Chapter Summaries

Xu Changqing obtained the Grand Cloud-Rain Art despite being advised to learn its simpler counterpart first, then began studying it at home. As he considered brewing wine to aid his progress, strange three-colored clouds appeared over the Water-Control Pavilion, and his Spiritual Roots reacted to them.

• Xu Changqing arrived at the Water-Control Pavilion and learned that survivors of the ruined Nine-Bend Sect had joined the Dongting Immortal Sect as Formal Disciples.
• Xu Changqing redeemed the Grand Cloud-Rain Art without first learning the Minor Cloud-Rain Art.
• Xu Changqing noticed Lan Tian meeting Zhao Qianyuan and introducing their companions to one another.
• Xu Changqing studied the Grand Cloud-Rain Art beneath the Poplar Tree and realized its complexity would make learning it slow.
• Xu Changqing sensed an oppressive change in the air, saw three-colored clouds spreading above the Water-Control Pavilion, and watched his Metal, Water, and Wood Spiritual Roots react.

Xu Changqing and Li Sancai rushed to Water-Control Pavilion, where Li Lingbi prepared to undergo a tribulation and condense an Earth-Grade Golden Core. As a three-colored lightning pillar descended toward him, the gathered disciples watched to see whether he would survive.

• Li Sancai summoned Xu Changqing to Water-Control Pavilion after a powerful disturbance began there.
• Xu Changqing and Li Sancai flew toward Black Lake and saw the Ten-Thousand Fish Formation activate as the surrounding spiritual energy and danger intensified.
• Onlookers identified the strange lightning as Wither-and-Bloom Frost-Edge Thunder, and Li Sancai concluded that Li Lingbi was breaking through.
• Li Lingbi rose above Water-Control Pavilion equipped with robes, talismans, pills, and treasures to protect himself during the tribulation.
• Qin Baili, Dantai Yuanyu, Qiu Hong, and other core disciples arrived to witness the breakthrough.
• A massive three-colored lightning pillar burst from a rift in the sky and struck toward Li Lingbi.

Li Lingbi endured the first bolt of Turbid Lightning with the help of his artifacts and treasures, but the next bolt became three elemental snakes that attacked him together. He was left wounded, frozen, and poisoned as the observers feared he might not survive the final test.

• Li Lingbi’s Water-Control Pavilion and layered protections weakened the first bolt of Turbid Lightning, while his Spirit Silkworm Robe, Emerald Jade Gold-Wrapped Ring, and Firefly Jade Marrow Pendant helped him survive it.
• Xu Changqing watched in shock as Li Lingbi blocked the first bolt, then realized two stronger bolts remained because Li Lingbi had Triple Spirit Roots.
• The second bolt transformed into golden, water, and wood snakes, and the golden snake shattered Li Lingbi’s mirror shield and wounded his left shoulder.
• The water snake pierced Li Lingbi’s right arm with ice needles and coiled around his waist, while his pendant began thawing his frozen meridians.
• The wood snake struck Li Lingbi’s unhealed wound with its poisonous tail, and the poison overcame the Wood Spirit Stone’s healing as the onlookers worried about his survival.

Li Lingbi endured the second bolt of Turbid Lightning, and his three Spiritual Roots grew more harmonious as his Golden Core began to form. A Three-Calamity Thunder Beast emerged from the tribulation clouds and launched its final assault on him.

• Li Lingbi used two talismans to stabilize his Spiritual Roots and heal his body while the three lightning snakes attacked him.
• Li Lingbi survived the second bolt of Turbid Lightning, and a Golden Core formed in his qi sea with traces of gold, water, and wood.
• The tribulation clouds combined into a gray-black vortex, and the Ten-Thousand Fish Formation restored the damaged Water-Control Pavilion and replenished Li Lingbi.
• A Three-Calamity Thunder Beast formed from the lightning pillar, with heads representing metal, water, and wood.
• The Three-Calamity Thunder Beast attacked Li Lingbi with golden blades, freezing breath, and poisonous vines.

