Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu used Awei and Cannot Move to disguise a dead eel Demon Beast as a living creature and sent it through the Eastern Water Domain to evade Lord Net's suspicions. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Chen Shixuan joined the River Conservancy Office's expedition, and Yi Zhiyu was brought aboard as the group prepared to confront the eel.

• Liang Qu had Awei control the dead eel, while Cannot Move restored its vitality and concealed its deathly aura.
• Liang Qu hid inside the eel as it followed a route through northern waters and into the Eastern Water Domain, gradually convincing Lord Net's watchers that it was harmless.
• After eight days, Grandmaster Chen Shixuan arrived in Pingyang Prefecture and agreed to accompany the expedition with his Heaven and Earth Treasure Cave divine ability.
• Yi Zhiyu was taken from prison and transported aboard a ship, where he recognized Su Guishan, Wei Lin, and Xu Yuelong among the five True Image experts on deck.
• As the group watched the water, a gigantic eel burst from the river before them.

Liang Qu and his companions traveled through the Great Marsh inside a hollowed-out eel, using Yi Zhiyu’s heart gu to track their target. They agreed to spare Yi Zhiyu’s former companion if they found her, while the island’s pill operation struggled with dwindling supplies and growing uncertainty.

• Liang Qu’s group entered the dead eel and learned that Grandmaster Chen could collect treasures with his spatial divine power.
• Yi Zhiyu used his heart gu to point the group toward their target, and Liang Qu asked whether they should spare the woman.
• Yi Zhiyu chose to spare her and described her appearance, while Xu Yuelong said he would look out for her if time allowed.
• The group decided to take a detour for several days rather than approach their target directly.
• On the island, an elder’s apprentices ran short of firestones and adjuvant medicine, and the elder ordered them to keep working despite worrying about the pill operation’s future.
• A shadow with a dorsal fin swam past the island as lightning flashed overhead.

Liang Qu and his allies used Chen Shixuan’s Heaven and Earth Treasure Cave to ambush the Ghost Mother Sect on an island in the Eastern Water Domain. After Liang Qu scouted the island and found its alchemy rooms, he began secretly stealing pills while the others moved to confront the Grandmasters.

• Liang Qu and his allies agreed on a plan to ambush three Ghost Mother Sect Grandmasters and prioritize taking their cauldrons, pill furnaces, and pills.
• Chen Shixuan used his Heaven and Earth Treasure Cave to transport the team close to the island, and they slipped past the sentries under cover of rain and mist.
• Liang Qu spread dense mist to locate the alchemy rooms and cultivation chambers, then sent Su Guishan and Wei Lin toward two suspected Grandmaster locations.
• Liang Qu used Water Membrane and Vortex Divine Armor to sneak into an alchemy room, where he found eighteen cauldrons and a cabinet of Treasure Fish Pills.
• Liang Qu opened a medicine drawer and sent the Little Mirage Dragon to grab bottles of pills.

Liang Qu and the Little Mirage Dragon raided the Ghost Mother Sect’s pill chambers, stealing Treasure Fish Pills and precious boxed pills while gathering Marsh Essence. When Du Yu Zhi discovered the theft and spotted Liang Qu, Liang Qu launched a spear attack as a coordinated assault began elsewhere.

• The Little Mirage Dragon and the other spirit beasts smuggled pills through Vortex Palace while Liang Qu watched for danger.
• Liang Qu and his companions cleared cabinets in two pill chambers, and he swallowed freshly refined pills to gain Marsh Essence.
• The Little Mirage Dragon found five valuable pill boxes in the third chamber, while Liang Qu waited for the agreed signal to attack.
• Du Yu Zhi learned that an entire cabinet of Treasure Fish Pills had vanished and ordered the island sealed and its people counted.
• Du Yu Zhi spotted Liang Qu hiding in the cabinet, but a wave of regret distracted the pill room as the Little Mirage Dragon carried off a pill box.
• Liang Qu burst from the shadows and struck with Heavenly Dragon's Roar as the Three-legged Golden Crow erupted from the earth in the distance.

