Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• After three days of bargaining, Luo Qian proposes a partnership with the Yao Family: he will help remove the “parasites” occupying Yao land in Jade Clarity Heaven, while the Yao Family contributes half the land. They will then share development costs and profits equally.
• Yao Siyu objects to giving up so much land. Yao Shu focuses instead on who may buy the new residences, insisting that Jade Clarity Heaven retain its social prestige by excluding people without suitable status.
• Luo Qian realizes the pedigree rule is a negotiating tactic. He agrees to it in exchange for the right to name the developed area a “New District,” but Yao Siyu objects to the implication that the land might be considered Luo Qian’s rather than the Yao Family’s.
• Luo Qian reminds her that Jade Clarity Heaven belongs to the sovereign, not the Yao Family. Xie Tang’s icy reaction alarms Yao Shu, who fears Luo Qian may be the Supreme Pure Emperor’s son. He makes his daughter kneel and apologize, and the parties reach a compromise: Luo Qian gives up naming rights, while Yao Shu drops the pedigree requirement.
• In private, Yao Shu scolds Siyu for her dangerous remark and orders an investigation into Xie Tang after noticing her unusual reaction.
• The investigation reveals that Xie Tang is the Emperor’s younger sister. Yao Shu and Siyu realize that, if Luo Qian is indeed the Emperor’s son, his relationship with Xie Tang could be a politically explosive family scandal. They conclude the discovery is too dangerous to exploit and decide to keep it secret.
• Meanwhile, Luo Qian and Xie Tang remain unaware of the Yao family’s suspicions. Xie Tang pinches Luo Qian after he clumsily asks about the Emperor’s dead daughter, then later comforts him by rubbing his sore waist.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian proves adept at negotiation, recognizing Yao Shu’s tactics and trading one concession for another. His bold reminder of the Emperor’s authority nearly causes a crisis.
• Yao Shu is a cautious, calculating negotiator, but repeated hints of Luo Qian’s possible imperial connections unsettle him. He prioritizes protecting his family over exploiting sensitive information.
• Yao Siyu is impulsive and confrontational, and her careless wording puts the Yao Family in danger. She regrets her mistake and accepts her father’s warning.
• Xie Tang displays quiet but formidable authority when she senses Siyu’s disrespect. In private, she is playful and affectionate toward Luo Qian.
• The negotiations are shaped by a constant contest between Luo Qian’s commercial pragmatism and the Yao family’s concern for status, while the characters’ private interactions add romantic humor.

Significant themes

• Power and political risk: A seemingly ordinary business negotiation can become dangerous when imperial authority and family ties are involved.
• Status versus commerce: The Yao Family values pedigree and prestige, while Luo Qian treats the land as a development opportunity.
• Miscalculation and misunderstanding: Each side draws conclusions from incomplete clues, and attempts to gain leverage risk creating greater danger.
• Negotiation as compromise: Both sides secure priorities by trading concessions rather than winning outright.

Plot points and events

• Luo Qian and the Yao Family conclude negotiations: the Yao Family provides the land, while Luo Qian handles the squatters’ eviction and pays for construction.
• Luo Qian visits the Supreme Pure Emperor, who angrily challenges him over his relationships with women besides Xie Tang. Luo Qian stays silent rather than make matters worse.
• After confirming that Xie Tang is happy with him, the emperor grants Luo Qian an imperial decree giving him authority to resettle Jade Clarity Heaven’s residents and preventing interference.
• Back in Jade Clarity Heaven, Luo Qian uses the decree to strengthen his position. The residents’ political backers withdraw their support, and three elders agree to negotiate.
• The elders demand compensation for their homes, temporary housing support, and replacement residences after construction. Luo Qian accepts their demands, then adds a contract clause making the new homes non-transferable: the elders may use them but cannot sell or pass them on.

Character developments

• Luo Qian relies on patience and strategy rather than force. He appears accommodating to the elders while carefully shaping the written agreement to protect his plans.
• The Supreme Pure Emperor reveals both his affection for Xie Tang and his jealousy and protectiveness. Though he threatens Luo Qian over the other women, he ultimately supports Luo’s work.
• Yao Shu proves himself a shrewd negotiator, securing equal terms for the Yao Family despite its weak position. He is also quick to anger at the elders’ demands, but lets Luo Qian handle them.
• The three elders mistake Luo Qian’s courtesy for weakness and eagerly press for concessions, leaving them vulnerable to the restrictions in his contract.
• Xie Tang remains central to the emperor’s concern, though she does not appear directly in the negotiations.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus reality: Luo Qian’s submissive silence with the emperor and apparent generosity toward the elders conceal calculated judgment.
• Power and negotiation: The imperial decree changes the balance of leverage, while the elders’ political support proves fragile.
• Family and possessiveness: The emperor’s love for Xie Tang is mixed with anger and anxiety over Luo Qian’s other relationships.
• Control over property and community: The relocation agreement offers the residents compensation and new homes, while limiting their ability to transfer those homes and complicate future management.

Character interactions

• The emperor confronts Luo Qian about his household, then supports his resettlement project after hearing his request.
• Xu Hu serves as the emperor’s enforcer and communicates the court’s position to the residents’ backers.
• Luo Qian and Yao Shu cooperate during the negotiations with the elders, with Luo quietly restraining Yao when he is about to react.
• Luo treats the elders respectfully, wins their confidence, and turns their demands into a formal agreement that serves his broader aims.

Plot points and events

• Luo Qian secures signatures from three elders representing more than a thousand residents of Jade Clarity Heaven. The agreement promises each person one cave dwelling, with residents responsible for damage and subject to a shared steward and household expenses.
• The residents inflate their claims before the property survey, adding makeshift pavilions, gardens, and groves to increase their compensation. Their embellishments cost Luo Qian over a hundred million extra Immortal Jade.
• When some residents refuse to leave, Lei Laohu’s forceful crew clears them out. Luo Qian’s workers then install lavish villas, converted into immortal dwellings from buildings brought up from the Lower Realm.
• The villas draw crowds and become a sensation. Luo Qian uses a demonstration by a Heavenly Maiden and nonstop magical-screen advertisements to showcase their amenities, including gyms, meditation rooms, garages, and newly made Immortal Artifacts.
• Luo Qian prices each villa at one billion High-Grade Immortal Jade and sells them rapidly, chiefly to wealthy merchants hoping to gain access to the Immortal Realm’s upper social circles. He gives half the villas to Yao Shu and sells the rest.
• The displaced residents confront Luo Qian, expecting the promised villas. He directs them instead to a concealed tower of modest cave dwellings. When they try to seize the villas, his bodyguards block them. Luo Qian insists he fulfilled the agreement and tells them their compensation is sufficient to find housing elsewhere.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian shows himself to be a shrewd, unsentimental businessman: he offers a technically precise agreement, turns the cleared land into a profitable development, and refuses to be intimidated by the residents’ demands. He nevertheless argues that their compensation gives them a viable alternative.
• Yao Shu recognizes Luo Qian’s calculating nature and watches the process with amusement, later receiving half the villas.
• Xie Tang supports Luo Qian’s decision to compensate the former residents rather than simply abandon them.
• The three elders and their community are initially pleased by the agreement and the promise of a steward, but their attempts to inflate their claims and later demand better homes reveal their greed and willingness to exploit ambiguity.
• Lei Laohu and Luo Qian’s bodyguards enforce the clearance, first removing holdouts and later preventing the crowd from taking the villas.

