Chapter Summaries

Wang Ba joined the Eastern Saint Sect to raise Spirit Cuisine chickens, hoping to use the sect’s Body-Strengthening Scripture to gain spiritual roots and pursue immortality. After learning that the necessary training would take centuries, he gave up on that hope and turned to the chicken-raising instructions.

• Wang Ba watched Steward Li leave after receiving a bundle and instructions to raise the chickens properly.
• Wang Ba recalled spending eight years trying to enter an immortal sect before paying Steward Li to arrange a job at the Eastern Saint Sect’s chicken estate.
• Wang Ba met the elderly Sun, who hinted that Steward Li had sent him there because he had not paid enough.
• Wang Ba found the Body-Strengthening Scripture in the bundle and read that it could help cultivate spiritual roots.
• Wang Ba calculated that reaching the tenth level would take 512 years and abandoned his hopes of cultivating immortality.
• Wang Ba tossed the scripture aside and picked up the sheet of chicken-raising precautions.

Wang Ba settled into his life raising prized chickens at the Eastern Saint Sect, then discovered the flock might not be large enough to meet its monthly tribute. After Old Sun showed him how to catch a hen, Wang Ba saw a lifespan interface appear when he touched it.

• Wang Ba memorized the chicken-raising instructions, explored West Garden Market, and spent all his money on cooking supplies and food.
• After a cultivator announced his Dao was complete, Wang Ba counted 37 roosters and 70 hens and worried the flock could not sustain the required tribute.
• Wang Ba tried and failed to catch hens so he could check their egg production.
• Old Sun effortlessly caught a hen and told Wang Ba to practice the Body-Strengthening Scripture.
• Wang Ba touched the hen and saw an interface showing its target lifespan and his remaining lifespan.

Wang Ba discovered he could transfer lifespan between himself and chickens, then used the power to accelerate a hen’s growth and cultivate the first level of the Body-Strengthening Scripture. The chapter ended with Old Sun puzzled that the hen had suddenly begun laying eggs.

• Wang Ba tested his lifespan-transfer ability on a hen, learning that chicken lifespan could be exchanged for his own and that giving lifespan to the hen made it grow stronger and plumper.
• Wang Ba realized he could use chickens to supply lifespan and accelerate breeding to meet the sect’s tribute quota, but decided to proceed cautiously around Old Sun.
• Wang Ba practiced the Body-Strengthening Scripture overnight and spent nine years of his lifespan to reach its first level.
• Wang Ba went outside in the morning and found Old Sun bewildered because the hen had suddenly started laying eggs.

Wang Ba learned how the manor’s prized chickens were raised and discovered that one hen was close to becoming a Spirit Chicken, earning an exemption from a year of tribute. Old Sun explained the manor’s tribute burden and revealed that he was leaving the mountain, while Wang Ba resolved to pursue his own chance to change his fate.

• Old Sun taught Wang Ba to ferment the spiritual chicken feed, handle discarded Spirit Insects with an iron spoon, and feed the prized chickens once a day.
• Old Sun caught a conspicuously hungry hen after it dodged his first grab and recognized that it was close to becoming a Spirit Chicken.
• Old Sun told Wang Ba that offering a Spirit Chicken could earn a year’s tribute exemption, then explained that the manor would still need to meet future quotas, even if it had to buy chickens at the Market.
• Old Sun revealed that a Chicken Plague had previously devastated the manor and that he planned to leave the mountain after fifty years of cultivating the Body-Strengthening Scripture without reaching the level needed for a Spiritual Root.
• Wang Ba reflected on Old Sun’s unfulfilled life and silently resolved to endure and seize his own chance to change his fate.

After Old Sun left Dingzi Manor, Wang Ba discovered a cultivation method hidden in the firelighter Old Sun had given him. The Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture did not require spiritual roots, but Wang Ba noticed it had a serious drawback.

• Steward Li took the Spirit Chicken and promised to seek Old Sun's promotion to steward, leaving Wang Ba puzzled by the hen's unexpectedly increased lifespan.
• Steward Li later confirmed Old Sun's promotion, and Old Sun left the mountain after Wang Ba saw him off.
• Old Sun returned briefly to give Wang Ba a firelighter before leaving for good.
• Wang Ba found gold paper hidden inside the firelighter and read the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture.
• Wang Ba realized the scripture required no spiritual roots but had a major problem.

Wang Ba tested whether transferring lifespan could transform Precious Chickens, and the four birds he selected grew stronger, ate more, and gained years of life. On the eighth day, he found their lifespans had stopped increasing.

