Recaps

Chen Lin escaped a powerful flood dragon after taking a fruit and strange roots from its pool, then traveled until he met herb gatherers near Yellow Earth Town. As he prepared to leave with directions to town, Bai Lingshan asked him about red vein ginseng needed for her father's illness.

• Chen Lin took the fruit and two potato-like objects from the pool, then fled when a huge Cyan Monster emerged and revealed itself as a flood dragon.
• Chen Lin escaped through the cave and forest, exhausted his mana, and continued traveling after resting.
• After more than twenty days, Chen Lin encountered a group of herb gatherers and disguised himself as Lin Dali to ask how to reach town.
• Bai Yunyue told Chen Lin that Yellow Earth Town was a day's journey away and gave him directions.
• Bai Lingshan stopped Chen Lin and asked whether he had seen red vein ginseng; Chen Lin recognized the herb by name.

Chen Lin sold red vein ginseng to Bai Yunyue and joined his group on the way to Yellow Earth Town, learning about the surrounding cultivation world. The group reached town safely, where a haughty young cultivator confronted Bai Yunyue.

• Chen Lin showed Bai Lingshan and Bai Yunyue red vein ginseng and agreed to sell it for fifty low-grade spirit stones, then accepted Bai Yunyue's invitation to return with them to collect payment.
• Chen Lin killed an armored boar monster beast with one sword stroke, earning the group's respect as they traveled toward Yellow Earth Town.
• Bai Yunyue explained that Yellow Earth Town lay in Yan Country near Guyuan City, where the weak Qingyun Sect held influence.
• Chen Lin reached Yellow Earth Town with the group and learned that the surrounding region had few spiritual resources and mostly low-level monster beasts.
• A flashy young cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining mocked Bai Yunyue for returning from the mountains so soon.

Chen Lin intervened when Li Ziqing tried to force Bai Yunyue to surrender the Bai Family’s God-Nourishing Pill formula. As they traveled toward Guyuan City, Bai Yunyue explained his family’s situation, and Chen Lin asked whether the Li Family had an alchemist.

• Li Ziqing confronted Bai Yunyue in Yellow Earth Town and threatened to cripple him unless he handed over his sister, but Bai Yunyue’s Fireball Talismans were stopped by Li Ziqing’s Vajra Talismans.
• Bai Yunyue revealed that the Bai Family had already contributed the God-Nourishing Pill formula to the Qingyun Sect, and Chen Lin stepped forward, displaying his mid Qi refinement cultivation.
• Li Ziqing tried to recruit Chen Lin, but Chen Lin refused to engage and left with Bai Yunyue and his group.
• Bai Yunyue thanked Chen Lin as they traveled by carriage toward Guyuan City and explained that Li Ziqing wanted the formula and that his injured father had lost his cultivation.
• Chen Lin asked Bai Yunyue whether the Li Family had an alchemist capable of refining the God-Nourishing Pill.

Chen Lin learned that the Bai Family’s God-Nourishing Pill formula had drawn the Mount-Relying Sect’s attention, then traveled with Bai Yunyue to Guyuan City and received payment for the Red Vein Ginseng. He visited Guyuan Market and was approached by an unfamiliar young cultivator.

• Bai Lingshan told Chen Lin that the Li Family sought the Bai Family’s pill formula for the Mount-Relying Sect’s alchemist, while Bai Yunyue explained that his grandfather had never truly improved the ancient formula.
• Bai Yunyue brought Chen Lin to Guyuan City, where he paid him fifty low-grade spirit stones for the Red Vein Ginseng.
• Bai Yunyue invited Chen Lin to stay for the Zhao Family Firm’s trading convention, but Chen Lin chose an inn to avoid getting involved in the Bai Family’s troubles.
• Chen Lin disguised himself and searched the city for cultivator shops, then learned that Guyuan Market lay three li south of the city.
• Chen Lin reached the market’s mist-filled gatehouse and took out Mingqing Spiritual Water to inspect its formation, but a white-robed young man arrived and asked whether he was from another city.

