Recaps

Yin Yunze’s grain trading brought prosperity to Clear Creek Village, while Song Zhao rebuilt his standing by helping villagers sell grain and buy supplies. Sun Qin brought Song Ran and two armed outsiders to the Fox Immortal Temple to request an enormous amount of rice, and one outsider challenged Yin Yunze to prove his divine power.

• Yin Yunze reflected on the success of his grain trade, his growing gold reserves, and the villagers’ repairs to his Fox Immortal Temple.
• Sun Qin arrived at the temple with village chief Song Ran and two unfamiliar, armed men, prompting Yin Yunze to suspect trouble.
• Yin Yunze learned that Song Zhao had opened a rice store, helped stabilize prices, and regained the villagers’ trust while Song Ran served as chief.
• Sun Qin explained that Song Ran wanted to request an unusually large supply of grain.
• One of the outsiders announced that the request was for five hundred thousand jin of rice and taunted Yin Yunze, asking whether he could swallow it.

Yin Yunze suspected Peng Shulan and Yu Liu had brought a thousand taels of gold to trick him into producing grain and expose him to the authorities. Fearing the risks of a huge deal with government-connected men, he refused to trade and sent them away.

• Peng Shulan introduced himself and his disciple Yu Liu, presented a chest of gold, and demanded five hundred thousand jin of rice from Yin Yunze.
• Yin Yunze noticed Dynastic Karmic Luck around Peng Shulan and Yu Liu and used his radar map to spot a dozen people waiting outside the Fox Immortal Temple.
• Yin Yunze suspected the men planned to seize the grain and intimidate him, then use their government connections to force him into cooperation.
• Yin Yunze weighed the gold against the danger of revealing his abilities to the authorities and decided not to make the deal.
• Yin Yunze told Peng Shulan that only believers could receive his grain and ordered the men to leave.

Yin Yunze rejected the county magistrate’s grain request after Yu Liu threatened him, then used a display of Fox Fire to force the envoys to respect him. He revealed that he had already been allowing grain to reach nonbelievers, but ended by warning that the people would suffer now that the gifts had been treated as a transaction.

• Yu Liu threatened Yin Yunze when he refused to provide grain, while Song Ran and Sun Qin tried to calm him and Peng Shulan asked Yin Yunze to make an exception.
• Yin Yunze refused and claimed that breaking his rule would bring punishment, but Yu Liu drew his saber and threatened to tear down the temple.
• Yin Yunze manifested as a gigantic nine-tailed white fox and trapped Peng Shulan and Yu Liu inside a dome of green Fox Fire.
• Peng Shulan invoked the county magistrate’s effort to protect the county’s livelihood, and Yin Yunze stopped the flames after the men had been frightened into submission.
• Yin Yunze told Peng Shulan that Song Zhao had been able to supply grain to nonbelievers because he had turned a blind eye, then warned that the people would suffer after the gifts were called a transaction.

Yin Yunze gave Peng Shulan ten thousand jin of grain for the people and sent him away, wary of becoming entangled with the county magistrate. Sun Qin then summoned two hundred bags of rice for the gathered people, who celebrated the miracle but questioned why it was far less than the promised amount.

• Yin Yunze offered Peng Shulan ten thousand jin of grain for the people, free of charge, and ordered him not to return to the temple.
• Peng Shulan became a believer in Yin Yunze and thanked him, while Yin Yunze told Sun Qin to escort the visitors out.
• Peng Shulan and Yu Liu left the temple, and Peng Shulan blamed Yu Liu for botching their assignment as the crowd questioned them.
• Sun Qin prayed to Yin Yunze, and two hundred bags of rice appeared before the gathered people.
• The crowd celebrated the rice but wondered why there were only two hundred bags, while Peng Shulan realized the county officials had misunderstood the situation.

Yin Yunze gave ten thousand jin of grain to Peng Shulan’s officials and tried to recover his losses by changing the villagers’ grain offer. Sun Qin returned to the Fox Immortal Temple with several men as angry villagers confronted her, leaving Yin Yunze watching their dispute.

• Sun Qin refused Peng Shulan’s silver, gave him two taels of gold, and told him not to return; Peng Shulan ordered his men to haul away the grain and chest of gold.
• Yin Yunze lamented the cost of giving away ten thousand jin of rice and ordered Sun Qin to announce that the next day’s offer would be one tael of gold for two hundred jin, once per person.
• Sun Qin told the villagers about the offer, and Yin Yunze waited for her report while anticipating their anger.
• Older women gathered at the Fox Immortal Temple to complain about Sun Qin and revealed that her late husband had been a successful examination candidate before being demoted and falling ill.
• Sun Qin returned with several men and challenged the women blocking the temple entrance, who accused her of raising prices and threatened to expose her to the fox immortal.