• Wang Ba dismissed the Yin Spirit Power cultivation method as too costly and focused on raising Precious Chickens and gathering eggs.
• He selected two roosters and two hens, named them Jia One through Jia Four, and transferred lifespan to each.
• The four chickens’ lifespans increased overnight, and they ate much more feed, leading Wang Ba to suspect they were transforming into Spirit Chickens.
• After another day of feeding, the chickens grew taller and sturdier, Jia Four laid an egg, and all four gained several more years of lifespan.
• Wang Ba tested his ability on other creatures, discovering he could sense some lifespans but could not transfer them.
• On the eighth day, Wang Ba noticed that the four chickens’ lifespans had stopped increasing.

Wang Ba studied the four Spirit Chickens and concealed his ability to transform Precious Chickens while seeking a way to advance his cultivation. He paid Steward Li extra eggs and all his money to secure chicken-raising books, hoping to explain future Spirit Chickens as the result of his expertise.

• Wang Ba confirmed that the four transformed Spirit Chickens had reached their expected lifespans, but discovered that Jia Four could not be advanced further by depositing lifespan.
• Wang Ba found a hen sitting on a dull-shelled egg and kept it warm with straw.
• Steward Li inspected the coop, accepted Wang Ba's tribute of extra eggs, and promised he might compete for a vacancy at a higher-ranked manor.
• Wang Ba explained that some large eggs came from the Spirit Chicken Old Sun had bred, delighting Steward Li with the valuable tribute.
• Wang Ba asked Steward Li to bring chicken-raising books from the Classics Repository and spent all his money to pay the borrowing cost.

Wang Ba sold four Precious Chicken eggs for rice at West Garden Market, then learned that Spirit Chickens could be sold for Spirit Stones. After discreetly checking prices and how to identify a chicken’s grade, he returned to the estate and made arrangements for his four Spirit Chickens.

• Wang Ba sold four Precious Chicken eggs at Chen's Mixed-Grain Shop for ten catties of rice.
• Wang Ba overheard a man selling a Spirit Chicken and realized Spirit Chickens could be traded.
• Wang Ba disguised himself in Old Sun's robe and asked Shopkeeper Lu about selling a Spirit Chicken.
• Shopkeeper Lu explained Spirit Chicken grades, appraisal methods, and prices, including the higher value of hens.
• Wang Ba checked prices at other shops, made sure no one was following him, and arranged for his four Spirit Chickens at the estate.

Wang Ba traded a Spirit Chicken for twenty-two male Precious Chickens, harvested their lifespans, and used the gains to advance the Body-Strengthening Scripture to its third level. The fourth level would cost seventy-two years, and he hesitated before committing to it.

• Wang Ba sold a male Spirit Chicken to Shopkeeper Lu and bartered most of its value for twenty-two male Precious Chickens.
• Shopkeeper Lu told his attendant to ask whether new Spirit Chicken suppliers had arrived at Dingzi Manor, but warned him not to follow Wang Ba or cause trouble.
• Wang Ba secretly routed home with the chickens, gave each rooster extra lifespan, and raised them until their lifespans stopped growing.
• Wang Ba drained fifty-five years from each of the twenty-two Precious Chickens, gaining 121 years of lifespan in total.
• Wang Ba spent eighteen years to complete the second level of the Body-Strengthening Scripture and thirty-six more to complete the third, then hesitated over the seventy-two-year cost of the fourth level.

Wang Ba ate Spirit Chicken and spirit rice from Shopkeeper Lu, then spent the night studying the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture until he gained his first layer as an available expenditure. He discovered that mastering it would cost 113.7 years of lifespan, leaving him with 125.3 years.

• Wang Ba decided not to advance the Body-Strengthening Scripture to its fourth layer and recalled the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture as another way to use his lifespan.
• Wang Ba opened the pouch from Shopkeeper Lu and found a Spirit Stone and about a jin of spirit rice.
• Wang Ba drained a male Spirit Chicken’s lifespan, cooked it with spirit rice, and ate until the abundant Spiritual Qi left him full and unusually alert.
• Wang Ba worried he could not eat all twenty-two Spirit Chickens before Steward Li returned, then stayed awake reading the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture.
• Wang Ba’s study made the first layer of the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture available for 113.7 years of lifespan expenditure, while his remaining lifespan stood at 125.3 years.

Wang Ba spent 113.7 years of lifespan to master the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture and opened his Yin Spirit Mansion, which let him see Spiritual Qi but not absorb most of it without a Spiritual Root. After learning that the immortals were busy preparing for a gathering, he continued eating chickens and found two pieces of good news within a few days.

