Chapter Summaries

Chen Shuangbai sought the Book Spirit’s advice on hatching the snake egg he had obtained, only to learn its identity might not be what he thought. The Book Spirit suspected it was a Snow-Plumed Eagle egg but refused to hear how Chen Shuangbai had come by it.

• Chen Shuangbai chose to visit the Scripture Pavilion Hall for guidance rather than risk revealing the egg to other disciples.
• Chen Shuangbai asked the Book Spirit how to hatch a Demon Beast egg, and the spirit identified it as a Rotting Venom Viper egg from its distinctive smell.
• The Book Spirit lent Chen Shuangbai An Introduction to Raising a Hundred Beasts, which said the egg needed a cold, damp place and nourishment from its mother’s Demon Power or suitable Spiritual Qi.
• Chen Shuangbai noticed that his egg had a harder, frost-cold shell than the book described for a Rotting Venom Viper egg.
• The Book Spirit compared Chen Shuangbai’s description with the records and said the egg sounded like a Snow-Plumed Eagle’s, then stopped Chen Shuangbai from explaining how he had obtained it.

Chen Shuangbai learned how to hatch and raise the Snow-Plumed Eagle egg, then received an improved avian-beast taming method from the Book Spirit. He bought three Cooling Formation discs to prepare a snowy habitat and realized he needed to earn more Merit Points.

• Chen Shuangbai copied the Snow-Plumed Eagle raising methods and learned about the bird's bloodline, abilities, and hatching needs.
• The Book Spirit gave Chen Shuangbai a Jade Slip containing an improved taming method for avian Demon Beasts.
• Chen Shuangbai returned to his cave abode on Lesser Yang Peak and read the Jade Slip before planning a suitable nest for the egg.
• Chen Shuangbai bought three first-tier, lower-grade Cooling Formation discs at the Jade True Pavilion to create a snowy environment.
• Chen Shuangbai left the shop lamenting his poverty and resolved to find a way to earn Merit Points.

Chen Shuangbai formed a Blood Pact with the life inside the bird egg, set Cold Jade around it, and cultivated through the night. The next morning, he reunited with Fu Qianlan and He Qi at the dining hall, where He Qi began recounting a fight with a Crimson Star Snake.

• Chen Shuangbai used a Blood Pact to establish a master-and-companion bond with the life inside the bird egg.
• Chen Shuangbai exchanged Merit Points for three pieces of five-year Cold Jade and placed them around the egg to nurture it.
• Chen Shuangbai cultivated beneath the moonlight, then went to Sapphire Blue Peak to invite Fu Qianlan and He Qi to eat.
• Chen Shuangbai, Fu Qianlan, and He Qi met at the dining hall and shared a meal while catching up.
• He Qi told Chen Shuangbai and Fu Qianlan that he had killed a Qi Refining Fifth Layer Crimson Star Snake while guarding the sect's cold pool.

Chen Shuangbai reunited with Fu Qianlan and He Qi, learned about her Dragon Stream Pavilion society, and considered her invitation. He also explained his plan to study a cultivation skill for a livelihood, leaving Fu Qianlan to guess that he already had one in mind.

• He Qi, Fu Qianlan, and Chen Shuangbai met and traded stories about their recent experiences and cultivation progress.
• Fu Qianlan described the Dragon Stream Pavilion and invited Chen Shuangbai to join, but he said he wanted time to consider it.
• He Qi joked that Fu Qianlan had not invited him, and she pointed out that he was always difficult to find.
• Chen Shuangbai told his friends he wanted to study one of the cultivation arts to earn Merit Points and establish a trade.
• He Qi offered to introduce Chen Shuangbai to artifact refiners, but Chen Shuangbai declined, prompting Fu Qianlan to ask if he wanted her to handle something for him.

Chen Shuangbai attended an alchemy lesson on Cultivated Water Peak to explore whether he wanted to study alchemy or talisman making. After impressing Instructor Yi Chongyue by identifying a pill, he received an extra reward and was assigned to study spirit medicines for a test in one month.

