Chapter Summaries

Qin Ming became a First-rank Spirit Planter and received visits from neighbors, then met Daoist Ruan to trade Beast Fang Rice for the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture. He sensed that Daoist Ruan and four others were preparing to attack him, and silently decided how to respond.

• Qin Ming accepted congratulations and gifts from neighbors, including Li Yanli, whose grief over Fellow Daoist Long's death remained evident.
• Qin Ming received a message from Daoist Ruan proposing to complete their trade before leaving for one to five years, and agreed to meet east of the market.
• Qin Ming ignored nearby cultivators' bitter remarks and observed Daoist Ruan speaking with two Spirit Feather Sect Patrol members before approaching them.
• Qin Ming exchanged ten pounds of Beast Fang Rice for the Beast Hide containing the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.
• Qin Ming's Bodyguard Qi detected killing intent from Daoist Ruan, both patrolmen, and two hidden attackers, and Qin Ming decided to act without revealing his suspicion.

Qin Ming was ambushed by five marauder cultivators, including two Spirit Feather Sect patrol cultivators, but used his body cultivation to overpower and kill them. He looted their Storage Bags, destroyed the corpses, and left the road after covering his tracks.

• Daoist Ruan and four accomplices surrounded Qin Ming, revealing their plan to rob him of his Beast Fang Rice.
• Qin Ming killed the fifth-layer Spirit Feather Sect patrol cultivator with a spirit shovel, then shrugged off spells and crushed the sixth-layer cultivator.
• Qin Ming severed Daoist Ruan's neck after cutting off his thigh as he tried to flee.
• Qin Ming killed the Bearded Man and the woman in green when they ran, despite the Bearded Man blaming Daoist Ruan for the ambush.
• Qin Ming searched the five Storage Bags, burned the corpses, cleared away evidence, and left the road.

Qin Ming disposed of the Marauder Cultivators’ belongings after killing them, then watched as Alchemist Su began refining a Marrow Cleansing Pill in his hidden earthfire alchemy room. The chapter left Qin Ming studying Alchemist Su’s advanced methods, especially his precise Fire Control Art.

• Qin Ming counted more than a thousand Spirit Stones among the five dead men’s possessions, kept the valuables, and burned the rest.
• Qin Ming suspected Daoist Ruan had joined the Marauder Cultivators to target him over his Beast Fang Rice, but resolved to focus on farming.
• Two days later, the Spirit Feather Sect imposed martial law around Qingyang Market after two patrol members were killed, while Qin Ming worked his fields and stored his Four-Winged Frost Bees.
• Alchemist Su summoned Qin Ming to watch him refine a First-Grade Upper Marrow Cleansing Pill and revealed an alchemy room built over a hidden earthfire vein.
• Alchemist Su extracted and measured the ingredients with great precision, then used his Fire Control Art to make the earthfire heat the pill furnace evenly.

Qin Ming watched Su Yuqing successfully refine Marrow Cleansing Pills and agreed to grow two demanding Spirit Plants for him in exchange for a favor. After planting his fields, Qin Ming discovered several new Affixes, including Rebirth Spirit Seed on a Spirit Candle Fruit.

• Su Yuqing failed eleven times before refining six Marrow Cleansing Pills, then gifted Qin Ming a Spirit Gathering Pill.
• Su Yuqing asked Qin Ming to grow Frostsmoke Herb and Spirit Candle Fruit, and Qin Ming agreed in exchange for one request.
• Qin Ming planted three mu of Golden Spirit Rice, three mu of Beast Fang Rice, and two mu of Frostsmoke Herb and Spirit Candle Fruit.
• When spring came, Qin Ming found new Affixes in his fields, including Rebirth Spirit Seed on a Spirit Candle Fruit.

Qin Ming learned that the Spirit Feather Sect and Goldcloud Valley had joined forces to recruit cultivators and build an Immortal City in the Cloud Marsh Great Wilderness. After agreeing to sell half of his Beast Fang Rice harvest to Juxuan Pavilion, he encountered the pavilion master, a woman whose cultivation he could not discern.

