Chapter Summaries

Lin Xiao demonstrated his new Irrigation Technique and Insect-Killing Formation to his family, making farming easier for them. After Lin Dayou left to share the news with their relatives, Lin Xiao and Lin Yun finished planting seeds and prepared to plant saplings.

• Lin Xiao showed Lin Dayou, Lin Yun, and Liu Yunan how his Irrigation Technique could water the fields, and they asked to learn it.
• Lin Dayou sent Lin Yun to tell Lin Lei about the technique, but Lin Yun stayed to finish planting the seeds first.
• Lin Xiao activated an Insect-Killing Formation in the field, killing nearby insects and impressing his family.
• Lin Xiao warned that the formation should not be used during pollination, and Lin Dayou hurried off to tell the grandparents and Lin Dashan the good news.
• Lin Xiao and Lin Yun finished planting seeds, then began digging holes for saplings while Lin Xiao synthesized spiritual soil.

Lin Xiao taught Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que to engrave the Slight Cooling Formation, then began studying the complex Two Aspects Life and Death Formation. He realized memorizing and engraving it would be extremely difficult and considered trying out his Divine Sense.

• Lin Xiao let Mo Yuanjiao engrave the Slight Cooling Formation, and Mo Yuanjiao completed it without breaking the spiritual power line on his first attempt.
• Lin Xiao praised Mo Yuanjiao's achievement and invited Mo Que to try engraving the formation.
• Mo Que completed a broken version of the Slight Cooling Formation, and Lin Xiao encouraged him before telling both men to recover their spiritual power.
• Lin Xiao studied the Two Aspects Life and Death Formation and found its dozens of intricate layers far more complex than the basic formations.
• Lin Xiao concluded that memorizing and engraving the formation would strain his Divine Sense, which he realized he had never tried extending or using to inspect his body.

Lin Xiao experimented with his newly usable Divine Sense, first exploring his own body and then learning to extend it around the Array Hall. As evening fell, he studied an array manual while Xiaoluan fed pieces of a bead to its three disciples.

• Lin Xiao used his Divine Sense to inspect his Sea of Consciousness, organs, and Dantian, finding himself healthy and his spiritual power abundant.
• Lin Xiao spread his Divine Sense recklessly to a three-hundred-meter radius, making himself dizzy and alerting Liao Pantu, who recognized the novice probe and blocked it with a formation.
• Lin Xiao recovered, practiced extending his Divine Sense under control, and comfortably reached about two hundred meters while sensing Mo Yuanjiao, Mo Que, the grounds, and ants.
• Lin Xiao discovered that Liao Pantu's room blocked his Divine Sense, then withdrew it at sunset and read the Complete Collection of Basic Array Engraving while Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que meditated.
• Lin Yun descended the mountain with the others as Xiaoluan broke another piece off its bead, divided a fragment into three pieces, and fed them to its disciples.

Xiaoluan made three wild pheasants swallow hard fragments, and they promptly collapsed while Xiaoluan went to sleep. Lin Xiao trained others in formation engraving as the villagers waited for rain that never came, and his Array Hall study group expanded before the more difficult Insect-Killing Formation stumped most of them.

• Xiaoluan forced three wild pheasants to swallow small hard fragments, and they fell asleep soon afterward.
• Mo Yuanjiao successfully engraved a Slight Cooling Formation, and Lin Xiao confirmed it worked normally before leaving him the Complete Collection of Basic Array Engraving.
• Lin Dayou and his sons headed to North Mountain as dark clouds promised rain, but no rain had fallen by noon.
• Yang Jinshu gave Lin Xiao copied Law Technique booklets, and Lin Xiao asked her to copy books on pill recipes, talismans, and artifact refining.
• Lin Xiao invited Liu Yunan and Jiang Youfu to learn formation engraving, and the two joined Mo Yuanjiao and Mo Que in the Array Hall.
• Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan struggled with the Insect-Killing Formation, while Mo Yuanjiao lacked enough cultivation to engrave it.

Xiaoluan woke to find her body enlarged and two of her three pheasant disciples dead, while her surviving disciple had reached Spirit Awakening First Layer. Lin Xiao discovered Xiaoluan had advanced to Spirit Awakening Fifth Layer and suspected the demon core he gave her had caused the changes, but he did not yet know what had happened.

