Chapter Summaries

Lin Xiao and his companions followed Han Weishu toward the mine where people had been abducted, while alerting Mo Yuanjiao and Li Zhanying to the situation. Li Zhouxuan learned of the abductions and ordered troops to gather at the southeastern border, leaving tensions with Huanyou Nation poised to rise.

• Liu Yunan joined Lin Xiao, Tong Shuzheng, and Han Weishu as they traveled toward the place where the captives had been taken.
• Han Weishu shared details about the kidnappers’ sect uniforms, and Lin Xiao sent the clue to Mo Yuanjiao.
• Tong Shuzheng explained that a few household registrations would not prove Huanyou Nation’s involvement, prompting Lin Xiao to contact the royal ancestor Li Zhanying.
• Li Zhanying agreed to join the effort, while Mo Yuanjiao went to Li Zhouxuan and reported the abductions.
• Li Zhouxuan condemned Huanyou Nation and ordered the southeastern border troops to assemble and drill, allowing for skirmishes if necessary.

Li Zhouxuan learned that Huanyou Nation’s Golden Crow Sect had abducted villagers to mine Execution Stone, while Lin Xiao’s group crossed the border to rescue them. In the mine, Han Weishu found Tong Jialiang near death, still trapped in the horror and unable to recognize her.

• Li Zhouxuan told Mo Yuanjiao to rescue the villagers and seek the Li Clan Ancestor’s help if necessary.
• Lin Xiao led the group across the unfortified border into Huanyou Nation, where Li Zhanying arrived and took over carrying Han Weishu.
• The ruler of Huanyou Nation learned that mining the ore identified by the State Preceptor had begun and ordered his guard to keep the operation secret from Pusi Kingdom.
• Tong Jialiang watched villagers die in the mine and, convinced he was trapped in a nightmare, kept digging while biting his tongue to wake himself.
• Han Weishu saw Tong Jialiang standing bloodied in the mine and called out to him.

Lin Xiao and his companions rescued the abducted villagers from a mine where strange stones drained spiritual power, then sent them back to Pusi Kingdom aboard a spirit boat. Lin Xiao stayed behind to identify the stones and decide whether to destroy or seal the mine.

• Lin Xiao and the others broke through the mine’s weak arrays, subdued its guards, and searched the caves for captives.
• Lin Xiao discovered that colored stones in the mine drained spiritual power, and he gathered several excavated stones before escaping with the rescued villagers.
• Liu Yunan diluted Rejuvenation Pills in water for the injured villagers, while Han Weishu carried Tong Jialiang out and warned that the mine’s effects could damage the body.
• Lin Xiao decided to bring everyone back to Pusi Kingdom, and Liu Yunan handed Li Zhanying a spirit boat to transport the villagers and unconscious guards.
• Lin Xiao stayed at the mine and used his private storage’s appraisal function to identify the dangerous stones.

Lin Xiao sealed the Execution Stone mines in Huanyou Nation after failing to destroy the dangerous stone, and the Golden Crow Sect’s cultivators became trapped in his illusion array. Huanyou Nation’s ruler learned of the disruption and sought help from the state preceptor, who promised assistance while the ruler secretly focused on obtaining the Annihilation Immortal’s cultivation method.

• Lin Xiao failed to destroy the Execution Stone, so he sealed the mines with an advanced array and concealed them behind an illusion array.
• Golden Crow Sect cultivators arrived to take over the mine shift, entered the illusion array, and did not return.
• A Golden Core steward found the mines hidden behind an unbreakable illusion and reported the incident to the ruler of Huanyou Nation.
• The ruler visited the state preceptor, who said the Annihilation Immortal had already decided what to do and promised to act when the time came.
• After leaving the state preceptor, the ruler resolved to pursue the Annihilation Immortal’s cultivation method and ordered his procession back to the palace.

Li Zhanying and Han Weishu returned the rescued mountain villagers to their settlements before taking the captive cultivators toward the capital. Han Weishu brought the dazed Tong Jialiang to Songyang County, where she used a letter from his bundle to gain an audience at the Lingxiao Escort Agency.

