Chapter Summaries

Tang Yuan used the black spoon to travel from his life as a fisherman in the Xi Household to another cultivation world, where he discovered he had reincarnated as a snake demon. He found himself imprisoned with fellow demons while two Foundation Establishment cultivators fought nearby, and resolved to survive.

• Tang Yuan sold twenty jin of spirit fish to Old Man Kang and discussed his cultivation and debts.
• Tang Yuan entered his hidden cellar and used the black spoon, which had gathered Moon Jade Radiance, to travel to another cultivation world.
• Tang Yuan arrived as a black snake demon and learned that the talking toad, spider, and gecko recognized him as their eldest senior brother.
• Tang Yuan recovered memories of his demon life, including his master’s death and the betrayal by the centipede and scorpion.
• Tang Yuan realized he and three fellow demons were trapped in an iron cage and destined to be refined into pills while a male cultivator surnamed Duan fought a female cultivator nearby.

Tang Yuan used his junior demons’ treasures and an Ice Talisman to escape their iron cage, but was pursued by Duan Zhengfeng. He helped the female cultivator kill Duan Zhengfeng, took his Storage Bag, and returned to Ten Thousand Snakes Island.

• Tang Yuan collected his junior demons’ treasures and used the toad demon’s fire and an Ice Talisman to break the cage lock.
• Tang Yuan fled with the three demons, but they quickly outran him and left him behind.
• Duan Zhengfeng pursued Tang Yuan while arguing with the female cultivator over the Bi Crow Moon Gang Spiritual Qi.
• Tang Yuan hid beneath his invisibility garment, but Duan Zhengfeng’s pressure immobilized him and the female cultivator’s arrow destroyed the boulder hiding him.
• Tang Yuan struck Duan Zhengfeng with an Ice Talisman, letting the female cultivator’s arrow turn him to dust, then swallowed his Storage Bag and returned to Ten Thousand Snakes Island using the Mystic Spoon.

Tang Yuan returned to the Human Realm with treasures and Duan Zhengfeng’s belongings, then used his memories and Monkey Master’s writings to understand the two realms and plan a Spiritual Qi trade. When the Mystic Spoon’s runes glowed again, Tang Yuan crossed back to the Demon Realm to pursue his new opportunities.

• Tang Yuan inspected his Demon Core and the treasures and Storage Bag he had brought back after Duan Zhengfeng and the snake Demon were blasted to dust.
• Tang Yuan sorted Duan Zhengfeng’s belongings and read his writings, learning about Qi forging, the Human Realm’s cultivation system, and the Demon Realm’s loss of moonlight radiance.
• Tang Yuan opened Monkey Master’s Storage Bag and found Ghost Moon Gold Gang Spiritual Qi, pills, cultivation materials, and a Qi-forging method.
• Tang Yuan concluded that selling Moon Jade Radiance was too dangerous, but he could profit by selling red spirit eels and eventually forging Spiritual Qi between the realms.
• Tang Yuan used the Mystic Spoon to cross into the Demon Realm as moonlight appeared.

Tang Yuan entered Loulan City in human form, hired Huang You'er as his guide, and learned how the city’s human cultivators treated Demon Beasts. After selling Red Spirit Eels for a large profit, he followed Huang You'er to the Luo Household Pill Shop, where she offered one to a caged Nine-Tailed Fox.

• Tang Yuan flew to Loulan City and hired Huang You'er after she sang and danced for him.
• Huang You'er explained that Demon Beasts who had not taken human form were treated as food, pets, mounts, or ingredients by cultivators.
• Tang Yuan rented an inn room and brought Red Spirit Eels from Monkey Master's beast-hide Storage Bag to the cultivator market.
• Tang Yuan sold eighteen Red Spirit Eels to a fishmonger, who offered to buy hundreds more if Tang Yuan could supply them alive.
• Huang You'er asked Tang Yuan to let her have one eel, then led him to the Luo Household Pill Shop, where she offered it to a caged Nine-Tailed Fox.

Tang Yuan traded rare Bi Crow Moon Gang for supplies and bought the Nine-Tailed Fox, hoping she could lead him to Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud. He left the shop with the fox and the restriction Jade Slip for her shackle.

