Chapter Summaries

Lin Mo kept the sect’s attention at bay and went to the Black Market, where he traded a mutated Fire Spirit Fruit for a cultivation method and a Yellow Tier minor art. He asked the black-robed merchant for an Aura Concealment Art to protect his secrets as his cultivation advanced.

• Lin Mo told Wang Qiuru that the Sect Master already knew about his abilities, and she agreed to keep his request in mind while granting him benefits on the level of Inner Sect Disciples.
• That evening, Lin Mo disguised himself and went to the Black Market, where the black-robed man revealed he belonged to the Penglai Commerce Association.
• Lin Mo asked the black-robed man to appraise his mutated Fire Spirit Fruit, which the merchant found novel and valuable to alchemists.
• The black-robed man offered Lin Mo a cultivation method and a Yellow Tier minor art in exchange for the fruit.
• Lin Mo asked whether he could choose the minor art and requested an Aura Concealment Art.

Lin Mo learned the Evergreen Art and Turtle Breath Art, made rapid progress in cultivation, and heard that Li Yibo had been expelled from the sect. Zhou Sheng then arrived with a special assignment worth a hundred contribution points, and Lin Mo asked where the errand would take him.

• Lin Mo traded his mutated Fire Spirit Fruit for the Evergreen Art and the Turtle Breath Art, then spent his remaining spirit plants on fifty drops of spirit liquid.
• Lin Mo studied the Evergreen Art, quickly refined his spiritual energy, and gained an initial grasp of the Turtle Breath Art and Fireball Art.
• Lin Mo learned from Liu Xianzong that Li Yibo had been stripped of his cultivation and expelled after continuing to insult the sect disciples.
• Lin Mo went to the Spirit Plant Courtyard and met Zhou Sheng, who offered him a special assignment worth a hundred contribution points.
• Lin Mo hesitated over the modest reward and asked Zhou Sheng where the errand would take him.

Lin Mo accepted a mission to invite Cloud Crane High Person to the sect after learning the elder was skilled in formations and spirit plants. Before leaving for White Jade Ravine, he arranged to borrow Qin Sang Sang to tend his Small Courtyard, and Liu Xianzong agreed to send her with him.

• Zhou Sheng told Lin Mo that the sect wanted him to invite Cloud Crane High Person from White Jade Ravine to become a Guest Elder.
• Lin Mo accepted the mission after hearing Cloud Crane High Person excelled at formations and spirit plant cultivation, and he registered for the seven-day assignment.
• Lin Mo checked his spirit plants, considered testing how they fared without spirit liquid, and decided to prepare for the trip.
• Lin Mo asked Liu Xianzong to let Qin Sang Sang stay in his Small Courtyard while he was away.
• Liu Xianzong agreed to give Qin Sang Sang to Lin Mo and suggested that Steward Wang's assigned Servant Disciple help him instead.

Lin Mo left Qin Sang Sang in charge of his courtyard while he prepared for a sect mission, then visited the Black Market to trade his remaining mutated fire spirit fruits for items to protect himself. The new stallholder exchanged them for a Wound-Repair Pill and a Hundred-Mile Talisman, claiming Lin Mo had gotten a bargain.

• Liu Xianzong misunderstood Lin Mo and Qin Sang Sang’s relationship, then let them leave together.
• Lin Mo brought Qin Sang Sang to his courtyard, assigned her a room, and asked her to guard the place while he was away.
• Lin Mo warned Qin Sang Sang to avoid the backyard formation and continued practicing the Evergreen Art and Turtle Breath Art that night.
• Lin Mo went to the Black Market and learned that Senior Brother Du had temporarily left another black-robed man in charge of the stall.
• Lin Mo traded his two mutated fire spirit fruits for a high-grade yellow tier Wound-Repair Pill and a Hundred-Mile Talisman.

Lin Mo traded Mutated Fire Spirit Fruits for lifesaving items, then evaded a disciple who tried to learn about his cultivation source. Back at his courtyard, he warned Qin Sang Sang to stay away from the back courtyard and told her he would likely leave the mountain after breakfast.

• Lin Mo traded two Mutated Fire Spirit Fruits to the black-robed man for a Hundred-Mile Talisman and a Wound-Repair Pill, then claimed his master had cultivated the fruits by chance.
• The black-robed man offered to buy any more fruits Lin Mo obtained, while others at the Black Market overheard their conversation.
• A cloaked young man followed Lin Mo and asked which elder had cultivated the Mutated Fire Spirit Fruits, but Lin Mo gave him no useful information and continued evading him until dawn.
• Lin Mo returned to find Qin Sang Sang had cleaned the courtyard and accidentally approached the back courtyard, where the formation stopped her.
• Lin Mo warned Qin Sang Sang not to cross into the back courtyard again and told her he would likely go down the mountain after breakfast.

