Chapter Summaries

Ling Qing refined many spell-based spirits and created the Myriad-Star Heavenly Heart Wondrous Spirit Emperor to command and summon them. Meanwhile, Wenren Li and Guliang Hao waited at the Zhou royal palace with Zuo Qiu Yi and Yan Yu to seek investiture for Ling State.

• Ling Qing refined the spirit of flame and spirits representing other elements and Druid spells, intending them to gather worship and eventually form divine authorities.
• Ling Qing gathered the spirit pearls, including those tied to existing gods and divine authorities, as the foundation for future spirit gods.
• Ling Qing used the Path of Summoning and the heavenly stars to create the Myriad-Star Heavenly Heart Wondrous Spirit Emperor and transform the Book of Summoning into a starry artifact that could summon deities.
• Wenren Li and Guliang Hao waited outside the Zhou royal hall with Zuo Qiu Yi and Yan Yu as envoys seeking investiture for Ling State.
• The royal attendants summoned the envoys to enter the hall for an audience.

Wenren Li and the Lu envoys sought Zhou King Ji Bian’s approval to enfeoff Ling State, and Ling Qing’s tribute persuaded Ji Bian to grant the request. After discovering a mysterious jade tablet among the gifts, Ji Bian regained his resolve and, nine days later, enfeoffed Ling State as a duchy and named Ling Qing Duke Ling.

• Guliang Hao and Wenren Li’s party appeared before Ji Bian and requested enfeoffment for Lu State and Ling State.
• Wenren Li explained Ling State’s ancestral claim, and Yan Yu had the Talismanic God Guard present Ling Qing’s tribute to Ji Bian.
• Ji Bian agreed to the request and had the envoys wait while he petitioned at the ancestral temple.
• After the envoys departed, Ji Bian examined a Divine Talisman and a jade tablet, then ordered all of Ling State’s tribute brought to him after the tablet’s message startled him.
• Nine days later, Ji Bian summoned the envoys, granted Ling State duchy status, and bestowed the title Duke Ling on Ling Qing.

Ling Qing organized the worship of newly appointed spirit gods across Ling State while awaiting Zuo Qiu Yi’s return with Zhou State’s investiture. After receiving the edict, banner, and battle-axe granting Ling State ducal rank and authority to expand, Ling Qing imprinted them with the Spirit Illumination Treasure Seal, loosening the limits on his power.

• Ling Qing ordered Meng Zhuo and Yan Ru to establish altars and a Hall of Myriad Gods, publicize the spirit gods, and invite them to assist state offices and households.
• Yan Ru had the divine roster enshrined at the Academy of Numinous Illumination, where students recorded the gods’ powers and authorities.
• Ling Qi spotted Zuo Qiu Yi flying back to Ling State with four Talismanic God Guards and escorted him toward Lingqiu City.
• Zuo Qiu Yi presented Ling Qing with Zhou State’s investiture edict, azure banner, and jade battle-axe.
• Ling Qing stamped the edict and regalia with the Spirit Illumination Treasure Seal, loosening the restriction on his authority beyond Ling State’s borders.

Ling Qing established the academy’s divine platform and expanded Ling State by incorporating four neighboring cities, transforming its Divine Spirit Domain into a true world. The expansion drew attention from Zhu State’s Duke Yi and Teng State’s Duke Wen, who summoned Mencius.

• Yan Ru and the others hung the Divine Register at the Academy of Numinous Illumination and summoned the people to proclaim the gods’ names.
• Ling Qing reviewed the three formed incarnations within the Azure Emperor Nine-Layer Gate and considered how gathered faith would strengthen the divine spirits and his inheritances.
• Cao Gong, Yan Yi, and two other city magistrates offered their cities to Ling Qing, who stamped their maps with the Spirit Illumination Treasure Seal and incorporated their lands into Ling State.
• The six ritual vessels held back the incoming power and helped the Divine Lord of Numinous Illumination transform the Divine Spirit Domain into a true world encompassing the newly incorporated cities.
• Cao Kong, Duke Yi of Zhu, dismissed the threat from Ling State while an onlooker grew suspicious, and Ji Hong, Duke of Teng, ordered someone to invite Mencius.

