Chapter Summaries

Li Changshou tried to restore his ordinary reputation after punishing a disciple with Earth Evasion and his spiked club, but other disciples grew so frightened that several opponents conceded before fighting. By the fifth day, ranked disciple Liu Sizhe agreed to face him, though his preparations showed he feared the club’s attack.

• After Li Changshou’s match, two disciples used Earth Evasion against each other, amusing the sect and making the technique seem common among Du Xian Sect disciples.
• Jiu Jiu borrowed Li Changshou’s spiked club, returned it stained with Immortal Blood, and later encouraged Ling'e while warning Li Changshou not to use his previous move against a female disciple.
• On the second day, a female opponent conceded as soon as Li Changshou began preparing his talisman formation.
• On the third and fourth days, opponents conceded rather than face Li Changshou’s Earth Evasion and spiked club, worsening his reputation as a ruthless fighter.
• On the fifth day, Liu Sizhe accepted Li Changshou’s challenge but reinforced the armor around his vulnerable region before their match.

Li Changshou threw his duel with Liu Sizhe to soften his fearsome reputation, while the sect competition continued and Ling'e worried about her ranking. A white-robed youth visited Li Changshou’s Sea God Temple to inspect its worship and consider recruiting Wild Gods, leaving Li Changshou to decide whether to approach him.

• Li Changshou conceded defeat to Liu Sizhe, and Jiu Jiu claimed his wolf-tooth club as her own.
• Li Changshou reassured Ling'e that she would face no serious punishment if she failed to place among the top one hundred eight.
• Youqin Xuanya continued winning her preliminary matches overwhelmingly, while Li Changshou avoided facing her during the twelve rounds.
• Li Changshou sensed an anomaly at a Sea God shrine and sent a Paper Daoist to investigate.
• The Paper Daoist found a merit-protected white-robed youth accompanied by an elder and eight Heavenly Immortal guards; the youth praised the temple but questioned its claim to credit for Underworld Reincarnation.
• After the youth left to inspect other Wild Gods and consider gathering them under his influence, Li Changshou weighed whether to make his acquaintance or let matters unfold.

Li Changshou met the white-robed youth, confirmed that he was the Jade Emperor, and offered him twelve strategies for strengthening the Heavenly Court. The Jade Emperor ordered Dong Mugong to approach the Sea God Cult, while Li Changshou returned to Du Xian Sect and worried over the consequences of their meeting.

• Li Changshou sent a Paper Daoist disguised as a kindly old man to approach the white-robed youth outside the Sea God Temple.
• The youth saw through the Paper Daoist and invited Li Changshou into a Landscape Painting for a private conversation.
• Li Changshou discussed Heavenly Court affairs with the youth for several hours and presented twelve strategies, while declining to pledge himself to the youth.
• The white-robed youth revealed that he was the Jade Emperor and told Dong Mugong to propose recruiting Southern Continent Wild Gods, guiding the effort toward the Sea God Cult.
• Li Changshou returned to Du Xian Sect, reviewed what he had said, and reassured Ling'e that his cold sweat came from cultivation bottlenecks.

Li Changshou’s twelve strategies for governance outlined how the Heavenly Court could strengthen its authority and influence across the Three Realms. The appendix ended with the final strategy left unexplained and a note that it was already three in the morning.

• Li Changshou summarized the first three strategies as requiring patience.
• Li Changshou advised respecting the Saints and Daoist Sect while promoting the Human Teaching, handling internal affairs diligently, and setting Heavenly Regulations and punishments.
• Li Changshou recommended promoting morality and human rites, then defeating established evil forces to raise the Heavenly Court’s prestige.
• Li Changshou urged recruiting capable, virtuous people regardless of their origins and strengthening the Heavenly Court’s presence in the Mortal World through the Human Emperor.
• Li Changshou proposed subduing the Dragon Clan, developing the Netherworld, and influencing the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
• Li Changshou skipped explaining the strategy of avoiding contention for Sainthood and steadily seeking peace.

Lan Ling'e accidentally revealed her true cultivation after a genuine breakthrough during the sect tournament, then refused a Grand Elder’s offer to take her as a disciple. She stayed at Lesser Qiong Peak beside Li Changshou, who was relieved by her choice.

