Chapter Summaries

Key events

• The Tiger-Taming Arhat unleashes Tiger’s Roost, his Arhat Authority. It forces everyone in the area except the three other Authority-wielding Arhats to the ground, preventing them from rising above him.
• Chu Tiange resists and tries to advance, but the Arhat knocks him away with a casual palm strike.
• Chen Changgeng urges Feng Linxi to leave using his token. Feng pauses to find a motionless girl he considers a junior in the Heavenly Patrol Division; Chen teases him about his interest in her.
• The girl suddenly moves. A golden Tiger-Taming Seal Ring flies toward the Arhat, followed by surging black mist and a white-clad figure who launches skyward despite the Authority.
• The Arhat meets the attacker’s charge with a powerful punch, expecting an easy victory. Instead, the impact injures him, and golden blood sprays as the Buddhist followers cry out.

Character developments and interactions

• Chu Tiange remains determined and courageous, but discovers that ordinary strength cannot easily overcome Authority.
• Feng Linxi shows concern for the girl, choosing to delay his departure to rescue her.
• Chen Changgeng remains confident and lightly mocks Feng about his apparent interest in her.
• The Tiger-Taming Arhat, initially dismissive of his opponents, is shocked when the white-clad attacker withstands his blow and wounds him.
• The white-clad figure is revealed as a bold and powerful combatant, able to defy the Arhat’s suppression and challenge him directly.

Significant themes

• Authority and hierarchy: Heaven-sanctioned power can overwhelm ordinary cultivation and dictate the rules of a battlefield.
• Defiance and hidden strength: The white-clad figure’s attack overturns expectations and suggests that the Arhat’s dominance may not be absolute.
• Compassion amid chaos: Feng’s decision to seek the girl contrasts with the Arhat’s view of the gathered crowd as material for his plan.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yuechu, a cultivator from the Heavenly Patrol Division, shocks everyone by badly injuring the Tiger-Taming Arhat in a single exchange—even though he uses his authority.
• She seems unaffected by his power to prevent flight, thanks to her Three Origins Nine Evasions Heaven-Earth Transformation. Seeing that he is blocking Chu Tiange from reaching the Nine-Colored Bodhi, she attacks again, summoning black mist that forms an armored tiger.
• Humiliated and enraged, Tiger-Taming merges the tiger into his body and counters with a devastating punch, commanding Jiang to kneel.
• Above them, Dragon-Subduing continues to overpower the Cloth Bag Arhat, despite being outnumbered. Their clash tears open a temporary rift in the sky.
• River-Crossing tries to halt the battle, warning that they may rupture the Void Sea and pointing out that someone below is threatening the Precious Lotus. The Cloth Bag Arhat briefly considers withdrawing, but Dragon-Subduing refuses and declares that none of them will refine the Blood Lotus—not even if a Bodhisattva intervenes.
• Chen Changgeng is astonished by Jiang’s strength and asks Feng Linxi who she is. Feng promises to explain later.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuechu proves far more powerful and resourceful than the crowd expected. Though confused by the Arhats’ conflict and Tiger-Taming’s ability, she acts decisively to help Chu Tiange.
• Tiger-Taming Arhat shifts from shock to anger, insisting Jiang’s initial success was luck and responding with overwhelming force.
• Dragon-Subduing Arhat remains cold and unyielding, revealing a firm intention to prevent the others from claiming the Blood Lotus.
• River-Crossing Arhat becomes alarmed by the danger of their fighting and tries to mediate, while Cloth Bag Arhat shows a brief willingness to pause.
• Chen Changgeng recognizes Jiang as a remarkable potential recruit; Feng Linxi keeps her identity and background secret for now.

Significant themes

• Power and reputation: Jiang’s unexpected victory challenges the Buddhist Gate’s assumptions about its formidable Arhats.
• Control versus defiance: Tiger-Taming’s authority fails to restrain Jiang, while she acts independently rather than explaining herself.
• Escalating conflict and divided priorities: The Arhats’ personal battle threatens the wider world even as the struggle over the sacred treasures continues.
• Mystery and hidden motives: Jiang’s abilities and background remain unexplained, and Dragon-Subduing’s determination to deny the Blood Lotus raises questions about his aims.

