Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “The Old City God’s Scheme”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The old City God of Shangyong Commandery visits Jiang Yuechu at the Imperial Horse Immortal Bureau.
• He arrives under orders from Metropolitan City God Zhang Shiren, hoping to secure a future promotion to Seventh Rank Metropolitan Judge.
• The City God politely tests the situation by asking about Red Erlang, his notoriously violent mount.
• Jiang Yuechu calmly reveals that she killed Red Erlang after he attempted to devour an immortal laborer at her bureau.
• She justifies the execution under the Celestial Bureau Code, claiming Red Erlang had openly violated heavenly law.
• Though enraged, the old City God suppresses his anger and pretends to agree that Red Erlang deserved punishment.
• He praises Jiang’s action, frames the killing as a favor, and departs without openly confronting her.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu is shown to be calm, bold, and strategically ruthless. She knowingly exploited Red Erlang’s violation of an informal heavenly custom and used the law to justify killing him. Her casual manner conceals sharp judgment and confidence in her authority.
• The old City God appears outwardly courteous but is ambitious, calculating, and deeply resentful. His priority is preserving his chances of promotion, so he endures humiliation rather than seek immediate revenge. His ability to hide his fury demonstrates political cunning and patience.
• Red Erlang, though absent from the chapter, is characterized as arrogant and violent, possessing a trace of Flame Phoenix blood. His death establishes Jiang’s willingness to punish powerful beings who challenge her authority.

Significant Themes

• Law versus unspoken custom: Jiang invokes official heavenly regulations against the widespread practice of powerful beings feeding on low-ranking immortals and mortals. Her action exposes the gap between formal law and tolerated corruption.
• Power and political calculation: The old City God’s rank is technically higher than Jiang’s, but her position and boldness give her practical leverage. He chooses submission because his political ambitions matter more than immediate retaliation.
• Concealed hostility: Both characters maintain polite appearances while assessing and threatening one another. Their conversation is a contest of restraint, with Jiang openly asserting dominance and the City God masking his anger.
• Authority and impunity: Jiang’s execution of Red Erlang challenges the privileges normally enjoyed by powerful officials and their servants. The killing signals that she may refuse to follow the established hierarchy of tolerated abuses.

Character Interactions

• Jiang is initially dismissive, offering only brief replies to the City God’s polite overtures.
• When asked about Red Erlang, she answers with deliberate calm, first calling him “cooperative” and then bluntly stating that he is dead.
• Her direct question—whether the City God intends to avenge him—functions as a provocation and warning.
• The City God responds with exaggerated humility, praising Jiang’s “righteous” action despite privately believing it unjust and humiliating.
• Their exchange ends in outward reconciliation, but the underlying conflict remains unresolved. The City God leaves with his resentment intact and his desire for promotion—and likely future schemes—strengthened.

After Red Erlang’s death, the old City God plotted to use powerful demons to make trouble for Jiang Yuechu at the Imperial Horse Immortal Bureau. Xu Ming then told Jiang Yuechu that the Sky-Patrol Bureau would accept her only as a low-ranking guard, and she eagerly welcomed the chance to slay masterless demons.

• The old City God left the Imperial Horse Immortal Bureau and decided to spread rumors that Jiang Yuechu despised the immortals’ mounts so demons would attack her.
• Xu Ming visited Jiang Yuechu and explained that the Sky-Patrol Bureau would not give her a ranked post because of the trouble surrounding her.
• Xu Ming said Jiang Yuechu could join as a Sky-Patrolling Guard and would be tasked with killing demons.
• Jiang Yuechu learned she could slay masterless demons without fear of retaliation and happily accepted the offer.

Jiang Yuechu insisted on joining the Sky-Patrol Bureau as a Ninth-Rank Sky-Patrolling Guard despite Xu Ming’s warnings about the dangers and lack of resources. After Administrator Cao removed her from the Imperial Horse Immortal Bureau’s register, he privately urged Xu Ming to abandon the matter, but Xu Ming continued with Jiang Yuechu toward Cloud Province Prefecture to complete her appointment.

• Jiang Yuechu rejected Xu Ming’s advice to remain in the safer Imperial Horse Immortal Bureau and confirmed she wanted to join the Sky-Patrol Bureau.
• Xu Ming brought Jiang Yuechu to Administrator Cao and asked him to transfer her Immortal Register entry.
• Administrator Cao learned Jiang Yuechu would serve as a Ninth-Rank Sky-Patrolling Guard and recognized that the appointment involved serious complications.
• Administrator Cao removed Jiang Yuechu’s name from the Imperial Horse Immortal Bureau’s rolls and advised Xu Ming to keep away from her after completing the transfer.
• Xu Ming left with Jiang Yuechu for Cloud Province Prefecture to finalize her Sky-Patrolling Guard registration and obtain her waist token.

As Xu Ming guided Jiang Yuechu through Cloud Province Prefecture City, he explained how mortal longevity and Heavenly Court law shaped relations between mortals, demons, and cultivators. He warned her against secretly manufacturing disasters to gain merit, while Jiang Yuechu wondered whether merit was now necessary for her own advancement.

• Jiang Yuechu saw mortals, demons, and cultivators sharing Cloud Province Prefecture City’s streets without conflict, and Xu Ming explained the Heavenly Court’s protections for mortals.
• Xu Ming told Jiang Yuechu that cultivators beyond the Painting Realm needed merit to advance and that outsiders sometimes manufactured disasters before posing as saviors to gain incense and worship.
• Xu Ming urged Jiang Yuechu to avoid such shortcuts, praising her rare foundation and warning her not to stray onto the wrong path before stopping himself from mentioning the Celestial Emperor.
• Jiang Yuechu thanked Xu Ming and considered whether she would have to earn merit, since absorbing demon corpses no longer helped her cultivation.

Xu Ming brought Jiang Yuechu to the Cloud Province Sky-Patrol Bureau, where Elder Liu registered her as a Ninth-Rank Sky-Patrolling Guard and issued her a token. As Xu Ming warned her about the dangers of assignments and urged her to prepare, Jiang Yuechu had already begun choosing one through the token.

• Xu Ming led Jiang Yuechu to the shabby Cloud Province Sky-Patrol Bureau and explained its lax rules and unassuming appearance.
• Xu Ming introduced Jiang Yuechu to Elder Liu without revealing her extraordinary talent.
• Elder Liu processed Jiang Yuechu’s transfer and gave her a black iron token, making her a Ninth-Rank Sky-Patrolling Guard.
• Xu Ming explained that the token let Jiang Yuechu view assignments, communicate with the bureau, and claim merit rewards.
• Xu Ming advised Jiang Yuechu to prepare before taking a dangerous assignment, but she had already begun choosing one through her token.

Chapter Summary: “Unable to Leave”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• In the remote Cangwu Township, rumors spread that Black-Scaled King, a powerful tiger demon, had killed Mountain God Zhao by swallowing him alive and destroyed his Heaven-ordained temple.
• The demon openly declared that within eight hundred li of Yangdiao Mountain, only he—not Heaven’s laws—would be recognized.
• Rogue Cultivators debate whether the Sky-Patrol Bureau will intervene. One claims Black-Scaled King was once the mount of a Star Lord, giving him powerful backing and making the situation dangerous.
• At a roadside teahouse, Xu Ming and Jiang Yuechu, secretly traveling as Sky-Patrol Guards, discuss abandoning their mission. Xu Ming warns that confronting a Star Lord’s former mount could bring serious consequences, and Jiang Yuechu reluctantly agrees.
• Before they can leave, a mysterious black-robed man arrives in a violent crash, identifying the cultivators as “Heaven’s lapdogs” and demanding they reveal themselves.
• Mistaking one boastful Rogue Cultivator for a Sky-Patrol Guard, the man prepares to kill him. Jiang Yuechu suddenly intervenes, slamming the attacker into the ground and restraining him.
• Jiang Yuechu concludes that they can no longer withdraw from the situation: “Looks like... we can’t leave after all.”

