Recaps

Li Yingqiu found Dew-Congealing Fern while fleeing through the forest, but Lin Xu’s ghost horde began attacking the Yao territory nearby. After defeating several patrols, Lin Xu directed the ghosts toward the cliff opposite the Yao lair, preparing to attack the cave.

• Li Yingqiu gathered three Dew-Congealing Fern plants, hoping to buy life-sustaining pills for Sixian, then fled when she heard Yao soldiers fighting.
• Qiuqiu spotted Li Yingqiu through the Evil Eye, and Lin Xu identified her as a lone adventurer before turning his attention to the Yao cave.
• Lin Xu sent the ghost horde against the patrolling Yao soldiers, whose captain was killed and absorbed by the lantern-bearing ghost.
• Lin Xu ordered the ghosts to avoid the Yao lair and wipe out the scattered patrols first.
• After killing four patrols, the ghosts charged toward the shaded cliff opposite the Yao lair.

Yan Jingshu’s ghosts attacked the auxiliary yao cave and killed the wolf yao, while Lin Xu suspected something had happened to the main cave. After the battle, Lin Xu opened an iron chest and found a single-use blueprint for a resource building.

• Yan Jingshu led her ghosts into the auxiliary cave, where they were met by the wolf yao and its soldiers.
• The wolf yao overwhelmed the first wave of ghosts, but Yan Jingshu’s lantern-bearing ghosts and spirit-lamp curse helped her turn the fight around.
• Yan Jingshu’s black hair pierced the wolf yao and drained its essence blood and yao power until it died, leaving behind a crescent blade.
• The ghosts defeated the remaining yao soldiers, and Lin Xu suspected the yao from the main cave had not moved out willingly.
• Lin Xu opened three wooden chests for Low-Grade Spirit Stones, then found a single-use resource-building blueprint in an iron chest.

Lin Xu and the Wedding Procession Ghosts confronted the black tiger yao at his stronghold, but the tiger yao’s roar devastated the ghosts and forced them into battle. Lin Xu’s guardians combined their Sharp Wind Flags to hold the tiger yao back while the yao soldiers attacked the ghost ranks.

• Lin Xu and his group reached the yao cave, where the black tiger yao and more than a hundred lesser yao waited with bound yin soldiers.
• The black tiger yao attacked with a thunderous roar and Tiger Sha, shattering the Ghost Bride’s Nether Hair and destroying several red-clad paper figures.
• The tiger yao feinted toward the Ghost Bride, then charged Lin Xu, but the guardians’ Evil Eyes interrupted him with Mind Blasts.
• Lin Xu coordinated twenty-nine guardians to combine their Sharp Wind Flags into a gale that forced the tiger yao to stop and defend himself.
• The yao soldiers charged into the ghost ranks, cutting through the red-clad paper figures and spraying their green ghost blood.

Lin Xu and Yan Jingshu fought alongside the red-robed ghosts against the Yao army, while the black tiger Yao repeatedly targeted Lin Xu. As the tiger Yao launched a dangerous attack, Lin Xu read Yan Jingshu’s thoughts and recognized that the tiger was preparing to counter her strike.

• The red-robed ghosts and Yao soldiers became locked in a fierce battle as their strongest fighters clashed.
• The Ghost Bride wounded the black tiger Yao while Lin Xu used the Glazed Lamp, the Evil Eye, and the Sharp Wind Flag to keep it under attack.
• The black tiger Yao unleashed its power, escaped the fire dragon, and charged toward Lin Xu, but the Ghost Bride ensnared it with nether hair and struck its waist with her blood-red hairpin.
• The tiger Yao retaliated with blade Gang Qi aimed at Lin Xu, and Yan Jingshu rushed to protect her master.
• Lin Xu used the Dharma Seed’s resonance to read Yan Jingshu’s thoughts and realized the tiger Yao was slowing down to counter her concentrated attack.

