Chapter Summaries

Shan Heyuan, a mortal newcomer to the cultivation world, worked to grow Spirit Plants and set up formations on reclaimed fields near Gangzhi Village. When his guide Ma Rupei visited, Shan Heyuan welcomed him home and prepared a meal.

• Shan Heyuan successfully set up a Spirit Gathering Formation around his Earth Spirit Ginseng after painstaking work.
• Shan Heyuan reflected on his blocked meridians and his hope of becoming a cultivator as he weeded and tended the fields he had reclaimed.
• Shan Heyuan headed home for lunch with freshly picked Earth Spirit Ginseng leaves.
• Ma Rupei visited Shan Heyuan, praised his formations, and brought spirit deer meat from the hunting team’s trip.
• Shan Heyuan accepted the meat and began cooking rice, vegetables, and spirit deer in his kitchen using a Conflagration Talisman.

Shan Heyuan shared a meal with Ma Rupei, turned in the task that had helped him settle into the cultivation world, and visited the public library before returning to his daily routine. The next morning, he failed to sense Spiritual Qi during meditation but tended his thriving Earth Spirit Ginseng field.

• Shan Heyuan cooked lunch for Ma Rupei, and they discussed news from the cultivation world and Shan Heyuan’s settled life in the village.
• Ma Rupei got tipsy on mulberry wine, and Shan Heyuan helped him rest before the two traveled by Brine Worm to the Supreme Harmony Sect’s disciple center.
• Shan Heyuan and Ma Rupei turned in their task, and Shan Heyuan received his allowance while Ma Rupei assured him they would remain friends.
• Shan Heyuan returned one volume of Introduction to Planting Talismans, borrowed the second, and bought a notebook and pen to copy it.
• The next morning, Shan Heyuan meditated without sensing Spiritual Qi, then went to his Spirit Plant field and pinched shoots from the flourishing Earth Spirit Ginseng.

Shan Heyuan sold his earth spirit ginseng shoots in Jingzhishan Town and bought wooden talisman slips for his Spirit Gathering Formation. After cutting his fingers on a sharp slip, he returned to the village, where the talisman master was absent, and prepared to bathe after a long day.

• Shan Heyuan sold all his earth spirit ginseng shoots to cultivators, earning 367 spirit pearls, and gave away his plain golden gourds as a bonus.
• Shan Heyuan ate spirit vegetable noodles and went to a secondhand shop to buy wooden talisman slips for a Spirit Gathering Formation.
• Shan Heyuan cut all five fingers on a sharp talisman slip, and the shop owner treated his wounds and offered him a discount.
• Shan Heyuan bought three jin and seven liang of talisman slips, but the village talisman master was not home when he returned.
• Shan Heyuan tidied his house after dinner and removed the cloth from his injured hand before taking a bath.

Shan Heyuan’s wound reopened when a wooden talisman sucked his blood and vanished into his Dantian, where Shen Duheng revealed it was a broken sword bound to him. As the sword continued to drain Shan Heyuan’s Blood Qi, the two discussed their shared predicament and the difficulty of finding a way to escape it.

• A wooden talisman flew to Shan Heyuan’s wound, drained his blood, and burrowed into his Dantian as he and a red-clad stranger both tried to stop it.
• The stranger introduced himself as Shen Duheng, the broken sword’s sword spirit, and told Shan Heyuan that the sword would have to survive by sucking his Blood Qi.
• Ma Rupei brought Shan Heyuan spirit beast meat, accepted 120 spirit beads, and advised him to recover instead of rushing cultivation.
• Shan Heyuan told Shen Duheng that his complexion had worsened and his meridians were too blocked for him to cultivate, while Shen Duheng said cultivation was the only way to remove the sword.
• When Shen Duheng said he could reclaim the sword after Shan Heyuan died, Shan Heyuan said he would leave it to the Supreme Harmony Sect as repayment for its help.

Shan Heyuan followed Shen Duheng into the mountains to have his blocked meridians cleared, agreeing to owe him five hundred thousand spirit beads. After Shen Duheng forced him through a painful hot-spring treatment, Shan Heyuan felt his strength return and realized he had become a cultivator.

• Shen Duheng offered to clear Shan Heyuan's blocked meridians for five hundred thousand spirit beads, payable within three years.
• Shan Heyuan delayed their departure until morning so he could tend to his earth spirit ginseng, then followed Shen Duheng into the mountains.
• Shen Duheng led Shan Heyuan through the mountains for six days and five nights, gathering materials and defeating the Demon Beasts they encountered.
• Shen Duheng prepared the hot spring with spirit medicines, minerals, and Demon Beast materials, then forced Shan Heyuan underwater until the treatment was complete.
• Shan Heyuan recovered on the bank, sensed his body absorbing spiritual energy, and thanked Shen Duheng for saving his life.
• Shen Duheng reminded Shan Heyuan of the debt and told him to wash again.