Chen Lin explored Guyuan Market before the Trading Convention, bought materials and spell manuals, and learned that regional prices differed sharply. As he left, he spotted a young cultivator who appeared to be Han Lingyue entering the market with a group.

• Chen Lin entered Guyuan Market with He Xiaoxiao of the Mount-Relying Sect, who explained how the Sense Stone opened the gate and then left to visit the Zhao Family Firm.
• Chen Lin found the market stalls and shop goods disappointing, then bought materials for Thunderbolt Beads and talismans, along with Scrying Technique and Water Arrow Technique manuals.
• Chen Lin discovered that spiritual herbs were expensive while other materials, Spirit Rice, and Spirit Wine were cheap compared with Kaiyuan City, and he failed to gather all the ingredients for Chuyuan and Enlightenment Pills.
• Chen Lin decided to seek pills or treasures to restore pure spiritual power so he could condense Nameless Sword Qi and deal with the Melanin Insect.
• Chen Lin left the market and recognized one of the arriving cultivators as possibly Han Lingyue of the Han Family.

After returning to Guyuan City, Chen Lin accepted Bai Yunyue’s invitation and discovered that Bai Yunyue’s father was suffering from possession caused by the Li Family. The father revealed that his family had a successfully modified God-Nourishing Pill formula, then asked Chen Lin what he thought of his daughter, Bai Lingshan.

• Chen Lin decided to remain in Guyuan City and returned to the inn, where Bai Yunyue asked him to visit his recovering father.
• Bai Yunyue brought Chen Lin to the Bai Mansion, where Bai Lingshan greeted him shyly and Bai Yunyue’s mother thanked him for selling the red vein ginseng.
• Chen Lin recognized that Bai Yunyue’s father’s condition was possession, and the father blamed Li Ziqing’s uncle, Li Chongshan, for ambushing him with sinister arts.
• Bai Yunyue’s father offered to discuss the God-Nourishing Pill formula, explaining that his own father had modified it and successfully refined the pill.
• Bai Yunyue’s father asked Chen Lin whether he was married, then asked what he thought of Bai Lingshan.

Chen Lin rejected the Bai Family’s marriage proposal but considered Father Bai’s offer of a pill formula in exchange for True Yang Precious Jade. He rented a secluded courtyard to craft in, then attended the trading convention and set up a stall after spending most of his spirit stones.

• Chen Lin refused to marry Bai Lingshan, and Father Bai offered him the improved God-Nourishing Pill formula and a sword technique if he obtained True Yang Precious Jade from Baoguang Pavilion.
• Chen Lin suspected the jade was bait in the Mountain-Backing Sect’s scheme and decided to wait before helping the Bai Family.
• Chen Lin rented a remote courtyard, refined Thunderbolt Beads and Chuyuan Pills there, and stopped returning to the inn.
• Chen Lin went to the trading convention, bought materials for Thunderbolt Beads and Chuyuan Pills, and spent most of his spirit stones.
• Chen Lin paid ten low-grade spirit stones to rent a secluded stall at the back of the market.

Chen Lin set up a stall at the trading convention and sold the damaged Green Flame Python hide to Luo Ziqing, a Qingyun Sect cultivator seeking information about the person who had traded it to him. After selling the rest of his wares, Chen Lin left the convention, still wary of drawing attention.

• Chen Lin laid out talismans, herbs, and monster materials at his stall, including the badly damaged Green Flame Python hide.
• Chen Lin argued with an elderly cultivator over the hide’s price and asked the old man to move when he blocked the stall.
• Luo Ziqing asked whether Chen Lin had killed the python, and Chen Lin claimed he had bought the hide in Yellow Earth Town from a late-stage qi condensation cultivator accompanied by a woman.
• Luo Ziqing bought the hide for ten medium-grade spirit stones, gave Chen Lin a Transmission Talisman, and asked him to report any further sightings of the seller.
• Chen Lin sold the rest of his goods, packed up his stall, and left the trading convention.

