Chapter Summaries

Zhang Jing attended the Dao Academy’s fourth internal trading gathering, where he watched the auction and discovered that he owned Spirit Divine Liquid like the rare batch that sold for 1,100 Dao Merit. He left realizing his own full tael could earn him 2,200 Dao Merit.

• Onlookers identified Zhang Jing as the Plague God, while Tong Yao and Senior Brother Ding recognized how far he had advanced in only a few months.
• Zhang Jing entered the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion, greeted Senior Brother He and Shen Qingqing, and took a seat near the back.
• Liu Nanshu began the gathering’s auction, and Zhang Jing watched without bidding because he lacked Dao Merit.
• Zhang Jing considered buying the top-grade Yellow Dragon Whip for his Five-Treasure Spirit River but abandoned the idea when its price rose beyond his means.
• When Liu Nanshu auctioned five qian of Spirit Divine Liquid, Zhang Jing recognized its fragrance and found that he had a full tael stored away.
• A senior brother bought the auctioned Spirit Divine Liquid for 1,100 Dao Merit, leading Zhang Jing to calculate that his own supply could sell for 2,200 Dao Merit.

During the internal trading gathering, Zhang Jing traded Spirit Divine Liquid for a powerful water-aspect Law Artifact and turned down Senior Brother Gou’s attempt to exploit his Demon Core cleansing method. The chapter ended with Liu Nanshu asking whether Zhang Jing still had Spirit Divine Liquid.

• Zhang Jing offered purified Demon Cores and talismans for trade, then exchanged two qian of Spirit Divine Liquid for the Netherwater Flood Dragon Soul Bell.
• Senior Brother Gou asked Zhang Jing to partner with him or hand over his method for cleansing Demon Cores, but Zhang Jing declined.
• Senior Brother Yan intervened when Senior Brother Gou refused to leave, then told Zhang Jing that Senior Brother Li would have fine middle-grade Law Artifacts available.
• Zhang Jing reunited with Liu Nanshu, Senior Brother He, and Shen Qingqing, and learned that few Alchemists had attended the gathering.
• Liu Nanshu asked Zhang Jing whether he still had any Spirit Divine Liquid and offered to pay a high price for it.

Zhang Jing traded Spirit Divine Liquid to Liu Nanshu for a Qi Refining ninth layer Demon Core, bringing his estimated wealth close to the amount needed for an upper-grade inheritance. After several quiet days of business and preparations, he set out to visit Senior Brother Li, hoping to trade for another powerful Demon Core and the remaining Law Artifacts for his Five-Treasure Spirit River.

• Liu Nanshu offered Zhang Jing a Qi Refining ninth layer Demon Core in exchange for four mace of Spirit Divine Liquid, and he accepted the trade.
• Senior Brother Yan told Zhang Jing that Senior Brother Li should return in seven days and reminded him to come discuss his middle-grade spirit paper allocation.
• Zhang Jing calculated that his talismans, purified Demon Cores, and medicinal garden were worth at least eight thousand Dao Merit, leaving him close to exchanging for an upper-grade inheritance.
• Zhang Jing traded talismans to a senior brother, gave Pei Xiaoshuang a marked Communication Talisman for a future summons, and sold discounted talismans to Senior Brother Ding and his companions.
• After noticing that Demon Core sales had dwindled, Zhang Jing concluded that the demonic upheaval in Langya was nearly over and went to visit Senior Brother Li.

Zhang Jing learned from Senior Brother Li that Langya would soon become a battlefield for powerful cultivators and was urged to leave. Before returning to the Dao Academy, he bought four offensive Law Artifacts and began adding his Netherwater Flood Dragon Soul Bell to the Five-Treasure Spirit River.

• Zhang Jing visited the injured Senior Brother Li, who warned that Inner Academy members would arrive in ten days to half a month and told him to leave Langya soon.
• Zhang Jing asked to trade Spirit Divine Liquid for late Qi Refining Demon Cores, but Senior Brother Li had none and suggested checking the squad's resource repository.
• Zhang Jing bought the Azure Light Banner, Mountain-Weight Seal, Dark Gold Heavy Mace, and Nine-Flame Bottle from Senior Brother Li for two hundred and thirty Dao Merit.
• After returning to the talisman shop, Zhang Jing summoned the Five-Treasure Spirit River and began placing his Netherwater Flood Dragon Soul Bell inside it.

