Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu helped the Sacred Emperor arrange a plan to graft Blood Coral vitality onto the Yin Yang Five Elements Seeds, then continued testing the Mirage Dragon’s revival of the Immortal Island. Meanwhile, Outpost Canyon collapsed after the buried white jade released a strange aura, and Black Huǐ’s attempt to use the disaster against Black Whirlwind backfired when Lin Jie praised Black Whirlwind for handling it.

• Liang Qu told the Sacred Emperor that Blood Coral could supply Water Rhythm vitality to the Yin Yang Five Elements Seeds, and the Sacred Emperor ordered the first batch sent to Pingyang before year’s end.
• Liang Qu tested the Bloodfiend Divine Technique with Long E Ying, who could not distinguish the bloodfiend double from him by aura, then delivered the Sky Gold Flower and Purple Lotus Fire to the Mirage Dragon.
• White jade fragments beneath Outpost Canyon released smoke and caused bubbles to rise, prompting Black Huǐ to suspend excavation and evacuate the Water Beasts.
• Outpost Canyon collapsed and swept the Water Beasts underground, while Black Huǐ celebrated the disaster as a chance to discredit Black Whirlwind.
• Black Huǐ went to report Black Whirlwind’s supposed negligence, but Lin Jie said Black Whirlwind had detected the danger, uncovered the truth, and earned the Flood Dragon King’s praise.

After the Immortal Island remnants began gathering above Outpost Canyon, Liang Qu and his allies watched the island re-form while he prepared for the attention it might attract. The clouds eventually receded, and a jade brick appeared above them, where Liang Qu recognized a process like his own cultivation and meditated on a newly formed step.

• Black Huǐ feared Black Whirlwind had outmaneuvered it, but Lin Jie reprimanded it and ordered the canyon miners to become engineers while the Great Huai Army returned.
• Fat Catfish used Liang Qu’s explanation of the canyon’s strange bubbles to earn the Flood Dragon King’s trust and a reward of a hundred top-grade Treasure Fish.
• Liang Qu, Long E Ying, Long Yanrui, Little Mirage Dragon, and Old Toad observed Immortal Island remnants rise above Outpost Canyon, while Liang Qu worried that the Whale Emperor might arrive early.
• Liang Qu spent four hundred Great Merits to obtain a blood-jade token, then reassured fishermen and his fellow disciples that the clouds over Jianghuai were caused by the returning Immortal Island.
• After the clouds expanded and gradually drew back, a jade brick appeared above them in late December, and Liang Qu sat on a jade step to cultivate.

Liang Qu cultivated on Mist Immortal Island and gained a massive amount of Marsh Essence from Blood Coral sent by the Sacred Emperor. After using some of it on the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed, he discovered that Mirage Dragon had apparently linked the seed’s growth to Little Mirage Dragon.

• Xu Zishuai confirmed that Liang Qu planned to spend the New Year Festival in Pingyang with everyone at the Ice Crystal Palace.
• Liang Qu cultivated on Mist Immortal Island, where his qi sea expanded from 652 times to 821 times its normal size.
• Eunuch Li delivered 201 columns of Blood Coral, and Liang Qu gained 3,550,000 Marsh Essence from the shipment.
• Liang Qu spent 967,888 Marsh Essence to nurture the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed, which grew larger but showed no other visible change.
• Liang Qu noticed that the seed’s remaining cost had halved and realized Mirage Dragon had likely bound its growth to Little Mirage Dragon.

Liang Qu resolved the water beasts’ quarrel over the treasury accounts and used Marsh Essence to cultivate the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed and evolve Little Mirage Dragon. Little Mirage Dragon became a hornless Mirage Dragon with an astonishing ability to alter its size, leaving Yi Xing Town and the surrounding area in an uproar.

