Recaps

Lu Qing arrived at Sun-Moon Mountain to take up his steward post at the Spirit Plant Garden, choosing its sun- and moon-rich environment as a place to cultivate despite his limited funds. The workers and disciples gathered at the mountain’s foot awaited the new steward, unaware that Lu Qing was approaching.

• Lu Qing left after Fellow Daoist Jin reminded him to safeguard the token talisman, then considered the high cost of lodging and his small supply of spirit coins.
• Lu Qing flew toward Sun-Moon Mountain, deciding to seek the essence of the sun and moon since he could not approach the Dao Sect’s most spiritually rich skies.
• Lu Qing arrived at the Spirit Plant Garden as evening fell and saw Foundation Establishment cultivators and burly laborers gathered at the mountain’s foot.
• Hu Laozhang recalled how a zombie’s corpse poison had ruined his cultivation prospects and reflected on the Spirit Plant Garden’s poor standing and shortage of spirit plant masters.
• The gathered workers speculated about the incoming steward as a streak of clear light appeared at the edge of the sky.

Lu Qing arrived at the Spirit Plant Garden as its new Deacon and assigned three people to manage it, while deciding the old cave abode did not suit him. He chose a mountain site for a new cultivation pavilion and ended the chapter surveying it at sunset.

• Lu Qing introduced himself to the Spirit Plant Garden workers and appointed Hu Laozhang and two others to lead its management.
• Lu Qing inspected the spirit fields and the former Deacon’s Returning Cloud Grotto-Heaven, but decided to build his own cultivation pavilion elsewhere.
• Hu Laozhang and the workers worried that Lu Qing might demand more from them and clutched the spirit stones they had planned to offer him.
• Lu Qing heard their conversation through his divine sense, then continued searching for a suitable site.
• Lu Qing chose a spot on the mountain and surveyed it as the last light of the Golden Crow faded.

Lu Qing settled into his new position and inspected the Sun-Moon Mountain Spirit Plant Garden’s records and practices. He learned that the garden relied on low-grade crops and that better spirit plant seeds were restricted, leaving him to investigate the garden’s problems further.

• Lu Qing built a bamboo courtyard with extra cultivation rooms, leaving the disciples at the foot of the mountain uneasy.
• The next day, Hu Laozhang gave Lu Qing a jade slip recording the Spirit Plant Garden’s crops, harvests, and expenses.
• Lu Qing found that the garden’s income and expenses barely balanced and that its fields mostly produced basic ninth-grade spirit plants.
• Lu Qing asked Hu Laozhang, Zhang Xian, and Hou Wucai about the garden and its spirit plant seeds.
• Hu Laozhang explained that seeds had to come from the main branch’s main mountain, where the better varieties had already been selected.

Lu Qing inspected Sun-Moon Mountain's spirit plant garden and decided to obtain better spirit grain seeds to improve its harvest and resilience. After receiving Wang Chunfeng's invitation to a Dao lecture in three months, Lu Qing left for the outer sect's main peak to collect seeds.

• Lu Qing examined the garden's poor spirit soil and basic crops, and decided to replace them with higher-grade spirit grains.
• Lu Qing received Wang Chunfeng's message inviting him to a Dao lecture three months later and agreed to attend.
• The Golden Core aura on Wang Chunfeng's talisman frightened nearby disciples, and Lu Qing withdrew it before it could further unsettle them.
• Lu Qing instructed the garden's disciples and set out for the outer sect's main peak to obtain spirit plant seeds.

Lu Qing visited Myriad Forms Hall to collect seeds for the Spirit Plant Garden at Sun-Moon Mountain. He chose three types of eighth-rank spirit rice and learned that others could collect seeds for the garden on his behalf; the newly appointed disciples continued their work at the mountain.

• Lu Qing showed his deacon's token at Myriad Forms Hall and asked for spirit grain seeds.
• A hall disciple explained that the token allowed him to collect up to sixth-grade spirit plants, while higher grades required merit points.
• Lu Qing selected Wood Spirit Rice, Water Spirit Rice, and Earth Spirit Rice from the eighth-rank seeds.
• Lu Qing asked how others could collect seeds for him and learned that future visits required no additional documents.
• After Lu Qing left, disciples speculated that he was the newly appointed deacon assigned to a Spirit Plant Garden.
• Hu Laozhang, Zhang Xian, and Little Hou carried out their duties at Sun-Moon Mountain.

