Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu learned from the Mirage Dragon that the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed was a Key Seed that could draw out the Drought Demon, but doing so required raising it into a disk and obtaining Killing Intent from the Da Li dynasty. He left with that revelation as he prepared to return to Pingyang Prefecture.

• Liang Qu counted the essence from the Snow Mountain Lu King and planned to return to Pingyang Prefecture to break through to True Image.
• Ling Xuan told Liang Qu that the Snow Mountain Lu King had agreed to inspect other Hidden Stakes and might join the imperial court if their claims proved true.
• Ba Er Si Tai searched Blue Lake for Liang Qu but learned that he was not at the place it had expected.
• Liang Qu visited the Mirage Dragon and learned that the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed was a Key Seed.
• The Mirage Dragon explained that raising the seed into a Yin Yang Five Elements Disk and drawing out Killing Intent from the Da Li dynasty would make the Drought Demon appear.

Liang Qu learned that the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed could open the long-hidden Dream Realm Dynasty, then decided to report it to the court and return to Pingyang. Back home, he gathered Marsh Essence and heard Fat Catfish ask him to write a poem praising a Flood Dragon.

• Liang Qu told Long E Ying that the Dream Realm Dynasty was real and explained that opening it could draw out the Drought Demon Fruit of Position, though its dangers were unknown.
• Liang Qu tied the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed in a Mermaid Silk pouch and soaked it in Blue Lake, where it gained only twenty-two points of Marsh Essence in twelve hours.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying agreed to hand the seed over to the court, and Liang Qu ordered Fist and Cannot Move to guard it before leaving for Pingyang.
• Liang Qu returned to Pingyang, collected Mermaid Tears and Treasure Fish, and received a new Yi Xing Town model from Fat Catfish.
• Fat Catfish asked Liang Qu to compose a poem praising a Flood Dragon, having built up a story that it was well-read in poetry and books.

Liang Qu had A Fei compose poems praising the Flood Dragon in hopes of earning rewards, then gathered his companions and traveled north toward the Imperial Capital. He arrived there at the end of August and entered the palace to seek an audience with Sacred Emperor.

• A Fei recited two poems praising the Flood Dragon at Heavenly Water Morning Dew Canyon, and the fish sent the verses to the Dragon Palace.
• Liang Qu considered whether the poems would win A Fei Marsh Essence and counted his growing reserves, which were nearing one million.
• Long E Ying, Long Yao, Long Li, and the Little Mirage Dragon joined Liang Qu for a fish feast before they set out north in Senior Brother Lu’s carriage, pulled by Red Mountain.
• During the journey, Liang Qu calculated how Old Giant Clam could accumulate essence for the Mermaid Silk pouch and reflected on his various sources of income.
• At the end of August, Liang Qu reached the Imperial Capital, sent Long E Ying to settle into the residence, and went to the palace to meet Sacred Emperor.

Liang Qu hurried to the Imperial Capital and told the Sacred Emperor that the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed could open the Dream Realm Dynasty, prompting the court to pursue a meeting with the Mirage Dragon. The Sacred Emperor ordered Liang Qu to gather intelligence on Ba Er Si Tai, a Northern Court expert who had apparently gone looking for him, and keep the seed at the palace.

• The Sacred Emperor admitted Liang Qu ahead of Marquis Nanshan and Dou Fei after hearing of his urgent arrival from Pingyang.
• Liang Qu explained that White Mist had identified the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed as the key to opening the Dream Realm Dynasty, and the Sacred Emperor recognized the potential danger and opportunity.
• Liang Qu entered the Immortal Island with the Little Mirage Dragon and learned that the Sacred Emperor could meet the Mirage Dragon if he gathered three of ten rare items.
• The Sacred Emperor told Liang Qu to slow the operation at Blue Lake, leave the seed with him, and remain in the Imperial Capital while on standby.
• The Sacred Emperor revealed that Ba Er Si Tai had disappeared and was suspected of seeking Liang Qu, then sent him to collect the expert's intelligence.
• Marquis Nanshan and Dou Fei called after Liang Qu as he left the palace for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Liang Qu studied intelligence on Eagle, then hurried to the canal and used his power over water to launch Long Binglin’s enormous iceberg toward the Imperial Capital. He brought it crashing into Accumulated Water Pond, where the impact sent waves surging through the harbor.