• Li Changshou won his early tournament match with his talisman array while Lan Ling'e pretended to seek enlightenment.
• Lan Ling'e genuinely broke through to the fifth stage of the Void Returning Realm, exposing her cultivation to the sect and astonishing the spectators.
• Lan Ling'e swiftly defeated her opponent, while Li Changshou warned her that she would have to recite the Steady Character Scripture thousands of times.
• A Grand Elder approached Lan Ling'e about becoming her disciple, but Lan Ling'e refused and asked to remain by one person's side.
• Li Changshou returned to his seat after winning his match, and Lan Ling'e happily moved closer to him at Lesser Qiong Peak.

Ao Yi brought Li Changshou’s reputation to Qin Wan’s attention, prompting Golden Ao Island and Human Teaching experts to visit Lesser Qiong Peak and its array. Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor asked the Heavenly Court officials how to handle the spread of Wild God worship, but no strategy was given before the chapter ended.

• Qin Wan offered pills to Ling'e and Jiu Jiu after Li Changshou declined to attend, and Han Zhi told him that Li Changshou’s array had trapped her former master.
• Intrigued by Li Changshou’s array, Qin Wan arranged to visit Lesser Qiong Peak, and other Golden Ao Island and Human Teaching experts joined him.
• Jiu Wu rushed Li Changshou away from his conversation with Ao Yi because the senior experts were heading for the chain array.
• At the Heavenly Court assembly, the Jade Emperor asked his officials how to respond to Wild God worship when the Court lacked troops and could not readily appoint the Wild Gods as Orthodox Gods.

Li Changshou’s interconnected array impressed Heavenly Lord Qin Wan, who traded him a spiritual treasure for the method and began considering how to improve the Ten Absolute Arrays. Afterward, Ao Yi asked Li Changshou for advice about his feelings for Han Zhi, while Li Changshou prepared incense and tried to keep his other talents from drawing attention.

• Li Changshou realized Heavenly Lord Qin Wan might use inspiration from his array to strengthen the Ten Absolute Arrays, then dismantled the formation when Sect Master Wuyou Daoist asked.
• Qin Wan offered a white jade flute in exchange for Li Changshou’s interconnected-array method, and Ji Wuyou gave Li Changshou extra provisions and access to the sect’s array techniques.
• Li Changshou imagined the Ten Heavenly Lords using a Ten Absolute Chain Baleful Array, then withdrew with Ao Yi to the forest tea room.
• Ao Yi told Li Changshou that Han Zhi had rejected his confession and asked whether his feelings meant something was wrong with him.
• Li Changshou prepared incense to seek peace of mind, while Wuyou Daoist stopped a sect elder from revealing Li Changshou’s skill in the Pill Dao.

Li Changshou finished the sect tournament and exchanged parting gifts with Ao Yi before sensing a distinguished guest at the Sea God Temple. On the way home, Ao Yi opened Li Changshou’s paintings and advice, then faced his troubles with renewed resolve.

• Li Changshou refined the white jade flute while Ling'e accepted her tournament loss, and he later won three matches before conceding to Youqin Xuanya, who ultimately claimed first place.
• Li Changshou secretly left the tournament, gave Ao Yi two paintings and a brocade pouch, and received two Jade Talisman Messages in return.
• After returning to Lesser Qiong Peak, Li Changshou sensed a gray-robed elder and two Heavenly Immortal guards at the Sea God Temple, then activated a hidden Paper Daoist.
• Ao Yi opened Li Changshou’s paintings before the Golden Ao Island group, and the gathered elders reacted first with amusement and then with stunned silence.
• Ao Yi read the brocade pouch’s advice, put the gifts away, and approached Han Zhi with a clearer, unburdened expression.

Dong Mugong sought Li Changshou’s advice about his precarious position in Heavenly Court, while Li Changshou prepared for the Three Teachings Origin Conference and strengthened Lesser Qiong Peak. He discovered that Ling'e, Jiu Jiu, and Youqin Xuanya had eaten most of his spirit beasts and summoned Youqin Xuanya to answer for it.