• Tang Yuan suspected the caged Nine-Tailed Fox might know the whereabouts of Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud, while Luo Ningran explained she had been captured after cheating him and was due to be sold to a restaurant.
• Huang You'er begged Tang Yuan to save her elder sister, and the Nine-Tailed Fox agreed to swear an oath and serve him if he bought her.
• Tang Yuan offered Luo Ningran a wisp of fourth-grade Bi Crow Moon Gang, which Luo Ningran valued at four thousand Spirit Stones.
• Tang Yuan traded the Spiritual Qi for several wisps of other Spiritual Qi, pills, and pill-refining methods, then used twenty Spirit Stones toward the Fox's four-hundred-Stone price.
• Luo Ningran sold Tang Yuan the Nine-Tailed Fox and gave him the restriction Jade Slip for her shackle.

Tang Yuan freed Hu Mei'er from her restriction and assigned her and Huang You'er to gather intelligence and search for a place to establish a Demon Race sect. Back in the Human Realm, he planned to build his cultivation and income, then traveled to the Xuan Dou Cultivator Market, where he bought supplies and learned that a better metal-attribute Cultivation Method cost more than he could afford.

• Tang Yuan destroyed Hu Mei'er's restriction, revealed his demon form to her and Huang You'er, and tasked them with gathering information about the Demon Race, Loulan City, Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud, and potential sect locations.
• Tang Yuan gave Hu Mei'er and Huang You'er Spirit Stones and pills, arranged a cultivation residence for them in Loulan City, and returned to the Human Realm.
• Tang Yuan set priorities for raising his Human Realm cultivation, learning Qi forging and pill refinement, and reselling red spirit eels between the realms.
• Tang Yuan flew to the Xuan Dou Cultivator Market, exchanged his Demon Realm Spirit Stones, and bought Spiritual Qi, a Storage Bag, a spirit sword, a Pill Furnace, and other supplies.
• Tang Yuan learned that the Xi Household's Mountain Stream Spirit Art was seventh-grade and that a lower-tier sixth-grade metal-attribute Cultivation Method book cost fifteen hundred Spirit Stones, so he decided to sell more red spirit eels.

Tang Yuan traveled to the dangerous Ghost-Fearing Sea to stage the discovery of an Alchemist’s legacy, giving him a believable way to explain his growing wealth and cultivation. When a violent storm trapped him on Ghost Return Island, he used a Turtle Transformation Pill to turn into a sea turtle and enter the water.

• Tang Yuan told Kang Cang he planned to seek Red Spirit Eels in the Ghost-Fearing Sea, despite Kang Cang warning him about the danger.
• Tang Yuan spent a Spirit Stone to power a fishing boat from Emerald Creek Island, drawing envious attention from the workers at the dock and suspicion from a veiled woman.
• Tang Yuan planned to make it look as though he had found an Alchemist’s legacy in the Ghost-Fearing Sea, using the Storage Bag, spirit sword, and Pill Furnace he had bought at the Xuan Dou Cultivator Market.
• After traveling for a day and a night, Tang Yuan reached Ghost Return Island, secured his Spirit-Floating Paulownia Wood and fishing boat, and began fishing from shore.
• A sudden storm brought lightning, monstrous waves, and whirlpools, so Tang Yuan swallowed a Turtle Transformation Pill, changed into a sea turtle, and crawled into the water.

Tang Yuan endured the storms of the Ghost-Fearing Sea while transformed into a giant sea turtle. After Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan sailed out with Xi Yunshu to search for him, they found Tang Yuan alive, clinging to driftwood.

• Tang Yuan transformed into a giant sea turtle and waited beneath the sea, surfacing to breathe whenever he could.
• Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan worried that Tang Yuan had been lost at sea, and Kang learned he might be held responsible if the rented fishing boat was missing.
• Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan set out with Xi Yunshu to search the Ghost-Fearing Sea.
• The group spotted wreckage and clothing floating in the water as they traveled west.
• Liu Hanchuan flew ahead and found Tang Yuan clinging to a piece of driftwood, still alive.

Tang Yuan returned from the Ghost-Fearing Sea with a fishing boat and an Alchemist’s supplies he claimed to have found, then accepted Xi Yunshu’s offer to help him change jobs. After the Xi Household approved his new status on strict conditions, Tang Yuan took two hundred live Red Spirit Eels to the Demon Realm.

