Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ling returned from the mountains with a tamed Stone Rock Rat and valuable spirit herbs, easing Li Ru’s worry as he promised to be more careful. He brought Core Condensing Grass and Wood Origin Grass to Wang Yu, who offered him a damaged alchemy furnace to repair in exchange for refining pills and a possible opportunity.

• Zhou Ling returned home, reassured Li Ru that he was safe, and introduced her to the Stone Rock Rat he had tamed.
• Li Ru scolded Zhou Ling for secretly entering the mountains, then served him a meal and saw the valuable spirit herbs he had gathered.
• Zhou Ling told Li Ru he would take the Core Condensing Grass to Wang Yu to request Pulse Nurturing Pills, and Li Ru asked him to thank Wang Xin for the Qi Nourishing Pills.
• Zhou Ling visited Wang Yu and gave her the Core Condensing Grass and two Wood Origin Grass as thanks for helping his family.
• Wang Yu declined the Wood Origin Grass and offered Zhou Ling a damaged First-Grade High-Rank Alchemy Furnace to repair as payment, promising a substantial opportunity if he restored it.

Zhou Ling examined Wang Yu’s damaged Azure Wood Cloud Pattern Furnace and found that its composite engraving’s connecting nodes needed repair. He used spirit flame to restore the nodes, impressing Wang Yu with his skill and cultivation.

• Wang Yu brought out her Azure Wood Cloud Pattern Furnace and asked Zhou Ling to repair it.
• Zhou Ling identified the furnace’s composite Condensing Fire and Azure Wood Engravings and found that their connecting nodes were damaged.
• Zhou Ling carefully inspected the furnace and determined that the nodes were the only problem.
• Zhou Ling used the Spirit Flame Art to repair the damaged and weakened nodes, pausing once to recover his spiritual energy.
• After nearly half an hour, Zhou Ling finished repairing the furnace, and Wang Yu was impressed by what he had accomplished.

Wang Yu offered Zhou Ling a recommendation slot for the Six Great Daoist Academies assessment and planned to introduce him to a Master. Zhou Ling accepted, but he needed to raise his cultivation to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining before next June’s assessment.

• Wang Yu praised Zhou Ling for repairing the cauldron and offered him one of her two recommendation slots for the Six Great Daoist Academies assessment, provided he applied to the same academy as Xin'er.
• Wang Yu explained that the assessment had Technique and Combat sections and that Zhou Ling needed to reach the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining to compete with noble-family disciples.
• Zhou Ling accepted the slot and resolved to cultivate, craft artifacts, and gather herbs so he could raise his cultivation in time.
• Wang Yu told Zhou Ling to skip the Daoist Academy for now and offered to introduce him to a Master, then arranged for him to return the next day for Pulse Nurturing Pills.
• Zhou Ling told Zhou Shan and Li Ru about the assessment opportunity and Wang Yu’s plan, and they celebrated while urging him to work hard and remember Wang Yu’s kindness.

Wang Yu treated Zhou Shan and brought Zhou Ling and Wang Xin to meet a powerful elder sister who might guide or accept them as disciples. The three arrived at her secluded courtyard on a mountain outside Lingxia Immortal City.

• Wang Yu gave Li Ru two One-Dan Pattern Pulse Nurturing Pills and diagnosed Zhou Shan, saying he would recover with rest and the medicine.
• Wang Yu gave Li Ru a Body Tempering Prescription and told her not to let Zhou Shan enter the mountains for now.
• Wang Yu accepted several jars of Black Run Rice Wine and took Zhou Ling and Wang Xin to visit an elder sister who had once guided her.
• Wang Yu explained that the elder sister far surpassed her and might teach the siblings before their outer sect examination next year.
• Wang Yu led Zhou Ling and Wang Xin up a mountain path to a bamboo-fenced courtyard.

Wang Yu brought Zhou Ling and Wang Xin to meet Zi Ling, who tested their aptitude and assigned them to cultivate beneath different Fire Spirit Maple Trees. Zhou Ling entered an illusion beneath the dangerous tree and struggled to suppress his awakened Beast Flame.