2. Character Developments

• Xu Ming is cautious and pragmatic. He recognizes the danger of fighting an enemy connected to a Star Lord and urges Jiang Yuechu to cancel the mission rather than take unnecessary risks.
• Jiang Yuechu initially appears indifferent and is willing to reconsider the mission after hearing about Black-Scaled King’s background. However, her instinct to act decisively and protect others quickly resurfaces when the black-robed man attacks.
• The boastful Rogue Cultivator suffers the consequences of exaggerating his connections. His careless gossip unintentionally draws danger to the teahouse and nearly gets him killed.
• The black-robed attacker is shown to be powerful, aggressive, and hostile toward Heaven’s forces, but he is unexpectedly subdued by Jiang Yuechu before he can demonstrate his full strength.

3. Significant Themes

• The danger of challenging authority: Black-Scaled King’s defiance of Heaven represents open rebellion against the established celestial order.
• Power and connections: The rumor that the tiger demon was once a Star Lord’s mount shows how status and patronage can shield even dangerous criminals from immediate punishment.
• Reputation versus reality: The Rogue Cultivator’s fabricated claim of having connections to the City God contrasts with the genuine, hidden identities of Xu Ming and Jiang Yuechu.
• Duty versus self-preservation: Xu Ming favors retreat, while Jiang Yuechu’s actions show that responsibility and instinct may force them into conflicts they hoped to avoid.
• Unavoidable entanglement: Although the protagonists intend to abandon the mission, outside events pull them deeper into the crisis.

4. Character Interactions

• Xu Ming privately advises Jiang Yuechu to cancel the mission, criticizing her for accepting it too hastily.
• Jiang Yuechu silently considers his reasoning and appears ready to comply, showing that she values his judgment despite her usual indifference.
• The Rogue Cultivators turn on the boastful storyteller when the attacker arrives, pressuring him to take responsibility for the danger.
• The black-robed man dismisses the Rogue Cultivator as a fraud and moves to kill him, but Jiang Yuechu intervenes without warning.
• Her final remark to Xu Ming confirms that their planned retreat is no longer possible and sets up their unavoidable confrontation with the forces behind the incident.

Chapter Summary: “Battle Against the Tiger Demon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the Wild Guest Teahouse in Cangwu Township, the Black-Scaled Tiger Demon suddenly attacks the gathered rogue cultivators.
• Jiang Yuechu immediately counters, pinning the Painting-Realm Great Demon to the ground with overwhelming strength. Xu Ming is shocked because she had previously appeared to be only at the Perfected Chessmaster Realm.
• The Tiger Demon breaks free and unleashes a powerful technique based on its Dao Painting. It summons an inverted stone forest above the teahouse and sends countless boulders crashing down, claiming the attack rivals that of a late Cinnabar Flow cultivator.
• Xu Ming attempts to protect Jiang Yuechu with clouds and mist, but his defense is instantly torn apart.
• Jiang Yuechu reveals a terrifying power: cracks spread across her body, through which glowing crimson magma flows. The heat ignites the clothing of nearby cultivators and forces them to flee.
• She uses a complete immortal art, firing a pillar of crimson flame into the sky. The flames completely annihilate the Tiger Demon’s stone-based killing technique without leaving ash.
• Realizing that Jiang Yuechu’s strength and background are far beyond the information it received, the Tiger Demon panics and tries to surrender, claiming it is the spirit beast of the Greedy Wolf Star Lord.
• Jiang Yuechu ignores its plea, grabs it by the shoulder, and hurls it into a mountain, shattering the rock. The chapter ends with the demon begging for mercy.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Her previously concealed cultivation and origins become increasingly mysterious. Though she appears to possess only Early Inkfall Realm cultivation, she demonstrates power comparable to or exceeding that of Painting-Realm experts and uses a complete immortal art. Her calm, emotionless response shows immense confidence and ruthlessness.
• Black-Scaled Tiger Demon: Initially arrogant and confident in its inherited techniques and past service under the Greedy Wolf Star Lord, it becomes terrified once Jiang Yuechu effortlessly destroys its strongest attack. Its pride collapses into desperate pleading.
• Xu Ming: He shifts from surprise to concern, attempting to defend Jiang Yuechu when the stone attack is launched. His shock at her hidden strength deepens, as he realizes she has grown far beyond what he understood.
• Rogue Cultivators: They are established as helpless bystanders, forced to flee when Jiang Yuechu’s heat sets their clothes ablaze.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and concealed identity: Jiang Yuechu’s apparent cultivation does not match her actual abilities, suggesting a powerful and possibly mysterious background.
• The difference between ordinary techniques and true immortal arts: The Tiger Demon’s technique is portrayed as exceptionally rare, yet Jiang Yuechu’s immortal art destroys it instantly, emphasizing the gap between inherited understanding and genuine mastery.
• Arrogance humbled by overwhelming power: The Tiger Demon relies on its past connection to the Greedy Wolf Star Lord, but that status offers no protection when confronted by superior strength.
• Misjudgment and unreliable intelligence: The demon attacks because it believes Jiang Yuechu is an expendable, unaffiliated cultivator, only to discover that its information is disastrously wrong.
• Mercy versus ruthlessness: Even after the Tiger Demon surrenders and invokes its powerful former master, Jiang Yuechu continues the assault without hesitation.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and the Tiger Demon: Their confrontation moves from Jiang Yuechu’s effortless suppression, to the demon’s counterattack, and finally to her complete domination. The demon’s threatening attitude turns into fear and begging.
• Xu Ming and Jiang Yuechu: Xu Ming reacts protectively, warning her and attempting to block the demon’s attack, while Jiang Yuechu demonstrates that she does not need his protection.
• Tiger Demon and the wider crowd: The demon’s attack endangers everyone around the teahouse, while Jiang Yuechu’s revealed power causes the rogue cultivators to panic and flee.
• Tiger Demon and the Greedy Wolf Star Lord: The demon invokes its former master’s name as a last attempt to survive, highlighting its dependence on past authority rather than its own strength.