• After Fu Qianlan advised Chen Shuangbai to attend lessons before choosing a cultivation art, he traveled to Cultivated Water Peak and entered the alchemy class at True Water Cave.
• Instructor Yi Chongyue demonstrated the Jade Spring water-method alchemy technique, refining spirit herbs into twelve pills for the twelve disciples.
• Chen Shuangbai used his knowledge and Spirit-Appraising Pupil to identify the pill as a Clear Water Heart-Clearing Pill.
• Yi Chongyue praised Chen Shuangbai, gave him an extra Clear Water Heart-Clearing Pill, and explained the pill's effects and properties.
• Yi Chongyue assigned the disciples to study the first fifty spirit medicines in Jade Spring Introduction to Spirit Medicine for a test in one month.

Chen Shuangbai learned about pill refining from Yi Chongyue and talisman crafting from Jiang Tinglan, while discovering how the Jade Spring Sect taught its cultivation arts and punished leaks of its secrets. After reviewing both crafts, he resolved to focus on one rather than spread himself too thin.

• Yi Chongyue taught Chen Shuangbai and the other disciples about spirit medicines and explained the sect's rules for learning pill refining techniques and Pill Formulas.
• Yi Chongyue warned that the Jade Spring Sect killed those who leaked its secret techniques, recounting how the Han Household had been silenced.
• Chen Shuangbai attended Jiang Tinglan's strict lesson on talisman crafting and impressed her with his comprehension.
• Jiang Tinglan explained the basics of talismans and the Jade Spring Sect's rules for learning its unique talisman method.
• Chen Shuangbai reviewed what he had learned about pill refining and talisman crafting, then decided to concentrate on one cultivation craft.

Chen Shuangbai chose to focus on cultivation and pill refining rather than pursue talisman making at the same time. After advancing to the late stage of the Third Layer of Qi Refinement, he began formal pill-refining training and ended the chapter still waiting for Feiguang’s egg to hatch.

• Fu Qianlan and He Qi warned Chen Shuangbai that pursuing pill refining and talisman making together would leave too little time for cultivation, so he thanked them and chose pill refining first.
• Chen Shuangbai asked Fu Qianlan about the Jade Dew Hall and learned that its pill-refining reputation came from the Three Supreme Arts recorded in the Pill Heart Medicine Canon.
• Over the next half year, Chen Shuangbai focused on cultivation, pill-refining study, and Law Techniques, advancing to the late stage of the Third Layer of Qi Refinement.
• At True Water Cave, Chen Shuangbai signed Yi Chongyue’s contract, received the Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique, and studied its fundamentals with four other selected students.
• Chen Shuangbai collected ten sect-provided portions of spirit medicine and replenished the formation keeping Feiguang’s egg warm, though he worried about the cost of waiting for it to hatch.

Chen Shuangbai rented a pill chamber on Morning Sun Peak and practiced refining Water Cloud Pills until he succeeded on his eighth batch. He went to Fate-Seeking Valley to report his success to Yi Chongyue, where he learned that Fan Yunsong had succeeded before him.

• Chen Shuangbai rented a third-grade pill chamber on Morning Sun Peak and began practicing the Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique.
• Chen Shuangbai failed his first attempts at refining Water Cloud Pills, then continued practicing over several days.
• On the fourth day, Chen Shuangbai successfully refined eight Water Cloud Pills and ended his chamber rental.
• Chen Shuangbai traveled to Fate-Seeking Valley to find Yi Chongyue, as instructed.
• Yi Chongyue told Chen Shuangbai that he and Fan Yunsong were the first to succeed, and Fan Yunsong greeted his junior brother.

After Chen Shuangbai and Fan Yunsong completed their first successful pill refinements, Yi Chongyue assessed their pills and revealed that the sect had deliberately hidden pill arts instruction in a common handbook to find promising refiners. The two disciples left with new guidance, a way to contact Yi Chongyue, and a clearer resolve to prioritize cultivation.

