Chapter Summaries

Qin Yi absorbed the meaning of Breathing Earth and discussed his cultivation path with Liusu. He then began studying the Veil of Time Illusion, while Liusu hinted that she knew its secrets from an old friend.

• Liusu explained that Qin Yi needed to comprehend Breathing Earth's essence rather than absorb the soil itself.
• Qin Yi resonated with Breathing Earth and absorbed its meaning into his Five Elements.
• Liusu described how Five Elements cultivators investigate the many forms of their chosen element and called Qin Yi a seeker of the primordial origin.
• Qin Yi asked about the Veil of Time Illusion, and Liusu linked his otherworldly crossing to his ability to understand time.
• Liusu set out two stone stools and challenged Qin Yi to begin studying the Veil of Time Illusion.

After completing three days of secluded cultivation, Qin Yi returned with a deeper grasp of the Path of Time and stronger Qian Yuan techniques. Suspecting the Heavenly Being might search for him, he arranged for Xun Wood City to conceal his identity before preparing to return to the Divine Land.

• Qin Yi reappeared before Yu Shang and An'an, whose brief sense that he was almost outside the world reflected his new mastery of the Path of Time.
• Yu Shang told Qin Yi that Bodhi Temple and Myriad Images of the Universe might cooperate after their shared enemy took what they had fought over, and that the clans had stopped troubling Qing Ying.
• Qin Yi considered where the Heavenly Being might strike next and worried about Demon City, so he decided to return to the Divine Land soon.
• Qin Yi told Yu Shang to keep his Qian Yuan cultivation secret and to mislead investigators by claiming he was a Huiyang cultivator from the Witch God Sect.
• Yu Shang agreed to coordinate the Xun Wood City clans, and Qin Yi ordered preparations for their departure to the Divine Land at dawn.

Qin Yi brought Yu Shang and An'an through the Twisted Passage to his former Cave Dwelling in Divine Land, showing them the place where he had cultivated in seclusion. After exploring the residence and restoring its protections, he set out to learn what had happened in the South Sea and considered seeking help from the Profound Yin Sect.

• Qin Yi guided Yu Shang and An'an through the Twisted Passage, while Liusu teased him about being an imperial concubine.
• Qin Yi showed Yu Shang and An'an his Cave Dwelling, where they found rooms that appeared to have belonged to Ju Yunxiu and another woman.
• Qin Yi said he had cultivated in seclusion there for seven years but preferred not to pursue immortality through years of solitude.
• Qin Yi dismantled some old arrays, added new protections, and found that no one had disturbed the Cave Dwelling.
• Qin Yi decided to find out what was happening in the South Sea and looked toward the Profound Yin Sect, where he said he was still their boss.

Qin Yi brought Yu Shang and An'an to the Profound Yin Sect while hiding their demonic traits, explaining the hostility demons faced in the Divine Land. He found the sect greatly expanded and learned that Yu Fuzi had become its female Sect Master, whose insights into yin and yang briefly stirred a new thought in him before it was knocked away.

• Qin Yi concealed Yu Shang's wings and An'an's demonic aura, then explained why humans in the Divine Land were deeply hostile toward demons.
• Qin Yi brought Yu Shang and An'an to the Profound Yin Sect to learn about the captured Clam Clan members before deciding what to do.
• Qin Yi arrived at the expanded Profound Yin Sect and astonished the gatekeepers by presenting his Supreme Elder token.
• Qin Yi recognized Yu Fuzi as the Sect Master, and Yu Fuzi explained that her cultivation sought to see through yin and yang rather than merely reverse them.
• Yu Fuzi's remarks about the Yang Spirit sparked a thought in Qin Yi, but a sudden thunk scattered it.

Qin Yi learned how the Profound Yin Sect grew into a major cultivator exchange center through connections he had established, while Liusu secretly prevented Yu Fuzi from revealing her true gender. Yu Fuzi explained that Chengcheng’s power and guidance held the sect’s new alliance together, leaving Qin Yi to reflect on how far she had risen.

• Liusu knocked Qin Yi to scatter his suspicions about her gender, then let him move her from his head to his shoulder.
• Yu Fuzi told Qin Yi that he had publicly credited him with the sect’s growth because Qin Yi had connected it to the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace and Demon City.
• Yu Fuzi explained that the Profound Yin Sect welcomed cultivators of different Daos and became the largest exchange center north of the Land of Chaos.
• Qin Yi asked what kept the loose association from falling into disorder, and Yu Fuzi revealed that Demon King Chenghuang had reached perfection in the Demon Emperor Realm and planned the sect’s transformation.
• Yu Fuzi told Qin Yi that his connections had bound the Profound Yin Sect, the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace, and Demon City together, and Qin Yi thought of Chengcheng’s rise.