Lin Mo received special treatment at breakfast, obtained spirit rice seeds, and set out on an assignment to visit Cloud Crane High Person. He found signs of a recent battle near White Jade Ravine and heard the injured Cloud Crane call for help.

• Lin Mo ate breakfast with Qin Sang Sang and received spirit rice and extra food from the dining hall servants.
• Lin Mo asked for uncooked spirit rice, took the grains for planting, and resolved to repay Steward Wang and Zhou Ge by becoming stronger.
• Lin Mo returned to his courtyard, told Qin Sang Sang to eat at the dining hall while he was away, and left the sect.
• Lin Mo traveled to White Jade Ravine and found blood in the air, broken trees, and scattered rocks along the path to Cloud Crane High Person's secluded valley.
• Cloud Crane called to Lin Mo from beneath the rocks, identified himself as a fellow cultivator from the Azure Cloud Sect, and pleaded for help.

Lin Mo rescued the badly injured Cloud Crane High Person from the rubble and earned his gratitude by giving him a Wound-Repair Pill. After Cloud Crane High Person agreed to remember Lin Mo’s request for formation guidance, Lin Mo carried him toward the Azure Cloud Sect using a Hundred-Mile Talisman.

• Lin Mo cautiously cleared the rubble and found the gravely injured Cloud Crane High Person beneath it.
• Cloud Crane High Person explained that Tai Sui Gate had destroyed his Spirit Fields and Five-Element Luo Dou Formation, and that a Doppelganger Puppet had helped him survive.
• Lin Mo gave Cloud Crane High Person a Wound-Repair Pill and said he had brought it for his own protection, then offered to take him back to the sect with a Hundred-Mile Talisman.
• Lin Mo asked Cloud Crane High Person for guidance in formations, and Cloud Crane High Person agreed to remember the request.
• Lin Mo carried Cloud Crane High Person on his back and sped toward the Azure Cloud Sect with the Hundred-Mile Talisman.

Lin Mo returned to the Azure Cloud Sect with the badly injured Cloud Crane High Person and tried to conceal how much the journey had weakened him. When Liu Cui revealed that the Tai Sui Gate was slaughtering villagers, Lin Mo feared for his family and the people of Locust Grass Village.

• Han Kang said the sect would set aside the Tai Sui Gate for now and focus on finding Zhu Ang, then sent Liu Cui to receive Cloud Crane High Person.
• Lin Mo and Cloud Crane High Person arrived at the foot of White Jade Mountain, where Lin Mo pretended to be badly hurt after using a Hundred-Mile Talisman.
• Wang Qiuru dispersed the watching servant disciples, checked on Lin Mo, and gave him an Essence Restoration Pill that loosened a barrier in his cultivation.
• Liu Cui greeted Cloud Crane High Person and explained that the sect's leadership was occupied with reports of the Tai Sui Gate slaughtering mortal villagers.
• Lin Mo panicked as he thought of his parents, sister Xiao He, and the villagers of Locust Grass Village.

Lin Mo persuaded Liu Cui to let him bring his younger sister Xiao He to the Azure Cloud Sect, with Cloud Crane High Person supporting his request by giving him a guide to basic formations. He left that night for Locust Grass Village, intending to bring Xiao He to the mountain while leaving his parents behind.

• Lin Mo asked Liu Cui for permission to bring his family to the sect, explaining that the Tai Sui Gate threatened their safety.
• Cloud Crane High Person credited Lin Mo with saving his life and gave him a handwritten Basic Formation Diagram Guide.
• Liu Cui approved Lin Mo bringing his younger sister, Xiao He, but not his parents.
• Wang Qiuru offered to find Lin Mo a larger courtyard, and Lin Mo set off for Locust Grass Village that night.
• Lin Mo poured a drop of spirit spring water onto the old locust tree at the village entrance before hurrying home.

Lin Mo returned home and reunited with his parents and younger sister, Lin Xiaohe, whose health had improved after drinking Spirit Spring Water. He brought Xiao He back to the sect with him, where an unexpected man appeared near the Spirit Plant Courtyard.

• Lin Mo returned to his family’s farmhouse and waited quietly until Xiao He woke and recognized him.
• Lin Mo’s parents said the Spirit Spring Water had restored their health, and he explained that he had earned permission to bring Xiao He up the mountain.
• Lin Mo’s parents encouraged him not to worry about leaving them behind, and he promised to bring them to the mountain someday.
• After breakfast, Lin Mo gave his parents more diluted Spirit Spring Water and set off with Xiao He toward the sect.
• Lin Mo and Xiao He passed through the mountain gate and neared the Spirit Plant Courtyard, where Lin Mo spotted an unexpected man.

