Chapter Summaries

Qin Ming discovered that the purple demon flowers had transformed his Four-Winged Frost Bees, with the queen advancing to a first-rank spirit insect. After canceling his old lease, he rented five mu of Grade A Spirit Fields on a Tier 2 Spirit Vein and planned to buy Spirit Seeds at Juxuan Pavilion.

• Qin Ming found that the purple demon flowers had caused the Four-Winged Frost Bees to transform, and the queen bee had advanced to a first-rank low-grade spirit insect.
• Cultivators around Qingyang Market congratulated Qin Ming on becoming a High-Grade Spirit Planter, and he worried that his new fame might attract Marauder Cultivators.
• Qin Ming canceled his lease for eight mu of Spirit Fields on the first-rank Spirit Vein.
• Qin Ming rented five mu of Grade A Spirit Fields on the Tier 2 Spirit Vein for one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.
• Qin Ming inspected his new fertile fields and decided to visit Juxuan Pavilion to purchase Spirit Seeds.

Qin Ming bought rare Second-Order Five-Color Rice and Crimson Silver Hemp seeds from Gu Qingzhao despite her doubts about his chances of cultivating them. He began preparing the seeds and fields, then visited the Spirit Beast Pavilion to buy Black-Maned Dragon Palm Horse dung for the Crimson Silver Hemp.

• Qin Ming told Gu Qingzhao he intended to cultivate Five-Color Rice and Crimson Silver Hemp, and she warned him that both plants were difficult to grow.
• Qin Ming bought the two kinds of Spirit Seeds from Gu Qingzhao for a total of thirty-five hundred Spirit Stones, and she asked him to sell some of his harvest to the pavilion if he succeeded.
• Qin Ming bought materials to prepare cultivation spirit liquid and soaked a few Five-Color Rice seeds at the Secluded Cool Abode.
• Qin Ming visited the Spirit Beast Pavilion and asked its manager to sell him Black-Maned Dragon Palm Horse dung.
• The manager agreed to sell Qin Ming the dung for a few Spirit Stones, and cultivators in the hall recognized him and understood that he needed it to cultivate Spirit Plants.

Qin Ming prepared his spirit fields, advanced his alchemy and swordsmanship, and broke through to the sixth layer of the Qi Refining Stage. He realized Spirit Gathering Pills had become ineffective due to pill resistance and would need higher-grade pills to advance further.

• Qin Ming soaked Five-Color Rice seeds, discovered his Four-Winged Frost Bees had advanced, and harvested three fruits from the Withered Blood Poison Vine that granted him five Leaves of Spacetime.
• Qin Ming planted high-grade spirit herbs and Su Yuqing's five Divine Essence Fruits, then sowed Five-Color Rice and Crimson Silver Hemp across his five mu of Spirit Fields.
• Qin Ming refined more than twenty premium Spirit Gathering Pills and used three Superior Spirit Gathering Pills to advance to the sixth layer of the Qi Refining Stage.
• Qin Ming found that Spirit Gathering Pills had little effect on his cultivation because of pill resistance, despite his robust mana and expanded dantian.
• Qin Ming tested the Azure Nether Sword with the Object Control Art, admired its performance, and reminded himself to keep a low profile.

Qin Ming tested the Yinchill poison thorns and combined them with the Greater Spirit Rain Technique to create a surprise attack he named Yinchill Rain. After defeating a powerful demonic beast, he learned that Gu Qingzhao had broken through to Foundation Establishment and invited him to her celebration.

• Qin Ming used a purple spirit seed to kill a snow leopard with soul-piercing Yinchill poison thorns and collected the Blood Orb.
• Qin Ming tested his first-rank Four-Winged Frost Bees against a giant black-furred bear, then cast the Greater Spirit Rain Technique with hidden thorn seeds.
• Qin Ming's Yinchill Rain killed the giant bear, which he harvested for its Blood Orb and hide.
• Manager Liao told Qin Ming that Gu Qingzhao had reached Foundation Establishment and invited him to her celebration.

Qin Ming and Huang Xishan attended Gu Qingzhao’s small Foundation Establishment celebration at Cloud Dream Mountain, where they found themselves among powerful cultivators. The gathering ended with Protector Huangfu Qi asking Qin Ming for help with an unspecified matter.