Lin Xu and Yan Jingshu defeated the Black Tiger King through a risky counterattack, then captured it and learned the military cultivation method it practiced. Yan Jingshu survived but suffered severe soul injuries, and Lin Xu began considering the potential of the tiger demon’s art.

• Lin Xu warned Yan Jingshu that the Black Tiger King had used him as bait, but she charged the tiger demon anyway and pierced its chest with her blood hairpin as its saber shattered her soul body.
• Lin Xu realized Yan Jingshu was still alive, drew her into his body to heal, and saw the red-robed ghosts defeat the remaining demon soldiers and ghost troops.
• Lin Xu ordered the red-robed ghosts to bind the wounded Black Tiger King, who surrendered and offered to serve him as Hu Da.
• Lin Xu demanded the tiger demon’s cultivation method, learned it practiced the Tiger Sha Troop Refining Art, and recognized its potential for creating powerful yin soldiers.

Lin Xu claimed the miniature Spirit Vein and transformed the Black Tiger Yao’s lair into his own cave abode. After discovering new territory rewards, he built an underground spirit spring and began planning how to develop the territory.

• Lin Xu taught the Black Tiger Yao the Tiger Sha Weapon Refining Art, healing his wounds and refining his yao power into Weapon Sha True Qi.
• Lin Xu secured the low mountain, which the Territory Panel renamed [Cave Abode], and discovered he owned it outright but still lacked the Spirit Realm Lord template.
• Lin Xu cleansed the cave of its yao lair traces, revealing an upgradable dwelling cave and the Spirit Vein’s secluded chamber.
• Lin Xu opened a treasure chest and obtained a Spirit Spring Vein-Guiding Talisman, a Jade Soul Pill Formula, a Spirit Paper Workshop blueprint, and 20 Source Fire.
• Lin Xu used 20 Source Fire and the talisman to build an underground spirit spring that produced pure spirit water, then planned to cultivate spirit fields and excavate mineral veins.

Lin Xu recruited five Daoist acolytes, gave them Dharma Seeds, and cultivated in the Azure Cloud Cave Abode. After arranging for Yan Jingshu to recover, he set out with Hu Da to inspect the dark iron vein.

• Lin Xu used the monthly recruitment slot and Source Fire to recruit five Daoist acolytes.
• Meng Yaoguang and another woman gave the five acolytes second-generation Dharma Seeds, awakening their cultivation.
• Lin Xu cultivated in the cave abode and estimated that its Spirit Vein could produce about 100 strings of Dharma Coins a day.
• Lin Xu told Yan Jingshu to recuperate in the quiet chamber and left to inspect the cave abode.
• Lin Xu ordered Hu Da to accompany him to the dark iron vein, and they entered the mine passage.

Lin Xu ordered the black tiger demon to gather black iron, then planned Azure Cloud Mountain’s defenses and considered using monsters as guardian deities and a source of Source Fire. He spotted a monster camp filled with Fallen Demons and prepared to recruit suitable creatures.

• Lin Xu ordered the black tiger demon to deliver the stored black iron and forged tools, then mine enough to reach three thousand jin.
• Lin Xu decided to build wooden outposts and fortresses on Azure Cloud Mountain, focusing defenses where they would matter most.
• Lin Xu resolved to seek Source Fire from invading monsters and consider enlightening suitable creatures into guardian deities.
• Lin Xu used the Dharma Protector Evil Eyes to scan the mountain’s surroundings and began sorting potential recruits by type.
• Lin Xu spotted a monster camp at the mountain’s foot where more than thirty Fallen Demons had gathered.

Lin Xu met the lone adventurer Li Yingqiu in the wilderness and learned that she needed money for her sick younger sister. He forged a valuable sword from battered monster weapons, leaving Li Yingqiu stunned by its worth.