Shan Heyuan introduced Shen Duheng to Ma Rupei, then registered Shen as a sword spirit at the disciple center and updated his own status as a cultivator. A Spirit Root test revealed that Shan had a rare but low-grade chaos Spirit Root, leaving his cultivation prospects uncertain.

• Shan Heyuan introduced Shen Duheng to Ma Rupei as his senior brother, and Ma congratulated Shan on reaching Qi Refining First Stage before leaving.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng agreed to explain that Shen was the spirit of a broken sword Shan had found in the wild.
• Shan Heyuan registered Shen Duheng as a sword spirit at the disciple center, then went to update his own identity status.
• A Spirit Artifact test showed Shan Heyuan had five mutated Spirit Roots, which the deacon identified as a chaos Spirit Root.
• The deacon determined Shan Heyuan's chaos Spirit Root was low-grade, and a disciple updated his identity talisman and increased his monthly allowance by fifteen hundred spirit beads.

Shan Heyuan accepted his poor cultivation test results and sought Shen Duheng’s advice on improving his chaos spirit root, but Shen Duheng told him that any further help would require repayment of his debt. Later, Shan Heyuan read his first cultivation-world newspaper and asked whether it had restored Shen Duheng’s memories, but Shen Duheng pressed him to choose a proper cultivation method.

• Shan Heyuan told Shen Duheng that his chaos spirit root was low-grade, and Shen Duheng encouraged him not to submit to fate.
• Shan Heyuan tended to the earth spirit ginseng, then gave Shen Duheng the spirit pearls he had collected toward repaying his debt.
• Shan Heyuan asked Shen Duheng for advice on cultivating with a poor root bone and offered to make another deal, but Shen Duheng said to repay the five hundred thousand spirit pearls first.
• Shan Heyuan received and read a cultivation-world newspaper talisman, then offered it to Shen Duheng.
• Shan Heyuan asked whether the newspaper had helped Shen Duheng recover his memories, and Shen Duheng told him to choose a cultivation method of his own.

Shan Heyuan sought Shen Duheng’s advice on choosing a cultivation path, and Shen Duheng took him to a general store to examine better-written methods. After comparing them, Shan Heyuan realized he had the most talent for growing and decided to become a grower.

• Shan Heyuan showed Shen Duheng several borrowed cultivation methods and explained his interest in sword cultivation, talismans, and alchemy.
• Shen Duheng suggested that Shan Heyuan consider becoming a grower and asked which path he would choose without other concerns.
• Shen Duheng took Shan Heyuan to a general store, where they examined basic cultivation methods with clear explanations.
• Shan Heyuan sampled methods for alchemy, sword cultivation, and other paths, and recognized that some would limit his progress.
• Shan Heyuan read the Spring Transformation Art, realized growing suited his talent best, and chose to become a grower.

Shan Heyuan bought the expensive Spring Transformation Art with Shen Duheng’s help and began using it to make fertilizer for his Earth Spirit Ginseng. While tending the fields, he discovered four unfamiliar spiritual herb seedlings among the weeds and took them to investigate.

• Shen Duheng paid twelve thousand spirit pearls for the Spring Transformation Art, and Shan Heyuan promised to repay him.
• Shan Heyuan successfully prepared two vats of homemade fertilizer and carried some to the spirit medicine field.
• Shan Heyuan buried fertilizer around the Earth Spirit Ginseng while repairing Spirit Gathering Formations and pulling weeds.
• Shan Heyuan noticed spiritual energy in an unfamiliar weed, wrapped soil around its roots, and set the seedling aside.
• Shan Heyuan found three more unfamiliar spiritual herb seedlings among the weeds.

Shan Heyuan found many spirit herbs in a stream and brought them to Hidden Spirits to sell. As the shopkeeper offered 3,316 spirit pearls, Shen Duheng intervened to keep the seedlings.

• Shan Heyuan discovered spirit herbs growing in the stream and gathered at least seventeen mature plants.
• Shen Duheng found Shan Heyuan searching at dusk and urged him to stop and return.
• Shan Heyuan asked Shen Duheng to identify the herbs, and Shen named Indeterminate Grass and Ketu Grass among them.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng took the herbs to Hidden Spirits, where the shopkeeper identified them and offered 3,316 spirit pearls.
• Shen Duheng told the shopkeeper the seedlings were not for sale and asked him to set them aside.

Shan Heyuan sold spirit herbs, then broke through to the Qi Refining Third Stage while cultivating with Shen Duheng nearby. After discovering he could draw the broken sword fragment from his Dantian, he secretly examined it in his room.