Zhang Jing discovered that Demon Cores could power and refine the Five-Treasure Spirit River, allowing him to cultivate faster. After breaking through to the qi refining fifth layer, he left Langya Commandery City to deal with the white deer.

• Zhang Jing tested the Five-Treasure Spirit River with five Law Artifacts and found that one full-power attack nearly emptied his spiritual power.
• He discovered that the spirit river could absorb spiritual qi from Spirit Stones, but the process was too slow to rely on them.
• Zhang Jing fed a Demon Core into the spirit river and found that its spiritual qi powered the artifacts while purified qi flowed into his body.
• He used a qi refining sixth layer Demon Core to cultivate and changed his plan to break through before confronting the white deer.
• Two days later, Zhang Jing emerged from This Is a Talisman Shop at the qi refining fifth layer and flew southeast of Langya Commandery City on a Spirit Crane.

Zhang Jing returned to his hidden herb garden while evading a pursuer, then faced a gray-robed man demanding the Crimson Millstone. Gou Sheng appeared to bargain for Zhang Jing’s Demon Core Purification Method, but the gray-robed man attacked him with a deadly bone whistle.

• Zhang Jing sensed that someone was following him and slipped into the Black River to reach his herb garden unseen.
• Zhang Jing confirmed the Demon Deer had not yet completed its breakthrough and prepared his Five-Treasure Spirit River as the gray-robed man entered the cave.
• The gray-robed man demanded the Crimson Millstone, while Zhang Jing stalled and realized another person was concealed nearby.
• Gou Sheng revealed himself and offered to protect Zhang Jing in exchange for the Demon Core Purification Method.
• The gray-robed man blew a bone whistle, broke through Gou Sheng’s defenses, and covered his face with gray-black markings.

Zhang Jing killed the gray-robed man with the full power of his Five-Treasure Spirit River, then spared the white deer after it begged to become his mount. Lu Thirty-Eight revealed that a treasure beneath the medicinal garden enabled its spirit medicines to thrive.

• Zhang Jing unleashed the Five-Treasure Spirit River and killed the gray-robed man, whose defenses and Law Artifacts were destroyed.
• Zhang Jing took Senior Brother Gou's Storage Bag, burned both corpses, and approached the medicinal garden.
• Lu Thirty-Eight awoke, pleaded for its life, and offered to become Zhang Jing's mount.
• Zhang Jing asked Lu Thirty-Eight about its abilities, and the deer explained that it could identify spirit medicines and had cultivated the garden.
• Lu Thirty-Eight revealed that its ancestor Lu Eleven had found a treasure beneath the garden that kept the spirit medicines growing.

Zhang Jing accepted Lu Thirty-Eight as his mount and harvested the spirit medicines in its garden, then discovered a mysterious, incredibly heavy silk fragment that absorbed spiritual power and could not be stored. He left the cave with Lu Thirty-Eight, promising to find it a size-changing technique.

• Zhang Jing agreed to try taking Lu Thirty-Eight as his mount, and Lu Thirty-Eight began calling him lord.
• Lu Thirty-Eight dug up and sorted around a hundred spirit medicines, including twenty-three water-affinity medicines that Zhang Jing hoped to use for cultivation and Dao Merit.
• Lu Thirty-Eight uncovered a five-colored silk fragment that drew in five-element spiritual qi from the earth veins, explaining the garden's unusual abundance of spirit medicines.
• Zhang Jing struggled to lift the fragment, found that it absorbed his spiritual sense and spiritual power, and discovered that neither his Storage Bag nor Spirit Pendant Space could contain it.
• Zhang Jing had Lu Thirty-Eight carry the fragment out through the narrow cave entrance and offered to look for a technique to change its size.

Zhang Jing returned toward Langya Commandery City on Lu Thirty-Eight after discovering that his Spirit Crane had been burned to ashes. At the north gate, Senior Brother Luo attacked the approaching Demon Deer, but its ice-blue defenses stopped his hammer strike.

