Chapter Summaries

Long E Ying and Liang Qu traveled to Pingyang to complete the formal ceremony in which she paid respects to his parents-in-law, Yang Dongxiong and Xu Shi. After the rites, Xu Shi welcomed Long E Ying as the household’s new mistress and reproached Liang Qu for failing to hold a proper wedding.

• Long Li complained that Long E Ying and Liang Qu had kept her awake, then agreed to prepare dates, chestnuts, and dried meat for Long E Ying’s ceremony after receiving a promised raise.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying rode to the prefectural city in a rented carriage, where Long E Ying showed her affection and sought reassurance from him.
• Yang Dongxiong and Xu Shi prepared to receive Liang Qu and Long E Ying, and the couple arrived with gifts for the ceremony.
• Long E Ying presented her offerings to Yang Dongxiong and Xu Shi, completed the handkerchief and washing rituals, and served the ceremonial dishes and wine.
• Yang Dongxiong and Xu Shi descended by the western steps as Long E Ying ascended by the eastern steps, marking her place as the household’s mistress.
• Xu Shi apologized to Long E Ying for Liang Qu’s careless wedding arrangements and glared at him when Long E Ying said the Dragon Man Tribe had few rules.

Xu Shi welcomed Long E Ying as Liang Qu’s new bride, gave her a generous red envelope, and warned Liang Qu to look after her. As the couple left, Liang Qu planned their coming travels, while Long E Ying quietly wished to visit Mount Tai Cang; their journey ended with Red Mountain lifting the carriage into the night sky.

• Xu Shi questioned Long E Ying about her marriage and gave her a thick red envelope.
• Xu Shi told Liang Qu she would take Long E Ying’s side in future family disputes, and Liang Qu accepted her warning.
• Liang Qu told Long E Ying he planned to build another Ice Crystal Palace, visit the Eastern Water Domain, then travel west with her and visit the Hanging Temple.
• Long E Ying said she wanted to visit Mount Tai Cang, then tried to dismiss the request as nonsense.
• Red Mountain suddenly flew off with the carriage, and Liang Qu and Long E Ying leaned out together to watch the lights below.

Liang Qu used Awei and Cannot Move’s abilities to make epiphyllum bloom in the snow for Long E Ying, indulging her desire for reassurance. After their twelve days together, he returned to ordinary affairs and paid the bills Su Guishan had run up at Lang Yun Tower and the Red Sleeve Pleasure Boat.

• Long E Ying asked Liang Qu for snow, moonlight, and epiphyllum, and he summoned Cannot Move to help make the flowers bloom across the snowy garden.
• Cannot Move used Dewdrop, Revival of All Things, an Azure Wood Grand Formation, and Azure Mist to grow thousands of epiphyllum, which Long E Ying and Liang Qu trampled together in the snow.
• Two days later, Liang Qu prepared to leave for the Eastern Water Domain while Long Yao and Long Li waited outside his bedroom.
• Shopkeepers from Lang Yun Tower and the Red Sleeve Pleasure Boat arrived with bills for Su Guishan’s meals and outings, and Long Li realized the dates overlapped with Liang Qu and Long E Ying’s twelve days together.
• Liang Qu paid the shopkeepers 4,600 taels in total and demanded the change after the Lang Yun Tower shopkeeper tried to keep the extra.

Liang Qu reviewed intelligence on the Great Huai Army’s commanders and planned how to exploit their weaknesses as conflict with the flood dragons escalated. He remained wary of Lord Net’s unexplained reach, while Long E Ying visited Long Yao and Long Li after completing Ice Crystal Palace.

• Liang Qu studied Fat Catfish’s intelligence on Lin Jie, Iron Cannon, Hui Yang, Gan Ze, and other Great Huai Army fighters, identifying Gan Ze as a threat to his Water Travel Thousand Miles.
• Liang Qu judged the balanced fighters of smaller aquatic powers to be the easiest targets and prepared to fight the Great Huai Army as an enemy.
• Round Head released a controlled small fish toward the Eastern Water Domain, but Liang Qu’s half-month search had found no treasure or danger and left him suspicious of Lord Net.
• Liang Qu considered traveling to Ning Jiang Prefecture after the New Year Festival to ask Scarlet Scale about the situation.
• Long Yao and Long Li discussed Long E Ying moving out after marriage, and Long E Ying arrived and told them to tidy Ice Crystal Palace, which she had completed as a Great Grandmaster.

