Chapter Summaries

Ling Qing taught Sun Erniang, Zhang Qing, and Shi En cultivation before leaving Crossroads Slope to continue his travels. On the Yellow River, he encountered a suspicious boatman who drew a knife and offered him a choice of noodles.

• Ling Qing taught Zhang Qing the Longevity Treasure Lotus Scripture and instructed Sun Erniang in the Naraka Karma Suppression Art.
• Shi En arrived at Crossroads Slope with soldiers and convicts, believing Ling Qing might have been harmed, but Ling Qing persuaded him to stay nearby instead of returning to the city.
• Over more than ten days of instruction, Sun Erniang completed Foundation Establishment and formed a yaksha demonic soul, while Zhang Qing and Shi En began to reveal their demonic forms.
• Ling Qing bade farewell to Sun Erniang, Zhang Qing, and Shi En, then traveled downstream on the Yellow River.
• The boatman steered to a secluded spot, pulled out a sharp knife, and asked Ling Qing whether he wanted board-knife noodles or wonton noodles.

Ling Qing punished a crooked boatman and continued to Kaifeng Prefecture, where he saw the dynasty’s outward prosperity and sensed the Nether Viper hidden within its fortune. He entered Bianliang to investigate the court’s condition.

• Ling Qing subdued the boatman and bound him with a restriction that forced him to earn his living through good deeds.
• The boatman ignored Ling Qing’s warning, but a silver ingot fell from his clothes into a carp, and a charitable gentleman used it as a sign to extend his public porridge service.
• Ling Qing traveled to Kaifeng Prefecture and saw a dark venomous serpent concealed beneath the golden dragon of the city’s fortune.
• Ling Qing concealed his aura and entered Bianliang, observing its busy waterways, markets, roads, and bridges.

Ling Qing entered Bianjing and discovered that demons and immortals held great influence in the city and imperial court. After Cai Jing sensed something amiss and sent a Heavenly Demon to investigate, Ling Qing escaped and recognized the demon as the Second Heavenly Demon King, who had taken Cai Jing’s form.

• Ling Qing surveyed Bianjing and sensed more than a hundred Human Immortals, several Earth Immortals, and numerous Fiendish Stars in the city.
• Ling Qing watched the officials outside Daqing Gate and saw Cai Jing command their fearful respect, recognizing him as a great demon who had passed the Three Calamities.
• A Human Immortal-stage Heavenly Demon attacked Ling Qing, but he pinned and destroyed it before fleeing the area.
• An Earth Immortal-stage Heavenly Demon resembling Cai Jing searched Xuande Tower for Ling Qing but found no trace of him.
• Ling Qing recognized the Heavenly Demon as the Second Heavenly Demon King, who had assumed Cai Jing’s form and gained influence in the imperial court.

Ling Qing investigated the demons ruling Song and questioned the purpose of the Dipper and Fiend Demon Stars’ mission, then set out to find Liangshan’s future heroes. Unable to locate Yang Zhi, he lodged at Yue Temple and disguised himself as a fortune-telling Daoist to approach Lin Chong’s wife.

• Ling Qing discovered that Tong Guan, Yang Jian, and many other court officials were demons, and that even Emperor Huizong was possessed by a Nether Viper.
• Ling Qing resolved to ask Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable about the plan for the demon-infested world after meeting more Dipper and Fiend Demon Stars.
• Ling Qing went to find Yang Zhi but learned that Yang had vanished after his ship capsized while carrying the Flower Stone Tribute.
• Ling Qing learned that Lin Chong’s wife often visited Yue Temple to pray for children, so he lodged there instead of approaching Lin Chong directly.
• Ling Qing set up a fortune-telling stall at the temple and transformed himself into an old Daoist called Predicting Immortal Secrets.

Ling Qing’s fortune-telling grew popular after a wealthy merchant learned his wife was pregnant with a son. Lady Lin then sought a reading about having children, and Ling Qing warned that her wish would bring disaster; she asked how to keep her descendants and avert the calamity.

• Ling Qing told a wealthy merchant that his wife was a month pregnant with a son, and the merchant rewarded him before rushing home.
• The merchant returned with his wife to thank Ling Qing, helping spread the fortune-teller’s reputation.
• Lady Lin and Jin'er visited the Temple of Lord Yue, heard about Ling Qing’s readings, and waited for their turn.
• Ling Qing cast a hexagram for Lady Lin and warned that she might conceive in a year or two, but the desire for a child would lead to calamity and separation from her husband.
• Lady Lin asked Ling Qing for a way to preserve her descendants while resolving the calamity.

