Chapter Summaries

Li Changshou was forced into a spar with Ao Yi at the Dragon Palace gathering and tried to lose without revealing his strength. After Li Changshou conceded, Ao Yi staged a dramatic collapse, leaving the arena in chaos.

• Ao Yi insisted on sparring with Li Changshou despite the Du Xian Sect disciples' protests, and Li Changshou entered the arena after refusing Jiu Jiu's offer of the Evil-Slaying Ruyi Sword.
• Li Changshou delayed the fight to establish rules, and Turtle Prime Minister marked the sparring boundary and prohibited killing magic treasures.
• Ao Yi repeatedly charged at Li Changshou while Li Changshou dodged and used talismans, gradually maneuvering toward the boundary.
• After their fists met, Li Changshou pretended to cough blood and conceded by stepping beyond the boundary.
• Ao Yi suddenly burst with Dragon Blood and collapsed, claiming Li Changshou's talismans and technique had overwhelmed him, while Dragon Clan members rushed to his side.

After Ao Yi’s match ended in confusion, Li Changshou defused the Dragon Palace’s suspicions by leaving the arena and letting the Second Prince be declared the winner. At the Demon-Quelling Assembly, Youqin Xuanya dominated the sparring matches and gave the four immortal treasures she won to Li Changshou, while Ao Yi woke in the palace, learned he had won, and fainted again.

• Ao Yi collapsed after his own immortal power recoiled, and Li Changshou suggested the Second Prince’s cultivation had gone astray while the Turtle Prime Minister declared him unharmed.
• Li Changshou stepped beyond the boundary, allowing a Du Xian Sect True Immortal to argue that Ao Yi had won; the Dragon Palace accepted the explanation and carried the Second Prince away.
• Jiu Jiu scolded Li Changshou for his weak cultivation, while Youqin Xuanya prepared for battle and Li Changshou urged her to exercise restraint.
• The Dragon Palace began its arena matches for twelve immortal treasures, and Youqin Xuanya claimed four treasures after defeating dozens of Qi Refiners and injuring four dragon youths.
• Youqin Xuanya placed her four treasures on Li Changshou’s table, then avoided his attempt to support her as she returned to her seat.
• Ao Yi woke in the underwater palace, asked whether he had lost, and fainted again after learning that he had won.

Li Changshou returned from the Demon-Quelling Assembly with praise from Venerable Wangqing and obtained a Samadhi True Fire cultivation method by trading for it. As the Du Xian Sect headed home, the newly awakened Ao Yi approached the Dragon Palace feast, ready to make another move.

• Youqin Xuanya defeated thirty-six Qi Refiners and four Dragon race champions, then gave the four awarded immortal treasures to Li Changshou to defend the Du Xian Sect’s dignity.
• Jiu Jiu told Li Changshou that Venerable Wangqing praised his handling of Ao Yi and rewarded him with the Luo Tian Yang Lei True Scripture.
• Li Changshou asked to exchange the Lightning Method for a Samadhi True Fire method, and Venerable Wangqing allowed him to keep both Jade Cards.
• Jiu Jiu solved Li Changshou’s cube and received a five-layered Rubik’s Cube in return.
• At the Dragon Palace feast, Ao Yi climbed the steps after waking and prepared to do another great thing.

Daoist Master Qi Yuan became trapped in the array protecting Lesser Qiong Peak’s alchemy room and realized it had been designed by Li Changshou. After Lan Ling'e rescued him, she revealed how much Li Changshou had done for him, leaving Qi Yuan grateful and resolved to let his disciples manage the peak while he cultivated.

• Qi Yuan wandered through the array’s signs, recognized his own handwriting, and feared he was a heart demon or had crossed a Temporal Rift.
• Lan Ling'e found Qi Yuan and explained that Li Changshou had designed the array, with Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu helping set it up.
• Lan Ling'e showed Qi Yuan her hidden cultivation and told him how Li Changshou had taught her, helped prepare for Qi Yuan’s tribulation, and supplied the Melting Immortal Pill.
• Qi Yuan asked how he should treat Li Changshou, and Lan Ling'e advised him to act as usual and keep their conversation secret.
• Qi Yuan admitted he had neglected his disciples, then agreed to pretend nothing had happened and let Lan Ling'e help tease Li Changshou when he returned.

