Chapter Summaries

Yi Shuyuan taught Gongsun Yin and Xu Zichang about uniting hearts before they entered seclusion, while Stoneborn and Hui Mian discovered a flood dragon threatening children along the coast. Stoneborn struck the dragon with the Universe Ring and fled with Hui Mian, leaving the dragon’s fate unknown.

• Yi Shuyuan explained the limits of what he could reveal about heaven’s secrets, and Gongsun Yin and Xu Zichang went into seclusion to contemplate his teaching.
• Stoneborn and Hui Mian flew across the East Sea on the Wind-Fire Wheels and followed the dragon’s cry into a storm.
• Stoneborn and Hui Mian recognized the wicked flood dragon from their earlier encounter and watched him leave the storm while coveting Yi Shuyuan’s Jade Startle.
• Stoneborn and Hui Mian followed the flood dragon toward shore and saw him send a huge wave toward children playing on the beach.
• Stoneborn enlarged the Universe Ring and hurled it at the flood dragon, knocking him underwater and weakening the wave before it reached the children.
• Hui Mian urged Stoneborn to flee, and Stoneborn sped away on the Wind-Fire Wheels.

Stoneborn and Hui Mian fled after Stoneborn struck the Flood Dragon with the Universe Ring, then confirmed the dragon was still alive and explored a mountain while recovering. When they found a spiritual herb, an old man stopped Stoneborn from pulling it out and warned that it was not ripe and that someone dangerous already claimed it.

• Stoneborn and Hui Mian escaped far from the coast on the Wind-Fire Wheels and landed in an unknown mountain range to rest.
• Stoneborn used the Universe Ring to sense the Flood Dragon and learned that the dragon had survived the blow.
• Stoneborn and Hui Mian searched for food in the mountains, where Hui Mian found a spiritual herb beneath a boulder guarded by a large snake.
• Hui Mian frightened the snake into leaving, and Stoneborn crawled beneath the boulder to pull up the herb.
• An old man dragged Stoneborn away with his vine staff and warned him that the herb was unripe and belonged to someone dangerous.

Stoneborn and Hui Mian met the owner of the mountain-topping immortal herb after he mistook them for thieves, and Stoneborn apologized when he learned the truth. His explanation of how the Immortal Dao viewed monster cultivation stirred the man’s hopes of an immortal showing the way, just as a distant dragon’s cry sounded.

• The old man fed Stoneborn and Hui Mian earth-spirit ginger and urged them to stay and apologize to the herb’s owner.
• A furious monster in human form arrived, but the old man showed him that the mountain-topping immortal herb was unharmed.
• Stoneborn apologized to the man, who accepted and invited Stoneborn and Hui Mian to eat roasted meat with him.
• The man learned that Hui Mian could speak and asked Stoneborn how the Immortal Dao viewed monster cultivation.
• Stoneborn explained that sincere cultivation by monsters was part of the righteous path, prompting the man to ask who Stoneborn’s immortal master was.
• The man looked toward the distant sky as dark clouds gathered and a dragon’s cry sounded.

Stoneborn and Hui Mian hid beneath the Peak Spirit Herb while the dragons searched Heavenly Battle Mountain for the source of a severed qi connection. The burly man confronted the dragons to protect Stoneborn, and after the old Flood Dragon left, the young Flood Dragon remained behind.

• Stoneborn blurted out that Dragonkind had caught up, so Hui Mian told him to flee, but the burly man stopped them and the Land God led them underground to hide beneath the Peak Spirit Herb.
• Stoneborn dispersed the lingering connection from the Universe Ring, causing the old dragon's compass to stop pointing toward them as three Flood Dragons approached Heavenly Battle Mountain.
• The burly man decided to protect Stoneborn, while the dragons summoned a storm and searched the mountain for an Immortal Cultivator carrying a treasure imbued with golden magical light.
• The old Flood Dragon questioned the burly man, who angrily accused Dragonkind of seeking an excuse to rob Stoneborn and denied seeing their quarry.
• The old Flood Dragon departed after warning the burly man, but the young Flood Dragon stayed behind, leaving the man uneasy.

