Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Third Sea Eye (第三海眼) |
| Location | East Sea |
| Affiliation | Under the Heavenly Court's Water Department; the East Sea Dragon Palace is also responsible for its affairs 7 16 |
| Status | Last confirmed temporarily suppressed by Qingxiaozi; its formation remains active and requires continued oversight 19 21 |
| First Appearance | Mentioned in Chapter 7 7 |
Background / History
The Third Sea Eye was nominally the responsibility of the Heavenly Court's Water Department and the Dragon Clan. Because the Water Department lacked personnel and the Dragon Clan repeatedly avoided the duty, its long-term suppression fell to Jie Sect disciples instead 7.
Qingxiaozi, an early Golden Immortal and peripheral Jie Sect disciple, guarded the Sea Eye for two thousand years. The post exposed him to chaotic spiritual tides, demonic energy, periodic disturbances, and formation backlash; he accumulated hidden injuries while maintaining the Sea-Suppressing Array 11 12.
When the Jie Sect recalled its disciples to Golden Turtle Island, Qingxiaozi handed over the formation map, command token, and records of the Sea Eye's changes before leaving his post 11 13. The Water Department's replacement personnel were unable to control the Sea Eye, triggering a reverse surge of spiritual tides and a demon tide across three thousand li of surrounding sea 10.
Other Recorded Guardians
The Outer Sect's old merit register also recorded that Lu Qing guarded the Third Sea Eye for twenty-seven years. His service there became part of the evidence later used to investigate the Heavenly Court's secret selection of Jie Sect disciples for divine offices 43 44.
Lu Qing and his junior brother Zhou Huai guarded the Sea Eye together during a past rupture. The Water Department's immortal officials arrived late, while the Dragon Palace claimed that the Sea Eye was outside its jurisdiction. Zhou Huai died during the incident, whereas Lu Qing survived 44 51.
Lu Qing's recorded merits included sealing the Third Sea Eye, protecting its water veins for seven days, saving three thousand members of the Aquatic Race, and receiving one Water Department acknowledgment 50.
East Sea Crisis
The Water Department attempted to forcibly activate the Sea-Suppressing Array without properly mastering its altered configuration. The array backfired, killing seven Water Department immortal officials, after which the department blamed Qingxiaozi for allegedly withholding formation details 11.
Zhao Xuan produced four jade slips proving that Qingxiaozi had completed the handover: a copy of the formation map, the Water Department's receipt seal, two thousand years of spiritual-tide records, and evidence of Qingxiaozi's injuries from the Sea Eye's backlash 12 13. The evidence established that the Water Department—not Qingxiaozi—had failed to maintain the Sea Eye.
The crisis worsened after the Thunder Department used thunder arts against the demon tide, further destabilizing the Sea Eye. Its spiritual tide tripled, nearby islands faced the risk of sinking, and the seal eventually cracked 14 15.
Haotian punished Xuan Lang for mishandling the matter by assigning him to guard the Third Sea Eye for a thousand years and ordered an investigation into the Water Department officials involved. Xuan Lang was swept into the Sea Eye within an hour of taking over the array eye, leaving his whereabouts unknown 14 15 16.
As the crisis intensified, the seal was reported thirty percent cracked, then fifty percent, and finally sixty percent. Seabed sha qi spread into the outer sea, and the Dragon Palace warned that further delay could leave even Qingxiaozi unable to suppress the rupture 16 18 19.
During negotiations for Qingxiaozi's return, Guangchengzi accused the Jie Sect of using the disaster to pressure the Heavenly Court. Zhao Xuan challenged him to suppress the Sea Eye himself, but Guangchengzi declined on the grounds that East Sea water affairs belonged to the Heavenly Court 17.
Suppression and Governance
Haotian ultimately issued a sealed Heavenly Court petition appointing Qingxiaozi as temporary Water Department guardian of the Third Sea Eye. The petition specified that:
- Qingxiaozi would receive all merit earned during the assignment.
- The Heavenly Court would bear the associated karma.
- The Heavenly Court would compensate him for further damage to his Dao foundation.
- Divine position, authority, and destiny would be settled separately. 19
Upon returning, Qingxiaozi reconnected four disrupted array eyes with a single strike and identified unauthorized changes to the southeast array flag and northwest water vein. With the Heavenly Court petition channeling karma away from his Dao foundation, he temporarily stabilized the Sea Eye 19.
A second sealed order placed the Sea Eye temporarily under Qingxiaozi's command. It prohibited the Water Department and Dragon Palace from altering formation flags or the formation eye without authorization, with any resulting backlash assigned to the Heavenly Court 21.
Qingxiaozi reported that the formation could not be withdrawn. He could maintain suppression for three days under the existing conditions, or seven days if the Water Department stopped tampering with the formation eye. After the second order was sealed, both petitions hung within the Sea-Suppressing Array, and the black-blue spiritual tide receded slightly further 21.