Liang Qu and his allies raided the Ghost Mother Sect’s island, killed or captured its defenders, and escaped with stolen cauldrons and a woman who reacted to the names Yi Lin and Yi Zhiyu. The sect’s reinforcements arrived to find the island in ruins, while Liang Qu’s group fled through the mist with Awei and their captive.

• Du Yu Zhi attacked Liang Qu, but Liang Qu pierced him with a spear thrust and left him barely breathing.
• Yang Dongxiong urged the group to move, and Liang Qu joined his allies as they overcame the island’s defenders and seized the Great Cauldrons.
• Wei Lin burned the Ghost Mother Sect disciples while Liang Qu searched the fleeing crowd and captured a woman who reacted to the names Yi Lin and Yi Zhiyu.
• Liang Qu and Wei Lin flooded the burning island with mist, and Liang Qu carried the group away inside the Azure Dragon as reinforcements arrived.
• Yi Chen surveyed the ruined Alchemy Branch, while an Elder reported a charred corpse and White Currents found a hollowed-out giant eel in the river.
• Awei flew with Yi Zhiyu’s collar in his teeth, then descended from the Azure Dragon and coiled around Liang Qu’s wrist.

After hiding in the Heaven and Earth Treasure Cave, Liang Qu persuaded his companions to let him use the King of Yue's Strike and Mingwang Small Token to ambush the Ghost Mother Sect’s reinforcements. He slipped back toward the island under cover of fog, where new forces were arriving.

• The Ghost Mother Sect sank the Great Cauldron into the Great Marsh and hurried to salvage the Alchemy Branch’s remaining supplies.
• Liang Qu revealed the King of Yue's jade plaque and Mingwang Small Token, proposing to ambush the reinforcements while the Ghost Mother Sect was distracted.
• Su Guishan agreed to the plan and used their remaining Tianxuan Stones to conceal Liang Qu’s aura as he left the Heaven and Earth Treasure Cave.
• Liang Qu descended into the Great Marsh and used smoke and fog to pass Ghost Mother Sect cultists on his way toward the island’s center.
• Liang Qu sensed people from the Yi Tribe and the Du and Wang Two Veins arriving through the mist.

Liang Qu infiltrated the Ghost Mother Sect’s pill chamber and unleashed a jade tablet’s silver blade strike on five Grandmasters, killing Wang Lingfei and maiming the others. Yi Chen stopped the blade and sent it back, but Liang Qu blocked it with the Buddha Descended to the World and escaped with Wang Lingfei’s head, leaving Yi Chen badly injured.

• Liang Qu listened as Yi Chen argued with the Du and Wang Two Veins’ Grandmasters about rebuilding the Alchemy Branch and accused them of neglecting the sect’s purpose.
• Liang Qu used the dispute as an opening to leap into the pill chamber and shatter his jade tablet, releasing a silver blade strike at the gathered Grandmasters.
• The silver blade cut off Wang Lingfei’s head, sliced another Grandmaster at the waist, and severed two others’ calves before Yi Chen caught and hurled it back.
• Liang Qu summoned the Buddha Descended to the World to break the returning blade, then fled with Wang Lingfei’s head as Yi Chen’s fellow Grandmasters entered the chamber and found him bleeding.

Liang Qu returned after a surprise attack on the Ghost Mother Sect's pill chamber, leaving several grandmasters badly wounded and delivering a severed head to his allies. Su Guishan praised the group’s major victory, and they burned the head before preparing to move and rest.

• Yi Chen used his ability to draw in and refine the Martial Saint will clinging to the wounded grandmasters, saving their lives at great cost to himself.
• The injured Ghost Mother Sect grandmasters suspected Liang Qu had attacked them and vowed revenge, while the Wang-surnamed grandmasters held back from taking the lead.
• Chen Shixuan sealed the Heaven and Earth Treasure Cave, where Liang Qu reported the attack and showed the group the severed head he had brought back.
• Su Guishan explained that the old man’s counterattack came from the Yi Lineage’s Celestial Being inheritance and praised Liang Qu and the others for their substantial gains.
• Wei Lin burned the head in a pill furnace, and the group prepared to change locations and rest for two days.

