Recaps

Chen Shuangbai used the Duckweed Water Incantation and a Miasma-Cleansing Pill to cure Luo Yi’s Bone-Corroding Wood Baleful Intent and ease his injuries. Yan Qi and Luo Yi then explained that the Heart-Eroding Stronghold was sending growing numbers of devil cultivators into Jade Spring Sect territory, leaving the Evil Hunting Hall to confront the threat.

• Chen Shuangbai used the Spirit-Appraising Pupil, the Duckweed Water Incantation, and a Miasma-Cleansing Pill to draw the poison from Luo Yi.
• Chen Shuangbai collected the expelled poison for study, then used the Sweet Dew Incantation to heal much of Luo Yi’s remaining injuries.
• Yan Qi thanked Chen Shuangbai and explained that he and Luo Yi had fought Heart-Eroding Stronghold cultivators, who used gu insects and poison arts.
• Yan Qi revealed that the sect lacked enough resources to treat every injured Evil Hunting Hall member and that he had summoned Chen Shuangbai because of his incantation skills.
• Luo Yi and Yan Qi explained that the Heart-Eroding Stronghold’s ranks had swelled and its disciples were openly crossing into Jade Spring Sect territory to cause destruction.

After agreeing to Yan Qi’s request, Chen Shuangbai traveled with an Expenditure Hall team to treat villagers poisoned by the Heart-Eroding Stronghold. The group reached Great Locust Village, where Chen Shuangbai identified the poisonous fog and saw that the sect had begun containing it.

• Yan Qi asked Chen Shuangbai to help villagers suffering from demonic poison, and Chen Shuangbai agreed to go down the mountain.
• Chen Shuangbai boarded a flying boat with Yan Qi and an Expenditure Hall team carrying food and other supplies for mortals.
• An Expenditure Hall deacon explained that the Jade Spring Sect transported supplies openly to reassure people and demonstrate the stability of its territory.
• Yan Qi told Chen Shuangbai that Great Locust Village’s water, soil, vegetation, and inhabitants had been poisoned, and that a Heart-Eroding Stronghold cultivator had attacked him when he sought help.
• Chen Shuangbai used his Spirit-Appraising Pupil to identify the village’s poisonous fog and its underground source, while the sect’s advance party contained the area and began purging the poison.

Chen Shuangbai and Yan Qi arrived at Great Locust Village, where the Bone-Corroding Wood Baleful Intent had killed dozens and left many villagers gravely poisoned. Chen Shuangbai judged that he could treat the worst cases, and prepared to begin using sect supplies.

• Chen Shuangbai and Yan Qi landed at Great Locust Village, where Expenditure Hall attendants unloaded their supplies.
• Huang Shaoyuan reported that forty-three villagers had died and described how the surviving patients were separated and treated.
• Yan Qi and Chen Shuangbai entered the cave where more than thirty gravely poisoned villagers were suffering.
• Chen Shuangbai examined a patient and assessed that his Water and Wood Pure Splendor Incantation, spiritual liquid, and Miasma-Cleansing Pills could improve the patients' condition.
• Chen Shuangbai sat down to treat the villagers and asked Yan Qi whether the supplies included high-quality healing and detoxifying pills.

Chen Shuangbai used pills and the Water and Wood Pure Splendor Incantation to purge the baleful poison from an unconscious boy in Great Locust Village. After replenishing his Law Power with sect-provided Spirit Stones, he moved on to treat the next injured person, strengthened by his new insights into the incantation.

• Yan Qi provided Chen Shuangbai with Miasma-Cleansing Pills, Spring-Turning Pills, and Mysterious Origin Life-Restoring Pills for the village's victims.
• Chen Shuangbai used Miasma-Cleansing Pills and the Sweet Dew Incantation to restore the unconscious boy's vitality and give him strength to resist the poison.
• Chen Shuangbai cast the Duckweed Water Incantation alongside the pills, gradually drawing most of the toxins from the boy's body.
• Yan Qi congratulated Chen Shuangbai when the boy's poison had been nearly cleared, and the attendants carried the boy away to recover.
• Yan Qi supplied Chen Shuangbai with sect-allocated low-grade Spirit Stones, and Chen Shuangbai replenished his Law Power before going to treat the next injured person.