After villagers confronted Sun Qin over the grain quota, Yin Yunze appeared as the Fox Immortal and punished them by reducing the next grain blessing and ending the daily water supply. The chapter ended with the youngest person Sun Qin had brought speaking up to plead for water.

• Yin Yunze watched the older village women curse Sun Qin over the grain price and quota.
• Yin Yunze revealed his nine-tailed white fox form to the women and rebuked them for defying his order.
• Yin Yunze told Sun Qin to announce that the next grain blessing would be reduced to one hundred jin.
• Yin Yunze further ordered Sun Qin to announce that the daily half hour of water would end starting the next day.
• The youngest person Sun Qin had brought asked Yin Yunze how the villagers could live without water.

Yin Yunze let Sun Qin handle Zhao Cheng’s insubordination, and Sun Qin disciplined him before securing her promised grain credit. After sending her relatives to explain the grain and water restrictions to the villagers, Yin Yunze asked Sun Qin to bring Zhao Wan so they could continue the Rainfall Technique.

• Zhao Cheng spoke out of turn, so Sun Qin apologized to Yin Yunze and he warned her to keep her subordinates in line.
• Sun Qin slapped Zhao Cheng and ordered him to leave, while her other relatives berated him until he slunk away.
• Sun Qin asked whether she could still take five thousand jin of grain on credit, and Yin Yunze confirmed the promise with a limit on replenishing it.
• Sun Qin ordered the men surnamed Zhao to explain the restrictions and identify those who had caused trouble at the Fox Immortal Temple.
• Yin Yunze asked Sun Qin to bring Zhao Wan to continue helping him perform the Rainfall Technique.

Sun Qin and Yin Yunze pressured Clear Creek Village’s residents to pay for water after Yin Yunze stopped supplying it, and the villagers had to decide whether to part with their gold. Yin Yunze left them facing his ultimatum: pay two taels of gold per household for him to ask the Dragon Lord for rain, or find their own way to survive.

• More than a hundred villagers gathered at the Fox Immortal Temple to beg for water after their fields began drying out.
• Sun Qin scolded Song Ran, who defended himself by blaming the county yamen and urged the villagers to focus on pleading for water.
• Sun Qin told the villagers that Yin Yunze could no longer borrow water from the Dragon Lord because the Dragon Lord had learned of it.
• The villagers proposed buying water, and Sun Qin asked Yin Yunze whether it was possible.
• Appearing as a nine-tailed white fox on the temple roof, Yin Yunze offered to ask the Dragon Lord for rain if every household paid two taels of gold.
• Yin Yunze warned the villagers not to come begging later if they refused his offer.

Yin Yunze persuaded Clear Creek Village to promise gold in exchange for rain, then arranged a nighttime ceremony with Sun Qin and Zhao Wan to make the rain seem like divine favor. As the ceremony began, Sun Qin danced beneath music and a solar-powered lamp while the villagers watched in awe.

• Yin Yunze convinced the villagers to offer two taels of gold after the rain and ordered them to follow Sun Qin's instructions.
• Yin Yunze checked the forecast and saw that rain was expected to begin the following evening, with sunny weather afterward.
• Yin Yunze went to a mountain pavilion in the real world while hundreds of villagers gathered to watch Sun Qin and Zhao Wan's ceremony.
• Yin Yunze told Sun Qin to begin when the first raindrop fell, and Sun Qin instructed Zhao Wan to turn on the light.
• Zhao Wan switched on a solar-powered lamp as music played, and Sun Qin began her practiced dance while the villagers mistook the display for sacred signs.

Yin Yunze used a rainmaking ritual and his power to bring real rain to Clear Creek Village, earning the villagers’ stronger faith. After the rain lasted through the night, he stopped it at dawn, and Sun Qin announced that the rite was complete.

• Yin Yunze used a crude illusion of dark clouds while Sun Qin performed a dance and called the villagers to pray for rain.
• Yin Yunze brought rain down on the villagers, who rejoiced and prayed as their faith in him grew.
• Yin Yunze spent nearly half an hour expanding the rain until it covered all of Clear Creek Village, using up his stored Incense of Faith.
• Yin Yunze maintained the rain through the night, then stopped it at dawn because he was exhausted and feared being noticed in daylight.
• Sun Qin returned to the platform and announced that the rain had stopped and the rite was complete.

After Yin Yunze brought rain to the villagers, he staged a terrifying vision of the Dragon Lord to make them pay the gold they owed. The villagers’ fear strengthened their Incense of Faith, pulling Yin Yunze back to reality as the Gate of Incense closed again.