• Liang Qu stopped the water beasts’ brawl, declared them all loyal ministers, and explained that the missing funds came from the Mirage Dragon’s use of the Yin Yang Five Elements Seed.
• Liang Qu decided to cultivate the seed and Little Mirage Dragon with Marsh Essence, causing the seed to mature into a Yin Yang Five Elements Disk and Little Mirage Dragon to evolve.
• Liang Qu sent the Five Elements Disk to the Vortex Palace for safekeeping as Little Mirage Dragon emerged from its golden cocoon as a huge white dragon.
• Fat Catfish knocked off Little Mirage Dragon’s newly grown horns, and Liang Qu explained that Mirage Dragons did not have horns.
• Little Mirage Dragon demonstrated its new ability to shrink and grow to an enormous size, alarming villagers across Yi Xing Town and as far away as Pingyang Prefecture City.

Little Mirage Dragon revealed that his mirage qi could restore ten inherited Great Demons, while Liang Qu gathered Treasure Fish and prepared a feast that locals mistook for dragon meat. Before Liang Qu could pursue his plans, Long Pingjiang brought news that a Lotus Sect sutra debate would take place in Hantai Prefecture during the New Year Festival.

• Little Mirage Dragon demonstrated Turn Illusion into Reality and explained that he could nurture ten Mirage Clan inheritances back into Great Demons.
• Liang Qu asked Fat Catfish for the hundred superior Treasure Fish awarded by the Flood Dragon, then checked the water beasts’ essence requirements and collected Treasure Fish from his allies.
• Liang Qu and his companions grilled a large haul of Treasure Fish, and Chen Zhaoan reprimanded villagers who thought Master Liang had eaten a dragon.
• Liang Qu’s Marsh Essence rose to 2,600,002, and he told the water beasts to prepare to collect Long Qi at Outpost Canyon.
• Long Pingjiang delivered a booklet and told Liang Qu that Lotus Sect lineage masters would debate sutras with Central Plains monks in Hantai Prefecture during the New Year Festival.

Liang Qu persuaded Huai Kong to travel to Hantai and debate the Lotus Sect master Sang Jie, but arranged for the Old Monk to secretly guide him through Awei’s coded bites. After sending Huai Kong toward Blue Lake, Liang Qu waited at Outpost Canyon for the Immortal Island’s revival, where Long Pingjiang warned that the Whale Emperor had arrived.

• The Golden Haired Tiger ignored the commotion at Pingyang Mountain while Liang Qu urged Huai Kong to challenge Sang Jie at Hantai.
• Huai Kong doubted he could defeat the older, stronger Sang Jie, but Liang Qu convinced him to go without openly seeking reinforcements.
• Liang Qu enlisted the Old Monk to secretly help Huai Kong debate through Awei’s coded bites, and Huai Kong reluctantly agreed to the plan.
• Liang Qu paid Headmaster Zhao to compile a cipherbook and arranged an explanation for a Water Beast’s presence at Shanghu Academy.
• Liang Qu returned to Cloud Top, and Red Mountain carried Huai Kong toward Blue Lake the next morning.
• At Outpost Canyon, Long Pingjiang warned Liang Qu that the Whale Emperor had arrived and ordered him to return.

Liang Qu prepared for the Whale Emperor’s arrival while coordinating with Huai Kong and monitoring the canyon for Heaven and Earth Long Qi. The Whale Emperor appeared above Jianghuai, drawing powerful figures from across the region, just as Little Mirage Dragon reported blue light emerging from the water.

• Liang Qu left Little Mirage Dragon to watch the canyon, then returned to Pingyang and learned that the Whale Emperor could arrive at any time.
• Liang Qu and Huai Kong practiced exchanging encrypted messages through Awei while Huai Kong traveled toward Hantai.
• Su Guishan announced the Whale Emperor’s arrival, and Liang Qu joined the crowds gathered at the wharf.
• The Whale Emperor’s enormous body darkened the sky as the Demon Kings, the Old Monk, the King of Yue, King Su, and the Great Shun Overseas Fleet gathered nearby.
• Little Mirage Dragon reported that blue light was emerging from the water and urged Liang Qu to collect the Heaven and Earth Long Qi.

