Chapter Summaries

Shen Jingchuan developed the mountain stronghold into Azure Cloud Stronghold, gathering refugees, building defenses, and equipping its people while his carriage business flourished. He and Lin Qingyao completed the betrothal rites and set their wedding for the sixteenth day of the second month of the following year.

• Shen Jingchuan decided to make the mountain stronghold his fallback base and arranged for Hu Tieniu's men to carry building materials up from a secluded hollow.
• Shen Jingchuan developed the stronghold over the following months, opened the camp to refugees, and saw more than five thousand people gather there.
• Shen Jingchuan named the settlement Azure Cloud Stronghold, trained eight hundred men as heavy infantry, completed its walls and houses, and began producing crossbows.
• Shen Jingchuan's inn opened and the Lin Household's workshop sold popular four-wheeled carriages, while Shen Jingchuan reserved his titanium-alloy carriages for other uses.
• Shen Jingchuan delivered lavish betrothal gifts to Lin Qingyao, and their wedding was set for the sixteenth day of the second month of the following year.

As his wedding to Lin Qingyao approached, Shen Jingchuan struggled with guilt over Meng Ke while accepting his responsibilities to Bai Ruoli and Lin Qingyao. After marrying Lin Qingyao and settling the household, he went to his newly prepared residence to use it as a storage depot for goods from the modern world.

• Shen Jingchuan reflected on how his ties to Bai Ruoli and Lin Qingyao had formed and felt guilty that Meng Ke, his first love, had gained two sisters.
• On their wedding night, Shen Jingchuan and Lin Qingyao grew close, and they spent the night together.
• The next morning, Bai Ruoli served tea to Lin Qingyao and offered her the household accounts and keys, but Lin Qingyao let Bai Ruoli continue managing them.
• Shen Jingchuan explained that he had failed to give Bai Ruoli proper standing, while Bai Ruoli said she was content to remain by his side and Lin Qingyao welcomed her into the household.
• After completing the wedding formalities, Shen Jingchuan told his wives he was going to cultivate and went to the nearby residence Liu Zhong had prepared as a storage depot.

Shen Jingchuan used pills and the Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction to reach the Second Layer of Qi Refinement and deepen his understanding of the Five Phases cycle. After learning the Brilliance Group had collapsed, he gave Meng Ke three ginseng roots to pass on as thanks and returned to the other world with a ring full of supplies.

• Shen Jingchuan consumed five mid-grade Qi Nourishing Pills and a Qi Gathering Pill, breaking through to the Second Layer of Qi Refinement.
• Shen Jingchuan stabilized his new realm and realized the Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction made the five streams of Spiritual Qi strengthen one another.
• Shen Jingchuan met Meng Ke for dinner, where she told him the Brilliance Group and the Huang family had been taken down, likely through Elder Yang's influence.
• Shen Jingchuan gave Meng Ke three wild mountain ginseng roots to pass to Elder Wen as repayment for his help.
• Shen Jingchuan packed prepared supplies into his ring and returned to the West Mountain Separate Garden and the other world.

Shen Jingchuan received a letter from his senior sister Yan Shuyao, who was arriving in Yuxi Prefecture, and set out to meet her while checking on Wild Goose Tomb. He reached the inn and waited on its balcony overlooking the road.

• Shen Jingchuan visited Bai Ruoli during the night, and the two spent the night together.
• Lin Qingyao gave Shen Jingchuan a letter from Yan Shuyao, who said she would arrive in Yuxi Prefecture that day.
• Lin Qingyao teased Shen Jingchuan about Yan Shuyao but urged him to prepare to welcome their guest.
• Shen Jingchuan rode Big Black toward Wild Goose Tomb, passed workers repairing the road, and arranged for supplies to be collected.
• Shen Jingchuan reached the inn beside Wild Goose Tomb and watched the official road from the second-floor balcony.