• Qin Ming received an urgent message from Manager Liao and went to Juxuan Pavilion.
• Manager Liao told Qin Ming that the Spirit Feather Sect and Goldcloud Valley would cooperate to develop a Tier 3 Spirit Vein, recruiting independent cultivators with Foundation Establishment Pills as rewards.
• Manager Liao explained that the sects planned to build an Immortal City in the Cloud Marsh Great Wilderness and that their elite cultivators were arriving at Qingyang Market.
• Manager Liao offered Qin Ming nine Spirit Stones per jin for half of each season's Beast Fang Rice harvest, and Qin Ming signed the agreement.
• Qin Ming met Su Yuqing and an unfamiliar woman as they came downstairs, and Manager Liao bowed to the woman and greeted her as the Pavilion Master.

Qin Ming joined Su Yuqing and Juxuan Pavilion Master Gu Qingzhao at an auction, where he bought a mysterious segment of Black Vine to investigate. The auction’s final item was revealed as three Marrow Cleansing Pills refined by Su Yuqing.

• Qin Ming met Su Yuqing and Gu Qingzhao at Juxuan Pavilion, where they learned he had cultivated a spirit herb used in Su Yuqing’s Marrow Cleansing Pills and had signed a Beast Fang Rice agreement.
• Su Yuqing invited Qin Ming to the Treasured Auction House, where Gu Qingzhao brought them to a private room.
• Qin Ming watched cultivators bid high prices for magic items and talismans, realizing his two thousand Spirit Stones were not enough to compete.
• Qin Ming bid three hundred Spirit Stones for a short, indestructible segment of Black Vine, intending to test whether his Rebirth Spirit Seed affix could revive it.
• The auctioneer unveiled the final lot: three Marrow Cleansing Pills refined by Su Yuqing.

After the Spirit Feather Sect and Goldcloud Valley arrived at Qingyang Market and announced plans to build Cloudmarsh City, Qin Ming worried about the growing disorder and sought safer housing. The chapter ended with Elder Gu raising the Spirit Farmers’ tax by another ten percent, leaving Qin Ming facing a forty-five percent tax.

• After Su Yuqing earned a fortune from the Marrow Cleansing Pills auction, Qin Ming asked to use his Alchemy Room, and Su Yuqing agreed when it was free.
• The Spirit Feather Sect’s Abyssal Crossing Ark arrived at Qingyang Market with Foundation Establishment elders and inner sect disciples, followed three days later by Goldcloud Valley’s forces.
• The two sects announced an allied army and plans to establish Cloudmarsh City at Five Peaks Mountain, while Qin Ming worried about crime and sought a rental inside the market.
• Manager Liao told Qin Ming that Daoist Ruan’s courtyard had become vacant after Ruan’s Soul Lamp went out and offered to ask about securing it for him.
• Elder Gu announced that the Spirit Farmers’ tax would rise by another ten percent until Cloudmarsh City was completed, bringing Qin Ming’s tax to forty-five percent.

Qin Ming successfully cast the Greater Spirit Rain Technique across all eight mu of his Spirit Fields, impressing the nearby Spirit Farmers and overseer Du Haifu. He bought Spirit Gathering Pills from Su Yuqing, discovered they were superior-grade, and began cultivating toward the Qi Refining Mid Stage.

• Elder Gu threatened the Spirit Farmers with service in the War Camp if they refused the increased taxes, then ordered the dharma vessel to depart.
• Qin Ming cast the Greater Spirit Rain Technique over his eight mu of Spirit Fields, draining his mana as the crops absorbed the spiritual energy.
• Du Haifu arrived and decided to report Qin Ming's ability to the sect, while nearby Spirit Farmers gathered to greet him.
• After recovering, Qin Ming visited Su Yuqing and bought two bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills for seven hundred Spirit Stones.
• Qin Ming discovered the pills were Superior Spirit Gathering Pills and swallowed them one after another, sensing that the Qi Refining Mid Stage was near.