• Wang Yu introduced Zhou Ling and Wang Xin to Zi Ling, offering her Spirit Wine and asking her to teach them cultivation.
• Zi Ling tested their perception of two Fire Spirit Maple Trees and judged their comprehension and fire affinity to be promising.
• Zi Ling told each of them to endure beneath a different tree for the time it took an incense stick to burn.
• Zhou Ling chose the illusion-generating tree for himself while Wang Xin cultivated beneath the tree that aided comprehension.
• Zhou Ling saw a Sun Yang Bird in the illusion, and its flames awakened the Beast Flame inside him.

Zhou Ling and Wang Xin passed Zi Ling’s test and became her disciples, with Zhou Ling discovering that the Fire Spirit Maple Tree’s illusion helped him cultivate faster. After returning home, he told his parents about his apprenticeship and offered them Spirit Stones to rent a Wine Workshop so Zhou Shan could avoid dangerous work in the mountains.

• Zhou Ling awakened from the Fire Spirit Maple Tree’s illusion, continued cultivating beneath it, and gained spiritual energy and improved Spirit Flame Art proficiency.
• Zi Ling accepted Zhou Ling and Wang Xin as disciples and instructed them to meditate beneath the Fire Spirit Maple Tree for an hour each day.
• Wang Yu told Zhou Ling to cultivate diligently and aim to enter one of the Six Great Daoist Academies next year, while explaining that Zi Ling’s realm was unknown to her.
• Zhou Ling returned home and found that Zhou Shan had recovered after refining the Pulse Nurturing Pill, though Li Ru stopped him from training with his blood and qi.
• Zhou Ling told his parents about becoming Zi Ling’s disciple and offered them over one hundred and fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones to rent a Wine Workshop for Zhou Shan.

Zhou Ling brought food and Spirit Wine to Maple Leaf Mountain, where Zi Ling gave him a comprehensive artifact-refining inheritance and set his studies and cultivation for the coming month. After discovering the depth of the material, he wondered how his master had obtained such a complete collection despite not being an Artifact Refiner.

• Zhou Ling visited Maple Leaf Mountain after withdrawing from the academy and brought Wang Xin and Zi Ling food, along with ten jars of Spirit Wine.
• Zi Ling accepted the offerings and told Zhou Ling to handle the mountain's meals from then on.
• Zi Ling instructed Zhou Ling to meditate beneath the Fire Spirit Maple Tree for a little over an hour each day and gave him a Jade Slip of artifact-refining and inscription knowledge.
• Zhou Ling explored the Jade Slip and found extensive material on inscriptions and engravings, including second-grade low-tier composite engravings.
• Zhou Ling realized how much he still had to learn and wondered how Zi Ling had acquired such a complete artifact-refining inheritance.

Zhou Ling discovered that cultivating beneath the Fire Spirit Maple Tree let him improve his skills through realistic illusions, and he spent the following days studying engravings while his family prepared to open their shop. After unlocking Illusion Simulation, he tested it on the Stone Rock Rat and used the simulated encounter to improve his next attack.

• Zhou Ling endured a sword-light illusion beneath the Fire Spirit Maple Tree and gained proficiency in the Azure Wind Sword Art and other abilities.
• Zhou Ling cultivated beneath the tree each morning, studied the Compendium of First-Order Engravings, and drew artifacts at home while Zi Ling advised him.
• Li Ru prepared food and Spirit Wine for Zhou Ling and Zi Ling as Zhou Shan recovered and the shop renovations were completed.
• Zhou Ling unlocked Illusion Simulation after reaching ten illusion entries and realized it could consume divine sense to simulate combat.
• Zhou Ling simulated an attack on the Stone Rock Rat, gained skill and divine sense cultivation, then struck the rat with his next attack.

Zhou Ling’s family opened the Zhou Family Winery, and its affordable, high-quality Spirit Wine quickly attracted customers, keeping Li Ru busy. While sharing a winter hotpot meal with Zi Ling and Wang Xin, Zhou Ling learned more about his cultivation and received a Green Lotus Fire Seed from his master.

