Chapter Summaries

Zhao Gongming’s companions learned that the Dragon Race wanted to arrange a marriage between him and a dragon maiden, offering twelve Sea-Calming Pearls as dowry. Yun Xiao decided to seek their Master’s approval, leaving Zhao Gongming’s fate in the match to be decided without his knowledge.

• Bai Ze, the Three Xiāo, Immortal Weng of the South Pole, and Lu Jun were stunned when they learned the Dragon Race had proposed a marriage alliance for Zhao Gongming.
• Yun Xiao reasoned that a marriage could help Zhao Gongming’s work in the West Sea, while Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao eagerly supported the idea.
• Lu Jun realized that the Dragon Race planned to offer twelve Sea-Calming Pearls as dowry, and Yun Xiao immediately declared that Zhao Gongming should marry the dragon maiden.
• Bi Xiao worried that Zhao Gongming would refuse and that they could not force him, so Lu Jun suggested asking their Master to command him.
• Yun Xiao agreed to present the match as a matter of public interest and hurried to Mount Sumeru to consult their Master.

Yun Xiao told the Saints that the Dragon Race wanted Zhao Gongming to marry into its ranks, offering the Twelve Sea-Calming Pearls as dowry, and Nuwa gleefully tied marriage threads to Dragon Maidens. Meanwhile, Zhao Gongming resisted the Dragon Maidens’ advances, then assured the Four Sea Dragon Kings that Tongtian would protect the Dragon Race elders during his heavenly evolution.

• Yun Xiao arrived at Mount Sumeru and told Tongtian and the other Saints about the Dragon Race’s proposed marriage alliance for Zhao Gongming.
• The Saints teased Tongtian about the alliance, and he promised Yun Xiao that he would make Zhao Gongming agree.
• Nuwa opened the Book of Marriage and tied thick red threads from Zhao Gongming to Dragon Maidens across the Four Seas.
• Zhao Gongming returned to the West Sea Dragon Palace, resisted the Dragon Maidens’ increasingly attentive advances, and left when he felt his Dao Heart wavering.
• Zhao Gongming met the Four Sea Dragon Kings outside Guixu and said Tongtian would suppress Guixu so the Dragon Race elders could withdraw safely during his heavenly evolution.

Zhao Gongming began preparing to Evolve the Twenty-Four Heavens as Sage Tongtian suppressed Guixu and freed the dragons who had guarded it for countless ages. Their escape revealed the terrible cost of the Dragon Race’s sacrifice, leaving Zhao Gongming shaken by what they had endured.

• Ao Guang thanked Zhao Gongming and led the Dragon Maidens away so he could prepare to Evolve the Heavens.
• Zhao Gongming summoned the Good and Evil Two Corpses, whose Sea-Calming Pearls steadied the West Sea and eased the pressure from Guixu.
• Sage Tongtian called the dragons out of Guixu, and countless ancient dragons and Dragon Elite struggled free from its darkness.
• As Guixu began to surge out of control, Tongtian used his Saintly power and the word “Suppress” to restrain it.
• The freed dragons thanked Tongtian and Zhao Gongming, while Zhao Gongming realized that generations of Dragon Race elites had given their lives to contain Guixu.

As Zhao Gongming watched the Dragon Race reunite with loved ones rescued from Guixu, he understood that the Sea-Calming Pearls carried a responsibility to protect the world, not merely advance his own cultivation. With Sect Master Tongtian’s aid, he evolved the pearls into twenty-four stable Pure Immortal Domains and left them ready to suppress Guixu.

• Ao Wu recognized his father among the rescued Ancient Dragon Clan members and reunited with him as the Dragon Race celebrated its survivors.
• The Four Sea Dragon Kings explained Zhao Gongming’s promise and the Sea-Calming Pearls’ role, and the rescued dragons placed their hopes in him.
• Witnessing the Dragon Race’s suffering, Zhao Gongming resolved to use the Sea-Calming Pearls to suppress Guixu and honor their sacrifices.
• Zhao Gongming called for the Heavens to rise, and the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls began forming twenty-four new domains but lacked enough energy to stabilize them.
• Sect Master Tongtian gathered energy from the West Sea and surrounding void, dividing it among the domains until all twenty-four Pure Immortal Domains became stable.
• Zhao Gongming thanked Sect Master Tongtian for his assistance.

