Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: First Battle, Instant Windfall

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing leaves the East Azure Trading House after obtaining a fragment of the high-grade cultivation technique [Green Lotus Creation Art] and the advanced brewing recipe [Yellow Rice Wine].
• He quickly realizes he is being followed by Zhang Er and three other cultivators, who assume he has purchased valuable treasures.
• Rather than trying to lose them, Xu Changqing deliberately leads them toward the Black Forest.
• Zhang Er and his companions plan to kill Xu Changqing and take his belongings, intending to make his death look like a demon attack. They have apparently murdered fellow disciples in the same way before.
• Xu Changqing ambushes them with Black Iron Vines enhanced by the [Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art]. The vines first destabilize their Flying Paper Crane, causing two cultivators to fall.
• The fallen Earth and Metal Spirit Root cultivators are quickly pierced to death. The Water Spirit Root cultivator crashes into a tree, only to be killed when the vines break through his protective water bubble.
• Zhang Er abandons his companion and barely survives by swinging between trees with vine techniques.
• Xu Changqing reveals himself and confirms that he has already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, shocking Zhang Er, who still believes him to be an insignificant spirit farmer.
• Xu Changqing kills Zhang Er with overwhelming force, then destroys the corpses and searches their storage bags.
• His unexpected loot includes numerous spiritual artifacts, pills, spirit rice, spirit plants, more than three hundred low-grade spirit stones, seventeen mid-grade spirit stones, and a fragment of the [Wood-Hiding Art] he had previously wanted.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing is revealed to be far stronger and more calculating than his former reputation suggests. His years of apparent retreat in the Spirit Fields were actually concealing rapid cultivation and the development of powerful wood-based techniques.
• He demonstrates a major shift from passive caution to controlled aggression, choosing the battlefield himself and eliminating a threat before it can endanger him.
• Zhang Er is exposed as malicious, greedy, and experienced in ambushing fellow disciples. His confidence collapses once he realizes Xu Changqing has surpassed him.
• Zhang Er’s cowardice is emphasized when he abandons his companion to escape.
• The three accomplices serve as examples of Zhang Er’s criminal behavior and are swiftly punished for underestimating Xu Changqing.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and mistaken identity: Xu Changqing’s humble image as a spirit farmer conceals his true cultivation and abilities.
• Predator and prey: The would-be attackers believe they are hunting Xu Changqing, only to become victims of his carefully prepared counterattack.
• Greed and instant wealth: Zhang Er’s greed leads him into a deadly trap, while Xu Changqing gains a substantial fortune from defeating him.
• Justice and survival in the cultivation world: The chapter presents a harsh world where evidence is scarce, deception is common, and strength determines who survives.
• Preparation and tactical intelligence: Xu Changqing wins not merely through cultivation, but by choosing the location, exploiting the Flying Paper Crane’s weakness, and layering his vine techniques.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Er and his companions discuss Xu Changqing dismissively, treating him as an easy target and planning to divide his possessions.
• Xu Changqing silently observes their pursuit and manipulates their expectations by leading them into the Black Forest.
• During the ambush, Zhang Er mocks the initial vine attack, unaware that the real target is the unstable Flying Paper Crane.
• Zhang Er abandons the Water Spirit Root cultivator, who curses him before being killed.
• In their final confrontation, Xu Changqing taunts Zhang Er by reminding him that he never regarded him as a true “Senior Brother.”
• Zhang Er’s shock at Xu Changqing’s Foundation Establishment cultivation marks the reversal of their relationship: the former target becomes the executioner.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• A terrifying roar erupts from deep within the Black Forest, disturbing the entire area and frightening animals, birds, and insects. Xu Changqing recognizes that the source is likely a powerful Greater Demon and immediately retreats toward Dongqing City, relieved that a Golden Core True Person is stationed there.
• Along the way, he sees Rogue Cultivators rushing toward the forest in excitement, hoping to witness or profit from the appearance of a Greater Demon. Their reckless enthusiasm makes Xu Changqing appreciate remaining a disciple of the Dongting Immortal Sect.
• After returning to the city, Xu Changqing focuses on disposing of the loot taken from Zhang Er and his companions. To avoid leaving evidence or creating a traceable connection, he sells the spirit plants, artifacts, pills, and miscellaneous goods in small batches through multiple trading houses and stalls.
• His first battle yields 63 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, turning the trip to the Rogue Cultivator Market into a substantial profit.
• Xu Changqing contacts Han Su, then encounters Sun Yu and Sun Rong of the Sun Clan. They purchase 500 jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice from him for 4 Mid-Grade and 17 Low-Grade Spirit Stones—above both Immortal Sect and market prices because of the rice’s scarcity.
• Sun Rong inspects the rice and realizes it is Supreme-Grade Second-Grade Spirit Rice. He concludes that Xu Changqing, operating under the identity “Cai Kun,” must genuinely be connected to an Immortal Sect and decides to pursue a long-term business relationship with him.
• Xu Changqing reunites with Han Su, but they miss the Giant Flying Sword and must remain in Dongqing City overnight. Han Su takes him to the Fragrant Invitation Pavilion, a pleasure house frequented by Immortal Sect disciples and Rogue Cultivators.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing becomes increasingly cautious and pragmatic. He prioritizes concealing his involvement in the earlier battle over keeping valuable loot and refuses Sun Rong’s invitation to visit the Sun Clan residence because he distrusts Rogue Cultivators and avoids unnecessary risks.
• He also demonstrates growing confidence as a trader, successfully turning stolen goods and scarce spirit rice into a large profit while maintaining his cover identity.
• Sun Rong shifts from suspicion to certainty that Xu Changqing is an Immortal Sect disciple after examining the rice. His attitude changes from cautious skepticism to respect and commercial interest.
• Sun Yu acts as the intermediary between Xu Changqing and the Sun Clan, helping arrange the purchase.
• Han Su remains a practical guide for Xu Changqing, coordinating their meeting and introducing him to the city’s lodging and entertainment.

Significant Themes

• Prudence and survival: Xu Changqing repeatedly places personal safety and secrecy above immediate profit or convenience.
• The contrast between Immortal Sect disciples and Rogue Cultivators: The Rogue Cultivators’ eagerness to pursue danger contrasts with Xu Changqing’s disciplined and cautious mindset.
• Commerce and scarcity: High-quality spirit rice is rare in the Rogue Cultivator Market, allowing Xu Changqing to command an unusually favorable price and establish potential long-term business ties.
• Identity and reputation: The quality of Xu Changqing’s goods strengthens his false identity as “Cai Kun” and convinces the Sun Clan of his Immortal Sect connections.
• Human desire and indulgence: The chapter closes by introducing the Fragrant Invitation Pavilion, emphasizing that cultivation does not eliminate ordinary human appetites.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Sun Rong negotiate directly, with Xu Changqing bluntly demanding spirit stones as proof of sincerity. Sun Rong responds by paying immediately and giving Xu Changqing a Communication Talisman for future transactions.
• Sun Rong and Sun Yu discuss Xu Changqing after he leaves, with Sun Rong explaining why the rice proves his Immortal Sect background and outlining the benefits of continued cooperation.
• Xu Changqing and Han Su coordinate their next move after the market trip, eventually deciding to spend the night in Dongqing City after missing their transport.
• Han Su introduces Xu Changqing to the Fragrant Invitation Pavilion, while Xu Changqing’s Spiritual Sense reveals the establishment’s true nature and leaves him intrigued rather than offended.

Chapter Summary: Attending the Auction House, Ninth-Layer Verdant Touch Finger

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing and Han Su visit the Fragrant Invitation Pavilion, an entertainment establishment divided into three floors according to status and wealth.
• Han Su pays for access to the third floor, where they are entertained by beautiful companions, wine, food, music, and dancers.
• Han Su chooses two women, An’an and Taotao, while Xu Changqing remains reserved and accepts Taotao’s hospitality without becoming deeply involved.
• At night, the pavilion’s guests eagerly leave aboard Flower Carriages, which transport them into the branches of the enormous Dongqing Tree for private entertainment. Xu Changqing learns that the entire city and pavilion belong to True Person Wang.
• The following day, Xu Changqing and Han Su visit Dongqing Auction House, where higher-quality cultivation resources, including complete spells, are sold.
• A complete low-grade spell called Verdant Touch Finger appears at auction. It is widely mocked because, despite having nine layers and potentially reaching high-grade power at the ninth layer, no one has successfully cultivated it that far.
• Ignoring the crowd’s skepticism, Xu Changqing buys the spell for only three Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, believing he may be able to master it and unlock its true potential.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing is shown to be inexperienced with the city’s worldly pleasures but observant and composed. He is curious about the Flower Carriages yet remains cautious and uninterested in pursuing them.
• His practical and confident nature emerges when he recognizes the possible value of Verdant Touch Finger. Rather than judging it by its poor reputation, he focuses on its theoretical ninth-layer potential.
• Han Su appears worldly, familiar with Dongqing City’s entertainment and customs, and eager to enjoy himself. He acts generously to impress Xu Changqing but also tries to guide him through the pavilion’s activities.
• Han Su’s caution regarding Verdant Touch Finger contrasts with Xu Changqing’s willingness to take risks.
• An’an and Taotao serve as entertainers and companions, responding warmly to Han Su’s jokes and offering Xu Changqing wine.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus true value: The Verdant Touch Finger is dismissed by everyone because of its history of failure, yet Xu Changqing suspects its true potential has been overlooked.
• Confidence and independent judgment: Xu Changqing refuses to follow the crowd’s ridicule and makes his own decision.
• Luxury and indulgence: The pavilion represents the extravagant, pleasure-driven side of cultivation society, where status and wealth determine access.
• Cultivation opportunities and scarcity: The auction house highlights the importance of rare spells and resources, while also showing how high prices and competition shape cultivators’ choices.
• Hidden potential: The chapter foreshadows Xu Changqing potentially succeeding where previous cultivators failed by mastering the spell’s nine layers.

