Recaps

A swarm of Earth Rhinoceroses formed a giant that slaughtered Outer Sect cultivators and drove back the Yunyang flying ship. Wang Chen witnessed Mu Qingqiu destroy the creature with a sword strike, leaving him shaken by its power.

• Earth Rhinoceroses erupted from the Spirit Fields, swarmed cultivators, and formed an Insect Giant that devoured several people.
• The Insect Giant struck the Yunyang flying ship and rampaged through the Spirit Fields, killing cultivators who tried to fight it.
• Wang Chen watched from a distant hill and realized the Purple Mansion cultivators were using Outer Sect cultivators as cannon fodder.
• The Yunyang flying ship blasted the Insect Giant apart, but another one formed from the ground.
• A sword gleam from the north pierced the new Insect Giant and annihilated it, and Wang Chen recognized the strike as Mu Qingqiu's.

After witnessing the battle, Wang Chen grew more determined to become stronger and advanced his Object Manipulation Technique. Old Sun came to his home drunk and grieving Old Lu’s death, but a shadowy tentacle tried to enter Old Sun’s ear before a bell drove it away.

• Guard Hall disciples secured the battlefield while Wang Chen returned home and resolved to grow stronger.
• Wang Chen used his Divine Soul and Mana to lift an oil lamp, reaching beginner level in the Object Manipulation Technique.
• Old Sun arrived drunk, mourned Old Lu’s death, and blamed himself for urging him to go.
• Wang Chen carried Old Sun home, where the old man warned him not to believe something before drifting back to sleep.
• A black tentacle reached toward Old Sun’s ear, but the Dog Hour bell made it recoil and a gust shut the window.

After the Earth Rhinoceros plague ended, the Guard Hall forced spirit farmers to pay Spirit Stones for the Formation Flags, while Wang Chen suspected the disaster had been part of a larger scheme. He returned to studying the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, still unable to comprehend its diagram, before the Big White Rat arrived with her missing husband.

• The Guard Hall collected Spirit Stones from farmers who had received Formation Flags, threatening those who could not pay.
• Old Sun begged Wang Chen for a loan, but Wang Chen showed him his nearly empty Storage Bag and refused to help.
• Wang Chen hid his valuables, returned home, and considered whether the plague and the sect’s response had been arranged as part of a game of chess.
• Wang Chen resumed trying to comprehend the Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon True Form Diagram but made no progress.
• The Big White Rat entered the quiet room with the Brocade Mouse, and Wang Chen realized the pair had reunited.

The Big White Rat and Brocade Mouse told Wang Chen they were leaving because their home was no longer safe, but he decided to stay and build his strength. After saying goodbye to the mice, Wang Chen began cultivating the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma and successfully reached its first level.

• The Big White Rat and Brocade Mouse told Wang Chen they planned to move and invited him to leave with them.
• Wang Chen decided he could not abandon his nearly ripe Spirit Fields or survive safely beyond the sect, so he would stay and wait while growing stronger.
• Wang Chen gave the mice a small Storage Bag packed with dried Demonic Beast Meat and Spirit Grain, and the couple left through their tunnel.
• That night, Wang Chen grasped the first mysteries of the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma and applied Vajra Butter to cultivate it.
• Wang Chen endured the painful body-tempering process, gained one point of Physique, and initiated the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma at Level 1.

Wang Chen strengthened his body with the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, then sold a Magic Sword to fund his costly training and buy food. After purchasing Vajra Butter and White Corn in Yunyang City, he still had more shopping to do.

• Wang Chen gained strength from the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, endured intense hunger, and ate all his remaining Demonic Beast Meat.
• Wang Chen practiced the Vajra Fist and discovered it appeared on his Cultivation Panel as an immortal art.
• Wang Chen disguised himself with the Thousand Transformations Mask and sold his Magic Sword at a Four Seas Chamber of Commerce branch for one hundred and seventy-five Lower Spirit Stones.
• Wang Chen exchanged seventy-five Lower Spirit Stones for eight bottles of Vajra Butter.
• Wang Chen bought one thousand jin of White Corn at the increased price of sixty Lower Spirit Stones, then continued shopping.

Wang Chen settled into a quiet routine of farming, cultivation, and studying talisman-making while raising chicks at home. When Grain-Eating Birds attacked his nearly ripe Spirit Grain, he killed three with Gengjin Finger but realized he needed help guarding the fields.

