Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu felt an intense hunger for the Golden-Eyed Beast’s eyes and won them at auction after bidding three thousand six hundred taels. He pawned his Mermaid Tear for three thousand taels to cover the cost, leaving him with three hundred and fifty taels.

• Zhu Bingcan revealed the Golden-Eyed Beast and announced that its uncarved Golden Eyes were up for auction.
• Liang Qu connected his hunger for the eyes to Wu Zhiqi and Brother Monkey, then bid on the Golden-Eyed Beast’s eyes despite his Senior Brothers’ questions.
• Liang Qu won the Golden Eyes with a bid of three thousand six hundred taels.
• Liang Qu brought out his Mermaid Tear and asked the auction house to appraise it as jewelry.
• The appraisers confirmed the Mermaid Tear was genuine and valued it at three thousand taels, which Liang Qu accepted.

Liang Qu watched the auction’s final lot, the Ten Thousand Year Immortal Vine, sell to County Magistrate Jian Zhongyi for 480,000 taels before collecting the Golden-Eyed Beast’s eyes that he had won. He left wondering whether consuming them could grant him Fiery Eyes Golden Eyes.

• Liang Qu watched bidders spend huge sums on auction lots, including Yang Dongxiong, who bought a heavenly treasure for 18,000 taels.
• The Ten Thousand Year Immortal Vine sparked fierce bidding and sold to Jian Zhongyi for 480,000 taels.
• Xu Zishuai suggested Jian Zhongyi had bought the vine for an elderly Perfected Elephant Grandmaster in the Jian Family.
• Liang Qu imagined founding his own aristocratic family and becoming a Martial Saint with the Ze Cauldron’s power.
• Liang Qu collected the Golden-Eyed Beast’s eyes and felt an intense desire to consume them for Fiery Eyes Golden Eyes.

Liang Qu received instructions for preserving and using the Golden Eye, then confronted Wei Shao over the Thunder Character Seal Technique and challenged him to a swimming contest. Wei Lin ordered Wei Shao to accept, leaving the challenge set before the gathered auction guests.

• An attendant gave Liang Qu a booklet explaining how to preserve the Golden Eye and a prescription for using it, then offered him a carriage or sedan chair.
• Liang Qu left the attendant and sought out Wei Shao, who was celebrating his purchase of the Thunder Character Seal Technique.
• Liang Qu reminded Wei Shao that the technique had sold for three thousand four hundred taels and proposed wagering it against his Golden Eye.
• Liang Qu challenged Wei Shao to compete in swimming, while Zhu Bingcan and the other guests watched tensely.
• Wei Shao hesitated, but Wei Lin ordered him to compete with Liang Qu, and Wei Shao agreed.

Liang Qu challenged Wei Shao to a swimming contest from Shang Rao Wharf to Pingyang Wharf, requiring each man to catch thirty jin of fish. Liang Qu reached the finish first with a basket full of fish and the Thunder Character Seal Technique, leaving Wei Shao stunned as he arrived late.

• Liang Qu proposed that he and Wei Shao race to Pingyang Wharf while catching at least thirty jin of fish, and Wei Shao accepted.
• Zhu Bingcan agreed to judge, and Liang Qu and Wei Shao launched themselves into the Great Marsh.
• Wei Shao used his perfected Water Tiger Swim Step to race ahead, caught a grass carp, and assumed Liang Qu had fallen far behind.
• Liang Qu reached the finish first with several Big Fish and a Red Blood Perch in his basket, and Wei Lin tossed him the Thunder Character Seal Technique.
• Wei Shao arrived with a basket nearly full of fish, but Liang Qu told him, "You really are slow."

Liang Qu humiliated Wei Shao in a swimming contest, earned praise and prospects for year-end rewards, and headed home with the Thunder Character Seal Technique. On the muddy road, he stopped to help three old men before one of them attacked him with a powerful blade strike.

• Liang Qu beat Wei Shao in the swimming contest, then offered to recruit him with a bottle of Qi Recovery Pills.
• Xu Yuelong and Yang Dongxiong praised Liang Qu and predicted he could win first place in the year-end assessment and possibly earn great merit.
• Liang Qu examined the Thunder Character Seal Technique, retrieved Red Mountain, and rode toward home through the rain.
• Liang Qu used his whip to pull a cart from a mud pit for three old men on the road.
• One of the old men revealed his hostility and struck at Liang Qu with a blade radiance, but Red Mountain ducked and the attack missed.

