Chapter Summaries

Xu Changqing reunited with Zhu Fuxian and learned that he had found no way to improve his chances of surviving his Nascent Soul tribulation. After drinking with him, Xu Changqing returned home and reflected to Ruo Qunshuang on how familiar people and things gradually disappeared.

• Pei Mo warned Xu Changqing not to get involved in danger, then left for the Central Region with wine from Xu Changqing.
• Xu Changqing visited the Spirit Fields where he used to live and saw a new female disciple farming there.
• Xu Changqing reunited with Zhu Fuxian, told him about his Dao companion Ruo Qunshuang, and asked whether he had found a way to face his tribulation.
• Zhu Fuxian said he had found no solution and explained that the Nascent Soul tribulation tested comprehension of laws and the divine soul, leaving him with less than even odds.
• Xu Changqing drank and talked with Zhu Fuxian until night, then returned to Ruo Qunshuang and reflected on the gradual loss of familiar people and things.

Xu Changqing spent time with Ruo Qunshuang and Little Linglong, whose water affinity began to awaken, before Bei Qingtang summoned him to Azurewood Peak. There, Zhou Yan thanked him for refusing to marry into Su Tiantian’s family and offered him the year’s time in the Life Pool.

• Xu Changqing planted spirit crops and cultivated the fields while Ruo Qunshuang and Little Linglong watched.
• Little Linglong ran swiftly through the spirit rain, revealing a likely affinity for water alongside her presumed ice talent.
• Bei Qingtang summoned Xu Changqing to Azurewood Peak to soak in the Life Pool.
• Xu Changqing met Bei Qingtang, Zhou Yan, and Su Tiantian, and explained how the Medicine Fairy had proposed he marry into Su Tiantian’s family.
• Zhou Yan thanked Xu Changqing for refusing the marriage and offered him all of this year’s time in the Life Pool.

Xu Changqing entered the Life Pool and absorbed its dense Life Force, using the Four Seasons Fruit to accelerate his cultivation. He broke through to the Middle Golden Core Realm and stabilized his new realm.

• Bei Qingtang led Xu Changqing to the Life Pool after Zhou Yan gave him three days and she secured seven more.
• Xu Changqing met Mu Ning at the entrance, and she opened the Life Pool before he entered.
• Xu Changqing descended about five hundred meters into the pool, where Divine Sense was heavily suppressed.
• Xu Changqing ate the Four Seasons Fruit and absorbed the surrounding Life Force with the help of his Water and Wood Spirit Roots.
• Xu Changqing's Golden Core grew, his magical power surged through cycles of Five-Element Mutual Generation, and he reached the Middle Golden Core Realm.

Xu Changqing spent ten days cultivating in the Life Pool, greatly strengthening his cultivation and spirit plants, then emerged one tribulation away from Golden Core. He chose to pursue an Earth-Grade Golden Core while Mu Ning recovered and Azurewood Peak remained embroiled in trouble over Su Tiantian.

• Xu Changqing cultivated in the Life Pool, bringing his realm close to Golden Core and causing the Fortune-Breeding Prolific-Seed Mother Rice and Three-Spirit Sacred Tree to grow rapidly.
• Bei Qingtang returned and found Mu Ning growing weak while guarding the Life Pool; she told Mu Ning that Second Junior Brother and Su Tiantian had moved in together, causing turmoil on Azurewood Peak.
• Bei Qingtang and Mu Ning agreed not to call Xu Changqing out early, and Mu Ning continued holding on as Bei Qingtang checked on her over the next three days.
• Xu Changqing emerged from the Life Pool and told Bei Qingtang, Qin Ye, Gu Qiao, and Mu Ning that he was one tribulation away from Golden Core.
• Mu Ning closed the Life Pool entrance and began recovering, while Bei Qingtang offered to arrange Xu Changqing's tribulation on Azurewood Peak.
• Xu Changqing told Qin Ye that he had chosen to form an Earth-Grade Golden Core.

Xu Changqing returned to Red Maple Valley after receiving a Phoenix Feather and reunited with Ruo Qunshuang and Little Linglong. As he played with Little Linglong, a surge of Water Qi gathered around the second-floor bedroom, leaving the cause unclear.

• Bei Qingtang gave Xu Changqing the Phoenix Feather from their previous mission and told him Qiu Xiao could help if he wanted to sell it.
• Xu Changqing returned home and found Ruo Qunshuang and Little Linglong playing hide-and-seek.
• Xu Changqing took Ruo Qunshuang to the bedroom and offered her Life Force from his Jade-Green Gourd to help her cultivation.
• Xu Changqing reunited with Little Linglong, then played with her and the dogs around Red Maple Valley.
• The second-floor bedroom shook as Water Qi rapidly converged around it.