• Qin Ming met Huang Xishan outside their courtyards, and they traveled together to Gu Qingzhao’s celebration after learning that she had invited accomplished cultivators and high-level experts.
• Gu Qingzhao welcomed Qin Ming and Huang Xishan, noticed Qin Ming had reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining, and accepted their congratulatory gifts.
• Qin Ming and Huang Xishan entered Gu Qingzhao’s cave abode and found more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered, including Fang Yezi.
• Gu Qingzhao introduced Qin Ming as a High-Grade Spirit Planter and Intermediate Alchemist and Huang Xishan as a Superior Artifact Refiner, but the Foundation Establishment guests paid them little attention.
• Gu Qingzhao introduced Protector Huangfu Qi, who was joining Mirror Snow Pavilion’s Cloudmarsh City branch, and he asked Qin Ming to help him with a matter.

Huangfu Qi asked Qin Ming to save a dying Tier 2 Flameheart Sevenleaf Flower that held special meaning for him and his Dao companion. Qin Ming agreed in exchange for Huangfu Qi’s favor and left with the flower to tend it at his own Spirit Field.

• At Gu Qingzhao’s banquet, Huangfu Qi invited Qin Ming to speak with him privately after the meal.
• Huangfu Qi asked Qin Ming about his earlier success saving a Golden Sun Tree, then showed him a dying Flameheart Sevenleaf Flower in his medicinal field.
• Huangfu Qi explained that he had neglected the flower, a token of love between him and his Dao companion, and promised Qin Ming a favor if he saved it.
• Qin Ming agreed to try, took the potted flower with him, and declined Huangfu Qi’s offer to stay at his cave abode.
• Huang Xishan met Qin Ming outside and praised his apparent connection with Huangfu Qi before they flew back to Qingyang Market.

Qin Ming revived Huangfu Qi’s spirit flower, advanced as an alchemist, and discovered powerful new affixes as his second-tier plants sprouted. After Gu Qingzhao warned him of coming turmoil around a newly seized Tier 3 Spirit Vein and ancient ruin, Qin Ming’s neighbors invited him to seek opportunities there.

• Qin Ming returned the revived Flameheart Sevenleaf Flower to Huangfu Qi, earning a favor from the Foundation Establishment cultivator, while his business with Gu Qingzhao grew.
• Qin Ming became a high-grade alchemist and found the high-grade Spirit Accumulation Pill formula in Su Yuqing’s notes, but kept his advancement secret.
• Qin Ming saw his second-tier Five-Color Rice and Crimson Silver Hemp sprout with affixes that could replicate spells, provide vital energy, and extend lifespan.
• Gu Qingzhao told Qin Ming that the Spirit Feather Sect and Goldcloud Valley had seized a Tier 3 Spirit Vein and uncovered an ancient ruin, then warned that greater upheaval was coming and Mirror Snow Pavilion planned to withdraw.
• Huang Xishan and Qin Ming’s other neighbors told him about the ruin’s Foundation Establishment opportunities and invited him to join their expedition.

Qin Ming refused to join his neighbors’ dangerous search for a Foundation Establishment opportunity, then learned that Elder Gu had achieved Foundation Establishment and that the Hundred Flowers Sect had arrived in Qingyang Market. A month later, Qin Ming harvested a rare Spell Replication affix leaf and wondered whether it could copy even a Golden Core powerhouse’s spells.

• Qin Ming declined Huang Xishan and the other neighbors’ invitation to risk their lives pursuing a Foundation Establishment opportunity.
• Qin Ming met Du Haifu, who revealed that Elder Gu had achieved Foundation Establishment and promoted him to outer sect steward.
• Qin Ming saw a luxurious carriage carrying the Hundred Flowers Saintess of the Hundred Flowers Sect arrive in Qingyang Market, and Du Haifu hurried away.
• One month later, Qin Ming harvested his spirit plants and obtained a purple Spell Replication affix leaf.
• Qin Ming wondered whether Spell Replication could reproduce any spell he had witnessed, including one cast by a Golden Core Stage powerhouse.