Character Interactions

• Han Su relies on Xu Changqing’s approval while choosing the third-floor experience and later encourages him to use a Flower Carriage.
• Xu Changqing questions Han Su about the Flower Carriage, prompting an explanation of Dongqing City’s customs and True Person Wang’s ownership.
• The women at the pavilion provide entertainment and hospitality, with Taotao personally offering Xu Changqing wine and An’an accompanying Han Su.
• At the auction, Han Su warns Xu Changqing against purchasing Verdant Touch Finger, but Xu Changqing calmly rejects the advice and buys it despite public mockery.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The auction continues with many spirit artifacts, spells, spirit plants, and pills, but most items fail to sell because attendees are primarily seeking necessities.
• The Greenwood Water-Dividing Hoe, an uncommon everyday spirit artifact, is introduced. Its abilities are:
  • Earth Digging, comparable to Han Su’s soil-loosening ability.
  • Water Dividing, which can redirect water and dig irrigation channels.
• Although most bidders consider it overpriced once the bids exceed five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, Xu Changqing bids seven stones. He wants it to cultivate the secret Black Soil beneath Stone Mountain, where he grows Mutated Spirit Rice, without exposing the location or relying on Han Su.
• Han Su mistakenly worries that Xu Changqing bought the hoe because he no longer wants Han Su to loosen his soil. Xu reassures him that owning a hoe is perfectly normal for a spirit farmer.
• Xu Changqing and Han Su leave the auction and return via the Giant Flying Sword. They avoid interacting with unfamiliar Dongting Immortal Sect disciples.
• Upon returning home, Xu is warmly greeted by his yellow dog, Wangwang, and feeds the Pearl Chicken Second-Grade Spirit Rice. He then cooks and examines the rewards and items acquired during his trip.
• Xu possesses three spells or cultivation manuals:

Wood-Hiding Art

Verdant Touch Finger

Green Lotus Creation Art

• Though the Green Lotus Creation Art would normally be the priority as a replacement for his Evergreen Formula, Xu chooses the easier-to-learn Low Grade Verdant Touch Finger.
• After ten days of study aided by Expert-Grade Spirit Rice Wine, Xu reaches Level 1. He then spends lifespan to raise the technique directly to Level 9.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing becomes more cautious and strategic. His purchase of the hoe reflects his desire to independently cultivate the hidden Black Soil while protecting his secrets.
• He also demonstrates confidence in the system, quickly investing lifespan to maximize Verdant Touch Finger rather than upgrading it gradually.
• Han Su remains loyal and attentive but is prone to overthinking Xu’s actions. His anxiety over the hoe reveals how much he values Xu’s approval and their cooperative relationship.
• Xu’s bond with Wangwang and the Pearl Chicken is reinforced through their enthusiastic reunion and his personal care for them.

Significant Themes

• Secrecy and self-reliance: Xu avoids exposing the Black Soil and seeks tools that allow him to manage it independently.
• Resource optimization: He carefully evaluates auction prices, cultivation priorities, and lifespan costs, choosing the most efficient path to strengthen himself.
• Growth and potential: Verdant Touch Finger evolves from a simple maturation technique into a powerful ability affecting plant quality and mutation.
• Cultivation through patience and investment: Xu spends ten days mastering the spell, then uses years of lifespan to reach its maximum level.
• Possibility and discovery: The new mutation effect creates exciting prospects, especially the possibility that his already Mutated Spirit Rice could mutate again.

Character Interactions

• Xu and Han Su share a brief misunderstanding when Han assumes the hoe means Xu no longer wants his help. Xu resolves it with a lighthearted explanation.
• Xu interacts affectionately with Wangwang and the Pearl Chicken after returning home, showing his attachment to his spirit companions.
• At the auction and ferry dock, Xu remains detached from unfamiliar cultivators, reflecting his cautious and private nature.
• The chapter ends with Xu realizing that Verdant Touch Finger’s mutation effect may produce an even more extraordinary form of Mutated Spirit Rice.

Chapter Summary

Xu Changqing inspects his spirit fields on a cool spring morning and confirms that all his crops are healthy, undamaged, and sufficiently nourished. Determined to test the mutation potential of his low-grade spell, Verdant Touch Finger, he applies it repeatedly to his Spirit Rice, peppers, Four-Leaf Clover, and Chinese cabbages. Although nearly every attempt fails, one Chinese cabbage successfully mutates.
The Mutated Chinese Cabbage matures early and gains doubled spirit-energy content and pest resistance. Harvesting it grants Xu Changqing seven days of additional lifespan, four more than ordinary premium vegetables. He cooks it with peppers and Second-Grade Spirit Rice, producing a nourishing breakfast for himself, Wangwang, and the Pearl Chicken. The dog humorously knocks the chicken away from the table but ultimately receives a share along with it, reinforcing Xu Changqing’s fair and affectionate treatment of both companions.
The meal provides Xu Changqing with a large amount of spirit energy. After refining it through the Evergreen Formula, his spiritual power not only recovers but increases slightly. He realizes that eating mutated crops regularly could allow him to reach Foundation Establishment Perfection within ten years, though Verdant Touch Finger’s extremely low success rate makes this difficult.
Xu Changqing then travels to the secluded cave at Stone Mountain to experiment on the Mutated Spirit Rice. The golden Mutated Mother Rice remains unchanged, retaining its traits of producing more offspring, cultivating spirit energy, and maintaining a small domain. He begins applying Verdant Touch Finger to the vigorous Mutated Child Rice. After numerous attempts, the system-like notification sound rings again, suggesting that one of the Child Rice stalks may have undergone a second mutation.

Character Development and Interactions

• Xu Changqing becomes more persistent and methodical in testing his cultivation abilities, accepting repeated failure without giving up.
• He demonstrates practical optimism: even a minor crop mutation is valuable because it proves his spell works.
• His interactions with Wangwang and the Pearl Chicken show his fondness and fairness toward his animal companions.
• Wangwang acts clever and opportunistic, while the Pearl Chicken is timid after being pushed aside.
• Xu Changqing’s ambition grows as he recognizes mutated crops as a potential path to rapid cultivation advancement.

Significant Themes

• Persistence and experimentation: Success is rare, but continued effort eventually produces results.
• Cultivation through agriculture: Farming and mutation become central tools for improving Xu Changqing’s strength and lifespan.
• Abundance versus scarcity: Xu Changqing enjoys resources that ordinary spirit farmers must carefully conserve.
• Companionship and domestic humor: The breakfast scene adds warmth and comedy amid the cultivation-focused plot.
• Escalation of potential: The suspected second mutation of the Mutated Child Rice hints at increasingly powerful crop transformations.

Chapter Summary: Spirit Root Like a Green Lotus, Costing Fifty Years

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing discovers that one of his mutated rice plants has developed two prefixes: [Gold Rice] and [Spirit-Gathering].
  • Gold Rice contains Metal-attributed spiritual qi and produces rice especially suitable for cultivators with Metal Spiritual Roots.
  • Spirit-Gathering allows the plant to collect spiritual qi more efficiently.
• He consults Myriad Records of Spirit Fields and learns that prefixes are rare results of mutation. The Golden Rice is useless to him because he has a Wood Spiritual Root, but it could benefit Li Lingbi.
• Xu considers either exchanging the rice with the Immortal Sect for points or trading it privately with Li Lingbi. He decides to wait for an opportune time, such as a rainy day, before revealing the discovery.
• After tending to his spirit fields, Xu begins cultivating the incomplete Green Lotus Creation Art.
• The art requires him to nurture a Green Lotus Seed with Wood Spiritual Power. After ten days, the seed sprouts and develops into a tiny green lotus, creating a natural bond with Xu.
• Xu visualizes the lotus for more than twenty days, transforming his Wood Spirit Root into the shape of a green lotus and reaching the art’s first level.
• At Level One, the art increases his constitution, cultivation speed, and spiritual qi absorption efficiency by 5%.
• Xu then uses his lifespan to repair the incomplete art. The restoration costs 20,058 days—roughly fifty-four years.
• After completion, the art’s benefits rise to 10% each and gain a special ability: Xu can initially sense plant life aura and accelerate the growth of ordinary plants.

Character Development

• Xu Changqing demonstrates increasing strategic awareness. Rather than rushing to reveal the rare Golden Rice, he considers how to obtain the greatest benefit from it.
• His understanding of spiritual plants and cultivation resources deepens as he distinguishes between attribute-based and attribute-free spiritual qi.
• Xu remains highly disciplined and content with his repetitive routine of cultivation, irrigation, cooking, and weeding, viewing steady growth as deeply rewarding.
• His willingness to spend fifty-four years of lifespan reveals his confidence in his longevity and his prioritization of powerful cultivation techniques over conserving time.
• His connection with the Green Lotus Seed marks an important spiritual and physical transformation, as his Wood Spirit Root begins evolving into a stronger lotus-based foundation.