• Liang Qu refused to tell Marquis Nanshan and Dou Fei what he had discussed with the Sacred Emperor, then reviewed the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s intelligence on Eagle with Lan Jicai.
• Liang Qu remembered the Icy Spring iceberg and found Long Binglin’s group struggling to move it through the shallow Jinglan Grand Canal.
• Liang Qu rewarded Little Hedgehog for its help at Moon Spring Temple by promising it access to the Azure Armor Orchard on Purple Orchid Mountain.
• Liang Qu raised the canal water and shook the two-thousand-meter iceberg forward at tremendous speed while Round Head and the River Dolphins cleared a path.
• The iceberg reached the Imperial Capital and crashed into Accumulated Water Pond, sending huge waves across the harbor.

Liang Qu brought Icy Spring, the enormous iceberg containing the Moon Spring Temple vein, to the Imperial Capital and explained how he had transported it to the Sacred Emperor. The Sacred Emperor ordered it placed beside Huaiyin Martial Academy and gave Liang Qu the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed to nurture in Jianghuai.

• Liang Qu’s arrival on Icy Spring startled the Imperial Capital’s residents and prompted the Feather Forest Army to surround Accumulated Water Pond before Commander Meng Qiang recognized him.
• Liang Qu greeted Meng Qiang, explained that Icy Spring had arrived ahead of schedule, and followed an inner attendant to meet the Sacred Emperor.
• Liang Qu told the Sacred Emperor that he and White Ape had used underground water and a channel to separate the Moon Spring Temple vein and send it downstream.
• The Sacred Emperor ordered Icy Spring placed beside Huaiyin Martial Academy in Pingyang Prefecture, where its Moon Spring Water could support martial apprentices.
• The Sacred Emperor gave Liang Qu the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed and told him to nurture it in Jianghuai.

Liang Qu recovered the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed, received the Sacred Emperor’s trust and privileges, and turned the Icy Spring’s water into a booming Moon Spring business in the Imperial Capital. Meanwhile, his poems made Fat Catfish famous across Jianghuai, and Lin Jie brought him into the Dragon Palace to meet the Flood Dragon.

• Liang Qu accepted the Sacred Emperor’s instructions about the Dream Realm Dynasty and received three Chongming Bird tail feathers that allowed him to enter the palace directly.
• Liang Qu found Long E Ying and Little Hedgehog selling Jade Spring Water at Accumulated Water Pond, then ordered them to sell their Moon Spring stock after learning the Icy Spring had been placed at Huaiyin Martial Academy.
• Liang Qu devised premium Moon Spring packaging and arranged for the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild to buy bottles at a higher price, prompting a buying frenzy that made Flying Moon Spring famous in the Imperial Capital.
• The poems praising the Flood Dragon spread through Jianghuai, where Fat Catfish became celebrated as Black Great Poet Fish and drew a summons to the Dragon Palace.
• Iron Cannon offered Fat Catfish ten premium Treasure Fish for two poems, and Lin Jie reassured him before leading him inside to meet the Flood Dragon.

Liang Qu hired Liu Zhengfeng to write a poem for Fat Catfish to recite before the Flood Dragon King, helping it win a promotion and valuable rewards. As Liang Qu studied the Flood Dragon’s secrets and tallied his Moon Spring Water profits, Meng Qiang arrived with flagpoles from the Emperor and orders to plant them in the Icy Spring.

• Lin Jie brought Fat Catfish into the Dragon Palace, where the Flood Dragon King tested it by asking for a poem.
• Liang Qu hired Liu Zhengfeng to ghostwrite a poem praising the Flood Dragon and sent it to Fat Catfish through their Mental Link.
• Fat Catfish recited the poem and was promoted to Vanguard General, receiving a residence, Treasure Fish, and the right to meet the Flood Dragon King at any time.
• Pufferfish Tribe members discussed cultivating ties with Fat Catfish, while Iron Cannon asked whether it had poems to offer the Flood Dragon King.
• Liang Qu examined Fat Catfish’s reports, considered the Dragon Pearl’s possible location, and calculated his Moon Spring Water profits.
• Meng Qiang delivered flagpoles from the Emperor and told Liang Qu to plant them in the Icy Spring when he returned.

Liang Qu sent the Icy Spring down the canal as a display of Da Shun’s power, then returned to Pingyang and used one million Marsh Essence to advance his cultivation and begin building his third Dragon Court Immortal Island. He entered its second stage, while Ba Er Si Tai continued searching for him and Long Pinghe reported that Frog Duke wanted to return.