Liang Qu arranged for his Water Beasts to seize Heaven and Earth Long Qi from Outpost Canyon while the Great Huai Army was distracted. After the Whale Emperor’s arrival disrupted the River Conservancy Office, Liang Qu helped prepare food for him and remotely led an attack on the canyon.

• Liang Qu told Little Mirage Dragon to work with A Fei to seize the Long Qi, while Fat Catfish arranged for Black Huǐ to take charge of Outpost Canyon.
• Liang Qu recruited Long E Ying to make Old Ice and Old Toad to command the operation, then sent his Water Beasts toward the canyon.
• The Whale Emperor sent a giant messenger to dismiss Su Guishan and the others, but later requested earthly delicacies, prompting the River Conservancy Office to gather ingredients and Liang Qu to procure whitebait.
• Old Toad directed Little Mirage Dragon to put Black Huǐ to sleep, and Little Mirage Dragon succeeded without killing it.
• Liang Qu ordered Cannot Move, Fist, Round Head, and Little Mirage Dragon to attack the canyon, and the Pacifying Huai Army advanced with mirages and River Dolphins.

Liang Qu’s forces stormed the Great Huai Army’s Outpost Canyon to seize the Heavenly Water Morning Dew, with the Little Mirage Dragon battling the Gar Fish Great Demon while the others protected the iceberg. They escaped with the iceberg and its Long Qi, but Whale Emperor’s silent arrival left Lin Jie wondering whether the events had been guided from the start.

• Liang Qu ordered the Little Mirage Dragon, Round Head, Fist, and Cannot Move to attack the canyon, and Fist’s forces quickly killed a Gar Fish Demon Beast.
• The Little Mirage Dragon struggled against the Gar Fish Great Demon until Cannot Move’s Divine Wood Brand restored its strength, letting it use Size at Will to counterattack.
• Liang Qu told the Little Mirage Dragon to feign weakness, and it gathered the Mirage Beasts’ power into a massive Azure Sky Dragon Claw that grievously wounded the gar fish.
• When Heavenly Water Morning Dew appeared on the iceberg, Liang Qu ordered the group to finish their work and withdraw with it.
• The group hauled the iceberg out of the canyon as Whale Emperor watched from the cliffs without intervening.
• Lin Jie observed Whale Emperor’s arrival and suspected that the Immortal Island’s return and the emergence of Long Qi had not been mere coincidence.

Liang Qu’s plan to seize Heaven and Earth Long Qi succeeded, while Black Huǐ’s imagined betrayal and conquest turned out to be a dream after its blunder let the Da Shun Imperial Court take the canyon’s Long Qi. Liang Qu received the Long Qi from Long E Ying and organized an enormous silverfish feast for the Whale Emperor, while Xu Yuelong went fishing alone.

• Black Huǐ woke from its dream of seizing the Dragon Pearl and realized it had fallen asleep during the Imperial Court’s raid, allowing the enemy to take the Long Qi; it blamed the dream on an enemy scheme and pleaded its case to Lin Jie.
• Liang Qu directed the fishermen of Pingyang Prefecture to gather silverfish, sent Little Mirage Dragon east to meet Long E Ying, and told A Fei to keep Black Huǐ under suspicion while probing the Ghost Mother Sect.
• Long E Ying returned with an Ice Orb containing superior Long Qi, and Liang Qu hid it in the ice cellar before arranging for Third Elder Long Zongyin to use it for cultivation.
• Liang Qu and his officials collected thousands of jin of silverfish and used Little Mirage Dragon’s illusion arts to prepare an enormous bowl and a feast for the Whale Emperor.
• Wen Shiyun visited the giant bowl with Liang Qu, who explained that Governor Su would cook the meal with help from the River Conservancy Office.
• Xu Yuelong, finding himself no longer needed to gather mountain goods or help with the feast, went fishing alone on the Jiang Huai Great Marsh.

