Chapter Summaries

Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu met Mu Beiyun and Long Xiyao during the Thousand-Sail Crossing Competition, and Mu Beiyun negotiated to buy their Calyx Flower Boat. The competition began after Zhao Qianyun announced its rules.

• Zhao Qianyun surveyed the competing vessels and began explaining the rules of the competition.
• Mu Beiyun and Long Xiyao approached the Calyx Flower Boat, where Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu greeted them.
• Mu Beiyun offered her Shattered Moon, Falling Frost, Spirit Stones, and a personal handkerchief in exchange for the Calyx Flower Boat.
• Xu Changqing agreed to discuss the transaction after the competition ended.
• Zhao Qianyun announced the fishing and sea-monster hunting stages, then sounded the start of the competition.

Xu Changqing fished in the Storm Domain using wine and the Big-Leaf Grass as bait and tackle while other competitors gained points. After a slow start, he caught several rare fish, including a dazzling golden carp whose identity had not yet been confirmed.

• Xu Changqing steered the Calyx Flower Boat into the Storm Domain, where chaotic currents and hidden reefs endangered the competitors.
• Chu Qiu found a relatively stable fishing spot, and Xu Changqing rigged the Big-Leaf Grass with hooks and poured Supreme-Grade Yellow Rice Wine into the water.
• Other competitors, including Hu Bugui, Li Sancai, Li Xianglin, and Fairy Bei Yun, caught fish while Xu Changqing's lines remained still.
• Xu Changqing pulled up a Dragon-Whiskered Koi after one leaf of the Big-Leaf Grass trembled.
• Xu Changqing wrestled with a strong catch and hauled up two more Dragon-Whiskered Koi and a large, golden-scaled fish.

Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu left the Storm Domain after earning enough fishing points and began hunting water demons in the Turbid Current Belt. Hu Bugui warned Xu Changqing that Zhao Wuji had stolen their fishing spot, damaged their boat, and was heading toward them.

• Xu Changqing called Hu Bugui and Li Sancai to the fishing spot, then took the Calyx Flower Boat toward the hunting area while they continued fishing.
• Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu reviewed the points for hunting demons and entered the Turbid Current Belt, where Chu Qiu killed a Wave-Chasing Shrimp Demon.
• Hu Bugui told Xu Changqing that Zhao Wuji had stolen their spot, caught several Dragon-Whiskered Koi, and reached 60 points.
• Hu Bugui reported that Zhao Wuji had damaged their boat and might disqualify them from the competition.
• Xu Changqing heard that Zhao Wuji was heading their way and angrily vowed to deal with him.

Chu Qiu pretended to be Fairy Bei Yun’s companion, Mo Cha, and agreed to help Zhao Wuji hunt a Thunder Eel King. While Zhao Wuji and Chu Qiu went after the sea monster, Xu Changqing secretly left the Calyx Flower Boat in disguise as Zhurong.

• Chu Qiu and Xu Changqing realized Zhao Wuji had found their fishing spot because of his Thunder Kui Dragon Beast and saw him approach aboard the Thunderclap.
• Chu Qiu pretended to be Mo Cha, Fairy Bei Yun’s companion, and used Zhao Wuji’s interest in her to arrange a hunt for water demons and sea monsters.
• A Thunder Eel King emerged from the sea, and Zhao Wuji offered to share the hunting points while keeping its core for himself.
• Chu Qiu agreed to join Zhao Wuji, claiming to be at Foundation Establishment Perfection, while Xu Changqing secretly departed in the Demon Dragon Water-Evasion Boat disguised as Zhurong.

Xu Changqing waited underwater for a chance to ambush Zhao Wuji while Zhao Wuji and his companions battled the Thunder Eel King. He struck Thunderclap and revealed himself, blasting Zhao Wuji into the water with his Max-Level Blazing Sun Finger.