• Xiaoluan woke from a long sleep, noticed her enlarged body, and discovered two of her three pheasant disciples were dead while the third was alive.
• Xiaoluan buried the two dead disciples, named the survivor Big Peach, and gathered dead bugs to feed it when it woke.
• Lin Xiao ended the formation practice as dark clouds gathered and warned everyone to close their doors and windows before the rain.
• Lin Xiao noticed Xiaoluan had reached Spirit Awakening Fifth Layer and that Big Peach had reached Spirit Awakening First Layer.
• Lin Xiao remembered giving Xiaoluan a demon core and wondered whether it explained the sudden changes.

Lin Xiao discovered that Xiaoluan had reached Spirit Awakening Fifth Layer and taken Big Peach as a disciple, but learned that the other two pheasants had died after eating the Demon Core. He warned Xiaoluan to ration the pearl, promised to build a better shelter for Xiaoluan and Big Peach, and left with Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan as the first heavy rain of Grain Full approached.

• Lin Xiao found Xiaoluan about to kick Big Peach awake and learned that Xiaoluan had named the pheasant disciple Big Peach.
• Jiang Youfu revealed that Xiaoluan had reached Spirit Awakening Fifth Layer, and Lin Xiao noticed that Big Peach had reached Spirit Awakening First Layer.
• Xiaoluan told Lin Xiao that the other two disciples had died after eating some of the pearl, so Lin Xiao warned Xiaoluan to use it sparingly and not give any more to Big Peach.
• Lin Xiao promised Xiaoluan a suitable place to live, then told Xiaoluan and Big Peach to seek help from Senior Liao or Mo Yuanjiao if the rain made their shelter unsafe.
• Lin Xiao, Jiang Youfu, and Liu Yunan returned home as thunder heralded the coming Grain Full rain, and the villagers prepared to collect water and shelter indoors.

As relentless rain fell over Xiushui Village, Liao Pantu taught the Lingxian Sect disciples and answered their cultivation questions. Liu Yunan and Mo Yuanjiao broke through by evening, while villagers in low-lying homes began preparing for flooding.

• Heavy rain began falling across Xiushui Village, delighting young villagers but worrying the elders about flooding.
• Liao Pantu joined the Lingxian Sect disciples and offered to answer their cultivation questions.
• Liao Pantu patiently explained the Peach Blossom Spring Myriad Void Instruction, and Lin Xiao and Mo Yuanjiao listened closely.
• The disciples continued cultivating through the afternoon as the rain showed no sign of stopping.
• Liu Yunan advanced to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, and Mo Yuanjiao advanced to the Qi Refining Second Layer.
• Villagers in low-lying homes swept water from their courtyards and dug drainage ditches.

After heavy rain threatened the village’s crops, Lin Xiao created techniques to absorb water and control objects, then used the Water Absorption Technique to protect flooded fields. Just as the villagers felt relieved, they learned that every household in the county faced an unexpected corvée levy to repair the Ancient Moon River embankments.

• Lin Xiao and the villagers braved the rain to prop up battered crops in his family’s fields and the old family home’s fields.
• Lin Xiao created the Cloud Control Technique, the Water Absorption Technique, and the Object Control Technique overnight.
• When the rain eased, Lin Xiao absorbed floodwater from his family’s fields and several badly flooded plots around the village.
• The villagers found their fields clear of excess water and felt relieved.
• Village chief Du Liushui received notice that households across Anqun County had to provide corvée labor for the Ancient Moon River embankments or pay a commutation fee, and Xiushui Village erupted in protest.

Lin Xiao paid five taels to spare his family from dangerous corvée labor, settling a dispute over which brother should go. As families across the county dealt with the assignment, a small, dirty boy appeared at Xiushui Village before daybreak.

• Villagers across the area worried over the costly and dangerous corvée assignment, and Lin Dashan returned to the old Lin family home to discuss it with Lin Dayou.
• Lin Dashan and Lin Dayou argued over which of them should serve, while Old Master Lin and Old Madam Lin considered paying to avoid sending either brother.
• Lin Xiao produced five taels of silver, and the Lin family agreed to pay the assignment fee; Lin Dayou refused repayment, and Lin Xiao said he was glad to help his family.
• Liu Yunan paid a hundred copper coins, while the Hu family submitted thirteen-year-old Tietou for service despite his mother's protests.
• Before daybreak the next morning, a small, grime-covered boy in tidy faded clothes appeared at the entrance to Xiushui Village.

Gu Yuxiao arrived in Xiushui Village carrying Qin Jianghe’s money, account books, and letter for Lin Xiao, and asked to join his sect as Jianghe’s disciple. Lin Xiao accepted her and sent her back with a Sound-Retaining Talisman for Jianghe, while Gu Yuxiao realized he had seen through her disguise.

