Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu studied Rank Fruits and the River God Sect’s sudden rise while waiting for a Heavenly Fire Sect envoy who never arrived. Back in the mortal world, he strengthened the Water Monkey Great Sage, discovered A Fei had nearly reached the Second Realm, and obtained another wisp of Red Qi before an envoy began asking about an Ape King.

• Shen Zhongliang explained how the Jade Phoenix Tower had replaced the Shangqing Sect to gain a First Grade Rank Fruit, and Liang Qu considered how Rank Fruits could advance through specific rituals.
• Shen Zhongliang left to prepare for the Heavenly Fire Sect envoy, while Liang Qu recorded what he had learned about the Dream Realm Dynasty and Rank Fruits.
• Heavenly Fire Sect envoys discovered the River God Sect had replaced Heaven Gate Sect on their Blood River records, but could not determine its location; the envoy who questioned Heaven Gate Sect never arrived at the River God Sect.
• Liang Qu returned to Great Snow Mountain and continued working to control the Hidden Stake, while Ta Ta Kai trained with his newly forged Spirit Weapon.
• Liang Qu used Mermaid Tears to raise the Water Monkey Great Sage’s fusion rate to 49.1%, and learned that A Fei needed only 200,000 more Marsh Essence to advance after benefiting from gifts from the downsized Great Huai Army.
• Liang Qu obtained a wisp of Red Qi and wondered why Blood River cultivators did not use qi; afterward, Shen Zhongliang answered an envoy’s question about the River God Sect’s Ape King.

Liang Qu received the Heavenly Fire Sect’s gifts and tax demands, then discovered that Fu Ruo'an suspected he was a ghost because he lacked a Reincarnation Seal. He brought two of the Blood Treasures into the living world and used them to test a way to draw out the Drought Demon Fruit of Position, while the Heavenly Fire Sect silenced the attendants who had witnessed his missing seal.

• Shen Zhongliang argued with Cheng Xunchun over whether the River God Sect had an Ape King, until Liang Qu confirmed that it did and said the Ape King was recovering in seclusion.
• Fu Ruo'an presented Liang Qu with one Supreme Grade and three First Grade Blood Treasures, then ordered the River God Sect to supply an increasing annual quota of Second Grade Blood Treasures.
• Liang Qu carried the Supreme Grade and two First Grade Blood Treasures into the living world, while Old Toad tried to steal one and Liang Qu snatched it back.
• Liang Qu found that one lower-quality First Grade Blood Treasure could not cross into the living world, then used the others to test how Blood Treasures affected the Drought Demon Fruit of Position.
• Fu Ruo'an told her Master and Martial Uncle that Liang Qu had no Reincarnation Seal, and they made her attendants forget what they had seen by putting them into a dream.

Liang Qu used the Bloodfiend Divine Technique Token to animate his corpse, letting him appear alive in public while he prepared to gather Blood Treasures in the Blood River. When he returned to the River God Sect, two Heavenly Fire Sect Martial Saints confronted him about bypassing their Rank Fruit, then revealed that the Jiang Huai River’s Rank Fruit was gone.

• Long Binglin suggested combining the Bloodfiend Divine Technique Token with Liang Qu’s corpse, and Liang Qu successfully controlled the body and walked around in public without anyone noticing he was dead.
• Liang Qu returned to the Blood River and decided to seek more Transcendent Grade and First Grade Blood Treasures so he could pluck the Drought Demon Fruit of Position.
• Wu Lingxu and Fei Taiyu of the Heavenly Fire Sect cornered Liang Qu and asked how he had bypassed their sect’s Rank Fruit to descend into the Blood River Realm.
• Liang Qu admitted that the Blood Ape and he were one entity, then invented a tale about dying while fighting the Flood Dragon for the River God Lord position.
• Wu Lingxu and Fei Taiyu laughed at Liang Qu’s account and said that no Rank Fruit remained in the Jiang Huai River.

Liang Qu survived questioning by Wu Lingxu and Fei Taiyu, used Jian Zhongyi’s matching lack of a Reincarnation Seal to support his story, and passed the Heavenly Fire Sect’s preliminary examination. The next morning, they escorted him toward the sect, revealing the Dragon King's Lair along the way, and Liang Qu recognized the Heavenly Fire Sect as Immortal Island Above the Clouds.

