Recaps

Shen Jingchuan and Xiao Mingshu learned that a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivator and two others had taken an interest in them, so they decided to stay cautious and wait before leaving the market. As the auction began, Shen Jingchuan watched without bidding while the Frost Sword sold for 2,300 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

• Accountant Wu warned Shen Jingchuan that three people were watching him, including a dangerous Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivator, and Shen Jingchuan thanked him with a High-Grade Qi Gathering Pill.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu they should lie low in the market and revealed that he had broken through to Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
• Xiao Mingshu chose not to press Shen Jingchuan about his rapid progress or the Shen Household's hidden resources, and trusted him to handle the danger.
• The auction began, and Shen Jingchuan used the Heavenly Eye Peering into Truth Instruction to identify the auctioneer, surnamed Chen, as a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator.
• The auctioneer presented the Frost Sword, a supreme-grade Law Artifact, and a gray-robed old man won it with a bid of 2,300 Low-Grade Spirit Stones while Shen Jingchuan sat out.

Shen Jingchuan stayed out of most of the auction until he noticed Xiao Mingshu wanted the Jade Water Heart-Protecting Pendant and bought it for her. After Xiao Mingshu thanked him, she teased him by offering Huan'er to him as a concubine.

• Shen Jingchuan passed on the auction lots, including a hundred-year-old Purple Origin Ganoderma, while Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er watched without bidding.
• The auctioneer presented the top-grade Jade Water Heart-Protecting Pendant, which could protect its wearer from a Foundation Establishment cultivator's full-force blow.
• Shen Jingchuan noticed Xiao Mingshu's interest and bid 2,600 Spirit Stones, winning the pendant for her.
• Xiao Mingshu thanked Shen Jingchuan, and he offered to buy Huan'er anything she wanted.
• Xiao Mingshu teased Huan'er and offered her to Shen Jingchuan as a concubine.

At the auction, Shen Jingchuan bought Xiao Mingshu a protective jade pendant while she teased him about marriage. When five rusted rings from High Antiquity ruins appeared, Xian'er sensed they were a fortuitous opportunity and urged him to bid on them.

• Xiao Mingshu and Shen Jingchuan teased each other about marrying, and she thanked him for his help.
• Shen Jingchuan paid for the Jade Water Heart-Protecting Pendant and gave it to Xiao Mingshu, who activated it and praised its protection.
• Xian'er revealed that she had recovered enough to sense the world outside Shen Jingchuan's ring and watched the auction with him.
• The auctioneer presented five rusted rings from High Antiquity ruins, explaining that their Spiritual Qi was exhausted and they appeared to be ordinary iron.
• Xian'er sensed something special about the five rings and told Shen Jingchuan to bid on them.

Shen Jingchuan bought a ruined artifact from a High Antiquity ruin for three thousand Spirit Stones after Xian'er sensed it suited a cultivator with a five spirit root. He stored the five rings until he could prepare enough Spirit Stones to upgrade them, then learned that Huan'er also had a five spirit root.

• Xian'er urged Shen Jingchuan to buy the ruined artifact, saying it might be a great opportunity for someone with a five spirit root.
• Shen Jingchuan outbid a burly artifact refiner and won the five rings for three thousand Spirit Stones.
• Xian'er warned Shen Jingchuan not to upgrade the rings until he had prepared enough Spirit Stones, so he stored them away.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu he hoped to repair the artifact, while Huan'er encouraged him to succeed.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Huan'er about her spirit root, and she shyly admitted she had a five spirit root.

Shen Jingchuan avoided buying the auction’s conspicuous final lot, then traded pills and talismans before deciding that he, Xiao Mingshu, and Huan'er would stay in Spirit Creek Market and rent a cave abode. After moving into a spacious class A residence, Xiao Mingshu reflected that her life had been most prosperous since she came to Yuxi Prefecture to do business with him.

