Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu endured nightly Mutant Beast attacks on his Yellow Sprout Rice Fields and developed Spirit-Disturbing Miasma to protect them and get some sleep. As the attacks eased, he harvested Eggplant Night Grass, checked his cultivation progress, and received Shang Huan’s share of their seasoning profits.

• Chen Mu asked Old Hao how they had handled Mutant Beasts in previous years, then began patrolling the fields at night as Red Fur Rabbits attacked.
• After several sleepless nights, Chen Mu studied beast-repelling formulas and devised Spirit-Disturbing Miasma, which knocked out the creatures entering his field.
• Half a month later, Chen Mu found that the Mutant Beast attacks had eased and tended his Eggplant Night Grass.
• Chen Mu reviewed his skill experience and decided to focus on the slow-progressing Hundred Intents Spiritual Light Technique.
• Shang Huan gave Chen Mu his share of the profits from selling the seasoning, and Old Hao complained about how exhausting the beast attacks had made farm work.

Chen Mu enjoyed the safety of his remote rice field until a White-Scaled Serpent broke into his courtyard and stole his White Jade Disk. He chased it down and, after his ordinary attacks failed, killed it with Hidden Sand Casting Shadow and Five Ghosts Moving Mountains.

• Shang Huan and Old Hao discussed raising their prices after Mutant Beasts destroyed medicine fields, and Old Hao advised Chen Mu to avoid medicine cultivation for now.
• Chen Mu protected his Yellow Sprout Rice Field with Spirit-Disturbing Miasma and decided the remote area was safer than the medicine fields.
• A White-Scaled Serpent burst into Chen Mu's courtyard, swallowed his low table, stole his White Jade Disk, and fled toward the Small Hill Hollow.
• Chen Mu pursued the serpent and attacked it with Five Ghosts Moving Mountains, but its scales and Green Mist resisted his technique.
• Chen Mu fought the serpent with his enhanced strength, then struck it with Hidden Sand Casting Shadow and used Five Ghosts Moving Mountains to kill it.

After recovering the White Jade Disc from the White-scaled Monster Snake, Chen Mu concealed the battle and learned that the disc’s Earth Spirit Vital Qi could attract threats. He left the chapter seeking a way to hide that energy, unable to find information at the Scripture Transmission Courtyard.

• Chen Mu retrieved the White Jade Disc from the White-scaled Monster Snake, hid the snake’s body, and erased signs of the battle.
• Old Hao advised Chen Mu not to report the snake to the Patrol Institute, and Chen Mu pretended it had escaped after eating his sheep legs.
• Chen Mu repaired his courtyard and mourned the Eggplant Night Grass plants the snake had damaged.
• While cultivating with the White Jade Disc, Chen Mu realized it was central to his future cultivation and that its Earth Spirit Vital Qi could reveal his location.
• Chen Mu searched the Scripture Transmission Courtyard for a way to block Earth Spirit Vital Qi but found no relevant information, so he planned to ask aboard the Spirit Shuttle.

Chen Mu sought a way to block Earth Spirit Vital Qi and discovered that root-like vines growing around the underground Water Vein could serve as a barrier. After successfully cultivating the vines, he planned to use them to protect his underground chamber and White Jade Disk.

• Chen Mu overheard people discussing the dangers and opportunities of joining the Patrol Institute, then left rather than risk encountering Mutant Beasts.
• Chen Mu sold an Earth Serpent hide to Le Yang'an and learned that its tongue could detect Earth Spirit Vital Qi; Le Yang'an suggested several ways to block the Qi in a small area.
• Chen Mu built a stone underground chamber and suspected the water well and its Water Vein might block Earth Spirit Vital Qi.
• Chen Mu found Brown Vine Net growing around the well and Water Vein and suspected it could seal off the Qi.
• After half a month of cultivation experiments, Chen Mu successfully grew the vine netting and planned to use it to shield his chamber and connect its entrance to the water well.

Chen Mu developed a powder that could conceal Earth Spirit Vital Qi and saw a chance to sell it as Mutant Beasts threatened the Lower Academy’s farms. Meanwhile, Lin Su planned to release more beasts to lure the Upper Courtyard into action and draw out Mo Wuzhou.