• Sun Qin gathered the exhausted villagers for the ceremony’s closing, and Yin Yunze conjured a hazy nine-tailed white fox to demand his payment.
• When a villager asked to delay paying, Yin Yunze revealed a vast, furious Dragon Lord, frightening the man into fainting and then pleading to pay double.
• Yin Yunze warned that the gold belonged to the Dragon Lord, while Sun Qin reminded the villagers that their families could suffer if they broke their promises.
• The villagers’ fear caused the Incense of Faith to surge, and Yin Yunze was pulled back to the mountain forest in reality.
• Yin Yunze found the Gate of Incense closed again and went home to sleep, expecting its version update to finish.

When Zhao Wan came to the Fox Immortal Temple for help, Yin Yunze learned that Sun Qin had fallen ill after staying in her wet clothes and had refused to see a doctor to protect his reputation. Yin Yunze proactively acquired healing skills and prepared to use them to treat her.

• Zhao Wan woke Yin Yunze with an urgent plea to save her mother, and he learned that Sun Qin had been bedridden and delirious since the previous night.
• Yin Yunze discovered that Sun Qin had caught a cold after remaining in her wet clothes and had refused to seek a doctor because she feared damaging his prestige.
• Yin Yunze decided to acquire healing skills rather than risk giving Sun Qin unfamiliar medicine or letting her go untreated.
• Yin Yunze spent nearly thirty percent of his Power of Incense Offerings and gained Spirit Descent, Shelter, Heal Wounds and Cure Illness, and Expel Evil and Dispel Filth.
• Yin Yunze focused on Heal Wounds and Cure Illness, confident he could now help Sun Qin.

Yin Yunze considered using Spirit Descent through Zhao Wan but stopped before possessing her, then used Heal Wounds and Cure Illness to cure Sun Qin’s fever. He realized he now had a genuine healing Law Technique that could help him gain more Incense of Faith.

• Yin Yunze learned that Spirit Descent could temporarily possess a devout believer and considered trying it on Zhao Wan.
• Zhao Wan requested that the Fox Immortal descend into her body, and spiritual threads connected her to Yin Yunze.
• Yin Yunze hesitated to possess the unsuspecting child and left the Spirit Descent ritual unfinished, though the threads remained connected.
• Yin Yunze told Zhao Wan to go home, then used the radar display to look in on Sun Qin.
• Yin Yunze cast Heal Wounds and Cure Illness on Sun Qin, quickly curing her fever and calming her delirium.
• Yin Yunze concluded that his new healing Law Technique could let him save people and increase his Incense of Faith.

Yin Yunze used his healing skill to revive Sun Qin and collected the gold she had gathered for him. When he realized Zhao Wan had left the village and vanished beyond his radar’s range, he resumed the interrupted Spirit Descent ritual to find her.

• Yin Yunze used Heal Wounds and Cure Illness a second time, and Sun Qin woke up.
• Sun Qin told Yin Yunze how she felt and gave him the 126 taels of gold collected from Clear Creek Village’s 63 households.
• Sun Qin realized Zhao Wan was missing, and Yin Yunze saw her believer dot moving beyond the village and off his radar map.
• Yin Yunze spotted the spiritual essence thread from the interrupted Spirit Descent ritual and resumed it without telling Sun Qin.

Yin Yunze used Spirit Descent to possess Zhao Wan while Zhao Cheng carried her away, then learned Zhao Cheng had tricked her into leaving the village. After spotting Spirit Medium Wang and her son waiting nearby, Yin Yunze held back his attack to learn whether more people were involved.

• Yin Yunze entered Zhao Wan’s body through Spirit Descent and struggled with the nausea caused by Zhao Cheng carrying her over his shoulder.
• Yin Yunze recognized Zhao Cheng and prepared to attack him with Fox Fire, but heard Zhao Wan speaking inside their shared body.
• Yin Yunze identified himself to Zhao Wan as Green Hill Yi Yun and learned Zhao Cheng had lured her away by claiming Sun Qin wanted her home.
• Yin Yunze prepared a stronger Fox Fire attack, then spotted Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi and decided to listen before acting.
• Zhao Cheng complained that Spirit Medium Wang and her son had made him carry Zhao Wan a long way, and Spirit Medium Wang blamed their troubles on Sun Qin’s influence in the village.

Yin Yunze overheard Spirit Medium Wang reveal that she had masterminded Zhao Wan’s kidnapping to extort Sun Qin and exploit the fox immortal’s limits. As Zhao Cheng agreed to help with her plan for half the gold, Wang Laizi noticed that Yin Yunze had been motionless and wondered if she was dead.