Zhao Gongming transformed the Twenty-Four Heavens into Sea Realms to harmonize with Guixu and regulate the West Sea’s waters. Empress Houtu recognized his achievement and enfeoffed him as the True Monarch of Sea Calming.

• Zhao Gongming used the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls to restrain Guixu, but its chaotic origin disturbed his Three Corpse Bodies.
• Zhao Gongming asked Tongtian for guidance, and Tongtian advised him to create a domain that could contain and transform Guixu rather than oppose it.
• Zhao Gongming evolved the Twenty-Four Heavens into the Twenty-Four Sea Realms, allowing them to balance with Guixu and turn its devouring power into nourishment.
• Ancestral Witch Gong Gong, Ancestral Witch Zhu Jiuyin, and Empress Houtu sensed the improved Water Element cycle and its benefits to the Earthly Dao.
• Empress Houtu declared Zhao Gongming’s work a great feat and enfeoffed him as True Monarch of Sea Calming.

Empress Houtu had the Earthly Dao confer Zhao Gongming as True Monarch of Sea Calming, granting him authority over the West Sea and the Water Element Cycle. As the Dragon Kings realized Zhao Gongming now outranked them in the West Sea, Dao Ancestor Hongjun began considering finding Dao Companions for Lu Jun.

• Empress Houtu secured the Earthly Dao's recognition of Zhao Gongming and conferred the title True Monarch of Sea Calming as an early wedding gift.
• Zhao Gongming gained a divine position linked to the Twenty-Four Sea Realms, giving him authority to regulate the waters and suppress Guixu with the Earthly Dao's support.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun approved of Lu Jun's role in Zhao Gongming's achievements and began searching for suitable Dao Companions for Lu Jun.
• The Earthly Dao's conferment overrode Ao Run's authority in the West Sea, leaving the Four Sea Dragon Kings shocked and afraid about who would rule the Four Seas.

The Four Sea Dragon Kings realized that Houtu’s appointment of Zhao Gongming as True Monarch of Sea Calming threatened the Dragon Race’s authority and showed that the Earthly Dao could override its Heavenly Dao contract. Ao Guang proposed continuing the Marriage Alliance as a temporary way to preserve influence, but the Dragon Kings asked for another option.

• Houtu appointed Zhao Gongming True Monarch of Sea Calming, giving him authority over the West Sea and alarming the Dragon Kings.
• Ao Guang concluded that the Earthly Dao’s rise had changed the balance of power and warned his brothers to act cautiously.
• Ao Run and Ao Shun feared losing their seas, while the Dragon Kings reasoned that their gifts to Lu Jun had offended the Earthly Dao Saints.
• Ao Guang admitted that the Dragon Race had neglected the Earthly Dao and interpreted Houtu’s appointment as a warning about their authority over the Four Seas.
• Ao Guang proposed continuing the Marriage Alliance with Zhao Gongming to retain influence, and the Dragon Kings asked what other option they had.

The Four Sea Dragon Kings sought a way to appease the Earthly Dao Saints and preserve the Dragon Race’s authority over the Four Seas. They arrived at Mount Sumeru with a vast tribute, where Ao Run and Ao Guang confessed their supposed offense and begged for mercy, leaving the Saints and Tongtian stunned.

• Ao Guang and the other Dragon Kings struggled to find gifts that would impress the Saints, since they believed the Witch Race had little use for Spiritual Treasures.
• Ao Guang consulted Old Ancestor Azure Dragon, who urged the Dragon Race to offer everything valuable in its treasuries and show its fear and sincerity.
• The four Dragon Kings emptied their Sea Palaces’ stores, and Ao Guang and Ao Run led more than a hundred treasure chests to Mount Sumeru.
• The Saints noticed the Dragon Kings’ arrival, and Nuwa asked Ao Guang and Ao Run why they had brought so much clutter.
• Ao Run confessed that the Dragon Race had neglected the Earthly Dao Saints, while Ao Guang presented the treasures and begged them to let the Dragon Race keep its authority over the Four Seas.

The Dragon Kings’ attempt to appease the Earthly Dao Saints ended with their treasures being sent to Lu Jun, while the Three Xiāo approved the Dragon Race’s proposed marriage alliance with Zhao Gongming. The chapter left Ao Guang and Ao Run stunned to learn that Sage Tongtian had also agreed.