Significant Themes

• Luck and opportunity: Mutations and prefixes are rare and unpredictable, emphasizing the role of chance in spirit farming.
• Resource optimization: Xu carefully evaluates how best to trade or use the Golden Rice rather than keeping something he cannot personally benefit from.
• Steady cultivation and patience: His daily farming routine and the gradual nurturing of the lotus highlight the value of consistent effort.
• Transformation and growth: The Green Lotus Creation Art changes Xu’s spiritual root and strengthens both his body and cultivation potential.
• The cost of power: Completing the art requires sacrificing fifty-four years of lifespan, showing that major breakthroughs demand significant resources.
• Harmony with nature: The cultivation art’s final special effect strengthens Xu’s bond with plants and reflects the chapter’s recurring connection between farming and cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Xu’s main interaction is with the spirit plants he cultivates, particularly the Golden Rice and Green Lotus Seed.
• He mentally considers a future exchange with Li Lingbi, recognizing that the Metal-attributed rice could be valuable to him.
• His relationship with the Green Lotus Seed becomes almost symbiotic; once it sprouts, Xu senses it as an extension of his own body.
• No direct conversation with other characters occurs in the chapter; the focus is on Xu’s internal decisions, cultivation, and relationship with nature.

Chapter Summary: “Green Lotus Domain Emerges, Yield Breaks Through Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing upgrades the Green Lotus Creation Art from its first level to the second, discovering that its special effect allows him to control ordinary plants and accelerate their growth.
• He then spends over 5,000 days of lifespan to raise the technique directly to the ninth level, unlocking powerful abilities:
  • Major improvements to his constitution, spiritual power recovery, spiritual qi absorption, and conversion.
  • Enhanced comprehension of wood-attribute spells.
  • The ability to perceive detailed information about plants.
  • The creation of a thirty-three-meter Green Lotus Domain that accelerates plant growth, increases spiritual qi concentration, improves recovery, strengthens concealment, and suppresses his aura.
• Xu tests the domain outdoors. Weeds and flowers grow rapidly, while the surrounding Wood Qi becomes denser.
• Combining the Green Lotus Domain with the Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art, he creates over a hundred Black Iron Vines and uses them to pierce through a poplar tree, demonstrating the domain’s combat and sustaining benefits.
• He tests the domain on his Grade-Two Spirit Field and estimates that daily use could produce enough additional growth for him to harvest five times a year instead of four.
• Xu then tests it on the Mutated Mother Rice in the cave. The Mother Rice’s own domain resonates with the Green Lotus Domain, greatly increasing the supply of Wood Qi and accelerating the growth of the Mutated Child Rice.
• He concludes that the Mutated Rice may also gain one additional harvest per year, increasing his supply of Mutated Spirit Grain.
• The chapter ends with Xu reviewing his status panel and feeling excited despite sacrificing more than fifty years of lifespan, since the Green Lotus Creation Art promises a significant increase in future agricultural yields.

Character Development

• Xu Changqing becomes increasingly aware that the Green Lotus Creation Art is far more powerful than an ordinary high-grade technique, possibly approaching Earth Grade and hiding an unknown secret.
• His cautious experimentation develops into confident strategic testing. Rather than slowly upgrading the technique, he commits to raising it to the maximum level.
• He demonstrates greater resourcefulness by combining the Green Lotus Domain with his existing techniques and recognizing how overlapping domains can multiply agricultural benefits.
• His priorities remain centered on cultivation, secrecy, and maximizing long-term production. He is especially pleased that the extra harvests can be kept hidden from others.

Significant Themes

• Investment and long-term gain: Xu sacrifices decades of lifespan to obtain a technique that can dramatically improve future cultivation and harvests.
• Synergy between abilities: The chapter emphasizes how different techniques and domains become much stronger when used together.
• Agricultural cultivation and resource accumulation: Plant growth, spirit fields, and Mutated Rice remain central to Xu’s path, showing that farming can be as valuable as direct combat.
• Hidden potential and mystery: The Green Lotus Creation Art’s extraordinary effects suggest that it may possess a deeper origin or secret beyond its apparent rank.
• Secrecy and advantage: Xu carefully calculates how to increase his yields without attracting attention or being forced to share the additional production.

Character Interactions

• There are no major conversations with other characters in this chapter. Xu’s main “interactions” are with:
  • The Companion Green Lotus, which manifests the domain and responds to his control.
  • Ordinary plants, which rapidly grow under the domain’s influence.
  • The Black Iron Vines, which he directs against a tree as a combat test.
  • The Spirit Field and Mutated Rice, whose growth he enhances through the interaction of the Green Lotus Domain and the Mother Rice’s own domain.
• The most important interaction is between the two domains: their overlap causes the Mutated Rice to absorb abundant Wood Qi and mature much faster.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• A spring rain falls over Xu Changqing’s residence, prompting him to reflect on the saying, “Good rain knows its season; in spring, it comes to life.”
• Xu considers what to do with the Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice: give it to Li Lingbi or submit it to the Immortal Sect, depending on Li Lingbi’s sincerity.
• He studies Yellow Rice Wine and uses his lifespan to elevate it from Initiation directly to the highest level, Masterful Hand.
• At its peak, Yellow Rice Wine:
  • Doubles spiritual-energy absorption efficiency for an hour.
  • Reduces spiritual-power consumption of wood-element techniques by 15%.
  • Improves comprehension of both low- and high-grade cultivation techniques while mildly intoxicated.
  • Makes the drinker immune to harm from long-term consumption.
• Delighted by the wine’s benefits, Xu looks forward to seeing the reactions of the famously heavy-drinking Han Xin and Pei Mo. He begins brewing a batch, though it requires half a month to mature.
• After the rain eases, Xu visits Stone Mountain and digs up the Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice, carefully transplanting it into his own Spirit Fields.
• He places the Companion Green Lotus beside the plant to protect it.
• Xu contacts his senior brother, Li Sancai, and reveals that he has discovered a Mutated Spirit Rice plant.
• Li Sancai arrives almost immediately on his Flying Paper Crane and is astonished by the plant’s brilliant golden appearance and abundant rice ears.
• He explains that Mutated Spirit Plants have become extremely valuable: submitting one to the Immortal Sect now earns at least 1,500 points, while selling one privately could bring around 500 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates increasing confidence, decisiveness, and resourcefulness. He invests a large amount of lifespan to perfect Yellow Rice Wine and takes careful steps to cultivate and protect the rare Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice.
• His growing ambition is evident: he is considering the best way to profit from or leverage the mutated plant rather than immediately surrendering it to the sect.
• Li Sancai remains highly responsive to Xu’s discoveries and recognizes his extraordinary luck. His shock emphasizes how rare Xu’s achievement is.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation and investment: Xu spends lifespan to improve his brewing abilities, treating time and longevity as resources that can generate greater future gains.
• Luck and opportunity: The discovery of the Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice marks a major opportunity that could significantly improve Xu’s status and wealth.
• Careful preparation: Xu protects the transplanted plant with the Companion Green Lotus and considers Li Lingbi’s sincerity before deciding what to do with the rice.
• Value and competition: The rising market value of Mutated Spirit Plants highlights the increasingly competitive and profit-driven cultivation world.

Character Interactions

• Xu mentally considers his relationship with Li Lingbi, weighing whether she deserves access to the Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice.
• He jokingly anticipates the reactions of Han Xin and Pei Mo, whose lives revolve around drinking.
• His conversation with Li Sancai begins casually but quickly turns urgent when Xu reveals the mutated plant. Li Sancai’s stunned reaction and immediate arrival underline the importance of the discovery.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing discovers that the remaining ninety-nine mutated Spirit Rice plants are likely Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice, a rare variety rich in Metal Qi.
• Li Sancai recognizes that the rice could benefit his cousin, Li Lingbi, a talented core disciple of the Water-Control Pavilion backed by a Nascent Soul True Lord. He agrees to contact him and gives Xu Changqing ten days to wait for a response.
• While waiting, Xu Changqing accelerates the crops’ growth with the Green Lotus Domain. The Spirit Rice ripens several days early, producing the maximum yield of 4,000 jin from the Grade-Two Spirit Field.
• Xu harvests the entire field in under two hours. The harvest includes Spirit Rice, mutated sweet potatoes, and high-quality cabbages. His lifespan increases significantly, reaching 132,846 days, or roughly 363 years.
• With his farming and combat-related techniques becoming increasingly complete, Xu identifies movement techniques as his main weakness and decides to learn the Wood-Hiding Art.
• He also burns the leftover straw through slash-and-burn farming to enrich the soil, suppress weeds, and destroy insect eggs, thereby reducing dependence on the costly Insect-Repelling Array.
• After several days, Li Sancai returns from a personal trip to Brahma City in the Central Region. He confirms that Li Lingbi wants the Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice.
• Rather than paying with spirit stones, Li Lingbi offers two items in exchange. Li Sancai reveals the first: the Demonwood Water-Evasion Boat, a small azure wooden boat capable of both flight and underwater travel, and far more valuable than a single mutated Spirit Plant.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing continues to establish himself as a highly efficient and practical farmer. His mastery of the Green Lotus Creation Art improves both his physique and harvesting speed.
• His lifespan and material reserves grow substantially, increasing his security and long-term cultivation potential.
• Xu demonstrates a strong preference for farming, resource management, and stable alliances rather than combat, intrigue, or political struggles.
• He becomes more strategically minded, recognizing that conserving spirit stones, maintaining formations, and improving his movement abilities are essential weaknesses to address.
• Li Sancai proves himself reliable and willing to make significant efforts on Xu’s behalf, traveling personally to the Central Region to contact Li Lingbi.
• Li Lingbi is characterized indirectly as powerful and influential, with the status and backing to trade valuable treasures for Xu’s mutated Spirit Rice.