Chapter Summary: “Back to Claim the Reward?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Black-Scaled Tiger Demon reveals that it once belonged to Greedy Wolf Star Lord, hoping the name will frighten Jiang Yuechu into sparing it.
• Xu Ming panics and urges Jiang Yuechu to stop, explaining that Greedy Wolf Star Lord is a powerful and notoriously protective celestial figure. Killing his spirit beast could bring disastrous consequences.
• Jiang Yuechu ignores the warning and kills the Tiger Demon with a devastating magma-enhanced attack, crushing its head and destroying its body.
• Her system announces that she has killed a Painting Realm creature and gained forty-five Dao Essence, which quietly pleases her.
• Xu Ming considers silencing the surviving witnesses but abandons the idea, realizing that Greedy Wolf Star Lord could trace the event through karma regardless. He decides they must return to Cloud Province Prefecture to investigate the situation and seek protection.
• Jiang Yuechu misunderstands his concern and asks whether they are returning to claim the reward, highlighting her practical and somewhat single-minded attitude.
• The setting shifts to Gluttonous Wolf Mountain, a peaceful Painted World belonging to Greedy Wolf Star Lord.
• Immortal Zi Ling, a mischievous purple-robed disciple, attempts to sneak out while her master is in seclusion. She is caught by Senior Brother Xu.
• Senior Brother Xu reminds her of her previous troublemaking, including spying on Immortal Yue’e, but agrees to let her descend the mountain if she captures the runaway Black-Scaled Tiger Demon.
• Zi Ling eagerly accepts the mission, pretending she intends to uphold justice, but privately plans to enjoy the mortal world instead. She immediately leaves the Painted World.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu is shown to be fearless, decisive, and indifferent to intimidating authority. She values tangible gains such as Dao Essence and rewards more than political consequences.
• Xu Ming becomes increasingly anxious and burdened by Jiang Yuechu’s actions. Although he claims not to care deeply, he recognizes that he may also suffer if Greedy Wolf Star Lord seeks revenge and therefore tries to protect both of them.
• Immortal Zi Ling is established as rebellious, energetic, and mischievous. She is eager to escape her secluded home and treats the assigned mission mainly as an excuse to travel.
• Senior Brother Xu acts as Zi Ling’s responsible caretaker. He criticizes her behavior but is clearly fond of her and enables her departure in the hope that giving her limited freedom will prevent worse trouble.

Significant Themes

• Defiance of authority: Jiang Yuechu kills the demon despite its powerful patron, while Zi Ling casually disregards the seriousness of her mission.
• Consequences and political power: The chapter emphasizes that strength alone is not enough; offending a high-ranking celestial figure can bring overwhelming repercussions through heavenly authority and karmic investigation.
• Freedom versus restraint: Both Jiang Yuechu and Zi Ling resist control—Jiang Yuechu refuses to be intimidated, while Zi Ling desperately seeks escape from the monotonous Painted World.
• Practicality and differing priorities: Xu Ming focuses on danger and survival, whereas Jiang Yuechu focuses on rewards, and Zi Ling focuses on having fun.
• Protective relationships: Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s protectiveness toward his beast is mirrored by Xu Ming’s concern for Jiang Yuechu and Senior Brother Xu’s indulgent supervision of Zi Ling.

Character Interactions

• Xu Ming urgently warns Jiang Yuechu not to kill the Tiger Demon, but she ignores him and later innocently asks what he had said.
• Jiang Yuechu’s casual attitude leaves Xu Ming speechless and forces him to deal with the aftermath.
• Senior Brother Xu catches Zi Ling sneaking away and teases her about her past misconduct.
• Zi Ling attempts to justify her escape as an act of righteous inspection, but Xu immediately sees through the excuse.
• Xu gives Zi Ling the mission to capture the Tiger Demon, while she outwardly promises obedience and inwardly decides to use the opportunity for personal amusement.

Chapter Summary: A Job That Came Knocking

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Ming brings Jiang Yuechu to a secluded side room within Cloud Province Prefecture’s Sky-Patrol Bureau and orders her to remain there for two days. He allows her to walk around the city but strictly forbids her from leaving it, worried that she will cause further trouble after recently killing a Great Demon.
• Once Xu Ming leaves, Jiang Yuechu reviews her remaining Dao Essence. After accounting for previous expenditures and rewards from killing demons, she has fifty-four Dao Essence.
• She examines the demon gift obtained from the Black-Scaled Giant Tiger: Mountain Might, a technique that allows her attacks to borrow the weight and momentum of Heaven and Earth.
• Jiang Yuechu invests most of her Dao Essence into strengthening the Scarlet Fire Spirit Phoenix. This improves her mastery of Nine Refinements of the Golden Crow from proficient to minor mastery, greatly enhancing her fiery power.
• She falls just short of advancing the Phoenix to the Heaven-Natured level and realizes that killing another Painting-Realm Demon would likely provide the needed Dao Essence.
• She spends more points to improve Mountain Might to the proficient level, leaving herself with only two Dao Essence.
• Bored while waiting for Xu Ming, Jiang Yuechu considers studying Painting-Realm cultivation methods. Before she can settle down, a purple-clad female cultivator and a sleepy-looking swordsman arrive.
• The woman assumes Jiang Yuechu is a fellow Bureau member and urgently recruits her for a job because their team is short-handed. Although Jiang Yuechu worries that Xu Ming will panic if she disappears, the possibility of killing demons immediately convinces her to go.
• Jiang Yuechu climbs out the window and declares, “Let’s go.”

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu continues to display a combination of overwhelming power, childish impulsiveness, and an obsessive focus on cultivation progress. Despite being warned to stay put, the moment a potentially profitable demon-hunting assignment appears, she abandons caution.
• Her combat foundation improves significantly. Mountain Might gives her stronger close-range abilities, complementing her existing Golden Crow techniques and making her fighting style even more direct and destructive.
• Jiang Yuechu’s resources are nearly depleted, but her strength and mastery have advanced considerably. She now urgently needs another powerful demon to continue progressing.
• Xu Ming is shown to be deeply anxious about Jiang Yuechu’s behavior. His repeated warnings suggest he views her as powerful but dangerously unpredictable.
• The purple-clad woman is introduced as energetic, practical, and bold. Her immediate recruitment of Jiang Yuechu shows both her urgency and her informal, forceful personality.
• The black-robed swordsman appears quiet, lethargic, and less immediately expressive, contrasting with the woman’s enthusiasm.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation as an endless pursuit: Even fifty-four Dao Essence—equivalent to millions of years of cultivation—feels insufficient to Jiang Yuechu. Advancement only reveals greater needs and deeper deficiencies.
• Power through accumulation and sacrifice: Jiang Yuechu converts nearly all her resources into stronger techniques, demonstrating her willingness to risk having no reserves in exchange for immediate growth.
• Instinct versus restraint: Xu Ming represents caution and institutional control, while Jiang Yuechu follows opportunity and personal instinct, especially when demon-hunting promises more cultivation.
• Strength and combat adaptability: The chapter emphasizes the importance of balancing long-range supernatural power with close-quarters ability. Mountain Might fills a weakness in Jiang Yuechu’s current fighting style.
• Comedic irresponsibility amid serious danger: The Bureau treats Jiang Yuechu like a troublesome child, yet she is a terrifyingly powerful cultivator. Her casual escape through the window creates humor while reinforcing her unpredictable nature.

Character Interactions

• Xu Ming gives Jiang Yuechu strict instructions and worries that she may create more trouble. Jiang Yuechu dismisses his concerns with perfunctory agreement, clearly not taking the restrictions seriously.
• Jiang Yuechu interacts with the newly arrived purple-clad woman through the window. The woman mistakes her for an available colleague and enthusiastically orders her to join an assignment.
• Jiang Yuechu briefly considers the consequences of leaving without Xu Ming’s permission, but her desire for Dao Essence outweighs her concern for his reaction.
• Her final decision to leap out of the window and join the pair establishes the next conflict: she is once again acting independently, likely against Xu Ming’s expectations.

Jiang Yuechu traveled with Long Zhi and Chen Zheng to investigate the Water Marsh Sect in Great Marsh Township after reports of its secret dealings with the Buddhist Sect. Long Zhi explained the four faiths that ruled the world, and the group arrived at the marsh to begin their investigation.

