Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing attended an Inner Academy elder’s lecture, gained clarity about cultivation and Foundation Establishment, and returned the next day to study formations. The elder’s three-day teaching continued, while Lu Qing remained committed to learning at his own pace.

• The Purple-Crowned Elder taught the disciples about cultivation, and Lu Qing listened closely until the lecture reached realms beyond his understanding.
• Lu Qing left before Senior Brother Liu and Cheng Du’s argument escalated, then reflected on the lesson and sensed his Spiritual Power beginning to form a Spirit Sea.
• Lu Qing realized the Dao Academy’s cultivation jade slips and recorded insights were another valuable resource and resolved to study them.
• Lu Qing returned the next morning, where the Purple-Crowned Elder began teaching about formations and Lu Qing listened with a calm, patient mindset.

Lu Qing learned about formations, broke through to the Late Qi Nourishment Realm, and successfully created a Spirit-Gathering Formation. He used it to plant Moonblade Spirit Rice in the rear courtyard, then returned to cultivation as an unexpected calamity loomed.

• Lu Qing attended three days of the Purple-Crowned Elder’s formation lessons and advanced to the Qi Nourishment Seventh Layer within a Spirit-Gathering Formation.
• Lu Qing acquired a formation disk and, after a day and night of practice, successfully arranged a Spirit-Gathering Formation without using Spirit Stones.
• Lu Qing set up the formation beside the rear courtyard’s pond and planted Moonblade Spirit Rice seeds in the Spirit Fields.
• Lu Qing learned that Moonblade Spirit Rice matured with care and grew especially well when fed offensive spells, particularly sword arts.
• Lu Qing returned to cultivation, feeling that Calamity Avoidance had not acted up, just before an unforeseen event struck.

After a divination warned Lu Qing that avoiding the Demon-Slaying Mission would bring future troubles, he chose the safe option of accepting a Spirit Plant Academy supply mission within the mountain gates. He traveled to the academy to register as a Spirit Planter Master and arrived at a registration site with Xu Qing guiding him.

• Lu Qing's divination revealed that joining the Demon-Slaying Mission was deadly, hiding behind the mountain gates risked future troubles, and a Spirit Plant Academy supply mission offered a calmer path.
• Lu Qing harvested his Moonblade Spirit Rice and decided to visit the Spirit Plant Academy to register as an entry-level Spirit Planter Master.
• Lu Qing reached the Spirit Plant Academy, entered its floating-island city, and paid Xu Qing a Spirit Stone to guide him.
• Xu Qing showed Lu Qing through the Market District and led him toward a registration site in the Spirit Plant District, advising him to reveal his Spirit Plant aura if questioned.

Lu Qing registered at the Spirit Plant Academy for the entry-level Spirit Planter test, and Steward Luo mistook his cultivation for that of a prodigy nearing Foundation Establishment. Lu Qing accepted a supply task for his Moonblade Spirit Rice, easing the sense of crisis that had been weighing on him.

• Xu Qing brought Lu Qing to the Spirit Plant Academy Registration Office and left after showing him the way.
• Lu Qing registered for the entry-level Spirit Planter rank, and Steward Luo gave him an emerald-green academy token.
• Steward Luo noticed Lu Qing's strong cultivation and mistakenly judged him to be a high-grade or Earth-Grade talent.
• Lu Qing accepted a supply task and was offered an order for the Moonblade Spirit Rice he had recently planted.
• Lu Qing's rice was purchased for the order, and his sense of crisis finally receded.

Lu Qing learned that the Dao Academy had launched a major Demon-Slaying Mission and accepted a Spirit Plant Academy supply mission tied to it. As disciples rushed to join the campaign, Senior Brother Guo Yongheng delivered Lu Qing two additional supply assignments.

• Lu Qing saw rumors spread that a major Demon-Slaying Mission was about to be issued and judged that the mission would soon arrive.
• The Dao Academy announced the Demon-Slaying Mission, offering Contribution Points and rewards while assigning Spirit Plant Academy disciples supply work.
• Lu Qing considered the mission’s tempting rewards but decided that the risks were too great for him to join the fighting.
• Disciples across the Inner and Outer Academies rushed to the Mission Hall or set out from their retreats to accept the mission.
• Guo Yongheng visited Lu Qing’s Dao Peak, gave him two additional supply mission slips, and exchanged token auras with him.

Lu Qing cultivated in the quiet mountain gate while the Dao Academy fought the Demonic Path, and he remained wary despite reports of victories. Guo Yongheng then revealed that the front lines had discovered a Minor Thousandfold World, leaving Lu Qing shocked.

