Recaps

After marrying Shen Duheng, Shan Heyuan felt that he had finally found a home and tended the plants in his Dantian Small World. Their happiness was interrupted when two cities in northwestern Haixi Province suddenly died, burying most of their residents.

• Shan Heyuan reflected on how his marriage to Shen Duheng had given him a home and a sense of belonging.
• Shan Heyuan used Gentle Breeze and spirit mist to plant and nourish Thousand Powder Grass in his Dantian Small World.
• Shan Heyuan examined the Illusionless Tree but could not determine what was special about it.
• Shen Duheng brought Shan Heyuan congee, and Shan Heyuan quietly accepted it.
• Shocking news arrived that two cities in northwestern Haixi Province had suddenly died, burying most of their residents.

After two cities were destroyed without warning, Shan Heyuan helped grow medicinal herbs for evacuees while he and Shen Duheng prepared to move to Bi Province. The Realm Spirit woke, swore Shen Duheng’s lengthy oath, and agreed to help manage Shan Heyuan’s Spirit Plants in exchange for space grass.

• Shan Heyuan joined the Cultivation Association’s effort to grow healing herbs and supplies for people affected by the destruction of two cities.
• Shen Duheng told Shan Heyuan that rising danger in Haixi Province meant they would move to Bi Province, and they gathered supplies for the trip.
• Shan Heyuan restrained the newly awakened Realm Spirit and called Shen Duheng to decide what to do with her.
• Shen Duheng made the Realm Spirit memorize and swear a 1,385-character heart demon oath, then restricted her strength to Core Formation cultivation so she could remain awake.
• Shan Heyuan offered the Realm Spirit space grass in exchange for managing the Spirit Plants in his Dantian Small World, and she accepted.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng traveled to meet the Spirit Transformation great banyan tree, hoping to ask for a branch that might help Shan Heyuan cultivate faster. They reached the tree and introduced themselves at Master Kucheng’s request.

• Shan Heyuan assigned the Realm Spirit to care for his Thousand Powder Grass and continued studying space with her lessons and outside texts.
• Shan Heyuan told Shen Duheng he wanted to visit the great banyan tree for a branch, and Shen Duheng agreed to go with him.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng left Youcheng City in disguise and used spatial teleportation to reach the peninsula nearest the tree.
• People on the peninsula warned Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng that the tree’s senior was hostile to humans and that the surrounding sea was dangerous.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng flew over the sea, admired the great banyan tree and its wildlife, then revealed their identities and greeted the senior in Master Kucheng’s name.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng traded with the great banyan tree, obtaining the final five forms of the Spring Transformation Art and some branches before resuming their flight from pursuers. Shan Heyuan learned that the lost forms let him cultivate by plundering Spiritual Power from Spirit Plants, and found the method increased his cultivation speed more than fivefold.

• The great banyan tree welcomed Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng, accepted Shan Heyuan’s Fertilizer Pills and spiritual liquid, and offered to trade.
• Shan Heyuan traded five hundred Fertilizer Pills for the final five forms of the Spring Transformation Art, then exchanged Spirit Stones for some of the tree’s branches.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng departed without lingering and used teleportation arrays and ancient coordinates to continue fleeing.
• Shan Heyuan studied the final forms and learned they strengthened cultivators by plundering Spiritual Power from Spirit Plants, leaving the plants in poor condition.
• Shan Heyuan practiced the method and discovered that it made his cultivation more than five times faster.

Shan Heyuan’s cultivation rose as he and Shen Duheng traveled toward Bi Province, while his lost memories continued to trouble him. After Thousand Powder Grass matured in his Dantian Small World, Shan Heyuan used it to refine Sky-Soaring Pills and imagined a future when he and Shen Duheng could stop hiding and conduct business openly.

• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng discussed how Xin Xie’s Cultivation Method had become effective in a dying world, and Shan Heyuan advanced from the Nascent Soul Early Stage to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.
• Shan Heyuan began having unpleasant dreams he could not remember, and Shen Duheng comforted him as they traveled toward Bi Province using old spatial coordinates.
• Thousand Powder Grass matured in Shan Heyuan’s Dantian Small World, and the Realm Spirit praised his talent for growing Spirit Plants while asking him to release her.
• Shan Heyuan harvested the grass and took over refining pills from Shen Duheng, producing increasingly large batches of Sky-Soaring Pills with his familiar Pill Furnace and Pu Core Fire.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng joked about doing business once Shen Duheng reached the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and Shan Heyuan described how he would reuse Spirit Plants after absorbing their Spiritual Power.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng settled in Bi Province, but the Realm Spirit returned to the Spirit Jade Palace after news of more city deaths reached them. After moving several times and disguising themselves, Shan Heyuan came home to find a familiar-looking stranger waiting at their door.

• Shen Duheng began taking Sky-Soaring Pills to restore his cultivation, and Shan Heyuan watched to ensure they caused no problems.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng rented a small farm in Bi Province and hoped to live there peacefully while improving their cultivation.
• After hearing that a fifth city had died and one was near the Spirit Jade Palace, the Realm Spirit asked to return and promised not to endanger them.
• Shan Heyuan agreed to let the Realm Spirit go back, and news later reported that she was helping the Spirit Jade Palace and cultivators of Fu Province.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng moved three times and disguised themselves as a beast and its master, with Shen Duheng as the beast.
• Shan Heyuan returned from trading for spirit grass and found a tall figure in white at their door who looked strangely like Shen Duheng.

Ji Li confronted Shan Heyuan at his home and overpowered him before Shen Duheng returned. Shen Duheng faced Ji Li and challenged him about his deteriorating bodies and desire to escape as more worlds died.

• Ji Li found Shan Heyuan alone, sealed the surrounding space, and invited himself inside to wait for Shen Duheng.
• Ji Li offered Shan Heyuan a place in the Sword Reverence Sect or Planting Institute, but Shan Heyuan rejected the offer and drew his sword.
• Shan Heyuan attacked Ji Li and opened his Dantian Small World, but Ji Li seized him and revealed he had come for Shen He.
• Shen Duheng returned rather than flee, and Ji Li confronted him about his reckless behavior.
• Shen Duheng asked whether Ji Li had come because worlds were dying and challenged him about changing skins and rotting from within.

Shen Duheng and Shan Heyuan used Tribulation Lightning to weaken Ji Li during their desperate fight. The chapter ended with Shan Heyuan confronting Ji Li as Shen Duheng neared Spirit Transformation.

• Shen Duheng fought Ji Li and guessed that Lin Ji was Ji Li's next target, while Ji Li threw the sealed Shan Heyuan aside.
• Shan Heyuan unleashed Tribulation Lightning at Shen Duheng's signal, and Shen Duheng used his sword techniques to block Ji Li's attack.
• Shen Duheng provoked his Spirit Transformation tribulation and fought Ji Li as lightning struck them both, while Shan Heyuan remained unharmed.
• Shan Heyuan opened his Dantian Small World and poured its contents into the Tribulation Lightning, completing its Heavenly Dao Principles and greatly strengthening it.
• Ji Li endured the enhanced lightning and tried to kill them, but Shan Heyuan rose to fight him as Shen Duheng's presence climbed toward Spirit Transformation.
• Ji Li accused Shen Duheng of teaching Shan Heyuan the Sword Reverence Sect's core sword techniques and called Shen He a traitor.

Shan Heyuan saved Shen Duheng from Ji Li by burning away his body and sending their Dantian Small World into the void, where they were temporarily safe. As his memories returned, Shan Heyuan remembered his past as the Sword Reverence Sect’s Azure Cloud Dao Ancestor and learned that his earlier attempt to save the dying cultivation world had failed.