• Zhao Cheng demanded his promised payment, and Spirit Medium Wang told him the villagers’ rain-prayer money was likely still with Sun Qin.
• Spirit Medium Wang proposed extorting Sun Qin for the gold and taking her away, claiming the fox immortal could not leave Clear Creek Village.
• Zhao Cheng questioned her claim, then demanded half the proceeds in exchange for delivering a letter.
• Spirit Medium Wang accepted, and Zhao Cheng agreed to ensure Sun Qin read the letter and left before he joined them.
• Wang Laizi pointed at Yin Yunze and asked whether Little Nannan was dead because she had not moved.

Yin Yunze exposed Spirit Medium Wang’s plan to deceive Zhao Cheng, then frightened Zhao Cheng by claiming to be the fox immortal. Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi fled but were driven back by a ghost, leaving Zhao Cheng too terrified to resist.

• Yin Yunze accused Spirit Medium Wang of planning to steal the gold and leave Zhao Cheng unpaid, but Zhao Cheng admitted he could not read the letter.
• Spirit Medium Wang recognized something terrifying in Yin Yunze and fled with Wang Laizi, abandoning Zhao Cheng.
• Yin Yunze claimed to be the fox immortal, and Zhao Cheng set Zhao Wan down and begged for his life.
• Yin Yunze berated Zhao Cheng for kidnapping Zhao Wan while neglecting to bathe, and Zhao Cheng blamed the village’s water shortage and his work damming the waterways.
• Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi ran back toward them, apparently forced back by a ghost, and Zhao Cheng dared not move.

Yin Yunze revealed that he had trapped Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi in an illusion, then faced Spirit Medium Wang’s attempt to attack him with incense ash and a ghost. He destroyed the little girl ghost with Expel Evil and Dispel Filth, leaving Spirit Medium Wang unconscious and the others begging for mercy as he offered them a choice of how to die.

• Yin Yunze dispelled his illusion and confronted Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi after they ran back to him.
• Spirit Medium Wang threw incense ash at Yin Yunze, but it had no effect, and Zhao Cheng explained that villagers used it to ward off evil spirits.
• Spirit Medium Wang used the Blood Essence Mystic Art to summon a little girl ghost, but the ghost clung to Yin Yunze’s leg without daring to attack.
• Yin Yunze cast Expel Evil and Dispel Filth, making the little girl ghost vanish and causing Spirit Medium Wang to collapse unconscious.
• Wang Laizi and Zhao Cheng begged Yin Yunze to spare them, and he asked whether they wanted to die by their own hands or be burned to death.

Yin Yunze spared Zhao Wan’s kidnappers at her request, then secretly killed them when they broke his condition. After returning Zhao Wan safely to Clear Creek Village, he learned that he had become its guardian deity, the Land God.

• Yin Yunze asked Zhao Wan whether he should kill Wang Laizi and Zhao Cheng, and she urged him to give them a chance to reflect.
• Yin Yunze drew an illusory circle and warned the three men to remain inside until sunset, while secretly setting Fox Fire to kill anyone who left early.
• Wang Laizi and Zhao Cheng broke their word and triggered the Fox Fire, and Yin Yunze concealed their deaths from Zhao Wan.
• Yin Yunze accompanied Zhao Wan safely back to Clear Creek Village and felt a surge of comfort as he crossed into the village.
• Yin Yunze received the information from his major version update and learned that he was Clear Creek Village’s guardian deity and Land God.

Yin Yunze gained access to Clear Creek Village’s earth veins and the preliminary authority of a Land God after using Spirit Descent on Zhao Wan to anchor himself to the world. He learned how his new powers worked and favored transferring soil fertility to improve the villagers’ harvests.

• The villagers’ gratitude and belief in Yin Yunze elevated him into Clear Creek Village’s local guardian deity, though he initially lacked an anchor that let him use his divine authority.
• Yin Yunze used Spirit Descent on Zhao Wan, gaining an anchor and returning to Clear Creek Village, where he connected with its earth veins.
• Yin Yunze discovered that his Land God authority let him sense events across the village, move over water and walls, use Earth Escape, and manipulate terrain by spending Earth Vein Power.
• Yin Yunze learned that Earth Vein Power recovered slowly and that using too much weakened his authority, making large feats such as splitting mountains costly.
• Yin Yunze saw transferring unused soil fertility into fields as the most practical use of Earth Vein Power for improving crops and grain yields.

After becoming Clear Creek Village's Land God, Yin Yunze gained control over the local ley lines and spiritual qi, but he needed an anchor point to secure that authority without relying on Spirit Descent. He sensed that a demon had caused the prolonged drought and prepared to investigate, first intending to speak with Sun Qin.

