Recaps

After the guardian beasts were defeated, Su Yun asked the Dew-Condensing Cattail to scatter its seeds before killing it and absorbing its Soul Ring. She successfully absorbed the 1,300-year-old ring and broke through to rank thirty-one.

• Su Yun healed Ling Ren, and Lei En praised Lin Shuo for finding the right Soul Beast and directing the battle.
• Lin Yan urged the group to have Su Yun absorb the Dew-Condensing Cattail’s Soul Ring before further danger arose.
• Su Yun asked the Dew-Condensing Cattail to spread its seeds, and it released glowing tufts across the valley before withering.
• Su Yun thanked the plant, killed it, and began absorbing the purple Soul Ring as Lei En, Ling Ren, and Ji Qiu guarded her.
• After about two hours, Su Yun completed the absorption, reached rank thirty-one, and announced her success.

Su Yun revealed her third Soul Skill, Soul Power Condensed Dew, which gradually restored her teammates’ Soul Power. Her companions then urged her to absorb an emerald Torso Soul Bone, whose new skill, Life-Protecting Dew, gave her a damage-absorbing shield that could heal her and nearby allies.

• Su Yun demonstrated Soul Power Condensed Dew, restoring Soul Power to herself and her teammates with controllable range and concentration.
• Su Yun revealed an emerald Torso Soul Bone, and Lei En, Ling Ren, and Ji Qiu each refused it in favor of Lin Shuo.
• Lin Yan told Su Yun that her matching Martial Soul made her the best choice to absorb the Soul Bone, and Lei En and the others stood guard as she began.
• Su Yun absorbed the Soul Bone, which strengthened her physique and subtly changed her Healing Dandelion Martial Soul.
• Su Yun revealed Life-Protecting Dew, a shield that absorbed half of incoming damage and converted energy into healing, or healed nearby allies if forcibly broken.

After the mission ended, Lin Yan told Lei En and the others that a family trial required him to hunt a Thousand-Year Soul Beast alone, convincing them to leave while keeping his real motives secret. Once they departed, he headed deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt on his own.

• Lei En led the group in harvesting valuable materials from the Thousand-Year mantis shrimp before they prepared to leave the Star Dou Great Forest.
• Lin Yan told Lei En, Ling Ren, Ji Qiu, and Su Yun that he had to stay behind to complete his family's trial by killing a Thousand-Year Soul Beast alone.
• When Lei En offered to stay nearby, Lin Yan claimed that outside help would invalidate his trial and that a hidden family protector would keep him from dying.
• Su Yun gave Lin Yan life-giving dew, and he promised the group he would visit them at Soto Academy after his training.
• Lei En led Ling Ren, Ji Qiu, and Su Yun away, and Lin Yan revealed that his family trial and protector were lies before heading deeper into the forest.

Lin Yan searched the Star Dou Great Forest for an Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern whose concealment ability could hide his Soul Ring colors. He exposed and killed a roughly fourteen- to fifteen-hundred-year-old specimen, and a deep purple Soul Ring appeared above its corpse.

• Lin Yan cautiously crossed the misty swamps and humus-rich forest, avoiding several dangerous Soul Beasts.
• Lin Yan reached the swamp-forest boundary and spotted a patch of moss whose color and texture seemed unnatural.
• Lin Yan threw a bright red cloth over the suspected hiding place, forcing the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern to reveal itself.
• The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern attacked Lin Yan with disorienting spores and multicolored projectiles, but his steel armor protected him from serious harm.
• Lin Yan charged the plant, cut its fronds, pierced its stem, and thrust his longsword into its vital core.
• The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern died, and a deep purple Soul Ring condensed above its corpse.

Lin Yan absorbed the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern’s thousand-year Soul Ring, gaining Illusory Color Concealment and strengthening his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. He left the swamp borderland with his Soul Ring disguised as a hundred-year ring and new hope of breaking through his former cultivation limit.

• Lin Yan absorbed the fourteen-hundred-year Soul Ring, enduring its violent energy with the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique and his Life Origin.
• Lin Yan’s Soul Power rose to rank fifteen, and he gained Illusory Color Concealment, which could disguise his Soul Ring, conceal his Martial Soul, and release hallucinogenic spores.
• Lin Yan discovered that his Blue Silver Grass had grown tougher and could extend several meters to bind targets, while its strengthened Life Origin seemed to loosen his cultivation limit.
• Lin Yan tested the skill’s disguise, invisibility, and binding effects, then collected spores and rhizomes from the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern.
• Lin Yan disguised his Soul Ring as a hundred-year ring and headed toward the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lin Yan rescued Han Shuirou from an Ironback Wolf in the Star Dou Great Forest by using his Illusory Color Concealment Soul Skill. After she recovered, they agreed to travel together toward the forest’s exit.