Significant Themes

• Resource management and frugality: Xu carefully calculates crop yields, lifespan gains, spirit-stone consumption, and storage reserves. Even burning straw is treated as an opportunity to save resources.
• Farming as cultivation: Agricultural work is not merely ordinary labor; it directly supports Xu’s cultivation, lifespan, wealth, and connections with stronger cultivators.
• Strategic alliance-building: Xu seeks protection through relationships with influential figures rather than pursuing dangerous confrontations.
• Steady preparation and self-improvement: Xu methodically strengthens his techniques, improves his fields, and addresses his shortcomings, especially his lack of mobility.
• The value of rare resources: The mutated Spirit Rice becomes a means of obtaining treasures that would otherwise be difficult for Xu to acquire.

Character Interactions

• Xu and Li Sancai discuss the identity and potential buyer of the mutated rice. Xu subtly encourages Li Sancai to prioritize him as an insider, while Li Sancai understands the hint.
• Xu waits patiently for Li Sancai’s response and becomes grateful after learning that Li personally traveled to Brahma City for the negotiation.
• Their exchange over Spirit Rice Wine highlights their informal relationship: Li Sancai accepts Xu’s hospitality, while Xu jokingly claims that charging an ally would be inappropriate.
• Li Sancai ultimately confirms that Li Lingbi is interested in the rice and begins revealing the valuable items offered in exchange, starting with the Demonwood Water-Evasion Boat.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing successfully binds the Demonwood Water-Evasion Boat by merging his blood and spiritual power with it. The boat recognizes him as its owner and grants him several abilities: advanced wind riding, water evasion, fortification, devouring growth, and the ability to detect and lock onto demonic aura.
• Li Sancai explains the demon hierarchy, which is based on years of cultivation: roughly one hundred years for Lesser Demons, one thousand for Greater Demons, several thousand for Demon Kings, and ten thousand for Demon Emperors. He also describes the ongoing conflict between humans and demons, causing Xu Changqing to become even more cautious about leaving the Immortal Sect.
• Li Sancai takes the Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice plant and leaves. Xu Changqing keeps most of its valuable seeds while planning to sell some later at the Rogue Cultivator Market in Dongqing City. The promised wood-attribute demon core has not yet been obtained.
• Xu Changqing submits 1,500 jin of Second-Grade Spirit Rice and receives 375 contribution points, bringing his total to 1,600.
• At the Core Administration Office, he asks to collect a full year’s supply of rice seedlings. Flower Elder agrees, allowing Xu Changqing to exploit the accelerated growth of his Green Lotus Domain and gain an additional harvest each year.
• Xu Changqing conceals his true cultivation. He claims to be in the late Qi Refining stage with the fourth layer of the Evergreen Formula, while he has actually reached the early Foundation Establishment stage. His Green Lotus Creation Art suppresses his aura and realm fluctuations well enough to fool Flower Elder.
• Xu Changqing briefly encounters former acquaintances Zhao Ziyao and Zhao Ying, who unexpectedly greet him amicably despite their previous unpleasant encounter.
• Upon returning home, Xu Changqing finds two members of the Punishment Department waiting outside: Wu Wei of Thunder Forest and Zhang Xue of the Water-Control Pavilion. Zhang Xue is playfully chasing his yellow dog, Wangwang, while Wu Wei questions Xu Changqing about his relationship with another spirit farmer, Zhang Er.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing becomes more cautious after learning how dangerous the outside world is. He decides to remain within the Immortal Sect whenever possible and focus on farming and limited trading.
• He demonstrates increasing strategic maturity by keeping the Demonwood Boat hidden, maintaining a low profile, concealing his cultivation, and preserving valuable Golden Rice seeds for himself.
• His cultivation and agricultural abilities continue to advance rapidly. The Green Lotus Domain allows him to produce more harvests than ordinary spirit farmers, while his aura-concealing technique protects his secret.
• Li Sancai acts as a helpful senior brother and intermediary, providing Xu Changqing with the demon boat in exchange for Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice.
• Flower Elder remains friendly and supportive, unknowingly underestimating Xu Changqing’s actual cultivation.
• Zhao Ziyao and Zhao Ying unexpectedly show no hostility toward Xu Changqing, suggesting that their former conflict may have eased or that they have another reason for being cordial.
• Wu Wei and Zhang Xue are introduced as Punishment Department members investigating Xu Changqing’s connection to Zhang Er.

Significant Themes

• Caution and self-preservation: Xu Changqing realizes that the outside world is far more dangerous than the sheltered Immortal Sect and chooses secrecy over unnecessary adventure.
• Hidden strength and deception: His ability to suppress his aura allows him to appear ordinary while secretly possessing Foundation Establishment cultivation and exceptional farming techniques.
• The value of resources: Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice, Golden Rice seeds, demon materials, and specialized magical equipment all serve as valuable forms of power and exchange.
• Human-demon conflict: The explanation of demon cultivation and the brutal relationship between humans and demons broadens the chapter’s sense of danger and establishes a larger world beyond spirit farming.
• Growth through farming: Xu Changqing’s agricultural advantage, particularly the Green Lotus Domain, becomes an important source of both wealth and cultivation progress.

Character Interactions

• Li Sancai guides Xu Changqing through the binding process for the Demonwood Boat and explains the demon hierarchy and human-demon conflict.
• Xu Changqing and Li Sancai exchange the boat and the Golden Rice-Gathering Spirit Rice, strengthening their cooperative relationship.
• Xu Changqing speaks with Flower Elder about his cultivation, technique, and collecting seedlings for an entire year, carefully concealing his true abilities.
• Zhao Ziyao and Zhao Ying briefly greet Xu Changqing despite their past disagreement.
• At the chapter’s conclusion, Wu Wei confronts Xu Changqing with questions about Zhang Er, creating a new source of tension and setting up a possible Punishment Department investigation.

Chapter Summary: “Not Panicked at All, a Dao Companion Gathering”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing is questioned by formal disciples Wu Wei and Zhang Xue about Zhang Er’s disappearance. They suspect Xu Changqing because he had previously quarreled with Zhang Er and was seen traveling with him to the Rogue Cultivator Market.
• Xu Changqing remains calm and avoids incriminating himself. He points out that Zhang Er arrived at the market later, weakening the implication that they traveled together as part of a murder plot.
• Zhang Xue reveals that Zhang Er and the cultivators accompanying him have been missing for over two months and may already be dead. No concrete evidence connects Xu Changqing to their disappearance.
• The investigators leave after conducting what they call routine questioning. Xu Changqing realizes that Zhao Ziyao and Zhao Ying likely already knew about Zhang Er’s fate, explaining their recent relief and good moods.
• Xu Changqing returns to Stone Mountain and harvests his fully matured Mutated Spirit Rice. He obtains 39.4 jin of grain and gains 980 days of lifespan, bringing his total lifespan to 133,825 days.
• He preserves the Mutated Mother Rice for continued cultivation and irrigates the field with Spirit Spring water.
• Hu Bugui contacts him through a Communication Talisman and invites him to a yearly gathering in the Flower Sea, where cultivators with Spiritual Roots meet to seek dao companions. Though initially uninterested, Xu Changqing agrees to attend, partly so he can deliver Spirit Rice Grain to Hu Bugui. They plan to meet the next morning.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Demonstrates composure, caution, and social intelligence when confronted by investigators. Rather than directly defending himself, he redirects suspicion toward the group of cultivators who took Zhang Er’s assessment, preventing himself from becoming the sole suspect. His priorities remain farming, resource management, and cultivation, though he is willing to participate in social events when they serve a practical purpose.
• Wu Wei: Appears aggressive and suspicious, repeatedly trying to link Xu Changqing to Zhang Er’s disappearance. His lack of evidence and emotional reaction make him less effective than he intends to be.
• Zhang Xue: Acts as the more diplomatic investigator, easing tensions and framing the questioning as routine. She also reveals practical knowledge about farming materials, noting that rice straw can be used for talisman-making.
• Hu Bugui: Shows enthusiasm and informality while inviting Xu Changqing to the dao companion gathering. His conversation highlights his eagerness to participate in cultivation-world social life.

Significant Themes

• Caution and self-preservation: Xu Changqing understands that proving innocence too aggressively could make him appear more suspicious. His strategy is to remain calm, avoid contradictions, and ensure no evidence can be found.
• The value of preparation: Xu Changqing’s careful disposal and concealment of Zhang Er’s belongings protect him during the investigation.
• Farming as cultivation: The harvest provides both material resources and a direct increase to Xu Changqing’s lifespan, emphasizing the unusual power and importance of his agricultural path.
• Practicality over romance or social ambition: Xu Changqing has little interest in seeking a dao companion and agrees to attend mainly to meet Hu Bugui and deliver grain.
• Hidden social tensions: The investigators’ questions expose the unspoken exploitation of outer disciples by formal disciples, a practice that the sect suppresses rather than openly addresses.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Wu Wei engage in a tense verbal confrontation, with Xu Changqing calmly countering Wu Wei’s insinuations.
• Zhang Xue mediates between them and shifts the conversation toward Xu Changqing’s farming methods.
• Xu Changqing internally connects Zhao Ziyao and Zhao Ying’s improved mood to their likely escape from Zhang Er’s control.
• Hu Bugui and Xu Changqing exchange teasing remarks about age, maturity, cultivation, and finding dao companions before agreeing to meet.

