Chapter Summaries

After slowing his own cultivation to focus on refining his method, Li Xingkong visited Moon-Embracing Mountain to assess everyone’s progress with the Qi Refining Method. He found that most were still constructing their Qi Seas, while those he had modified were advancing faster but lacked practical experience.

• Li Xingkong chose to cultivate carefully, optimized the Qi Refining Method, and discovered that a week had passed during his session.
• Li Xingkong went to Moon-Embracing Mountain and observed that the cultivators’ control over Spiritual Qi had improved, including that of the outside researchers.
• Li Xingkong watched the cultivators practicing the Qi Refining Method and saw that they could control Spiritual Qi more adeptly than those still battling.
• Li Xingkong found that most cultivators were stuck constructing their Qi Seas, with some following the method precisely and others experimenting with designs inspired by their research.
• Li Xingkong saw that the people he had modified were progressing fastest because they were learning theory from existing Qi Seas and Mana Circuits, though they still lacked hands-on experience.

Li Xingkong assessed the group’s progress in the Qi Refining Method and gave them a lecture on cultivation basics and common mistakes. He then answered questions by showing how the simplified mana circuits compared with his own complex network.

• Li Xingkong noticed that Tang Cheng had independently built two mana circuits and was studying the circuits Li Xingkong had created for him.
• Li Xingkong estimated that even the group’s talented cultivators would need about two months to master the basics of the Qi Refining Method.
• Li Xingkong used his mana to bring the cultivators out of their practice and announced a lecture on Qi Refining and their questions.
• Li Xingkong explained how to improve spiritual qi control and cautioned the group against weakening their Qi Seas while modifying them.
• Li Xingkong answered a question about mana circuits by explaining that the Qi Refining Method simplified them, then projected his own extensive network for the group to examine.

After his cultivation lecture, Li Xingkong learned that Eagle Country planned to send a satellite to spy on the lunar base and decided to destroy it while blaming the Xi People. As he waited for the satellite, he planned to create more Earth Veins and prepare to introduce Spiritual Qi on Earth Star.

• Li Xingkong finished sharing his cultivation experience with the lunar base’s cultivators.
• Tang Cheng told Li Xingkong that Eagle Country’s satellite would soon reach the moon to monitor their base.
• Li Xingkong decided to intercept the satellite and present the attack as a response by the Xi People to an invasion of their territory.
• Tang Cheng agreed to prepare the ground teams for satellite monitoring and begin cultivating public discussion about alien races.
• Li Xingkong returned to his cultivation room to make more Earth Veins and considered returning to Earth Star to establish them and visit his parents.

Li Xingkong prepared to confront the lunar satellite while disguised as one of the Xi People, then flew toward it and revealed himself to its observers. After the satellite detected him, he hurled a huge rock at it, leaving the Eagle Country Space Agency staff watching in alarm.

• Tang Cheng told Li Xingkong that the satellite had reached the moon and brought him the Xi People outfit made from Body Tempering Grass.
• Li Xingkong changed into the outfit, left the base, and flew toward the satellite.
• Staff at the Eagle Country Space Agency detected Li Xingkong flying without a spacesuit and mistook him for an alien.
• Li Xingkong sensed the satellite watching him, landed, tore a huge rock from a nearby mountain, and threw it toward the satellite.

Divine Land used a fabricated lunar stele to stir public interest in alien life and draw foreign intelligence agencies into a battle over its contents. The complete image reached the world’s largest media newspaper, and researchers quickly began deciphering Tang Cheng’s invented script.

• Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng’s plan led Divine Land to prepare a publicity campaign about alien life and the Xi People.
• Divine Land released a report and image of a supposed lunar stele, prompting people across the country to speculate about its writing.
• Foreign media followed the story, while overseas powers publicly demanded shared access and secretly tried to obtain the full text.
• Divine Land let the stolen document pass through several links, using it to expose and arrest an entire spy chain before it reached foreign parties.
• A complete image of the stele appeared in the world’s largest media newspaper, and researchers quickly deciphered much of Tang Cheng’s invented script.