• Chen Mu finished tending his rice fields and Eggplant Night Grass, then practiced his limit-grade Hidden Sand Pellets and Hidden Sand Casting Shadow.
• Shang Huan paid Chen Mu for Roast Meat Seasoning and revealed that he had spent his savings on the Lesser Celestial Cycle Star-River Spiritual Light Method.
• Shang Huan told Chen Mu and Old Hao that Mutant Beasts were killing people and destroying medicine gardens and nearby planting areas.
• Chen Mu offered to sell a powder he had crafted to block Earth Spirit Vital Qi and help people evade Mutant Beasts, and Shang Huan eagerly agreed to market it.
• Wu Lie informed Lin Su that more people had died and several medicine gardens had been destroyed, so Lin Su decided to release more Mutant Beasts to force the Upper Courtyard to send help and bring Mo Wuzhou to him.

Chen Mu chose to cultivate the Void Weaving Technique and practiced it until it gave his feet a rebounding force. The Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique then reached its limit and awakened the Hundred Mile Qi Seal, leaving Chen Mu to consider its connection to the Yin Soul that had once possessed his body.

• Chen Mu counted his White Jade Coins and planned to earn enough to buy the Hundred Intents Shattering-Illusion Technique.
• Chen Mu chose the Void Weaving Technique over the Vital Mechanism Guiding Technique and began cultivating it.
• Xu Rao and Ai Ji killed a new disciple and searched his courtyard for valuables while arguing about their targets.
• Chen Mu practiced the Void Weaving Technique until Soul Force beneath his feet made them bounce against the ground.
• The Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique reached its limit, and Chen Mu awakened the Hundred Mile Qi Seal, which let him pull a teacup into his hand.

Chen Mu discovered that his Hundred Mile Qi Seal could only manipulate objects within ten meters, then visited the Red Sleeve Workshop to gather information. Meanwhile, Ai Ji and Xu Rao suspected that the killer of Zheng Jin might be a newly promoted disciple living near Chen Mu.

• Chen Mu tested his awakened Hundred Mile Qi Seal and found that it could control objects only within ten meters.
• Chen Mu connected the ability to his past use of the Five Ghosts Bag and recalled how the Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique had helped him escape Cui Cui's control.
• Ai Ji and Xu Rao discussed whether the person who killed Zheng Jin lived in a nearby courtyard, but Xu Rao warned Ai Ji that Zheng Jin would have defeated him.
• Three days later, Chen Mu sold twenty bottles of Calming Spirit Pills for twenty-four Calming Spirit Pills at Imperial Quality Pavilion.
• Chen Mu entered the Red Sleeve Workshop, claiming he wanted information, and became intrigued by the Secret Art sphere displaying the Dancing Girls.

Chen Mu overheard that people were disguising themselves as Mutant Beasts to rob others, then worried that Shang Huan had diluted the goods Chen Mu supplied him. Ai Ji and Xu Rao confronted Shang Huan over counterfeit products, but Xu Rao revealed that he was looking for the alchemist behind Shang Huan’s inferior imitations, leaving Shang Huan to realize he had sold Chen Xiao’s genuine goods at a loss.

• Chen Mu learned that Heavenly Demon Rebirth Pills could grant people Mutant Beast bloodlines and that they were costly.
• Chen Mu overheard men discussing murders and robberies disguised as Mutant Beast attacks, then worried Shang Huan had adulterated the Qi Concealing Powder he supplied.
• Ai Ji confronted Shang Huan, and Xu Rao demonstrated his strength when Shang Huan questioned their accusation.
• Shang Huan admitted that he had mixed sawdust into the goods he sold, believing his ancestral recipes were unreliable.
• Xu Rao explained that Shang Huan’s products were inferior imitations and that Lu Ku wanted to find the alchemist behind them.
• Shang Huan realized Chen Xiao’s roast meat seasoning and Qi Concealing Powder had been genuine, and regretted selling them at a loss.

Xu Rao and Ai Ji interrogated Shang Huan and traced his medicine supply to Gongsun Sheng, then set a trap to capture him. Chen Mu spotted the ambush and stayed away, but when Lu Ku’s men threatened Shang Huan and Old Hao, an unknown attacker struck Yu Lin with Hundred Mile Qi Seal.