• Gu Yuxiao disguised herself as a boy, found the Lin house, and told Lin Xiao she had come to deliver a message from Boss Qin.
• Gu Yuxiao gave Lin Xiao a Storage Bag containing thirty taels of silver, account books, and Qin Jianghe’s letter explaining his business and warning about the coming corvée labor.
• Lin Xiao read the letter, made a Sound-Retaining Talisman, and placed it in the Storage Bag for Qin Jianghe.
• Lin Xiao told Gu Yuxiao that she could join the sect and that Jianghe could choose suitable disciples himself in the future.
• Gu Yuxiao rushed away to report back to Jianghe, then realized Lin Xiao had known she was a girl.

Lin Xiao learned more about Gu Yuxiao and Qin Jianghe’s promise to look after her, then addressed Tietou’s family being forced into corvée labor. Worried the Ancient Moon River’s dike might burst, he began studying artifact refining so he could make a spirit boat.

• Lin Xiao read Qin Jianghe’s letter and learned that Gu Yuxiao was Escort Chief Gu’s orphaned daughter, whom her father had hoped Qin Jianghe would marry and support.
• Lin Xiao learned that Tietou’s family had arranged for him to perform corvée labor, so he gave Tietou money to settle the demand and help Qin Jianghe’s parents.
• Tietou refused the money at first, then wept as he told Lin Xiao how badly his family was treating him and his mother.
• Lin Xiao told Tietou to give the money to the village chief and bring his mother to stay on the mountain.
• Lin Xiao went to the artifact refining hall, studied the basic techniques, and decided to make a spirit boat that could travel on water and fly.

Lin Xiao forged his first spirit boat from Mystic Iron, carved inscriptions that let it change size and fly, and tested it successfully. Mo Yuanjiao arrived eager to learn artifact refining, and Lin Xiao gave him a basic manual to study.

• Lin Xiao refined ten jin of Mystic Iron with five Spirit Stones and hammered it into a plain spirit boat.
• Lin Xiao carved a size-changing inscription and reflected on how Spirit Inscriptions gave Law Artifacts their functions.
• Mo Yuanjiao asked to learn artifact refining, and Lin Xiao gave him the Complete Compendium of Basic Artifact Refining Techniques.
• Lin Xiao branded the palm-sized boat with his Divine Sense Mark and expanded it into a five-meter vessel.
• Lin Xiao used his Divine Sense to take off and steer the spirit boat smoothly.

Lin Xiao revealed the Lingxian Sect’s humble reality to Mo Yuanjiao, who chose to stay and help build it. As they discussed standards for recruiting future disciples, Lin Xiao received a system task to construct a heart-questioning path.

• Lin Xiao explained to Mo Yuanjiao that the Lingxian Sect was small, that Senior Liao was weakened, and that Lin Xiao’s father was genuinely only at Qi Refining First Layer.
• Mo Yuanjiao said he was not disappointed and chose to stay, believing his experiences and rapid cultivation were a bond of fate with the sect.
• Lin Xiao and Mo Yuanjiao pledged to build and protect the Lingxian Sect together, while Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan emerged and welcomed Mo Yuanjiao.
• Lin Xiao asked what standards the sect should use when accepting disciples as it grew.
• The system assigned Lin Xiao a task to build a heart-questioning path that all future recruits must pass.

After hearing how deadly corvée labor could be, Lin Xiao decided to use his cultivation to help protect the workers repairing the Ancient Moon River dam. He made fifty Large Reinforcement Formations and reached the dam as laborers worked through the dusk.

• Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan described the dangers of dam work and past corvée labor deaths, leaving Mo Yuanjiao and Lin Xiao silent.
• Lin Xiao realized he should do more than prepare for a possible dam failure and decided to help the laborers.
• Lin Xiao studied the Large Reinforcement Formation and engraved fifty formations using the Kunpeng Formation Plate.
• After recovering his spiritual power, Lin Xiao followed the laborers to the Ancient Moon River dam.
• Lin Xiao saw countless workers repairing the enormous dam amid the river mist and dusk.

Lin Xiao secretly placed Reinforcement Formations along Guchuan Dam while Prefect Tong oversaw its repairs. When a worker’s rope caught fire and he fell, Lin Xiao caught him before he hit the water.