Qin Ming used Blood Qi Crystal Affixes to advance to the seventh layer of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture, greatly strengthening his body, and gained fifty years of lifespan. After hearing that rival forces were converging on Qingyang Market, he returned home and learned that Feng Yuan’s companions, including his younger brother Feng Fan, had died on a ruins expedition.

• Qin Ming consumed a Blood Qi Crystal Affix and transformed his Vital Energy Force into Vital Energy True Force, reaching the seventh layer of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.
• Qin Ming tested his new strength against the Azure Nether Sword and found that his body could withstand its attack; he planned to cultivate toward the technique’s ninth layer.
• Qin Ming used four more Blood Qi Crystal Affixes and five Faint Lifespan Affixes, increasing his true force and extending his lifespan by fifty years.
• Gu Qingzhao told Qin Ming that news of the Spirit Feather Sect and Goldcloud Valley’s gains had drawn many forces to Qingyang Market, while greater powers might be stirring the turmoil.
• Qin Ming saw Hundred Flowers Valley and Goldcloud Valley cultivators arguing in the market, then returned home to tend his Spirit Herbs and Four-Winged Frost Bees.
• Feng Yuan arrived at Qin Ming’s courtyard badly wounded and told him that Huang, Yan, and Feng Fan had died during a ruins expedition.

Feng Yuan, mortally wounded after his companions were killed and their spoils stolen, offered Qin Ming the Skyfire Spirit Liquid in exchange for a promise to protect his bloodline and avenge the dead. Qin Ming accepted the liquid and agreed to look after the descendants, but refused the revenge pledge and the dangerous Dragon Token and ruins map; Feng Yuan left after revealing where the token and map would be buried.

• Feng Yuan told Qin Ming that his companions had died in an ambush by cultivators from several sects, while Lin Zixiao had been surrounded and was likely doomed.
• Feng Yuan revealed that he had secretly kept the Skyfire Spirit Liquid and that his group had found a Dragon Token and a tattered ruins map.
• Feng Yuan offered Qin Ming the three treasures in exchange for revenge against a sect disciple and protection for his mortal descendants.
• Qin Ming refused to promise revenge or accept the token and map, but agreed to look after Feng Yuan's descendants if he could.
• Feng Yuan gave Qin Ming the Skyfire Spirit Liquid, a letter, and a jade pendant, then left Qingyang Market after telling him where the token and map would be buried.

After losing several neighbors, Qin Ming bought powerful defensive treasures and sought out Huangfu Qi to use his promised favor. Huangfu demonstrated his strongest spell, causing the purple Spell Replication leaf in Qin Ming’s Sea of Consciousness to vanish.

• Qin Ming spent the night planning after Feng Yuan told him that several neighbors had been wiped out.
• Qin Ming bought five Yin Thunder Grenades and a Golden Spirit Brick from Gu Qingzhao, then learned Huangfu Qi ranked among the Wei Kingdom’s strongest Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• After hearing sect disciples discuss the Thunder Origin Sect’s restraint over the Tier 3 Spirit Vein and ancient ruin, Qin Ming left Qingyang Market for Cloud Dream Mountain.
• Qin Ming asked Huangfu Qi to demonstrate the strongest spell he had ever cast, using the promise Huangfu had made him.
• Huangfu Qi took Qin Ming far from Cloud Dream Mountain and performed the spell, after which Qin Ming’s purple Spell Replication leaf vanished.

Qin Ming stumbled upon Spirit Feather Sect cultivators killing rogue miners to conceal the sect’s secret Golden Core breakthrough, then fought them off when they discovered him. After killing the group, he sensed a powerful Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator approaching.

• Qin Ming left Huangfu Qi and rode his Spirit Light Shuttle toward Qingyang Market.
• Qin Ming discovered Spirit Feather Sect cultivators killing rogue miners who had learned that the sect was secretly using a Tier 3 Spirit Vein to help a Celestial Spirit Root cultivator break through to the Golden Core Stage.
• The Spirit Feather Sect cultivators detected Qin Ming, trapped him in their formation, and attacked after he tried to leave.
• Qin Ming used the Spirit Rain Technique to strike most of the cultivators with poisonous needles and collect Blood Orbs from their corpses.
• Qin Ming killed the dark, fat cultivator and the leading core disciple, then sensed a powerful Foundation Establishment Realm aura approaching.