Chapter Summary: Qiu Clan of Sorrowwind Cliff, Hu Bugui’s Blind Date

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing meets Hu Bugui the morning after their previous arrangement, expecting an ordinary gathering. Hu reveals that they are actually attending a blind-date event to find Dao companions.
• Hu arrives dressed extravagantly in pale-gold clothing and jade rings, making him look like a wealthy but tacky nouveau riche. He criticizes Xu for dressing like a spirit farmer, while Xu points out that Hu had disguised the purpose of their meeting.
• Xu gives Hu his share of 150 jin of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice Grain. Hu praises Xu’s reliability compared with his other associates.
• They travel by Flying Paper Crane to the Flower Sea in Red Maple Valley, a scenic area filled with flowers, kites, spirit beasts, flying vessels, and numerous cultivators seeking Dao companions.
• They notice a large pleasure boat marked with the character “Qiu.” Hu identifies it as belonging to the Qiu Clan of Sorrowwind Cliff, one of Dongting’s most prestigious cultivation lineages and the imperial family of the Qianyuan Dynasty.
• Xu is surprised that people of such status would attend a blind-date gathering, but neither he nor Hu knows the clan’s true purpose for being there.
• At the gathering, Xu discovers that finding a Dao companion is conducted less romantically than he imagined. Participants openly evaluate one another based on cultivation aptitude, income, profession, and practical benefits.
• Dao companions may be either hired through spirit stones and resources or become long-term partners who marry, have children, and support one another.
• Xu and Hu observe that newcomers and cultivators with poor aptitude are often rejected, while experienced or desirable Dao companions attract many suitors. The gathering includes both heterosexual and same-sex pairings.
• Xu recognizes “Little Handsome,” previously seen with Lu Yuanyuan, now surrounded by numerous people negotiating with him, suggesting that Lu may have abandoned him.
• Hu immediately begins pursuing Lin Su, a female disciple with an Earth Spiritual Root. After learning that Hu has conflicting Fire and Metal Spiritual Roots, she becomes cautious, but her attitude improves when he mentions Beast Spirit Valley.
• Hu proudly explains that his specialty is selling spirit beast manure, leaving the impression that his unusual occupation may be both his livelihood and his main selling point.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Remains practical, observant, and somewhat naive about romantic customs. His idealized view of Dao-companion matchmaking is destroyed when he sees how transactional the process is. He also learns more about the larger cultivation world through Hu’s explanation of the Qiu Clan.
• Hu Bugui: Reveals himself to be shameless, confident, and opportunistic. He openly embraces his wealth, unusual profession, and romantic preferences. Despite having Conflicting Spiritual Roots, he remains proud of his work in Beast Spirit Valley and quickly takes initiative in approaching Lin Su.
• Lin Su: Initially evaluates Hu cautiously because of his conflicting Spiritual Roots, but shows greater respect once she learns of his connection to the reputable Beast Spirit Valley.
• Little Handsome: His appearance among the many suitors implies a change in his relationship with Lu Yuanyuan and suggests that he is now actively seeking a new Dao companion.

Significant Themes

• Marriage and companionship as transactions: The blind-date gathering treats Dao companions as practical arrangements based on resources, status, aptitude, income, and mutual benefit rather than romance alone.
• Social status and cultivation lineage: The prestigious Qiu Clan’s presence emphasizes the importance of ancestry, political power, and family reputation in the cultivation world.
• Appearance versus reality: Hu’s extravagant clothes suggest wealth and nobility but make him look ridiculous, while Xu’s plain appearance hides his valuable production of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice.
• The value of unconventional professions: Hu’s work selling spirit beast manure is embarrassing or absurd on the surface, yet it is still an important source of income and identity.
• Practicality over idealism: Xu’s romantic expectations give way to a more realistic understanding of relationships in the cultivation world.

Character Interactions

• Xu and Hu exchange teasing criticism over their clothing and the misleading nature of the gathering.
• Their partnership is reinforced when Xu provides Hu with Spirit Rice, showing Xu’s reliability and Hu’s dependence on him.
• Hu acts as Xu’s guide to the cultivation lineages and matchmaking customs, explaining the significance of the Qiu Clan and the types of Dao-companion arrangements.
• Xu observes Hu’s bold approach to Lin Su, while Lin Su evaluates Hu according to his Spiritual Roots, sect affiliation, and occupation.
• The chapter ends with Hu presenting his unconventional career—selling spirit beast manure—as though it were an impressive qualification.

Chapter Summary: “Seven Emotions and Six Desires, Qiu Feng Forms a Golden Core”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Su is disgusted when Hu Bugui bluntly reveals that he sells manure. Xu Changqing suggests Hu describe it as business related to “Spirit Fields” to sound more respectable.
• Xu Changqing finds Bai Ling’er lost in the crowded Dao-companion gathering. He pulls her out of the crowd and waits with her while they eat sweet potatoes.
• Because of their age difference and proximity, bystanders repeatedly mistake Xu Changqing for someone seeking a Dao companion with a child or stepdaughter. Xu is frustrated but unable to correct the misunderstandings, while Bai Ling’er is accustomed to such treatment.
• Hu Bugui returns with Zhao Ziyue, a Foundation Establishment cultivator obsessed with fishing. Zhao suggests going to Black Dragon Pool to catch a valuable Dragonfish. This makes Xu Changqing consider using his Demonwood Water-Evasion Boat and his improved Yellow Rice Wine to pursue the opportunity.
• Bai Ling’er’s sister, Bai Zhuer, arrives with Zhang Xue from the Punishment Department. Xu recognizes Zhang Xue from his recent encounter with her.
• Zhao Ziyue reveals that Zhang Xue is investigating Zhang Er’s disappearance and that both belong to the same clan. Xu becomes wary of Zhang Xue and decides to keep his distance.
• Bai Zhuer jokingly—or partly seriously—invites Xu Changqing to become her Dao companion. She is attracted to his Wood-based cultivation potential, Spirit Rice, and ability to help her develop a second Spiritual Root. Xu refuses, judging that the arrangement would benefit her far more than him and noting his preference for someone with a Water Spirit Root.
• A sudden earthquake-like disturbance interrupts the gathering. Everyone takes to the air for safety.
• The disturbance originates from the Qiu Clan’s enormous pleasure boat. Qiu Feng, the clan’s young prodigy who was nearing the Golden Core Realm, bursts through the deck and rises into the sky.
• Qiu Feng declares that he will use the “decadent wind” generated by the world’s seven emotions and six desires to condense a Golden Core, signaling the beginning of his breakthrough.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Remains cautious, practical, and economically minded. He carefully evaluates the advantages and risks of potential relationships, refuses Bai Zhuer’s unequal proposal, and becomes more suspicious of Zhang Xue after learning of her connection to Zhang Er. His thoughts also turn toward exploiting the valuable Dragonfish opportunity.
• Hu Bugui: Continues to be blunt, socially awkward, and unconcerned with appearances. His straightforward claim that he sells manure causes embarrassment, though he later joins Xu and the others.
• Bai Ling’er: Appears playful and food-loving but also vulnerable in the crowd. She trusts Xu Changqing enough to stay with him and cheerfully accepts the misunderstandings surrounding them.
• Bai Zhuer: Reveals a practical interest in Xu Changqing’s cultivation resources and Wood-related abilities. Her proposal emphasizes that she views a Dao partnership partly as a means to improve her cultivation and secure access to Spirit Rice.
• Zhang Xue: Becomes more mysterious and potentially threatening after it is revealed that she is related to Zhang Er and is investigating his disappearance.
• Zhao Ziyue: Remains fixated on fishing and Dragonfish, introducing a possible future opportunity for Xu Changqing.
• Qiu Feng: Makes a dramatic appearance as a powerful and unconventional cultivator. His complex, emotionless expression and grand declaration suggest that he is attempting a dangerous breakthrough using emotional forces.

Significant Themes

• Practicality versus romance: The Dao-companion gathering is treated less as a romantic event and more as a negotiation involving cultivation resources, Spiritual Roots, pills, and material benefits.
• Social perception and misunderstanding: Xu Changqing and Bai Ling’er are repeatedly misjudged by strangers, while Hu Bugui’s crude honesty makes him socially unattractive despite being truthful.
• Caution and hidden identities: Xu becomes increasingly alert to connections and concealed motives, especially regarding Zhang Xue and Zhang Er.
• Cultivation through unconventional forces: Qiu Feng’s breakthrough introduces the idea that emotions, desires, and worldly corruption can be transformed into cultivation power.
• Material opportunity: Spirit Rice, Foundation Establishment Pills, Yellow Rice Wine, and Dragonfish all reinforce the importance of resources in the cultivation world.

