Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Hunting the Flood Dragon: Part One

Key Plot Points and Events

• A gigantic, ancient Flood Dragon emerges from the sea beneath the Ink-Crystal Dark Ao. Its body is mountain-sized, its scales are damaged and weathered, and a cracked dark-golden Reverse Scale is embedded in its forehead.
• Xu Changqing identifies it as the Flood Dragon that may have escaped from the Flood Dragon Suppression Tower. Its age and physical deterioration suggest that it has been sealed for many years and is now weaker than half its former peak strength.
• Despite its weakened condition, the Flood Dragon effortlessly defeats the Ink-Crystal Dark Ao. It shatters the demon’s shell with its tail, crushes it in its coils, and devours its exposed flesh.
• After feeding, the Flood Dragon senses something nearby and swims away. Li Lingbi decides that Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu should return to report the discovery while she, Han Xin, and Xuancang track the creature.
• Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu return to Profound Heart City and find Qin Baili speaking with Zhao Lie of the Dragon-Tiger Immortal Sect about control of the Spirit-Gathering Abyss.
• Qin Baili claims that the Dongting Immortal Sect has priority because Xu Changqing possesses a hundred-year fishing right gained during the Race of a Thousand Sails. Zhao Lie disputes the right’s validity, arguing that the Dragon Vein has since been severed, and leaves after the discussion turns hostile.
• Once Zhao Lie departs, Xu Changqing reveals the more urgent news: they have found the Flood Dragon.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing remains outwardly cooperative but secretly pursues his own plan. He intends to use the Flood Dragon to obtain its Dragon Vein and unlock the second transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon: the Flood Dragon Transformation.
• Chu Qiu focuses on the sect’s interests. He wants to gather Qin Baili and the other core disciples quickly so they can kill the weakened Flood Dragon, strengthening Dongting’s reputation and earning valuable rewards.
• Li Lingbi demonstrates caution and leadership by dividing the group, sending Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu back with the information while maintaining a tracking party.
• Qin Baili shows confidence and political ambition, attempting to leverage Xu Changqing’s fishing right to secure Dongting’s advantage over rival sects.
• Zhao Lie is portrayed as aggressive and skeptical but not foolish. He rejects Dongting’s claim and accuses them of manipulating the situation for their own benefit.

Significant Themes

• Power and danger: Even weakened by age and long imprisonment, the Flood Dragon remains overwhelmingly powerful, demonstrating the gap between ordinary demons and ancient Greater Demons.
• Competition among sects: The discovery is not merely a matter of hunting a monster; it is also a contest for prestige, influence, territory, and rewards among the major Immortal Sects.
• Hidden motives: The characters cooperate publicly, but their personal goals differ. Xu Changqing’s desire to acquire the Dragon Vein contrasts with Chu Qiu’s loyalty to the sect’s collective interests.
• Ancient beings and decline: The Flood Dragon’s decaying body and cracked Reverse Scale suggest the consequences of prolonged imprisonment, while its brutal strength shows that age has not erased its threat.
• Ownership and legitimacy: The dispute over Xu Changqing’s fishing right raises questions about whether past agreements remain valid after major changes to the Dragon Vein and the Spirit-Gathering Abyss.

Character Interactions

• The Flood Dragon’s violent encounter with the Ink-Crystal Dark Ao establishes its dominance through a one-sided battle.
• Li Lingbi, Han Xin, and Xuancang cooperate to track the Flood Dragon, while Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu take responsibility for reporting its location.
• Qin Baili and Zhao Lie clash over access to the Spirit-Gathering Abyss, revealing tension between the Dongting and Dragon-Tiger Immortal Sects.
• Xu Changqing and Chu Qiu privately hold opposing objectives despite working together.
• The chapter ends with Xu Changqing informing Qin Baili that the legendary Flood Dragon has been discovered, setting up the sects’ imminent pursuit and confrontation.

Chapter Summary: Hunting Flood Dragons: Part Two

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qin Baili learns from Xu Changqing that a flood dragon was sighted in the Turbid Current Belt. Realizing the opportunity to obtain its bloodline, he immediately organizes a hunt.
• Qin Baili, Chu Qiu, more than twenty core disciples of the Dongting Immortal Sect, and several Foundation Establishment disciples set out for the Turbid Current Belt. Their departure attracts attention from other sects, though no one realizes they are pursuing a flood dragon.
• Xu Changqing declines to join the hunt openly, claiming that he is not suited for combat. Once alone, he begins planning to pursue the dragon himself and compete for its bloodline.
• Because fire techniques would be weakened in the aquatic environment, Xu Changqing decides to use a new water-based identity, potentially named Gonggong, alongside his Water Spirit Root.
• He returns to the ruined Sea Demon Pavilion and enters the Deep-Sea Hall, using the identity-merging room to prepare for his operation.
• Evil Water severely suppresses him despite his Water Spirit Root and Dragonfish Transformation. To overcome this, he summons his evolved vessel.
• After devouring Zhao Wuji’s Thunderclap, the Demon Dragon Water-Evasion Boat has transformed into the far more powerful Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat. It now resembles a half-dragon, half-warship vessel infused with lightning.
• The vessel possesses powerful lightning, water, wind, defense, and evolutionary abilities, including Thunderwater Lock, Thunder Dragon’s Wrath Breath, Thunderlight Evasion, and Conductive Feedback.
• The Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat frightens or paralyzes nearby water demons, causing Xu Changqing to wonder whether it might eventually become a living Thunder Dragon.
• Reaching the Turbid Current Belt, Xu Changqing finds that the flood dragon and Li Lingbi’s group have already departed. He activates Thunderwater Lock, which detects three possible directions, and chooses the left path to continue the pursuit.

Character Developments

• Qin Baili displays confidence and decisiveness, immediately mobilizing the sect’s strongest available forces to hunt a Greater Demon with over a thousand years of cultivation.
• Xu Changqing continues to act cautiously and independently. Rather than competing directly with Qin Baili’s group, he conceals his intentions and prepares a separate strategy to claim the Dragon Bloodline.
• Xu’s mastery of multiple identities and elemental abilities expands. He recognizes the limitations of his Fire Spiritual Root in water and plans to operate through a water-aligned identity.
• His relationship with the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat also develops: he increasingly views it not merely as transportation, but as a potentially living and evolving dragon-like entity.

Significant Themes

• Competition and hidden agendas: Multiple sects are exploring the region, while Qin Baili and Xu Changqing separately pursue the same rare opportunity.
• Adaptation and preparation: Xu Changqing changes identities and relies on specialized equipment to overcome environmental disadvantages.
• Evolution and transformation: The vessel’s absorption of the Thunderclap demonstrates the growing power of devouring and continuous evolution.
• Power versus concealment: Qin Baili uses overwhelming force openly, while Xu Changqing relies on secrecy, deception, and calculated preparation.
• The boundary between artifact and living being: The Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat’s increasingly organic, dragon-like qualities raise the possibility that it may eventually become a true living creature.

Character Interactions

• Qin Baili and Xu Changqing: Qin Baili questions Xu about the sighting and invites him to join the hunt. Xu politely refuses, allowing Qin Baili to believe he will remain in Profound Heart City.
• Qin Baili and Chu Qiu: Qin Baili takes Chu Qiu with him as he leads the rapid advance toward the Turbid Current Belt.
• Xu Changqing and the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat: Xu examines the vessel’s new abilities and speculates about its future transformation, treating it with a mixture of curiosity, approval, and concealed ambition.
• Xu Changqing and the surrounding water demons: The demons instinctively flee from the vessel’s dragon-like aura and lightning power, while slower creatures are paralyzed by its electrical energy.

Chapter Summary: Hunting the Flood Dragon: Part Two

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing follows the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat into the seabed and discovers it is not pursuing the Flood Dragon. Instead, it is approaching a massive purple crystal pillar embedded underwater.
• The crystal resembles two fused bolts of lightning and bears the same ancient runes found near the Flood Dragon Suppression Tower. Nine Thunder Crystals circle its center, while a silver thread of energy within appears to transmit something.
• Xu determines that the crystal’s energy is directed toward Profound Heart City, suggesting a mysterious connection between the seabed and the city. He suspects the opposite end may lead somewhere else, though he cannot locate its destination.
• As a precaution, Xu buries Self-Destruct Talismans beneath the crystal before leaving, ensuring he has a means to destroy or disrupt it later.
• Rising toward the surface, Xu detects a major battle and activates the boat’s Thunderlight Evasion ability, which conceals it through lightning refraction and disguises its movements as those of a sea monster.
• Using a Fire Crow and Shared Vision, Xu observes Qin Baili leading more than ten Golden Core disciples against the weakened Flood Dragon.
• The Flood Dragon is severely injured, with many scales missing and a deep spinal wound exposing bone. Qin Baili and the others exploit its weakened state rather than fighting it honorably one-on-one.
• Qin Baili uses a powerful white Geng Metal Sword Qi, while Li Lingbi splits apart the Flood Dragon’s waves. Qin’s attack pierces the existing wound in the Flood Dragon’s spine, killing it.
• Xu immediately approaches the corpse underwater while the Immortal Sect disciples celebrate. He places his hands on the Flood Dragon’s tail and prepares to use the Separation Technique to extract its Dragon Bloodline.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing becomes increasingly cautious and strategic. He investigates the mysterious crystal, plants a hidden contingency of Self-Destruct Talismans, uses concealment techniques, and waits for the right moment to claim the Flood Dragon’s bloodline without revealing himself.
• Qin Baili demonstrates both strength and opportunism. He leads the attack, unveils the stronger Geng Metal Sword Qi, and prioritizes securing the Flood Dragon before rival sects can arrive.
• Li Lingbi and the other Dongting Immortal Sect disciples cooperate effectively in overwhelming the Flood Dragon, showing their willingness to act collectively for wealth and resources.
• The Flood Dragon, despite its immense power and thousand years of cultivation, is heavily weakened by its recent escape from imprisonment and is ultimately unable to withstand the coordinated assault.
• Zhao Lie and Su Ningshuang emerge as rival leaders who are angered that Qin Baili acted without informing their sects.

