Chapter Summaries

Ya You left Old Man Yu after being misled into believing Heaven had fixed the North Sea Dragon Lord’s fate, while Old Man Yu watched the emperor’s procession approach Dragon Painting Temple. At the temple, Master Dingzhen warned the Great Toad King to leave before a great calamity, but he refused, and the emperor began climbing the mountain with his entourage.

• Ya You threatened to destroy Old Man Yu’s Dharma Eye, but Old Man Yu defied him and said he would still witness his retribution.
• After Ya You departed, Old Man Yu admitted to Hui Mian that he had lied to exploit Ya You’s pride and keep him from interfering before Ya Ci returned.
• The North Sea grew turbulent as dragons fled the water, while Master Dingzhen and Dragon Painting Temple’s monks awaited the emperor.
• The emperor arrived at Dragon Painting Temple, declined a carrying chair, and began ascending the steps beside Master Dingzhen.
• Master Dingzhen warned the Great Toad King that Senior Painted Dragon had foretold a great calamity, but the Great Toad King chose to stay.
• The emperor told Master Dingzhen that he had brought rare treasures to seek answers, as Daoist Xue’s group waited inside the temple.

Zhong Xingwen accused Guan Xinrui before the emperor, but the emperor ordered only an investigation, leaving Guan Xinrui apparently triumphant. Daoist Xue then launched an attack, and Zhang Shi emerged from Chai Wang to seize Guan Xinrui and demand her life back.

• Master Dingzhen led the emperor and his retinue into the Dragon Painting Temple as dark clouds gathered around the dragon scales.
• Zhong Xingwen publicly accused Guan Xinrui of murder, corruption, and harming the people, then submitted his petition to the emperor.
• Guan Xinrui denied the charges, claimed Zhong Xingwen was framing him, and threatened his family; the emperor ordered an investigation after meditation rather than arresting Guan Xinrui.
• Master Dingzhen and the Great Toad King sensed demonic changes in Guan Xinrui's destiny as the emperor prepared to leave with the dragon scales.
• Daoist Xue burst from a meditation room with a black-clad figure, drove back the guards with a fire dragon, and sent Chai Wang flying toward Guan Xinrui.
• Zhang Shi appeared over Chai Wang, seized Guan Xinrui by the throat, and demanded that he give her life back.

At the Dragon Painting Temple, Zhang Shi revealed Guan Xinrui’s crimes and killed him, completing her revenge before departing with the Netherworld Officials. Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen were arrested, while the emperor ordered that Daoist Xue be treated carefully; the dragon scale’s aura began to change.

• Daoist Xue declared that he sought justice, and Zhang Shi recounted how Guan Xinrui had murdered her for the sake of advancement.
• Zhong Xingwen accused Guan Xinrui of arranging an ambush against him, while Guan Xinrui begged the emperor for help.
• The emperor ordered the guards to loose arrows, striking Zhang Shi, Guan Xinrui, and Chai Wang.
• Zhang Shi drank Guan Xinrui’s blood, tore out his heart, and then departed after bowing to Daoist Xue, Zhong Xingwen, and Master Dingzhen.
• Chai Wang awoke with arrows in his body and Guan Xinrui’s heart in his hand, then died and was taken by a Netherworld Official.
• The guards arrested Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen, the emperor asked that Daoist Xue’s life be spared, and the dragon scale’s aura began to change.

Ya You tried to stop the three dragon scales from reaching the heavens, but the Great Toad King and Chan Qin intervened before Yi Shuyuan blocked Ya You’s attack. As the scales merged into the sky, Yi Shuyuan vanished from Dragon Painting Mountain as a single strand of hair, and the peak began to tremble beneath the descending clouds.

• Ya You entered Dragon Painting Temple as the dragon scales flew from the emperor’s wooden box and rose into the storm.
• The Great Toad King attacked Ya You, who seized one scale and drove the toad demon back toward Dragon Painting Mountain.
• Chan Qin rushed to protect her father, but Yi Shuyuan appeared and stopped Ya You’s tail with his folding fan, sweeping the toad father and daughter to safety.
• Yi Shuyuan challenged Ya You as the three scales merged into the heavens and lightning struck Dragon Painting Mountain.
• Ya You saw Yi Shuyuan dissolve into a single strand of hair as the mountain shook beneath the descending clouds.