Li Lingbi endured the Three-Calamity Thunder Beast’s third wave of Turbid Lightning with his Thousand Carp Riverfall Art and a Profound Origin Golden Light Talisman while waiting for the Soaring Serpent to emerge. With the beast sharing the burden, he condensed a Glazed Golden Core and gained the power to split Black Lake and sever the Thunder Beast’s water head.

• Li Lingbi used golden carp and three layers of water curtains to resist the Three-Calamity Thunder Beast’s blades, frigid breath, and venom, then relied on the Profound Origin Golden Light Talisman to withstand its assault.
• The Soaring Serpent burst through the ice beneath the Water-Control Pavilion and blew away the Thunder Beast’s attacks with a yellow gale.
• Li Lingbi took advantage of the Soaring Serpent’s help to absorb and temper energy until his pill body became a three-colored Glazed Golden Core.
• Li Lingbi’s Golden Core linked with the outside Spirit Vein and heaven and earth, thinning the Tribulation Clouds and bringing down spiritual rain.
• Li Lingbi swept his hand through the air, splitting Black Lake and severing the Three-Calamity Thunder Beast’s water head.

Li Lingbi formed a Glazed Golden Core and displayed the power of his likely awakened River-Splitting Water-Dividing ability. After Mo Qiushui restrained the Soaring Serpent, Li Lingbi thanked his master and invited his friends to the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm, while his fellow disciples showered him with gifts.

• Li Lingbi's River-Splitting Water-Dividing ability severed one of the Three-Calamity Thunder Beast's water heads, and the Formal Disciples and core disciples reacted with awe and concern.
• Li Lingbi formed his Glazed Golden Core, dispersing the Tribulation Clouds and driving off the wounded Three-Calamity Thunder Beast.
• The Soaring Serpent attacked Li Lingbi, but Mo Qiushui bound it with spirit talismans, prompting Li Lingbi to thank his master for the lesson.
• Li Lingbi invited Xu Changqing and Li Sancai to join him in the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm; Xu Changqing declined, preferring to cultivate spirit plants.
• Qin Baili, Qiu Hong, and other disciples congratulated Li Lingbi and presented him with magical artifacts, talismans, and other treasures.

Xu Changqing used his attribute panel to master the Puppet Technique and examined Fortress before inscribing new runes on its core. He gave Fortress a gift from the Law of Wood, and his attribute panel gained another art.

• Xu Changqing resolved to strengthen himself and gather information from Li Lingbi about Five-Element Spirit Root breakthroughs.
• After studying Puppet Art Runes, Xu Changqing spent lifespan to master the Puppet Technique and gained the ability to create advanced puppets and rune arrays.
• Xu Changqing decided to make Fortress his first puppet so it could handle chores and care for his animals.
• Xu Changqing examined Fortress's core and concluded that its soul was clean, possibly changed by the Poplar Tree Spirit.
• Xu Changqing inscribed new runes on Fortress to remove flaws that could let its former master control it, drawing a gift from the Law of Wood.

Xu Changqing advanced Rune Craft to Masterful Hand, learned to draw talismans in midair, and enjoyed a quiet evening at home. Two days later, he traveled with Hu Bugui, Zhao Ziyue, and Lin An to the Inspiration Platform to enter the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm.

• Xu Changqing spent 30 years of lifespan upgrading Rune Craft to Masterful Hand and discovered that the Fortress had become more intelligent.
• Xu Changqing drew an Illumination Talisman in midair, then found that it lasted less than five breaths without a medium.
• Xu Changqing spent the evening relaxing outside his home, watching the night sky and drinking Supreme-Grade Yellow Rice Wine.
• Two days later, Xu Changqing rode Shattered Moon, Falling Frost with Hu Bugui, Zhao Ziyue, and Lin An to the Inspiration Platform for long-distance teleportation.
• Xu Changqing examined the Teleportation Array and recognized its defensive, positioning, and core formation layers.

