Chapter Summaries

Li Qingyun learned from Daoist Si that Blood-Red Shackle Stones might stimulate barren veins, prompting him to consider investigating the mysterious stones. His caravan entered the Central Lands and approached Yunqi City, where Tushan Wenshan planned to seek the Earth Dragon Fruit.

• Daoist Si warned Li Qingyun that swallowing a Blood-Red Shackle Stone could stimulate barren veins but usually caused death or corruption.
• Li Qingyun recalled his two Shackle Stones and resolved to collect more varieties to investigate their origins.
• Li Qingyun directed Soul-Qingyun to have the Three Pure Ones disciples collect Shackle Stones in exchange for Dao merit.
• Ling Yi told Lord Quan that the caravan had entered the Central Lands and was nearing Yunqi City.
• Tushan Wenshan explained that Yunqi City had a human-chattel market and planned to rest there while searching for the Earth Dragon Fruit.

Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone and the Ba Snake Mountain caravan entered Yunqi City, where they sold their goods and explored the Central Lands' bustling market. The clone discovered Cave Ghosts being sold as human-sacrifice food, and the chapter ended with the stall owner offering him a female Cave Ghost.

• Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone told Tushan Wenshan to seek information about the Earth Dragon Fruit and loushi, and learned that loushi could be found through the black market.
• Tushan Wenshan paid the entrance fee, and the caravan entered Yunqi City, where Li Qingyun observed its prosperity and the city's powerful Ancestral Return Realm ruler.
• The caravan settled at an inn, then Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone accompanied Tushan Wenshan's group to sell three carts of goods at the eastern market.
• The group sold their mountain delicacies and ores for a handsome profit, thanks in part to the Merfolk clone's presence.
• Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone stopped at a human-sacrifice stall and examined the Cave Ghosts, while the owner offered him a female Cave Ghost for two hundred Temple Coins.

Li Qingyun bought the Cave Ghost girl Zhi after sensing an unusual bloodline in her, then approved Tushan Wenshan using trade funds to buy a rare Xuan-blooded Cave Ghost woman. The Central Lands Lousefolk contested the second purchase, but Tushan Wenshan relied on Lord Quan’s strength as the bidding dispute continued.

• Zhi begged Li Qingyun to buy her, and he agreed after sensing an aura resembling the Three-Colored Nether God Skeleton in her bloodline.
• The other Cave Ghosts pleaded for rescue, but Li Qingyun refused to buy them because of the cost and his limited resources.
• A Cave Ghost young matron revealed her Xuan-blooded lineage and drew competing bids from Central Lands Lousefolk.
• Tushan Wenshan bought Zhi for 165 Temple Coins while the stall owner focused on the Xuan-blooded woman.
• Tushan Wenshan asked to use funds to buy the Xuan-blooded woman for his son, Tushan Fei, and Li Qingyun approved.
• Central Lands Lousefolk challenged Tushan Wenshan’s bid, but he pointed to Lord Quan, whose strength backed his claim.

Li Qingyun discovered that Zhi had an extraordinary bloodline and renamed her Houtu before accepting her as a disciple of the Three Pure Ones. Houtu awakened her power to the Sea-Chasing Realm, while Li Qingyun later examined Xuan Bing’s blood and approved her as Tushan Fei’s principal wife.

• Li Qingyun learned that Zhi had black blood and golden bones, then instructed her to hide her unusual traits.
• Li Qingyun divined that Zhi would become an important member of the Three Pure Ones Sect and renamed her Houtu.
• Li Qingyun accepted Houtu as his disciple, and her cultivation surged from the Blood Awakening Realm to the Sea-Chasing Realm.
• Li Qingyun introduced Houtu as his seated disciple to Tushan Wenshan, Chi Feng, Ling Yi, and the others, who bowed to her despite their envy.
• Li Qingyun tested Xuan Bing’s blood, found it pure but unremarkable, and said she was suitable to become Tushan Fei’s principal wife.

Li Qingyun sent Tushan Wenshan to guide his Merfolk clone into Yunqi City's black market to find scarlet shacklestone and Earth Dragon Fruit. After failing to find either, he provoked a member of the powerful Ji family, who claimed to have seen scarlet shacklestone.

