Chapter Summaries

Shan Heyuan sold two branches from his courtyard tree to Zhong Shuran, then harvested and sold a batch of Earth Spirit Ginseng with Shen Duheng. After the sale, a tall, thin young man identified Shan as the grower and set out to find out more about him.

• Zhong Shuran asked Shan Heyuan for two branches from his courtyard tree, and Shen Duheng cut them down with his sword.
• Shan Heyuan explained that he had sold the branches to fund defensive talismans for his Earth Spirit Ginseng.
• As the ginseng attracted more birds and beasts, Shan Heyuan harvested 633 mature plants and brought them with Shen Duheng to Hidden Spirits General Store.
• Shan Heyuan negotiated a price of 420 spirit beads per plant, earning 265,860 spirit beads, then bought more seeds.
• A tall, thin young man learned that Shan Heyuan had grown the ginseng and said he would ask around to confirm it.

Shan Heyuan agreed to inspect the Supreme Harmony Sect’s ailing Spirit Plant garden after Jiu Mingyue persuaded him, and traveled with him to Thousand Cries Peak. They entered the garden’s misty restriction, where the powerful Spiritual Qi and bitter fragrance overwhelmed Shan Heyuan.

• Shan Heyuan repaid Shen Duheng 250,000 spirit pearls and began preparing fertilizer mud balls for Spirit Plant seedlings.
• Jiu Mingyue, an inner disciple of the Supreme Harmony Sect, visited Shan Heyuan and asked him to inspect his master’s Spirit Plant garden.
• Shan Heyuan initially declined, but agreed to take a look after Jiu Mingyue insisted and promised to bring him back.
• Shan Heyuan informed Shen Duheng that he was going to the Supreme Harmony Sect, and Shen Duheng replied that he would pick him up in the evening.
• Jiu Mingyue piloted Shan Heyuan by flying boat to the Supreme Harmony Sect, where they arrived at the Spirit Plant garden on Thousand Cries Peak.
• Jiu Mingyue used a jade talisman to open a path through the garden’s misty restriction, and Shan Heyuan sneezed at the dense Spiritual Qi and bitter fragrance.

Shan Heyuan inspected a quarantined field of diseased Spirit Plants and concluded the illness came from an external infection that common medicinal liquids had not cured. With Jiu Mingyue’s permission, he began testing Gentle Breeze on a Giant Whale Branch.

• Jiu Mingyue brought Shan Heyuan to the Spirit Plant fields, where they met Wen Chengyi and a youth discussing the outbreak and the missing garden owner.
• Wen Chengyi explained that he wanted to destroy the infected plants, while the youth said they were waiting for their master’s instructions and advice from plant cultivators.
• Shan Heyuan examined the isolated fields and found severe leaf loss, mottling, and thinning, but no obvious signs in the pruned branches.
• Shan Heyuan said the plants had caught an external disease and learned that several medicinal liquids had failed to help.
• Jiu Mingyue allowed Shan Heyuan to try treating the plants from within, and Shan Heyuan used Gentle Breeze on a Giant Whale Branch.

Shan Heyuan used the Spring Transformation Art to restore some vitality to the Supreme Harmony Sect’s Spirit Plants, but he was unsure whether they could be saved. After returning home late, he shared a meal with Shen Duheng and described how serious their condition was.

• Shan Heyuan revived a Giant Whale Branch by smoothing its spiritual power, and Wen Chengyi learned that Shan Heyuan had taught himself the rare Spring Transformation Art.
• Jiu Mingyue supplied Shan Heyuan with pills as he treated more Spirit Plants, then paid him thirty thousand spirit pearls for his work.
• Shan Heyuan asked to take discarded branches home to study, and Qi Yuanbai introduced himself and offered to learn from him.
• Shan Heyuan returned late, where Shen Duheng had saved dinner for him, and told Shen Duheng that the Supreme Harmony Sect’s Spirit Plants might be difficult to save.

Shan Heyuan learned that the broken sword had chosen him because it recognized his aptitude, then used his planter skills to treat rare Spirit Plant cuttings. By the end, some cuttings had rooted, though only about thirty percent survived long enough to grow leaves.