• Lin Xu considered granting Dharma Seeds to seven Fallen Shamans, then used the Evil Eye to find Li Yingqiu.
• Li Yingqiu tracked a herd of forest deer, but Lin Xu killed her chosen stag with a wind blade and invited her to talk.
• Lin Xu gave Li Yingqiu the stag and learned that she had arrived a day earlier and was traveling alone because of trouble at home.
• Li Yingqiu admitted that her younger sister was ill and that she needed a large sum of money.
• Lin Xu melted battered monster weapons into a finely crafted sword, and Li Yingqiu estimated that it could sell for fifteen taels of Heaven Silver.

Lin Xu tested Li Yingqiu’s honesty by entrusting her with the Azure Light Sword to sell, then used an illusion and a cultivation method to awaken the Fallen Shaman Bilusi. Bilusi converted the Fallen Demon camp to Lin Xu’s system, increasing his Source Fire and securing Azure Cloud Mountain’s outer defenses as Lin Xu recruited more demons.

• Lin Xu gave Li Yingqiu the Azure Light Sword to sell for a thirty-percent commission, and she told him she was from Cloud Ridge in Azure Prefecture.
• Lin Xu chose a Fallen Shaman and drew its consciousness into an illusion where it submitted to a demon god and received the name Bilusi.
• Bilusi awakened its Divine Aperture, learned a simplified cultivation method, and destroyed a group of ghouls with a powerful fireball.
• Lin Xu discovered that Bilusi’s changes to the Fallen Demon camp had earned him eight extra units of Source Fire and strengthened the defenses near Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Lin Xu spent 900 Dharma Coins to recruit five Fallen Demons and a shaman into the camp.

Lin Xu cleared Azure Cloud Mountain, upgraded the Fallen Demon camp, and moved his forces and supplies to Azure Cloud Cave Abode as fighting with the dungeon intensified. He left Yan Jingshu guarding the cave abode and prepared to face a major battle expected within the week.

• Lin Xu refused Yan Jingshu's offer to join the mountain sweep, leaving her to recover while he led the Dharma protector Daoists and Wedding Procession Ghosts against nearby monsters.
• After defeating gnolls and gathering enough Source Fire, Lin Xu upgraded the Fallen Demon camp, recruited seven more Fallen Demons, and found that 75 were needed for the next upgrade.
• Lin Xu told the recovered Yan Jingshu to guard Azure Cloud Cave Abode, then returned to Peach Tree Village, where Hu Da had mined more than a thousand jin of black iron ore.
• Lin Xu refined spirit rice into Spirit Grain Pills, delivered supplies to the forward camp, and judged that a major battle was likely within a week.
• Lin Xu led a convoy of supplies to Azure Cloud Cave Abode, leaving over a hundred militia under Chen Yuanfu and Wang Yue in the village and transferring the remaining Dao soldiers, militia, and outer disciples to Azure Cloud Mountain.

Lin Xu used the Spirit-Nurturing Cauldron to refine black iron ore and discovered that removing impurities raised the quality of the resulting materials. He then completed a massive artifact-refining cauldron at Azure Cloud Mountain, equipped for both water and fire refinement.

• Lin Xu built watchtowers, defensive positions, and patrol routes around Azure Cloud Mountain with help from the Daoists, Dao soldiers, and Peach Tree Village militia.
• The Black Tiger Demon delivered three thousand jin of black iron ore, which Lin Xu smelted and separated into black iron, black copper essence, and purple gold.
• Lin Xu tested his theory that removing impurities improved material quality and confirmed that the refined metals rose in grade.
• Lin Xu and the Ghost Bride's red-robed ghosts prepared the cave abode entrance as a site for refining a large artifact-refining cauldron.
• Lin Xu completed a twelve-meter-tall cauldron with formations for generating spirit fire and spirit water, and admired the finished treasure.

Lin Xu refined spirit rice into rare Spirit Grain Pills, then used the Precious Radiance Spirit-Tempering Cauldron to temper his soul with alternating spirit water and fire. After reaching the limit of seven rounds, he began cultivating with gathered sunlight, which intensified into flames that burned and nourished his soul.