• Wu Lingxu and Fei Taiyu questioned Liang Qu about how he had entered the Blood River Realm without a Rank Fruit mark, and Liang Qu claimed Jian Zhongyi had died alongside him.
• Wu Lingxu summoned Jian Zhongyi, confirmed he also lacked a Reincarnation Seal, and heard his account of dying after encountering a Ghost Mother Sect Martial Saint.
• Wu Lingxu and Fei Taiyu accepted Liang Qu’s explanation for the moment, made him an Elder of the Heavenly Fire Sect, and promised him three first-grade Blood Treasures each month.
• The next morning, Liang Qu celebrated his new position before Wu Lingxu and Fei Taiyu escorted him away from the River God Sect.
• As they traveled along the Tongtian River, Wu Lingxu identified an enormous whirlpool as the Dragon King's Lair.
• Liang Qu arrived at the Great Li Heavenly Fire Sect and recognized it as Immortal Island Above the Clouds.

Liang Qu joined the Great Li Heavenly Fire Sect as a second-rank Elder and investigated how the Blood River Realm worked, discovering that reincarnation erased most dead people’s memories and that the living and underworld viewed each other as ghosts. While studying the sect’s Scripture Repository, he found the original Myriad Victory Art and took it for his master; a messenger from the River God Sect then arrived to summon him back.

• Fei Taiyu welcomed Liang Qu to the Heavenly Fire Sect and explained that people in the Blood River Realm were like new infants who retained the base color of their past lives, while their paths were constrained by fate.
• Liang Qu entered the Scripture Repository Pavilion, read about the Netherworld Realm and the Reincarnation Seal, and deduced that reincarnation erased memories while intercepting the power of the dead.
• Wu Lingxu reassured Fu Ruo'an that Liang Qu was a special being born of Heaven and raised by Earth, and told her not to speak carelessly about him.
• Liang Qu studied the Blood River Realm’s martial arts, found the original Myriad Victory Art, and decided to give it to Yang Dongxiong.
• Lin Jinyan told Liang Qu that a messenger surnamed Shen had arrived from the River God Sect, which had moved to the Jiuyi River Basin, and wanted him to return.

Liang Qu returned to the River God Sect, strengthened Xi Ziyu with a Blood Treasure, and tried to explore the Dragon King's Lair before retreating when his Water Stake could not last long enough. After returning to the living world, he volunteered to support the Southern Border and visited his family and master, where Xu Shi recognized how tired he was.

• Liang Qu secured two months of salary and an official-duty allowance from the Heavenly Fire Sect Finance Department by promising to consider the disciple's sister for his retinue.
• Liang Qu used Water Stake to build a path over the Dragon King's Lair, but the stakes vanished after fifteen minutes, so he postponed exploring until he had enough Marsh Essence to upgrade the skill.
• Liang Qu returned to the River God Sect, appointed Shen Zhongliang as Finance Department director, and gave Xi Ziyu Blood Treasures to improve his cultivation.
• Liang Qu returned to the living world, consumed three first-grade Blood Treasures, and spent ten days repairing Ling Xuan's Hidden Stake before asking for leave to visit his family.
• Ke Wenbin told Liang Qu that the Southern Border was in trouble after the Flood Dragon killed the White Ape, and Liang Qu volunteered to join the support mission.
• Xu Shi welcomed Liang Qu and Long E Ying, then drew Liang Qu onto her lap and asked whether he was tired; Liang Qu denied it before suddenly sniffing and insisting he was fine.

Liang Qu revealed to Xu Shi, Yang Dongxiong, and his senior brothers that he was dead, explained the intertwined threats involving the Flood Dragon, the Dream Realm Dynasty, and the Drought Demon, and shared his uncertain hope of resurrection. After Lu Gang suggested borrowing Blood Treasures rather than collecting them, Liang Qu found a way to harvest Marsh Essence from lotus seeds and prepared to transform a Water Stake into a new divine ability.

