Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu and Old Toad found Sea Abyss Palace and used waves of controlled Spiny Fin Fish to map its caves. One fish reached Sea Market Master, who recognized its signal and mistook it for Little Water.

• Liang Qu and Old Toad traveled to Sea Abyss Palace and watched the bustling market from a nearby seabed cliff.
• Liang Qu sent more than a hundred controlled Spiny Fin Fish into the caves to map the palace, then repeated the scouting over three days.
• A Spiny Fin Fish reached Sea Market Master, who was imprisoned behind a transparent barrier and wondered whether Little Water had received her note.
• Sea Market Master followed the fish's swimming pattern until it spelled “Little Water,” then asked whether it was Little Water and how it had turned into a fish.

Liang Qu learned that the Octopus King extended its life by transforming into a female during reproduction, devouring its mates, and replacing offspring with its own flesh and blood. The imprisoned Sea Market Master asked the court for at least two Luan Phoenix Reversal Pills so she could replace the Octopus King, but admitted her chance of success was under twenty percent.

• Liang Qu used his little fish to prove his identity to the Sea Market Master, who asked for at least two Luan Phoenix Reversal Pills.
• The Sea Market Master explained that the Octopus King used Invert Yin Yang and Undying and Unextinguished to devour mates, take over offspring, and extend its life.
• The Sea Market Master revealed that she was the Octopus King's third wife and that Hai Yun would be his fourth.
• Old Toad interrupted Liang Qu's connection, and Liang Qu relayed what he had learned before returning the little fish to the Underground Palace the next day.
• The Sea Market Master said the Octopus King could monitor no more than eight people through its flesh and blood, and offered a tenfold repayment and a permanent Sea Merchant in Jianghuai in exchange for the pills.
• The Sea Market Master estimated that her chance of replacing the Octopus King was under twenty percent.

Liang Qu found a way to help Sea Market Master weaken Octopus King by secretly delivering Seeds of Creation, then sought a Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill from the Great Grandmasters. The preparations remained underway as Xu Wenzhu decided to petition the Imperial Capital for the pill before autumn.

• Liang Qu connected with the Ze Cauldron and realized Seeds of Creation might weaken Octopus King if Sea Market Master consumed them.
• Sea Market Master explained Octopus King's rebirth plans and confirmed that the Mermaid Tribe's Martial Saint would not intervene.
• Liang Qu used small fish to deliver three Seeds of Creation to Sea Market Master in Sea Abyss Palace, keeping one seed in reserve.
• Liang Qu returned with Old Toad and learned that a public feast was underway before meeting Su Guishan and the Great Grandmasters.
• Xu Wenzhu agreed to submit a memorial to the Imperial Capital to obtain a Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill for the coming autumn.

Liang Qu delivered the River Conservancy Office’s proposal to the Imperial Capital, where the Sacred Emperor approved supplying a Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill for the Sea Market Master’s attempt to defeat the Octopus King. The Sacred Emperor added tax and service requirements for the planned sea trade port, leaving Liang Qu to carry those terms back.

• Su Guishan sent Liang Qu to the Imperial Capital with sealed letters and memorials, and Liang Qu set out with Long E Ying on Red Mountain.
• Liang Qu reached the Imperial Capital in mid-February and learned that the Northern Court had raided the Flowing Gold Sea, destroying granaries and taking two Treasure Vaults.
• The Sacred Emperor ordered the pill chamber to refine a Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill and arranged for ingredients from Southern Zhili to be sent to Pingyang Prefecture.
• Liang Qu explained why the Sea Market Master had a chance to defeat the Octopus King, and the officials judged the plan promising and politically low-risk for Da Shun.
• The Sacred Emperor approved the proposal but required the trade port to pay taxes and permit account inspections, and required the Sea Market Master to answer three calls for help over the next fifty years.

Liang Qu received a coming-of-age crown and valuable pills from the Sacred Emperor and Sacred Empress, then continued his work on the court’s plans. By mid-third month, he reached the Alchemy Workshop to inspect the potent Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill, while another pill was still on its way.