• Zhou Shan and Li Ru opened the Zhou Family Winery on Xining Street, selling Spirit Wine at affordable prices, and Yuan Hu joined them to help.
• As the winery’s business grew through the winter, Li Ru brewed up to eight or nine furnaces a day, and Zhou Ling considered forging her a better brewing furnace.
• A month later, Zhou Ling, Zi Ling, and Wang Xin ate hotpot in the warm courtyard while snow fell outside.
• Zi Ling explained that the Fire Spirit Maple Tree’s fire essence tempered their bodies and meridians, and warned Zhou Ling that his Spiritual Root limited his prospects for reaching Golden Core.
• Zi Ling produced a Green Lotus Fire Seed and told Zhou Ling that refining it would greatly benefit his Physique.

Zi Ling gave Zhou Ling a Green Lotus Fire Seed and explained that refining it could improve his physique and Spiritual Root, but would require a fire-refining technique and two rare Tier 2 items. Zhou Ling accepted the seed and learned that he must first find the materials and prepare carefully before attempting to refine it.

• Zhou Ling recognized the Green Lotus Fire Seed in Zi Ling's hand, and its aura strengthened his Qi-Eating Spirit Flame and Beast Flame.
• Zi Ling demonstrated the seed's violent azure flames and warned Zhou Ling that refining it could be fatal without proper preparation.
• Zi Ling explained that Zhou Ling needed a Tier 2 Blood Lotus Fire Melting Pill and Tier 2 True Haze Cold Spring to protect his body and spiritual power during fusion.
• Zi Ling offered Zhou Ling a high-grade fire-refining technique, told him to have Wang Yu refine the pill, and instructed Wang Yu to seek information about the cold spring.
• Zhou Ling considered asking Uncle Chu and others about the rare materials, then accepted the sealed fire seed and Zi Ling's warning not to refine it until he was fully prepared.

Zhou Ling earned more Spirit Stones while improving his engraving skills, then broke through to the fifth level of Qi Condensation. With the Six Great Daoist Academies’ examination half a year away, he planned to refine the Green Lotus Fire Seed and train in high-tier engravings and combat skills.

• Wang Yu told Zhou Ling she had most of the ingredients for the Blood Lotus Fire Melting Pill and would search for the True Haze Cold Spring, while Zhou Ling planned to find a Tier 2 Blood Lotus himself after winter.
• Zhou Ling took on more magic artifact orders at the Lu Family Workshop and practiced engraving on implements as his skill and income grew.
• Zhou Ling sold most of the spirit medicines he had gathered, bringing his savings to nearly three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.
• Zhou Ling absorbed the last of his Fire Haze Grass and activated his forty-first Spiritual Acupoint, advancing to the fifth level of Qi Condensation.
• Zhou Ling resolved to pursue the Green Lotus Fire Seed and practice First-grade High-tier Engravings and combat skills before the examination in six months.

Zhou Ling shared breakfast with his parents, offered to help fund their cultivation, and then went with Wang Xin and Yuan Hu to the flower market. There, they unexpectedly met He Zijian and He Lingyun, who invited the group to the Four Seasons Tower.

• Zhou Ling decided to keep his breakthrough secret until he passed the assessment and told his parents he planned to visit the flower market with Wang Xin and Yuan Hu.
• Zhou Shan and Li Ru discussed helping the injured Old Liu, and Zhou Ling offered Spirit Stones and promised to arrange a Three Purity Pill for his mother.
• Zhou Ling, Wang Xin, and Yuan Hu spent the day browsing the flower market and eating festive snacks.
• He Zijian and He Lingyun unexpectedly met Zhou Ling and greeted him and his companions.
• He Zijian invited Zhou Ling, Wang Xin, and Yuan Hu to join the siblings for a drink at the Four Seasons Tower.