Xiao Yong fought Mo Ye, a young Flood Dragon, on Heavenly Battle Mountain and was soundly defeated despite unleashing his mountain ogre form. After Dragonkind departed, the old man, Stoneborn, and Hui Mian found Xiao Yong alive but devastated by his loss.

• Xiao Yong attacked Mo Ye, who countered with his dragon claws and traded blows with him for over a quarter of an hour.
• Xiao Yong transformed into a mountain ogre and struck Mo Ye, but a long-whiskered Flood Dragon intervened and battled him in their true forms.
• The Flood Dragon escaped Xiao Yong’s desperate struggle and struck him into a distant peak, defeating him but sparing his life.
• The Flood Dragon rejoined the other dragons, and Dragonkind departed as the storm over Heavenly Battle Mountain began to ease.
• Nearly half a day later, the old man, Stoneborn, and Hui Mian found Xiao Yong wounded in the collapsed mountainside, lamenting how completely he had lost.

After Stoneborn and Hui Mian met the demon lord of Heavenly Battle Mountain, they explained Stoneborn’s connection to Yi Daozi and how he had angered Dragonkind. Stoneborn used the Heavenly Immortal Edict to summon his master, but Yi Shuyuan chose to finish helping Gongsun Yin first and sent the Edict onward with a sealed pill box.

• Stoneborn introduced himself and Hui Mian to the burly demon, and Old Vine recognized their master as Yi Daozi.
• Old Vine recounted Yi Daozi’s role in the Kaiyang Water God’s death, then the group learned Stoneborn had struck a dragon with his Universe Ring while stopping it from eating people.
• Old Vine praised the burly demon for rescuing Stoneborn, and Stoneborn and Hui Mian promised to bring Yi Daozi to Heavenly Battle Mountain to repay his kindness.
• Stoneborn used the Heavenly Immortal Edict to contact Yi Shuyuan and decided to wait at Heavenly Battle Mountain rather than risk returning home.
• Yi Shuyuan learned of Stoneborn’s situation but finished helping Gongsun Yin first, then sent the Edict and a sealed pill box toward Heavenly Battle Mountain.

Stoneborn received a Vital Essence Pill from Yi Shuyuan for the injured Uncle Junhou, but the Immortal Elixir sprang to life and had to be caught before Uncle Junhou could swallow it. The pill’s power began restoring his damaged foundation as he drifted into a dream of his time in the womb.

• Hui Mian gathered spiritual dew and brought it to Stoneborn, who received a Heavenly Immortal Edict and a jade box from Yi Shuyuan.
• Stoneborn learned from the edict that Uncle Junhou was badly injured and gave him the Vital Essence Pill in the box.
• When Uncle Junhou scraped away the pill’s protective energy, the Immortal Elixir sprang free and fled through Heavenly Battle Mountain.
• Stoneborn caught the elixir beneath a tree, and Hui Mian explained that its Dao implication allowed it to wander of its own accord.
• Stoneborn fed the elixir to Uncle Junhou, whose primordial essence began to recover as he dreamed of being in his mother’s womb.

Stoneborn and Hui Mian left Heavenly Battle Mountain and traveled to Longwind Lake, where Stoneborn told Jiang Lang about the wicked dragon he had struck. Jiang Lang warned Stoneborn to keep the matter quiet because the dragon had powerful family backing, but promised he would protect him if trouble came.

• Stoneborn said goodbye to Old Vine and departed Heavenly Battle Mountain on the Wind-Fire Wheels with Hui Mian.
• Stoneborn and Hui Mian arrived at Longwind Lake, where a yaksha escorted them into the Dragon Palace after Uncle Black Fish identified them.
• Jiang Lang welcomed Stoneborn and Hui Mian and took them to a private pavilion to hear Stoneborn's account.
• Stoneborn told Jiang Lang that he had struck a wicked dragon who had threatened a fleet and swallowed people.
• Jiang Lang cautioned Stoneborn to tell no one else because the dragon's grandfather was an influential minister, then vowed to defend Stoneborn if they came after him.