After the Xi People’s stele was deciphered, Li Xingkong destroyed Eagle Country’s lunar satellite, making the Xi People’s planned emergence public. Eagle Country blamed Divine Land and prepared to send a nuclear-armed satellite to the moon.

• People on Earth Star deciphered the stele, which described the Xi People, their dwindling clan, and their plan to spread Spiritual Qi to Blue Moon.
• Eagle Country’s satellite approached the moon to investigate the claims, but Li Xingkong appeared in space and smashed it with a rock.
• Li Xingkong deliberately let footage of the attack reach Earth Star to announce the Xi People’s presence.
• Eagle Country’s space agency learned the video had spread online and decided to blame Divine Land for the attack.
• The person in charge ordered the next lunar satellite equipped with a nuclear warhead, saying Eagle Country would destroy whatever was on the moon if it could not claim it.

A viral video showed a person on the moon destroying an Eagle Country satellite, prompting Eagle Country to accuse Divine Land of deploying lunar weapons and drawing Western pressure. Divine Land denied placing weapons on the moon and said the satellite had intruded into another party’s territory despite repeated warnings.

• A video of a figure on the moon hurling a boulder at an Eagle Country satellite went viral, and experts confirmed the footage was authentic.
• Eagle Country claimed its satellite was functioning normally, but viewers found that its panoramic video reused earlier footage.
• Eagle Country accused Divine Land of shooting down the satellite with lunar weapons, intensifying pressure from Western countries, especially Stick Country and Cherry Blossom Country.
• Divine Land’s spokespeople denied deploying offensive weapons or military bases on the moon and condemned Eagle Country’s accusations as baseless.
• Divine Land acknowledged that the satellite attack was real and said the satellite had violated another party’s territory despite repeated warnings.

Divine Land revealed that it had contacted the Xi People, the Moon’s indigenous inhabitants, and announced that their leaders would soon visit Earth Star. At the lunar base, Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng prepared to make the trip back and present themselves as representatives of the Xi People.

• Divine Land’s spokesperson argued that the Moon’s indigenous inhabitants made its sovereignty claim lawful and said Divine Land had established friendly relations with them.
• Reporters challenged whether aliens and their countries were protected by Earth Star’s laws and questioned Divine Land’s account.
• The spokesperson announced that the Xi People’s patriarch and other key figures would visit Earth Star in the coming days.
• News of the planned visit spread worldwide, prompting excitement, condemnation of Divine Land’s secrecy, and fear among some people who fled abroad.
• Li Xingkong told Tang Cheng that only the two of them would return to Earth Star, and Tang Cheng regretted inventing a difficult alien language.

Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng returned to Earth Star in a reentry capsule as the Divine Land’s announcement drew crowds and foreign delegations to the landing site. After arriving in a rough landing, they prepared to make their public entrance, with Li Xingkong projecting the authority of a people’s leader.

• Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng traveled from the moon to Earth Star aboard a cramped Divine Land reentry capsule.
• People and foreign diplomatic delegations gathered near the designated landing site to witness the aliens’ arrival.
• The reentry capsule crashed down at the site, and Tang Cheng emerged nauseated while Li Xingkong floated out unharmed.
• Tang Cheng used a Rejuvenation Technique, and Li Xingkong realized he had failed to operate the capsule’s parachute.
• A Divine Land official greeted Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng and escorted them toward the venue.
• Li Xingkong released a small amount of his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation as they prepared to meet the crowd.

Li Xingkong used his arrival at Earth Star’s diplomatic meeting to intimidate the representatives and challenge their belief in the law of the jungle. He ended the chapter by hurling a steel bar into space and claiming it had destroyed a Stick Country satellite.

• Tang Cheng and Li Xingkong arrived at the venue, where Li Xingkong used gravity to make the representatives feel his power.
• Stick Country and Cherry Blossom Country challenged Divine Land’s recognition of the Xi People, while Eagle Country said they should accept Earth Star’s guidance.
• Li Xingkong criticized the representatives’ law-of-the-jungle outlook and stepped in to demonstrate the Xi People’s strength.
• Li Xingkong tore a steel bar from a frame and hurled it into the sky with tremendous force, knocking people off balance.
• A bright flash appeared in the sky, and Li Xingkong apologized to the Stick Country representative for smashing one of its satellites.