• Li Qingyun passed the Awakening Meridian method to Houtu, whose cultivation advanced rapidly as she began training under him.
• Tushan Wenshan used the Tushan Clan's ancient bone token to gain entry to the black market with Li Qingyun's disguised Merfolk clone.
• Li Qingyun and Tushan Wenshan entered the underground black market, where a masked vendor offered Outer-Heaven Green Copper.
• Li Qingyun searched the shops and stalls for scarlet shacklestone and Earth Dragon Fruit but found neither.
• Li Qingyun loudly insulted the black market, drawing the attention of a young man surnamed Ji, who said he had seen scarlet shacklestone.
• Li Qingyun mocked the Ji family man and demanded that he sell the item or leave.

Li Qingyun’s divination warned that the caravan would be ambushed by the Mishin Dao Alliance if it continued into the Middle Land, so he decided to end the journey in Yunqi City. His Merfolk clone tried to obtain the Earth Dragon Fruit and Bloodscarlet Chainstone before leaving, but Young Master Ji demanded five high-grade Cave Ghosts or equivalent human sacrificial livestock for the fruit.

• Li Qingyun divined that the Mishin Dao Alliance planned to ambush the caravan, and he decided the group would go no farther than Yunqi City.
• Li Qingyun’s Merfolk clone provoked Young Master Ji to make one last attempt to obtain the Earth Dragon Fruit and Bloodscarlet Chainstone.
• Tushan Wenshan introduced himself and Lord Quan, and Young Master Ji learned that Qingyun Dao Lord had reached the Third Fruit Realm soon after ascending.
• Mishin Dao Alliance agents disparaged Qingyun Dao Lord and whispered to Young Master Ji, restoring his arrogance.
• Young Master Ji displayed an Earth Dragon Fruit and demanded five high-grade Cave Ghosts or equivalent human sacrificial livestock for it.

Li Qingyun’s Merfolk clone agreed to trade with Young Master Ji, then ordered Tushan Wenshan’s caravan to leave Yunqi City while he and Daoist Si prepared to confront the Ji family. The caravan departed with Houtu and Xuan Bing, leaving Li Qingyun behind to carry out the risky trade.

• Young Master Ji demanded five top-grade human sacrifices for an Earth Dragon Fruit, and Quan Lei accepted while arranging a meeting at Luming Restaurant the next evening.
• Young Master Ji agreed to bring a piece of bloody lian stone and offered ten additional mid-grade human sacrifices, while privately planning to bring two Roaring Heaven Realm relatives as protection.
• Li Qingyun ordered Tushan Wenshan to take Chi Feng, Ling Yi, Houtu, and the others out of Yunqi City that night and meet him near the Eastern Wilderness border.
• Houtu joined the departing caravan beside Xuan Bing, who remained under close watch as she considered escaping back to Cave City.
• Tushan Wenshan led the caravan out through the city gates, while Li Qingyun stayed behind and met Daoist Si, who agreed to help confront the Ji family over the trade.

Houtu stopped Xuan Bing from fleeing the caravan and learned that Quan had arranged protection against the trackers following them. In Yunqi City, Li Qingyun’s Merfolk clone met Young Master Ji to inspect the Earth Dragon Fruit and blood-colored winding stone, while the promised human sacrifices remained unsettled.

• Xuan Bing urged Houtu to flee with her, but Houtu refused and knocked her unconscious when she tried to escape alone.
• Houtu told Tushan Wenshan that people were following the caravan, and Qing Nu arrived after killing several Louse Tribe pursuers.
• Qing Nu greeted Houtu with deference, revealing that Quan had specifically ordered that she be kept safe.
• In Yunqi City, Young Master Ji confronted Li Qingyun’s Merfolk clone about their bargain and demanded the promised human sacrifices.
• Young Master Ji presented the Earth Dragon Fruit and blood-colored winding stone, and Li Qingyun reached into the box to test the stone despite a Ji family guard’s warning.

Li Qingyun’s Merfolk clone swallowed the Ji family’s blood-colored Leishi, relying on Jade Pure Essence to protect his vital organs while the stone devoured and transformed his body. He fled Yunqi City with the Earth Dragon Fruit as two Ji elders pursued him, but the Leishi’s hunger began turning against the city’s inhabitants.