Lu Qing returned to his Spirit Fields, assigned Five-Element Rice seeds to three disciples, and transformed the mountain with powerful formations that gathered spiritual energy and protected his plot. The disciples realized their new workplace offered extraordinary cultivation conditions.

• Lu Qing returned to his eastern Spirit Fields and noticed that three disciples' Providence had become more solid.
• Lu Qing gave the three disciples Five-Element Rice seeds and told them to plant them in the next batch.
• Lu Qing ordered everyone to stand aside while he set up formations across Sun-Moon Mountain.
• Lu Qing established a Spirit-Gathering Grand Formation that drew spiritual energy toward the mountain peak.
• Lu Qing added a Grand Cloud-Mist Formation and several protective formations around his Cultivation Cave, delighting the disciples with the rich spiritual energy.

Lu Qing settled Sun-Moon Mountain, studied the changes in his Golden Core cultivation, and refined the Waterheart Jewel. He continued cultivating, while the Demonic Cultivator incident remained a matter of concern elsewhere.

• Lu Qing found that the mountain’s formation had changed its plants and animals, and he planned to share the new Pure Peach Fruits with the boy when they ripened.
• Lu Qing opened Spirit Fields and built a small lake on Sun-Moon Mountain, then replanted his spirit plants and arranged the summit.
• Lu Qing reflected on how his Golden Core breakthrough had changed his understanding of cultivation, Dharma Power, and the Profound Heaven Origin Scripture.
• Lu Qing practiced his spells and discovered that his Palm Thunder had become unexpectedly powerful.
• Lu Qing refined the Waterheart Jewel and learned that it could calm seas and part waters, though its full power depended on his cultivation.
• Lu Qing continued cultivating while people elsewhere made a great issue of the Demonic Cultivator incident.

After a Demonic Cultivator infiltrated the Dao Sect, Bai Changshou and Liao Bufan discussed the breach and the sect’s response. Senior masters debated how to retaliate against the Demon Sect and uncover its plans, while Lu Qing’s new senior brothers looked forward to meeting him.

• Bai Changshou asked Liao Bufan about the Demonic Cultivator discovered at Reception Peak, and Liao Bufan explained that the captive’s True Spirit had self-destructed before they could learn much.
• Bai Changshou said the sect would investigate the teleportation formation and change the sect-protecting formation after the breach.
• Liao Bufan and Bai Changshou discussed their newly accepted youngest junior brother, Lu Qing, and planned to meet and test his swordsmanship when they had time.
• Senior masters gathered in the hall and debated whether to strike the Demon Sect or focus on exposing its schemes and the cause of the recent disturbance in the heavenly phenomena.

The Profound Heaven Dao Sect’s leaders debated changes to its rules before assigning several urgent matters, including investigating the Demonic Path, to different lineages. After the Sword Lineage received its mission, Wang Chunfeng visited Lu Qing at Sun-Moon Mountain and learned that Lu had chosen to cultivate Spirit Plants; the chapter left them discussing his path.

• The Headmaster halted the debate over sect rules and directed the gathering to address the sect’s other concerns.
• The leaders assigned missions concerning the Demon Sect, abnormal coastal tides, and people born for a great age to various lineages and branches.
• The Headmaster concluded the meeting, and Bai Changshou told Liao Bufan that the Sword Lineage had received a mission concerning the Demonic Path.
• Wang Chunfeng found Lu Qing at Sun-Moon Mountain and visited his secluded place of cultivation.
• Wang Chunfeng learned that Lu Qing was cultivating Spirit Plants and cautioned him that this path might yield resources slowly, while Lu Qing said his resolve was firm.

Lu Qing learned about the Dao Sect's Library Tower and declined Wang Chunfeng's invitation to join a mission against the Demon Sect. After removing an Azure Nether Insect from Sun-Moon Mountain, he ordered the Spirit Plant disciples to reduce their daily watering, leaving Hou Wucai determined to serve him well.

• Lu Qing asked Wang Chunfeng about sect records and learned that he could consult them at the Library Tower.
• Wang Chunfeng invited Lu Qing to join a Sword Lineage mission against the Demon Sect, but Lu Qing declined and remembered the sermon scheduled for three months later.
• Hou Wucai reported an Azure Nether Insect in the Spirit Plant Garden, and Lu Qing crushed it with ease.
• Lu Qing asked how often the disciples made it rain and ordered them to reduce the watering schedule from four times a day to twice.
• Hou Wucai relayed Lu Qing's instructions to the Spirit Plant disciples and resolved to work harder for him.