• Shan Heyuan sold his spirit herbs at Hidden Spirits, kept the seedlings, and invited Shen Duheng to eat noodles.
• Shan Heyuan cultivated beneath the courtyard tree as Shen Duheng watched, and Shen Duheng let him continue when his Spiritual Qi began swirling chaotically.
• Shan Heyuan broke through to the Qi Refining Third Stage, and Shen Duheng congratulated him and told him to practice techniques from the Spring Transformation Art.
• Shan Heyuan felt the broken sword fragment in his Dantian move and chose not to tell Shen Duheng about it.
• Shan Heyuan secretly took the fragment from his Dantian and examined its reddish-brown surface in the moonlight.

Shan Heyuan returned the broken sword fragment to Shen Duheng, but learned that the sword had recognized him as its master and kept it. After reaching Qi Refining Third Stage, Shan Heyuan experimented with storing objects in his Dantian until Shen Duheng explained the dangers and its connection to cultivating a small world.

• Shan Heyuan gave Shen Duheng the broken sword fragment and asked whether he would leave Jingzhishan Town.
• Shen Duheng said he was staying because the broken sword had recognized Shan Heyuan as its master, then returned the fragment to him.
• Shan Heyuan began engraving Spirit Gathering Talismans himself and discovered he could store both the fragment and a talisman in his Dantian.
• Shen Duheng warned Shan Heyuan not to put objects in his Dantian indiscriminately, since conflicting Spiritual Qi could harm him.
• Shen Duheng explained that a Dantian was the embryonic form of a small world, and Shan Heyuan asked whether storage rings were modeled on it.

Shan Heyuan tested what his unusual Dantian could hold after Shen Duheng discovered he had stored a living Indeterminate Grass inside it. Shen Duheng brought him to a waterfall, where Shan Heyuan absorbed a powerful Remaining Tranquility Grass and began converting its spiritual power.

• While weeding, Shan Heyuan put a newly sprouted Indeterminate Grass into his Dantian, and Shen Duheng made him take it out and put it back in to test how it affected him.
• Shen Duheng explained that cultivators generally could not store living things in their Dantian, but Shan Heyuan felt no discomfort from either Indeterminate Grass.
• Shen Duheng took Shan Heyuan to a waterfall and revealed a concealed, high-grade Remaining Tranquility Grass growing among the rocks.
• Shan Heyuan swallowed the Remaining Tranquility Grass into his Dantian and began absorbing its spiritual power while Shen Duheng stood guard.

Shan Heyuan discovered that the Remaining Tranquility Grass greatly accelerated his cultivation while it was in his Dantian, but it wilted during the night and had to be replanted. He revived it with the Spring Transformation Art, leaving it healthy and close to blooming.

• Shan Heyuan cultivated with the Remaining Tranquility Grass in his Dantian and found that its spiritual power made his cultivation much more efficient.
• Shan Heyuan used the Spring Transformation Art and sensed that the Remaining Tranquility Grass felt comfortable inside his Dantian.
• Shen Duheng suggested they investigate why Shan Heyuan could keep a spirit herb in his Dantian and agreed to test it with him over the next few days.
• Shan Heyuan woke at night to find the Remaining Tranquility Grass wilted and rushed to plant it in his spirit field.
• Shan Heyuan set up a Spirit Gathering Formation and used Spring Breeze Blows Gently to guide the grass's spiritual power until it recovered.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng tested how long different spirit herbs could nourish Shan Heyuan’s cultivation from inside his Dantian. After documenting the herbs’ limits and costs, they discussed ways Shan Heyuan could obtain a steady supply, leaving him grateful to Shen Duheng for his guidance.

• Shan Heyuan discovered the Remaining Tranquility Grass withered when he put it into his Dantian a second time, and he and Shen Duheng concluded it could only be placed there once.
• Shan Heyuan tested a Qi Refining Fifth Stage Ketu Grass, which supplied spiritual power and supported his cultivation until it wilted after eleven hours and forty-four minutes.
• Shan Heyuan tested an Earth Spirit Ginseng, which lasted only twenty-nine minutes, then replanted it and reviewed his results with Shen Duheng.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng concluded that each spirit herb had a different Dantian lifespan and released a different amount of spiritual power.
• Shen Duheng suggested that Shan Heyuan sell used or wild spirit herbs, join a hunting team, or find work caring for a Spirit Plant garden to support his cultivation.
• Shan Heyuan thanked Shen Duheng for encouraging him to train as a planter, and Shen Duheng became visibly more cheerful.

Shan Heyuan joined Zhao Changming’s hunting team for a trial trip to Camphor Gap Mountain and prepared to leave with them the next morning. Shen Duheng gave him a storage ring, and Shan set out excitedly with the team, which hoped his growing skills would improve their gathering.