Ling Qing returned to cultivation after settling Ling State’s affairs, refining the Three Luminaries Heavenly Gang into supple threads and preparing to condense the Three Luminaries Divine Light. He left the Starwatching Terrace with three clusters of astral clouds and three thousand Three Lights Divine Swords ready for the next stage.

• Ling Qing dismissed Cao Gong and the others, granting them honorary ranks and ordering them to retire in Lingqiu City while Yan Ru’s people took over Nili City and the other newly acquired cities.
• Ling Qing went to the Starwatching Terrace to focus on opening the Path of Elements and making the Druid inheritance his own through the Xiantian Primordial Qi Scripture.
• Ling Qing used the Dharma Altar to gather Sun Luminary Heavenly Gang and refined it into soft, threadlike golden astral force.
• After night fell, Ling Qing refined the moon and star luminary astral forces into silver and starlight auspicious clouds.
• Ling Qing summoned three thousand Three Lights Divine Swords and prepared to use them to condense the Three Luminaries Divine Light and eventually create Three Lights Divine Water.

Ling Qing refined Sun Radiance Divine Light and continued forging the Three Lights Divine Sword while Ling State absorbed four cities and prepared to defend its expanded borders. As Zhu State’s poorly organized army entered Qiu Valley, Cao Xu ordered an ambush and sent Abyss Strike Warriors to kill its commander, Cao Tuo.

• Ling Qing merged Sun Radiance astral force and baleful intent to refine a Sun Radiance Sword into divine light, then reshaped it into a sword and continued refining swords by day and night.
• Cao Xu and the Academy of Numinous Illumination helped Ling State absorb four cities, expanding its territory to roughly the size of Teng State.
• Duke Cao Kong of Zhu State mustered an army to punish Ling State, but its forces reached Dugu City with a scattered formation and disorganized weapons and armor.
• Cao Xu followed his planned ambush in Qiu Valley and ordered ten Abyss Strike Warriors to target Zhu State’s commander, Cao Tuo.

Cao Tuo led Zhu State's undisciplined army into Qiu Valley, where Cao Xu's forces ambushed and destroyed it. Cao Tuo died in the fighting, and Zhu State's Crown Prince was captured and sent to await Ling Qing's instructions.

• Cao Tuo warned that Qiu Valley might conceal an ambush, but the Crown Prince's attendant mocked him and the army pressed on.
• Cao Xu's Heart-Bewitching Insect-controlled guard signaled that the valley was clear, and Cao Tuo ordered the army to accelerate.
• Cao Xu's ambush sent boulders crashing into the column, then Abyss Strike Warriors and Golden Monkeys attacked Cao Tuo.
• Cao Tuo was overwhelmed and killed, while forty Cyan Jade war chariots charged in and routed Zhu State's army.
• Cao Xu and Zuo Qiu Yi inspected the battlefield, recognized the captured Crown Prince of Zhu State, and ordered him taken to Lingqiu City for the lord's instructions.

Ling Qing ordered Cao Kong to ransom Zhu State’s crown prince and approved Yan Ru’s plan to manage debates among the academy’s schools. After seeing Ling State’s growing prosperity, Ling Qing visited the Academy of Numinous Illumination, where Confucian and Mohist scholars were holding the first debate under the new system.

• Yan Ru reported Cao Kong’s defeat and the capture of Cao Ge, and Ling Qing demanded ransom, land, and an accounting for Zhu State’s invasion.
• Yan Ru proposed housing the various schools in the academy and settling disputes through witnessed debates; Ling Qing approved the policy.
• After the policy took effect, Ling Qing noticed the academy’s growing vitality and left his sword-refining work to explore Ling State in person.
• Ling Qing walked through prosperous Lingqiu City and reached the Academy of Numinous Illumination without being recognized.
• Ling Qing entered the Numinous Illumination Hall and watched Confucian and Mohist scholars begin the first debate under the new system.