Yi Shuyuan’s transformation and intervention helped Ya Ci awaken as a true dragon atop Dragon Painting Mountain. After Ya Ci accepted Yi Shuyuan’s Spirit Pearl, he formed a Dragon Pearl and the dark clouds began to disperse.

• The North Sea Dragon Lord Ya You tried to reach Dragon Painting Mountain but was driven back by the gathering destiny and the painted dragon’s power.
• Old Man Yu recovered the strand of hair that had served as his transformed clone, restored his appearance as Yi Shuyuan, and flew above the clouds.
• The painted dragon became fully solid and broke through the dark clouds, allowing Ya Ci to open his eyes and see the sky for the first time.
• Yi Shuyuan told Ya Ci that his restoration was incomplete and sent him a flawless Spirit Pearl, which Ya Ci swallowed and assimilated into a Dragon Pearl.
• Ya Ci’s dragon horns emerged as he roared, gathering destiny above Dragon Painting Mountain and causing the clouds over Great Qiu Capital to part.

Ya Ci became a True Dragon and faced Ya You, who fled to the North Sea rather than fight him. After bowing to Yi Shuyuan, Ya Ci set out to settle his debts, while the shaken people of Great Qiu emerged into the sunlight.

• Yi Shuyuan struck his Ritual Ruler to awaken Ya Ci from his rancor and warned that he would slay him if he became evil.
• Ya Ci formed a Dragon Pearl and an eerie sword, then transformed into a golden dragon as the clouds cleared above Dragon Painting Mountain.
• Ya You charged at Ya Ci but used the attack as a feint and fled toward the North Sea.
• Ya Ci bowed to Yi Shuyuan, the Great Toad King, and Chan Qin, then promised to settle his debts in the North Sea and sped away.
• Yi Shuyuan asked the Great Toad King to return his hair, then departed for Great Qiu Capital.
• The old emperor emerged from Dragon Painting Temple and searched the clear sky.

After the Painted Dragon vanished and the emperor left the damaged Dragon Painting Temple, the Great Toad King pondered Daoist Xue’s technique and a possible connection to Han Shiyong. Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen settled into an unusually comfortable cell in the Eternal Capital Heavenly Prison, where palace food arrived as the Case Inspection Office began investigating their case.

• Master Dingzhen confirmed that the Painted Dragon had vanished, while the emperor asked about the visions he had witnessed and promised to help rebuild Dragon Painting Temple.
• The emperor’s party departed, and Master Dingzhen ordered monks to gather the bodies of Chai Wang and Guan Xinrui for the Eternal Capital Yamen.
• Chan Qin worried about Ya Ci and the lost strand of the Immortal Venerable’s hair, while the Great Toad King reflected on Daoist Xue’s Fire Dragon Clearing the Way and thought of Han Shiyong.
• Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen were held in the deepest part of the Eternal Capital Heavenly Prison, where Zhong Xingwen worried about his family.
• An old eunuch brought Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen a lavish meal and said the emperor had assigned the Case Inspection Office to investigate their case.
• After the eunuch left, Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen ate, while the Jailer ordered the guards to look after them properly.

Old Man Yu visited Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen in the Heavenly Prison, bringing food, gold for Zhong Xingwen, and an explanation of the upheaval at Dragon Painting Temple. He ended by asking Daoist Xue whether he still wanted to become State Preceptor, leaving Daoist Xue puzzled by the implication that he had held the position before.

• The old eunuch told the emperor that Daoist Xue was well but reluctant to discuss the events at Dragon Painting Mountain, and the emperor ordered special meals and asked him to consult Master Dingzhen.
• Old Man Yu entered the Heavenly Prison after his insects lulled its occupants to sleep, and Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen recognized him.
• Old Man Yu shared the prisoners’ meal and assured Zhong Xingwen he would escape; Zhong Xingwen said he wanted no court reward, but accepted a hundred taels of gold from Old Man Yu.
• Old Man Yu explained that Ya You had killed his son Ya Ci for cultivation, and that Ya Ci had revived as a dragon to seek revenge.
• Old Man Yu asked Daoist Xue whether he still wanted to serve as State Preceptor, and Daoist Xue wondered why he said “still.”