• Wang Ba noticed his lifespan had increased slightly after eating Spirit Chicken and studied the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture.
• Wang Ba spent 113.7 years of lifespan to master the scripture, opened his Yin Spirit Mansion, and gained the ability to see Spiritual Qi.
• Wang Ba tried to absorb Spiritual Qi but found that most of it passed through his body because he lacked a Spiritual Root.
• Wang Ba reduced his chicken-feed order after all twenty-two Precious Chickens transformed, and Old Hou told him the immortals were busy preparing for a gathering.
• Wang Ba wondered whether the immortals' activities might create an opportunity for him and continued slaughtering and eating chickens; within a few days, he discovered two pieces of good news.

Wang Ba discovered that he could condense Yin Spirit Power by absorbing Spiritual Qi while visualizing the Yin Spirit, and learned it could create disguises that seemed real. After successfully fooling Old Hou and Niu Yong, he planned to use the power to sell his surplus Spirit Chickens without attracting attention.

• Wang Ba found that a male Spirit Chicken had fertilized a Precious Chicken, so he separated the hen and egg to protect them.
• Wang Ba condensed a crimson droplet of Yin Spirit Power after eating Spirit Chicken and visualizing the Yin Spirit, and learned it could make illusions seem real.
• Wang Ba decided to disguise himself and sell his remaining Spirit Chickens, but first chose Old Hou and Niu Yong to test the power on.
• Wang Ba disguised himself as a tall, dark-faced man in a brocade robe and fooled Old Hou, who mistook the apparition for an immortal.
• Wang Ba used another disguise to fool Niu Yong, who believed the yellow-faced Daoist was a Sect disciple and gave Wang Ba extra silver.

Wang Ba took thirteen Spirit Chickens to South Lake Market to sell them before Steward Li arrived. After a shopkeeper tried to offer far below the market rate for one male Spirit Chicken, Wang Ba left for another grain shop, while the first shopkeeper assumed he would be forced to return.

• Wang Ba left for remote South Lake Market with thirteen Spirit Chickens, using Yin Spirit Power to disguise himself and avoid attracting attention.
• Wang Ba reached the Burning Blade Grain Shop and asked whether the shopkeeper would buy a lower-first-grade male Spirit Chicken.
• The shopkeeper offered five thousand taels of silver, then claimed he would pay only eight-tenths of a Spirit Stone after Wang Ba rejected the offer.
• Wang Ba demanded three Spirit Stones and left for the other grain shop without accepting the shopkeeper's offer.
• The Burning Blade Grain Shop's shopkeeper sneered that Wang Ba would have to return and wondered whether Liu's Shop would dare buy his chickens.

Wang Ba sold thirteen Spirit Chickens for forty-two Spirit Stones and nine-tenths, then made a fearful journey home while using his Yin Spirit power to conceal himself. After a Sect disciple unknowingly asked him for directions, Wang Ba realized his disguise had worked, hid the Spirit Stones beneath the chicken coop, and fell ill the next morning.

• The middle-aged shopkeeper learned that Liu's Shop had bought Wang Ba's thirteen Spirit Chickens and regretted driving him away.
• Wang Ba carried his forty-two Spirit Stones and nine-tenths home, avoiding travelers and using Yin Spirit power to disguise himself.
• A newly joined Sect disciple approached Wang Ba and asked for directions to the Merit Office, while Wang Ba's Yin Spirit power rapidly dwindled.
• Wang Ba guessed the stranger was a Sect disciple and sent him toward the Merit Office; after the stranger vanished, Wang Ba concluded his Yin Spirit power had fooled him.
• Wang Ba buried the Spirit Stones beneath the chicken coop, returned to his room, and woke up ill.

While recovering from illness, Wang Ba paid Steward Li for a borrowed copy of Notes on Raising Poultry and learned that his Precious Chickens had advanced through lifespan breakthroughs. He concluded that bloodline purification was the only advancement method he could safely pursue, and found that the book included instructions for Precious Chickens.

• Wang Ba delivered the monthly tribute to Steward Li, who accepted a banknote and lent him Notes on Raising Poultry for two months.
• Old Hou told Wang Ba that an outer sect disciple had confronted Steward Mei after being misdirected from the Merit Office, making Wang Ba fear his deception had been discovered.
• Wang Ba hid his Spirit Stones more deeply and destroyed or buried evidence from the previous night.
• Wang Ba read Daoist Jiao Hu's account of three ways for ordinary creatures to become spirit creatures: bloodline breakthroughs, lifespan breakthroughs, and awakening spiritual intelligence.
• Wang Ba connected his use of lifespan to the Precious Chickens' advancement and decided to study bloodline purification as a safer method to show others.

Wang Ba studied Daoist Jiao Hu’s method for advancing Precious Chickens into Spirit Chickens and considered adapting it with cheaper materials. Realizing his body was far older and frailer than he had thought, he stayed bedridden until someone shouted at him to get up.

