Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu tested how the Mirage Worm’s dream mist affected dream cultivation and discovered that stronger mist increased both the dream’s time flow and the ability of thoughts to affect reality. After considering how to create a way to sense the outside world while dreaming, he rested and then set out for Ping Yang County.

• Liang Qu used the Mirage Worm’s dream mist repeatedly to test whether dream actions could affect reality, and confirmed that only thought carried over in the initial dream.
• The Mirage Worm exhausted its supply of dream mist after eight tests, and Liang Qu learned that mist concentration altered dream time flow and mental burden.
• Liang Qu considered increasing the mist’s power and using the Eight Consciousnesses to open a window between dreams and reality, but decided not to pursue the idea yet.
• After going two days and one night without proper rest, Liang Qu slept, then trained in the morning and watched Oolong grow close to the beaver family.
• Liang Qu gathered more than twenty Netherwood Root Lotus Leaves, mounted Red Mountain, and headed for Ping Yang County.

Liang Qu learned that the River Conservancy Office and the Demon Subduing Division were preparing a major operation, likely against the True Image remnants of Great Qian, and stayed home to train. Five days later, he practiced the Ear Consciousness Method and sensed a sudden, total silence in the Old Monk’s West Wing.

• Liang Qu gave Yang Dongxiong and his Senior Brothers Netherwood Root leaves, and Yang Dongxiong warned him to train and stay close to home because the River Conservancy Office and the Demon Subduing Division might soon make a big move.
• Liang Qu traded Netherwood Root with Lu Gang for metal ore to feed his ore-eating Little Things, then delivered the remaining leaves to Ran Zhongshi, who also warned him to keep a low profile and keep quiet.
• Liang Qu inferred that the coming operation targeted the remnants of Great Qian and told the Old Monk about the possible campaign; after the Old Monk sent him out, Liang Qu asked the beasts to stay in the pond and trained at home.
• Five days later, Liang Qu practiced the Ear Consciousness Method and sensed the Old Monk’s West Wing fall into complete silence, which he perceived as a massive black hole swallowing the light.

Liang Qu practiced the Ear Consciousness Method by listening to passersby and discovered that a man buying fish had a serious liver problem. He urged the man to seek treatment, then visited Chen Qingjiang’s family and gave two Lotus Leaves to protect the children.

• Liang Qu listened to more than a hundred passersby and improved his control of the Ear Consciousness Method.
• Liang Qu overheard a fish buyer haggling and sensed that the man had a severe liver problem.
• Liang Qu advised the frightened fish buyer to visit Evergreen Hall and gave him five qian of silver for treatment.
• Liang Qu visited Chen Qingjiang’s family and gave A Di two Lotus Leaves to sew into pouches for Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Kui to wear.

Liang Qu trained to complete the Thunder Character Seal Technique while Bing Fire Day brought Three Suns in the Sky. After the third sun appeared, the River Conservancy Office summoned him and ordered him to report with his weapons under threat of military law.

• Liang Qu advanced his Ear Consciousness Method and studied the missing Seal Core needed to complete his thunder seal.
• Bing Fire Day arrived, and Liang Qu saw two suns in the sky and felt their heat.
• That evening, a third sun appeared, creating Three Suns in the Sky; the Old Monk said he had witnessed the phenomenon about five times before.
• Li LiBo told Liang Qu that the River Conservancy Office had ordered him to report with his weapons or face military law, and Liang Qu went to pack.

Liang Qu joined a large River Conservancy Office mobilization against the Ghost Mother Sect and sailed from Ping Yang County aboard a tower ship. Near dawn, a soldier summoned him to meet Lord Ran.

• Li LiBo delivered news of the mobilization, and Liang Qu equipped his armor, weapons, and gear before leaving for Shang Rao Wharf.
• Liang Qu boarded a small boat with three soldiers and traveled under curfew to the River Conservancy Office fleet at Pingyang Wharf.
• A soldier led Liang Qu to a private room aboard the tower ship and told him to remain there until departure.
• Martial Masters and soldiers gathered aboard the ships as the River Conservancy Office prepared to move against the Ghost Mother Sect.
• The fleet raised anchor and sailed into the Great Marsh, and near dawn a soldier came to summon Liang Qu to Lord Ran.

Liang Qu learned that the River Conservancy Office was heading to attack a Ghost Mother Sect stronghold, using information calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. The group planned to overcome the sect’s two grandmasters with two Martial Saint Profound Weapons, and Liang Qu was told the main battle would begin the day after tomorrow.