• Shen Jingchuan passed on the Cold Spring Sword at auction and later sold and bought pills and talismans around the market.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu that they would stay in the market and rent a cave abode so their watcher might relax his surveillance.
• Shen Jingchuan, Xiao Mingshu, and Huan'er visited Accountant Wu and chose a spacious class A cave abode.
• Shen Jingchuan paid two hundred and forty Spirit Stones for a year’s rent and gave Accountant Wu a High-Grade Qi Gathering Pill.
• Xiao Mingshu chose a room and told Shen Jingchuan that doing business with him in Yuxi Prefecture had been the most prosperous time of her life.

Xiao Mingshu told Shen Jingchuan about her neglected upbringing, stalled cultivation, and the marriage alliance she refused, then explained why life in their new cave abode felt so comfortable. Huan'er returned with the cave abode document and food, and the three celebrated with Shen Jingchuan's cooking.

• Xiao Mingshu described how her low-ranking palace-maid mother died after giving birth to her and how the royal family overlooked her until she was found to have Three Spirit Roots.
• Xiao Mingshu explained that she had remained stuck at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, received little support from the royal family or the Azure Cloud Sect, and refused a marriage alliance proposed by the Qi Kingdom.
• Shen Jingchuan reassured Xiao Mingshu that things would improve now that she had him, and she blushed at his words.
• Huan'er returned with the completed cave abode document and ingredients she had bought with Xiao Mingshu's money, and Shen Jingchuan agreed to cook for them.
• Xiao Mingshu used a Cleaning Technique to tidy the cave abode while Huan'er prepared ingredients and Shen Jingchuan cooked six dishes and a soup.
• Huan'er noticed the food lacked the flavor enhancer Shen Jingchuan had called nasty, so he realized cultivators could refine it away and promised to add plenty next time.

Shen Jingchuan used thirty thousand Spirit Stones to begin repairing and upgrading his five metal rings, then spent the night cultivating while they remained enveloped in green light. In the morning, he gave Huan'er high-grade Gale Boots and more than twenty Qi Gathering Pills after learning she had reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, leaving her deeply moved.

• Shen Jingchuan transferred thirty thousand Spirit Stones and the five metal rings into the Heaven and Earth Ring, where Xian'er began repairing and upgrading them.
• Shen Jingchuan cultivated through the night and checked on the rings, which were still wrapped in green light by dawn.
• Shen Jingchuan gave Huan'er high-grade Gale Boots, and Xiao Mingshu encouraged her to accept them.
• Huan'er tried on the boots and told Shen Jingchuan she had reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
• Shen Jingchuan gave Huan'er two bottles containing over twenty Qi Gathering Pills, and Xiao Mingshu teased her about being so touched.

Xiao Mingshu teased Huan'er about her feelings for Young Master Shen and encouraged her to accept his gifts. Meanwhile, Wang Chongyue, Wang Chongming, and Zhou Li plotted to capture Shen Jingchuan and waited for him to leave the market; after a night of cultivation, Shen Jingchuan saw that the five rings in his Heaven and Earth Ring had finished being repaired.

• Xiao Mingshu reassured Huan'er that she could accept gifts from Young Master Shen, and Huan'er agreed.
• Wang Chongyue, Wang Chongming, and Zhou Li discussed Shen Jingchuan’s unusual trading and suspected he had a valuable secret.
• Wang Chongyue refused to attack Shen Jingchuan’s protected cave abode, and the three men decided to take turns watching for him to leave.
• Shen Jingchuan meditated through the night while the five rings in his Heaven and Earth Ring continued repairing.
• Shen Jingchuan saw the green light fade from the five rings and found their rust gone and their surfaces glowing warmly.