After celebrating the New Year and launching the Jiangchuan Grand Theater, Liang Qu visited King of Yue in Ning Jiang Prefecture. He invited his teacher to see Jiangchuan and asked whether the great snakes King of Yue had caught were still available.

• Liang Qu bought a refined pill for 113,600 taels, consumed it, and greatly expanded his cloud sea and strength.
• Liang Qu awarded Marsh Essence to Fat Catfish, Cannot Move, and Awei before preparing for the Eastern Region expedition.
• Liang Qu and his companions celebrated the New Year together, and Liang Qu composed their greetings after entering the True Image realm.
• The Merfolk promoted the free Jiangchuan Grand Theater, drawing local villagers’ interest in visiting.
• Liang Qu visited Wen Shiyun at the Ning Jiang Prince's Estate and gave her Dragon Spirit Silk and illustrated papers.
• Liang Qu met King of Yue, invited him to Jiangchuan County, and asked about the great snakes he had caught.

Liang Qu investigated reports of giant snakes and Lord Net, then learned from the Sea Market Master that the creature taken from Azure Viper was a Spreading Starfish rather than a snake. The Sea Market Master recognized its nickname, Basket Snake Tail, leaving Liang Qu with a surprising new lead about the Snake Clan's fourth great general.

• Liang Qu told King of Yue that rumors of the Eight Beauties of Jianghuai and giant snakes might point to Lord Net or the Ghost Mother Sect.
• King of Yue revealed that he might have encountered Lord Net and had Zhang Xu bring over a creature recovered from Azure Viper.
• Zhang Xu explained that the Snake Clan implanted the living Net Snake beneath its skin to strengthen its body, and Liang Qu took the cylinder to investigate further.
• Liang Qu asked the Sea Market Master to identify the creature, and it recognized it as a common sea creature called a Spreading Starfish.
• The Sea Market Master said the Spreading Starfish was nicknamed Basket Snake Tail, leaving Liang Qu stunned that the Snake Clan's fourth great general might not be a snake.

Liang Qu realized Lord Net might be a Spreading Starfish whose offspring gave the Ghost Mother Sect an intelligence network across the Eastern Water Domain, and King of Yue agreed to report the possibility. King of Yue explained the three steps beyond True Image and revealed that Furnace cultivators were called Martial Immortals.

• Liang Qu connected Lord Net to the Spreading Starfish and suspected its offspring had spread through the Eastern Water Domain, possibly concealing the Ghost Mother Sect's headquarters.
• The Sea Market Master gave Liang Qu two crimson Da Bao fish as a wedding gift for Little Water and told him to treat E Ying well.
• Liang Qu reported his suspicions to King of Yue, who judged them plausible and sent a confidential memorial.
• King of Yue explained Unity of Heaven and Man, Severing Heaven and Earth, and Knocking on the Heavenly Gate, including how the latter could extend a cultivator's lifespan.
• King of Yue said the Ghost Mother Sect likely had one or two self-severed Martial Saints and revealed that Furnace cultivators were called Martial Immortals.

Liang Qu learned from King of Yue Zhen Feng about the mysteries of Human Immortals and Rainbow Transformation, then returned to Pingyang with news of the Ghost Mother Sect and Lord Net. He agreed to invite Adamantine Bright King back to Pingyang, and began considering whether he could control one of Lord Net’s offspring.

• King of Yue Zhen Feng explained that Rainbow Transformation meant feathering into a formless true body and attaining Great Freedom, though he knew of it only through ancient texts.
• King of Yue Zhen Feng confirmed that Human Immortals existed across Da Shun, Northern Court, and Southern Border, and urged Liang Qu to stay in Ning Jiang Prefecture for two days.
• Liang Qu used Water Travel Thousand Miles to return to Pingyang and told Su Guishan about Lord Net of the Snake Clan and the Ghost Mother Sect.
• Su Guishan asked Liang Qu to invite Adamantine Bright King back from Hanging Temple and offered to rebuild temples on Pingyang Mountain and fund a Water and Land Dharma Assembly.
• Liang Qu meditated and considered whether he could control one of Lord Net’s offspring.

