Chapter Summaries

Lu Xuan bribed Tan Xiaodong and his subordinates to avoid a thorough inspection of his courtyard, then learned from his Cloud Stepping Lynx that Wang Shan carried an abnormal presence. He decided to report Wang Shan to the Marketplace’s anti-Evil Spirit inspectors rather than confront him himself.

• Lu Xuan gave Tan Xiaodong twenty Spirit Stones and paid each of his two subordinates five more to keep them from searching his courtyard closely.
• Wang Shan arrived, greeted Tan Xiaodong as his senior fellow disciple, and introduced him to Lu Xuan without learning about the bribe.
• After Wang Shan and the inspectors left, Lu Xuan realized the Cloud Stepping Lynx had repeatedly growled at Wang Shan as it had at a mutated cultivator.
• The Lynx confirmed that it sensed an abnormality inside Wang Shan, though Lu Xuan could not tell what it was or how dangerous it might be.
• Lu Xuan decided to report Wang Shan to the Marketplace’s ongoing Evil Spirit cleanup instead of attacking him himself.

Lu Xuan secretly warned Ling Peng that Wang Shan might be polluted by an Evil Spirit and that Tan Xiaodong was shielding him, then returned home to wait and grow stronger. He discovered that the Grass Puppet’s only thought was to guard the spirit field.

• Lu Xuan decided to anonymously report Wang Shan to a powerful Law Enforcement Hall cultivator and used the Gold Metal Swordplay to send Ling Peng a warning.
• Ling Peng investigated the message, judged it credible, and resolved to watch Wang Shan and Tan Xiaodong more closely.
• Lu Xuan concealed his cultivation from Ling Peng’s Spiritual Sense and returned to his courtyard, where he resolved to rely on his growing Spirit Plants if danger came.
• The Azure-Eyed Cloud Stepping Lynx caught a Red-Beard Carp to get Lu Xuan’s attention, and Lu Xuan smacked its ears before realizing it wanted to be petted.
• Lu Xuan inspected the Grass Puppet and heard its repeated thought: “Guard Spirit Field!”

Lu Xuan harvested a large batch of high-quality Spirit Firefly Grass, gaining cultivation, talismans, and spell-art experience before selling the crop to Hundred Herbs Hall. Manager He recognized Lu Xuan’s consistent success and offered him half of a batch of Second Grade Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea to cultivate.

• Lu Xuan rewarded the Grass Puppet with two Fragmented Spirit Stones and stayed alert for trouble, but nothing happened over the next two days.
• Lu Xuan harvested twelve mature Spirit Firefly Grass and gained two and a half years of cultivation, several talismans, and experience in Gold Metal Swordplay and Wood Genesis Art.
• Lu Xuan took twenty-two stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass to Hundred Herbs Hall with the Azure-Eyed Cloud Stepping Lynx, and Manager He paid him seventy-seven Spirit Stones and thirty Fragmented Spirit Stones.
• Manager He told Lu Xuan that the Hall had entrusted him with several spirit plants to assign, and offered Lu Xuan half of the Second Grade Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea.

Lu Xuan accepted Manager He's offer of three Second Grade Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings. After Manager He defended Lu Xuan's record of growing Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass to three skeptical Spirit Plant Masters, they met Lu Xuan and asked how he did it, but he declined to reveal his secret.

• Lu Xuan agreed to buy three Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings from Manager He and assured him his Spirit Field could support them.
• Manager He rejected three experienced Spirit Plant Masters who had sought the seedlings, saying he had chosen a young cultivator instead.
• Manager He revealed that Lu Xuan had grown eight Perfect Grade stalks among fewer than forty Spirit Firefly Grass stalks, astonishing the three masters.
• The three Spirit Plant Masters met Lu Xuan at Hundred Herbs Hall, saw his excellent Spirit Firefly Grass, and accepted Manager He's account.
• One of the masters asked Lu Xuan how he grew Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass, and Lu Xuan said it was a secret he could not share.

