Recaps

Li Qing used repeated divinations and cautious defenses to escape a cavern filled with mind-affecting faces and fused corpses. He reached the Southern Sea, only to find it shrouded in black haze and carrying a terrifying, lifeless aura.

• Li Qing’s second divination showed that human faces in the cavern could tear his face away and destroy his Divine Body, so he waited before advancing.
• After his third divination showed a safe escape, Li Qing traveled deeper into the cavern with his powers and Shadow Paper Dolls protecting him.
• Li Qing evaded a creature fused from several corpses and resisted a face’s mind-affecting voice as he followed the safe route.
• At the cavern exit, Li Qing ignored a swarm of screaming faces, escaped without looking back, and put several li between himself and the cave.
• Li Qing reached the Southern Frontier’s golden beach and saw that the Southern Sea was covered in black haze and filled with a strange, deathly aura.

Li Qing explored the Southern Sea with Shadow Paper Dolls and found a spreading black mist filled with monstrous tentacles fused from marine life. The Jade Tablet revealed that the sea eye connected to an unknown place, leaving Li Qing to suspect the Nine Provinces was linked to terrifying realms beyond its dark and bright sides.

• Li Qing sent Shadow Paper Dolls into the Southern Sea and found mutated shell creatures and a lifeless seabed.
• Li Qing discovered enormous fused creatures devouring one another in the deep ocean and found that the dolls could not descend below ten thousand zhang because of a vast black mist.
• A colossal tentacle rose from the mist and destroyed a Shadow Paper Doll, while other dolls became mutated near the spreading phenomenon.
• Li Qing recorded the Southern Sea anomaly in the Record Book, and the Jade Tablet revealed that a deep sea eye connected to an unknown place.
• Li Qing connected the sea eye to other mysterious passages in the Nine Provinces and concluded that unknown realms beyond the human world might be even more terrifying.

Li Qing reached the East Wasteland and discovered that the East Sea Demon Race had built a defensive line against the Southern Sea’s Anomalies. He infiltrated the East Sea Dragon Palace to investigate its strength and resources, where he found a gathering of cultivators discussing the Anomalies as an opportunity to amass wealth.

• Li Qing traveled east and reached the border between the Southern Frontier and the East Wasteland.
• Li Qing saw the East Sea Demon Race using a lightning barrier and guarded altars to resist black mist and kill Anomalies from the Southern Sea.
• Li Qing decided to investigate the East Sea Dragon Palace and slipped a Shadow Paper Doll into the East Sea’s territory.
• The Shadow Paper Doll followed a Spirit Consciousness Realm Demon Race cultivator into a grotto-heaven beneath the Dragon Palace and sensed that a Longevity cultivator was present.
• Li Qing’s Shadow Paper Doll observed a banquet attended by more than a hundred Spirit Consciousness and Divine Soul cultivators.
• A Dragon Grandson said the Southern Sea’s Disaster-grade Anomalies were weaker than usual and that fighting them could bring the Demon Race valuable resources.

Li Qing used Shadow Paper Dolls to investigate the East Sea Dragon Palace, learning about the South Sea princess’s plans and the Dragon Clan’s brutal succession customs. Unable to infiltrate the Crystal Palace, he decided to wait three days for an opening before taking resources and leaving.

• The Eighth Prince and his subordinates discussed the South Sea Dragon Palace’s eldest princess, who would choose a husband among candidates with powerful cultivation and bloodlines.
• Li Qing’s Shadow Paper Doll learned that the South Sea Dragon Palace had a surviving branch and that the princess hoped marriage and bloodline inheritance would help her advance.
• Li Qing’s dolls mapped East Sea Hundred Spirits Mountain and discovered that the nine halls belonged to the Dragon King’s descendants, whose succession battles ended with the winner devouring the bloodlines of the rest.
• Li Qing found that the palaces held limited resources behind tight defenses, while the Crystal Palace’s powerful formations and spiritual probe thwarted his attempts to enter.
• Li Qing decided to wait three days for a chance to enter the Crystal Palace, then steal resources and leave if no opening appeared.

Li Qing infiltrated the East Sea Dragon Palace’s banquet as the Northern Sea, Western Sea, and Taihe forces arrived to discuss the Southern Sea Disaster. The chapter ended with the First Princess of the South Sea Dragon Palace entering the hall and drawing every dragon’s attention.