Significant themes

• Contracts and loopholes: Luo Qian fulfills the agreement’s literal terms while withholding what the residents assumed they would receive.
• Greed and opportunism: The residents exaggerate their property claims, while Luo Qian turns the cleared land into a lucrative enterprise.
• Social status and access: Wealthy merchants buy villas not only for comfort but as a way to connect with an elite society that excludes them.
• Power and coercion: Legal agreements and commercial persuasion are backed by force when disputes escalate.

Key plot points and events

• After Luo Qian’s security force drives off the old retainers and their followers, he assures the crowd that his company will protect them. His confidence is interrupted when a painful summons pulls him to the Heavenly River.
• Luo Qian pays the Dragon Emperor the agreed tax, then learns that the Emperor is preparing for another contest with Strathas. Their rivalry has produced ten consecutive draws, and the Dragon Emperor wants to improve his champion’s toughness with a secret art.
• The Dragon Emperor recruits Luo Qian to collect rare ingredients from powerful Magic Beasts. Though wary of the danger—and of alienating Strathas—Luo Qian has little choice but to agree.
• Back at Jade Clarity Heaven, Luo Qian finds the old retainers and young followers staging a sit-in. Xie Tang has allowed people to bring them food and tea, so Luo orders the protesters’ supporters driven away.
• To force the sit-in to end, Luo asks Old Roughworker to set up a Qianyang Formation. It concentrates the sun’s heat on the protesters by day; at night, gongs and drums prevent them from sleeping. Luo relaxes behind a soundproof barrier while they endure the discomfort.

Character developments

• Luo Qian remains resourceful and self-assured, but his new responsibilities bring escalating complications. He is reluctant to risk himself gathering the Dragon Emperor’s ingredients, yet is pressured into accepting. At home, he takes a hard-line approach to the protest.
• The Dragon Emperor is revealed as intensely competitive and personally invested in his centuries-long rivalry with Strathas. He uses his authority to enlist Luo Qian in his scheme.
• Xie Tang shows compassion toward the protesters by letting visitors bring them provisions, contrasting with Luo Qian’s desire to break their resolve.
• Old Roughworker provides the practical solution Luo Qian needs, helping turn the protest into a test of endurance.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: Luo Qian’s security force and the Dragon Emperor’s sovereign authority let them impose their will, while the protesters have little leverage beyond endurance.
• Rivalry and pride: The Dragon Emperor treats his repeated draws with Strathas as an insult to his status, illustrating how competition can become a matter of ego.
• Pragmatism and self-interest: Luo Qian weighs danger, business relationships, and personal convenience, generally choosing the course that best protects his own interests.
• Comedic contrast: Grand celestial titles and epic rivalries are undercut by petty behavior, bureaucratic pressure, and Luo Qian’s mundane, self-serving thoughts.

Character interactions

• Luo Qian’s security force confronts the old retainers’ party, while Luo dismisses their threats and reassures the gathered residents.
• The Dragon Emperor recounts his rivalry with Strathas and pressures Luo Qian to gather the dangerous materials; Luo agrees despite his reservations.
• Xie Tang’s kindness toward the protesters conflicts with Luo Qian’s harsher response, prompting him to cut off their supplies.
• Luo enlists Old Roughworker’s technical skill to punish the sit-in without confronting the protesters directly.

Plot points and events

• Most of the former nobles and their descendants quickly abandon Jade Clarity Heaven, but a core group—led by three elderly men—tries to resist Luo Qian and appeal to the Heavenly Emperor.
• Luo Qian has an informant among them and expects the appeal to fail. Palace guards disperse the group before it can gain attention, apparently because Luo Qian has already cultivated influence at court.
• Some residents eventually move into Luo Qian’s deliberately insulting “Setting Sun Apartments.” When they damage the buildings and harass property staff, Luo Qian responds by sending Hao Renqiang to enforce the apartment contracts.
• The residents face steep property fees, penalties for damage, and restrictions on altering their homes. As their compensation dwindles, many leave; others rent out their units and move elsewhere.
• Once the group is scattered, Luo Qian considers the problem solved: without a shared gathering place, the former nobles are unlikely to organize again. Yao Shu and Xie Tang both wonder what Luo Qian will do with the now-empty apartments.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian shows himself to be a patient, calculating strategist. Rather than confront the former nobles directly, he uses court connections, an informant, and strict contract enforcement to force them out. He privately takes pride in his skill at playing the villain.
• Hao Renqiang, Luo Qian’s intimidating chief enforcer, carries out the property-fee scheme, alternating polite appeals to the contract with threats when residents refuse to comply.
• The former nobles shift from defiance and appeals to division, fear, and eventual dispersal. Some leave early, while others persist until the costs make resistance untenable.
• Xie Tang worries that the residents may return, but Luo Qian argues that they have lost the collective base that made them dangerous.
• Yao Shu admires Luo Qian’s effectiveness and privately compares it with his own indirect approach to removing the “parasites.”

Significant themes

• Power and political influence: The former nobles’ claim to past status cannot overcome the new order, especially when Luo Qian has connections within the court.
• Control through systems rather than force: Contracts, fees, and regulations become tools of coercion, showing how apparently lawful procedures can serve a deliberate trap.
• The decline of privilege: The name “Setting Sun Apartments” reflects the former nobles’ fading status and their inability to adapt.
• Division as a means of control: Once the residents lose their shared home and common cause, they become “loose sand” and cease to pose a united threat.