Lu Qing visited the Library Pavilion to learn about the Profound Heaven Dao Sect and the Nine Heavens Realm. After reading about the sect’s structure and history, he learned that the Southern Heaven Continent bordered the Seeking Dao Immortal Sect to the north.

• Wang Jia resented Hou Wucai’s rise, but Li Dayuan warned him not to question someone chosen by his lord.
• Lu Qing continued cultivating and used his Divine Consciousness to monitor the Spirit Fields without constantly watching over them.
• Lu Qing traveled to the Star-Dipper-shaped peak and entered the Library Pavilion.
• Lu Qing read free books detailing the Profound Heaven Dao Sect’s seven Main Lineages, their attached peaks, and the vacant Outer Sect chief seat.
• Lu Qing learned that the Nine Heavens Realm had four continents and that the Seeking Dao Immortal Sect lay north of the Southern Heaven Continent.

Lu Qing settled into a quiet life as a Spirit Plant steward at the Profound Heaven Dao Sect while continuing his Golden Core cultivation. Meanwhile, the young Golden Core disciples who had noticed him gathered at Wan Shenyou’s banquet.

• Lu Qing learned about the Nine Heavens’ major sects and how cultivators earned merit points, and he decided his Spirit Plant steward post offered a stable, low-risk life.
• Lu Qing continued studying heaven and earth in seclusion, sensing that he was near another cultivation threshold but still lacked the final insights to break through.
• Thunder and purple lightning rolled over Lu Qing’s mountain during his cultivation, drawing the attention of nearby disciples.
• After the Demonic Cultivators’ uproar, young Golden Core disciples in purple robes arrived at Wan Shenyou’s immortal tower for a banquet.
• Wan Shenyou welcomed Gao Yuan, an Enforcement Lineage disciple, and promised him a taste of the rare wine Drunk for a Thousand Years.

At a Creation Banquet, Gao Yuan asked Wan Shenyou to help locate Lu Qing so he could challenge him on the Phantom Platform. The chapter ended with Lu Qing completing more than a month of cultivation and reaching the Third Golden Core Realm.

• Wan Shenyou introduced Gao Yuan to the banquet guests, who recognized his connection to the Gao Clan and discussed the approaching struggle for the Ten True Inheritances.
• Gao Yuan explained that he wanted to find a Profound Heaven Dao Academy disciple he had meant to challenge after the Demonic Cultivator incident.
• Gao Yuan said he would use the Phantom Platform to equalize their cultivation, and Wan Shenyou agreed to keep watch for the disciple.
• Gao Yuan named Lu Qing, and Wan Shenyou recognized the name.
• Lu Qing finished solidifying his cultivation and crossed into the Third Golden Core Realm.

At a banquet, Wan Shenyou revealed that Lu Qing was the Sword Lineage Chief’s personal disciple, shocking Gao Yuan and the other guests. Gao Yuan abruptly left, while Wan Shenyou wondered whether Lu Qing’s identity was connected to the conflict between the Gao Clan and the Sword Lineage.

• Guests at the banquet discussed Lu Qing and questioned which lineage he had joined.
• Wan Shenyou told Gao Yuan that Lu Qing was a Sword Lineage disciple and the Sword Lineage Chief’s personal disciple.
• Gao Yuan’s companions tried to dismiss Lu Qing’s status, but Gao Yuan cut them off and ended the gathering.
• Gao Yuan departed in a streak of Purple Radiance, and Li Tongxiao led the remaining guests away.
• Wan Shenyou considered Gao Yuan’s unexpected reaction and wondered whether Lu Qing was the key to the Gao Clan and Sword Lineage’s conflict.

Lu Qing sensed that someone had spoken about him and suspected a Trial Path genius had challenged him, then chose to await the sect lectures on Sun-Moon Mountain. White Crane Boy visited and invited him to see its future home at Misty-Wave Lake, which Lu Qing realized was nearby.

• Lu Qing sensed someone speaking his name and reasoned that a Trial Path genius might have challenged him, though the matter seemed settled.
• Lu Qing decided to remain on Sun-Moon Mountain and wait for the sect lectures.
• White Crane Boy arrived, showed Lu Qing the eight-hundred-li lake where it planned to settle, and invited him to visit once its home was finished.
• White Crane Boy told Lu Qing it had been cultivating under White Crane Ancestor and was troubled that it could no longer roam freely.
• After White Crane Boy departed, Lu Qing identified its home as Misty-Wave Lake, near Sun-Moon Mountain.

