Chapter Summaries

Duanmu Ren met Hua Chunning, Supreme Mystery Mountain’s new overseer for the Grotto-Heaven, and began reconsidering his plans to leave. As Hua Chunning explored the mortal world, Li Chengxuan continued studying the High Shaman Dao and sensed Liu Zhijian’s return.

• Duanmu Ren met Hua Chunning and was stunned by her ethereal appearance as she introduced herself as a Registered Disciple sent to oversee the Grotto-Heaven.
• Li Chengxuan assigned Hua Chunning to manage mundane affairs and oversee construction of the Supreme Mystery Mountain Lower Court, then explained that the Grotto-Heaven could help her gather Manifestation despite lacking Spiritual Qi.
• Duanmu Ren called his father-in-law and postponed plans to transfer to the capital.
• Hua Chunning became a curiosity at the construction site, and Liu Lidan invited her into town to buy daily necessities and clothes; Hua Chunning agreed so she could explore the mortal world.
• Li Chengxuan studied the High Shaman Dao lineage at Supreme Mystery Mountain and sensed that Liu Zhijian had returned.

Liu Zhijian returned to Supreme Mystery Mountain after opening his meridians and told Li Chengxuan about his trials, including joining Deng Gang to defeat bandits and gather displaced people. Li Chengxuan advised him to gather Clear Qi Above the River and cultivate the Old Man by the Stream Immortal Foundation, leaving Liu Zhijian with a path toward reviving Kan Water’s former prominence.

• Liu Zhijian told Li Chengxuan that he had opened his meridians, returned to the innate state, and learned of Deng Gang’s Qi Ingestion and the bandits they defeated together.
• Li Chengxuan explained that Demon Race bloodlines remained among ordinary people because the Southern Edge Continent had once belonged to the Demon Race.
• Liu Zhijian said he had no wish to return to Earth and did not regret giving up the Kan Water Spiritual Qi in the flood dragon’s abode.
• Li Chengxuan directed Liu Zhijian to gather Clear Qi Above the River from the White Dragon River and recommended the Old Man by the Stream Immortal Foundation.
• Li Chengxuan explained that an ancient Kan Water cultivator had raised the Immortal Foundation called Immortal by the River to an extraordinary level, and said Liu Zhijian might someday restore Kan Water’s golden age.

Liu Zhijian studied the Clear Qi Above the River method and learned from Li Chengxuan that gathering Qi depended on understanding its Dao principles rather than copying a fixed technique. After Liu went back down the mountain to gather Qi, Li Chengxuan sensed Hua Chunning calling him from Earth through the Two Worlds Pearl.

• Li Chengxuan gave Liu Zhijian a Jade Slip containing the Qi Gathering Method and the sect seniors’ experiences.
• Liu Zhijian read about the method’s demands and the many failed attempts by earlier cultivators, then asked Li Chengxuan why successful accounts were so vague.
• Li Chengxuan explained that revealing a fixed gathering place would draw crowds and undermine the imagery of Clear Qi, and taught Liu to value Dao principles over techniques.
• Liu Zhijian stopped searching for shortcuts, reconsidered the Old Method’s emphasis on interpretation, and went down the mountain to gather Qi.
• Li Chengxuan continued cultivating for half a month before the Two Worlds Pearl trembled with Hua Chunning’s call from Earth.

Hua Chunning struggled to strengthen her [Yi Wood] Manifestation while managing the Supreme Mystery Mountain Lower Court, so Li Chengxuan came to hear her concerns and guide her cultivation. After warning her against methods that divided her Manifestation, he suddenly questioned who had given her name.

• Hua Chunning sent word to Li Chengxuan after Duanmu Ren claimed that the sect leader had once intended to take him as a disciple.
• Li Chengxuan arrived at the Lijiawa Subsidence Area and examined Hua Chunning's flower garden and growing Manifestation.
• Hua Chunning described her attempts to augment her Manifestation through planting, healing, and pill refining.
• Li Chengxuan told Hua Chunning to stop using the healing and water pill refining methods because they divided her already-weak Manifestation among multiple paths.
• Li Chengxuan reflected on the Hua Household's severed [Yi Wood] lineage, then abruptly asked Hua Chunning who had given her name.