Plot points and events

• Luo Qian’s luxury shopping complex, renamed Jadeclear Century, is nearly ready for business. He has left the day-to-day work to Dongfang Chen while focusing on a more urgent obligation: finding rare ingredients for the Dragon Emperor.
• Luo Qian visits the Beast King, Strathas, and reveals that the Dragon Emperor plans to use those ingredients in their century-old duel. Strathas recognizes the Dragon Emperor’s scheme and rewards Luo Qian with the three requested ingredients, which she had already taken from the corresponding beasts.
• Strathas asks Luo Qian to help her defeat the Dragon Emperor. Their contest includes a humiliating forfeit—the loser must lick the winner’s toes—and a tribute paid every hundred years. Luo Qian eagerly claims the tribute but declines to let Strathas train his little dragon for the fight.
• Since the dragon cannot participate under the rules, Strathas proposes another approach: acquire the Purgatory Furnace, a powerful demonic artifact that could make even an ordinary alchemist highly skilled.
• The furnace belongs to Alaparis, a celebrated Devil King and favored alchemist in the Demon Realm. Strathas cannot request it directly without risking future political obligations, so she sends Luo Qian instead.
• Luo Qian visits Sean’s palace to seek help. Sean senses him, and Hua Diao leaves the room; the chapter ends before their discussion begins.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian continues balancing business ambition with dangerous favors for powerful supernatural figures. He uses flattery and evasiveness to avoid being drawn into Strathas’s personal contest, but readily accepts the prospect of claiming the Dragon Emperor’s tribute.
• Strathas is revealed as both formidable and playful: she has already defeated the three beasts whose parts Luo Qian needs, and she is intensely invested in her rivalry with the Dragon Emperor.
• Luo Qian and Strathas negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement. He agrees to pursue the furnace in exchange for the tribute, while she hopes to secure a victory—and the Dragon Emperor’s submission—through a legitimate contest.
• The Dragon Emperor remains offstage but drives the chapter’s conflict through his planned duel and his demand for ingredients.
• Sean and Hua Diao appear briefly, setting up Luo Qian’s next step.

Significant themes

• Commerce and risk: Jadeclear Century’s grand sales pitch promises prosperity, but Luo Qian recognizes that no business can guarantee success.
• Deals, favors, and leverage: Powerful characters turn personal rivalries into exchanges of resources and services.
• Ambition tempered by self-preservation: Luo Qian speaks boldly about risking himself, yet carefully avoids dangers that could get him killed or trapped in others’ schemes.
• Humor amid high stakes: The characters’ grand titles and supernatural power contrast with the absurdly intimate terms of Strathas and the Dragon Emperor’s rivalry.

Plot and key events

• Luo Qian proposes that Devil King Sean help him steal the Purgatory Furnace by killing its owner, Alaparis. Sean initially pretends to be uninterested, but agrees when Luo Qian offers to take the blame and provide weapons.
• Sean asks for Luo Qian’s Buddhist weapon, the Vajra Demon-Subduing Pestle. Soon afterward, news spreads that Alaparis has been assassinated by an apparent Divine Realm agent disguised as Luo Qian.
• Luo Qian meets the assassin, Nawan, and recovers the Furnace, his weapon, and his belongings. He realizes Sean deliberately made the killer look like him to implicate him, and ends their partnership.
• Luo Qian gives the Purgatory Furnace to Beast King Strathas, who says she will return it after her duel in a hundred years. She then asks him to collect materials from the Immortal and Buddha Realms for her plan to create a new Magic Beast.
• In the Immortal Realm, Luo Qian delivers three items to the Dragon Emperor. He discovers that the emperor’s rival is Strathas—and that her childhood name is Ruhua, a fact she has concealed.
• The Dragon Emperor insists on rewarding Luo Qian and gives him a miniature Crystal Palace, which can be placed anywhere and maintains spiritual energy comparable to that of the Three Heavens.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian is shrewd and pragmatic: he secures the Furnace, recognizes Sean’s betrayal, and cuts ties once Sean is no longer useful. Despite his self-interest, he is capable of feeling guilty about accepting a reward after betraying the Dragon Emperor’s trust.
• Sean is revealed as calculating and treacherous. Though he gets Alaparis killed quickly, he attempts to frame Luo Qian by having the assassin resemble him.
• Strathas shows a sense of honor by promising to return the Furnace intact, but her hidden childhood name gives her a more comic, personal side.
• The Dragon Emperor rewards loyalty with lavish generosity, while also revealing his petty rivalry with Strathas and his contempt for her name.
• Hua Diao reacts angrily to Luo Qian’s insinuations about Sean, but Chiwen restrains her during their confrontation.

Significant themes

• Trust and manipulation: Deals in the Demon Realm are shaped by hidden motives; Luo Qian’s temporary alliance with Sean collapses once Sean tries to frame him.
• Pragmatism and self-interest: Luo Qian treats partnerships as transactional, while still recognizing when betrayal goes too far.
• Power, honor, and reputation: The assassination’s disguise threatens Luo Qian’s reputation, while Strathas’s promise reflects her pride and sense of honor.
• Comic contrast: Scheming power struggles are undercut by vanity and humor, especially the revelation of Strathas’s childhood name and the Dragon Emperor’s boastful rivalry.

Key plot points and events

• The Dragon Emperor gives Luo Qian his old Crystal Palace cave residence, along with the treasures and equipment stored inside. The palace maintains spiritual energy as rich as the Three Heavens and is lavishly furnished.
• Luo Qian sees the equipment as a way to reward his bodyguards and strengthen their loyalty. He then returns to Jade Clarity Heaven, where Dongfang Chen reports that nearly all of the thirty-six floors of Jadeclear Century have been leased. Luo Qian anticipates substantial rental income and leaves the complex’s management to Dongfang.
• Zhang Shu arrives claiming Luo Qian owes the Pinglu Zhang Family for the land beneath his property. He is more interested in Xie Tang than in the alleged debt, staring at her lecherously.
• Luo Qian agrees to investigate the land claim rather than dismiss Zhang outright. Xie Tang explains that the Zhangs’ fief originated when a cook won it from the head of the West River Aristocratic Clan through a drunken promise.
• Luo Qian orders Hao Renqiang to investigate the family. The results show that the Zhangs have little influence and have declined over time, largely due to Zhang Shu’s wasteful and abusive behavior.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian continues to combine ambition and opportunism: he enjoys his new palace, plans to profit from his commercial property, and considers using the Zhang family’s cooking connections to find a cook. Though angered by Zhang Shu’s behavior toward Xie Tang, he tries to handle the land dispute through inquiry rather than force.
• Xie Tang firmly rebukes Zhang Shu’s presumption and supplies Luo Qian with the history behind the family’s claim. Her account reveals how little real standing the Zhangs possess.
• Zhang Shu enters with bluster but quickly becomes deferential when he hopes to remain near Xie Tang. His lechery and history of bullying make him a looming problem.
• Dongfang Chen proves effective in managing the leasing effort, while Luo Qian delegates the ensuing operational work to him.