After treating the poisoned villagers, Chen Shuangbai returned with Yan Qi to Great Locust Village, where they discovered that its ancient locust tree had become a demonic creature. Yan Qi prepared to fight it while Chen Shuangbai held back.

• Chen Shuangbai saved twenty-seven wounded villagers and improved his mastery of the Water and Wood Pure Splendor Incantation.
• Yan Qi praised Chen Shuangbai, who reaffirmed the sect’s duty to protect ordinary people from harm.
• Chen Shuangbai and Yan Qi reached the village ancestral hall and saw that the great locust tree had lost its spirituality to the baleful poison.
• Chen Shuangbai spotted concentrated malice inside the tree and warned Yan Qi just before it attacked them with a branch.
• Yan Qi identified the tree as a demonic creature, told Chen Shuangbai to stand back, and revealed his deep-blue chain sword.

Yan Qi defeated the demonized locust-tree monster and purified the poisoned water vein beneath the ancestral hall. Chen Shuangbai recovered a useful wood heart, and the Jade Spring sect planned to restore the area for the local mortals.

• Yan Qi used his chain sword to kill the demonized locust-tree monster in a few strikes.
• Chen Shuangbai found a wood heart in the monster's remains, and Yan Qi let him keep it after warning that it was tainted by baleful poison.
• Yan Qi descended into the underground water vein to place the sect's medicine, then returned with a demonic snake he had killed.
• The Expenditure Hall's attendants harvested useful parts from the snake for the sect's merit tally.
• Yan Qi said clean water would clear the poison in about a month and that the sect would adjust its patrol route to protect the area.

After the Great Locust Village mission, Yan Qi warned Chen Shuangbai that the Heart-Eroding Stronghold was pursuing a larger scheme against the Jade Spring Sect. Chen returned to the sect, resumed cultivating, and received a visit from the Expenditure Hall to assess his contributions.

• Yan Qi promised to report Chen Shuangbai’s service to the Expenditure Hall and told him the Heart-Eroding demonic beasts had sent vanguards into the three prefectures.
• Chen Shuangbai returned to the sect and sent flying letters to He Qi and Fu Qianlan, warning them not to spread the information carelessly.
• Chen Shuangbai cultivated with the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method and resolved to find a better way to recharge his [Dao Fruit].
• An Expenditure Hall steward and two attendants arrived at Chen Shuangbai’s cave abode to recognize his contributions, and the steward introduced himself as Sun Wubai.

Chen Shuangbai received a reward from the Expenditure Hall for saving villagers, including Middle-Grade Spirit Stones and rare water moon jade crystals. He realized the crystals’ moonlight could recharge his Dao Fruit more effectively than ordinary moonlight, and accepted them gratefully.

• Sun Wubai delivered Chen Shuangbai a reward on behalf of the Expenditure Hall for his role in saving injured villagers and protecting the Jade Spring Sect’s reputation.
• Chen Shuangbai cautioned Sun Wubai that he preferred to cultivate quietly rather than attract attention, though Sun made no promises on the higher-ups’ behalf.
• Sun Wubai presented Chen Shuangbai with thirty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones and a box of water moon jade crystals.
• Sun Wubai explained that the crystals contained pure water Spiritual Qi and moonlight that could aid cultivation, calm the mind, and stabilize a cultivator’s foundation.
• Chen Shuangbai sensed that his Dao Fruit could absorb the crystals’ moonlight and accepted the reward with a deep bow.

Chen Shuangbai discovered that his Dao Fruit could absorb the moonlight in water moon jade crystals much faster than basking in moonlight, and he decided to earn Merit Points by refining pills so he could obtain more. As pill sales rose, he asked Lu Zhiyuan to help secure a supply of the crystals, and Lu agreed to introduce him to the elder in charge of exchanges.