Ling Qing welcomed Xu Xing, a renowned representative of the School of Agriculture, to Ling State while a Confucian and Mohist debate drew the academy’s students. When the argument turned into a sword fight, Ling Qing’s academy continued its contest among the schools under safeguards for the combatants.

• Ling Qing noticed Ling Ji and Wenjun among the students listening to a debate between Confucian and Mohist disciples.
• Ling Qing recognized Xu Xing and greeted him, learning that the School of Agriculture representative had come to live in Ling State.
• A Mohist dialectician won the argument, leaving the Confucian disciple furious and unwilling to concede.
• A Confucian disciple drew his sword and attacked the Mohist debater, and another Mohist rose to meet him.
• The two disciples fought with contrasting sword styles as gods, physicians, and state students stood ready to protect and treat them.

After the Mohists defeated the Confucians at Numinous Illumination Hall, Ling Qing invited Xu Xing to the palace and learned that the Agricultural School master wished to settle in Ling State. Ling Qing offered Xu Xing leadership of Bright Millet Hall, while refusing Gu Zuo’s resignation.

• Ling Qing invited Xu Xing and his disciples to the Ling Palace after the debate and martial bouts.
• Xu Xing told Ling Qing he wished to become a subject of Ling State and explained that its farming methods and agricultural teachings had impressed him.
• Gu Zuo welcomed Xu Xing and, impressed by his knowledge, offered to resign as Minister of Agriculture so Xu Xing could take his place.
• Xu Xing refused the ministerial post, and Ling Qing refused to let Gu Zuo resign.
• Ling Qing offered Xu Xing the post of deputy master of Bright Millet Hall and authority to direct agricultural research with the Ministry of Agriculture’s cooperation.

Ling Qing welcomed Xu Xing and his disciples to the Hall of Bright Millet and recognized Ji Yan as the future King Nan of Zhou. He then examined the newly formed Rite God and Millet God divine edicts, realizing they had been borrowed from the Duke of Lu and the King of Zhou through the method he had taught them.

• Ling Qing agreed to let Xu Xing use the Hall of Bright Millet and hosted a feast for him and his disciples.
• Ling Qing noticed Xu Xing's disciple Ji Yan cultivated his method and inferred that he was the future King Nan of Zhou.
• After Xu Xing and his disciples left, Ling Qing saw new divine edicts for the Rite God and Millet God on his Central Altar.
• Ling Qing concluded that the Duke of Lu and the King of Zhou had borrowed the two divine edicts by refining their godly true forms into guardian gods.
• Ling Qing reflected that godly true forms could corrupt their rulers through the people's prayers and decided there was no need to spread his method in haste.

Ling Qing installed the Rite God and Millet God in his divine domain, strengthening Ling State’s rituals, fortune, and harvests. Xu Xing then told Ji Yan to stay in Ling State as an ordinary Agricultural School disciple while Zhou State’s rulers struggled to secure his future.

• Ling Qing formed the Rite God and Millet God from the principles he had obtained through the Borrowing Dharma Technique and restored them to their places in his divine domain.
• The two gods strengthened Ling State’s fortune and rites, while the Millet God’s power invigorated crops throughout the state.
• Xu Xing settled his disciples in Yan Ru’s residence and told Ji Yan that Ling Qing was not from this world and likely had not sought to establish a divine court.
• Xu Xing explained that Ji Yan’s grandfather and father were trying to stabilize Zhou State and that Ji Yan should remain in Ling State as an ordinary Agricultural School disciple while he awaited news.
• Ji Yan accepted Xu Xing’s instruction, unaware that Ling Qing had never had the option of becoming Zhou State’s ruler.

Xu Xing took charge of Bright Millet Hall and taught the principles of the Agricultural School, attracting students as Ling State’s growing power made the academy a prize for the Hundred Schools. Confucian and Mohist students began recruiting support and planning to expand their influence in Ling State.