• Quan Lei took the blood-colored Leishi from the box while Young Master Ji and the Ji lineage elders expected it to kill him.
• Li Qingyun confirmed the Leishi was genuine, and his Merfolk clone swallowed it whole.
• Li Qingyun used Jade Pure to shield the clone’s vital organs and let the Leishi consume the rest of its body, sensing that it was evolving him as well as feeding.
• The Merfolk clone grabbed the Earth Dragon Fruit box, stored it away, and rampaged out of the tavern toward Yunqi City’s gates.
• The two Ji lineage elders chased the clone, while Young Master Ji sent guards to search for the Merfolk’s other valuables.
• As the clone fled through the city, the Leishi’s hunger intensified and he began eyeing the Louse-tribesmen as food.

Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone used the blood-red Leishi's awakened power to turn on the two Ji Household elders pursuing him. After killing them both and devouring their blood lice, the Leishi was nearly full and the vision of the Eight-armed Naga Ancestral God grew clearer.

• Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone fled Yunqi City while the two Ji Household elders pursued him, believing the Leishi was consuming him.
• The clone stopped beyond the city and fought both Roaring Heaven Realm elders as the Leishi's blood-red threads grew more frenzied.
• Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone shattered the middle-aged Ji Household man's arms, punched through his heart, and devoured his flesh and blood lice.
• The surviving Ji Household elder fled in terror, but Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone pursued and killed him.
• The clone devoured the second elder's blood lice, leaving the Leishi nearly full as the Eight-armed Naga Ancestral God's shadow became clearer.

Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone consumed the blood-red threads and the Ji Family experts’ flesh, awakening the ancestral blood of the Eight-armed Naga and reaching the Ancestral Return Realm. As Daoist Si fought Ji Yi, the clone joined the battle and seized Ji Yi’s wings.

• Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone tamed the blood-red threads by consuming two Ji Family Roaring Heaven Realm experts, forming a drop of Desolate Vein Ancestral Blood and awakening the Eight-armed Naga bloodline.
• Ji Yi left Yunqi City to avenge the dead Ji Family experts, but Daoist Si blocked his path and fought him.
• Ji Yi used his Golden Winged Flying Tiger bloodline to overpower Daoist Si despite Si's Ancestral Return Stage Two cultivation.
• Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone manifested the Eight-armed Naga Ancestral Return True Body and charged toward the battle.
• Ji Yi tried to stop the newcomer, but Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone seized his golden wings with all eight arms.

Li Qingyun and Daoist Si defeated Ji Yi after he attacked them, then agreed to spare the Ji Family ancestor in exchange for Earth Dragon Fruits and lüeshishi. The Ji Family arrived with the ransom and Young Master Ji, who begged Li Qingyun for forgiveness.

• Li Qingyun’s Eight-armed Naga tore off Ji Yi’s wings, and Daoist Si wounded him with a horn strike before Li Qingyun battered him into a crater.
• Ji Yi pleaded for his life, but Li Qingyun told Daoist Si to kill him, and Daoist Si prepared to stomp him.
• Ji Yi offered the Ji Family’s Earth Dragon Fruits and lüeshishi as a ransom, so Li Qingyun gave him a quarter of an hour to produce them.
• Ji Yi sent a message to Yunqi City, and members of the Ji Family arrived with Young Master Ji and the promised items.
• Young Master Ji knelt before Li Qingyun, slapped his own face, and begged forgiveness for his greed and for helping the Mishin Dao Alliance test him.

Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone accepted the Ji Family's gifts and spared Young Master Ji before rejoining the Ba Snake Mountain caravan. As the caravan resumed its journey, Quan Lei began teaching Houtu the Dao De Jing, while she suspected that the Qingyun Dao Lord was another of her master's clones.

• Quan Lei spared Young Master Ji after the Ji Family presented seven Earth Dragon Fruits and five Lian Stones, then departed with Daoist Si.
• Ji Yi recovered by devouring three Cave Ghost sacrifices and ordered Ji Tong to demand compensation from the Mishin Dao Alliance.
• The caravan stopped at the Eastern Wilderness–Central Lands border to await Quan Lei, while Qing Nu and Spider Two protected it from assassins.
• Quan Lei arrived and ordered the caravan to resume its journey toward Ba Snake Mountain.
• Quan Lei sent Xuan Bing to the carriage behind them, then began teaching Houtu six chapters of the Dao De Jing.