• Dong Mugong told Li Changshou that the Jade Emperor planned to recruit the South Sea Sea God, then asked for guidance about his own future; Li Changshou advised him to retreat carefully without taking on the matter’s Saint-related karma.
• Li Changshou listed his preparations for the Three Teachings Origin Conference and spent three years turning materials, including Dong Mugong’s gift, into defenses for Lesser Qiong Peak.
• Li Changshou destroyed Dong Mugong’s storage treasures, checked their contents for tracking, and assigned the magic treasures to his Paper Daoists.
• Li Changshou noticed that more than half the spirit beasts were missing and searched his memories, discovering that Ling'e, Jiu Jiu, and Youqin Xuanya had repeatedly killed and eaten them.
• Li Changshou called for Lan Ling'e and told her to bring Youqin Xuanya to him, prompting Ling'e to hurry toward Sky-Breaking Peak.

Li Changshou made Jiu Jiu, Youqin Xuanya, and Ling'e compensate him for eating his spirit beasts by building a pavilion, while Elder Wan Linjun developed a poison pill that reacted to immortal sense. Inspired by the idea and the fox demon’s charm technique, Li Changshou began designing a pill that could secretly mark anyone who examined him with immortal sense; the chapter ended with Dong Mugong sneaking into the Matchmaker’s Palace.

• Li Changshou made Jiu Jiu, Youqin Xuanya, and Ling'e build a pavilion and renovate the Spirit Beast Pen to repay him for eating his spirit beasts.
• Elder Wan Linjun showed Li Changshou a poison pill formula designed to react to spiritual or immortal sense and planned to seek its key ingredient in the Northern Continent of Julu.
• Li Changshou gave Elder Wan Linjun two paper effigies to protect him on his journey and discussed the Ambition Pill’s effects and safe use.
• Li Changshou considered how to adapt the poison pill into a counter-surveillance tool and began designing one inspired by a fox demon’s charm technique and Love Stones.
• Dong Mugong sneaked into the Heavenly Court’s Matchmaker’s Palace.

Dong Mugong asked Matchmaker to bind him to all his possible marriage partners, while Li Changshou tested new Immortal Sense pills and prepared a sachet to help his master. The chapter left Li Changshou checking on Dong Mugong, who was waiting at one of the Sea God Temples.

• Matchmaker refused Dong Mugong's request to sever all his marriage ties but showed him the Marriage Clay Figurines connected to him, and Dong Mugong decided he wanted them all.
• Ling'e worked alone on the Spirit Beast Pen until Li Changshou arrived and asked her to help test a pill.
• Li Changshou tested Heart Fire Burn on Ling'e, whose reaction prompted him to give her a Clearheart Pill and leave confused about the pill's effects.
• Li Changshou refined Heart Fire Burn and an Anti-Probe Pill, then prepared a sachet with both pills and a Paper Daoist for his master.
• Li Changshou sensed Dong Mugong waiting at a Sea God Temple, checked that Elder Wan Linjun was safe, and activated the Paper Daoist beneath the temple.

Dong Mugong thanked Li Changshou for helping him earn the Jade Emperor’s approval, and Li Changshou coached him to cultivate a reputation for devotion. Later, Li Changshou sent Qi Yuan to Linhai Town in disguise, where a shattered Heart Fire Burn pill triggered a crowd of cultivators to pursue him just as spirit beasts ran wild.

• Dong Mugong told Li Changshou that the Jade Emperor had smiled at him after his marriage, and Li Changshou warned him against taking every marriage opportunity and advised him to appear devoted.
• Li Changshou discussed the Three Teachings Origin Conference with Qi Yuan, then persuaded his master to leave the sect disguised in his middle-aged appearance and carrying a concealed-aura sachet.
• Li Changshou monitored Qi Yuan through Paper Daoists and used Heart Fire Burn to make female cultivators in Linhai Town approach him, but Qi Yuan repeatedly refused them.
• The Heart Fire Burn pill shattered inside the sachet, and Li Changshou warned Qi Yuan to hide it in his Storage magic treasure as nearby cultivators began pursuing him.
• An old Daoist proposed becoming cultivation partners with Qi Yuan, and a shout announced that spirit beasts on Spirit Beast Street had gone berserk.

Li Changshou’s attempt to help his master with Heart Fire Burn went disastrously awry, but the chaos revived his master’s spirits. Later, counterfeit Ambition Pills caused trouble at the sect, and Li Changshou quietly directed Jiu Wu toward a possible culprit.