After uncovering the Spirit Feather Sect’s dangerous ambitions, Qin Ming returned to Qingyang Market and discovered that his Withered Blood Poison Vine could help him cultivate a wood-element spirit body. He made the vine his Natal Spirit Plant and accelerated its growth, but the plant then transformed into ink and disappeared into the soil.

• Elder Gu and another Foundation Establishment elder investigated the scene Qin Ming had fled and suspected demonic cultivators were responsible.
• Qin Ming returned to Qingyang Market and fed more than a dozen Blood Orbs to the Withered Blood Poison Vine, which grew larger and developed eyeball-like buds.
• Qin Ming learned that the vine’s Affixes included the Evergreen Longevity Art, which could help him cultivate a wood-element spirit body through a Natal Spirit Plant.
• Qin Ming used Accelerated Growth Affixes on the vine’s buds, harvested black fruits, learned the Evergreen Longevity Art, and successfully made the vine his Natal Spirit Plant.
• Qin Ming used five Leaf of Spacetime Affixes to accelerate the vine, which transformed into a pool of ink and seeped into the soil.

Qin Ming cultivated the Black Vine and advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refining before a black-robed demonic cultivator attacked the Spirit Fields. After killing the Spirit Feather Sect’s defenders, the cultivator revealed a familiar face and greeted Qin Ming.

• Qin Ming discovered that the Black Vine could burrow underground and emerge across the fields, though it remained only at the seedling stage.
• Qin Ming used all five Mana Crystal Affix leaves during seclusion and broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
• Qin Ming tended his Spirit Fields and sensed his growing affinity with the plants.
• A black-robed Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator trapped the Spirit Fields in dark clouds and killed the Spirit Feather Sect defenders, including their Foundation Establishment elder.
• The black-robed cultivator approached Qin Ming, removed his hood, and greeted him as a familiar acquaintance.

Lin Zixiao confronted Qin Ming over the Dragon Token but left after the token showed it was not on him. Later, Lin Zixiao told a Spirit Feather Sect elder that his treasure had warned him Qin Ming could kill him, leaving Qin Ming’s hidden trump card a mystery.

• Qin Ming recognized Lin Zixiao as the notorious bandit, while Lin calmly greeted him and praised his spirit-planting skills.
• Lin Zixiao asked whether Feng Yuan had given Qin Ming the Dragon Token, and Qin Ming admitted Feng Yuan had offered it but denied accepting it.
• Lin Zixiao used the Dragon Token to confirm it was not on Qin Ming, then removed the array, put on a Buddha Mask, and departed.
• The Spirit Field planters emerged after the danger passed, unaware of Lin Zixiao’s conversation with Qin Ming.
• A Spirit Feather Sect elder questioned Lin Zixiao for sparing Qin Ming, and Lin revealed that his magic treasure had warned him an attack would make him the first to die.

After months of quiet, Qin Ming learned that rival factions were closing in on the keys to an ancient ruin while he strengthened his cultivation and awakened Divine Sense. The chapter ended with Gu Qingzhao warning him that all but the final key had been gathered.

• The Spirit Feather Sect investigated the spirit-field incident and questioned Qin Ming, but the market gradually settled after months of heightened security.
• Gu Qingzhao told Qin Ming that factions were secretly searching for the Dragon Tokens needed to open an ancient inheritance ruin, and Qin Ming traded her Spirit Accumulation Pills after revealing his skill as a High-Grade Alchemist.
• Qin Ming harvested eighteen supreme Divine Essence Fruits and five Soul Force Crystal affixes from his spirit plants.
• Qin Ming used the affixes to awaken Divine Sense, then strengthened it until it could cover several hundred zhang.
• Gu Qingzhao sent Qin Ming a Message Talisman saying the factions had gathered most of the keys and only one remained.

Qin Ming discovered that Elder Gu had sabotaged the Spirit Fields’ protective formation to keep him under the Spirit Feather Sect’s control, but he used the Wind-Fixing Art to protect his crops and prepared further defenses. As Mirror Snow Pavilion prepared to leave Qingyang Market, Qin Ming gave Gu Qingzhao supreme-grade Tier 2 Divine Essence Fruits for Su and began negotiating new trade terms.