• Tang Yuan explained that he had sunk the fishing boat to protect it and showed Kang Cang, Liu Hanchuan, and Xi Yunshu the Spirit Stones, sword, Pill Furnace, and alchemy Jade Slips he had supposedly found in a Storage Bag.
• Xi Yunshu urged Tang Yuan to become an Alchemist and promised to handle his transfer from spirit fishing worker; Tang Yuan accepted.
• Tang Yuan shared twenty-two Spirit Stones with Kang Cang, Liu Hanchuan, and Xi Yunshu, giving Xi Yunshu extra as compensation for helping him.
• Within seven days, the Xi Household head approved Tang Yuan’s change to Alchemist, requiring him to pay all costs and refine a Spirit Gathering Pill within a year or return to fishing work.
• On the sixteenth, Tang Yuan used the mysterious spoon to take two hundred live Red Spirit Eels from his cellar to the Demon Realm.

After building his cultivation in both realms, Tang Yuan prepared to visit his wife and children for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan told him they could no longer collect red spirit eels because someone in the Xi Lineage was interfering. Tang Yuan learned the obstruction came from someone he could not afford to offend, and the chapter left him furious and ready to confront the threat to his trade.

• Tang Yuan reached the eighth layer of Meridian Opening in the human realm and the third layer of Qi Refinement in the demon realm, while accumulating 1,300 Spirit Stones.
• Tang Yuan decided to take leave and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with his wife and four children, and Xi Youde granted him twenty days off after Tang Yuan gave him a Spirit Stone.
• Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan visited Tang Yuan and said they could not collect any red spirit eels for him that month.
• Liu Hanchuan explained that someone from the Xi Lineage was interfering with the eel trade, though Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan could not afford to offend that person.
• Tang Yuan grew angry at the threat to his business and thought about killing the person responsible.

Tang Yuan learned that Xi Shanhu’s family connections had blocked him from buying red spirit eels and cost him his leave, leaving him short of Spirit Stones. Xi Yunshu revealed a distant migration ground where he could fish for eels, and Tang Yuan prepared to go there with the spirit net hidden in his mystic spoon.

• Kang Cang explained how Xi Youde’s influence gave Xi Shanhu the power to forbid fishermen from selling red spirit eels to Tang Yuan and his associates.
• Tang Yuan learned Xi Youde had rejected his leave request and banned him from returning to his mortal hometown for three years after Xi Shanhu reported his eel purchases.
• Tang Yuan failed to meet with Xi Shanhu and found Xi Yunshu could not change the fishing restrictions, leaving him worried that he could not earn enough Spirit Stones to become an Alchemist.
• Xi Yunshu showed Tang Yuan a map of Golden Shell Island, where red spirit eels migrated each year, and warned him that the distant, stormy waters offered no rescue if trouble struck.
• Tang Yuan memorized and burned Xi Yunshu’s map, then revealed the spirit net from his mystic spoon as he prepared to fish for red spirit eels.

Tang Yuan caught Red Spirit Eels at Golden Shell Island, earned Spirit Stones, and reached the meridian opening eighth layer. After warning him about Xi Shanhu, Kang Cang advised him against accepting the Xi Household’s free Mountain Stream Spirit Art, leaving Tang Yuan to choose a cultivation method for his breakthrough.

• Tang Yuan used his spiderweb to catch 209 Red Spirit Eels at Golden Shell Island and returned to sell them in the Demon Realm.
• Tang Yuan gave Red Spirit Eels to Hu Mei'er and Huang You'er, then searched the Xuan Dou Cultivator Market for a Qi Refining Cultivation Method.
• Tang Yuan hosted Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan for a meal and arranged for them to buy pill-refining supplies for him at a markup.
• Liu Hanchuan warned Tang Yuan that Xi Shanhu and his brothers might target him after the Xi Household raised its Red Spirit Eel buying price.
• Tang Yuan told Kang Cang that he had reached the meridian opening eighth layer and asked for advice about cultivation methods.
• Kang Cang called the free Mountain Stream Spirit Art a poor choice and advised Tang Yuan to buy his own cultivation method.

Tang Yuan advanced his cultivation and alchemy while profiting from the conflict among the Western Spirit Ten Thousand Islands Region's Lineages, then spent three years building a concealed abode on Golden Shell Island. He ended the chapter in Loulan City in the Demon Realm, where he questioned Hu Mei'er about a flood dragon and Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud.