After returning to Du Xian Sect, Li Changshou reunited with his master and junior sister and learned that Lan Ling'e had told Old Daoist Qi Yuan a little about him. In his secret chamber, he planned to avoid the Great Cataclysm of the Investiture of the Gods by joining the Heavenly Court early, and considered making his master a Land God.

• Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak and found Old Daoist Qi Yuan and Lan Ling'e trapped in his formations.
• Old Daoist Qi Yuan pretended to punish Li Changshou, while Lan Ling'e joined in and ended up biting him.
• Old Daoist Qi Yuan announced he would enter secluded cultivation and put Li Changshou in charge of Lesser Qiong Peak.
• Li Changshou asked Lan Ling'e what she had told their master, but concluded that her revelations were limited.
• In his underground chamber, Li Changshou considered how to enter the Heavenly Court's immortal registry before the Great Cataclysm and thought about having Old Daoist Qi Yuan become a Land God.

Li Changshou tricked Jiu Wu into drinking potent medicinal wine, trapped him in a chain array, and forced him to swear an oath not to expose or arbitrarily assign tasks to him. Two months later, Jiu Jiu asked for the wine recipe, and Li Changshou warned her that women who drank it might grow beards.

• Li Changshou welcomed Jiu Wu with a banquet and gave him a jar of Bone-Strengthening Poison Dragon Wine, which Jiu Wu drank.
• Li Changshou lured Jiu Wu into a modified Nine Bright Glazed Array, where a paper-man decoy burned and left Jiu Wu trapped alone.
• The wine's potent Yang energy overwhelmed Jiu Wu, who eventually recited a Heavenly Dao Oath to keep Li Changshou's information secret and stop arranging tasks for him.
• After Jiu Wu fled to find Shi Shi, Li Changshou recovered his recording ball and merged the array into the surrounding formation.
• Two months later, Jiu Jiu asked Li Changshou for the medicinal wine recipe, and he warned her that women who drank the Yang Wine might grow beards.

Li Changshou prepared to cultivate Samadhi True Fire in seclusion and built a disguised tower ship to conceal his true location beneath the lake. Meanwhile, Ao Yi remained imprisoned in the Crystal Palace, determined to apprentice himself to the Du Xian Sect despite his clan’s opposition.

• Li Changshou finished refining pills, advised Jiu Jiu to drink in moderation, and learned that she was focusing on the Wu Wei Scripture.
• Li Changshou gave Ling'e pills and explained why he would not hide his Samadhi True Fire cultivation from others.
• Li Changshou built a large tower ship, filled it with paper decoys, and entered a hidden underwater seclusion site beneath it.
• Ao Yi recalled how the Dragon Clan condemned his wish to apprentice himself to the Du Xian Sect and how his mother urged him to recant.
• Ao Yi endured the iron pillar’s torture and demanded to see his father so he could again ask to leave for the Du Xian Sect.

Three months after the Dragon Prince’s rebellion, Ao Yi was sent away from the Eastern Sea to study under Great Immortal Wuyun, while Jiu Jiu began questioning her feelings for Li Changshou. After his offhand praise of her “pure” immortal power embarrassed her, Jiu Jiu fled to Sky-Breaking Peak and wondered whether to try on the dresses Fourth Senior Sister had made for her.

• Ao Yi listened to the Turtle Immortal’s persuasion and agreed to travel to Great Immortal Wuyun, though he secretly intended to seek a path forward for the Dragon Clan.
• Jiu Shi teased Jiu Jiu about her closeness with Li Changshou and suggested that Jiu Jiu might have feelings for him.
• Jiu Jiu spent months doubting herself, then hurried to Lesser Qiong Peak after receiving Li Changshou’s invitation to refine pills.
• While refining Poison Pills, Li Changshou praised Jiu Jiu’s immortal power as strong, stable, and pure, not realizing she had meant to ask what he thought of her.
• Jiu Jiu blushed, fled to Sky-Breaking Peak, and wondered whether she should try on the colorful immortal dresses she had brought.