Jiang Lang hosted Stoneborn and Hui Mian at Lakeview Tower, learned more about Yi Shuyuan’s extraordinary treasures, and sent Stoneborn home to reunite with Madam Mo. Meanwhile, Yi Shuyuan arrived at Heavenly Battle Mountain and, after observing a family of birds for seven days, transformed into a hwamei.

• Jiang Lang treated Stoneborn and Hui Mian to dinner, examined the Universe Ring, and learned that it and the Wind-Fire Wheels had been refined in Yi Shuyuan’s Heaven-Turning Furnace.
• Jiang Lang asked Stoneborn and Hui Mian to stay until Yi Shuyuan returned, but Stoneborn insisted on going home to see his parents.
• Stoneborn flew into the rear courtyard and reunited with Madam Mo, while Hui Mian went to look for Qi Zhongbin.
• Yi Shuyuan arrived at Heavenly Battle Mountain and quietly watched a flock of birds hatch and grow for seven days.
• Yi Shuyuan transformed into a hwamei beside the stream.

Yi Shuyuan visited Heavenly Battle Mountain and helped Xiao Yong confront the fear left by his grievous battle with a Flood Dragon. After demonstrating the Heavenly Dragon Tail Sweep, he left Xiao Yong shaken but able to recognize that he had held his ground.

• Yi Shuyuan flew through Heavenly Battle Mountain in a Hwamei's body, narrowly evaded an eagle, and felt its cry stir a distant memory.
• Yi Shuyuan met Teng Fu and the waking Xiao Yong beneath a great tree, thanked them for saving Stoneborn, and learned that Xiao Yong was recovering.
• Yi Shuyuan told Xiao Yong that fear of dragons had left a scar on his heart, then offered to test his resolve by imitating the Flood Dragon's tail strike.
• Yi Shuyuan performed the Heavenly Dragon Tail Sweep with his Folding Fan, and Xiao Yong stood firm without dodging as the gust bent vegetation across the mountain.
• Yi Shuyuan praised Xiao Yong for holding his ground, and Xiao Yong admitted that the attack had been terrifying.

Yi Shuyuan helped Xiao Yong face his defeat and offered guidance that renewed his resolve to pursue the Dao. Far away in the East Sea, a young Dragonkind member argued with his family about seeking his own waters and proving himself.

• Yi Shuyuan explained that Xiao Yong had to understand himself, keep striving, and look beyond victory and defeat as he refined the last of his Pill Qi.
• Xiao Yong emerged from his trance, thanked Yi Shuyuan, and joined him and Old Vine to discuss dragons.
• In an East Sea Water Palace, an old Flood Dragon told his injured grandson that he had found no trace of the person who attacked him.
• The young Dragonkind member blamed Mo Ye and demanded waters of his own, while his father warned him that he was not ready to claim a water system.
• The old Flood Dragon defended Jiang Lang's earned title as Dragon King of Longwind Lake and told his grandson to treat him with respect.
• The young man said he wanted to leave his family's protection so he could grow, making his father and grandfather reconsider his request.

Yi Shuyuan divined the fate of several Flood Dragons and discovered that one mottled-scaled dragon carried concealed wickedness. Before leaving Heavenly Battle Mountain, he accepted Xiao Yong’s offer of a Mountain-Topping Immortal Herb and entrusted Xiao Yong with guarding it until it matured.

• Yi Shuyuan used the tea leaves in his cup to divine the Flood Dragons, finding that the mottled-scaled dragon’s Dragon Qi concealed baleful intent.
• Yi Shuyuan decided to leave Heavenly Battle Mountain and visit Stoneborn, but Xiao Yong led him to a rare Mountain-Topping Immortal Herb beneath a boulder.
• Yi Shuyuan sensed a vision of the herb lifting a mountain and agreed to accept it as a future ingredient for Immortal Elixirs.
• Xiao Yong promised to guard the herb until it matured, and Yi Shuyuan asked him to call him sir.
• Yi Shuyuan bid Xiao Yong and Old Vine farewell and departed Heavenly Battle Mountain on the wind.