Qin Yi learned that the Profound Yin Sect was secretly helping Demon City rescue Clam Girls from the South Sea’s pearl trade, with Ye Ling leading the effort. He headed for the South Sea, unsettled by how much Ye Ling had changed and the scale of the conflict.

• Qin Yi asked Yu Fuzi about the strange events in the South Sea and learned that cultivators were fighting over Clam Pearls and Clam Girls.
• An'an protested the treatment of Clam Girls, while Yu Fuzi explained that some young cultivators were trying to protect them.
• Yu Fuzi revealed that the Profound Yin Sect was secretly sheltering Clam Girls and sending them beneath the rift.
• Yu Fuzi identified Ye Ling as the Demon City leader coordinating the rescue under the title of a Profound Yin Sect elder.
• Qin Yi traveled toward the South Sea and reflected on Ye Ling’s growth as An'an examined a Clam Pearl and wondered what Qin Yi would do.

Qin Yi followed the captors of a Clam Girl, hoping to find their nest and rescue more prisoners, while a group of cultivators intervened to save her. As the rescuers fled after a costly battle, a hidden watcher killed their pursuer with one swift strike.

• Qin Yi marked both groups after An'an wanted to rescue a captured Clam Girl, then followed the captors toward their nest.
• The captors beat the Clam Girl and tested whether her tears were pearls, prompting An'an to fight back her anger.
• A group of cultivators led by a newly advanced Radiant Sun cultivator from the Profound Yin Sect confronted the captors over their cruelty.
• The two groups fought, and the rescuers seized the Clam Girl but suffered two grievously wounded companions as they fled.
• A hidden watcher suddenly appeared and cut the burly pursuer's throat with a single strike.

Ye Ling revealed herself as the Demon Emperor who had secretly killed the attackers, while carefully trying to keep demons from being blamed and admitting she wanted humans to turn against each other. Qin Yi exposed himself, and Ye Ling dropped her fearsome act to reunite with him.

• Ye Ling killed the burly attacker and destroyed the flying artifact, wiping out its remaining cultivators.
• Ye Ling told Humble Origins she had acted cautiously to conceal demonic involvement and hoped human conflicts would escalate so the demons could withdraw.
• Ye Ling noticed Qin Yi's concealed airship and fired Black Light at it.
• Qin Yi dispelled the concealment and waved, prompting Ye Ling to hide her face and beg him not to think she was a bad snake.
• Qin Yi lifted Ye Ling by the collar, reassured her that she was still herself, and greeted her as a grown-up foolish snake.
• Ye Ling recognized Qin Yi, embraced him, and called him Brother.

Qin Yi reunited with Ye Ling, who had grown into a more developed but still youthful serpent fairy, and brought her aboard his flying ship. After Liusu and Ye Ling bickered over Qin Yi and Yu Shang, the group overshot Ye Ling’s island while everyone questioned whether she could lead them to rescue the Clam Girl.

• Qin Yi noticed Ye Ling’s changed appearance and asked where her base was, so she transformed into a small snake and guided him toward her island.
• Liusu and Ye Ling sat on opposite sides of Qin Yi’s shoulders and argued about who had a claim to him, while Liusu told Ye Ling that Yu Shang was his wife.
• Ye Ling learned that Yu Shang had wings and grew upset that they were white, until Qin Yi spread Chao Feng’s Wings and reminded her that he liked wings of other colors too.
• Liusu and Ye Ling fought after Ye Ling tried to make her let go of Qin Yi, and Liusu tied Ye Ling into a bow and hung her from the ship’s rail.
• Humble Origins pointed out that they had passed Ye Ling’s island by tens of thousands of li, while An’an worried that Ye Ling could not lead them to rescue the Clam Girl.

Qin Yi and An'an met Ye Ling and the rescued Clam Girls at the island base, where An'an revealed her identity as the Clam Clan Princess and offered a way to escort them home. After learning that unexplained forces were causing sea creatures to awaken as demons, Qin Yi suspected someone was deliberately manipulating the phenomenon to provoke conflict and draw Cheng Cheng out.

• Qin Yi arrived at Ye Ling's island base and was greeted with deference by the demons living there.
• Ye Ling showed Qin Yi and An'an the Clam Girls her group had rescued and planned to send them secretly to the Transverse Rift Valley.
• An'an revealed her identity as the Clam Clan Princess, and the Clam Girls recognized her and paid their respects.
• An'an offered a treasure that could create a passage to the sea, while Qin Yi argued that the abnormal increase in demons had to be addressed at its source.
• Humble Origins explained that either concentrated Demon Power or an Innate Water Spirit treasure could be awakening sea creatures, though searches had found no source.
• Qin Yi suspected that someone was controlling the phenomenon to harvest demons or lure Cheng Cheng out, and he decided to stay cautious while the group retained its cover.