• Lu Qing planted Red Fang Rice and Dragon Fang Rice in his spirit fields, then spent days honing his techniques instead of rushing into Foundation Establishment.
• Dao Academy disciples attacked the Demonic Path's lair, and Outer Academy messages praised the fighting and the rewards found on the front lines.
• Lu Qing noticed the mountain gate had grown unusually quiet, learned the White Crane Clan had gone to the front lines, and warned the White Crane Boy to be careful.
• Lu Qing continued cultivating the Cloud-Riding Water Arrow and Concealment Art, and planned to learn the Geng Metal Finger to protect his spirit crops.
• Guo Yongheng told Lu Qing that his friend at the front lines had reported the discovery of a Minor Thousandfold World, shocking Lu Qing.

Lu Qing advanced to Foundation Establishment, First Layer, just as a distant battle shook the Profound Heaven Dao Academy. He learned that a deadly explosion at the Demon-Slaying Battlefield had killed many cultivators and nearly destroyed the entrance to the Minor Realm.

• Guo Yongheng told Lu Qing that he was leaving for the Demon-Slaying Battlefield, where the higher-ups had opened a land-reclamation system and confirmed the Minor Realm's location.
• A new senior brother arrived the next day, settled the accounts, and left without speaking much to Lu Qing.
• After four months of cultivation, Lu Qing used a Foundation Establishment Spirit Item to form a golden lake of Spiritual Power and enter Foundation Establishment, First Layer, gaining Divine Consciousness.
• Lu Qing claimed his Foundation Establishment reward through the Mission Hall, then sensed a distant battle and saw the academy's formations activate as blood-red clouds gathered toward the Demon-Slaying Battlefield.
• White Crane Boy told Lu Qing that demonic cultivators had detonated a Spirit Vein during a battle, killing many and nearly destroying the Minor Realm's entrance; he later sent messages mourning the dead.

After discovering that the massive explosion had killed Bai Yunqing, Yan Langyu, and many other disciples, Lu Qing entered the Four-Sided Arena to test his combat skills. His battles perfected his Water Arrow technique and steadied his Dao Heart, and he left the arena to return to farming.

• Lu Qing found Bai Yunqing, Yan Langyu, and other names from his Divination among those killed by the explosion.
• Lu Qing decided to test his fighting techniques and entered the Four-Sided Arena.
• Lu Qing fought Shen Chang'an, and their spear and water-arrow techniques clashed.
• Lu Qing defeated a series of opponents, perfected his Water Arrow, and drained the Spiritual Power in his dantian.
• Lu Qing stopped fighting with his name among the final hundred rankings and returned to farming with his Dao Heart clearer.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, Lu Qing cultivated at the mountain gate and hosted White Crane Boy for tea, receiving a protective feather in return. White Crane Boy described the deadly Earth Vein explosion, and Lu Qing was left considering the outside assignments Foundation Establishment cultivators faced.

• Lu Qing reached the third level of the Profound Heaven Origin Scripture and continued cultivating at the mountain gate.
• White Crane Boy visited Lu Qing, praised his clear tea, and gave him a feather whose aura could protect his Spirit Field from pests and calamities.
• White Crane Boy explained that rival Demon cultivators had caused an Earth Vein explosion, damaging a Minor Realm and killing disciples while injuring elders.
• White Crane Boy praised Lu Qing for staying away from the disaster, then flew off after they chatted.
• Lu Qing considered the stationed assignments expected of Foundation Establishment cultivators and the Profound Heaven Dao Academy's role throughout the twelve provinces.

After settling into life on Nameless Dao Peak, Lu Qing studied formations and advanced to the Foundation Establishment Third Layer. He successfully developed and activated his own Cloud Mist Formation, leaving his cultivation and formation experiments progressing in quiet seclusion.

• Lu Qing studied the duties of Foundation Establishment disciples and the Dao Peak’s formations, then decided not to rush into an assignment.
• Lu Qing completed his spirit rice quota, received his payment, and learned that the cold Senior Brother who had overseen the work was a sword cultivator.
• Lu Qing heard returning disciples report that the demon-slaying mission had ended with the Minor Realm destroyed and many disciples dead, likely leading to compensation and ranking changes.
• Lu Qing cultivated, studied formations, and advanced to the Foundation Establishment Third Layer while the White Crane Boy occasionally brought him news and supplies.
• Lu Qing activated his self-developed Cloud Mist Formation over several hundred meters, then dispersed it and confirmed that it worked.