Key plot points

• Jiang Yuechu overwhelms the Tiger-Taming Arhat in close combat, leaving him wounded and doubting the Arhat fruit position he fought so hard to earn.
• Her black mist takes the shape of both a tiger and a golden-armored Roc. Unable to withstand them, the Arhat retreats to a Precious Lotus and calls for the Buddhist Gate forces to form a formation.
• Dozens of followers surround Jiang Yuechu, including more than twenty Venerables. She remains calm, then abruptly attacks and kills a myriad-phenomena demon with a single blow.
• Jiang Yuechu plans to kill more demons to replenish her blood, then take the item and escape. Before she can strike again, the River Crossing Arhat intervenes, summoning a vast inverted river and bringing a colossal palm down on her.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuechu is composed under pressure and increasingly aggressive, revealing a terrifying ability to kill powerful demons outright. Though pale and apparently limited in how often she can use her divine ability, she thinks strategically about conserving strength and escaping with the item.
• The Tiger-Taming Arhat shifts from confidence in his strength to shock and self-doubt after Jiang Yuechu withstands his attacks and forces him back.
• The Buddhist Gate followers move from stunned disbelief to coordinated aggression, surrounding Jiang Yuechu at the Arhat’s command. Her fearlessness unsettles them.
• The demons are intimidated by Jiang Yuechu; one is killed instantly, while another panics at the sight of its companion’s fall.
• The River Crossing Arhat enters as a powerful new threat, attacking Jiang Yuechu from above with overwhelming force.

Significant themes

• The limits of status and achievement: The Tiger-Taming Arhat’s prestigious fruit position and hard-won strength seem inadequate against Jiang Yuechu.
• Hidden power and uncertainty: Her identity and technique remain mysterious, making her difficult for both humans and demons to understand.
• Composure amid overwhelming odds: Jiang Yuechu stays calculating and poised even while surrounded by a much larger force.

Key plot points

• The River Crossing Arhat attacks Jiang Yuechu with a devastating water-formed hand seal, hoping to neutralize her and free the other Buddhist forces to deal with the disorder.
• A black Grand Token appears and shatters the attack. Chen Changgeng, a Heavenly Court Token Master, reveals himself and is recognized by the Arhat through the Spirit-Script Ghost Token.
• Chen openly needles the Arhat, then uses the token to remove them both from the scene, taking the Heavenly River with them.
• Feng Linxi and other gray-robed Heavenly Court agents reach Jiang Yuechu. Feng warns that Chen cannot hold the Supreme Capital Arhat off for long and urges her to flee.
• Jiang refuses to leave because she still has an unfinished task. When Feng follows her gaze and sees what she intends to do, he reacts with alarm: “Have you lost your mind?!”

Character developments and interactions

• River Crossing Arhat is furious at the Buddhist Gate’s failures but remains calculating, preparing a hidden counterattack even while speaking with Chen.
• Chen Changgeng arrives with confidence and humor, disguises himself unsuccessfully, and uses the Ghost Token’s power to divert the Arhat.
• Jiang Yuechu remains determined despite facing a Supreme Capital expert and being urged to escape; completing her mission matters more to her than immediate safety.
• Feng Linxi shifts from warning Jiang to stunned disbelief at her intended next move. Their exchange shows their familiarity as superior and subordinate.
• The River Crossing Arhat and Chen trade pointed remarks while sizing each other up, each suspecting the other’s motives.