• Zhong Shuran introduced Shan Heyuan to Zhao Changming, who invited him to join the hunting team’s trip to Camphor Gap Mountain.
• Shen Duheng gave Shan Heyuan a storage ring as a loan, and Shan learned to use it after recognizing it as its master.
• Shan Heyuan bought essential hunting supplies and spent the night too excited to sleep.
• Shan Heyuan went to Zhong Shuran’s house the next morning and met Zhao Changming and fellow team member Li Jiamu before their departure.

Shan Heyuan joined Zhao Changming and his companions on a hunting trip in Camphor Gap Mountain, where his skill at sensing spirit herbs helped them gather valuable plants. After an exhausting trek, the group reached their campsite, and Shan Heyuan restored the herbs while his companions prepared the camp and their catch.

• Shan Heyuan dug up a Jade Void Herb and, guided by his sensitivity to spiritual power, led the group to two valuable Indeterminate Grass plants.
• Zhao Changming, Li Jiamu, Zhong Shuran, and Shan Heyuan hurried deeper into the mountains after Shan Heyuan's discoveries put them behind schedule.
• The exhausted group reached their planned campsite, where Zhong Shuran gave Shan Heyuan a Lesser Recovery Pill and set up a protective formation.
• Zhao Changming and Li Jiamu processed the spirit beasts while Shan Heyuan used Gentle Breeze to restore the spirit herbs they had collected.

After returning from a successful four-day mountain trip, Shan Heyuan reunited with Shen Duheng, shared his earnings, and tended the spirit herbs he had brought home. He woke the next day having advanced to the Qi Refining Fourth Stage, though Shen Duheng expected his progress to remain smooth until Foundation Establishment.

• Shan Heyuan and his companions spent three days in the mountains, then sold their gathered goods in town and returned to the village on the fourth day.
• Shan Heyuan met Shen Duheng at the village entrance, and Zhong Shuran watched them leave together, feeling envious of their companionship.
• Shan Heyuan gave Shen Duheng his share of seven thousand two hundred spirit pearls and showed him the spirit herbs and cultivation materials he had received.
• Shan Heyuan planted most of his spirit herbs at home, used a Jade Void Herb to aid his cultivation, and slept deeply after the tiring trip.
• Shen Duheng recognized that Shan Heyuan had reached the Qi Refining Fourth Stage, and Shan Heyuan celebrated the unexpected advancement.

After advancing to the Qi Refining Fourth Stage, Shan Heyuan practiced the Spring Transformation Art’s second move and saw it help his courtyard tree flourish. A sudden downpour threatened his spirit herbs, and after Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng drained the courtyard, Shen Duheng revealed that the rain was a tribulation phenomenon and warned Shan Heyuan against going to the mountain for Earth Spirit Ginseng.

• Shen Duheng told Shan Heyuan that disciples in major sects faced few bottlenecks below Nascent Soul, and Shan Heyuan wondered about the broken sword’s owner.
• Shan Heyuan practiced “Rising Sun Ascends in the East,” using spiritual power to make the courtyard tree grow a dense canopy.
• Rain flooded Shan Heyuan’s spirit herb field, so he dug a drainage ditch with Shen Duheng and used his art to help the herbs recover.
• Shen Duheng explained that the downpour was caused by a cultivator undergoing a tribulation, possibly at the Spirit Transformation Realm.
• Shan Heyuan wanted to check the Earth Spirit Ginseng on the mountain, but Shen Duheng warned that the rain and emerging spirit beasts made the trip dangerous.

After a storm flooded Shan Heyuan’s Earth Spirit Ginseng fields, he and Shen Duheng worked through the night to save the plants, and Shan Heyuan spent the following days nursing them back to health. Worried about animals stealing the nearly mature ginseng, he asked Zhong Shuran about field defenses and learned that guarding the crop with Shen Duheng might be more practical than buying costly talismans.

• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng braved the storm, repaired the flooded fields, and buried the displaced Earth Spirit Ginseng until the rain stopped at dawn.
• Shan Heyuan exhausted his Spiritual Power, recovered at home, and then devoted himself to treating the storm-weakened spirit plants and their diseases and pests.
• Shan Heyuan went into the mountains with Zhong Shuran and the others, returned with two Qi Refining Seventh Stage Spirit Plants and nine thousand three hundred spirit pearls, and bought supplies for his fields.
• Shan Heyuan visited Zhong Shuran and learned how he prepared durable, high-quality wooden talisman pieces.
• Shan Heyuan asked about defending his nearly mature Earth Spirit Ginseng from animals, but Zhong Shuran explained that defensive talismans were expensive and suggested taking turns guarding the fields with Shen Duheng.