• The Sacred Emperor gave Liang Qu an Awakening Jade crown and spoke with him about his age, cultivation, and relationship with Long E Ying.
• The Sacred Empress gave Long E Ying a Phoenix Visage Pill and a Phoenix Spirit Pill, and warned Liang Qu that she and the Sacred Emperor would not take his side if he mistreated her.
• Liang Qu delivered the court’s requirements to the Sea Market Master, left Long E Ying in the Imperial Capital to digest the pills, and set out again; Yi Xing Town’s winter River God Sacrifice was canceled.
• The first Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill was completed, and a court envoy rode through the snow toward Southern Zhili with one of the pills.
• In mid-third month, Liang Qu inspected the Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill at the Alchemy Workshop and learned that the third pill was expected before summer.

Liang Qu gathered ingredients and arranged for the Alchemy Workshop to refine a Water Rhythm Pill as he prepared to strengthen himself before returning to Pingyang. After Long E Ying emerged from seclusion, the pill arrived, bringing Liang Qu closer to leaving the capital and waiting for the Octopus King’s move.

• Liang Qu secured two Luan Phoenix Reversal Pills and learned that the Alchemy Workshop was crowded, then asked Eunuch Li to arrange an expedited Water Rhythm Pill refinement.
• Liang Qu negotiated with General Yuan to cash out future Treasure Plant profits early and obtained ingredients from Shou Mountain to exchange for the Water Rhythm Pill’s remaining materials.
• Eunuch Li arranged for Grandmaster Zhao to refine Liang Qu’s Water Rhythm Pill on the second day of the fourth month at Her Highness’s request.
• Long E Ying emerged from seclusion, washed Liang Qu’s hair, and heard that they would return to Pingyang after he received and digested his pills.
• Liang Qu said he and Frog Elder had been counseling the Octopus King while preparing to turn her scheme against her, and a medicine boy arrived with the Water Rhythm Pill for Liang Qu to collect.

Liang Qu took the Water Rhythm Pill and advanced his Water King Ape fusion while the Octopus King’s divinations foretold disaster for the imprisoned Sea Market Master. He returned home to gather supplies and prepare to deliver medicine, with new Mermaid Tears and other income sources promising further growth.

• Liang Qu thanked Grandmaster Zhao’s attendant for the pills, swallowed the Water Rhythm Pill, and increased his Water King Ape fusion degree to 65‰ after breaking through two realm barriers.
• The Octopus King repeatedly divined that the Sea Market Master faced certain death during her rebirth, while Little Water’s small fish secretly visited her in the Underground Palace.
• Liang Qu decided to plant his second Divine Power Seed in Chuan Lord Slaying Flood Dragon and considered how his Marsh Spirit and realm cultivation strengthened one another.
• Liang Qu traveled between the Dragon Man Clan Grounds, Pingyang, and home while handling his duties, visiting the Sea Market Master, and receiving the Luan Phoenix Reversal Pill.
• Long Pingjiang gave Liang Qu fifty Mermaid Tears from Clan Leader Quan and reported that four Treasure Fish were being raised; Liang Qu ordered a meal before setting out to deliver medicine to the Sea Market Master.

Liang Qu spent the first half of the year strengthening his Marsh Spirit and preparing Sea Market Master for a plan against Octopus King. By early June, Sea Market Master had agreed to control her state during the great Full Moons in September and October, while Liang Qu’s preparations continued.

• Ta Ta Kai cooked Treasure Fish as Liang Qu accumulated Marsh Essence and raised his Water King Ape’s Fusion Degree to 70‰, increasing his River’s Favor.
• Liang Qu reassured Old Toad that their repeated Profound Kung Fu deliveries were baiting a trap for Octopus King and promised that Old Toad would be celebrated as a hero.
• Liang Qu used Little Octopus to deliver medicine to Sea Market Master and asked her to control her state during mid-September and late October.
• Sea Market Master agreed to try Liang Qu’s plan, hid the medicine box inside her body, and watched Little Octopus leave after his third delivery.
• In early June, sea merchants came ashore to open their shops, and someone asked whether Hai Yun would be absent too.