Significant themes

• Duty versus survival: Jiang chooses to pursue her mission despite extreme danger.
• Institutional rivalry and hidden agendas: The Heavenly Court intervenes in Buddhist Gate territory, raising questions about its true purpose.
• Incompetence and responsibility: The Arhat blames the Buddhist Gate’s failures but takes matters into his own hands.
• Humor amid danger: Chen’s playful vanity contrasts with the escalating conflict.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yuechu clarifies that she wants the Nine-Colored Bodhi, not the Buddhist Gate’s far more sacred Eight-Treasure Merit Lotus.
• The Tiger-Taming Arhat, outmatched and eager to protect the lotus, offers to give her the Bodhi in exchange for her leaving. He warns that taking the lotus would bring the full force of the Buddhist Gate down on her.
• Jiang agrees, and the two arrange a staged fight so the Arhat can preserve his dignity. She charges the lotus throne while he pursues her in apparent defense of the treasure.
• Once there, Jiang admits she does not know what the Bodhi looks like. The Arhat points it out beneath the lotus seedpod, then discreetly plucks it and slips it into her hand.
• He stages an apparent injury, allowing Jiang to escape. Feng Linxi and the Sky Patrol Guards leave with her.
• The Arhat tells the Buddhist followers that Jiang stole the Bodhi despite his desperate efforts to stop her. They comfort him, unaware that the exchange was arranged.
• A frail observer recognizes Jiang and suspects the Arhat’s behavior has a hidden motive.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuechu shows restraint: though she initially appears threatening, she accepts a practical compromise rather than provoke a war with the Buddhist Gate. Her unfamiliarity with the Bodhi creates an awkward moment that nearly jeopardizes the plan.
• The Tiger-Taming Arhat shifts from alarm to negotiation, then proves quick-witted and theatrical, deceiving his followers to protect both the lotus and his reputation.
• Feng Linxi is relieved that Jiang is not after the Precious Lotus. She remains cautious but helps Jiang depart.
• The frail observer moves from suspicion that Jiang framed the Arhat to uncertainty about what the Arhat himself is plotting.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism over conflict: Jiang and the Arhat avoid a potentially disastrous fight through compromise.
• Appearances and deception: Their staged battle and the Arhat’s false account show how public reputation can be managed through performance.
• Power and institutional consequences: The lotus’s importance lies not only in its value but in the Buddhist Gate’s authority and ability to retaliate.

Key plot points and events

• After the chaotic battle at the Eight-Treasure Merit Pool, Buddhist followers clear away the bodies and debris. A furious Bodhisattva arrives on a White Jade Lotus Throne, freezing the clouds in its path.
• In the hall, Dragon Subduing, Cloth Bag, and River Crossing Arhats sit in tense silence. Tiger-Taming Arhat privately assumes blame will fall on the injured Buddha Son, Lu Yue, whose reckless advance worsened the battle.
• River Crossing exposes Tiger-Taming’s exaggerated injuries. Tiger-Taming admits the opponent was exceptionally powerful and unusual: she seemed unaffected by Authority, and two Heavenly Patrol Division Command Tokens protected her.
• Cloth Bag blames Dragon Subduing for switching sides during the battle. Dragon Subduing responds with an insult, nearly provoking another fight.
• The Bodhisattva interrupts, demanding to know why the Arhats have stopped fighting. She condemns their failure: the World-Crossing Blood Lotus remains unformed, the Nine-Colored Bodhi has been stolen, and the Heavenly Court’s forces escaped unharmed.

Character developments and interactions

• Tiger-Taming Arhat tries to present himself as a loyal defender and position Lu Yue as the fall guy, but River Crossing sees through his act. Despite his self-serving instincts, Tiger-Taming acknowledges the opponent’s extraordinary abilities.
• Lu Yue appears broken and ashamed, having lost an arm and his standing after acting rashly. Tiger-Taming expects him to be punished or removed as Buddha Son.
• The three senior Arhats remain bitterly divided: Cloth Bag accuses Dragon Subduing of betrayal, while Dragon Subduing refuses to back down. River Crossing tries to mediate.
• The Bodhisattva arrives as an imposing, wrathful authority and holds all three Arhats accountable for the failed gathering.

Significant themes

• Failure and accountability: The gathering’s collapse has left the Buddhist leaders exposed, and blame-shifting cannot conceal their collective failure.
• Political maneuvering: Tiger-Taming seeks to redirect blame toward Lu Yue while protecting his own reputation.
• Power and uncertainty: The opponent’s ability to defy Authority, along with her Heavenly Court protection, suggests a dangerous and mysterious background.
• Internal division: The Arhats’ mutual suspicion weakens the Buddhist Sect at a moment when it faces external setbacks.

Key events

• In the Supreme Capital’s hall, Cloth Bag Arhat accuses Dragon Subduing of wrecking the Repayment Gathering by opposing the other Arhats and disrupting the effort to complete the World-Crossing Blood Lotus.
• River Crossing silently supports the accusation. Tiger-Taming, realizing the Arhats’ conflict explains why he had to surrender the Nine-Colored Bodhi himself, inwardly blames Dragon Subduing.
• Dragon Subduing admits he intervened, offering no explanation. The Bodhisattva rules that he acted to prevent mass suffering and remained true to his Dao heart, despite disobeying her decree.
• When Cloth Bag presses for punishment, the Bodhisattva turns the blame back on him and River Crossing for failing to stop Dragon Subduing and protect the Buddhist Gate’s interests.
• She orders Dragon Subduing to spend a hundred years in secluded cultivation, while stripping Cloth Bag and River Crossing each of a hundred years of incense merit.
• Afterward, she privately acknowledges that the two have been wronged and summons them to meet her at West Creek Commandery at midnight, promising an explanation.