• Zhao Wuji, Chu Qiu, and Luo Teng used their combined strength to trap the Thunder Eel King and shatter the Thunder Crystal on its forehead.
• As Zhao Wuji prepared to deliver the final blow, Xu Changqing ate a Flamefire Fruit and Scarlet Yang Pill, then attacked Thunderclap from below with a Dragonflame Breath.
• Thunderclap released its stored lightning to form a protective barrier, throwing Luo Teng off balance and alerting the group to an attacker underwater.
• Xu Changqing burst from the water and fired his Max-Level Blazing Sun Finger at Zhao Wuji, Chu Qiu, and Luo Teng.
• Zhao Wuji blocked with his Violet Extreme Heavenly Net, but the golden attack broke through his defense and sent him crashing into the water.

Xu Changqing battered Zhao Wuji and his Thunder Kui Dragon Beast after destroying the Thunderclap’s protective barrier. He left Zhao Wuji struggling against his Crimson Sun Piercing the Sun and secretly doubled its power by feeding his Fire Spiritual Power with Wood Spiritual Power.

• Xu Changqing struck the Thunderclap again, flinging Luo Teng into the water and driving Chu Qiu to flee.
• Zhao Wuji emerged riding a Thunder Kui Dragon Beast cub and prepared to attack Xu Changqing with a lightning spear.
• The Thunderclap cracked apart and sank, enraging Zhao Wuji and giving Xu Changqing an opening.
• Xu Changqing engulfed Zhao Wuji and the beast in Crimson Sun Piercing the Sun, overcoming their lightning shield and badly burning them.
• Xu Changqing secretly fed his Fire Spiritual Power with Wood Spiritual Power, doubling the attack’s strength.

Xu Changqing defeated Zhao Wuji, destroyed the Thunderclap, and returned to Profound Heart City with Chu Qiu. Their rare fish and monster trophies earned them first place in the Thousand-Sail Crossing Competition.

• Xu Changqing overwhelmed Zhao Wuji with his fire qi, spared him, and destroyed the Thunderclap, forcing Zhao Wuji and Luo Teng to abandon the competition and return to their Immortal Sect.
• Xu Changqing found the Thunder Eel King dead while the Demon Dragon Water-Evasion Boat began devouring the damaged Thunderclap, then reunited with Chu Qiu after hiding underwater.
• Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu collected the Thunder Eel King and other water demon corpses before sailing back aboard the Calyx Flower Boat.
• Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu met Mu Beiyun and Long Xiyao on the way back, then presented their rare fish and monster trophies at Profound Heart City's harbor.
• Zhao Qianyun confirmed their points and announced that Chu Qiu and Xu Changqing had taken first place in the Thousand-Sail Crossing Competition.

After winning the competition, Xu Changqing negotiated a deal with Zhao Qianyun to operate the Spirit-Gathering Abyss and share its profits with the City Lord’s Manor. He then went to the Sea Demon Pavilion, where he descended with Ming Zhu to awaken his Water Spirit Root using the Water Spirit Origin Crystal.

• Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu divided their competition rewards, and Chu Qiu advised against reporting the Spirit-Gathering Abyss to the Immortal Sect.
• Zhao Qianyun offered the City Lord’s Manor’s help in exchange for thirty percent of the Abyss’s profits, and Xu Changqing signed a Spirit Talisman Contract.
• Xu Changqing celebrated at the Sea Demon Pavilion with Hu Bugui and Li Sancai, then went with them to the Merfolk Palace.
• Xu Changqing chose Ming Zhu again and had her take him down to eight hundred meters beneath the sea.
• Xu Changqing took out the Water Spirit Origin Crystal, which melted into his palm and began seeping into his body.

At a depth of eight hundred meters, Xu Changqing completed his Water Spirit Root and balanced it with his other four Spirit Roots, achieving Five-Element Mutual Generation. Ming Zhu fainted after exhausting her Water Spiritual Power, while Xu Changqing examined the profound changes to his body and cultivation.