• Zhang Jing found his Spirit Crane reduced to ashes and suspected that Senior Brother Gou or the gray-robed man had killed it.
• Zhang Jing rode Lu Thirty-Eight toward Langya Commandery City and urged the mount to fly higher despite its fear of heights.
• Two cultivators at the city’s north gate spotted the approaching Demon Deer and called for Senior Brother Luo.
• Senior Brother Luo sent the two cultivators away and hurled his hammer at the Demon Deer with a Secret Method.
• The Demon Deer blocked the hammer with layers of ice-blue spiritual light, leaving Senior Brother Luo stunned.

Zhang Jing entered Langya Commandery City on Lu Thirty-Eight, whose lack of a Spirit Beast Ring nearly caused a fight at the gate. After reaching his shop, Zhang Jing found Senior Brother Ding and Tong Yao gravely injured, and his expression turned cold.

• Senior Brother Luo mistook Lu Thirty-Eight for a threat, but Zhang Jing appeared and explained that the encounter was a misunderstanding.
• Senior Brother Luo recognized Zhang Jing, apologized for nearly attacking his mount, and invited him to visit his shop to trade for Demon Cores.
• Zhang Jing rode Lu Thirty-Eight into the city as cultivators watched in awe, while Lu Thirty-Eight begged him to buy a Spirit Beast Ring for protection.
• Zhang Jing spotted Senior Brother Ding and Tong Yao waiting outside his shop, both badly injured, and his smile vanished as he approached.

Zhang Jing told Senior Brother Ding and Tong Yao that he had killed the gray-robed cultivator and revealed his breakthrough to the Qi Refining fifth layer. After preparing to return to the Dao Academy and learning he could qualify as a Luodu Squad manager, he was awakened by a huge fiery disturbance over Langya Commandery City.

• Zhang Jing confirmed the gray-robed cultivator had attacked Senior Brother Ding and the others, then revealed that he had killed him and reached the Qi Refining fifth layer.
• Lu Thirty-Eight broke the shop doors while entering, and Zhang Jing made him guard the entrance as he went to notify Senior Brother Li and Senior Brother Yan of his departure.
• Senior Brother Li told Zhang Jing to meet the Luodu Squad captain at Luodu Tower and apply to become a squad manager, citing his cultivation and middle-grade talisman success rate.
• That night, Zhang Jing saw a scarlet giant draw a bow and shoot a flaming arrow into the sky, setting the clouds ablaze.

As a battle devastated Langya Commandery, Zhang Jing fled with Lu Thirty-Eight and narrowly avoided a deadly trace of Dao Rhyme left by the fighting. Three days later, they reached Dragon Marsh Lake, where Zhang Jing considered Lu Thirty-Eight’s needs and asked about his innate cultivation abilities.

• Zhang Jing packed his belongings and ordered Lu Thirty-Eight to carry him away from Langya Commandery, steering clear of the battle’s aftershocks.
• Zhang Jing stopped Lu Thirty-Eight before a dangerous trench, but a Late Qi Refining cultivator crossed it and was reduced to rotten bones by the lingering Dao Rhyme.
• Zhang Jing warned others about the trench and kept his Mind’s Eye Dao Seed active as they traveled nearly a thousand miles from Langya Commandery City before flying out of Yun Province.
• Three days later, Zhang Jing and Lu Thirty-Eight reached Dragon Marsh Lake, where Lu Thirty-Eight asked for a Life-Saving Ring and land to grow spirit medicine.
• Zhang Jing learned that Lu Thirty-Eight had no cultivation method and had been born able to absorb spiritual energy, tread on water, and ride the wind.

After bringing Lu Thirty-Eight to his spacious cave abode, Zhang Jing met Luodu Squad Captain Li, who tested whether Zhang Jing could reach the Qi Refining Tenth Layer within fifteen months. Li then began explaining the coming Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven and hinted that he was prepared to bear the consequences of involving Zhang Jing.