Compensation and Historical Debts
Zhao Xuan calculated that Qingxiaozi's two thousand years of service entitled him, under Water Department standards, to 3,600 Water Mansion merit points, seventy-two bottles of spirit pills, and one protective dharma treasure. Additional spirit items were required to repair the Dao-foundation damage caused by the Sea Eye's backlash. The Heavenly Court had previously supplied only three bottles of low-grade spirit pills 15.
The Dragon Palace's debts were treated separately from the Heavenly Court's petition. Its officials acknowledged their debt to Qingxiaozi, and Zhao Xuan required an accounting of the supplies, reinforcements, and responsibilities owed during his tenure 16 19 21.
Service Records and the Investiture Investigation
The Sea Eye's old service records later became evidence that the Heavenly Court had converted Jie Sect disciples' merits into qualifications for compulsory divine appointments. The Water Department's private records annotated Lu Qing as familiar with the Third Sea Eye and suitable for the Sea-Calming Office. Lu Qing voluntarily submitted the Sea Eye's old records to Zhao Xuan, rejecting a Water Department post and seeking accountability instead 43 44 45.
Zhao Xuan's investigation traced Lu Qing's service from the Water Department's merit records through a jade-marked handler and the Position Assignment Register to the Investiture of the Gods List. The inquiry showed that his expertise and past rescue work had been recast as a “Divine Office Foreordained Connection,” rather than remaining a record of voluntary service 50 51 52.
Further scrutiny exposed the Director of Fate's authority-gap criteria and a Jade Emptiness policy giving Jie Sect disciples priority in filling departmental vacancies because of their numerous merits and strong sect destiny. Lu Qing had been selected because the Water Department lacked a suitable official, not because his service inherently bound him to a divine office. Zhou Huai's past merits were added to the Third Sea Eye case as the investigation continued 53 54.
The written inquiry partly loosened the calamity qi attached to Lu Qing and blocked his entry while the account remained unresolved. When the List later attempted to isolate him using lingering traces of his old merits, the Jie Sect's collective protection caused its gray hook to break 52 54 72 73.
Known Features
- Sea-Suppressing Array — A formation used to contain the Sea Eye's spiritual tides and demon tide. Its configuration had been modified over years of Jie Sect maintenance, leaving Water Department personnel unable to operate it correctly 10 11.
- Black-blue spiritual tide — Violent spiritual energy that surged from the Sea Eye during its collapse, threatening the East Sea and surrounding islands 15 19.
- Formation backlash — Prolonged contact with the Sea Eye can damage a guardian's Dao foundation; Qingxiaozi bore this burden for two thousand years before the formal petition redirected the karma 12 19.
- Demon tide — A tide of demonic forces released when the Sea Eye's suppression failed 10 12.
- Recurring disturbances — During Qingxiaozi's tenure, the Sea Eye experienced a minor disturbance every ten years and a major disturbance every hundred years 11.
- Sensitive formation components — Qingxiaozi found the southeast array flag displaced by three inches and the northwest water vein severed by thunder arts. Unauthorized interference with these components undermined suppression 19.
- Sealed petitions — Two jade slips bearing the Heavenly Emperor Seal remained suspended within the array, documenting Qingxiaozi's assignment, command authority, and protection against transferred blame and karma 19 21.
Related Figures
- Qingxiaozi — Long-serving guardian who suppressed the Sea Eye for two thousand years and later received formal authority as its temporary Water Department guardian 11 19 21.
- Zhao Xuan — Defended Qingxiaozi against false accusations and compelled the Heavenly Court to formally acknowledge responsibility, merit, karma, and compensation for the Sea Eye's suppression 12 16 19. He later used its old service records to expose the conversion of Lu Qing's merits into grounds for divine appointment 50 52 54.
- Haotian — Heavenly Emperor who sealed the petitions authorizing Qingxiaozi's appointment and command over the formation 19 21.
- Water Department — Nominally responsible for the Sea Eye; its failed takeover, unauthorized interference, and attempt to blame Qingxiaozi escalated the crisis 11 14 21. Its old merit records also helped identify Lu Qing as a candidate for the Sea-Calming Office 44 50.
- East Sea Dragon Palace — Requested Qingxiaozi's aid during the collapse and was later ordered to account for the supplies, reinforcements, and responsibilities it owed during his tenure 16 21.
- Xuan Lang — Water Department Divine General who tried to seize Qingxiaozi for questioning; later assigned to guard the Sea Eye as punishment, only to be swept into it shortly afterward 11 15.
- Lu Qing — Outer Sect disciple whose twenty-seven years guarding the Sea Eye and rescue work were used to justify his selection for a Water Department divine post. He submitted the site's old records for investigation 43 44 45 50.
- Zhou Huai — Lu Qing's junior brother and fellow Outer Sect guardian, who died during a past rupture of the Third Sea Eye. His merits were later included in the investigation of the site's records 44 51 54.
- Guangchengzi — Challenged the Jie Sect's demands during the crisis but declined Zhao Xuan's invitation to suppress the Sea Eye himself 17.