Chapter Summaries

Daoist sect leaders and the Special Affairs Department gathered at Mount Lao for the Celestial Venerable’s holy birthday and the founding of a teaching. After three days of fasting, the ceremony began on the twenty-second as Zhang Hongdao and the visiting guests assembled at Shangqing Palace.

• Li Li welcomed Xu Gaoyi and his disciples to Mount Lao, where Daoist Lingguan and the other hosts received them at Hall of Extending Truth.
• Zhao Qingci, Zhang Lexian, Pei Zhicheng, and Li Jingqi arrived with their followers, and the gathered leaders shared stories while Ling Qing learned about Daoist lineages.
• Ling Qing and the sect leaders welcomed Zhang Hongdao and his companions from the Celestial Master Mansion, then returned with them to the hall.
• Wu Tiantong arrived late after dealing with someone practicing an evil art, and Daoist Lingguan explained the schedule for establishing the teachings and celebrating the Celestial Venerable’s birthday.
• After three days of fasting, Zhang Hongdao and the other guests donned ritual robes and assembled at Mount Lao Golden Summit for the ceremony.

Daoist Lingguan led a grand ceremony at Mount Lao to invite the Three Pure Ones and establish the Mount Lao lineage under the Shangqing Lingbao Sect. After the Patriarch manifested and bestowed a jade register, the temple masters began entering their names and those of their disciples into the rolls.

• Daoist Lingguan, Han Fu, and Zhao Zhen presided over the procession and ritual at Shangqing Palace’s Sanqing Hall.
• Daoist Lingguan presented and burned the petition establishing the sect, and spiritual light descended upon the Three Pure Ones’ statues.
• The disciples bowed as Heavenly Venerable Lingbao’s image manifested and bestowed a jade register and jade ruyi upon Daoist Lingguan.
• Daoist Lingguan announced that the Patriarch had granted permission to establish the Mount Lao lineage under the Shangqing Lingbao Sect and began entering disciples into the register.
• Li Li, Zhu Guang, Ling Qing, Tian Ying, and Sun Yuling entered their names and received duplicate registers for their temples.

The Mount Lao Sect completed its founding rites, hosted visiting Daoist lineages, and celebrated Heavenly Venerable Lingbao’s birthday. The blessings bestowed during the ceremony helped Ling Qing refine Emperor Miaoyuan, while Zhang Hongdao, Li Qing, and Tian Ying made major cultivation advances.

• Daoist Lingguan completed the sect registry, formally welcomed the Mount Lao Sect’s members, and received congratulatory gifts from visiting Daoist lineages.
• Daoist Lingguan hosted the guests at a banquet before leading the birthday celebration rite for Heavenly Venerable Lingbao.
• The next morning, Daoist Lingguan and the assembled Daoists completed the morning service and performed rites that filled Mount Lao Blessed Land with primordial qi and Dao resonance.
• Ling Qing used the blessing to comprehend the One Origin’s transformations and refine Emperor Miaoyuan into an incarnation.
• Zhang Hongdao thoroughly condensed Yuyu Heaven, while Li Qing and Tian Ying broke through into the Human Immortal Realm.
• The heavenly phenomena faded by evening, and the Daoists returned to their courtyards to study their gains as the founding ceremony concluded.

Ling Qing and his companions entered the Nine Wards Sea Market instance and sailed across the East Sea aboard Star River Warships. They followed an ocean current toward the market and encountered a spirit clam cultivator as night fell.

• Ling Qing released a Star River Warship after arriving in the boundless sea of the Nine Wards Sea Market instance.
• Ling Qing contacted Daoist Lingguan and the others, and he used a mother gu to locate Ling Ji and Wenjun nearby.
• Ling Qing guided his boat along an ocean current toward the sea market while Ling Ji searched the surrounding waters for others.
• At night, Ling Ji spotted moonlight shining over a spirit clam nest, and Ling Qing steered the boat toward it so they could ask about trading for pearls.
• A beautiful woman with clam shells on her back appeared on the sea before Ling Qing, Ling Ji, and Wenjun could reach the nest.