Ling Qing gave Lady Lin a scripture and talisman to help her endure the hardships tied to Lin Chong’s fate, then met Lin Chong and Cao Zheng when they came to confront him. He revealed that demonic aura within Lin Chong obstructed Lady Lin and brought her suffering, leaving Lin Chong alarmed by the explanation for his failed cultivation.

• Ling Qing told Lady Lin to keep doing good deeds and hold fast to her resolve, then gave her a scripture of merit and a Meritorious Treasure Talisman.
• Ling Qing reflected that Lin Chong was fated to be driven to Liangshan and hoped Lady Lin would survive the hardship without taking her own life.
• Cao Zheng confronted Ling Qing at his stall, but Lin Chong stopped him and invited Ling Qing to Viewing Mountain Tower for a private fortune-telling.
• Lin Chong asked whether he would have a child, and Ling Qing warned that the child might not survive.
• Ling Qing said demonic aura hidden within Lin Chong obstructed Lady Lin and made her suffer, prompting Lin Chong to recall his inability to cultivate despite understanding the techniques.

Lin Chong and Cao Zheng learned that demonic karma from their past lives had brought misfortune upon their families, and Ling Qing agreed to teach them how to control it. Afterward, Ling Qing began condensing the true forms of the Five Qi and formed the first, an illusory Azure Gui.

• Ling Qing told Lin Chong and Cao Zheng that demonic karma from their former lives caused their misfortunes and could not be severed, but could be controlled and turned into martial souls.
• Lin Chong and Cao Zheng begged Ling Qing to teach them, and he told them to wait at Lin Chong's home the next day.
• Lin Chong paid the bill and departed with Cao Zheng, Lady Lin, and Jin'er after bidding Ling Qing farewell.
• Ling Qing returned to the Temple of Yue, completed his evening rites, and began condensing the true forms of the Five Qi.
• Ling Qing refined liver-wood qi into primordial spirit essence and formed an illusory Azure Gui before finishing his cultivation at dawn.

Ling Qing taught Cao Zheng the Blood-Sundering Spirit-Deliverance Blade and devised the Soldier-Commanding Star-Refining Formula for Lin Chong. With no leads on Xu Ning, he went to seek out Ling Zhen, whose artillery skill remained underused by the Song court.

• Ling Qing swept snow at Yue Temple, gave divinations to three people, and then went to Lin Chong’s residence.
• Ling Qing taught Cao Zheng the Blood-Sundering Spirit-Deliverance Blade and had him contemplate the technique.
• Ling Qing created the Soldier-Commanding Star-Refining Formula for Lin Chong, a cultivation art suited to commanding and training troops.
• With Xu Ning away and no leads to follow, Ling Qing decided to seek out Ling Zhen.
• Ling Qing reflected that Ling Zhen’s accurate, powerful cannons were rarely valued because they were costly, difficult to transport, and of limited use against the Song Dynasty’s enemies.

Ling Qing disguised himself as a blacksmith from Ling Zhen’s hometown and earned Ling Zhen’s trust by sharing forged work and convincing details about his past. He gave Ling Zhen the Wind-Fire Divine Thunder Charge and began teaching him its cultivation method, leaving Ling Zhen eager to learn despite believing he could not cultivate.

• Ling Qing visited Ling Zhen in disguise, claimed to be a displaced acquaintance from Yanling, and gained entry to his home.
• Ling Qing answered Ling Zhen’s questions about his background and hometown, then showed him finely forged trinkets that proved his skill.
• Ling Zhen welcomed Ling Qing, promised to find him work after the New Year, and provided him with a meal, clothes, and a room.
• Ling Qing gave Ling Zhen the Wind-Fire Divine Thunder Charge and claimed an immortal had passed it down to him.
• Ling Zhen became fascinated by the book’s thunderfire devices and magical implements but said he could not cultivate.
• Ling Qing urged Ling Zhen to try the method and began helping him understand it, deepening Ling Zhen’s gratitude and trust.

Ling Zhen and Ling Qing studied Windfire Thunder God Charge, forged a Wind-Fire Cannon, and tested its powerful abilities. Ling Qing also prepared a dream meeting with Xu Ning while keeping his true identity hidden.

• After an uncontrolled night of cultivation, Ling Zhen woke with his internal energy greatly increased and studied the manual with Ling Qing.
• Over three days, Ling Zhen and Ling Qing analyzed the manual, then spent half a month forging a Wind-Fire Cannon.
• Ling Zhen consecrated the cannon and tested it at the firing range, where its thunder, wind, and fire shot devastated a distant hill.
• Ling Zhen discovered that the cannon’s supernatural shot consumed his Demonic Sha qi, while ordinary cannonballs gained improved power and automatic aiming.
• Ling Qing manifested Emperor Miaoran, who continued fortune-telling and teaching Lin Chong and Cao Zheng, while Ling Qing worked on a method to approach Xu Ning in a dream.