• Li Changshou’s Heart Fire Burn pills shattered in the market, causing female Qi Refiners and spirit beasts to swarm his master; Master beat Li Changshou’s Paper Daoist for two hours, but afterward seemed more spirited.
• Li Changshou spent two years cultivating while Ling'e, Poisonous Junior Sister, and Youqin Xuanya completed the Spirit Beast Pen, and Elder Wan Linjun returned from the Northern Julu Continent and entered seclusion.
• Jiu Wu hurried to Lesser Qiong Peak to report that an elder had become crazed after taking an Ambition Pill, so Li Changshou went with him to Pill Cauldron Peak to investigate.
• Li Changshou examined the sleeping elder and found counterfeit Ambition Pills with an evil aura in the elder’s Storage magic treasure.
• Li Changshou urged the elders to avoid publicizing the matter and to obtain Ambition Pills through the Hall of Hundred Affairs, then privately told Jiu Wu that sect steward Liu Feixian might be involved.

Li Changshou arranged for Liu Feixian’s fake Ambition Pills to become a pretext for Du Xian Sect to address its indulgent culture, but the campaign failed, so he began planning to make Lesser Qiong Peak mobile. Meanwhile, Daoist Wen Jing prepared to scheme against the Dragon Clan for the Western Teachings while remaining wary of the Human Teaching’s senior disciple.

• Li Changshou had Jiu Wu and Jiu Jiu confront Liu Feixian, who confessed to refining fake Ambition Pills, and arranged for Ambition Pills to be submitted to the Hall of Hundred Affairs.
• Li Changshou persuaded Jiu Wu that Du Xian Sect’s prosperity mattered more than Lesser Qiong Peak’s private gain, then arranged for Liu Feixian to petition Sect Master Wuyou Daoist about the sect’s culture of cultivation partners.
• Sect Master Wuyou Daoist launched a three-month campaign to establish new customs, but it failed, and the elders placed Liu Feixian under special protection after he was repeatedly attacked.
• Li Changshou decided to build an outer array around Lesser Qiong Peak so he could activate his Wandering Lesser Qiong Peak Plan when necessary.
• Daoist Wen Jing accepted a mission to scheme against the West Sea and South Sea Dragon Palaces and reflected on the Western Teachings’ plans to bring dragons to Spirit Mountain.

Li Changshou created the Immortal Cat Strategy Bucket to earn money for Lesser Qiong Peak’s transformation, and it became popular among sect members seeking reassurance. After he gave Youqin Xuanya an encouraging answer, a sudden bloody omen warned him of misfortune involving the South Sea Sea God Cult.

• Li Changshou set up the Immortal Cat Strategy Bucket beside Lesser Qiong Peak and began charging visitors for vague advice.
• Jiu Jiu and Jiu Lu'er sought guidance through the bucket, prompting more members of the Nine Immortals of the Wine Character and Sky-Breaking Peak to visit.
• Jiu Wu approved of the bucket to the Hall of Hundred Affairs, allowing Li Changshou to keep operating it openly and add a paid isolation array.
• Youqin Xuanya asked the bucket about her growing feelings for a Senior Brother, and Li Changshou gave her a slip encouraging her to focus on the immortal path.
• Liu Feixian asked how his fellow Daoist could make amends for past wrongdoing, and Li Changshou began to answer before sensing a bloody omen of misfortune tied to the South Sea Sea God Cult.

Li Changshou sensed a bloody omen and prepared the South Sea God Cult for an attack, while warning Ao Yi that the Dragon Clan might be targeted. In a hidden valley, Daoist Wen Jing ordered Western Teachings merit proxies to provoke an assault on the cult and draw in the Dragon Clan.

• Li Changshou examined the South Sea God Cult and concluded that the Western Teachings were the likeliest source of the ominous sign.
• Li Changshou entered Ao Yi’s dream and persuaded him that the Western Teachings planned to use the South Sea God Cult as bait for the Dragon Clan.
• Li Changshou asked Ao Yi to alert the Dragon Palace and prepare either to withdraw or to strike back, then sent dream warnings to the cult’s divine envoys.
• Li Changshou dispatched Paper Daoists, paper figures, and Edible Jade Frogs to reinforce the South Sea God Cult and began preparations for an attack.
• Daoist Wen Jing summoned Western Teachings merit proxies and ordered them to incite mortals to attack the South Sea God Cult and lure out the Dragon Clan protectors.
• When a Half-step Golden Immortal old woman objected, Daoist Wen Jing killed her, and the other proxies submitted.