Liang Qu learned why Hai Yun and the Sea Market Master had missed the sea merchants’ visits, then used the River God Sacrifice to increase his River’s Favor and strengthen his water abilities. As autumn approached, he worried about confronting Octopus King, and the chapter ended with a notice announcing a month-long curfew beginning on the first day of the seventh month.

• Liang Qu learned from a sea merchant that Hai Yun was overseeing a new trade route and the Sea Market Master had entered seclusion to break through to Demon King.
• Liang Qu discovered that Hai Yun had sent him no Treasure Fish and lamented that the current sea merchant caravan brought none.
• Liang Qu performed the River God Sacrifice at Yi Xing Town, raising his River’s Favor to 10.5008.
• Liang Qu tested his water abilities and found that his Divine Power consumption had decreased and Water Travel Thousand Miles could be used more often.
• Liang Qu worried that he would have to get close to Octopus King and rely on the Sea Market Master and small tricks to survive their confrontation.
• Officials posted a notice imposing a curfew from You Time Seven Quarters to Yin Time Seven Quarters for one month, starting on the first day of the seventh month.

Liang Qu discussed Long Binglin’s delayed advancement to Grandmaster and promised to obtain suitable Long Qi after dealing with the Octopus King. Long E Ying gave Liang Qu her Long Qi quota and urged him to wait until he became a Grandmaster before they married, while Liang Qu chose Nethersea Prison Cage as his next Divine Power.

• Long Binglin told Liang Qu he understood why Liang Qu could not help him reach Grandmaster immediately and said the Octopus King matter should take priority.
• Liang Qu promised to ask the Sea Market Master for water-attributed Long Qi for Long Binglin once the Octopus King matter was settled.
• Long E Ying gave Liang Qu her Long Qi quota and proposed using her cultivation to help him advance, but Liang Qu refused to let her sacrifice herself for the Octopus King.
• Long E Ying asked Liang Qu to wait until he became a Grandmaster before they married, and he agreed.
• After Scarlet Flame Long Qi regenerated in the Ze Cauldron, Liang Qu chose Water Prison, also called Nethersea Prison Cage, as his next Divine Power.

Liang Qu consumed a Spirit Fish to form the Divine Power Nethersea Prison Cage, which could immobilize creatures within water and appeared to stop time. After testing it on pond creatures and Long E Ying, he learned that even someone of her realm could barely perceive the cage and would struggle to resist it.

• Liang Qu spent 10,000 Marsh Essence to consume a Spirit Fish and develop Nethersea Prison Cage.
• Liang Qu activated the new Divine Power, freezing movement throughout the pond while he and Old Giant Clam remained able to move.
• Liang Qu tested the cage on a firefly, trapping it inside a water orb and freezing it in mid-flight.
• Liang Qu asked Long E Ying to test the cage, and she allowed herself to be trapped.
• Long E Ying said she could vaguely see Liang Qu through overlapping shadows and might manage to move a finger, while Liang Qu judged the Divine Power useful for surprise attacks.

Liang Qu tested the Nethersea Prison Cage and learned that Long E Ying could partly resist it, then discussed White Ape’s role in Sea Market Master’s preparations and how it might be rewarded. Yang Dongxiong agreed to help arrange an office for White Ape by presenting its allegiance as the basis for its contribution.

• Liang Qu tested the Nethersea Prison Cage on Long E Ying and found that she could gradually move and control frost inside it.
• Liang Qu told Long E Ying that she might need to join him if the Octopus King acted, and she agreed despite teasing him about what might happen afterward.
• At the Yang Residence, Yang Dongxiong told Liang Qu that his work preparing Sea Market Master could earn him a third-rank earldom.
• Liang Qu asked whether White Ape could also be rewarded, but Yang Dongxiong explained that its contribution would be hard to prove and that it held no office or rank.
• Xu Shi suggested that White Ape pledge allegiance and receive an office, with Sea Market Master’s testimony supporting its contribution.
• Yang Dongxiong agreed to invite General Xu for drinks and help Liang Qu pursue an office and reward for White Ape.