• Yi Chongyue examined Fan Yunsong’s ten Water Cloud Pills and Chen Shuangbai’s eight, praising their first attempts while pointing out their quality and technique weaknesses.
• Yi Chongyue gave both disciples a Jade Slip on fire control and showed them the sect’s hidden annotations on Fair Hands Divide the Stars.
• Yi Chongyue explained that the Jade Spring Sect had placed the pill arts material in the Book of Tending Medicines to identify gifted refiners among the outer disciples.
• Yi Chongyue exchanged contact information with Chen Shuangbai and Fan Yunsong through their disciple jade tokens and reminded them that pill refining should support cultivation.
• Chen Shuangbai and Fan Yunsong agreed to focus on cultivation before refining more pills, then parted as friends.
• Chen Shuangbai visited the Expenditure Hall and bought three pieces of cold jade to replace the jade surrounding the bird egg.

Chen Shuangbai reached the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement and improved his pill refining while raising his bonded eagle, Feiguang. With Merit Points saved from refining pills, he set out to buy two Law Artifacts and ran into Senior Brother Lu on the way.

• Chen Shuangbai officially entered the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer and earned Merit Points by refining Jade Spring Five Pills with Fan Yunsong.
• Chen Shuangbai fed Feiguang five Beast-Nurturing Pills, admired the eagle's developing bloodline, and warned him to stay out of the inner reaches of the Rime Forest.
• Chen Shuangbai decided to spend his saved Merit Points on two Law Artifacts and headed toward the Cloud Peak Small Market and Expenditure Hall.
• Chen Shuangbai encountered Lu Zhiyuan of the Expenditure Hall on the way.

Chen Shuangbai visited the Expenditure Hall with Lu Zhiyuan to buy flying and protective Law Artifacts. He browsed the available flying artifacts and considered speed and discretion as he began choosing one.

• Lu Zhiyuan greeted Chen Shuangbai and offered to help him buy Law Artifacts at the Expenditure Hall.
• Lu Zhiyuan took Chen Shuangbai to Qia Cloud Peak aboard his Golden Light Boat.
• Lu Zhiyuan introduced Chen Shuangbai to steward Qian Jin, who explained that outsiders could not enter the artifact vault.
• Qian Jin gave Chen Shuangbai a jade board displaying the available Law Artifacts.
• Chen Shuangbai browsed flying artifacts and looked for one that was fast and inconspicuous.

Chen Shuangbai bought the unstable but fast Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch after Qian Jin and Lu Zhiyuan explained its history and flaws. He then searched for a protective Law Artifact and asked whether one could both defend him in battle and aid his cultivation, leaving the two men surprised by his requirements.

• Chen Shuangbai chose the Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch, and Lu Zhiyuan and Qian Jin explained that it had failed as a Law Treasure and was prone to throwing its rider off.
• Qian Jin summoned the pouch, and Chen Shuangbai examined its runic arrays with his Spirit-Appraising Pupil before agreeing to buy it.
• Chen Shuangbai exchanged Merit Points for the pouch, and he and Qian Jin exchanged contact information.
• Chen Shuangbai continued searching for a protective Law Artifact but found nothing suitable among the available items.
• Chen Shuangbai asked Lu Zhiyuan and Qian Jin about an artifact that could protect him in battle and help him cultivate, surprising them.

Chen Shuangbai asked Qian Jin to arrange a custom Law Artifact through a forge master in the Artifact Forging Hall, and learned it might take several days. Lu Zhiyuan then described the escalating conflict between the Empty Sword Sect and the Heart-Eroding Stronghold over a wind copper mine, leaving Chen Shuangbai asking whether an Empty Sword Sect elder had come to seek their sect’s aid.