After the five rings shed their rust, Xian'er identified them as a rare growth-type Law Treasure suited to Shen Jingchuan’s Five Spirit Root and Five Elements Qi Refining Instruction. Shen Jingchuan named them the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring, bound them to himself, and learned that he could begin using them with Xian’er’s heaven-grade Five Elements Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

• Xian'er examined the restored five-colored rings and said they were built on the Great Dao of the Five Phases and suited Shen Jingchuan’s cultivation.
• Shen Jingchuan named the treasure the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring despite Xian'er pointing out its resemblance to the Chaos Heaven and Earth Ring.
• Xian'er explained that the rings were a growth-type Law Treasure that could advance with Shen Jingchuan if he bound and nurtured them as a life-bound treasure.
• Shen Jingchuan used his Essence Blood and Divine Sense to bind the rings, then summoned them into and out of his Dantian Qi Sea.
• Xian'er told Shen Jingchuan to practice the heaven-grade Five Elements Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation with the rings as substitutes for flying swords, and explained the grades of Cultivation Methods.

Xian'er taught Shen Jingchuan the heaven-grade Five Elements Immortal-Slaying Linked Formation and explained its strengths and limits. Shen practiced it with his five Heaven and Earth Rings, then told Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er that his Lineage had repaired the rings and given him a method to use them.

• Xian'er passed the formation’s mnemonics, circulation routes, and diagrams to Shen Jingchuan, who memorized the method and named it the Five Elements Immortal-Slaying Linked Formation.
• Xian'er explained that a heaven-grade Cultivation Method offered advantages at the same level and room to grow, but could not bridge a major cultivation realm by itself.
• Shen Jingchuan practiced guiding his five Heaven and Earth Rings through the formation and found that their shape made some sword techniques awkward to perform.
• Huan'er and Xiao Mingshu arrived and watched Shen complete the formation before he returned the rings to his Dantian.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu that his Lineage had sent the repaired rings and taught him a simple method to use them, and Huan'er praised his display.

At Spirit Creek Market, Wang Cheng'an asked True Person Moxuan to investigate a cultivator who appeared to turn mid-grade goods into high-grade ones. Moxuan agreed the ability could bring enormous wealth, and Wang Cheng'an asked whether they should try to learn it without breaking the market's rules.

• Wang Cheng'an showed True Person Moxuan a cosmetic mirror and a timepiece sold by three newcomers, and Moxuan praised the timepiece's usefulness and reasonable price.
• Wang Cheng'an reported that Shen bought large quantities of mid-grade pills, talismans, and Law Artifacts while selling nearly identical goods in high grade.
• Wang Cheng'an identified Shen as a recently advanced Qi Refinement Fifth Layer cultivator who claimed to come from an unknown Shen Household, accompanied by the Xiao Household's third princess and her maid.
• True Person Moxuan suspected Shen could raise the grade of low-grade goods, but found no known explanation for the ability.
• Wang Cheng'an showed Moxuan a pill and reported that he had tested the sold pills, talismans, and Law Artifacts, confirming they were genuinely high grade.
• Wang Cheng'an asked whether they could learn Shen's method while honoring Moxuan's rule against secretly targeting customers.

True Person Moxuan decided to invite Shen Jingchuan for a private conversation after suspecting there was something unusual behind his dealings. While shopping, Shen Jingchuan discovered Spirit Testing Stones and decided to buy one so he could check whether the women and girls around him, including Meng Ke, had ever had their Spirit Roots tested.

• True Person Moxuan told Wang Cheng'an that he had been wrong to think Shen Jingchuan could raise low-grade items to a higher grade, then decided to invite him for a face-to-face talk.
• Wang Cheng'an signaled Accountant Wu, who questioned a market patrolman and went searching for Shen Jingchuan.
• Shen Jingchuan ate breakfast with Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er, then went openly around the market trading goods and earning over twenty thousand Spirit Stones in an hour.
• At the Hundred Refinements Pavilion, Shen Jingchuan learned from a clerk that the stones on display were used to test Spirit Roots and claimed his clan elders tested people with Divine Sense instead.
• The clerk assumed Shen Jingchuan came from a powerful clan and treated him with greater respect.
• Shen Jingchuan wondered whether the women and girls around him, including Meng Ke, had been tested, and asked the clerk to explain the Spirit Testing Stones.

Shen Jingchuan learned that only Supreme-Grade Spirit Testing Stones could detect Hidden Spirit Roots and decided to buy a High-Grade stone, planning to upgrade it later. As he prepared to pay, Accountant Wu entered the shop.