Liang Qu and the River Conservancy Office hosted the Whale Emperor with enormous dishes, earning gold and Whale Pearls. At the New Year gathering, King Su revealed five strands of Long Qi and announced a month-long exchange, leaving Liang Qu suspicious of the offer.

• Lang Yun Tower and other restaurants closed early so their cooks could help prepare a feast for the Whale Emperor.
• Liang Qu, Su Guishan, Wei Lin, and Little Mirage Dragon cooked vast dishes in a giant sea bowl, and the Whale Emperor praised the meal.
• The Cloud Giants rewarded Pingyang with fifty thousand jin of gold and gave Whale Pearls to Liang Qu, Su Guishan, Xu Yuelong, and Wei Lin.
• Liang Qu swallowed his Whale Pearl and gained 112,111 Marsh Essence before Xu Zishuai called him to meet King Su.
• King Su presented five strands of high- and mid-grade Long Qi and announced that officials could exchange Great Medicine, Great Merit, and silver for them within a month.
• Liang Qu suspected something was wrong because the exchange terms seemed unusually accessible.

Liang Qu and King Su revealed that the Ghost Mother Sect’s resurrection ritual was likely connected to the Dream Realm Dynasty and an overseas Martial Saint from Qiū Jīn. They concluded Grand Ancestor Da Li might use the Ghost Mother Sect to expand into the Jiang Huai Great Marsh, and the chapter ended with a decree ordering the Huai Dong River Conservancy Office to destroy the sect’s branches.

• Zuo Heng, Sui Hongyan, Zhu Yu, and You Huaying questioned whether they deserved Heaven and Earth Long Qi, and King Su warned that a great battle would justify the exchange.
• King Su told Liang Qu and Su Guishan that the Ghost Mother Sect and the Dream Realm Dynasty were connected, and Su Guishan explained the sect’s life-and-death positions and false resurrections.
• King Su’s Perfected Elephant Grandmaster traced Yinsha Water Old Mother’s origins to the remains of a resurrected Young Dragon from overseas Qiū Jīn, and Liang Qu recalled Ran Zhongshi’s earlier account of a book describing resurrection from death.
• Ran Zhongshi confirmed that his old clue concerned Qiū Jīn, while Liang Qu explained the Dream Realm Dynasty to Su Guishan.
• Liang Qu and King of Yue reasoned that Grand Ancestor Da Li might join forces with the Ghost Mother Sect and seize its place in the Jiang Huai Great Marsh.
• King Su announced the Sacred Emperor’s decree that the Huai Dong River Conservancy Office would purge the Ghost Mother Sect’s branches after the New Year Festival and prevent Da Li from joining with Great Qian.

Liang Qu celebrated the New Year Festival with Long E Ying and his companions before helping Huai Kong prepare for a scripture debate against Sang Jie in Hantai Prefecture. Huai Kong delivered the Old Monk’s sharp rebuttal, leaving Sang Jie stunned and the debate unresolved.

• Liang Qu told Long E Ying that Da Shun planned to weaken the Ghost Mother Sect before the Dream Realm Dynasty arrived and urged her to prepare an escape route for the Dragonfolk.
• Liang Qu and his companions celebrated the New Year Festival, and Wen Shiyun gave the gathering’s congratulatory blessing.
• In Hantai Prefecture, Huai Kong and Sang Jie began their public scripture debate before a huge crowd, with Sang Jie questioning the meaning of emptiness.
• Liang Qu relayed the Old Monk’s response while they ate eel noodles, and the Old Monk challenged Sang Jie’s attachment to intellectual arguments about emptiness.
• Huai Kong delivered the Old Monk’s final question about where one was when thinking of neither good nor evil, and Sang Jie’s train of thought was abruptly broken.

Huai Kong debated Sang Jie at a scripture assembly, using Liang Qu and the Old Monk’s guidance to unsettle the Lotus Sect master and smash a teacup as part of his argument about emptiness. Sang Jie acknowledged Huai Kong as a spiritual friend and left the platform, while the crowd struggled to understand his departure.

