Chapter Summaries

Chen Shuangbai arrived at the Jade Spring Sect with a group of aspiring disciples and passed its spirit-testing formation with a rare, cold-leaning water-and-wood Spirit Root. He became a registered disciple and learned that he had three months to develop a sense of Qi and one year to reach the Third Layer of Qi Refinement, or he would be sent down the mountain.

• Chen Shuangbai told Uncle Li to look after his grandfather and promised to return down the mountain in five years.
• Deacon Tian led the thirty-six youths through Sunken Jade Valley to the Jade Spring Sect’s mountain gate.
• The youths passed through the spirit-testing formation, and Chen Shuangbai was assessed as having middle-grade second-rank water-and-wood attributes leaning toward cold.
• A young woman gave Chen Shuangbai a Jade Spring waist token, marking him as a registered disciple.
• Deacon Tian explained the sect’s organization and warned that new disciples who failed to meet the cultivation requirements would be sent down the mountain.

Chen Shuangbai began training at the Jade Spring Sect and learned the Jade Spring Qi Ingestion Method. After failing to sense Qi like the other Registered Disciples, he discovered a Jade Slip had appeared beside his [Great Yin Dao Fruit], bearing the same writing as the method.

• Chen Shuangbai reflected on how the [Great Yin Dao Fruit] had improved his memory, physique, and Spirit Root aptitude, and hoped the Jade Spring Sect would reveal its greater power.
• Daoist Lingxiu taught the Registered Disciples the Jade Spring Qi Ingestion Method and answered their questions.
• Chen Shuangbai reunited with He Qi and Fu Qianlan, and all three admitted they had not yet sensed Qi.
• After the disciples returned to their rooms to cultivate, Chen Shuangbai barred his door and window before entering his sea of consciousness.
• Chen Shuangbai found a Jade Slip beside the [Great Yin Dao Fruit], marked with characters matching the Jade Spring Qi Ingestion Method.

Chen Shuangbai used the Great Yin Dao Fruit to evolve the Jade Spring Qi Ingestion Method into the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method and developed a sense of Qi. After the three-month trial, he became a Registered Disciple of the outer sect and resolved to advance carefully.

• Chen Shuangbai spent the Great Yin Dao Fruit’s accumulated energy to evolve the Jade Spring Qi Ingestion Method into the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method.
• Chen Shuangbai meditated beneath the moon all night and developed a sense of Qi by dawn.
• Over the following month, Chen Shuangbai cultivated and quietly reported his success to Deacon Tian.
• When the three-month deadline arrived, the sect sent home eight disciples who had failed to develop a sense of Qi, while Chen Shuangbai and the successful disciples watched them leave.
• Deacon Tian registered the successful disciples as Registered Disciples, and Chen Shuangbai entered the outer sect, determined to steadily improve.

After reaching the Qi Refining First Layer, Chen Shuangbai and the other new disciples went to the Scripture Pavilion Hall to choose two Law Techniques each. Chen Shuangbai selected Cold Spring Guidance and Spirit-Appraising Pupil, while He Qi and Fu Qianlan also left with their chosen techniques.

• Daoist Lingxiu told the disciples who had reached the Qi Refining First Layer that they could obtain two Law Techniques from the Scripture Pavilion Hall.
• Daoist Lingxiu brought Chen Shuangbai, He Qi, Fu Qianlan, and the other disciples to the Scripture Pavilion Hall and warned them to choose carefully because their choices could not be changed.
• He Qi grew nervous while waiting, but Chen Shuangbai reassured him and Fu Qianlan remained composed.
• Chen Shuangbai entered the library and asked the book spirit for techniques that could observe Spiritual Qi and provide both offense and defense.
• Chen Shuangbai chose Cold Spring Guidance and Spirit-Appraising Pupil, while He Qi chose Suspended Water Blade and Thousand Wave Shield and Fu Qianlan chose Wave-Parting Sword Finger and Wave Control Instruction.

After a year of cultivating the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method, Chen Shuangbai broke through to the Third Layer of Qi Refinement and refined his Law Techniques. He continued developing his abilities and had also acquired the Obscuring Mist Method.