• Xu Xing told Ji Yan to seek Ling Qing’s guidance and said they would work together to combine the Agricultural School’s knowledge with Ling Qing’s legacy for the people.
• Ling Qing refined another Sun Radiance Sword without eavesdropping on Xu Xing and Ji Yan’s conversation.
• Yan Ru and Ling Huai handed Bright Millet Hall to Xu Xing, who accepted its jade seal and lectured on Agricultural School principles before the academy’s students.
• Gu Zuo and his son Gu Hun became Xu Xing’s disciples, while the Millet God gained power from the principles Xu Xing had taught.
• Students recognized Ling State’s expansion and the Academy of Numinous Illumination as opportunities to gain influence, and schools began contacting their teachers and elders.
• Confucian students invited senior scholars to restore their school’s standing, while the Ling State Mohists planned to establish a branch centered on the academy.

Ling Qing sought Xu Xing’s guidance to bridge his fragmented understanding of the Druid Way of Nature. As Xu Xing taught that agriculture followed the laws of Heaven and joined Heaven, Earth, and human effort, Ling Qing listened and considered how this could shape his own path.

• Ling Qing concluded that he should build his Druid Way of Nature on forests and wood, while leaving the nature of all things to Primordial One Qi.
• Ling Qing regularly discussed the Way of Nature with Xu Xing and sought his instruction while refining the Three Lights Divine Sword.
• Xu Xing explained how people used plants for medicine and cultivated crops, influencing their growth without departing from nature’s laws.
• Xu Xing taught that farming required responding to Heaven’s seasons, drawing on the earth, and applying human effort.
• Xu Xing argued that providing the people with food and clothing through farming and sericulture would keep them from abandoning their state and ruler.

Ling Qing discussed Xu Xing’s Agriculturalist teachings and explained how a ruler should learn from the people while governing beyond agriculture alone. He showed Xu Xing how farming, inherited knowledge, state systems, and military power formed Ling State’s four ceremonial jades and sustained its territory and fortune.

• Xu Xing urged Ling Qing to till and eat alongside the people so he could understand their needs and govern according to their wishes.
• Ling Qing respectfully accepted Xu Xing’s instruction, then questioned the practicality of universal self-sufficiency and uniform market prices.
• Ling Qing argued that farming should be the people’s foundation and a ruler’s example, while a ruler must also understand and govern merchants, soldiers, teachers, and craftsmen.
• Ling Qing conjured a map of Ling State and showed how agriculture and inherited knowledge formed the crimson zhang and green gui.
• Ling Qing explained how rites and state systems formed the black huang, while military power formed the white hu.
• Ling Qing showed the four ceremonial jades sustaining one another, with Ling State’s territory becoming a yellow cong and its fortune and ancestral rites forming an azure bi.

Ling Qing discussed rulership, agriculture, and the relationship between the Dao, laws, and techniques with Xu Xing, refining his understanding of Primordial One Qi. Xu Xing explained how agricultural principles and practices could be reorganized, and Ling Qing recognized that Xu Xing’s insight surpassed his own.

• Ling Qing used the Azure Jade Disc to expand the territory and demonstrated how balanced institutions, agriculture, and military strength sustained the state.
• Xu Xing considered Ling Qing’s model and argued that agriculture was the foundation of the state, while Ji Yan watched with keen interest.
• Ling Qing and Xu Xing acknowledged their different paths and promised to learn from one another.
• Ling Qing gained a deeper understanding of Primordial One Qi, felt his magical power grow more agile, and suppressed the change because the time was not yet right.
• Xu Xing explained how the Agricultural School combined natural principles with practical techniques, and how its inheritance could be improved through the Druid knowledge of nature.
• Ling Qing judged himself only middling in understanding and recognized that Xu Xing was different.

Xu Xing created Flowers Bloom in an Instant by combining Agricultural School methods with Druid techniques, and Ling Qing recognized the depth of his Dao. Xu Xing accepted Wenjun as his disciple, while Ling Qing sent him a talisman method to help build her foundation; the chapter ended with Xu Xing contemplating the spirit gods and the future.