Daoist Xue asked Old Man Yu to take him as a disciple, but Old Man Yu told him to enter the Dao through his own experiences first. Old Man Yu then left the Heavenly Prison and returned to Dragon Painting Mountain, where he set up and soon gave up a fortune-telling stall.

• Old Man Yu warned Daoist Xue that he might be held in the Heavenly Prison while Zhong Xingwen could leave, and the three talked through the night about Haiyu County and Dragon Painting Temple.
• At dawn, Daoist Xue asked Old Man Yu to judge his aptitude and character, then asked him to become his master.
• Old Man Yu praised Daoist Xue as “not bad,” told him the Dao had already sprouted in his heart, and said he could call him Master after entering the Dao if he still wished.
• As Old Man Yu traveled toward Dragon Painting Mountain, Hui Mian asked why he had not immediately taken Daoist Xue as his disciple, and Old Man Yu explained that Xue Yuan might forge his own path.
• Old Man Yu set up his rented fortune-telling stall near Dragon Painting Temple, then returned it to the fortune-teller and vanished before the man could find him.

After his release from the Heavenly Prison, Zhong Xingwen accepted the emperor’s gold but refused a post in the capital, choosing to return to Haiyu County. At a restaurant, Ya Ci presented Yi Shuyuan with a True Dragon’s pair of Dragon Horns, making the old wager with Ya You worthwhile.

• Daoist Xue and Zhong Xingwen were released, and the old eunuch invited Daoist Xue to the palace while presenting Zhong Xingwen with gold and a medallion from the emperor.
• Zhong Xingwen told Daoist Xue he would return to Haiyu County because he preferred handling local affairs himself, then parted from him.
• As Daoist Xue followed the old eunuch toward the palace, thunder sounded over the capital.
• Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian feasted at a restaurant when Ya Ci arrived and offered Yi Shuyuan a brocade box in gratitude for the Dragon Pearl.
• Yi Shuyuan revealed that Ya You had once wagered a hundred taels of gold and his Dragon Horns against Yi Shuyuan’s Dharma Eye, and the box contained the pair of Dragon Horns.

Yi Shuyuan accepted Ya Ci’s dragon horns as the long-delayed snow marked the end of the North Sea tribulation. Ya Ci reunited with those who had helped him and visited Master Dingzhen, who died after receiving Yi Shuyuan’s counsel.

• Yi Shuyuan accepted Ya Ci’s dragon horns as snow began falling for the first time that winter.
• Ya Ci said he had killed Ya You by severing his dragon horns, then left to visit his benefactors; Yi Shuyuan predicted the North Sea Dragonkind would honor Ya Ci as their sovereign.
• Hui Mian recommended the wild god from the ruined earth god’s shrine, and Yi Shuyuan approved notifying the Heavenly Realm and issuing a Divine Investiture.
• Ya Ci visited Master Dingzhen with the Great Toad King and Chan Qin, and asked the monk what he wished for in return for years of help.
• Master Dingzhen confessed his self-reproach, and Yi Shuyuan counseled him that he need not blame himself for the temple’s troubles.
• Master Dingzhen entered nirvana, and a young monk ran from the chamber crying out that his master had died.

Master Dingzhen passed into nirvana at Dragon Painting Temple, where the monks mourned him as the Universal Salvation Bright King Buddha arrived to guide him. In the capital, the emperor ordered support for the temple and tried to lure Daoist Xue back after regretting his greed-driven departure.