Lin Mo brought Lin Xiaohe back to his courtyard after spotting the cloaked youth who had questioned him at the Black Market, and learned that the man had noticed him too. He tended his spirit plants, planned another trip to the Black Market, and began studying a formation guide.

• Lin Mo recognized the cloaked youth at the Spirit Plant Courtyard and hurried away with Lin Xiaohe, but the youth spotted him and realized he had found him.
• Lin Mo returned to his Small Courtyard by a roundabout route and introduced Lin Xiaohe to Qin Sang Sang, who welcomed her warmly.
• Lin Mo inspected and watered his spirit plants, planted fifteen spirit rice seeds, and found that only one drop of spirit spring water remained in his Treasure Gourd.
• Lin Mo decided to disguise himself and visit the Black Market the following night, then studied the Basic Formation Diagram Guide given to him by Cloud Crane High Person.

Lin Mo learned that he could understand formation diagrams and decided to obtain the spirit stones needed for a concealed formation to protect his spirit field. After registering Lin Xiaohe and harvesting his rapidly grown crops, he prepared for a trip to the Black Market that night.

• Lin Mo studied the formation diagrams, chose the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation to hide and defend his spirit field, and decided to seek the needed spirit stones at the Black Market.
• Lin Mo registered Lin Xiaohe as clan kin, then brought her back to the Small Courtyard.
• Lin Mo found that his mutated Fire Spirit Fruit plants and ordinary spirit plants had ripened, while his spirit rice had grown ears overnight.
• Lin Mo harvested the spirit plants, stored the withered ones separately, and prepared for his trip to the Black Market.

Lin Mo disguised himself to trade his spirit fruits at the Black Market, where a different black-robed man offered him a more favorable deal in exchange for future exclusivity. The man also gave Lin Mo a Venomous Thorn Bee to help him avoid being followed, but Lin Mo remained wary as he read about the insect.

• Lin Mo returned to the Black Market in disguise and asked the black-robed stallkeeper to screen their transaction.
• Lin Mo rejected the stallkeeper’s initial offer, insisting on the value previously agreed with the man surnamed Du.
• The black-robed man offered Lin Mo 200 metal-attribute spirit stones, 200 earth-attribute spirit stones, 500 drops of spirit liquid, and two blank Formation Discs if Lin Mo traded his future fruits with him.
• Lin Mo accepted the deal and asked for a way to leave the Black Market without being followed.
• The black-robed man gave Lin Mo a Venomous Thorn Bee and a booklet about spirit insects, and Lin Mo began reading it before deciding whether to trust the insect.

Lin Mo acquired and bonded with a Venomous Thorn Bee, then crafted a Formation Disc for his future home. On Spirit Beast Peak, a white-haired elder learned that Lin Mo had produced mutated fire spirit fruit and ordered his disciple to recruit him—or kill him if he refused.

• Lin Mo identified the black-robed man's insect as a Venomous Thorn Bee and bonded with it using a drop of his blood.
• Lin Mo returned safely to his Small Courtyard, counted his spirit stones and spirit liquid, and carved the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation onto a blank Formation Disc.
• Lin Mo played briefly with the Venomous Thorn Bee before resuming his cultivation.
• A young man reported to the white-haired elder that Lin Mo, an Outer Sect Disciple of the Spirit Plant Courtyard, had produced mutated fire spirit fruit.
• The white-haired elder ordered the young man to approach Lin Mo about becoming his disciple and to kill him if he refused.

Lin Mo moved into his new home, replanted his spirit crops, and concealed them with a formation. When Xun Bin arrived to recruit him for Elder Gou, Lin Mo denied having anything to do with mutated spirit plants.

• Lin Mo moved Qin Sang Sang and Lin Xiaohe into their new home on Spirit Plant Peak and replanted his spirit crops.
• Lin Mo set up the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation to hide his spirit plants from intruders.
• Wang Qiuru told Lin Mo that Xun Bin, Elder Gou's direct disciple, had come to see him.
• Xun Bin confronted Lin Mo about cultivating the mutated fire spirit fruit and offered him a place as Elder Gou's disciple.
• Lin Mo rejected the offer indirectly, claiming he did not understand anything about mutated fire spirit fruit.

Lin Mo refused Xun Bin’s attempt to recruit him for Elder Gou and worried about the consequences, then tended his spirit plants and harvested a new crop. He was summoned to the Spirit Plant Courtyard, where he learned Elder Gou had demanded that he restore the cursed Ghost-Crying Field.