• Liang Qu disclosed that he was controlling his own corpse and explained his shared fate with the White Ape, his contest with the Flood Dragon for the Huai River Water Lord Fruit of Position, and the plan involving the Netherworld and Drought Demon.
• Liang Qu told his family and senior brothers that he expected to revive if most of his body remained and he returned to life within twelve hours, then described his time in the Netherworld and his search for Blood Treasure.
• Lu Gang proposed temporarily borrowing Blood Treasures to draw out the Drought Demon Fruit of Position, giving Liang Qu a way around collecting a hundred super-grade pieces himself.
• Liang Qu stayed at the residence, reunited with his senior brothers over breakfast, and went to the Martial Hall before returning to handle the Dragonfolk's lotus seeds.
• Liang Qu discovered that passing his snake tail through his corpse let him absorb Marsh Essence from the lotus seeds, then used some of it to reveal that a Spirit Fish could transform a Water Stake into the Pillar of the Heavens.

Liang Qu used the Water Monkey’s divine power to create Human Form Returns to Origin and eventually transformed his soul into a human form. While coordinating his soul, blood shadow, and corpse through Ape Fist, he gained insight into Severing Heaven and Earth and brought the three into instinctive unity.

• Liang Qu exchanged a wisp of Heaven and Earth Long Qi for the construction-type divine power Pillar of the Heavens, copied several cultivation methods, and devised Human Form Returns to Origin.
• Liang Qu studied the Myriad Victory Art and transformation methods, then began cultivating Human Form Returns to Origin, though his first attempt at human transformation failed.
• Liang Qu gave Yang Dongxiong the Myriad Victory Art, and Xu Zishuai rode Red Mountain to obtain a catalog of incomplete texts from Southern Zhili for Liang Qu to memorize.
• After half a month of cultivation, Liang Qu successfully maintained human form for one shichen each day and reflected on the meaning of Severing Heaven and Earth.
• Liang Qu coordinated his soul, blood shadow, and corpse through Ape Fist until their movements became instinctive, practicing for three days and three nights and reaching a sudden insight.

Liang Qu emerged from a half-month sudden enlightenment having reached Severing Heaven and Earth, the second step toward becoming a Martial Saint, and prepared to travel to the Southern Border with the River Conservancy Office. Xu Zishuai and Lu Gang volunteered to accompany him, while Liang Qu remained determined to address the trouble he believed he had helped cause.

• Scarface and Ta Ta Kai fought until Long E Ying froze them in a block of ice, where they remained on display while Liang Qu cultivated by the pond.
• Liang Qu’s sudden enlightenment lasted half a month, and the River Conservancy Office prepared a fleet for the Southern Border as he comprehended Severing Heaven and Earth.
• Shen Zhongliang enjoyed his authority in the River God Sect, accepted a bribe to arrange an assessment, and sent a former fifth-rank sect elder to dredge for Blood Treasures.
• Liang Qu broke through to Severing Heaven and Earth, raised his Qi Sea to 6,821-fold, and learned that Elder Ao Qing had moved the Dragon Sturgeon Clan to the Dragon Man Clan Grounds.
• Liang Qu chose to join the River Conservancy Office’s Southern Border mission and explained to Xu Shi that he felt responsible for the turmoil there.
• Xu Zishuai and Lu Gang offered to accompany Liang Qu and help with logistics, and Liang Qu accepted.

As the fleet sailed toward the Southern Border, Ji Yanyu explained how Mayfly Blood Collection and Blood Concealment Gu had given the enemy an advantage and taught the Grandmasters countermeasures. Liang Qu secretly left to explore Dragon King's Lair, descended into a blood-red realm, and discovered a true dragon, half bone and half flesh, lying in a sea of blood.

• Liang Qu and the fleet departed for the Southern Border, where Ji Yanyu briefed the Grandmasters on Mayfly Blood Collection, Blood Concealment Gu, and the sachets that could suppress mayfly growth.
• Liang Qu suspected his corpse-like body might resist the mayflies and Gu poison, then entrusted the Bloodfiend Divine Technique Token to Long E Ying and secretly returned to the Blood River Realm.
• Liang Qu visited the River God Sect, arranged for Shen Zhongliang to escort Lao Mengyao to the Heavenly Fire Sect, and then set off for Dragon King's Lair.
• Liang Qu used Pillar of the Heavens to descend through Dragon King's Lair for seven days until he reached a blood-red opening.
• Liang Qu entered the opening as a Blood Ape wearing the Vortex Divine Armor and saw a true dragon, half bone and half flesh, sprawled in a vast sea of blood.