• Liang Qu joined Ke Wenbin on the tower ship’s top deck while senior officers discussed the operation.
• Ke Wenbin explained that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had used Huang Zejun’s life to calculate the Ghost Mother Sect branch’s location and strength.
• Ke Wenbin estimated the stronghold had two grandmasters, two Great Martial Masters, twenty to thirty Wolf Smoke Martial Masters, and over two hundred Galloping Horse Martial Masters.
• Xiang Fangsu explained that the River Conservancy Office had eight Great Martial Masters, while Ke Wenbin described how population and resources shaped the sect’s shortage of younger experts.
• Ke Wenbin revealed that the operation’s two Martial Saint Profound Weapons were the Dragon Elephant Prison Suppressing Blade and Marquis Weining’s Terror Lance.
• Xiang Fangsu told Liang Qu that the voyage would take at least three days round-trip and that the main battle would begin the day after tomorrow.

Liang Qu joined the preparations aboard the tower ship as the expedition crossed the rough Jiang Huai Great Marsh. After Xu Yuelong led a morale-raising ma sacrifice, the martial masters received their equipment and pills for the coming battle.

• Liang Qu learned that a Martial Saint Profound Weapon was a gap in his knowledge, then played tiles with Bai Yinbin and Ke Wenbin before Xiang Fangsu reminded him to attend the morning sacrifice.
• Liang Qu slept through the tower ship's violent rocking while river dolphins tore apart a water beast attracted by the soldiers' fire.
• Liang Qu joined the martial masters on deck as Xu Yuelong, Yang Dongxiong, and Sui Hongyan prepared the altar and banners.
• Xu Yuelong rallied the gathered martial masters, who shouted that victory was certain, and he offered incense and sacrificed a sheep before the expedition set out.
• Ran Zhongshi distributed Qi Replenishing Pills, Tiger's Roar Pills, a Tranquility Preservation Pill, and Ten Refinement Black Iron Soft Armor to Liang Qu and the others.

Ran Zhongshi prepared the Martial Masters for battle by drawing Ink Arrays and assigning their roles for an assault on a Ghost Mother Sect stronghold. Liang Qu boarded a small boat with Ran Zhongshi and Xiang Fangsu, and the fleet began entering the island-filled region under cover of night.

• Ran Zhongshi drew Ink Arrays on the Martial Masters, giving them combat enhancements and a way to identify allies.
• Xu Yuelong reassured the nervous Liang Qu and advised him to fight from a distance with his bow.
• Ran Zhongshi drew Liang Qu a defensive Ink Array that also made his body feel lighter.
• Ran Zhongshi warned the group to stay together in the complicated terrain and assigned their tasks against the Ghost Mother Sect’s elites.
• The force transferred from the tower ship to smaller boats, and Liang Qu joined Ran Zhongshi and Xiang Fangsu’s boat.
• After Xiang Fangsu ordered silence, several dozen Wide Belly Boats entered the Islet Region.

Liang Qu and the other Martial Masters waited in the Jiang Huai Great Marsh while Xu Yuelong’s force attacked the Ghost Mother Sect stronghold. After a Martial Saint Profound Weapon lit the night and shook the islands, Xiang Fangsu led the troops ashore, and Liang Qu began the assault with a deadly arrow.

• Liang Qu traveled with Ran Zhongshi, Xiang Fangsu, and more than sixty Martial Masters through the marsh channels toward the Ghost Mother Sect’s stronghold.
• A Martial Master mistook a River Dolphin for a Silver Horn Shark, and Xiang Fangsu slapped him and ordered the group to stay calm.
• Liang Qu’s party waited near the island chain until the islands began shaking and a brilliant light and two roars erupted from beyond them.
• Xiang Fangsu split an incoming wave with his blade, shouted for the troops to charge, and led them ashore as boats from across the marsh converged on the stronghold.
• Liang Qu shot an arrow through a Ghost Mother Sect follower who rushed out of a wooden hut.

Liang Qu used his powerful bow to kill Ghost Mother Sect disciples until one broke through the battle line to reach him. He defeated the attacker at close range, leaving the sect forces afraid to challenge him as the battle on Islet Island continued.

• Liang Qu fired arrows from the rear of the battle, killing Ghost Mother Sect disciples while Xiang Fangsu kept Huang Jinyuan occupied.
• Huang Jinyuan ordered the sect disciples to kill the Golden Eyes archer, and a huge expert broke through the River Conservancy Office's line to pursue Liang Qu.
• Liang Qu retreated while shooting arrows, but the sect disciple endured the attack and closed the distance.
• Liang Qu used white silk to distract the attacker, seized his airborne spear, and struck him with a sudden burst of righteous intimidation.
• Liang Qu pierced the sect disciple's throat and then cut off his head, frightening the remaining Ghost Mother Sect disciples into leaving him unchallenged.