He Zijian treated Zhou Ling and his companions to a Spirit Food Banquet and revealed that he was a First Rank Mysterious Court Guard on a mission in West City. He warned Zhou Ling about evil cultivators nearby, then asked to stay in contact for future mountain patrols before they parted ways.

• He Zijian hosted Zhou Ling, Wang Xin, He Lingyun, and Yuan Hu at the Four Seasons Tower and told Zhou Ling that he had become a First Rank Mysterious Court Guard.
• He Zijian privately warned Zhou Ling that evil cultivators had appeared around West City and advised him to be careful.
• He Lingyun told Zhou Ling that the Sun Yang Bird had been tamed and would soon be ready to accompany her outside.
• He Zijian asked Zhou Ling for a way to contact him for future mountain trips, and Zhou Ling gave him his home address but refused to promise he would enter the mountains.
• After the meal, He Zijian offered to help Zhou Ling if he encountered trouble in Lingxia Immortal City, and the three companions later went home separately.

Zhou Ling advanced his Beast Flame, awakened Sunbird Fire Wings, and condensed the Azure Lotus Sword Flame into the same secret art cycle. He tested his new abilities in Illusion Simulation, killed a Black Fur Wolf, and then left for Maple Leaf Mountain to cultivate.

• Zhou Ling's Beast Flame absorbed the Green Lotus Fire Seed, advanced to a First-Grade Spirit Flame, and awakened the Sunbird Fire Wings divine ability.
• Zhou Ling condensed the Azure Lotus Sword Flame alongside the Beast Flame's divine ability and tested the flame's power by burning a stool to ashes.
• Zhou Ling entered Illusion Simulation and killed a mid first-tier Black Fur Wolf with a roar and a strike from his Fire Pattern Sword.
• Zhou Ling returned from the simulation, noted his improved combat skill and Sword Control range, and left for Maple Leaf Mountain after breakfast was prepared.

Zhou Ling learned that Zhou Shan and Li Ru had both advanced in cultivation, so his family prepared a feast to celebrate and thank their neighbors. After delivering food and wine to Zi Ling, Zhou Ling left Maple Leaf Mountain with Wang Xin, who had received permission to join the gathering.

• Zhou Ling saw Li Ru preparing Demon Beast meat and learned that she had reached the fifth level of Qi Condensation while Zhou Shan had advanced to the late Body Refining stage.
• Li Ru and Zhou Shan planned a feast to celebrate their breakthroughs and thank their friends and neighbors for supporting the Wine Workshop.
• Yuan Hu brought a fish to thank Li Ru, and Zhou Shan arranged to invite Yuan Hu's parents and bring them Spirit Wine.
• Zhou Ling brought breakfast, beast meat, and Plum Spirit Wine to Maple Leaf Mountain, where Wang Xin had advanced to Late Qi Condensation and improved her alchemy and formation skills.
• Wang Xin asked Zi Ling for permission to attend Zhou Ling's family gathering, and Zi Ling agreed.
• Zhou Ling left Maple Leaf Mountain with Wang Xin to attend the celebration.

Wang Xin visited Zhou Ling’s family and, instead of giving them Qi Gathering Pills, set up a Spirit Gathering Formation to improve their home’s spiritual energy. The formation was expected to raise it to First-Grade Mid-Rank after about ten days, giving Zhou Ling’s family a temporary alternative to moving.

• Wang Xin worried that Qi Gathering Pills were too stingy a gift, then decided to set up a Spirit Gathering Formation at Zhou Ling’s home.
• Li Ru initially refused Wang Xin’s Qi Gathering Pills, but Zhou Ling persuaded her to accept them.
• Zhou Shan and Yuan Hu learned that Wang Xin was a First-grade High-rank Formation Master as well as an accomplished alchemist.
• Wang Xin inspected the courtyard, placed eight Array Flags, and activated the formation with a Green Jade Array Plate and Spirit Stones.
• Wang Xin gave Zhou Ling the array plate and explained that one Spirit Stone would power the formation for five or six days and that the spiritual energy should reach First-Grade Mid-Rank after around ten days.