Gao Yuan explained that he saw Lu Qing as someone who had chosen not to compete for the Great Era, while Lu Qing sensed a passing gaze and continued his cultivation. Three months later, Lu Qing traveled with Wang Chunfeng to attend a lecture at the dojo, where he learned that Xuanyuan Ling was expected to emerge from seclusion.

• Gao Yuan told Li Tongxiao that Lu Qing was not an opponent on their path because he had declined to strive for the Great Era’s Providence.
• Li Tongxiao realized that Lu Qing had avoided the Trial Path and the Great Era’s competition, and felt envy toward his choice.
• Lu Qing sensed a gaze sweep across Sun-Moon Mountain, considered the Dao Sect’s internal conflicts, and returned to cultivation.
• Three months later, Lu Qing received Wang Chunfeng’s reminder about the lecture and departed for the dojo in his Green Leaf Flying Boat.
• Wang Chunfeng invited Lu Qing aboard his Grotto-Heaven treasure boat and explained that Xuanyuan Ling might emerge from seclusion for the lecture.

Lu Qing attended the Dao Sect’s gathering for a sermon and learned about Senior Brother Xuanyuan Ling’s strength and the rules for advancement among the disciples. He found his assigned seat, number twenty-nine, and waited for Master to arrive.

• Lu Qing saw Xuanyuan Ling appear and learned from Wang Chunfeng that Xuanyuan Ling had reached the Primordial Spirit Realm.
• Wang Chunfeng explained the entry assessment and said Xuanyuan Ling had declined advancement because he believed his sword path contained an error, though Master had reserved him a personal disciple position.
• Lu Qing and Wang Chunfeng arrived at the central hall, where Wang explained where the different ranks of disciples sat.
• Lu Qing followed the movement of his token to meditation cushion twenty-nine and sat down.
• While waiting for Master, Lu Qing listened to the disciples’ conversations and matched their names and voices to Wang Chunfeng’s introductions.

Lu Qing listened to Li Luoyang lecture on the sword and gained profound insights that advanced his cultivation to the Fourth Golden Core Realm. He discerned that a seemingly star-cleaving sword-light had severed the constellations’ Destiny, then began deriving the technique within his Dao Heart’s Spirit Platform.

• Nine direct disciples of the Qing generation appeared at the front of the Dao grounds, and Li Luoyang began a lecture focused on the sword.
• Lu Qing immersed himself in Li Luoyang’s teachings and gained a faint trace of Sword Qi in his Golden Core.
• Lu Qing broke through into the Fourth Golden Core Realm but stopped himself from pushing on toward the Fifth because his foundation was not ready.
• Lu Qing witnessed a sword-light that scattered the stars and realized it had severed the constellations’ Destiny and disrupted Heavenly Secrets.
• Lu Qing began imitating and deriving the sword-light within his Dao Heart’s Spirit Platform.

Lu Qing simplified the profound sword form he witnessed during the Dao discourse and learned that it could sever a person’s Fate Allotment. After the disciples awoke, his improved perception revealed an unexpected extra personal disciple.

• Lu Qing recreated the Blood Demon in his Spirit Platform and used the sword light to extinguish the blood cloud of Providence above it.
• Lu Qing realized the sword form severed Fate Allotment rather than merely killing the body, and considered how it might be used outside the discourse.
• Lu Qing continued consolidating his spiritual power while the other disciples remained immersed in enlightenment.
• After more than three months, all the disciples awoke, and Lu Qing noticed an extra meditation cushion among the personal disciples.
• Lu Qing saw that one personal disciple had only recently reached the Golden Core realm and realized he had not been among the disciples he saw before.

During the master’s lecture, Tan Tianci was named the tenth direct disciple, Qing Feng, prompting mixed reactions among the disciples. Lu Qing saw that Tan Tianci possessed great Providence and left before he could be drawn into the tensions surrounding him; the chapter ended as a late Golden Core disciple challenged Qing Feng and a purple-robed young man intervened.

• The master announced that Tan Tianci had become the tenth direct disciple and given the dharma name Qing Feng.
• The nine direct disciples congratulated Qing Feng, while other disciples reacted with silence, confusion, and hostility.
• Lu Qing saw a golden dragon within Qing Feng’s brilliant aura of Providence and decided to leave rather than get involved.
• Lu Qing sent Senior Brother Wang a voice transmission, then departed the hall as disciples outside watched him fly away.
• A late Golden Core disciple asked Qing Feng for guidance, and a purple-robed young man objected that the challenger was much stronger.