• Xu Rao and Ai Ji forced Shang Huan to reveal that Mo Wuzhou had supplied the medicine before leaving for the Upper Courtyard, while Gongsun Sheng had delivered it in recent months.
• Shang Huan told Xu Rao and Ai Ji that Gongsun Sheng would bring another delivery around dusk in two days.
• Chen Mu saw the ambush around Shang Huan's Residence through the Five Ghosts and decided to abandon the sales channel and leave the Low Mountain Courtyard.
• Lu Ku questioned Shang Huan about his earnings and ordered Yu Lin to seize Shang Huan and Old Hao when Gongsun Sheng failed to appear.
• An unknown attacker froze Yu Lin with Hundred Mile Qi Seal and snapped his forearm.

Chen Mu subdued the Seven Siblings of Wushan after they attacked Shang Huan, then found a Thousand Mountains Scripture scroll describing the Sevenfold Heart-Linking Gu. Five days later, the siblings had recovered and were bound to Shang Huan by the Gu, leaving them furious as he treated them like family.

• Lu Ku used a Black Gourd to unleash Azure Flame, but Chen Mu broke through his Spiritual Light barrier and restrained him and Yu Lin.
• Chen Mu learned that Lu Ku knew his name and heard Lu Ku offer the Seven Siblings' secret method and services in exchange for their lives.
• Chen Mu broke the siblings' limbs, took Lu Ku's Mustard Seed Talisman, and discovered a scroll titled Thousand Mountains Scripture: Sevenfold Heart-Linking Gu.
• Five days later, the Six Siblings of Wushan recovered and left Shang Huan's Residence, bound by the Sevenfold Heart-Linking Gu and resentful of Shang Huan's smug hospitality.

Chen Mu subdued Shang Huan, examined the Heart-Linking Rope, and decided to avoid further trouble with the Seven Siblings of Wushan. Meanwhile, Lu Ku planned to speed up the Heart-Linking Gu’s growth so the siblings could escape Chen Mu’s control and kill Gongsun Sheng.

• Chen Mu questioned Shang Huan about the Qi Concealing Powder and Eggplant Night Grass, then warned him not to betray him again.
• Chen Mu examined the Heart-Linking Rope and learned how the Sevenfold Heart-Linking Gu bound the Wushan siblings and could inflict backlash.
• Chen Mu decided Shang Huan must stop selling the counterfeit products and planned to earn money safely by selling Calming Spirit Pills.
• Lu Ku told Wu Ruo to obtain Yinfiend Dust so the siblings could rapidly cultivate their Heart-Linking Gu.
• Lu Ku and the other siblings planned to break free of the Heart-Linking Rope and kill Gongsun Sheng.

Wu Ruo and Yu Lin brought Yinfiend Dust to Lu Ku as the Wushan Six Siblings tried to nurture their Heart-Linking Gu enough to escape Gongsun Sheng’s control, but his rapidly improving Heart-Linking Incantation kept thwarting them. Meanwhile, Chen Mu harvested Eggplant Night Grass and continued leveling the incantation, ending with himself tempted to train it another tier.

• Wu Ruo gave Lu Ku the Yinfiend Dust, and the group planned to use it to break Gongsun Sheng’s control.
• Shi Xian revealed that Gongsun Sheng could connect two people with the Heart-Linking Rope, so Lu Ku ordered everyone to focus on nurturing their Heart-Linking Gu.
• The six reported their progress over repeated gatherings, but Gongsun Sheng’s incantation kept improving before they could contact Lin Su or act against Mo Wuzhou.
• The Wushan Six Siblings grew discouraged and considered accepting that Gongsun Sheng would control them.
• Gongsun Sheng carefully harvested nineteen mature Eggplant Night Grass plants, while Chen Mu checked that his Heart-Linking Incantation had reached Tier 7 and debated whether to keep training it.

Chen Mu tested his new flying ability, tended his Eggplant Night Grass seedlings, and advanced the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation to Rank 8. He discovered Five Ghosts Possession gave him immense strength but left him weak and at risk of losing control, then decided to reward himself with music while awaiting the Spirit Shuttle.