Liang Qu searched for a newly grown Lord Net sub-body and tested whether he could command one without alerting the network. He succeeded in commanding a partial Water Beast Spreading Starfish and escaped, leaving its connection to Lord Net untested.

• Liang Qu considered the risks of commanding a Lord Net sub-body and sent fish to search for suitable targets.
• Liang Qu found a large network core in the Eastern Water Domain but avoided approaching it because it might expose him.
• After nearly ten days of searching, Liang Qu found a newly grown sub-body near the southeastern border.
• Liang Qu used Essence Water to conceal himself with Vortex Divine Armor and confined the sub-body and its surroundings with Nethersea Prison Cage.
• Liang Qu branded the sub-body with the character "Chuan" and established a new Mental Link, successfully commanding the partial Water Beast Spreading Starfish.
• Liang Qu escaped with Water Travel Thousand Miles as the prison cage collapsed, leaving the sub-body to resume catching fish.

Liang Qu confirmed that he could use the Spreading Starfish offspring to connect to Lord Net’s information network and named the offspring Pai Xiao Xing. He then received an invitation from the Hanging Temple to attend a major lecture assembly in Datong Prefecture, with permission to bring as many relatives as he wished.

• Liang Qu learned that the offspring could connect to other stations in the Spreading Net and transmit false information to Lord Net’s main body.
• Liang Qu named the offspring Pai Xiao Xing and ordered it to gather intelligence on the Eight Beauties of Jianghuai and the Ghost Mother Sect within three days.
• Liang Qu received a letter from Master Dixian inviting him and his relatives to the Adamantine Bright King Lecture Assembly at the Hanging Temple, beginning on April 26 and lasting twenty-one days.
• Liang Qu learned that the Hanging Temple had invited many other groups and offered to accommodate as many of his relatives as he chose to bring.

Liang Qu learned that the Adamantine Bright King would lead a major scripture lecture assembly at Hanging Temple and decided to attend, though he worried he might be asked to challenge the lecturer. Meanwhile, Pai Xiao Xing uncovered the Ghost Mother Sect’s strength and scheme in the Eastern Water Domain, leaving Liang Qu with a possible chance to seize Dream White Fire.

• Liang Qu read Master Dixian’s letter about the April twenty-sixth assembly and suspected the Old Monk might ask him to serve as Du Jiang, so he agreed to travel west and attend.
• News of the assembly drew orthodox sects, martial artists, and devout believers toward Hanging Temple, while the Toad King noticed that A Fei and the new ship were missing.
• Pai Xiao Xing reconnected parts of the Man Xing Net, discovered the Ghost Mother Sect’s branches in the Eastern Water Domain, and alerted Liang Qu that Dream White Fire was involved.
• Liang Qu mapped the two County King Level branches and realized the Ghost Mother Sect had used the Eight Beauties of Jianghuai as bait to trap the White Ape and bargain with the Flood Dragon.
• Liang Qu concluded that he could locate Dream White Fire through Pai Xiao Xing and use Water Travel Thousand Miles to seize it and escape.

Liang Qu managed the River Conservancy Office’s affairs while preparing for the Great Huai Army’s movements and assessing the effects of new piers in Pingyang Prefecture. As he enjoyed his new third-floor office, the Little Spirit Monster gathered severed tentacles in the Eastern Water Domain.

• Liang Qu sent Long Pingjiang and Long Pinghe, along with Ao Cangyuan and Ao Miyun, to find Fat Catfish near the border between the Central Court and the Southern Region.
• Liang Qu discussed the Ghost Mother Sect and the Great Huai Army, then reviewed petitions and reports concerning Pingyang Prefecture.
• Cha Qing and Fan Zixuan reported that the piers were complete and described steadier water levels and fewer boating accidents; Liang Qu urged them to monitor cultivation, planting, and River Dolphin breeding.
• Liang Qu confirmed Cha Qing and Fan Zixuan’s minor merits and ordered them to investigate Water Bandits near Jiangchuan County.
• Liang Qu settled into his expanded third-floor office and thought of Long E Ying enjoying its carpet.
• In the Eastern Water Domain, the Little Spirit Monster collected the tentacles it had bitten off and brought them to Pai Xiao Xing.