• Chen Shuangbai completed a full cycle of the moon’s twelve phases and broke through to the Third Layer of Qi Refinement at age seventeen.
• Chen Shuangbai visited his secluded clear pool and used Cold Spring Guidance to raise and control streams of water.
• Chen Shuangbai developed Cold Spring Guidance into a stronger technique that formed nimble, freezing jade chains.
• Chen Shuangbai used moonlit dew to refine Spirit-Appraising Pupil into Qi-Discerning Synesthesia, which let him perceive power flows and weak points.
• Chen Shuangbai practiced his techniques against low-level Demon Beasts in the Rime Forest and exchanged merit for the illusion technique Obscuring Mist Method.

Chen Shuangbai went to Jade Dew Hall to take a Garden Guardian post and met Senior Sister A Heng, the blind daughter of the Spring Water Peak Master. After testing his knowledge of the jade marrow orchid, A Heng praised him and assigned him its garden.

• Chen Shuangbai went to Spring Water Peak because he was running low on Merit Points and had accepted Jade Dew Hall’s Garden Guardian task.
• Huang Shanglan checked Chen Shuangbai’s disciple jade plaque and directed him to the medicine garden.
• Chen Shuangbai met Senior Sister A Heng, who led him to the jade marrow orchid garden he would tend.
• A Heng asked Chen Shuangbai about the jade marrow orchid’s medicinal properties, and he answered in detail.
• A Heng praised Chen Shuangbai for preparing beforehand and confirmed that he would care for the garden.

Chen Shuangbai tended the spirit medicines in the Cold Mist Jade Garden while cultivating the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method, whose moonlight seemed to accelerate the plants’ growth. Senior Sister A Heng praised his work and indicated that he could earn a generous dividend when the Jade Marrow Orchids were harvested.

• Senior Sister A Heng taught Chen Shuangbai the medicine garden’s rules, then left him to tend its spirit medicines.
• Chen Shuangbai studied the Book of Tending Medicines and cultivated in the garden overnight, drawing moonlight that made the nearby Jade Marrow Orchids grow faster.
• Chen Shuangbai spent most of his days tending the garden and returned to Crisp Spring Peak for Daoist Lingxiu’s lectures, while He Qi and Fu Qianlan took their own merit-earning assignments.
• The garden’s spirit medicines flourished under Chen Shuangbai’s care, surpassing those in nearby gardens.
• A Heng praised Chen Shuangbai’s jade marrow orchids for growing quickly and said their fragrant dew could be harvested half a month early, suggesting he would receive a generous dividend.

Chen Shuangbai’s moonlight cultivation helped him produce exceptionally high-quality spirit medicines, earning him a large reward that he spent on pills and incense. As medicine worms began devastating Cold Mist Jade Garden, he spotted a hidden intruder among his Jade Marrow Orchids and activated Spirit-Appraising Pupil.

• Chen Shuangbai cultivated Jade Marrow Orchids with moonlight, making them stronger than those in other gardens and drawing envy from fellow disciples.
• Several spirit medicines matured, and a medicine attendant graded Chen Shuangbai’s rosy robe grass A, earning him over five hundred merit points.
• Chen Shuangbai spent merit points on Azure Dew Pills, Cold Spring Pills, and Spirit-Clearing Incense, then cultivated with renewed motivation.
• Medicine worms began killing spirit medicines across Cold Mist Jade Garden, and A Heng warned Chen Shuangbai to watch for them and identify their appearance.
• Chen Shuangbai sensed movement in the garden’s southeastern corner, rushed toward it, and saw more than a dozen Jade Marrow Orchids wilt as their sap gathered in midair.
• Chen Shuangbai activated Spirit-Appraising Pupil to examine the hidden medicine worm.

Chen Shuangbai used his spells to catch and kill a Crown Gold Insect that had been damaging the Jade Marrow Orchids, saving Yan Chu from its surprise attack. After the medicine boy promised to report his service for a reward, Chen Shuangbai examined the insect corpse and considered the Jade Spring Sect’s spirit-insect practices.