• Lin Mo declined Xun Bin’s offer, citing his connection to Cloud Crane High Person, and Xun Bin left with a threat.
• Lin Mo harvested six mutated fire spirit fruits, ordinary spirit fruits, and spirit rice, then planted another crop while worrying about his dwindling spirit liquid.
• A Servant Disciple told Lin Mo that the elders and Wang Qiuru were waiting at the Spirit Plant Courtyard to discuss confiscating his spirit field.
• Lin Mo arrived and heard Elder Yuan complain that Gou Fengying was demanding the Ghost-Crying Field be restored.
• Elder Zhu told Lin Mo that Gou Fengying had proposed sending him to restore the field and asked whether he was confident he could do it.

Lin Mo accepted the elders’ assignment to restore the notorious Ghost-Crying Field and received a thousand water-aligned spirit stones as support. Back at his courtyard, he found a warning from Xun Bin urging him to reconsider an earlier proposal, but he hid its true message from Lin Xiaohe and tore it up.

• Lin Mo agreed to take responsibility for the Ghost-Crying Field despite Cui Zhong’s warning that its past caretakers had died or suffered grave illnesses.
• Elder Yuan promised Lin Mo a place in the grand tournament if he succeeded, while Wang Qiuru assumed the assignment came from the sect master and gave him two Storage Bags.
• Wang Qiuru offered to reassign Qin Sang Sang, and Lin Mo asked that she stay with his younger sister instead of going to the Ghost-Crying Field.
• Lin Mo opened the Storage Bags in his bedroom and found a thousand water-aligned spirit stones inside.
• Lin Xiaohe gave Lin Mo a note from Xun Bin, and Lin Mo lied about its contents before tearing it into pieces.

Lin Mo took possession of the Ghost-Crying Field, where Wang Qiuru had arranged water and hardy spirit wheat seeds to ease his work. After sowing the entire field, he sensed an eerie aura draining the soil’s nutrients as night fell, threatening to kill the seeds.

• Lin Mo left Qin Sang Sang and Lin Xiaohe at home and went with a Servant Disciple to the Ghost-Crying Field.
• Lin Mo found Servant Disciples filling a reservoir with mountain spring water and received spirit wheat seeds Wang Qiuru had selected.
• Lin Mo thanked the Outer Sect Disciple and sowed spirit wheat across all ten mu of the prepared field in just over four hours.
• The Servant Disciples finished filling the reservoir and left as darkness fell over the rear slopes.
• Lin Mo sensed an eerie aura spreading through a planting ridge, rapidly drying the soil and threatening the newly planted spirit wheat.

Lin Mo used the Treasure Gourd’s spirit spring water to restore the Ghost-Crying Field and secretly planted some of its rapidly sprouted spirit wheat in his courtyard. While cultivating, he broke through to the late first layer of Qi Refining, just as Qin Sang Sang and Lin Xiaohe came to check on him.

• The Venomous Thorn Bee investigated the eerie aura in the Ghost-Crying Field, then fell asleep after the aura weakened slightly.
• Lin Mo watered the field with ten drops of spirit spring water, restoring its spiritual energy and making the spirit wheat sprout rapidly.
• Lin Mo uprooted the seedlings, resowed the field with some crushed seeds, and finished restoring it without causing further abnormal growth.
• Lin Mo planted a hundred spirit wheat seedlings in his courtyard, then used spirit spring water and spirit plants while cultivating the Evergreen Art.
• Lin Mo broke through to the late first layer of Qi Refining, and Lin Xiaohe entered his room after hearing his grunt while Qin Sang Sang called from outside.

After Lin Mo broke through to the late first layer of Qi Refining, Wang Qiuru rewarded him and he found that the spirit wheat he had planted had grown at an astonishing rate. The chapter ended with Lin Mo seeing a faintly glowing human silhouette within the wheat heads.

• Lin Mo broke through to the late first layer of Qi Refining, and Qin Sang Sang prepared a bath and helped him with his clothes while Lin Xiaohe teased her.
• Wang Qiuru brought Lin Mo new clothes, praised his progress, and heard his account of the Ghost-Crying Field; Lin Mo kept the Treasure Gourd and Venomous Thorn Bee secret.
• Wang Qiuru gave Lin Mo a large bottle of spirit liquid as a reward, and he poured it into the Treasure Gourd.
• Lin Mo went to the backyard and discovered that his spirit wheat had grown over half a meter tall and already sprouted heads.
• Lin Mo saw a faint golden human silhouette appear within the spirit wheat heads.