Important Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Hu Bugui: Xu repeatedly tries to guide or correct Hu’s socially clumsy behavior, though Hu remains unapologetically direct.
• Xu Changqing and Bai Ling’er: Xu protects Bai Ling’er from the crowd and shares food with her, creating a warm but humorous companionship.
• Xu Changqing and Zhao Ziyue: Zhao’s enthusiasm for fishing prompts Xu to consider seeking Dragonfish for profit.
• Xu Changqing and Zhang Xue: Their chance reunion is cordial, but Xu becomes guarded after learning she is connected to Zhang Er’s investigation.
• Xu Changqing and Bai Zhuer: Bai Zhuer proposes a cultivation-based partnership, but Xu rejects it because the benefits are unequal and it conflicts with his preferences.
• The gathered cultivators and Qiu Feng: The casual Dao-companion gathering is abruptly transformed into a spectacle when Qiu Feng emerges and announces his attempt to form a Golden Core through the power of the seven emotions and six desires.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qiu Feng activates the Sorrow Wind Art and forms the Emptiness Seal, claiming that desire, emptiness, cause, and consequence are interconnected.
• A powerful wind destroys the Flower Sea and releases foul Earth Qi, causing everyone present to fall and become overwhelmed by intense, uncontrolled lust.
• Xu Changqing is protected from the demonic influence by the Companion Green Lotus, but Bai Ling’er, Bai Zhu’er, and Zhang Xue lose control and instinctively move toward him.
• Qiu Feng absorbs the lascivious wind, allowing black demonic energy to gather around him. His mind and appearance become increasingly unstable.
• Qin Baili arrives in a burst of golden sword light, breaking through the wind and freeing everyone from Qiu Feng’s influence.
• Qin identifies Qiu Feng’s condition as a demonic obsession caused by his failure to form an Earth-Grade Golden Core.
• Qiu Feng, unable to accept the failure despite his status as a celebrated royal-clan genius, insists that he is still about to form his Golden Core.
• Qin concludes that Qiu Feng cannot be saved and prepares to kill him. He orders the others to leave, promising that the Qiu Clan will compensate them.
• Most of the group flees toward Red Maple Valley. Bai Ling’er and Bai Zhu’er remain emotionally attached to Xu Changqing and leave together with Zhang Xue, while Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue depart separately.
• Once the survivors have retreated, Qin unleashes the power of his golden Sunflower sword technique, obliterating the Flower Sea and demonstrating the terrifying might of a Golden Core cultivator.

Character Developments

• Qiu Feng: His failed breakthrough shatters his arrogance and self-image. He transforms his frustration and humiliation into madness, using desire and demonic energy to force a breakthrough and refusing to acknowledge his failure.
• Qin Baili: Introduced as the foremost Core Disciple of the Dongting Immortal Sect and an Earth-Grade Golden Core genius. He is calm, decisive, and willing to kill Qiu Feng when he realizes persuasion will not work.
• Xu Changqing: Demonstrates strong mental resistance thanks to the Companion Green Lotus. He also gains insight into the psychological reason for Qiu Feng’s collapse, recognizing the destructive pressure created by exceptional talent and public expectations.
• Bai Ling’er, Bai Zhu’er, and Zhang Xue: Their loss of control exposes the power of Qiu Feng’s technique and creates awkward emotional tension around Xu Changqing. Bai Zhu’er and Bai Ling’er become especially reluctant to separate from him.
• Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue: React with shock and embarrassment to the disorder caused by the demonic wind, then flee promptly once Qin orders everyone away.

Significant Themes

• The danger of pride and expectations: Qiu Feng’s identity as a prodigy makes failure far more devastating, showing how excessive praise and pressure can destroy someone who cannot accept defeat.
• Desire versus morality: The Sorrow Wind Art strips away the restraints of morality and exposes the desires hidden within people, suggesting that civilization and self-control may be fragile.
• Cause and consequence: Qiu Feng’s invocation of emptiness and dependent origination ironically precedes the consequences of his own obsession and failed cultivation.
• The limits of genius: Even extraordinary talent cannot guarantee success, and Qin Baili’s success serves as a painful contrast to Qiu Feng’s failure.
• The overwhelming power of cultivation: Qin’s final attack emphasizes the immense gap between ordinary cultivators and a Golden Core expert.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing observes the chaotic attraction caused by Qiu Feng’s technique and is protected from it by the Companion Green Lotus.
• Bai Ling’er, Bai Zhu’er, and Zhang Xue gravitate toward Xu Changqing while under the influence, leading to surprise and embarrassment among Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue.
• Qin Baili confronts Qiu Feng directly, criticizing his demonic state and attempting to force him to recognize reality.
• Qiu Feng challenges Qin’s success, demanding to know why Qin could form an Earth-Grade Golden Core when he could not. Qin’s inability to answer highlights the unfair and unpredictable nature of cultivation.
• Qin ultimately treats Qiu Feng as beyond recovery and prepares to eliminate him, while Xu Changqing and the others escape the battlefield.

Chapter Summary: Summer Spirit Rice Planting, Zhang Xue’s Probe

Key Plot Points and Events

• After escaping the confrontation in Red Maple Valley, Xu Changqing, Hu Bugui, and Zhao Ziyue stop near the Spirit Fields and recover from their fear.
• They discuss Qin Baili’s terrifying attack. Zhao Ziyue explains that it was not even an Earth Grade spell, but merely a casual strike from a Golden Core cultivator’s magical artifact.
• Zhao warns them not to offend the Qiu Clan, whose influence extends through the Qianyuan Dynasty and the Dongting Immortal Sect. The incident will likely attract the attention of the immortal elders.
• Zhao suggests fishing as a way to relax. Hu Bugui instead teases Xu Changqing about the three women who had clung to him during the earlier crisis.
• Xu suspects that Bai Ling’er, Zhang Xue, and Bai Zhuer may have been instinctively attracted to him because of the interactions between their Spiritual Roots and his Companion Green Lotus.
• Xu decides to remain close to the Spirit Fields and avoid unnecessary adventures. He refuses Hu Bugui’s later fishing invitations.
• With summer arriving, the Spirit Fields require frequent use of the Minor Cloud-Rain Art. Xu contacts Bai Ling’er to summon rain, but Zhang Xue arrives in her place because Bai Zhuer forbids Ling’er from coming.
• Zhang Xue casts a much stronger version of the Minor Cloud-Rain Art than Bai Ling’er, producing denser, more spiritually nourishing rain.
• During the rainmaking, Zhang Xue subtly questions Xu about his relationship with Zhang Su and Zhang Er, revealing that the three of them belong to the same cultivation lineage.
• After receiving her payment, Zhang Xue leaves. Xu then activates the Companion Green Lotus and its domain, accelerating the growth of the spirit plants. He estimates that the harvest may exceed twenty thousand jin.
• Xu remains puzzled by the meaning behind Zhang Xue’s questions and suspects that her visit was more than a simple favor.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Becomes more cautious after nearly being caught up in the Red Maple Valley incident. He chooses a quieter, more secure life centered on cultivating his Spirit Fields. His growing awareness of his attraction to cultivators with different Spiritual Roots also adds to his uncertainty about his relationships.
• Zhao Ziyue: Demonstrates practical judgment by warning Xu and Hu Bugui about the Qiu Clan’s influence. Despite the earlier danger, his suggestion to go fishing shows his calm and somewhat eccentric personality.
• Hu Bugui: Remains humorous and outspoken, teasing Xu about his popularity with women while being comically unaware of why they favor Xu.
• Bai Ling’er: Does not appear directly, but her desire to help Xu is implied by her arranging Zhang Xue as a substitute.
• Bai Zhuer: Shows protectiveness toward her younger sister by preventing Ling’er from visiting Xu.
• Zhang Xue: Displays greater mastery of Water Spiritual Power than Bai Ling’er and behaves with controlled politeness. Her indirect questions suggest that she is investigating Xu’s connections to Zhang Su and Zhang Er.
• Qin Baili and the Qiu Clan: Their power and influence are emphasized, reinforcing the danger of provoking major forces within the sect.

Significant Themes

• The overwhelming power hierarchy of cultivation: The casual attack of a Golden Core cultivator demonstrates the vast gap between realms.
• Political influence and self-preservation: Xu and his companions recognize that personal justice is difficult when powerful clans and dynasties are involved.
• Cautious withdrawal from danger: Xu’s decision to remain near the Spirit Fields reflects his growing preference for stability over adventure.
• Spiritual Roots and attraction: The chapter continues exploring how elemental compatibility may influence relationships between cultivators.
• Agriculture as cultivation: Rain, spiritual qi, and the Companion Green Lotus work together to make Xu’s Spirit Fields increasingly productive, highlighting his distinctive path of growth.
• Hidden motives and investigation: Zhang Xue’s carefully phrased questions create suspense and suggest that Xu may be drawn into another conflict through his association with Zhang Su and Zhang Er.

Character Interactions

• Xu, Hu Bugui, and Zhao Ziyue bond through their shared escape and discuss the danger posed by Qin Baili and the Qiu Clan.
• Hu Bugui humorously questions Xu about his encounters with Bai Ling’er, Zhang Xue, and Bai Zhuer, while Xu awkwardly denies having noticed anything unusual.
• Zhang Xue and Xu cooperate over the Spirit Fields, but her casual questions turn the meeting into a subtle interrogation.
• Zhang Xue’s superior rain technique impresses Xu, while her connection to the Zhang family leaves him suspicious and confused.
• Xu’s final activation of the Companion Green Lotus reinforces his independence: the Spirit Fields’ rapid growth depends on his own unique power as much as on outside assistance.