Liang Qu explored the Dragon King's Lair, discovered that its immense dragon corpse was a patchwork of the Mirage Dragon and the Old Dragon Lord, and fled after a voice startled him. He returned and learned that the Old Dragon Lord had watched him for years, explained how he became half-living and half-dead, and revealed that the Whale Emperor had deceived him.

• Liang Qu cautiously explored the blood sea and dragon corpse, tried to bite its flesh, and fled when a mysterious voice startled him.
• Liang Qu returned to Dragon King's Lair and spoke with a voice that knew about his transformations, his travels between the living and dead, and his deception of the Heavenly Fire Sect.
• The Old Dragon Lord revealed that Dragon King's Lair was a gap between worlds and that the corpse joined the Mirage Dragon's remains with his own body.
• The Old Dragon Lord explained that he had punched through the underworld but exhausted his strength before returning to the living world, leaving him half-living and half-dead.
• The Old Dragon Lord told Liang Qu that he had been deceived by the Whale Emperor.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liang Qu learns from the Dragon Lord that the Whale Emperor deceived it, aiming to create a small world and advance to Rainbow Transformation, similar to Grand Ancestor Da Li's attempt.
• The Dragon Lord reveals that the Dragon Pearl is actually the roots of the Fire Tree Silver Flower beneath the Dragon Palace, which the Flood Dragon gnaws at daily.
• Liang Qu absorbs three strands of Dragon Seed Aura from the Dragon Lord's blood essence, bringing his total to eight strands.
• Liang Qu trades a small portion of the Dragon Lord's blood essence to General Yuan in exchange for three portions of superior great medicine.

Character Developments

• Liang Qu becomes more cautious and strategic, realizing the importance of keeping secrets and protecting his interests.
• The Dragon Lord reveals its true form and shares its knowledge with Liang Qu, showing a level of trust and dependency on him.
• General Yuan demonstrates his greed and impatience, willing to trade valuable medicine for a small portion of the Dragon Lord's blood essence.

Significant Themes

• Trust and Deception: The Whale Emperor's deception of the Dragon Lord highlights the theme of trust and its betrayal. Liang Qu, on the other hand, shows a level of trust in the Dragon Lord, despite its initial deception.
• Power and Ambition: The desire to create a small world and advance to Rainbow Transformation showcases the characters' ambition and hunger for power.
• Secrets and Knowledge: The Dragon Lord's sharing of its knowledge with Liang Qu emphasizes the value of secrets and the power that comes with possessing them.

Character Interactions

• Liang Qu interacts with the Dragon Lord, learning about the Whale Emperor's true intentions and gaining valuable knowledge.
• Liang Qu trades with General Yuan, demonstrating the Old Turtle's greed and impatience.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying share a playful moment, showcasing their affectionate relationship.

Liang Qu gave Long E Ying the old Dragon Lord’s Blood Essence and explained the Dragon Lord’s predicament in the underworld, then strengthened his own fusion with the Water Monkey Great Sage. As Long E Ying refined the Blood Essence and broke through, Liang Qu reached fifty percent fusion and gained new talents and the Divine Power Water Dragon Pierces the Clouds.

• Liang Qu revealed that the blood bead was the old Dragon Lord’s Blood Essence and told Long E Ying how the Dragon Lord was trapped in the underworld while the Heavenly Fire Sect tried to refine Marsh Spirit.
• Long E Ying agreed to refine the Blood Essence, and Liang Qu told Long Binglin and Long Yanrui about the Dragon Lord while asking them to keep the secret.
• Liang Qu consumed great medicine and Marsh Essence to raise his Water Monkey Great Sage fusion, while Long E Ying refined the Blood Essence aboard the Creation Treasure Ship.
• Long E Ying’s breakthrough sent a powerful aura through the fleet, prompting the onlookers to realize she had become a Celestial Grandmaster.
• Liang Qu reached fifty percent fusion, comprehended Dark Tide and Water Dragon Lock, and gained the Divine Power Water Dragon Pierces the Clouds.