• Xu Changqing absorbed the Water Spirit Origin Crystal as Ming Zhu transferred Water Spiritual Power to him, and his Wood Spiritual Power helped tame the crystal's biting chill.
• Xu Changqing's Fire Spirit Root reacted to the growing Water Qi, but Wood Spiritual Power balanced water and fire while the Earth and Metal Spirit Roots adapted.
• Xu Changqing formed the Water Spirit Root, completing the cycle among all five elements and allowing him to sense and draw in the surrounding seawater's Water Qi.
• Ming Zhu exhausted her Water Spiritual Power and fainted, and Xu Changqing held her while sensing his newly transformed body.
• Xu Changqing discovered that his five organs and dantian had changed through Five-Element Completion, gaining stronger adaptation and a complete Five-Element Mutual Generation cycle.

Xu Changqing left Ming Zhu recovering in the water and discussed a possible alliance with mermaid princess Xuan Zhu, offering a Water Spirit Fruit as a betrothal gift. Later, sensing that someone was watching him, he entered a trading house to look for cultivation techniques.

• Xu Changqing learned from Xuan Zhu that his bonded cultivation with Ming Zhu had lasted two days and that his fellow disciples had already left.
• Xu Changqing offered Xuan Zhu a Water Spirit Fruit and explained that he wanted her help as an agent in Profound Heart City; she agreed to ask her imperial father and took his Communication Talisman.
• Xu Changqing sensed someone watching him as he headed toward the Flood Dragon Suppression Tower, but could not identify the watcher.
• Xu Changqing asked a trading house attendant for High Grade metal- and water-attribute techniques, and she led him to a Memory Turtle that stored cultivation techniques and spells.

Xu Changqing chose water- and metal-attribute techniques and spells, then returned to the Flood Dragon Suppression Tower after sensing an unseen watcher. He discovered that the five-element cycle had transformed his Portable Space, which had grown and begun producing richer spiritual energy, and was stunned by changes to his Spirit Rice.

• Xu Changqing used the Memory Turtle to learn water- and metal-attribute techniques and spells, choosing the Soft Water Formula, Entwining Silk Water, Gold-Carving Formula, and Metal Blade Art.
• After leaving the trading hall, Xu Changqing felt someone watching him but found no trace of them and hurried to the Flood Dragon Suppression Tower.
• Xu Changqing met Zhao Ziyue and Hu Bugui, learned Zhao Ziyue had spent days fishing in the Storm Domain, and said they would return to the Immortal Sect the next day.
• Xu Changqing entered his Portable Space and saw that its five-element cycle had created metalstone, a spirit lake, spirit rain, and more efficient spiritual qi circulation.
• Xu Changqing saw the space expand from one hundred mu to one hundred and twenty mu, then stared in shock at the transformed Spirit Rice.

Xu Changqing discovered that his Five-Element Spiritual Root Perfection had triggered major mutations in two kinds of spirit rice, then harvested them and returned from the Portable Space. After Chu Qiu confirmed his Water Spirit Root awakening, the two prepared to leave for the Immortal Sect the next day.

• Xu Changqing found that his Mutated Child Rice had become Foundation-Firming Rich-Soil Rice and his Gold Rice Spirit-Gathering Rice had become Five-Element Circulating Rice, while his other transplanted spirit plants showed no major changes.
• Xu Changqing harvested both kinds of rice, gaining 15,500 days of lifespan and bringing his remaining lifespan to 783 years.
• Xu Changqing left the Portable Space and met Chu Qiu, who guessed he had awakened a Water Spirit Root by using the Sea Demon Pavilion's spiritual qi.
• Xu Changqing thanked Chu Qiu and suggested going to the Sea Demon Pavilion again, but Chu Qiu declined and advised him not to get carried away with joining registries.
• Chu Qiu told Xu Changqing they would return to the Immortal Sect the next day and prepare for the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm, and Xu Changqing agreed.