• Kang Cang advised Tang Yuan to buy and cultivate a lower-grade method soon, and warned him and Liu Hanchuan never to cultivate Buddhist methods.
• Tang Yuan bought the lower-tier sixth-grade Metal Pivot Fire Spirit Technique and reached the first layer of Qi Refinement in 4025.
• Tang Yuan became an Alchemist for the Xi Household and began selling the upper-tier fifth-grade Spiritual Qi Moon Xin Stream Tide.
• As the Western Spirit Ten Thousand Islands Region's Lineages fought, Tang Yuan earned the Xi Household's favor and avoided danger by hiding in the Demon Realm or elsewhere.
• Tang Yuan carved a concealed cave abode on Golden Shell Island and, three years later, traveled to the Demon Realm.
• In Loulan City, Tang Yuan questioned Hu Mei'er about whether an earth flood dragon nearing its Foundation Establishment tribulation was connected to Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud.

Tang Yuan traveled to the Chaotic Constellation Sea to seek the Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud, only to find the Earth Flood Dragon apparently dead after its tribulation. As five Buddhist cultivators moved to seize the treasure and attack him, the Earth Flood Dragon suddenly revealed it was still alive.

• Hu Mei'er told Tang Yuan that the Earth Flood Dragon guarded the Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud and warned him to flee if danger arose, but Tang Yuan decided to go.
• Tang Yuan reached the Chaotic Constellation Sea and encountered Luo Ningran, who warned him that the Earth Flood Dragon had killed several cultivators and was forming a trapping formation.
• After hiding for more than an hour, Tang Yuan saw three bolts of tribulation lightning and found the Earth Flood Dragon apparently dead, with a jade box at its coils.
• Tang Yuan paid respects to the Earth Flood Dragon and reached to close its eyes, while five Buddhist cultivators emerged and sealed the jade box with prayer beads.
• The five Buddhist cultivators moved to attack Tang Yuan, but the Earth Flood Dragon opened its eyes and rose, revealing that it was still alive.

Tang Yuan escaped the earth wyrm’s self-detonation with the Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud, then found Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao fleeing to his Golden Shell Island cave while Lü Moran and Master Deming pursued them. After Xi Yunshu promised to make him the Xi Household’s chief guest elder, Tang Yuan opened the formation and took the pair inside.

• Tang Yuan broke the prayer-bead formation, took the jade box, and fled the earth wyrm’s self-detonation through the Mystic Spoon.
• A trace of yellow light entered Tang Yuan’s jade box, took a piece of Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud, and flew into the Mystic Spoon as cultivators approached Golden Shell Island.
• Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao reached Tang Yuan’s cave while Lü Moran and Master Deming pursued them, and Tang Yuan chose not to open the formation at first.
• Xi Shanbao urged Xi Yunshu to offer Tang Yuan the Xi Household’s Spirit Mystic Jade Flow Scripture or a position as chief guest elder to gain his help.
• Xi Yunshu swore to make Tang Yuan the Xi Household’s chief guest elder, and Tang Yuan revealed himself, opened the formation, and pulled Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao inside.

Tang Yuan escaped Lü Moran by leading Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao through a secret passage beneath his cave, then sailed toward Ten Thousand Snakes Island with them. Xi Shanbao betrayed them aboard the spirit boat, immobilizing Tang Yuan and Xi Yunshu before attacking her.

• Lü Moran failed to break Tang Yuan’s formation with Law Power, but Deming identified that ordinary attacks could crack it, so she kept striking while Tang Yuan and the others slept.
• Tang Yuan used a storm and lightning-attracting stones to keep Lü Moran and Deming away from the cave, then led Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao through a secret passage to a pool connected to the sea.
• Lü Moran broke into the cave the next day and found the group gone, while Deming admired Tang Yuan’s cunning.
• Tang Yuan and the others sailed toward Ten Thousand Snakes Island, and Xi Yunshu promised to recommend him as a grand guest elder of her family.
• Xi Shanbao suddenly immobilized Tang Yuan and Xi Yunshu with talismans, and Tang Yuan realized he had failed to guard against him as Xi Shanbao attacked Xi Yunshu.

Tang Yuan survived Xi Shanbao’s betrayal when the Mystic Spoon reversed time, then killed Xi Shanbao and explained why his death would help Xi Xingang manage the Xi Household. After years of cultivation and trade between realms, Tang Yuan boarded a flying boat bound for Immortal Ascension Island.