Liang Qu tested his strength against Long E Ying and judged that he was nearing the level needed to face ordinary Grandmasters. After learning that Prefect Jian had confessed to causing a deadly flood, Liang Qu returned home, where the Old Monk warned that a clan elder could die to repay a Grandmaster’s grave crime.

• Liang Qu sparred with Long E Ying as the White Ape, but admitted defeat after she trapped him in ice.
• Liang Qu reviewed his cultivation gains and concluded that he could contend with ordinary Grandmasters under favorable conditions.
• Liang Qu learned that Prefect Jian had become a Grandmaster and confessed to secretly causing Hua Zhu County’s flood.
• Liang Qu returned home to ask the Old Monk whether he had succeeded, but the Old Monk said he had only sensed Calamity Qi.
• The Old Monk asked Liang Qu whether he knew a Grandmaster’s clan elder could repay a grave crime by dying in his stead.

Liang Qu learned that powerful criminals could trade the life of an equal or stronger martial artist to avoid the death penalty, then attended Jian Zhongyi’s confession at the Pingyang Prefectural Office. Jian Zhongyi confessed to gathering Calamity Qi to become a Grandmaster and ended by warning that Great Snow Mountain planned a blood sacrifice at Blue Lake to pollute the Huai River.

• The Old Monk explained to Liang Qu that the rule of exchanging one life for another let powerful families concede without driving their members into treason, and Liang Qu agreed to investigate Jian Zhongyi.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying arrived at the Pingyang Prefectural Office, where Gongye Kaifei was questioning Jian Zhongyi before officials and spectators.
• Ke Wenbin told Liang Qu that Jian Zhongyi had blamed the Hua Zhu County dike collapse on the Sand River Gang’s third gang leader, whose violent impulses Great Snow Mountain’s secret art had amplified.
• Jian Zhongyi confessed that he had gathered Calamity Qi to advance to Grandmaster and presented a Dharma bowl made from a human skull that gathered the Qi.
• Liang Qu suspected Jian Zhongyi had planned to trade his own life for that of his aged Jian Family ancestor, while Jian Zhongyi asked the Emperor to let him live and redeem his crimes.
• Jian Zhongyi warned Gongye Kaifei that Great Snow Mountain intended to sacrifice Blue Lake in blood, pollute the Huai River, and create gods and humans anew.

Jian Zhongyi exposed Great Snow Mountain’s plan to pollute Blue Lake and used the threat to delay his execution, leaving the court to face a danger to the Huai River. Liang Qu discussed the scheme with the Old Monk and concluded that Jian Zhongyi’s ability to calculate risks let him escape ordinary assumptions about criminal behavior, while Xu Yuelong told Liang Qu to focus on contacting the Sea Market Master.

• Jian Zhongyi was arrested after revealing that Great Snow Mountain had prepared a plan to pollute Blue Lake, and officials debated the threat and the consequences for the Huai River.
• Xu Yuelong and Zuo Heng argued that Da Shun had faced greater dangers before and that Great Snow Mountain’s plan would be difficult to complete even if Jian Zhongyi’s account was true.
• Liang Qu told the Old Monk that Great Snow Mountain had about ten years left to complete its preparations, and the Old Monk recounted pursuing the group responsible for the earlier scheme.
• At dinner, Liang Qu explained to Guan Congjian that Jian Zhongyi confessed because he carefully weighed the risks rather than relying on a criminal’s usual belief that he would not be caught.
• Liang Qu said Xu Yuelong had told him to leave the Blue Lake matter aside for now and concentrate on contacting the Sea Market Master.

Liang Qu reflected on Jian Zhongyi’s confession and the rumors spreading through Pingyang, then continued training with Long E Ying before heading to the Sea Abyss Palace. In Qingzhou, Jian Tianyuan learned that his grandson Zhongyi might be returning and was summoned to Bamboo Forest Garden.