• Wang Chen returned with supplies for cultivation and talisman-making, then released five chicks into his courtyard and prepared to raise them.
• Wang Chen planted vegetables and followed a steady routine of farmwork, cultivation, practicing skills, and studying basic talismans for half a month.
• Wang Chen spotted Grain-Eating Birds stealing rice from his Spirit Field with the Summer Harvest approaching.
• Wang Chen killed three Grain-Eating Birds with Gengjin Finger, while one escaped, and concluded that he needed a helper to guard the fields.

Wang Chen made a scarecrow, gave it spiritual nature with his blood and protected it with an Exorcism Talisman, then planted it in his Spirit Field. After a scarecrow killed Chen Si and took his talisman, it returned to the rice field stronger.

• Wang Chen crafted a scarecrow, smeared his blood on its forehead, pressed an Exorcism Talisman onto it, and planted it in his Spirit Field.
• Scarecrows appeared throughout the Yunyang Spirit Land Region and drove birds away from the rice fields.
• A girl stopped her little brother from tearing the talisman off a scarecrow and frightened him into believing the Grass Head Immortal would eat him.
• After returning late from Yunyang City, Chen Si encountered a hat-wearing scarecrow on a dark road and tried to ward it off with an Exorcism Talisman.
• The scarecrow ambushed Chen Si, pierced and bound him with straw ropes, and drained his blood.
• The scarecrow picked up Chen Si's fallen Exorcism Talisman, pasted it onto its forehead, and returned to the rice field stronger.

Wang Chen turned down Granny Wang’s attempt to match him with Widow Fan’s fourteen-year-old daughter, claiming his cultivation required him to preserve his chastity. Just as he settled down to cultivate, another visitor began pounding on his gate.

• Wang Chen finished practicing Vajra Fist, fed his chickens, and prepared to cultivate.
• Granny Wang visited and asked whether Wang Chen was betrothed, then offered to arrange a match with Widow Fan’s daughter.
• Wang Chen refused, saying the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma required him to preserve his virginity.
• Granny Wang left disappointed, and Wang Chen resolved to focus on cultivation.
• Someone pounded on Wang Chen’s courtyard gate, and he went to open it.

Wang Chen was recruited into the Fourth Night Patrol Team of Guard Post Yi-10 and learned what to expect from Grand Uncle Sun. After considering his available skills and Human Virtue points, he began choosing two spells to learn before reporting the next morning.

• Grand Uncle Sun delivered Wang Chen a Guard Hall order recruiting him into the Fourth Night Patrol Team, which he had to join before the Hour of the Snake the next morning.
• Grand Uncle Sun explained the Night Watchmen’s duties, risks, rewards, and right to choose two middle Qi Condensation stage spells.
• Grand Uncle Sun caught Old Sun loitering and chased him away with his staff for shirking work and possibly visiting the Gathering of Beauties Pavilion.
• Wang Chen reviewed his Skill Bar and decided to save his 14 Human Virtue points rather than use them to advance his spells.
• Wang Chen settled on preliminary ideas for which two spells to choose, though he had not yet named them.

Wang Chen reported to Guard Post Yi-10 and joined the conscripts assigned to night patrol duty. After Guard Captain Li Wuji punished three late arrivals, Wang Chen collected his spells and equipment and returned home, aware that he needed to obey orders.

• Wang Chen arrived at Guard Post Yi-10 and met Wang Tieniu, who said he was assigned to the Ninth Squad while Wang Chen was in the Fourth Night Patrol Team.
• Guard Captain Li Wuji conducted roll call and found that three of the eighty conscripts were missing.
• When the three late conscripts arrived, Li Wuji ordered them seized and gave each thirty strokes with a Water-Fire Cudgel.
• Li Wuji declared punctuality and obedience essential for Night Watchmen and ordered everyone to gather again in three days.
• Wang Chen chose two middle Qi Condensation stage spells, collected his Night Watchman equipment, and went home.

Wang Chen received gear, supplies, manuals, and two spells for his compulsory night patrol assignment, and he became wary of the dangers behind the guard station’s generous provisions. After seeking Grand Uncle Sun’s advice, Wang Chen learned Spirit Light Shield Armor in two days and had one more day to improve it before patrol.