Li Qingyun prepared to challenge Wind Horse Mountain and strengthen his Jade Body by using rare treasures and offerings. As he weighed the dangers of the Wei Zu Great Thousand’s competing paths to survival, he resolved not to stake everything on a single escape.

• Li Qingyun planned to have Dao Lord Deng Jing seize Wind Horse Mountain Temple’s Commended Jade Body during an upcoming minor ruin, keeping Sifeng hidden because his past crimes would make Ba Snake Mountain Temple a target.
• Li Qingyun shut the temple and used an Earth Dragon Fruit, incense, and offerings to activate the Jade Body Divine Statue’s heart and advance toward the Heart Connection Fruit.
• Li Qingyun examined five Bindings Stones, reserving two contaminated blood-colored stones for his Merfolk clone and finding Lightning Ancestor, Sword Ancestor, and Great Earth Ancestor auras in the other three.
• Li Qingyun realized that ancient Bindings Stones and the hierarchy of temples helped concentrate resources in the hands of powerful Dao Lords pursuing the Ninth Fruit.
• Li Qingyun considered the grim odds facing Dao Lords who either accepted Dao authority or fled into the Mother River, and concluded he needed more than one possible route to survive.

Li Qingyun refined Earth Ancestor Qi to advance his Earth Method divine rank and planned to use other Binding Stones to strengthen his Sword and Lightning Methods. After the caravan returned to Ba Snake Mountain with its goods and treasures, Houtu formally became his disciple.

• Li Qingyun freed Earth Ancestor Qi from a Binding Stone, refined it, and took the sixth-tier Earth God seat without obstruction.
• Li Qingyun planned to use Sword Ancestor Qi and Lightning Ancestor Qi to advance his Sword and Lightning divine ranks.
• Quan Lei escorted Houtu and the caravan back to Ba Snake Mountain after they sold their remaining goods in a city in the Eastern Wasteland.
• The caravan returned with mountain treasures and goods from the Central Lands, and Tushan Wenshan and the other families auctioned the imported items in the town.
• Houtu continued cultivating on the journey and then formally entered Li Qingyun's sect as his disciple.

After Houtu arrived at Ba Snake Mountain, Li Qingyun prepared to use the small Ruin descending across the Eastern Wasteland to attack Dao Lord Bai Cang. Bai Cang learned that Qingyun had summoned an Ancestral Return Realm ally and grew afraid, but when the Ruin began, Qingyun struck Wind Horse Mountain with earth force and declared Bai Cang must die.

• Li Qingyun welcomed Houtu to Ba Snake Mountain and arranged for her to live and cultivate in the side hall.
• Dao Lord Bai Cang sent Temple Keeper Yao to Mengtu Mountain and learned that Qingyun had defeated an alliance force led by Dao Lord Chen Ming, prompting him to plan an escape from Wind Horse Mountain.
• Dao Lord Deng Jing arrived at Ba Snake Mountain and studied the Dao De Jing with Quan Lei, confident after seeing the mountain's hidden strength.
• As a small Ruin descended across the Eastern Wasteland, Li Qingyun launched a sudden earth-force attack on Wind Horse Mountain.
• Dao Lord Bai Cang confronted Qingyun, who declared that Bai Cang must perish, then withdrew to defend his Jade Body statue.

Li Qingyun seized Wind Horse Mountain during the Ruin, killed Dao Lord Bai Cang, and installed Deng Jing as its new Dao Lord. Afterward, Li Qingyun sensed an acquaintance arriving at Ba Snake Mountain.

• Li Qingyun overwhelmed Wind Horse Mountain's earth qi and sent Deng Jing and Quan Lei to take the mountain.
• Quan Lei broke into Wind Horse Mountain Temple and flipped Bai Cang's Jade Body Divine Statue, forcing Bai Cang's Primordial Spirit out.
• Li Qingyun's Merfolk clone killed Bai Cang, and Deng Jing took possession of the Commended Jade Body and Wind Horse Mountain's Dao Authority.
• Quan Lei threw Temple Keeper Yao from the temple, and Qing Nu consumed him before Li Qingyun withdrew Ba Snake Mountain's earth qi.
• Dao Lord Huang Yun saw Wind Horse Mountain's changed sky, feared Li Qingyun's growing power, and sent an urgent letter to the domain temple.
• After sensing the Fourth Fruit Position, Li Qingyun detected an acquaintance approaching and let the visitor into Ba Snake Mountain.