• Long Zhi and Chen Zheng introduced themselves to Jiang Yuechu and warned the inexperienced Ninth-Rank Sky-Patrolling Guard to stay behind them.
• Chen Zheng told Jiang Yuechu they were headed to Great Marsh Township, where the Water Marsh Sect was suspected of dealing with the Buddhist Sect.
• Long Zhi explained that the Heavenly Court, Buddhist Sect, Primordial Divine Court, and Great Holy Light Church were the world's four great faiths.
• Long Zhi said the Heavenly Court treated Buddhist Sect interference in the Nine Immortal Provinces as a grave offense and reassured Jiang Yuechu that their task was only to investigate.
• Jiang Yuechu and her companions reached Great Marsh Township.

Summary of “Thousand-Rain Grand Rite”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu arrives with Long Zhi and Chen Zheng at a ferry crossing leading to Water Marsh Island, where the Water Marsh Sect is holding its once-in-a-century Thousand-Rain Grand Rite.
• The area is crowded with commoners, Rogue Cultivators, and various boats, all seeking the Jade Marsh Nectar distributed by the sect.
• A domineering Rogue Cultivator shoves aside an old man who is trying to bring medicine back for his seriously ill grandson. He claims mortals have no chance of receiving the nectar.
• An azure-robed cultivator publicly rebukes him, reminding everyone that the rite was established to benefit both cultivators and ordinary people. The Rogue Cultivator backs down, restoring calm to the pier.
• Long Zhi explains that the Heavenly Rain Jade Well produces Jade Marsh Nectar, which can strengthen cultivators and cure illnesses or prolong the lives of mortals, even those without spiritual roots.
• Jiang Yuechu initially views Water Marsh Sect as benevolent, but Long Zhi reveals the political and spiritual cost of the rite: the gratitude of countless mortals generates Merit for the sect.
• Because the Heavenly Court claims authority over Merit, Water Marsh Sect is technically diverting some of that power from the Court. This is tolerated only because the sect remains outwardly loyal and pays tribute.
• The real concern is that Water Marsh Sect may be secretly transferring this stolen Merit to the Buddhist Sect, a rival of the Heavenly Court. If confirmed, the sect would face severe punishment.
• To investigate, Long Zhi proposes that the group disguise themselves as Rogue Cultivators and enter Water Marsh Island with the crowd.
• At the sect gates, visitors are divided according to their offerings:
  • Commoners offer coins, poultry, or vegetables and are directed to the outer stairs.
  • Ordinary cultivators offer spirit herbs and are sent along the middle path.
  • Wealthy or powerful cultivators offering spirit artifacts, techniques, or rare materials receive preferential treatment and are invited up the central white-jade steps.
• Long Zhi points out that although everyone is technically welcome, the quality of the Jade Marsh Nectar varies according to one’s contribution.
• When Jiang Yuechu asks where their group belongs, Long Zhi and the normally stern Chen Zheng imply that they will ensure she receives the highest treatment.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu remains curious, direct, and unafraid to ask questions when she does not understand the situation. She quickly shifts from admiring Water Marsh Sect to recognizing the hidden political motives behind its charity.
• Long Zhi demonstrates her knowledge of the Heavenly Court, Merit, and the conflict with the Buddhist Sect. She acts as the group’s strategist and investigator, encouraging them to conceal their identities.
• Chen Zheng, usually cold and expressionless, shows a rare trace of amusement when Long Zhi jokes about ensuring Jiang Yuechu is not mistreated, suggesting warmth or protectiveness toward Jiang Yuechu.
• The azure-robed cultivator is established as principled and willing to challenge injustice, defending both the old man and Water Marsh Sect’s stated ideals.
• The burly Rogue Cultivator represents arrogance and disdain toward mortals; although aggressive, he retreats when confronted with the sect’s authority.
• The Water Marsh Sect disciples appear outwardly welcoming and impartial, but their acceptance of increasingly valuable gifts reveals the sect’s hierarchical and transactional approach to the rite.

Significant Themes

• Charity versus self-interest: Water Marsh Sect’s generosity benefits the population but also earns it Merit and political influence.
• Social inequality: Although mortals and cultivators are officially welcomed equally, the different stairways and levels of nectar expose a clear hierarchy based on wealth and status.
• Power and political loyalty: The sect’s actions are judged not only by their effects on ordinary people but by whether they interfere with the Heavenly Court’s control of Merit.
• Justice and moral responsibility: The confrontation at the ferry highlights the importance of defending vulnerable people, especially when social power prevents them from speaking for themselves.
• Hidden motives beneath public virtue: The grand rite appears compassionate, but its deeper purpose may involve power struggles between the Heavenly Court, Water Marsh Sect, and Buddhist Sect.

Character Interactions

• The burly Rogue Cultivator humiliates the old man, while the azure-robed cultivator intervenes and forces him to retreat.
• The crowd praises the azure-robed cultivator and Water Marsh Sect, revealing their deep gratitude toward the sect.
• Jiang Yuechu questions Long Zhi about the rite, and Long Zhi gradually explains its spiritual, economic, and political implications.
• Jiang Yuechu’s willingness to challenge Long Zhi’s assumptions creates a relaxed, familiar dynamic between them.
• Long Zhi and Chen Zheng exchange a lighthearted moment over Jiang Yuechu’s treatment, with both implying that they will protect her from being disadvantaged by the sect’s ranking system.

Chapter Summary

Long Zhi, Jiang Yuechu, and Chen Zheng arrive at the Water Marsh Sect disguised as an aristocratic clan’s party: Jiang Yuechu as an aloof young lady, Long Zhi as her capable maidservant, and Chen Zheng as her silent guard. At the reception desk, a sect disciple questions their unfamiliar identities, but Long Zhi smoothly explains that they come from Cangwu Township and offers a high-grade spirit plant as a gift. Jiang Yuechu maintains her cold, haughty demeanor, convincing the disciple that they are noble visitors and securing them entry and guest accommodations.
As they climb the sect’s magnificent white jade mountain stairs, Long Zhi is impressed by how naturally Jiang Yuechu adopts the mannerisms of a pampered noblewoman. She recognizes that Jiang Yuechu’s composure and ability to conceal her true nature are valuable survival skills, despite her relatively low cultivation rank. Jiang Yuechu, unaware of Long Zhi’s approving thoughts, finds her attention confusing.
Once they reach a quieter part of the mountain, Long Zhi activates an array plate to conceal their presence and explains their plan. Their false identities are intended to obtain a guest courtyard near the Heavenly Rain Jade Well, the Water Marsh Sect’s most important treasure, which will be involved in the Thousand-Rain Grand Rite three days later. During that time, Long Zhi and Chen Zheng will investigate the sect, while Jiang Yuechu remains hidden in her room to avoid exposure.
Long Zhi reassures Jiang Yuechu that the sect’s likely attempts to test them should be manageable as long as she continues acting like a proud young lady. She also reveals that the Water Marsh Sect’s strength is limited: it has only a few Inkfall Realm cultivators, while its strongest figure, the Water Marsh High Person, has barely reached the Initial Cinnabar Flow Realm.
Jiang Yuechu’s silence makes Long Zhi suspect that she is considering attacking the sect rather than conducting a covert investigation. Alarmed, Long Zhi repeatedly warns her not to act recklessly and tells her to escape if the group is discovered. Jiang Yuechu responds only by walking faster and dismissing Long Zhi as “so noisy,” fully immersed in her aristocratic persona and leaving Long Zhi exasperated.