Xu Changqing and his companions set up a stall near the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm’s Teleportation Array, selling premium supplies in discounted bundles. After Ruo Qunshuang revealed she planned to enter the realm alone, Xu Changqing advised her to find a team, and Li Lingbi’s praise of his supreme-grade spirit plants brought a rush of new customers.

• Hu Bugui, Xu Changqing, Zhao Ziyue, and Lin An divided their duties and opened a stall, with Xu Changqing advertising bundled supplies and handing out watermelon.
• Disciples gathered to inspect the goods, and Xu Changqing sold pills, talismans, and medicinal herbs in several packages.
• Ruo Qunshuang told Xu Changqing that Zhao Qianyuan had teamed up with Lan Tian and Mo Cha, and that she wanted to enter the Secret Realm to grow stronger and uncover the truth about her family and companions’ deaths.
• Xu Changqing advised Ruo Qunshuang to find a team and gave her a watermelon, urging her not to enter the Secret Realm alone.
• Qin Baili and other core disciples arrived, and Li Lingbi explained that Xu Changqing’s spirit plants were all supreme grade.
• More disciples rushed to buy the packages after hearing Li Lingbi’s praise.

Xu Changqing and his companions counted and divided the first day's profits from their stall, then he studied Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon and learned that he needed Dragon Bloodline to advance it. He went to Dongting Lake in his Portable Space and used Separation Technique on a Dragonfish.

• Xu Changqing and the others counted 1,280 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in earnings and discussed their sales and future stock.
• Xu Changqing divided the profits, giving Lin An, Hu Bugui, and Zhao Ziyue their shares.
• Xu Changqing went to the cultivation room and discovered the system could not raise Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon because he lacked Dragon Bloodline.
• Xu Changqing entered his Portable Space, lifted a Dragonfish from Dongting Lake, and used Separation Technique on it.

Xu Changqing absorbed the dragonfish’s essence blood and gained the first transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon. Later, he learned that Rong Long had been captured and hurried to meet Zhu Fuxian.

• Xu Changqing stripped the dragonfish of its Dragon Bloodline, absorbed its essence blood, and gained Dragonfish Transformation.
• Xu Changqing tested his new underwater movement and breathing abilities, then considered seeking other creatures with Dragon Bloodlines.
• Xu Changqing returned to the Inspiration Platform, where Ruo Qunshuang told him the Nine-Bend Sect had been destroyed by cracks and Tainted Spirit Water.
• The Flower Elder told Xu Changqing that the Grain Lord wanted to see him because Rong Long had been caught.
• Xu Changqing left Lin An in charge of the stall and flew toward Zhu Fuxian’s Spirit Fields.

Xu Changqing accompanied Zhu Fuxian to Thick Earth Peak to see Rong Long, discovering that the Immortal Peak was formed to suppress Mysterious Yellow Qi leaking from a vein of Mysterious Yellow Mother Ore. They reached the Punishment Hall, where Rong Long was already awaiting public trial.

• Xu Changqing arrived at Zhu Fuxian's home, and Zhu Fuxian invited him to the Punishment Hall to see Rong Long.
• Zhu Fuxian took Xu Changqing by shuttle to Thick Earth Peak and explained that it suppressed Mysterious Yellow Qi leaking from a deep vein of Mysterious Yellow Mother Ore.
• Zhu Fuxian used his Spirit Fields token to guide them through the air-current vortices, then shielded Xu Changqing from the peak's crushing pressure.
• Xu Changqing asked why the Punishment Hall had law-enforcement disciples with different Spiritual Roots, and Zhu Fuxian explained that they prevented Earth Spirit Roots from dominating.
• Xu Changqing and Zhu Fuxian reached the Punishment Hall's cave and found Rong Long on the public trial platform.