Lu Xuan sold three Spirit Plant Masters his advice on precise cultivation for one hundred Spirit Stones, while keeping his most important insight to himself. Manager He then gave him three Second Grade Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings for sixty Spirit Stones, and Lu Xuan prepared to cultivate them.

• Three Spirit Plant Masters offered Lu Xuan one hundred Spirit Stones for his method of growing Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass, and he taught them to use precise spellcasting to meet each plant’s needs.
• Lu Xuan explained that his results came from devoting himself to Spirit Plants and warned the three that improving their crops would take time away from cultivation.
• After the three left, Lu Xuan admitted he had withheld his ability to sense each plant’s condition and adjust his care accordingly.
• Manager He cautioned Lu Xuan that sharing his method might cost him, but Lu Xuan reassured him that others could not easily reproduce his results.
• Manager He showed Lu Xuan three Second Grade Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings and offered them for sixty Spirit Stones through Hundred Herbs Hall.

Lu Xuan planted Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea and avoided Wang Shan’s invitation, while Wang Shan’s concubine revealed an Evil Spirit’s influence over him. The Six-Winged Symbiotic Worm detected the transformation, prompting Ling Peng to seek a senior cultivator’s help.

• Lu Xuan planted three Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings, tended his spirit plants, and counted his earnings of more than two hundred Spirit Stones.
• Lu Xuan refused Wang Shan’s invitation to dinner, sensing something unsettling in his neighbor’s voice.
• Wang Shan agreed to bear a child for Wang Shi under a strange craving, and his body grotesquely withered as his abdomen swelled.
• A six-winged worm emerged from a Spirit Tree in the Wang Family courtyard and reacted to Wang Shan’s transformation.
• Ling Peng recognized the worm’s warning at the Law Enforcement Hall and asked a lightning-scarred senior cultivator to help confront the Evil Spirit.

Lei Yin and Ling Peng destroyed the Evil Spirit that had infested Wang Shan, and the Law Enforcement Hall began inspecting nearby homes. Lu Xuan passed inspection and realized Tan Xiaodong had previously used a false inspection as an excuse to search his home.

• Lei Yin and Ling Peng attacked the Evil Spirit emerging from Wang Shan and Wang Shi, but it resisted their fire arts as it tried to hatch early.
• Lei Yin unleashed lightning that reduced the Wang Family and the Evil Spirit to ash, then ordered Ling Peng to ensure the area was clear.
• Lu Xuan stayed inside his courtyard, relieved that the Law Enforcement Hall had eliminated the threat and noting that Tan Xiaodong was now implicated in neglecting his duties.
• Three Law Enforcement Hall cultivators inspected Lu Xuan’s home with a White Jade Buddha Statue and found no abnormalities.
• Lu Xuan concluded that Tan Xiaodong had used a supposed inspection to try to search his home and returned inside.

A cultivator in the Vast Forest Market discovered that one of his Evil Infants had been killed and planned to create more, while Lu Xuan continued cultivating his Spirit Plants under Law Enforcement Hall surveillance. The chapter left Lu Xuan surprised to find that a pine nut on his Red Cloud Pine had matured.

• A resentful cultivator mourned the loss of an Evil Infant, which weakened his chances of refining the Evil Infant Elixir and advancing to Foundation Establishment.
• The cultivator planned to parasitize more young Qi Refining Female Cultivators with Evil Infant Fetuses and sell them through the Black Market.
• Lu Xuan stayed in his courtyard as the Law Enforcement Hall monitored the area, and he suspected Tan Xiaodong had been implicated by his report.
• Lu Xuan watered his Spirit Plants, separated the Blood Jade Ginseng, tended the Sword Grass and Dark Marrow Mushroom, and scolded the Cloud Stepping Lynx cub for disturbing the Red-Beard Carp.
• Lu Xuan noticed that a pine nut on the nearly mature Red Cloud Pine had ripened.