Li Chengxuan and Duanmu Ren discussed the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard project, including its costly mountain design and plans to expand it into a resort. Duanmu Ren revealed that Hua Chunning’s medical work had made her an internet celebrity and urged Li Chengxuan to keep her involved, while Hua Chunning remained focused on gathering Manifestation and returning to her sect.

• Li Chengxuan asked Hua Chunning about the Hua Household’s naming traditions and told her to handle routine affairs, gather Manifestation, and ask her family about the history when she returned.
• Duanmu Ren told Li Chengxuan that the project had been named the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and explained that Hua Chunning wanted to build a hundred-meter mountain that Stone Ridge County could not afford.
• Li Chengxuan set the mountain project aside, while Duanmu Ren proposed adding wellness facilities, villas, and hotels to capitalize on the site’s fresh air.
• Duanmu Ren explained that Hua Chunning’s free treatment of villagers, including miners with pneumoconiosis, had drawn attention and could bring the county money and political credit.
• Hua Chunning refused to stay and treat more patients, saying she planned to return to her sect after gathering enough Manifestation; Duanmu Ren urged Li Chengxuan to keep her involved and revealed that netizens had made her a top-tier internet celebrity.

Li Chengxuan took Hua Chunning back to Supreme Mystery Mountain after her online fame threatened her cultivation, then investigated an ancient naming method. Hua Chunning revealed that High Person Zhuohua had ordered the Hua Household’s generational names and that her three younger siblings had died young.

• Duanmu Ren showed Li Chengxuan the viral videos of Hua Chunning and agreed to remove those revealing her identity, name, and location.
• Li Chengxuan warned Hua Chunning that worldly attention could damage her cultivation and took her back to Supreme Mystery Mountain, promising to return her in a month.
• Hua Chunning questioned whether Li Chengxuan intended to make Duanmu Ren his disciple, then apologized after Li Chengxuan silently rebuked her.
• Li Chengxuan studied an ancient bamboo slip describing the Name and Nature Method, which used names to shape a person’s nature and accumulate spirituality and destiny.
• Hua Chunning told Li Chengxuan that High Person Zhuohua had ordered the Hua Household’s generational naming and that Hua Chunning’s three younger siblings, born in the other seasons, had all died young.

Li Chengxuan decided to guide Hua Chunning toward a future cultivation path, keeping him at Supreme Mystery Mountain to study selected Yi Wood texts. Meanwhile, Liu Zhijian continued seeking a way to gather Qi at Wild Goose Pond Mountain and ended the night by heading out with his fishing rod.

• Li Chengxuan warned Hua Chunning that cultivating through Mortal World Turbid Qi would destroy his Manifestation, then promised he had ideas for another path but could not yet reveal them.
• Li Chengxuan kept Hua Chunning confined to a side hall and studying selected Yi Wood lineage texts, and Hua Chunning resolved to make the most of the sect leader’s guidance.
• Liu Zhijian visited Old Luo and his granddaughter, then ate a fish meal and continued practicing the Dripping Water Pierces Stone Meridian-Opening Method.
• Deng Gang asked Liu Zhijian whether he had found a way to gather Qi and again proposed seeking Kan Water Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from the Azure Cloud Sect, but Liu Zhijian refused.
• Liu Zhijian realized it was the beginning of summer, felt lonely beneath the moon, and went down the mountain carrying his fishing rod.

Liu Zhijian found comfort in fishing and spending time with Jiang Xiaoyu, while memories of his past stirred up guilt and regret. When Deng Gang returned and announced his plan to conquer Wild Goose Pond Commandery, Liu Zhijian declined to join him, but Deng Gang promised to attack the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect next.

• Liu Zhijian fished through the night, recalled his mother and his past, and caught a tiny fish that later slipped out of his basket.
• Liu Zhijian pulled apart Jiang Xiaoyu’s braids, then awkwardly tied her hair back after she burst into tears.
• Over the next half month, Liu Zhijian kept fishing and helped Jiang Xiaoyu braid her hair while Deng Gang remained away.
• Deng Gang returned after a month and told Liu Zhijian he intended to raise a banner and conquer Wild Goose Pond Commandery.
• Liu Zhijian declined Deng Gang’s offer to help, explaining that he still needed to cultivate.
• Deng Gang said he would next sweep through the Huang Kingdom and attack the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect, leaving Liu Zhijian alarmed.