• Li Zhanying, Han Weishu, and Tong Jialiang returned the rescued villagers to their settlements, where the villagers mourned their lost children and thanked Han Weishu for protecting some of their people.
• Li Zhanying took the captured cultivators aboard the spirit ship and left Tong Shuzheng and Xue Chengfeng to handle remaining matters in the region.
• Li Zhanying brought Han Weishu and Tong Jialiang to Songyang County, then took the Golden Crow Sect cultivators from Huanyou Nation to Xiushui Village.
• Han Weishu led the unresponsive Tong Jialiang to the Lingxiao Escort Agency and read a letter hidden in his bundle before deciding to enter.
• Han Weishu told Master Gao that a servant of Young Master Mo requested an audience with Chief Escort Qin, and Qin Jianghe prepared the Location Sound Transmission Talisman linked to Mo Yuanjiao.

After a period of calm in Xiushui Village and the Lingxian Sect, Lin Xiao prepared for the sect’s next trading trip to the cultivation world. He entrusted Liu Chun with handling the trade, giving him a chance to join the journey without paying his own travel expenses.

• Qin Jianghe accepted Mo Yuanjiao’s reply and brought Han Weishu and Tong Jialiang into the Lingxiao Escort Agency, where Han Weishu stayed to care for Tong Jialiang.
• Li Zhanying returned to the capital with Wang Goudan and Niu Xiaoxue as border clashes and arrests of spies increased between Pusi Kingdom and Huanyou Nation.
• Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao taught the Lingxian Sect disciples after Xiaoluan became trapped twice on the upgraded Heart-Questioning Road, and the others later crossed it safely.
• Lin Yun made longevity noodles for Lin Xiao’s thirteenth birthday, and Lin Xiao ate the entire bowl.
• Lin Xiao and Liu Yunan prepared goods for the sect’s next trading trip when Liu Chun offered to pay his own travel expenses.
• Lin Xiao asked Liu Chun to deliver the goods on the sect’s behalf, and Liu Chun accepted the responsibility.

Liu Chun went to the cultivation world to handle a trade, while Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu followed the next day. Liu Yunan arranged talks with the imperial court and agreed to travel to the capital with Qin Jianghe, leaving the chapter with news that the two visiting madams were enjoying their stay.

• Liu Chun traveled alone to the cultivation world with Storage Bags full of goods, unaware that Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu would follow the next day.
• Lin Xiao accompanied Jiang Youfu to honor his promise to take him to the cultivation world and to keep an eye on him.
• Liu Yunan contacted Qin Jianghe about arranging talks with the imperial court, then traveled to Songyang County after Qin Jianghe invited him there.
• Liu Yunan saw Han Weishu leading Tong Jialiang through the courtyard and learned from Qin Jianghe that they were relatives of Yuanjiao's servants seeking refuge.
• Qin Jianghe proposed traveling with Liu Yunan to the capital, where Liu Yunan could meet the imperial court and Qin Jianghe could explore business opportunities; Liu Yunan agreed.
• Liu Yunan asked whether the two visiting madams had settled in, and Qin Jianghe said they were enjoying themselves and returning near dinnertime each day.

Liu Yunan arranged for his mother and the other parents to manage the sect while he traveled to the capital with Qin Jianghe. In Yuanling City, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu heard about the Talisman Master Assembly and learned they would need boat tickets to reach it.

• Liu Yunan visited the Qin household, then arranged to meet Qin Jianghe in Songyang County three days later for their journey to the capital.
• Liu Yunan put his mother in charge of the sect while he was away and had the parents of Lin Xiao, Qin Jianghe, Tietou, and Jiang Youfu assist her.
• Three days later, Liu Yunan left with Qin Jianghe for the capital.
• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu left Senior Liao's cave abode and walked toward Yuanling City, where they disguised themselves to avoid Liu Chun.
• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu overheard news of the Talisman Master Assembly, and Jiang Youfu asked whether they could attend.
• A stall owner told them the assembly was far away and advised them to book boat tickets, prompting Lin Xiao to ask what tickets he meant.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu learned about the spirit ship to the Talisman Master Assembly, decided to go despite the high fare, and visited the graves Lin Xiao had made in the Icefield Mystic Realm. As they left the graveyard, Lin Xiao sensed a badly wounded man lying nearby.

• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu learned on Seven Stars Street that the spirit ship fare was two hundred Spirit Stones per person and found out how to buy tickets and when it departed.
• Lin Xiao insisted that he and Jiang Youfu would attend the Talisman Master Assembly and support their sect's Elder Liu.
• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu left Yuanling City to visit the graves Lin Xiao had made for remains from the Icefield Mystic Realm.
• Lin Xiao cleared the overgrown graves, offered wine at the stone tablet, and departed with Jiang Youfu as faint vapor rose from the tablet and its inscription vanished.
• Lin Xiao sensed a person among the weeds and found a badly wounded man who was close to death.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu found the badly injured Yuan Qing and brought him into Yuanling City, where Lin Xiao cared for him until he woke. Yuan Qing recognized Lin Xiao as the person who had saved him before, and Lin Xiao asked why he had been hunted down again.

• Lin Xiao recognized the unconscious man as Yuan Qing, the Qi Refining cultivator he had encountered in the Green Field Mystic Realm.
• Liao Pantu warned that Yuan Qing's enemies might be in Yuanling City, so Lin Xiao used the Heaven and Earth Transposition Formation Disk to bring him inside.
• Yuan Qing woke in an ordinary room, wondered why someone had saved him, and suspected his rescuer wanted a reward from the Yuan Household.
• Lin Xiao noticed when Yuan Qing woke, and Yuan Qing thanked him before recognizing him as the person who had saved him in the mystic realm.
• Lin Xiao asked Yuan Qing why he kept getting attacked, and Jiang Youfu asked whether he was still a disciple of the Heavenly Profound Sect.

Lin Xiao learned that Yuan Qing had been framed by a fellow disciple and hunted, but the pursuers had no influence in Yuanling City. The next day, Yuan Qing refused to contact his family, and Lin Xiao left him a talisman to reach him while he recovered.

• Yuan Qing told Lin Xiao that his fellow disciple had framed him and sent people after him, though the attackers were far from Yuanling City.
• Lin Xiao assured Yuan Qing he could rest safely and later be taken home, then placed a restriction on the door as he and Jiang Youfu left.
• Liao Pantu warned Jiang Youfu about the dangers of the cultivation world and urged him to stay close to Lin Xiao on their trip to the Talisman Master Assembly.
• The next morning, Lin Xiao asked Yuan Qing whether he wanted a message passed to his family, but Yuan Qing refused because he felt disgraced after being expelled.
• Lin Xiao accepted Yuan Qing's decision and gave him a Location Sound Transmission Talisman in case he needed help.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu bought two boat tickets for the Talisman Master Assembly, then went to the Immortal Fragrance Pavilion, where Liao Pantu discovered that Jiang Youfu had been training his Divine Sense through cooking. The group stayed at the pavilion as Liao Pantu explained that Jiang Youfu had stumbled upon an unusually effective personal training method.

• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu queued at the ticket office and bought two boat tickets for four hundred Spirit Stones, learning that the boat would depart at the hour of Chen three days later.
• Lin Xiao hid the tickets, removed traces of Qi from himself and Jiang Youfu, changed his disguise, and headed toward the Immortal Fragrance Pavilion with him.
• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu bought a spirit pig at the Jiang Household Livestock Firm and had it sent to the pavilion.
• After Lin Xiao set up a restrictive formation, he showed Jiang Youfu a boat ticket, and Liao Pantu urged him to examine it using Divine Sense.
• Liao Pantu learned that Jiang Youfu's Divine Sense had improved through cooking and told him to keep his unusual training method secret.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu visited Seven Stars Street, where Lin Xiao found a notice offering 100,000 Spirit Stones for an Icefield Spirit, but Liao Pantu refused to sell his. The story then shifted to the Heavenly Profound Sect, where Qi Refining disciples prepared to enter one of ten secret realms for their annual training.