• Zhang Jing brought Lu Thirty-Eight into his cave abode and showed him the Spirit Beast Room and Spirit Plant Room.
• Zhang Jing promised Lu Thirty-Eight cultivation resources, a spirit-medicine island, and the prospect of becoming an immortal's mount if he worked hard.
• Zhang Jing went to Luodu Tower, where Captain Li considered Zhang Jing a promising candidate for the Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven.
• Li asked whether Zhang Jing could reach the Qi Refining Tenth Layer within fifteen months if given sufficient resources, and Zhang Jing confidently agreed.
• Li said he believed Zhang Jing and would take responsibility if the Inner Academy blamed him, then asked whether Zhang Jing knew about the Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven.

Zhang Jing learned that Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven would open in seventeen months and could help cultivators build superior Dao foundations. Senior Brother Li pledged to support Zhang Jing’s cultivation so he could reach the Qi Refining tenth layer and enter, leaving Zhang Jing determined to seize the opportunity.

• Senior Brother Li gave Zhang Jing a jade slip describing Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven and explained its importance to Dao foundations.
• Senior Brother Li told Zhang Jing that the Heaven would open in seventeen months and that Coiling Dragon and Rosy Clouds were racing to prepare Chen Xiandao and Shen Qingqing to enter.
• Senior Brother Li asked whether Zhang Jing was confident he could reach the Qi Refining tenth layer, and Zhang Jing vowed not to disappoint him.
• Senior Brother Li excused Zhang Jing from Dao Academy missions and promised him thirty Water Origin Pills each month, plus guidance with cultivation difficulties.
• Zhang Jing returned to his cave abode and told Lu Thirty-Eight he had not bought the Life-Saving Ring.

Zhang Jing planned to exchange resources for an Upper-Grade Inheritance and build up his cultivation before the Myriad Gods Lesser Void Heaven opened. At the Luodu Squad resource repository, he learned that purified Demon Cores could fetch twice the price of ordinary ones.

• Zhang Jing resolved to sell unneeded spirit medicines and purified Demon Cores to earn Dao Merit for an Upper-Grade Inheritance.
• Zhang Jing planned to become a Manager so he could obtain water-aspect resources cheaply and issue missions to collect more.
• Lu Thirty-Eight reminded Zhang Jing about his Life-Saving Ring and explained he was planting spirit medicines in the spirit plant room.
• Zhang Jing visited the Luodu Squad resource repository to sell resources and learned its attendant belonged to the Thousand Techniques Pavilion.
• The old man offered to buy Zhang Jing's purified Demon Cores for twice the price of ordinary Demon Cores of the same level.

Zhang Jing sold Demon Cores, spirit medicines, spirit pills, and Spirit Divine Liquid to gather the Dao Merit he needed, then finished making up the shortfall by printing talismans. With 9,183 Dao Merit, he rode Lu Thirty-Eight to the Inheritance Pavilion to exchange for an upper-grade inheritance.

• Zhang Jing sold 104 pure Demon Cores to an old man for 3,150 Dao Merit, then sold spirit pills and medicines for 7,357 Dao Merit and asked whether the old man would buy Spirit Divine Liquid.
• Two days later, Zhang Jing made up his remaining Dao Merit shortfall by printing talismans and saw that his Identity Spirit Pendant held 9,183 Dao Merit.
• Zhang Jing called Lu Thirty-Eight out of the cave abode and rode him to the Inheritance Pavilion, warning him to wait and avoid trampling the Spirit Cranes.
• Lu Thirty-Eight lay down outside the pavilion and shouted at the watching cultivators, boasting that he was a handsome mount.
• Inside the pavilion, Zhang Jing reunited with Ji Bochang, who offered to guide him to the inheritance he wanted.
• Zhang Jing told Ji Bochang that he had come to exchange for an upper-grade inheritance.

Zhang Jing spent nine thousand Dao Merit to obtain the upper-grade Sea-Covering Flood Dragon Void-Seizing True Method despite warnings that he should save his resources for entering the Inner Academy. After parting from Ji Bochang, he left the Dao Academy riding Lu Thirty-Eight.

