Chapter Summaries

Su Qing secured the rights to a massive Essence Light Stone Mine in the Far West by agreeing to supply Sword Come Hall with Puppets. After his shop’s opening-day stock sold out, he gave Feng Bo'e an important assignment to gather former Tomb Raiding Heroes.

• Ji Yong'en asked Su Qing to supply Sword Come Hall with Myriad Laws Master Puppets and Dagger Missile Puppets despite having no funds, but Su refused until Ji offered him the mining rights to the Far West’s Essence Light Stone Mine.
• Su agreed to develop the dangerous mine and take responsibility for pressure from the Penglai Huang Family and for relocating the Far West residents; he also planned to help Old Daoist Tong fight on Langya Immortal Island.
• Su reviewed the wealthy patrons’ orders and saw that several Puppet series were popular, while the Air Combat Series drew no buyers.
• Su went downstairs and granted customers extra discounts and benefits, and nearly all the shop’s Puppets sold out on opening day.
• The shop staff counted the sales and lending proceeds, while Shao Delong and Liang Hai Shun anticipated their dividends from Puppet series they had helped develop.
• Su gave Feng Bo'e one hundred Spirit Stones and tasked him with gathering the former Tomb Raiding Heroes beneath Su’s command.

Su Qing prepared to withdraw from shop affairs and enter seclusion to refine the Void Four Lions and a Shattered Lotus Puppet, hoping to strengthen himself before Gao Erqiang took control of Wanghai City. After finding most of the materials he needed, he learned that the rare Fourth-tier Great Camphor Wood Core might be at Sword Come Hall.

• Su Qing reflected on the growth of Su's Puppet Shop and the Puppet Factory, then told Hongshang to limit puppet orders while he focused on refining.
• Rao Tingshan asked Su Qing to speak favorably of Fate Comes Pavilion to Gao Erqiang when the High Evil God arrived, and Su Qing considered how his standing would compare with Gao Erqiang's.
• Su Qing finalized plans for the Void Four Lions, combining a Golden Mane Lion, a Virtual Reality Dao Pattern, Fourth-tier runes, a Great Camphor Wood Core, and the powers of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning.
• Su Qing bought materials at Hundred Treasures Pavilion, where Lü Wentian told him the Fourth-tier Great Camphor Wood Core was unavailable there.
• Tong Xin directed Su Qing to Sword Come Hall, the only place in Wanghai City known to have possessed the core, and the sword cultivators enthusiastically welcomed him.

Su Qing bought a Female Great Camphor Wood Core from Ji Yong'en and learned that Ye Suo held the male core he wanted. He went with Sword Come Hall’s cultivators to Langya Workshop to seek Ye Suo, while Ling Ying prepared to confront him and relied on Ye Suo to defend her.

• Su Qing asked Ji Yong'en for a Great Camphor Wood Core, and Ji Yong'en explained that the male core belonged to the exiled sword cultivator Ye Suo while he had the female core.
• Su Qing bought Ji Yong'en’s Female Great Camphor Wood Core for six thousand two hundred Spirit Stones and agreed to go with Sword Come Hall to Langya Workshop to approach Ye Suo.
• Su Qing led Ji Yong'en and the sword cultivators through Wanghai City, prompting rumors that he planned to seize Langya Workshop or abduct Ling Ying.
• Ling Ying gathered her allies inside the closed Langya Workshop and told Ye Suo that Su Qing’s arrival threatened her and the workshop.
• Ye Suo reassured Ling Ying that he would stop Su Qing from causing trouble.

Su Qing challenged Ye Suo to a sword duel over the Camphor Wood Sword, while Ling Ying tried to protect Ye Suo and steer the confrontation. Su Qing brought Tiger Egg to fight in his place, and Hei Qingtian arranged for the duel to move to the Enforcement Hall’s Duelling Platform.

• Ling Ying urged Ye Suo to spare his former Sword Come Hall brothers, but Ye Suo insisted he would fight for her and fulfill her wish.
• Su Qing called Ye Suo out of Langya Workshop and challenged him to a duel for the Camphor Wood Sword, refusing Ling Ying’s invitation to speak privately.
• Ye Suo drew his Natal Swift Wind Sword and the Camphor Wood Sword, while Ji Yong'en and the other Sword Come Hall cultivators tried to persuade him to return.
• Su Qing sent Tiger Egg, equipped with eleven magic swords, to face Ye Suo, and Ling Ying warned Ye Suo to be cautious.
• Hei Qingtian asked Su Qing and Ye Suo to move their duel to the Enforcement Hall, and both agreed to change venues.