Significant themes

• Wealth and social ambition: Luo Qian treats the palace, its treasures, and his rental property as resources for building influence and prosperity.
• Power, legitimacy, and reputation: The Zhang family’s status rests on an old, dubious-seeming promise, while its present authority is undermined by decline and Zhang Shu’s conduct.
• Desire and entitlement: Zhang Shu’s leering behavior contrasts with Luo Qian’s acceptance that Xie Tang will attract admirers—and his anger at the disrespectful way Zhang behaves.
• Pragmatism and delegation: Luo Qian turns advantages into practical plans and hands complicated business matters to capable subordinates.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Shu’s extravagant spending leaves the Zhang family deeply in debt. Looking for money, he targets wealthy businessman Luo Qian and demands payment in Jade Clarity Heaven.
• Luo learns that Zhang Shu’s cousin, Zhang Zhao, wants him dead. Zhang Zhao has kept meticulous records of Zhang Shu’s crimes, including the abuse of numerous victims. One entry reveals a personal reason for Zhang Zhao’s hatred.
• Though Luo had hoped to use the Zhang family as a training base for his Myriad Incarnations Technique, the evidence outrages him. He invokes his standing with the Secret Investigation Bureau rather than letting the case crawl through ordinary channels.
• Bureau chief Zheng Daoguang verifies the evidence and sends officers to secure the Zhang estate and arrest Zhang Shu. When Zhang Shu tries to pursue Xie Tang, Luo blocks him. Zhang Shu mocks Luo’s rank and boasts of his connections, unaware that Zheng is on his way.
• Zheng arrives and has Zhang Shu bound and taken away. He hints that Zhang could face execution; Luo, concerned for Zheng’s safety, recognizes the need to shape public opinion around the case.
• Luo’s company uses its illuminated signboards to publish Ling Xiaose’s sensational, condemnatory account of Zhang Shu’s crimes and arrest. Public anger surges, and Ling follows up with an exclusive interview with Zheng.

Character developments

• Luo Qian shifts from opportunistic schemer to an active opponent of Zhang Shu after confronting the scale of his crimes. He also shows practical caution, using publicity to protect Zheng and strengthen the case.
• Zhang Zhao is revealed as patient and calculating: he has compiled years of evidence and readily offers to help Luo bring Zhang Shu down. His intense hatred has both political and personal roots.
• Zheng Daoguang is furious at Zhang Shu’s crimes and fiercely committed to the arrest. His loyalty to Luo is evident, though his enthusiasm for a public execution could put him at risk.
• Zhang Shu remains arrogant and oblivious to consequences, mistaking official authority for something he can buy or dismiss.
• Ling Xiaose turns the investigation into a public story, using his reporting skills to amplify outrage and keep the case in the spotlight.

Significant themes

• Justice versus corruption: Zhang Shu’s privilege has shielded his abuses, but evidence and official action finally challenge that protection.
• Publicity as power: Luo’s signboards and Ling’s reporting transform a local arrest into a realm-wide public reckoning.
• Arrogance and blindness: Zhang Shu’s confidence in status and connections prevents him from recognizing the danger he is in.
• Pragmatism and conscience: Luo’s original business motives give way, at least partly, to moral disgust and a desire to see justice done.

Character interactions

• Luo and Zhang Zhao form a practical alliance built on shared opposition to Zhang Shu.
• Luo confronts Zhang Shu as he harasses Xie Tang; Zhang Shu responds by belittling Luo and trying to recruit him with promises of connections.
• Zheng’s trust in Luo leads him to act decisively, while Luo’s public-relations strategy helps safeguard Zheng’s operation.
• Ling’s work connects the bureau’s investigation with the public, turning official action into a widely followed campaign against Zhang Shu.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Qian realizes that the Illuminated Signboard has become a major source of public attention. He decides to turn it into a media business, selling advertising space to other merchants as well as promoting his own company.
• Ling Xiaose is pushed into becoming the company’s overworked “columnist,” writing serialized stories under several pen names. Luo Qian also asks Old Roughworker to develop an Immortal Realm electronic screen.
• Luo expands his consumer-goods business, branding Game Consoles and Laptops with his own “L” logo. He declines an invitation to visit Prince Feng Zilei, instead suggesting that the prince visit his business.
• Luo’s publicity helps official Zheng Daoguang gain fame, and Zheng sends Luo gifts in gratitude. Meanwhile, Old Roughworker adapts a stolen Lower Realm road-information display into an Immortal Artifact. Luo quickly manufactures three thousand screens, whose popularity boosts both Luo Company and Ling Xiaose’s stories.
• Feng Zilei comes to Jadeclear Heaven after being rebuffed. He had intended to pressure Luo into sharing his business, but seeing Xie Tang beside him makes him reconsider. He offers Luo access to the Official Trading Bureau’s roughly six hundred shops for just a five-percent commission.
• Feng’s second offer is a partnership in the Illuminated Signboard network: he will fund expansion to ten thousand signs within six months in return for one-third of their monthly use. Despite suspecting the deal may conceal a catch, Luo accepts.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian grows from an opportunistic merchant into a would-be media magnate, exploiting the signboard’s audience and investing in mass production and distribution. He remains bold and confident, even when he senses Feng’s offer may be a trap.
• Ling Xiaose becomes the reluctant engine of Luo’s publishing venture. Though he once enjoyed writing, turning it into compulsory work leaves him miserable.
• Old Roughworker continues developing mundane technology into Immortal Artifacts, enabling the electronic-screen business.
• Xie Tang warns Luo that Feng is petty and vindictive. Her calm presence during Feng’s visit keeps him from pursuing his original coercive plan; she also continues to support Luo publicly, even as their private relationship may be less easygoing.
• Feng Zilei shifts from attempted intimidation to an accommodating business proposal when he recognizes Xie Tang’s influence and the danger of antagonizing her. He still hints at Luo’s past connection to Fei’er, apparently testing the couple’s relationship, but Xie Tang gives him no visible reaction.