Character developments and interactions

• Dragon Subduing remains calm and accepts his punishment without protest. His intervention is presented as principled, though his motives and the Bodhisattva’s reasons for protecting him remain unexplained.
• Cloth Bag tries to shift responsibility onto Dragon Subduing, then suppresses his anger when the Bodhisattva rebukes and punishes him.
• River Crossing largely stays silent, but his astonishment at the Bodhisattva’s defense of Dragon Subduing and his restrained resentment reveal his frustration.
• The Bodhisattva shows clear leniency toward Dragon Subduing while publicly holding the other two accountable. Her private invitation suggests there are political or strategic considerations she cannot disclose in the hall.
• Tiger-Taming watches from the crowd and revises his understanding of the gathering’s failure.

Significant themes

• Justice versus loyalty: The Bodhisattva favors Dragon Subduing’s moral purpose over strict obedience, while the other Arhats see unequal treatment.
• Power and hierarchy: The Arhats’ resentment is constrained by the Bodhisattva’s authority; even their anger cannot be voiced openly.
• Public judgment and private motives: The public punishment appears unfair to Cloth Bag and River Crossing, but the Bodhisattva hints that a fuller explanation will follow in private.

Plot points and events

• After surviving the turmoil around the Eight-Treasure Merit Pool, Jiang Yuechu and her companions reach the border of He Province. Heavenly Patrol Division commanders Feng Linxi and Chen Changgeng escort them there, then part ways.
• Feng reveals Jiang’s identity to Chen. Chen recognizes her as the Sky Patrol Guard involved in a major Heavenly Court crisis connected to the Golden Mother, and is startled by how close he has come to trouble.
• Gao Wen wonders why two commanders treated Jiang with such deference. Qiu Yinong refuses to explain, warning that the karma surrounding Jiang is beyond their understanding to discuss.
• The group returns to Crouching Ox Ridge with the Nine-Colored Bodhi, hoping it can help their unconscious master, Qin Zhisui.
• He Bi reports that Qin remains delirious and rarely regains awareness. The others find Qin’s face badly bruised; He Bi admits he has been knocking him unconscious when he becomes uncontrollable, insisting he has learned to do it without causing harm.
• Chu Tiange stops Gao Wen from attacking He Bi and prepares to try the Nine-Colored Bodhi on Qin.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuechu remains composed despite being treated as someone in need of protection. She does not resent Chen’s awkwardness or Qiu’s silence about her past.
• Feng Linxi shows concern and sympathy for Jiang, urging her to endure until Clear Subtle Heaven can support her. He protects her despite recognizing the risks.
• Chen Changgeng shifts from curiosity to alarm when he learns who Jiang is, and quietly questions whether Feng’s protection will bring them trouble.
• Qiu Yinong protects Jiang’s privacy, while Gao Wen remains curious but is unable to get an explanation.
• Chu Tiange stays focused on his master’s recovery and mediates between Gao Wen and He Bi. He Bi is embarrassed but defensive about his crude efforts to manage Qin’s madness.

Significant themes

• Hidden identity and dangerous reputation: Jiang’s name carries consequences even when others know little about her.
• Privacy and complicated karma: Qiu’s refusal to gossip suggests Jiang’s circumstances are too sensitive—and potentially perilous—to discuss casually.
• Loyalty amid helplessness: The disciples care for Qin, but his condition leaves them relying on imperfect measures and uncertain hope.
• Tension balanced with humor: The group’s anxiety over Qin’s illness is briefly undercut by the absurdity of He Bi’s “care” for him.