At the Enforcement Hall, Su Qing faced Ye Suo in a sword duel, hoping Tiger Egg would learn from the strongest sword cultivator of the Far West. Su Qing revealed a Flawless Sword Heart and the Sword Momentum School, leaving the watching sword cultivators stunned as the duel continued.

• Hei Qingtian welcomed Su Qing and Ye Suo onto the Duelling Platform as cultivators from across Wanghai City gathered to watch.
• Rao Tingshan and Li Kuishan questioned why Su Qing was duelling Ye Suo, while Qing He defended Su Qing and guessed at his motives.
• Su Qing told Tiger Egg to study Ye Suo’s swordsmanship, then Ye Suo unleashed the Wind of the Void with his opening strike.
• Tiger Egg countered Ye Suo’s sword intent with four dharma swords, extinguishing the storm before it could harm Su Qing.
• Ye Suo recognized Su Qing’s Flawless Sword Heart and asked whether he followed the Sword Momentum School, prompting Sword Come Hall’s cultivators to explain its rare requirements.

Su Qing and Tiger Egg faced Ye Suo in a sword duel, where Tiger Egg's insight into the Sword Momentum School helped it advance the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Mountain Sword into a Proto Heaven-grade Combat Skill. The technique overwhelmed Ye Suo and drew attention across the cultivation world, while Ling Ying resolved to win Su Qing's aid for her ambitions.

• Ye Suo attacked Su Qing with the Swift Wind Sword and Great Spring Wood Sword, unleashing rapid sword lights that left no openings.
• Tiger Egg studied Ye Suo's Sword Intent School techniques, rejected their reliance on heaven and earth, and resolved to follow the Sword Momentum School.
• Su Qing directed Tiger Egg to unleash the Nine-Tailed Nine Swords, whose mountain-like momentum trapped Ye Suo's swords and revealed a Proto Heaven-grade Combat Skill.
• The duel's sword pressure shattered the Four Directions Xiezhi Stone Sculptures and damaged the Enforcement Hall, while Hu Gua spread reports of Su Qing's achievement across the cultivation world.
• Hei Qingtian lamented the damage and feared asking Su Qing for compensation, while Ling Ying decided to seek his help against Langya Immortal Island.

Su Qing defeated Ye Suo in a duel and won the Great Spring Wood Sword, then uncovered hidden spying runes in gifts sent to his shop. After sorting out the gifts and punishing Bear Two and Fire Egg for accepting bribes, he entered the Puppet Refining Chamber to refine the Void Four Lions.

• Su Qing stopped Ye Suo from killing himself after his sword momentum dissipated, and Ling Ying gave Su Qing the Great Spring Wood Sword before leading Ye Suo away.
• Su Qing promised Tiger Egg he would gather materials and runes to upgrade it into a Tier 4 Puppet so it could better control its Heaven-grade Combat Skill.
• Su Qing returned to his shop with Qing He and discovered that her Purple Gold Buddha contained hidden runes for spying and manipulating minds.
• Su Qing inspected the gifts and purchases of Qing He, Ge Ling, Bear Two, and Fire Egg, finding spying runes and confiscating the gifts Bear Two and Fire Egg had accepted.
• Su Qing entered the Puppet Refining Chamber with two Great Camphor Wood Cores to refine the Void Four Lions using Dao patterns.

Su Qing rejected Ling Ying's request to help seize Langya Immortal Island, even after she revealed its Immortal's Ruins and the treasures within. Ling Ying tried to sway him with her Green Fox Spirit Eyes and then disrobed, but she ended by revealing that a wisp of Ziwei Qi in her body could help her achieve Nascent Soul.

• Su Qing refined Star-Sun Dolls and concluded that he needed the Inspiration Rune to make puppets independently practice the Hundred Arts of Cultivation.
• Ling Ying visited Su Qing and asked him to help her seize Langya Immortal Island, but he refused and told her to seek stronger allies.
• Ling Ying revealed that Langya Island contained Immortal's Ruins and that its inner perimeter would reopen within ten years, but Su Qing dismissed the opportunity.
• Ling Ying revealed the treasures her father had found and used her Green Fox Spirit Eyes to tempt Su Qing, but his Tier 3 Calming Talisman blocked her influence.
• Su Qing rebuked Ling Ying for trying to manipulate him, and she disrobed in an effort to persuade him to cooperate.
• Ling Ying explained that a wisp of her father's Ziwei Qi could help her achieve Nascent Soul, but the Green Fox Pill prevented her from following his path.

Su Qing accepted Ling Ying’s Ziwei Qi in exchange for helping her obtain a treasure on Langya Immortal Island, then used the spiritual object to break through to Late Foundation Establishment. He began refining the Void Four Lions, leaving his plans for Ling Ying’s island venture unresolved.

• Su Qing and Ling Ying agreed that he would help her obtain a treasure on Langya Immortal Island in exchange for the Ziwei Qi, and he swore a Dao Pact.
• Ling Ying transferred the Ziwei Qi to Su Qing, and the two spent three days together; afterward, she said Ye Suo would deliver seven or eight thousand Essence Light Stones.
• Su Qing discovered that the Ziwei Qi had helped him break through to Late Foundation Establishment, and he considered the risks of helping Ling Ying.
• Su Qing decided that the Ziwei Qi and Essence Light Stones made the bargain worthwhile, then began refining the Void Four Lions using the Camphor Wood powder.

Su Qing refined the Golden Mane Lion brothers into the Void Four Lions by giving them Suanni essence blood, elemental coatings, Virtual Reality Dao Patterns, and powerful runes. Their creation unlocked new puppet blueprints, including the Void Realm Doll, which could serve as Su Qing’s avatar for exploring other realms.

• Su Qing divided a drop of the Green Lion True King's essence blood among the four Golden Mane Lion brothers, allowing them to bear Tier 4 runes and Suanni-inspired refinement.
• Su Qing coated the brothers with Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning attributes, added Creation Coating, and implanted portions of the Virtual Reality Dao Patterns from the Formless Garment of Reality and Illusion.
• Su Qing inscribed Tier 4 Virtual Reality Runes and other runes on the brothers, turning them into Suanni-like long-range fighters equipped with the Four Rings of Wind and Thunder.
• Su Qing activated the completed Void Four Lions and noticed that a Gate of Reality and Illusion appeared between them, wondering whether it could trap enemies.
• Su Qing's system unlocked three puppet blueprints, including the Void Realm Doll, which could carry his divine consciousness into other realms but could not be used within Tianyuan Realm.
• Su Qing considered using the Void Realm Doll to explore small realms left behind by fallen Deity Transformation Cultivators.

Su Qing refined the Shattered Lotus Puppet into Jade Lotus, whose Buddhist powers and battle formations gave him confidence against Er Qiang and other Tier 4 threats. He planned to visit the Earth Store Buddhist Kingdom after the Deity Transformation Small Realm drew attention, but first remembered his promise to help Ling Ying retrieve her treasure from Langya Immortal Island.

• Su Qing examined the Void Four Lions’ abilities and judged that they improved his chances against powerful foes but could not guarantee victory against Er Qiang.
• Su Qing fused the shattered lotus with the Earth-Grumbling Stone and costly materials, then refined and activated the new puppet.
• The puppet’s foul-mouthed voice produced Buddhist light and thunder, revealing its exorcism abilities and consuming spirit-stone energy rapidly.
• Su Qing named the puppet Jade Lotus and discovered its powers, including exorcism, recovery, battle formations, and attraction to Buddhist treasures.
• Su Qing decided to visit the Earth Store Buddhist Kingdom with Jade Lotus when factions pursued the Deity Transformation Small Realm, then recalled that he first needed to help Ling Ying at Langya Immortal Island.

Su Qing received Ye Suo’s Essence Light Stone delivery and learned that Wanghai City was preparing to welcome Gao Erqiang as its new lord. He skipped the ceremony and sent a meager gift, leaving Qing He to present it as the city’s other factions offered far grander treasures.

• Ye Suo delivered 7,642 jin of Essence Light Stone to Su Qing after waiting outside the shop for half a month, then learned that Su Qing had dismantled the Camphor Wood Sword and fused it into a puppet.
• Qing He told Su Qing that Wanghai City’s Gold Medal Shops were preparing gifts for Gao Erqiang, and Su Qing chose to contribute a hundred Spirit Stones and several Tier 2 Princess Puppets.
• Wanghai City’s leaders and prominent cultivators gathered to welcome Gao Erqiang, while Hei Qingtian noted that Su Qing, Ji Yong'en, and Master Liaode were absent.
• Gao Erqiang arrived, spoke humbly to the city’s factions, and entered the City Lord’s Manor as its new lord.
• The city’s factions presented Gao Erqiang with valuable gifts, but Qing He’s offering for Su’s Puppet Shop—a Tier 2 Headless Leopard—stunned the gathering and prompted Rao Tingshan to criticize Su Qing.

Gao Erqiang reunited with Su Qing in Wanghai City, where their calm exchange convinced the gathered cultivators that Su Qing was powerful enough to command the Evil God's respect. While sea fishing together, they encountered a school of Fish Dragons led by a Tier 4 Fish Dragon King, leaving the treasure ship under threat.

• Qing He told Gao Erqiang that Su Qing was busy refining puppets, and Gao Erqiang chose to visit Su's Puppet Shop rather than punish him.
• Su Qing welcomed Gao Erqiang at his shop, and their measured conversation led the Wanghai cultivators to suspect Su Qing could rival the Evil God.
• Su Qing invited Gao Erqiang to go sea fishing, and Wanghai's powerful cultivators supplied a treasure ship and fishing gear.
• Gao Erqiang and Su Qing encountered a school of Fish Dragons approaching the ship, and Gao Erqiang stepped onto the waves to face them.
• A Tier 4 Fish Dragon King burst from the sea, and Su Qing released the Two-Headed Mirage Dragon to protect the ship from the crashing seawater.

Gao Erqiang confronted Fish Head Shovel after the Fish Dragon King declared control over the seas around Wanghai, while Su Qing plunged into the depths to attack its Fish Dragon swarm. Fish Head Shovel revealed its Mountain Moving Black Dragon bloodline and fought back against Gao Erqiang’s overwhelming Daoist arts.

• Fish Head Shovel announced that the Fish Dragon Clan would control the seas around Wanghai after its five-thousand-year agreement with the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom expired, and Rao Tingshan explained its history.
• Gao Erqiang challenged Fish Head Shovel, countered its crescent shovel with a bone claw, and struck it with Five Thunder Yang Fire and other Cloud Mountain Daoist arts.
• Su Qing dove into the deep sea to hunt the Fish Dragon swarm while the cultivators aboard the treasure ship called out potential uses for the creatures’ materials.
• Fish Head Shovel revealed its true form and summoned the Mountain Moving Black Dragon Ancestor Phantom after Gao Erqiang urged it to retreat.
• Fish Head Shovel fired its Fish Head Cannon, but Gao Erqiang swallowed the attack in clouds and unleashed a barrage of Daoist arts that tore through its unscaled body and spilled its True Dragon blood.
• The Mountain Moving Black Dragon Phantom used Primordial Spirit Light and its mountain-wielding tail to dispel Gao Erqiang’s attacks.

Su Qing and Gao Erqiang defeated Fish Head Shovel and traded for dragon materials, while thirty years of upheaval spread across the West Sea and Wanghai City prospered under their protection. The long-delayed Wanghai Grand Auction began as Hei Qingtian feared that trouble would break out.

• Gao Erqiang defeated Fish Head Shovel, took its True Dragon Essence Blood and scales, and allowed it to flee west with its surviving clan.
• Su Qing revealed his puppets and missiles, forcing the wounded Fish Head Shovel to retreat, then traded Deep Sea Tyrants and Dagger Missile Puppets with Gao Erqiang for dragon blood and scales.
• Su Qing sold the captured Fish Dragons to Wanghai cultivators, and the Blood Emperor confirmed to Gao Erqiang that Su Qing had defeated Ye Suo with a single sword strike.
• Over the next thirty years, powerful monsters and Evil Entities destabilized the West Sea, while Su Qing and High Evil God protected Wanghai from the Western Sea Heavenly Mother and the city grew prosperous.
• Wanghai held its long-postponed Grand Auction after driving the Western Sea Heavenly Mother away, and Hei Qingtian worried that danger would disrupt the event.

Su Qing’s allies gathered in Wanghai City as Penglai and the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom prepared to challenge the city’s independence and pressure his business. He backed Ling Ying’s plan to reveal Langya Immortal Island’s Immortal’s Ruins, then entered the Puppet Refining Chamber as a newly advanced Golden Core Venerable.

• The White-faced Green Lion King rallied his demon retinue to support Su Qing at the Wanghai City Auction, while Shi Zhi Fang and Wu Dan prepared to uphold the Desiring Demon Immortal Kingdom’s interests despite Shi Zhi Fang’s hatred of Su Qing.
• True Person Du'e declared that Penglai Immortal Island would take control of Wanghai City, while True Person Fu Hu’s delegation from the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom planned to target Gao Erqiang and avoid harming merchants friendly to their kingdom.
• Ling Ying told Su Qing she would reveal at the Auction that Langya Immortal Island held an Immortal’s Ruins, and Su Qing encouraged her to share the news.
• After Ling Ying left, Su Qing entered the Puppet Refining Chamber, where it was revealed that he had condensed liquid into a core half a month earlier and become a Golden Core Venerable.

After thirty years of preparation, Su Qing assessed his Golden Core cultivation and puppet forces as Penglai Immortal Island and the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom arrived to challenge Wanghai’s power at the Grand Auction. The auction opened amid a crowd of cultivators and prominent factions, while Hu Gua’s intelligence team recorded the arrivals and assessed their significance.

• Su Qing reviewed the Ziwei Myriad Manifestations Core he had formed and the puppet forces and escape measures he had prepared to face the Nascent Soul leaders threatening Wanghai.
• Su Qing waited through the night for the Grand Auction, expecting Erqiang to help hold off the approaching factions.
• Hu Gua secured back-row seats for his intelligence team and instructed them to record auction results and watch for opportunities to gather information.
• The Twilight Society welcomed Duan Yang and Duan Tian'ai, Master Liaode, Ying Wushen, and the He Family Twin Beauties as they took seats on the second and third floors.
• Rao Tingshan and Li Kuishan entered the third-floor private rooms, followed by Lü Wentian and the shopkeepers of Wanghai Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

At Wanghai City's Grand Auction, Gao Erqiang and True Person Fu Hu clashed over Blood Emperor before Su Qing intervened and learned that the major factions wanted to take control of the city. Su Qing prepared for the confrontation, but the True King and Nascent Soul reinforcements he had expected failed to arrive, leaving him to rely on weaker allies and a newly acquired Qiongqi skin.

• True Person Fu Hu attacked Blood Emperor, and Gao Erqiang seized several Thousand Islands Golden Cores to force Fu Hu to release him.
• Su Qing arrived with Ling Ying, Qing He, and Sword Come Hall cultivators, persuaded Fu Hu and Gao Erqiang to stop, and heard Fu Hu warn him to distance himself from evil entities.
• Gao Erqiang told Su Qing that the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom had demanded control of Wanghai City and its businesses, and Su Qing pledged to stand behind him.
• Su Qing learned that the Green Lion True King had been stopped by a Penglai Nascent Soul, but accepted a Tier 4 Qiongqi skin from the White-faced Green Lion King in exchange for future puppets.
• Shi Zhi Fang told Su Qing that Shi Li Jing had been blocked by a Thousand Islands Nascent Soul, then offered the Desiring Demon Sect's seven Golden Core cultivators as aid.

Wanghai’s local forces rallied behind High Evil God and Su Qing, rejecting the prospect of Penglai and Thousand Islands taking control of the city. As the Grand Auction began with Su Qing’s new Ironclad Dragon Turtle puppet drawing eager bids, Su Qing modestly contrasted his shared designs with Penglai’s exclusive puppets.

• Ying Wushen, Duan Tian'ai, Shao Delong, Master Liaode, and Hei Qingtian declared that their forces would support High Evil God and Su Qing rather than let Penglai Sect and Thousand Islands Sect dominate Wanghai.
• Hei Qingtian argued that High Evil God and Su Qing had protected Wanghai and helped it prosper, and he pledged the Enforcement Hall to High Evil God’s side.
• Ying Wushen urged everyone to wait until the Grand Auction ended before any confrontation, while Liang Hai Shun opened the event as auctioneer.
• Liang Hai Shun presented Su Qing’s Tier 3 Ironclad Dragon Turtle, and cultivators competed enthusiastically to buy the new puppet.
• True Person Du'e praised Su Qing’s reputation and puppet-making skill, and Su Qing replied that Penglai’s exclusive puppets surpassed his in quality and quantity but that he shared his own new designs with cultivators.

Su Qing and Gao Erqiang rejected Penglai and Thousand Islands’ demands for control over Wanghai and its merchants, while allies backed Wanghai’s independence. The confrontation escalated into a looming battle at sea, as Su Qing revealed four puppetized Golden Mane Brothers to persuade Green Lion King to join them.

• Su Qing accused Penglai Immortal Island of hoarding its cultivation creations and exposed the Star Track Magic Cannon Blueprint as obsolete, then redirected True Person Du'e’s anger toward Gao Erqiang.
• Gao Erqiang declared that Wanghai would belong to no Immortal Kingdom or sect, and Green Lion King, Shi Zhi Fang, and representatives of other powers voiced their support.
• True Person Fu Hu and True Person Du'e demanded Wanghai’s Gold Medal Shops or valuable puppet and armor inheritances, but Gao Erqiang and Su Qing refused.
• True Person Du'e manifested an Immortal Lord Dharma Image and True Person Fu Hu unleashed his strength, prompting the auction crowd to panic as the gathering moved toward a fight.
• Su Qing reassured the auction attendees that bidding would continue and said the True Persons would give Wanghai cultivators a lesson at sea.
• Su Qing showed Green Lion King four puppetized Golden Mane Brothers and promised that they could help block a Nascent Soul cultivator, prompting Green Lion King to consider bringing more Golden Mane Brothers for puppet refinement.