Chapter Summaries

Ji Yuan decided to learn talisman-making and unlocked the Talisman Room, then bought supplies and visited Lame Li for Corpse-Melting Water. Lame Li revealed he was Qiu Qianhai’s maternal uncle and asked Ji Yuan to tell Qiu Qianhai that he agreed.

• Ji Yuan chose talisman-making as his first cultivation art and discovered that labeling a room “Talisman Room” unlocked a Panel upgrade condition.
• Ji Yuan bought a talisman manual, paper, ink, and a brush in Zengtou City, spending most of his Spirit Stones.
• Ji Yuan visited Room Xu-9 and gained entry to Lame Li’s home by mentioning Qiu Qianhai.
• Lame Li sold Ji Yuan four bottles of Corpse-Melting Water and revealed that he was Qiu Qianhai’s maternal uncle.
• Lame Li asked Ji Yuan to tell Qiu Qianhai that he agreed.

Ji Yuan tried to make a Calming Talisman but failed repeatedly at the Spirit Awakening step, so he decided to ask Lu Wan for help. After learning she was at Wu Wenbin’s residence, he went there and was told she was practicing Middle-Grade Talismans and being considered for next year’s Water Dragon Sect selection.

• Wu Qin told Ji Yuan that Lin Hu had gone to Zengtou City with Deng Yunliang and feared they were up to something bad, but Ji Yuan declined to interfere.
• Ji Yuan studied talisman drawing and burned ten sheets while repeatedly failing to complete the Spirit Awakening step.
• Ji Yuan decided to ask Lu Wan for help and learned from Lu Song that she was at Master Wu’s residence.
• Ji Yuan went to the Wu Residence, where a disciple welcomed him after he said Lu Wan was his sister.
• The disciple told Ji Yuan that Lu Wan was attempting Middle-Grade Talismans and that Wu Wenbin planned for her to enter next year’s Water Dragon Sect selection.

Ji Yuan visited Lu Wan and learned how to awaken a Calming Talisman by infusing it with spiritual energy by hand. After returning home, he upgraded his Talisman Room to Level 1 and saw the requirements for Level 2.

• Ji Yuan visited Lu Wan at the Wu Residence to ask about a problem with drawing Talismans, where he met Wu Yan.
• Wu Yan infused spiritual energy into Ji Yuan’s Calming Talisman, helping Ji Yuan realize that Spirit Awakening required his hand rather than a talisman brush.
• Lu Wan explained that a talisman brush concentrated spiritual power on one point and could not awaken an entire sheet of Talisman Paper effectively.
• Ji Yuan hurried home after the panel refreshed, then upgraded his Talisman Room to Level 1 and checked the requirements for Level 2.
• After Ji Yuan left, Wu Yan asked Lu Wan how she was related to him, and Lu Wan tentatively called Ji Yuan a boy from next door.

Ji Yuan made thirty-two Water-Repelling Talismans through days of intense practice, improving his spiritual control and physique. Before leaving for Zengtou City, he learned that Deng Yunliang had become a gambling addict and refused to lend him Spirit Stones.

• Ji Yuan saw that upgrading the Talisman Room required costly materials and resolved to focus on First-Tier talismans.
• Ji Yuan practiced drawing Water-Repelling Talismans, using Spirit Eggs and Spirit Pig meat to sustain himself.
• Ji Yuan used up his talisman paper and produced thirty-two Water-Repelling Talismans, while gaining greater precision with spiritual energy and a tougher physique.
• Ji Yuan overheard Lin Hu and Wu Qin arguing after Lin Hu lost money gambling with Deng Yunliang.
• Deng Yunliang asked Ji Yuan for three Spirit Stones to pay his Immortal Residence Fee, but Ji Yuan refused and warned him off with his cultivation aura before departing for Zengtou City.