• Yin Yunze realized that Clear Creek Village's spiritual qi could fuel his skills, while the ley lines gave him a home-ground advantage.
• Yin Yunze discovered he lacked a temple or gilded statue to serve as an anchor, so he could access his Land God's authority only by possessing Zhao Wan or another suitable believer.
• Yin Yunze concluded that building his own temple and statue would establish his divine identity, though he did not need to rush while Spirit Descent remained a temporary solution.
• Yin Yunze sensed a pervasive malice beyond Clear Creek Village and discovered that its source had caused the drought afflicting the area.
• Yin Yunze decided to investigate the source of the demon-made drought and planned to speak with Sun Qin before leaving in Zhao Wan's body.

Yin Yunze used Zhao Wan’s body to reach Sun Qin’s home and explained that he needed to investigate the drought’s cause. Sun Qin offered to become his vessel instead, but her Spirit Descent produced no visible change.

• Yin Yunze traveled underground with Zhao Wan to Sun Qin’s house and entered without knocking.
• Sun Qin realized that the person in Zhao Wan’s body was not her daughter, so Yin Yunze revealed himself as Green Hill Yi Yun and explained what had happened.
• Yin Yunze told Sun Qin that he suspected the drought was tied to an anomaly and needed to investigate beyond Clear Creek Village.
• Sun Qin insisted on taking Zhao Wan’s place as Yin Yunze’s vessel and recited the Spirit Descent incantation.
• Sun Qin showed no spiritual light or thread after calling for the fox immortal to descend into her body.

Yin Yunze discovered that Sun Qin could not host Spirit Descent because he lacked a proper anchor, while Zhao Wan’s unusual nature and the completed sacrificial transaction had enabled the earlier descent. He realized that the sacrifices had altered Zhao Wan into an object belonging to him, and he was left troubled by the injustice of that change.

• Yin Yunze asked Sun Qin to attempt Spirit Descent again, but the ritual still failed.
• Yin Yunze used the Power of Incense Offerings to determine that he lacked the anchor needed to use Spirit Descent normally.
• Yin Yunze recalled that Fox Seventh Aunt had singled out Zhao Wan for her affinity with immortals and concluded that Zhao Wan was unusual.
• Yin Yunze realized that accepting Zhao Wan as a sacrifice and later fulfilling the villagers’ prayer for rain had completed the stalled ritual.
• Yin Yunze concluded that the double sacrifice had altered Zhao Wan into an object belonging to him, allowing her to bear his full power during Spirit Descent.
• Yin Yunze felt that it was unreasonable for Zhao Wan to be altered despite having done nothing wrong.

Yin Yunze reflected on Zhao Wan’s transformation and the cruel, irrational nature of the world, resolving to treat her as an equal despite being unable to restore her humanity. He reassured Sun Qin that he would protect Zhao Wan and promised not to descend into her without consent unless necessary, though Zhao Wan eagerly offered her consent and Sun Qin had little power to refuse him.

• Yin Yunze reconsidered Zhao Wan’s transformation and concluded that he could not reverse it, so he would have to treat her as an independent, equal person.
• Yin Yunze realized Zhao Wan’s case had revealed how to gain divinity and avoid remaining trapped in his malformed state.
• Yin Yunze told Sun Qin that a restriction prevented him from using Spirit Descent on anyone else after choosing Wan'er, and promised not to let Zhao Wan come to harm.
• Sun Qin accepted Yin Yunze’s explanation and asked him to care for Zhao Wan.
• Yin Yunze promised not to descend into Zhao Wan without her consent unless necessary, but Zhao Wan eagerly said she would always agree.
• Yin Yunze silently recognized that Sun Qin had little ability to refuse him and relied on his own restraint to respect Zhao Wan.

After returning to the real world, Yin Yunze bought supplies to make talismans and returned to possess Zhao Wan, who had become his anchor. He successfully sealed one of his divine skills into a talisman and had Sun Qin prepare more, leaving him with a new way to use his powers.

• Yin Yunze considered how to protect Zhao Wan while investigating the malice, then bought yellow paper and cinnabar after spotting a paper effigy shop.
• Yin Yunze returned to Sun Qin's home through his connection to Zhao Wan, who sensed his presence and readily agreed to let him possess her.
• Yin Yunze used his Land God's divinity to seal an illusion technique into a yellow-paper talisman.
• Yin Yunze tested his idea and found he could sense and activate the talisman, then adjusted it so a mortal could use it.
• Yin Yunze asked Sun Qin to write ten talismans each for illusion, healing, fire, and expulsion.