Lu Xuan harvested a ripe Red Cloud Pine Cone and received the Second Grade Li Fire Sword, then gathered Spirit Firefly Grass and broke through to Qi Refining Stage 6. He accepted Cultivator Wu’s invitation to drink, intending to ask the experienced cultivator about the marketplace’s black market.

• Lu Xuan harvested a Good Grade Red Cloud Pine Cone and received the Second Grade Li Fire Sword from its White Light Orb.
• Lu Xuan harvested fourteen Spirit Firefly Grasses, gained cultivation, talismans, pills, a recipe, and Grass Spirit Essence Liquid, and advanced to Qi Refining Stage 6.
• Lu Xuan fed the Grass Spirit Essence Liquid to the Grass Puppet, restoring its Gray Grass Tumor’s vitality.
• Cultivator Wu invited Lu Xuan to drink after the Law Enforcement Hall’s lackeys withdrew, and Lu Xuan agreed.
• Lu Xuan brought the Cloud Stepping Lynx to Cultivator Wu’s residence, planning to ask about the black market and sell some of his possessions.

After learning about the Black Market from Cultivator Wu, Lu Xuan decided to search there for rare Spirit Seeds. He entered the market alone and encountered its eerie Black Paper Kites overhead.

• Lu Xuan and Cultivator Wu discussed Wang Shan's contamination by an Evil Spirit and the Law Enforcement Hall's response.
• Lu Xuan asked Cultivator Wu about the Black Market, and the old cultivator explained how to enter, what it sold, and the risks outside.
• Lu Xuan decided the Black Market offered a better chance of finding Unknown Spirit Seeds and prepared to visit it.
• Lu Xuan left the Cloud Stepping Lynx cub at home, paid three Spirit Stones for a Guiding Talisman, and followed it through the black mist.
• Lu Xuan entered the Black Market and felt an evil thought sweep over him as a Black Paper Kite passed overhead.

Lu Xuan explored the Black Market for Spirit Plants, cultivation resources, and defensive equipment, while growing wary of its strange wares and the possible dangers behind Wang Shan’s purchase of a female cultivator. He traded his Second Grade Li Fire Sword and ten Spirit Stones for a short section of Third Grade Flood Dragon Vine, which he hoped to cultivate.

• Lu Xuan avoided the Black Paper Kite and surveyed the Black Market, noting its crowds, fees, and unusual stalls.
• He passed on a stall selling female cultivators and recalled that Wang Shan’s rapid cultivation after buying one might have been connected to his later Evil Spirit contamination.
• Lu Xuan found a short section of Third Grade Flood Dragon Vine and learned that cultivating it into a complete vine was extremely difficult.
• Lu Xuan negotiated with the female cultivator and exchanged his Second Grade Li Fire Sword and ten Spirit Stones for the Flood Dragon Vine.

Lu Xuan returned from the Black Market with a section of Third Grade Flood Dragon Vine and planted it in his Spirit Field. He learned that it needed snake or flood dragon blood to grow well and resolved to find some rather than hunt demonic beasts himself.

• Lu Xuan sold Qin Ming’s First Grade Flying Sword for thirty-five Spirit Stones and bought an Iron Scale Shield for thirty-two.
• Lu Xuan returned safely to his courtyard, where the Azure-Eyed Cloud Stepping Lynx ignored him until he tossed it Puffer Pig Meat.
• Lu Xuan planted the Flood Dragon Vine and learned that it needed blood from snake-type or flood dragon-type demonic beasts to thrive.
• Lu Xuan decided to search for Serpent Demon Beast Blood or pay cultivators to obtain it, since he would not risk leaving his Spirit Field to hunt.

Lu Xuan harvested and sold mature Spirit Firefly Grass, gaining cultivation, spells, and other rewards before meeting cultivator Zhou outside Hundred Herbs Hall. Zhou complained that his own Spirit Firefly Grass was far inferior and suggested Lu Xuan had withheld part of the cultivation method.