Deng Gang tried to recruit Liu Zhijian into his campaign to seize Huang Kingdom, but Liu refused and Deng promised to obtain [Kan Water Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi] for him. As Deng’s rebellion threatened the Chu Clan and a secret letter revealed the Azure Cloud Sect’s plans, Li Chengxuan learned that the sect wanted to build a marketplace.

• Deng Gang urged Liu Zhijian to join his rebellion, but Liu declined because he wanted to focus on cultivation and warned Deng about the dangers of mortal affairs.
• Deng Gang revealed that he had a backer, accepted Liu’s refusal, and promised to obtain [Kan Water Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi] for him.
• Liu Zhijian continued fishing for [Clear Qi Above the River], realized it appeared as small, fine-scaled fish, and returned to Wild Goose Pond Mountain to meet Jiang Xiaoyu.
• Deng Gang swept through a commandery and declared his intent to contend for Huang Kingdom, while the Chu Clan repeatedly appealed to Supreme Mystery Mountain for help.
• Li Chengxuan ignored the Chu Clan’s pleas and read a secret letter forwarded by the Hua Household, learning that the Azure Cloud Sect wanted to build a marketplace.

Li Chengxuan approved the Azure Cloud Sect’s marketplace plans and prepared himself by learning three Law Techniques. He then told Hua Chunning that her fondness for an illustrated flower album might lead her to a limited path into cultivation, though its prospects were uncertain.

• Li Chengxuan told Hua Mingcheng that Supreme Mystery Mountain accepted the Azure Cloud Sect’s marketplace and its offer of thirty percent of the profits, and encouraged the Hua Household to trade there.
• Li Chengxuan sensed that Liu Zhijian had begun gathering Qi and, after breaking through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, chose the Earth Armor Technique, Cloud Soaring Technique, and Lesser Spirit Shocking Incantation.
• Li Chengxuan questioned Hua Chunning about Spring and discovered that she had read an illustrated album of flowers more than the Daoist scriptures before her.
• Li Chengxuan told Hua Chunning that the flower album might be her destined affinity and that a winding path could allow her to cultivate part of Yi Wood despite her insufficient Manifestation.
• Hua Chunning thanked Li Chengxuan and agreed to try the path, while Li Chengxuan said High Person Zhuohua had opened it and explained that cultivating only part of Yi Wood might be enough.

Li Chengxuan confined Hua Chunning to cultivate a new path into the severed [Yi Wood] Dao lineage, then returned to Earth and found Duanmu Ren angling to exploit Hua Chunning’s healing abilities for political gain. The chapter ended with Li Chengxuan punishing Duanmu Ren for testing his limits.

• Hua Chunning agreed to cultivate [Yi Wood of Spring] or [Spring of Yi Wood], gather [Fragrance of a Hundred Flowers], and remain secluded until spring so her Manifestation could be supplemented.
• Li Chengxuan instructed Hua Chunning to choose spring-blooming flowers for the Hua Household to plant and said he would arrange the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard’s [Spirit Atmosphere Creation Method].
• Duanmu Ren pressed Li Chengxuan to bring Hua Chunning back to treat an important elderly patient, offering to seriously consider cultivating the Dao in exchange.
• Li Chengxuan dismissed Duanmu Ren’s bargaining and ordered him to build the sub-courtyard with a hundred flower varieties before spring.
• Li Chengxuan used the [Lesser Spirit Shocking Incantation] on Duanmu Ren, warning that the punishment was only a stern warning.

Li Chengxuan reunited with Xue Yang, who praised his disciple’s unusual cultivation and discussed the Azure Cloud Market and the Chu Household. At Wild Goose Pond Mountain, Liu Zhijian reunited with Deng Gang and declined his invitation to join the campaign against the Huang Kingdom.