After leaving the sect gathering, Lu Qing returned to Sun-Moon Mountain and refined the sword Dao insights he had gained. He began practicing with a sword formed from his Dharma power, ready to test his technique against the clouds and mist.

• Tan Tianci agreed to discuss the Dao with his challengers after Qingchen asked him what he wanted.
• Wang Chunfeng left the hall to avoid getting caught up in the coming conflict, then met Bai Changshou and Liao Bufan outside.
• News that the master had accepted another direct disciple spread to the other main lineages after the gathering ended.
• Three months later, Lu Qing returned to Sun-Moon Mountain and saw that the Five-Element Spirit Rice was nearly ripe and nearby disciples were nearing breakthroughs.
• Lu Qing studied the Fortune-Slaying Sword and formed a three-foot-three-inch blade from his Dharma power.
• Lu Qing raised the manifested sword amid the mountain clouds and mist to test his technique.

Lu Qing tested his Fate Severing sword by cutting the Fate Allotment of clouds across ten thousand miles, turning them into rain and gaining new insight into the technique. The strike drew attention across the Dao Sect, interrupting a Dao debate between Tan Tianci and his challenger as disciples sensed the sword’s power.

• Lu Qing struck the clouds with his sword, severing their Fate Allotment and causing a vast, unseasonal rainstorm.
• Lu Qing realized that the sword could sever the Fate Allotment of cultivators as well as clouds, but warned himself to use it cautiously and practice somewhere uninhabited.
• Lu Qing’s Spirit Sword shattered after the strike, leading him to decide that he needed to find a good sword.
• The rain and thunder drew the attention of Dao Sect disciples and interrupted Tan Tianci and his challenger as they discussed the Dao.
• A disciple sensed the Sword Qi in a raindrop, and others wondered who had wielded the remarkable sword art.

The Sword Lineage disciples drew their swords against the vast rain, and Qingchen realized the sword hidden within it carried three parts of the Master’s true intent. After the rain dispersed, Lu Qing sensed the disturbance but let it go, while the identity of the sword’s wielder remained unknown.

• Sword Lineage disciples abandoned the Dao discussion and joined their sword intent against the rain, drawing the attention of disciples from other peaks.
• Qingchen recognized that the rain concealed a heartless, formless sword and prepared to intervene, but an unseen Senior Brother told him he could not stop it.
• The unseen Senior Brother used his cultivation to seize and dissolve a stream of Sword Qi, explaining that the sword carried three parts of the Master’s true intent.
• Qingchen questioned who had wielded the sword, but the Senior Brother said he did not know and that its wielder was not among them.
• Lu Qing sensed the disturbance as the rain cleared but chose not to investigate, and the disciples praised the rainfall for helping the spirit rice grow.

Lu Qing concealed the Heavenly Secrets after wielding a powerful sword strike, while high-ranking Dao Sect figures discussed his comprehension and the Sword Lineage’s role. Sun Qidao told Li Luoyang that the Demon Land had reappeared in the Four Lands, setting the Law Enforcement branch and Sword Lineage to investigate.

• Lu Qing activated the Great Concealment Art, hiding his Heavenly Secrets from those trying to calculate him.
• Several high-ranking gazes observed the sword strike, and a young man judged that its wielder had gained three parts and lost three parts of his own understanding.
• Sun Qidao appeared before Li Luoyang and learned that the Sword Lineage had completed its task of finding a person of great Fate Allotment.
• Sun Qidao told Li Luoyang that the Demon Land had reappeared in the Four Lands, and that the Law Enforcement branch and Sword Lineage would go there together.
• After several days of cultivation, Lu Qing learned through White Crane Boy’s intelligence sources about the developments outside.

After hearing that a Great Era was approaching, Lu Qing steadied his Dao Heart and used divination to avoid a dangerous route to Misty-Wave Lake. He took a detour through Lingzhi Mountain, where a massive explosion erupted in the distance as he continued on.

• White Crane Boy told Lu Qing that a Great Era was approaching, with rising opportunities, prodigies, and dangers.
• Lu Qing realized that the changing heavens and growing Fate Allotment might affect sects as well as individuals, then reaffirmed his commitment to quiet cultivation.
• After receiving White Crane Boy's invitation, Lu Qing's divination warned that two routes to Misty-Wave Lake carried danger, while the route through Lingzhi Mountain was safe.
• Lu Qing chose the safe detour and collected Immortal Lingzhi as a gift for White Crane Boy.
• As Lu Qing left Lingzhi Mountain, a huge mushroom-shaped gray cloud rose in the distance, and he continued toward Misty-Wave Lake.