• Chen Shuangbai spotted a Crown Gold Insect eating a Jade Marrow Orchid and pursued it with frost spells.
• Chen Shuangbai trapped the insect in an Ice Net, but it faked being frozen and broke free to attack Yan Chu.
• Chen Shuangbai bound the insect with chains and killed it with a concentrated flash of cold light.
• Yan Chu thanked Chen Shuangbai, who explained that he was a newly admitted disciple rather than a senior brother.
• The medicine boy confirmed the insect was a serious pest and promised to report Chen Shuangbai’s service to Senior Sister Huang for a reward.
• Chen Shuangbai considered the Jade Spring Sect’s insect cultivators and spirit bees, then noticed something unusual about the insect corpse.

Chen Shuangbai discovered a Crown Gold Insect had mutated and received Frost-Congealing Pills from Huang Shanglan, while refusing the valuable Jia Wood Talisman. After advancing his cultivation and earning nearly a thousand merit points from his Jade Marrow Orchid harvest, he returned to Crisp Spring Peak as A Heng explained that her gift had only been made at her father's insistence.

• Chen Shuangbai identified a Crown Gold Insect as a mutated Ice Gold-Crowned Insect and considered the value of raising a nest of them.
• Huang Shanglan delivered Frost-Congealing Pills and a Jia Wood Talisman from A Heng, but Chen Shuangbai accepted only the pills.
• Chen Shuangbai refined a Frost-Congealing Pill and slightly advanced his cultivation.
• Jade Dew Hall carried out a large-scale pest extermination across Cold Mist Jade Garden.
• Chen Shuangbai harvested his well-tended Jade Marrow Orchids, earned nearly a thousand merit points, and returned to Crisp Spring Peak.
• Huang Shanglan told A Heng that Chen Shuangbai had refused the talisman, and A Heng said her gift had only been made at her father's insistence.

After moving into a cave abode, Chen Shuangbai uncovered and mastered the hidden Fair Hands Divide the Stars technique, then nearly injured himself trying to combine it with Cold Spring Guidance. At Cloud Peak Market, he went with He Qi to shop for treasures and encountered Fu Qianlan bargaining for pills.

• Chen Shuangbai rented a cave abode on Lesser Yang Peak and used moonlight to reveal Fair Hands Divide the Stars hidden in the Book of Tending Medicines.
• He practiced the technique for four days and reached its Spirit Drawing stage, finding that his hands and thoughts had become more nimble.
• Chen Shuangbai tried to fuse Fair Hands Divide the Stars with Cold Spring Guidance, but the attempt nearly injured his meridians.
• He Qi brought Chen Shuangbai to Cloud Peak Market to help him appraise Law Artifacts, while He Qi browsed the Hundred Crafts Hall shop.
• Chen Shuangbai spotted Fu Qianlan bargaining for pills and asked if she lacked merit points; she denied it and agreed to pay eighty merit points.

Chen Shuangbai met Fu Qianlan at Cloud Peak Market, then bought the Cold Spring Sword from Mo Xuan at the Black Jade Pavilion using borrowed money. He and He Qi went to the Scripture Pavilion Hall to learn the Jade Spring Sect’s artifact-control technique.

• Chen Shuangbai noticed that Fu Qianlan had advanced to the middle stage of the Third Layer of Qi Refinement, and she called him “A-Bai” before recommending the Black Jade Pavilion.
• Chen Shuangbai examined Law Artifacts at the shop and was drawn to the Cold Spring Sword, whose spiritual light stirred his [Dao Fruit].
• Chen Shuangbai bought the Cold Spring Sword from Mo Xuan for three hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, using borrowed money to cover the cost.
• He Qi admired Chen Shuangbai’s sword and complained that his own Wave-Breaking Saber looked less cool, then quickly felt better after Chen Shuangbai comforted him.
• Chen Shuangbai and He Qi went to the cave abode housing the Scripture Pavilion Hall to obtain the sect’s artifact-control technique, where a senior brother warned them to follow the rules.