• The attendant explained the three grades of Spirit Testing Stones and their prices to Shen Jingchuan.
• The shopkeeper told Shen Jingchuan that Supreme-Grade stones could detect Hidden Spirit Roots, though most were difficult to cultivate and rarely worth the expense.
• Shen Jingchuan decided he could upgrade a High-Grade Spirit Testing Stone in his Heaven and Earth Ring to detect Hidden Spirit Roots among the children in his Lineage.
• The shopkeeper handed Shen Jingchuan a High-Grade Spirit Testing Stone, and Shen Jingchuan was about to pay with Qi Condensing Pills when Accountant Wu entered.

Shen Jingchuan met True Person Moxuan, the Golden Core owner of Spirit Creek Market, who praised his business plans before questioning him about trading high-grade pills and talismans for mid-grade goods. Moxuan asked Shen to explain why he repeatedly exchanged items of the same kind, leaving Shen under scrutiny.

• Shen Jingchuan bought a spirit-testing stone and followed Accountant Wu to meet Steward Wang.
• Steward Wang introduced Shen Jingchuan to True Person Moxuan, the owner of Spirit Creek Market.
• True Person Moxuan praised Shen Jingchuan’s plans to open a restaurant and sell timepieces and makeup mirrors with the market.
• True Person Moxuan showed Shen Jingchuan a bottle of high-grade pills and confirmed that Shen had sold them to the Gathering Pills Pavilion.
• True Person Moxuan described Shen Jingchuan’s pattern of selling high-grade pills or talismans while buying mid-grade goods of the same type.
• True Person Moxuan asked Shen Jingchuan to explain why he was making those trades.

Shen Jingchuan defended his trading practices when True Person Moxuan and Wang Cheng'an confronted him with suspicions that the Shen Household could upgrade pills and talismans. He invoked his Household’s power and demanded an end to their questioning, leaving the meeting poised for a break.

• Shen Jingchuan laughed off the accusation that selling pills in the market had broken any rules, and Wang Cheng'an confirmed that his goods were genuine.
• Wang Cheng'an questioned why Shen Jingchuan sold high-grade goods while buying the same types in mid-grade, and Shen Jingchuan claimed he was pursuing ordinary business profits.
• Wang Cheng'an said he suspected Shen Jingchuan or the Shen Household had a method to raise the grade of pills and talismans.
• Shen Jingchuan dismissed the claim as absurd and revealed that the Shen Household’s patriarch was a Nascent Soul great cultivator.
• Shen Jingchuan rebuked Wang Cheng'an, warned that the Shen Household could not be bullied, and said he would leave if they had no more questions.

Shen Jingchuan bluffed True Person Moxuan and Wang Cheng'an into believing he had powerful backing, refusing their offer to escort him from Spirit Creek Market. He accepted a protective jade pendant, gave Wang the restaurant renovation plans, and said he would leave soon to deal with the people following him.

• Shen Jingchuan threatened True Person Moxuan and Wang Cheng'an after they questioned him about his purchases and sales.
• Wang Cheng'an explained that their people had discovered someone following Shen Jingchuan, and True Person Moxuan offered to escort him and confront the pursuers.
• Shen Jingchuan claimed his Shen Household could protect him and warned that its people might mistake market escorts for his enemies and hurt them by mistake.
• True Person Moxuan gave Shen Jingchuan a jade pendant that could block a full-force Foundation Establishment strike, and Shen accepted it.
• Shen Jingchuan handed Wang Cheng'an the plans for renovating the restaurant's kitchen and workshop, then announced he would leave the market soon.
• Wang Cheng'an said the renovation would take about two months, and Shen Jingchuan left the office without accepting an escort.

Shen Jingchuan profited from the market, then realized his trading had disrupted local supplies and prepared to leave for Azure Cloud Stronghold. He left Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er in the market to cultivate while he set out alone.