• Liang Qu explained that the scripture debate was about winning the common folk’s esteem, while Sang Jie reconsidered the Lotus Sect’s response to the Xingyi Marquis’s actions in Hantai Prefecture.
• Sang Jie challenged Huai Kong’s view of emptiness, and Huai Kong answered with the Old Monk’s guidance about seeing reality without clinging to analysis.
• On the Old Monk’s instruction, Huai Kong smashed the teacup before Sang Jie and asked whether it had been empty before or after it broke.
• Sang Jie contemplated the shattered cup, praised Huai Kong as a spiritual friend, and left the platform after saying the exchange had broken his attachments.
• Sang Jie’s disciples and the crowd reacted in confusion and anger, while Cha Qing escaped the square and told Fan Zixuan that the Lotus Sect master had admitted defeat.

Liang Qu moved to capitalize on Huai Kong’s victory in the scripture debate while the Lotus Sect plotted to kill the young monk. He then pursued a plan involving the Flood Dragon and persuaded Su Guishan to negotiate with the Whale Emperor so they could observe the Immortal Island’s changes.

• Liang Qu caught Long Yao and Long Li gossiping about him, punished them by docking their allowances, and ordered Awei to spread news of Huai Kong’s debate victory.
• Cha Qing and Fan Zixuan stirred up criticism of the Lotus Sect, while Kou Zhuang revealed he planned to visit a temple being built for Huai Kong; Huai Kong refused an invitation to perform an illicit Opening Red.
• Sang Jie’s disciples made excuses for his defeat before their senior brother ordered them to kill Huai Kong before the planned Water and Land Dharma Assembly.
• Liang Qu contacted A Fei about infiltrating the Flood Dragon’s kitchen and, when that proved impossible, told him to spread a piece of news about the White Ape.
• Liang Qu persuaded Su Guishan that observing the Immortal Island could greatly benefit qi-sea growth, and Su Guishan agreed to approach the Whale Emperor on their behalf.

Liang Qu brought more than twenty people to the Immortal Island Above the Clouds, where they meditated and greatly expanded their Qi Seas. After the island became complete and turned insubstantial again, Liang Qu left with the others and began planning his next move against the Flood Dragon.

• Liang Qu summoned Pingyang officials, relatives, and other allies to visit the Immortal Island, then carried them to its plaza and Dragon Court.
• Liang Qu and the visitors meditated as the island’s construction progressed, and their Qi Seas grew; Xu Yuelong entered Sudden Enlightenment, while Su Guishan later broke through to the Third Realm Perfected Elephant.
• Ta Ta Kai schemed to get silver from Wen Shiyun, while Huai Kong survived an assassination attempt in Hantai Prefecture and continued working to undermine Sang Jie’s disciples.
• Liang Qu’s Qi Sea expanded to 1,127 times its original measure, and the completed Immortal Island began turning insubstantial again.
• Little Mirage Dragon explained that the Mirage Dragon had become the island spirit and that the court would retain a thirty-percent stake; Liang Qu led the group off the island.
• Liang Qu spotted great snakes below and began planning a visit to the Giant Clam Tribe Grounds and a campaign to provoke the Flood Dragon.

Liang Qu transformed into the White Ape and returned to the Great Marsh, where he deliberately let a Lantern Fish report his presence to the Flood Dragon’s forces. The Lantern Fish’s lead was stolen by the Fat Catfish and its clan, leaving the Lantern Fish beaten and wondering whether the marsh’s skies would ever brighten.

• Liang Qu arrived early at the River Conservancy Office, cleared a backlog of work, and learned that warships were being prepared for another inspection.
• Liang Qu transformed into the White Ape, gave Long E Ying a Spirit Fish made from Heavenly Water Morning Dew Qi and Marsh Essence, and set off for the Great Marsh.
• Liang Qu used Water Travel Thousand Miles to race across the marsh and allowed a Lantern Fish to spot him so it could report his location.
• The Lantern Fish hurried to an outpost to claim the Flood Dragon King’s reward, but the Fat Catfish intercepted it and claimed the lead for itself.
• The Lantern Fish clan’s second chieftain agreed to split the promised great medicine with the Fat Catfish, then sent the Lantern Fish away with two Treasure Fish.