• Lin Xu refined a thousand jin of spirit rice into 1,200 rare Spirit Grain Pills and gave ten pills each to his guardians and Daoists.
• Lin Xu asked Jingshu to guard him, then sent his soul into the Precious Radiance Spirit-Tempering Cauldron to try its water-and-fire soul-tempering formation.
• Lin Xu endured seven rounds of spirit fire scorching his soul and spirit water healing it before stopping from exhaustion.
• Lin Xu adjusted the cauldron’s formation and used the Yang Gathering Formation to gather and refine sunlight for his soul cultivation.
• The gathered sunlight became blazing flames that burned away impurities and fed Lin Xu’s magic power, leaving him struggling to withstand the pain.

Lin Xu tempered his soul with sunlight and moonlight, then refined and nourished Yan Jingshu and more than two hundred red-robed ghosts inside the cauldron. The ghosts began to grow stronger, though Lin Xu could provide only basic spirit rice for their cultivation.

• Lin Xu reduced the Yang Gathering Formation’s intensity after sunlight nearly shattered his soul, then used the gentler light to repair and temper it.
• Lin Xu adjusted the Yin-Gathering Array to survive the moonlight’s painful chill and refined his soul through the night, bringing it closer to level six.
• Lin Xu returned to his body, summoned Yan Jingshu and more than two hundred red-robed ghosts into the cauldron, and refined them with alternating water and fire.
• Lin Xu used the Food Bestowal Method to make spirit rice from Spiritual Qi, which the ghosts consumed as impurities left their souls.
• A ghost advanced as the group grew stronger, while Lin Xu regretted that his limited resources allowed him to provide only basic spirit rice.

Lin Xu refined the red-clad ghosts and forged powerful mystic iron equipment to strengthen his forces. After equipping the Fallen Demons and their shamans, he prepared to lead them onward.

• Lin Xu completed several rounds of Water and Fire Refinement and Deliverance, raising a tenth of the red-clad ghosts to level 2.
• Lin Xu forged the Rock-Splitting Peck, and the Black Tiger Demon used it to mine nearly a thousand jin of ore with one swing.
• Bilusi strengthened his control of the monster camp by converting two Fallen Shamans into second-generation guardians.
• Lin Xu brought enchanted mystic iron weapons to the camp and ordered the Fallen Demons to follow him.
• Lin Xu gave Bilusi and the other two guardian shamans Mystic Fire Bright Light Lamps, then equipped the Fallen Demons with helmets, blades, and shields that greatly increased their attack and defense.

Lin Xu led a force across Azure Cloud Mountain to hunt monsters, gather Source Fire, and recruit demons for patrols. After subduing three leopard demons and destroying a goblin settlement, he found an iron chest but no recruitment function.

• Lin Xu sent the Fallen Demons, red-clad ghosts, and Bilusi's shamans against a pack of wolves, while the red-clad ghosts drained the survivors of their blood and Qi.
• Lin Xu directed Hu Da to three leopard demons, and Hu Da intimidated them into surrendering.
• Lin Xu gave the leopard demons Dharma Seeds, turning them into potential recruits for a demon soldier patrol.
• The Fallen Demons and an Evil Eye Dharma Protector defeated a settlement of more than a hundred goblins and found Source Fire, Dharma Coins, and an iron chest.
• Lin Xu discovered that the goblin camp was only a settlement and had no recruitment function.

Lin Xu used the Wish Technique to obtain a Mountain Lord Seal, then recruited Jiang Hanyan to sell his pills and weapons in exchange for incense faith. After discovering that monsters had respawned in cleared territory, he split his forces to patrol Azure Cloud Mountain.