Plot and key events

• Chu Tiange gives the Nine-Colored Bodhi to his master, Qin Zhisui, hoping it will clear his mind.
• The Bodhi works: Qin regains much of his lucidity and recognizes Qiu Yinong and He Bi, prompting relief and laughter among the disciples.
• Chu Tiange explains how Jiang Yuechu helped them obtain the Bodhi. She faced the dangers of Buddhist territory, resisted the Tiger-Taming Arhat, seized the treasure, and escaped.
• Qin is astonished that his disciples ventured so far for him, then questions why Jiang took such risks when he had only once taught her a cultivation method.
• Jiang brushes off her actions as “just a passing favor.” Qin accepts her explanation with a laugh, though he is clearly moved by her sincerity.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Zhisui regains enough clarity to recognize his disciples and respond thoughtfully. He feels unworthy of their sacrifices and is deeply touched by Jiang’s help.
• Chu Tiange shows devotion to his master and gratitude toward Jiang, carefully recounting her role and defending the disciples’ choice to take risks.
• Qiu Yinong and He Bi are overjoyed when Qin recognizes them; He Bi’s comic excitement lightens the reunion.
• Jiang Yuechu remains modest and emotionally guarded, downplaying a dangerous act of kindness rather than seeking praise.
• Qin and Jiang share a quiet moment of mutual respect: he recognizes that her help was unusually generous, while she refuses to make it a debt or grand gesture.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and gratitude: The disciples risk themselves for the master who raised and taught them.
• Kindness without obligation: Jiang helps someone with whom she has only a slight connection, and asks for no recognition.
• The value of human connection: Qin’s recovery is followed by a warm reunion that restores hope and relief after hardship.
• Modesty and sincerity: Jiang’s understated response contrasts with the extraordinary danger she faced.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Zhisui has recovered enough to speak and recognize those around him. After hearing his disciples recount recent events, he grows tired and sends everyone away to rest.
• Jiang Yuechu prepares to leave, with no fixed destination. She intends to focus on cultivation, wary of relying on another person’s promise to protect her from the Heavenly Court.
• Chu Tiange stops her to thank her for saving his master and himself. Noticing that she lacks a reliable long-distance movement technique, he offers her Cloud-Piercing Flight, an earth-grade immortal technique.
• Though the technique came from his master and sharing it may breach the usual rules, Chu Tiange decides Jiang Yuechu is not simply an outsider. She accepts the Jade Slip.
• Chu Tiange says he has reached major achievement after several thousand years of practice. Jiang Yuechu bluntly tells him he needs to work harder, and he takes the remark with good humor.

Character development

• Jiang Yuechu remains practical and focused on becoming stronger, unwilling to trust her safety entirely to someone else’s protection. She accepts help readily when it serves that goal.
• Chu Tiange shows gratitude and loyalty by offering a valuable technique despite its connection to his master. His modesty—and Jiang Yuechu’s teasingly blunt response—reveals his respect for her ability.
• Qin Zhisui is mentally clear but still physically exhausted, so he prioritizes rest after reassuring his disciples.

Character interactions

• Qin Zhisui warmly acknowledges his disciples’ efforts before sending them away.
• Chu Tiange thanks Jiang Yuechu for her intervention and offers Cloud-Piercing Flight as repayment.
• Jiang Yuechu questions whether the technique belongs to Qin Zhisui, understands Chu Tiange’s hesitation, and accepts it without pressing him.
• Her frank judgment of Chu Tiange’s progress briefly embarrasses him, but he ultimately accepts it as fair.

Significant themes

• Gratitude and reciprocity: Chu Tiange seeks to repay Jiang Yuechu’s life-saving help.
• Self-reliance and security: Jiang Yuechu believes she must cultivate her own strength rather than depend on promises.
• Trust and belonging: Chu Tiange’s decision to share a master’s technique reflects his view that Jiang Yuechu has become more than an outsider.

Key plot points and events

• Yan Rong presents six months of Peace Bank accounts to the Golden Mother at Kunlun. The report shows a surplus of 1.7 million gui, but the Golden Mother notices that 10,000 gui is missing.
• Yan Rong confesses that two demons—a tiger demon and a roc demon—obtained the money through a suspicious loan and then vanished. She apologizes for failing to report the incident sooner.
• The Golden Mother examines the Pill-Measuring Ruler used to assess the demons. Its records confirm that one reached the Flowing Cinnabar Realm in 3,200 years, while the other did so in only 100 years.
• Yan Rong adds that, shortly before the demons arrived, a nineteen-year-old cultivator tested the ruler and was found to have reached the Roaming Void Sea Realm. She suspects the cultivator is connected to the demons.
• The Golden Mother verifies the ruler’s record but doubts its implications, considering whether someone falsified the device or staged the revelation as a distraction.