• Lu Xuan harvested twelve mature Spirit Firefly Grass plants and gained two and a half years of cultivation, talismans, spell knowledge, Gold Metal Swordplay insight, and an essence-nurturing pill recipe.
• Lu Xuan sold twenty-six mature Spirit Firefly Grass plants to Manager He for ninety-six Spirit Stones and ten Fragmented Spirit Stones.
• Cultivator Zhou stopped Lu Xuan outside Hundred Herbs Hall and praised the quality of his Spirit Firefly Grass.
• Zhou said his batch of twenty plants had few high-quality stalks after less than seven days of meticulous cultivation, unlike Lu Xuan's harvest.
• Lu Xuan asked whether Zhou suspected him of withholding part of the cultivation method.

Lu Xuan rebuffed Fellow Daoist Zhou, who blamed him for the limited improvement in his Spirit Firefly Grass, then bought Black Line Snake blood at the Rogue Cultivator Market and fed it to the Flood Dragon Vine. The vine absorbed the blood but remained unsatisfied, leaving Lu Xuan with its reaction to consider.

• Lu Xuan explained that his refined cultivation method had improved Fellow Daoist Zhou's Spirit Firefly Grass and warned him to stop demanding more.
• Fellow Daoist Zhou threatened Lu Xuan, but Lu Xuan dismissed his accusations and left Hundred Herbs Hall.
• Lu Xuan searched the wary Rogue Cultivator Market and bought a small bottle of Black Line Snake blood for seventy Fragmented Spirit Stones.
• Lu Xuan returned to his courtyard, checked the spirit field, and noted that the Grass Puppet's intelligence had improved while it continued guarding the plants.
• Lu Xuan poured the Black Line Snake blood onto the Flood Dragon Vine, which absorbed it and seemed disappointed that it had received so little.

Lu Xuan cultivated his spirit plants and collected rewards while waiting for two Red Cloud Pine Cones to ripen. That night, a Masked Cultivator broke into his Spirit Field to kill him and seize his plants, but the Grass Puppet’s attack revealed the intruder’s presence.

• Lu Xuan bathed the Flood Dragon Vine in Black Line Snake blood and saw its vitality improve, though it needed more blood to thrive.
• Over three days, Lu Xuan harvested thirteen mature Spirit Firefly Grass plants and gained cultivation, talismans, spell experience, and Essence Nurturing Pill Recipes from their White Light Orbs.
• Lu Xuan left two nearly ripe Red Cloud Pine Cones unpicked so he could harvest them at their optimal moment.
• A Masked Cultivator used a Second Grade Spirit Breaking Talisman to bypass Lu Xuan’s protective array and entered the Spirit Field, intending to kill him and take his valuables.
• The Masked Cultivator admired Lu Xuan’s rare spirit plants as he approached the house, then cut apart the Grass Puppet’s limbs after it attacked him with grass ropes.

Lu Xuan captured and interrogated the Masked Cultivator who attacked his Spirit Field, learning that Zhou Haiwen had hired him to steal Lu Xuan’s manuals and kill him. After killing the attacker, Lu Xuan went to Zhou Haiwen’s courtyard.

• Lu Xuan and the Azure-Eyed Cloud Stepping Lynx subdued the Masked Cultivator, leaving him unconscious and destroying his cultivation.
• Lu Xuan threatened the bound Masked Cultivator until he admitted Zhou Haiwen had hired him to attack Lu Xuan and promised him the Spirit Field’s plants.
• The Masked Cultivator revealed Zhou Haiwen’s address, and Lu Xuan killed him, burned his body, and scattered the ashes in the Spirit Field.
• Lu Xuan secured his residence, then silently arrived outside Zhou Haiwen’s courtyard.