• The young monk’s grief drew the Dragon Painting Temple’s monks together, and they chanted the Deliverance Sutra as the temple bell rang.
• Buddha Light descended on Dragon Painting Mountain, and the Universal Salvation Bright King Buddha entered Master Dingzhen’s chamber to guide him.
• The emperor learned that Master Dingzhen had passed into nirvana and ordered silver, repairs, and official assistance for the temple’s funeral arrangements.
• The emperor told Liu Jing to watch the temple and gently persuade Daoist Xue to return, admitting he had spoken out of turn and no longer sought immortality.
• The chapter revealed that Daoist Xue had fled after the emperor offered him riches and a position in exchange for help prolonging his life; the emperor later withdrew his manhunt and issued an appeal for Xue to return.
• Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian saw the revised notice, and Hui Mian called the situation “a little absurd.”

After Master Dingzhen’s elaborate funeral, Emperor Great Qiu continued to hope that Daoist Xue had secretly attended, while Prince Xiao doubted the Daoist’s reputation. Daoist Xue eventually visited the monk’s pagoda, where he met a young monk who admitted he was grieving his master.

• Master Dingzhen’s cremation produced five-colored Śarīra, and the imperial family later enshrined some of them in the palace.
• During the New Year, Eunuch Liu Jing and Prince Xin persuaded the emperor that Daoist Xue had secretly attended the funeral, while Prince Xiao questioned the Daoist’s character.
• Prince Xiao challenged Prince Xin about the dragon scale and the county magistrate, then privately praised Chief Constable Zhong instead.
• Daoist Xue arrived at the renamed Dragon-Transforming Temple in disguise and went to the pagodas behind it.
• A young monk recognized Daoist Xue and told him Master Dingzhen had already departed; when asked why he was reciting scriptures there, the monk said he missed his master.

Yi Shuyuan gave Daoist Xue three divine-summoning command arrows on behalf of Hui Mian and taught him how to identify the gods they could summon. As Yi Shuyuan left Dragon-Transforming Temple, Yin Lian and other North Sea dragons recognized him as Yi Daozi and bowed, still searching for their absent Dragon Lord, Ya Ci.

• Yi Shuyuan gave Daoist Xue three command arrows that could summon Heavenly Gods from Yunlai Hall of the Demon-Subduing Palace, and briefly showed him the gods’ names and locations.
• Daoist Xue thanked the sender, whom he called Senior Gray, and asked Yi Shuyuan whether they knew Old Mr. Yu; Yi Shuyuan said they knew him very well.
• Yi Shuyuan warned Daoist Xue not to summon a god of too high a rank without sufficient primordial essence and magical power, then continued toward Dragon-Transforming Temple.
• Daoist Xue bowed to Master Dingzhen’s pagoda and secured the command arrows while the little monk watched.
• Yin Lian and four dragons searched Dragon-Transforming Mountain for Ya Ci, who had defeated Ya You but refused to become Dragon Lord of the North Sea.
• Yin Lian recognized Yi Shuyuan as Yi Daozi and led the dragons in bowing to him as the Immortal Venerable.

Yi Shuyuan agreed to help Yin Lian and the North Sea dragons find Ya Ci, then led them to the Black Retention Snow Mountain, where they sensed the Dragon Lord’s recent presence. The dragons searched the buried grounds of the Golden Toad Palace, but Ya Ci and Yi Shuyuan were both nowhere to be seen.

• Hui Mian teased Yin Lian about the Dragon Scale that had brought disaster upon the former Dragon Lord, and Yin Lian begged Yi Shuyuan to help find Ya Ci.
• Yi Shuyuan agreed to lead the North Sea dragons to Ya Ci, while Daoist Xue recognized Hui Mian and bowed toward the departing group.
• Yi Shuyuan led the dragons upstream toward the Black Retention Kingdom, feeling the Dragon Pearl’s influence stir an itching sensation of scales and horns within him.
• At Black Retention Snow Mountain, Yi Shuyuan pointed the dragons toward the former grounds of the Golden Toad Palace, where they sensed Ya Ci had recently been.
• Yin Lian and the dragons searched the snowy ruins and called for Ya Ci, then realized Yi Shuyuan had disappeared.

Yi Shuyuan visited Black Spring Commandery during the Shangyuan Festival, bought a toad tea pet, and heard reports of the Painted Dragon leaving Great Qiu’s Dragon Painting Temple. He met Ya Ci in a tea shop and urged him to deal with the North Sea Dragonkind, who were searching for him after his victory over Ya You.