Yi Shuyuan wondered why Heavenly Battle Mountain had never had a Mountain God and planned to visit Longwind Lake. Meanwhile, Hong Wei received the East Sea Dragon Lord’s permission to seek a water system to rule, and Jiang Lang learned of his plans.

• Yi Shuyuan considered investigating why Heavenly Battle Mountain had gone so long without a Mountain God and hoped Old Vine might become one.
• Mo Ye brooded over Hong Wei and the nickname “Variegated Flood Dragon” while Hong Wei traveled with Hong Ye to the East Sea Dragon Palace.
• The Dragon Lord judged Hong Wei’s prospects uncertain, warned that he would have to bear the consequences of leaving the East Sea, and granted him permission to seek a water system.
• Hong Wei announced that he intended to become a Water God, and news of his plans spread among aquatic folk and dragons.
• Hong Wei sent inquiries to the great water systems, and Jiang Lang read the letter in Longwind Lake’s Dragon Palace and scoffed at Hong Wei’s ambition.

Yi Shuyuan learned that Hong Wei intended to claim an inland water system and worried that Dragonkind would protect him even if he harmed people. Hong Wei took control of the Datong River, flooded a village, and stirred up its waterways as Yi Shuyuan sensed a flood from distant Tea Province.

• Jiang Lang told Yi Shuyuan that Hong Wei wanted to claim a stretch of water and mocked his chances of advancing as a Water God.
• Yi Shuyuan warned Jiang Lang that Hong Wei could bring disaster if he became the god of a water system, but Jiang Lang explained how Dragonkind would shield him from punishment.
• Hong Wei claimed the Datong River and sent a wave over its banks, destroying fields and flooding a village.
• Hong Wei ignored the Land God's warning and used the Dragon Palace's Water Control Command to stir the Datong River basin during the typhoon.
• In Tea Province, Yi Shuyuan sensed the disturbance and calculated that a flood was happening in Deng Province.

Yi Shuyuan hurried to Deng Province and discovered that a flood caused by a sudden convergence of water vapor was devastating several provinces. He used the Mountain and River State Map to weaken the storm and control the waters, leaving the flood crest past its peak but the land in ruins.

• Yi Shuyuan left the teahouse after learning that a flood linked to the Variegated Flood Dragon threatened Deng Province, while the Heavenly Mystery Instrument alerted the Celestial Court to the crisis.
• The flood rapidly overwhelmed Deng Province, Zhao Province, and Yun Province as Hong Wei fled, and Yi Shuyuan arrived to save people from a whirlpool demon.
• Yi Shuyuan questioned Zhu Xinglian about the flood, then used the Mountain and River State Map to draw in water vapor and divert floodwaters until the disaster began to subside.
• Celestial Officials of the Water Ministry and Heavenly Gods from the Thunder Department arrived and helped disperse the remaining storm, though the land remained devastated.
• Yi Shuyuan diverted a lightning strike away from three flood-taming monsters and let them escape, while the Heavenly Gods looked on in awe.

After Yi Shuyuan stopped the flood, he told White Robe that a water spirit might have helped cause it. Hong Jun realized his son Hong Wei had triggered the disaster and ordered him back to the Datong River to conceal his involvement and earn merit.

• The Heavenly Gods saluted Yi Shuyuan, who recovered from suppressing the flood and warned Hui Mian that the disaster could be followed by years of drought.
• White Robe delivered the Heavenly Emperor’s question about Yi Shuyuan’s intervention, and Yi Shuyuan said a water spirit might have caused the calamity.
• Hong Wei returned to the East Sea Water Palace and told his mother he had postponed going to the Datong River.
• Hong Jun learned that a vast flood had struck five provinces and twenty-seven counties, then forced Hong Wei to confess that he had triggered the storm while traveling inland.
• Hong Wei revealed that a Land God had seen him create a wave near Tongjie County, and Hong Jun said the witness could not be allowed to live.
• Hong Jun ordered Hong Wei to return to the Datong River, help control the flood, and make it seem as though he had just learned of the disaster.