Key Themes and Character Dynamics

• Deception and disguise: The group relies on social performance and false identities to infiltrate the Water Marsh Sect.
• Composure as strength: Long Zhi realizes that Jiang Yuechu’s calm temperament may be more important to her future survival than her current cultivation.
• Caution versus recklessness: Long Zhi prioritizes careful investigation, while Jiang Yuechu appears dangerously willing to confront the sect directly.
• Comedic tension: Jiang Yuechu’s flawless imitation of a proud young lady causes Long Zhi to forget that she is acting, creating humorous friction between them.
• Trust and cooperation: Though Jiang Yuechu dislikes the mission’s tedious aspects, she accepts Long Zhi’s plan, while Long Zhi takes responsibility for protecting and directing her.

Chapter Summary: “Sudden Change”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the Water Marsh Sect, the gray-robed Buddhist monk overseeing the sect receives a report from Water Marsh High Person about the successful opening of the sect’s gates and the settlement of Great Marsh Township’s people and rogue cultivators.
• Water Marsh High Person worries that the repeated Thousand-Rain Grand Rites have attracted the Heavenly Court’s attention. The monk dismisses the concern, explaining that the sect’s Jade Marsh Nectar is a calculated trap: anyone who drinks it forms a karmic connection with the Buddhist Sect, while refusing it would mark them as outsiders.
• The monk orders Water Marsh High Person to ensure the Heavenly Rain Jade Well remains secure, implying that the upcoming grand rite depends on it.
• After arriving at their guest courtyard, Long Zhi, Chen Zheng, and Jiang Yuechu discuss their plan. Long Zhi and Chen Zheng will secretly investigate the Water Marsh Sect for three days, while Jiang Yuechu remains behind.
• To conceal their absence, Long Zhi and Chen Zheng create clay substitutes that perfectly imitate their appearances and auras from a distance.
• Long Zhi gives Jiang Yuechu a White Jade Talisman Disk and instructs her to avoid Water Marsh Sect personnel, stall if questioned, and crush the talisman if she encounters danger.
• Over the next two days, Jiang Yuechu stays in the courtyard. A sect disciple repeatedly attempts to enter under the pretense of delivering supplies, but she dismisses him. His reluctance to provoke her, combined with the gifts Long Zhi previously gave him, prevents the situation from escalating.
• On the third day, while Jiang Yuechu is contemplating which demon or devil to imprint next through the mysterious scroll, she detects two frantic and highly disordered auras approaching the courtyard.
• Two figures suddenly tumble over the courtyard wall and crash inside, ending the chapter on an abrupt cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• The gray-robed monk is revealed as a calculating and confident Buddhist Sect leader. He views the Heavenly Court dismissively and relies on subtle karmic manipulation rather than direct confrontation.
• Water Marsh High Person appears deeply submissive and eager to please the monk. Though initially anxious about possible Heavenly Court surveillance, he quickly regains confidence after hearing the monk’s plan.
• Long Zhi demonstrates practical intelligence, caution, and leadership. She prepares disguises, anticipates inspections, and provides Jiang Yuechu with an emergency means of summoning help.
• Chen Zheng remains efficient and taciturn, supporting Long Zhi’s plan without unnecessary discussion.
• Jiang Yuechu shows restraint and growing adaptability. Although she is more accustomed to direct combat than deception or covert operations, she follows the plan, handles repeated inspections calmly, and remains alert to danger.
• The Water Marsh Sect disciple is portrayed as opportunistic but cautious. After accepting gifts from Long Zhi, he feels obligated to remain polite and avoids antagonizing Jiang Yuechu.

Significant Themes

• Deception and infiltration: Both the Buddhist Sect and Long Zhi’s group rely on disguises, false appearances, and carefully controlled information.
• Karmic manipulation and religious expansion: The Jade Marsh Nectar allows the Buddhist Sect to bind outsiders to it spiritually, turning a public ritual into a means of spreading influence.
• The hidden danger beneath hospitality: The Water Marsh Sect appears grand and welcoming, but its rituals and infrastructure conceal a larger, potentially threatening scheme.
• Adaptability versus brute force: Jiang Yuechu recognizes that raw combat strength is not enough in an unfamiliar sect; survival requires patience, subtlety, and restraint.
• Growing tension with the Heavenly Court: The Buddhist Sect is confident that the Heavenly Court cannot interfere, but the concern over surveillance foreshadows possible conflict.

Character Interactions

• The gray-robed monk reassures and instructs Water Marsh High Person, establishing a clear hierarchy between the composed Buddhist leader and his deferential subordinate.
• Long Zhi and Chen Zheng work in close coordination to create convincing substitutes and conduct their investigation, showing mutual understanding and trust.
• Long Zhi treats Jiang Yuechu protectively, giving her precise instructions and an emergency talisman while acknowledging her calm temperament.
• Jiang Yuechu deals with the Water Marsh Sect disciple firmly but without unnecessary confrontation, using brief refusals to preserve their cover.
• The final arrival of the two unknown figures abruptly disrupts Jiang Yuechu’s isolation and suggests that Long Zhi and Chen Zheng’s investigation—or an external threat—has entered a dangerous new stage.

Chapter Summary: “The Might of the Wandering Void Sea!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu discovers Long Zhi and Chen Zheng badly injured in a courtyard and asks what happened.
• Before they can escape, Water Marsh High Person arrives with a group of reinforcements, including a gray-robed Buddhist monk and White Elephant.
• Long Zhi reveals that the enemy is not merely from the Water Marsh Sect: the gray-robed monk is a powerful Buddhist Sect cultivator from the Wandering Void Sea Realm, far beyond their level.
• She explains that Wandering Void Sea cultivators contain the cosmos of their Dao Painting within their bodies, granting every physical attack the strength of an entire world. The Buddhist Sect’s exceptional body cultivation makes the monk even more formidable.
• Long Zhi orders Jiang Yuechu to flee and report the incident to the Sky-Patrol Bureau while she and Chen Zheng delay the enemy.
• Chen Zheng unleashes a massive saber technique, forming a wrathful dragon from layers of saber light and yellow-sand imagery.
• Long Zhi attacks simultaneously, surrounding herself in purple mist and striking at the monk with a powerful kick.
• The gray-robed monk effortlessly avoids both attacks and counters with a single stomp. His golden physical power crushes Chen Zheng’s saber dragon, shatters Long Zhi’s defenses, and blasts both agents into clouds of blood.
• The onlookers are stunned by the overwhelming difference in cultivation. Even Water Marsh High Person is impressed by how easily the monk defeats two high-level Sky-Patrol Bureau agents.
• Instead of fleeing, Jiang Yuechu unexpectedly walks toward White Elephant, leaving everyone confused and alarmed.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu remains unusually calm and fearless despite the overwhelming danger. Her lack of panic—and her decision to approach White Elephant rather than escape—suggests hidden confidence, curiosity, or an unconventional plan.
• Long Zhi demonstrates leadership and self-sacrifice by prioritizing Jiang Yuechu’s survival and ordering her to carry a warning back to the bureau.
• Chen Zheng acts decisively, immediately launching an aggressive saber attack to create an opening for escape.
• The gray-robed monk is established as an overwhelmingly powerful and composed opponent. He relies almost entirely on physical strength and instinct, defeating both agents without visible effort.
• White Elephant shows an unusual emotional reaction toward Jiang Yuechu. It becomes irritated and uncomfortable under her intensely covetous gaze, implying that she views it less as a terrifying enemy and more as a valuable treasure.
• Water Marsh High Person grows more confident after witnessing the monk’s strength, briefly concluding that the Heavenly Court may not be as formidable as expected.