• After Sun Wubai left, Chen Shuangbai used the Dao Fruit to absorb the moonlight from all twelve water moon jade crystals, leaving their water-aspected Spiritual Qi behind.
• Chen Shuangbai decided to sell more pills and exchange the proceeds for water moon jade crystals to charge the Dao Fruit before leaving the mountain.
• Chen Shuangbai asked Fu Qianlan to learn which pills the Empty Sword Sect needed most, and Fu reported that Miasma-Cleansing Pills and Spring-Turning Pills were in high demand.
• Over the following months, Chen Shuangbai sold increasing quantities of both pills to the Expenditure Hall, prompting Qian Jin and Lu Zhiyuan to ask whether he needed help.
• Chen Shuangbai asked Lu Zhiyuan about obtaining water moon jade crystals, and Lu offered to introduce him to the elder overseeing their exchange allocation.

Fan Yunsong and Fan Cailing visited Chen Shuangbai to check on his pill refining and advise him about his upcoming garrison assignment. Chen Shuangbai learned that the assignment process was complicated and not managed by the Expenditure Hall.

• Fan Yunsong visited Chen Shuangbai with his younger clan sister, Fan Cailing, and explained that Yi Chongyue had heard about Chen Shuangbai's pill refining and wanted to know if he had run into trouble.
• Chen Shuangbai said he was refining pills to earn Merit Points and obtain spiritual materials before leaving the mountain for a garrison assignment.
• Fan Yunsong and Fan Cailing explained that garrison locations could offer either a comfortable posting or a chance to prove oneself, and that the sect usually assigned them by drawing lots while making adjustments for individual circumstances.
• Fan Cailing told Chen Shuangbai that outer disciples' garrison assignments were not administered or arranged by the Expenditure Hall.

Fan Yunsong and Fan Cailing explained the advantages and dangers of different garrison assignments to Chen Shuangbai, who considered how each might suit his cultivation and alchemy. Fan Yunsong then proposed that the five of them work together on Chen Shuangbai’s pill business.

• Chen Shuangbai learned that outer disciple garrison assignments fell under the Abyss Suppression Hall.
• Fan Yunsong described the risks and rewards of garrisoning borderlands, newly expanded territory, or areas recovering from calamities.
• Chen Shuangbai considered how a garrison location could support his water-and-wood Spirit Root and alchemy needs.
• Chen Shuangbai asked why the Fan siblings had come, and Fan Yunsong said he had visited at Yi Chongyue’s request and wanted to discuss something.
• Fan Yunsong noted Chen Shuangbai’s success refining Miasma-Cleansing Pills and Spring-Turning Pills, then proposed that the five of them work together.

Chen Shuangbai agreed to cooperate with Fan Yunsong and the Fan Clan of Jing Valley to produce and sell Jade Spring Five Pills beyond the sect’s markets. After the Fan siblings left, Chen recorded their conversation as a precaution.

• Fan Yunsong proposed that Chen Shuangbai and the Fan siblings cooperate to refine Jade Spring Five Pills and sell surplus pills through the Fan Clan’s trade routes.
• Fan Yunsong explained how the plan would comply with sect rules and said the Fan Clan could open a shop wherever Chen was stationed after he left the mountain.
• Chen Shuangbai accepted the proposal and placed his Law Power imprint on the binding contract, which already bore four other imprints.
• The Fan siblings left Chen Shuangbai’s cave abode after discussing the arrangement.
• Chen Shuangbai returned inside and used a recording jade to preserve his conversation with the Fan siblings.

Chen Shuangbai accepted Fan Yunsong’s medicinal ingredients and Pill Furnace, then met Lu Songting to ask about the outer sect’s water moon jade crystal allotment. Lu Songting pointed out that Chen Shuangbai had recently received a box and asked whether he had already used it.