• Lin Xiao realized Guchuan Dam was close to collapse and learned the workers repaired it in shifts.
• Prefect Tong continued managing the repairs and sought help from the Shangyang Sect despite slow replies.
• Lin Xiao used Concealment Technique to reach the dam’s far side and placed Reinforcement Formations every hundred meters.
• Wei Dagui noticed the dam seemed more stable as he worked, but his companion’s torch accidentally set his hemp rope alight.
• Wei Dagui’s rope broke, and Lin Xiao caught him as he fell.

Sun Yigao saved Wei Dagui from falling into the river while Lin Xiao placed Reinforcement Formations along Guchuan Dam. Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao agreed that they wanted to help people, and Wei Dagui returned to work after keeping his rescue secret.

• Sun Yigao caught Wei Dagui as he fell from Guchuan Dam, carried him safely to the bank, and returned to watch over the repairs.
• Lin Xiao placed fifty Reinforcement Formations along the dam and sensed Sun Yigao nearby.
• Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao met and discussed Sun Yigao's exam, their reasons for helping the workers, and their shared path.
• Wei Dagui told the supervising constable that he had survived the fall by swimming to shore, without mentioning Sun Yigao.
• The constable believed Wei Dagui had fallen, told him to rest, and ordered him to return to work the next day.

Tong Shuzheng learned that laborers injured during the dam repairs had all returned unharmed, prompting speculation that a reclusive immortal was protecting them. He decided to watch for more evidence and, if the story proved true, leave a quiet gift of thanks.

• Xue Chengfeng told Tong Shuzheng that no laborers were missing after the day's dam repairs.
• Tong Shuzheng rewarded the constables with fifty extra copper coins each for their work.
• Xue Chengfeng reported that workers who fell into the river or off the dam had returned unharmed, and witnesses believed an immortal had saved them.
• Xue Chengfeng connected the rescues to Immortal Jin's earlier remarks and suggested another immortal was secretly in the prefecture.
• Tong Shuzheng agreed to observe events for two more days and planned to leave a discreet gift if the immortal's presence was confirmed.

Lin Xiao guarded the repairs at Guchuan Dam with Sun Yigao while arranging for Liu Yunan to manage the Lingxian Sect’s affairs. Sun Yigao placed first in the prefectural examination and told Lin Xiao he planned to open a low-cost private school in their village.

• Lin Xiao returned to Xiushui Village, appointed Tuzi as his assistant, and then went with Sun Yigao to watch over the dam repairs.
• The Xiushui Village laborers gathered to travel to Guchuan Dam, where Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao secretly treated life-threatening injuries and no laborers died during the first five days.
• Tong Shuzheng returned to Guchuan Dam after announcing the prefectural examination results, and Sun Yigao had placed first again.
• Sun Yigao told Lin Xiao that cultivation had improved his memory and understanding, then explained that he planned to use his examination privileges to open an affordable private school in the village.

Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao planned a private school near the sect, where village children could study and read low-level cultivation manuals. Meanwhile, Mo Yuanjiao advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining and sent a letter home, while Chen Feng searched for him after waiting in the wrong county.

• Sun Yigao proposed teaching at a school in his home village, and Lin Xiao offered to build one near the sect.
• Lin Xiao suggested using low-level cultivation manuals as school texts, and the system confirmed outsiders could study them but could not cultivate from them.
• Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao agreed to include the private school in the sect's plans.
• Mo Yuanjiao reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining, wrote a detailed letter home, and had Mo Que send it.
• Chen Feng, assigned by the Shangyang Sect to receive Mo Yuanjiao, waited in Anqun County before realizing he had likely passed through and setting out to search the route.

Lin Xiao created Location Sound Transmission Talismans and spiritual farming tools while guarding Guchuan Dam, then rescued Xue Chengfeng as the repairs neared completion. Xue identified himself as Tong Shuzheng’s adviser and offered Lin Xiao a gift on the prefect’s behalf.

• Lin Xiao combined Sound Transmission Talismans with Teleportation Talismans to create Location Sound Transmission Talismans, then gave ten to Sun Yigao before he left for his examinations.
• Lin Xiao synthesized improved spiritual farming tools, including curved-shaft plows, and imagined his father’s reaction to them.
• After a month of repairs, Guchuan Dam was nearly complete, and Lin Xiao planned to return to Xiushui Village after another day or two on guard.
• Lin Xiao saw a robed man fall from the dam and used the Air-Stepping Technique to rescue him.
• The man introduced himself as Xue Chengfeng, adviser to Tong Shuzheng, and presented a gift from the prefect to thank Lin Xiao for protecting the laborers.