Liang Qu and the River Conservancy Office and Demon Subduing Division defeated the Ghost Mother Sect forces in a nighttime assault, but a spreading black mist erupted as they tried to leave. Liang Qu showed that his Evil-Warding Method protected him from the mist and threw the prisoners into the water.

• Liang Qu used his greatbow to kill dozens of enemies as Xiang Fangsu and Ran Zhongshi led the frontline fighters to victory.
• Xiang Fangsu ordered the survivors to rescue the wounded and clear the battlefield, while Ran Zhongshi warned that the Ghost Mother Sect's blood could react dangerously to mugwort.
• A sudden sense of dread struck the fighters and prisoners, and Xiang Fangsu ordered everyone to return to the ships immediately.
• A pillar of black smoke rose from the island, and black qi poured from the prisoners, withering their bodies and infecting a soldier who touched them.
• Liang Qu grabbed more than a dozen prisoners and threw them into the water without suffering harm, prompting Xiang Fangsu to recognize his Evil-Warding Method.

Liang Qu protected the fleet from the Ghost Mother Sect’s black qi, which Xiang Fangsu identified as the remnant of a dead Martial Saint. The boats reached the island’s newly formed passage, where Xu Yuelong and the surviving Hunting Tiger Great Martial Masters reported that two dead Grandmasters had returned to life and been killed again.

• Liang Qu threw the Ghost Mother Sect prisoners into the river and shielded his boat from their black smoke, then helped clear two nearby boats.
• Xiang Fangsu explained that the smoke was an evil left behind by a dead Martial Saint, while Ran Zhongshi linked its emergence to the battle on the island.
• The island battle rumbled on for a quarter hour before Xiang Fangsu led the fleet toward the island chain’s newly formed passage.
• Liang Qu and the others encountered martial masters whose boats had been overwhelmed by black qi, and Ke Wenbin regretted not having Liang Qu on his team.
• Xu Yuelong and seven Hunting Tiger Great Martial Masters joined the fleet, and Sui Hongyan revealed that two dead Grandmasters had revived before they killed them again.

After the battle on Islet Island, Xu Yuelong and the others confirmed that two Ghost Mother Sect Grandmasters had died and then returned to life through an unknown force. The group rested aboard the ships while Ran Zhongshi recalled a story about a Martial Saint’s remnant inhabiting his body after death, and Xu Yuelong asked him to find the book.

• Xu Yuelong explained that the resurrected Grandmasters were sluggish and weakened, and his Martial Saint Profound Weapon confirmed they had died before standing again.
• Yang Dongxiong urged Xu Yuelong to postpone the discussion, and Xu Yuelong sent the exhausted fighters back toward the ships without revealing the matter to the others.
• The ships moored near the islands, where soldiers built temporary camps and physicians treated the wounded as dawn broke.
• At breakfast, Xu Yuelong and the others discussed the Grandmasters’ resurrection, and Ran Zhongshi recalled a story of a Martial Saint’s remnant reviving his body after death.
• Xu Yuelong asked Ran Zhongshi to search for the book, and the group later ended their discussion and went to rest.

Liang Qu and Ke Wenbin planned to sneak onto the Black Mist-covered island to search for treasure, and Xiang Fangsu joined them. Ran Zhongshi relayed Xu Yuelong’s limits and the group agreed to go by boat that night, while promising to find a replacement sword for Ran Zhongshi’s sister.

• Ke Wenbin urged Liang Qu to use his evil-warding art to reach the island and search its Treasure Vault for useful items.
• Xiang Fangsu arrived and confirmed that Ke Wenbin had asked Liang Qu to go to the island, then joined their discussion.
• Ran Zhongshi arrived and said Xu Yuelong allowed each person two items but forbade taking the major spoils.
• Liang Qu, Ke Wenbin, and Xiang Fangsu agreed to go to the island by small boat that night and bring weapons.
• Ran Zhongshi asked the group to find a fine replacement for his sister Ying Meizi’s broken longsword tip, and they agreed.

Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin secretly returned to the island chain and explored the Ghost Mother Sect’s ruined settlement, where black qi had killed nearly all living things. Near the central courtyard, Liang Qu detected signs of recent movement, and the three spotted a figure shuffling behind the wall.

• Ke Wenbin rowed Liang Qu and Xiang Fangsu back toward the island chain, and they hid their boat before swimming past the River Dolphins and black qi.
• Liang Qu led the group through the deadly smoke, while Xiang Fangsu warned them to stay together as they explored the island.
• The three found dead animals, dying trees, battle damage, and shabby houses once used by the Ghost Mother Sect.
• Near the central courtyard, Liang Qu heard evidence that stones had been turned over two hours earlier, suggesting something had moved there recently.
• The three spotted a rigid black figure slowly pacing behind the courtyard wall and held still so it would not notice them.

Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin returned to the courtyard and searched for valuable items, avoiding the mysterious black figures. Liang Qu discovered a hidden underground passage, and the three entered it to investigate.

• Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin withdrew from the courtyard and speculated that the shuffling figures might be resurrected Hunting Tiger Great Martial Masters.
• Liang Qu condensed Dragon-Tiger Qi into runes that repelled the black mist, giving Xiang Fangsu and Ke Wenbin protection for about half an hour.
• The three returned to the courtyard, found the black figure gone, and searched its rooms and cabinets for treasures.
• Liang Qu heard a hidden mechanism in a cabinet, pulled a hemp rope, and caused a stone slab to rise and reveal an underground passage.
• Xiang Fangsu checked that no one was nearby, closed the stone slab behind them, and joined Liang Qu and Ke Wenbin as they entered the passage.

Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin explored the Ghost Mother Sect’s underground halls and uncovered its abandoned treasures, but found the medicine stores nearly exhausted. They searched the remaining cabinets, ending with only two rows containing anything.

• Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin followed a torchlit passage into a vast underground hall and found the dust-covered Black Dragon Myriad Square Cauldron and other abandoned alchemy and forging tools.
• Xiang Fangsu explained that eighteen Ghost Mother Sect branches had fled to the Great Marsh, while Ke Wenbin said the stronger branches might still require a Martial Saint to defeat.
• The three found Mountain Ghost victims and a room filled with corpses before reaching a hall stocked with weapons, armor, and Spiritual Artifacts.
• Ke Wenbin admired the Phoenix Cry Rainbow Feather Wind garment but set it aside after Xiang Fangsu urged him to look for other items first.
• Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin discovered that nearly all the medicine cabinets were empty and found supplies in only two rows after searching the room.

Liang Qu, Ke Wenbin, and Xiang Fangsu searched the Ghost Mother Sect’s Treasure Vault and chose valuable medicines and other treasures. When they returned to the entrance, they found the door open, leaving them wary of whoever might be outside.

• Ke Wenbin lamented that the Ghost Mother Sect’s Treasure Vault held only two cabinets of treasures, and Xiang Fangsu told the group to select what they wanted.
• Liang Qu examined the treasures and chose a Qilin Pill and a Wither-Bloom Twin Lotus for their benefits to his body and cultivation.
• Ke Wenbin chose precious medicines instead of a women’s outfit, and the three found no disputes over their selections.
• The three returned to the third main hall, picked superior precious gold for Ran Ying, and headed back through the passage they had entered.
• Xiang Fangsu found that the door above the stone slab was open, although he had closed it after entering.

Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin encountered a corpse wielding a saber as they tried to leave the underground complex. Liang Qu used Dragon-Tiger Qi and his bow to weaken it, allowing Xiang Fangsu and Ke Wenbin to cut it apart and decapitate it.

• Ke Wenbin, Xiang Fangsu, and Liang Qu heard footsteps and fled toward the main hall as a figure charged after them.
• Liang Qu renewed the Dragon-Tiger Talismans on Ke Wenbin and Xiang Fangsu, then used Ke Wenbin's strength to carry the treasures farther into the complex.
• Liang Qu shot the pursuing corpse with a black arrow, interrupting its attack as Xiang Fangsu and Ke Wenbin fought it in the second main hall.
• Liang Qu's Dragon-Tiger Qi weakened the corpse's left arm and then pierced its chest, dispersing its black Qi and leaving it unable to move freely.
• Xiang Fangsu and Ke Wenbin dismembered the corpse, and Xiang Fangsu's final slash cut off its head.

Liang Qu, Xiang Fangsu, and Ke Wenbin escaped the Ghost Mother Sect’s island after fighting a revived Great Martial Master and searched for a safe route through the halls. They returned at dawn with their treasures undisclosed, while the night-watch soldiers assumed they had caught no fish.

• Xiang Fangsu and Ke Wenbin examined the severed corpse and found that a black arrow stopped its hand from moving by driving away the evil qi.
• Liang Qu reasoned that the exits from the Third or Fourth Great Hall were safest, and the three chose the Third Great Hall’s passage.
• Xiang Fangsu and Ke Wenbin explained why the trio should keep their limited share of the treasure rather than distribute it to allies and create resentment.
• Ke Wenbin opened the passage’s stone slab, and the three escaped through a hole in the ground before returning to their boat.
• Xiang Fangsu told the night-watch soldiers that they had caught no fish, and Liang Qu overheard them compare the trio to Xu Yuelong.