Chen Lin received an invitation from He Xiaoxiao to attend the Zhao Family Firm’s small exchange meeting and learned how it worked. While shopping, he discovered Mechanism Puppets and decided to seek their crafting method, hoping to make one powerful enough for combat.

• He Xiaoxiao warned Chen Lin to be careful of Luo Ziqing and gave him an Invitation Talisman to the Zhao Family Firm’s small exchange meeting.
• An attendant explained that the meeting included auctions, private trades, and a cultivation discourse, and Chen Lin decided it was worth attending.
• Chen Lin browsed the market stalls and asked a Fat Cultivator about his Mechanism Puppets.
• The Fat Cultivator demonstrated a tiger puppet that only raised its forepaws, disappointing Chen Lin.
• Chen Lin left without buying a puppet, but planned to return and ask the Fat Cultivator about buying its crafting method.

Chen Lin attended the Zhao Family Firm's auction, where he observed several powerful cultivators and saw Han Lingyue arrive. The auction began with a magical sword and cultivation pills, leaving Chen Lin eager to improve his pill-refining skills for profit.

• Chen Lin returned to the Zhao Family Firm, received a mask that blocked Qi Condensation probes, and entered the auction hall.
• Chen Lin noticed a Burly Man, an alluring female cultivator, and a sinister Hunchback; the Hunchback chilled Chen Lin with a warning glance.
• Han Lingyue arrived, intimidated most of the attendees with her Qi Condensation Level 9 aura, and sat beside the Hunchback.
• The Zhao Family Firm auctioned a Blazing Fire Sword, which a black-robed cultivator bought for twenty medium-grade spirit stones.
• The firm auctioned two bottles of Ninghua Pills for sixty-five and seventy medium-grade spirit stones, and Chen Lin resolved to work harder at refining pills.

Chen Lin watched the auction at the Zhao Family Firm, unable to afford its expensive treasures, and saw Han Lingyue win a Marrow-Cleansing Pill. During open trading, he exchanged moon-mirror grass for a Blood Escape Talisman, gaining a means to escape danger.

• Chen Lin watched the Blood Shadow Dagger sell to the hunchbacked cultivator and the Gold Escape Talisman sell to the scantily clad female cultivator.
• The Zhao Family Firm presented a Marrow-Cleansing Pill, and Han Lingyue won it with a bid of one hundred and twelve medium-grade spirit stones.
• Chen Lin observed the open trading and offered a stalk of moon-mirror grass in exchange for a defensive or escape item.
• The old man offered Chen Lin a Blood Escape Talisman, and Chen Lin accepted it in exchange for the moon-mirror grass.

At the Exchange Meeting, Bai Yunyue tried to trade an improved God-Nourishing Pill formula for True Yang Precious Jade, but Li Chongshan threatened anyone who helped him. When a blue-robed youth challenged Li Chongshan, he revealed himself as Qiu Chenggang, a Blazing Sun Sect Inner Disciple.

• Bai Yunyue offered an improved God-Nourishing Pill formula for True Yang Precious Jade, and Li Chongshan questioned the formula and tried to prevent the trade.
• Bai Yunyue swore that the formula had produced pills, but he refused offers of spirit stones and other treasures, insisting on True Yang Precious Jade.
• A blue-robed youth produced a piece of True Yang Precious Jade and asked whether Bai Yunyue's formula was a complete improvement.
• Li Chongshan exposed himself, threatened the youth, and demanded that Bai Yunyue hand over the formula; no one at the meeting spoke up for Bai Yunyue.
• As Bai Yunyue headed for the door, the blue-robed youth called him back and revealed himself as Qiu Chenggang of the Blazing Sun Sect.

At the exchange gathering, Qiu Chenggang rejected Bai Yunyue’s restricted pill formula, while Chen Lin held back from trading for it and gained insight from a cultivation lecture. After leaving, Chen Lin found the fat cultivator’s puppet stall and asked to buy the crafting method instead.