Significant Themes

• Caution and preparation: Xu’s hidden talismans and concealed movements reflect the importance of maintaining backup plans in a dangerous cultivation world.
• Competition among sects: The three Immortal Sects are nominally allies, but each seeks exclusive control of the Flood Dragon’s valuable body and Dragon Bloodline.
• Exploitation of weakness: The disciples take advantage of the Flood Dragon’s weakened condition, emphasizing the pragmatic and ruthless nature of cultivation conflicts.
• Mystery and hidden connections: The ancient crystal, its runes, and its apparent transmission toward Profound Heart City introduce a larger conspiracy or mechanism connected to the Flood Dragon Suppression Tower.
• Power and inheritance: The Flood Dragon’s Dragon Bloodline represents a rare and valuable source of strength, which Xu intends to obtain through the Separation Technique.

Character Interactions

• Qin Baili commands the disciples and urges them to kill the Flood Dragon before Zhao Lie and Su Ningshuang arrive.
• Li Lingbi assists Qin by cutting apart the Flood Dragon’s massive waves, creating an opening for Qin’s decisive strike.
• Zhao Lie and Su Ningshuang confront Qin Baili for excluding their sects from the hunt, accusing the Dongting Immortal Sect of breaking their agreement.
• Qin offers a calm but self-serving justification, claiming he acted first only because the Flood Dragon might escape.
• While the sect leaders argue over the corpse, Xu remains hidden and independently moves toward the Flood Dragon’s tail to extract its bloodline.

Chapter Summary: Flood Dragon Transformation

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing activates the Flood Dragon Transformation, gaining several powerful abilities:
  • Enhanced water perception and control
  • Transparent dragon scales with defenses comparable to Mystic Iron
  • Resistance to water-based attacks and poison
  • Dragon-Grade Water Escape
  • The powerful techniques Overturn Rivers and Seas and

Stir Wind and Make Waves

• His transformation creates a water domain within thirty meters and expands his perception range to roughly one thousand meters.
• Xu tests Overturn Rivers and Seas, consuming all his Water Spiritual Power in only three breaths. The technique causes the sea around the cultivators investigating a dead thousand-year Flood Dragon to reverse, churn, and form a massive funnel.
• The disturbance throws many disciples into chaos and reveals that the dead Flood Dragon’s submerged tail is being ridden and consumed by Xu’s Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat.
• The Golden Core cultivators suspect another Flood Dragon or similar sea monster is present. They also realize that the original Flood Dragon’s body has lost part of its power and luster, though they cannot determine why.
• Xu flees more than a thousand li before surfacing, narrowly escaping the attention of the three great Immortal Sects.
• Afterward, he tests his new abilities underwater:
  • His water manipulation becomes extraordinarily precise.
  • Dragon-Grade Water Escape allows him to transform into water and move silently, even surpassing his boat’s speed temporarily.
  • Its effectiveness decreases in freshwater because of the negative effect Freshwater Rejection.
• Xu then tests Stir Wind and Make Waves. The technique rapidly drains all five types of Spiritual Power but creates powerful winds, gathers thunderclouds, and turns the sea into a violently turbulent mass of waves.

Character Development

• Xu Changqing becomes more confident in the extraordinary power of the Flood Dragon Transformation, recognizing that it is likely far beyond an ordinary Earth Grade ability.
• Despite his excitement, he remains cautious and aware of his weakness: as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he cannot afford prolonged confrontations with Golden Core experts.
• His tactical judgment improves when he realizes the boat is attempting to devour the Flood Dragon’s remains and immediately orders it to retreat.
• Xu also begins systematically testing each transformation ability, balancing curiosity and ambition with careful attention to spiritual-power consumption and limitations.

Significant Themes

• Power and cost: The transformation grants overwhelming abilities, but its strongest techniques rapidly consume Spiritual Power, forcing Xu to rely on Five-Element Completion for recovery.
• Growth versus vulnerability: Xu gains powers comparable to a Flood Dragon, yet his cultivation realm remains comparatively low, leaving him vulnerable to stronger opponents.
• Caution and survival: The chapter emphasizes the need to hide, flee, and avoid direct confrontation despite possessing powerful techniques.
• Transformation and inheritance: Xu’s abilities blur the line between human cultivator and mythical Flood Dragon, suggesting that the transformation carries profound, possibly higher-grade potential.
• The unknown depths: The strange sea monster and the altered Flood Dragon body introduce mystery surrounding the creature’s remains and the consequences of Xu’s actions.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat: Xu reprimands the boat for devouring the Flood Dragon’s tail and commands it to escape, showing that he must sometimes restrain its instincts.
• Xu Changqing and the Immortal Sect cultivators: Without revealing himself, Xu’s use of Overturn Rivers and Seas throws the sect disciples into disorder and forces the Golden Core experts to investigate.
• Qin Baili, Zhao Lie, and Li Lingbi: They coordinate their responses to the disturbance, with Li Lingbi splitting the seawater to expose the submerged dragon tail and Qin and Zhao analyzing the hidden creature.
• Su Ningshuang: She notices that the dead Flood Dragon appears to have lost something, prompting the others to inspect its diminished body more carefully.
• Xu Changqing and the Fire Crow: After escaping, Xu reunites with the Fire Crow before continuing his testing and retreat beneath the sea.

Chapter Summary: “Grand Cloud-Rain Art!”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Qin Baili and the Dongting Immortal Sect disciples return to Profound Heart City carrying the enormous corpse of a flood dragon, shocking the entire city and drawing widespread attention.
• Zhao Lie of the Dragon-Tiger Immortal Sect complains that Dongting Immortal Sect has stolen the spotlight. Qin Baili responds that cultivators should unite against demons, leaving Zhao Lie unable to argue.
• Zhao Lie and Su Ningshuang of the Moon-Inviting Immortal Sect withdraw with their disciples, clearly displeased and unwilling to lend Dongting further prestige.
• Dongting Immortal Sect holds a celebration banquet to display its victory, though few important disciples from the other two Immortal Sects attend.
• Xu Changqing secretly prepares the banquet’s excellent food but avoids appearing publicly because he wants to keep a low profile amid the increasingly tense situation in Profound Heart City.
• After the banquet, Li Lingbi explains that the other two great Immortal Sects refuse to recognize Dongting’s claim to the hundred-year fishing rights at Spirit-Gathering Abyss.
• To compensate Xu Changqing for his warning and assistance, Li Lingbi gives him three rewards:
  • The Hundred-Confluence Spirit Talisman Essentials
  • The Five-Pattern Spirit-Sealing Ring
  • A scale from the slain flood dragon
• That night, Xu Changqing studies the Grand Cloud-Rain Art. Flood Dragon Transformation greatly improves his comprehension, allowing him to master the technique.
• He spends eleven years of lifespan to raise the art to its maximum level, unlocking powerful rain-, cloud-, thunder-, and corrosion-related abilities.

2. Character Developments

• Xu Changqing continues to avoid attention and confrontation, prioritizing concealment and long-term security over fame. His caution reflects his awareness of the political tension between the Immortal Sects.
• His contributions are nevertheless recognized by Qin Baili and Li Lingbi, who ensure he receives meaningful compensation despite not joining the flood dragon hunt.
• Xu Changqing’s abilities grow substantially. Flood Dragon Transformation not only strengthens him physically but also helps him master an advanced water-based cultivation technique.
• Qin Baili demonstrates leadership and restraint by warning his disciples not to become arrogant after their victory. He also remembers Xu Changqing’s needs and ensures he is rewarded.
• Li Lingbi acts as a considerate senior brother, selecting rewards suited to Xu Changqing’s interests in talismans and defensive techniques.
• Zhao Lie and Su Ningshuang reveal their resentment toward Dongting Immortal Sect by refusing to attend the celebration in person.

3. Significant Themes

• Political rivalry beneath temporary unity: Although the sects cooperate against demons, their competition over prestige and Spirit-Gathering Abyss remains intense.
• The value of humility and concealment: Dongting’s victory creates fame, but Xu Changqing deliberately avoids the spotlight, believing survival and secrecy are more important than recognition.
• Merit and fair compensation: Xu Changqing is rewarded not for direct combat, but for his warning and indirect contribution, emphasizing that support and foresight also have value.
• Transformation and growth: Flood Dragon Transformation changes Xu Changqing’s understanding of the Grand Cloud-Rain Art, showing how cultivation breakthroughs can reshape one’s potential.
• Water as both creation and destruction: The perfected art can nourish crops, repair soil, create barriers, summon thunder, and inflict corrosive damage, embodying water’s dual nature as life-giving and destructive.
• Cultivation supporting practical production: The Grand Cloud-Rain Art improves spirit fields and enables rain within Xu Changqing’s Portable Space, linking combat power with agriculture and long-term development.

4. Character Interactions

• Qin Baili and Zhao Lie clash indirectly over Dongting’s public triumph, with Qin using the shared enemy of the demonic races to deflect Zhao’s criticism.
• Chu Qiu invites Xu Changqing to join the public celebration, but Xu refuses to avoid attracting attention.
• Qin Baili and Li Lingbi privately discuss how to protect the sect’s reputation while properly compensating Xu Changqing.
• Li Lingbi teases Xu Changqing for eating leftover banquet food, then seriously informs him of the sects’ political conflict and presents his rewards.
• The chapter ends with Xu Changqing alone, using his transformed bloodline and lifespan-enhancement ability to complete the Grand Cloud-Rain Art and expand both his cultivation options and agricultural capabilities.

