Chapter Summaries

Lin Xiao and his companions returned to find Tuantuan gravely injured, and Sun Yigao’s Rejuvenation Pill helped her wake before she fell asleep again. As Tuantuan rested, Lin Xiao considered what materials and tools the sect’s planned talisman-making room, artifact refining hall, and array hall might require.

• The three youths explored Anqun County, briefly earned a few hundred copper coins selling tooth-cleaning services, and returned to the courtyard near evening.
• They found Tuantuan badly wounded, with part of her tail severed, and Sun Yigao explained that he had discovered her at the door and given her a Rejuvenation Pill.
• Lin Xiao, Jiang Youfu, and Liu Yunan discussed how cultivation revealed dangers that ordinary people might mistake for natural misfortune, while Sun Yigao reflected on how those with greater knowledge often remained powerless themselves.
• Tuantuan woke briefly after receiving the pill, recognized the youths and the courtyard, then fell asleep again as Sun Yigao returned to his studies.
• Lin Xiao pondered what supplies the sect’s three planned construction projects would need, and Liu Yunan returned with dinner from the Fang Household as he and Jiang Youfu moved Tuantuan onto the kang.

After Sun Yigao entered the examination grounds, Tuantuan told Lin Xiao that a cultivator near Liaoju Prefecture had abducted children, prompting Lin Xiao to investigate. Lin Xiao reached the forest south of the prefectural city and encountered a man without being noticed.

• Sun Yigao entered the examination grounds while Lin Xiao, Liu Yunan, and Jiang Youfu returned to the courtyard house.
• Tuantuan told Lin Xiao that a cultivator in a forest south of Liaoju Prefecture had abducted children and was holding them captive.
• Lin Xiao left Liu Yunan and Jiang Youfu to watch Tuantuan and went alone to investigate the forest.
• Lin Xiao traveled to Liaoju Prefecture, entered the forest under his Concealment Technique, and encountered an ordinary-looking man who did not notice him.

Lin Xiao searched the woods for clues about the missing children and met Guard Mo, who was looking for his young master. After sensing a faint, purified trace of vitality deeper in the forest, Lin Xiao became certain the missing boy was nearby.

• Lin Xiao searched the woods through the day but found no clues, while yamen runners and a Foundation Establishment cultivator searched nearby.
• After nightfall, Lin Xiao approached Guard Mo and asked whether he was looking for a child about his age.
• Lin Xiao immobilized Guard Mo with a Body Immobilization Technique, revealed that he was a cultivator, and persuaded Guard Mo to lead him to where the young master had vanished.
• Guard Mo explained that the young master had run off hunting near the edge of the woods and had not returned.
• Lin Xiao walked farther into the forest and sensed a brief wisp of purified vitality, convincing him the missing child was there.

Lin Xiao discovered a hidden Spirit Stone mine and found Xu Kefan draining the vitality of abducted children to power a formation. Lin Xiao sealed Xu Kefan and began freeing the children, while the richly dressed Mo Yuanjiao watched and asked him to teach him how he had subdued the cultivator.

• Lin Xiao found a hidden entrance in the mountain wall and discovered a vast Spirit Stone mine.
• Lin Xiao entered a chamber where Xu Kefan was using a formation to drain the vitality of forty-nine children for a Spatial Transfer Technique.
• Lin Xiao attacked Xu Kefan while the cultivator was distracted and sealed him with a talisman.
• Lin Xiao checked for accomplices and began freeing the children, prioritizing those closest to death.
• Mo Yuanjiao watched Lin Xiao work and asked him how he had subdued Xu Kefan and whether he could teach him.

Lin Xiao rescued the captives, killed the black-robed kidnapper, and discovered that his comprehension had raised the Original Essence Heart Sutra to SS rank. After binding the Spirit Stone mine to his sect’s vein, he hurried to evacuate everyone before the space connected to the sect.

• Lin Xiao gave the weakened captives pills from Sun Yigao’s Storage Bag and returned to the cavern to deal with the black-robed man.
• Lin Xiao used the Two Aspects Life and Death Formation to kill the black-robed man, then received a system notification that the Original Essence Heart Sutra had advanced to SS rank.
• The system detected an initial-tier Spirit Stone mine and offered to bind it to the sect’s Initial-Tier Spirit Vein; Lin Xiao confirmed the connection.
• Lin Xiao learned the connection would take one shichen and displace anyone still in the mine, so he rushed to evacuate the captives.
• Lin Xiao carried the captives out in repeated trips, then hoisted Mo Yuanjiao over his shoulder and hurried outside as Guard Mo waited anxiously for his young master.