Xu Changqing was assigned to lead a resource-delivery mission to the Central Region and began assembling a team with all five elements represented. He recruited Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue, then asked them to help find members with the remaining Spiritual Roots.

• Zhu Fuxian and Flower Elder told Xu Changqing to gather a team for a mission delivering resources to the Central Region, with members representing all five elements and at least one Golden Core True Person.
• Xu Changqing accepted the mission and left to consider whom to recruit, while Zhu Fuxian revealed that completing it would qualify him to inherit the Grain Lord's position.
• At Red Maple Valley, Xu Changqing was interrupted by Little Linglong, who served him tea mixed with wine, before he summoned Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue for advice.
• Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue agreed to join the mission, and Hu Bugui was eager to bring his spirit beasts along as goods to sell.
• Xu Changqing asked Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue to help him find people with the other three kinds of Spiritual Roots.

Xu Changqing recruited Ling Chenye for a Central Region mission, and Ling Chenye brought his formidable spear-cultivator friend Lu Wu to join the search for a team. The group still lacked an artifact refiner, an alchemist, and an array master.

• Xu Changqing, Hu Bugui, and Zhao Ziyue discussed potential recruits and chose Ling Chenye for his Wind Spirit Root and adaptability.
• Xu Changqing visited Blood-Iron Peak and persuaded Ling Chenye to join with an offer of points and cultivation resources.
• Ling Chenye offered to contact a friend who possessed fire, metal, and earth Spiritual Roots and was an exceptional spear cultivator.
• Lu Wu arrived with a golden spear wreathed in crimson flames, and Ling Chenye introduced him to Xu Changqing.
• Xu Changqing introduced himself, and Ling Chenye recalled that they had met before when he had demanded Chu Qiu's name.

Xu Changqing and his companions recruited Yu Shi, a volatile Metal Spiritual Root artifact refiner, for their resource-transport mission and searched for the remaining Fire and Earth Spiritual Root members. They returned to Red Maple Valley to wait for Yu Shi, but Rong Yan and Zhang Su arrived first.

• Lu Wu recommended Yu Shi, whose self-destructing spiritual artifacts and reckless nature amused Xu Changqing, and Yu Shi agreed to join the mission.
• Yu Shi promised to reach Red Maple Valley in three hours, but an explosion sounded through his Communication Talisman before the call went silent.
• Xu Changqing failed to reach Senior Sister Yu and realized she might have gone to the Central Region; he also considered Bai Zhuer but learned she had not returned.
• Xu Changqing brought Ling Chenye and Lu Wu to Red Maple Valley, where they met Zhao Ziyue, Hu Bugui, and Little Linglong while waiting for Yu Shi.
• Rong Yan and Zhang Su arrived together before Yu Shi, making Red Maple Valley lively.

Xu Changqing assembled a resource-delivery team and invited Su Jinli, the Red-Robed Fairy, to join as a traveling companion. Just as the group completed its preparations, a black warship arrived carrying Mad Yu instead of Su Jinli.

• Xu Changqing told Zhang Su and Rong Yan that the team could bring about ten people on the mission to the Central Region.
• Rong Yan and Zhang Su said they would travel personally, while Xu Changqing searched for an alchemist with a Fire Spiritual Root to join the team.
• Xu Changqing contacted Bei Qingtang, who recommended Su Jinli; after the others agreed, Xu Changqing accepted her as a traveling companion.
• Xu Changqing sensed someone approaching, and the group went to the valley entrance to meet them.
• A black warship arrived with ten powerful puppets, and Ling Chenye realized that Mad Yu had come instead of Su Jinli.

Xu Changqing gathered the participants for a transport mission to the Central Region, meeting Yu Shi and the Red-Robed Immortal Maiden Su Jinli before departure. Three days later, fifteen people boarded Shattered Moon, Falling Frost and left the Immortal Sect.

• Yu Shi arrived with ten puppets, met Xu Changqing, and learned that he was a core disciple of Azurewood Peak, a Spirit Fields administrator, and Mu Ji’s disciple.
• Su Jinli arrived in a blaze of Fire Qi, asked Xu Changqing when and where they would depart, and left after he named the time and place.
• Over the next three days, the group prepared their resources, and Han Su declined to join because Li Xianglin was pregnant.
• Fifteen participants assembled for the mission, including Xu Changqing, Hu Bugui, Zhao Ziyue, Ling Chenye, Lu Wu, Yu Shi, Miao Huayu, Xu Linshan, Su Jinli, Zhang Su’s group, and Rong Yan’s group.
• After saying farewell to Ruo Qunshuang and Little Linglong, Xu Changqing and the others boarded Shattered Moon, Falling Frost and flew out of the Immortal Sect.