Zhou Haiwen hired a cultivator to seize Lu Xuan’s spirit-plant cultivation method, but Lu Xuan killed both the hired cultivator and Zhou Haiwen and escaped with their belongings. After reviewing the spoils and deciding to seek a stronger protective array, Lu Xuan harvested a mature Red Cloud Pine Cone and gained a Basic Talisman Compendium.

• Zhou Haiwen waited for the cultivator he had hired to return with Lu Xuan’s cultivation method, confident that the plan would succeed.
• Lu Xuan killed Zhou Haiwen with his sword, took his Storage Bag, and used two Explosive Flame Talismans to burn the corpse and erase evidence before leaving.
• Lu Xuan returned home and counted the loot from both Storage Bags, including Spirit Stones, talismans, pills, and six unknown Spirit Seeds.
• Lu Xuan considered replacing the courtyard’s inadequate protective array with a Second Grade array and checked that his spirit plants had survived the fight.
• Lu Xuan harvested a Superior Grade Red Cloud Pine Cone and absorbed its White Light Orb, gaining a Basic Talisman Compendium containing methods for dozens of First Grade Talismans.

Lu Xuan harvested two Superior Grade Red Cloud Pine Cones and received a Basic Talisman Compendium and the Second Grade Red Thread Needle. After tending his spirit field, he visited Hundred Herbs Hall, where Manager He noticed his apparent breakthrough to Qi Training Stage 4.

• Lu Xuan harvested the second Red Cloud Pine Cone and obtained the Red Thread Needle, a fast, piercing Second Grade Magic Tool.
• Lu Xuan rewarded the damaged Grass Puppet and the Cloud Stepping Lynx, fed the Red-Beard Carp, and tended the spirit plants in his field.
• Lu Xuan decided to seek a Second Grade defense formation and Serpent Demon Beast Blood at the Rogue Cultivator Market, and to check how Hundred Herbs Hall had reacted to Spirit Plant Master Zhou's death.
• Lu Xuan visited Hundred Herbs Hall and told Manager He he planned to sell his remaining Spirit Firefly Grass after it matured and might take more seeds next time.
• Manager He sensed Lu Xuan's apparent cultivation and asked whether he had broken through to Qi Training Stage 4.

Lu Xuan told Manager He that his rapid cultivation came from pills and that he lacked the means to fight for opportunities, so he planned to keep raising Spirit Plants. He visited Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, bought a Mist Concealing Formation, and asked about obtaining serpent or Flood Dragon blood.

• Lu Xuan told Manager He he had reached Qi Training Stage 4, and Manager He urged him to consider exploring Secret Realms.
• Lu Xuan explained that pills had accelerated his cultivation and that he was not prepared to fight for opportunities, so Manager He accepted his choice to nurture Spirit Plants.
• Lu Xuan visited Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and asked a Delicate Maiden to show him Second Grade defensive formations.
• Lu Xuan bargained for and bought a Mist Concealing Formation for one hundred fifty-five Spirit Stones.
• Lu Xuan asked whether the pavilion had serpent-type or Flood Dragon-type demon beast blood, and the Delicate Maiden offered to search for it through a paid reservation.

Lu Xuan installed a Second Grade Mist Concealing Formation to protect his courtyard, then discovered and destroyed a swarm of mutated Spirit Devouring insects attacking a Blood Jade Ginseng. Their unusual behavior made him suspect the disturbance in the Marketplace had reached his Spirit Field.

• Lu Xuan paid a deposit for Serpent Demon Beast Blood and returned to his courtyard with the Mist Concealing Formation Array Plate.
• Lu Xuan activated the Second Grade formation, shrouding the courtyard in mist and strengthening its defenses.
• While checking his Spirit Plants, Lu Xuan found over a hundred Spirit Devouring insects clinging to a Blood Jade Ginseng's roots.
• The insects split into a swarm and attacked, but Lu Xuan skewered them with his Red Thread Needle and burned them to ash.
• Lu Xuan suspected the insects had mutated because of the Evil Spirit connected to the Wang Family's Secret Realm and searched the Spirit Field for more.