• Qiu Chenggang invoked his status as an inner sect disciple of the Blazing Sun Sect, causing Li Chongshan to apologize and leave.
• Bai Yunyue offered Qiu Chenggang an improved but unreliable God-Nourishing Pill formula, restricted by an Inner Demon Oath, and Qiu Chenggang refused it.
• Chen Lin considered trading a treasure for Qiu Chenggang’s True Yang Precious Jade but refrained because Li Family and Mountain-Backing Sect cultivators were present.
• An elderly Qi Condensation cultivator lectured on cultivation, helping Chen Lin resolve questions and sense an opportunity to reach the fifth layer of qi refining.
• Chen Lin obtained an Invitation Talisman for the next gathering, returned his mask, and visited the fat cultivator’s puppet stall.
• Chen Lin declined to buy the Tiger Puppet and asked the fat cultivator whether he would sell its crafting method.

At the Trading Convention, Chen Lin discovered Wuzhen Tower, watched Bai Yunyue refuse to enter Baoguang Pavilion, and tried to catch Qiu Chenggang to discuss his True Yang Precious Jade. He returned to Guyuan City without meeting Qiu Chenggang, only for a figure to suddenly block his path.

• Chen Lin failed to buy the fat cultivator’s puppet-refining method but purchased materials for ten batches of Enlightenment Pills.
• Chen Lin learned that Wuzhen Tower was a brothel where cultivators paid for dual cultivation, then left without going inside.
• Chen Lin saw Bai Yunyue hesitate outside Baoguang Pavilion before leaving without trading for its True Yang Precious Jade.
• Chen Lin went to the Zhao Family Firm, saw Qiu Chenggang leave with the elder surnamed Yuan, and followed him to the Market entrance but lost sight of him.
• Chen Lin returned to Guyuan City and headed toward his rented courtyard, where a figure suddenly appeared and blocked his way.

Chen Lin traded the Monster Transformation Talisman method to Qiu Chenggang for True Yang Precious Jade and Spirit Restoring Pills, then exchanged the jade for a God-Nourishing Pill formula and a sword technique from Bai Yunyue. He adopted a new identity, bought a secluded residence in Guyuan City, and found that the pill formula used cheap ingredients.

• Qiu Chenggang confronted Chen Lin, who traded him the Monster Transformation Talisman method for True Yang Precious Jade and ten Spirit Restoring Pills.
• Chen Lin disguised himself and traded the True Yang Precious Jade to Bai Yunyue for a jade slip containing the God-Nourishing Pill formula and a special sword technique.
• Chen Lin changed into his white-clad female identity, rented a house, and then bought a large residence after failing to find a suitable rental.
• Chen Lin moved into the residence and studied the God-Nourishing Pill formula, learning that its revised ingredients were cheap spiritual herbs despite its lower potency and success rate.

Chen Lin studied a mortal sword technique hidden in a rusty iron shard, made a new disguise, and successfully refined God-Nourishing Pills. He returned to the Market to ask a puppet maker about buying his refining method, hoping to test whether his talent ability worked on Mechanism Puppets.

• Chen Lin read the Aurora Sword Technique in the iron shard and found it was a mortal technique focused on speed with little use against cultivators.
• Chen Lin made a Disguise Mask, changed his appearance, and bought materials for God-Nourishing Pills from stalls around the Market.
• Chen Lin refined three God-Nourishing Pills and tested their safety by feeding pill powder to a rabbit, which remained lively the next morning.
• Chen Lin returned to the Market and tested a Tiger Puppet, finding that it could only raise a paw.
• Chen Lin asked the fat cultivator who made the puppet whether he would sell his Mechanism Puppet refining method.

Chen Lin traded four Chuyuan Pills for the Wu Family Puppet Codex, bought a stronger flying sword, and returned to seclusion. After studying the Tiger Puppet and the Aurora Sword Technique, he prepared to attack the Melanin Insect as soon as the Enlightenment Pill wore off.