Significant Themes

• The terrifying gap between cultivation realms: The chapter emphasizes that advancement beyond the Painting Realm creates an immense disparity in power, making lower-realm techniques nearly useless against a Wandering Void Sea cultivator.
• Physical strength versus techniques: The monk’s body alone overwhelms elaborate saber and mist-based attacks, reinforcing the Buddhist Sect’s supremacy in body cultivation.
• Courage and sacrifice: Long Zhi and Chen Zheng knowingly risk their lives to protect a newer ally and preserve the bureau’s information.
• Misjudgment and hidden power: The enemy assumes Jiang Yuechu should be terrified or fleeing, but her strange composure hints that the situation may not be as hopeless as it appears.
• Unexpected perspective: White Elephant is treated by Jiang Yuechu not as a monster or enemy, but as something desirable and valuable, creating a humorous contrast amid the deadly confrontation.

Character Interactions

• Long Zhi urgently instructs Jiang Yuechu to escape, revealing concern for the newcomer and trust in her ability to deliver the warning.
• Long Zhi and Chen Zheng coordinate a desperate joint attack against the gray-robed monk.
• Water Marsh High Person respectfully defers to the Buddhist monk, exposing the monk’s superior status even among the enemy forces.
• White Elephant reacts with irritation to Jiang Yuechu’s openly acquisitive stare, suggesting a bizarre and potentially important dynamic between them.
• The chapter ends with the opposing forces watching in disbelief as Jiang Yuechu ignores the overwhelming threat and approaches White Elephant.

Chapter Summary: “Let Go and Do It—I'm Here”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu, an Early Inkfall Realm cultivator, calmly advances toward a gray-robed Buddhist Sect venerable whose cultivation has reached the far more powerful Wandering Void Sea Realm. Everyone present is shocked by her apparent recklessness.
• The White Elephant spirit beast suddenly claims that Jiang Yuechu is targeting it, revealing that it sees her as the personification of an unresolved trauma from its past.
• The monk explains that the White Elephant was once a medicinal beast whose flesh and blood were repeatedly harvested by its former master. Although the Buddhist Sect rescued and enlightened it, the psychological wounds and inner demons from that period remain.
• Believing that fighting Jiang Yuechu will help sever this inner demon, the monk gives the White Elephant permission to attack, reassuring it, “Let go and do it. I’m here.”
• The White Elephant transforms into a massive demon hundreds of zhang tall and unleashes a complete Dao Painting, revealing Cinnabar Flow Realm power. The monk seals the surrounding area to prevent the battle from affecting the Water Marsh Sect’s mortals and cultivators.
• The White Elephant attacks with overwhelming waves and glaciers, but Jiang Yuechu suddenly appears above it and stomps it down with a single kick.
• Her movement is so fast that no one notices when she reaches the White Elephant. Her crimson-enhanced body and terrifying physical strength allow her to overpower a Cinnabar Flow Great Demon despite her Early Inkfall cultivation.
• The Buddhist venerable recognizes that Jiang Yuechu possesses an extraordinary body and monstrous combat foundation, even surpassing what most Buddhist body cultivators could achieve at her level.
• Fearing that the White Elephant may actually be killed, the venerable prepares to intervene.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Demonstrates that her apparent low cultivation is deeply misleading. Her speed, physical strength, and combat ability are extraordinary enough to defeat a higher-realm opponent instantly. Her calmness also reveals tremendous confidence and fearlessness.
• The White Elephant: Its violent reaction exposes the lasting trauma caused by its former life as a medicinal beast. Though it has been rescued and cultivated within the Buddhist Sect, its resentment and fear remain unresolved. Its blind trust in the venerable shows its emotional dependence on him.
• The Gray-Robed Buddhist Venerable: Initially dismisses Jiang Yuechu as an irrational person about to die, but quickly reassesses her after witnessing her attack. His compassion toward the White Elephant is evident, yet he also treats its confrontation as a necessary trial for overcoming its inner demon. His confidence is shaken when Jiang Yuechu proves far stronger than expected.
• Water Marsh High Person: Becomes frightened by the enormous transformation and secretly envies the Buddhist Sect’s resources and powerful spirit beasts, briefly considering whether serving them might bring greater advancement.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength versus apparent cultivation: Jiang Yuechu’s low realm conceals overwhelming physical power, challenging the assumption that cultivation level alone determines victory.
• Trauma and inner demons: The White Elephant’s past exploitation continues to shape it despite years of Buddhist teachings, showing that spiritual advancement does not automatically erase emotional wounds.
• Faith and dependence: The White Elephant trusts the venerable completely, believing he will protect it even while encouraging it to confront its pain.
• Arrogance and misjudgment: Nearly everyone, including the venerable, underestimates Jiang Yuechu because of her realm, only to discover that she defies conventional limits.
• Power and protection: The venerable’s sealing of the area and readiness to intervene show the responsibility attached to overwhelming strength, particularly when protecting those under one’s care.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu’s silent advance unnerves the Water Marsh Sect disciples, Long Zhi, Chen Zheng, and even the normally composed Buddhist venerable.
• The White Elephant openly identifies Jiang Yuechu as its target, prompting the venerable to interpret the encounter as a chance to eliminate its inner demon.
• The venerable encourages the White Elephant to fight while assuring it that he will handle any consequences.
• The Water Marsh High Person worries that the White Elephant’s transformation will endanger those nearby, leading the venerable to seal the battlefield.
• After Jiang Yuechu defeats the White Elephant in one blow, the venerable’s attitude changes from detached confidence to alarm, as he realizes she may genuinely threaten the spirit beast he painstakingly cultivated.

Chapter Summary: “Help Me Stall Them for a While”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Long Zhi realizes that Jiang Yuechu, whom she casually brought from the commander’s courtyard, is far more powerful and dangerous than expected. Jiang is revealed to be an Early Inkfall Realm cultivator capable of crushing a Cinnabar Flow Great Demon.
• A gray-robed Buddhist monk, revealed to be a Wandering Void Sea cultivator, intervenes to protect the Buddhist Sect’s White Elephant spirit beast.
• The monk uses the Buddhist Sect’s Profound-grade Immortal Art, Great Hand Seal, to immobilize Jiang Yuechu in midair. He then appears behind her and delivers a devastating kick, shattering her left shoulder and driving her into the ground.
• Despite her severe injury, Jiang’s blood and qi become even more powerful. Rather than fleeing, she decides to kill the weakened White Elephant and absorb its Dao Cultivation as a desperate means of increasing her strength.
• Jiang asks Long Zhi and Chen Zheng to “stall them for a while,” intending to buy herself enough time to reach the White Elephant. Though confused and alarmed by her reckless plan, the two Sky-Patrol Bureau officers choose to support her.
• The monk orders the Water Marsh Sect to protect the White Elephant and prepares to eliminate Long Zhi and Chen Zheng himself. He attacks them with another enormous golden hand seal.
• Meanwhile, Water Marsh High Person and several Painting Realm cultivators block Jiang’s path. She destroys their water-based attack with a single fiery punch and seizes Water Marsh High Person by the throat.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Demonstrates extreme resilience, aggression, and refusal to surrender. Even after being decisively overpowered and gravely injured by the monk, she chooses a high-risk counterattack rather than escape. Her willingness to exploit the White Elephant’s weakened state shows both ruthlessness and strategic desperation.
• Long Zhi: Moves from surprise and disbelief to determined support. Although she is frustrated by Jiang’s vague and reckless request, she recognizes Jiang’s importance and commits to protecting her.
• Chen Zheng: Remains calm and practical. Without questioning Jiang’s motives, he prepares to fight the monk, accepting that supporting her is their only chance.
• Gray-robed monk: Displays overwhelming confidence and Buddhist authority. He views Jiang and the Sky-Patrol officers as insignificant threats, though her determination causes him to suspect that a larger scheme may be unfolding.
• Water Marsh High Person: Becomes eager to earn the monk’s favor, promising to protect the White Elephant, but is immediately overwhelmed by Jiang’s attack.