The Ghost Mother Sect abandoned its pursuit after learning that the Empress’s life had returned, while Liang Qu’s side secured major gains from destroying the Alchemy Branch. Liang Qu learned he might receive around fifty Great Merits, then told Old Toad that Treasure Fish sales had brought in two million five hundred thousand taels.

• The Ghost Mother Sect grandmasters failed to catch their unseen pursuers and hurried back after Lord Net relayed that the Empress’s life had returned.
• Yi Chen absorbed the headless Grandmaster’s body in the deepwater cave and recovered his complexion.
• Su Guishan ordered stronger river patrols and dike defenses, then reported the expedition’s gains and estimated Liang Qu would receive around fifty Great Merits.
• Liang Qu returned home with Marsh Essence, shared some pills with Old Toad, and confirmed that he planned to take his family west in two days.
• Liang Qu told Old Toad he had sold thirteen portions of Treasure Fish for a total of two million five hundred thousand taels of silver.

Liang Qu received a fortune from selling Dream White Fire’s Fish-Watching Spots, then redirected the money toward Frog Duke’s plans and other expenses. He also bought horses for his household and visited King of Yue, where he reported his fight with the Ghost Mother Sect and noticed another jade token in the drawer.

• Liang Qu gave Old Toad the silver notes from the Dream White Fire sale, but persuaded it not to spend the fortune on land and instead exchange all the notes.
• At Old Toad’s order, Liang Qu arranged for 1.2 million taels in cash to be withdrawn and sunk into the river at Shang Rao Wharf.
• Liang Qu gave Fan Xinglai 500 taels to buy three horses, including one for himself, and Fan Xinglai hurried off to choose them.
• Liang Qu gave King of Yue fifty thousand taels and reported that he had killed, bisected, and crippled members of the Ghost Mother Sect.
• King of Yue set a jade token on the table, and Liang Qu pointed out that another one seemed to be in the drawer.

Liang Qu used the pills stolen from the Ghost Mother Sect to strengthen his cultivation and began building the beams of his second Immortal Palace. He completed the beam stage just before his companions were due to leave west, gaining a new talent and opening the way for his next advance.

• Liang Qu asked King of Yue about the cost of making jade tokens and learned he could use dissipated cultivation energy to produce them over time.
• Liang Qu returned home, watched Fan Xinglai wash the horses, and cultivated after consuming more pills.
• Liang Qu consumed the stolen medicines, bringing his Marsh Essence to nearly four hundred thousand, and began building the beams of his second Immortal Palace.
• Liang Qu’s cultivation shook the pond as his body strengthened, while the Great Beaver and Oolong carried on nearby.
• Liang Qu reached a fusion degree of 200‰, gained the talent Turbulent Flow, and completed the Immortal Palace’s beams.
• Xu Zishuai called Liang Qu to leave, and Liang Qu opened his eyes, ready to set out.

Liang Qu reached a new breakthrough in his Water King Ape fusion, gaining the Turbulent Flow talent and greatly increasing his control over water. As his companions prepared to leave by boat, he experimented with his new ability and discovered it could make sparkling water.

• Ta Ta Kai posted a sign telling Xu Zishuai that Liang Qu was cultivating, so Xu Zishuai left without seeing him and returned to Shang Rao Wharf.
• Xu Zishuai told Xiang ChangSong that Liang Qu was showing off a new cultivation achievement, and the Senior Brothers began preparing the boat to depart without him.
• Liang Qu’s Water King Ape fusion reached two hundred thousandths, expanding his water control, stabilizing his breakthrough, and producing a Dew Seed.
• Liang Qu discovered that his new Turbulent Flow talent could make water vibrate and deprive others of footing, though it was harder to use against opponents of his realm.
• Liang Qu tested the talent on Oolong and found that it made sparkling water, then asked Long Yao and Long Li whether they had finished packing.