• Li Qing used Shadow Paper Dolls to monitor the Crystal Palace, identify supply routes, and follow dragon princes into the Dragon Palace.
• The East Sea Dragon King welcomed the Northern Sea, Western Sea, and Taihe forces, whose leaders said they had come to help address the Southern Sea Disaster.
• Ao Li asked where the people of the South Sea Dragon Palace were, and the East Sea Dragon King sent an attendant to invite their princess.
• Li Qing watched the dragon sons and grandsons feast on humans prepared as delicacies.
• The First Princess of the South Sea Dragon Palace arrived, and the gathered dragons turned to look at her.

Li Qing learned that uncontaminated mythical bloodlines could return to their origins and decided that pure-blooded dragon descendants might become valuable allies. Ao Mingzhu recounted how pale flesh lumps emerged from the South Sea Eye and devastated the South Sea Dragon Palace.

• Ao Mingzhu arrived at the East Sea Dragon Palace and took the seat reserved for her, declining the human flesh served to the other guests.
• Li Qing used the Jade Tablet to discover that human essence and qi contaminated mythical bloodlines and prevented their return to their origins.
• Li Qing concluded that someone had killed Sun Qiankun to prevent a true dragon from appearing and resolved to cultivate alliances with pure-blooded dragon descendants.
• Ao Dongming asked Ao Mingzhu what had happened in the South Sea, and she described pale flesh lumps rising from the Sea Eye and releasing dangerous black mist.
• Ao Mingzhu explained that the mist transformed South Sea demon soldiers into Anomalies, while the flesh lumps survived the South Sea Dragon King's attacks and grew by devouring other Anomalies.
• Ao Mingzhu said the South Sea Dragon Palace had discovered that Logic Relics could harm the flesh lumps.

After learning that the South Sea Dragon Palace had fallen to anomalies, Li Qing recorded what he discovered and searched the East Sea Dragon Palace library for ancient records. He stole supplies from five returning demons and escaped toward the East Wasteland as the Dragon Palace launched a fruitless search.

• Ao Mingzhu told the gathered leaders that the South Sea Dragon Palace had been wiped out, and the East Sea Dragon King described the defenses and reinforcements he had arranged.
• Li Qing recorded information about the South Sea crisis, and the Jade Tablet identified the ghastly flesh as residue from an indescribable land.
• Li Qing sent a Myriad Shadow Paper Doll to search the Dragon Palace library and began copying records spanning thirty-four reincarnation cycles.
• Li Qing used his Divine Body to control five demons transporting supplies, took their Essence Stones, and ordered them to report a theft before self-destructing.
• The five demons returned to the Dragon Palace, reported that the supplies had been stolen, and self-destructed, prompting a furious search.
• Li Qing reached the eastern region and continued toward the East Wasteland while the Dragon Palace failed to discover who had stolen the supplies.

The East Sea Dragon King consulted the dragon ancestor about the Southern Sea crisis and learned that the Dragon Race needed to endure until the Six Paths Investiture of Gods ended. Meanwhile, Princess Ao Mingzhu sought pure dragon blood to reach the Longevity Realm, and an unknown voice offered to help her find it.

• The East Sea Dragon King failed to uncover who had taken the Essence Stones and went to ask the dragon ancestor how to handle the Southern Sea.
• The dragon ancestor urged the East Sea Dragon King to spend the Dragon Race's accumulated resources and secure its positions in the Six Paths Investiture of Gods.
• The dragon ancestor said the pale flesh creatures likely came from a vastly larger world and explained why the Dragon Race could not defeat them easily.
• Princess Ao Mingzhu lamented that contaminated dragon blood prevented her from reaching the Longevity Realm and avenging the South Sea Dragon Palace.
• An unknown voice told Ao Mingzhu it knew where to find dragons of pure bloodline, and she demanded to know what it wanted.

Li Qing arranged a possible alliance with Ao Mingzhu and built an intelligence network across the East Wasteland. His first information update identified three Children of Destiny who ruled its most powerful nations.