• Xu Xing demonstrated Flowers Bloom in an Instant by making a grain seed live through its entire growth and decay, then explained its principles to Ling Qing.
• Ling Qing declined to learn the technique until he completed his Dao foundation and reflected that Xu Xing had achieved unity while he still pursued completeness.
• Xu Xing asked to teach Wenjun, and Ling Qing agreed to let her study under him.
• Wenjun completed the ceremony of acknowledging Xu Xing as her master, and he gave her a Myriad Transformations Spirit Seed.
• Wenjun began studying under Xu Xing at Bright Millet Hall, while Ling Qing sent Xu Xing the Meritorious Spirit Talisman Method and his accompanying ideas.
• Xu Xing studied Ling Qing's method and contemplated the spirit gods in Ling State's Divine Spirit Domain and the distant future.

Ling Qing guided Wenjun and Ling Ji’s cultivation after they returned from a day of lessons and military camp experience. He then completed the Three Lights Divine Sword and planned to refine its divine light into the Three Lights Divine Water.

• Wenjun and Ling Ji returned from school, and Ling Ji excitedly told Ling Qing about visiting the military camp and learning to drive chariots.
• Ling Qing explained that Ling Ji’s unsettled impulses came from his cultivation and the day’s excitement, then told him to accumulate merit and focus on Merit Vajra Zen.
• Wenjun reported that she had refined an embryo using Xu Xing’s revised Instant Bloom Method, and Ling Qing told her to accumulate merit alongside Ling Ji.
• After the children fell asleep, Ling Qing completed the final Stellar Radiance Sword and combined three thousand swords into the Three Lights Divine Sword.
• Ling Qing formed the Three Lights Divine Light into a treasure sword and resolved to refine it into the Three Lights Divine Water.

Ling Qing sought a divine wind to complete the elemental materials he needed, but settled on pursuing the Four Seasons Winds after finding the strongest alternatives beyond his reach. Xu Xing then suggested that Ling Qing’s Primordial One Qi could serve as the source of all divine winds, leaving Ling Qing puzzled about how to use it.

• Ling Qing set the Three Lights Divine Sword and Eight-Treasure Glazed Gourd Vessel to gather Three Lights Divine Water while he searched for a suitable divine wind.
• Ling Qing considered Mighty Wind, Samadhi Divine Wind, Nine Netherworlds Baleful Wind, and Nine Heavens Astral Wind, but judged them too dangerous or difficult to obtain and refine.
• Ling Qing decided to make do with the Four Seasons Winds and went to Bright Millet Hall to ask Xu Xing for the Agricultural School’s methods.
• Xu Xing offered Ling Qing a cultivation method for the Four Seasons Winds and said Ling Qing already possessed the source of every divine wind in his Primordial One Qi.
• Ling Qing questioned how Primordial One Qi could serve as a wind element when its all-encompassing nature had prevented him from using it that way.

Xu Xing explained how earth, water, fire, and wind related to form, substance, and Primordial One Qi, showing Ling Qing how that qi could evolve into many divine winds, including the Nine Heavens Gang Wind. Ling Qing realized he had grown impatient and accepted Xu Xing’s advice to refine his own fire and divine wind, then received the method and an offer of help obtaining a wind catalyst.

• Xu Xing explained the four elements and demonstrated how Primordial One Qi could harmonize with and evolve into earth, water, fire, and wind.
• Xu Xing transformed Primordial One Qi into various spiritual winds and then into the Nine Heavens Gang Wind, which Ling Qing recognized.
• Ling Qing asked Xu Xing to use Primordial One Qi to evolve divine wind for him, but Xu Xing urged him to refine it himself and personally refine the Brilliant Light Flame anew.
• Ling Qing realized he had become impatient and was relying on others to advance his cultivation, so he bowed and accepted Xu Xing’s instruction.
• Xu Xing taught Ling Qing how to use Primordial One Qi and a wind seed to evolve divine winds, then offered to send someone to help him obtain Nine Heavens Gang Wind as a catalyst.
• Someone entered as Xu Xing said he would arrange assistance for Ling Qing.