Chapter Summaries

Ling Qing agreed to test Sun Yuwei as a possible disciple, with the decision to be made during their journey to Sea Market. After the group gathered, they left Heaven and Earth Ward to visit Crystal Ward and see the Dragon Palace.

• Sun Yuling asked Ling Qing to consider taking Sun Yuwei as his disciple because she had a gift for formations.
• Ling Qing agreed to observe and test Sun Yuwei, and said she could formally join Ling Ji and Wenjun as his disciple if they proved compatible.
• Ling Qing began paying closer attention to Sun Yuwei after agreeing to consider her.
• Zhu Guang suggested the group visit Crystal Ward and see the Dragon Palace instead of continuing to browse Heaven and Earth Ward.
• Daoist Lingguan agreed, and the group said goodbye to Qian Kun before heading to Crystal Ward.

Ling Qing and the others traveled by Star River Warship toward Crystal Ward, where Li Qing recalled finding Red Cloud True Gold and refining it into a Red Fire Gourd. Ling Qing restrained Li Qing for secretly giving Ling Ji dangerous Red Fire Pills, and the group continued their journey discussing how cultivation shaped outward appearance.

• Li Qing suggested browsing the scattered stalls for overlooked treasures, and Zhu Guang invited him and Ling Qing to bargain-hunt together sometime.
• Li Qing showed Ling Ji and Li Su his Red Fire Gourd, explaining that it produced Red Fire Pills that served as powerful thunderfire beads.
• Ling Qing remembered that Li Qing had secretly given Red Fire Pills to Ling Ji, then used talismans to immobilize him until they reached Crystal Ward.
• Ling Qing warned Ling Ji not to give away dangerous items without explaining their use, while Li Li and Daoist Lingguan discussed how cultivation preserved temperament and shaped appearance.

Ling Qing and his companions reached Crystal Ward, the largest sea market ward, and encountered a loach-dragon spirit hoping to find a promising home for his descendants. They entered the ward without buying the loach-dragons, leaving the old spirit to regret that his offspring had missed a chance to follow eminent Daoist masters.

• Ling Qing and his companions discussed how cultivation and outward appearance reflected each person's chosen path as they traveled through the sea market.
• The group arrived at Crystal Ward, where merchants exchanged currency and vendors gathered around the crowded plaza.
• An aged loach-dragon spirit offered Zhu Guang his descendants, explaining that he hoped someone could help them develop their cultivation.
• Zhu Guang declined to buy the loach-dragons, and Ling Qing stored the Star River Warship before leading the group into Crystal Ward.
• The old loach-dragon watched them leave and lamented that his descendants had missed the chance to follow such eminent Daoist masters.

Ling Qing and his companions split up to explore Crystal Ward, where Ling Qing sought marine beast blood essence for his Wildness Template repository. He began negotiating for Rainbow Glow Eel essence after learning that collecting enough would weaken every eel in the pool.

• Gui Wuya welcomed Ling Qing and the others to Crystal Ward and offered them Jade Wave Platforms for traveling around the ward.
• Daoist Lingguan, Li Li, Tian Yong, Han Fu, and Zhao Zhen went to inspect demon soldiers, while Tian Ying and the others headed for the treasure section.
• Ling Qing, Zhang Zhe, and Zhu Guang went to the exotic beast section so Ling Qing could study its creatures and seek blood essence.
• Ling Qing learned that the Rainbow Glow Eel’s blood essence was vital to its health, so the attendant proposed a higher fee to collect small amounts from every eel.
• Ling Qing agreed to the cost and asked how much the Rainbow Glow Eel essence would cost.

Ling Qing bought Rainbow Glow Eel essence blood without harming the eels, then went with Zhu Guang and Zhang Zhe to Crystal Ward’s ferocious beast section. After learning about the Dragon Palace from Gui Yuan, they headed to Ten Thousand Waves Pool to watch or attempt to subdue its beasts, including an Azure Water Whale that Crystal Ward had never managed to tame.

• Ling Qing extracted essence blood from the Rainbow Glow Eels with his whisk, leaving them unharmed, and paid five azure pearls for it.
• Zhang Zhe suggested visiting the ferocious beast section after the group finished viewing the ordinary pools.
• Gui Yuan introduced himself as Gui Wuya’s great-grandson and told the three visitors about the East Sea Dragon Palace and his family’s many chancellors.
• Ling Qing asked for ferocious beast essence blood, and Gui Yuan sent servants to prepare blood from every species in the zone.
• Gui Yuan led Ling Qing, Zhu Guang, and Zhang Zhe to Ten Thousand Waves Pool and mentioned that its powerful Azure Water Whale had never been subdued.