Significant Themes

• Defiance against overwhelming power: Jiang refuses to accept defeat even when facing an opponent far beyond her realm.
• Desperation and calculated risk: Her plan to kill the White Elephant and seize its cultivation is dangerous but potentially her only path to survival.
• Unexpected alliances: Long Zhi and Chen Zheng, despite their own concerns, choose to aid Jiang rather than abandon her.
• Arrogance versus resilience: The monk’s confidence in his superiority contrasts with Jiang’s refusal to be psychologically defeated.
• Strength born from injury: Jiang’s wounds intensify rather than diminish her fighting spirit and physical power.

Character Interactions

• Jiang’s brief request for Long Zhi and Chen Zheng to stall the enemy establishes a reluctant but crucial alliance.
• Long Zhi reacts with disbelief and frustration, while Chen Zheng silently accepts the responsibility of covering Jiang.
• The monk dismisses the Sky-Patrol officers as “flies” and prioritizes eliminating them before dealing with Jiang.
• The Water Marsh Sect pledges loyalty to the monk and attempts to defend the White Elephant, directly confronting Jiang.
• The chapter ends with Jiang seizing Water Marsh High Person by the throat, signaling that her assault has begun in earnest.

Summary of “The Venerable’s Fury”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu overwhelms and kills Water Marsh High Person, a newly advanced Cinnabar Flow cultivator. Combining the Nine Refinements of the Golden Crow, Mountain Might, and the triggered [Defiant Battle], she prevents him from unleashing his Dao Painting and kills him with a single devastating punch.
• The remaining Water Marsh Sect cultivators lose their will to fight and retreat. Jiang Yuechu stores the High Person’s corpse and gains Dao Essence from the kill.
• She immediately attacks the injured Six-Tusked White Elephant, using the immortal art Yin-Yang Sky Sweep. Despite the pressure exerted by the gray-robed Buddhist monk—the Venerable—she attempts to finish the demon.
• The monk intervenes, striking at Jiang Yuechu and her allies. Long Zhi and Chen Zheng try to block him but are quickly overwhelmed.
• Revealing a powerful Buddhist transformation, the monk manifests a wrathful Vajra-like form with three heads and six arms. His body is surrounded by the phantom of a Buddhist realm, greatly increasing his strength.
• While the monk is distracted by Long Zhi and Chen Zheng, Jiang Yuechu’s Yin-Yang attack tears apart the White Elephant’s body. She follows with a devastating magma-infused kick that crushes its head and kills it.
• The battle destroys the protective formation around the guest courtyard, exposing the conflict to everyone on the mountain. Onlookers initially consider intervening but flee after sensing the overwhelming power of the Painting Realm combatants.
• Jiang Yuechu gains additional Dao Essence from killing the White Elephant. She then stands atop its corpse, while the gray-robed monk realizes that the spirit beast is completely dead.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu demonstrates overwhelming combat ability, decisiveness, and fearlessness. She kills two powerful Cinnabar Flow opponents without hesitation and refuses to be intimidated by the Venerable’s presence.
• Her attitude toward Dao cultivation is revealed to be ruthlessly pragmatic: personal grudges are irrelevant compared with the opportunity to advance her cultivation.
• Water Marsh High Person is shown to be completely outmatched despite reaching the Cinnabar Flow realm. His inability to even fully deploy his Dao Painting emphasizes Jiang Yuechu’s superior strength and battle instincts.
• The gray-robed monk shifts from confident control to rage and shock. His fury intensifies after Jiang Yuechu kills the White Elephant, a spirit beast entrusted to him by an Arhat.
• Long Zhi and Chen Zheng attempt to support Jiang Yuechu but are instantly defeated by the monk’s transformed power, leaving their fate uncertain.
• The Water Marsh Sect cultivators and surrounding spectators are portrayed as powerless observers who quickly abandon their hostility once they recognize the scale of the battle.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming strength and cultivation hierarchy: The chapter emphasizes the vast difference between ordinary cultivators and figures capable of fighting at the Painting Realm level.
• Ruthlessness in pursuit of cultivation: Jiang Yuechu treats killing as a necessary step toward Dao advancement, showing that cultivation supersedes morality, grudges, and social expectations.
• Defiance against authority: Jiang Yuechu openly challenges the Venerable and kills a creature under Buddhist protection, refusing to submit even when facing a much greater power.
• Consequences of violence: Although Jiang Yuechu wins the immediate confrontation, the White Elephant’s death creates a potentially catastrophic conflict with the Buddhist Sect and the Arhat who valued it.
• Public exposure of hidden power: The collapse of the formation reveals the battle to the entire mountain, transforming a concealed confrontation into a spectacle and possible political crisis.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu decisively defeats Water Marsh High Person, causing his allies to retreat.
• The White Elephant begs Jiang Yuechu to stop, but she ignores its plea and attacks without explanation.
• The gray-robed monk attempts to kill or restrain Jiang Yuechu, while Long Zhi and Chen Zheng intervene to protect her and are beaten down.
• Jiang Yuechu kills the White Elephant before the monk can save it, directly provoking his fury.
• The chapter ends with the monk confronting Jiang Yuechu, accusing her of causing a terrible calamity by killing the spirit beast before him.