Significant themes

• Media and mass influence: Publicity turns a simple signboard and serialized stories into a powerful platform capable of shaping reputations and stirring public fads.
• Commerce and branding: Luo builds a business through product branding, mass production, advertising, and access to wider retail networks.
• Power behind business deals: Political status, personal relationships, and strategic leverage shape commercial negotiations as much as money does.
• Technology and adaptation: Luo imports ideas from the Lower Realm, while Old Roughworker transforms ordinary devices into Immortal products.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Feng Zilei sends Luo Qian a genuine Jade Seal worth one billion High-Grade Immortal Jade to fund the expansion of illuminated signboards. Luo Qian accepts the money and takes advantage of Feng’s need for his help placing the signs.
• Feng later realizes Luo has been exploiting him, especially by installing signs behind wealthy households under the label of “point-to-point placement.” He learns not to assume other people are naïve.
• With Jadeclear Century’s warehouses and offices completed, Luo heads north on an expedition, despite the brutal cold. He carries a Torch Dragon Lamp, but the journey is still miserable.
• At Nether Spring Cliff, the dangerous gateway to the far north, Luo encounters a bundled-up child who introduces himself as White Bear, one of the “Ice Thunder Five.” White Bear leads him to the Blizzard Inn, a hidden warm refuge beneath the snow.
• There Luo meets White Bear’s cold, mysterious elder sister, who runs the inn. After food and hot wine, Luo explains that he wants to catch an Ice Lion. She agrees that she and her group can assist, though Luo will still have to do the main work himself.

Character developments

• Luo Qian remains shrewd and irreverent: he treats Feng’s funding as an opportunity, withstands the expedition reluctantly, and refuses to follow White Bear’s etiquette rule simply to pretend he has heard of him. He is also practical, seeking local help rather than wandering blindly.
• Feng Zilei learns that apparent foolishness can conceal a sharper scheme and that he should not underestimate others.
• White Bear is cheerful, entrepreneurial, and eager to impress. He tries to present himself as a seasoned martial-world figure and is disappointed when Luo does not respond with the customary “I’ve long admired you.”
• White Bear’s elder sister is quiet and unsettling, but also capable and businesslike; she quickly offers help with Luo’s hunt.

Significant themes

• Scheming and mistaken assumptions: Feng’s lesson reflects the chapter’s playful warning that people plotting against one another may each be plotting in return.
• Commerce and self-interest: Luo’s signboard expansion and the Blizzard Inn show how business finds opportunities even in unlikely places.
• Survival and adaptation: The inn’s warmth and the group’s livelihood contrast with the far north’s lethal cold.
• Reputation and social convention: White Bear values the rituals of the martial world, while Luo prefers blunt honesty over empty courtesies.

Character interactions

• Luo and Feng’s relationship is shaped by mutual calculation: Feng provides resources, while Luo uses his expertise and connections to advance his business.
• White Bear tries to establish authority through his grand introduction and correct Luo’s manners; Luo’s amused refusal frustrates him.
• White Bear welcomes Luo as the inn’s first customer, while his elder sister handles the business directly. Their teamwork leads to an offer of assistance with the Ice Lion hunt.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Qian and his companions enter the Far Northern Lands with Miss Sadako and the Ice Thunder Five. Sadako’s long hair shields the group from the deadly Astral Winds at Nether Spring Cliff.
• They reach the Ice Lion’s ice forest. Luo Qian clears a path with Chiwen, then tries to capture the beast in a Heaven-Binding Net.
• The Ice Lion splits into dozens of tiny bodies and slips through the net. Sadako catches them with her hair, but the beast’s innate icefire burns it. Weakened, it recombines and collapses; Luo Qian binds it and seals it as a Beast-Sealing Puppet.
• Luo Qian leaves, believing the bargain complete. After he departs, the Ice Thunder Five reveal that capturing the Ice Lion was a ruse: they intend to take it for themselves and collect the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Soul hidden at the center of the forest.
• Sadako recovers from the icefire’s injury to her primordial spirit, and the group enters the central formation. When they try to claim the treasure, Luo Qian returns and challenges them.
• Luo Qian summons Chiwen, Bi, and Bixi. Their pressure forces the four bears and their companions into their true forms, while Sadako transforms last into a Six-Clawed Black Flood Dragon.

Character developments

• Luo Qian shows resourcefulness and confidence, combining Chiwen, the Heaven-Binding Net, binding cords, and the Beast-Sealing Art to capture the Ice Lion. He also recognizes the group’s betrayal and confronts them rather than letting them take the treasure.
• Miss Sadako proves powerful and experienced, but her motives are deceptive: she helped Luo Qian capture the Ice Lion so the Ice Thunder Five could seize it afterward. The beast’s fire injures her, and her dragon form reveals her true nature.
• The Ice Thunder Five shift from apparent helpers to opportunistic schemers. Their boastful confidence falters when faced with Luo Qian’s three dragons.
• Chiwen, Bi, and Bixi demonstrate the overwhelming force they can exert, making clear how formidable Luo Qian’s companions are.

Significant themes

• Trust and betrayal: A seemingly cooperative bargain masks the Ice Thunder Five’s plan to steal the beast and treasure.
• Power and preparation: Sadako’s hair, Luo Qian’s tools and techniques, and the dragons’ presence each shape the outcome.
• Greed and fair dealing: Luo Qian invokes the “rules of the road” to challenge the group’s attempt to take the Ice Soul after using him to capture the Ice Lion.