• Chen Shuangbai suspected Fan Cailing had been sent to assess him as a marriage prospect, but decided he had no interest in joining a powerful lineage through marriage.
• Fan Cailing told Fan Yunsong she was focused on cultivation and did not want to marry, so Fan Yunsong agreed to turn the lineage down for her.
• Fan Yunsong sent Chen Shuangbai a large batch of medicinal ingredients and an Azure Gold Furnace as an advance on their collaboration.
• Chen Shuangbai visited Lu Zhiyuan, who introduced him to his lineage elder, Lu Songting, a jade-robed deacon in the Expenditure Hall.
• Chen Shuangbai asked Lu Songting whether any of the year’s outer sect allotment of water moon jade crystal remained, and Lu Songting asked if he had used up the box delivered to him recently.

Chen Shuangbai persuaded Lu Songting to secure as much water moon jade crystal as possible for his cultivation and upcoming three-year garrison assignment, promising to repay Lu Songting’s favor if he prospered. The deal was approved in principle, with Chen Shuangbai required to pay the merit points upfront while Lu Songting arranged the remaining allocation.

• Chen Shuangbai explained that his water-and-wood Spirit Root and Jade Spring Qi Ingestion Method made water moon jade crystal especially useful to him.
• Lu Songting said the outer sect’s water moon jade crystal quota was tight and obtaining more would require deliberation and maneuvering.
• Chen Shuangbai offered Lu Songting a future return on his kindness if his cultivation or alchemy succeeded.
• Lu Songting agreed to secure as much water moon jade crystal as possible, provided Chen Shuangbai paid the merit points upfront.
• Chen Shuangbai and Lu Zhiyuan left the quiet room, and Chen Shuangbai thanked Lu Zhiyuan for arranging the meeting.

Chen Shuangbai encouraged Lu Zhiyuan to pursue Huang Shanglan while continuing his cultivation and alchemy. He manifested the First Month God and broke through to the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer Late Stage.

• Chen Shuangbai gave Lu Zhiyuan advice on arranging another meeting with Huang Shanglan, and Lu Zhiyuan left eagerly.
• Chen Shuangbai continued cultivating, refining pills, and studying the Listening to the Waves Notes, then decided he would need higher-grade pills to advance his alchemy.
• Chen Shuangbai drew down moonlight and used Water Cloud Pills and primordial Qi to deepen his cultivation.
• Chen Shuangbai condensed the First Month Divine Manifestation, which increased the moonlight he absorbed and cultivated alongside him.
• Chen Shuangbai broke through the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer Middle Stage and reached the Late Stage.

Chen Shuangbai condensed the First Month Divine Manifestation, which strengthened his healing techniques and accelerated his cultivation while helping him harvest spiritual essence from moonlight. As he prepared to leave the mountain for a three-year assignment, Zhang Yin advised him that reaching the late Qi Refining stage before thirty would require giving up the plan to spend all three years somewhere peaceful.

• Chen Shuangbai condensed the First Month Divine Manifestation and discovered that it enhanced his cultivation, Law Techniques, and Sweet Dew Incantation.
• Chen Shuangbai used the enhanced Sweet Dew Incantation on an orchid, restoring its vitality and giving it a slight chance to develop spiritual awareness.
• Chen Shuangbai consulted an ancient book and concluded that the First Month Divine Manifestation harvested spiritual essence derived from the Great Yin.
• Chen Shuangbai told Zhang Yin that his five-year term was ending and promised to have fellow disciples bring him mortal-world play scripts during his absence.
• Zhang Yin advised Chen Shuangbai to abandon his plan to spend the full three-year assignment in a peaceful place if he wanted to reach the late Qi Refining stage before thirty and qualify for the inner sect.

Chen Shuangbai learned from the Book Spirit how the Jade Spring Sect distinguished ordinary inner disciples from true disciples and what it took to earn a place among the sect’s future leaders. After leaving the book cave, he headed back toward his cave abode but ran into someone who had been looking for him.