At Zhou Shan’s birthday gathering, Zhou Ling heard an unverified report of a Blood Lotus in Blood Crow Valley but decided the danger was too great. He took Wang Xin to the Theater, where a zither performance activated the Spiritual Sense Training talent, and chose to pay for more music.

• At the birthday gathering, Zhou Ling learned that someone had reportedly found a Blood Lotus in Blood Crow Valley, but he ruled out searching there because of the blood crows and their poisonous flames.
• Li Ru gave Zhou Ling and Wang Xin two Theater tickets and encouraged them to spend the afternoon together.
• Zhou Ling and Wang Xin went to the Theater and listened to a young female cultivator play the zither.
• Zhou Ling received the Spiritual Sense Training talent prompt and considered how training his Spiritual Sense could help him refine high-tier engravings.
• Zhou Ling asked the attendant about the musician’s fee and invited Wang Xin upstairs to hear more music.

After reaching the Spiritual Sense Training milestone, Zhou Ling struggled to draw a First-grade High-tier Steam Fire Engraving because his Spiritual Sense was insufficient. He asked Zi Ling for help and received the Clear Radiance Spirit Nurturing Art, which he was told to cultivate alongside the Fire Spirit Maple Tree’s illusion realm.

• Zhou Ling listened to qin music with Wang Xin until he completed ten sessions of Spiritual Sense Training, then left the Theater with her.
• Zhou Ling attempted a First-grade High-tier Steam Fire Engraving, but it failed before completion and caused pain in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Zhou Ling decided to ask his master about techniques for cultivating Spiritual Sense and went to Maple Leaf Mountain the next day.
• Wang Xin practiced playing an antique guqin while Zhou Ling served Zi Ling food and Spirit Wine.
• Zi Ling gave Zhou Ling a Jade Slip containing the Clear Radiance Spirit Nurturing Art and warned him not to pass it on to outsiders.
• Zi Ling advised Zhou Ling to cultivate the art within the Fire Spirit Maple Tree’s illusion realm for better results.

Zhou Ling began cultivating the Clear Radiance Spirit Nurturing Art beneath the Fire Spirit Maple Tree and endured severe pain while visualizing its seal. After managing to stabilize his spiritual sense and see the tree’s image, he received Zi Ling’s warning to proceed slowly and went to watch Wang Xin learn the qin.

• Zhou Ling absorbed the Clear Radiance Spirit Nurturing Art’s instructions and tried visualizing the jade seal despite his low cultivation.
• Zhou Ling suffered intense pain as fiery light from the seal burned through his spiritual sense, while his talents increased his art proficiency and spiritual sense.
• Zhou Ling recovered, visualized the Fire Spirit Maple Tree within the seal, and felt his spiritual sense strengthen before the image faded.
• Zi Ling praised Zhou Ling for viewing the seal without passing out and told him not to rush his cultivation.
• Zhou Ling accepted Zi Ling’s warning and went to watch Wang Xin learn the qin.

Zhou Ling made a breakthrough in cultivating the Clear Radiance Spirit Nurturing Art and arranged for Master Lu to craft a high-tier Brewing Furnace to ease his mother's workload. After Mountain Treasure Hunt reached Third Order, he left the Workshop to test its new ability to reveal information about treasures.

• Zhou Ling condensed a tiny maple tree phantom in his Sea of Consciousness, then ended his visualization before exhausting his Divine Sense.
• Zhou Ling decided to delay crafting a First-grade High-tier Engraving and planned to seek the second level of the Great Yang Art for his father's meridian wear.
• Zhou Ling asked Master Lu to craft a First-grade High-tier Brewing Furnace and paid him fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones toward the cost.
• Master Lu showed Zhou Ling three damaged Magic Artifacts, raising Mountain Treasure Hunt to Third Order and revealing that it could sense information about treasures.
• Zhou Ling inspected the Fire Rain Umbrella's details, agreed with Master Lu on the repairs, and headed to Market Street to test the upgraded ability.