Ling Qing and his disciples visited Yin Zhu’s Silver Shell Clan at Silver Sand Cape, where they learned how Celestial Star Pearls served as currency in the Nine Wards Sea Market. Ling Qing offered Star Iron in exchange, but Yin Zhu’s clan lacked enough silver pearls to match its value.

• Yin Zhu guided Ling Qing, Ling Ji, and Wenjun to Silver Sand Cape and invited them into the Silver Shell Clan’s home.
• Yin Zhu explained the Nine Wards Sea Market’s five grades of Celestial Star Pearls and offered to exchange some for the visitors.
• Ling Qing asked what Yin Zhu wanted in trade, and she requested Star Iron from his Star River Warship.
• Ling Qing produced a fist-sized piece of Star Iron, which Yin Zhu valued at twenty or thirty purple pearls.
• Yin Zhu said her clan had only fifty thousand Celestial Star Silver Pearls in reserve and could not afford to trade for the Star Iron.

Ling Qing traded a piece of star iron to Silver Pearl for Heavenly Star Pearl Coins and other pearls, learning why the rare metal was so valuable to the Silver Shell Clan. After parting with her, he boarded the Star River Warship and continued toward the Nine Wards Sea Market.

• Ling Qing split his star iron with a casual gesture, astonishing Silver Pearl, who exchanged three conches of pearls and other valuables for it.
• Silver Pearl explained that her clan could refine star iron into a treasure that drew on the power of the stars, and that the metal was difficult to obtain from the Nine Heavens astral wind layer.
• Ling Qing considered how much divine metal he possessed and concluded that the Dragon Palace and the vast sea markets likely held many treasures of their own.
• Ling Qing bid farewell to Silver Pearl, surfaced, and boarded the Star River Warship bound for the sea market.
• Ling Ji and Wenjun examined the pearls aboard the ship, setting aside the tiny Silver Sand Pearls and dividing several colorful pearls between themselves.

Ling Ji and Wenjun explored the sea for unfamiliar beasts while Ling Qing refined a fist art from a dragon whale’s essence. When Ling Ji chased two dragon carp underwater, they transformed into a boy and a girl, and the boy attacked him and Wenjun after realizing they were not sea folk.

• Ling Ji weathered a fierce storm at sea and gained insight into the wildness of nature, while Wenjun comprehended a great-desolation realm.
• Ling Ji fought a dragon whale until it lost consciousness, allowing Ling Qing to record its essence as a Wildness Template and create the Dragon Whale Sea Strength Fist.
• While Ling Qing revised the fist art, Ling Ji and Wenjun searched underwater and spotted two unusually swift dragon carp.
• Ling Ji transformed into a Qingyun Carp to catch up, but the dragon carp changed into a boy in white and a girl in red.
• The boy accused Ling Ji of frightening the fish and reaching toward his sister, then shouted for her to run and pounced at Ling Ji and Wenjun.

Ling Ji defeated Li Su in a brief fight, then he and Wenjun befriended Li Su and Li Jiang, dragon carp siblings seeking the Dragon Transformation Banquet. As the four agreed to travel together, a powerful bone dragon appeared and Li Su identified it as Five Dragon Adept’s incarnation.

• Ling Ji disarmed Li Su with a swift martial technique, and Wenjun explained that they meant the siblings no harm.
• Ling Ji and Wenjun learned that the siblings were Li Su and Li Jiang, members of the Glass Bay Dragon Carp Clan hoping to attend the Dragon Transformation Banquet.
• Ling Ji invited Li Su and Li Jiang to travel with them to Nine Wards Sea Market, and Li Su accepted.
• A hundred-zhang bone dragon emerged from the water and dismissed Ling Ji’s Terror Breath spell.
• Li Su warned Ling Ji that the bone dragon was Five Dragon Adept’s incarnation.

Ling Ji and Wenjun encountered the Five Dragon Adept’s Bone Dragon avatar while protecting Li Su and Li Jiang, and Ling Qing assured them that the avatar was their only opponent. Ling Ji fought it with a newly taught fist art and his Myriad Beast True Form, then flew back toward it after being knocked into a reef.