• Ji Bochang was stunned that Zhang Jing intended to exchange nine thousand Dao Merit for an upper-grade inheritance and fetched a senior brother to oversee the exchange.
• The senior brother warned Zhang Jing that an upper-grade method could be difficult to master and that he might be better off using the Dao Merit to reach the Inner Academy, but Zhang Jing remained resolute.
• Inside the Inheritance Secret Repository, Zhang Jing tested every upper-grade method and chose the Sea-Covering Flood Dragon Void-Seizing True Method because his compatibility with it was high.
• Zhang Jing received the inheritance, which appeared on his Jade Talisman as not yet initiated at 0/150.
• Ji Bochang escorted Zhang Jing outside, where Zhang Jing introduced his enormous white deer mount, Lu Thirty-Eight, before riding away.

Zhang Jing cultivated the Sea-Covering Flood Dragon Void-Seizing True Method, gaining a flood dragon-like physique and denser spiritual power despite a slight regression in his cultivation level. He passed the manager examination, received gifts from fellow managers, and then searched the Resource Depot for water-attribute materials before heading to the Merit Hall for missions.

• Zhang Jing comprehended the Sea-Covering Flood Dragon Void-Seizing True Method, which transformed his body and strengthened his spiritual power while leaving him at the Qi Refining fifth layer.
• Zhang Jing tested his new physical toughness by shattering the Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique against his arm without suffering more than a faint mark.
• Zhang Jing passed the manager examination, and Senior Brother Yan congratulated him on becoming the youngest manager in the Luodu Squad's history.
• Two squad managers welcomed Zhang Jing and gave him jade-box gifts, which he accepted politely.
• Zhang Jing found no Demon Cores for sale at the Resource Depot and bought three water-attribute spirit medicines instead.
• Zhang Jing left the Resource Depot and hurried toward the Merit Hall to look for personal missions.

Zhang Jing reached the Qi Refining sixth layer, helped Lu Thirty-Eight improve the spirit medicine garden, and heard Senior Brother Li’s advice about the next breakthrough. After Zhang Jing left, Senior Brother Li learned that rival teams wanted to take part of Luodu’s reward allocation, prompting him to confront them.

• Zhang Jing broke through to the Qi Refining sixth layer after using nearly all his water-aspect spirit medicines.
• Lu Thirty-Eight told Zhang Jing that the seedlings had sprouted and had reached the Qi Refining seventh layer; Zhang Jing buried the scrap of cloth among the seedlings to draw spiritual qi and urged Lu Thirty-Eight to care for them.
• Senior Brother Li praised Zhang Jing’s progress and warned him to stay calm if he encountered a bottleneck while attempting the Qi Refining seventh layer.
• Zhang Jing left the quiet room as another senior brother arrived to discuss the reward shares allocated after the Langya demon uprising.
• The senior brother told Senior Brother Li that Coiling Dragon and Rosy Clouds wanted an extra five percent each from Luodu’s share, claiming they needed resources for Chen Xiandao and Shen Qingqing.
• Senior Brother Li accused the rival teams of trying to push Luodu out of the competition for the top team and went to hear their proposal.

Zhang Jing spent more Dao Merit to outbid other buyers for water-attribute Demon Cores and spirit medicine, while his talisman-making skill advanced toward producing Middle-Grade Source Talismans. His price war stirred up cultivators and put the Luodu Squad under pressure, ending with Xie Yu confronting Senior Brother Li about his purchase of Water Essence Pills.

• Zhang Jing collected five Demon Cores from Junior Sister Feng and raised his mission budget to fifteen hundred Dao Merit, setting his prices five percent above the Coiling Dragon Squad's Alchemists.
• Zhang Jing advanced the Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon to Level 5 and saw that his Middle-Grade Source Talismans might be complete in half a month.
• Managers from the Luodu Squad and Coiling Dragon Squad drove up prices for water-attribute Demon Cores and spirit medicine, prompting cultivators to hunt Yaomo for Dao Merit.
• An Alchemist on Coiling Dragon Island complained that he could no longer afford the escalating prices and threatened to stop refining Water Essence Pills.
• Senior Brother Li went to Xie Yu for help with the Luodu Squad's conflict, but Xie Yu said the squad had to accept its loss over Junior Brother Chen and Junior Sister Shen.
• Xie Yu asked Senior Brother Li whether he had recently purchased a large quantity of Water Essence Pills.