Yan Shuyao arrived in Yuxi Prefecture and told Shen Jingchuan how the Third Prince had retaliated against Great Confucian Yan over the four-wheeled carriage, leading to Yan Wenbin’s arrest and Great Confucian Yan’s illness. She brought Shen Jingchuan a book about mountain travels and, noticing his cultivation, asked whether he had encountered a fortuitous opportunity.

• Yan Shuyao arrived to congratulate Shen Jingchuan on his wedding and explained that Great Confucian Yan had been unable to travel because he was ill.
• Yan Shuyao recounted how the Third Prince had arranged for Yan Wenbin to be framed for theft after Great Confucian Yan refused to give him Shen Jingchuan’s carriage.
• Great Confucian Yan surrendered the carriage to secure Yan Wenbin’s release, then fell ill from anger and distress.
• Yan Shuyao gave Shen Jingchuan Miscellaneous Records of Mountain Travels, which Great Confucian Yan thought might help him find Spirit Stones.
• After sending her maid to guard the door, Yan Shuyao asked Shen Jingchuan how he had reached the Qi Refining Second Layer in only a few months.

Shen Jingchuan learned the Qi Gazing Technique from Yan Shuyao and discovered she was a Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator. He agreed to supply the third princess with watches in exchange for Spirit Stones, and the chapter ended with him arranging an initial batch of one hundred watches.

• Yan Shuyao gave Shen Jingchuan a booklet of minor Law Techniques and taught him how to use the Qi Gazing Technique.
• Yan Shuyao explained her cultivation history and how the third princess had helped her with Spirit Stones.
• Yan Shuyao told Shen Jingchuan that the third princess wanted to buy watches from him for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone each.
• Shen Jingchuan accepted the third princess's thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones as an advance deposit and agreed to provide watches in batches.
• Shen Jingchuan offered to prepare a hundred watches first, then opened the door and asked the attendant to bring up the food.

Shen Jingchuan welcomed his senior sister Yan Shuyao to Yuxi Prefecture, where she named his inn the Inquiring Goose Pavilion and joined his household for dinner. Yan Shuyao praised the food and settled in with Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli, while the chapter left Shen Jingchuan's response to Bai Ruoli's invitation to stay unfinished.

• Yan Shuyao enjoyed Shen Jingchuan's modern-seasoned dishes and named his inn the Inquiring Goose Pavilion after seeing the nearby Wild Goose Tomb.
• Yan Shuyao read the carved lyrics at the tomb and grew tearful, while Shen Jingchuan comforted her.
• Hu Tieniu arrived, and Shen Jingchuan instructed him to arrange the pavilion signboard before escorting Yan Shuyao and her party to Yuxi Prefecture.
• Shen Jingchuan persuaded Yan Shuyao to stay at his residence, where he introduced her to Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli.
• Yan Shuyao praised the household's meal, and Bai Ruoli suggested that she stay a few more days to enjoy the cooking.

After discussing the strengths of his Five Phases Spirit Root with Xian'er, Shen Jingchuan learned that the right cultivation method and resources could overcome its slow early progress. Xian'er passed several five-element combat techniques and a better way to assess cultivation into his mind, then fell silent to recover.

• After settling Yan Shuyao in the east wing, Lin Qingyao returned to Shen Jingchuan, and the newlyweds spent the night together before he went to cultivate.
• Shen Jingchuan placed thirty low-grade Spirit Stones in his personal space, where Xian'er absorbed twenty to restore her strength.
• Xian'er explained that the Five Phases Spirit Root offered deep Spiritual Qi, versatile techniques, and a more complete understanding of the Heavenly Dao, but needed suitable methods and abundant resources.
• Shen Jingchuan asked about the cultivator who had stalled at the Qi Refining Third Layer, and Xian'er attributed his lack of progress to scarce Spiritual Qi, poor methods, and insufficient resources rather than his Spirit Root.
• Xian'er dismissed the Qi Gazing Technique Shen Jingchuan had learned and passed several five-element techniques and a proper cultivation-assessment method into his consciousness.
• After Shen Jingchuan endured the painful information transfer, Xian'er said she needed to rest and went silent.