Li Changshou prepared the Dragon Clan for war by giving Ao Yi a detailed set of plans that divided the army and arranged layered ambushes while warning against harming mortals. As the Dragon Clan gathered near Anshui City, the Western Teachings’ agents provoked believers into attacking a Sea God Temple, and Daoist Wen Jing watched as the Dragon Clan forces began to move.

• Ao Yi told Li Changshou that the Eastern Sea Dragon King had mobilized thirty thousand Immortal Flood Dragon Soldiers, hundreds of experts, and twenty Golden Immortals for the conflict.
• Ao Yi retrieved Li Changshou’s blue-wrapped chest of bamboo slips and followed its instructions, splitting the Dragon Clan army between a visible sea route and a concealed march through the earth veins.
• Ao Yi studied the plans with the Dragon Clan experts, who accepted his orders to build layered ambushes and avoid harming mortals.
• Li Changshou stationed divine envoys and Paper Daoists at vulnerable Sea God Temples, but rival sects still sent thousands of believers to attack one temple.
• Two armored men at the temple urged the attackers not to injure anyone, sang them instructions for smashing the property, and then escaped over the rear wall.
• Daoist Wen Jing watched the temple attack through her Blood Mosquito Puppets as Dragon Clan auras rushed toward it and the Southern Sea force began emerging from the water.

Li Changshou watched the Dragon Clan’s battle against Daoist Wen Jing’s Blood Mosquito forces and saw the ambush turn into a decisive counter-encirclement. Afterward, he paid respects to the Saint’s portrait at the Hall of Hundred Affairs, where a thread of Dao charm descended upon him.

• Li Changshou monitored the Dragon Clan’s bait retreat as Blood Mosquito Puppets attacked and controlled several dragons.
• Ao Yi led the Dragon Clan troops through the planned ambush, surrounding and defeating thousands of puppets.
• Daoist Wen Jing summoned a Blood-Winged Black Mosquito Swarm numbering over ten thousand to reinforce her forces.
• Ao Yi revealed more hidden Immortal Flood Dragon Soldiers and Xiong Village Witch-Human Divine Emissaries, turning the clash into a Dragon Clan victory.
• Li Changshou offered incense and knelt before the Portrait of a Saint, and a thread of Dao charm descended upon him.

Li Changshou’s worship before the Portrait of a Saint drew the attention of Grand Master Xuandu, who met him to learn about his troubles and his connection to the Dragon Clan. Li Changshou revealed that he was the South Sea God Cult Master, leaving Xuandu eager to hear how he had founded it.

• Li Changshou sensed Dao resonance around the Portrait of a Saint, while Grand Master Xuandu deduced that he was connected to Dragons Entering Heaven.
• Xuandu contacted Li Changshou and invited him to meet, then proved his identity by reciting the Wu Wei Scripture and revealing his Dao resonance.
• Li Changshou cautiously left Du Xian Sect and met Xuandu, who noticed his concealed cultivation and praised him as a talent.
• Xuandu asked about Li Changshou’s difficulties and his connection to the Dragon Clan, and Li Changshou said he was the South Sea God Cult Master.
• Xuandu revealed that his own attempt to establish a god cult had failed and eagerly asked Li Changshou how he had succeeded.

Li Changshou recounted his dealings with the Dragon Clan to Xuandu, who appointed him to oversee bringing the dragons under the Heavenly Court and warned him about the dangers of karma. Xuandu gave him cultivation teachings and appeared before the Dragon Clan, while Daoist Wen Jing watched in alarm.

• Xuandu laughed at Li Changshou’s account of how he used the South Sea Sea God Cult to draw the Dragon Clan into his plans, then explained that the Western Teachings were also pressuring the dragons.
• Xuandu told Li Changshou to continue handling the Dragons Entering Heaven and warned him that the Primordial Wilderness was full of dangers and karma.
• Li Changshou asked Xuandu to reveal his presence in the Southern Sea, and the two discussed a plan to support the Dragon Clan without alerting the Western Teachings.
• Xuandu gave Li Changshou jade talismans containing an Outer Body Incarnation art and a scripture, along with an escape art for him to learn later.
• Ao Yi considered asking a Human Teaching expert for help against the Blood-Winged Black Mosquito, but Xuandu appeared and warned the dragons not to harm mortals.
• Daoist Wen Jing recognized Xuandu’s Dao resonance and lost her anger.