Character interactions

• Sadako protects Luo Qian and the others from the Astral Winds, then assists in trapping the Ice Lion—though secretly for her own group’s benefit.
• Luo Qian and Sadako work together during the hunt, but their temporary alliance breaks when he discovers the Ice Thunder Five’s plan.
• White Bear and his brothers defer to Sadako, celebrate her scheme, and later guard her while she heals.
• Luo Qian’s dragons confront the Ice Thunder Five directly, turning the dispute over the treasure into a show of force.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Qian overpowers the five beasts guarding the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Soul and takes it, having anticipated their deception. He explains that a master Pill Refiner could turn it into a far more effective Golden Core than the beasts could get by swallowing it.
• He offers the group pills in exchange for guarding his business. When their leader learns that the renowned Longque works for Luo Qian, she accepts.
• Rather than capture the intelligent Ice Lion for Strathas, Luo Qian frees it and gives it a Great Dream Golden Divine Pill, advising it to save the pill for a cultivation breakthrough. He then takes the five beasts to Jade Clarity Heaven and has them join his security staff.
• Back at the business, Luo Qian reassures Dongfang Chen that residents of the second-phase villa cave abodes can move in within a month.
• Dongfang becomes instantly fascinated by the newly arrived leader and asks Luo Qian to help him pursue her. His attraction stems from her resemblance to Sadako, whom he regards as a romantic dream figure because he misunderstood the horror film as a love story.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian demonstrates both strategic cunning and unexpected generosity: he takes the treasure but releases the Ice Lion and gives it a valuable pill. He also shows practical leadership by recruiting the five beasts and setting a construction deadline.
• Birthmark, formerly called “Miss Sadako,” is revealed to be the group’s decisive leader. Unlike the gullible white bear, she recognizes Luo Qian’s status and quickly agrees to his offer.
• The white bear remains naïve and outspoken, first objecting to Luo Qian’s offer and later correcting his use of Birthmark’s name and teasing him about manners.
• Dongfang Chen shifts from anxious employee to lovestruck admirer, pleading with his boss to act as matchmaker. Luo Qian is baffled by his unusual romantic taste and declines to promise that the relationship will work.

Significant themes

• Cunning versus honesty: Luo Qian counters the beasts’ attempted deception, yet treats the Ice Lion with compassion.
• Cultivation and restraint: Luo Qian argues that relying on treasures can hinder long-term growth and urges the Ice Lion to use the pill wisely.
• Power used benevolently: Despite his overwhelming strength, Luo Qian chooses to free the Ice Lion rather than exploit it.
• Comedy through cultural misunderstanding: Dongfang’s sincere romantic idealization of a horror-film character contrasts with Luo Qian’s fear of her, creating the chapter’s closing humor.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Qian assigns Birthmark to guard Dongfang Chen, while sending her four companions to work under Hao Renqiang. He hopes the arrangement will leave the couple alone.
• To supply the second phase of Jade Clarity Heaven’s residences and commercial district, Luo Qian returns to the Mortal Realm and buys buildings in several smaller cities. Chen Baozi helps manage the purchases and conceal the unusual disappearances.
• Luo Qian’s one-month move-in promise proves unrealistic. Even with two powerful craftsmen working day and night, they can convert only thirty villas in five days.
• Luo Qian turns the shortage into a business opportunity, auctioning early move-in rights for the first thirty residences at a premium. When furious buyers gather with their guards, he calms them by giving the new residents free back gardens—saving Luo Company the cost of maintaining them.
• As the auction proceeds, a furious woman approaches. Dongfang Chen and the guards flee, but White Bear stays to confront her, apparently brave and unaware that Luo Qian is silently terrified. The chapter ends with Dongfang Chen urging Birthmark to watch what happens.

Character developments

• Luo Qian remains an audacious, improvisational businessman. He repeatedly overpromises, then uses clever, self-serving solutions to escape the consequences. He also professes that his sharp dealings are for the sake of his future wedding to Xie Tang.
• Dongfang Chen is increasingly comfortable joking about Luo Qian’s schemes and romance, but proves highly cautious when danger approaches. He tries to lead Birthmark and the guards away from the angry woman.
• Birthmark takes her guard duty seriously and objects when Dongfang Chen abandons Luo Qian. Her loyalty contrasts with the others’ instinct to flee.
• White Bear displays boldness—whether from courage or obliviousness—by publicly scolding the approaching woman while everyone else panics.
• Master Xin Yezi is unusually cooperative because he hopes to build a good relationship with Dongfang Chen, the heir to the throne.
• Chen Baozi becomes more wary and resourceful after Luo Qian’s earlier building acquisitions caused a public sensation.

Significant themes

• Commerce and improvisation: Luo Qian treats crises as opportunities, turning delays, buyer anger, and even garden upkeep into business advantages.
• Appearance versus reality: Luo Qian presents his self-interest as devotion, while White Bear’s supposed heroism is largely a product of his obliviousness.
• Loyalty and self-preservation: Birthmark insists on protecting Luo Qian, while Dongfang Chen and the guards prioritize retreat.
• Romantic comedy shading into danger: The chapter’s playful “romance horror movie” jokes give way to genuine alarm as the angry woman arrives.

Character interactions

• Luo Qian separates Birthmark from her companions to keep her near Dongfang Chen, while Dongfang Chen privately recognizes the matchmaking motive.
• Luo Qian and Xie Tang tease each other: she jokes about strangling him, and he frames his ruthless business tactics as sacrifices for their future wedding.
• Dongfang Chen jokes with Birthmark about romance stories and the arriving woman, but she resists his attempt to flee and insists on protecting Luo Qian.
• White Bear’s confrontation provides a comic counterpoint to the surrounding guards’ panic.

Plot points and events

• Pei Sefei arrives in the Immortal Realm and confronts White Bear, who mistakes her for a threat. Luo Qian rushes out to defend her, and Xie Tang calms the situation by announcing that Pei is one of Luo’s wives.
• Xie Tang welcomes Pei inside, but privately warns Luo not to assume Pei has senior-wife status. The two women then face off awkwardly, leaving Luo unsure how to manage their rivalry.
• Li Tang persuades his younger sister, Li Feier, to visit Luo, partly to complicate Luo’s romantic life as revenge for his own troubles. Though Luo dreads another arrival, Feier’s innocent, disruptive presence unexpectedly eases the tension between Pei and Xie Tang.
• Luo retrieves the famed pill refiner Longque and gives him a precious Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Soul to work with. Longque, whose skills have improved during years of helping people, eagerly begins planning a new refinement; Luo assigns guards to protect the ingredient.
• Preparing to enter the Netherworld on Strathas’s behalf, Luo smashes the Buddhist-inscribed stone slab with a single punch, impressed by his growing strength.
• The Netherworld’s Lord Emperor worries that disturbances in the Mortal Realm will bring punishment from the Immortal Emperor. When Luo appears, the Lord Emperor is relieved—hoping to make him the scapegoat. Luo, unaware of this, boasts that his name is famous throughout the Immortal Realm, giving the Lord Emperor a convenient name to report.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian is caught between Pei and Xie Tang, relieved when they avoid an open fight, but still careless and boastful. He also shows growing physical power and generosity toward Longque.
• Pei Sefei arrives hurt and jealous, but suppresses her feelings in public to avoid embarrassing Luo.
• Xie Tang behaves graciously toward Pei while privately asserting that Pei is not necessarily the senior wife, revealing both her accommodation and her continuing rivalry.
• Li Feier joins the household largely out of childish possessiveness, yet her uncalculated behavior helps defuse the other women’s conflict. Li Tang knowingly engineers the situation to trouble Luo.
• Longque has matured as a healer and pill refiner, though his enthusiasm for rare ingredients remains overwhelming.
• White Bear tries to play the hero but is quickly kicked aside; the bystanders prudently withdraw rather than get caught in Luo’s domestic drama.
• The Netherworld Lord Emperor treats Luo as a potential shield from blame, while Luo mistakes his relief for friendship.