• Wenjun contacted Ling Qing, who said Ling Ji and Wenjun could handle the Bone Dragon and taught Ling Ji the revised Dragon Whale Sea Strength Fist.
• Ling Ji warned the Bone Dragon to leave Li Su and Li Jiang alone, then struck it while Wenjun’s Five Mountains Rosy Cloud Canopy blocked its water arrows.
• Ling Ji used the new fist art and Wind-Fire Staff to batter the Bone Dragon, then transformed and knocked it away while breaking off one of its horns.
• The Bone Dragon struck Ling Ji with its tail and sent him crashing into a reef.
• Ling Ji pulled himself from the reef, resolved to provoke the Bone Dragon, and charged at it again.

Ling Ji defeated the bone dragon incarnation of the Five Dragon Adept, and Ling Qing rescued the group and questioned Li Su and Li Jiang about the adept. After bringing everyone aboard the Star River Warship, Ling Qing examined the captured bone dragon and found its bones were not from an ordinary dragonkind.

• Ling Ji rode the bone dragon and battered it with the Five Mountains Seal until it unleashed black mist; he ignited its Candle of Wrath, causing the spell to backfire and incapacitate it.
• Ling Qing arrived in the Star River Warship, bound the bone dragon with lightning, and carried Ling Ji, Wenjun, Li Su, and Li Jiang to the sea's surface.
• Li Su and Li Jiang told Ling Qing they had gone to the Dragon Palace seeking to transform into true dragons, and Li Su shared what he knew about the Five Dragon Adept's incarnations and past attacks.
• Ling Qing invited Li Su and Li Jiang to accompany him to the Sea Market and Dragon Palace, while the children explored the warship.
• Ling Qing examined the bone dragon and recognized its White Bone God-Devil Method, then considered the different dragon lineages and the unusual origin of its bones.

Ling Qing captured Five Dragon Adept’s Bone Dragon Incarnation and uncovered signs that its blood had been deliberately drained. When Five Dragon Adept’s Nether Dragon Incarnation arrived to reclaim it, Ling Qing exposed the nearby ambush and prepared to capture the true body and its other incarnations.

• Ling Qing sealed the Bone Dragon Incarnation and noticed its bones had been stripped of blood before refinement.
• Ling Qing speculated that Five Dragon Adept had five dragon-body incarnations, and the Nether Dragon Incarnation appeared and unleashed beast souls.
• Ling Qing immobilized many beast souls with the Qi Prohibition Technique while the Star River Warship’s lightning towers destroyed the rest.
• The Nether Dragon Incarnation identified itself and demanded that Ling Qing return the Bone Dragon Incarnation, but Ling Qing refused.
• Five Dragon Adept’s Nether Dragon Incarnation threatened Ling Qing, who revealed that Five Dragon Adept’s true body and other incarnations were nearby and challenged them to fight.

Five Dragon Adept revealed the five dragon incarnations he had refined from a single divine dragon and tried to bargain with Ling Qing for the Bone Dragon. Ling Qing sensed his ill intent and attacked, prompting Five Dragon Adept to launch an all-out assault on Ling Qing, his companions, and the Star River Warship.

• Five Dragon Adept manifested his Nether, Ironclad, Blood, Corpse, and Bone Dragon incarnations, and Ling Qing identified how each had been refined.
• Five Dragon Adept offered Ling Qing a favor and then a Dragon Palace cultivation art in exchange for the Bone Dragon, but Ling Qing rejected the offers after sensing malice.
• Ling Qing targeted the Blood Dragon with his horsetail whisk, suspecting Five Dragon Adept’s true body was concealed inside it.
• Five Dragon Adept countered with the Essence-Eroding Blood Mist and a sea of blood, while his other incarnations attacked Ling Qing, his companions, and the Star River Warship.