Chapter Summary: Battle Against the Wandering Void Sea

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu confronts a gray-robed Buddhist Sect monk, a powerful Wandering Void Sea cultivator who condemns her for killing a spirit beast and demands that she pay for her actions.
• When the monk unleashes overwhelming heavenly power, Jiang Yuechu calmly accepts the challenge. Her displayed cultivation rapidly drains as she counters the attack.
• The resulting clash devastates the Water Marsh Sect’s mountain gate, collapsing buildings and carving a massive crater into the ground.
• Jiang Yuechu emerges victorious, pinning the monk down and severely burning his body with magma-like energy. She taunts him about previously calling her a “lowly cultivator.”
• A massive snow-white fish appears within a starry sky and merges with Jiang Yuechu, revealing that she possesses the power and aura of a Wandering Void Sea cultivator—far beyond the Early Inkfall Realm cultivation she had pretended to have.
• Terrified, the monk reveals that he serves the Subduing Tiger Arhat of the Buddhist Sect and threatens Jiang Yuechu with retaliation. He offers to conceal the spirit beast’s death if she spares him.
• Long Zhi realizes the danger: killing a Buddhist Sect Venerable could provoke an Arhat, an existence comparable to a Star Lord, and potentially endanger Jiang Yuechu’s future.
• Before Long Zhi can intervene, Jiang Yuechu kills the monk with a single brutal strike, crushing his head and leaving him dead.
• She calmly searches the corpse, takes the monk’s storage pouch, and returns to Long Zhi and Chen Zheng.
• When Long Zhi asks what she plans to do, Jiang Yuechu answers that they should report the incident. Her main concern is whether the Sky-Patrol Bureau will award her substantial merit for killing a Buddhist Sect Venerable.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Her true strength is dramatically revealed. Though she presents herself as a weak ninth-rank or Early Inkfall Realm cultivator, she can unleash Wandering Void Sea-level power. She is fearless, emotionally detached, highly decisive, and unconcerned about provoking powerful enemies. Her pragmatic nature is also emphasized through her immediate looting of the monk’s corpse and focus on merit rewards.
• Long Zhi: She shifts from concern and responsibility to shock and helplessness. Feeling guilty for bringing Jiang Yuechu into danger, she considers taking responsibility for the coming conflict, but Jiang Yuechu’s sudden execution of the monk leaves her speechless.
• Chen Zheng: Having recovered from his injuries, he witnesses the overwhelming battle alongside Long Zhi and is left stunned by Jiang Yuechu’s real power.
• Gray-robed monk: His arrogance collapses into fear once Jiang Yuechu reveals her superior strength. His attempts to rely on Buddhist Sect authority and the threat of the Subduing Tiger Arhat fail completely.

Significant Themes

• Hidden strength and deceptive appearances: Jiang Yuechu’s seemingly weak cultivation is exposed as a deliberate disguise, challenging everyone’s assumptions about her.
• Fearlessness before authority: The monk relies on the Buddhist Sect and its Arhat, while Jiang Yuechu refuses to be intimidated by status, threats, or future consequences.
• Power and consequences: The killing creates a major political and spiritual conflict between Jiang Yuechu, the Buddhist Sect, and potentially the Heavenly Court.
• Pragmatism amid catastrophe: While Long Zhi worries about retaliation and future danger, Jiang Yuechu treats the situation as manageable and focuses on practical rewards.
• The contrast between composure and panic: Jiang Yuechu remains calm throughout, while the monk and Long Zhi undergo increasing fear and shock.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and the monk engage in a hostile exchange centered on his insult toward her and his belief in Buddhist Sect superiority.
• The monk attempts to intimidate Jiang Yuechu by invoking the Subduing Tiger Arhat, but she responds through action rather than argument and kills him.
• Long Zhi tries to consider intervening and taking responsibility, but Jiang Yuechu acts before she can speak.
• Afterward, Jiang Yuechu casually asks what Long Zhi wanted to say, highlighting the vast difference between their perceptions of the situation.
• Jiang Yuechu’s final question about merit reinforces her detached, reward-focused attitude toward the consequences of the battle.

Chapter Summary: “Aftermath Gains”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Several days after the battle in Great Marsh Township, Jiang Yuechu, Long Zhi, and Chen Zheng arrive at Lingwater Commandery in Cloud Province.
• They go directly to the local City God Temple, where the City God receives them with great deference because of the Sky-Patrol Bureau’s superior rank and authority.
• The City God cautiously tries to learn why they have come, but Long Zhi refuses to discuss the matter. The death of a Buddhist Sect Wandering Void Sea Venerable is too significant for a local official to question.
• Long Zhi instructs Jiang Yuechu and Chen Zheng to rest while she uses the temple’s formation to report the Great Marsh incident to the Heavenly Court and await instructions regarding their rewards.
• Jiang Yuechu retreats to a quiet room and reviews the gains from the recent battle through her cultivation system.
• She discovers that she now possesses 47 Dao Essence, most of it obtained from the death of the gray-robed Buddhist cultivator.
• Jiang Yuechu examines the reason a human cultivator could provide such an enormous amount of Dao Cultivation. She realizes that the cultivator’s vast Merit and accumulated Incense-Fire Power likely allowed him to build foundations equivalent to tens of millions of years of cultivation.
• This leads her to recognize that powerful human cultivators and officials may become alternative sources of Dao Cultivation, rather than relying only on demons and devils.
• She then takes out the storage bag stolen from the Buddhist Venerable, expecting it to contain valuable resources, possibly including clues about cultivation beyond the Painting Realm.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu remains calm and methodical after the battle, carefully calculating her resources rather than immediately using them to increase her strength.
• She gains a new understanding of how Merit and Incense-Fire Power accelerate cultivation, broadening her perspective on where Dao Cultivation can come from.
• Her confidence grows as her sense of urgency lessens; she now sees a wider range of opportunities for future advancement.
• At the same time, she recognizes that remaining in the Early Inkfall Realm is insufficient for her future travels and confrontations within the Heavenly Court.
• Long Zhi displays authority and restraint, firmly controlling what information is revealed to the local City God and taking responsibility for reporting the incident.
• Chen Zheng remains quiet and cooperative, following Long Zhi’s instructions without protest.
• The Lingwater City God is portrayed as cautious, deferential, and politically aware, eager not to offend officials from the Sky-Patrol Bureau or overlook a major threat in his jurisdiction.

Significant Themes

• The rewards and consequences of violence: Jiang Yuechu’s deadly victory produces enormous material and cultivation gains, turning the aftermath of battle into an opportunity for advancement.
• Merit and institutional power: The chapter expands the cultivation system by showing that Merit and Incense-Fire Power can create astonishing accumulations of Dao Cultivation.
• Pragmatic ambition: Jiang Yuechu is not satisfied with merely surviving or dominating her current realm; she is already planning how to reach higher stages.
• Political hierarchy and official authority: The City God’s behavior emphasizes the Heavenly Court’s rigid bureaucracy and the Sky-Patrol Bureau’s elevated status.
• Expanding sources of power: Jiang Yuechu realizes she may no longer need to depend exclusively on demons and devils for cultivation resources.

Character Interactions

• Long Zhi formally interacts with the Lingwater City God, maintaining a cold, commanding attitude while refusing to reveal sensitive information.
• The City God attempts to question the group but quickly backs down when Long Zhi makes clear that the matter exceeds his authority.
• Long Zhi directs Jiang Yuechu and Chen Zheng to rest, showing both leadership and concern for proper procedure.
• The immortal official assigned to Jiang Yuechu tries to offer her spirit tea, but she dismisses him politely and firmly, reinforcing her preference for solitude and efficiency.

Jiang Yuechu used a Buddhist technique and merit-infused prayer beads to advance from the Early to the Middle Inkfall Realm. She then empowered the Scarlet Fire Spirit Phoenix and added it to her Myriad Demon Records, raising the Dao Painting's grade.

• Jiang Yuechu examined the Buddhist Venerable's possessions and learned the Heart-Intent Qi Primordial Unity Technique from his jade slips.
• Jiang Yuechu spent five units of Dao Essence to initiate the technique and found that it slowly advanced her cultivation.
• Jiang Yuechu used the prayer beads' merit while improving the technique, breaking through to the Middle Inkfall Realm before the beads lost their golden radiance.
• Jiang Yuechu spent twenty units of Dao Essence to make the Scarlet Fire Spirit Phoenix Heaven-Natured and raise Nine Refinements of the Golden Crow to major attainment.
• Jiang Yuechu spent her remaining Dao Cultivation to add the Scarlet Fire Spirit Phoenix to her Myriad Demon Records, which rose to yellow tier, second grade.