After Lin Xiao rescued the children, Jin Nanhuan falsely claimed credit while Mo Yuanjiao recognized that he was lying and kept Lin Xiao’s identity secret. Lin Xiao then learned that the system had placed a Spirit Stone mine near the sect and resumed idle cultivation.

• Lin Xiao brought Mo Yuanjiao out of the cave, then concealed himself and slipped away as the officials arrived.
• Prefect Tong questioned the rescued children, and Jin Nanhuan claimed that an unnamed fellow disciple had helped him save them.
• Jin Nanhuan accepted the credit and asked Prefect Tong not to name his supposed fellow disciple in a report.
• Mo Yuanjiao inferred that Lin Xiao was not from the Shangyang Sect, but followed Lin Xiao’s warning and pretended not to recognize him.
• The officials took the children to the prefectural yamen, where Mo Yuanjiao concealed what he knew about Lin Xiao.
• Lin Xiao received the system notification that a beginner-grade Spirit Stone mine had been placed near the sect, renewed idle cultivation with ten Spirit Stones, and recovered sixty Spirit Stones from the formation disk.

Lin Xiao returned to the county town and told his companions how he had rescued the captives and killed the man in black robes. After learning that the Spirit Stone mine where Tuantuan had cultivated was gone, Tuantuan accepted Sun Yigao's invitation to join his sect as a disciple.

• Lin Xiao returned to the courtyard at dawn and reassured Sun Yigao, Liu Yunan, and Jiang Youfu before recounting his rescue and the death of the man in black robes.
• Lin Xiao asked Tuantuan how they had reached the Spirit Awakening Seventh Layer, and Tuantuan explained that they had escaped to a Spirit Stone mine and cultivated there for years.
• Lin Xiao told Tuantuan that the mine had been blocked by rock, leaving Tuantuan worried they would no longer be able to cultivate effectively.
• Sun Yigao asked Lin Xiao for permission to take a disciple, and Lin Xiao agreed.
• Sun Yigao invited Tuantuan to join his sect, and Tuantuan accepted after learning that the sect had abundant Spiritual Qi.

Lin Xiao reflected on the sect’s unexpected fortunes while Sun Yigao advanced to the county examination’s second round. Elsewhere, Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo reached Emerald Peak Town seeking a hidden sect, where an old man began to share a secret lead.

• Sun Yigao passed the first round of the county examination, and he and Lin Xiao’s group prepared for the second round.
• Jin Nanhuan searched the children’s cave for a Spirit Stone mine but found only rock and returned to claim his reward.
• Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo left the prefectural yamen and traveled east toward the border in search of a hidden sect.
• At Emerald Peak Town, Mo Yuanjiao asked an elderly man where he could find immortals, and the man pulled him aside to speak privately.

Mo Yuanjiao followed directions to Xiushui Village, convinced that a fortuitous opportunity awaited him at the Lingxian Sect. After smelling peach blossoms on the mountain path, he rushed ahead and struck an invisible barrier, leaving Xiaoluan to decide whether to alert Lin Xiao.

• Du Liushui told Mo Yuanjiao that a sect stood in Xiushui Village and gave him directions to the foot of North Mountain.
• Despite Guard Mo's warnings, Mo Yuanjiao rode to Xiushui Village and asked a villager how to reach the mountain stream.
• Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo climbed the mountain after dark, and Mo Yuanjiao smelled peach blossoms and hurried toward their source.
• Xiaoluan heard a crash on the mountain path and saw Mo Yuanjiao unconscious in Guard Mo's arms after hitting an invisible barrier.
• Xiaoluan wondered whether to tell Lin Xiao about the two men.

Xiaoluan brought Liao Pantu to confront Mo Yuanjiao, who was determined to join the Lingxian Sect despite being rejected for his Fire Spirit Root. When Lin Dayou arrived, Liao Pantu identified him as the sect master's father, and Mo Yuanjiao took this as proof that he had found a great opportunity.

• Xiaoluan went to fetch Liao Pantu after Lin Xiao's warning, while Mo Yuanjiao woke and found an invisible barrier blocking his way.
• Liao Pantu ordered Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo to leave the Lingxian Sect's restricted ground, but Mo Yuanjiao asked to join the sect.
• Liao Pantu refused Mo Yuanjiao because he hated Fire Spirit Roots, and Mo Yuanjiao became more convinced that the sect was the right place for him.
• Song Jusheng imagined that Mo Yuanjiao would join the Shangyang Sect and help him approach a greater sect.
• Lin Dayou came up the mountain to investigate the strangers and learned that Mo Yuanjiao wanted to join the sect.
• Liao Pantu introduced Lin Dayou as the sect master's father, and Mo Yuanjiao took the news as another sign of his good fortune.

Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que became Lin Dayou’s disciples and entered the Lingxian Sect, raising its membership to seventeen and upgrading its defenses. Lin Xiao discovered his father had taken the two disciples while he remained in the county town with Sun Yigao and planned to earn money selling pine-soot ink.

• Mo Yuanjiao mistook Lin Dayou for a powerful senior and persuaded him to accept him as a disciple.
• Mo Yuanjiao passed through the sect barrier, but Guard Mo was stopped, so Lin Dayou accepted Guard Mo as his second disciple.
• The system informed Lin Xiao that the sect had seventeen members and its defenses had upgraded to the Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation.
• Lin Xiao found Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que listed as Lin Dayou’s disciples and recognized them as the boy and guard he had met in Liaoju Prefecture.
• Lin Xiao decided to stay in the county town with Sun Yigao for his exams and planned to sell pine-soot ink to buy supplies.

Lin Xiao and his companions sold ink, bought farming tools and Spirit Plant seeds, then left the county town after Sun Yigao passed the county examination in first place. When they returned to Xiushui Village, Lin Xiao overheard villagers talking about the Lin family and two workers on North Mountain, leaving him confused about what had happened.

• Lin Xiao, Jiang Youfu, and Liu Yunan sold pine-soot ink around the county town and earned more than twenty taels of silver.
• Lin Xiao bought farming tools and spent most of his remaining Spirit Stones on assorted Spirit Plant seeds for the sect.
• Sun Yigao passed the county examination in first place, and Landlord Sun treated the boys to lunch before Sun Yigao left for the prefectural city with his parents.
• Lin Xiao and his companions said goodbye to Sun Yigao's family and Tuantuan, then set out for Xiushui Village.
• At the village entrance, Lin Xiao overheard villagers discussing two workers on North Mountain and wondered if they were talking about his family.

Lin Xiao returned to the Lingxian Sect, saw how its members had made the mountain home more welcoming, and found the hidden Spirit Stone mine. He used Spirit Stones to synthesize a Spirit Hoe and Spirit Pickaxe, then began mining to supply the sect.

• Lin Xiao saw Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo working in Lin Dayou's fields, then continued alone to the sect.
• Lin Xiao noticed the sect's new gardens, hut, and buckets, and felt at home after his ten-day absence.
• Lin Xiao followed the system's directions to a concealed entrance in a valley and entered the Spirit Stone mine.
• Lin Xiao synthesized a Spirit Hoe and a Spirit Pickaxe by combining tools with Spirit Stones.
• Lin Xiao mined a little over five hundred Spirit Stones in half an hour and stopped, satisfied that the amount would cover their expenses.

Lin Xiao left the mine after digging up a few hundred Spirit Stones and met Mo Yuanjiao, who had become a disciple of the sect master’s father and was delighted with his life at the sect. After returning home, Lin Xiao found Lin Dayou struggling to use the Dust Removal Technique on farm tools.

• Lin Xiao realized digging up a few hundred Spirit Stones had consumed nearly a tenth of his spiritual power, then left the mine and headed down the mountain.
• Lin Xiao met Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo, and learned that Mo Yuanjiao and Old Que had been given rooms at Returning to the Garden Mountain Dwelling.
• Mo Yuanjiao asked whether the villagers were hidden experts, and Lin Xiao assured him they were ordinary people before leaving.
• Guard Mo asked Mo Yuanjiao whether he liked life at the sect, and Mo Yuanjiao said he loved working the fields and had reached Qi Refining First Layer on his second day as a disciple.
• Lin Xiao returned home and found Lin Dayou repeatedly failing to use the Dust Removal Technique on farm tools.

Lin Xiao created a low-tier Irrigation Technique to help the Lin family water their fields and returned to the sect to begin its construction missions. The chapter left him enlisting Tietou to carry soil behind the main hall.