Chen Shuangbai awakened a wisp of Han Ji’s soul through the Cold Spring Sword and received her spirit-refining method in exchange for promising to pass it on to her descendants if he met them. He used the Dao Fruit to evolve the method into the Moonlight Spirit-Nourishing Instruction and began cultivating it.

• Chen Shuangbai used the Dao Fruit to investigate the Cold Spring Sword, suffered a sudden headache, and fainted.
• Chen Shuangbai discovered a dry jade pool and Han Ji’s faint soul in his sea of consciousness.
• Han Ji gave Chen Shuangbai the Heavenly Frost Heart-Cleansing Record in exchange for a promise to pass it to her descendants if fate allowed.
• Chen Shuangbai used the Dao Fruit to evolve the record into the Moonlight Spirit-Nourishing Instruction.
• Chen Shuangbai cultivated the new instruction overnight and found his thoughts clearer, though he expected tempering his Divine Sense to take time.

Chen Shuangbai discovered that the Jade Platform Lotus Marsh, an accompanying scene of his Dao Fruit, could produce Moon Soul True Water that nourished souls and revived living Dao Seeds. After honing his sword and accepting a task to cull Azure-Backed Boars, he reached the Rime Forest, where the hunt awaited him.

• Chen Shuangbai learned that the Jade Platform Lotus Marsh could transform spiritual liquid into Moon Soul True Water and potentially revive the mutated Crown Gold Insect, though producing the water required rare materials.
• Chen Shuangbai trained for another month, mastered the beginner levels of the Moonlight Spirit-Nourishing Instruction and Artifact Control Technique, and tested the Cold Spring Sword.
• Chen Shuangbai learned that Elder Yunyang of the Empty Sword Sect had visited the Jade Spring Sect, then accepted a task to cull Azure-Backed Boars in the Rime Forest.
• Chen Shuangbai prepared his Storage Bag, gathered supplies and a map, and traveled toward the Rime Forest using the Wind Control Technique.
• Chen Shuangbai arrived at the forest’s outskirts and walked into the Rime Forest to begin the task.

Chen Shuangbai hunted Azure-Backed Boars in Rime Forest and used poisoned mushrooms to weaken a large herd guarded by a powerful leader boar. Five ordinary boars fell asleep, leaving Chen Shuangbai poised to act against the herd.

• Chen Shuangbai used his Pseudo-Divine Sense to locate five Azure-Backed Boars, trapped them in an Ice Thorn Array, and killed them with the Cold Spring Sword.
• Chen Shuangbai collected the boars’ useful materials and found spirit herbs and flowers as he traveled deeper toward the Shattered Star River.
• Chen Shuangbai discovered a herd of fourteen Azure-Backed Boars guarded by a leader near the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer, and decided not to attack head-on.
• Chen Shuangbai powdered Purple-Patterned Fungus, coated woodland mushrooms with it, and used Cold Spring Guidance to mask their scent with ice.
• Five Azure-Backed Boars ate the treated mushrooms and soon collapsed into a deep sleep.

Chen Shuangbai defeated an Azure-Backed Boar herd in Rime Forest and obtained a valuable dual-element Demon Core from its leader. After gathering the spoils, he continued deeper into the forest, where his combat skills kept improving.

• Chen Shuangbai used poisoned Purple-Patterned Fungi to incapacitate the Azure-Backed Boar herd until only its leader remained.
• The Azure-Backed Boar leader spotted Chen Shuangbai and charged, but he evaded it and used fog to hide his position.
• Chen Shuangbai used the Cold Spring Sword to sever the leader's tendons and eventually kill it.
• Chen Shuangbai recovered his spiritual power, collected the herd's spoils, and found a water-and-earth dual-element Demon Core in the leader.
• Chen Shuangbai cleared away his scent and traces, continued exploring Rime Forest, and collected another valuable spiritual herb.

Chen Shuangbai reached the limit of the Rime Forest’s outer layer, then discovered a Snow-Plumed Eagle fighting a Rotting Venom Viper and met two inner disciples who planned to profit from the battle. As Lu Xin reassured him that she and Ding Chengyu had prepared a method, Ding Chengyu recognized Chen Shuangbai’s future significance from memories gained in a long dream.