Chapter Summary: “Mysterious Stone Coffin!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• On Dreamlike Island, Zhao Qianyun has gathered members of the four great Lineages—excluding the Long Clan—along with deceived cultivators. They are imprisoned beneath a lightning barrier formed by a spirit talisman.
• Zhao Qianyun meets with two conspirators, the mysterious black-robed “Old Wu” and the seductive cultivator Xiao Meier. Their plan appears connected to the severed Dragon Vein and the spiritual energy it will release.
• Zhao demands the reward promised for delivering the prisoners: a Spirit-Light Talisman that can help him survive the lightning tribulation and pursue an Earth-Grade Golden Core.
• Old Wu gives him a talisman, but it is a trap. The instant Zhao touches it, he is frozen into an ice sculpture. Old Wu contemptuously reveals that Zhao was never worthy of using the talisman.
• Meanwhile, Xu Changqing avoids entering his Portable Space openly because Golden Core cultivators are constantly scanning the area. He continues researching cultivation techniques until daytime, when the other Golden Core experts leave Profound Heart City to hunt.
• Assigned to logistics, Xu visits the reopened Demon-Splitting Market and enters the Sea Demon Pavilion. After creating a convincing reason for his movements, he secretly enters his Portable Space.
• Xu discovers that the Bone-Inscription Puppets have brought back numerous treasures from the Inscribed Bone Mound, including Sand Crystals, Five-Colored Stones, Five-Colored Golden Sand, and a mysterious coffin lid engraved with ancient runes.
• Unable to decipher the coffin lid’s inscriptions, Xu orders Crow Five and a hundred puppets to search specifically for coffins and coffin-related objects.
• The search leads them to a vast underground plaza filled with countless identical coffins and lids. At its center is a gigantic coffin carved from an enormous block of Profound Yin Stone.
• The massive coffin is covered in sinister ancient inscriptions: “Suppress,” “Imprison,” “Lock,” and “Silence.” Most ominously, the character “Life” is carved at its tail, suggesting that something extraordinarily dangerous—or unnaturally vital—is sealed inside.

Character Developments

• Zhao Qianyun is revealed to be greedy, ambitious, and willing to betray others to advance his cultivation. His desire to achieve a high-grade Golden Core leads him into dependence on Old Wu and Xiao Meier. His death—or apparent death—shows how completely he has been manipulated.
• Old Wu emerges as ruthless, powerful, and calculating. He regards Zhao as disposable and uses the promised talisman to eliminate him.
• Xiao Meier is portrayed as seductive and morally unscrupulous. She is increasing her cultivation by “harvesting yin and replenishing yang,” while mocking Zhao’s impatience and ambitions.
• Xu Changqing continues to act cautiously and conceal his Portable Space. His careful planning allows him to cultivate, manage his resources, and investigate the Inscribed Bone Mound without attracting the attention of powerful cultivators.
• Crow Five and the Bone-Inscription Puppets become useful extensions of Xu’s investigation, exploring dangerous areas that Xu cannot safely enter himself.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Zhao’s alliance with Old Wu and Xiao Meier is based on mutual benefit, but he is ultimately treated as a tool and sacrificed.
• Dangerous ambition: Zhao’s pursuit of an Earth-Grade Golden Core blinds him to the risks of trusting stronger conspirators.
• Secrecy and survival: Xu’s restraint contrasts with Zhao’s recklessness. Xu succeeds by hiding his abilities and acting only when conditions are safe.
• Forbidden ancient power: The Inscribed Bone Mound contains both valuable treasures and deadly dangers. The enormous coffin and its sealing inscriptions hint at an ancient entity or force that must be suppressed rather than merely buried.
• Life and death: The coffin’s conflicting inscriptions—“Imprison,” “Silence,” and “Suppress” alongside the character “Life”—suggest that whatever lies within may possess terrifying vitality or be connected to an unnatural form of immortality.

Character Interactions

• The imprisoned cultivators curse Zhao Qianyun, establishing their hatred toward him for deceiving and imprisoning them.
• Zhao argues with Old Wu and Xiao Meier over the promised reward, revealing tension within the conspiracy.
• Xiao Meier mocks Zhao’s desire for a better Golden Core, while Zhao angrily insists that he seeks more than a low-grade breakthrough.
• Old Wu briefly appears to honor his agreement before betraying Zhao, demonstrating the power imbalance among the conspirators.
• Xu interacts indirectly with the wider cultivator group through his logistics assignment, while his most important cooperation is with Crow Five and the puppets in investigating the mysterious coffins.

Chapter Summary: “Zhao Qianyun Returned!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing discovers a mysterious stone coffin deep within the Inscribed Bone Mound in his Portable Space. Its lid bears a giant heavenly eye containing Netherworld Jade, and eight corpse-tendon-wrapped pillars with silent bronze bells surround it.
• He suspects the coffin contains either the Inscription Ancestor or someone of immense importance to him.
• Bone-Inscription Puppets cannot approach the central coffin because of powerful restrictions. Xu Changqing theorizes that the smaller surrounding coffins form part of the restriction and orders his puppets to remove them.
• He leaves the Portable Space and buys large quantities of food ingredients in the Demon-Splitting Market, intending to continue cooking for the Dongting Immortal Sect disciples. He prefers cooking to risking his life in external conflicts.
• Over the next seven days, rumors spread of increasingly powerful sea demons emerging from the polluted Turbid Current Belt, including a rare Azure-Water Demon Ape. The disciples of several Immortal Sects begin searching for it.
• Xu Changqing remains focused on the stone coffin. His plan works: as the small coffins are removed, the restrictions weaken, and the Bone-Inscription Puppets are expected to reach the central coffin within several days.
• His plans are interrupted when Zhao Qianyun unexpectedly returns to Profound Heart City alone, drifting on the sea and discovered by disciples of the Dragon-Tiger Immortal Sect.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates caution, patience, and resourcefulness. Rather than recklessly investigate the central coffin, he uses his Bone-Inscription Puppets to dismantle the surrounding formation indirectly.
• His increasingly strong attachment to cooking is emphasized. He enjoys preparing enhanced, nearly Spirit Cuisine-level meals for the Immortal Sect disciples and views it as preferable to dangerous battles.
• Xu Changqing’s suspicion and observational skills sharpen when Zhao Qianyun returns. He immediately questions why Zhao is the sole survivor of a journey involving thousands of people.
• Zhao Qianyun, once believed to be a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator with an Ice-Water Spirit Root, returns in an extremely weakened and mysterious condition. His essence, qi, spirit, and Spiritual Root have all disappeared.
• Qin Baili acts as one of the first to examine Zhao Qianyun and confirms the loss of his Spiritual Root.
• Zhao Lie confirms Zhao’s identity but reveals that his physical condition is abnormal.
• The gathered core disciples become increasingly alarmed as they realize that Zhao’s condition could only have been caused by an extraordinary power.

Significant Themes

• Mystery and forbidden power: The stone coffin, Netherworld Jade, silent bells, and unknown occupant suggest a major hidden secret connected to the Inscription Ancestor.
• Cautious investigation versus reckless action: Xu Changqing advances through experimentation and indirect methods rather than confronting the restrictions directly.
• The fragility of cultivation: Zhao Qianyun’s lost Spiritual Root demonstrates that even an accomplished cultivator can be reduced to an ordinary person through unknown means.
• Suspicion and hidden catastrophe: Zhao’s solitary return from an expedition involving thousands of people strongly implies a disaster on Dreamlike Island.
• The threat of the Yellow Springs Alliance: Since the Alliance severed the Dragon Vein, the characters suspect it may also possess the ability to erase Spiritual Roots.

Important Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing privately reasons about the stone coffin and commands the Bone-Inscription Puppets to remove the smaller coffins.
• Qin Baili initially addresses Zhao Lie too casually, prompting Zhao Lie to jokingly question their closeness before Qin corrects himself.
• Qin Baili, Zhao Lie, Su Ningshuang, and other core disciples gather around Zhao Qianyun and inspect his condition.
• Qin Baili discovers that Zhao’s Ice-Water Spirit Root has vanished, shocking everyone present.
• Xu Changqing silently observes Zhao and notices the most disturbing clue: runes carved into Zhao Qianyun’s bones are identical to those found on the Bone-Inscription Puppets in his Portable Space, directly linking Zhao’s mysterious condition to the secrets of the Inscribed Bone Mound.

Chapter Summary: “Unexpected Discovery!”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing decides to leave the dangerous Azuretide Sea Region, since he seeks longevity rather than combat power and feels he contributes little beyond cooking.
• He asks Li Lingbi for permission to return home and tend to his spirit fields. Li agrees, revealing that the disciples are only serving as a visible distraction while Nascent Soul elders secretly monitor the region.
• After preparing lunch, Xu learns that Zhao Qianyun has awakened and exposed Dreamlike Island’s location, but he shows no interest and departs immediately.
• To avoid attracting attention, Xu travels briefly through the air before switching to the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat and continuing underwater.
• Inside his Portable Space, he discovers that many Bone-Inscription Puppets have transported small coffins from the Secret Realm.
• Xu opens the coffins and finds cultivators’ corpses inside—some relatively recent, others ancient. Several may have been alive or only recently dead when sealed away.
• The corpses’ storage artifacts contain valuable treasures, including the belongings of a former Golden Core talisman master from Dongting Immortal Sect. Xu acquires numerous high-grade talisman-making tools and reference materials.
• As more small coffins are removed, the restrictions on the Bone-Inscription Puppets weaken. The puppets are able to approach the enormous central stone coffin, suggesting they are recognized as part of the Secret Realm’s internal system.
• Xu attempts to move the stone coffin, believing it may contain something capable of helping him overcome the immense difficulty of forming a Golden Core with his Five-Element Spirit Root.
• Dozens of puppets are destroyed at first, but Xu reinforces them with load-bearing talismans and continuously awakens replacements.
• After a tremendous effort, more than one hundred puppets begin carrying the coffin toward the Secret Realm’s entrance. By the end of the chapter, it is only one step away from being removed.

2. Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Demonstrates his cautious, practical nature by avoiding unnecessary danger and concealing his movements. He remains uninterested in fame or external events, focusing instead on cultivation, farming, and obtaining resources for his future Golden Core breakthrough. His excitement grows when he discovers the coffins and realizes the central stone coffin may contain a crucial opportunity.
• Li Lingbi: Shows reasonable judgment and consideration by allowing Xu to leave, recognizing that the dangerous expedition is unsuitable for him. He also reveals that powerful Nascent Soul cultivators are secretly supervising the operation.
• Zhao Qianyun: Though not directly present, her awakening and revelation of Dreamlike Island’s location significantly affect the larger situation.
• Bone-Inscription Puppets: Their role becomes clearer. They are not merely tools but entities recognized by the Secret Realm’s rules, allowing them to bypass restrictions that would threaten outsiders.

3. Significant Themes

• Caution versus ambition: Xu avoids unnecessary risks but is willing to undertake enormous effort when the potential reward could solve his cultivation problem.
• Hidden truths and unexpected discoveries: The coffins contain cultivators rather than objects directly related to the Inscription Ancestor, revealing that the Secret Realm holds a darker and more complicated history.
• The danger of cultivation: The drained corpses and sealed remains highlight the brutal cost of cultivation and the possibility that people were imprisoned, sacrificed, or exploited.
• Resourcefulness and preparation: Xu relies on talisman knowledge, magical tools, the Portable Space, and the puppets’ unique status to overcome obstacles.
• The difficulty of the Five-Element Spirit Root: Xu’s choice to cultivate with five elements gives him advantages for farming but makes his eventual Golden Core tribulation extraordinarily dangerous.

4. Character Interactions

• Xu speaks with Li Lingbi about leaving the expedition, and Li acknowledges that Xu is unsuited to combat and exploration.
• Li explains the hidden presence of the Nascent Soul elders, reassuring Xu that the expedition is not as unprotected as it appears.
• Xu prepares food for the group before leaving, reinforcing his established role as their cook despite his lack of interest in fighting.
• Xu indirectly interacts with Zhao Qianyun’s storyline through the news of her awakening and revelation, but deliberately refuses to become involved.
• Xu commands the Bone-Inscription Puppets and uses Crow Five’s shared vision to inspect the stone coffin, coordinating their efforts to transport it despite enormous losses.

Chapter Summary: Inscription Ancestor Puppet!

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing successfully has the hundreds of Bone-Inscription Puppets transport an enormous stone coffin out of the Secret Realm.
• Unable to open the coffin through ordinary methods—runes, artifact refinement, pill techniques, and other methods—he resorts to using the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat’s devouring and evolutionary abilities.
• The boat’s lightning power activates the coffin’s inscriptions, causing the sealed lid to open.
• Inside, Xu discovers the perfectly preserved body of the Inscription Ancestor, who appears simultaneously alive and dead. His body is covered in ancient inscriptions containing the power of heaven-and-earth laws.
• The coffin’s interior is also inscribed with blood-red runes that absorb Wood Spiritual Power and Water Qi. A jade pendant broken into three pieces lies inside.
• Xu decides to refine the Inscription Ancestor into a puppet. Using Soul-Severing Incense, spiritual bindings, Spirit-Binding Talismans, Azure-Pattern Wood nails, his own hair, essence blood, and puppet runes, he performs a lengthy refinement ritual.
• His Thought-Binding Rune receives assistance from heaven-and-earth laws, becoming fused with the Ancestor’s original inscriptions. This creates an immediate master-puppet connection.
• The resulting puppet possesses Inscription Power, Rune Power, and Remnant-Body Power, but its strength is limited to Xu’s current realm—Foundation Establishment—and it must return to the Inscribed Bone Mound every seven days to maintain its life.
• Xu’s first command causes an inscription on the puppet’s hand to produce ten spiritual talismans, likely bringing him closer to obtaining the Profound Origin Golden Light Talisman.

Character Development

• Xu Changqing demonstrates persistence, adaptability, and willingness to use unconventional methods. When conventional techniques fail, he creatively employs the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat.
• His confidence in his Puppet Technique grows as he attempts to control an ancient and immensely powerful figure.
• Despite initially expecting a powerful combat helper, Xu quickly accepts the puppet’s limitations and refocuses on his primary objective: acquiring the Profound Origin Golden Light Talisman.
• The Inscription Ancestor remains without consciousness, functioning as an empty but extraordinarily valuable vessel.

Significant Themes

• Ingenuity over brute force: Xu succeeds not through advanced conventional techniques but by exploiting the unique abilities of his lightning-based artifact.
• Life and death blurred: The Inscription Ancestor’s body possesses both vitality and decay, suggesting a state between corpse, puppet, and living being.
• Heaven-and-earth recognition: Xu’s rune receives direct assistance from natural laws, implying that even an unconventional or morally questionable act can be acknowledged by the laws of the world when successfully accomplished.
• Power constrained by the wielder: The puppet’s potential is vast, but its current strength is restricted by Xu’s cultivation realm.
• Transformation and appropriation: Xu converts an ancient cultivator’s preserved remains into a tool for his own advancement.

Character Interactions

• Xu primarily interacts with the Bone-Inscription Puppets, using them to transport and manipulate the coffin before they are destroyed.
• He indirectly interacts with the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat, testing whether it can devour or evolve through the coffin’s sealed power.
• His most important interaction is with the Inscription Ancestor’s preserved body: through binding, inscriptions, and ritual refinement, Xu establishes a shared-intent master-puppet relationship.
• The chapter ends with Xu commanding the newly created puppet, whose own inscriptions respond by generating ten spiritual talismans.

Chapter Summary: Heaven-Grade Golden Core: Part One

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing discovers that Inscription Ancestor’s body contains ten Profound Origin Golden Light Talismans, the key materials needed to attempt a breakthrough to the Heaven-Grade Golden Core. With ten talismans, he estimates his chance of success at roughly ninety percent.
• His main remaining problem is finding a safe breakthrough location. The disturbance caused by his many Spiritual Roots would be enormous, making the Portable Space seem like the only viable option.
• While leaving the Portable Space, Xu notices the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat drawing energy from the stone coffin and orders it to conserve its power.
• A buried Twin-Spike Lightning Crystal suddenly detonates in the Azuretide Sea Region. Xu realizes that the self-detonating talismans he planted around it have worked, creating a massive explosion that kills or destroys nearby sea monsters.
• Xu decides to investigate and possibly exploit whoever has been caught in the blast.
• The injured Yellow Springs Alliance member Old Wu is encountered by Xu and Inscription Ancestor. Old Wu reveals that he had intended to activate Profound Heart City’s formation and trap the Immortal Sect disciples, but the Lightning Crystal unexpectedly self-detonated after accumulating too much Gui Water power.
• Old Wu also explains that he released an Azure-Water Demon Ape near Profound Heart City to keep the Immortal Sect disciples occupied.
• More importantly, Old Wu reveals that his granddaughter is preparing to break through to the Earth-Grade Golden Core on Dreamlike Island, using the island’s special environment and the spiritual energy escaping from a Dragon Vein.
• Xu realizes that Dreamlike Island may be the ideal place for his own breakthrough. If he hides nearby and breaks through simultaneously, the resulting Turbid Lightning may be divided between him and Old Wu’s granddaughter, reducing the danger to himself.
• Xu follows Old Wu and Inscription Ancestor to Dreamlike Island while remaining concealed aboard the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat.
• The island is surrounded by dense mist and appears to contain an otherworldly collection of pavilions and towers, though Old Wu deliberately avoids those structures.
• The group arrives at a massive half-open clam. Its white shell is patterned like jade, while its black shell contains countless translucent human faces. Inside, pink mist and seductive whispers promise eternal life, immortality, and agelessness.
• Xu remains cautious, recognizing the clam as a psychological or spiritual trap. Deeper inside, they find a strange landscape filled with water and enormous pearls containing illusions of ideal lives, including wealth, family, victory, and personal desires.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing becomes increasingly confident in his preparation for the Heaven-Grade Golden Core breakthrough. He has the talismans, spirit artifacts, and the necessary innate advantages from possessing complete Five-Element Spiritual Roots.
• He also demonstrates growing strategic cunning, immediately considering how to use another cultivator’s breakthrough to share or divert the dangerous Turbid Lightning.
• Xu’s earlier assumptions are corrected: he learns that cultivators with complete Five-Element Spiritual Roots do not need demon cores to support their breakthrough, unlike those with incomplete Spiritual Roots.
• Inscription Ancestor continues to function as Xu’s living puppet and companion. His obsession with immortality makes the whispers inside the giant clam especially relevant, but his strength and Xu’s mental connection protect him from being influenced.
• Old Wu survives the Lightning Crystal explosion despite being severely injured. He remains focused on returning to Dreamlike Island and assisting his granddaughter’s breakthrough.
• Old Wu’s plans reveal both ambition and care for his family: he set traps for the Immortal Sect disciples while also arranging conditions for his granddaughter to advance.

Significant Themes

• Preparation and opportunity: Xu’s breakthrough depends not only on rare treasures but also on finding the correct environment and timing.
• Strategic exploitation: Rather than acting recklessly, Xu looks for ways to use existing conflicts and breakthroughs to improve his own chances.
• Risk and controlled danger: The chapter emphasizes that powerful breakthroughs create enormous disturbances and require careful management of external threats.
• Desire and illusion: Dreamlike Island and the giant clam exploit people’s deepest wishes—immortality, family, power, and victory—suggesting that spiritual advancement is threatened not only by physical dangers but also by psychological temptation.
• Hidden schemes and unintended consequences: Old Wu’s trap produces a much larger explosion than expected, showing how cultivation plans can quickly escape their creators’ control.