Qin Ming broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, learned to refine Basic Detoxification Pills, and cultivated increasingly valuable spirit crops. Manager Liao then told him that he would need to discuss the market housing rental slot with the pavilion master.

• Qin Ming swallowed Superior Spirit Gathering Pills until he broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, then realized his future cultivation would require more pills than he could afford.
• Qin Ming consolidated his mana cultivation and advanced the sixth layer of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture using Blood Locust Rice.
• Qin Ming refined three Basic Detoxification Pills after studying Su Yuqing's alchemy, and Su Yuqing judged them barely passable.
• Qin Ming harvested twenty shi of Golden Spirit Rice from three mu, took first place in the seasonal yield, and planted Raven Tongue Orchids alongside his other spirit plants.
• Qin Ming harvested another twenty shi of Golden Spirit Rice three months later, while his Beast Fang Rice and medicinal plants flourished under his care.
• Manager Liao messaged Qin Ming that the market housing rental slot had definite news, but he would need to discuss it with the pavilion master.

Qin Ming witnessed Jiang Kun and other Spirit Feather Sect disciples bullying an elderly vendor, then negotiated with Gu Qingzhao for a rental quota at the Ruan Family Estate by agreeing to sell Juxuan Pavilion more Superior Beast Fang Rice. As Qin Ming tried to register the quota, Jiang Kun confronted him and demanded he hand it over.

• Qin Ming saw Jiang Kun's group seize an elderly man's Azure Water Gold Crystal, and Jiang Kun's companion kicked the man unconscious.
• Manager Liao brought Qin Ming to meet Gu Qingzhao, who asked about his connection to Su Yuqing before discussing the Ruan Family Estate rental quota.
• Qin Ming agreed to increase his Beast Fang Rice sales to Juxuan Pavilion by twenty percent, and Gu Qingzhao gave him the quota's jade token.
• Qin Ming went to the Spirit Feather Sect's Hall of Affairs to register the quota, but Jiang Kun ordered him to hand it over.

Qin Ming secured the right to rent a house in Qingyang Market after Manager Liao intervened when Jiang Kun tried to take his jade plaque. He learned that Juxuan Pavilion was backed by the powerful Mirror Snow Pavilion, then cultivated and discovered two Quality Enhancement affixes in his Golden Spirit Rice.

• Jiang Kun seized Qin Ming's jade plaque, but Manager Liao arrived and warned him that the plaque had been bestowed by Mirror Snow Pavilion's Pavilion Master, so Jiang Kun returned it and left.
• Qin Ming registered for a house in Qingyang Market and paid a year's rent, though he could not move in until the end of October.
• Manager Liao told Qin Ming that Mirror Snow Pavilion, a thousand-year-old force with business across the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm, stood behind Juxuan Pavilion.
• Qin Ming ate a pot of Blood Locust Rice and cultivated the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture, increasing his Vital Energy Force by two-thirds and nearing the sixth level of body refinement.
• In mid-June, Qin Ming inspected the third season of Golden Spirit Rice and found two Quality Enhancement affixes, prompting him to hope he could produce Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice.

As the wilderness grew more dangerous, Qin Ming prepared to move into the market while continuing to cultivate and harvest spirit plants. He revived the mysterious Black Vine with a Rebirth Spirit Seed Affix, then used Accelerated Growth on its new shoot.

• Su Yuqing told Qin Ming that he could keep renting his house and using its Alchemy Room after Su Yuqing left next year.
• Qin Ming harvested his spirit plants and collected Affixes, including Faint Soul Force, Quality Enhancement, Accelerated Growth, and Rebirth Spirit Seed.
• Qin Ming received confirmation that his spirit rice yield had earned him first place for the year.
• Qin Ming planted the withered Black Vine and used a Rebirth Spirit Seed Affix, causing it to sprout and form a strange connection with him.
• Qin Ming used an Accelerated Growth Affix on the Black Vine.