• Chen Lin persuaded the fat cultivator to trade the Wu Family Puppet Codex for four Chuyuan Pills, and both men swore oaths over the deal.
• The fat cultivator asked Chen Lin to carry the Puppetry Art forward and someday find a disciple surnamed Wu to inherit it.
• Chen Lin exchanged two low-grade spiritual herbs at the Zhao Family Firm for a secondhand rank 1 mid-grade flying sword, then left the Trading Convention without getting an invitation to the cultivation insights discussion.
• After several days of secluded cultivation, Chen Lin decided to kill the Melanin Insect before it could expose him to Yu Yuehai.
• Chen Lin swallowed an Enlightenment Pill, studied the Tiger Puppet section of the Wu Family Puppet Scripture, and then took out the rusty iron shard bearing the Aurora Sword Technique.

Chen Lin destroyed the weakened Melanin Insect, recovered from his injuries, and began using God-Nourishing Pills to reduce the Enlightenment Pill’s aftereffects. After studying puppet-making and buying supplies, he learned that an Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode had been discovered near Guyuan City, drawing cultivators and driving up prices.

• Chen Lin used the Mortal Sword Technique and Nameless Sword Qi to destroy the weakened Melanin Insect, damaging nearby meridians but preserving his Dantian Qi Sea.
• Chen Lin recovered over ten days, then took three God-Nourishing Pills and found that they eased the Enlightenment Pill’s aftereffects.
• Chen Lin tested the Aurora Sword Technique and pierced a massive rock with his Flying Sword.
• Chen Lin learned that the Wu Family Puppet Classic lacked instructions for Spirit-Connecting Puppet Seals, then went to the Market to buy puppet materials, pill ingredients, and a spell manual.
• Chen Lin discovered that an Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode had been found at Maple Leaf Lake, northwest of Guyuan City, bringing more cultivators and raising demand and prices.

Chen Lin stayed in Guyuan City to profit from the influx of cultivators exploring an Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode, while he practiced puppet crafting with his talent ability. After mastering a basic Tiger Puppet, he spent all his spirit stones on materials to attempt a more powerful Snake Puppet.

• Chen Lin rejected the idea of exploring the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode and made money by mass-producing talismans, pills, and Thunderbolt Beads.
• As news of Foundation Establishment-level treasures and deaths in the cave abode spread, cultivators flooded Guyuan City, while Chen Lin stayed home and dug an escape tunnel.
• Chen Lin successfully made a Tiger Puppet that obeyed several commands, then studied the Wu Family Puppet Scripture and mastered its ordinary Puppet Seal after using three Enlightenment Pills.
• Chen Lin chose to craft a late Qi Condensation-stage Snake Puppet, bought ten sets of materials at the market, and spent all his spirit stones.

Chen Lin successfully refined and tested a powerful Snake Puppet, then discovered that it consumed a medium-grade spirit stone after only two attacks. After ten days of cultivating and crafting talismans, he advanced to the fifth layer of Qi Refining and went to investigate wedding music nearby.

• Chen Lin refined a late-stage Qi Condensation Snake Puppet and tested its Sword Transformation and Ice Thorn Spell attacks.
• Chen Lin discovered that the Snake Puppet drained a medium-grade spirit stone after two attacks, so he replaced it and stored the puppet away.
• Chen Lin spent ten days cultivating and crafting talismans, then advanced to the fifth layer of Qi Refining.
• Chen Lin heard wedding music nearby, left his courtyard, and walked toward the celebration.

Chen Lin watched a wedding procession and briefly sensed something strange about the bride, but his spiritual water revealed nothing unusual. At Ruyi House, he sold his talismans and learned that Spiritual Tools were far rarer than he had thought, making the Upper-Grade Spiritual Tool found in the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode a highly coveted prize.

• Chen Lin watched the Liu family's wedding procession, sensed a fleeting strange aura when the bride's palanquin curtain lifted, and used mingqing spiritual water to check her without finding anything unusual.
• Chen Lin decided to wait and watch rather than flee, then went to the Market to sell his Fireball Talismans and Vigor Talismans.
• The shopkeeper at Ruyi House paid Chen Lin for his talismans and added a medium-grade spirit stone as a bonus.
• The shopkeeper explained that Spiritual Tools were scarce and that Qiu Chenggang owned one because of his powerful family and Foundation Establishment father, Qiu Shouli.
• Chen Lin asked whether the Upper-Grade Spiritual Tool found in the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode would provoke fierce competition.