Liang Qu arranged a westward advance party and departed by Treasure Ship for the Great Snow Mountain and Blue Lake, gathering his family and companions along the way. As the scripture lecture assembly approached in Datong Prefecture, the great sects learned that the Dragon Elephant Martial Saint was coming.

• Liang Qu recruited Cha Qing, Fan Zixuan, and Kou Zhuang to travel west ahead of him, giving them travel funds and instructions to meet him at the Hanging Temple.
• Liang Qu said farewell to his River Conservancy Office colleagues, who asked him to bring back local specialties and notes from Master Ming King's lectures.
• Liang Qu boarded the Treasure Ship with Xu Zishuai and the others, where Lu Gang presented the steel carriage frame he had made for him.
• Liang Qu reunited with Zhuo Shaoqin, Xu Shi, and his senior sister at the Over Dragon River mouth, then set sail west with his family and companions.
• As the scripture lecture Dharma assembly neared, the great sects gathered in Datong Prefecture and heard that the Dragon Elephant Martial Saint was coming.

The Dongtian Sect and other groups speculated about Zhang Longxiang’s visit to Datong Prefecture and Liang Qu’s ties to both Buddhist and Daoist traditions. After celebrating in Huang Province and gathering companions aboard his ship, Liang Qu sailed into Datong Prefecture and saw Hanging Temple suspended in the air.

• Dongtian Sect disciples celebrated Zhang Longxiang’s planned visit, while elders wondered whether the court had a hidden purpose for sending him.
• Louguan Platform Daoists discussed Liang Qu’s Myriad Victory Embracing Oneness and concluded that his connection to their school made him one of their own.
• Liang Qu met Guan Congjian and Zong Lichan in Huang Province and invited them to the Xu Family banquet.
• Liang Qu and his companions spent several days in Huang Province celebrating his entry into Perfected Elephant before setting out for Datong Prefecture.
• Liang Qu’s Azure Treasure Ship reached Datong Prefecture, where he discovered that Hanging Temple hung in the air.

Liang Qu and his companions arrived at Hanging Temple, where visitors gathered for Adamantine Bright King’s upcoming lecture and the surrounding factions displayed their martial arts. When the crowd learned Earl Xingyi was aboard the imperial ship, Brother Li revealed the reason for his fame: he was a True Image.

• Liang Qu and his companions marveled at Hanging Temple’s vast floating islands and the bustling Subduing Dragon Temple below.
• Xu Zishuai and the others heard Brother Li explain Cloud River Valley’s Tie Heng fascia art and the Northern Ridge Sword Sect’s connection to Dongtian Sect.
• Brother Li identified a seamless treasure ship as belonging to the imperial court, prompting the crowd to wonder whether the Dragon Elephant Martial Saint had arrived.
• Brother Li recognized the ship’s passenger as the twenty-two-year-old Earl Xingyi, and the sword cultivators considered yielding their place.
• When Xu Zishuai’s companion asked why Earl Xingyi was famous, Brother Li declared that he was a True Image.

Liang Qu arrived at the Hanging Temple as Earl Xingyi, drawing a crowd and meeting the Six-Tusk White Elephant, who sensed a monkey-like aura on him. As Liang Qu and his companions climbed the Floating Cloud Ladder, Scarface appeared at the top with killing intent.

• The Northern Ridge Sword Sect and other visitors mistook Xu Zishuai for Earl Xingyi before he presented a gilded invitation and gained entry without registering his group.
• The Hanging Temple's Six-Tusk White Elephant emerged from the river, confirmed Liang Qu was Ming King's student, and carried his Treasure Ship to Reclining Elephant Lake.
• The Elephant King sniffed Liang Qu and sensed the aura of a monkey, saying Star Ape might like or dislike him.
• Liang Qu and his companions left the ships behind and began climbing the Floating Cloud Ladder toward the Hanging Temple.
• Scarface appeared at the top of the staircase in a yellow robe, and Ta Ta Kai sensed his killing intent.