Liang Qu used Old Toad’s divination to choose March 12 as the best time to pursue Dream White Fire, despite the risks of delayed intelligence and Ghost Mother Sect guards. As his group prepared to move, Yi Zhiyu proposed that the fish-watchers catch Dream White Fire and sell it instead of continuing to guard it.

• Liang Qu learned that delayed reports had revealed three Ghost Mother Sect branches and Dream White Fire’s trail, but the fish might have moved and could be guarded by sharks.
• Old Toad used six copper coins at a time to divine the best date and hour, choosing March 12 from Zi Hour to Shen Time.
• Liang Qu rejected waiting until March 25, then headed for the Eastern Water Domain with the Little Mirage Dragon.
• Yi Zhiyu and the other men guarding Dream White Fire followed its surfaced fin in their skiffs while complaining about their meager cold food.
• At midnight, Yi Zhiyu woke Yi Zhiheng and suggested they catch Dream White Fire and sell it.

Yi Zhiyu persuaded Yi Zhiheng to steal the Dream White Fire and flee to Huang Province, while Liang Qu finished a secret waterway and gathered his Water Beasts before preparing for battle. The chapter ended with Yi Zhiyu and Yi Zhiheng captured, stripped of their skin, and hanging from crosses.

• Yi Zhiyu convinced Yi Zhiheng to steal the Dream White Fire and sell it so they could start new lives in Huang Province.
• Liang Qu promised the Toad King two assembled ships by autumn in exchange for one Treasure Fish per ship.
• Liang Qu completed the concealed waterway to the Frog Clan Grounds and brought Fat Catfish and the other Water Beasts into the Vortex Palace.
• Liang Qu transformed into his Golden-Eyed Great Ape form and prepared to fight at full strength.
• Yi Zhiyu and Yi Zhiheng were captured and tortured for trying to steal the Dream White Fire.

Liang Qu discovered the Ghost Mother Sect’s skiffs while searching for Dream White Fire, then captured the Treasure Fish with Fat Catfish. The goateed elder attacked him as he fled, and Liang Qu met the Heaven Sword head-on.

• The goateed old man left Shu Han and Bin Hong to guard the skiffs and ordered them to wait until spring before publicizing the Treasure Fish’s location.
• Liang Qu, disguised as White Ape, found Yi Zhiheng and Yi Zhiyu skinned and suspended on crosses among the Ghost Mother Sect’s boats, but continued searching rather than reveal himself.
• Liang Qu located Dream White Fire and used Fat Catfish’s Storm Inhalation to swallow it before the sect members could intervene.
• The goateed old man struck at Liang Qu with a jade-white Heaven Sword, and Liang Qu’s water pillar shattered it in a direct clash.

Liang Qu’s White Ape ambushed Yi Jing and overwhelmed him with a colossal staff strike, then escaped before the Ghost Mother experts could catch it. The experts identified the attacker as the White Ape and were left debating how it learned about Dream White Fire and how to reach Liang Qu.

• The White Ape used its Coiling Dragon Great Pillar to smash through Yi Jing’s defenses, leaving him gravely injured.
• Liang Qu withdrew the Vortex Water and decided to avoid the gathering Ghost Mother experts.
• Yi Chen and two other True Image cultivators found Yi Jing, then rushed after the White Ape but discovered only overturned skiffs and a shattered Meat Paste Jar.
• Yi Jing identified the attacker as an ape before collapsing, and the gathered experts concluded that the White Ape had struck them.
• Yi Chen explained that his cultivation reversal had delayed him, while the experts questioned how the White Ape learned about Dream White Fire and how they could get to Liang Qu.

Liang Qu retrieved Dream White Fire from the Ghost Mother Sect and returned to the Frog Clan Grounds, where he and Old Toad agreed on how to divide its benefits. At the River Conservancy Office, officials struggled to plan a raid on the Ghost Mother Sect’s commandery Wang Vein as Liang Qu arrived.