• The Wushan Six Siblings worried that Chen Mu could control them through the Heart-Linking Rope and feared what he might make them do.
• Chen Mu used the Five Ghosts Yin Souls and Void Weaving Technique to fly around Small Hill Hollow, though he could rise only five meters and was slower than his running speed.
• Chen Mu transplanted Eggplant Night Grass seedlings, reviewed his Gray Wall entries, and decided to prioritize the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation.
• Seven days later, Chen Mu advanced the incantation to Rank 8 and used Five Ghosts Possession, gaining enormous strength and shattering a stone from a hundred meters away.
• Chen Mu dispelled the possession when destructive urges and weakness overwhelmed him, recognizing that the technique was dangerous and that he could endure it for only about two minutes.
• Chen Mu decided to let the incantation progress through daily use and planned to listen to music while waiting for the Spirit Shuttle.

The Wushan Six Siblings reported Lin Su’s plan to kidnap Mo Wuzhou’s friends to Chen Mu, mistaking him for Mo’s right-hand man. Chen Mu told them to do nothing, but Lu Ku misunderstood and left believing he had received secret instructions.

• The Wushan Six Siblings wondered why Shang Huan had stopped involving them and decided they had to tell him about Mo Wuzhou.
• Shang Huan visited Chen Mu with Old Hao and tried to persuade him to make more medicine, but Chen Mu told him to find Eggplant Night Grass first.
• Shang Huan explained that he wanted to earn enough money to train at the Upper Courtyard Training Ground, then asked Chen Mu to sell him Qi Concealing Powder; Chen Mu refused.
• Lu Ku told Chen Mu that Lin Su planned to kidnap Mo Wuzhou’s close friends and use them against him.
• Chen Mu told Lu Ku to do nothing, but Lu Ku thought he understood and led the Wushan Six Siblings away.

Chen Mu discovered that Shang Huan had falsely claimed Mo Wuzhou was his supplier, then kept watch over the Wushan Six Siblings until they stayed home to cultivate. Meanwhile, Lin Su lured Mo Wuzhou to a damaged medicinal field and demanded an Exquisite Jade Disk, but his threats failed when the Seven Siblings of Wushan never appeared.

• Shang Huan admitted to inventing Mo Wuzhou as the source of the Calming Spirit Pills, and Chen Mu left to monitor the Wushan Six Siblings.
• Chen Mu watched the Wushan Six Siblings for five days and found that they stayed home cultivating.
• Lin Su confronted Mo Wuzhou in a damaged medicinal field and demanded the Exquisite Jade Disk.
• Lin Su threatened Mo Wuzhou's friends and family, including Old Hao, Chen Yuhan, and Lin Guo, but Mo Wuzhou said he had no disk.
• Lin Su called for the Seven Siblings of Wushan to send a hostage, but no one appeared, leaving both men confused.

Chen Mu tended his crops and trained his Void Weaving Technique while the Lower Courtyard grew more dangerous after Lin Su attacked Mo Wuzhou. Old Hao and Shang Huan visited seeking Chen Mu’s Spirit-Disturbing Miasma.

• Chen Mu tended the Eggplant Night Grass and observed that the Wushan Six Siblings had spent the month cultivating peacefully.
• Chen Mu practiced low-altitude flight, advanced his Void Weaving Technique, and saw that his Hundred Intents Spiritual Light Technique was nearing completion.
• Old Hao and Shang Huan visited Chen Mu, and Old Hao explained that Shang Huan’s Heavenly Demon Pill had given him Steel Skin to resist Earth Spirit Vital Qi.
• Old Hao told Chen Mu that Lin Su had attacked Mo Wuzhou, leaving both men badly injured, and that Supervisor Song had ordered an investigation.
• Old Hao explained that the Patrol Institute had withdrawn its people, allowing more Mutant Beasts to damage farmers’ fields.
• Old Hao and Shang Huan asked Chen Mu to sell them the Spirit-Disturbing Miasma he used to protect his fields.

Chen Mu refused Shang Huan’s request to sell Spirit-Disturbing Miasma, then counted his wealth and examined the books and Fire Cloud Gourd from Lu Ku’s cabinet. Meanwhile, Mo Wuzhou learned that the Seven Siblings of Wushan had sided with Gongsun Sheng and decided to seek him out.