• Wang Ba read that Precious Chickens could become Spirit Chickens through a costly formula using a mid-grade Spirit Stone and other ingredients.
• Wang Ba reasoned that Moonlight Liquid protected chickens from the force of the Spiritual Qi and wondered whether a low-grade Spirit Stone could replace the mid-grade one.
• Wang Ba decided to visit the Market for Meridian-Passing Grass seeds so he could test his theory.
• Wang Ba saw his reflection, checked his remaining lifespan, and realized that his body was likely equivalent to that of someone in their fifties or sixties.
• Wang Ba remained ill and weak, avoiding the four Spirit Chickens he had hidden, until someone shouted at him to get up.

Wang Ba woke to find Steward Li bringing an Outer Sect disciple to identify the Servant Disciple who had misdirected him, but the disciple dismissed Wang Ba as too sick to be the culprit. After recovering from illness, Wang Ba saw the Sect’s shifting loyalties firsthand and, three days later, watched the Precious Chicken’s egg hatch.

• Steward Li urged Wang Ba to kneel before an Outer Sect disciple, who decided Wang Ba was not the Servant Disciple who had misdirected him and left with Steward Mei.
• Steward Li told Wang Ba that the disciple was an Inner Sect elder’s personal disciple and had beaten Mei Feng over the missed mission, then questioned Wang Ba’s ambitions and criticized the Body-Strengthening Scripture.
• Steward Li hinted that Wang Ba might understand something upon reaching the Scripture’s ninth layer, leaving Wang Ba to wonder whether it was connected to Old Sun.
• Old Hou brought Wang Ba chicken feed, and Niu Yong cleaned the chicken manure and gave Wang Ba twenty taels of silver while he was ill.
• Three days later, Wang Ba watched the egg laid by the Precious Chicken hatch.

Wang Ba discovered that Jia Five, a chick born from a Spirit Chicken and a Precious Chicken, had unusual lifespan and growth. After treating its illness by depositing lifespan, he raised five roosters into Spirit Chickens, kept the one that mated as Jia Six, and recovered some of his own lifespan.

• Wang Ba identified the unusually long-incubating chick as a Half-Spirit Chicken and named it Jia Five.
• Wang Ba noticed Jia Five had become weak and discovered he could deposit no less than 0.5 years of lifespan into it.
• Wang Ba deposited 0.5 years into Jia Five, which grew stronger and began eating eagerly.
• Wang Ba kept the Spirit Chicken rooster that mated with a Precious Chicken and named it Jia Six, while cooking the other four after extracting their lifespan.
• Wang Ba's lifespan recovered to 37.6 years, and Jia Five's lifespan stopped increasing at 92.7 years.

Wang Ba visited West Garden Market to look for Meridian-Passing Grass seeds and learned that they could aid cultivation of the Body-Strengthening Scripture. After discovering the seeds’ cost and use, he heard Shopkeeper Lu offer him a cheaper substitute.

• Jia Five grew into a handsome, powerful Spirit Rooster, but ignored the hens, and Wang Ba decided not to rush his maturation.
• Wang Ba went to the Lu Family Grain Shop at West Garden Market, where Shopkeeper Lu told him the Meridian-Passing Grass seeds had sold out.
• Shopkeeper Lu explained that the seeds helped cultivate the Body-Strengthening Scripture, and Wang Ba realized they might help him progress.
• Shopkeeper Lu said that Elder He and an outer disciple had succeeded through the scripture, then explained that one tael of seeds could replace five days of practice.
• Wang Ba asked about high-grade seeds, but Shopkeeper Lu revealed that even low-grade seeds cost two Spirit Stones per tael and offered a cheaper, less effective substitute.

Wang Ba bought Tendon-Cutting Nematodes from Shopkeeper Lu as a cheap aid for opening his meridians, despite their painful effects. After testing Precious Chicken aphrodisiac and failing to get the roosters to mate with hens, he considered using the nematodes to help give his Spirit Chickens a legitimate origin.

• Shopkeeper Lu showed Wang Ba the Tendon-Cutting Nematodes and explained how they could open meridians at the cost of severe pain.
• Wang Ba bargained with Shopkeeper Lu and bought two hundred nematodes for two Spirit Stones.
• Wang Ba fed Precious Chicken aphrodisiac to male Precious Chickens, but they mounted other males and even a boot instead of the females.
• Wang Ba concluded that breeding Precious Chickens would not work and worried that selling too many Spirit Chickens would attract the Sect’s attention.
• Wang Ba looked at the gourd of nematodes and considered whether it could help him find a legitimate origin for his Spirit Chickens.