• The Saints accepted the Dragon Kings’ tribute and ordered Ao Guang and Ao Run to deliver the treasures to Lu Jun.
• Ao Guang and Ao Run brought the treasure procession to Lu Jun in the Star Domain and explained the Saints’ order.
• Lu Jun reassured the Dragon Kings that the Dragon Race could remain secure by faithfully performing its duties.
• Yun Xiao told the Dragon Kings that the Three Xiāo approved a marriage alliance between Zhao Gongming and the Dragon Race.
• Bi Xiao urged them to choose the most beautiful Dragon Maiden, and Qiong Xiao revealed that Sage Tongtian had agreed as well.

Ao Guang and Azure Dragon learned that the Saints supported a marriage alliance between the Dragon Race and Zhao Gongming, but Azure Dragon and Ancestral Dragon recognized that the Dragon Race needed more than promises to survive. Azure Dragon visited Ancestral Dragon in Dragon Spring Cave to discuss how the Dragon Race should change, and the chapter ended as he prepared to make a request.

• Yun Xiao told Ao Guang that Sage Tongtian approved the marriage alliance and Saint Nuwa had tied the red thread, while asking whether the Dragon Race could provide twelve Sea-Calming Pearls.
• Ao Guang and the West Sea Dragon King promised the pearls, returned to the West Sea Dragon Palace, and began planning how to win over Zhao Gongming.
• Ao Guang reported the Saints' support to Azure Dragon, who decided to leave Azure Dragon Abyss and visit Ancestral Dragon in Dragon Spring Cave.
• Azure Dragon explained the world's changes and warned Ancestral Dragon that the Dragon Race could lose its purpose if it failed to become indispensable.
• Ancestral Dragon agreed that the Dragon Race faced a critical choice, and Azure Dragon began addressing him as Big Brother before Ancestral Dragon protested.

Azure Dragon defended his past choices to Ancestral Dragon, arguing that they had helped the Dragon Race survive the Dragon-Han Calamity and preserve its future. He then revealed that he had found a way to get Ancestral Dragon out of Dragon Spring Cave, leaving Ancestral Dragon stunned.

• Ancestral Dragon angrily blamed Azure Dragon for the Dragon Mouth Expansion Plan, the Dragon Transformation Scripture, Leap Dragon Gate, and the Dragon Race’s disastrous struggle for supremacy.
• Azure Dragon argued that those plans had expanded the Dragon Race’s fortune and that the Dragon-Han Calamity had been unavoidable; Ancestral Dragon acknowledged the calamity’s hidden forces and Azure Dragon’s role in disrupting them.
• Azure Dragon said that becoming the Eastern Azure Dragon had helped him share the Dragon Race’s karmic burden and preserve its foundation while it waited for a chance to rise again.
• Azure Dragon told Ancestral Dragon that the Dragon Race’s opportunity had arrived and that Ancestral Dragon would need to sacrifice himself once more.
• Azure Dragon revealed that he had a way to get Ancestral Dragon out of Dragon Spring Cave, and Ancestral Dragon asked if he truly had one.

Azure Dragon proposed that Ancestral Dragon ascend the Investiture of the Gods List to escape his torment in Dragon Spring Cave, and Ancestral Dragon eagerly agreed. Azure Dragon left to negotiate with Lu Jun over the Dragon Race’s divine duties and benefits, leaving Ancestral Dragon hopeful for his release.

• Ancestral Dragon demanded to hear Azure Dragon’s plan and accused him of preparing another scheme.
• Azure Dragon explained the Investiture of the Gods List and the dramatic changes in the Prehistoric World to the astonished Ancestral Dragon.
• Ancestral Dragon welcomed the chance to leave Dragon Spring Cave, deciding the God-Beating Whip was preferable to endless torment.
• Ancestral Dragon agreed to ascend the list but asked what benefits the Dragon Race would gain.
• Azure Dragon departed for the starry sky with a generous gift to negotiate with Lu Jun.

Azure Dragon asked Lu Jun to bring the Investiture of the Gods to Dragon Spring Cave and place Ancestral Dragon on its List. He revealed that Ancestral Dragon, Primordial Phoenix, and First Kirin had not truly died, and explained how the first two bore their clans’ karmic burdens, leaving Lu Jun questioning whether guarding Immortal Volcano was really a punishment for the Phoenix Clan.