Jiu Jiu debuted a new outfit and makeup on Lesser Qiong Peak, where Li Changshou praised her before she and Ling'e persuaded him to pause their lesson for a card game. After the women fell asleep, Li Changshou returned to cultivation but remained unwilling to advance to the Ninth Realm of Dao Attainment.

• Jiu Jiu left Sky-Breaking Peak in a new skirt, drawing startled looks from the disciples, while Jiu Wu briefly mistook her for someone else.
• Jiu Jiu surprised Li Changshou and Ling'e during their lesson, then asked Li Changshou what he thought of her outfit.
• Ling'e helped Jiu Jiu apply makeup, and Li Changshou praised her beauty, easing her disappointment.
• Jiu Jiu and Ling'e convinced Li Changshou to join their game of Fight the Great Gods, and the three played through the day.
• Li Changshou put the sleeping Jiu Jiu and Ling'e to bed, then cultivated in his secret chamber without advancing to the Ninth Realm of Dao Attainment.

Li Changshou arranged to leave Du Xian Sect under the pretense of guarding his parents’ graves so he could find a secluded place to cross his heavenly tribulation. After paying respects at their graves and disguising himself as an old Daoist, he headed toward the Eastern Sea, while a Little Green Dragon secretly planned to flee an immortal island for Southern Continent.

• Jiu Jiu woke Lan Ling'e to announce that her cultivation bottleneck had broken, and Li Changshou told Lan Ling'e he would enter seclusion before leaving for several years.
• Li Changshou woke Old Daoist Qi Yuan and explained that he intended to return home to guard his parents’ graves; Lan Ling'e reluctantly let him go alone.
• Li Changshou bribed Elder Wei with spirit fish to avoid a sect inspection and obtain permission to leave Du Xian Sect.
• Li Changshou evaded observation, traveled to his parents’ graves, paid his respects, and spent seven days cultivating nearby before departing for the Eastern Sea.
• Li Changshou disguised himself as a cold-faced old Daoist and headed toward the Eastern Sea to find a place to cross his tribulation.
• The Little Green Dragon left his treasure pool intending to reach Southern Continent, while a pair of enormous turtle eyes opened on the immortal island.

Li Changshou searched the Eastern Sea for a secluded place to undergo his tribulation, then stumbled upon Ao Yi hiding in an underwater cave. After subduing the Dragon Prince, Li Changshou realized who he was, washed away all traces of his own aura, and sent him drifting away on a raft.

• Li Changshou waited until the Dragon Clan searchers left the area, then swam south to find a suitable island and underwater refuge for his tribulation.
• Ao Yi hid in a cave beneath a ring-shaped island, believing he had escaped the Dragon Clan experts pursuing him.
• Ao Yi ambushed Li Changshou, but Li Changshou used sleeping drugs, Paper Clones, a talisman array, and a sword formation to knock him unconscious.
• Li Changshou stopped his Samadhi True Fire attack after seeing Ao Yi's purple Dragon Clan scale, which warned that killing him would bring the Dragon Palace's pursuit.
• Li Changshou recognized Ao Yi as the Second Prince of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, fed him concentrated Charm of the Beauty, cleaned away his traces, and set him adrift on a bamboo raft.

Ao Yi recovered from the traumatic ordeal Li Changshou had put him through and realized the Dragon Palace still intended to reward the Daoist. Meanwhile, Li Changshou broke through to Return to Dao Level Nine, prepared for his Immortal Ascension Tribulation, and faced its first lightning strike.

• Ao Yi woke trembling and recoiled from the maids as memories of Li Changshou washing and tormenting him while he was unconscious returned.
• Ao Yi overheard his uncles say the Dragon Palace planned to thank and reward the man who had subdued him, then sank back onto his bed in terror.
• Li Changshou broke through to Return to Dao Level Nine on a Southern Sea reef and prepared escape formations while waiting for his heavenly tribulation.
• After sensing the tribulation draw near, Li Changshou reflected on the Dao, greeted the Heavenly Dao, and let the Tribulation Clouds gather overhead.
• Li Changshou blocked the first powerful bolt of lightning and found that the resulting sensation was unexpectedly comfortable.