Ji Yuan sold his Water-Repelling Talismans to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and earned enough Spirit Stones to consider advancing his cultivation. After leaving Zengtou City, he decided to prioritize breaking through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement over upgrading his buildings.

• Ji Yuan sold his thirty-two Water-Repelling Talismans to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion for sixty Spirit Stones, and Senior Brother Liu praised his talent for drawing talismans.
• Wu Yan and Lu Wan encountered Ji Yuan, and Wu Yan offered to have his father examine Ji Yuan’s aptitude, which Ji Yuan resolved to avoid.
• Wu Yan and Lu Wan examined one of Ji Yuan’s talismans and recognized his unusually high success rate for a beginner.
• Ji Yuan counted his savings and found he had ninety-eight Spirit Stones.
• Ji Yuan considered upgrading buildings but decided to use his Spirit Stones to break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement.

Ji Yuan broke through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement after three days of secluded cultivation, then paid Lin Hu’s overdue Immortal Residence Fee when Pang Zhiyuan threatened to expel him. Lin Hu promised to quit gambling and left for Cloud-Rain Marsh, while Ji Yuan returned home.

• Ji Yuan consumed seven Spirit Eggs and used forty-four Spirit Stones to break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement, then stabilized his cultivation with the remaining stones.
• After gathering twenty-one Spirit Eggs, Ji Yuan encountered Pang Zhiyuan collecting Lin Hu’s overdue Immortal Residence Fee.
• Pang Zhiyuan demanded that Lin Hu pay the outstanding fee immediately or leave Zengtou City, and Deng Yunliang refused to lend him Spirit Stones.
• Remembering the old friendship between their families, Ji Yuan paid Lin Hu’s two-Stone shortfall and urged him to stop gambling.
• Lin Hu promised Ji Yuan he would never gamble again, bowed to him, and poled his boat toward Cloud-Rain Marsh.

Deng Yunliang plotted to kill Ji Yuan and hired two Fourth Layer Qi Refining gamblers to ambush him. Ji Yuan killed the attackers and Deng Yunliang, erased the evidence, then found Lin Hu and Wu Qin away from home.

• Deng Yunliang feared Ji Yuan's strength, decided to kill him for his possessions, and recruited two gamblers to help.
• Ji Yuan left home to buy supplies, but a Bronze Nail ambushed him as he locked his gate.
• Ji Yuan defended himself with his Dharma Tools and techniques, killing both attackers and Deng Yunliang.
• Ji Yuan collected the gamblers' meager possessions and used Corpse-Melting Water to erase the traces.
• Ji Yuan knocked at Lin Hu's door, but no one answered, and he suspected Wu Qin had taken the Spirit Vessel out.

After resolving the aftermath of Deng Yunliang’s death, Ji Yuan resumed quiet cultivation while Lin Hu and Wu Qin advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining. Three months later, Ji Yuan acquired Centennial Parasol Wood in Zengtou City, bringing him closer to building his first Level 2 structure.

• Ji Yuan exchanged Deng Yunliang’s Bronze Nail artifact for Spirit Stones and learned that Lu Wan had refused Wu Wenbin’s proposal for her to become his son’s daughter-in-law.
• Lin Hu repaid Ji Yuan, then revealed that he had found Jade Lotus Root and sold it for thirty Spirit Stones; he and Wu Qin both advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining.
• A family of three moved into Deng Yunliang’s former courtyard, while Ji Yuan continued his secluded cultivation and talisman practice.
• Three months later, Ji Yuan bought Centennial Parasol Wood from Sister Wang for twenty Spirit Stones after gathering Cold Iron Sand and searching unsuccessfully for Rotbone Flower.
• Ji Yuan returned home with enough wood to build a Chicken Coop, expecting his first Level 2 structure to appear.

Ji Yuan expanded his lakeside residence and upgraded the Chicken Coop to Level Two, gaining the ability to produce Spirit Soil while hiding its unusual signs. The Level Three requirements revealed a future bird king and daily Tri-color Spirit Eggs, but Ji Yuan was left pondering the eggs.