Qin Yi ordered the demons to stop acting so they would not trigger a Human-Demon War, then set out with An'an to address the Clam Clan crisis. He confronted the clam catchers with overwhelming Qianyuan pressure and claimed the South Sea's profits for the Profound Yin Sect.

• Qin Yi forbade Ye Ling and the other demons from making further moves, explaining that their killings could expose them and ignite a wider conflict.
• Qin Yi reassured An'an that they needed to find the cause of the Clam Girls' suffering, then said that force might be the quickest solution.
• Qin Yi flew with An'an to rescue Clam Girls while Yu Shang went to contact a Huiyang elder of the Profound Yin Sect.
• A group of clam catchers investigated the burly man's death and discussed forming an alliance against those interfering with their business.
• Qin Yi appeared before the clam catchers, overwhelmed them with his Qianyuan pressure, and declared that the South Sea's profits belonged to the Profound Yin Sect.

Qin Yi used his overwhelming strength to take control of a South Sea treasure ground for the Profound Yin Sect and ordered local cultivators to guide him to rival factions. At the border, Yu Shang and Xuanqing Zhenren tried to stop rogue cultivators from seeking revenge, making the Profound Yin Sect’s intentions look like a bid to control the whole South Sea.

• Qin Yi slapped a late-Huiyang cultivator into submission and ordered him to either leave or help the Profound Yin Sect take over the area.
• Qin Yi made the defeated cultivator guide him toward other factions, while An'an took the frightened Clam Girls back.
• Qin Yi joked with An'an and Liusu, then explained that the Clam Girls would likely want the rival factions punished too.
• Xuanqing Zhenren and Yu Shang intercepted rogue cultivators at the South Sea border and urged them to withdraw.
• Supreme Real Person said he intended to avenge his injured disciple, and Yu Shang warned him to end his involvement in the South Sea affair.

Qin Yi ended the South Sea conflict by defeating the clam-catchers and helping the Profound Yin Sect take control of the region to protect humans and newly transformed demons. The fighting stopped for now, but Qin Yi suspected the hidden enemy would make another move involving the demon-transforming treasure.

• Yu Shang intimidated the Rogue Cultivators, while Qin Yi’s Chaos Divine Lightning made clear that a powerful Qian Yuan cultivator had intervened.
• Qin Yi brought the old clam-catcher who had guided him to Supreme Real Person and the other Rogue Cultivators, returned their captured Clam Girls, and gave them Clam Pearls as compensation.
• Yu Fuzi led the Profound Yin Sect in garrisoning the South Sea and rescuing Clam Girls from the Pearl Making Dens, bringing the conflict to an apparent end.
• An'an, Ye Ling, and others built the Sea Central Reception Channel, allowing newly transformed Sea Clan demons to return to the forbidden ground.
• Qin Yi realized that stopping the slaughter had prevented a potential Demon Calamity and suspected the enemy had engineered the conflict to provoke the Rift Demon City or set sea and sky against each other.
• Qin Yi expected the enemy to retrieve or reveal the demon-transforming treasure and prepared to respond when the next move drew stronger experts to the South Sea.

Qin Yi waited in the South Sea for his unseen opponent while spending his downtime with Ye Ling, Yu Shang, and An'an. As he told Ye Ling a story about White Snake’s origins, she reflected on whether becoming human or demon mattered and reaffirmed that she would follow Qin Yi either way.

• Qin Yi recognized that his opponent was watching the South Sea’s transformation and chose to wait, relying on An'an’s ability to detect disturbances across the sea region.
• Ye Ling asked Qin Yi to adapt White Snake’s prequel into a story about a black snake, while Yu Shang watched jealously and An'an worried over the maidservants she had sent to repay Qin Yi.
• Qin Yi told Ye Ling that Xu Xuan had chosen to become a demon so he could reunite with Little White.
• Ye Ling argued that Xu Xuan had sacrificed responsibility and courage, not merely a dog’s tail, and warned against abandoning what mattered for an outer form.
• Ye Ling told Qin Yi that she would follow him through any reincarnation, whether he remained human or became a demon.

Qin Yi asked Ye Ling to serve as an envoy to the sea so the demons of the rift could form an alliance with the sea. Though reluctant to leave him, Ye Ling accepted the mission and planned to return to the rift before setting out the next day.

• Qin Yi and Ye Ling recalled their childhood bond, and Ye Ling ran outside in embarrassment after clinging to him.
• Ye Ling told Qin Yi that her master would stay behind to guard the rift and warned them to remain cautious.
• Qin Yi remembered that he had intended to send Ye Ling to the sea as an envoy to connect the land and sea demons and address matters concerning Saint Dragon Peak.
• Ye Ling objected to being sent away and complained that Cheng Cheng would leave Qin Yi with little time for her.
• Qin Yi warned Ye Ling that a serious threat could bring disaster, and Ye Ling agreed to return to the rift, consult her master, prepare gifts, and depart the next day.