Character developments and interactions

• Yan Rong shifts from trying to quietly read past the loss to admitting the full truth. Her fear of the Golden Mother’s scrutiny makes her cautious and visibly anxious.
• The Golden Mother is composed and perceptive: she immediately detects the missing funds, then personally investigates the evidence. Rather than accepting the extraordinary result at face value, she approaches it with suspicion.
• Their interaction is formal and unequal: Yan Rong confesses and presents the ruler deferentially, while the Golden Mother questions, examines, and evaluates the case.

Significant themes

• The limits of concealment: Yan Rong’s attempt to avoid drawing attention to the loss fails against the Golden Mother’s insight.
• Trust and institutional oversight: The Peace Bank’s safeguards seem formidable, yet the loan and disappearance expose a serious mystery.
• Disbelief in the extraordinary: Even reliable evidence of a nineteen-year-old prodigy is so implausible that the Golden Mother suspects deception or conspiracy.

The Crouching Cloud Dragon King revealed to Ao Jing and Ao Shen that their long-lost second aunt had contacted him. Their hopes of her return faltered when he said she had become a Bodhisattva of the Buddhist Gate.

• The Crouching Cloud Dragon King ended a communication spell after humbly speaking with an unseen figure, then told Ao Jing and Ao Shen to focus on cultivation.
• Ao Jing and Ao Shen pressed their father to share the trouble facing the clan, and Ao Jing revealed that he had reached the myriad phenomena heaven middle realm.
• The Crouching Cloud Dragon King praised his sons’ resolve and asked whether they remembered their second aunt, who had vanished after a calamity involving the Buddhist Gate.
• Ao Jing and Ao Shen learned that their second aunt had contacted the Dragon King and excitedly wondered whether she would return to the Dragon Palace.
• The Crouching Cloud Dragon King warned them that they would likely have to address their second aunt as Bodhisattva, leaving Ao Shen stunned.

The Crouching Cloud Dragon King told Ao Jing and Ao Shen that their Bodhisattva second aunt had asked them to gather living beings, a request that raised his suspicions about a possible blood sacrifice. He also tasked them with searching for someone on behalf of the Peace Bank, while Ao Yu continued seeking an audience with the Black Mountain Cave Lord at Azure Firmament Cave.

• The Crouching Cloud Dragon King explained that their second aunt had secretly protected the Crouching Cloud Dragon Palace and had asked them to gather as many living beings as possible.
• The Crouching Cloud Dragon King suspected the request might be connected to the Buddhist Gate's recent blood sacrifice, but Ao Shen readily volunteered to carry it out.
• The Crouching Cloud Dragon King told his sons that the Peace Bank wanted them to track someone in the Outer Lands and gave them the Primordial Heavenly Origin Register to search with.
• Ao Yu made her seventeenth visit that month to Azure Firmament Cave and learned that the Black Mountain Cave Lord was still in seclusion.

Jiang Yuechu refused Ao Yu’s offer to trade for the Four Seas Divine Radiance, an Earth-Grade Dao Soldier, and effortlessly stopped Ao Yu from entering Azure Firmament Cave. Ao Yu realized Jiang Yuechu’s cultivation had surpassed her own by an astonishing margin.

• Ao Yu asked the Azure Firmament Cave guards to announce her arrival, and Jiang Yuechu appeared before they could respond.
• Ao Yu recognized Jiang Yuechu as the cultivator who had won her elder brother’s Dao Soldier and asked her to return the Four Seas Divine Radiance.
• Ao Yu offered a Mystic-Grade Dao Soldier and other compensation, but Jiang Yuechu rejected the deal and turned to leave.
• Ao Yu chased Jiang Yuechu up the mountain steps, but Jiang Yuechu sent her crashing back to the entrance with a single move.
• Ao Yu realized Jiang Yuechu had advanced far beyond her and wondered whether she was even human.

Jiang Yuechu agreed to help Ao Yu obtain an Earth-Grade Dao Soldier and its matching Immortal Technique from a Great Demon. As they traveled, Ao Yu explained the West Sea Dragon Palace’s succession conflict and revealed that their target was the West Sea Dragon King’s youngest son.