Xu Changqing bought Sea Rice in Profound Heart City, then met Long Xiyao and Mu Beiyun to complete their transaction for the Calyx Flower Boat. After taking the boat, Mu Beiyun asked when they would go on their date.

• Xu Changqing compared local Spirit Rice prices and bought five hundred catties of unhulled Sea Rice to try cultivating it.
• Xu Changqing sensed someone watching him near the Demon-Splitting Market, then met Long Chenyuan, who led him to Long Xiyao and Mu Beiyun.
• Xu Changqing left Hu Bugui, Han Su, and Li Xianglin to visit Longxi Pavilion with Long Chenyuan.
• Mu Beiyun gave Xu Changqing ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, Shattered Moon, Falling Frost, and her handkerchief in exchange for the Calyx Flower Boat.
• Mu Beiyun asked Xu Changqing when they were going on their date.

Xu Changqing rejected Mu Beiyun’s advances and gave her handkerchief to Chu Qiu, then tested his new flying vessel. The group left Profound Heart City the next morning, declining Zhao Qianyun’s offer to return to Dreamlike Island.

• Xu Changqing told Mu Beiyun he was not interested in her and explained that Chu Qiu wanted her handkerchief; she asked his name before he left Longxi Pavilion.
• Xu Changqing reunited with Hu Bugui and the others at Demon-Splitting Market, where they bought local goods before returning to the Flood Dragon Suppression Tower.
• Xu Changqing gave Mu Beiyun’s handkerchief to Chu Qiu and kept Shattered Moon, Falling Frost and ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones as agreed.
• Xu Changqing imprinted Shattered Moon, Falling Frost with his Spiritual Sense and blood, then examined its abilities as a new mode of transport.
• Zhao Qianyun saw Xu Changqing, Chu Qiu, and the others off with local specialties and offered them seven days to return to Dreamlike Island; they declined and left for the Immortal Sect.

Xu Changqing received Xuan Zhu’s news that her imperial father wanted to meet him, then hurried back to the Immortal Sect after a swarm of One-Horned Flying Insects attacked his ship. He suspected Rong Long had sent the insects and decided to seek out Zhu Fuxian.

• Xuan Zhu told Xu Changqing that her father wanted to meet him, but Xu said he had already left Profound Heart City.
• A swarm of One-Horned Flying Insects caught up with Shattered Moon, Falling Frost and began to encircle it.
• Xu Changqing identified the insects and accelerated the ship with its special effect, escaping the swarm and reaching the Immortal Sect.
• Xu Changqing told Chu Qiu and the others that he had become a Wood Spirit Root Insect Cultivator after obtaining the Vein-Reversing Worm Mother.
• Xu Changqing suspected Rong Long had watched him in Profound Heart City and controlled the swarm, so he planned to see Zhu Fuxian.

Xu Changqing learned from Zhu Fuxian that Rong Long was likely testing him to confirm whether he possessed the Inverted-Vein Dragon-Transformed Insect Matriarch, and that Dreamlike Island was a trap involving Heart Insects. He returned to his Spirit Fields, resolved to stay safe until Rong Long was captured, and shared a lavish meal with his spirit pets.

• Xu Changqing told Zhu Fuxian about his journey, his awakened Water Spirit Root, and the One-Horned Flying Insect attack, and Zhu Fuxian suspected Rong Long was testing him for signs of the Inverted-Vein Dragon-Transformed Insect Matriarch.
• Zhu Fuxian explained that Dreamlike Island, also called Shadow Spirit Terrace, created Heart Insects that fed on cultivators' desires, and that Rong Long was likely targeting them.
• Xu Changqing decided not to leave the Immortal Sect until Rong Long was captured and left his Rogue Cultivator Market transactions to Lin An.
• Xu Changqing returned to his Spirit Fields, cleared the weeds with his Five-Element Spirit Root, and considered putting Puppet Technique on the agenda.
• Xu Changqing prepared a seafood feast and shared it with Wangwang, the Pearl Chicken, and the five Fire Crows.