• Chen Shuangbai paid merit points to speak privately with the Book Spirit in the book cave.
• The Book Spirit explained that disciples who reached late Qi refining before thirty could advance into the inner sect, but would usually become registered disciples rather than true disciples.
• The Book Spirit described the sect’s hidden strength and explained that true disciples needed talent, good character, merits, and achievements.
• Chen Shuangbai thanked the Book Spirit for his guidance and left the book cave with his path forward clearer.
• As Chen Shuangbai walked down the mountain, someone met him and said they had been looking for him.

Chen Shuangbai accepted an invitation to join Jade Dew Hall after Huang Shanglan told him that Hall Master Yi had recommended him for his pill-refining talent. Huang Shanglan also delivered a talisman decree and a letter from Ding Chengyu, leaving Chen Shuangbai to learn the senior brother’s reasons by reading it at home.

• Huang Shanglan confronted Chen Shuangbai about advising Lu Zhiyuan to court her, then hinted that Lu’s gesture had not been unwelcome.
• Huang Shanglan asked Chen Shuangbai whether he was selling basic pills to save Merit Points before leaving the mountain, and he confirmed it.
• Huang Shanglan offered Chen Shuangbai a Jade Dew Hall token, explaining that Yi Chongyue had strongly recommended him, and Chen Shuangbai accepted.
• Huang Shanglan gave Chen Shuangbai a talisman decree and letter from Ding Chengyu, telling him to read the letter at his residence to learn the reasons.

After receiving Ding Chengyu’s talismanic writ, Chen Shuangbai thanked him with pills and traveled to Flowing Immortal Market to seek access to the original Spring Rain and Flowering Wood Sword Instruction. Ding Chengyu reflected on his strange memories and decision to bet on Chen Shuangbai, while Chen arrived at the market entrance guarded by Flowing Maple cultivators.

• Chen Shuangbai read Ding Chengyu’s letter and learned he could use Ding’s connection to the Lush Foliage Pavilion to view the original sword instruction.
• Chen Shuangbai sent Ding Chengyu five bottles of premium-quality Jade Spring Five Pills with a message of thanks.
• Ding Chengyu recalled memories from a dream in which Chen Shuangbai became awe-inspiring and resolved to keep cultivating as he placed his bet on him.
• Chen Shuangbai traveled out of the Jade Spring Sect toward Flowing Immortal Market, observing the sect’s villages, traffic, and surrounding greenery along the way.
• Chen Shuangbai landed outside Flowing Immortal Market and saw six guards from the Flowing Maple cultivation lineage stationed beneath its archway.

Chen Shuangbai visited Flowing Immortal Market to meet Liu Feng and request the original of the Spring Rain and Flowering Wood Sword Instruction. Liu Feng gave him the jade slip, hoping Chen Shuangbai would carry the sword instruction forward.

• Chen Shuangbai entered Flowing Immortal Market, where the lineage disciples recognized his Jade Spring Sect token and welcomed him.
• Chen Shuangbai crossed the bustling market and went to Liu Feng's secluded residence to ask to see the sword instruction's original.
• Liu Feng verified Chen Shuangbai's identity and recognized the talisman decree as bearing the permission of Senior Qinglin's descendant.
• Liu Feng brought out the original jade slip and offered it to Chen Shuangbai, asking him to preserve and spread the sword instruction.
• Chen Shuangbai hesitated to accept the gift as Liu Feng began explaining why he had left the Lush Foliage Pavilion to become a market master.

Chen Shuangbai studied the original sword art and sensed its creator Qinglin’s true intention, then welcomed Fu Qianlan and He Qi to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The three shared food and wine with Feiguang, ending the year together at Chen Shuangbai’s cave abode.

• Chen Shuangbai returned to the sect with the original sword art and entered its artistic conception, where he sensed Qinglin’s intent in creating it.
• Chen Shuangbai resolved to develop the sword art and pass it on to future disciples before returning to cultivation.
• Fu Qianlan and He Qi visited Chen Shuangbai on New Year’s Eve with spiritual dishes, spirit wine, and festive decorations.
• Chen Shuangbai, Fu Qianlan, and He Qi set out a New Year’s Eve meal outside the cave abode and toasted the old year and the new.
• Fu Qianlan gave Feiguang a roast mountain boar, and He Qi laughed at the eagle’s greed.