• Ao Yu deduced that Jiang Yuechu was the Azure Firmament Cave’s real master, but Jiang Yuechu denied it and demanded another Earth-Grade Dao Soldier.
• Ao Yu offered to lead Jiang Yuechu to an Earth-Grade Dao Soldier and its matching Immortal Technique, and Jiang Yuechu eagerly accepted.
• Ao Yu transformed into a white dragon and explained that the Crouching Cloud Dragon Palace belonged to the White Dragon Lineage and answered to the West Sea Dragon King.
• Ao Yu revealed that their target was the West Sea Dragon King’s youngest son, who had secretly allied with other dragon kings’ forces to pursue the Immortal Court Succession.

Ao Yu and Jiang Yuechu reached the Water Mansion where Ao Yu’s exiled cousin was staying, intending to take his Earth-Grade Dao Soldier. They discovered the Second Crown Prince of the West Sea already torturing Ao Yu’s cousin, and the chapter ended as he prepared to kill him.

• Ao Yu explained that her cousin had been stripped of his title and exiled after interfering in the White Dragon Lineage’s succession struggle.
• Ao Yu told Jiang Yuechu that her cousin possessed an Earth-Grade Dao Soldier and asked her to watch for him while she investigated the Water Mansion.
• Ao Yu disguised herself as a rogue cultivator and descended to the Water Mansion, leaving Jiang Yuechu above to stop her cousin if he fled.
• The Second Crown Prince of the West Sea accused Ao Yu’s cousin of trying to contact the Dragon King’s trusted generals and overturn his case.
• The Second Crown Prince stabbed Ao Yu’s cousin with an ice blade, then seized his hair and began driving the blade into his throat again.

Ao Yu witnessed Ao Shun murder his cousin and was captured after the Dragon Palace guards caught her and the toad demon. Ao Shun discovered she was from the Crouching Cloud Dragon Palace and was about to unmask her when black mist sealed them in a separate world and a Tiger's Roar sounded beside him.

• Ao Yu hid and watched Ao Shun kill Ao Yu, then tried to retreat without being noticed.
• A toad demon revealed that Ao Yu was his prince and threatened Ao Shun with the West Sea Dragon King's wrath, so Ao Shun ordered them killed.
• Ao Yu used a burst of water to delay the guards, struck at Ao Shun, and tried to escape while calling for Fellow Daoist Jiang.
• Ao Shun kicked Ao Yu down, recognized her Cold Pool Hidden Serpent technique, and deduced she came from the Crouching Cloud Dragon Palace.
• Ao Shun grabbed Ao Yu and prepared to tear off her face, but black mist expelled the water and enclosed him as a Tiger's Roar erupted beside him.

Jiang Yuechu ambushed Second Prince Ao Shun and initially gained the advantage, but Ao Shun countered her with his White Dragon Clan’s extreme cold. Golden Scales then attacked Ao Shun, and the chapter ended with Ao Shun horrified that his cold could not stop the Buddhist Gate Venerable.

• Jiang Yuechu struck Ao Shun by surprise and sent him flying, then rescued Ao Yu from the mud.
• Jiang Yuechu warned Ao Yu to hold on and pursued Ao Shun before he could recover.
• Ao Shun transformed into a white dragon and trapped Jiang Yuechu in extreme cold, freezing and tearing at her flesh.
• Ao Shun attacked Jiang Yuechu with glaciers and Immortal Arts, but Golden Scales appeared behind him and struck his back with a golden claw.
• Ao Shun unleashed a larger ice dragon at Golden Scales, but the attack failed, leaving him terrified as Golden Scales charged him again.

Jiang Yuechu recovered from the White Dragon Second Prince’s Extreme Cold and joined the Golden-Scale Venerable in overwhelming him. Meanwhile, Ao Yu decided to fight the two Dragon Palace Guards left inside the Water Mansion, ending with her charging them in her dragon form.

• The Golden Thread Patriarch identified the White Dragon Second Prince’s Extreme Cold and helped Jiang Yuechu recover from its effects.
• Jiang Yuechu attacked the white dragon with the Tiger-Taming Seal Ring and her martial arts, suppressing him as the Dragon Palace Guards arrived.
• The Guard Captain mistook the ambush for a trap laid by the Second Prince and led the guards in a charge to rescue him.
• Ao Yu resolved not to abandon Jiang Yuechu and faced the two Dragon Palace Guards remaining inside the Water Mansion.
• Ao Yu revealed her dragon form and charged the guards, declaring that she would explode with them.