Significant themes

• Romantic rivalry and household politics are played for comedy, especially through misunderstandings about rank and Luo’s helplessness.
• Appearances and motives often diverge: Xie Tang’s courtesy conceals tension, the Lord Emperor’s warmth conceals self-interest, and Luo’s confident boasting creates future risk.
• Luo’s growing influence and power contrast with his lack of skill in managing relationships—and with the political consequences of his actions.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Qian delivers Vengeful Souls to Master Xusheng, who has risen to the rank of one of the Eight Great Dharma-Protecting Buddhas. In exchange for Luo Qian’s continued help, Xusheng captures a Transforming Eagle for him. The eagle wounds Luo Qian before he restrains it with an automaton.
• Xusheng says that earning Merit Points by guiding Vengeful Souls has become less rewarding and asks Luo Qian to help find a new way to earn them.
• Master Xuqing intercepts Luo Qian and offers to raise his payment by half to win back his business. He also gives Luo Qian a Heaven and Earth Furnace, which can store many kinds of fire.
• Luo Qian discovers the furnace works in tandem with the Treasure Seal: together they can collect and record flames in eighty-one slots. Xingtian Fire fills nine slots at once, reducing the apparent task—but finding the other powerful flames will still be difficult.
• Luo Qian delivers the Transforming Eagle and an Ice Lion to Strathas. She easily recaptures the eagle after it tries to flee, then begins demonstrating how to use the Purgatory Furnace in a process she calls Dark Alchemy.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian continues to treat supernatural dealings as business, negotiating rewards and exploiting rival suppliers. He is pleased by Xuqing’s valuable gift but suspects it was passed along because Xuqing could not use it.
• Master Xusheng is proud of his promotion and grateful to Luo Qian, while remaining eager to profit from their arrangement. Their relationship is friendly and transactional.
• Master Xuqing tries to repair his relationship with Luo Qian by paying more and offering a powerful artifact. Luo Qian accepts, though he remains skeptical of Xuqing’s generosity.
• Strathas is impatient with Luo Qian’s delay but accepts the beasts he brings. Her formidable control over creatures and mastery of the furnace impress—and unsettle—him.

Significant themes

• Merit and commerce: Even spiritual advancement is treated like a system of rewards, with bribery and competition for Luo Qian’s business.
• Resourcefulness and opportunism: Luo Qian navigates rival interests by bargaining, collecting useful items, and turning every encounter to his advantage.
• Escalating quests and hidden potential: The furnace and Treasure Seal reveal a much larger challenge involving powerful flames, while Strathas’s demonstration hints at ancient, dangerous techniques beyond Luo Qian’s understanding.

Plot points and events

• In the Demonic Gale valley, Strathas rebuilds the Four Beasts into a single battle-ready Magic Beast, using parts from all four and adding a piece of her own flesh. She boasts that its power stays within the limit she and “Gousheng” agreed on, and looks forward to challenging him.
• Luo Qian retrieves his Purgatory Furnace and returns to the Immortal Realm, exhausted by the gale.
• The Zhang Shu case concludes with Zhang Shu executed and his father retiring in grief. Zhang Zhao inherits the weakened Zhang Household; secretly aware that Luo Qian helped make this possible, he pledges his loyalty to him.
• Luo Qian gives Zhang Zhao a cultivation method and tells him to have the household’s best disciples practice it alongside their cooking. He hints that working for him could help Zhang Zhao leave the poor Pinglu Plains.
• Seeing little value in keeping the Pinglu Plains, Luo Qian conceives a plan to turn the area into a gambling city. He privately decides to enlist his old associate Qi Ren, who runs the Black Jade Casino.
• Luo Qian visits Qi Ren with a gift and pitches the ambitious city-building venture. Qi Ren recognizes its scale and asks for time to consider it, though he welcomes Luo Qian warmly and hosts him at a banquet.
• Meanwhile, the second phase of Jade Clarity Heaven’s villas is completed and sells at nearly five times the first phase’s prices. The project enriches both Luo Qian and the Yao Family. Yao Shu’s rising influence encourages him to seek a princely title for his second son, but the effort is difficult, and he begins considering Luo Qian as a useful connection.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian remains calculating and entrepreneurial: he uses Zhang Zhao’s loyalty, sees opportunity in an otherwise worthless region, and approaches Qi Ren as a potential partner. He is also careful to maintain old relationships as his status rises.
• Strathas reveals both her gruesome ingenuity and competitive pride. Her creation of the Magic Beast is driven by her desire to outdo Gousheng.
• Zhang Zhao accepts his new position as a chance to advance, openly pledging loyalty to Luo Qian. Luo Qian rewards his directness while keeping his own plans partly concealed.
• Qi Ren responds with warmth rather than resentment to Luo Qian’s long absence, but treats the gambling-city proposal seriously and cautiously.
• Yao Shu grows more ambitious as the villa project elevates his family’s standing and starts looking to Luo Qian for help.

Significant themes

• Ambition and reinvention: Luo Qian sees commercial potential in a barren region and imagines transforming it into a thriving city.
• Loyalty and patronage: Zhang Zhao’s future is tied to serving Luo Qian, while Qi Ren’s friendship offers the possibility of a major partnership.
• Power and competition: Strathas’s monster-making is as much a display of rivalry as a feat of craftsmanship.
• Wealth as influence: The villas bring the Yao Family money, status, and political leverage, showing how commerce can reshape social rank.