Chen Shuangbai celebrated the New Year with He Qi and Fu Qianlan before preparing to leave the mountains. After years of cultivation, he set out with Feiguang and his newly filled Life-Accepting Gourd, flying toward an unspecified destination within the mountains.

• Chen Shuangbai, He Qi, and Fu Qianlan shared spirit wine and food, then watched fireworks and welcomed the New Year together.
• After He Qi and Fu Qianlan left, Chen Shuangbai returned to cultivating and urged the food-stuffed Feiguang to exercise.
• When the day to leave the mountains arrived, Chen Shuangbai called Feiguang back and admired how much the Snow-Plumed Eagle had grown.
• Chen Shuangbai stored Feiguang in his beast token, closed his cave abode, and retrieved the spirit liquid from his Life-Accepting Gourd.
• After checking his belongings, Chen Shuangbai summoned the Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch and flew toward a place in the mountains.

Chen Shuangbai attended the Jade Spring Sect’s guard-posting assignment ceremony, where Exalted Cultivator Huo announced the rules and presented the available posts. Determined to distinguish himself and gain the sect’s attention, Chen Shuangbai chose the perilous Wind Howling Ford.

• Chen Shuangbai met Fu Qianlan and He Qi among the gathered disciples on Morning Cloud Peak.
• Exalted Cultivator Huo arrived with a grand display, welcomed the disciples, and healed them with a rain of spiritual energy.
• The old Daoist introduced Exalted Cultivator Huo as the deputy hall master of the Abyss Suppression Hall, overseeing three-year guard-posting assignments.
• Exalted Cultivator Huo gave each disciple a bamboo token listing the posts and warned that dissatisfied disciples could request admission to Yin Wind Cave.
• Chen Shuangbai searched the postings and selected Wind Howling Ford, hoping to prove his potential and attract the sect’s attention.

The new disciples departed the Jade Spring Sect for their assigned posts, and Chen Shuangbai received a wood-aspect flying sword from Du Zifeng before leaving. He tested the Green Parasol Tree Sword aboard He Qi’s flying boat as the three friends traveled toward their hometowns.

• Fu Qianlan chose White River Town, He Qi chose Black Stone Mine, and Chen Shuangbai chose the dangerous Wind Howling Ford.
• Exalted Cultivator Huo gave the departing disciples talismans and cultivation materials, then sent them off on a rainbow bridge.
• Chen Shuangbai, Fu Qianlan, and He Qi saw Deacon Tian leading new boys and girls up the mountain before leaving the sect together.
• Du Zifeng delivered Chen Shuangbai the Green Parasol Tree Sword and a scabbard for the Cold Spring Sword, explaining that he had exchanged the locust tree heart for a parasol tree heart.
• Chen Shuangbai tested the Green Parasol Tree Sword aboard He Qi’s flying boat and recognized how its wood aspect complemented the Cold Spring Sword’s water aspect.

After parting from Fu Qianlan and He Qi, Chen Shuangbai returned to White Water County and made a spectacular display of his cultivation to assert the White Water Chen Clan’s presence. He left the townspeople in awe and brought his former attendant Chen Zhuang aboard his flying artifact as he headed for the Chen family residence.

• He Qi, Fu Qianlan, and Chen Shuangbai parted ways, with Fu Qianlan flying home on her sword and Chen Shuangbai heading toward White Water County with Feiguang.
• Fu Qianlan ignored an aged female voice that criticized her concern for her friends and continued toward home.
• Chen Shuangbai decided to make a grand entrance to counter the main family’s attempt to seize his branch family’s ancestral property and deter a rival clan.
• Chen Shuangbai sent Feiguang circling over the county town while he descended on the Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch, causing townspeople to kneel and hail him as an immortal.
• Chen Shuangbai recognized his former attendant Chen Zhuang, lifted him onto the flying cloud, and invited him to return home with him.