Hong Wei returned to the Datong River after his father warned him to conceal his involvement in the flood, and he put on a show of helping the disaster victims before meeting Yi Shuyuan. As the emperor ordered relief efforts and dispatched Li Qian to Lingdong Circuit, Yi Shuyuan resolved to wait for evidence and see how Dragonkind responded.

• Hong Jun warned Hong Wei to act carefully, and Hong Wei left to return to the Datong River while his mother departed for Purple Vine Reef.
• Hong Wei saw the devastation across the flooded provinces, secretly revisited the village where he had first raised the waves, and then worked to stabilize the waters and rescue people.
• Hong Wei visited Yi Shuyuan, claimed he had only just received his appointment as the Datong River Water God, and left after Yi Shuyuan told him to fulfill his duties.
• Hui Mian urged Yi Shuyuan to kill Hong Wei, but Yi Shuyuan said he would wait for evidence and let Dragonkind and the Celestial Court respond.
• The emperor ordered emergency grain and clothing relief, threatened harsh punishment for profiteering and neglect, and sent Li Qian to oversee flood control and relief in Lingdong Circuit.

Imperial commissioner Li Qian organized flood relief in devastated Deng Province, where Chu Hang helped clear waterways and witnessed the people regain hope. After writing an essay on the relief effort and its urgent problems, Chu Hang was asked to submit it to Heaven-Bearing Prefecture, but he remained troubled by words on a battered statue: “At the moment of death, what I saw was a dragon's claw.”

• Li Qian arrived in Deng Province with relief supplies and learned that its Provincial Governor, Lord Wu, had disappeared in the flood along with dozens of other officials.
• Li Qian established porridge kitchens, paid laborers with food, and organized construction and flood-control work across the disaster zone.
• Chu Hang worked with Deng Province residents to clear a blocked watercourse, then found a battered god statue bearing the words, “At the moment of death, what I saw was a dragon's claw.”
• Chu Hang wrote an essay about how confidence had returned to the flood victims and described the threat of disease from heat, decaying bodies, and stagnant water.
• Li Qian praised Chu Hang's essay and asked him to finish it so he could submit it to Heaven-Bearing Prefecture.
• Chu Hang finished the essay but could not sleep, haunted by the writing on the statue.

Yi Shuyuan stabilized the Mountain and River State Map, then entered flood-stricken Dengzhou City and treated the injured and sick. There, he reunited with Chu Hang, who had recognized him as Master Yi.

• Chu Hang dreamed that a flood swept away his companions and a monster smashed a clay statue, then woke before dawn.
• Yi Shuyuan suppressed the forces of fate in the Mountain and River State Map as relief efforts and the people’s confidence in Lingdong improved.
• Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian went into Dengzhou City, where residents thanked the Datong River God for the flood’s retreat.
• Yi Shuyuan set up a disaster-relief consultation sign and treated wounded residents, including a feverish child on the verge of becoming a Plague Ghost.
• After porridge was announced and the crowd thinned, Chu Hang approached Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian to pay his respects.

After Chu Hang told Yi Shuyuan about the writing on a damaged Land God statue, Yi Shuyuan traveled there in a dream and discovered that Hong Jun had killed the Land God. He concluded that Hong Wei was implicated in the flood and sent a message to the Celestial Court, whose gods then arrived at the statue.

• Chu Hang told Yi Shuyuan about the strange writing on the Land God statue near Yongjia Village, and Yi Shuyuan said he would investigate.
• Yi Shuyuan sent his spiritual thought to the statue and witnessed the Land God's death at Hong Jun's hands, along with the dragon's efforts to erase the temple and statue.
• Hong Jun dreamed of killing the Land God and woke shaken after sensing an unfathomable gaze.
• Yi Shuyuan divined that Hong Wei was implicated in the calamity, then disguised himself as Long Feiyang and sent a written message to the Fire Virtue Star Lord from a temple.
• The Fire Virtue Star Lord received Yi Shuyuan's message, departed from the Celestial Court, and several gods soon arrived beside the damaged Land God statue.