• Shan Heyuan questioned Shen Duheng about why he had recommended the difficult Spring Transformation Art, and Shen Duheng explained that the broken sword had chosen Shan Heyuan and demonstrated his aptitude.
• Shan Heyuan told Shen Duheng about third-grade planter Wen Chengyi and considered taking a professional planter exam after finishing his work at the Supreme Harmony Sect.
• Shan Heyuan mixed rooting solution and treated the Spirit Plant cuttings he had brought home while Shen Duheng helped prepare them.
• Shen Duheng stopped Shan Heyuan from overusing Gentle Breeze and sent him to bed, then waited until he fell asleep before returning to his room.
• At dawn, Shan Heyuan discovered that the cuttings had grown roots and told Shen Duheng, who suggested renting another Spirit Plant garden if needed.
• Shan Heyuan carefully tended the cuttings, but only about thirty percent survived and grew leaves.

Shan Heyuan proposed replanting cuttings from the Supreme Harmony Sect’s diseased Spirit Plants, and Jiu Mingyue agreed to let him try under a Heavenly Dao oath. Shan Heyuan also practiced sword flight with Shen Duheng, who revealed that he had once been human, and Shan Heyuan stepped back onto the sword to continue.

• Shan Heyuan warned Jiu Mingyue that the sect’s diseased Spirit Plants were dying and proposed replanting sturdy branches as cuttings after disinfecting the fields.
• Shan Heyuan estimated a thirty percent success rate and asked the Supreme Harmony Sect to protect him from blame if the attempt failed.
• Jiu Mingyue agreed to have his sect leader martial uncle swear a Heavenly Dao oath with Shan Heyuan, who accepted the task.
• Shan Heyuan practiced flying on his wooden sword by the river while Shen Duheng stood ready to catch him.
• After Shan Heyuan asked how Shen Duheng had learned sword flight, Shen Duheng said he had once been human before becoming a sword spirit.
• Shan Heyuan recovered from a fall into Shen Duheng’s arms and stepped back onto the wooden sword to practice again.

While tending the sick Spirit Plants, Shan Heyuan entered a state of forgetting both self and surroundings and advanced from Qi Refining Fifth Stage to Qi Refining Eighth Stage. Jiu Mingyue invited him to take a special examination for the Supreme Harmony Sect's inner sect, and Shan Heyuan left the offer under consideration as he waited for Shen Duheng.

• Shan Heyuan returned to the Supreme Harmony Sect's separate Spirit Field with Shen Duheng and began preparing cuttings from the sick Spirit Plants with Qi Yuanbai.
• Shan Heyuan became absorbed in using the Spring Transformation Art, while Qi Yuanbai noticed his presence rising and Spiritual Qi forming a vortex around him.
• Jiu Mingyue arrived and told Qi Yuanbai not to disturb Shan Heyuan while he was in the state of forgetting both self and surroundings.
• Shan Heyuan finished treating the pile of Spirit Plants, came back to his senses, and learned that he had advanced three stages to Qi Refining Eighth Stage.
• Jiu Mingyue invited Shan Heyuan to take a special examination for the Supreme Harmony Sect's inner sect, and Shan Heyuan soaked the cuttings in rooting solution while waiting for Shen Duheng.

After advancing to Qi Refining Eighth Stage, Shan Heyuan declined the Supreme Harmony Sect’s invitation to join its inner sect, following his discussion with Shen Duheng. His successful revival and propagation of the sect’s sick Spirit Plants impressed Tong Liangji, who invited him to take Sword Reverence Academy’s entrance examination.

• Shan Heyuan told Shen Duheng that Jiu Mingyue had invited him to join the Supreme Harmony Sect’s inner sect, and Shen advised him to wait until he reached Foundation Establishment.
• Shan Heyuan declined the invitation, then successfully rooted and replanted cuttings from the Supreme Harmony Sect’s sick Spirit Plants, creating a garden with more plants than before.
• Tong Liangji visited the garden with Wen Chengyi, Jiu Mingyue, and others, praised Shan Heyuan’s work, and learned that the revived plants had a one hundred and twenty percent yield.
• Tong Liangji invited Shan Heyuan to take the entrance examination for Sword Reverence Academy and advised him to take the planter rank examination and study planter texts.