Character Interactions

• Xu maintains a sarcastic, commanding relationship with the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat, treating it almost like a subordinate when he orders it to conserve energy.
• His connection with Inscription Ancestor allows them to share perceptions and coordinate without speaking openly, strengthening their effectiveness as a team.
• Xu and Old Wu do not directly reveal their true intentions to each other. Xu secretly follows Old Wu, while Old Wu remains unaware that he is being tracked.
• Old Wu explains his failed plan and his granddaughter’s breakthrough preparations to Inscription Ancestor, creating the opportunity for Xu to discover Dreamlike Island’s value.
• The chapter ends with Xu, Inscription Ancestor, and Old Wu entering an environment designed to tempt visitors through visions of their deepest desires, setting up a major spiritual and psychological challenge.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• After confirming that Inscription Ancestor was safe, Xu Changqing enters Dreamlike Island through the giant toad-shaped entrance.
• The island immediately creates an illusion based on his deepest memories: Xu is returned to his childhood home, where he reunites with an illusion of his mother and eats the birthday longevity noodles she once prepared for him.
• Overcome with grief and longing, Xu realizes the figure is not truly his mother. His acknowledgment causes the illusion to collapse, leaving him alone again.
• Xu and the ancestor find themselves surrounded by countless giant pearls containing beautiful, dreamlike scenes. They realize Dreamlike Island can materialize people’s deepest desires and obsessions.
• One pearl contains Old Wu and Xiao Meier. However, the “ancestor” beside Old Wu has already been replaced by an illusion, and Old Wu fails to notice.
• Xiao Meier prepares to attempt an Earth-Grade Golden Core breakthrough. She arranges an extensive set of protective artifacts, talismans, pills, formation flags, and feng shui tools.
• Xu enters the pearl and secretly approaches Xiao Meier using the Myriad Insect Secret Record, merging with the Inverted-Vein Dragon-Transformed Insect Matriarch to greatly improve his tunneling ability.
• While Xiao Meier prepares for tribulation, Xu hides underground and equips himself with an enormous arsenal of defensive treasures, pills, talismans, and spirit artifacts. He declares that he is fully prepared as well.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: His emotional defenses are exposed when he encounters the illusion of his deceased or absent mother. Although deeply moved, he retains enough clarity to recognize the illusion and reject it. He also demonstrates his characteristic opportunism and preparedness by infiltrating Xiao Meier’s scene and preparing to exploit or survive the coming tribulation.
• Xiao Meier: Revealed as a skilled, highly methodical cultivator with expertise in feng shui, formations, and talisman-making. Her confidence grows as she gathers every possible advantage for her breakthrough.
• Old Wu: His judgment is compromised by the island’s illusion, as he does not realize that the ancestor beside him has been replaced.
• The Ancestor: Serves as the one who helps Xu recognize the island’s abnormality, though even his apparent presence raises questions about the island’s ability to imitate or replace people.

Significant Themes

• Desire and illusion: Dreamlike Island turns memories, longings, and obsessions into seemingly real experiences, testing whether cultivators can distinguish emotional truth from reality.
• Grief and remembrance: Xu’s reunion with his mother highlights the enduring pain of separation and his longing for the ordinary life he lost.
• Discernment and self-control: Xu’s ability to enjoy the memory while still identifying it as false shows his growing mental strength.
• Preparation versus fate: Xiao Meier relies on meticulous preparation and favorable circumstances, while Xu prepares even more obsessively, suggesting that survival in cultivation depends on anticipating every possible danger.
• Deception and replacement: The island’s ability to substitute false versions of people creates uncertainty about identity and trust.

Character Interactions

• Xu interacts emotionally with the illusory version of his mother, sharing a final meal and admitting how long he has missed her before exposing the illusion.
• Xu and the ancestor discuss the island’s unnatural nature and question how Old Wu could fail to notice that his companion had been replaced.
• Old Wu’s illusory ancestor agrees to accept Xiao Meier as a disciple after her breakthrough, strengthening her confidence.
• Xu secretly enters Xiao Meier’s pearl and positions himself nearby while she prepares for the Golden Core tribulation, setting up the chapter’s impending confrontation or opportunity.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Meier begins undergoing her Golden Core tribulation, expecting only two lightning strikes because of her Feng Shui Spirit Root, auspicious position, protective formations, and several powerful talismans.
• The tribulation clouds unexpectedly transform into a vortex of five-colored Turbid Lightning, far more powerful than the Tainted Baleful Lightning normally used against Feng Shui Spirit Roots.
• Xiao Meier activates the Four Symbols Flags, using the Black Tortoise formation to redirect the lightning underground. However, the defensive shell collapses immediately.
• She then employs her Five-Elements Body Protection talismans. The metal, wood, water, fire, and earth defenses slow the lightning but are rapidly destroyed.
• The lightning strikes Xiao Meier directly, shattering her clothing and leaving dangerous gray Killing Intent patterns spreading across her body. Her Grand Profound Pendant barely suppresses the damage.
• A weakened remnant of the lightning travels underground toward Xu Changqing, suggesting he may be connected to the tribulation, but it dissipates before harming him.
• Xiao Meier and Old Wu mistakenly conclude that she has survived the first of only two tribulations and that she is still on track for an Earth-Grade Golden Core.
• The next attack begins with not two lightning serpents, but five, each representing one of the elements: metal, wood, fire, water, and earth.
• Horrified by the overwhelming challenge, Xiao Meier declares that she no longer wants to form the Golden Core.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meier demonstrates preparation, confidence, and considerable defensive ability, but the unprecedented tribulation quickly exposes the limits of her formations and talismans.
• Her initial shock turns into cautious hope when she believes only one more lightning strike remains. That hope collapses when the five elemental lightning serpents appear.
• The dangerous Killing Intent entering her body raises the stakes, threatening lasting damage even if she succeeds.
• Xu Changqing remains observant and skeptical. He recognizes that the apparent patriarch is not genuine but a manifestation of the Secret Realm shaped by Old Wu’s wishes.
• He also notices that the lightning seems to seek him, hinting that he may be the hidden cause or target of the tribulation.
• Old Wu continues encouraging Xiao Meier, but he is unable to understand the tribulation’s abnormal escalation.
• The fake patriarch remains unnervingly calm and simply attributes the change to “fortune,” offering reassurance without explaining the danger.

Significant Themes

• Unpredictable fate and hidden forces: Xiao Meier’s carefully calculated breakthrough is disrupted by powers beyond her understanding.
• The limits of preparation: Even powerful formations, talismans, and protective artifacts can fail when confronted with an abnormal force.
• False reassurance and self-deception: The fake patriarch gives answers that reflect what others want to hear, causing Xiao Meier and Old Wu to underestimate the danger.
• Power and sacrifice: Advancement toward a higher-grade Golden Core demands confronting increasingly lethal trials, with permanent consequences possible.
• Elemental balance and overwhelming convergence: The five lightning serpents symbolize all five elements being brought together against Xiao Meier, directly countering her Feng Shui-based cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meier repeatedly seeks guidance from Old Wu and the patriarch after the lightning changes.
• Old Wu reassures her and encourages her to continue, while the patriarch cryptically answers that the tribulation represents “fortune.”
• Xu Changqing privately analyzes the patriarch’s artificial nature and suspects the lightning’s residual force is targeting him.
• Xiao Meier’s final interaction is an emotional rejection of the trial itself: after seeing the five elemental lightning serpents, she abandons her earlier confidence and cries that she is no longer forming the Golden Core.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Meier confronts five powerful Thunder Serpents during the lightning tribulation. Because she is blocking their true target, they attack her relentlessly without giving her time to recover.
• She uses Four Earth Talismans, summoning the Houtu Goddess, Land God, Mountain God, and City God. Their combined Earth Qi forms a massive barrier that temporarily slows the serpents.
• Xiao Meier takes advantage of the brief respite to absorb energy from the Grand Profound Pendant and restore her damaged body.
• As the Thunder Serpents grow more violent, she activates the Azure Dragon and White Tiger Flags. The Azure Dragon chains attempt to bind the serpents, while the White Tiger releases Geng Metal Sword Qi. Both attacks are quickly destroyed.
• The earth gods’ defense collapses, forcing Xiao Meier to use a Spirit-Light Talisman modeled after the Profound Origin Golden Light Talisman. The barrier initially withstands the serpents’ assault.
• The five serpents then unleash attacks corresponding to their attributes:
  • The golden serpent fires countless metal swords.
  • The wooden serpent releases poison and corrosive gas.
  • The water serpent produces massive electrical shockwaves.
  • The fire serpent floods the area with Li Fire.
  • The earth serpent attacks with overwhelming physical pressure.
• The barrier shatters. Xiao Meier activates all remaining artifacts, talismans, and pills, but the serpents ultimately destroy her body, divine soul, and consciousness. The pills repeatedly repair her, prolonging her agony before she is finally reduced to ashes.
• Old Wu is devastated and faints after witnessing Xiao Meier’s apparent death.
• The tribulation does not end. The weakened Thunder Serpents continue downward and break into the underground chamber, where they confront Xu Changqing.
• Because Xiao Meier had already exhausted most of their strength, only about one-third of their power remains. Xu Changqing easily withstands their attacks with his Profound Yellow Thick-Earth Armor, and the serpents eventually dissipate.
• Xu Changqing emerges from underground and observes the unconscious Old Wu, the fake ancestor, and the increasingly dangerous tribulation clouds.
• The third stage of the tribulation forms: a gigantic five-headed Thunder Beast, combining the attributes of a White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, and qilin.
• Its five synchronized roars produce deadly soundwaves that attack the body, Spiritual Root, willpower, and divine soul simultaneously.