Chen Lin learned that an Upper-Grade Spiritual Tool had been seized by an outside Foundation Establishment Cultivator, prompting the Mountain-Backing Sect and Qingyun Sect to pursue him and the Blazing Sun Sect to potentially send experts. He searched for a high-grade spirit stone for his puppet, then returned home to prepare and train while wondering whether Xu Ruolan had escaped.

• The shopkeeper warned Chen Lin that the Upper-Grade Spiritual Tool had drawn powerful cultivators to Guyuan City and urged him to avoid trouble.
• Chen Lin learned that the Blazing Sun Sect controlled Yan Country’s only high-grade spirit stone mine and that the Zhao Family Firm had one stone for sale at 120 medium-grade spirit stones.
• Chen Lin left the firm without buying the stone because he lacked enough funds and did not want to attract attention.
• Chen Lin bought Evil-Warding Talismans and an Exorcism Talisman, then increased his talisman crafting and practiced with his puppet.
• Chen Lin nurtured his Nameless Sword Qi and wondered whether Xu Ruolan had escaped after possibly seeing her on the Han Family’s Flying Sword.

Chen Lin used his earnings from selling Vigor Talismans to buy a high-grade spirit stone and craft a Monkey Puppet. After testing a plan to arm it with a Thunderbolt Bead and protect it with Vajra Talismans, he confirmed the puppet could survive the explosion and remain functional.

• Chen Lin bought a high-grade spirit stone and chose to craft a Monkey Puppet because Snake Puppet materials were scarce and expensive.
• Chen Lin took an Enlightenment Pill to learn the Monkey Puppet crafting method, then spent several days making one.
• Chen Lin tested the puppet’s movement and skills, including its Charge Art, which he had chosen for his plan.
• Chen Lin equipped the Monkey Puppet with a Thunderbolt Bead and two Vajra Covers, then sent it charging into a flowering tree.
• Chen Lin detonated the Thunderbolt Bead, destroying the tree and shattering the covers, but the puppet remained intact and moved normally.

Chen Lin tested ways to use the Monkey Puppet to carry Thunderbolt No. 4, then discovered that falling talisman prices had wiped out his recent income. After deciding to seek a new source of money, he browsed the busier Market and examined a magical tool unearthed from the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode.

• Chen Lin found that the Monkey Puppet could carry Thunderbolt No. 4 strapped to its back, though the extra weight slowed it down.
• Chen Lin moved his belongings between his Storage Bags, practiced the Dodge Technique, and finished refining a batch of talismans.
• Chen Lin learned from Zhou Fu at Ruyi House that cave-abode developments and the arrival of Foundation Establishment cultivators had caused talisman prices to return to normal.
• Chen Lin sold his talismans for fewer than twenty medium-grade spirit stones and decided not to buy more materials or sell pills and puppets.
• Chen Lin visited the crowded Market and picked up a magical tool that had been unearthed in the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode.

Chen Lin bought a cracked ancient jade talisman and several other cheap curios at the Market, then returned to his lodgings to wait for the cave-abode exploration to end. With little work available, he studied spells and became proficient in the Dodge Technique, bringing his mastered first-rank spells to ten.

• Chen Lin examined a damaged flying sword and a cracked jade Earth Escape Talisman at a bald cultivator’s stall, then bought the talisman for ten low-grade spirit stones.
• Chen Lin browsed other stalls and shops, bought several cheap items to study, and found no suitable talisman-making methods.
• Chen Lin returned to his lodgings and decided to wait until the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode exploration ended before traveling overland to Pingyang City.
• Chen Lin spent his free time refining pills and studying spells, mastering the Dodge Technique and pairing it with the Aurora Sword Technique.
• Chen Lin counted ten first-rank spells he had mastered and concluded that his mana was not yet sufficient for high-level first-rank spells.