• Shan Heyuan took the unconscious Shen Duheng into the Dantian Small World while Ji Li attacked him under the Tribulation Lightning.
• Ji Li grievously wounded Shan Heyuan, who ignited his Nascent Soul-level Pu Core Fire and burned away his body to let the Dantian Small World escape into the void.
• Ji Li searched for Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng but could not find them, then left as the Tribulation Lightning continued to strike.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng lay in the empty Tribulation Lightning lake inside the drifting Dantian Small World, safe from Ji Li for the time being.
• Shan Heyuan recovered memories of his past as the Azure Cloud Dao Ancestor, including his choice to try to save the cultivation world rather than gamble on ascending directly.

Shan Heyuan explained how his past self had self-destructed during a tribulation and eventually returned through the Spirit Vein beneath Jingzhishan Town, while he and Shen Duheng recovered in the void. They planned an escape route, but disagreed over whether to risk emerging in Dunchuan City or choose a safer destination.

• Shen Duheng woke in Shan Heyuan’s damaged Dantian Small World and learned that Shan Heyuan’s body had been destroyed while they escaped Ji Li.
• Shan Heyuan told Shen Duheng about his past life, including his self-destruction during Tribulation Transcendence, his years as a Rogue Cultivator, and his rise to sect master of the Sword Reverence Sect.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng shared stories and joked together before resting in a small stone house inside the Dantian Small World.
• After resting, Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng calculated three safe exit coordinates in the void.
• Shen Duheng suggested emerging in Dunchuan City to gather supplies and find a puppet for Shan Heyuan’s Nascent Soul, but Shan Heyuan worried that the Proliferation Sect might expose them and proposed Qiuyi Mortal Market instead.

Shen Duheng and Shan Heyuan sought a safe place to hide and recover, with Shan Heyuan trapped as a Nascent Soul inside the Dantian Small World. They settled in the dead city of Ridge Pine City, where Shen Duheng began restoring a Spirit Plant garden as a possible refuge and place to rebuild Shan Heyuan’s body.

• Shan Heyuan persuaded Shen Duheng to investigate Qiuyi Mortal Market and then hide in a dead city, where the lack of Spiritual Power could frustrate Ji Li’s tracking.
• Shan Heyuan anchored his Dantian Small World to Shen Duheng’s storage bracelet, and Shen Duheng logged out at Qiuyi Mortal Market after several days of effort.
• After failing to find materials for Shan Heyuan’s Nascent Soul, Shen Duheng agreed to look for a Cultivation Method to build a body from Spirit Plants, while Shan Heyuan considered using the Illusionless Tree.
• Shen Duheng disguised himself as a Rogue Cultivator swordsman and entered Ridge Pine City, where Spiritual Power was absent and survivors watched him from the shadows.
• Shen Duheng chose a ruined Spirit Plant garden between Ridge Pine City and Zuting City and began restoring it with the spirit soil they had saved.

Shen Duheng took Shan Heyuan, whose soul was attached to a stud earring, to explore an underground market in Ridge Pine City. They found a bustling settlement with many talisman arrays and outside goods, leaving Shan Heyuan curious about how the survivors obtained them.

• Shen Duheng received a letter from their neighbor inviting him to a nearby underground market and showed it to Shan Heyuan.
• Shan Heyuan attached his soul to Shen Duheng’s stud earring and briefly saw the ruined landscape outside the Dantian Small World.
• On the first market day, Shen Duheng disguised himself and rode his sword with Shan Heyuan toward the underground market.
• Shen Duheng and Shan Heyuan found that the market’s entrance and surroundings were protected by many talisman arrays powered by Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Shen Duheng entered the market, where Shan Heyuan saw low-level cultivators selling spiritual objects and Law Artifacts that seemed to come from outside the dead city.

Shen Duheng and Shan Heyuan explored Ridge Pine City's market, learned how its residents used Death Qi to grow Brilliant Creek Dragon Grass, and bought plants and cultivation supplies. They began preparing a garden to experiment with growing the local plants, while Shan Heyuan concluded that the Azure Bird Palace benefited from keeping the city’s inhabitants there.