• Liang Qu had Long E Ying enlarge the Icy Spring, raised banners over it, and sent Long Binglin sailing toward Pingyang Prefecture at a measured pace.
• Liang Qu dealt with the Dream Realm Dynasty affair, warned Ling Xuan and the others about Ba Er Si Tai, and returned secretly to Pingyang in early October.
• Liang Qu finished digesting the year’s lotus seeds, assessed his cultivation bottleneck, and invested one million Marsh Essence in the Water King Ape.
• Liang Qu began constructing the third Dragon Court Immortal Island and reached its second stage after fifteen days, raising his qi sea to 286 times its former size.
• Ba Er Si Tai failed to find Liang Qu in Hantai Prefecture and wondered if Liang Qu had already left Blue Lake.
• Long Pinghe sent Liang Qu a backlog of messages, reporting that Frog Duke kept asking to come back.

Liang Qu stabilized another True Image breakthrough, then brought the Icy Spring to Huaiyin Martial Academy, where he settled it with the help of Long E Ying. He later found Frog Duke grieving over the Ice Jade Frog Clan and its chief, but Frog Duke insisted on leaving.

• Long Pinghe told Long Pingjiang that their Elder needed two more days to consolidate his realm, while the brothers rejected a Haiyan County magistrate’s requests for favors and public funding.
• Liang Qu finished consolidating his breakthrough, bringing his sea of qi to 292 times its former size, and considered the Marsh Spirit fusion nearing 300.
• Long Binglin guided the iceberg bearing the Icy Spring through Lan Province, where boatmen and officials reacted with awe and prepared supplies.
• Liang Qu carved a canyon beside Over Dragon River and carried the Icy Spring to Huaiyin Martial Academy, settling it on the grounds as Xu Zishuai, Xiang ChangSong, and Hu Qi watched.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying found Frog Duke hiding on floating ice; Frog Duke lamented the Ice Jade Frog Clan’s chief and demanded to leave.

Liang Qu persuaded Old Toad to stay in Blue Lake by framing his visit as a plan to unite the frog clans and relocate the Ice Jade Frog Clan to Jiang Huai Great Marsh. After helping Old Toad retrieve his hidden banquet food and arranging activities to entice the Ice Jade Frogs, Liang Qu prepared to deal with Ba Er Si Tai’s search party.

• Old Toad refused to abandon his attempt to visit the Ice Jade Frog Clan Chief, but Long E Ying proposed making the visit part of a plan to persuade the clan to relocate.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying convinced Old Toad that uniting the frog clans would help them face the Flood Dragons, and Old Toad agreed to stay and persuade the Ice Jade Frog Clan Chief.
• Old Toad returned to Blue Lake’s depths to retrieve dozens of bags of food he had secretly collected, then carried them through the Vortex Waterway to feed the Frog Clan.
• Old Toad led the Ice Jade Frog Clan’s fighters to develop Blue Lake while Liang Qu arranged for Quan Linghan’s dubbing team to introduce them to the Jiang Huai Grand Theater.
• Liang Qu put on his battle armor and confirmed that Little Mirage Dragon had digested the mirage mist as Ba Er Si Tai ordered his group to search for another half month before returning.

Liang Qu prepared to confront Ba Er Si Tai by combining the Little Mirage Dragon’s mirage qi with his armor and using rain to locate his pursuers. After both sides discovered each other, Liang Qu and Ba Er Si Tai met on the water and activated their Martial Saint techniques.

• Ba Er Si Tai agreed to search Blue Lake until mid-November before returning if he found no trace of Liang Qu.
• Liang Qu learned that the Snow Mountain Lu King had mostly joined his side and that Ling Xuan planned to delay exploring the Hidden Stone Cave until winter or spring.
• The Little Mirage Dragon fused its ten special streams of mirage qi into Liang Qu’s armor, greatly enhancing its combat power and granting him cloud-riding abilities.
• Liang Qu and Ba Er Si Tai used the rain and their search methods to locate each other, while the Old Toad sensed Ba Er Si Tai’s group nearby.
• Ba Er Si Tai pursued Liang Qu’s submerged Creation Treasure Ship, recognized him at the stern, and both men crushed their jade tokens to unleash Martial Saint techniques.

Liang Qu and Ba Er Si Tai exchanged Martial Saint trump cards in a fierce battle over Blue Lake, until Awei’s ambush and Liang Qu’s Water Travel Thousand Miles turned the fight. Liang Qu split Ba Er Si Tai in half, but realized the Northern Court commander had diverted the fatal strike and that his upper body was missing.