• Lin Yan practiced extending and binding with his Blue Silver Grass as he made his way through the forest.
• Lin Yan heard Han Shuirou calling for help and saw an Ironback Wolf closing in on her.
• Lin Yan pulled Han Shuirou behind a tree and concealed them both until the Ironback Wolf gave up and left.
• Han Shuirou told Lin Yan that she had become separated from her Plant Academy group after a pack of Gale Demon Wolves attacked.
• Lin Yan gave Han Shuirou water and medicine, and they rested while she recovered some Soul Power.
• Lin Yan and Han Shuirou set off together, with Lin Yan scouting ahead as they traveled toward the forest’s exit.

Lin Yan and Han Shuirou defeated an eight-hundred-year Mysterious Ice Vine, allowing Han Shuirou to absorb its Soul Ring and gain her second Soul Skill. After reuniting with Teacher Su Ling and the Plant Academy students, Lin Yan parted ways with them and left the Star Dou Great Forest.

• Lin Yan and Han Shuirou found an eight-hundred-year Mysterious Ice Vine beside a waterfall and planned to defeat it together.
• Lin Yan restrained the Mysterious Ice Vine with Blue Silver Grass while Han Shuirou attacked its roots, and they killed it.
• Han Shuirou absorbed the Soul Ring, advanced to rank twenty-two, and gained Mysterious Ice Entanglement.
• Two days later, Teacher Su Ling and several Plant Academy students found Han Shuirou, and Su Ling thanked Lin Yan for rescuing and helping her.
• Han Shuirou learned Lin Yan's name and invited him to visit Plant Academy before he left the group and exited the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lin Yan returned to Nuoding City with a Thousand-Year Soul Ring and found the Hundred Herbs Shop running smoothly in his absence. After reviewing his gains, he settled on a plan to evolve his Blue Silver Grass through compatible life-type Soul Rings and pursue an Intermediate Soul Master Academy for knowledge and resources.

• Lin Yan returned to the Hundred Herbs Shop and found Uncle Zhang and Brother Li had managed it well while he was away.
• Lin Yan reviewed how the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern Soul Ring had strengthened his Blue Silver Grass and loosened its potential barrier.
• Lin Yan estimated that his next Soul Ring could be around four thousand years old, perhaps five thousand if he further strengthened his body.
• Lin Yan considered ways to find information on powerful plant Soul Beasts and chose an Intermediate Soul Master Academy as his best option.
• Lin Yan decided to stabilize his rank-fifteen Soul Power, practice his new abilities, research nearby academies, and check on the shop regularly.

Lin Yan secured the Hundred Herbs Shop’s operations and trained to strengthen his Soul Master abilities while researching intermediate academies. He discovered three living spores among the remains of the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern and planned to seek more opportunities in the market district.

• Lin Yan praised Uncle Zhang and Brother Li, gave them bonuses, and assigned them responsibilities with a share of the shop’s monthly profits.
• Lin Yan spent several days consolidating his rank-fifteen Soul Power, improving Illusory Color Concealment while moving, and testing his Blue Silver Grass’s control abilities.
• Lin Yan consulted Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo and gathered rumors to shortlist the Suotuo, Filast, and Fasinuo Intermediate Soul Master Academies.
• Lin Yan found three iridescent spores inside the withered remains of the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern and stored them in a jade box.
• Lin Yan decided to visit the market district the next day to learn more about academy admissions and possible opportunities to grow stronger.

Lin Yan searched Nuoding City's market district for information and followed his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul's faint resonance to a piece of withered wood. He discovered a dormant trace of life origin inside it and left the wood safely tucked against his body.

• Lin Yan visited the market district, listened to merchants and mercenaries at the Welcome Guests teahouse, and learned that Soto Academy had added a practical combat component to its entrance test.
• As Lin Yan passed an old man's stall, his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul stirred in response to a piece of withered wood.
• Lin Yan bought the wood along with a piece of black ironstone, disguising his interest in the wood.
• Back at the Hundred Herbs Shop, Lin Yan fed Soul Power into the wood until a faint golden glimmer revealed a nearly dormant trace of life origin.
• Lin Yan stopped his experiment to avoid extinguishing the wood's fragile vitality and secured it in a brocade pouch against his body.