Liang Qu was ambushed by two Ghost Mother Sect members seeking the auction item, but he recognized their identities and survived their coordinated attacks. As the fight continued in the heavy rain, he declared that the two men still could not defeat him.

• Liang Qu avoided an ambush by two men posing as old travelers and realized they were targeting the auction item.
• Liang Qu identified the attackers as members of the Ghost Mother Sect and deduced that they had delayed their attack until after the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild auction.
• Huang Jinghong killed the third man, while Huang Ziyan launched a powerful blade attack at Liang Qu.
• Liang Qu evaded Huang Ziyan's blade and withstood Huang Jinghong's sword strikes with his movement technique and golden body.
• Huang Ziyan and Huang Jinghong coordinated their attacks, but Liang Qu broke through the sword-light blockade and vowed they could not defeat him.

Liang Qu overwhelmed Huang Jinghong and Huang Ziyan with his spearwork and water-based techniques. He defeated them both, leaving Huang Ziyan falling and Huang Jinghong's pupils scattered as the torrent dispersed into the forest.

• Liang Qu broke through Huang Jinghong and Huang Ziyan's coordinated attack, then feinted to turn Huang Ziyan's rescue strike against him.
• Huang Jinghong pulled Huang Ziyan out of the way of Liang Qu's spear, but both men were wounded and driven back by his relentless assault.
• A Great Mist enveloped the fighters, and Huang Jinghong and Huang Ziyan mistook Liang Qu's water techniques for an illusion.
• Liang Qu revealed himself atop a towering wall of water and warned Huang Jinghong and Huang Ziyan that they could not defeat him together.
• Liang Qu hurled a dark-blue spear gleam that sent the Broken Blade flying and brought Huang Ziyan down as Huang Jinghong's pupils scattered.

Liang Qu killed two men from the Ghost Mother Sect after they attacked him, concealing his ability to control water and disguising the fight as a narrow victory aided by poison. He loaded their bodies and an old man’s corpse onto a cart and headed for Yi Xing Town with Red Mountain pulling it.

• Liang Qu subdued Huang Ziyan with a torrent of water and had Awei poison the other swordsman.
• Liang Qu interrogated Huang Ziyan, but killed him when he refused to answer; he then concealed evidence of his water-control ability and staged the other man’s death as a poisoning.
• Liang Qu found the old man’s headless body and the cart, recognized the old man as someone who might have attended the River God Sacrifice, and loaded all three corpses onto the cart.
• Liang Qu recovered his belongings from Red Mountain, promised it the day’s Red Blood Perch, and got it to pull the cart toward Yi Xing Town.

Liang Qu identified Old Zhao’s family, gave them money and protection after his death, then brought two Ghost Mother Sect corpses to the River Conservancy Office to claim merit. Ran Zhongshi confirmed the enemies’ affiliation and explained that their blood reacted to mugwort juice, leaving Liang Qu asking how the plant could ward off evil.

• Liang Qu learned that the severed head belonged to Old Zhao and found his home in Yellow Mud Alley.
• Liang Qu gave Old Zhao’s family a little over forty taels, offered to protect them from troublemakers, and invited the boy to learn martial arts.
• Liang Qu carried the corpses to the River Conservancy Office, where staff recognized him from the swimming contest and summoned Ran Zhongshi.
• Ran Zhongshi confirmed that the two dead men were Ghost Mother Sect experts and said Liang Qu’s victory over two Galloping Horse Upper Realm opponents would earn him Great Merit.
• Ran Zhongshi explained that Ghost Mother Sect blood changed color when mixed with mugwort juice, and Liang Qu asked why mugwort could ward off evil.

Ran Zhongshi explained how mugwort, sweet flag, and peachwood reacted to Ghost Mother Sect blood, linking the sect to an evil entity formed from a powerful expert’s lingering resentment. Liang Qu left expecting merit for his capture and asked Li Shoufu to watch for records that could lead him to Mermaid Tears in Fragrant Township County.

• Ran Zhongshi showed Liang Qu how fresh mugwort and sweet flag juice turned yellow and foul when mixed with Ghost Mother Sect blood.
• Ran Zhongshi explained that the plants’ traditional ability to ward off evil might help identify the influence of the entity worshipped by the Ghost Mother Sect.
• Liang Qu wondered whether his Dragon Tiger Golden Body had helped him overcome the enemy’s sword art, then learned Ran Zhongshi would send people to inspect the roads and arrange his merit.
• Ran Zhongshi gave Liang Qu two Small Silver Ingots when Liang Qu asked for money.
• Liang Qu asked Li Shoufu to watch for records concerning Fragrant Township County and left him two Small Silver Ingots to ensure he heard about any assignment there.