Li Qingyun accepted the fallen Dao Lord Le Zhao into the Three Pure Ones Sect, where Le Zhao received a new river-god position and began worshipping with the others. As winter arrived, Li Qingyun sensed that the coming Great Ruin would bring a major calamity and considered seeking the position of Master of the Eastern Desolation Regional Temple.

• Dao Lord Le Zhao begged Li Qingyun to take him in after losing his Commanded position and suffering a severe decline in cultivation.
• Li Qingyun agreed to accept Le Zhao, despite Wind Horse Mountain already being taken by Dao Lord Deng Jing, and sent him with Quan Lei to worship the Three Pure Ones.
• Dao Lord Water Hou gave Le Zhao the title of Qingqiu River God and arranged a Great Blood Sacrifice for him.
• Le Zhao joined Water Hou and Deng Jing in studying the Dao De Jing, while Li Qingyun taught Zhi and Houtu and worked toward the Fourth Fruit Position.
• In November, Li Qingyun sensed that the year's Great Ruin would be worse than the last and considered contending for the Eastern Desolation Regional Temple's leadership.
• Li Qingyun turned back to refining his Heart Connection Fruit as the Jade Body Divine Statue's heart continued to strengthen.

Li Qingyun completed the Heart Connection Fruit, deepening his perception across the Great Thousand and revealing the circumstances of the Seven Sons of Lingbao. He urged them to migrate to the East Waste, where he planned to confront the Mishin Dao Alliance during the coming Great Ruin, leaving the ancestors weighing his bold offer.

• Houtu returned from Xuan Bing and Tushan Fei's wedding with a gift for Li Qingyun and revealed that she had reached Moon Embracing Realm perfection.
• In late November, Li Qingyun completed the Heart Connection Fruit and gained a much deeper perception of the Great Thousand.
• Li Qingyun sensed Li Xuanji in the Time Ruin Mother River and connected with the seven ancestor Dao lords of Changhu Continent, who congratulated him.
• Li Qingyun invited the Seven Sons of Lingbao to migrate to the East Waste, promising Commended Jade Bodies and safe passage.
• Li Qingyun warned the ancestors that the Mishin Dao Alliance would retaliate during the coming Great Ruin, but said he intended to overthrow it.
• Dao Lord Zhenhui and the other ancestors pondered the offer and questioned whether Li Qingyun could provide for them and defeat the Mishin Dao Alliance.

Li Qingyun gathered five Lingbao patriarchs to face the Mishin Dao Alliance and reopened the Three Pure Ones Sect to carefully selected disciples. After stabilizing his Heart Connection Fruit Position, he was abruptly drawn into the Black and Gray World by a sudden assault of reality.

• Dao Lord Zhenhui, Chunyang Dao Lord, Dao Lord Chi Hun, and Jade Furnace Dao Lord agreed to abandon their Commended Jade Bodies and join Li Qingyun in the Eastern Wasteland, while Dao Lord Yanxin and Dongfeng stayed behind.
• Li Qingyun told the patriarchs that trusted disciples of the Three Pure Ones Sect would escort them from Changhu Continent.
• As the Shangqing Lingbao Sect Master, Li Qingyun ordered Sifeng Dao Lord to reopen the sect to applicants who were willing to earn Dao merits and meet his standards.
• Nearly a hundred wandering Dao Lords came to Green Bronze Dao Mountain, but one who expected Li Qingyun to rescue him was swept into Guixu; Li Qingyun secretly protected sincere applicants and rejected those he remembered as having opposed the sect.
• Li Qingyun stabilized the Heart Connection Fruit Position, reaching the Fourth Fruit Position, and prepared to await the Great Ruin after Xi went to meet the five patriarchs.
• A sudden assault of reality engulfed Li Qingyun in the Black and Gray World after he sealed the mountain temple to protect Houtu.