• Shen Jingchuan gave Xian'er forty thousand Spirit Stones and pills and talismans, and she used some stones to improve the Heaven and Earth Ring's space.
• Shen Jingchuan noticed prices and buyers' offers had shifted after his frantic trading, so he stopped making deals and returned to the cave abode.
• Shen Jingchuan traveled to the modern world, reunited with Meng Ke, and spent the evening having dinner and watching a movie with her.
• Shen Jingchuan decided he needed to return to watch over Azure Cloud Stronghold in case the Great Qian court sent cultivators to intervene.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er to stay in the market and cultivate while he went back alone, and Huan'er asked to accompany him.

Shen Jingchuan was ambushed by three cultivators on the road and used his aircraft cannon and Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring to fight back. The battle was still unfolding as he sent the rings spinning toward the two attackers.

• Shen Jingchuan prepared his carriage and aircraft cannon before setting out from the market checkpoint.
• Three cultivators caught up with Shen Jingchuan, and their Qi Refining Great Perfection leader ordered the other two to capture him alive.
• Shen Jingchuan fired the aircraft cannon at the two attackers, forcing them to use a shield and a Golden Armor Talisman.
• Shen Jingchuan summoned his Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring and sent its five interlocking rings spinning toward the two cultivators.

Shen Jingchuan struggled to control his Heaven and Earth Rings and autocannon against Zhou Li and Wang Chongming as the rings drained his Spiritual Power. With his opponents distracted and the fight turning against him, he activated his supreme-grade Purple Lightning Talisman, filling the valley with thunderous lightning.

• Wang Chongyue's shield shattered under the linked rings and autocannon fire, and he was blasted into the roadside grass.
• Zhou Li entered the fight and broke the rings' formation with his ghost-head saber, while Shen Jingchuan recalled them and kept Wang Chongming pinned with the autocannon.
• Wang Chongming raised an earth wall and attacked with fire and wind talismans, while Shen Jingchuan protected himself and the autocannon with Vajra Talismans.
• Shen Jingchuan realized the rings consumed Spiritual Power too quickly, then used two attack talismans to distract Zhou Li and Wang Chongming.
• As Zhou Li knocked two rings aside and coveted the treasure, Shen Jingchuan secretly activated his supreme-grade Purple Lightning Talisman, unleashing a bolt of purple lightning across the valley.

Shen Jingchuan killed Zhou Li, Wang Chongming, and Wang Chongyue, then returned safely to Yuxi Prefecture and fed the Chaos Heaven and Earth Ring twenty thousand Spirit Stones. The ring recovered enough to let people enter its space, while Xian'er urged him to keep supplying it with Spirit Stones or a Spirit Vein.

• Shen Jingchuan confirmed the three attackers were dead, collected their belongings, and left their bodies on the mountain road as a warning.
• Shen Jingchuan reached Yuxi Prefecture and checked the Shen Residence before opening the three Storage Rings.
• Shen Jingchuan found only a modest haul and fed the pills and twenty thousand Spirit Stones to the Chaos Heaven and Earth Ring.
• The ring expanded and regained Spiritual Qi, and Xian'er's soul appeared in its restored space.
• Shen Jingchuan entered the ring and learned from Xian'er that continued feeding would help it recover further, though she could not recall how much it needed.

Shen Jingchuan learned that the Heaven and Earth Ring’s hidden entrance could be detected by a powerful expert, while the space could now support spirit crops and house his horses. After returning to Azure Cloud Stronghold, he reunited with his family and brought out an upgraded Spirit Testing Stone to test everyone’s Spirit Roots.

• Xian'er explained that the ring became a concealed speck of dust outside the space and warned Shen Jingchuan to avoid entering near powerful experts; she also showed him the space’s spirit farmland and horse pasture.
• Shen Jingchuan retrieved the ring, waited until night, and flew to Azure Cloud Stronghold, where Yue'er, Su Qingshu, and Su Qinghua greeted him.
• Shen Jingchuan shared modern snacks with the girls and reunited with Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli, who asked about the third princess and his trip to the market.
• Lin Qingyao told Shen Jingchuan that the government troops had attacked once and been repelled, with her second brother using her submachine gun to help defend the stronghold.
• Shen Jingchuan revealed that his Spirit Testing Stone had been upgraded to top-grade and invited everyone to test their Spirit Roots.