• Lin Xiao taught Lin Dayou how to use the Dust Removal Technique, and the Lin family reunited for dinner after his journey.
• Lin Xiao told Lin Dayou and Lin Yun that he had brought back a Spirit Stone mine for the sect.
• Lin Xiao synthesized ordinary farm tools into grade-less Spirit Artifacts and created a first-tier Irrigation Technique that could water about five mu at the Qi Refining First Layer.
• Lin Xiao cultivated with the Peach Blossom Spirit Gathering Formation until midnight and greeted Lin Dayou the next morning.
• Tietou asked Lin Xiao about Sun Yigao's exam results, and Lin Xiao said Sun Yigao had placed first in the county and was headed to the prefectural city.
• Lin Xiao asked Tietou to carry soil from the mound behind the sect's main hall.

Lin Xiao synthesized a talisman-making room and received rewards that could support the sect’s talisman production. He then visited Liao Pantu to ask about the tools needed for artifact refining and formations.

• Lin Xiao used the Item Synthesizer to make talisman brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, then combined them with soil and timber to synthesize a talisman-making room.
• Lin Xiao placed the new room behind the sect’s main hall and told Tietou it would be used for making talismans.
• Lin Xiao checked the task rewards and learned that Lacquer Night Tree saplings could provide resin for talisman ink once mature.
• Lin Xiao visited Liao Pantu and asked how artifact refining and formation-making worked and what tools they required.
• Liao Pantu explained that artifact refining used a spirit hammer and artifact cauldron, while formation work commonly used carving knives and formation plates.

Lin Xiao bought the tools needed to establish the Artifact Refining Hall and Formation Hall, then gave the Silver Frost Python Demon’s core to Xiaoluan. Xiaoluan discovered the core was delicious and saved it in the nest to eat later.

• Lin Xiao browsed the store and bought the Star and Moon Hammer, a Purple Gold Cauldron, an engraving knife, and a formation plate, spending all the Spirit Stones in his private treasury.
• Liao Pantu gave Lin Xiao the demon core he had taken from the Silver Frost Python Demon and explained its uses.
• Lin Xiao offered the core to Liao Pantu, who declined because he already had many demon cores.
• Lin Xiao gave the core to Xiaoluan on his way out, telling it to eat while it was hot.
• Xiaoluan cracked the core, tasted a piece, and carried the rest to its nest to save for later.

Lin Xiao completed the Artifact Refining Hall and Array Hall, then discovered a useful Insect-Killing Formation in his new array manual. He chose to cultivate with the sect members instead of trying the formation, and began practicing his upgraded Original Essence Heart Sutra in the sect’s spiritually enriched cultivation room.

• Lin Xiao synthesized the Artifact Refining Hall and Array Hall, placed them beside the Talisman-Making Room, and received rewards for completing both construction missions.
• The system assigned Lin Xiao a mission to train at least one first-grade specialist in each of the sect’s four basic skills, but he postponed it.
• Lin Xiao checked his rewards and found manuals, Mystic Iron, Array Stones, and Spirit Stones.
• Lin Xiao discovered the Insect-Killing Formation in the array manual and realized it could help protect crops from pests.
• Lin Xiao decided to cultivate with everyone rather than try making the formation, and began practicing his upgraded Original Essence Heart Sutra.

Lin Xiao brought seeds and saplings to Lin Dayou and Lin Yun, then revealed to Mo Yuanjiao that he was the sect master. He took Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo to the Formation Hall, where he began engraving a formation plate.

• Lin Xiao gave Lin Dayou seeds for the spirit fields and gave Lin Yun fruit tree saplings to plant.
• Mo Yuanjiao learned that Lin Xiao was Lin Dayou's son and the sect master, then hailed him as his sect master senior brother.
• Lin Xiao invited Mo Yuanjiao to the Formation Hall, and Lin Dayou told him to go.
• Lin Xiao led Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo to the Formation Hall, where Mo Yuanjiao marveled at the sect's buildings.
• Lin Xiao infused the Kunpeng Formation Plate and the Great Abyss Engraving Knife with spiritual power and began carving.

Lin Xiao practiced engraving the Insect-Killing Formation, made copies, and brought them to test with his father. He also shared his Irrigation Technique with the field workers and demonstrated it, leaving Lin Dayou and Lin Yun puzzled by the localized rain.

• Lin Xiao engraved the Insect-Killing Formation, improved his technique, and copied nine diagrams onto formation paper.
• Lin Xiao lent the Complete Collection of Basic Array Engraving to Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo and promised to let them practice.
• Lin Xiao went to the terraced fields and gave Yang Jinshu the Irrigation Technique to copy.
• Lin Xiao used the Irrigation Technique to make rain fall over Lin Dayou and Lin Yun as they worked in the field.
• Lin Yun recognized Lin Xiao as the cause of the rain and called out to him, while Lin Dayou instinctively wanted to take off his shoe.