Chapter Summary: “Teasing the Yellow Dog, Scrounging a Dinner”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing spends time under a poplar tree teasing his yellow dog, Wangwang, by pretending to pet it without actually touching it. Wangwang realizes the trick and angrily barks, leading to playful interaction between master and dog.
• His daily cultivation session with the Companion Green Lotus ends as the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea is nearly depleted. He checks on his Grade-Two Spirit Field and observes that the spirit plants are weakened by the summer heat but are developing quickly thanks to the Green Lotus Domain. They should be ready for harvest in roughly two months.
• Xu Changqing reflects on his cultivation progress. Although he has not advanced beyond the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, his spiritual power has greatly increased, from one drop in his Qi Sea to five. Since Zhang Er has been dealt with and the investigations by the Immortal Sect and Zhang Family have ended, he feels little urgency to pursue rapid advancement.
• Senior Brother Li Sancai contacts him through a Communication Talisman, reminding him of his promise to help harvest the mature Rainbow Orchids—an obligation Xu Changqing had forgotten for more than half a year.
• Xu deliberately delays his departure, hoping that arriving late will force Li Sancai to provide him with dinner. He spends time teasing Wangwang and catching chickens before traveling to Li’s Spirit Fields on his damaged paper crane.
• At Li Sancai’s farm, Xu notices that the Spirit Rice and Rainbow Orchids remain healthy. The Mutated Spirit Rice he previously sold Li has grown especially well and has been given a separate area to prevent competition for nutrients.
• Xu uses his Spiritual Sense to inspect the Rainbow Orchids. They are currently High-Quality Grade and will reach Supreme Grade in two days, indicating that Li Sancai’s cultivation and nurturing techniques have improved.
• He harvests the orchids slowly and finishes only after sunset. The harvest grants him 5,575 days of lifespan, bringing his total to 127,056 days—about 348 years, exceeding the expected lifespan of most Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Li invites Xu to eat after the work is done. Xu is delighted, believing his plan to obtain dinner has succeeded, but is stunned to find only a large basin of Spirit Rice porridge and a jug of Second-Grade Spirit Rice Wine—without even pickled vegetables.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Continues to show a relaxed, cunning, and comfort-oriented personality. He is satisfied with steady cultivation progress rather than obsessively pursuing breakthroughs. His Spiritual Sense has become strong enough to replace the Evergreen Formula for examining plants, and his rapidly increasing lifespan gives him a major advantage among Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Wangwang: Remains affectionate and trusting toward Xu but is also comically gullible. Its furious reaction after being tricked reinforces its playful bond with its master.
• Li Sancai: Demonstrates continued improvement in spirit-plant cultivation, particularly through the increasingly high quality of his Rainbow Orchids. He is practical and straightforward, summoning Xu to fulfill his promise and providing a very simple meal afterward.

Significant Themes

• Steady growth over rushed advancement: Xu’s cultivation improves through consistent daily practice, even without a realm breakthrough.
• Farming as cultivation: Plant care, harvests, and agricultural techniques remain central to Xu’s progress and livelihood.
• Longevity as power: Xu’s accumulated lifespan has become an exceptional asset, surpassing that of nearly all Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Leisure and opportunism: Xu’s playful laziness and schemes—especially delaying his arrival to secure dinner—contrast with his disciplined work in cultivation and farming.
• Humor in ordinary life: The dog prank and Xu’s exaggerated expectations for dinner add lightheartedness to the chapter and make the cultivator’s daily life feel domestic and mundane.

Character Interactions

• Xu and Wangwang engage in a playful master-and-dog prank, with Xu faking affection and Wangwang eventually realizing it has been deceived.
• Xu and Li Sancai communicate as fellow disciples: Li reminds Xu of his obligation, while Xu invents an excuse for arriving late.
• During the harvest, Xu quietly evaluates Li’s progress through the condition of the Rainbow Orchids. Their relationship is cooperative, but Xu also subtly takes advantage of Li’s hospitality.
• The chapter ends on a comedic mismatch between Xu’s expectations of a rewarding dinner and Li’s extremely bare-bones meal.

Chapter Summary: “Gentle Night Breeze, Arena Grounds Open”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing shares a meal of vegetarian spiritual porridge with Li Sancai. Their conversation reveals that Li Sancai has no shortage of food and considers excessive eating pointless because cultivators can only refine a limited amount of spiritual qi each day.
• Li Sancai invites Xu Changqing to visit Foundry Peak, where nine arenas are opening for disciples to practice combat. Although Xu dislikes fighting, he agrees to accompany Li Sancai to gain experience and broaden his horizons.
• Xu returns home, where he peacefully observes the night sky and entrusts the protection of his spirit fields to Wangwang, his vigilant dog.
• The following morning, Xu completes his usual routine: preparing food, cultivating in the fields, cleaning up after his animals, and checking on the Pearl Chicken.
• The Pearl Chicken unexpectedly lays two eggs instead of its usual one egg every three days. Xu treats both the chicken and Wangwang with extra spirit rice and affection.
• Xu prepares lunch for Wangwang, travels to Li Sancai’s residence, and then rides with him to Foundry Peak.
• Foundry Peak is crowded and bustling with formal disciples and arena workers. Nine arenas have been constructed, with Earth Spirit Root disciples responsible for building and maintaining them.
• Li Sancai explains the importance of combat experience and the relationships between different Spiritual Roots. Attribute advantages and disadvantages can strongly affect battles, but skill and experience can lessen those effects.
• At Arena No. 1, Xu and Li watch a Water Spirit Root cultivator fight a Metal Spirit Root cultivator. Despite the Water cultivator’s defensive water sphere and speed, the Metal cultivator’s Taibai Sword Pellet overwhelms him with minimal effort.
• When Li asks Xu what he would do in the same situation, Xu humorously answers that he would immediately surrender.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Remains pragmatic, peaceful, and uninterested in unnecessary conflict. His instinct to surrender rather than fight a clearly losing battle reflects his cautious and practical personality. He is also shown to be caring toward his animals, rewarding both the Pearl Chicken and Wangwang for their efforts.
• Li Sancai: Acts as a supportive senior brother and mentor. He encourages Xu to develop combat awareness despite the limitations of a Wood Spirit Root and explains the tactical importance of Spiritual Root attributes.
• Wangwang: Demonstrates strong vigilance by guarding the spirit fields throughout the night, while still behaving affectionately and eagerly seeking Xu’s praise.
• Pearl Chicken: Gains a humorous moment of pride after laying two eggs, suggesting that its productivity may be improving.

Significant Themes

• Practicality over bravado: Xu’s willingness to surrender emphasizes survival and sensible decision-making over pointless heroics.
• Combat experience and adaptability: Li Sancai stresses that natural Spiritual Root advantages are not absolute; technique, reaction speed, and experience can reduce or overcome elemental disadvantages.
• Peaceful daily life: The tranquil night scenery and Xu’s agricultural routine contrast with the excitement and danger of the arena world.
• Care and cultivation: Xu’s relationship with his animals reflects the chapter’s quieter theme of nurturing, responsibility, and rewards gained through patient effort.
• Spiritual Root relationships: The chapter introduces the generating and restraining cycles of the Five Elements, establishing how cultivation attributes influence combat.

Character Interactions

• Xu and Li share a relaxed meal and develop a friendly, informal rapport through teasing and conversation.
• Li encourages Xu to participate in arena activities, while Xu agrees mainly to accompany him and observe.
• Xu interacts warmly with Wangwang and the Pearl Chicken, rewarding them with food and praise.
• At Foundry Peak, Li takes on a teacher-like role by explaining battle theory and Spiritual Root compatibility.
• Xu’s blunt response—“I surrender!!!”—provides the chapter’s comedic conclusion and highlights the contrast between Li’s serious combat advice and Xu’s highly pragmatic nature.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Sancai expresses frustration with Xu Changqing’s reluctance to pursue combat, joking that he is a “qualified spirit farmer.” However, he ultimately respects Xu’s different goals rather than forcing him to change.
• A red boat arrives at Foundry Peak carrying five of the sect’s most talented formal disciples:
  • Lan Tian, foremost disciple of Water-Control Pavilion
  • Rong Yan, top Wood Spirit Root disciple of the Spirit Fields
  • Shi Gandang, top Earth Spirit Root disciple of Earth Vein
  • Huo Wan, top Fire Spirit Root disciple and youngest outstanding alchemist of the Alchemy Pavilion
  • Jian Hanxin, top Metal Spirit Root disciple of Foundry Peak
• All five are Single Spiritual Root geniuses who have reached Foundation Establishment.
• Lan Tian, empowered by the growth-type spirit artifact Autumn Water, challenges everyone at Foundry Peak to fight him and improve their combat skills. The other four geniuses also take the remaining arenas, apparently intending to test their own abilities.
• Xu Changqing notices Li Sancai’s emotional reaction to Huo Wan and encourages him to challenge her. Using the excuse of recruiting an alchemist for their team, Li Sancai gathers enough courage to step onto Huo Wan’s arena.
• Huo Wan is visibly surprised to see Li Sancai, but her response becomes restrained after she glances at Rong Yan, suggesting an emotionally complicated history.
• Before Li Sancai and Huo Wan can fight, attention shifts to Arena No. 1, where Lan Tian faces Yan Yang, a young Foundry Peak disciple known for her unusual black training clothes, short hair, and exceptional comprehension.
• Yan Yang reveals herself to be an aggressive close-combat sword cultivator, wielding a Taibai Sword Pellet and a silver shortsword. Lan Tian immediately recognizes her style with interest.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing remains practical, observant, and more interested in spirit farming than combat. He also displays a playful, gossip-loving side while trying to help Li Sancai with Huo Wan.
• Li Sancai is shown to be insecure and emotionally affected by Huo Wan’s changed circumstances. Although he sees himself as an ordinary spirit farmer compared with Rong Yan, Xu’s encouragement—and perhaps the influence of his cousin Li Lingbi—helps him take action.
• Huo Wan has risen from Li Sancai’s childhood companion to an accomplished alchemist and top Fire Spirit Root disciple. Her restrained attitude suggests distance between her and Li Sancai.
• Rong Yan is established as powerful, talented, and socially privileged as heir to the prominent Rong Family. His watchful reaction to Li Sancai and Huo Wan hints at possessiveness or tension.
• Lan Tian is confident and composed, using the gathering as an opportunity to test his abilities and challenge the other disciples.
• Yan Yang is introduced as an unconventional and aggressive sword cultivator whose combat style contrasts with the usual stationary approach of Metal Spirit Root practitioners.
• Shi Gandang displays arrogance by dismissing the gathered disciples as “trash,” while Jian Hanxin visibly dislikes his attitude.