• Lin Xu wished for the most useful item in an iron chest and received the Mountain Lord Seal, whose description said it granted authority over a spirit mountain's domain and accelerated the consolidation of authority.
• Lin Xu met Jiang Hanyan in the forest, accepted ten of the seventeen taels she had earned from selling his sword, and invited her to help sell his goods.
• Lin Xu gave Jiang Hanyan Spirit Grain Pills and enchanted weapons to sell, asking her to exchange the proceeds for incense faith.
• Lin Xu wondered why he had not established a passage between his territory and the real world, then saw that monsters had respawned in an area his troops had cleared.
• Lin Xu ordered Bilusi, Jingshu, and Hu Da to lead separate forces in clearing the mountainside and foothills and bringing the mountain's spirit creatures under control.

Lin Xu’s Dharma Protector Evil Eye, Qiuqiu, independently hunted monsters across Azure Cloud Mountain to gather Source Fire and treasure chests, earning Lin Xu’s praise. Meanwhile, Lin Xu sensed a growing authority gathering into the Mountain Lord Seal and sacrificed Incense Fire Heaven Silver to accelerate its formation.

• Qiuqiu realized Lin Xu wanted Source Fire, then began killing monsters from the sky and bringing a treasure chest to the cave abode.
• Lin Xu discovered Qiuqiu’s actions, praised him, and ordered him to bring the other Evil Eyes to help hunt.
• The four Evil Eyes began sweeping Azure Cloud Mountain together, rapidly reducing the monsters and increasing the Source Fire supply.
• During meditation, Lin Xu sensed scattered conceptual information gathering into the Mountain Lord Seal and identified it as an emerging authority.
• Lin Xu sacrificed Incense Fire Heaven Silver with the Wish Technique to speed up the authority’s formation.

Lin Xu used Incense Fire Heaven Silver and a Faith Gem to accelerate the formation of his Mountain Lord Authority on Azure Cloud Mountain. A dungeon lord sensed the emerging authority and prepared an army to attack before it fully formed.

• Lin Xu discovered that his status as Azure Cloud Mountain’s master let him use Incense Fire Heaven Silver to accelerate the authority’s condensation, and he decided to seek more at the Merit Hall.
• Lin Xu opened the wooden treasure chest Qiuqiu had found and discovered a Faith Gem containing 10,000 points of incense fire.
• Lin Xu refined the Faith Gem into ten ingots of Incense Fire Heaven Silver and used them to accelerate the Mountain Lord Authority’s formation again.
• The disturbance revealed the forming authority to a dungeon lord, who resolved to find and destroy Lin Xu before it formed in two to four weeks.
• The dungeon lord ordered the front lines to delay the enemy and assembled an army to march toward Azure Cloud Mountain with Babalu.

Lin Xu collected incense offerings from Li Yingqiu and used them to finish condensing the Mountain Lord Authority. The resulting Azure Cloud Mountain Lord Talisman Edict granted him a Lord Template, and its power began transforming his sea of consciousness.

• Li Yingqiu returned with six hundred bottles of incense offerings she had traded for using Lin Xu's Spirit Grain Pills.
• Lin Xu refined the offerings into sixty taels of Heaven Silver and took Li Yingqiu up to the mountain's summit.
• Lin Xu entered the quiet chamber and watched the Mountain Lord Authority condense into the Azure Cloud Mountain Lord Talisman Edict, a red, rare-grade item.
• The talisman edict entered Lin Xu's sea of consciousness, where it doubled the sea's size as Spiritual Qi surged into his body.

Lin Xu comprehended the Mountain God Talisman Edict as it merged with his consciousness, gaining a lord template, new talent, and two authorities. After waking the next day, he tested his purifying fire and considered how to use his powers to develop Azure Cloud Mountain.

• Lin Xu used Thought Overclocking to study the rule information in the Mountain God Talisman Edict while Spiritual Qi surged into him.
• Li Yingqiu learned that she had joined a lord’s territory, confirmed Azure Cloud Mountain was only four days old, and welcomed the chance to help build it.
• Lin Xu emerged from meditation the next day with a Lord Template, the Purifying Fire Glazed Body, and the authorities Gather Beasts and Command Birds and Incense Offerings Mold the Golden Body.
• Lin Xu used Heaven Silver to activate the Glazed Purifying Fire, which began cleansing flaws and impurities from his body.
• Lin Xu examined his new authorities and used his awareness to view Azure Cloud Mountain and the land around its foot.