Li Changshou endured his eight-bolt heavenly tribulation, gaining insights as his body began transforming into an immortal body. The tribulation ended before his transformation was complete, leaving him a half-baked immortal, and a new pressure from the heavens locked onto him.

• Li Changshou endured the third and fourth bolts, sensing the Great Dao collide with his own and beginning to transform into an immortal.
• He withstood the fifth, sixth, and seventh bolts as an old Daoist identified the tribulation as the Thirty-Two Ferocious Beasts, Eight Poles and Eight Wastelands Immortal-Summoning Tribulation, then left with Han Zhi.
• Li Changshou faced the enormous eighth bolt, which swallowed him before the tribulation cloud dissipated and an Auspicious Cloud appeared beneath him.
• Li Changshou discovered that only the upper half of his body and part of his Primordial Spirit had transformed, leaving him stuck as a half-baked immortal.
• Li Changshou called for the Tribulation Cloud to wait, but it vanished, and an indescribable pressure descended from the heavens and locked onto him.

Li Changshou’s hidden items that prevented deduction drew the Heavenly Dao’s attention after his first tribulation, and he had to ask for a second one. He began facing a far more powerful Nine Heavens Divine Demon Tribulation while an old Daoist and his apprentice mistook him for a doomed cultivator.

• A vast Heavenly Dao presence appeared over Li Changshou, who realized his deduction-defying trinkets had concealed his true cultivation and made the tribulation misjudge him.
• Li Changshou removed seven hidden objects that prevented deduction, weakening the Heavenly Might, then pleaded with the heavens to let him undergo the tribulation again at another site.
• The Heavenly Dao formed an enormous tribulation cloud as Li Changshou escaped underwater toward his second prepared location.
• Li Changshou used talismans and defenses against the first lightning waterfall, then strengthened himself with ancient characters, Samadhi True Fire, and lotus manifestations before charging into the next strike.
• An old Daoist identified the spectacle as a Nine Heavens Divine Demon Tribulation and told his apprentice that Li Changshou was unlikely to survive.

Li Changshou survived his Immortal Ascension Tribulation and the Heavenly Punishment that followed, then fled to recover while entering a prolonged state of Dao comprehension. He awoke in a remote fishing village where the locals had worshiped him as a sea god, and became wary when his attendant called him an immortal.

• Li Changshou endured eight lightning strikes, a ninth strike, and Heavenly Punishment before absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Energy and becoming an immortal.
• A Half-step Golden Immortal Daoist and his disciple Han Zhi approached the tribulation site, but Li Changshou fled into the sea after sensing them and left a bloodstained garment behind.
• The old Daoist burned the garment, while Li Changshou used Water Escape and the Turtle Breath Art to hide inside a strange fish and recover from his injuries.
• Li Changshou's tribulation insights drew him into a wondrous Dao realm, and he remained absorbed in it as the fish was caught and brought to a remote village.
• The villagers mistook Li Changshou for a sea god and worshiped him for months, while a young woman guarded him as his attendant.
• Li Changshou awoke and tried to thank his attendant, then grew wary when the burly young woman called him an immortal rather than a sea god.

After recovering from his tribulation, Li Changshou hid near Xiong Clan Village, investigated its unusually muscular residents, and resumed secluded cultivation on a deserted island. A burst of treasure light from the village drew his attention and he sent a paper clone to investigate, while Ao Yi remained at Golden Ao Island among Jie Teaching immortals.

• Li Changshou left gold and valuables for Xiong Lingli, hid a hundred li from Xiong Clan Village, and watched its powerful but apparently untrained residents search for their missing Sea God.
• Li Changshou found no cause for the villagers' strength and left for a deserted island in the South Sea, where he recovered from his Dao Injury, improved his evasions, condensed Immortal Fire, and completed the third version of his Turtle Breath Qi Harmonizing Art.
• A seven-colored Treasure Light appeared over Xiong Clan Village, so Li Changshou sent a paper clone to investigate while keeping his own body in hiding.
• At Golden Ao Island, Ao Yi stayed coiled beneath a treasure pool as Jie Teaching Qi Refiners discussed his reluctance to remain there.