• Qin Ming heard cultivators at Juxuan Pavilion discuss the factions’ failure to find the last Dragon Token before he returned to his Spirit Fields during a violent storm.
• Elder Gu and Zhuang Xiran watched the failed protective formation and revealed their plan to stop Qin Ming from advancing and force him to farm for the Spirit Feather Sect.
• Qin Ming overheard the elders with his divine sense, used the Wind-Fixing Art to shield his fields, and learned that the sect was also searching for the Dragon-Shaped Secret Key while protecting Elder Yuwen’s Golden Core breakthrough.
• Qin Ming bought a separate protective formation from Gu Qingzhao and secretly planted Spirit Seeds enhanced with the Thorn Art around his fields.
• Gu Qingzhao told Qin Ming that Mirror Snow Pavilion would withdraw from Qingyang Market, and Qin Ming entrusted her with five supreme-grade Tier 2 Divine Essence Fruits for Su.
• Gu Qingzhao asked to buy Qin Ming’s surplus Divine Essence Fruits, and Qin Ming said he wanted to change the terms of the trade.

Qin Ming secured a Flora Mirage Realm slot through Gu Qingzhao and Chen Qiaoling in exchange for promising half a wisp of Essence of Myriad Woods. A year and a half later, his cultivation had advanced and his five mu of Tier 2 spirit plants were ready for harvest, leaving him poised to take the trial and become a Tier 2 Spirit Planter.

• Qin Ming asked Gu Qingzhao for help obtaining a Flora Mirage Realm slot, and she introduced him to Chen Qiaoling in exchange for two Divine Essence Fruits.
• Chen Qiaoling agreed to seek a slot for Qin Ming from a Spirit Feather Sect elder, provided he gave her half a wisp of Essence of Myriad Woods if he could obtain it.
• Qin Ming shoved Li Yan into an irrigation ditch after hearing him and other Spirit Planters disparage Qin Ming's Five-Color Rice and prospects.
• A year and a half later, Qin Ming had reached Qi Refining Stage Eight and the eighth layer of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture, while the market factions still had not found the Dragon Token.
• Qin Ming's five mu of Tier 2 spirit plants matured, and the Spirit Feather Sect's flying boat arrived to collect the Spirit Rice.

Qin Ming harvested an astonishing crop of Five-Color Spirit Rice, refused Elder Gu’s attempt to buy it, and entered the Spirit Feather Sect’s Flora Mirage Realm assessment. After choosing the highest difficulty, he was stunned by what awaited beyond the hut.

• Qin Ming harvested three mu of Five-Color Spirit Rice, yielding 520 jin, and paid the required 35 percent tax.
• Elder Gu asked Qin Ming to sell him some rice, but Qin Ming refused and stood his ground despite Elder Gu’s anger.
• Ten days later, Qin Ming used Chen Qiaoling’s quota token to join the Spirit Feather Sect’s trial assessment, where Elder Gu objected to his participation.
• The examinees entered the Flora Mirage Realm, and Qin Ming learned that the trial allowed participants to select its difficulty.
• Qin Ming chose Grade A Difficulty, and the hut door opened to reveal a sight that left him astonished.

Qin Ming passed an A-grade Flora Mirage Realm trial and became a Tier 2 Spirit Planter, then had his compulsory service agreement with the Spirit Feather Sect dissolved. He left the sect and flew toward Qingyang Market.

• Li Yan passed a Wu-grade trial and advanced to Tier 2, but other Spirit Planters soon surpassed his result.
• Qin Ming emerged after passing an A-grade trial in five hours, earning first place and seven strands of the Essence of Myriad Woods.
• Qin Ming explained that he had selected three desert-suited Spirit Plants and used his Accelerated Growth Affix to cultivate the last one in time.
• Qin Ming asked the elders to dissolve his compulsory service agreement, and Elder Liu crossed his name off the register.
• Qin Ming refused Elder Zhuang Xiran's offer to remain in the sect and left for Qingyang Market aboard the Spirit Light Shuttle.