Qin Ming ripened a Withered Blood Poison Vine, learned its Thorn Art, and discovered that it could drain a target’s blood essence and soul. The Spirit Feather Sect notified him that he qualified for a mid-tier Spirit Planter assessment and could move into the Ruan Family Estate.

• Qin Ming used five Accelerated Growth Affixes over seven days to ripen the Withered Blood Poison Vine and harvest its blood-red fruits.
• Qin Ming learned Thorn Art from the Affix and found that the vine’s seeds could trap and kill targets with poisonous thorns.
• Qin Ming tested Thorn Art on a wild boar, which the vines drained into a Blood Orb containing its blood essence and soul.
• Qin Ming fed the Blood Orb to the Withered Blood Poison Vine, strengthening it and deepening his connection to it.
• The Hall of Affairs of the Spirit Feather Sect informed Qin Ming that he qualified for a mid-tier Spirit Planter assessment and that the Ruan Family Estate was available for him to move into.

Qin Ming passed the Spirit Feather Sect's examination and became a First-Grade Mid-Grade Spirit Planter. He renamed the Ruan Family estate the Qin Estate and began moving there, leaving the Shantytown residents astonished and eager to gain his favor.

• Qin Ming answered the examiners' questions and identified Spirit Plants and Spirit Seeds, earning a unanimous superior evaluation and becoming a First-Grade Mid-Grade Spirit Planter.
• Qin Ming renamed the Ruan Family estate the Qin Estate and inspected its concealment formation and Spirit Gathering Array.
• Qin Ming asked Cai Lao Jiu to help move his belongings from the Shantytown to his estate in Qingyang Market.
• Cai Lao Jiu told the Shantytown residents that Qin Ming had advanced to Mid-Grade Spirit Planter and was moving into an estate, prompting their envy and congratulations.
• A cultivator asked Qin Ming about becoming his estate steward, and Cai Lao Jiu angrily claimed the position for himself.

Qin Ming moved into a Grade-A courtyard in Qingyang Market and cultivated Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice using his affixes. After eating the rice and using an Abundant Vital Energy Affix, he broke through to the sixth level of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture and began aiming for the seventh.

• Qin Ming hung a plaque reading “Secluded Cool Abode” at his new courtyard and settled in with Cai Lao Jiu.
• Qin Ming celebrated with Cai Lao Jiu at Juxuan Pavilion, where he sold Manager Liao eighteen shi of Golden Spirit Rice for six hundred Spirit Stones.
• Qin Ming planted Blood Locust Rice in his courtyard’s spirit fields, used Accelerated Growth and Quality Enhancement, and harvested twelve shi of Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice.
• Qin Ming ate the Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice and used an Abundant Vital Energy Affix to break through to the sixth level of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.
• Qin Ming realized his increased strength could let him contend with a Late Qi Refining cultivator and set his sights on reaching the scripture’s seventh level.

Qin Ming strengthened his divine soul and successfully refined Spirit Replenishing Pills, then improved his Qi Gathering Pill technique through repeated attempts. The chapter ended with a crisp cry from the Alchemy Room, leaving Su Yuqing stunned as Qin Ming’s third batch appeared to succeed.

• Qin Ming used all ten Faint Soul Force affixes over three days, more than doubling his divine soul power.
• Qin Ming refined five Spirit Replenishing Pills at Su Yuqing’s house and became a first-tier low-grade alchemist.
• Qin Ming’s first two attempts at refining Qi Gathering Pills failed, but he recognized that the second batch had nearly formed.
• Qin Ming began a third Qi Gathering Pill attempt, and a crisp cry from the Alchemy Room left Su Yuqing frozen in shock.

Qin Ming successfully refined Qi Gathering Pills, sold Beast Fang Rice to Su Yuqing, and planted two difficult Spirit Plants for him. Manager Liao warned Qin Ming that Spirit Rice and other cultivation goods would soon fall in price after the Spirit Feather Sect repaired its teleportation array, so Qin Ming urged Cai Lao Jiu to sell any stored rice quickly.