Ta Ta Kai and Scarface’s fight continued as Hanging Temple activated its Six Desire Heavens formation and revealed Non-Abiding Nirvana. Brother Li concluded the ritual had been opened for Earl Xingyi, leaving Liang Qu stunned to hear it was meant for him.

• Ta Ta Kai and Scarface fought over an old territorial grievance, tumbling down the floating steps and into the water.
• Hanging Temple’s floating steps rose, and a towering Golden Buddha appeared as the temple activated its mountain-guarding formation.
• Brother Li identified the formation as the Six Desire Heavens and explained that its transformation into Non-Abiding Nirvana allowed someone to seek an Original Life Buddha.
• Brother Li guessed that the ritual had been opened for Earl Xingyi, and Liang Qu was astonished to hear it might be for him.
• Master Dixian raised a hand to invite Liang Qu at the gates of Hanging Temple as Old Monk turned his prayer beads.

Liang Qu entered Non-Abiding Nirvana with Abbot Dixian to undergo the Six Demons Trial and seek an Original Life Buddha, while the Dragon Elephant Venerable King arrived to observe him. Dixian explained the ranks of the Buddhas and urged Liang Qu to aim for Mahavairocana; Liang Qu reached the waiting place and met four other heirs from the Five Great True Lineages.

• Liang Qu accepted the Life Buddha Trial and followed Abbot Dixian down to the Golden Buddha's palm.
• The Dragon Elephant Venerable King appeared beside Yang Dongxiong and asked to observe Liang Qu's immortal arts and killing moves.
• Dixian explained the ranks of Original Life Buddhas and said the temple hoped Liang Qu would seize Mahavairocana, whose golden light dissolved ritual laws.
• Dixian led Liang Qu to the Golden Buddha's meditation hand, where four other candidates were waiting.
• Feng Ying, Huai Kong, and two others greeted Liang Qu, then Yuan of Louguan Platform addressed him as Senior Brother Liang.

Liang Qu entered the Golden Wheel with four other contenders to undergo the trial for an Original Life Buddha. He awoke in a flood-struck village stripped of his powers, where a panicked voice announced another village had been flooded.

• Yuan Zhiyan spoke with Liang Qu about his single name and his connection to Lan Jicai before the contenders entered the Golden Wheel.
• Liang Qu, Huai Kong, and the remaining contenders stepped into the Golden Wheel as a crowd gathered outside Subduing Dragon Temple to watch.
• Yang Dongxiong's group left the temple entrance with the Little Monk, while Ta Ta Kai and Scarface continued struggling in the river.
• Liang Qu considered how Mahavairocana might counter rituals and help him against threats such as Daheitian and the Blood Sacrifice arrangement at Blue Lake.
• Liang Qu awoke on a cliff above a raging river, discovered he had only a mud-caked spade and no Water Control, and watched a flood drown villagers.
• A voice behind Liang Qu shouted that another village had been flooded.

Liang Qu endured a year as Gun in a trial, then spent ten years taming the floods before emerging from the Golden Buddha as the Fundamental Buddha. After celebrating and helping settle affairs around Hanging Temple, he released Dream White Fire, which jolted him into an unfamiliar cave on a reef in the Black Sea, where a White Ape burst from the waves.

• Liang Qu realized he had one year to control the floods before Shun executed him, and began surveying the land with Hou Xuan.
• Liang Qu organized ironworking, agriculture, and flood-control projects, then persuaded Shun to spare him by presenting his achievements and admitting his failures.
• Liang Qu spent ten years dredging rivers and taming the floods, earning Shun's black jade tablet and the people's praise.
• Liang Qu emerged from the Golden Buddha as the Fundamental Buddha, completed his affairs at Hanging Temple, and prepared the gathering for Dream White Fire.
• Dream White Fire erupted, and Liang Qu awakened in a cave on a Black Sea reef as a White Ape leaped from the water and shattered the surrounding cliffs with its roar.