• Ji Yuan gave Wen Ling'er osmanthus cakes and returned to his courtyard.
• Ji Yuan inspected his expanded two-courtyard home, with a Fish Pond in front and the chicken coop and pigsty in back.
• Ji Yuan made a new chicken coop from Centennial Parasol Wood and spent fifty Spirit Stones to upgrade it to Level Two.
• Ji Yuan discovered he could turn off the coop’s omen effect, concealing its glow and the chickens’ spiritual claw patterns.
• Ji Yuan checked the Level Three requirements and saw that the coop would produce a Tri-color Spirit Egg daily and hatch a bird king, but would require Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation and Rotfirefly Yin Locust Wood.

Ji Yuan discovered Spirit Soil in his Chicken Coop, accepted an invitation to dinner from Wen Lin, and learned where to seek the Rotbone Flower. After buying a protective Dharma Tool, he went to Shop No. A-18 in search of the rare ingredient.

• Ji Yuan collected a qian of Spirit Soil from his Level Two Chicken Coop and kept it for a future Spirit Field.
• Wen Lin invited Ji Yuan and Lin Hu to dinner, where Ji Yuan asked about Rotbone Flower and learned that Shop No. A-18 might know where to find it.
• Ji Yuan saved Spirit Stones and bought the Dragon Armor Shield, adding protection to his collection of Dharma Tools.
• As the cold weather kept Lin Hu from sailing, Ji Yuan visited Shop No. A-18 on the third day of the twelfth month.

Ji Yuan visited the secretive Shop No. A-18 to obtain materials for upgrading his [Fish Pond] and [Pigsty], but learned that the Water Dragon Sect was dangerously monopolizing Cold Iron Sand. He paid a deposit for the rare Rotbone Flowers and stopped searching for Cold Iron Sand; ten days later, someone arrived at a mist-shrouded island to tell Old Ghost that a buyer was seeking the flowers.

• Ji Yuan encountered Wu Yan leaving one of Shop No. A-18's curtained compartments, and Wu Yan was surprised that Ji Yuan knew of the hidden shop.
• Ji Yuan asked a black-robed cultivator for five catties of Cold Iron Sand and four Rotbone Flowers.
• The black-robed cultivator warned Ji Yuan that the Water Dragon Sect was buying up Cold Iron Sand and might kill anyone who competed with it.
• Ji Yuan paid ten Spirit Stones as a deposit for the Rotbone Flowers, which the shop promised to pursue and report on next month.
• Ji Yuan stopped collecting Cold Iron Sand and turned away two cultivators who asked about it.
• Ten days later, a person in a Flying Boat arrived above a black-mist-covered island and told Old Ghost that someone was seeking Rotbone Flowers.

Ji Yuan bought a Red-Crowned Chicken and used the Chicken Coop to tame it, gaining a source of potent comb blood. The chapter left him waiting for another blood draw while his neighbors took note of the spirit bird.

• Old Ghost agreed to meet the buyer seeking Rotbone Flowers, and the long-bearded man carried his meeting location away.
• Ji Yuan bought a male Red-Crowned Chicken from the chicken cultivator for seventeen Spirit Stones after the requested hen could not be found.
• Ji Yuan released the Red-Crowned Chicken into the Chicken Coop, where it became the flock’s leader and intimidated the Green-Yellow Chickens.
• Zhao Yuechan and Wen Lin recognized the rooster’s call and decided to interact normally with Ji Yuan for now.
• Ji Yuan drew a bottle of yang-rich comb blood from the rooster and kept it as protection against yin creatures.

Ji Yuan accepted a meeting on Sophora Island to barter for a Rotbone Flower and spent nearly all his Spirit Stones preparing for the encounter. After testing his new equipment and reaching peak condition, he set out across Cloud-Rain Marsh toward the meeting place.

