Chapter Summaries

Zhao Yi and his companions escaped with six boxes of Spirit Bees, then rescued two girls drifting at sea. After discovering that both girls had cultivation aptitude, Zhao Yi decided to keep them as future disciples of Linghua Island.

• Zhao Yi considered how Linghua Island could raise Spirit Bees and briefly weighed informing Black Wind Island about Kongqing Island.
• After Zhao Yi and Liu Yu rested, Wang Qing spotted two children floating on a wooden board, and the group rescued them.
• Liu Yu gave the children diluted Origin-Nourishing Soup, helping their breathing and warmth return.
• Zhao Yi and Liu Yu tested the children with Spirit Stones and discovered that both had cultivation aptitude.
• Zhao Yi concluded that the girls had likely escaped from Kongqing Island and decided Linghua Island would keep them.

Zhao Yi welcomed the sisters Zheng Ji and Zheng Tong as they showed him a nautical chart they had uncovered inside the wooden box that once held a treasure map. He recognized Linghua Island among its markings and sent Zheng Tong to fetch his Second Senior Brother to discuss what they had found.

• Zhao Yi checked that Da Yu'er and Xiao Yu'er were settling in well on Linghua Island and reminded Wang Ping to guide his junior sisters.
• More than half a year later, Zheng Ji and Zheng Tong brought Zhao Yi the wooden box Wang Qing had given them.
• Zheng Tong explained that the box had split when she dropped it, and Zheng Ji had copied colored traces inside its eight pieces to make a map.
• Zhao Yi identified the map as an old nautical chart of the Yunsha Sea Region that marked thirty-seven islands, including Linghua Island.
• Zhao Yi told Zheng Tong to fetch his Second Senior Brother, and Zheng Ji followed her to watch over her on the rugged paths.

Zhao Yi and Liu Yu confirmed that the treasure map marked a real location, and Zhao Yi set out with Wang Qing to investigate it. After weathering a storm at an apparently abandoned island, they sailed on toward their destination.

• Zhao Yi compared the treasure map with an old nautical chart, and Liu Yu agreed that both the chart and the marked location seemed genuine.
• Zhao Yi decided to investigate the location with Wang Qing and Guiwu, leaving Liu Yu and Li Hai to guard Linghua Island and care for the younger disciples.
• Liu Yu prepared supplies, and Zhao Yi and Wang Qing departed Linghua Island by single-masted ship on the twelfth day of the seventh month.
• Zhao Yi and Wang Qing reached the marked area after two days, then sheltered from fierce storms in a natural harbor on an uninhabited island.
• After the storm cleared, Zhao Yi and Wang Qing found signs of an old settlement but no water source, so they concluded the island was abandoned and sailed toward their destination.

Zhao Yi and Wang Qing found a hidden underwater cave abode and recovered a jade box, a cultivator’s remains, and books on talisman crafting. Zhao Yi discovered that the cave contained dense spiritual qi and that its cushion greatly accelerated cultivation, giving him a chance to break through to the Spirit Attraction Stage.

• Zhao Yi and Wang Qing searched the reef cluster with Guiwu’s help until Guiwu found the concealed entrance to the cave abode.
• Zhao Yi and Wang Qing entered the underwater tunnel and discovered a bare cavern with three chambers.
• Wang Qing uncovered a jade box beneath a cultivator’s remains, while Zhao Yi collected the bones and they gathered books and talisman-crafting materials from another chamber.
• Zhao Yi suspected the cave held a hidden advantage, then discovered that meditating there increased his cultivation much faster than on Linghua Island.
• Zhao Yi sat on the meditation cushion and found that it gathered dense spiritual qi, leading him to believe the cave held a spirit vein and could help him reach the Spirit Attraction Stage.

Zhao Yi and Wang Qing discovered that the cave abode held a Spirit Vein and decided to remain there in seclusion to cultivate. Meanwhile, Liu Yu received an invitation to Peach Blossom Island’s Spirit Drawing Celebration and planned to search for Zhao Yi and Wang Qing if they had not returned by the beginning of the ninth month.

