Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into a cultivation world, Li Ye discovered that Qi Deviation had damaged his meridians and left him in debt with failing spirit plants. He found a mysterious panel that could help him bind spirit plants and beasts, then set out into Returning Shore Market to find a way to survive.

• Li Ye accepted that he had transmigrated into a cultivator's body damaged by Qi Deviation and used an Essence Nourishing Pill to ease the pain.
• Li Ye discovered that his five Silver Moon Grasses were about to wither and saw a mysterious panel that identified them and listed a binding requirement.
• Li Ye left his courtyard, whose formation sealed it behind him, and headed to the market district in search of help for his failing plants.
• Li Ye learned that binding required a spirit plant or beast to belong to him or agree, and that binding consumed Vital Essence gained from eating vital foods.

Li Ye visited Returning Shore Market seeking a fire-attribute spirit beast to help heal his meridians, but his five Spirit Stones ruled out the expensive options. The Spirit-Engine Vine sold him five troubled Flint Crystal Worms for all he had and gave him instructions for raising them.

• Li Ye searched the market for fire-attribute spirit beasts but found their prices beyond his means.
• Li Ye asked the Spirit-Engine Vine for a fire-attribute creature to nourish his meridians after suffering Qi Deviation.
• The Spirit-Engine Vine offered Li Ye Flint Crystal Worms that were unlikely to survive until summer, lowering their price from ten Spirit Stones each to one.
• Li Ye agreed to care for the worms and asked how to raise them.
• One Flint Crystal Worm touched Li Ye's fingertip, surprising both him and the Spirit-Engine Vine.
• The Spirit-Engine Vine gave Li Ye a jade slip with raising instructions, and he bought the worms with his five Spirit Stones.

Li Ye bound a Flint Crystal Worm to Silver Moon Grass, reviving the plant and producing Moon Nectar Pearls that restored his spiritual power. He went to sleep considering the pearls’ value and how to learn more about his Golden Finger.

• Li Ye bound a Flint Crystal Worm to Silver Moon Grass, spending twenty points of Vital Essence.
• The bound worm revived the Silver Moon Grass, which produced three Moon Nectar Pearls, while the worm curled around a leaf and fell asleep.
• Li Ye discovered that an unbound Flint Crystal Worm behaved wildly near the grass, so he moved it away.
• Li Ye ate one Moon Nectar Pearl and found it replenished his spiritual power as much as a month of cultivation while adding five Vital Essence.
• Li Ye saved the remaining two pearls and fell asleep in the warmth of his house.

Li Ye discovered that the Silver Moon Grass and Flint Crystal Worm had recovered and mutated, and that their spiritual energy could cultivate him automatically. He learned the grass could produce three Moon Nectar Pearls every three days, then turned to his cabbage field as hunger struck.

• Li Ye woke to heavy snow, checked that his Flint Crystal Worms were unharmed, and used an Automaton Mouse to clear the courtyard.
• Li Ye discovered that his field was filled with Napa cabbages and inspected the Silver Moon Grass and its worm.
• Li Ye found a red bead growing on the grass and a silver sprout on the worm, signs that both had recovered and mutated.
• The grass and worm sent Li Ye purified spiritual energy that activated his Five Elements Spirit Ascension Art and eased his injuries.
• Li Ye learned the Silver Moon Grass could produce three Moon Nectar Pearls every three days and considered acquiring more spirit plants and spirit beasts.
• As Li Ye prepared to practice spells, hunger struck, and he looked toward the Napa cabbages.

Li Ye discovered that the Flint Crystal Worm’s Spiritual Energy had changed his Flame Light Finger and Luminescence Art, then traded two Moon Nectar Pearls to Spirit Vine for fifty Spirit Stones. Spirit Vine offered him a Glass Snow Lotus that would die within a month unless bound to a vigorous ice-attributed avian spirit beast.

• Li Ye gained 0.1 Vital Essence from his meal and found that his Flame Light Finger produced stable, gold-tinged flintfire.
• Li Ye discovered that his Luminescence Art formed a silver sphere, but it rapidly drained his Spiritual Energy.
• Li Ye brought two Moon Nectar Pearls to Spirit Vine, who praised their quality and gave him fifty Spirit Stones.
• Li Ye asked Spirit Vine about cheap, fast-growing edible spirit plants, and Spirit Vine presented a Glass Snow Lotus.

Li Ye bought a short-lived ice-attribute spirit plant from Spirit Vine and learned that spring wheat planting would be the next step toward earning a recommendation to the Four Seasons Sect. At the market, he discovered that a Frost Wheat seller’s mature plants were nurturing rare Wheat Pellets, and he bought forty stalks.