Ling Qing refined a Nightmare Talisman and merged dream authority into the Nine Heavens Ten Grounds Dharma Realm. He then drew Xu Ning into a dreamscape, where Xu Ning encountered Ling Qing in the form of a Daoist.

• Ling Qing combined abandoned dreams, Druid inheritance, and his prior methods to create a Nightmare Talisman and derive an illusory dreamscape.
• Ling Qing transformed the dreamscape into Divine Edict authority and merged it with the Nine Heavens Ten Grounds Dharma Realm, allowing it to enter dreams and draw people inside.
• After Xu Ning began his leave and rested, he fell asleep and wandered through clouds and mist until he reached a remote cliffside fairyland.
• Xu Ning found a thatched cottage and met a young Daoist in unusual robes, who invited him inside.
• Xu Ning entered the vast cottage and asked the Daoist for his name.

Xu Ning encountered the Wondrous Dao Emperor in a strange realm while sleeping and brought back the Flying Lightning Soul-Hooking Art when he woke at home. Though he could not meet the immortal again, he discovered that the art worked and began practicing it in secret.

• Xu Ning met the sleeping Wondrous Dao Emperor, explored the cloud-covered platform, and read the Flying Lightning Soul-Hooking Art while waiting for him to wake.
• Xu Ning fell asleep at the desk and woke at home after his wife found him; the booklet from the strange realm had come back with him.
• Xu Ning told his wife about the immortal encounter, and they agreed to keep it secret and hope he could meet the immortal again.
• Xu Ning tried to return to the immortal realm through naps but failed, then practiced the art and found that it worked despite his inability to cultivate internal energy.
• Xu Ning resolved to keep practicing the immortal art secretly.

Ling Qing celebrated the Lantern Festival in Bianliang, finished preparing his disciples for the trials ahead, and discovered Xuan Zan near Cai Jing. He left for Shandong to investigate the great tribulation and decide how to proceed.

• Ling Qing blessed children at the Yue Temple during New Year's Eve and gave each one a trace of Azurewood Longevity Qi.
• Ling Qing watched Dongjing City's Lantern Festival and prepared to leave Bianliang after teaching Lin Chong, Cao Zheng, and Lady Lin what they needed.
• Ling Qing noticed Xuan Zan beside Cai Jing and recognized the Demonic Sha aura, but avoided approaching him.
• Ling Qing left Bianliang through New Cao Gate and headed for Shandong to seek the source of the coming tribulation.

Ling Qing surveyed Liangshan Marsh and watched Wang Lun and Du Qian establish a stronghold, then accepted an invitation from the Lady Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and the Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable. The chapter left Ling Qing meeting the two immortals and recognizing the Celestial Venerable as his senior brother.

• Ling Qing examined Liangshan Marsh with his Dharma Eye of True Insight and saw the Earthly Fiend Star shine as Wang Lun and Du Qian arrived.
• Du Qian praised Liangshan’s defensible terrain, and Wang Lun decided to make the place their stronghold and recruit men.
• Wang Lun told Du Qian to lure craftsmen with promises of rewards, then force them to stay and threaten their families if they resisted.
• The Lady Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and the Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable invited Ling Qing to their palace near Yun City.
• Ling Qing greeted the two immortals, and the Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable explained that they could address each other as senior and junior brothers.

Ling Qing learned how the failed cleansing of the world’s sins led to the current calamity and questioned the plans of Mysterious Maiden and Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable. The Celestial Venerable revealed that he had tied his own attainment of the Dao to sweeping away every demon beneath heaven.

• Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable asked Ling Qing whether he truly intended to enter the tribulation, and Ling Qing asked how it began and could be resolved.
• Mysterious Maiden explained that the earlier cleansing failed after Nether Viper plotted against Red-Bearded Dragon, allowing the world’s sins to deepen and demonic forces to gather.
• Mysterious Maiden and Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable explained their plan to gather the world’s sins upon demons, devils, ghosts, and foreign gods, then have the Celestial and Baleful Star Lords subdue them and return to the proper path.
• Ling Qing asked about Red-Bearded Dragon and Jin State, and Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable described the successive calamities that would follow the Star Lords’ return.
• Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable vowed to sweep away every demon beneath heaven and revealed that ending the calamity was bound to his own attainment of the Dao.
• Ling Qing understood the stakes and joined Mysterious Maiden in paying reverence to Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable.

Ling Qing listened as the Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable explained his yin-yang and taiji Dao, then reflected on how he would put his own path into practice. After receiving a star formation outline and agreeing to protect the Star Lords where possible, Ling Qing left Mount Liang and headed for Yun City.