• At Shop No. A-18, Ji Yuan accepted the address for a December 6th meeting on Sophora Island to discuss trading for the Rotbone Flower.
• Ji Yuan met Lu Wan near the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, and she urged him to leave because she feared the Wu Family was watching her.
• Ji Yuan spent nearly all his Spirit Stones on two powerful talismans, a Dark Earth Robe, healing pills, and the Mid-Grade Whitewater Flying Sword.
• Ji Yuan tested his new equipment, cultivated for three days, and prepared to travel to Sophora Island in the shallow waters of Cloud-Rain Marsh.
• Ji Yuan secured his Red-Crowned Chicken in the Chicken Coop, then departed by Spirit Vessel while Lin Hu and his wife watched.

Ji Yuan met Wei Caishan on Sophora Island, where she offered him a Rotbone Flower in exchange for killing the Ghost Island Master. Distrusting her story, he followed her and discovered a trap involving a black-robed man who claimed they were fellow disciples.

• Ji Yuan traveled to Sophora Island and met Wei Caishan, who offered him a Rotbone Flower as a deposit for a request.
• Wei Caishan asked Ji Yuan to kill the Ghost Island Master of Black Mist Island, claiming he had murdered her parents.
• Ji Yuan refused to risk his life for the flowers and left, then concealed himself and watched Wei Caishan depart.
• Ji Yuan followed Wei Caishan north and saw her circle back as a black-robed man appeared with an offer of more Rotbone Flowers.
• Ji Yuan summoned the Whitewater Flying Sword and readied Water Arrow Talismans as the black-robed man called them fellow disciples.

Ji Yuan pretended to be the Ghost Island Master's fellow disciple, but their attempted deception turned into a fight over the lake. After the Ghost Island Master trapped Ji Yuan in black mist underwater, Ji Yuan burst back through the surface.

• Ji Yuan accepted the Ghost Island Master's claim that they were the last members of a sect and recognized him as his junior brother, then guessed that he was the Ghost Island Master.
• The Ghost Island Master invited Ji Yuan to Black Mist Island, but Ji Yuan refused and tried to lure him into visiting instead.
• When the Ghost Island Master raised black mist and demanded sect manuals, Ji Yuan attacked with Water Arrow Talismans, killing Wei Caishan and driving the Ghost Island Master back.
• Ji Yuan struck the Ghost Island Master with his Whitewater Flying Sword, but the Ghost Island Master countered with a black banner and its ghost-head shadows.
• The Ghost Island Master chased Ji Yuan into the lake and spread black mist across the water, but Ji Yuan used water arrows to propel himself back to the surface.

Ji Yuan broke Ghost Island Master’s formation and defeated him with blood-coated attacks, a Demon-Subduing Talisman, and the Deathbringer Needle. After fleeing and checking that no one followed, he opened Ghost Island Master’s Storage Bag and realized he had gained a huge haul.

• Ji Yuan used Red-Crowned Chicken Blood to cut through Ghost Island Master’s black-mist formation and escaped its boundaries with a Water-Escape Talisman.
• Ji Yuan attacked Ghost Island Master with a Demon-Subduing Talisman and his bloodstained Whitewater Flying Sword, then pierced him with the Deathbringer Needle and beheaded him.
• Ji Yuan burned Ghost Island Master’s body, collected his Dharma Tools and Storage Bag, and recovered Wei Caishan’s Spirit Vessel and Jade Box before destroying her corpse.
• Two Late Qi Refining cultivators investigated the battle site while other cultivators fled after sensing its lingering aura.
• Ji Yuan spent a day evading pursuit and restoring his spiritual power, then opened Ghost Island Master’s Storage Bag and found a valuable haul.

Ji Yuan searched the Ghost Island Master’s Storage Bag and discovered Rotbone Flowers, Spirit Stones, and an incomplete inheritance from the Yin Ghost Sect. He inspected his new Magical Artifacts and learned the abilities of the Black Wind Boat before turning to the Yin Ghost Banner.