Ling Qing defeated Five Dragon Adept’s five dragon incarnations and stopped him from fleeing, then discovered that Five Dragon Adept was another Gifted One trapped in the Instance for years. Their conversation revealed that the Instance crossed timelines and entry batches, and Qiu Feibai hoped Ling Qing could help him leave.

• Ling Qing absorbed the Blood Dragon’s blood sea, scattered the Corpse Dragon’s flames, smashed the Ironclad Dragon into the seabed, and captured the Nether Dragon.
• Ling Qing bound the Blood Dragon and stopped Five Dragon Adept from escaping, then invited him onto the deck to talk.
• Five Dragon Adept retrieved his Corpse Dragon incarnation and sat with Ling Qing, while the Ironclad Dragon remained trapped in the seabed.
• Ling Qing realized Five Dragon Adept was a Gifted One, and Five Dragon Adept learned that Ling Qing was one too.
• Ling Qing and Five Dragon Adept exchanged information and learned that Qiu Feibai had entered the Instance ten years earlier in its timeline, despite entering two months earlier in the real world.
• Qiu Feibai pleaded with Ling Qing to spare him and help him leave the Instance.

Ling Qing questioned Qiu Feibai about his many demonic cultivation methods and determined he had not used humans as cultivation materials. He ordered Qiu Feibai to register with the Special Affairs Department after the instance, and Qiu Feibai resigned himself to the scrutiny.

• Ling Qing recognized Qiu Feibai's many unorthodox cultivation methods and asked whether he had killed people to obtain souls, flesh, and blood.
• Qiu Feibai denied using humans or unjustly slaughtering people for cultivation, saying he relied on fierce beasts and demonic beasts instead.
• Ling Qing believed Qiu Feibai had not used humans as materials, but told him he would have to register with the Special Affairs Department after they left the instance.
• Qiu Feibai realized Ling Qing was connected to the department and objected, but Ling Qing said he had no right to refuse.
• Qiu Feibai accepted the order, and Ling Qing reassured him that he would face no serious consequences if he had not killed anyone in reality to cultivate.

Ling Qing explained to Qiu Feibai how the Special Affairs Department planned to separate ordinary people and cultivators while judging evil by harmful acts rather than cultivation methods. Their discussion turned to the Dragon Transformation Banquet, where Qiu Feibai warned that the Dragon Palace used entrants to the Dragon Transformation Pool as blood food.

• Qiu Feibai voiced his fear that demonic cultivators would be unfairly suspected and driven toward evil by members of the Special Affairs Department.
• Ling Qing described plans for separate laws and territories for ordinary people and cultivators, defining evil demons as those who maliciously slaughtered people or used them as cultivation materials.
• Qiu Feibai asked when the instance would end, and Ling Qing said it should end after the Dragon Transformation Banquet.
• Li Su objected when Qiu Feibai disparaged the banquet, but Ling Ji stopped him and asked Qiu Feibai to explain.
• Qiu Feibai claimed that entrants to the Dragon Transformation Pool were blood food for the Dragon Palace and began explaining why the dragons had devised the method.

Qiu Feibai explained that the Dragon Transformation Banquet used the deaths of aspiring dragon beasts to strengthen the dragon race, and Ling Qing agreed to part ways with him before traveling to the Dragon Palace. Qiu Feibai exchanged ancient spirit dragon blood and a damaged Dragon Pearl for the return of his three captured incarnations.

• Qiu Feibai told Ling Qing and Li Su that almost all beasts entering the Dragon Transformation Pool died, their blood and souls nourishing the dragon race.
• Li Su acknowledged the danger, while Qiu Feibai questioned why he wanted to attend the banquet instead of the Yellow River Dragon Gate Gathering.
• Qiu Feibai declined to accompany Ling Qing to the Dragon Palace because of his old grievances with it, and Ling Qing marked him with a talisman and gave him a bluefu insect for contact.
• Qiu Feibai offered Ling Qing a jade bottle of ancient spirit dragon blood, a damaged Dragon Pearl, and a red conch shell in exchange for his captured incarnations.
• Ling Qing accepted the items and returned Qiu Feibai's bone dragon, nether dragon, and blood dragon incarnations.