• Wang Qing meditated on the cave abode’s cushion and opened a meridian after a day and a night.
• Zhao Yi and Wang Qing agreed to conceal the Spirit Vein and cultivate in seclusion, with Guiwu helping them catch fish.
• Liu Yu learned that two cultivators from Peach Blossom Island had arrived seeking Zhao Yi and met them at the mountain pavilion.
• Wu Yuyan invited Linghua Island to Peach Blossom Island’s Spirit Drawing Celebration, marking its island master’s breakthrough to the Spirit Attraction Stage.
• Liu Yu escorted the visitors to the harbor and said he would go look for Zhao Yi if he had not returned by the beginning of the ninth month.

Zhao Yi returned to Linghua Mountain with Wang Qing and Li Hai and revealed that they had found a spirit vein in a cave abode. He planned to send Wang Qing and Li Hai there to cultivate before going to Peach Blossom Island, then enter seclusion after the Trade Fair to attempt a breakthrough to the Spirit Attraction Stage.

• Wang Ping, Zheng Ji, Zheng Tong, and Liu Yu welcomed Zhao Yi, Wang Qing, and Li Hai back to Linghua Mountain after their month away.
• Zhao Yi told Liu Yu, Wang Qing, and Li Hai that he and Wang Qing had discovered a spirit vein in a cave abode.
• Wang Qing revealed that he had reached Perfection of Meridian Opening after cultivating in the cave abode for just over twenty days.
• Zhao Yi arranged for Wang Qing to take Li Hai to the cave abode to cultivate before they set out for Peach Blossom Island.
• Zhao Yi proposed using the Spirit-Seekers' Earth Vein Migration Technique after he reached the Spirit Attraction Stage, and planned to buy Spirit-Nourishing Pills to perfect his Spirit Origin.
• Liu Yu questioned whether they had enough spirit stones to buy the pills.

Zhao Yi traveled to Peach Blossom Island to represent Linghua Island at its celebration, reflecting on the growing conflict and disorder across the Yunsha Sea Region. After arriving and meeting Peach Blossom Island’s hosts and other guests, he attended the welcoming banquet, where Wu Yuyan introduced him to the island’s fifth elder.

• Zhao Yi sent two companions toward their cave abode in the Single-Masted Ship, then ordered Old Wu to sail the Linghua south for Peach Blossom Island.
• During the voyage, Zhao Yi considered the recent violence among the archipelago’s islands and blamed the Zhao Family’s excessive caution for weakening its influence.
• Zhao Yi arrived at Peach Blossom Island, where Wu Yuyan greeted him and arranged for Hua Qing to escort him to Jade Radiance Courtyard.
• At Jade Radiance Courtyard, Zhao Yi met the other visiting cultivators and later joined them at the welcoming banquet.
• Zhao Yi recognized Yuan Zifeng at the banquet, and Wu Yuyan introduced him to Peach Blossom Island’s fifth elder.

Zhao Yi attended a Peach Blossom Island banquet, where Yuan Zifeng gave him an artifact-refining inheritance and discussed his marriage. The next day, Zhao Yi attended Wu Yuying’s ceremony for entering the Spirit Attraction Stage, and the formal feast was about to begin.

• Zhao Yi greeted Peach Blossom Island’s Fifth Elder and spoke with Yuan Zifeng, who explained that Black Wind Island had given Zhao Yi the Fangtian Huaji as thanks for his help.
• Yuan Zifeng secretly gave Zhao Yi a jade slip containing an artifact-refining inheritance and asked whether his future child could join Linghua Island.
• Zhao Yi returned to his room and examined the jade slip, then performed his morning cultivation the next day.
• Zhao Yi attended Wu Yuying’s ceremony at Lingxiu Manor and presented Linghua Island’s congratulatory gift.
• The guests congratulated Wu Yuying on entering the Spirit Attraction Stage, and the ceremony moved on to the formal feast.

At Wu Yuying’s celebration on Peach Blossom Island, Mo Wufei of Three Heroes Island arrived with a lavish gift and hinted at another request. Yuan Huaqing identified Zhao Yi as a possible enemy and considered using Three Heroes Island against him, while Mo Wufei’s request remained unanswered.