• Chen Mu told Shang Huan that Spirit-Disturbing Miasma had come from the mysterious Lu Zhishen, also known as The Solitary Star, and watched Shang Huan abandon the idea of copying it.
• Chen Mu counted 592 White Jade Coins, sorted Lu Ku’s possessions, and found valuable Spiritual Light and Shattering-Illusion methods among his books.
• Chen Mu kept Lu Ku’s Fire Cloud Gourd, thinking it could provide another fire source for cooking Exotic Beast Meat.
• Mo Wuzhou arrived at Lu Ku’s residence and questioned the Seven Siblings of Wushan about their involvement in Lin Su’s affair.
• Lu Ku explained that the siblings had warned Gongsun Sheng about Lin Su’s plan, and Mo Wuzhou realized they considered themselves allies of Gongsun Sheng.
• Mo Wuzhou asked to meet Gongsun Sheng and learned he could look for him when he delivered Calming Spirit Pills to a friend each month.

Chen Mu tested the Fire Cloud Gourd and discovered how to fuel it with Earth Spirit Vital Qi, then narrowly escaped a confrontation with Mo Wuzhou, who mistook him for Gongsun Sheng. After Mo Wuzhou left, Chen Mu resolved to use the Five Ghosts more cautiously and kept saving toward advancement and a flying artifact.

• Chen Mu fired the Fire Cloud Gourd into Small Hill Hollow, blasted a huge crater into the ground, and realized his activation method made its flames more powerful than Lu Ku's.
• Chen Mu used the Five Ghosts Yin Soul to scout Shang Huan's manor, but a golden-eyed man spotted it, so Chen Mu fled at high speed.
• Mo Wuzhou attacked Chen Mu from a Swallow-shaped Kite, and Chen Mu used the Five Ghosts Possession Great Method to meet his golden-lit punch head-on.
• Mo Wuzhou mistook Chen Mu for Gongsun Sheng and advised him to join the Upper Courtyard, then left after deciding the encounter was a misunderstanding.
• Chen Mu delivered Calming Spirit Pills to Shang Huan and warned the Wushan Six Siblings to avoid trouble.
• Five days later, Chen Mu watched Mo Wuzhou leave and decided to use the Five Ghosts less recklessly while saving money for a flying magical artifact.

Chen Mu mastered Spiritual Light Sensing and tested how it worked alongside his Spirit Armor Black Smoke. At the Red Sleeve Workshop, he learned that Chongshan Dao was in turmoil and heard unsettling details about the dangerous Heavenly Demon Rebirth Method.

• Chen Mu cultivated the Hundred Intents Spiritual Light Technique to its limit and discovered his Spiritual Light could defend against a falling boulder alongside his Spirit Armor Black Smoke.
• Chen Mu sold twenty bottles of Calming Spirit Pills, considered renting a medicinal field, then decided against it because he feared encountering Mo Wuzhou.
• At the Red Sleeve Workshop, Chen Mu overheard visitors from Chongshan Dao discuss scarce Advanced Heavenly Demon Pills and their hopes of finding supplies at the Tianhe Water Mansion.
• Chen Mu asked Shang Huan and Old Hao about Chongshan Dao, and Old Hao explained that Mutant Beasts had forced it to abandon several Lower Courtyards, scattering Wild Cultivators.
• Old Hao and Shang Huan told Chen Mu that the Heavenly Demon Rebirth Method could quickly increase strength but could also transform cultivators into monstrous beings or lumps of rotten flesh.

Chen Mu bought the Hundred Intents Shattering-Illusion Technique and began cultivating it, while weighing the cost of gaining freedom and searching for safe ways to earn money. After settling into a peaceful routine in the Lower Courtyard, he heard violent blasts and saw a black crack appear briefly in the southern sky.

• Chen Mu learned that Heterodox Paths could lead quickly to madness and death, and reaffirmed his preference for orthodox cultivation.
• Chen Mu spent six hundred White Jade Coins on the Hundred Intents Shattering-Illusion Technique and decided to earn money by selling more Calming Spirit Pills.
• Chen Mu began practicing Pòwàng and felt instinctive panic when he confronted the black dot in his Jade Seed.
• Chen Mu considered the ways Long-term Laborers could gain freedom and resolved to wait before pursuing money-making opportunities in the Lower Courtyard.
• Chen Mu cooked meat at home when a series of blasts shook the area, and he saw a black crack appear briefly in the southern sky.