Lin Xu discovered that his lord powers let him cast immense spells across Azure Cloud Mountain with little personal cost, then treated wounded soldiers brought back from the front. After learning the monastery master had joined the fighting, he recruited Li Yingqiu and gave her a Dharma Seed as the decisive battle approached.

• Lin Xu summoned a giant fire wyrm that destroyed nests of Evil Head Wraiths and Revived Corpse Ghouls while drawing most of its energy from Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Meng Yaoguang told Lin Xu that Li Yingqiu had already delivered supplies and returned with thirty-five wounded soldiers, following Yan Jingshu's advice.
• Lin Xu treated the wounded, sending the recovered soldiers to patrol the mountain and allowing the others to recuperate in the cave abode.
• Li Yingqiu reported that Elder Chongxiao and the dungeon monsters had suffered heavy losses in a battle, and that the monastery master had brought reinforcements to the army camp.
• Lin Xu recruited Li Yingqiu and placed a Dharma Seed in her sea of consciousness.

The author explained how earlier failures and lessons led to this book being accepted on Qidian, and reflected on its rushed plot and uneven storylines. The book went premium at noon with a 30,000-character release, and the author promised at least 6,000 characters of updates per day.

• The author described how a carefully prepared urban supernatural novel flopped after months of planning and revisions.
• The author reconsidered the reasons for that failure, then submitted the new book through the Writer's Assistant app and sent an outline to an editor.
• The author said the editor offered valuable advice, and the new book was accepted before the author's three-month trial period ended.
• The author acknowledged that the plot and character work needed improvement, especially in the real-world storyline, and said later chapters would reveal how the Spirit Realm connected to reality.
• The author promised a guaranteed 6,000 characters per day, said the book would not be dropped, and asked readers to subscribe to the first premium chapter.

Lin Xu upgraded Azure Cloud Mountain to a level 2 cave abode, expanding its territory and improving its resources. He recruited Daoist attendants and two Daoists, then examined Li Qingya’s Qi Refining cultivation and powerful mana reserves.

• Lin Xu gave Li Yingqiu Hundred Spirit Pills for her sister and asked her to consider how to develop Azure Cloud Mountain.
• Lin Xu spent 1,000 Source Fire to upgrade Azure Cloud Mountain, expanding the territory and strengthening its Spirit Vein and black iron vein.
• The upgraded territory gained three Spirit Springs, an undeveloped Fresh Fruit Grove, new buildings, and the ability to recruit Daoists.
• Lin Xu recruited fifteen Daoist attendants and two Daoists, including Li Qingya.
• Lin Xu inspected Li Qingya’s Qi Refining technique and noted that her blue-grade cultivation method gave her more than twice the mana reserves of a comparable Soul Refining cultivator.

Lin Xu integrated the Azure Nether Qi Drawing Method into his cultivation technique and built a Demon Refining Cave, then began planning how his territory could produce skill books. Li Yingqiu identified the resources and artisans they needed to establish that production chain.

• Lin Xu incorporated the Azure Nether Qi Drawing Method into the Lamp Kindling Spirit Transformation Chapter and opened his Qi sea, increasing his capacity to refine magical power.
• Lin Xu used Source Fire to build a level 1 Demon Refining Cave in the Azure Cloud Cave Abode, then sent ninety-nine hares inside to undergo gu-style slaughter and transformation.
• Li Yingqiu congratulated Lin Xu on the territory's logging, papermaking, ink-making, and printing potential, which could support mass production of skill books.
• Li Yingqiu explained that the territory needed an ink workshop blueprint or purchased ink, skilled artisans to oversee production, and master-level professionals to imprint skills onto books.
• Li Yingqiu said Lin Xu's grandmaster-level skills gave the territory an advantage and that training advanced professionals could eventually help meet the market's shortage of skill books.