• Li Qing told Ao Mingzhu to seek out the Pujiang Dragon King and offer her pure Dragon Race bloodline as a way to find a cultivation companion.
• Li Qing sent a bag of Qilin Blood toward the Nine Provinces and used his Myriad Shadow Paper Dolls to survey the East Wasteland.
• Li Qing learned that the Eastern Yi were divided into three thousand states under the Ghost Path and decided to use merchants and nobles to gather intelligence.
• Li Qing spent five days brainwashing wealthy merchants and nobles to establish two information networks across the East Wasteland.
• Li Qing identified Ashikaga, General Deman, and Ueda as the East's three Children of Destiny and ordered his agents to pledge themselves to them.

Li Qing traveled through the Dragon Kingdom and witnessed its nobles’ brutal treatment of commoners before reaching Hell Mountain to investigate Ghost Path’s secret. He sent a Shadow Paper Doll into the caves beneath the mountain, where no living creatures remained.

• Li Qing disguised himself as a ronin and observed the Dragon Kingdom’s rigid hierarchy and bustling streets.
• A ronin killed an Eastern Yi mother and son for supposedly offending him, then consumed their blood while bystanders looked away.
• Li Qing recalled the Eastern Yi’s invasions of the Nine Provinces and their Three Alls Policy as he traveled toward Hell Mountain.
• Li Qing reached Hell Mountain, where he investigated Jade Tablet information that Ghost Path gathered the dead’s souls and worshipped an unknown existence.
• Li Qing sent a Shadow Paper Doll into a cave beneath Hell Mountain and discovered a lifeless underground realm traversed only by Ghost Path cultivators.

Li Qing explored Hell Mountain and discovered that its caverns formed part of a vast formation, while a supernatural sound corrupted his Shadow Paper Dolls. He ventured deeper with his Divine Body, found a burning realm of tormented souls and a central abyss, and observed a cultivator delivering souls there before concluding that the place was perilous and unguarded because entering offered no benefit.

• Li Qing mapped Hell Mountain's intersecting passages with Shadow Paper Dolls and saw that the caverns formed part of a massive formation.
• A strange sound warped the Shadow Paper Dolls with tumors and fire, so Li Qing sent his Divine Body deeper instead.
• Li Qing reached a cavern overlooking countless burning souls and a gigantic abyss that continually pulled souls into it.
• After waiting nearly half a day, Li Qing watched a figure arrive with a black flag and cast over a thousand souls into the flames.
• Li Qing observed that souls were delivered about once a day and concluded that the site was extremely dangerous and had no worthwhile benefit for intruders.

Li Qing descended into the Hell Mountain Abyss, where mind-burning flames and distorted time made his journey increasingly dangerous. After briefly glimpsing a vast land covered in black fire beyond the abyss, his Divine Body was overwhelmed by the flames.

• Li Qing flew into the abyss, resisted its soul-burning flames and attraction, and descended past the pleading souls gathered at its edge.
• As he went deeper, the darkness silenced the souls, while scorching heat and distorted time affected his mind and sense of time.
• Li Qing recorded his observations in the Record Book and prepared to destroy his Divine Body if the unknown place threatened his consciousness.
• Li Qing reached a circular exit surrounded by black flames and sensed that stepping through would destroy his Divine Body.
• Li Qing passed through the exit and saw a vast land of black fire, where falling souls burned away before countless flames engulfed his Divine Body.

After the Divine Body’s death revealed an entity beyond the domain, Li Qing used the Record Book to uncover more of the Investiture of Gods’ purpose and steps. He resumed building his information network, saved three Divine Jade Fruits for Sun Qiankun, and consumed the other three, beginning a transformation of his bones.

• The Divine Body was destroyed by the terrifying eyes beneath Hell of Black Fire, and Li Qing spent a day purging their image from his mind.
• Li Qing recorded the entity beneath the abyss and learned that Hell of Black Fire belonged to an unknown land beyond the domain.
• Li Qing deciphered seven steps of the Investiture of Gods and concluded that Heavenly Dao Reincarnation would sever connections between the Nine Provinces and foreign realms.
• Li Qing sent a new Desire God Divine Body to continue establishing the information network across the four regions of the Nine Provinces.
• Li Qing sealed three Divine Jade Fruits for Sun Qiankun and swallowed the other three, causing golden incantation patterns to spread across his bones.