• Liao Pantu explained the benefits of training Divine Sense, and Lin Xiao decided to look into it.
• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu left the Immortal Fragrance Pavilion and headed to Seven Stars Street to gather information.
• Lin Xiao browsed the message walls and considered whether they could earn Spirit Stones before boarding their boat.
• Lin Xiao spotted the Yuan Household's offer of 100,000 Spirit Stones for an Icefield Spirit and asked Liao Pantu if he would sell his.
• Liao Pantu refused, saying he would leave the Icefield Spirit to his disciple if Lin Xiao did not want it.
• Qi Refining disciples gathered at the Heavenly Profound Sect as elders prepared to lead them to their chosen secret realms.

The Heavenly Profound Sect learned that the Green Field Mystic Realm had acquired an owner and could no longer be opened, while Li Zhanying returned to the Pusi Kingdom with captives and urged the court to form an alliance against the Huanyou Nation. The Clear River Sect debated whether to join the campaign, and Han Shangyi decided that it must take action.

• A Spirit Transformation elder reported that the Green Field Mystic Realm had no spatial rift and now had an owner, so the Heavenly Profound Sect dispersed its chosen disciples and ordered an investigation.
• Hu Guanyu helped close the Talisman Master Assembly ticket office before Senior Brother Xi took him and other junior brothers to their mystic realm entrances.
• Li Zhanying brought captured Golden Crow Sect cultivators to the imperial city, settled Wang Goudan and Niu Xiaoxue in Yuhua Palace, and asked Li Zhouxuan to contact three sects about an alliance against the Huanyou Nation.
• Li Zhouxuan trusted Lin Xiao's warning about the Execution Stone and sent the court's alliance request to the Clear River Sect, the Cloud and Mist Sect, and the Shangyang Sect.
• Han Shangyi set aside his search for Han Weishu to convene the Clear River Sect elders, then overruled their objections and declared that the sect must take action.

The three major sects agreed to join Pusi Kingdom in an attack on Huanyou Nation, while Liu Yunan and Qin Jianghe arrived at the capital to meet Emperor Li Zhouxuan. In Yuanling City, Lin Xiao agreed to bring Yuan Qing to the Talisman Master Assembly if Yuan Qing swore to keep Lin Xiao’s identity and their Green Field Mystic Realm history secret.

• The Clear River Sect, Cloud and Mist Sect, and Shangyang Sect agreed to join forces against Huanyou Nation after their leaders changed course.
• Li Zhouxuan learned that all three sects had agreed, while Huanyou Nation remained unaware of the planned attack and secret letters to two neighboring nations.
• Liu Yunan and Qin Jianghe arrived in the capital, presented the emperor’s scroll, and met with Li Zhouxuan and court officials.
• Yuan Qing asked Lin Xiao and his companion to let him accompany them to the Talisman Master Assembly so he could avoid the fellow disciple who had framed him and clear his name.
• Lin Xiao agreed to take Yuan Qing along on condition that he swear not to reveal Lin Xiao’s identity or their Green Field Mystic Realm history.

Lin Xiao required Yuan Qing to swear a Heavenly Mandate Oath before agreeing to travel with him and Jiang Youfu. After Yuan Qing gave them Spirit Stones, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu bought a boat ticket, prepared Spirit Cuisine to help him recover, and Lin Xiao learned how Mid-Grade Spirit Stones compared with ordinary ones.

• Lin Xiao asked Yuan Qing to swear a Heavenly Mandate Oath, and Yuan Qing formed a blood bead and swallowed it to seal his vow.
• Yuan Qing offered Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu his Spirit Stones to cover the journey and thank them for saving him; Lin Xiao accepted them.
• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu bought Yuan Qing a boat ticket and agreed to get him Spirit Cuisine to help with his weakness.
• Lin Xiao set up an Isolation Formation while Jiang Youfu cooked a pot of Spirit Cuisine outside the city, and Liao Pantu came out of the Soul-Nourishing Pendant.
• Lin Xiao appraised Yuan Qing's Spirit Stones and learned from Liao Pantu that fifty were Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, generally worth around a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones each.