• Azure Dragon arrived at the Myriad Immortals Array Star Domain and gave Lu Jun another vast trove of treasures.
• Azure Dragon asked Lu Jun to take the Investiture of the Gods to Dragon Spring Cave and place Ancestral Dragon on the List.
• Lu Jun was shocked to learn that Ancestral Dragon was alive, and Azure Dragon revealed that Primordial Phoenix and First Kirin had not truly died either.
• Azure Dragon explained that Ancestral Dragon remained suppressed in Dragon Spring Cave to bear the Dragon Race’s sins and that Primordial Phoenix merged her Nirvana power with Immortal Volcano to contain its fire and repay her clan’s karmic burden.
• Lu Jun questioned how guarding Immortal Volcano could count as punishment for the Phoenix Clan when it was one of their places of origin.

Azure Dragon explained that the Dao Ancestor imposed hidden safeguards when assigning the Dragon and Phoenix Clans to guard dangerous sites, creating the Four Sacred Beasts as replacements and contingencies. Lu Jun then asked why the Qilin Clan’s First Kirin had been given no role, leaving the question unanswered.

• Azure Dragon explained that the Phoenix Clan was forbidden from letting Immortal Volcano erupt, making any eruption a threat to the clan’s survival.
• Bai Ze realized that the Four Sacred Beasts had been established as safeguards in case the Dragon or Phoenix Clan failed to guard their assigned sites.
• Azure Dragon said Vermilion Bird could replace the Phoenix Clan at Immortal Volcano, while he could guard the Sea Eye if the Dragon Race abandoned its duty.
• Azure Dragon explained that White Tiger was meant to slaughter demonic creatures in the Western Lands left behind by Rahula’s destruction of Mount Sumeru.
• Azure Dragon said Black Tortoise was his backup at Guixu Land, able to use water and defensive abilities to delay a crisis until the Dao Ancestor could intervene.
• Lu Jun asked what purpose First Kirin and the Qilin Clan had served.

Azure Dragon explained how First Kirin sacrificed himself to become Qilin Cliff and how his True Spirit was nearing Dao Dissolution. Lu Jun decided to use the Investiture of the Gods to preserve First Kirin, and Azure Dragon led the group to Qilin Cliff, where he called out to his old friend.

• Azure Dragon explained that First Kirin had fused his body and divine soul into Kunlun Mountain to suppress the beast lineage's remaining fortune.
• Azure Dragon revealed that First Kirin's True Spirit still lingered in Qilin Cliff but was close to Dao Dissolution.
• Lu Jun proposed taking First Kirin into the Investiture of the Gods, and Azure Dragon agreed to guide the group to him.
• Azure Dragon carried Lu Jun and the others to Qilin Cliff, where they searched for First Kirin's presence but found no living aura.
• Azure Dragon called to First Kirin and asked him to respond if he was not completely dead.

First Kirin accused Azure Dragon of deceiving the Qilin Clan and abandoning it in a battle against the Phoenix Clan, while Azure Dragon defended his actions. The argument ended with First Kirin revealing that Azure Dragon had pursued Primordial Phoenix until the male, fire-aligned Phoenix transformed into a female.

• First Kirin emerged as a fading phantom at Qilin Cliff and warned everyone not to trust Azure Dragon, accusing him of tricking the Qilin Clan into having mongrel offspring.
• First Kirin recounted how Azure Dragon persuaded the Qilin Clan to join the Dragon Race against the Phoenix Clan, then withdrew to suppress Guixu while the Qilin Clan suffered heavy losses.
• Azure Dragon denied abandoning the Qilin Clan and claimed Rahula had caused Guixu and Immortal Volcano to erupt at the same time.
• First Kirin said the Qilin Clan then joined forces with the Phoenix Clan against the Dragon Race, and accused Azure Dragon of secretly pursuing Primordial Phoenix.
• First Kirin revealed that Azure Dragon's pursuit led Primordial Phoenix, who had originally been male and innately fire-aligned, to transform into a female.