Lin Yan’s careful nourishment strengthened the hidden Life Origin in the dead wood, while the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern spores showed little change. After learning of a provincial auction, he planned to raise funds and continued cultivating and tending the dormant specimens.

• Lin Yan nourished the dead wood and three spores with Soul Power, and on the fifth day he saw a pale golden glow reappear in the wood as its Life Origin grew slightly stronger.
• Lin Yan observed only a barely perceptible brightening in the spores, recorded his findings, and limited how often he nourished the dead wood.
• Lin Yan visited Spirit Hall, where Ma Xiunuo told him about a Heaven Dou Auction House auction in the provincial capital a month later and offered a letter of recommendation.
• Lin Yan counted a little over twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins in available assets and decided to seek items that could help his stalled physical training while raising more money.
• Lin Yan returned to the Hundred Herbs Shop and resumed cultivating while nurturing the spores and Spirit-Nurturing Wood.

Lin Yan negotiated with Spirit Hall to license three medicinal formulas and secure funds for the upcoming auction. He agreed to a partnership that would expand the Hundred Herbs Shop brand, then returned to studying the dead wood and iridescent spores.

• Lin Yan prepared three proven medicinal formulas, samples, and a projected-returns report to seek funding from Spirit Hall.
• Lin Yan offered Ma Xiunuo the formulas' production and sales rights for a licensing fee and thirty percent of future net proceeds; Ma Xiunuo referred the proposal to the provincial main hall.
• Seven days later, Zhou Ming offered a one-time licensing payment of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and proposed making Lin Yan the second-largest shareholder in a Spirit Hall-backed Hundred Herbs Shop chain with a twenty-percent profit share.
• Lin Yan accepted the terms and signed a contract that included rights to inspect accounts and participate in decision-making.
• After Zhou Ming and Ma Xiunuo left, Lin Yan looked forward to the auction and returned to examining the dead wood and iridescent spores.

After nurturing the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern spores and a piece of dead wood, Lin Yan witnessed them sprout and comprehended a new power he named Withering and Flourishing Intent. He realized it resembled a domain and began cultivating it through continued observation and nourishment.

• After seven days of nourishing the spores with Soul Power, Lin Yan watched all three Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern spores sprout.
• The dead wood responded to the seedlings’ vitality, glowed with golden light, and produced an emerald-green shoot.
• Lin Yan entered a two-hour state of enlightenment as the cycle of withering and flourishing resonated with his cultivation.
• Lin Yan consciously manifested a small Withering and Flourishing Intent field and tested how it could wither and revive a plant.
• Lin Yan compared his Intent to domains, noticed improvements to his Soul Power, and resolved to deepen his understanding of life’s cycles.
• Lin Yan nourished the dead wood and seedlings again, finding that their exchange of vitality strengthened his grasp of the Intent.

Lin Yan experimented with Withering and Flourishing Intent, discovering their effects and a brief balance that improved his Soul Power cultivation and recovery. After securing an auction invitation and choosing several lots to pursue, he left Nuoding City for Fasinuo City.

• Lin Yan tested Withering and Flourishing Intent on herbs and insects, finding that Withering caused decline while Flourishing encouraged growth and healing.
• Lin Yan briefly balanced both Intents around himself and noticed gains in Soul Power efficiency and recovery.
• Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo gave Lin Yan an invitation and partial catalog for the Fasinuo City auction, warning him to travel carefully.
• Lin Yan selected Soul-Warming Jade, Spirit-Clearing Spring, and Thousand-Year Blood Ginseng as auction targets and planned his bids.
• Lin Yan prepared his route, instructed the Hundred Herbs Shop's assistants, and set out by carriage for Fasinuo City.

Lin Yan arrived in Fasinuo City for the Heaven Dou auction and unexpectedly reunited with Lei En, Su Yun, Ji Qiu, and Ling Ren. After discussing their plans for advanced soul master academies, the group headed to the auction house, where they entered as the event began.

• Lin Yan reached Fasinuo City and checked into the Clear Spring Inn before exploring the crowded streets.
• Lin Yan reunited with Lei En, Su Yun, Ji Qiu, and Ling Ren, who had come to the city for the auction.
• At the Oak Barrel, Lei En thanked Lin Yan for his past help, and the group discussed their plans to attend advanced soul master academies.
• Lei En and Su Yun invited Lin Yan to join them at Spirit Hall Academy, but Lin Yan said he had his own plans and would decide later.
• Lin Yan and his four companions left the tavern, passed the invitation check, and entered the Fasinuo Auction House.