• Ji Yuan found eighteen Rotbone Flowers, over a hundred Spirit Stones, pills, and talismans in the Storage Bag.
• Ji Yuan read the inheritance Jade Slip and learned about the Yin Ghost Sect, its Yin Ghost Formation, and how to cultivate Rotbone Flowers.
• Ji Yuan concluded that the Jade Slip was incomplete and chose not to risk using Rotbone Flowers to improve his cultivation.
• Ji Yuan tested a black skull-carved ring, which briefly formed the character for “yin,” then put it away.
• Ji Yuan inspected the damaged Skeleton Token and ritual robe, and decided to sell them and Wei Caishan’s Spirit Vessel.
• Ji Yuan refined the Mid-Grade Black Wind Boat, then took out the Yin Ghost Banner to examine it.

After killing the Ghost Island Master, Ji Yuan claimed the Yin Ghost Banner and returned to Zengtou City with treasures from Black Mist Island. He upgraded the Pigsty to Lv2 and saw a clump of Blood Essence appear, but had not yet examined the new effects.

• Ji Yuan refined the Yin Ghost Banner, discovered that two Yin Ghosts remained inside it, and tested the formation before storing the banner away.
• He traveled underwater in the Black Wind Boat, caught a Coldblood Perch, and went to Black Mist Island to collect Rotbone Flowers, seeds, and Yin Ghost materials.
• After five days away, Ji Yuan returned home, reassured Lin Hu, and found the courtyard unchanged.
• Ji Yuan collected the Spirit Eggs and Spirit Soil, carved Filth-Expelling Runes on the Pigsty, and upgraded it to Lv2.
• A clump of Blood Essence appeared inside the upgraded Pigsty as Ji Yuan prepared to inspect its effects.

After defeating the Ghost Island Master, Ji Yuan examined the Level Three Pigsty’s rewards and reflected on the need for stronger combat techniques. Yao Jingfeng and Du Wanyi discussed the island’s fall, while Ji Yuan sold his spoils at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and asked about the second layer of Water Drop Finger.

• Ji Yuan stored the Blood Essence, reviewed the Level Three Pigsty’s Jade-Grease and Aperture-Tempering Pearl effects, and decided he needed more offensive methods.
• Yao Jingfeng told Du Wanyi that the Ghost Island Master was dead and that a Fifth Layer Qi Refining cultivator from Zengtou City had likely killed him; they agreed to wait before approaching Ji Yuan.
• Ji Yuan collected his Spirit Egg and Blood Essence, sold a Coldblood Perch for eighteen Spirit Stones, and then sold two Spirit Vessels and the Ghost Island Master’s damaged Dharma robe and Skeleton Token at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
• Ji Yuan asked the white-haired cultivator at the technique section whether the Pavilion had the second layer of Water Drop Finger, and the cultivator recognized him.

Ji Yuan demonstrated his Water Drop Finger and Body Refining to Xu Fugui, who sold him two layers of the technique and gifted him the Surging Waves Sword Art. After buying talismans, Ji Yuan left to practice and considered creating a Dao Comprehension Chamber to improve his understanding.

• Ji Yuan demonstrated several Water Drop Finger attacks to Xu Fugui, breaking through his Water Shields before the old man's enchanted robe stopped the final strike.
• Xu Fugui judged Ji Yuan to have reached minor accomplishment in Body Refining and offered to introduce him to his Foundation Establishment master if Ji Yuan joined the Water Dragon Sect.
• Ji Yuan bought the second and third layers of the Water Drop Finger for thirty-five Spirit Stones.
• Xu Fugui gave Ji Yuan the Surging Waves Sword Art for free, explaining its three layers and learning that his name was Xu Fugui.
• Ji Yuan bought High-Grade Talismans on his way home and considered making a Dao Comprehension Chamber to aid his studies.