Ke’s message asking her to meet him at the southeastern corner of Green Mulberry Garden before midnight.
• Zong Ya took a Breath-Concealing Pill, disguised herself, and slipped past the patrol toward the meeting place.
• Three elders returned during their patrol, and a drunken elder loudly criticized Hua Wujiang’s confinement order.
• Heavenly thunder split a tree nearby, silencing the elders, and two of them escorted the drunken elder away.
• The remaining elder relieved himself beneath the tree where Zong Ya was hiding, and she looked down after the sound stopped.

Zong Ya was ambushed by True Person Yuan Yong, who trapped her in his Ten Thousand Insects Shattering the Ruins Formation. She consumed a Marrow-Extracting Pill to break through her limits and counterattacked, leaving the battle unresolved as a golden lotus emerged from the insect formation.

• Zong Ya discovered True Person Yuan Yong beneath the tree and learned that he planned to torture her and kill her junior brother.
• True Person Yuan Yong summoned venomous insects and activated the Ten Thousand Insects Shattering the Ruins Formation, trapping Zong Ya and poisoning her.
• Zong Ya defended herself with alchemical fire and daggers, but the insects multiplied as they were destroyed and overwhelmed her defenses.
• Zong Ya swallowed a Marrow-Extracting Pill, temporarily raising her cultivation to the threshold of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Zong Ya transformed her alchemical fire into a sword and tore open the insect formation with a flurry of sword strikes, as a golden lotus appeared.