Li Xingkong used his personal firepower to silence the Earth Star representatives, and the Eagle Country representative accepted the Xi People’s arrival and called for cooperation. The reception continued with Divine Land presenting Li Xingkong a gift, leaving him ready to offer his own in return.

• Li Xingkong demonstrated his strength by destroying a satellite, alarming the gathered representatives.
• The Stick Country representative threatened to take Li Xingkong to international court, but Li Xingkong rejected the court’s legitimacy.
• Li Xingkong threatened to demonstrate a strike on a moving target, prompting the Eagle Country representative to welcome the Xi People and propose cooperation.
• The representatives resumed the reception proceedings, while Li Xingkong waited and pondered his cultivation.
• The Divine Land representative presented Li Xingkong with an exquisite piece of porcelain, and Li Xingkong recalled that he had prepared a gift in return.

At a public exchange, Li Xingkong gave the Divine Land a gene dictionary that could guide genetic modification and potentially help humanity overcome disease. The Divine Land’s representative rushed to secure the highly valuable gift, while the chapter left its safe transport from the landing site uncertain.

• Li Xingkong accepted a porcelain gift, then presented a tiny USB drive as his gift in return to the Divine Land.
• Li Xingkong explained that the drive contained a gene dictionary covering gene combinations and their functions, which could support genetic modification.
• The Divine Land’s representative accepted the drive and hurried backstage with it.
• People seeking longevity saw the dictionary as a possible route to extending life, while the Divine Land regarded immortal cultivation as the more mature path.
• The Divine Land recognized the need to protect the gift, but worried that moving it safely from the landing site would be difficult.

After the gathering with the visitors from outer space ended, Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng decided to return home now that their public duties were over. They left the venue by flying toward the horizon, while the spokesman watched them go.

• Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng rested after the exhausting negotiations and discussed how difficult the gathering had been.
• The spokesman arrived and offered to arrange their travel, and Li Xingkong asked him only to file a flight plan.
• The spokesman told Li Xingkong that his technical document on genetic adjustment had frightened him because it could be used immediately and was highly valuable.
• Li Xingkong and Tang Cheng received flight approval, said goodbye to the spokesman, and flew away from the venue.

Li Xingkong met with Old Tang and Divine Land officials to review a plan for distributing Earth Veins and beginning spiritual qi revival in a controlled way. The first locations were selected, including Li Xingkong’s hometown, and implementation was ready to proceed.

• Li Xingkong enjoyed a week at home with his parents, who were protected by undercover guards sent by the Divine Land.
• Old Tang told Li Xingkong that the Earth Vein placement plan was complete and asked him to discuss it.
• Li Xingkong chose to cooperate with the authorities so spiritual qi revival would not cause social turmoil.
• Li Xingkong flew from Hedong to the Earthly Capital and met Old Tang to review the plan.
• Old Tang presented the first cities selected to receive Earth Veins, including major cities across the Divine Land and Li Xingkong’s hometown.

Li Xingkong approved the authorities’ detailed plan for deploying Earth Veins across the Divine Land and prepared to begin the first installations. Before leaving, he formally gave Old Tang the preliminary Qi Refining Method, opening the way for the authorities to cultivate.

• The authorities completed a ranked plan for deploying Earth Veins across more than three hundred cities, accounting for city size, geography, and competing interests.
• Li Xingkong accepted that refining enough Earth Veins would take about a year and resolved to complete the work rather than give up.
• Old Tang explained how the first batch of Earth Veins would be placed at carefully selected sites that combined local geography with cultural and religious significance.
• Li Xingkong approved the locations and praised the plan for linking the revival of Spiritual Qi with the preservation of Divine Land culture.
• Li Xingkong gave Old Tang a token containing the preliminary Qi Refining Method and offered to help develop further methods and explain its theory.

Li Xingkong traveled to Mount Tai to install Earth Star’s first Earth Vein while Divine Land officials evacuated the area and recorded the process. The Earth Vein merged into the Great White Pagoda and began releasing Spiritual Qi, but the people nearby saw no obvious changes.