Lin Xiao, Jiang Youfu, and Yuan Qing boarded a spirit ship leaving Yuanling City and settled in for the several-day journey. Lin Xiao rejected passengers who knocked seeking to sell goods or make acquaintances, choosing to keep his group isolated as the ship headed toward its destination.

• Liao Pantu advised Lin Xiao that cultivating with Spirit Stones wasted some Spiritual Qi and warned him not to exchange mid-grade stones for ordinary ones at shops.
• Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu brought Yuan Qing Spirit Cuisine, and he recovered enough overnight to move freely, though he still could not use his spiritual power.
• Lin Xiao, Jiang Youfu, and Yuan Qing reached the boarding point before dawn and boarded the spirit ship before it reached capacity.
• The ship departed early, leaving many angry passengers behind, and Lin Xiao's group chose adjacent cabins for the journey.
• Lin Xiao lent Yuan Qing an isolation and defensive formation, then refused people who knocked to hawk goods or seek companionship.

Lin Xiao, Jiang Youfu, and Liao Pantu spent three comfortable days aboard the spirit ship while Yuan Qing recovered next door. The ship stopped at Gold Mountain City, where Liao Pantu revealed he had grown up and cultivated there before the story left his past unexplained.

• Jiang Youfu cooked a variety of Spirit Cuisine each day, and Liao Pantu eagerly ate while Lin Xiao watched the route.
• Yuan Qing stayed in his cabin, swallowed a Lesser Rejuvenation Pill each day, and focused on recovering from his injuries.
• Jiang Youfu asked whether Elder Liu had left for the Talisman Master Assembly, and Lin Xiao said the goods at the Many Treasures Pavilion suggested Liu Chun had already set off.
• Liao Pantu told Jiang Youfu about the Spirit Chef Grand Feast and explained that it was smaller than the Talisman Master Assembly and held outside the South and North Spirit Domains.
• The spirit ship stopped at Gold Mountain City, where Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu teased Liao Pantu about the cultivators' resemblance to him.
• Liao Pantu admitted he had grown up and cultivated in Gold Mountain City, then expressed scorn toward the city as many cultivators boarded.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu realized that more people were boarding the spirit ship in Gold Mountain City than had been allowed aboard earlier. Meanwhile, Mo Yuanjiao took his mother, grandmother, and trusted attendants from the capital toward Xiushui Village, leaving the story as their spirit boat prepared to depart.

• Lin Xiao told Jiang Youfu that the spirit ship was allowing more people to board in Gold Mountain City than in Yuanling City.
• Qin Jianghe and Mo Yuanjiao spent their days exploring the capital while Liu Yunan handled the Lingxian Sect’s remaining affairs.
• Mo Yuanjiao arranged to take Madam Mo and Old Madam Mo to Xiushui Village, and the Mo Household gathered outside the capital with trusted guards and servants.
• Mo Yuanjiao expanded the spirit boat and helped his family and attendants aboard, while Mo Que remained in the capital to assist Qin Jianghe.
• After saying goodbye to General Mo and his brothers, Mo Yuanjiao loaded Spirit Stones into the boat so it could carry the group on their journey.

Mo Yuanjiao traveled with the Mo Household toward Hufang Province and told Baojian that his cousin Tong Jialiang had been rescued from forced mining but was still recovering. Baojian was reassured that his cousin’s work could wait, while the chapter recalled how Mo Yuanjiao had once taken the starving boy in.

• Mo Yuanjiao piloted the spirit boat toward Hufang Province, and Madam Mo rested after feeling dizzy while Old Madam Mo and the others admired the view.
• Mo Yuanjiao took Baojian aside and asked whether he had found trustworthy people, then explained that Baojian’s cousin Tong Jialiang had been abducted and forced to mine deadly ore.
• Mo Yuanjiao told Baojian that Tong Jialiang had been rescued and was gradually recovering with help from a Qi Refining First Layer girl and her pills.
• Baojian worried that his cousin’s condition might keep him from working for Mo Yuanjiao, but Mo Yuanjiao told him to wait until Tong Jialiang recovered and spend time talking with him.
• Baojian remembered how Mo Yuanjiao had bought him when he was starving, brought him into the Mo residence, and provided him with food, clothes, and lessons.