• Wang Chen memorized Record of Demonic Oddities, On Malevolent Spirits, and Night Watchman's Talk to prepare for the patrol.
• Wang Chen received the Fire Crow Technique and Spirit Light Shield Armor for free, then focused on mastering the defensive spell because he suspected the patrol would be dangerous.
• Wang Chen visited Grand Uncle Sun with Cloud Mist Spirit Tea and asked for guidance on Spirit Light Shield Armor and the Fire Crow Technique.
• Grand Uncle Sun answered Wang Chen’s questions about Spirit Light Shield Armor but could not advise him on the fire spell because his affinity was water.
• Wang Chen returned home and successfully cast Spirit Light Shield Armor, adding it to his Skill Bar at initial mastery.

Wang Chen reported to Guard Post Yi-10 and joined the newly organized Fourth Night Patrol Team, where he met his leaders and teammates. An encounter with the Inner Sect cultivator Xie Yaoxiu left him with a warning about using his Spirit Eye Technique and drew the team into gossip before they were ordered to assemble.

• Wang Chen arrived at Guard Post Yi-10 and learned that Yao Mingjie would lead the Fourth Night Patrol Team while Guo Ping served as deputy.
• Wang Chen ate dinner while secretly cultivating, and he judged that Jiang Cong had likely advanced through pills and that the team was poorly suited to night patrols.
• Li Wuji escorted Xie Yaoxiu and several other cultivators out of the guard post, and Xie Yaoxiu's sharp gaze nearly brought Wang Chen to tears when he used his Spirit Eye Technique on her.
• Jiang Cong identified Xie Yaoxiu as one of the Seven Beauties of Tianyun and recounted how she defeated a suitor with a single sword strike.
• A copper bell rang, and the Fourth Night Patrol Team was ordered to assemble.

Wang Chen joined the Fourth Night Patrol Team and learned about the dangers of patrolling the Yunyang Sect’s Outer Mountain Gate, while staying alert and training as the others grew complacent. On the team’s tenth night patrol, a crossbow bolt struck a young cultivator in the neck, signaling an enemy attack.

• Yao Mingjie led Wang Chen and the other new Night Watchmen on their first patrol while Guo Ping explained the threats posed by bandits and Evil Spirits.
• The team reached the boundary of the sect grounds, where Wang Chen saw the Outer Region, then returned to Guard Post Yi-10 without encountering danger.
• During the following patrols, Wang Chen sensed he was being watched and continued training in the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma and Fire Crow Technique.
• On the team’s tenth night patrol, a crossbow bolt suddenly pierced a young cultivator’s neck, and the team called out that they were under attack.

The Fourth Night Patrol Team was ambushed by armed cultivators, and Wang Chen used talismans and spells to survive the opening attack. After retreating from the chaos, he killed a black-robed pursuer and fled with the man’s Storage Bag.

• A spell-empowered crossbow bolt killed a young Night Watchman, while Wang Chen activated a Protection Talisman and a Jia Ma Talisman.
• The ambushers fired another volley, and Guo Ping evaded the bolts by using a young cultivator as a human shield.
• Wang Chen cast Spirit Light Shield Armor and retreated as Yao Mingjie summoned wind and lightning, killing at least three ambushers.
• The attackers rushed Yao Mingjie and hunted down fleeing rookies, leaving the Night Patrol Team in disarray.
• A black-robed cultivator caught Wang Chen, but Wang Chen struck him with golden energy and killed him.
• Wang Chen activated a Dust Smoke Talisman, took the dead cultivator’s Storage Bag, and ran.

Wang Chen escaped an attack on the night patrol and realized the Yunyang Sect outer sect was under a large-scale invasion, possibly by the Gray-Eyed Bandits. After encountering Child Demons, he was ambushed by a scarecrow evil spirit and attacked it with Exorcism Talismans and his Geng Metal Sword Finger.

• Wang Chen fled more than twenty li with a Jia Ma Talisman and saw distress signals and Radiant Pillars rising across the Yunyang Sect outer sect.
• Wang Chen found a Storage Bag marked with a vertical-eye insignia and suspected the Gray-Eyed Bandits had attacked the patrol team, so he decided to take it back to the Guard Post unopened.
• Wang Chen saw several Child Demons playing in a Spirit Field, but they vanished when the hour-of-the-Tiger bell rang.
• Wang Chen's Cloud Light Robe warned him of danger behind him, and he turned to find a scarecrow evil spirit reaching for him with straw tendrils.
• Wang Chen struck the scarecrow with an Exorcism Talisman and his Geng Metal Sword Finger, then lunged forward to attack it with another Exorcism Talisman.