Li Qing cultivated Golden Body White Bones with the Divine Jade Fruit and glimpsed a terrifying world beyond the Nine Provinces. After recording what he learned, he received Qilin Blood and enough Essence Stones for further cultivation, while a massive earthquake struck Qing Province.

• Li Qing's bones and marrow turned gold as the Divine Jade Fruit transformed his body and soul, while the Heavens Civilization Torrent repelled invisible entities that tried to enter his mind.
• Li Qing briefly saw a vast, dark world filled with immense and strange beings, then returned to consciousness with his lifespan extended to 1,300 years.
• Li Qing recorded his vision, and the Jade Tablet explained that his mind had accidentally connected to an alien time-space beyond the Nine Provinces.
• A Myriad Shadow Paper Doll returned with a Universe Bag containing Qilin Blood and enough high-quality Essence Stones to support Li Qing's cultivation through the Heart Demon Outer Tribulation.
• A massive earthquake spread across Qing Province, prompting every city to activate its formations and seal itself off.

The Pujiang Dragon King extracted Great Tang’s dragon vein and hid within the Dragon Palace’s water eye as he prepared to face his Tribulation. Disasters and rebellions spread across the Nine Provinces, while Li Qing’s allies and the Chosen Ones of Fate began competing for power.

• An Infinite Sect Daoist discovered that Great Tang’s dragon vein had vanished, but chaotic heavenly secrets prevented him from learning what had happened.
• The Pujiang Dragon King returned to his Dragon Palace, hid in the water eye, and began absorbing a golden dragon to form golden blood.
• Natural disasters struck across the Nine Provinces, causing famine, unrest, and rebellions.
• Li Qing ordered his subordinates to attach themselves to Chosen Ones of Fate, as Pan Chengfeng and Li Qinglian mobilized forces in the north and at the frontier.
• Emperor Kuntai dispatched armies to suppress the rebellions, while Sun Qiankun used the Myriad Shadow Paper Doll and his strategic skill to expand Pan Chengfeng’s territory.

As the Great Tang faced rebellions across its borders, Emperor Kuntai secretly arranged to strengthen Li Qing while weakening rival forces and the Daoist Sects. Li Qing prepared to return to the Capital City, seeking bait that could draw powerful beings away while his formation activated.

• Emperor Kuntai condemned Wang Zhifang and other ministers, ordered their families' estates seized, and sent the million Imperial Guards marching in four directions.
• Emperor Kuntai revealed that he had secretly sent the elite Imperial Guards north to serve under Li Qinglian and planned for Li Qinglian to gain the Military School's support.
• Emperor Kuntai ordered the other three armies to weaken the three great Daoist Sects as part of his plan to preserve the Great Tang's national fortune.
• Li Qing received news of Emperor Kuntai's actions and concluded that the emperor was staging a convincing show of madness to buy time before the rebellion spread.
• Li Qing considered whether his newly condensed Heavenly Soul could let him severely wound the Bone Bodhisattva, and decided he needed an irresistible new bait to draw powerful beings away from the Capital City.

Li Qing used a trace of Heaven’s aura to transform a Formless Anomaly beneath Hidden Dragon Mountain and attract Longevity Realm cultivators. After Ming Shen Kong and Li Qiuxian subdued the anomaly and took parts of it for research, Li Qing recorded the results and expected news of Heaven to spread.

• Li Qing drew a wisp of Heaven’s aura into a Qi Transfer Talisman, diluted it through another talisman, and sealed the original away.
• Li Qing sent a Shadow Paper Doll to Hidden Dragon Mountain and placed the diluted aura on the Formless Anomaly beneath the underground palace.
• The aura transformed the Formless Anomaly into a massive centipede-like creature with a Longevity-level presence.
• Ming Shen Kong and Li Qiuxian sensed the aura, rushed from the Capital City, and fought the transformed anomaly.
• Li Qiuxian and Ming Shen Kong restrained the anomaly with stronger seals and took some of its limbs for research.
• Li Qing inspected the aftermath and recorded that Heaven’s aura had attracted the two cultivators and could soon draw wider attention.