Ling Qing examined Qiu Feibai’s compensation and used the Primordial Spirit Dragon’s blood to record an epic dragon template. After testing its abilities aboard the Star River Warship, he began to grasp how its spiritual power could purify and strengthen spirit light.

• Qiu Feibai left to repair his damaged incarnations, and Ling Qing continued toward the Nine Wards Sea Market aboard the Star River Warship.
• Ling Qing placed the badly damaged dragon pearl in Three Lights Divine Water, which slowly began repairing its cracks.
• Ling Qing used the Spirit-Commanding Whip, Beast Skin Scroll, dragon incarnations, the dragon pearl’s aura, and the Primordial Spirit Dragon’s blood to draw a new template.
• Ling Qing transformed into a hundred-zhang Primordial Spirit Dragon and inspected its attributes and three divine abilities.
• Ling Qing learned that Spirit Dragon’s Power gathered and purified the spirit light of heaven and earth, aiding cultivation, enlightenment, and magical treasures.

Ling Qing explained the Primordial Spirit Dragon template and gave Ling Ji, Wenjun, Li Su, and Li Jiang talisman artifacts to test. The template’s power united the spirits of myriad beasts and transformed the Spirit-Commanding Whip into a magic treasure, which Ling Qing tested with a powerful strike.

• Ling Qing dispelled the dragon’s pressure that had left Ling Ji, Wenjun, Li Su, and Li Jiang overwhelmed, then explained the Primordial Spirit Dragon template.
• Ling Qing made Azure Cloud Treasure Seal-grade Primordial Spirit Dragon Talismans for the four, who tried them and marveled at their powers.
• Ling Qing condensed Qiu Feibai’s remaining blood essence into templates, found no higher-grade dragon beast templates, and reflected on his growing dissatisfaction with lesser gains.
• The Spirit-Commanding Whip responded to the Primordial Spirit Dragon, and the spirits of the myriad beasts submitted to the dragon and merged into the whip.
• Ling Qing recognized that the Spirit-Commanding Whip had become his fourth magic treasure and struck the sea with it, blasting a hundred-zhang-wide pit.

Ling Qing tested the Spirit-Commanding Whip, then sailed with his companions and rescued An Pingle on the way to the Nine Wards Sea Market. They reached the thriving market, where An Pingle marveled at the speed and rarity of Ling Qing's Star River Warship.

• Ling Qing demonstrated that the Spirit-Commanding Whip could summon nearby beasts, transform opponents, and make transformed creatures submit to him.
• Ling Qing agreed to give shipwrecked Mountain Sea Ward steward An Pingle a ride after learning he had acquired a rare Deep-Sea Blood Jade Snail.
• An Pingle pointed out Cloud Sky Ward and described the Nine Wards Sea Market as Ling Qing and his companions approached.
• Ling Qing accelerated the Star River Warship, and the group reached the sea market in a few hours.
• Ling Qing admired the sprawling market, while An Pingle praised the Star River Warship as an exceptionally rare vessel.

Ling Qing arrived at Heaven and Earth Ward and reunited with Daoist Lingguan and his fellow Mount Lao disciples, where he met the ward master Qian Kun. The group welcomed old and new companions, and Sun Yuling asked whether Ling Qing planned to take Li Su and Li Jiang as disciples.

• Ling Qing declined An Pingle’s invitation to Mountain Sea Ward and went to Heaven and Earth Ward to find Daoist Lingguan.
• Jiang Chengyan and Cheng Xinya brought Ling Qing to meet Daoist Lingguan and the other Mount Lao disciples at the ward master’s pavilion.
• Ling Qing met Qian Kun, who warmly welcomed him as Daoist Lingguan’s junior brother.
• Ling Ji and Wenjun greeted Sun Yuwei and introduced Li Su and Li Jiang to her and the others.
• Tian Ying joined the younger group, and Sun Yuling asked Ling Qing whether he planned to take Li Su and Li Jiang as disciples.