• Liang Qu defeated the Ghost Mother Sect’s Grandmaster guard, took Dream White Fire, and left the wounded guard alive for a later collection.
• Liang Qu returned to the Frog Clan Grounds, gave Dream White Fire to Old Toad, and promised Long Binglin a share of its benefits.
• Liang Qu handed over two wounded Ghost Mother Sect members and six unconscious martial masters for interrogation by the River Conservancy Office.
• Old Toad marked forty-eight spots for Dream White Fire, gave Liang Qu fourteen and the Frog Clan fifteen, and kept the proceeds from selling eighteen more.
• Su Guishan, Wei Lin, and Xu Yuelong discussed the difficulty of locating and approaching the Ghost Mother Sect’s commandery Wang Vein before Liang Qu requested an audience.

Liang Qu and the Pingyang River Conservancy Office learned that the Ghost Mother Sect had an Alchemy Branch whose location Yi Zhiyu could sense through a Love Gu. The officials offered Yi Zhiyu a chance at a new identity if his intelligence helped them, and he discovered that Liang Qu had personally made the offer.

• Liang Qu explained that the White Ape had rescued eight Ghost Mother Sect members, and Su Guishan reviewed the offenders’ confessions and intelligence about the sect.
• Su Guishan and the other officials debated whether they could use the information to strike another Ghost Mother Sect branch despite the Spreading Starfish Lord Net and the sect’s strength.
• Yi Zhiyu told the officials that the Ghost Mother Sect had established an Alchemy Branch over a decade earlier and that he knew its approximate location.
• Yi Zhiyu revealed that a Love Gu in his heart let him sense a woman from his tribe who had joined the Alchemy Branch, and he offered to help the officials reach it.
• Xu Yuelong promised Yi Zhiyu recovery and a clean identity if his information proved useful, while Liang Qu offered to take him under his command.
• Yi Zhiyu learned that the man who had offered him a place was Liang Qu of Da Shun and stared after the officials as they left.

Liang Qu helped plan a covert strike against the Ghost Mother Sect, arranged purchases of Dream White Fire Fish-Watching Spots, and searched King of Yue’s vault for Blood Coral. He left the vault with a huge increase in Marsh Essence after finding two valuable corals.

• Wei Lin proposed having a powerful Demon Beast swallow a small team so they could slip past Lord Net, and Su Guishan approved finding an expert with Space Divine Power.
• Liang Qu arranged a private sale of Dream White Fire Fish-Watching Spots, and Xu Yuelong, Wei Lin, Su Guishan, Ran Zhongshi, and others claimed spots.
• Liang Qu sent his Water Beasts to search for a wild Demon Beast suitable for the surprise attack.
• Liang Qu asked King of Yue about Blood Coral, and King of Yue let him choose two useful items from the underground vault.
• Liang Qu found Mermaid Tears, pearls, and two large corals in the vault, raising his Marsh Essence to 258,000.

Liang Qu harvested essence from the millennium corals and a pill, strengthening his cultivation but falling short of a breakthrough. After learning about a major Buddhist gathering at Hanging Temple, he joined the River Conservancy Office’s plan to delay their strike against the Ghost Mother Sect and let it grow accustomed to Demon Beasts in the Eastern Water Domain.

• Liang Qu took two millennium corals from Zhang Xu and learned that the Adamantine Bright King would hold a scripture lecture assembly at Hanging Temple on the twenty-sixth day of the fourth month.
• Liang Qu swallowed Su Guishan’s Yin Yang Restoration Pill and raised his Water King Ape fusion level to 182‰, but remained just short of his next breakthrough.
• Da Pang and Er Pang caught a sea eel, and Fat Catfish persuaded them to lend it two days by promising to return two eels in its place.
• Su Guishan reported that Grandmaster Chen was away and would not return for six days, while Xu Yuelong argued that waiting could improve their chances against the Ghost Mother Sect.
• Liang Qu proposed letting a Demon Beast live in the Eastern Water Domain for two days to desensitize the Ghost Mother Sect, and Su Guishan approved the plan.