Li Qing discovered a trace of immortal-like aura in the anomaly’s body and searched for a secure place to investigate it. He located the Great Kun Dynasty’s hidden tomb grotto-heaven in Hidden Dragon Mountain, where murals revealed that an earlier era of universal cultivation had caused widespread Anomaly disasters.

• Li Qing recorded that Li Qiuxian and another person had secretly studied the Formless Anomaly and sought the secret of immortals.
• Li Qing searched the Jade Tablet for a location that could delay powerful cultivators and found information about the Great Kun Dynasty’s grotto-heaven in Hidden Dragon Mountain.
• Li Qing identified the grotto-heaven’s location and sent Shadow Paper Dolls to investigate it.
• A Shadow Paper Doll entered the hidden passage through a cliff when its protective spells fluctuated under the moonlight.
• The Shadow Paper Doll inspected murals depicting the Great Kun Dynasty’s rise, the Anomaly disasters caused by widespread cultivation, and the dynasty’s later ban on ordinary people cultivating.
• Li Qing concluded that universal cultivation had been tried before and that Rogue Cultivators were likely permitted only in limited numbers.

Li Qing explored the Great Kun Dynasty Imperial Mausoleum Grotto-Heaven and discovered that its Nine Dragon Spirit-Locking Formation could nurture Ghost Immortals over one hundred thousand years. He reached the sealed white jade coffin and decided to leave it closed, planning to use the place and let someone else test whatever might be inside.

• Li Qing sent a Shadow Paper Doll into the mist and identified the Nine Dragon Spirit-Locking Formation and its Ghost Immortal-breeding effect.
• Li Qing suspected the tomb's owner had come from another domain and sent the Shadow Paper Doll through a trapped maze, mapping its routes with the Jade Tablet.
• Li Qing guided the Shadow Paper Doll down a star-filled staircase into a miniature replica of the Nine Provinces, where the space suppressed destructive power beyond the True Method Realm.
• Li Qing used a Restriction-Breaking Talisman to slip the Shadow Paper Doll into a palace and found a sealed white jade coffin behind the throne hall.
• Li Qing decided not to open the coffin and planned to let someone else test whether a possible Ghost Immortal lay inside.

Li Qing prepared the Heaven-Manifesting Starcloud Restriction to expose and amplify Heaven’s aura around the Great Kun burial tomb grotto-heaven. He then met the Pujiang Dragon King, who revealed that his transformation was nearly complete and asked Li Qing to take Long'er away before his tribulation.

• Li Qing strengthened the jade box’s seal and arranged the Heaven-Manifesting Starcloud Restriction around the Nine Dragon Spirit-Locking Formation and its palace.
• Li Qing controlled Li Changkang and used him to contact the Pu River Dragon Palace.
• The Pujiang Dragon King told Li Qing that he had condensed true dragon blood and was undergoing a blood replacement that would soon let him enter longevity.
• The Pujiang Dragon King explained that his tribulation was approaching and that an unexpected longevity cultivator could threaten his breakthrough.
• The Pujiang Dragon King asked Li Qing to take Long'er away and said he needed Li Qing’s help to fulfill their agreement ahead of time.

Li Qing and the Pujiang Dragon King planned for the Dragon King's coming Tribulation, arranging to protect Long'er and prepare the Crystal Dragon Palace as a defense. Li Qing left with Long'er for a human city while preparations began for the breakthrough at dawn two days later.

• Li Qing told the Pujiang Dragon King about the South Sea disaster and reported that Ao Mingzhu might help Long'er improve his bloodline.
• The Pujiang Dragon King said the Taihe Dragon King was likely to exploit his coming Tribulation, and asked Li Qing to take Long'er away for three days.
• Li Qing identified Wang Yuemu and Gongzi Fei as nearby Immortality cultivators, and the Pujiang Dragon King began arranging to lure them away.
• Li Qing proposed setting up the Nine Nether Mystic Water Divine Light Restriction throughout the Crystal Dragon Palace to help defend against a Dharma Form cultivator.
• The Pujiang Dragon King said he expected to undergo his Tribulation at dawn two days later, and Li Changkang departed with Long'er aboard a Dragon Palace vessel.