Zhu Guang, Zhang Zhe, and their companions entered Ten Thousand Waves Pool for a fishing contest after Gui Yuan explained its rules. Ling Qing and several others discovered that the beasts charged at them without bait, and they began catching them through brute force rather than conventional fishing.

• Gui Yuan explained the entry fees and rules for catching beasts in Ten Thousand Waves Pool, and the group agreed to hold a contest.
• Daoist Lingguan proposed that catching the Azurewater Mystic Whale would decide the winner, with the number and strength of other catches as a fallback.
• The group chose boats and fishing gear, paid their fees, and entered the enormous pool before scattering to fish.
• Ling Qing struck a thirty-zhang silver shark when it charged his boat, then collected it in a bucket.
• Daoist Lingguan and the experienced fishers used lures and rods to catch beasts conventionally, while Ling Qing questioned his own choice of equipment.
• Li Qing, Ling Ji, and Li Su caught groups of one-horned sharks by looping, swinging, or striking them with their fishing gear.

Ling Qing fished with Sun Yuwei and discussed her interest in formations and exploring the world’s mysteries. He gave her a ball of Primordial Chaos Qi to study, and she left determined to improve her fishing and understanding of vital energy.

• Ling Qing intimidated the ferocious beasts and fished alongside Sun Yuwei, who said formations might reveal the truth and falsehood of a world.
• Ling Qing caught a whale-like beast and compared its forced journey into his hand to leaving its own cosmos for another world.
• Sun Yuwei said cultivation should let her choose where to go and what to see, like a whale leaping into the air or a peng soaring through the heavens.
• Ling Qing formed a ball of Primordial Chaos Qi containing 129,600 transformations and gave it to Sun Yuwei to study the qi of heaven and earth.
• Ling Qing advised Sun Yuwei to keep striving even without a visible chance of winning, and she left to sense the qi beneath the water and fish more carefully.
• Ling Qing experimented with different ways to tempt and catch ferocious beasts, observing how they balanced desire, reason, and freedom.

Ling Qing used Three Lights Divine Water to lure the Azurewater Mystic Whale, but the aura instead brought a massive tide of ferocious beasts surging toward the group. Li Qing tried to hold them back with wind and water, and Li Li subdued the beasts with five enormous mountain peaks.

• Daoist Lingguan gathered essence blood from the caught beasts and gave it to Ling Qing.
• Li Qing and Li Su offered to lure out the Azurewater Mystic Whale, but Ling Qing said he would try instead.
• Gui Yuan warned the pool’s visitors, and nearly everyone left before the challenge began.
• Ling Qing released the aura of Three Lights Divine Water, stirring up the hidden beasts in Ten Thousand Waves Pool.
• Li Qing raised nine waterspouts and summoned a storm, but the beasts broke through his blockade.
• Li Li struck the sea with a five-colored palm, summoning five mountain peaks that pinned the beasts in place.

Ling Qing and his companions discussed the stages of Refining Essence into Qi before the Azurewater Mystic Whale emerged and fixed its attention on Ling Qing. Tian Ying attacked the whale with nine immense arcs of Sword Qi, and it countered with a pillar of water.

• The chapter explained the five stages of Refining Essence into Qi, from nurturing qi in the dantian to the five qi returning to their origin.
• Li Li used the Five Sacred Mountains' true forms to suppress the waves, while Li Qing recovered from the effort of fighting.
• The calm waves exploded, and the Azurewater Mystic Whale's cry made the group's essence-blood and primordial qi surge.
• Daoist Lingguan steadied the group as the whale leapt from the water and rose through the air on a surge of emerald water.
• The whale focused its gaze on Ling Qing, and Zhu Guang explained that the beast could be caught with suitable treasures, though Azure Wave Pool's rules prevented their use.
• Tian Ying sent nine great arcs of Sword Qi at the whale, which swept its tail and sent a thick column of water crashing toward them.

Tian Ying and the others fought the Azurewater Mystic Whale, whose strength surged as it drew power from Ten Thousand Waves Pool. Ao Ren, An Pingxi, and Jia Xing revealed their interests in the whale, and Daoist Lingguan asked whether they would cooperate.

• Tian Ying attacked the Azurewater Mystic Whale with Heavenly Sound Sword Qi, but its azurewater shield healed its wounds.
• The whale crashed into Ten Thousand Waves Pool and sent out a heavy, sticky tsunami that Ling Qing dispelled with the Wanhua Whisk.
• Ao Ren warned the group that the whale could draw on the ocean’s power and grow dozens of times stronger in water.
• Ao Ren said he had already failed to tame the whale, while An Pingxi sought its flesh and blood for a feast and Jia Xing wanted its bones and hide for a treasure ship.
• An Pingxi invited Ao Ren to a Mystic Whale feast, then asked Daoist Lingguan what he thought of their plans.