Xu Changqing planted and rapidly matured autumn crops in his five mu of fields, then considered how to improve the spiritual energy and irrigation inside his Portable Space. At the Spirit Field Core, he met Zhao Ying and praised the name of Zhao’s infant son, Zhao Mingyuan.

• Xu Changqing planned his autumn crops, fed his spirit animals, and planted five mu of fields, using his techniques to mature the seedlings quickly.
• Xu Changqing noted that cultivation had drained his Spiritual Power and wondered how five-element mana might change after reaching the Golden Core Realm.
• Xu Changqing inspected the twenty mu of Spirit Fields inside his Portable Space and considered installing a Spirit-Gathering Array and learning the Minor Cloud-Rain Art.
• Xu Changqing flew to the Spirit Field Core while waiting for Hu Bugui to bring manure.
• Xu Changqing met Zhao Ying, learned that his son was half a year old and named Zhao Mingyuan, and praised the name as the baby giggled.

Xu Changqing reported the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm participation figures to Flower Elder and received a token to exchange for a water-attributed cultivation method or spell after awakening a Water Spirit Root. Flower Elder also told him Red Maple Valley had been awarded to him, and Xu Changqing planned to inspect the market before deciding where to move.

• Xu Changqing saw that new tasks had sharply increased demand for Yang-Pole Medicinal Materials and decided to wait before acting.
• Xu Changqing told Flower Elder that fewer than thirty percent of the Spirit Fields were willing to enter the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm and explained how he had awakened a Water Spirit Root.
• Flower Elder gave Xu Changqing a token that let him exchange for one cultivation method or spell at Water-Control Pavilion for free.
• Flower Elder told Xu Changqing that the Rong Family and Zhang Family had withdrawn from the contest for Red Maple Valley, leaving its ownership to him.
• Xu Changqing decided he would likely wait until winter or the New Year to move his Spirit Fields, then received Hu Bugui's message asking him to buy ingredients at Red Maple Valley Market.

Xu Changqing took advantage of Red Maple Valley’s move to stock up on supplies, then gave Hu Bugui ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to invest in spirit beasts ahead of the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm. Hu Bugui accepted the money and enthusiastically drank Xu Changqing’s Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice Wine.

• Xu Changqing found that Red Maple Valley’s buildings had mostly been moved away, leaving its five major trading points and quieter streets behind.
• At the Farmer's Heart Society, Lu Yuanyuan offered to cover Xu Changqing’s purchases, and he took several heaps of ingredients until she stopped insisting he take more.
• Xu Changqing bought supplies at the other trading points, where moving sales had lowered prices.
• Over lunch, Hu Bugui told Xu Changqing that spirit beasts with metal and fire attributes had risen in price while other types had become cheaper.
• Xu Changqing gave Hu Bugui ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to buy spirit beasts, and Hu Bugui thanked him by drinking cup after cup of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice Wine.

Xu Changqing tested his newly mastered Gentle Water Formula in his Portable Space, discovered Tainted Spirit Water beneath two spirit plants, and named the space and its lake Dongting. After enjoying his improved swimming, he returned home and prepared to visit the Water-Control Pavilion.

• Xu Changqing entered his Portable Space and saw that the Foundation-Firming Rich-Soil Rice was close to maturing.
• He used the Gentle Water Formula to sense water sources and found Tainted Spirit Water beneath the Spatial Earth-Origin Fruit Tree and Earth-Eroding Brown-Glow Mutated Rice.
• Xu Changqing reinforced the soil around the Tainted Spirit Water and decided to name both his Portable Space and its lake Dongting.
• He swam through the lake with newfound ease, chasing the Dragonfish before leaving the space.
• Xu Changqing completed his morning chores, then told Wangwang and Cluck-Cluck he was going to the Water-Control Pavilion.