Shan Heyuan passed the fifth-grade planter qualification exam, began working as a consultant for the Supreme Harmony Sect, and reunited with Ma Rupei. When he returned home from celebrating, Shen Duheng showed him a news report claiming that the city of Yongli had died.

• Tong Liangji praised Shan Heyuan's work on the sick Spirit Plants, impressing Jiu Mingyue.
• Shan Heyuan studied for nearly half a month, passed the planter qualification exam, and was hired as Thousand Cries Peak's planting consultant.
• Shan Heyuan met Qi Yuanbai in the Spirit Plant garden and learned that Qi Yuanbai was tending it to develop his sword intent.
• Ma Rupei visited Shan Heyuan and told him he had reached Foundation Establishment, and Shan Heyuan invited him and Qi Yuanbai to celebrate over drinks.
• Shan Heyuan returned home and read Shen Duheng's news talisman, which reported that the city of Yongli had died.

After learning that a distant city had died when the sky broke, Shan Heyuan considered leaving Jingzhishan Town to see a larger world. In winter, his cultivation advanced quickly with a spirit-tree sapling in his Dantian, while he and Zhong Shuran discussed finding more Foundation Establishment-grade spirit trees.

• Shan Heyuan asked Shen Duheng about the destroyed city, and Shen Duheng explained that the sky had broken, the Heavenly Dao was severed, and the city had been sealed off.
• Shan Heyuan learned the news had been withheld locally and reflected that cultivators could only see a small part of the world; he told Shen Duheng he might leave Jingzhishan Town after the New Year.
• Shen Duheng said his cultivation was close to Core Formation and encouraged Shan Heyuan to wait until spring before deciding whether to travel.
• Shan Heyuan showed Shen Duheng the Foundation Establishment-grade sapling in his Dantian, which was thriving and helping him approach Qi Refining Ninth Level.
• Shen Duheng offered to ask familiar shops to look for stronger spirit plants, while Shan Heyuan said he had also asked Fellow Daoist Jiu and others.
• Shan Heyuan visited Zhong Shuran to carve talismans, and Zhong Shuran said he knew of no one with access to spirit trees.

Shan Heyuan learned that a dangerous, possibly beyond-Core Formation spirit tree guarded the Black She Temple ruins, and Shen Duheng forbade him from seeking it out. Later, Shan Heyuan reached the Supreme Harmony Sect’s Spirit Plant garden, where Qi Yuanbai told him they had finally contacted their master.

• Zhong Shuran told Shan Heyuan that a self-aware Core Formation-grade spirit tree haunted the Black She Temple ruins and left permanent welts on intruders.
• Shen Duheng explained that the mutated tree used spatial Secret Methods and Shamanism to trigger inner demons, warned that its victims would die before reaching two hundred, and forbade Shan Heyuan from pursuing it.
• During winter, Shan Heyuan flew through the cold to the Supreme Harmony Sect’s Spirit Plant garden and arrived later than usual.
• Qi Yuanbai told Shan Heyuan that he and the others had finally contacted their master, who had been trapped in a small secret realm and praised Qi Yuanbai and his senior brother after learning the garden had been saved.

Shan Heyuan received five valuable cultivation Jade Slips from Daoist Zhan Cang, studied them, and began preparing an advanced fertilizer method. He and Zhong Shuran finished setting up a talisman formation by the river for the heap burning.

• Qi Yuanbai gave Shan Heyuan five Jade Slips as a gift from Daoist Zhan Cang, who had sent them in gratitude for Shan Heyuan's help with the Spirit Plants.
• Shen Duheng suggested Zhan Cang might be considering Shan Heyuan as a disciple, but Shan Heyuan wrote to thank him while making clear he wanted to travel and gain experience.
• Shan Heyuan spent nearly a month studying the Jade Slips and chose the Spirit-Imbuing Heap-Burning Method to make fertilizer for his Spirit Plants.
• Shan Heyuan bought the costly materials for the method and prepared a clearing by the river with firebreaks and a talisman formation plan.
• Shan Heyuan and Zhong Shuran worked together to bury the talisman pieces, completing the formation before noon.