Qin Yi and Yu Shang discussed her departure from Barren Island and the Winged Human Race’s alliance, then grew intimate by the shore. An'an secretly watched through the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearl and recognized the Dragon Tendon bindings Qin Yi had once used on her.

• Yu Shang saluted Qin Yi and agreed to take Ye Ling back and help bring the alliance to fruition.
• Yu Shang told Qin Yi she felt more secure when he entrusted her with work, but feared she would become unnecessary as his cultivation grew.
• Qin Yi suggested that an alliance with Demon City might let Yu Shang benefit from seeing Kunpeng’s remains, but Yu Shang refused to curry favor with Chenghuang.
• Qin Yi teased Yu Shang about their intimate life, then put Liusu into the ring when she began to comment on Yu Shang’s confession.
• Qin Yi and Yu Shang became intimate behind the reefs while An'an watched through the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearl and recalled Qin Yi binding her with the same treasure.

Ye Ling returned to Barren Island with her guard, while Qin Yi learned how to use Qianyuan-stage Divine Descent from Liusu. Qin Yi successfully projected his awareness thousands of miles away, then learned that divine sense could be deceived and that an unguarded soul was vulnerable.

• Ye Ling observed Yu Shang’s satisfied appearance and admired her, while the Rift Valley Demon City delegation bickered during their flight.
• Liusu explained that Ten Thousand Miles Thought Transmission let Qin Yi gather his divine sense at a distant location and turn his perception there into a Divine Descent.
• Qin Yi spread his divine sense across several thousand miles, heard the South Sea in detail, and sent a Little Ghost to tease a seal on a distant island.
• Liusu scolded Qin Yi for bullying the seal and warned him that divine sense could be concealed from or deceived by others.
• Liusu cautioned Qin Yi that a soul outside its body was vulnerable, prompting him to ask whether Liusu had always been exposed before him.

Qin Yi trained his Ten Thousand Miles Thought Transmission while Liusu scolded and taught him, and he reflected on the Wolf Tooth Club’s connection to her and the Greedy Wolf Star. The lesson ended with Qin Yi gifting Liusu a crown, and the two watched the sea together as An'an observed them.

• Liusu beat Qin Yi with a flyswatter and criticized his lack of skill with Ten Thousand Miles Thought Transmission.
• Qin Yi considered that Liusu’s Dao might involve space and realized the Wolf Tooth Club could be the Greedy Wolf Star shaped into a weapon.
• Liusu explained that Qin Yi needed to master multiple split souls and improve his divine sense to approach Wuxiang.
• Qin Yi used his divine sense to retrieve a little prince’s crown from a kingdom across the South Sea and gave it to Liusu.
• Liusu put on the resized crown, joined Qin Yi on his shoulder, and listened as he played the flute by the sea.
• An'an watched Qin Yi and Liusu together through the divine pearl and felt envious of their closeness.

During a lull in the South Sea conflict, Qin Yi practiced using his Qianyuan abilities and contacted the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace through his identity plate. News that Li Wuxian was nearly nineteen made him realize eighteen years had passed since he entered this world, leaving him reflecting on time and the people he had watched grow.

• Qin Yi reasoned that the opposing forces were waiting for a way to counter Liusu, and he had sent Yu Shang and Ye Ling to consult the Dragon Son in preparation.
• Qin Yi used his Immortal Palace Identity Plate to contact a reclusive Huiyang cultivator in the Sect Life Tablet Chamber and learned how to reach Ju Yunxiu through her life tablet.
• The old cultivator told Qin Yi that Li Wuxian was nearly nineteen and that pressure to choose a husband for her was mounting.
• Qin Yi calculated that he had entered the world eighteen years earlier and imagined Li Qingjun fighting with baby Li Wuxian before picturing Li Wuxian as an adult ruler.

Li Wuxian rejected her ministers’ demands that she marry and produce an heir, then assured Li Qingjun she would not abandon her responsibilities. Li Qingjun noticed that Li Wuxian’s cultivation was troubling her and had invited Xi Lingzi to examine her.

• Li Wuxian flew into a rage at court and dismissed the ministers’ demands that she marry and continue the imperial line.
• Li Wuxian returned to her palace, smashed things, and hid her recent nightmares and sleeplessness from her attendants.
• Li Qingjun arrived and questioned Li Wuxian about her refusal to marry and her worsening temper.
• Li Wuxian promised Li Qingjun she would not abandon the throne, and Li Qingjun stopped pressing her to find a husband.
• Li Qingjun revealed that Xi Lingzi, head of the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace Medicine Sect, had come to diagnose Li Wuxian’s unsettled condition.