• Xi Shanbao confessed that he had helped arrange Xi Yunshu’s death for Xi Shanhu’s sake, then attacked Tang Yuan.
• The Mystic Spoon’s black claws stopped Xi Shanbao’s sword and reversed time, allowing Tang Yuan to foil the attack with a Nether Ice Talisman.
• Tang Yuan freed Xi Yunshu enough to speak, killed Xi Shanbao, and explained why returning him alive would create political trouble for Xi Xingang.
• Xi Xingang blamed Xi Shanbao’s death on the Su Household, appointed Tang Yuan grand guest elder, and granted him exclusive use of Ten Thousand Snakes Island.
• Tang Yuan studied the Mystic Spoon, continued cultivating and trading between realms, and later boarded a flying boat for Immortal Ascension Island.

Tang Yuan failed to find a sect willing to accept him on Immortal Ascension Island until he reunited with Ning Wanqiu, his childhood cultivation companion, who tried to secure him a place in the Purple Sword Sect. The chapter ended with Tang Yuan refusing to let Ning Wanqiu spend her precious Origin-Nurturing Pill to sway Liao Chao.

• Tang Yuan arrived at Immortal Ascension Island with the Xi Household's recommendation but found that his age and cultivation made him unqualified for most sects.
• After three days of rejection, Tang Yuan encountered Ning Wanqiu, who recognized him as her childhood companion and learned that no sect had accepted him.
• Ning Wanqiu explained that Tang Yuan's fourth-grade alchemy qualification met the Purple Sword Sect's raised age limit and led him to its recruitment stall.
• Ning Wanqiu praised Tang Yuan and offered Liao Chao her Origin-Nurturing Pill in exchange for admitting Tang Yuan as a full inner disciple.
• Tang Yuan stopped Liao Chao from taking the pill and declined Ning Wanqiu's offer, saying he would not force his way into the Purple Sword Sect.

Tang Yuan joined the Holy Cardamom Sect, struggled to support his family and fund his cultivation, and secretly planned to rob a market with two senior brothers. At the market, the Earth Flood Dragon recognized that four siblings at a stall each carried a Talisman Seed, suggesting they had extraordinary origins.

• Ning Wanqiu failed to place Tang Yuan in the Purple Sword Sect and advised him to join the Purple Firmament Palace, but Liao Chao directed him to the Holy Cardamom Sect instead.
• Tang Yuan paid two hundred Spirit Stones to join the Holy Cardamom Sect, then sent his mother, brother's family, wife, and children to Dangwu Village before returning to the sect.
• Tang Yuan learned that the Holy Cardamom Sect charged its low-level disciples for nearly everything and withheld Cultivation Methods for three years, so he earned Spirit Stones by catching Red Spirit Eels and selling goods in both realms.
• After two years of cultivation and work, Tang Yuan remained at the first layer of Qi Refinement and traveled to the Purple Moon Lake market with two senior brothers to rob its traders.
• Tang Yuan noticed four siblings at a stall, and the Earth Flood Dragon revealed that each had a Talisman Seed that only an Immortal Lord could refine.

Tang Yuan and his companions tried to take the Li siblings’ immortal-grade Spiritual Qi, but the fat Devil Cultivator killed Li Da and demanded the jade bottle. Li Laosan’s purple mirror destroyed the thin Devil Cultivator and threatened Tang Yuan, who called on the Earth Flood Dragon to reverse time as the purple light neared him.

• Tang Yuan learned that the four Li siblings were selling a jade bottle containing Great Kun Moonlight, an immortal-grade Spiritual Qi, and the Earth Flood Dragon sensed a hidden earth-attribute cultivator nearby.
• Tang Yuan privately told his companions that the Spiritual Qi was worth more than three hundred Spirit Stones, and the fat Devil Cultivator tried to obtain it by offering a blood-red bead.
• The fat Devil Cultivator detonated the bead in Li Da’s hand, killing him, then demanded that the surviving siblings hand over the jade bottle.
• Li Laosan used a broken purple mirror to reduce the thin Devil Cultivator to powder, while the fat Devil Cultivator dragged Tang Yuan in front of himself to block the mirror’s attack.
• Tang Yuan called on the Earth Flood Dragon and invoked Time Reversal as the purple light stopped just short of his nose.