Lu Qing learned that Qian Wanan wanted to take over Cloudmist Peak, but the older disciple who accompanied him realized Lu Qing had already reached Foundation Establishment. The two White Crane riders arrived to discuss an exchange, leaving Qian Wanan stunned by Lu Qing’s cultivation.

• Lu Qing read Jade Slip messages and learned about the Outer Academy’s vacant Dao Peaks and the upcoming Grand Tournament.
• Qian Wanan asked his cousin, who worked in the Mission Hall, whether Cloudmist Peak was unclaimed.
• Qian Wanan’s cousin found that Cloudmist Peak belonged to Lu Qing, a Superior Aptitude disciple who had entered the sect half a year earlier.
• Qian Wanan and his cousin flew to Cloudmist Peak, claiming they had come to exchange Dao Peaks.
• Lu Qing sensed no danger and invited the pair up, while his cousin recognized the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Qian Wanan’s cousin realized Lu Qing had reached Foundation Establishment, and Qian Wanan stared in disbelief.

Qian Wanan and his cousin visited Lu Qing to discuss exchanging Dao Peaks, but Lu Qing’s Foundation Establishment aura made Qian Wanan retract his greedy proposal. His cousin befriended Lu Qing and gave him a high-grade formation diagram, while arranging a dangerous assignment for Qian Wanan; Lu Qing later reflected on the gift and his formations’ role in the misunderstanding.

• Qian Wanan’s cousin brought him to meet Lu Qing, whose Foundation Establishment aura startled them both.
• Qian Wanan apologized for his proposal to exchange Dao Peaks, and his cousin praised Lu Qing’s Cloud Mist Formation.
• Lu Qing’s cousin gave him a high-grade formation diagram to apologize and build a friendship.
• After leaving, Qian Wanan’s cousin assigned him to replace a disciple on an experience mission involving the Red Civet Clan.
• Qian Wanan’s cousin explained that Lu Qing had exceptional promise in cultivation, formations, and Spirit Plants.
• Lu Qing examined the formation diagram and realized that his formations had caused Qian Wanan to sense unusually rich spiritual energy.

Lu Qing studied the Golden Light Formation, a superior defensive formation inscribed on the body, and discovered that its cultivation depended on an elusive element of luck. The diagram revealed a recorded inheritance scene that let him begin practicing, though he had not yet entered the path.

• Lu Qing examined the Golden Light Formation diagram and learned that it turned the cultivator’s body into a defensive formation, but that few people could comprehend it.
• Lu Qing reflected that his long lifespan gave him time to pursue the formation, despite lacking confidence in his comprehension.
• As Lu Qing studied the diagram, a scene appeared in his Sea of Consciousness, showing a green-robed man demonstrate the formation’s cultivation method.
• Lu Qing memorized the man’s movements and imitated them with his formation disk, tracing golden formation lines through the air.
• After the inheritance scene ended at dawn, Lu Qing realized he had not entered the path but had improved his chances of succeeding.

Lu Qing advanced to Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer and heard that new disciples would soon be assigned garrison missions because the Spirit Vein explosion had caused a shortage of manpower. A lottery overseen by the Outer Academy’s three chief elder stewards would decide the assignments, leaving Lu Qing ready to test his Calamity Avoidance.

• Lu Qing emerged from a month of seclusion at Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer, with his Spiritual Power gathered into a vast golden lake.
• White Crane Boy brought Lu Qing Water Dragon Fruits in exchange for tea and told him how he had acquired them from travelers near the White Sea.
• White Crane Boy marveled that Lu Qing had reached Foundation Establishment in less than half a year despite his Superior Aptitude.
• White Crane Boy told Lu Qing that Foundation Establishment cultivators had to serve a garrison mission and that his batch’s protection period had been shortened because the Spirit Vein explosion had caused manpower shortages.
• White Crane Boy said the assignments would be decided by lottery, and Lu Qing suspected his Calamity Avoidance might activate.

Lu Qing cultivated to the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment, then went to the Mission Hall to draw his garrison assignment. As he examined the available lots, his divinations revealed many possibilities, but the chapter ended before he chose one.

• Lu Qing perfected the Minor Cloud Rain Technique, harvested Phoenix Rice, and submitted his mission for a little over two hundred Spirit Stones.
• Lu Qing entered seclusion and, after more than two months, advanced to the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment.
• Lu Qing received the order to report to the Mission Hall and went there to accept a garrison mission.
• Lu Qing examined the lot-drawing cylinder and saw that it concealed countless possible assignments.
• Lu Qing considered the dangers facing garrison cultivators and studied the many divinations surrounding the available lots.