Jia Xing and An Pingxi tried to capture the Azurewater Mystic Whale, while Tian Ying, Sun Yuling, and Li Qing fought it using the power of Ten Thousand Waves Pool. The trio escaped after wounding it, but the enraged whale pursued them, prompting Zhang Zhe to step in.

• Jia Xing said he and An Pingxi intended to capture the Azurewater Mystic Whale and take its vital essence blood, while Daoist Lingguan refused to help kill it.
• The Azurewater Mystic Whale charged the group, and Tian Ying, Sun Yuling, and Li Qing fought it as Zhang Zhe held the formation.
• The whale used the pool's waves to overpower their attacks, but Sun Yuling protected the trio while Tian Ying and Li Qing continued fighting.
• As the whale grew stronger by merging with the seawater, Sun Yuling, Li Qing, and Tian Ying combined their attacks, and Tian Ying wounded it with her Sword Qi.
• The trio escaped the whale's renewed assault, but it fired a water blade after them, and Zhang Zhe announced that he would fight next.

Zhang Zhe used the Seven-Treasure Spirit Wheel to counter the Azurewater Mystic Whale after it unleashed the Ten Thousand Waves Pool against everyone. He severed the whale’s connection to the pool and subdued it, then asked Ling Qing and the others if anyone else wanted to try their hand.

• Zhang Zhe blocked the Mystic Whale’s water blade with a phantom Seven-Treasure Spirit Wheel and turned its force against it.
• The Mystic Whale gathered the Ten Thousand Waves Pool’s water into a colossal wave that threatened Zhang Zhe, Ling Qing’s group, and Ao Ren’s group.
• Jia Xing fled in a treasure boat, while Ao Ren retreated toward the central hall to use Crystal Ward’s control nexus; An Pingxi stayed to protect Zhang Zhe.
• Zhang Zhe split the Seven-Treasure Spirit Wheel into seven wheels, pierced the whale’s barrier, and severed its connection to the Ten Thousand Waves Pool.
• Zhang Zhe used the seven wheels to suppress the Mystic Whale’s vital energies and pin it helplessly in the water.
• An Pingxi marveled at Zhang Zhe’s handling of the attack, and Zhang Zhe asked Ling Qing and the others whether anyone else wanted to try their hand.

Ling Qing and the others collected the Azurewater Mystic Whale’s essence blood after Zhang Zhe captured it, and Daoist Lingguan kept the whale rather than returning it to Crystal Ward. Ao Ren and An Pingxi invited the group to a feast in Mountain Sea Ward, and they accepted.

• Tian Yong and Zhu Guang declined to fight the captured Azurewater Mystic Whale, while An Pingxi realized the others had never considered it a threat.
• Zhang Zhe summoned the whale, and Ling Qing drew out and bottled its emerald essence blood.
• Ao Ren offered the group everything they had obtained from Ten Thousand Waves Pool, and Daoist Lingguan released the other captured beasts back into the pool.
• Daoist Lingguan shrank and kept the Azurewater Mystic Whale after Ao Ren suggested giving it to An Pingxi for a feast.
• Ao Ren invited the group to Crystal Ward’s banquet, and An Pingxi invited them to Mountain Sea Ward; the group accepted An Pingxi’s invitation.

Ling Qing and his companions attended the Mountain Sea Banquet hosted by An Pingxi in Mountain Sea Ward. The banquet deepened Ling Qing’s understanding of mountains and seas and strengthened his mana, but he did not fully comprehend the Ten Earths method.

• An Pingle welcomed Ling Qing and the others, and An Pingxi learned that Ling Qing had once helped his brother.
• An Pingxi led the guests to a waterside pavilion and excused himself to prepare the Mountain Sea Banquet.
• An Pingle hosted the guests as they sampled Green Mountain Silver Light tea and an assortment of dried and candied fruits.
• An Pingxi’s mountain-and-sea dishes arrived in successive courses, followed by a cup of Azure Sea, Celestial Blue.
• Ling Qing experienced a vision of nine mountains and nine seas, gained new insights into the Ten Earths, and imbued his mana with a majestic quality, but did not fully comprehend the method.

After the Mountain Sea Banquet, Ling Qing and the others watched the Nine Wards Sea Market awaken at dawn. Ling Qing reflected on how Ling Ji, Wenjun, and Sun Yuwei each approached the mortal world and judged that all three could become cultivators capable of bearing the Dao after further experience.