Immortal Weng of the South Pole and Lu Jun tried to persuade First Kirin to ascend the Investiture of the Gods, explaining that it could restore him and let him protect the Qilin descendants. Azure Dragon provoked First Kirin by claiming Ancestral Dragon might ascend the list and come dance on his grave, leaving First Kirin furious and newly motivated.

• Onlookers learned that Azure Dragon had pursued Primordial Phoenix, who had become female, while Azure Dragon denied First Kirin's accusations and refused to meet her.
• Immortal Weng of the South Pole invoked her master Primeval Lord of Heaven's name to stop First Kirin's phantom from dispersing and asked him to hear them out.
• Immortal Weng explained that Lu Jun oversaw the Investiture of the Gods and that ascending the list could restore First Kirin's Divine Body and let him protect the Qilin descendants.
• First Kirin deduced the Heavenly Secrets, learned that even a Chaos Demon God had ascended the list, and began to consider the opportunity despite his fear of the Dao Ancestor's punishment.
• Azure Dragon told First Kirin that Ancestral Dragon might ascend the list and come visit his grave, enraging First Kirin and making him unwilling to let that happen.

First Kirin joined the Investiture of the Gods List and received a divine body, then accompanied Lu Jun to Dragon Spring Cave to meet Ancestral Dragon. After learning why the Dragon Race wanted Ancestral Dragon listed and agreeing to a Four Seas divine duty, Lu Jun insisted that Azure Dragon join the list alongside his brother.

• First Kirin accepted Lu Jun’s offer to enter the Investiture of the Gods List, and Lu Jun reshaped his body into a powerful divine body.
• First Kirin vowed to watch Azure Dragon and Ancestral Dragon as he accompanied Lu Jun and the others to Dragon Spring Cave.
• Ancestral Dragon agreed to join the list, and Azure Dragon explained that Zhao Gongming’s new authority over the Four Seas had left the Dragon Race fearing for its future.
• Azure Dragon asked Lu Jun to give Ancestral Dragon a Four Seas divine duty so he could guard the waters and support the Dragon Race, and Lu Jun agreed.
• Lu Jun declared that Azure Dragon must join the Investiture of the Gods List together with Ancestral Dragon.

Lu Jun proposed placing both Ancestral Dragon and Azure Dragon on the Investiture of the Gods List, alarming the Dragon Race and raising concerns about the balance of the Four Seas. He clarified that Azure Dragon could ascend in the flesh to avoid dying in a future accident, leaving the method unresolved.

• Ancestral Dragon and Azure Dragon feared Lu Jun intended to gather the Dragon Race's leaders on the list to clear the way for Zhao Gongming.
• First Kirin, Bai Ze, Immortal Weng of the South Pole, and the Three Xiāo reacted to Lu Jun's plan, with Yun Xiao worrying about its risks to the Heavenly Dao and the Four Seas.
• Azure Dragon invoked Dao Ancestor Hongjun's plan and asked who would guard the eastern Heavenly Pillar if he ascended the list.
• Lu Jun reassured Azure Dragon that his ascension would not affect the Heavenly Dao and said he wanted to protect him from a future accident.
• Lu Jun revealed that Azure Dragon could ascend the Investiture of the Gods List in the flesh.

Lu Jun explained that living beings could place their physical bodies on the Investiture of the Gods and retain their strength and Dao paths, prompting Ancestral Dragon to request deification. Lu Jun worried that either choice would waste Ancestral Dragon’s body or leave him trapped, until Ancestral Dragon proposed refining his deified body into a Houtian Spiritual Treasure and becoming its artifact spirit.

• Lu Jun explained that physical-body deification granted a Divine Position while allowing a being to retain its body, strength, and Dao path, subject to heavenly rules and duties.
• Azure Dragon and Ancestral Dragon rejoiced at the prospect of being recruited into the Heavenly Dao, while First Kirin regretted that he no longer had a physical body.
• Ancestral Dragon asked Lu Jun to place him on the Investiture of the Gods, but Lu Jun hesitated because listing his body would keep him bound to Dragon Spring Cave and listing his True Spirit would waste his body.
• Lu Jun told Ancestral Dragon he wanted to preserve both his body’s potential and his ability to serve the Prehistoric World.
• Ancestral Dragon proposed deifying his physical body, then leaving it to refine it into a Houtian Spiritual Treasure and becoming its artifact spirit.