• Chen Shuangbai asked Qian Jin to contact a forge master who could make custom Law Artifacts, and Qian Jin said Senior Brother Du might be available in three to five days.
• Qian Jin and Lu Zhiyuan discussed their Lineages and cultivation prospects while Chen Shuangbai listened.
• Lu Zhiyuan explained that the Empty Sword Sect and Heart-Eroding Stronghold had begun fighting over a wind copper mine on their border.
• Lu Zhiyuan said the mine might contain Geng Metal Sha Qi, prompting both sects to reinforce the area as clashes damaged the terrain and displaced mortals.
• Chen Shuangbai asked whether an Empty Sword Sect elder who visited their sect over a year earlier had come to request aid, and Lu Zhiyuan began to answer quietly.

Chen Shuangbai learned about the rivalries among Jing Kingdom’s five great sects, including the Jade Spring Sect’s history with the Spirit-Seeking Sect and the Empty Sword Sect’s dispute with the Heart-Eroding Stronghold. After buying materials to refine more pills amid the growing conflict, he returned to his cave abode to cultivate, where a strange light-figure appeared behind him.

• Chen Shuangbai heard that the Empty Sword Sect might need the Jade Spring Sect’s help to claim the wind copper mine from the Heart-Eroding Stronghold, potentially putting local common folk at risk.
• Lu Zhiyuan explained the Jade Spring Sect’s ties with the other great sects and told how Ling Qingque defeated True Person Kunyuan, helping the Jade Spring Sect rise to prominence.
• Chen Shuangbai thanked Lu Zhiyuan and Qian Jin, then left after Qian Jin assured him that Junior Brother Du would contact him when he emerged from seclusion.
• Chen Shuangbai bought a large quantity of spiritual materials at Cloud Peak Small Market so he could refine more basic pills as demand rose amid the sect conflict.
• Chen Shuangbai cultivated with the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method in his cave abode, while a silent figure with a dragon’s head and human body appeared behind him holding a blue jade tablet.

Chen Shuangbai sought additional Law Techniques to prepare for future conflicts and his coming sect assignment. After reviewing options with Book Spirit Zhang Yin, he chose two techniques to study.

• Chen Shuangbai decided to learn more Law Techniques because he expected trouble and would receive a garrison assignment in a year and a half.
• Chen Shuangbai visited the Scripture Transmission Hall and asked Book Spirit Zhang Yin to recommend techniques suited to his water- and wood-aspect Spirit Roots.
• Zhang Yin presented dozens of Jade Slips and explained the strengths and weaknesses of the Water and Wood Pure Splendor Incantation, the Thousand-Silk Spirit-Entangling Hand, and the Azure Billows Layered Waves Instruction.
• Chen Shuangbai considered the three techniques and selected two Jade Slips.

Chen Shuangbai chose two cultivation arts and obtained the Spring Rain and Flowering Wood Sword Instruction to complement his water-and-wood aptitude and Cold Spring Sword. After months of preparation, he mastered his flying artifact and began studying the sword instruction beside his cave abode.

• Chen Shuangbai chose the Water and Wood Pure Splendor Incantation and the Azure Billows Layered Waves Instruction, and Zhang Yin praised their fit with his abilities.
• Zhang Yin recommended that Chen Shuangbai learn a sword instruction for his Cold Spring Sword and told him that the Spring Rain and Flowering Wood Sword Instruction's original was held by the Lush Foliage Pavilion.
• Chen Shuangbai exchanged for a copy of the sword instruction and returned to Lesser Yang Peak, where he refined his flying pouch, made pills, practiced, and cultivated for three months.
• Chen Shuangbai became accustomed to controlling the high-grade Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch and demonstrated the Cold Spring Sword's chilling power.
• Chen Shuangbai read the sword instruction's account of its creation by Qinglin and began practicing its six forms beside the spring and spirit pines.