Li Qing took control of the Pu River Dragon Palace and prepared a powerful defensive restriction to protect the Pujiang Dragon King during his tribulation. As the tribulation began, the Taihe Dragon King set out to attack, while the Pujiang Dragon King lured two Longevity Realm cultivators away from their bases.

• Dongfang Ao boarded a Dragon Palace boat bound for the Pu River Dragon Palace, where Li Qing used him to control the grotto-heaven’s central hub.
• Li Qing inspected the Dragon Palace’s defenses and added the Nine Nether Mystic Water Divine Light Restriction, which could withstand Dharma Form cultivators for a quarter of an hour.
• The Pujiang Dragon King prepared for his tribulation, and Li Qing waited to test himself against a Dharma Form cultivator using the Dragon Palace’s power.
• Two days later, heaven’s secrets shifted above the Pu River Dragon Palace, and the Taihe Dragon King set out with a black sword to attack the Pujiang Dragon King.
• Wang Yuemu and Gongzi Fei received reports of Void Rank Anomalies near their cities and left their bases, not knowing the Pujiang Dragon King had staged the incidents to lure them away.

The Pujiang Dragon King underwent a tribulation while the Taihe Dragon King attacked the Pujiang Dragon Palace with a Dao-Achieving Artifact. The Pujiang Dragon King emerged as a five-clawed true dragon and overwhelmed his attacker, leaving the Taihe Dragon King stunned and trapped beneath his dragon might.

• The Pujiang Dragon King began transforming into a true dragon with interwoven golden and black scales as a powerful figure arrived above the Pu River.
• The Taihe Dragon King entered the empty Dragon Palace and attacked it with his sinister sword, while Li Qing used the Nine Nether Mystic Water Divine Light to shield the palace.
• The Taihe Dragon King’s repeated strikes exhausted and shattered the Mystic Water Divine Light, then he transformed into a pitch-black sword and cleaved underground toward the Pujiang Dragon King.
• The Pujiang Dragon King blocked the Taihe Dragon King’s Dao-Achieving Artifact with his dragon claw and revealed his five-clawed true dragon form.
• The Taihe Dragon King reacted in disbelief as the Pujiang Dragon King unleashed dragon might that enveloped him.

The Pujiang Dragon King completed his transformation into a five-clawed dark-gold dragon and entered the Immortality level after driving off the Taihe Dragon King. Li Qing collected the agreed lifespan and true dragon blood, then said farewell as Long'er returned to the Dragon Palace.

• The Taihe Dragon King united with his Dao-attaining artifact and fought the transforming Pujiang Dragon King, but could not stop his progress.
• The Taihe Dragon King fled, and the Pujiang Dragon King completed his transformation and attained the Immortality level.
• Li Qing used the Force-Borrowing Talisman to take ten years of the Pujiang Dragon King's lifespan as agreed.
• The Pujiang Dragon King gave Li Qing a drop of true dragon blood, which Li Qing sealed in a jade bottle.
• Long'er returned aboard a Dragon Palace ship, and Li Qing and the Pujiang Dragon King parted on friendly terms.

Li Qing used the Jade Tablet and Cosmic Mind Star Divination to uncover a future involving Long'er, Ao Mingzhu, and a mysterious figure who would preside over the investiture of gods. Wary of this unknown power, Li Qing began preparing to cultivate the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger and craft a crucial magic artifact, but still needed a rare Myriad Dharma Spirit Stone.

• Li Qing controlled Dongfang Ao as they left the Dragon Palace, while a Shadow Paper Doll carried the Force-Borrowing Talisman and jade bottle toward the Capital City in a sealed jade box.
• Li Qing recorded the Pujiang Dragon King's actions in the Jade Tablet, then used Cosmic Mind Star Divination to see Long'er and Ao Mingzhu transformed into true dragons beside a mysterious figure.
• The Jade Tablet revealed that the mysterious god-conferer planned to control the investiture of gods, alter his foundation, become the ninth immortal, and restore peace to the Nine Provinces.
• Li Qing grew wary of the unknown figure and decided he needed to learn the man's identity rather than trust him.
• Li Qing sent a Myriad Shadow Paper Doll to gather materials for a new magic artifact and bought nearly everything in Hundred Gates Alley, but could not obtain the Myriad Dharma Spirit Stone.