Liang Qu bought medicine at Evergreen Medical Hall and returned home, where Fan Xinglai cared for Red Mountain. He swallowed two Golden Eyes, awakened a new Marsh Ape trait, and saw his eyes turn dazzling gold.

• Liang Qu bought medicinal ingredients from Shopkeeper Chen and offered help if anything happened in town.
• Liang Qu returned home, gave Fan Xinglai a Red Blood Perch for Red Mountain, and asked him to feed and groom the horse.
• Fan Xinglai wondered whether a good horse could rise in rank as Red Mountain grew stronger on its improved diet.
• Liang Qu brewed the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild’s prescription but chose to swallow the Golden Eyes whole instead of preparing their pupil fluid.
• The Golden Eyes awakened an aura in Liang Qu, and the Ze Cauldron revealed that the Marsh Ape had eyes like startling lightning.
• Liang Qu endured a flood of tears, replenished his lost moisture with water, and saw his golden eyes in a bronze mirror.

Liang Qu discovered that the Golden Eyes Snow Teeth let him command ordinary aquatic creatures and could exert a limited influence on Old Giant Clam. After testing the ability, he returned to the Quiet Room to study the Thunder Character Seal Technique, then advised Old Monk to take breaks from his scripture studies.

• Liang Qu subdued the Golden Eyes' radiance until it no longer showed, then went to the pond to explore its abilities.
• Liang Qu directed small fish to swim together and move duckweed, confirming he could command ordinary aquatic creatures.
• Liang Qu tried the Golden Eyes on Old Giant Clam, which felt compelled to obey but broke free easily and warned Liang Qu not to display the ability before Demon Beasts.
• Liang Qu returned to the Quiet Room and read the Thunder Character Seal Technique, considering how to combine it with the Ying Long Mark.
• At dinner, Liang Qu urged Old Monk to balance his scripture studies with rest, and Old Monk agreed.

Liang Qu practiced the Thunder Character Seal Technique in a dream, hoping to gain offensive and movement skills to complement his defensive strengths. At the wharf, fishermen showed him a Silver Sand Carp and urged him to wait for an amusing sight, which turned out to be Wei Shao approaching across the Great Marsh.

• Liang Qu used a clear-day forest dream to study the Thunder Character Seal Technique and began contemplating thunder so he could form a thunder talisman.
• Liang Qu considered how Thunderbolt Step could remedy the limits of his Ying Long Mark and how Thunder Bright Force could serve as a transitional Force Method.
• Fishermen at the wharf discussed Chen Yi's Silver Sand Carp and the valuable Treasure Fish that Liang Qu's Fish Appearance Record had helped them identify.
• Chen Yi invited Liang Qu to the teahouse to wait for an amusing sight, and Liang Qu stayed to chat with the fishermen.
• A white trail of water raced across the Great Marsh, and Liang Qu recognized the approaching figure as Wei Shao.

Liang Qu tested Golden Eyes on fish and a giant crocodile, discovering that he could make even powerful water beasts submit without tiring himself. The chapter left him wondering whether every non-Spirit Monster beast within his sight would now obey him.

• Wei Shao swam back and forth between the wharves, then continued his forced training under orders to complete a thousand trips.
• Liang Qu took his water beasts into the Lotus Root Waters to test the limits of Golden Eyes.
• Liang Qu used Golden Eyes to make more than a hundred fish submit and follow his directions, then watched them gradually swim away after he withdrew it.
• Liang Qu tested Golden Eyes on a Giant Crocodile, overcame its resistance with stronger intimidation, and made it submit without exhausting himself.

Liang Qu used Golden Eye to command a school of fish, discovered its underwater night vision, and caught two Treasure Fish before returning to Yi Xing Town. He learned that a curfew would soon begin during the strange Three Suns period, then found out that a beaver had brought wood to his pond.

• Liang Qu commanded tens of thousands of fish and tested Golden Eye's ability to see clearly in the dark underwater.
• Liang Qu caught a Golden Rainbow Trout and a Red Blood Perch that had been driven into the fish school, then prepared their meat to take home.
• In Yi Xing Town, Liang Qu heard that a curfew would begin on the sixth day of the seventh month and learned that two or sometimes three suns appeared around Great Heat.
• Fan Xinglai and Aunt Zhang told Liang Qu that a huge shadow had brought wood to his pond, and Old Giant Clam identified it as a beaver.