• Qin Ming refined six Qi Gathering Pills, including one Premium Qi Gathering Pill, impressing Su Yuqing despite the latter’s doubts about his sudden progress.
• Qin Ming sold Su Yuqing about a hundred pounds of Beast Fang Rice for seven hundred Spirit Stones and agreed to cultivate Demon Flame Grass and Seven-Leaf Huangling for him.
• Qin Ming planted the Spirit Seeds, tended his fields, and returned to his Secluded Cool Abode in Qingyang Market.
• Manager Liao told Qin Ming that the Spirit Feather Sect had repaired its teleportation array and that Spirit Rice and other cultivation resources would soon fall in price as Cloudmarsh City rose in importance.
• After learning that market housing rents would remain high, Qin Ming told Manager Liao he had already sold his remaining Beast Fang Rice to Su Yuqing, then warned Cai Lao Jiu to sell any stored Spirit Rice quickly and keep quiet.

After reading Goldcloud Valley’s wanted notice, Qin Ming learned that the Spirit Feather Sect planned to force its Spirit Farmers to sell their rice to Mingzhen Pavilion, threatening his agreement with Juxuan Pavilion. The chapter left him helping Cai Lao Jiu after Jiang Kun’s group beat him and confiscated his rice.

• Qin Ming read the notice offering rewards for the five Marauder Cultivators who had kidnapped and killed Goldcloud Valley’s elder’s son, and wondered whether they had also killed Fellow Daoist Long.
• Cai Lao Jiu visited Qin Ming and asked to borrow a hundred Spirit Stones after Jiang Kun’s group beat him, seized his Spirit Rice, and demanded a fine.
• Cai Lao Jiu explained that the Spirit Feather Sect planned to ban its Spirit Farmers from selling rice anywhere but Mingzhen Pavilion, putting Qin Ming’s agreement with Juxuan Pavilion at risk.
• Qin Ming gave Cai Lao Jiu one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones and two healing pills to help him recover and deal with the fine.

Qin Ming resolved to seek freedom from the Spirit Feather Sect by advancing to Tier 2 in a cultivation art, while continuing his cultivation under the sect’s increasingly restrictive rules. Jiang Kun later invited him to Mingzhen Pavilion and offered him five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and a Marrow Cleansing Pill, leaving Qin Ming to wonder what Jiang Kun wanted.

• Qin Ming decided to pursue Tier 2 Spirit Planter status as his most feasible route out of compulsory labor.
• Elder Gu announced a ban on private Spirit Rice sales during spring plowing, and Qin Ming planted Golden Spirit Rice in his fields.
• Qin Ming pushed his Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture to the peak of the sixth layer but failed to break through to the seventh, while his magical power continued to grow through Qi Gathering Pills.
• Chen Zi'ang invited Qin Ming to Mingzhen Pavilion on Jiang Kun’s behalf, and Qin Ming accepted.
• Jiang Kun apologized for their earlier disagreement, praised Qin Ming, and asked about his connection to Mirror Snow Pavilion.
• Jiang Kun presented Qin Ming with five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Qin Ming rejected Jiang Kun’s attempts to buy his Beast Fang Rice and recruit him, then learned Jiang Kun planned to have him killed. He went to Juxuan Pavilion to tell Gu Qingzhao what had happened, leaving her visibly troubled.

• Jiang Kun offered Qin Ming pills and generous terms to secure his Beast Fang Rice, but Qin Ming refused and insisted on making his own decisions.
• Jiang Kun threatened Qin Ming with his cultivation pressure, but Qin Ming pretended to be overwhelmed and left the private room.
• Jiang Kun ordered Chen Zi'ang to arrange Qin Ming’s murder and make it look like Marauder Cultivators were responsible.
• Qin Ming went to Juxuan Pavilion and told Gu Qingzhao about his encounter with Jiang Kun, prompting her to set down her scripture as the room’s atmosphere grew tense.