At Rong Long’s public judgment, Huang Yue and Su Wan questioned him about the Vein-Reversing Worm Mother and Spirit-Eroding Fungus King, but he refused to explain and defied the threat of the Soul-Seizing Art. A mysterious lament then shook the entire Heavenly Origin Realm as a golden band of light broke apart in the sky, leaving Xu Changqing and the others to realize the disturbance came from the Azuretide Sea Region.

• Huang Yue accused Rong Long of secretly raising a Vein-Reversing Worm Mother and destroying a Spirit Vein, while Rong Long said he had gambled everything to escape the limits of his low-grade Golden Core.
• Su Wan questioned Rong Long about the Spirit-Eroding Fungus King, and Huang Yue and Su Wan accused him of concealing the cause of both disasters.
• Rong Long laughed at the threat of the Soul-Seizing Art and said he no longer cared whether his actions harmed the Rong Family.
• Thick Earth Peak and the entire Heavenly Origin Realm trembled as a lament struck directly into everyone’s minds and disrupted their spiritual energy.
• Xu Changqing and the others saw a distant golden band of light collapse amid crimson lightning, and those present identified the direction as the Azuretide Sea Region.

After a mysterious disturbance in the Azuretide Sea Region changed cultivators’ Spiritual Roots, Xu Changqing and his companions remained in the dark while their stall earned nearly one hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in seven days. They divided the profits, and Zhao Ziyue declared that anything in the world could be fished for.

• Bamboo Grain Lord connected Rong Long’s strange behavior to the Azuretide Sea Region, and the Punishment Hall prepared to use the Soul-Seizing Art.
• After a golden band of light faded, Water Qi surged and more cultivators awakened Water Spirit Roots or improved their Wood Spirit Root cultivation.
• At the Inspiration Platform, Xu Changqing told Hu Bugui, Zhao Ziyue, and Lin An that he knew no details about the disturbance, while Ruo Qunshuang recalled a similar event at the Nine-Bend Sect.
• Xu Changqing and his companions counted nearly one hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones earned from their stall and divided the profits among themselves and Bai Xiaotian.
• Hu Bugui planned to buy land and spirit beasts, Zhao Ziyue planned to buy fishing gear, and Zhao Ziyue declared that all things could be fished for.

Xu Changqing reached Foundation Establishment Perfection by cultivating with the five kinds of Qi in his spirit fields. He began refining a Bone Sword Pellet and planned to develop a weapon that could unleash many flying swords.

• Xu Changqing circulated the five kinds of Qi through his organs, merging their spiritual powers and raising his cultivation to Foundation Establishment Perfection.
• Xu Changqing decided to delay forming a Golden Core and outlined a different profession for each of his five Spiritual Roots.
• Xu Changqing erased the previous owner's Spiritual Sense imprint on the Bone Sword Pellet and bound it to himself with his blood and Spiritual Sense.
• Xu Changqing tested the Sword Pellet, which released increasing numbers of strands of White Sword Qi.
• Xu Changqing thought of Qin Baili's flying-sword-storing sunflower and planned to create his own artifact using multiple Sword Pellets.

Xu Changqing gained a new water-control technique called Autumn Dew while watching the first autumn rain. At the Inspiration Platform, Mo Cha and Lan Tian returned from the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm with Zhao Qianyuan’s corpse and warned that mysterious people were inside.

• Xu Changqing drew water from the autumn rain, refined it with golden qi into icy needles, named the move Autumn Dew, and learned to move through pooled water without getting wet.
• Xu Changqing met Hu Bugui, Zhao Ziyue, and Lin An at the Inspiration Platform, where they joked about the matchmaking gathering and discussed Zhao Ying.
• Mo Cha and Lan Tian arrived from the Secret Realm with Zhao Qianyuan’s corpse, and the crowd noticed Mo Cha had lost an arm.
• Lan Tian said mysterious people had attacked him, Mo Cha, and Zhao Qianyuan while they explored deeper in the Secret Realm.
• Ruo Qunshuang mourned Zhao Qianyuan, while Zhao Ziyue reasoned that the sect’s strongest cultivators were likely still alive; Xu Changqing felt fortunate he had not entered the Secret Realm.