Shan Heyuan, Zhong Shuran, and Shen Duheng finished firing a batch of fertilizer that unexpectedly formed into pills. Wen Chengyi and several third-grade growers tested them and confirmed they were a new variety of fertilizer pills, leaving the growers curious about how Shan Heyuan had made them.

• Shan Heyuan and Zhong Shuran spent half a day firing the fertilizer, with Shen Duheng later joining them and bringing Shan Heyuan more spiritual pills.
• Shan Heyuan sensed the fertilizer was finished late at night, and Shen Duheng removed the fire talisman while the batch continued to simmer inside the protective array.
• Shen Duheng discovered pill-shaped pieces among the ash, and Shan Heyuan, Zhong Shuran, and Shen Duheng wondered whether the unusual result was a failure.
• Shan Heyuan and his companions packed 10,321 fertilizer pills into eleven boxes and collected the remaining fertile ash before heading home.
• After Shan Heyuan contacted Wen Chengyi, Wen Chengyi arrived with several third-grade growers, who tested the pills and identified them as a new variety of fertilizer pills.

Shan Heyuan demonstrated his fertilizer-pill refining technique to the senior Spirit Plant growers, who were impressed by his precision and the quality of his pills. After observing him, Wen Chengyi and another grower tried refining fertilizer themselves, and the chapter ended with the three batches lined up for comparison.

• The growers confirmed Shan Heyuan's copy of Ge Xuan's Notes matched Shan Heyuan's and offered him materials so he could demonstrate his technique later.
• Shan Heyuan refined a smaller batch of fertilizer pills and buried one beneath each of the 733 Spirit Plants in his courtyard, then set up a recording Spirit Artifact to monitor their growth.
• On November 13, Shan Heyuan invited the senior growers to watch him refine another batch and asked Zhong Shuran to prepare the formation.
• The growers watched Shan Heyuan refine fertilizer outdoors and praised his precise control, powerful Divine Sense, and exceptionally refined pills.
• Wen Chengyi and another grower tried refining fertilizer pills using Shan Heyuan's method and a Pill Furnace, while Shan Heyuan watched and learned from them.
• Shen Duheng came to keep Shan Heyuan company, and the three growers' fertilizer pills were lined up for inspection late that night.

Shan Heyuan traded his newly refined fertilizer pills for ten Foundation Establishment-grade spirit seeds, then discovered that Shen Duheng had reached Core Formation and been injured by tribulation lightning. After caring for Shen Duheng at home, Shan Heyuan used a new Spring Transformation Art technique to water the Spirit Plants at the Supreme Harmony Sect, where Qi Yuanbai said the garden’s Spiritual Qi mist had become a place for meditation.

• Shan Heyuan and the cultivators compared their fertilizer pills and agreed that his talent and technique produced the best results.
• Shan Heyuan traded fertilizer pills with Wen Chengyi and four other cultivators for ten Foundation Establishment-grade spirit seeds.
• Shan Heyuan noticed Shen Duheng was injured and learned that he had reached Core Formation after surviving tribulation lightning.
• Shan Heyuan bandaged Shen Duheng’s wounds, gave him a healing pill, and made him chicken soup the next day.
• Shan Heyuan used Spring Breeze Turns to Rain to water the Spirit Plants at the Supreme Harmony Sect, and Qi Yuanbai told him that martial uncles meditated in the garden for its Spiritual Qi mist.

Shan Heyuan learned more about the dangerous Illusionless Tree near Black She Temple and believed his Fertilizer Pills might give him leverage to negotiate with it. After several days of disagreement, he and Shen Duheng agreed that Shen Duheng would try once to steal soil from near the tree, then retreat if he could not do so safely.