• Chen Shuangbai found a Jade Spring Sect banner marking the forest’s dangerous middle and inner layers, then turned back to continue exploring the outer layer.
• Chen Shuangbai watched a Snow-Plumed Eagle and a Rotting Venom Viper fight and inferred that the viper had eaten the eagle’s eggs and killed its mate.
• Chen Shuangbai sensed a Law Power summons and met inner disciples Ding Chengyu of Heavenly Spring Peak and Lu Xin of Cloud-Resting Peak.
• Ding Chengyu explained that he and Lu Xin planned to let the two Demon Beasts weaken each other before taking advantage of the outcome.
• Ding Chengyu recognized Chen Shuangbai as significant based on memories from a long dream, while Lu Xin said they had already prepared a method.

Chen Shuangbai, Ding Chengyu, and Lu Xin used Mind-Disordering Powder to make two Late Qi Refining Stage Demon Beasts fight, then attacked the survivors. The beasts were left near death, and Chen Shuangbai secretly retrieved three Rotting Venom Viper eggs before the group prepared to harvest the beasts and move somewhere secluded.

• Lu Xin released Mind-Disordering Powder, driving the Snow-Plumed Eagle and Rotting Venom Viper into a savage fight that lasted about half a day.
• Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin attacked the exhausted Snow-Plumed Eagle while Ding Chengyu sent Chen Shuangbai to retrieve the Rotting Venom Viper's eggs.
• Chen Shuangbai found three white snake eggs in the viper's cave and put them in his storage ring.
• Chen Shuangbai returned to find both Demon Beasts on the brink of death, with the Snow-Plumed Eagle poisoned and the Rotting Venom Viper badly injured by frost.
• Ding Chengyu warned the group to find a secluded place before discussing the eggs, while Lu Xin urged them to strip the beasts for merit points.

Chen Shuangbai helped Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin harvest materials from two Demon Beasts and flew with Ding Chengyu to meet Lu Xin. The three laid out the spoils, including two Demon Cores and three snake eggs, and Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin began discussing how to divide them.

• Ding Chengyu asked Chen Shuangbai to help cut materials from the Demon Beast carcasses, and Lu Xin joined them with a dagger.
• Ding Chengyu summoned a flying green boat and invited Chen Shuangbai aboard, while Lu Xin flew ahead on her brocade handkerchief.
• Chen Shuangbai enjoyed his first flight on a flying Law Treasure and praised Ding Chengyu as they traveled.
• Ding Chengyu and Chen Shuangbai landed on a cliff where Lu Xin was waiting, and the three prepared to divide the spoils.
• Ding Chengyu, Lu Xin, and Chen Shuangbai emptied their Storage Bags, revealing Demon Beast materials, two Demon Cores, and three snake eggs.
• Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin discussed the division through voice transmission while Chen Shuangbai waited calmly.

Chen Shuangbai received a precious white snake egg from Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin, then hid away to avoid drawing attention before returning to the Jade Spring Sect. He sold his gathered goods at the Expenditure Hall and left with Spirit Stones and Merit Points.

• Ding Chengyu and Lu Xin divided the Demon Beast materials and insisted that Chen Shuangbai take one of the three snake eggs.
• Lu Xin grew impatient, pushed the white snake egg into Chen Shuangbai's arms, and left with Ding Chengyu.
• Chen Shuangbai examined the egg with his Spirit-Appraising Pupil, then hid it in his Storage Bag and descended the mountain.
• Chen Shuangbai stayed near the Rime Forest for half a month, hunting Azure-Backed Boars by day and cultivating at night.
• Chen Shuangbai returned to the sect and turned in boar ears, herbs, flowers, and an almost undamaged Demon Core at the Expenditure Hall.
• Lu Zhiyuan assessed Chen Shuangbai's haul, and Chen Shuangbai exchanged the goods for Spirit Stones and Merit Points before heading to Lesser Yang Peak.