Character Developments

• Xiao Meier displays extraordinary endurance and resourcefulness, exhausting nearly every defensive and restorative technique available to her. Her determination to survive and complete the breakthrough is emphasized, but she ultimately sacrifices herself while delaying the Thunder Serpents.
• Old Wu shifts from confidence and relief to shock and grief. His belief that Xiao Meier possessed every advantage is shattered by the unexpected changes in the tribulation. His emotional collapse highlights his deep affection for her.
• Xu Changqing remains calm and confident despite the destruction around him. His willingness to face the weakened Thunder Serpents directly demonstrates his overwhelming defensive strength and suggests that he may be the tribulation’s true target.
• The fake ancestor remains passive and expressionless, offering no visible reaction even after Xiao Meier’s apparent death.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and endurance: Xiao Meier’s desperate resistance allows Xu Changqing to survive, making her final stand meaningful even though she does not succeed.
• The unpredictability of fate and tribulation: The lightning tribulation repeatedly changes in unexpected ways, invalidating Old Wu’s assumptions about Xiao Meier’s chances.
• The limits of preparation: Xiao Meier possesses powerful talismans, artifacts, pills, and favorable circumstances, yet the altered tribulation overwhelms every planned defense.
• Hidden strength and composure: Xu Changqing’s calm response contrasts sharply with Xiao Meier’s desperate struggle, revealing a major disparity in their power.
• Escalation of danger: The tribulation progresses from Turbid Lightning, to Thunder Serpents, and finally to a five-headed Thunder Beast, signaling that the greatest threat has yet to arrive.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Meier directly opposes the five Thunder Serpents, using layered defenses and every available resource to protect herself and delay their advance.
• Old Wu observes and emotionally reacts to Xiao Meier’s battle, initially encouraging her chances before collapsing when she is destroyed.
• After defeating Xiao Meier, the Thunder Serpents descend underground and confront Xu Changqing, but their weakened state leaves them unable to harm him.
• Xu Changqing briefly observes both Old Wu and the fake ancestor before turning his attention to the next, far more dangerous stage of the tribulation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Observers throughout the Azuretide Sea Region detect Tribulation Clouds over Dreamlike Island, but none can approach because of the Azure-Water Demon Ape and the island’s elusive entrance.
• Xu Changqing faces the third bolt of Tribulation Lightning, which manifests as a massive five-headed Thunder Beast embodying the Five Elements.
• The Thunder Beast launches a series of attacks:
  • The metal head fires powerful Geng Metal Sword Qi.
  • The wood head creates lightning-infused vines.
  • The earth head generates crushing gravitational pressure.
  • The fire head releases space-warping Chi Flames.
  • The water head fires corrosive Gui Water Thunder.
• Xu Changqing uses his extensive arsenal of spirit artifacts and techniques to counter each attack. His Dipper-Stepping Boots help him evade, while the Profound Yellow Thick-Earth Armor and Primordial Unity Spirit-Absorbing Robe absorb damage.
• He strengthens his Blazing Sun Finger with the Five-Element Rotation Disk, allowing fire to overwhelm the wood-based lightning vines.
• When trapped by the earth head’s pressure, Xu activates the Five-Element Rings, using the properties of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth to break through, heal, cushion, counteract, and redirect the force.
• He combines the Myriad Manifestations Profound Light Shield with the Grand Cloud-Rain Art to neutralize the Thunder Beast’s fire-and-water assault.
• Xu then uses Autumn Dew, freezing rain into countless icy needles that repeatedly strike the Thunder Beast. The attack causes little physical damage but greatly enrages and humiliates it.
• The Thunder Beast unleashes its strongest attack: a five-colored lightning pillar combining all five elements, designed to destroy Xu’s defenses, spiritual power, Spiritual Roots, and divine soul.
• Xu survives by layering all his defensive artifacts and using the Five-Element Rotation Disk to divide and counteract the remaining lightning through elemental interactions.
• Having exhausted its power, the Thunder Beast dissipates. Xu realizes he has successfully endured the third tribulation bolt.
• The Five-Element Spiritual Power within his sea of qi undergoes eighty-one cycles of mutual generation and condenses into an ebony egg-sized sphere of light.
• Xu is surprised because he expected a Golden Core formed from Five-Element Spiritual Roots to be five-colored rather than black.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates exceptional composure, preparation, and adaptability. He remains calm even under attacks capable of bypassing multiple layers of defense.
• His mastery of Five-Element techniques deepens. Rather than relying solely on brute force, he uses elemental generation and conquest strategically to enhance attacks, redirect damage, and dismantle the Thunder Beast’s power.
• Xu’s confidence grows as he successfully withstands the third tribulation bolt, though the strange color of his emerging Golden Core creates new uncertainty.

Significant Themes

• Preparation and versatility: Xu’s survival depends on the coordinated use of many artifacts, talismans, techniques, and pills.
• Balance and interaction of the Five Elements: The chapter emphasizes both mutual generation and mutual conquest as sources of power.
• Adaptation over brute strength: Xu repeatedly turns the Thunder Beast’s elemental attacks against it or neutralizes them through clever combinations.
• Transformation and mystery: The formation of the ebony sphere signals a major stage in Xu’s cultivation, while its unexpected color foreshadows an unusual or potentially extraordinary Golden Core.
• Humiliation and resolve: Xu’s minor but irritating counterattack with Autumn Dew provokes the Thunder Beast into revealing its ultimate technique.

Character Interactions

• Xu’s primary interaction is with the five-headed Thunder Beast, whose attacks escalate in response to his defenses.
• The Thunder Beast initially underestimates Xu’s ability to withstand and counter its elemental powers, then becomes increasingly enraged as its attacks fail.
• Xu’s use of Autumn Dew visibly humiliates the beast, prompting all five heads to combine their powers into a final devastating attack.
• The conflict ends with Xu overcoming the Thunder Beast through superior tactical control of the Five Elements rather than overwhelming offensive force.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing undergoes the fourth and fifth lightning tribulations while condensing his Golden Core. Because he possesses a Five-Element Spiritual Root, he must endure five tribulations rather than the usual number.
• The fourth tribulation manifests as a terrifying rain of five types of lightning:
  • Metal lightning that melts spiritual artifacts
  • Wood lightning that corrodes Spiritual Roots
  • Water lightning that freezes the divine soul
  • Fire lightning that burns consciousness
  • Earth lightning that crushes the body
• His powerful spiritual artifacts are destroyed one after another, and his Five-Element Spiritual Light Barrier gradually fails. Xu complains that the tribulation is “bullying an honest man.”
• He activates the Profound Origin Golden Light Talismans, discovering that they can block the fourth tribulation. As the lightning rain concentrates into a smaller area, he is forced to use a second talisman. The fourth tribulation eventually ends, and the Golden Core inside his Qi Sea becomes more solid.
• The Five-Element spiritual powers within the core continuously generate and restrain one another, causing the core’s black color to deepen and its structure to become increasingly condensed.
• The fifth tribulation begins with the appearance of a massive Chaotic Lightning Core, ten zhang in diameter, containing the powers of the five elements and chaotic, destructive energy.
• The lightning core instantly destroys all of Xu Changqing’s remaining spiritual artifacts. His Profound Origin Golden Light Talismans become his only effective defense.
• The lightning core breaks through one talisman and severely damages Xu’s body, divine soul, and consciousness. He swallows a Five-Aspect Spirit-Nurturing Pill and a Five-Element Primal Pill, rapidly healing his injuries.
• Xu uses successive Golden Light Talismans to resist the lightning core. He realizes the tribulation operates through mutual generation and restraint: when his defense holds, the lightning core weakens; when his defense falters, the lightning core grows stronger.
• By the ninth talisman, the lightning core can no longer break through and finally explodes. Its remaining Five-Element and chaotic energies flow into Xu, repairing him completely and pushing his condition to an unprecedented peak.
• The influx of energy completes the formation of his Golden Core. It becomes a smooth, fist-sized, black core—hard like a stellar core but warm and lustrous like ancient jade.
• The tribulation clouds finally retreat and gather into a mysterious mark in the sky, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Development

• Xu Changqing demonstrates exceptional endurance, adaptability, and resourcefulness under overwhelming pressure.
• He learns to alternate between the Five Elements’ principles of generation and restraint rather than relying solely on brute-force resistance.
• His confidence in the Profound Origin Golden Light Talismans grows after witnessing their ability to withstand the fourth tribulation, but he remains cautious and economical with their use because only ten are available.
• During the fifth tribulation, Xu moves from defensive desperation to strategic control. He recognizes the relationship between his talismans and the lightning core and uses that insight to win the prolonged contest.
• By surviving the tribulations, he successfully completes his Golden Core and reaches the peak condition of his current cultivation stage.

Significant Themes

• Defying Heaven and Fate: Xu’s tribulation is extraordinarily harsh, emphasizing the conflict between an individual cultivator and heavenly law.
• Preparation and Resourcefulness: His survival depends on carefully preserved talismans, spiritual pills, defensive artifacts, and knowledge of the Five Elements.
• Balance and Transformation: The Golden Core’s formation reflects the cycle of mutual generation and restraint among the Five Elements.
• Endurance Under Adversity: The chapter portrays cultivation as a battle of persistence, where surviving overwhelming trials is itself a form of advancement.
• Order Within Chaos: The Chaotic Lightning Core combines destructive chaos with the structured principles of the Five Elements, suggesting that Xu’s completed core may possess an unusual or extraordinary nature.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing’s primary interaction is with the heavenly lightning tribulation, which behaves almost like an intelligent opponent by targeting his weaknesses and intensifying its attacks.
• His spiritual artifacts and Golden Light Talismans function as successive defensive “partners” in the struggle, with the talismans repeatedly replacing one another as each is exhausted.
• The Five-Element spiritual powers within Xu’s body interact dynamically, generating and restraining one another to stabilize and complete the Golden Core.
• No other characters appear directly in the chapter, though Xu briefly recalls Li Lingbi’s previous use of the Profound Origin Golden Light Talisman and realizes why it felt so powerful.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing’s mysterious mark enters his Qi Sea and transforms into a Profound Seal, accompanied by a miniature Chaos Dao Seed and five rotating elemental lights.
• The Profound Seal confirms that Xu Changqing possesses a Heaven-Grade Golden Core, granting him:
  • Power density comparable to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator despite being in the Early Golden Core Stage.
  • Access to the laws of heaven and earth through his elemental force.
  • Stronger Five-Element attacks with special effects such as armor-piercing, growth, penetration, explosion, and crushing weight.
  • Double the range for drawing upon Earth Qi, increasing from one hundred to two hundred miles without additional expenditure.
• His Five-Element spiritual power evolves into Chaos Force, while his Spiritual Sense becomes far more powerful Divine Sense.
• Xu Changqing awakens four divine abilities:

Five-Colored Divine Radiance

Myriad Insect Matriarch’s Nest

Summon Wind and Rain

Myriad Mechanisms, Myriad Transformations

• Old Wu awakens and realizes that Xu Changqing, not Xiao Meier, was the true person undergoing tribulation. Furious over his granddaughter’s death, he attacks Xu Changqing.
• Xu Changqing uses Five-Colored Divine Radiance five times, destroying Old Wu’s Spiritual Root, Golden Core, body, divine soul, and finally his Dao.
• He takes Old Wu’s storage ring and discovers large quantities of Spirit Stones, talismans, and a mysterious mask.
• Before Xu Changqing can leave, the supposed ancestor of Dreamlike Island remains behind and proposes a deal: Xu Changqing must take him along.
• The “ancestor” reveals that he is an incarnation of the legendary Mirage Dragon, the true secret behind Dreamlike Island.
• The Mirage Dragon explains that he once transformed into Dreamlike Island to fish in the Azuretide Sea Region, but the Yellow Springs Alliance killed the island’s Dragon Vein, leaving him trapped.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing experiences a major breakthrough in both cultivation and combat power. His Heaven-Grade Golden Core grants him the Profound Seal, Chaos Force, Divine Sense, and four powerful divine abilities.
• His confidence increases as he recognizes that each divine ability complements his existing techniques, including puppet creation, artifact refining, insect cultivation, cloud-and-rain arts, and Flood Dragon Transformation.
• Xu remains cautious and uninterested in larger conflicts, insisting that he only wants to cultivate quietly and avoid unnecessary involvement.
• Old Wu shifts from confusion to fury after learning Xu Changqing was responsible for the tribulation. His attempted revenge ends in his complete destruction.
• The Mirage Dragon emerges as a mysterious but pragmatic figure. Although immensely knowledgeable, he is currently trapped and seeks Xu Changqing’s help to escape Dreamlike Island.

Significant Themes

• Heavenly recognition and exceptional talent: Xu Changqing’s Heaven-Grade Golden Core marks him as a rare cultivator favored by the laws of heaven and earth.
• Power beyond conventional realms: The Profound Seal allows him to wield law-infused attacks, giving him an advantage over ordinary Golden Core cultivators.
• Synergy between cultivation and accumulated knowledge: Xu’s awakened divine abilities perfectly match the techniques and treasures he has already acquired.
• Consequences of ambition and revenge: Old Wu’s anger leads him to attack an overwhelmingly superior opponent and results in his death.
• Hidden identities and deeper mysteries: Dreamlike Island is revealed to be connected to the legendary Mirage Dragon, suggesting that its true nature is far more significant than it first appeared.
• Freedom and entrapment: While Xu wants to leave and remain uninvolved, the Mirage Dragon is confined to the island and needs Xu’s assistance.

Character Interactions

• Xu Changqing and Old Wu: Old Wu confronts Xu after realizing the truth about the tribulation, but Xu effortlessly kills him with Five-Colored Divine Radiance. Their exchange highlights the vast difference in strength between them.
• Xu Changqing and the Mirage Dragon: The Mirage Dragon observes Xu’s hidden strength and warns that his abilities and aura cannot truly be concealed. He then attempts to negotiate, offering his assistance in exchange for being taken away from the island.
• Xu Changqing and Xiao Meier: Though Xiao Meier is not present, her role is central to the conflict. She helped Xu withstand the first two lightning tribulations and died as a result, leading Old Wu to seek revenge.

Chapter Summary

Plot and Key Events

• Xu Changqing negotiates with the Mirage Dragon, which is trapped because Dreamlike Island is formed from its body and attached to the Evil Water beneath the sea.
• To escape, the Mirage Dragon must abandon its physical body and transform into a Mirage Dragon Pearl, but doing so will weaken it for at least a century.
• In exchange for helping it leave, the dragon promises to conceal Xu Changqing’s cultivation realm, aura, and fluctuations from other cultivators.
• Xu agrees, recognizing that refusal would likely get him killed, but demands to see the dragon’s true body first.
• Dreamlike Island’s illusions collapse, revealing the Mirage Dragon’s enormous, nearly thousand-zhang body, covered in interwoven gold-and-green scales, crimson mane, antlers, and unusual reverse scales.
• Everyone trapped within the island dies when the illusions disappear, their bodies reduced to desiccated corpses after their essence and vitality are exhausted.
• The dragon explains that Xu’s Dragon Abyss Water-Spirit Seal can contain its transformed pearl because the artifact shares a bloodline connection with it and carries the aura of the Grand Void Rift.
• Xu learns that the Grand Void Rift is an ancient battlefield too dangerous for a Golden Core cultivator to enter. Even the Mirage Dragon avoids entering it directly.
• The Mirage Dragon transforms into a glazed pearl, while Xu summons the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat to absorb and contain it.
• Before the process is complete, Xu secretly uses the Separation Technique to drain the Mirage Dragon’s powerful true-dragon bloodline from its abandoned body.
• The dragon realizes what is happening and angrily condemns Xu as a “despicable human.”

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing shows greater cunning and pragmatism. He accepts the alliance only because it benefits him, remains suspicious of the dragon’s motives, and insists on learning the truth about the Dragon Abyss Water-Spirit Seal.
• He also reveals his opportunistic nature by harvesting the dragon’s bloodline after it abandons its body, viewing it as a rare chance to gain an exceptionally powerful ability.
• The Mirage Dragon appears calculating and manipulative. It plans to eventually possess Xu’s body and torment his soul, while pretending to cooperate honestly.
• Despite its immense power and long experience, the dragon is caught off guard by Xu’s betrayal and loses control when its bloodline begins to drain.
• The ancestor remains largely silent, serving as a witness to Xu’s actions.
• The Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat behaves almost greedily, eagerly attempting to absorb the dragon’s energy despite being far too small to contain the entire body.

Themes

• Mutual exploitation and hidden motives: Both Xu and the Mirage Dragon present the arrangement as a partnership while secretly planning to benefit at the other’s expense.
• Cunning over strength: Xu cannot overpower the Mirage Dragon directly, but he uses negotiation, caution, and a concealed technique to gain an advantage.
• Dangerous power and ancient secrets: The Dragon Abyss Water-Spirit Seal and the Grand Void Rift hint at a much larger mythology and future dangers beyond Xu’s current realm.
• The cost of survival: The Mirage Dragon sacrifices its physical body and a century of recovery, while those trapped on Dreamlike Island pay with their lives.
• Moral ambiguity: Xu recognizes that the dragon has harmed countless people, yet he still exploits its weakened state for personal gain, blurring the line between victim and predator.

Character Interactions

• Xu and the Mirage Dragon negotiate openly but distrust each other throughout the exchange.
• Xu challenges the dragon by asking about the Water-Spirit Seal, forcing it to reveal limited information.
• The dragon warns Xu against entering the Grand Void Rift, partly out of concern for the danger and partly because it wants to preserve its own secrets and resources.
• After the dragon transforms, Xu turns the supposed alliance into an ambush by absorbing its bloodline.
• The chapter ends with the Mirage Dragon recognizing Xu’s betrayal and roaring in fury.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing battles the Mirage Dragon while secretly stripping away its bloodline with his left hand and attacking with the Five-Colored Divine Radiance.
• The divine radiance severely weakens anything it touches, but the Mirage Dragon withstands it better than expected because of its ancient cultivation and the fact that only part of its power has left its body.
• The Mirage Dragon creates enormous mountain ranges from materialized Mirage Qi, making the illusion physically real and threatening to crush the surrounding sea.
• Xu Changqing avoids a direct confrontation. He kicks the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat into the water, boards it with the patriarch, and continues absorbing the dragon’s bloodline underwater.
• The Mirage Dragon senses approaching Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation cultivators. Realizing the situation is becoming dangerous, it abandons its massive body and escapes with its Dragon Pearl, leaving behind a threat against Xu Changqing.
• Xu Changqing becomes wary of the dragon’s swift retreat, suspecting that it may have detected an even greater danger.
• He orders the patriarch to search the dragon’s remains while he continues absorbing bloodline power and the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat devours the corpse.
• Xu Changqing successfully unlocks the third transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon: the Mirage Dragon Transformation.
• The transformation grants illusion-based abilities, including Thousand-Faced Illusory Form, Phantom Shadow Following, Aura Concealment, Illusory Realm Traversal, and several advanced illusion techniques, though it also carries drawbacks such as Divine Sense Exhaustion and Bright-Light Suppression.
• The patriarch collects valuable dragon parts, including the eyes, throat, reverse scales, and internal organs. Xu stores about a hundred zhang of material in his expanded Portable Space but leaves the rest behind to avoid attracting excessive hostility.
• Xu uses the Mirage Dragon Transformation to create numerous clones and conceal his true aura. He escapes with the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat while the clones scatter.
• Other cultivators arrive, including Nascent Soul True Lords, but discover that the valuable core components and Dragon Pearl are gone. They are left with only the dragon’s remains.
• Xu leaves the Azuretide Sea Region, stores the boat and patriarch in his Portable Space, disguises himself as an Immortal Sect disciple, and returns to Dongting Immortal Sect using Shattered Moon, Falling Frost.