Significant Themes

• Different paths to cultivation: The chapter contrasts Xu Changqing’s peaceful spirit-farming ambitions with the combat-focused goals of the elite geniuses.
• Talent and social status: The five geniuses possess exceptional spiritual roots, cultivation realms, and family or sect advantages, emphasizing the gap between elite disciples and ordinary cultivators.
• Unresolved feelings and changing relationships: Li Sancai and Huo Wan’s childhood bond has been strained by time, achievement, and Huo Wan’s apparent closeness with Rong Yan.
• Courage and self-worth: Li Sancai’s decision to approach Huo Wan represents a small but meaningful attempt to overcome his inferiority and emotional hesitation.
• Competition as growth: The arena challenges are presented not merely as displays of superiority but as opportunities to gain combat experience and test recent breakthroughs.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing teases Li Sancai about being interested in Huo Wan, then strategically encourages him to recruit her as an alchemist.
• Li Sancai and Huo Wan exchange a formal, emotionally distant greeting after years apart, with Rong Yan’s presence making the encounter more tense.
• Huo Wan and Rong Yan behave intimately, strongly implying they are genuine Dao companions.
• Lan Tian openly challenges the crowd, while Shi Gandang insults the other disciples and Jian Hanxin reacts with disdain.
• The chapter ends with Lan Tian facing Yan Yang, setting up the first major battle and highlighting the contrast between his refined Water-based abilities and her direct close-combat swordsmanship.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yan Yang vs. Lan Tian: Yan Yang attacks Lan Tian with a barrage of Sword Qi, but Lan Tian, the strongest official disciple of Water-Control Pavilion, effortlessly defends himself with a transparent water barrier. He expands the barrier across the arena, trapping Yan Yang in dense Water Spiritual Power and suffocating her until she collapses. After releasing her, Lan Tian declares that only Foundation Establishment cultivators are worthy of challenging him.
• Li Sancai vs. Huo Wan: Li Sancai uses the Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art to summon thorny vines, apparently hoping to prove himself. Huo Wan mocks the weakness of his attack before activating the Supreme Grade fire-attributed spirit artifact, the Fire-Collecting Bell, which unleashes a sea of flames and burns all his vines. Realizing the overwhelming gap between them, Li Sancai concedes and angrily leaves Foundry Peak with Xu Changqing.
• Return to Xu Changqing’s spirit field: On the way home, Xu Changqing discovers Zhang Xue teasing and cornering Wangwang inside its doghouse. Wangwang escapes and hides behind Xu Changqing for protection.
• Compensation from the Qiu Clan: Zhang Xue delivers a storage pouch containing one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones as compensation for the incident involving Qiu Feng. Xu Changqing is impressed by the Qiu Clan’s wealth.
• Marriage and spiritual-root discussion: Zhang Xue teases Xu Changqing about finding a Dao companion. He explains that he hopes to awaken a second Spiritual Root and would therefore want a partner with a Water Spirit Root. When asked about appearance, strength, and age, he casually says someone like Zhang Xue would suit him.

Character Developments

• Lan Tian is established as extremely powerful, confident, and proud. His effortless defeat of Yan Yang demonstrates the overwhelming difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment.
• Yan Yang shows determination and aggression but is forced to confront her lack of power. Although humiliated and defeated, she remains visibly defiant.
• Huo Wan reveals both ruthless combat ability and access to powerful resources. Her Fire-Collecting Bell, gifted by Yan Yang, gives her a decisive advantage over Li Sancai.
• Li Sancai becomes frustrated and loses his composure after being mocked and having his carefully prepared seeds destroyed. His desire to prove himself turns into embarrassment and resentment.
• Xu Changqing remains calm and supportive, consoling Li Sancai after the defeat and acting protectively toward Wangwang.
• Zhang Xue takes a more proactive and teasing role. Her questions about Xu Changqing’s ideal Dao companion suggest personal interest, especially after he says someone like her would be suitable.
• Wangwang clearly dislikes Zhang Xue’s teasing and eagerly seeks refuge with Xu Changqing.

Significant Themes

• The gap between cultivation realms: Lan Tian’s victory emphasizes how impossible it is for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator to challenge a strong Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Power, resources, and preparation: Huo Wan’s expensive Supreme Grade spirit artifact demonstrates how treasure and external resources can decisively influence battles.
• Pride and humiliation: Li Sancai’s loss is painful not only because of defeat but because Huo Wan belittles his abilities and destroys the seeds he prepared.
• Romantic implication and indirect courtship: The conversation between Zhang Xue and Xu Changqing shifts from playful teasing toward possible romantic tension, with Zhang Xue actively probing his preferences.
• Comedic interpersonal dynamics: Wangwang’s fear of Zhang Xue, Li Sancai’s angry outburst, and Xu Changqing’s blunt answer provide humor amid the more serious arena battles.

Character Interactions

• Lan Tian humiliates Yan Yang by defeating her effortlessly and warning weaker cultivators not to challenge him.
• Huo Wan taunts Li Sancai, then defeats him with her Fire-Collecting Bell; their former relationship appears to become emotionally distant as the battle progresses.
• Xu Changqing comforts Li Sancai, though Li’s frustration overwhelms his encouragement.
• Zhang Xue torments Wangwang playfully, while Wangwang treats Xu Changqing as a protector.
• Zhang Xue delivers Xu Changqing’s compensation and leads the conversation toward romance. Xu Changqing’s statement that someone like her would make a suitable Dao companion leaves an implied opening for mutual attraction.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Xue unexpectedly confesses her interest in becoming Xu Changqing’s Dao companion by asking whether they should “give it a try.”
• Xu Changqing clarifies that he is not seeking a romantic partner or future wife. He wants an employed Dao companion who would dual cultivate with him and help him develop a new Spiritual Root.
• Zhang Xue is shocked by his blunt, transactional interpretation of the relationship and leaves to consider his proposal.
• Xu Changqing reflects that, despite being attracted to Zhang Xue, he cannot risk revealing his secrets—including his unusually frequent spirit-plant harvests, the Mutated Spirit Rice beneath Stone Mountain, and his secret to longevity. A temporary, employment-based arrangement therefore seems safest.
• Zhang Xue’s visit also reminds him that the Mutated Spirit Rice’s scent must be concealed. He contacts Han Xin to purchase a portable formation capable of hiding scents.
• Han Xin offers a portable Breath-Hiding Formation for fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Xu Changqing agrees, spending half of the hundred spirit stones he recently acquired.
• Han Xin arrives drunk on her flying shuttle and crashes near Xu Changqing’s spirit fields. She explains that Xu Changqing’s wine is delicious, improves cultivation, and aids technique comprehension, making her unable to stop drinking it.
• She gives Xu Changqing the portable formation, a jade-disc device covering roughly ten zhang.
• Xu Changqing gives Han Xin a new batch of Yellow Rice Wine to test instead of the older Second-Grade Spirit Rice Wine.
• Han Xin rapidly drinks nearly the entire jin of wine. Although the new brew has no harmful side effects, it immediately knocks her unconscious.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing is shown to be pragmatic, guarded, and highly secretive. He is not opposed to intimacy, but his concern for protecting his cultivation methods and longevity outweighs romantic considerations.
• Zhang Xue reveals that her repeated interactions with Xu Changqing were motivated by genuine attraction rather than suspicion or testing. His unusual proposal leaves her confused and emotionally unsettled.
• Han Xin remains cheerful, reckless, and perpetually intoxicated because of Xu Changqing’s powerful wine. Despite her drunkenness, her cultivation continues improving, and she serves as Xu Changqing’s supplier of formations.
• Xu Changqing’s growing skill as a brewer is emphasized: his Yellow Rice Wine is superior in taste and lacks the negative effects of his earlier wine.

Significant Themes

• Pragmatism versus romance: Zhang Xue imagines a conventional Dao-companion relationship, while Xu Changqing views it as a practical cultivation arrangement.
• Secrecy and self-preservation: Xu Changqing’s hidden abilities and longevity force him to maintain emotional and physical distance from others.
• Cultivation as commerce: Spiritual resources, formations, wine, and even Dao companionship are treated as negotiable goods and services.
• Unexpected consequences of talent: Xu Changqing’s exceptional wine brings him benefits and customers but also creates problems, particularly Han Xin’s addiction and reckless behavior.
• Innovation and preparation: The purchase of a portable formation demonstrates Xu Changqing’s constant efforts to protect his resources and conceal his unusual activities.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Xue and Xu Changqing have a tense, revealing conversation in which her romantic interest clashes with his impersonal expectations.
• Xu Changqing and Han Xin exchange playful complaints: he criticizes her drunken arrival, while she blames his delicious wine for her behavior.
• Their business transaction is mixed with familiarity and humor, ending with Han Xin testing Xu Changqing’s new wine and immediately passing out.