• Li Xingkong noticed Mount Tai had been cleared of most visitors and met Qi Mingyang, the officer in charge of the site.
• Qi Mingyang explained that officials had sealed off the mountain under the pretext of a military exercise and evacuated visitors and pilgrims.
• Li Xingkong went with Qi Mingyang to the Great White Pagoda, where staff prepared to film the installation.
• Li Xingkong unfolded the Earth Vein and sent it into the Great White Pagoda, where its golden light shone for nearly five minutes before fading.
• Li Xingkong told Qi Mingyang the installation was complete, leaving Qi Mingyang puzzled that the surroundings and people seemed unchanged.

Li Xingkong confirmed that the Earth Vein he had placed on the mountain was releasing Spiritual Qi, and Qi Mingyang went to investigate when monks began sensing it. Li Xingkong then traveled to the imperial capital and installed a second Earth Vein beneath the city, where few people were likely to notice or sense it.

• Li Xingkong told Qi Mingyang that the Earth Vein had begun releasing Spiritual Qi, though it was invisible to those without a cultivation method.
• A messenger reported that monks had noticed something unusual, and Li Xingkong explained that one had likely sensed Spiritual Qi while meditating.
• Qi Mingyang went to investigate the monks as Li Xingkong departed for the next location.
• Li Xingkong traveled to the imperial capital, where elderly staff kept watch around a mountain in the city.
• Li Xingkong installed an Earth Vein beneath the imperial capital, but no one sensed Spiritual Qi immediately.

Researchers in Earthly Capital examined Tang Cheng’s body and the Qi Refining Method, finding that cultivation rapidly changed the body while Spiritual Qi could transform technology and society. The discussion left them considering how widespread cultivation might reshape work and daily life.

• Researchers reviewed Tang Cheng’s physical examination results and displayed a model of his body with his Mana Circuit.
• A researcher explained that cultivation rapidly improved physical abilities but could cause unintended changes without knowledge and clear goals.
• The researchers discussed Spiritual Qi’s advanced technological potential, including its uses as a weapon and in noninvasive medical treatment.
• The participants considered how widespread cultivation and inedia could reduce the consequences of unemployment and change society’s priorities.

Researchers and Old Tang assessed the limitations and dangers of the simplified Qi Refining Method, then discussed how to prepare the Divine Land for cultivation as Spiritual Qi resurged. They proposed education and military pilot programs before a wider rollout, pending consultation with Li Xingkong.

• A researcher estimated that the simplified Qi Refining Method produced less than one percent of Li Xingkong’s mana at the same realm and noted that Tang Cheng’s physical fitness lagged far behind Li Xingkong’s.
• The researchers suspected that Li Xingkong had practiced Body Refining and that Body Tempering Grass was key to it, while warning that incomplete knowledge could lead to monstrous transformations.
• Old Tang and the researchers concluded that cultivation required a stronger scientific understanding and could not safely be introduced to everyone at once.
• The group proposed adding cultivation-related human-body courses and forming official cultivation teams, with selected military units serving as pilot programs.
• The researchers decided to delay public cultivation until a new organizational framework was established and planned to consult Li Xingkong before finalizing their approach.

Li Xingkong finished setting up the first batch of Earth Veins and prepared to refine the rest before entering seclusion. Before disappearing for a while, he began using his mana to establish cultivation in his parents, starting with Father Li.

• Li Xingkong completed the first batch of Earth Veins, returned to his village, and saw Spiritual Qi spreading nearby.
• Li Xingkong planned to refine the remaining Earth Veins in one session and decided to arrange important matters before entering seclusion.
• Li Xingkong chose to begin his parents’ cultivation by building Mana Circuits inside them, allowing their bodies to cultivate before they learned the Qi Refining Method.
• Li Xingkong messaged Old Tang that the Earth Veins were in place, then brought Father Li and Mother Li to the kang for the procedure.
• Li Xingkong built a stable Qi Refining circuit and Qi Sea in Father Li, leaving him ready to become a Qi Refining Stage cultivator after adjusting to it.