• Li Chengxuan told Xue Yang that his recent breakthrough had exhausted his sect’s store of precious pills.
• Xue Yang described the Azure Cloud Market’s thriving trade and spirit-farming system, then said he had dismissed the Chu Household’s plea to punish a troublemaking cultivator.
• Xue Yang reported seeing Liu Zhijian gather Qi by the White Dragon River and praised his dense Kan Water Manifestation and mysterious cultivation method.
• Jiang Xiaoyu persuaded Liu Zhijian to take her fishing, but she quickly lost interest and went to collect shells.
• Deng Gang introduced Liu Zhijian to his wife, Qiao Yuniang, and invited him to join his campaign against the Huang Kingdom.
• Liu Zhijian declined Deng Gang’s invitation, and Qiao Yuniang took the wine pot away to have it warmed.

As autumn made gathering [Clear Qi Above the River] easier, Liu Zhijian struggled to determine how many fish would complete the method. After Elder Luo recounted the violence and losses that shaped his life, he entrusted Jiang Xiaoyu to Liu Zhijian and prepared to end his life at the White Dragon River.

• Liu Zhijian found that gathering Qi became easier after autumn arrived and wondered whether a full strand required catching 365 small, fine-scaled fish.
• After a funeral, Elder Luo visited Liu Zhijian and told him how his parents died, his sister was sold to a brothel and died, and he took revenge by killing those he blamed.
• Elder Luo explained that he had rescued Jiang Xiaoyu from being sold by her uncle and saw his late sister in her, then asked Liu Zhijian to protect the girl.
• Liu Zhijian promised to care for Jiang Xiaoyu and refused Elder Luo's harmful Secret Method.
• Elder Luo brought Jiang Xiaoyu to Liu Zhijian the next day and said he would go to the White Dragon River to die.

After Elder Luo’s death, Liu Zhijian and Deng Gang grew distant over their different paths and backgrounds. During a snowy night by the White Dragon River, Liu Zhijian ingested Clear Qi Above the River and became a Kan Water cultivator.

• Jiang Xiaoyu explained that she viewed Elder Luo’s death like her grandparents entering a Death-Waiting Cave, then refused to cry because Elder Luo had told her to live happily.
• Deng Gang returned to pay tribute to Elder Luo and told Liu Zhijian that his rebellion had taken three commanderies and that he had reached the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.
• Deng Gang revealed that he was a White Dragon Bloodline Descendant and vowed to avenge his clan by confronting the Supreme Mystery Demon Sect after reaching Perfected Qi Refining.
• Deng Gang left after accusing Liu Zhijian of looking down on him, and Liu Zhijian reflected that the mortal world disturbed his Dao heart.
• In winter, Liu Zhijian gathered Qi by the White Dragon River and experienced an insight as snow covered the land.
• Liu Zhijian guided Clear Qi Above the River through his meridians, formed a Heaven and Earth Root, and became a Kan Water cultivator.

Liu Zhijian entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion but stayed on Wild Goose Pond Mountain through winter, while Li Chengxuan prepared Hua Chunning to gather Spring Qi and advance along the Yi Wood Dao. When spring arrived, Li Chengxuan brought Hua Chunning to a flower-filled sub-courtyard and instructed her and Duanmu Ren to open it to the public so they could gather Living Spring.

• Jiang Xiaoyu noticed Liu Zhijian’s new fragrance after he entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion, and Liu decided to remain on Wild Goose Pond Mountain until spring.
• Li Chengxuan sensed Liu Zhijian’s breakthrough, gained cultivation and Merit, and kept Hua Chunning confined while she studied Daoist scriptures for nine months.
• At the beginning of spring, Li Chengxuan released Hua Chunning and brought her to the transformed Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard, where its flowers refreshed her.
• Duanmu Ren arrived, and Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren each mistook the other’s changed appearance for the result of hardship.
• Li Chengxuan explained that the sub-courtyard’s Yi Wood spiritual formation needed visitors who felt spring’s renewal, then told Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren to open it to the public to gather Living Spring.

Hua Chunning and Duanmu Ren prepared to attract visitors to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard, while Hua Chunning studied the first three pentads of Beginning of Spring to replenish her Manifestation. The courtyard opened to a crowd of officials, and Vice Mayor Qian spotted someone he thought might be the viral Flower Fairy.