Chen Shuangbai discovered that his Spring Rain and Flowering Wood Sword Instruction needed a wood-aspect sword to balance Cold Spring’s Water Qi. He then reviewed Du Zifeng’s costly plan for a growing protective Law Treasure banner, agreeing to pay in installments while seeking its most important material himself.

• After seven days of studying the sword instruction, Chen Shuangbai practiced its forms and found that his Spirit Power snagged because Cold Spring lacked the wood aspect.
• Chen Shuangbai learned that he needed a wood-aspect sword, but Du Zifeng arrived before he could visit the Expenditure Hall.
• Three days later, Du Zifeng presented a design for a water- and wood-aspect banner that could gather Spirit Power during cultivation and protect Chen Shuangbai in battle.
• Du Zifeng explained that the banner was meant to grow stronger with its owner, and Chen Shuangbai accepted the high cost after Du offered installment payments.
• Du Zifeng told Chen Shuangbai to find the Jia Wood Spirit Heart himself because it was the most important of the banner’s three main materials.

After spending nearly all his Merit Points on materials for Du Zifeng, Chen Shuangbai continued refining pills and later joined Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Xunzhen to investigate a rumored Foundation Establishment cultivator’s cave abode. The three left Jade Spring Sect and traveled toward the site, with Chen Shuangbai seeking experience before taking a garrison assignment.

• Chen Shuangbai paid Du Zifeng for the rare spiritual materials, leaving himself nearly penniless, and resolved to improve his pill-refining skills.
• Two months later, Chen Shuangbai met Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Xunzhen at the Cloud Peak Small Market and discussed exploring an ancient cave abode.
• Lu Zhiyuan explained that he had found a likely Foundation Establishment cultivator’s abode and invited Chen Shuangbai and Jiang Xunzhen to share its treasures.
• The next day, the three passed through Jade Spring Sect’s mountain gate and traveled beyond the sect on Lu Zhiyuan’s spirit boat.
• Chen Shuangbai gave Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Xunzhen cultivation pills, and they flew toward the cave abode under the protection of the sect’s reputation.

Lu Zhiyuan led Jiang Xunzhen and Chen Shuangbai to a cave abode hidden in a ravine, but Chen Shuangbai suspected the convenient discovery might be a trap. After they searched the first chamber and found little of value, Jiang Xunzhen broke through a formation guarding the passage deeper inside.

• Lu Zhiyuan explained how he received a token to the cave abode after saving a female cultivator from a Bandit Cultivator.
• Chen Shuangbai warned that the cave’s discovery seemed suspicious, and Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Xunzhen agreed to proceed cautiously.
• Chen Shuangbai summoned Feiguang and used a Bright Light Pearl to illuminate the ravine as the three followed Lu Zhiyuan’s token to a concealed cave entrance.
• Chen Shuangbai replaced the failed formation flags at the entrance and set up a Lesser Illusory Light Formation before they entered.
• The three explored the cave abode and found its medicinal plants had mostly lost their value, then identified a Jade Water Circling Array blocking the passage onward.
• Jiang Xunzhen struck the Jade Water Circling Array with a crimson flaming palm and destroyed it.

Chen Shuangbai, Jiang Xunzhen, and Lu Zhiyuan explored the heart of a cave abode, overcoming its defenses and finding treasures and a final letter. The letter identified the deceased cultivator as Xu Changlin and revealed the legacy and request he left behind.

• Jiang Xunzhen protected himself from a trap of flying needles, while Chen Shuangbai used water to stop the needles from reaching him.
• Jiang Xunzhen sent a fire crow through the passage to burn away the remaining traps, and the three reached the cave abode’s building.
• Lu Zhiyuan identified the building’s Water-Wood Life-Generating Array, and the three broke it with their combined Law Power.
• The three found three Law Treasures, including two Spirit Artifacts, and agreed to divide them after returning to the sect.
• Chen Shuangbai and the others found Xu Changlin’s letter, which described hidden writings and pill-refining notes and asked them to look after his descendants if they encountered them.