• Zhao Yi admired Peach Blossom Island’s spirit cuisine and secretly poured the spirit wine into his Wine Gourd when Mo Wufei’s arrival interrupted Wu Yuying’s toast.
• Mo Wufei presented Wu Yuying with a middle-grade Azure Sun Jade Hairpin, prompting rogue cultivators to suspect trouble between Three Heroes Island and Peach Blossom Island.
• Wu Yuying welcomed Three Heroes Island’s cultivators, then toasted the guests and resumed the celebration.
• Yuan Huaqing questioned Zhao Wuji about Zhao Yi, learned of Zhao Yi’s connection to Yuan Zifeng, and resolved to use Three Heroes Island to kill him.
• Mo Wufei told Wu Yuying he had come with another request, leaving the banquet guests waiting to hear what it was.

At Peach Blossom Island’s banquet, Mo Wufei’s repeated marriage proposals provoke Wu Yuying, who expels Three Heroes Island and ends the gathering. She then offers Zhao Yi Spirit Attraction Stage insights as a dowry if he or his junior brother Liu Yu becomes Dao companions with Wu Xiuzhu, leaving Zhao Yi to consider the proposal before the trade fair.

• Mo Wufei proposed marriages between his brothers and Peach Blossom Island’s Wu Yuying and Wu Yujie, then asked whether Wu Xiuzhu had a Dao companion.
• Wu Yuying rejected Mo Wufei’s requests, and Mo Wufei accused her of treating Three Heroes Island unfairly.
• Wu Yuying struck Mo Wufei with her aura, sent him flying, and ordered Three Heroes Island’s cultivators off the island.
• After the banquet broke up, Wu Yuying summoned Zhao Yi and proposed that their families become in-laws through Wu Xiuzhu.
• Zhao Yi declined to seek a Dao companion, so Wu Yuying offered her Spirit Attraction Stage insights as a dowry and suggested Liu Yu could marry Wu Xiuzhu instead.
• Wu Yuying told Zhao Yi to discuss the proposal with Liu Yu and answer at the trade fair, then revealed that Wind-Thunder Rogue had also reached the Spirit Attraction Stage.

Zhao Yi’s return voyage was attacked by bandit cultivators from Kongqing Island and Three Heroes Island. He killed several attackers and confronted Mo Wufei, who gathered six cultivators to fight him as the ships collided.

• Zhao Yi rejected Wu Yuying’s offer of guidance and fell asleep aboard the Linghua.
• When bandit ships attacked from both sides, Zhao Yi ordered Old Wu and the sailors into the hold, then boarded Kongqing Island’s ship.
• Zhao Yi killed Yuan Huaqing and the other cultivators aboard Kongqing Island’s ship.
• Three Heroes Island’s ship rammed the Linghua twice, and Zhao Yi crossed over under a Golden Light Talisman’s protection.
• Zhao Yi charged Mo Wufei, repelled a sword attack, and forced Mo Wufei to lead six cultivators against him.
• Zhao Yi blocked their spells with his Battle Halberd and emerged from the explosions nearly unharmed.

Zhao Yi killed Mo Wufei and the remaining Three Heroes Island fighters, then returned to Linghua Island with his spoils. After distributing accumulated fortune and inventorying the loot with Liu Yu, he learned that Mo Wufei’s small sword was a blood-sacrificed dharma artifact.

• Zhao Yi killed the saber wielder and Mo Wufei, then slaughtered the Three Heroes Island sailors aboard the ship.
• Zhao Yi found Mo Wufei’s Azure Sun Jade Hairpin and gathered the belongings from both ships before ordering the ships scuttled.
• On the sixteenth day of the ninth month, the Linghua returned to Linghua Island, and Zhao Yi assigned the sailors to clean, repair, and dispose of the ships.
• Zhao Yi raised Wang Qing’s fortune to ten and his own to sixteen using the Sect Jade Register.
• Liu Yu inventoried the loot, and Zhao Yi placed the ordinary items in the Treasury while giving Liu Yu the hairpin and small sword.
• Liu Yu identified the small sword as a likely blood-sacrificed dharma artifact, and Zhao Yi began explaining what had happened with Mo Wufei.

Zhao Yi told Liu Yu about the ambush and the rising tensions among the Yunsha Sea Region’s powers, then prepared to enter seclusion to attempt a breakthrough. He left Liu Yu in charge of Linghua Island and planned to stay on Jade Pearl Island to tend the spirit fish.