Shen Jingchuan tested Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli for Spirit Roots, discovering that Lin Qingyao had a difficult-to-cultivate Hidden Five Spirit Root while Bai Ruoli possessed a rare Ice Spirit Root. He told Bai Ruoli her aptitude was exceptionally good and prepared to continue testing the others.

• Shen Jingchuan explained the Spirit Testing Stone and let Lin Qingyao test first.
• The stone revealed Lin Qingyao's faint Hidden Five Spirit Root, and Shen Jingchuan promised to help her open her Spirit Veins and cultivate.
• Bai Ruoli tested next, and the stone shone with a clear blue-white light.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Xian'er about Bai Ruoli's Spirit Root and learned it was a rare Ice Spirit Root on the level of a Heaven Spirit Root.
• Shen Jingchuan embraced Bai Ruoli and told her that her Spirit Root was exceptionally rare and good.

Shen Jingchuan tested the maids and the Su sisters with the Spirit Testing Stone, revealing that Bai Ruoli had a rare single Ice Spirit Root while several others had Five Spirit Roots or none. The Su sisters both discovered they could cultivate and celebrated together.

• Shen Jingchuan explained that Bai Ruoli's bright result meant she had a precious single Ice Spirit Root, and Lin Qingyao and the maids congratulated her.
• Yue'er tested as a Five Phases Spirit Root, while Qinghe showed no Spirit Root and Bai Ruoli comforted her.
• Ju'er also showed no Spirit Root and returned disappointed to Lin Qingyao's side.
• Shen Jingchuan told Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua to call him Brother and Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli Sisters-in-law.
• Su Qinghua and Su Qingshu each showed five distinct colors on the Spirit Testing Stone, confirming that both had Five Spirit Roots, and the sisters hugged in delight.

Shen Jingchuan comforted Qinghe and Ju'er after their Hidden Spirit Roots failed to bring them the cultivation they hoped for, then shared affectionate farewells with Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli. He went to move Big Black, Little Black, and Treading Snow, discovering that their horns had grown and that bulges on their backs suggested wings were about to emerge.

• Shen Jingchuan reassured Qinghe and Ju'er that life could remain as it had been even if they could not cultivate, and Lin Qingyao and Yue'er helped cheer them up.
• Shen Jingchuan told Lin Qingyao he would visit that night, then kissed Bai Ruoli after the others left the courtyard.
• Shen Jingchuan told Liu Hu he planned to take Big Black, Little Black, and Treading Snow away, and tested Liu Hu's hand with the Spirit Testing Stone, which showed no reaction.
• Shen Jingchuan visited the stable, where Big Black, Little Black, and Treading Snow greeted him affectionately.
• Shen Jingchuan inspected the horses and found their horns had grown, while bulges near their shoulder blades showed that wings were beginning to form.

Shen Jingchuan brought Big Black, Little Black, and Treading Snow into the Heaven and Earth Ring, where Xian'er explained their potential and taught him an ice-type cultivation method for Ruoli. He upgraded the horses’ feed and headed to Lin Qingyao’s house.

• Shen Jingchuan took the three horses into the Heaven and Earth Ring, where Xian'er said their Heavenly Horse blood and emerging horns could lead them to become powerful Demon Beasts.
• Xian'er told Shen Jingchuan to plant grass in the space and gather more Spirit Stones, then passed him the Profound Ice Soul Condensation Instruction for Ruoli.
• Shen Jingchuan promised to help Xian'er rebuild her physical body, then left the horses in her care and returned to Liu Hu.
• Shen Jingchuan reassured Liu Hu that the horses had been moved somewhere better and took all the stable's feed and hay into the ring to be improved.
• Shen Jingchuan cleaned himself with a Cleaning Technique and headed to Lin Qingyao's house.