• Ao Ren and the others praised An Pingxi's Mountain Sea Banquet, whose principles also deepened An Pingxi's cultivation.
• Ling Qing and his companions watched the bustling Sea Market as dawn broke and considered how worldly experience could shape a cultivator.
• Ling Qing observed Ling Ji's curiosity and ease amid the mortal world, and saw that his independent path remained close to the Dao.
• Ling Qing noted that Wenjun watched natural scenery in silence and still needed experience before her Myriad Transformations Spirit Seed could sprout.
• Ling Qing saw Sun Yuwei compare the vital qi in his gift of primordial chaos qi with the Sea Market around her, and recognized her aptitude for cultivation.
• Ling Qing concluded that the three young cultivators could each become seeds capable of bearing the Dao after further tempering.

Ling Qing and his companions prepared to explore more of the Nine Wards Sea Market after visiting Mountain Sea Ward, while Ao Ren introduced the remaining wards. Ling Qing traded ten drops of Three Lights Divine Water to Ao Ren for an Earth-Opening Pearl, and Ao Ren left after describing more market attractions.

• Ling Qing and his companions bid farewell to An Pingxi after promising to visit Mountain Sea Ward again.
• Ao Ren joined them aboard the Star River Warship and described the attractions of Carefree Ward and Cloud Sky Ward.
• Ao Ren asked Ling Qing for Three Lights Divine Water and offered an Earth-Opening Pearl in exchange.
• Ling Qing gave Ao Ren ten drops of Three Lights Divine Water, and Ao Ren accepted the trade with thanks.
• Ao Ren introduced Exquisite Ward, Thousand Boats Ward, and Myriad Forms Ward before taking his leave.

Li Li offered the group demon soldiers, and Ling Qing selected several units to refine for Daoqing Temple. He began transforming the Azure Carp with the Myriad Beast Spirit-Commanding Treasure Restriction, leaving their refinement underway as the group traveled toward Carefree Ward.

• After the group chose to visit Carefree Ward, Ling Qing turned the warship east from Crystal Ward.
• Li Li showed everyone the demon soldiers he and his senior brother had selected, explaining that they had dispersed spiritual consciousness and could be taken into an instance dungeon.
• Li Li chose five hundred Heaven Crystal Turtles suited to his cultivation method and Five Peaks Temple.
• Ling Qing selected three thousand six hundred Azure Carp along with several other kinds of demon soldiers.
• Ling Qing dispersed the Azure Carp’s demonic power and implanted the Myriad Beast Spirit-Commanding Treasure Restriction as Talisman Seeds, guiding them to cultivate Wondrous Form True Qi.

Ling Qing stored and prepared the Azure Carp and other purchased demon soldiers as Dao soldiers to help protect the Mount Lao Sect’s temples. After the group gathered the demon soldiers, he guided the Star River Warship to the Carefree Ward.

• Ling Qing trained the Azure Carp to transform into Qingyun Carp, then forged the Thousand Carp Wave-Traveling Diagram to store and command them.
• Ling Qing used the Primordial Spirit Dragon Talisman to help the demon soldiers regain spirituality, while holding back from fully awakening them until they left the instance.
• The others stored most of their demon soldiers, reserving selected types to guard their Daoist temples rather than for personal combat.
• Ling Qing and the others recognized that their temples would need defenses and support while they continued entering instance secret realms to improve their strength.
• After the group gathered nearly all the demon soldiers, Ling Qing guided the Star River Warship down before the Carefree Ward.

Ling Qing brought Ling Ji, Wenjun, Sun Yuwei, Li Su, and Li Jiang to Fate Comes Gambling House, where each adapted to or resisted the corrupting atmosphere in a different way. As Ling Qing watched over them while gambling, Ling Ji blended in with the gamblers and began absorbing their greed and the house’s turbid aura.

• Ling Qing led the group into Fate Comes Gambling House after learning about its varied patrons and atmosphere from their guide.
• Ling Qing and his companions adjusted their auras to the gambling house’s mire-like influence in different ways, and he gave each of them a thousand Celestial Star Silver Pearls to gamble with.
• Ling Qing joined a dice table and kept watch over the others while noting the house’s methods for draining visitors’ destiny qi.
• Ling Ji acted like a reckless, seasoned gambler, quietly winning more often than he lost while gamblers around him urged him toward losing bets.
• Ling Ji absorbed the greed and turbid aura around him as yellow light revealed the forming shape of a dark indigo wild boar in his eyes.

Ling Ji refined his Poison Pig form in a foul gambling house while Wenjun joined a leaf-card game and used her Merit Spirit Talisman to purify the surrounding turbid qi. The chapter left the gambling underway, with Wenjun cleansing the air as she played.

• Ling Ji gathered the gambling house’s foul qi and the Three Poisons to refine his Poison Pig form.
• Wenjun chose a leaf-card table and sat down with Lotus Fairy, a gaunt old man, a lecherous scholar, and the dealer.
• Lotus Fairy rebuked the scholar for leering at Wenjun and urged the table to begin playing.
• Wenjun used her Merit Spirit Talisman to manifest a lotus and purify the foul aura around her.