• The Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable explained how he used demon-subduing and the grinding of yin and yang to cultivate his Dao, prompting Ling Qing to consider his own future path.
• The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden hosted the Celestial Venerable and Ling Qing with fruit wine before they discussed the current tribulation.
• The Celestial Venerable praised Ling Qing for helping the Stellar Lords of Gang and Baleful Intent control their demonic Qi, and Ling Qing acknowledged that his good deeds also served his own aims.
• The Celestial Venerable gave Ling Qing his General Outline of the Celestial Sha and Earth Sha Star Mansion Array Diagram and urged him to protect the Star Lords without seeking them out recklessly.
• The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden sent two fairy maidens to escort Ling Qing back to Mount Liang, where he saw Wang Lun, Du Qian, and the others asleep before heading to Yun City.

Ling Qing sheltered in a ruined Spirit Officer Hall and considered the three demonic tribulations that threatened the world. He concluded that the struggle between Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable and the Six Heavenly Demon Kings would decide the world’s fate, along with the choices of its people.

• Ling Qing found a ruined Spirit Officer Hall near East Creek Village and cleaned it before asking Marshal Qin to let him stay.
• After Ling Qing offered incense, Marshal Qin’s statue and the hall’s plaque vanished, so Ling Qing hid the altar and settled into a side chamber.
• Ling Qing recalled that the Gang-Sha Calamity would pit the assembled Star masters against corrupt officials and external demons before they confronted Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La.
• Ling Qing understood that the Red-Bearded Dragon’s Dragon-Severing Calamity would lead into a wider conflict between demons, gods, Buddhism, and Daoism.
• Ling Qing rejected his plan to gather the world’s evil into a few villains and recognized Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable’s campaign as the only path to save the world.
• Ling Qing concluded that the outcome depended on the contest between Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable and the Six Heavenly Demon Kings, as well as whether people chose good or evil.

Ling Qing reflected on how worldly arrogance and demonic influences had clouded his Dao heart, then clarified that his true aim was longevity rather than saving an entire age. After he left for East Creek Village, the Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable and Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden praised his potential and discussed Dharma Master Wudang and the Supreme Purity lineage.

• Ling Qing realized that he lacked the Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable's resolve to stake his cultivation on saving the world and had judged others from a position of arrogance.
• Ling Qing examined how his experiences across several worlds had made him treat their people as pieces in a game, and recognized that sin, karma, and demonic qi had clouded his mind.
• Ling Qing gathered spiritual radiance to illuminate his heart, regained clarity by sunrise, and sang of his path before leaving the temple for East Creek Village.
• The Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable and Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden noticed Ling Qing's transformation and praised him as a promising Dao cultivator.
• Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden reflected on Dharma Master Wudang's role in sustaining the Supreme Purity lineage, and she and the Demon-Quelling Celestial Venerable then departed separately.

Ling Qing visited Chao Gai and met Wu Yong, whose hidden golden light revealed a pagoda-shaped phantom to Ling Qing’s Dharma Eye. After sharing a banquet and conversation, Ling Qing declined Chao Gai’s offer to stay at the manor and returned to the restored Spirit Officer Temple with Wu Yong.

• Ling Qing went to Chao Gai’s manor seeking a meeting, and Chao Gai initially refused while feasting with Wu Yong.
• Wu Yong persuaded Chao Gai to receive Ling Qing and arranged for the banquet to be laid afresh.
• Ling Qing greeted Chao Gai and Wu Yong, then glimpsed a precious pagoda within the golden light hidden in Chao Gai.
• Ling Qing, Chao Gai, and Wu Yong shared wine and discussed martial heroes, books, and learning.
• Ling Qing declined Chao Gai’s offer to lodge at the manor and left for Spirit Officer Temple with Wu Yong.
• At the newly restored temple, Wu Yong asked Ling Qing if he could come inside and sit for a while.

Ling Qing met Wu Yong in the Spirit Officer Temple and revealed that he had come for the Demon Star within him. Wu Yong recognized that Ling Qing knew the source of his unusual nature, leaving him eager to hear more.

• Ling Qing brought Wu Yong into the newly clean temple and served him Osmanthus Honey Tea, astonishing him by claiming he had borrowed the place from the Spirit Officer.
• Wu Yong praised the tea and accepted Ling Qing’s jar of honey tea as a gift.
• Wu Yong asked why an immortal-like Daoist had come to visit a constable, and Ling Qing questioned how a learned strategist like Wu Yong had made his name in the jianghu.
• Ling Qing reflected that demonic qi strengthened Wu Yong’s cunning, while the divinity within his Demon Star kept him from serving demons and monsters.
• Wu Yong asked why Ling Qing had entered the martial world, and Ling Qing said he had come for the Demon Star within him.
• Wu Yong scrutinized Ling Qing after hearing this, recognizing that Ling Qing had identified the source of his unusual condition.