Li Changshou killed a vicious sea demon for merit, then discovered it was part of a Western Teachings scheme at Bear Stockade and fled to avoid entanglement. Meanwhile, Xiong Lingli was called onstage to test a preacher’s claim of divine protection.

• Li Changshou spotted Western Teachings preachers at Bear Stockade, then halted his escape when he sensed a powerful sea demon heading toward the village.
• Li Changshou trapped the demon with his Paper Clones, poisoned it, and destroyed it with a sword formation and Samadhi True Fire.
• Li Changshou gained merit and discovered from the demon’s memories that it had been helping the preachers stage fake miracles at Bear Stockade.
• Li Changshou fled east after realizing the scheme involved Western Teachings, and he found a reference to Du Xian Sect in the demon’s memories.
• At Bear Stockade, Wang Cai was ordered to demonstrate the clay statue’s protection and called Xiong Lingli onstage to strike him.

Wang Cai and the other Qi Refiners fled Bear Stockade, where the villagers began worshiping Li Changshou as their Sea God. When Li Changshou sensed the offerings and feared attracting the Western Teachings, he hurried back toward Du Xian Sect and hid nearby; Ling'e then woke from a dream of him in danger and noticed an unfamiliar senior sister circling Lesser Qiong Peak.

• Wang Cai and the other Qi Refiners escaped the pursuing Bear Stockade villagers, who had mistaken them for divine envoys.
• Xiong Lingli's mother shared her portrait of Li Changshou, and the villagers decided to carve a statue and worship him as the Sea God.
• Li Changshou returned to his parents' graves, devised a way to imitate weaker flames, and sensed that Bear Stockade was offering him incense.
• Li Changshou feared the Western Teachings would notice his connection to the offerings, so he hurried back to Eastern Continent of Divine Grace and hid near Du Xian Sect.
• Ling'e woke from a dream about Li Changshou being overwhelmed by strange people and saw an unfamiliar senior sister circling Lesser Qiong Peak.

Lan Ling'e helped Liu Yan'er manage Liu Sizhe and Wang Qi’s rivalry while Li Changshou remained in seclusion outside the sect. He discovered that Bear Stockade’s worship had spread his fame and earned him far more Incense Merit than he expected, leaving him alarmed about the consequences.

• Liu Yan'er told Lan Ling'e that she and Wang Qi planned to become Dao companions, but Liu Sizhe opposed their match and had challenged Wang Qi.
• Lan Ling'e sent Liu Sizhe and Wang Qi aside, then got them drunk with Jiu Jiu’s brew and whispered a plan to Liu Yan'er.
• Liu Yan'er thanked Lan Ling'e and carried the two unconscious men back toward Du Lin Peak.
• Li Changshou considered how to obtain precious materials without harming the Du Xian Sect, then worried that a trip to a market town might attract trouble.
• Li Changshou divined that more than a hundred statues of him had appeared and that Bear Stockade’s worship had brought him a vast amount of Incense Merit.

Li Changshou returned to Du Xian Sect after severing his mortal ties, worshiped the Human Teaching Patriarch for protection, and reunited with Ling'e on Lesser Qiong Peak. He reprimanded her for meddling in Liu Yan'er’s relationship and ordered her to copy the Steady Character Scripture before apologizing, while setting aside a rumor about how their master had been injured.

• Li Changshou returned to Du Xian Sect and reported to the Hall of Hundred Affairs after his journey outside.
• Li Changshou worshiped the Patriarch’s portrait for an hour, hoping to gain protection against possible trouble from the Western Teachings.
• Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak, greeted his master, and found Ling'e waiting for him.
• Ling'e confessed that her advice had contributed to Liu Sizhe and Wang Qi fighting over Liu Yan'er, and Li Changshou scolded her for meddling in their affairs.
• Li Changshou ordered Ling'e to copy the Steady Character Scripture three hundred times and apologize to Liu Yan'er before leaving her to reveal a rumor about their master’s old injury.
• Li Changshou told Ling'e not to investigate the rumor yet and went to the alchemy room while she began copying the scripture.