• Zhao Yi told Liu Yu that he had killed Mo Wufei and the cultivators from Three Heroes Island and Kongqing Island who ambushed him, and recounted the insult to Peach Blossom Island.
• Zhao Yi revealed that Wu Yuying had proposed marriages linking Peach Blossom Island with Linghua Island, and he and Liu Yu concluded that Peach Blossom Island, Wind Howl Island, and another power might be aligning against Three Heroes Island.
• Zhao Yi and Liu Yu discussed the danger Three Heroes Island posed and the possibility that Zhao Yi's killing of Mo Wufei would draw the island into conflict with other powers.
• Zhao Yi told Liu Yu he would enter seclusion after Li Hai and the others returned, leaving Liu Yu to protect Linghua Island and evacuate Wang Qing and the others if necessary.
• Zhao Yi planned to go to Jade Pearl Island the next morning to look after the spirit fish, and he and Liu Yu noted that Guiwu had grown to five feet and reached the late Spirit Awakening stage.

Zhao Yi returned to Jade Pearl Island and discovered that Wang Qing had greatly increased the Spirit Fish population at Jade Pearl Spring. Eating the fish strengthened his mind and helped him reach the sixth section of the Daoist Script, leaving him wondering whether the fish would bring Linghua Island blessing or calamity.

• Zhao Yi visited Jade Pearl Spring, found the Spirit Fish school had grown to hundreds, and fed the mid-stage Spirit Awakening lead fish an Origin-Nourishing Pill.
• Zhao Yi steamed and ate a three-inch Spirit Fish, then discovered that studying the Daoist Script had become easier.
• Zhao Yi ate Spirit Fish over the following weeks, strengthening his mind and progressing through the fifth section of the True Explanation of the Yuanhua Dao Text.
• Zhao Yi stopped eating the fish when only six mature ones remained and tended the school until four more fish matured.
• Zhao Yi reached the sixth section of the Daoist Script and perfected his Spirit Origin, then questioned whether the Spirit Fish would bring Linghua Island blessing or calamity.

Zhao Yi traveled to the cave abode in the Reef Cluster, where Wang Qing and Li Hai had reached perfection of Meridian Opening. After reuniting with them and setting up in the Cultivation Room, he fed Guiwu an Essence Origin Pill and warned the turtle not to steal Spirit Fish.

• Zhao Yi sailed past Linghua Island, and Liu Yu watched from a mountain pavilion and wished him a safe journey.
• After several days, Zhao Yi reached the island near the cave abode and told Old Wu to wait three days before returning without him.
• Zhao Yi rowed to the Reef Cluster, swam through the cave passage with Guiwu, and reunited with Wang Qing and Li Hai, who had both reached perfection of Meridian Opening.
• Zhao Yi gave Wang Qing and Li Hai food and wine from the island, then went to arrange his belongings in the Cultivation Room.
• Zhao Yi gave Guiwu an Essence Origin Pill and warned him that he would be slaughtered for meat if he stole Spirit Fish again.

Zhao Yi attempted to break through from the Meridian Opening stage to the Spirit Attraction stage by forcing his true qi through the Baihui Acupoint. After losing consciousness during the perilous assault, he survived and began to discover the changes brought by his breakthrough.

• Zhao Yi sent Wang Qing and Li Hai back to help Liu Yu prepare for the Little Wave Island Trade Fair, then spent three days cultivating alone until his true qi reached its peak.
• Zhao Yi followed the method in the Record of Daoist Lingqing's Cultivation Experiences and the Spirit Origin Body-Nourishing Art, driving true qi through the Governing Vessel's passes toward Baihui.
• After several days, Zhao Yi gathered his true qi at the Baihui Acupoint and unleashed it against the acupoint, suffering severe injuries as he lost consciousness.
• Zhao Yi's true qi continued battering Baihui until the acupoint collapsed, allowing spiritual energy to enter his body and begin refining his true qi.
• Zhao Yi regained consciousness in agony, entered meditation, and saw his own body, meridians, and hidden injuries.