• Li Ye paid Spirit Vine ten Spirit Stones for an ice-attribute lotus plant and asked detailed questions about its care.
• Spirit Vine hinted that spring would bring preparations for planting spirit wheat, and Li Ye remembered its preference for rainwater gathered during spring thunder.
• Li Ye searched the market for spirit wheat and rice, then spotted a stall selling Frost Wheat whose panel showed it was nurturing Wheat Pellets.
• The stall owner explained that his father had cultivated Wheat Pellets but that he had never managed to grow them himself.
• Li Ye selected forty Frost Wheat stalks containing Wheat Pellets, paid two Spirit Stones, and received a planting guide from the seller.

Li Ye planted forty Frost Wheat stalks using water from the courtyard well and tested how the Glass Snow Lotus responded to the cold. He left the lotus beside the well and went to sleep, only to wake at night and see something strange in the mirror.

• Li Ye bought a low-grade mirror Magic Tool that could show images from a few hundred meters away, then used it to monitor the courtyard plants.
• Li Ye tried binding the Frost Wheat to the Glass Snow Lotus, but the attempt failed because the lotus resisted; he concluded it might work if he could persuade it.
• Li Ye learned that the Frost Wheat preferred well water and planted all forty stalks in snow made from it, arranging them according to their preferences.
• Li Ye found that the Glass Snow Lotus perked up while he walked through the cold but wilted when he stopped, so he left it beside the well and went indoors.
• Li Ye planned to tend the lotus and wheat before binding the Silver Moon Grass and Flint Crystal Worms, then slept until nightfall and woke at the sight of something bizarre in the mirror.

Li Ye discovered that moonlight transformed his Luminescence Art into small, storable spheres and increased the Silver Moon Grass’s Moon Nectar Pearl production. After binding more plants and worms, he harvested Frost Wheat, whose tiny Wheat Pellets restored his hunger and granted Vital Essence.

• Li Ye watched the Flint Crystal Worm absorb moonlight beside the Silver Moon Grass, then harvested three Moon Nectar Pearls and made thirty moonlight spheres with Luminescence Art.
• Li Ye accumulated enough Vital Essence to bind all five Silver Moon Grass plants and their Flint Crystal Worms, which together produced fifteen Moon Nectar Pearls daily.
• Li Ye waited for the Frost Wheat to mature, then gathered half a jin of flour and more than thirty Wheat Pellets from its forty stalks.
• Li Ye ate a Wheat Pellet, gained two points of Vital Essence, and decided to make lotus seed cakes from his flour, lotus seeds, and Moon Nectar Pearls for later.

Li Ye submitted seventy Moon Nectar Pearls to Spirit Vine, earned a high ranking and 2,100 Spirit Stones, and received the seeds and instructions for the second-stage spiritual wheat task. He asked about continuing the Five Elements Ascending Spirit Art, and Spirit Vine explained the unusual requirement for advancing it.

• Li Ye brought three boxes of Moon Nectar Pearls to Spirit Vine, which counted seventy-two in total and ranked him second in the assessment.
• Spirit Vine paid Li Ye 2,100 Spirit Stones and gave him the Start of Spring Wheat seeds for the second-stage task.
• Li Ye asked Spirit Vine about Wheat Pellets, and Spirit Vine explained how they formed and praised the value of Start of Spring Wheat.
• Li Ye asked how to obtain the later portions of the Five Elements Ascending Spirit Art, and Spirit Vine described its requirements for advancement.

Li Ye accepted Spirit Vine’s task to resolve a Hungry Bone Demon Flower and learned that the best solution could earn a top-grade Spirit Artifact. He spent some of his reward improving his residence’s spiritual energy and buying basic spell manuals and a formation flag.

• Spirit Vine gave Li Ye a Hungry Bone Demon Flower and tasked him with finding a way to free the souls trapped within it, promising the best completion could earn a top-grade Spirit Artifact.
• Spirit Vine offered to add a first-grade spirit spring to Li Ye’s courtyard, and Li Ye paid twenty Spirit Stones for it.
• Li Ye asked for basic spells, and Spirit Vine recommended Five Elements Arts Qi Refining Stage and Mystic Minor Spells, which Li Ye bought for one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones.
• Li Ye asked for a formation to preserve and isolate cold air, and Spirit Vine gave him a Formation Flag worth twenty Spirit Stones.

Li Ye browsed the market and discovered another spirit wheat that might produce Wheat Pellets, but his small plot kept him from buying it. He then bought five Micro-Stream Beavers and left the expensive Pocket Landscape Automaton Box for another time.

• Li Ye spotted Zhou selling Spring Thunder Wheat with a chance of producing Wheat Pellets, but declined because his land was too small to grow enough.
• Li Ye suggested Zhou eat the wheat himself, and Zhou decided to take it home and try it.
• Li Ye saw a Pocket Landscape Automaton Box containing a miniature stream and Micro-Stream Beavers, and learned it could provide a tailored environment for spirit plants and beasts.
• Li Ye decided the Automaton Box was too expensive and bought five Micro-Stream Beavers for five Spirit Stones each.
• Li Ye heard that the beavers had been spell-treated and could not reproduce.