Xu Changqing and his companions traveled to Fengrao Commandery to meet their fellow disciple Wang Han and review his work in the mortal world. Wang Han welcomed them and brought them to his estate, where the group arrived at the gates of the Wang Residence.

• Xu Changqing’s group reached Fengrao Commandery, where Zhao Ziyue recognized his hometown and Xu Changqing identified Wang Han as their first contact.
• Su Jinli stayed aboard Shattered Moon, Falling Frost, while Xu Changqing led Hu Bugui, Zhao Ziyue, Xu Linshan, Yu Shi, and Lu Wu into the city.
• The group passed from impoverished districts into increasingly prosperous streets and estates, noticing the stark differences in people’s living conditions.
• Wang Han arrived in a grand carriage with martial men, greeted Xu Changqing and the others, and invited them to ride with him.
• Wang Han’s carriage brought the group to the gates of the Wang Residence.

Xu Changqing and his fellow disciples visited Wang Han at his lavish residence, where he tried to impress them with concubines and mortal treasures. They remained unmoved and examined Fengrao Commandery’s records, uncovering inflated expenses and questionable resource use.

• Wang Han welcomed Xu Changqing and the others to his opulent residence and introduced his seven concubines.
• Wang Han’s concubines tried to charm the visitors, but Xu Changqing’s group showed no interest.
• Wang Han presented rare mortal treasures to test the group’s reactions, but Xu Changqing called them irrelevant to cultivators.
• Wang Han gave Xu Changqing a jade pendant recording Fengrao Commandery’s use of Dongting Immortal Sect resources and its list of potential disciples.
• Xu Changqing and the others found suspicious entries, including excessive Foundation Establishment deployments and doubled prices for Blazing Fire Talismans.

Xu Changqing confronted Wang Han over a ledger showing that Fengrao Commandery's accounts had been heavily falsified. After revealing his status as a core disciple of Azurewood Peak, he frightened Wang Han into producing a much more honest ledger, leaving Xu Changqing to decide which one to take.

• Hu Bugui, Zhao Ziyue, Lu Wu, and Yu Shi examined Wang Han's ledger and saw that the accounts had been inflated to twice their proper amount.
• Xu Changqing sent the others out and spoke privately with Wang Han, who tried to gauge his intentions while offering him Cloudmist Tea.
• Xu Changqing claimed he was now a core disciple of Azurewood Peak and praised Wang Han's thirty years of service before calling his conduct “Little greed, no great wrong!”
• Wang Han panicked and handed Xu Changqing a newer ledger, saying the first one was several years old.
• Xu Changqing compared the ledgers and found that the newer account was far more accurate and generous to the inspectors.

Xu Changqing destroyed both ledgers Wang Han offered and uncovered the hidden master ledger without demanding it. He insisted that future Spirit Fields accounts be kept truthfully and ended by declaring that his rules were the rules of the Spirit Fields.

• Xu Changqing turned the old and new ledgers to dust, refusing both choices Wang Han had laid out.
• Xu Changqing used the Law Profound Seal to detect a second, faint spiritual fluctuation and realized Wang Han carried a hidden master ledger.
• Wang Han asked what Xu Changqing wanted, and Xu Changqing said he wanted real accounts and proper conduct rather than the master ledger or Wang Han's position.
• Xu Changqing ordered Wang Han to truthfully record all future Spirit Fields output, expenditures, subsidies, and tributes.
• Xu Changqing rose and declared that his rules were the rules of the Spirit Fields.

Xu Changqing pressured Wang Han into correcting resource prices and gathering account books from other commanderies, then prepared to test eight talented youths for Spiritual Roots. The chapter ended as Xu Changqing, Hu Bugui, and Zhao Ziyue met the children in a secluded courtyard to begin the tests.

• Xu Changqing ordered Wang Han to set fair resource prices and collect account books from cooperating commanderies within three days.
• Wang Han recognized Xu Changqing's status and backing, agreed to take the risk, and the resource deals proceeded smoothly.
• Xu Changqing reviewed the eight youths selected from Fengrao Commandery for Spiritual Root testing and possible recommendation to the Immortal Sect.
• Xu Changqing, Hu Bugui, and Zhao Ziyue arrived at a secluded courtyard, where the eight children greeted them as Immortal Masters.