After Ruo Qunshuang visited Xu Changqing to trade two Earth Grade Nine-Bend Sect techniques for steady cultivation resources, they negotiated a twenty-year arrangement. The chapter ended with Xu Changqing proposing a Blood Talisman Contract.

• Xu Changqing noticed Ruo Qunshuang approaching his Spirit Fields and invited her into his home.
• Ruo Qunshuang asked Xu Changqing for a long-term supply of cultivation resources and offered the Nine-Bend Tidebirth Art and Sea-Covering Seal in exchange.
• Ruo Qunshuang explained that her father and senior brother had died and that she needed to grow stronger to avenge them.
• Xu Changqing offered to provide her with resources for twenty years if the jade slips were genuine.
• Ruo Qunshuang accepted the twenty-year term after briefly hesitating, and Xu Changqing proposed signing a Blood Talisman Contract.

After receiving Earth Grade water cultivation arts and spells from Ruo Qunshuang, Xu Changqing began crafting a new spirit artifact inspired by Qin Baili’s Sunflower Heart Sword Nest. He completed a sunflower-crowned gourd weapon and tested it in his Portable Space, where it spun rapidly and spat blue fire.

• Xu Changqing examined the Nine-Bend Tidebirth Art and Sea-Covering Seal that Ruo Qunshuang had given him, and recognized their value as Earth Grade techniques.
• Xu Changqing went to his refining room to create an attack weapon combining the Jade-Green Mini Gourd and the sunflower Zhang Su had given him.
• Xu Changqing refined the Mini Gourd into a Geng Metal Gourd Sword Core and shaped the sunflower into a miniature Sunflower Heart Sword Nest with thirty-six sword grooves.
• Xu Changqing joined the six sections of the Sword Nest around the gourd, added runes, and completed the new spirit artifact.
• Xu Changqing tested the weapon in his Portable Space, where its spinning Sword Nest filled the Sword Pellets with Geng Metal Sword Qi and began spitting blue fire.

Xu Changqing completed and named his new artifact Sword Nest No. 1, then prepared his home for Li Sancai and the others’ visit. Qin Baili and Qiu Su arrived with the group, eager to meet him and try his cooking.

• Xu Changqing tested Sword Nest No. 1, recalling its thirty-six Sword Pellets and confirming its rapid-fire attacks consumed about one-tenth of his Metal Spiritual Power per use.
• Xu Changqing received Li Sancai’s message that the group would visit and moved his refining and alchemy equipment into his Portable Space to hide his work.
• Xu Changqing prepared a meal of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice, home-style dishes, and Spirit Rice Wine for his guests.
• Qin Baili and the others flew to Xu Changqing’s Spirit Fields, where they praised the quality of his crops and anticipated his food and wine.
• Xu Changqing welcomed the group at the gate of his stone house.

Xu Changqing hosted Qin Baili, Qiu Su, and the others for a meal, impressing them with his spiritual dishes and extraordinary Spirit Rice Wine. Their gathering ended with Li Lingbi confirming that someone had watched them in the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm.

• Qin Baili introduced his junior sister Qiu Su to Xu Changqing before the group entered his stone house for a meal.
• Xu Changqing served spiritual dishes and Spirit Rice Wine, and Qin Baili, Li Lingbi, and Qiu Su praised his brewing skill.
• Xu Changqing credited the Immortal Sect and his fellow disciples for his safe life, moving the gathered cultivators.
• Chu Qiu asked about the attack on Mo Cha, Lan Tian, and Zhao Qianyuan, and the group learned they had been attacked at the Yellow Springs Ruined Hall.
• Li Lingbi said he had sensed someone watching the group from the shadows as they left the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm.