Chapter Summaries

After Jia Yi survived another tribulation, he reunited with Fengdu, Chang De, and Zhang Heming at a grand feast on Spirit Pivot Mountain. Fang Xiu departed to visit the academy lineage he had founded and pursue a plan to bring its Dao Transmission Jade Slip to the upper realm when he ascended.

• Jia Yi returned to Spirit Pivot Mountain after surviving two of the Three Calamities and reunited with Fang Xiu.
• Chang De and Zhang Heming arrived in East Continent, prompting Great Zhou and its local gods to react anxiously to the gathering of four powerful figures.
• Jia Yi hosted a three-day feast attended by cultivators and the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, while the four old friends reminisced about their past.
• Zhang Heming planned to visit the present-day Celestial Master Sect, and Chang De planned to visit Barren Ancient Mountain before the two sought a ruler for the North Sea.
• Fang Xiu told Jia Yi he would undergo more tribulations in East Continent and visit Xun Capital Academy, intending to take the Dao Transmission Jade Slip to the upper realm when he ascended.

Fang Xiu returned to the ruins of Xun Capital and declared that its academy should be restored. In Yang Capital, Emperor Kong Zhang and his ministers discussed powerful immortals and the coming Lord of the Four Seas before a bright moon descended from the Ninth Heaven.

• Fang Xiu revisited the ruins of Xun Capital and recalled the academy he had founded there.
• Fang Xiu picked up a piece of rubble and declared that Xun Capital Academy would return.
• Emperor Kong Zhang summoned the Chancellor, the Director of the Directorate of Astronomy, and the Minister of Rites to discuss the four powerful beings in Eastern Continent.
• Kong Zhao reported that the immortal banquet was a reunion and explained the guests' plans and Fengdu's possible reason for returning.
• The Minister of Rites raised the impending emergence of the Lord of the Four Seas, but the court's attention turned to a bright moon descending into Yang Capital.

Fengdu Daoist descended upon the Yang Capital, overwhelmed Great Zhou’s defenses, and revealed himself to Emperor Kong Jia as Sage Feng of the ancient Xun Capital Academy. He asked to represent the academy and request the ancient capital of Xun from the human race’s co-lord of Dongzhou.

• Fengdu Daoist’s bright moon pierced the Yang Capital’s great array, suppressed its soldiers and cultivators, and left the city unable to resist.
• Fengdu Daoist entered the imperial palace, where Emperor Kong Jia and his officials faced him in alarm.
• Fengdu Daoist told Kong Jia that he had come as Sage Feng, the founder of the ancient Xun Capital Academy.
• Kong Jia and the officials recognized the connection between Sage Feng and Fengdu Daoist, and Kong Jia offered to grant his request.
• Fengdu Daoist asked for the ancient capital of Great Huan, Xun, on behalf of the academy.

Fengdu asked King Zhou Kong Jia to grant him the ruined Xun land so he could take the ancient capital and the Xun Capital Academy with him when he ascended. After Kong Jia consented, Fengdu departed in a shower of light, and the chapter ended with an old man at the Esteemed Sage Academy waking from a dream.

• The Chancellor and the Director of the Directorate of Astronomy explained that Xun land had become barren after the Great River changed course and its City God perished.
• Fengdu told Kong Jia that he wanted to take Xun Capital and its academy into the upper realm, honoring the disciples who had spread his Dao.
• Two Academy Disciples asked whether the academy's branch lineages could ascend with Fengdu, and he told them the calamity was not yet over.
• Kong Jia agreed to grant Fengdu the land, and Fengdu vanished amid rosy light over Yang Capital.
• At the Esteemed Sage Academy in Bu Prefecture, an old man in a master's robe suddenly woke from his dream.

Qu Yong witnessed the Moon Locusts across Bu Commandery bloom all at once, prompting the Dao Transmission Jade Slip to rise and enter the Former Sage Palace. The palace opened and the Fifth Sage’s statue began to manifest as a sage prepared to deliver an oral decree.

• Qu Yong awoke from a dream of Xun Capital Academy and the sages of old, then saw the Moon Locust flowers bloom outside.
• Students and instructors gathered as they realized the Moon Locusts throughout Bu Commandery had blossomed simultaneously.
• The Dao Transmission Jade Slip flew from Qu Yong’s hands and filled the sky with Grand Righteous Qi, startling people across the surrounding lands.
• The jade slip descended into the Former Sage Palace, whose gates opened as its memorial tablets and Sage Statues began to shine.
• Qu Yong and the academy’s reclusive great sages entered the palace, where the jade slip settled above the five central Sage Statues and the Fifth Sage’s statue began to fade into a tall outline.

Sage Tang manifested at the Esteemed Sage Academy and announced that Xun Capital Academy would ascend to the Upper Realm with Sage Feng, becoming an immortal constellation. After Sage Tang departed, Confucius Qu Yong ordered every academy branch to assemble without delay.

• Sage Tang manifested at the Esteemed Sage Academy, and Confucius Qu Yong led the assembled disciples in welcoming him.
• Sage Tang declared that Sage Feng, Xun Capital Academy, and the academy's sages, worthies, and disciples would ascend to the Upper Realm and transform the academy into an immortal constellation.
• Sage Tang ordered Qu Yong to summon the academy branches to the former Ancient Xun Capital, gather the academy's incense, and establish the Xun Capital City God.
• Sage Tang said that great worthies and mighty powers of the academy would enter the Upper Realm through Xun Capital Academy after death.
• After Sage Tang departed, Qu Yong ordered the Confucius, headmasters, and Literary Ancestors of every branch to come swiftly to the Esteemed Sage Academy.

After strange phenomena erupted at the Esteemed Sage Academy, Emperor Kong Zhang granted it Ancient Xun Capital, while officials and residents speculated about what had happened. Letters revealed that Sage Feng had ascended to heaven and Xun Capital had transformed into a star, prompting scholars from academies across Great Zhou to converge on Bu County.

• Governor Li Hu rushed to the Esteemed Sage Academy after hearing that an envoy from the Divine Capital had arrived, then watched the academy accept an imperial edict granting it Ancient Xun Capital.
• Li Hu concluded the emperor already knew what had happened inside the academy and left, expecting news to emerge later.
• The next morning, the Esteemed Sage Academy sent messengers and letters across Eastern Continent, while rumors spread that an immortal had descended into the Divine Capital.
• A letter reached Zhi Zhai Academy, and its headmaster learned that Sage Feng had ascended to heaven and Xun Capital had transformed into a star before preparing to travel to Bu County.
• Elders at Moral Academy read that the academies' Confucius, Literary Saints, and branch sages would ascend with Sage Feng to share the Immortality Heaven.
• Phoenix Yang Academy and other branches sent scholars toward the Esteemed Sage Academy, beginning an unprecedented gathering in Bu County.

The leaders of the literary traditions chose the City God of Yuan County to become Xun Capital City God as they prepared to establish the deity and take Xun Capital Academy through ascension. News of Fengdu Immortal Lord’s plan spread across Great Zhou, and Heaven Sword Mountain concluded that he would fuse the Jun Heaven Pot with the Dao Transmission Jade Slip to create a grotto-heaven.

• The leaders of the literary traditions debated candidates and chose the City God of Yuan County to take up the position of Xun Capital City God.
• The Bu County Governor learned that Fengdu Immortal Lord was Sage Feng and ordered his chief clerk to keep the plan secret.
• The sects and powerful families of Great Zhou learned that Fengdu Immortal Lord intended to take Xun Capital Academy and the former Xun Land through tribulation and ascend.
• The Sect Leader of Heaven Sword Mountain discussed the plan with the elders and peak masters, who marveled at its ambition and questioned how it could succeed.
• The Sect Leader of Heaven Sword Mountain explained that Fengdu Immortal Lord planned to fuse the Jun Heaven Pot with the Dao Transmission Jade Slip and use the land around Xun Capital as a foundation for a grotto-heaven.

Qu Yong invited Cheng Tuo to become the City God of Xun Capital, and the Academy restored the ancient land’s veins through a ceremony. As Cheng Tuo entered his new divine domain, a vast black radiance spread across Xun Land and the Netherworld Gate began to open.

• Qu Yong visited Cheng Tuo in Yuan County and asked him to become Xun Capital’s City God and ascend alongside Sage Feng and the Academy sages.
• Cheng Tuo accepted Qu Yong’s offer, and Academy Disciples and hired farmers drove Dragon Fixing Piles into the land veins of Ancient Xun Land.
• Qu Yong led more than a thousand Academy members in a ceremony that revived Xun Land’s veins and restored its vitality.
• A divine edict appointed Cheng Tuo as Xun Capital’s City God, and he entered a divine palace beneath the land amid awakened ghosts and Netherworld officials.
• Black radiance spread from Xun Capital, freezing the souls of those nearby as a tremendous gate opened beneath the darkened sky.

Confucius Qu Yong and the academy disciples used the Dao Transmission Jade Slip to bring Xun Capital Academy out of the Netherworld and back into the Yang World. As the ancient academy emerged, a vast divine figure appeared in the clouds and closed the gates of the underworld.

• The gates of the underworld opened, darkening the skies and alarming people across the surrounding counties.
• Confucius Qu Yong raised the Dao Transmission Jade Slip and led the academy disciples in welcoming the return of Xun Capital Academy.
• The Dao Transmission Jade Slip connected the Netherworld to the Yang World, and Xun Capital Academy rose toward the opening as ghosts and gods pursued it.
• Xun Capital Academy passed through the gates, while the ghosts and gods that tried to follow were scattered back into the Netherworld.
• The Spring and Autumn Divine Tree, four ancient sages, and Xun Capital Academy emerged in Ancient Xun Land, astonishing the gathered academies and onlookers.
• A vast divine figure appeared above the clouds, scattered the darkness, and closed the gates of the underworld.

Sage Feng used the Jun Heaven Immortal Pot to transform the Ancient Xun Land and Xun Capital Academy into a hidden Mortal Realm Grotto-Heaven, enduring heaven’s thunder tribulation with the academy sages. Months later, the academy reopened briefly before sealing itself away, while the vanished land became the Thousand Li Wine Pool.

• Sage Feng made the floating Xun Capital Academy descend, and the Dao Transmission Jade Slip spread radiant earth veins across the Ancient Xun Land.
• Sage Feng cast down the Jun Heaven Immortal Pot, which enclosed the Ancient Xun Land and separated it from the Yang World Human Realm.
• Sage Feng entered the forming Mortal Realm Grotto-Heaven as heaven’s thunder tribulation struck the land and Xun Capital Academy for several days.
• The tribulation ended with the Ancient Xun Land and academy gone, leaving a vast pit that filled with water and became the Thousand Li Wine Pool.
• Months later, the gates of Xun Capital Academy reopened, and its sages and Academy Disciples emerged before the academy sealed itself away.

Ao Shen traveled to the Barren Ancient God Temple to seek Chang’s help securing a divine position, and Chang agreed to receive him. Meanwhile, Candle Nine Yin’s rampage in the West Sea ended in a compromise with Buddhism, which would support him as West Sea Dragon God.

• Ao Shen arrived at the Barren Ancient God Temple and asked to meet Chang, revealing that Fu Guang had driven him from the East Sea.
• A witch told Ao Shen that Chang was in secluded cultivation, but Ao Shen refused to leave and begged to become Chang’s disciple.
• Chang’s voice came from the mountain and ordered the witches to let Ao Shen in.
• Candle Nine Yin emerged in the West Sea, disrupted sea routes, and defeated Buddhist Arhat Golden Bodies before Guanyin Mountain’s Bodhisattva trapped him in the divine mountain ruin.
• Buddhism and Candle Nine Yin reached a compromise under which Buddhism would help him become West Sea Dragon God.

The Female Lord of the Mermen Country sought her ancestor Yu Shang’s support and claimed the South Sea divine title, intensifying the struggle over the Four Seas. As the West and North Sea conflicts escalated, the seas moved closer to unification and a new order.

• The current Female Lord of the Mermen Country visited the ancestral mystic palace and told Yu Shang that the Lord of the Four Seas was about to emerge.
• Yu Shang pledged support, saying she could survive a third immortal deity thunder tribulation and that the Mermen Country should rule both the Netherworld’s and mortal South Sea.
• With Yu Shang’s decree, the Female Lord of the Mermen Country suppressed her rivals, took the title South Sea Water Lord, and spread her worship across the South Sea and beyond.
• Candle Dragon killed Xiang Liu in the Storm Forbidden Sea and wounded Thunder Group with an ancient heavenly treasure, forcing Thunder Group to flee to the Sea Abyss.
• North Sea Dragon Lord Ao Shen accelerated his wars of annexation as the South and East Seas’ growing power heightened his and Candle Dragon’s urgency.
• The Four Seas moved toward unification, which would open sea routes to ordinary people and bring new visitors to the West and North Continents.

Bai Mei presented poems and paintings honoring the Nether Capital Immortal Lord, who asked about Fengdu Immortal Lord’s tribulation and expected ascent. At the docks, she learned that Lin Xu was the awakened Spirit Xu Immortal Ship, now in human form, and he asked her to take him to meet Fengdu Immortal Lord.

• Bai Mei displayed works praising the Nether Capital Immortal Lord, who admired the poems and sent a painting to the Immortal Treasury.
• The Nether Capital Immortal Lord asked Bai Mei where Fengdu Immortal Lord was and when he would return; Bai Mei said he was undergoing a tribulation at Xun Capital Academy.
• After leaving the palace, Bai Mei visited the island’s Heavenly Demons and prepared to depart from its busy docks.
• The Shipmaster Official introduced Bai Mei to Lin Xu, who revealed that he was the Spirit Xu Immortal Ship and had taken human form.
• Lin Xu asked Bai Mei to take him to Eastern Continent so he could visit Fengdu Immortal Lord.

Lin Xu and Bai Mei traveled to the Mortal Realm Grotto-Heaven to meet Fengdu Immortal Lord before his ascension. They arrived in Xun Capital Academy’s world, where time flowed at different rates, and Qin Yu came to escort them up the mountain.

• Lin Xu and Bai Mei sailed into the Thousand Li Wine Pool aboard a pleasure boat, and Bai Mei explained that Fengdu Immortal Lord resided in the Mortal Realm Grotto-Heaven.
• Bai Mei presented the Nine-tailed lineage’s token, and a vortex carried the boat into the grotto-heaven.
• Bai Mei described how time flowed more slowly inside Xun Capital City and on the mountain, a law Fengdu Immortal Lord had comprehended during his tribulation.
• Lin Xu recalled the tale of Watching Chess Rotting Axe as he examined the mountain’s wonders.
• Qin Yu arrived on an Auspicious Cloud and offered to escort Lin Xu and Bai Mei up the mountain.

Lin Xu and Bai Mei reached the Former Sage Palace, where Fengdu Immortal Lord released Lin Xu from the bindings that made him carry travelers through the Sea Abyss Netherworld. Lin Xu gained control over his human form and was freed to cultivate the Dao.

• Qin Yu brought Lin Xu and Bai Mei through the time-distorting grotto-heaven to the Former Sage Palace and warned them about its dangers.
• Sage Tang told Lin Xu and Bai Mei that time in the grotto-heaven passed far faster than in the human world and warned them to avoid the Land of Rotten Axes.
• Lin Xu and Bai Mei arrived beneath the Spring Autumn Tree and watched Sage Zhuang and Fu Zi Feng finish a chess game.
• Lin Xu asked Fengdu Immortal Lord to grant him freedom from his duty as the vessel traveling through the Sea Abyss Netherworld.
• Fengdu removed Lin Xu's restrictions, allowing him to transform freely between his human form and immortal ship, and urged him to become a Merit Immortal.

Lin Xu returned the Bronze Lamp to Fengdu Immortal Lord, received approval to found the Vast Sea Sect, and set out to establish his path overseas. Bai Mei received a lead to a future opportunity in Tang Valley, while Lin Xu’s new sect and reputation as the White Bone Monarch took shape.

• Lin Xu described his plan to found the Vast Sea Sect overseas and teach the Immortal Bone True Form Art, while Fengdu warned that its practitioners could be captured and refined into magical treasures.
• Lin Xu returned the Bronze Lamp to Fang Xiu, who recalled crossing the Nether Sea with Qingyang Wanderer and Zhu Liu.
• Fang Xiu told Bai Mei that an immortal saint would emerge in Tang Valley and that its opening might offer her a chance to attain the Dao.
• Lin Xu and Bai Mei discovered that more than half a year had passed below while they spent half a day in the Former Sage Palace, then departed with the Celestial Fox clan.
• Lin Xu traveled overseas, founded the Vast Sea Sect, accepted disciples, and became known as the White Bone Taoist or White Bone Monarch.

Candle Nine Yin established the West Sea Dragon Palace after conquering the West Sea and received envoys from across the continents. The chapter ended with Divine Lord Zhang and Divine Lord Chang saying that the Four Seas investiture would be discussed after the North Sea was unified.

• Candle Nine Yin proclaimed himself West Sea Dragon King and summoned the West Sea’s aquatic demons, foreign races, and deities to submit.
• Aquatic forces across the West Sea pledged allegiance, and the Dragon Palace registered them, assigned positions, and organized the region under its rule.
• Candle Nine Yin hosted a banquet as Buddhist, Southern Continent, and Eastern Continent envoys presented congratulatory gifts.
• Candle Nine Yin personally welcomed Divine Lord Zhang and Divine Lord Chang, whose followers made their visit especially significant.
• Candle Nine Yin asked about the investiture of the Gods of the Four Seas, and Divine Lord Zhang said the Patriarch would convene the Four Seas after the North Sea was unified.

North Sea Dragon Lord Ao Shen defeated Heavenly Demon Xiu She, subdued the North Sea, and prepared to become its Dragon King. East Sea Dragon King Fu Guang’s attempt to have Ao Shen assassinated failed when Zhang Yusu captured Chi Wen, and the Four Seas were eventually pacified.

• Heavenly Demon Xiu She rampaged through the North Sea, devouring Demon Soldiers and wrecking Ao Shen’s Water Mansion.
• Ao Shen’s million Demon Soldiers and three Heavenly Demons battled Xiu She until Ao Shen slew it with a Black Divine Token.
• Ao Shen’s forces nearly wiped out the Hua Snake clan, but several hundred survivors escaped toward the North Continent under the protection of Golden Winged Peng Birds.
• Ao Shen subdued the remaining threats and began building the North Sea Dragon Palace in preparation for ascending as North Sea Dragon King.
• Fu Guang sent Chi Wen to assassinate Ao Shen, but Zhang Yusu captured Chi Wen in her Red Jade Gourd on the way to the North Sea.
• Zhang Yusu attended Ao Shen’s enthronement ceremony, and the Four Seas were pacified as their lords were chosen.

The Lords of the Four Seas gathered at the Central Sea Eye so Chang De and Zhang Heming could petition the Upper Realm to appoint their sea gods. The Heavenly Court issued its divine edict, and the four received their titles and were warned to obey Heaven’s laws.

• Ling Ning, Candle Nine Yin, Ao Shen, and Fu Guang arrived at the Central Sea Eye to await Chang De and Zhang Heming.
• Chang De and Zhang Heming descended onto a Divine Platform, and the Four Seas rulers bowed to them.
• Zhang Heming recited a prayer text while Chang De used the platform’s cauldron to send a plea to the Upper Realm.
• The Upper Realm’s edict named Fu Guang the East Sea Dragon God, Ling Ning the South Sea Water God, Candle Nine Yin the West Sea Dragon God, and Ao Shen the North Sea Dragon God.
• Golden light reforged the four rulers’ Divine Path Golden Bodies, and Chang De and Zhang Heming warned them that wrongdoing could cost them their offices before departing.