Wang Chen survived a deadly fight with a straw-man Evil Spirit, then honored its victim and discovered a valuable Yin Qi Bead among the ashes. He left the site after erasing the remains, having gained experience in several skills and a new Fire Crow Technique breakthrough.

• Wang Chen struck the straw man with two Exorcism Talismans, but a Black Grass Rope wrapped around him and began draining his Mana.
• Wang Chen unleashed his Mighty Strength Art and Vajra Fist to smash the straw man's head, then used a third Exorcism Talisman to destroy the Evil Spirit and gained 25 Human Virtue.
• Wang Chen found the victim's skeleton among the remains and used the Fire Crow Technique to burn the corpse, advancing the spell to Beginner.
• Wang Chen activated a Rebirth Talisman and recited the Rebirth Incantation, after which the victim's phantom appeared briefly and bowed to him.
• Wang Chen found a Yin Qi Bead among the ashes, then used a rain spell to wash the remains into the soil.

Wang Chen returned to Guard Post Yi-10 after surviving the Gray-Eyed Bandits’ attack, where Yao Mingjie recognized his contribution and claimed the enemy’s Storage Bag. After the Yunyang Sect disbanded the newly formed squads, Wang Chen was told to go home as the mission ended.

• Wang Chen reached Guard Post Yi-10 at dawn and found it crowded with wounded cultivators and frightened spirit plant farmers.
• Wang Chen rejoined Yao Mingjie and Guo Ping, keeping his distrust of Guo Ping hidden.
• A one-armed teammate accused Wang Chen of surviving unharmed, but Wang Chen ignored him and presented a bandit’s Storage Bag to Yao Mingjie.
• Yao Mingjie praised Wang Chen for using a Dust Smoke Talisman, accepted the Storage Bag, and said he would report Wang Chen’s battle merit.
• Yao Mingjie announced that the newly formed squads would be disbanded and told Wang Chen to go home because the mission was over.

After surviving the Gray-Eyed Bandits’ attack, Wang Chen improved his Spiritual Root with Heavenly Merit and received a message confirming his battle reward. The message also announced recruitment into the sect’s hall reserve teams, but Wang Chen rejected the offer as too dangerous.

• Wang Chen returned home safely, cared for his hens, and reflected on the dangers facing the border and his own lack of strength.
• Wang Chen spent 10 Heavenly Merit to raise his Spiritual Root to 4, then cultivated and trained at home for two days.
• A Message Crane from the Outer Sect Main Hall confirmed Wang Chen’s commendation and awarded him 500 Merit Points, while allowing him to keep the supplies issued by the guard post.
• The Main Hall announced recruitment for reserve teams in the War Hall, Guard Hall, and Discipline Hall, offering supplies and opportunities for advancement.
• Wang Chen decided not to join any of the reserve teams, despite their promised benefits.

Wang Chen exchanged Merit Points for two techniques, sold a Yin Qi Bead, and stocked up on cultivation supplies in Yunyang City. He noticed that Spirit Rice prices had doubled and saw signs of mourning among the local farmers as he headed home.

• Wang Chen collected five hundred Merit Points and exchanged three hundred and fifty for Shadowless Divine Movement and thirty for the Breath Concealment Technique.
• Wang Chen sold his Yin Qi Bead to Manager Jin for six hundred and eighty Lower Spirit Stones, then spent three hundred on Vajra Butter.
• Wang Chen found White Corn prices had doubled but did not buy more Spirit Rice, since he already had a large supply and a successful harvest underway.
• Wang Chen bought five hundred jin of Demonic Beast Meat, replenished his Talismans, and purchased Cloud Mist Spirit Tea for a planned visit to the Village Chief.
• Wang Chen heard mournful crying and saw funeral banners at several farmers' homes on his way back.

After Old Master Sun warned Wang Chen that his Night Patrol conscription might have been deliberate, Wang Chen prepared to protect himself by learning the Earth Stone Technique and planning underground shelters. Just as he began practicing, an Innate expert arrived to ask whether Wang Chen needed help harvesting rice.

• Old Master Sun warned Wang Chen to consider whether he had offended someone, leaving Wang Chen alarmed by the possibility that someone had arranged his conscription.
• Unable to identify who might be targeting him, Wang Chen went to Yunyang City and exchanged seventy Merit Points for the Earth Stone Technique.
• Wang Chen decided to dig tunnels and underground shelters because he feared the Gray-Eyed Bandits, Evil Cultivators, and other dangers.
• After four days of study, Wang Chen used Solidify Mud into Stone and began training the Earth Stone Technique.
• An Innate expert came to Wang Chen's courtyard and asked whether he needed someone to harvest rice.