• Liang Qu heard villagers speculate that Jian Zhongyi’s sudden confession came from a muddled mind or a guilty conscience, and he gave them silver for tea.
• Long E Ying teased Liang Qu about being called Madam Liang, while Little Mirage Dragon told him that Old Monk had entered seclusion and wanted updates left beneath a porcelain bowl.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying sparred in the Deep Water Area, where White Ape was frozen by Liang Qu’s White Dragon Wild Dance.
• Liang Qu declined to spar with Long E Ying in Little Mirage Dragon’s dreams because he feared becoming trapped in them, then took her to the Sea Abyss Palace.
• Jian Tianyuan heard that Jian Zhongyi might return after finding a path to Grandmaster, beamed at the news, and agreed to visit Bamboo Forest Garden.

Liang Qu strengthened Water Travel Thousand Miles and advanced his Water King Ape fusion as he prepared for Octopus King's approaching rebirth. Octopus King concluded that every choice brought disaster and set out from Sea Abyss Palace, prompting Old Toad to summon Liang Qing.

• Liang Qu used four Seeds of Creation to reduce Water Travel Thousand Miles' consumption, then spent Marsh Essence to raise his Water King Ape fusion degree to 80‰.
• Octopus King divined that delaying, sparing Sea Market Master, or devouring Hai Yun all led to misfortune, and wondered whether his tribulation had been set in motion from the start.
• Octopus King swam out of Sea Abyss Palace, and the market district prostrated themselves before him.
• Old Toad spotted Octopus King approaching and ordered Fat Catfish to fetch Liang Qing.

Liang Qu and Long E Ying followed Old Toad to a hidden spot near Sea Abyss Palace and prepared for Octopus King’s return. When Octopus King appeared and burrowed underground, Liang Qu went to investigate where it had vanished.

• Old Toad led Liang Qu, Long E Ying, Fat Catfish, and Cannot Move through several false starts before identifying a rocky patch as the likely rebirth location.
• Liang Qu gave Long E Ying a jade tablet and two tokens, kept one token, and prepared pills and supplies for the coming confrontation.
• Fat Catfish concealed the group in an underground shelter, where they waited five days for Octopus King to act.
• Octopus King appeared near Chaotic Rock Beach, then transformed its tentacles into a drill and burrowed underground while concealing the entrance.
• Liang Qu slipped into the tunnel after Octopus King to investigate where it had gone.

Liang Qu used the White Ape to aid Sea Market Master against the Octopus King, whose power was repeatedly weakened whenever the White Ape appeared. After recognizing the White Ape as a major threat, the Octopus King pursued Liang Qu out of the cavern.

• Liang Qu sent the White Ape into the cavern while Old Toad remotely directed it through Fat Catfish’s whiskers.
• The White Ape found a hidden chamber and charged in after Old Toad ordered it forward, but the Octopus King struck it with a boulder as it entered.
• The Octopus King continued subduing Sea Market Master, while Harvest Yin Supplement Yang and a tampered tentacle weakened the Octopus King.
• Old Toad ordered the injured White Ape to charge again, and its Golden Eye suppressed the Octopus King long enough for Sea Market Master to press back.
• The Octopus King realized the White Ape’s appearances weakened it and pursued Liang Qu out of the cave.

Liang Qu fought the Octopus King’s detached tentacle aboveground while helping the Sea Market Master battle the main body below. After a prolonged struggle, Old Toad declared the underground fight over, though the chapter left its outcome unclear.

• Liang Qu fled the detached octopus tentacle and attacked it with the Water Dragon Spear while drawing it toward Old Toad, Long E Ying, and the others.
• Old Toad and Long E Ying froze the tentacle and trapped it inside Liang Qu’s Nethersea Prison Cage.
• Liang Qu returned underground and repeatedly used Golden Eye and Water Travel Thousand Miles to disrupt the Octopus King as it fought the Sea Market Master.
• The Sea Market Master continued fighting through her injuries while the Octopus King grew increasingly weakened and confused.
• After the underground battle fell quiet, Old Toad announced that it was done.