Zhao Yi broke through to the Spirit Attraction Stage, gained divine sense, and recorded his cultivation insights as a legacy for Linghua Island. Meanwhile, Liu Yu and Wu Xiuzhu discussed the crisis on Little Wave Island, where Three Heroes Island had trapped seventeen islands and left Wang Qing gravely wounded.

• Zhao Yi discovered that his true qi had transformed into dharma power, used divine sense to inspect the cave and move a stone, and completed his breakthrough to the Spirit Attraction Stage.
• Zhao Yi wrote down his breakthrough process and insights for Linghua Island, then resumed secluded cultivation to consolidate his new level.
• Wu Xiuzhu visited Liu Yu aboard the Linghua and asked after the unconscious Wang Qing while they awaited Island Master Wu.
• Liu Yu recounted how Mo Wushi and Mo Wusheng had intercepted ships at Little Wave Island, killed resisting cultivators, and confined representatives of seventeen islands while searching for Mo Wufei's killer.
• Wang Qing had been gravely wounded by Mo Wusheng after speaking up for Wu Xiuzhu, and Mo Wusheng had threatened to destroy Linghua Island if the killer was not found.
• Liu Yu suspected that the Spirit Attraction Stage cultivators from Peach Blossom Island and Wind Howl Island had been delayed, and he returned to watch over Wang Qing after Wu Xiuzhu left.

After stabilizing his cultivation, Zhao Yi inspected the Tide-Subduing Sect disciple’s storage bag, refined the Azure Sun Jade Hairpin, and practiced using a Bamboo Boat. By nightfall, he had mastered flight and set off toward the island where the Linghua was anchored.

• Zhao Yi erased the storage bag’s old imprint and found spirit stones, dharma artifacts, pills, and jade slips inside.
• Zhao Yi studied the items, including cultivation records and information issued to Tide-Subduing Sect inner sect disciples.
• Zhao Yi refined the Azure Sun Jade Hairpin and disguised it by wearing it without changing its dingy appearance.
• Zhao Yi left his cave abode and practiced controlling the Bamboo Boat, initially losing concentration and dropping it into the water.
• Zhao Yi mastered the Bamboo Boat and flew toward the island where the Linghua was anchored.

Zhao Yi returned to Linghua Island, learned that Liu Yu and Wang Qing had been detained at the Little Wave Island Trade Fair, and hurried there to rescue them. As Three Heroes Island continued its blockade, Liu Yu and Wang Qing feared Zhao Yi might arrive before stabilizing his recent breakthrough.

• Zhao Yi found Linghua Abbey empty of Liu Yu and Wang Qing, then learned from Li Hai that they had gone to the Trade Fair on Little Wave Island and had been gone for over ten days.
• Zhao Yi sent Li Hai and the younger disciples to Jade Pearl Island and flew toward Little Wave Island to bring the others back.
• The Zhao Family elders debated how to respond to Three Heroes Island's blockade, and Grand Elder Zhao Chenxing ordered them to send provisions and watch events unfold.
• Wang Qing apologized to Liu Yu for provoking trouble, but Liu Yu told him Three Heroes Island had already targeted Linghua Island and would kill everyone aboard the ship.
• Liu Yu and Wang Qing agreed that Zhao Yi might come to their aid, though Liu Yu worried his recent breakthrough would leave him vulnerable.

Liu Yu and Wang Qing discussed Wu Xiuzhu’s feelings and the possibility of a marriage alliance before Mo Wusheng attacked them. Zhao Yi intervened, defeated Mo Wusheng in his first battle at the Spirit Attraction Stage, and left him dead.

• Wang Qing teased Liu Yu about Wu Xiuzhu and urged him to consider becoming her Dao Companion, while Wu Xiuzhu secretly listened outside the room.
• Wu Xiuzhu warned Liu Yu and Wang Qing that Mo Wusheng had arrived, and the three went outside to face him.
• Mo Wusheng threatened Linghua Island and demanded that Wu Xiuzhu return to Three Heroes Island, but she refused.
• Zhao Yi arrived and fought Mo Wusheng, overwhelming him with his Wind-Chasing Spirit-Slaying Sword and defensive shield.
• Mo Wusheng tried to flee behind talismans, but Zhao Yi caught him, broke his shield, killed him, and collected what he left behind.