The Great Huai Army mobilized dozens of demons to hunt the White Ape, but the White Ape ambushed Black Huǐ’s team and killed Ring Huǐ with terrifying ease. After surviving Iron Cannon’s Blood Meteor attack and destroying it with a massive water vortex, the White Ape left carrying Ring Huǐ’s body.

• Lin Jie offered a Demon King rank or Creation Great Medicine for capturing the White Ape, and the Great Huai Army split into three teams to search for it.
• The White Ape tracked Black Huǐ’s team, ate a fish, and used a Blood Baleful Intent false body to lure the demons into attacking.
• The White Ape ambushed Ring Huǐ, tore off its head, skinned it, and pulled out its tendon while Black Huǐ, the Gar Fish, and the Lantern Fish watched in terror.
• Iron Cannon fired a Blood Meteor at the White Ape, and the remaining demons sealed space to prevent it from escaping.
• The White Ape raised a towering water Dragon Pillar and formed a vast vortex that swept the Blood Meteor away and sent the demons tumbling.
• The White Ape scattered the water pillar, picked up Ring Huǐ’s body, and swam away.

Lin Jie reported Ring Huǐ’s death and the White Ape’s defeat of the Iron Cannon to the Flood Dragon King, who ordered him to seek Shui Mu and invite the Great Qian Empress. Meanwhile, Liang Qu cooked Ring Huǐ’s meat, uncovered Ta Ta Kai’s profiteering from grilled fish, and settled the matter before turning to his plans for the Snake Demon’s core and the Ghost Mother Sect; the chapter ended with the White Ape appearing again in March and gaining Marsh Essence.

• Lin Jie learned that the White Ape had killed Ring Huǐ and struck the Iron Cannon back, then reported its threat to the Flood Dragon King, who told him to find Shui Mu and invite the Great Qian Empress.
• The Black Huǐ, Lantern Fish, and Gar Fish warned the Great Demons that the White Ape could not be defeated without an army or a Demon King, while Fat Catfish’s memorial poem rallied them.
• Liang Qu returned to Pingyang after concealing his journey, cooked Ring Huǐ’s meat, and explained to Su Guishan and his guests that the White Ape had sent the second-realm Huǐ snake to him.
• Liang Qu discovered that Ta Ta Kai had charged a hundred taels to process each grilled fish and had spent more than twenty thousand taels on ore, so he recovered the proceeds, arranged a medium-grade spirit weapon, and set a fair processing price.
• Liang Qu planned to refine the Snake Demon’s core, investigate the Ghost Mother Sect, and stock Old Toad’s ponds, while Huai Kong faced angry accusations in Hantai Prefecture.
• In March, the White Ape appeared briefly without killing any fish, gained 332,122 Marsh Essence, and caused the Blue Tide to surge.

After reviewing his depleted funds and resources, Liang Qu prepared to meet the Western Turtle King, but a sudden enlightenment over his choices and the nature of fate led him to attain Unity of Heaven and Man. He emerged with a greatly expanded Qi Sea and ordered Long Binglin to arrange a new meeting with Turtle King.

• Liang Qu counted his remaining money, Great Merit, and Treasure Fish, then decided to meet the Western Turtle King.
• Liang Qu remembered Jian Zhongyi and realized that his growing strength had made old concerns seem insignificant, which led him to reflect on fate and how to choose the timing of his actions.
• Liang Qu entered Sudden Enlightenment, connected his memories of the Heavenly Altar to his insight, and attained Unity of Heaven and Man.
• Wu Cangshou postponed taking Long Binglin to meet Turtle King after discovering Liang Qu's breakthrough, while the Old Monk completed the Consciousness-Only Treatise Conclusion.
• Liang Qu emerged with a Qi Sea 1,491 times greater than normal and ordered Long Binglin to arrange a meeting with Turtle King.