Wang Chen hired a bearded Innate martial artist and his younger sister to harvest his Spirit Rice, then gave them the surplus grain as payment. The pair departed, leaving Wang Chen to continue practicing the Earth Stone Technique.

• Wang Chen verified the bearded man's Passage Token and agreed to pay five catties of Spirit Grain per mu to harvest his ten mu of fields.
• Wang Chen noticed that the bearded man's younger sister resembled a girl from his previous life, while the man quietly shielded her from his gaze.
• The bearded man and his sister harvested and threshed all ten mu of Spirit Rice with remarkable efficiency.
• Wang Chen stored the rice, gave the pair the surplus grain, and watched them leave in their cart.
• Wang Chen turned a stone ball into mud and gained experience in the Earth Stone Technique.

Wang Chen went to Yunyang City to deliver the summer grain tax and saw Spirit Planting Hall officials extort extra rice from spirit planters. He reached the front of the queue as his own grain delivery was called.

• Wang Chen packed his harvested Spirit Grain and traveled to Yunyang City to pay his quota of 2,500 jin.
• Farmers on the road lamented that an insect plague had ruined their harvests and that the Main Hall had imposed an additional Spirit Stone levy.
• At the Sprinkled Gold Field, Liang Dacheng met his grain quota but was forced to pour in extra rice while Spirit Planting Hall officials watched.
• A scar-faced cultivator kicked and emptied the excess rice from the Immeasurable Golden Measure into the storage bag beneath it.
• The steward called Wang Chen forward to remit grain for his ten mu of lower-grade fields.

After paying more than the set field rent, Wang Chen saw grain prices soar and learned the Yunyang Sect was recruiting for dangerous Reclamation Camps. He rejected the opportunity and headed home, resolved to avoid both the camps and the Three Halls' preparatory program.

• Wang Chen left the Main Hall angry that the Spirit Planting Hall had charged him more than the set Field Rent, and he decided he would eventually leave the Yunyang Sect.
• Wang Chen watched spirit farmers protest rising grain prices at the Great Hong Rice Shop, but the clerk threatened them with the influence of Venerable Fan of the Hundred Arts Pavilion.
• A woman cultivator bought overpriced White Corn after her child refused to eat cheaper Tribute Rice.
• A cultivator announced that the Outer Sect Main Hall was forming ten Reclamation Camps and offering eligible disciples a farmland tax exemption or Spirit Grain.
• Wang Chen felt wary of the dangerous recruitment drive and went home, deciding not to join the Reclamation Camp or the Three Halls' preparatory program.

Wang Chen received repayment from Little Ya and Wei for helping them, then accepted Wei’s offer to plow his Spirit Fields. After sharing a hearty meal with Wei, Wang Chen continued planning to improve his Earth Stone Technique and build a bunker beneath his house.

• Little Ya brought Wang Chen a basket of green peaches from Madam Chen to thank him for removing pests from their home.
• Wang Chen gave Little Ya a strip of Demonic Beast Marrow Meat in return, and she left with her companion.
• Wei came to repay Wang Chen for the Spirit Grain he had received and offered to plow all ten mu of Wang Chen’s Spirit Fields.
• Wang Chen prepared beast meat rice while Wei worked, then invited Wei to share the meal.
• Wang Chen and Wei ate the entire pot of rice, and Wang Chen shared some crispy scorched rice with Wei.

Wang Chen learned about the Outer Region from Wei Xiong and finished planting his rice. On his way home, he discovered that Old Sun had taken in Madam Li and her son after her husband died, then dreamed again of his family from his previous life.

• Wang Chen treated Wei Xiong to a meal and learned about Rogue Cultivator settlements, their livelihoods, and the Gray-Eyed Bandits' disappearance.
• Wei Xiong finished turning over Wang Chen's ten mu of Spirit Fields and hurried away to plow his own fields.
• Wang Chen sowed rice seeds and cast the Cloud and Rain Spell before heading home.
• Wang Chen saw a child watching him near Old Sun's home and recognized Madam Li, Old Man Lu's widow, in the courtyard.
• Old Sun explained that he had taken in Madam Li and her son after Old Man Lu's eldest son drove them out, and Wang Chen congratulated him.
• Wang Chen declined Old Sun's dinner invitation and dreamed of his family from his previous life.