• Shen Duheng bought Brilliant Creek Dragon Grass, seeds, a growing array, and local spirit soil after a peddler explained that the plant grew by absorbing Death Qi.
• Shen Duheng and Shan Heyuan surveyed the market and discussed why the city’s residents stayed despite its harsh conditions and limited prospects.
• Shan Heyuan developed an interest in using Death Qi and asked Shen Duheng to help him experiment because he had no body.
• Shan Heyuan instructed Shen Duheng to prepare the garden with Death Qi-rich mountain humus instead of spirit soil and set up an array for the grass.
• Shan Heyuan suspected the Azure Bird Palace allowed Ridge Pine City to persist because its residents’ cultivation of local specialties benefited the sect.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng hid in the dead lands, tending spirit grass while following news of Ji Li and the cultivation world's worsening decline. After they discovered a plot of Brilliant Creek Dragon Grass had mostly withered from neglect, Shen Duheng tried to revive it, and they considered ways to keep the dry soil from wasting the spirit liquid.

• Shan Heyuan criticized the Azure Bird Palace's exploitation of local residents and resolved to address it if he got the chance.
• Shen Duheng told Shan Heyuan that Zhuo Zheng and most of his people had defected to Ji Li, forcing the rest to hide.
• They learned that Ji Li had failed his Tribulation Transcendence and was recovering while still using Shen Duheng's name.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng discussed how the top sects' stockpiling would not save the cultivation world once outside supplies ran out.
• They found that eighty percent of a plot of Brilliant Creek Dragon Grass had withered after Shen Duheng forgot to water it for eleven days.
• Shen Duheng poured spirit liquid on the grass, and they discussed growing it in pots to prevent the dry earth from absorbing the liquid.

Shan Heyuan discovered that Brilliant Creek Dragon Grass could absorb and release pure death Qi, which helped balance the life-filled Dantian Small World. He and Shen Duheng began growing more of the grass, while Shen Duheng replanted staple crops in the outside garden.

• Shan Heyuan found that the seemingly dying Brilliant Creek Dragon Grass still had life and replanted it beside the spirit spring in the Dantian Small World.
• Shan Heyuan discovered that the recovering grass released pure death Qi, which enriched the Dantian Small World rather than harming it.
• Shan Heyuan decided to grow more Brilliant Creek Dragon Grass to balance the small world's strong life force, and Shen Duheng agreed to order seeds and supplies.
• Shen Duheng obtained high-quality seeds and cultivation materials, and he and Shan Heyuan divided the growing work between them.
• After more than half a month, Shan Heyuan had raised a batch of seedlings while Shen Duheng had planted Fujiang Potatoes and Yangdai Grain outside.

Shen Duheng sold their surplus crops in Ridge Pine City and learned that its factions were consolidating amid growing concern over supplies. Shan Heyuan showed him that his Dantian Small World had stopped evolving and concluded that he might need to abandon his Nascent Soul and cultivate anew, before revealing that he knew another obscure possibility.

• Shen Duheng sold their high-quality crops at a premium and agreed to trade directly with a cultivator who promised to gather supplies for him.
• Shen Duheng told Shan Heyuan that Ridge Pine City's factions were consolidating and that the city was nearing chaos.
• Shan Heyuan showed Shen Duheng how life Qi and death Qi had divided his Dantian Small World, which no longer seemed to be evolving.
• Shan Heyuan explained that using a branch of the Illusionless Tree could only provide a temporary puppet body and that he might have to give up his Nascent Soul to grow a new body.
• Shen Duheng acknowledged the difficulty of starting over, and Shan Heyuan said he knew another, obscure way.

Shan Heyuan entered seclusion in his Dantian Small World to find inspiration for his stalled cultivation and discovered that his changing life Qi could transform the world. He realized it needed the metal element and called Shen Duheng for help, who embraced him.