Li Ye prepared his courtyard for spring, using his bound Micro-Stream Beavers to manage the Spirit Spring and tending to his plants and wheat. He was awakened by the Four Seasons Sect announcing spring gifts, and the spectacle outside left him stunned.

• Li Ye let the Micro-Stream Beavers build a dam to control and filter the Spirit Spring, then bound one of them to the Hungry Bone.
• Li Ye instructed the beavers to divert spring water toward his future crop plot and marveled at their intelligence.
• Li Ye prepared the Silver Moon Grass and wheat for cultivation, while the Glass Snow Lotus withered to a single seed.
• Li Ye bound more than thirty eligible Frost Wheat seeds to Start of Spring Wheat and spent his days eating spirit foods to build Vital Essence.
• Li Ye practiced minor spells from Mystic Minor Spells while waiting for spring.
• A bronze gong and a Four Seasons Sect announcement woke Li Ye, who hurried to the window and stared in astonishment at the gifts outside.

Li Ye received a Rank 2 Spirit Cleansing Pill during the Four Seasons Sect’s fireworks, sheltered his spirit plants and beasts, and advanced to Qi Refining Fifth Layer. When the spring rain arrived, he discovered its purple, lightning-laced essence was gathering near Hungry Bone’s Beaver nest instead of in his basins.

• Li Ye opened a gap in his formation to catch a falling Rank 2 Spirit Cleansing Pill and decided not to leave his home to pursue more gifts.
• Li Ye moved the Silver Moon Grass and Flint Crystal Worms into his protected farmland, where they released spiritual energy, entered hibernation, and left behind Moon Nectar Pearls and five Flintfire seeds.
• Li Ye realized he had advanced to Qi Refining Fifth Layer after consuming Spirit Materials and absorbing the spiritual energy released by the plants and beasts.
• Li Ye set aside the Flintfire seeds and planned to buy a Fire Seed Box from the Mo Family Automaton Workshop.
• Li Ye waited beneath the eaves for spring rain, but the purple, lightning-bearing rainwater appeared near the Beaver nest bound to Hungry Bone rather than in his collection basins.

Li Ye collected spring rain, planted the Start of Spring Wheat, and sold twenty Moon Nectar Pearls to Su Ya for two thousand Spirit Stones. Su Ya returned to the Four Seasons Sect to refine a pill, while the Spirit Vine said it might recommend Li Ye for admission after he completed his solar-term tasks.

• Li Ye collected spring rain from the beavers' den after the beaver let him approach, then planted roughly a thousand Start of Spring Wheat seeds before dawn.
• Su Ya, a Four Seasons Sect cultivator, visited Li Ye and offered one hundred Spirit Stones per Moon Nectar Pearl, explaining that the pearls were essential for a pill and his sect assignment.
• Li Ye sold Su Ya twenty Moon Nectar Pearls for two thousand Spirit Stones, and Su Ya left on a flying boat to return and refine the pill.
• At the Four Seasons Sect shop, the Spirit Vine teased Su Ya for paying twice the sect's price and said it would recommend Li Ye for admission if he handled his solar-term tasks well.
• Su Ya speculated that the sect's growing need for Moon Nectar Pearls might involve a senior, so the Spirit Vine bound him and sent him into the Pill Chamber to finish refining the pill.

Li Ye visited the market to find edible aquatic spirit plants and bought five Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp after meeting Zhou's uncle. Zhou thanked Li Ye for helping him profit from Spring Thunder Wheat and invited him to a gathering of spirit plant farmers in three days, which Li Ye agreed to attend.

• Li Ye inspected his yard, saw the beavers managing the spring water, and decided to buy aquatic spirit plants for his empty plot.
• At the market, Li Ye learned that Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp shed edible scales and decided to raise them in his Spring Water.
• Zhou recognized Li Ye and introduced him to his uncle, the carp seller, who offered the fish at a discount.
• Zhou gave Li Ye ten jin of fine flour and twenty Wheat Pellets in gratitude for his advice about Spring Thunder Wheat.
• Zhou invited Li Ye to a spirit plant farmers' gathering at Peach Blossom Garden in three days, and Li Ye accepted.
• Li Ye bought five Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp to raise and observe.

Li Ye bought a Fire Seed Box and several Observation Mirrors before bringing Spring Rain to Spirit Vine. Spirit Vine rewarded him with an Autumn Harvest entrance examination token and arranged for Su Ya to examine his injuries.