After advancing his Ying Long Mark, Liang Qu brought Lao Mengyao into the Heavenly Fire Sect as a third-rank disciple. He then tried to recruit her brother Lao Yingtian into a risky plan to borrow the sect’s Blood Treasures for fifteen minutes, leaving Lao Yingtian tempted but uncertain.

• Liang Qu advanced to the sixth layer of the Ying Long Mark, gained River’s Favor, and strengthened his wind-assisted movement and ability to manipulate the qi of heaven and earth.
• Liang Qu returned to the Blood River Realm and took Lao Mengyao from Shen Zhongliang to the Heavenly Fire Sect, startling Shen Zhongliang with his transformed appearance and speed.
• Liang Qu registered Lao Mengyao as a third-rank disciple, exceeding the rank she and Lao Yingtian had expected.
• Liang Qu asked Lao Yingtian about the sect’s Blood Treasure vaults and proposed borrowing all the top-grade treasures for fifteen minutes, promising him a share of the profits.
• Lao Yingtian hesitated as Liang Qu used the prospect of advancement for him and his sister to persuade him, while Lao Mengyao arrived in her new disciple uniform.

Lao Yingtian weighed his future and decided to take a chance, while Lao Mengyao joined Liang Qu as his disciple at the Heavenly Fire Sect. Liang Qu gathered cultivation manuals and prepared to learn Lao Yingtian’s decision, which was to pursue advancement.

• Lao Yingtian praised Liang Qu’s ability and mysterious origins as he brought Lao Mengyao to the Finance Department and introduced her to the disciples.
• Kuang Chen challenged Lao Yingtian over Liang Qu’s salary and allowance, but Lao Yingtian defended the payments by citing sect regulations and a commission from Fei Taiyu.
• Lao Mengyao collected Liang Qu’s October salary, met him in his Blood Ape form, and asked about his other disciples and his wife before he took her to choose a cultivation method.
• Liang Qu copied forty-one complete True Art manuals from the Scripture Repository Pavilion and arranged for basic cultivation methods to support Huaiyin Martial Hall.
• At Liang Qu’s cave mansion, Lao Yingtian told Elder Yu that he wanted to take a chance.

Lao Yingtian and Liang Qu arranged for the three elders responsible for the Heavenly Fire Sect’s Treasure Vault to be represented by disciples at a banquet, creating an opening for Liang Qu to borrow the super-grade Blood Treasures. As the vault’s marks were disrupted and Kuang Chen was occupied restoring them, Liang Qu entered unseen and the super-grade Blood Treasures vanished from their shelf.

• Lao Yingtian explained the Finance Department’s two-part vault system and planned to use the monthly replenishment to get the elders replaced by proxies.
• Lao Yingtian persuaded Wang Chengxian to attend Liang Qu’s banquet, while Bao Jiaxiang arranged for the Vault Keeper to attend as well.
• Liang Qu invited Fei Taiyu and Wu Lingxu to the banquet, then returned to the world of the living to prepare his formation and choose Blue Lake as the site for the Drought Demon Fruit of Position.
• Liang Qu hosted the banquet while Wang Chengxian and Xi Wuwei attended, leaving Kuang Chen, Lao Yingtian, and Bao Jiaxiang to replenish the vault.
• Lao Yingtian knocked a super-grade Blood Treasure box from its shelf, forcing Kuang Chen to restore the marks while Liang Qu slipped into the vault unseen.
• Lao Yingtian sensed someone pat his shoulder and saw that every super-grade Blood Treasure had disappeared from the shelf.

Liang Qu used stolen Blood Treasures to draw out the Drought Demon Fruit at Blue Lake, while Lao Yingtian stalled Kuang Chen after the Treasure Vault's transcendent-grade treasures disappeared. The fruit emerged amid apocalyptic phenomena, and Lao Yingtian received the treasures back from a Yellow Leather Bag just as Bao Jiaxiang realized what it contained.