• Liang Qu and Ba Er Si Tai traded Martial Saint attacks while the Creation Treasure Ship moved to engage the Northern Court Grandmasters.
• Liang Qu and Ba Er Si Tai launched their final attacks, but Awei’s concealed ambush disrupted Ba Er Si Tai and left him exposed to Liang Qu.
• Ba Er Si Tai’s Gyrfalcon triggered a jade token against Liang Qu, but Liang Qu vanished with Water Travel Thousand Miles and reappeared beside Ba Er Si Tai.
• Liang Qu struck Ba Er Si Tai with Slaying the Flood Dragon, breaking his weapon and cutting his body in half.
• Liang Qu swallowed a pill, entered the water, and tracked Ba Er Si Tai’s aura after realizing the strike had been diverted and the commander’s upper body was missing.

Liang Qu pursued Ba Er Si Tai after cutting him nearly in half, but Ba Er Si Tai used a false body and escape preparations to mislead him. Liang Qu tracked him through Blue Lake’s waterways and killed him with a second Slaying the Flood Dragon strike, leaving the Northern Court masters still fighting.

• Liang Qu extracted Ba Er Si Tai’s aura from his blood and left to track him, while the Northern Court masters tried to retreat from the Dragonfolk.
• Ba Er Si Tai used Martial Saint jade tokens to leap beyond Liang Qu’s tracking range, then regenerated his wounds with the Bloodfiend Divine Technique and headed for shore.
• Liang Qu found and destroyed Ba Er Si Tai’s false body, realized he had been deceived, and returned to the battle before using another piece of flesh to track him again.
• Liang Qu followed Ba Er Si Tai through the Vortex Waterway network, sensed him near shore, and pursued him through an underground river in Spirit Transformation.
• Liang Qu unleashed Slaying the Flood Dragon from beneath Ba Er Si Tai, pierced his defenses, and severed him in two, while a nearby town’s frightened villagers hid indoors.

Liang Qu killed Ba Er Si Tai at Blue Lake and hurried to the Imperial Capital to report the victory and its implications to the Sacred Emperor. The court prepared to alert Heyuan Prefecture using a new Ten Thousand Miles Sound Transmission device, while officials and strategists began guessing what had happened.

• Liang Qu hid Ba Er Si Tai’s corpse and weapon in the underground river, then returned to Blue Lake after recovering enough strength.
• Long E Ying, Long Binglin, Long Yanrui, and their allies finished the other battles, killing two Northern Court True Image Realm experts while one escaped.
• Liang Qu ordered Long Binglin and Red Mountain to retrieve Ba Er Si Tai’s remains, sent Long Yanrui to search for the missing half, and set off with Long E Ying for the Imperial Capital.
• After three days without sleep, Liang Qu reached the Imperial Capital and met the Sacred Emperor, who suspended morning court and kept the officials waiting to conceal the significance of his arrival.
• Liang Qu reported at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and learned that the court’s Ten Thousand Miles Sound Transmission could immediately send a full account to Heyuan Prefecture.
• Officials speculated about Liang Qu’s arrival, while Xu Wenzhu suspected that Northern Territory Eagle had died.

After Liang Qu killed the Northern Territory Eagle, word of his achievement spread through the Imperial Capital, and the court sent him to Heyuan Prefecture as a deterrent. The court then demoted him as part of a plan to placate the Bai Clan and clear the way for his later promotion, while Liang Qu used a Great Pill to advance his Water Monkey Great Sage fusion.

• Xu Wenzhu concluded that Liang Qu had defeated the Northern Territory Eagle and sent Old Qin to invite him to dinner.
• A telegraph operator showed Liang Qu how Da Shun could transmit messages to Heyuan Prefecture in less than two quarters of an hour.
• News that Liang Qu had killed the Northern Territory Eagle spread through the capital, where he attended banquets and gained from rising prices for Flying Apsara Moon Spring Water.
• Heyuan Prefecture borrowed Liang Qu as a reserve deterrent, and he departed on the fifth day after receiving a Water-element Great Pill.
• The court demoted Liang Qu from Huai River Waters General to Hengshui Envoy to placate the Bai Clan and obscure the circumstances before his planned promotion.
• Liang Qu consumed the Great Pill and raised his Water Monkey Great Sage fusion rate to 290‰, with its color shifting toward orange.

Liang Qu’s Water King Ape completed its fusion into the Water Monkey Great Sage while he traveled toward Heyuan Prefecture, and the change stirred violent weather and wildlife around him. In Heyuan, He Ningyuan revealed that Liang Qu had killed Ba Er Si Tai, prompting the assembled experts to prepare for an attack on Shuo Fang Platform with a major numerical advantage.