2. Character Developments

• Xu Changqing demonstrates caution, deception, and strategic thinking rather than relying on brute strength. He deliberately stalls the Mirage Dragon, exploits its exposed bloodline, and escapes before stronger cultivators arrive.
• He becomes more suspicious and vigilant after the Mirage Dragon flees so decisively, recognizing that even a powerful Golden Core cultivator cannot afford carelessness.
• Xu gains a major new ability through the Mirage Dragon Transformation, substantially improving his talent for concealment, illusion, cloning, and escape.
• The Mirage Dragon is shown to be powerful but pragmatic. Instead of fighting to the death, it abandons its physical body and escapes with its Dragon Pearl, choosing survival and the possibility of rebuilding over revenge.
• The patriarch proves useful by locating and gathering the most valuable parts of the dragon’s body.
• The Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat contributes directly by consuming the dragon corpse, though it becomes full and begins a period of transformation.

3. Significant Themes

• Survival through strategy: Xu succeeds by delaying, misleading, and escaping rather than overpowering the Mirage Dragon.
• Pragmatism over pride: Both Xu and the Mirage Dragon prioritize survival and long-term gain over emotional retaliation or a suicidal final battle.
• The dangers of cultivation politics: The arrival of powerful cultivators turns the dragon’s remains into a contested resource, forcing Xu to conceal his identity and limit how much he takes.
• Transformation and adaptation: Xu’s acquisition of the Mirage Dragon bloodline symbolizes his continued growth through absorbing the strengths of powerful beings.
• Deception and identity: Xu’s mask, aura concealment, clones, and disguise reinforce the importance of hiding one’s true strength and identity in the cultivation world.
• Risk and restraint: Xu deliberately leaves part of the corpse behind, understanding that greed could expose him to pursuit by Nascent Soul experts.

4. Character Interactions

• Xu directly clashes with the Mirage Dragon, using the Five-Colored Divine Radiance while draining its bloodline.
• The Mirage Dragon attempts to suppress Xu with materialized mountain-like Mirage Qi, but Xu avoids the attack and continues his extraction from underwater.
• Xu coordinates with the patriarch, assigning it to recover the dragon’s valuable core components.
• The Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat assists Xu by consuming the remaining dragon body.
• The Mirage Dragon threatens Xu before escaping, while Xu silently observes its retreat and reassesses the danger.
• When later cultivators arrive, they react with surprise and frustration upon finding that Xu has already removed the most valuable treasures, leaving them only the corpse’s leftovers.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Changqing returns to the Spirit Field Core aboard Shattered Moon, Falling Frost after completing his Tribulation Transcendence in the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm.
• His return shocks everyone because they believed he had been missing—or dead—for a full month. Xu himself thought only a few days had passed, revealing a major difference in the secret realm’s flow of time.
• Flower Elder summons him to the administration office and expresses relief at seeing him alive. He explains that the Return-to-Ruins Secret Realm had ended a month earlier and that the Grain Lord personally went to the Azuretide Sea Region to search for Xu.
• Xu submits his quarterly assignment: over a thousand jin of his own Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice and an equal amount of ordinary Spirit Rice Grain produced by Lin An.
• Returning to his Spirit Fields, Xu finds Hu Bugui and Ruo Qunshuang mourning his presumed death. Hu had been reassuring Ruo that he would fulfill Xu’s promises even if Xu were gone.
• Xu reveals himself, and Hu reacts with overwhelming relief, embracing him while crying. Xu learns that Lao Zhao also went to the dangerous Azuretide Sea Region to search for him.
• Xu decides to personally notify his friends of his return. He successfully contacts Li Lingbi, Li Sancai, Zhang Su, and Han Xin, while Lao Zhao and Han Su remain unreachable.
• Hu leaves to obtain a spirit beast for a celebratory feast. Xu notices that Hu has still not reached Foundation Establishment and resolves to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill for him.
• Xu gives Ruo Qunshuang the cultivation resources he had promised. Their awkward interaction is eased when Xu offers her a familiar black-skinned watermelon.
• Upon learning Xu is alive, his friends immediately abandon their current activities and fly toward his Spirit Fields to reunite with him.

2. Character Developments

• Xu Changqing: Returns stronger and more capable after surviving the secret realm and completing Tribulation Transcendence. He remains considerate and responsible, submitting his assignments, honoring promises, comforting friends, and planning to help Hu advance in cultivation.
• Flower Elder: Shows genuine concern for Xu, anxiously waiting for his return and visibly relaxing only after confirming that he is unharmed.
• Hu Bugui: Demonstrates deep loyalty and affection for Xu. His grief over Xu’s presumed death quickly turns to ecstatic relief. His delayed progress toward Foundation Establishment highlights his dependence on Xu’s support.
• Ruo Qunshuang: Reveals her reserved, timid nature. Though worried about Xu’s disappearance and hesitant to ask for resources, she accepts his reassurance and continues to trust him.
• Lao Zhao and Xu’s other companions: Their willingness to search for or immediately reunite with Xu emphasizes the strength of their bonds with him.

3. Significant Themes

• Friendship and loyalty: Xu’s companions search for him despite danger, while Hu and Ruo attempt to preserve his promises even after believing him dead.
• The emotional cost of absence: Xu’s brief-seeming journey caused a month-long disappearance in the outside world, leaving friends grieving and uncertain.
• Responsibility and keeping promises: Xu fulfills his organizational duties and provides Ruo with the resources he promised, even after surviving extraordinary dangers.
• Reunion and relief: The chapter contrasts the fear surrounding Xu’s disappearance with the joy of learning that he is alive.
• The dangers of the cultivation world: The Azuretide Sea Region has become “Evil Water,” filled with water demons and sea monsters, showing that Xu’s return does not mean the surrounding threats have ended.

4. Character Interactions

• Flower Elder questions Xu about his disappearance and reminds him of the Grain Lord’s efforts to find him.
• Hu Bugui mourns Xu dramatically, then embraces him upon his return. Their joking conversation restores their familiar friendship.
• Xu and Hu discuss Hu’s failure to reach Foundation Establishment, leading Xu to promise to refine a pill for him.
• Xu reassures the anxious Ruo Qunshuang that he is not angry and gives her the resources she requested.
• Xu and Ruo share watermelon, recalling their previous familiarity and easing the awkwardness between them.
• Xu contacts his wider circle through Communication Talismans, prompting Li Lingbi, Li Sancai, Zhang Su, and Han Xin to rush over and celebrate his survival.

Chapter Summary: “Why Not Eat Instead?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Su and Rong Yan arrive at Xu Changqing’s residence, bringing expensive gifts: a Mistleaf Lingzhi, a Hundred Rocks Spirit Spring, and Dew-Condensing Leaf Tea.
• Xu introduces them to Ruo Qunshuang, a shy cultivator from the Water-Control Pavilion and his business partner.
• Han Xin dramatically crashes her Ink-Colored Flying Shuttle into the same pit near Xu’s spirit fields. Drunk and frustrated by Xu’s month-long disappearance, she punches him and demands wine.
• Li Sancai, Li Lingbi, Qiu Su, and others arrive soon afterward. Everyone is relieved to see Xu alive, having feared he had died or encountered serious danger.
• Xu delays explaining his disappearance until Hu Bugui arrives, then prepares an elaborate meal using spirit vegetables, meat, rice, and wine.
• During the feast, Xu explains that an explosion after leaving Profound Heart City led him to discover a spiritually rich underwater location. He stayed there for a month and advanced to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
• His companions are stunned because they had expected a dangerous crisis, not a fortunate cultivation opportunity. Rather than continue discussing it, they begin eating.

Character Developments

• Xu Changqing remains calm, hospitable, and secretive. He accepts valuable gifts, manages Han Xin’s temper, cooks for everyone, and presents a simplified version of his recent experiences.
• Zhang Su and Rong Yan appear to have become much closer. Their former hostility has faded, suggesting Xu’s influence helped reconcile them.
• Rong Yan demonstrates respect and goodwill toward Xu by bringing an extremely valuable gift despite arriving uninvited.
• Han Xin is shown as impulsive, heavily dependent on alcohol, and worried about Xu. Her drunken anger masks genuine concern over his disappearance and the dangers of attempting a Golden Core breakthrough.
• Ruo Qunshuang is shy and easily embarrassed, especially around unfamiliar people, but is accepted as part of Xu’s circle.
• Li Lingbi, Li Sancai, Qiu Su, and the others reveal how deeply they had worried about Xu, assuming he might have died.
• Xu’s companions collectively show familiarity and affection through teasing, concern, and their eagerness to share a meal.

Significant Themes

• Friendship and reconciliation: Xu’s relationships have helped bridge old conflicts, particularly between Zhang Su and Rong Yan.
• Concern beneath humor: The characters express fear and affection through jokes, scolding, punches, and demands for alcohol.
• Fortune and cultivation: Xu’s disappearance illustrates how cultivation opportunities can emerge unexpectedly from dangerous circumstances.
• Caution regarding advancement: Han Xin’s reluctance to attempt Golden Core tribulation reflects the severe consequences of failure and the importance of preparation.
• Food as social bonding: Cooking and eating transform an anxious reunion into a relaxed gathering, emphasizing companionship over interrogation.
• Public identity versus hidden strength: Xu claims only a Foundation Establishment breakthrough, concealing the full extent of his actual abilities.

Character Interactions

• Xu warmly welcomes Zhang Su and Rong Yan, while Rong Yan flatters him and presents gifts.
• Zhang Su jokingly implies that Ruo Qunshuang is Xu’s hidden lover, embarrassing her.
• Han Xin confronts Xu physically and verbally over his unexplained absence, then immediately asks for wine.
• The group anxiously questions Xu about where he went, but he makes them wait until everyone has arrived.
• Xu cooks for the entire gathering, and the shared feast ultimately replaces suspicion and worry with lively companionship.
• When Xu reveals that his disappearance resulted in a lucky breakthrough rather than danger, everyone responds by ignoring the explanation and focusing on the food.