Xu Changqing tested eight youths for Spiritual Roots, and only Liu Mingyuan and Lin Xiaoman awakened one. The chapter ended with Lin Xiaoman’s rare Metal Spiritual Root stunning the others.

• Xu Changqing tested Shen Jinghan and Su Yanzhi, but the Spirit Root Stone showed no response for either aristocratic child.
• Zhao Hu confidently tested next, then broke down when Xu Changqing declared he had no Spiritual Root.
• Gu Chengyu, Chen Nian, and Fang Xiaosheng also tested negative, while Liu Mingyuan awakened a Water Spirit Root and was sent to stand apart from the others.
• Lin Xiaoman touched the Spirit Root Stone, and it blazed with golden light to reveal a rare Metal Spiritual Root.
• Xu Changqing praised the unexpected result as the courtyard fell silent.

After Lin Xiaoman was revealed to have a Spiritual Root, Fengrao Commandery's young nobles competed to win her favor, while Zhao Hu begged to protect her family. Two days later, Wang Han returned with account books from several commanderies, and Xu Changqing questioned the contents of his thirty years of accumulated wealth and influence.

• Xu Changqing gave Liu Mingyuan and Lin Xiaoman protective spirit talismans and told them to spend their remaining time with their families before the Immortal Sect came for them.
• Shen Jinghan and Su Yanzhi offered Lin Xiaoman several residences and a spirit plant garden, while Gu Chengyu brought her five thousand taels in silver notes.
• Zhao Hu asked Lin Xiaoman to let him guard her family and knelt, explaining that he had no Spiritual Root or backing after offending Shen Jinghan.
• Wang Han returned two days later with account books from several commanderies, and Xu Changqing noted their prices were normal and asked about their contents.
• Wang Han said he had invested thirty years of reputation, wealth, status, and standing into the account books.

Xu Changqing and his companions entered the dangerous Hands-Off Region, where they encountered a vast swarm of Frost-Eroding Insects. Su Jinli and Ling Chenye drove the insects back with fire and wind, but Xu Changqing warned that the swarm was only a test and a greater threat remained ahead.

• Xu Changqing guided the group beyond Fengrao Commandery and into the Hands-Off Region, where they sensed traces of recent battles.
• Ling Chenye scouted ahead and found strange green fog that chilled and irritated him, then returned to warn the others.
• Xu Changqing identified the buzzing green fog as a swarm of Frost-Eroding Insects rushing toward the group.
• Su Jinli raised a wall of flame with her red umbrella, and Ling Chenye strengthened it with powerful winds, forcing the swarm to retreat.
• Xu Changqing warned Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue that the insects were only cannon fodder and that a more terrifying threat was still to come.

Su Jinli and the others joined forces to destroy most of the Frost-Eroding Insects, while Xu Changqing realized the swarm was testing their abilities. The remaining insects sacrificed themselves to summon their mother insect, and a powerful frost tide erupted from beneath the ground.

• Su Jinli suggested splitting the gathered insects, and Yu Shi, Lu Wu, Zhao Ziyue, Hu Bugui, Miao Huayu, and Xu Linshan attacked together.
• Zhao Ziyue copied Ling Chenye’s wind spell to strengthen the fire wall, and the group burned most of the Frost-Eroding Insects.
• Xu Changqing explained that the swarm’s controller was testing the group and draining their spiritual power, so he and Su Jinli had held back their abilities.
• The remaining insects synchronized their wingbeats and devoured one another’s Frost Crystals to create bait for summoning their mother insect.
• The Frost Crystals formed a pulsing ice-blue sphere, the ground split open, and a spreading tide of frost covered the surrounding terrain.

Xu Changqing’s group avoided a powerful presence in No-Man’s-Land and continued toward a trading district. After disguising themselves, they entered the crowded market, where Su Jinli explained its three sections and their differing levels of risk.

• Xu Changqing decided that the group should detour around the creature hidden in the icy mist, and he steered Shattered Moon, Falling Frost away.
• Three hours later, Xu Changqing’s group spotted a trading district, and Su Jinli identified it as a place where they might find useful goods.
• The group chose to visit the market, suppressed their auras, concealed their appearances, and headed toward its central trading ships.
• Su Jinli explained that the district contained an official trading point, a ring of rogue-cultivator stalls, and a dangerous stolen-goods corner.
• Xu Changqing wondered how Su Jinli knew the trading district so well and reflected on her reputation and long cultivation history.