Shen Jingchuan quickly mastered three inherited Law Techniques and several basic spells, then tested his new cultivation-reading ability on Yan Shuyao. After handling business and spending the day with Meng Ke in the modern world, he returned to the west courtyard and went to Lin Qingyao’s room.

• Shen Jingchuan cultivated the Heavenly Eye Peering into Truth Instruction and learned it could reveal cultivation and, at greater depths, see through concealment and illusions.
• Shen Jingchuan mastered the Geng Metal Arrow and Shield Instruction and the Azure Wood Rejuvenation Instruction, then learned the basic Cleaning, Light Body, Water Control, and Fire Guiding Techniques.
• Shen Jingchuan used his new spirit eye to identify Yan Shuyao as being at the third level of Qi Refinement, and Lin Qingyao teased him after he called Yan Shuyao beautiful.
• Shen Jingchuan returned to the modern world, ordered watches and mirrors, collected carriage parts and four titanium-alloy carriages, and spent the day shopping and watching a movie with Meng Ke.
• Shen Jingchuan returned to the west courtyard with his goods and went to Lin Qingyao’s room for the night.

Shen Jingchuan prepared Yan Shuyao’s watches and arranged for her journey to the Capital, including a plan to sell four carriages through the Zhou Household. He also agreed with Lin Weiyuan to send ordinary carriages along to test the Capital’s market.

• Shen Jingchuan showed Yan Shuyao the hundred watches and learned she planned to leave for the Capital the next morning to see her ailing father and deliver the watches to the Third Princess.
• Yan Shuyao refused to accept another conspicuous carriage, so Shen Jingchuan proposed sending four carriages to the Zhou Household for sale in the Capital and arranging a separate carriage for her later.
• Yan Shuyao explained that the Third Princess had been away when her elder brother was arrested, leaving her family to resolve the trouble themselves.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Lin Weiyuan to have Lin Shan and ten escorts accompany Yan Shuyao, the watches, and four carriages to Chang'an for the Zhou Household.
• Lin Weiyuan suggested also taking ordinary carriages to the Capital to test the market, and Shen Jingchuan approved the plan.

Shen Jingchuan arranged the sale and transport of his luxury carriages, then delivered more glass mirrors to the city’s general store. The chapter ended when a wealthy household’s steward announced that his master wanted to buy the shop.

• Shen Jingchuan set a wholesale price of three thousand taels per carriage and planned to send Master Zhou a letter proposing a more profitable sale.
• Lin Weiyuan agreed to Shen Jingchuan’s arrangement, and the Lin Household’s escort agency and Yan Shuyao’s guards departed for Chang'an with the empty carriages.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Yan Shuyao to have the Third Princess exchange half of his Spirit Stones for Qi Refinement Realm cultivation pills after selling the watches.
• Shen Jingchuan and Liu Hu delivered more glass mirrors to the general store, where the owner paid him and explained that the lighters were barely selling.
• A steward entered the general store and told the owner that his master wanted to buy the shop.

After Steward Huang tried to force Shen Jingchuan to supply the Huang Household exclusively, Shen rejected him and refused to be intimidated. More than ten days later, while Shen was keeping a low profile under surveillance, Liu Zhong reported that an unfamiliar woman claiming to be an old acquaintance had come to see him.

• Steward Huang demanded that the shopkeeper sell his store and that Shen Jingchuan supply all his mirrors to the Huang Household.
• Shen Jingchuan refused Steward Huang’s demand, insulted him, and watched him leave after a threat.
• The shopkeeper feared the Huang Household’s retaliation, but Shen Jingchuan told him to continue business as usual.
• Shen Jingchuan noticed people watching him, stayed mostly at home, and made quick trips to replenish his stock.
• More than ten days later, Liu Zhong told Shen Jingchuan that a well-dressed woman claiming to be an old acquaintance had arrived with a maidservant.

Shen Jingchuan welcomed the Third Princess, Xiao Mingshu, who brought gifts for Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli and discovered that Shen had reached the Qi Refining Second Layer. Xiao also delivered the pills and Spirit Stones Shen had requested, then explained the prices and types of Storage Law Artifacts, leaving him interested in buying one.

• Shen Jingchuan recognized the veiled visitor as the Third Princess and invited Xiao Mingshu and her maid into his residence.
• Xiao Mingshu met Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli, praised Bai Ruoli, and gave each woman a box of Jade Countenance Pills.
• Xiao used the Qi Gazing Instruction to confirm Shen Jingchuan had reached the Qi Refining Second Layer, surprising Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli.
• Xiao gave Shen a pouch containing seventy Spirit Stones, half of which she had exchanged for Qi Refinement pills.
• Shen asked about Xiao's Storage Ring, and she explained the costs and storage capacities of Storage Bags and Storage Rings.

Shen Jingchuan brought Xiao Mingshu a large supply of watches and introduced her to portable glass mirrors, which she recognized as a likely hit among cultivators. They agreed to limit and raise the price of watches sold in the mortal world to protect Xiao Mingshu’s market business, and she asked how many Spirit Stones he wanted for each mirror.

• Shen Jingchuan explained that his Lineage had not given him a storage Law Artifact, then went to fetch watches and folding makeup mirrors from the storeroom.
• Lin Qingyao, Bai Ruoli, and the maids helped Shen Jingchuan carry all thirty boxes into the main hall.
• Shen Jingchuan offered Xiao Mingshu 480 watches and agreed to send the Zhou Household only fifty watches a year, priced at no less than two thousand taels each.
• Shen Jingchuan showed Xiao Mingshu a clear glass mirror, and she realized it was the kind made by the Shen Household and would appeal to female cultivators.
• Xiao Mingshu advised selling the mirrors in large quantities at a modest price and asked Shen Jingchuan how many Spirit Stones he wanted per mirror.

Xiao Mingshu agreed to buy Shen Jingchuan’s magnifying mirrors and sell them through market shops after he offered her exclusive supply, credit, and advice about staying safe. She decided to move into his residence in Yuxi Prefecture, and Shen Jingchuan welcomed her protection.

• Shen Jingchuan showed Xiao Mingshu the mirrors’ magnifying side and offered to supply them exclusively to her for one Spirit Stone each.
• Xiao Mingshu considered the mirrors’ potential market price, and Shen Jingchuan advised her to wholesale them to shops to avoid attracting attention.
• Xiao Mingshu and Shen Jingchuan agreed to call each other Sister Mingshu and Brother Jingchuan.
• Shen Jingchuan let Xiao Mingshu take the mirrors on credit, with payment due after she sold them.
• Xiao Mingshu announced she would move into Shen Jingchuan’s residence in Yuxi Prefecture, and he welcomed her as its protector.

Shen Jingchuan prepared for Xiao Mingshu’s journey to Azure Cloud Market while arranging goods and pills for trade. After upgrading his pills and cultivating with the Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction, he improved his Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation and sharpened his Divine Sense.

• Shen Jingchuan arranged comfortable rooms for Xiao Mingshu, and she and Xiaohuan praised the household’s food and unusual goods.
• Xiao Mingshu told Shen Jingchuan she would leave for Azure Cloud Market the next morning, and he agreed to escort her out of the city.
• Shen Jingchuan traveled to the modern world, collected four luxury carriages and other goods, and ordered a thousand sets of makeup supplies before returning to Yuxi Prefecture.
• Shen Jingchuan gave his Spirit Stones and pills to the ring, and Xian'er explained that a Mid-Grade Clear Spirit Pill could nourish his Divine Sense.
• Shen Jingchuan swallowed a Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pill and used the Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction to refine it with almost no loss, raising his cultivation and sharpening his Divine Sense by dawn.

Shen Jingchuan sent Xiao Mingshu north in a carriage to buy supplies, then was ambushed on his return by masked men led by Steward Huang. After breaking through their first attack, he turned back to fight them.

• Shen Jingchuan borrowed two horses and gave Xiao Mingshu a carriage for her journey to the market.
• Shen Jingchuan rode north with Xiao Mingshu, discussed storage rings and Qi Refinement pills, and saw her off twenty li from the city.
• Masked men surrounded Shen Jingchuan on his way back, and he recognized their leader as Steward Huang.
• Shen Jingchuan killed or knocked down several attackers and drove Steward Huang to flee.
• Shen Jingchuan escaped the encirclement, turned around, and charged back at the remaining masked men.

Shen Jingchuan defeated the Huang Household’s ambushers with his newly learned techniques and returned safely to the city with three warhorses. At the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, he told Lin Weiyuan and Lin Yue what had happened, and Lin Weiyuan began explaining Yuxi Prefecture’s Four Great Lineages.

• Shen Jingchuan charged the masked bandits, scattering them with his spear and killing fleeing men with golden arrows from the Geng Metal Escape Technique Instruction.
• Steward Huang saw Shen Jingchuan’s golden arrows and fled toward the city, realizing he had provoked an immortal master.
• Shen Jingchuan stopped pursuing the bandits, chose three of their horses, and used a Cleaning Technique before riding back to the city.
• Shen Jingchuan returned to his residence, where Liu Hu praised the three horses as first-rate warhorses suitable for the household’s four-wheeled carriage.
• Shen Jingchuan told Lin Weiyuan and Lin Yue that the Huang Household had tried to abduct him; Lin Yue condemned the attack, and Lin Weiyuan introduced the Li, Wang, Pan, and Huang families as Yuxi Prefecture’s Four Great Lineages.

Lin Weiyuan explained the four powerful Yuxi households’ influence and their conflicts with the Lin Household, while Shen Jingchuan agreed it was time to strike back. Lin Shan then reported that Zhou Tong’s carriage demonstration had driven the carriages’ auction prices far beyond expectations.

• Lin Weiyuan described the Li, Wang, Pan, and Huang Households’ power and accused the Pan and Huang Households of smuggling and colluding with the Li Household’s border forces.
• Shen Jingchuan and Lin Weiyuan agreed that the Lin Household could no longer tolerate attacks by the Huang Household and Pan Household, and Lin Weiyuan revealed that the Li Household had taken two carriages without paying.
• Lin Shan returned from the capital and told Shen Jingchuan that Zhou Tong had staged a public carriage demonstration that attracted a large crowd.
• Lin Shan reported that the luxury carriages sold at auction for eight thousand to twelve thousand taels, while even the cheapest ordinary carriage sold for twelve hundred taels.

Shen Jingchuan responded to the growing threats from the Li, Pan, and Huang households by shifting production toward freight wagons and arranging guards for his residence. At the Azure Cloud Stronghold, he reviewed its defenses and training, learned its twelve thousand displaced residents had only ten days of grain, and told Hu Tieniu he would take him to get more.

• Shen Jingchuan told Lin Shan and Lin Weiyuan about the ambush and the Li Household's unpaid debt, then decided to halt passenger-carriage production and focus on freight wagons.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Lin Weiyuan to send guards to protect his residence, and Lin Weiyuan promised ten escort guards to keep watch day and night.
• Shen Jingchuan rode to the Inquiring Goose Pavilion, heard Hu Tieniu describe recent visitors to the Wild Goose Tomb, and took Hu Tieniu and four guards to the Azure Cloud Stronghold.
• Hu Tieniu reported that the stronghold held twelve thousand displaced people, had only ten days of grain, and had trained a thousand able-bodied men while producing more than five hundred crossbows.
• Shen Jingchuan watched the crossbowmen and spearmen demonstrate their formations, then told Hu Tieniu he would take him to get grain.