Lu Qing drew Spirit Terrace County as his garrison post, prepared for the journey, and left the Profound Heaven Dao Academy. In Spirit Terrace County, the local powers discussed the incoming garrison cultivator and wondered what kind of person he would be.

• Lu Qing used Calamity Avoidance to choose a wooden slip that assigned him to Spirit Terrace County in New Peace Prefecture.
• Lu Qing bought the Windchaser Art, Thousandfold Waves, and travel necessities, then cultivated the movement art to minor mastery.
• Lu Qing dismantled his formations, said farewell to White Crane Boy, and departed the Profound Heaven Dao Academy.
• In Spirit Terrace County, Chen Sheng told the county magistrate and four great clans that he knew little about the incoming cultivator beyond his name.
• The clans heard that the new garrison cultivator was a recently established Foundation Establishment cultivator, and some members felt reassured.

Lu Qing traveled to Spirit Terrace County, reaching the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment during the journey. He arrived to take over the Dao Academy’s stationing mission as Chen Sheng and the four great Lineages welcomed him.

• Steward Zhou recognized Lu Qing as the cultivator who had killed a Sixth Layer Foundation Establishment demonic beast and treated him deferentially aboard the ship.
• Lu Qing contemplated the Spirit Terrace River and Spirit Prefecture’s ruined earth veins while his cultivation grew more solid.
• Steward Zhou told fellow merchants that Lu Qing was a cultivator dispatched from above, prompting their envy and respect for the Profound Heaven Dao Academy.
• The ship docked, and Lu Qing broke through to the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment.
• Chen Sheng and the four great Lineages gathered at the county gates to welcome Lu Qing, while hidden onlookers watched without daring to interfere.
• Chen Sheng greeted Lu Qing and said the stationing mission was his to take over, and Lu Qing asked whether Chen Sheng would leave that day.

Lu Qing arrived in Spirit Terrace County as its new resident cultivator and impressed the four great families with his power. He settled on Spirit Terrace Mountain, where he personally established formations to conceal his residence and gather spiritual energy, leaving the county residents to recognize him as a formation master.

• Lu Qing sent Chen Sheng away, then told the four great family heads to keep the county's existing arrangements and took them to Chen Sheng's former residence.
• Lu Qing rejected the conspicuous manor and asked for a secluded mountain residence on Spirit Terrace Mountain, which the Bai Clan arranged within a day.
• Lu Qing installed the Cloud Mist Formation around Green Bamboo Courtyard, hiding the mountain and making intruders wander away without reaching it.
• Lu Qing created a Spirit-Gathering Formation himself, drawing spiritual energy into his dantian until his newly reached realm began to be tempered.
• The county residents saw the vast cloud formation and concluded that Lu Qing was a formation master.

Lu Qing strengthened his defenses and stabilized his Foundation Establishment cultivation while waiting for the right moment to advance. At year’s end, he glimpsed a path toward the Purple Mansion Realm and decided to enter secluded cultivation.

• Bai Shoucai told his eldest son that Lu Qing was so powerful that even the four Lineage leaders together might not match him, and planned to send him another gift after their next trade.
• Lu Qing successfully engraved the Golden Light Formation into his body, giving himself constant protection against attacks.
• Lu Qing continued refining his Spiritual Power and tempering his body while studying the path to the Purple Mansion Realm.
• Lu Qing observed the county’s New Year preparations and caught a fleeting flash of Spirit Light that revealed a direction for his next breakthrough.
• Lu Qing decided to begin secluded cultivation, drawing on the cultivation experiences recorded in Jade Slips.

As Lu Qing underwent a Lightning Tribulation, the people of Spirit Terrace County realized he was advancing beyond Foundation Establishment. He survived the nine bolts, opened his Purple Mansion, and briefly used his Divine Soul to survey the county before withdrawing it.

• Young masters from Spirit Terrace County gathered at a tavern and complained that their families had kept them home to cultivate.
• Dark thunderclouds gathered over Lu Qing’s mountain, and witnesses recognized that he was undergoing a Lightning Tribulation.
• Bai Shoucai and others realized Lu Qing had likely reached the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment and was attempting to enter the Purple Mansion Realm.
• Lu Qing endured nine bolts of lightning and used the tribulation to temper his body.
• Lu Qing opened his Purple Mansion, surveyed Spirit Terrace County with his Divine Soul, and then drew his thoughts back inside.