• Lao Yingtian confronted Kuang Chen and provoked him while silently counting the breaths until Elder Yu returned.
• Liang Qu carried 182 supreme-rank and 1,100 first-rank Blood Treasures to Blue Lake, arranged them into a Heavenly Qi Gathering Array, and began drawing out the Rank Fruit.
• Ling Xuan told the others that Xingyi Marquis planned to pluck the Rank Fruit, and they watched Blue Lake's water level fall as heavenly phenomena erupted.
• The Drought Demon Fruit appeared, and its heat dehydrated Liang Qu before he fell into Blue Lake amid a massive surge of water and crimson-gold light.
• Kuang Chen discovered the Treasure Vault's transcendent-grade Blood Treasures were missing, attacked Lao Yingtian, and fled in panic.
• Lao Yingtian recovered the Yellow Leather Bag from Liang Qu, ordered Bao Jiaxiang to help return the treasures, and Bao Jiaxiang opened a box to find a Blood Treasure inside.

Liang Qu survived an ordeal that left him nearly desiccated, while Lao Yingtian and Bao Jiaxiang faced punishment for hiding the Treasure Vault’s Blood Treasures. After settling his debts and rewarding Lao Yingtian, Liang Qu discovered that he had acquired the Drought Demon Fruit.

• Liang Qu collapsed from extreme thirst, drank the stream dry, and gradually recovered as Lao Mengyao helped him.
• Lao Yingtian urged Bao Jiaxiang to take responsibility for their scheme, but Xi Wuwei arrived and struck them both down.
• Bao Jiaxiang confessed that he and Lao Yingtian had hidden the super-grade Blood Treasures, and the elders ordered Kuang Chen to receive a Grade C punishment for poor inventory oversight.
• Wang Chengxian gave Lao Mengyao two fourth-grade Blood Treasures, while Lao Yingtian thanked Liang Qu for the transcendent-grade Blood Treasure and discussed helping his sister become a second-class disciple.
• Liang Qu calculated that his banquet expenses were covered, gave Lao Yingtian his reward, and laughed after discovering the Drought Demon Fruit and its disaster-related rites.

Liang Qu safely obtained the Drought Demon Fruit and used the Ze Cauldron’s information to reason through Rank Fruit rituals and the path from True Image to Rainbow Transformation. After glimpsing the Heavenly Gate, he traveled to the desert and created a canyon, where the Ze Cauldron gathered a strand of yellow sands and he encountered Xingyi Marquis.

• Liang Qu reflected on the Drought Demon Fruit’s drought authority, its refinement and advancement rituals, and the danger of making the Southern Border False Dragon refine it.
• Liang Qu read that gathering the Four Calamities with the Water Lord as king could light the Calamity Realm, and he reasoned that Rainbow Transformation involved creating a realm from compatible Fruits of Position.
• Liang Qu inferred that Knocking on the Heavenly Gate meant breaking through the resistance between his inner Celestial Palace and the outside world, then briefly experienced the cramped sensation of the gate without forcing it open.
• Liang Qu decided to return before the River Conservancy Office fleet reached South Sea Prefecture and traveled to the desert to investigate the possible appearance of a Flood Calamity Rank Fruit.
• Liang Qu struck the desert with Fubo, creating a twenty-li canyon, and the Ze Cauldron later gathered a strand of yellow sands that could be fused with Marsh Essence to produce a Spirit Fish.
• Liang Qu checked his map and exclaimed when he recognized Xingyi Marquis.

Liang Qu crossed into Loulan, where he spotted unusually dense yellow aura around the royal capital and secured access to Loulan’s records to search for Rank Fruit clues. After returning to South Sea Prefecture, he reunited with Long E Ying and shared the lamb he had brought back from Loulan.

• Alshak recognized Liang Qu in the desert and persuaded him to visit Loulan after Liang Qu realized he had crossed the border and carved a canyon there.
• An Shiche escorted Liang Qu to Loulan Royal City, where Liang Qu noticed dense yellow aura that might indicate a Rank Fruit.
• The King of Loulan welcomed Liang Qu at a banquet, and Liang Qu asked to consult Loulan’s records for information about Rank Fruits.
• The King of Loulan gave Liang Qu a jade token granting access to Loulan’s Library and the collections of its great clans.
• After learning that the River Conservancy Office fleet had reached South Sea Prefecture, Liang Qu left Loulan with lamb and gave the kingdom tokens of [Slaying the Flood Dragon] and [Golden Body].
• Liang Qu returned to Long E Ying, explained that Loulan’s beauties had touched him, and discovered that A Fei had accidentally eaten twenty of the lamb portions.