Lin Yan and his companions attended the Heaven Dou Auction House’s quarterly auction, where they watched the bidding and bought a few items while waiting for their targets. Lin Yan tried to win soul-warming jade but gave up when a mysterious guest in a private box drove the price to five thousand Gold Soul Coins.

• Lin Yan, Lei En, Ling Ren, Ji Qiu, and Su Yun took their seats in the crowded auction hall and resolved to bid carefully.
• Luo Su opened the auction, and a thin Soul Master bought the Gale Twin Blades for nine hundred Gold Soul Coins.
• Lei En won thick earth crystal for twelve hundred Gold Soul Coins, and Su Yun bought calming heart grass for eight hundred.
• Lin Yan bid on soul-warming jade, raising his offer to four thousand Gold Soul Coins before a guest in a private box bid forty-five hundred.
• Lin Yan followed with a bid of forty-seven hundred, but withdrew when the guest offered five thousand, leaving the mysterious bidder to win the jade.

Lin Yan won the spirit-clearing spring and thousand-year blood ginseng at the auction, spending heavily to secure both. With his funds depleted and the auction over, he planned to collect his purchases and leave quickly, wary of the rival bidder who had challenged him twice.

• Lin Yan outbid a rival for the spirit-clearing spring, securing the three drops for nine thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Lin Yan waited through the auction’s other lots while the flame saber and incomplete Class 5 Defensive Soul Tool sold for high prices.
• Bidders drove the price of the thousand-year blood ginseng above thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins, and Lin Yan won it with a bid of fifty thousand.
• Lin Yan watched as a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone fragment and suspected Titled Douluo cultivation insights sold beyond his means.
• After Luo Su ended the auction, Lin Yan prepared to collect his items and leave, uneasy about the rival who had bid against him.

After collecting his auction purchases, Lin Yan suspected the wealthy young bidder and his Soul King attendant might target him, so he returned to the inn cautiously and tested the Spirit-Clearing Spring. He left Fasinuo City at dawn, only to sense two faint presences following him.

• Lin Yan handed over fifty-nine thousand Gold Soul Coins and stored the Spirit-Clearing Spring and thousand-year Blood Ginseng, while Lei En and his companions collected their own winnings.
• Lin Yan recognized the hostile young man who had bid against him and hurried away with Lei En and the others before declining Su Yun’s offer to escort him.
• Lin Yan took a drop of Spirit-Clearing Spring, gaining clarity and new insights into Withering and Flourishing Intent, then kept watch through the night rather than using his treasures further.
• Lin Yan paid his bill at the Clear Spring Inn and left Fasinuo City on foot early the next morning.
• Near the city gate, Lin Yan sensed two faint presences following him from a distance.

Lin Yan was pursued through the woods by two Soul Elders seeking the thousand-year Blood Ginseng and Spirit-Clearing Spring he had bought at auction. He ambushed and killed them, then concealed himself and headed deeper into the forest to find a safer route back to Nuoding City.

• Lin Yan noticed two trackers following him and used a merchant caravan to conceal his movements before slipping into the woods.
• The two men chased Lin Yan and demanded that he hand over the thousand-year Blood Ginseng and Spirit-Clearing Spring.
• Lin Yan lured the trackers into dim woodland and secretly restrained them with concealed Blue Silver Grass.
• Lin Yan used the Tai Chi Sword Technique to kill the scar-faced Soul Elder and then the tall, thin Soul Elder.
• After masking his presence with Illusory Color Concealment, Lin Yan went deeper into the forest to plan a safe route back to Nuoding City.

Lin Yan fled through the forest after killing two Soul Elders, but the effeminate man from the auction tracked him with his Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul and caught up with a stronger group. Lin Yan realized they were following his scent, but an attacking Soul Ancestor forced him into a clash that left him injured.

• The effeminate man arrived at the battle site, found his two dead subordinates, and pursued Lin Yan with three companions.
• Lin Yan hid in an ancient tree using Illusory Color Concealment, but the effeminate man located him with his Scent Tracking Soul Skill and a Soul Ancestor blasted the tree.
• Lin Yan escaped while two Soul Ancestors pursued him, and he realized the Wind-Chasing Dog was tracking his scent rather than his appearance or Soul Power.
• The lean Soul Ancestor caught up and attacked Lin Yan, who used the Yield principle of the Tai Chi Sword Technique to deflect the strike but was injured by the Soul Ancestor's strength.