• Li Ye visited the Mo Family Automaton Workshop and bought a five-fire-seed box and three Observation Mirrors.
• Li Ye brought the jar of Spring Rain to Spirit Vine, which was delighted and explained how the rain could strengthen sentient spirit plants.
• Spirit Vine gave Li Ye an Autumn Harvest token and said completing three solar-term tasks would secure his admission to the Four Seasons Sect.
• Spirit Vine told Li Ye that an alchemist could examine his injuries, and Su Ya entered the room in clean white robes.

Li Ye discussed his lingering meridian injury with Su Ya, who recommended a Pulse-Restoring Pill from the Four Seasons Sect. He then bought two aquatic spirit plants from Spirit Vine, leaving with supplies for his spirit beasts and a promising new plant to bind.

• Su Ya told Li Ye that a Pulse-Restoring Pill could fully heal his damaged meridians and offered to help him buy one after he entered the Four Seasons Sect.
• Li Ye agreed to work toward joining the sect, and Su Ya gave him soothing pills to keep his injury from worsening.
• Su Ya explained that inexperienced pill refiners in the Four Seasons Sect struggled to obtain good materials because most Spirit Herbalists supplied established refiners.
• Li Ye asked Spirit Vine for aquatic spirit plants to feed his Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp and Micro-Stream Beavers.
• Spirit Vine offered Li Ye a Harmonious Spirit Lotus and a Spirit Water Phoenix-Eye Lotus, explaining their benefits and the latter's ability to purify water and gather Essence of Water Spirit.

Li Ye planted the Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp and Spirit Water Phoenix-Eye Lotuses, discovering that the lotuses enhanced his Spirit Gathering Art and let him condense water Spiritual Energy. He then used an Observation Mirror to inspect Hungry Bone’s nest and found a mysterious golden liquid beneath it.

• Li Ye released the Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp into a prepared reservoir and planted the Spirit Water Phoenix-Eye Lotuses, then bound the fish and five of the strongest lotuses.
• The Crimson-Gold Dragon Carp repeatedly rammed their heads against the lotus bulbs, while both the fish and lotuses sent Li Ye waves of delight.
• The lotuses released pure Spiritual Energy, allowing Li Ye to use Spirit Gathering Art effortlessly and form a small sphere of water Spiritual Energy.
• Li Ye planted the remaining lotuses in the sluggish stream, where the Micro-Stream Beavers began nibbling on their leaves and roots.
• Li Ye used an Observation Mirror to inspect Hungry Bone’s nest and spotted a golden glimmer beneath it.
• Li Ye asked the beaver to collect the liquid beneath Hungry Bone, and he was surprised by what he saw in the jade bottle.

Li Ye attended a Peach Garden gathering, where the Peach Blossom Mountain God answered his Spirit Summoning and awarded him a jade peach blossom branch. The branch raised his cultivation from the Qi Refining Fifth Layer to the Sixth Layer, and the gathering’s cultivators recognized it as a rare Jade Reward.

• Li Ye discovered a bottle of flowing gold and stored it beside the sprout from the Flint Crystal Worm, unaware that a wisp of golden light entered his body.
• Three days later, Fellow Daoist Zhou welcomed Li Ye to the Peach Garden, where Su Ya and more than a dozen cultivators had gathered to absorb the peach trees’ spring spiritual energy.
• Cultivator Jiang offered to accompany Li Ye’s Spirit Summoning with her flute, and the Peach Blossom Mountain God responded to him.
• The Mountain God told Li Ye to choose a peach branch, and he picked the only one that shone in his eyes.
• The branch became a Jade Reward and raised Li Ye’s cultivation to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, astonishing Cultivator Jiang and the others.

Li Ye used a divine peach branch to ripen peaches for the gathered cultivators, then watched other cultivators perform Spirit Summoning and learned more about the Four Seasons Sect’s response to the Demon Sect invasion. Su Ya revealed that dispelling resentment from Demon Flowers could yield Aura of Golden Fortune and warned nearby clans against exploiting mortals.

• Su Ya explained the peach branch’s divine power, and Li Ye used it to ripen seventeen peaches that the cultivators shared.
• The cultivators drew lots for Spirit Summoning, and four invited Rogue Cultivators won the chance while Li Ye reflected on why Su Ya had favored him.
• The winners performed Spirit Summoning, receiving one Copper Reward and several Wood Rewards.
• The cultivators discussed the Demon Sect’s Hungry Ghost Method and the Demon Flowers spreading across the land.
• Su Ya confirmed that dispelling the Demon Flowers’ resentment could produce Aura of Golden Fortune and warned prominent Lineages not to exploit mortals.
• Su Ya asked the cultivators’ Lineages to distribute Start of Spring Wheat to the mortals under their authority, and Li Ye wondered whether Aura of Golden Fortune could increase Fortune.