• Qi Yuanbai told Shan Heyuan about Xinglan Mountain and the Illusionless Tree, explaining that the Core Formation Stage spirit tree was mad and could trigger inner demons.
• Shan Heyuan told Shen Duheng he thought the Illusionless Tree might be short of fertilizer and wanted to test the idea by collecting soil near it.
• Shan Heyuan proposed asking a Core Formation Stage senior to collect the soil, but Shen Duheng insisted on doing it himself.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng argued for several days before agreeing that Shen Duheng would make one attempt and withdraw promptly if it became unsafe.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng traveled to Xinglan Mountain, where Shen Duheng collected soil from the dangerous Illusionless Tree. Back home, Shan Heyuan analyzed the soil and concluded that heavy rainfall had leached away nutrients, leaving the tree’s roots in extremely infertile soil.

• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng set out for Xinglan Mountain with a storage ring for carrying soil.
• Shen Duheng brought Shan Heyuan to a safe distance from the Illusionless Tree and warned him not to stare at it.
• Shen Duheng dodged the tree’s roots and collected three chunks of soil while Shan Heyuan watched in fear.
• Shan Heyuan asked Shen Duheng to collect additional soil from the forest outskirts, and they returned home.
• Shen Duheng brewed medicine for the shaken Shan Heyuan, who then labeled soil samples and performed chemistry experiments.
• Shan Heyuan concluded that abundant rainfall had leached essential nutrients from the soil around the Illusionless Tree’s roots.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng prepared to approach the Illusionless Tree with fertilizer pills and an offering, hoping to trade with it. The tree attacked them but stopped short of their position, then spoke angrily, showing that it could still communicate.

• Shan Heyuan and Zhong Shuran spent the day preparing the courtyard, and Zhong Shuran finished setting up a restriction around the Spirit Plants.
• Shen Duheng showed Shan Heyuan a statue of the deity worshipped by the Black She Temple and explained that it might draw the Illusionless Tree's attention.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng planned their approach, then traveled to Xinglan Mountain with offerings and fertilizer pills.
• Shen Duheng set out the statue, sacrificial meat, and incense, provoking a powerful pressure from the Illusionless Tree.
• Shen Duheng retreated with Shan Heyuan as the Illusionless Tree's roots attacked, but the roots stopped at the edge of their reach.
• The Illusionless Tree withdrew its roots and roared at the humans, demanding to know what they were plotting.

Shan Heyuan negotiated with the Illusionless Tree for a living branch in exchange for fertilizer, while he and Shen Duheng camped nearby and gathered spirit herbs. The tree finally agreed to trade a small branch for ten thousand fertilizer pills, but Shan Heyuan could not tell whether it bore the tree’s mark.

• Shan Heyuan offered the Illusionless Tree fertilizer in exchange for an unmarked living branch, and Shen Duheng tossed the tree a box to sample.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng camped beside the tree, chatted with it, and gathered spirit herbs while waiting for it to consider the trade.
• After three days, Shan Heyuan offered ten thousand fertilizer pills for a forearm-length branch, but the Illusionless Tree demanded a hundred thousand.
• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng prepared to leave when negotiations stalled, prompting the Illusionless Tree to accept ten thousand pills for a small branch.
• The Illusionless Tree presented a three-inch branch, and Shan Heyuan could not determine whether it bore the mark that would prevent it from growing into a new plant.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng successfully traded fertilizer for a branch from the Illusionless Tree, and Shan Heyuan planned to work toward Foundation Establishment before treating it. After Shan Heyuan reached Qi Refining Tenth Stage, He Wu met with him and offered to take him as a Registered Disciple.

• Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng traded fertilizer for a branch from the Illusionless Tree, which Shan Heyuan said he would deal with after reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Shan Heyuan soon reached Qi Refining Tenth Stage, surprising his friends, including Qi Yuanbai.
• He Mingqing returned and brought Shan Heyuan and Qi Yuanbai to meet He Wu.
• He Wu praised Shan Heyuan's care of the Spirit Plants, advised him about plant cultivation, and gave him two books on growing plants.
• He Wu asked Shan Heyuan whether he would become his Registered Disciple.