Liang Qu met a family of beaver Spirit Monsters who offered gold to settle by his pond and began building a house with remarkable skill. As their wooden house took shape over the next few days, Liang Qu began considering whether they could help build boats.

• A Great Beaver gave Liang Qu a heavy gold stone as payment for the family to stay near his pond, while Oolong failed to drive it away.
• The four beavers gathered lumber and used their teeth and tools to prepare the wood and construct a house extending over the pond.
• Liang Qu summoned A Fei and the other Water Beasts to watch the beavers work, and Old Giant Clam explained that the Beaver Clan had come south from the northern frontier.
• Liang Qu watched the beavers' house take shape over several days and considered asking them to help build boats.

Liang Qu negotiated with the Great Beaver, agreeing to pay the beaver family metal ore each month for their shipbuilding work. With the family planning to stay permanently, he approved their request to dig a burrow beside the pond, leaving him reflecting on how closely his life resembled his Master's.

• Liang Qu asked the Great Beaver what compensation the beavers wanted, and learned they needed four fist-sized blocks of metal ore each month to grind their teeth and replenish minerals.
• Liang Qu agreed to supply the ore, reasoning that he could obtain it from the Great Marsh or Senior Brother Lu Gang.
• The Great Beaver hurried back to share the news with its wife and children, who celebrated their new supply of ore and safe shelter.
• The Great Beaver asked to dig a burrow beside the pond, and Liang Qu agreed as long as they stayed within the enclosing wall.
• Liang Qu considered his spacious home and garden, then reflected that his landlord's life resembled his Master's and wondered how others saw him.

At the June gathering, Liang Qu’s hot pot impressed his friends, and Xiang Fangsu bought the recipe for five thousand taels. Back home, the Old Monk told Liang Qu that his studies had brought him a small gain.

• Liang Qu recalled how subduing Water Beasts had freed him from exhausting daily work and opened a new path for progress.
• Liang Qu served hot pot at the June gathering, where Xiang Fangsu and the others praised the meal and discussed its ingredients.
• Xiang Fangsu offered to buy Liang Qu’s hot pot recipe outright, and Liang Qu eventually agreed to sell it for five thousand taels.
• Liang Qu returned home wealthy and found the Old Monk studying by lamplight in the West Wing.
• The Old Monk approached Liang Qu with prayer beads and said he had gained a little from many days of study.

The Old Monk gave Liang Qu the Ear Consciousness Method, helping him understand that ear consciousness meant discerning the information carried by sound, not merely hearing farther. Liang Qu left with the method and thirty lotus petals carefully removed from the Netherwood Root Buddhist carving for him to give away.

• The Old Monk gave Liang Qu his summary of the Eight Consciousnesses and a manuscript titled Ear Consciousness Method, based on his month of study of Completion of Consciousness-Only Treatise Conclusion.
• Liang Qu struggled to understand the method until the Old Monk asked him to compare the sounds of wind passing through withered and green leaves.
• Liang Qu realized ear consciousness could recognize profound information in sound, including the difference between life and death.
• Liang Qu asked to take a copy of the Ear Consciousness Method for further study, and the Old Monk agreed.
• Liang Qu asked whether he could saw off the Buddhist carving's lotus base to make gifts, so the Old Monk used his control of force to remove thirty intact lotus petals and warned him not to destroy treasures.

Liang Qu used Marsh Essence to evolve the Mirage Worm, whose mist created a vivid dreamscape where he practiced condensing a thunder talisman. He woke to find the talisman had manifested on his hand and suspected his dream practice had caused him to sleepwalk through the cultivation.

• Liang Qu reviewed his cultivation and martial arts progress, copied the Ear Consciousness Method, and spent 1,234 Marsh Essence to grow the Mirage Worm.
• The Mirage Worm transformed into a long, jade-faced creature, and its white smoke produced a clearer vision of pavilions, cranes, and a Great Sun.
• Liang Qu meditated within the Mirage Worm's dreamscape, observed thunder, and condensed a thunder talisman while the Mirage Worm slept on the Ice Platform.
• On July 1st, Liang Qu awoke exhausted and found a silver thunder talisman on the back of his hand.
• Liang Qu wondered whether his dream practice had carried over into reality through sleepwalking and worried about what else he might do in his sleep.