• Liang Qu’s rising fusion rate scorched and disturbed a mountain forest, forcing Red Mountain and nearby animals to flee or seek shelter.
• In Heyuan Prefecture, Yang Xu attended a war-planning meeting as Earl Xingyi’s representative while the assembled experts awaited news of Liang Qu’s arrival.
• He Ningyuan announced that Liang Qu had killed Ba Er Si Tai alone at Blue Lake and was uninjured.
• He Ningyuan explained that the Wolf and Bear had left to garrison satellite cities, leaving Shuo Fang Platform with only five of the Eight Beasts, and said Liang Qu would reach Heyuan within ten days.
• The experts recognized their numerical advantage and began planning their campaign against the Northern Court’s forces.
• Liang Qu’s Water King Ape reached a 300‰ fusion rate and evolved into the Water Monkey Great Sage, gaining the Blood Rain and Water Stake talents and access to Marshland Kingdom (Pseudo).

Liang Qu discovered that his Marsh Spirit had transformed, greatly increasing his strength and granting him new talents, then traveled to Heyuan Prefecture as war with the Northern Court approached. He left the strategy meeting with Prefect He Ningyuan by offering to kill one of the lower-tier Eight Beasts before aiding the others.

• Liang Qu concluded that his altered resolve had changed the Marsh Spirit’s Water King Ape into the stronger Water Monkey Great Sage, widening its potential without increasing its fusion cost.
• Liang Qu gained the Blood Rain and Water Stake talents, saw his Qi Sea rise to 386 times its former measure, and watched his Abyssal Wood Bow evolve.
• Liang Qu reached Heyuan Prefecture and reunited with General Yang Xu, who brought him to meet Prefect He Ningyuan.
• He Ningyuan proposed that Liang Qu confront the Leopard Beast, but Liang Qu asked to target a lower-tier opponent instead.
• Liang Qu told He Ningyuan that he could kill one of the lower-tier Eight Beasts in half an incense stick’s time and then support the others.

Liang Qu discussed the possibility of killing a lower-ranking member of the Eight Beasts with He Ningyuan, who gave him intelligence reports and urged caution. While studying the reports with Yang Xu, Liang Qu learned that Sick Tiger had grown into an extraordinarily powerful opponent after being scarred by Zhang Longxiang, leaving the story with Liang Qu facing a far more formidable target than he had expected.

• Liang Qu told He Ningyuan he might kill a lower-ranking Eight Beast if he could isolate the target for half an incense stick, and He Ningyuan asked him to study the intelligence before deciding.
• He Ningyuan passed Liang Qu reports on the Eight Beasts and Twelve Wolves, warned that the information was incomplete, and acknowledged that one of Ba Er Si Tai's three attackers had escaped.
• Yang Xu explained that Liang Qu's Eye Consciousness Method and Ear Consciousness Method had earned him merit but kept him tied to the city wall, then discussed their hometown and Liang Qu's plan to hold his wedding in the Dragon Court.
• Liang Qu asked about the unusually thick file on Tiger, and Yang Xu explained that Sick Tiger was now the strongest of the Eight Beasts and a danger even to General He Ningyuan.
• Yang Xu revealed that Zhang Longxiang had once beaten Sick Tiger so badly that he ignited Heartfire and later Severed Heaven and Reached Earth, but Zhang Longxiang now stood as the inner demon blocking Sick Tiger from advancing to Martial Saint.

Liang Qu learned how Heyuan Prefecture tracked the Sick Tiger and heard Yang Xu recount a legend about five suns, then chose the wild boar among the Eight Beasts to study. Hoping to strengthen the Ying Long Mark before the coming battle, he ventured onto the Flowing Gold Sea to seek dragon qi from its dragon sons and grandsons.

• Yang Xu explained that Heyuan Prefecture tracked the Sick Tiger using the aura of flesh and blood he had lost in battle, though the method was becoming less reliable.
• Liang Qu joined Yang Xu for hot pot, where Yang Xu described Northern Court's geothermal warmth and told a tale of a Divine Power cultivator killing two of five suns.
• Liang Qu chose the wild boar as his Eight Beasts target and considered the fox's formidable spatial abilities and threat to the Western Army.
• Liang Qu wondered whether he could upgrade the Ying Long Mark again before the great battle and decided to seek dragon qi beneath the Flowing Gold Sea.
• After informing Yang Xu and arranging for him to notify He Ningyuan, Liang Qu stepped onto the frozen sea to search for Perfected Elephant-level dragon demons.