• Shan Heyuan explained his idea of physically merging with a Spirit Plant, but admitted he did not know how to achieve it.
• Shen Duheng suggested that Shan Heyuan try seclusion to find inspiration, and Shan Heyuan agreed after arranging a signal between them.
• Shan Heyuan reviewed the Spring Transformation Art and his old notebook while reflecting beneath the Illusionless Tree.
• Shan Heyuan's Qi came into harmony with the Dantian Small World, causing the stagnant world to change along with him.
• Shan Heyuan realized the transformed world was missing the metal element and summoned Shen Duheng for help.
• Shen Duheng set aside his spirit sword and embraced Shan Heyuan when he asked for a lot of metal element.

Shan Heyuan needed a metal-element spiritual object to advance his cultivation, so Shen Duheng gave him one of his own ribs. Shan Heyuan used it as he began reshaping his Dantian Small World and pursuing a risky path to merge himself with the Illusionless Tree.

• Shan Heyuan realized that metal-element Spiritual Power alone could not complete his Dantian Small World, and Shen Duheng promised to find a suitable spiritual object.
• Shen Duheng brought Shan Heyuan a white bone rich in metal-element Spiritual Power, and Shan Heyuan recognized it as Shen Duheng's rib.
• Shen Duheng explained that he had refined and removed his last left rib, and Shan Heyuan accepted it before entering seclusion beneath the Illusionless Tree.
• Shan Heyuan used Pu Core Fire to melt and temper much of his Dantian Small World, aiming to fuse it into a seed and change its stable state.
• Inspired by horizontal gene transfer, Shan Heyuan decided to try merging himself with the Illusionless Tree, prepared to become a ghost cultivator if the attempt failed.

Shan Heyuan refined his Dantian Small World and the Illusionless Tree until he became a wooden bud, then asked Shen Duheng to plant him somewhere rich in Spiritual Power. Shen Duheng set out to find a suitable Spirit Plant garden and eventually chose Changlin Island.

• Shan Heyuan fused with the Illusionless Tree and refined the Dantian Small World, absorbing its materials and Spiritual Power.
• Shan Heyuan concentrated the Illusionless Tree's Spiritual Power into his origin core until only a wooden bud remained, still gripping Shen Duheng's storage ring.
• Shen Duheng found the wooden bud and learned from Shan Heyuan that he had succeeded but needed to be planted somewhere rich in Spiritual Power.
• Shen Duheng left Ridge Pine City and traveled to Wei Province, but found the Spirit Plant garden there ruined by the dead city's decline.
• Shen Duheng searched several provinces and finally settled on Changlin Island in the Islet Sect's territory.

Shen Duheng planted the transformed Shan Heyuan in a Spirit Plant garden and guarded him until he awoke and began growing. As the cultivation world continued to collapse, Shan Heyuan recovered, eventually took human form, and asked Shen Duheng for a hug.

• Shen Duheng rented a Spirit Plant garden and planted Shan Heyuan in high-grade spirit soil, where leaves appeared after three days.
• Shen Duheng fended off two groups who broke into the garden and kept watch until Shan Heyuan awoke more than two months later.
• Shan Heyuan absorbed Fertilizer Pills and spirit water, then learned from Shen Duheng that 624 cities had died and the major sects were withdrawing their forces.
• Shen Duheng gathered news while Shan Heyuan recovered, and they learned that Ji Li was weakened and fewer people were pursuing them.
• After more than two months of growth, Shan Heyuan took human form, remarked that it felt unfamiliar, and held out his arms to Shen Duheng for a hug.

After Shan Heyuan regained his body, he showed Shen Duheng how his Dantian Small World had become complete, and the two left Changlin Island to cultivate and seek the Realm Spirit in Fu Province. Their nine-year journey exposed them to the cultivation world's worsening disasters, and they arrived in a devastated world with Fu Province still functioning under the Spirit Jade Palace's protection.