Key plot points

• Yao Shu invites Luo Qian to dinner and asks him to recommend his son Yao Yuan for investiture as a prince. Luo Qian refuses, saying he has little influence with the Supreme Pure Emperor and could make matters worse.
• At home, Xie Tang suggests Luo Qian underestimates his influence: the Emperor could grant the title if he wished, and would manage the political consequences himself. Luo Qian considers using that leverage but decides against helping Yao Shu, instead thinking of Yin Quanyin.
• Zhang Zhao reports that his family has successfully learned to prepare dishes using Luo Qian’s cooking method. Luo Qian visits the Zhang Family and sees one disciple produce dozens of dishes rapidly with the aid of his Immortal Natal Flame.
• Luo Qian persuades Zhang Zhao to move the Zhang Family to Ningyao Mountain and, after ten years, travel with him to another world. Zhang Zhao agrees, provided Luo Qian first relocates and compensates the family. Luo Qian pays for their new land, the Pinglu Plains, and moving costs.
• The Pinglu Plains are cleared and their residents relocated, leaving Luo Qian’s preparations in place for a coming venture.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian handles Yao Shu’s request cautiously, refusing to promise political favors. He remains shrewd and transactional, but shows generosity to Zhang Zhao through substantial compensation and better land.
• Yao Shu believes Luo Qian has considerable access to the Emperor and offers him a gift, but Luo Qian rejects the request.
• Xie Tang reveals confidence in her own influence with her brother, the Emperor, while hinting that Luo Qian could get a prince-making decision approved if he chose to ask.
• Zhang Zhao is reluctant to leave his ancestral home and uneasy about the secret Luo Qian shares, but ultimately agrees after Luo Qian offers security and compensation. His family’s traditionalists distrust Luo Qian, so Zhang Zhao keeps them from interfering.
• Dongfang Chen worries Zhang Zhao might expose their secret. Luo Qian reassures him that he has not disclosed the destination’s true identity.
• The three women living with Luo Qian appear to have settled into a more outwardly harmonious relationship.

Significant themes

• Political influence and factional maneuvering: A prince’s investiture depends not only on merit but on court support and the Emperor’s calculations.
• Money as leverage: Luo Qian treats relocation and cooperation as negotiable, reflecting the chapter’s view that nearly everyone has a price.
• Secrecy and calculated trust: Luo Qian gives Zhang Zhao only partial information, retaining control over what can be revealed.
• Change versus attachment: Zhang Zhao’s loyalty to his home conflicts with the opportunity—and perceived necessity—of moving to a new world.

Plot points and events

• Luo Qian welcomes Qi Ren and a group of influential underworld figures, who propose pooling their businesses: Qi Ren will run casinos, Lei Laohu auction houses, and the others food and entertainment. Luo Qian accepts outwardly but suspects Qi Ren also wants to limit his growing influence.
• Longque warns that the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Soul must be combined with Hanging Cliff Water and a Nine-Eared Clam Pearl to make the intended medicine work properly. Both ingredients are in the Heavenly River, so Luo Qian postpones the trip to the Pinglu Plains and goes to retrieve them.
• The Dragon Emperor sends a golden turtle to guide Luo Qian to the ingredients’ owner: his younger brother, a notorious miser.
• The owner turns out to be a tiny goldfish living in a vast, neglected palace. It refuses to part with the ingredients for free. Luo Qian offers one million Netherfire Clams, accepting the fish’s deliberately inflated price. Overjoyed, the goldfish takes the payment and shows him the Hanging Cliff Water.
• The chapter ends as the goldfish demonstrates the water’s unusual property: a rock floats in it, neither sinking nor rising.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian remains commercially shrewd and confident, but recognizes that Qi Ren’s offer of cooperation may also be a way to keep him in check. He deals directly and generously with the goldfish, despite its awkward bargaining.
• Qi Ren presents the business alliance as brotherly cooperation, while Luo Qian privately questions his motives.
• Longque is anxious and unusually deferential around Luo Qian, emphasizing the danger of mishandling a rare ingredient.
• The goldfish is eccentric, boastful, and intensely greedy, yet easily delighted by Luo Qian’s willingness to pay. Its relationship with the Dragon Emperor is revealed to be that of a younger twin brother.
• The golden turtle serves as Luo Qian’s guide and respectfully introduces the goldfish as the Dragon Emperor’s brother.

Significant themes

• Power and mutual suspicion: Cooperation can conceal attempts to restrain a rising rival.
• Money and value: The goldfish’s greed and Luo Qian’s abundant wealth turn an apparently impossible negotiation into a quick transaction.
• Appearances versus reality: The tiny goldfish looks unimpressive, but its age, palace, and abilities reveal its formidable nature.
• Careful preparation: Longque’s warning highlights the importance of using the right ingredients to avoid unpredictable results.

Plot points and events

• Luo Qian fills bottles with water and takes three Nine-Eared Shell pearls from the little goldfish’s palace, enduring the fish’s extreme stinginess despite having paid a million Netherfire Clams.
• Learning that the goldfish can safely cross the dangerous Carefree Cloud Sea, Luo Qian offers him one hundred million Netherfire Clams to build an undersea passage between Luo Qian’s Sedan fief and the Western Divine Realm. The goldfish accepts, promising to finish within two months. He copies the location from Luo Qian’s memories, revealing a power that makes Luo Qian wary.
• The scene shifts to Clear Sky Mountain, home of the honorable Gusu Household. Two disguised intruders, empowered by Golden Cores supplied by mysterious masters, plant a strange underground device aimed at Shuqing Cave, the household’s vital Immortal Jade mine.
• The device detonates after a delay. A blast of blue light and purple lightning shatters the mountain peak, apparently killing or devastating the Gusu disciples guarding the mine.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Qian proves resourceful and opportunistic: he turns a risky journey into a business arrangement by recruiting the goldfish. His amusement at the fish’s miserliness gives way to caution when he sees how easily it accesses his memories.
• The little goldfish remains miserly but is eager to make money and naïve about negotiating. He initially misunderstands Luo Qian’s offer as a personal proposition, then enthusiastically agrees to the construction contract.
• The intruders show confidence in their destructive plan and rely on their masters’ Golden Cores. One is curious enough to stay and watch the attack, despite the risk of discovery.
• The goldfish’s bargaining with Luo Qian and the conspirators’ practical cooperation contrast with the Gusu patrolmen’s disciplined sense of duty.

Significant themes

• Greed and commerce: Luo Qian and the goldfish approach even dangerous ventures as business opportunities, though their levels of experience differ.
• Trust, power, and caution: Luo Qian must rely on the goldfish’s abilities while recognizing that the fish may be far more powerful than he first assumed.
• Betrayal and vulnerability: The Gusu Household’s strict vigilance cannot prevent a concealed, long-range attack on the resource that underpins its prosperity.
• Appearances versus reality: The idyllic beauty and honorable reputation of Clear Sky Mountain conceal a covert assault, while the comic, grasping goldfish possesses extraordinary abilities.