• Duanmu Ren proposed an opening ceremony, free shuttle buses, and publicity featuring Hua Chunning to draw visitors and gather a living spring Manifestation.
• Hua Chunning agreed to promote herself and contemplated the first three Beginning of Spring pentads as she sensed the wind, stirring insects, and fish breaking through ice.
• The Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard officially opened in Stone Ridge County, despite local doubts that the costly tourism project would succeed.
• Duanmu Ren guided visiting officials around the grounds, and Director Jia praised the care put into the project.
• Vice Mayor Qian recognized a woman ahead as possibly the Flower Fairy who had become popular online.

Hua Chunning cultivated Spring Qi at the newly opened tourist resort, while Duanmu Ren used a misleading explanation to keep Vice Mayor Qian from pursuing her. Zhao Xiaojun came to expose Hua Chunning as a fraud, but her beauty made him fall into a lake, and she began treating his sprained ankle.

• Duanmu Ren persuaded Vice Mayor Qian that the resort project had been arranged for someone powerful, making Qian wary of approaching Hua Chunning.
• Hua Chunning realized that the tourists’ pure appreciation of the garden had changed its Spring Qi into the Living Spring.
• Zhao Xiaojun saw videos of Hua Chunning and traveled to the resort intending to expose her as a fraud.
• Zhao Xiaojun became distracted by Hua Chunning’s beauty, fell into the lake, and sprained his ankle.
• Li Jiabao arranged to take Zhao Xiaojun to the hospital, but Hua Chunning offered to examine him and gently pinched his ankle.

Hua Chunning’s seasonal rituals at the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard made her more famous, and Duanmu Ren turned the crowds into a ticketed attraction. As her spring practices continued, Duanmu Ren told her that miners from outside the area were demanding treatment and asked her to decide what to do.

• Zhao Xiaojun discovered videos of his fall and injury spreading online, then changed his username and defended Hua Chunning in the comments.
• Duanmu Ren arranged doctors for the crowds and announced that visitors would need tickets and reservations to enter the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard.
• As spring arrived, Hua Chunning began performing sacrifices with wooden fish, stone geese, and paper flowers, then counted returning wild geese and checked sprouting plants to accumulate Manifestation.
• Hua Chunning’s rituals and unexplained background fueled online debate and increased the sub-courtyard’s popularity.
• Duanmu Ren told Hua Chunning that miners she had treated had improved, while patients from elsewhere were demanding her care and provincial authorities had become involved.

Hua Chunning refused to treat the vast number of pneumoconiosis patients while focusing on her cultivation, triggering a public backlash against her and the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard. When an old patient arrived seeking help and died after a woman accidentally knocked him down, the woman began filming and accused the sub-courtyard of beating him to death.

• Hua Chunning learned that around a million people suffered from pneumoconiosis and told Duanmu Ren to keep worldly affairs from disturbing her cultivation.
• Reports that Hua Chunning had once treated miners spread online, along with claims that she and Stone Ridge County had turned away other patients, reversing public opinion against her and the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard.
• Hua Chunning continued condensing her Awakening of Insects Manifestation while Duanmu Ren prepared for trouble and Li Jiabao urged Hu Shihao to send more guards.
• A middle-aged woman accused Hua Chunning of refusing to help the miners, and an old patient ran past Hu Shihao's underlings to beg Hua Chunning for treatment.
• The woman collided with the old man while trying to support him, and he died; she then filmed the scene and falsely accused the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard of beating a patient to death.

Hua Chunning returned from the Grotto-Heaven with her Manifestation strengthened but her cultivation prospects uncertain, and Li Chengxuan explained why she might still have a chance. Seeking counsel from her grandfather, she rejected the Hua Household’s Human Pills, and Hua Mingcheng revealed the Azure Origin Fate-Weighing Plate.

• Li Chengxuan examined Hua Chunning and learned that she had gathered the Manifestations of the Beginning of Spring and Rain Water and part of the Awakening of Insects.
• Li Chengxuan explained that Hua Chunning’s progress might still support her Dao Path, but warned that returning to the Grotto-Heaven next year could bring further tribulations.
• Hua Chunning visited Hua Mingcheng and told him she feared she had cut off her Dao Path, while keeping the Grotto-Heaven secret.
• Hua Mingcheng offered Hua Chunning Human Pills, but she refused because she believed they would conflict with her Dao Path.
• Hua Mingcheng brought out a jade vial and a battered wooden basin, then identified them as the Hua Household’s Azure Origin Fate-Weighing Plate.