• Shan Heyuan explained that his Dantian Small World had advanced and revealed that the giant tree at its center was his true body.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng agreed to seek the Realm Spirit in Fu Province and improve their cultivation away from the Sword Reverence Sect.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng traveled overland for nine years, witnessing disasters and helping where they could as cities died and cultivators became refugees.
• During the journey, a third of the cultivation world's cities died, Spiritual Power dwindled, and average cultivation fell from Foundation Establishment to Qi Refining.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng reached Fu Province at Spirit Transformation Realm and found it among the few continents still functioning, largely because the Spirit Jade Palace had opened the West Jing Secret Realm to refugees.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng met the Realm Spirit and Yun Junping in Fujiang City, where Spirit Jade Palace invited them to stay and help protect the cultivation world. They declined to become guest elders and remained wary of accepting support before they had done anything.

• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng arrived openly in Fujiang City and asked the Realm Spirit to meet them.
• The Realm Spirit arrived with Yun Junping and recognized Shan Heyuan as Qingyun, then questioned his unusual condition and rapid cultivation.
• Yun Junping invited the pair to stay at Spirit Jade Palace, and the Realm Spirit proposed making them guest elders in exchange for resources and help.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng declined the guest elder offer because their ties to the Sword Reverence Sect ran too deep.
• The Realm Spirit said a divination had pointed to Shan Heyuan as the cultivation world's hope, but Shan Heyuan declined the offer of supplies because he felt they had not yet earned them.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng stayed at the Spirit Jade Palace, where Shan Heyuan refined Fertilizer Pills and Shen Duheng made Sky-Soaring Pills. Shan Heyuan reconnected with his friends by secret letters and learned that some were living peacefully while others were rescuing people near a dead city.

• Lord Yunping invited Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng to stay at the Spirit Jade Palace, and they accepted.
• The Realm Spirit supplied Shan Heyuan with materials and visited his Dantian Small World, marveling at its growth and flourishing spirit plants.
• Shan Heyuan refined Fertilizer Pills, while Shen Duheng used Thousand Powder Grass to refine Sky-Soaring Pills.
• Shan Heyuan sent secret letters to his friends, who replied with news of their lives and the changes around them.
• Jiu Mingyue had become sect master of the Supreme Harmony Sect, while Ma Rupei, Zhong Shuran, Zhao Changming, and Li Jiamu had settled into relatively peaceful lives.
• Jiang Zhi, Li Jian, and others were leading rescue teams near a dead city with Lin Ji and Sheng Chao, and could not leave without orders or resigning from the Sword Reverence Sect.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng reunited with Jiang Zhi, Li Jian, Lin Ji, and Sheng Chao, explained their identities and history, and welcomed them to a Spirit Plant garden near Fujiang City. As Sheng Chao and Lin Ji prepared to publicize the truth about Ji Li, Shan Heyuan showed Jiang Zhi a hardy new grain variety intended to help ease the cultivation world's food and Spiritual Power shortages.

• Shan Heyuan invited Jiang Zhi and Li Jian to Fujiang City to help cultivate Spirit Plants, and Jiang Zhi agreed to come with Lin Ji and Sheng Chao.
• Jiang Zhi's group arrived, and Shan Heyuan explained his and Shen Duheng's identities and what had happened to them over the years.
• Sheng Chao offered to work with Lin Ji on publicizing the truth about Ji Li, and Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng agreed to review their plan.
• Shan Heyuan settled the group in his large Spirit Plant garden and told Jiang Zhi about the hardy Wunuo Grain he had cultivated.

Shan Heyuan showed Jiang Zhi and Li Jian his high-Spiritual-Power Wunuo Grain and explained that his cultivation method had produced it. After they confirmed its promise and resistance to pests and disease, Shan Heyuan proposed testing it in a dead city with three separate teams.

• Shan Heyuan told Jiang Zhi and Li Jian that mature Wunuo Grain contained around two hundred to five hundred ling, far more than the Yangdai Grain grown in dead cities.
• Jiang Zhi and Li Jian rested at Shan Heyuan's houses, then examined the Wunuo Grain and praised the precision of his growing methods.
• Jiang Zhi and Li Jian found that the Wunuo Grain resisted disease and insects and began learning how to grow it.
• Shan Heyuan asked Jiang Zhi and Li Jian to lead separate teams with him to test the Wunuo Grain in a dead city after the current crop was harvested.