Lin Yan escaped the effeminate man's pursuers by diving into a river, which erased his scent trail. He recovered on the far bank and decided to avoid Nuoding City while seeking a safe place to absorb the thousand-year blood ginseng.

• Lin Yan fought off the two Soul Ancestors long enough to flee toward a river, using iron caltrops to slow the lean Soul Ancestor.
• As the lean Soul Ancestor nearly struck him, Lin Yan plunged into the river and escaped downstream.
• The effeminate man lost Lin Yan's scent at the riverbank and ordered his men to investigate Lin Yan's identity and origins.
• Lin Yan crawled ashore several li downstream, treated his wounds, and assessed his depleted strength.
• Lin Yan decided not to return to Nuoding City and disappeared into the mountain forest to recover and find a safe place to absorb the thousand-year blood ginseng.

Lin Yan found a concealed cave behind a waterfall and used it to hide from the pursuers who had tracked him with a Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul. Injured and depleted, he began recovering with a tiny piece of thousand-year Blood Ginseng, determined to regain his strength before returning to Nuoding City or facing further danger.

• Lin Yan discovered a narrow cave behind vines beside a waterfall and concealed his entrance.
• Lin Yan changed into dry clothes, lit a small fire, and meditated until his Soul Power recovered to about sixty percent.
• Lin Yan realized that the effeminate man had tracked him with the Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul's Scent Tracking Soul Skill and decided not to return to Nuoding City.
• Lin Yan took a tiny rootlet from the thousand-year Blood Ginseng and felt it replenish his Soul Power and aid his healing.
• Lin Yan put away the Blood Ginseng and resumed deep meditation to recover before consuming more.

Lin Yan consumed the thousand-year blood ginseng and endured its overwhelming power as his Martial Soul helped him absorb it. After his body and Soul Power were reforged, he reached the level-twenty bottleneck and prepared to obtain his Second Soul Ring.

• Lin Yan recovered in the cave, then cautiously ate a small piece of the thousand-year blood ginseng.
• The ginseng's violent energy threatened to tear apart Lin Yan's body, but his Martial Soul emerged and drew in the excess power.
• Lin Yan's meridians, bones, muscles, and organs were strengthened as his Soul Power climbed to level twenty.
• Lin Yan ate the remaining blood ginseng and spent more than half a day absorbing its potency.
• Lin Yan tested his newfound strength, saw that his injuries had healed, and decided it was time to obtain his Second Soul Ring.

Lin Yan searched the Star Dou Great Forest for five-thousand-year Undying Grass as a second Soul Ring, but instead discovered an unusually old Heart-Healing Grass beside a mysterious cold pool. He chose the roughly four-thousand-five-hundred-year Soul Beast as his target, leaving the story with him preparing to pursue it.

• Lin Yan traveled alone into the Star Dou Great Forest to search for Undying Grass, hoping to gain a healing or recovery Soul Skill.
• After days of searching, Lin Yan sensed an unnatural chill deep in the forest and cautiously followed it.
• Lin Yan found a dark-blue cold pool that had frozen the surrounding clearing and noticed a crystal-blue plant growing at its edge.
• Lin Yan identified the plant as Heart-Healing Grass and estimated that it was at least four thousand five hundred years old.
• Lin Yan decided to pursue the Heart-Healing Grass for his second Soul Ring, judging its healing abilities and age nearly ideal.

Lin Yan hunted the four-thousand-five-hundred-year-old Heart-Healing Grass and defeated it after surviving its freezing counterattack with the Tai Chi Sword Technique. Injured and weakened, he prepared to absorb the purple soul ring that appeared above its remains.

• Lin Yan observed the Heart-Healing Grass and devised a plan to distract it with concealed Blue Silver Grass while approaching under Illusory Color Concealment.
• Lin Yan drew the Heart-Healing Grass's ice needles toward the Blue Silver Grass, then circled in to attack its roots.
• The Heart-Healing Grass released a powerful freezing ring, and Lin Yan used the Tai Chi Sword Technique to deflect most of it, though it froze his left shoulder and arm.
• Lin Yan struck the Heart-Healing Grass's roots while it was weakened, killing it and causing a purple soul ring to appear; his four-year-old sword broke in the fight.
• Lin Yan melted the ice on his shoulder, rested briefly, and prepared to absorb his second soul ring.