• Yi Shuyuan arrived in Black Spring Commandery and browsed its Shangyuan Festival stalls with Hui Mian.
• Yi Shuyuan bought a Golden Toad Zisha Tea Pet for three taels of silver from a street vendor.
• At a tea shop, Yi Shuyuan heard that the Painted Dragon had flown away from the Dragon Painting Temple, which had been renamed the Dragon-Transforming Temple.
• Yi Shuyuan poured hot tea over the toad tea pet, making it spout water as Hui Mian watched.
• Ya Ci joined Yi Shuyuan, who told him the North Sea Dragonkind were searching for him and urged him to face them.

Ya Ci learned that the North Sea Dragonkind had begun a bloody purge of those who had betrayed him and demanded that he return as their Dragon Lord. As he considered their resolve, a separate clash between dragons unfolded outside the Heavenly Gate, and the Heavenly Realm learned that the North Sea was in turmoil.

• Ya Ci agreed to meet the North Sea Dragonkind after Yi Shuyuan said he should face his own people.
• Yin Lian and four dragons found Ya Ci at the Golden Toad Palace estate, bowed, and asked him to return as Dragon Lord.
• Yin Lian told Ya Ci that the North Sea Dragonkind had begun killing those who plotted against him, and that the other two elders could no longer come.
• Ya Ci was shaken by the purge, while Yi Shuyuan recognized that the North Sea Dragonkind had launched a vast surprise campaign against the rebels.
• Cao Borong reached the Heavenly Gate seeking an audience with the Heavenly Emperor as wounded Flood Dragons arrived and pursuers attacked them.
• Heavenly Gods gathered at the Heavenly Firmament Treasure Hall and learned that the North Sea Dragonkind had fallen into internal strife.

The Heavenly Gods debated whether to intervene in the North Sea Dragonkind’s turmoil after Ya Ci killed Ya You, and suspected Yi Daozi had helped Ya Ci become a True Dragon with a Dragon-Transforming Immortal Elixir. The Heavenly Emperor decided to protect Cao Borong without intervening, while news of Ya You’s death spread and reached Du Xiaolin, Shi Wei, and Zhuo Qing.

• The Heavenly Gods debated the Dragonkind’s turmoil, with Celestial Lord Lingshu and the Water Virtue Star Lord warning against intervention and questioning Cao Borong’s account.
• The Morning Star Lord reported that Yi Daozi had sent a radiant pearl-shaped object into Ya Ci’s mouth, leading the Heavenly Gods to suspect it was a Dragon-Transforming Immortal Elixir.
• The Heavenly Emperor ruled that the Heavenly Realm should not intervene because Yi Daozi was involved, but agreed to protect Cao Borong.
• News that Ya Ci had killed Ya You spread across the Four Seas, the Four Heavens, and the cultivation paths, prompting the other Dragon Lords and Heavenly Realms to send people toward the North Sea.
• At Taiyin Palace, Shi Wei read a Paper Sword message reporting Ya You’s death, and Du Xiaolin wondered whether Mr. Yi was involved while Zhuo Qing dismissed the idea.

Ya Ci refused to become North Sea Dragon Lord but agreed to attend the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony after Yin Lian appealed to their shared kinship. Yin Lian returned to the ruined North Sea Dragon Palace and ordered invitations sent throughout the Three Seas and four heavens, while the Dragonkind planned to treat the ceremony as a show of Ya Ci’s authority.

• Ya Ci told Yin Lian he would help the North Sea Dragonkind in future trouble but would not take the Dragon Lord position.
• Yin Lian persuaded Ya Ci to permit the ancient Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, and Ya Ci agreed.
• Yi Shuyuan and the Great Toad King observed that the ceremony could effectively establish Ya Ci as Dragon Lord in the eyes of the world.
• Yin Lian and two flood dragons returned to the North Sea Dragon Palace and told the gathered Dragonkind that Ya Ci had agreed to the ceremony.
• The North Sea Dragonkind decided to hold the ceremony at the palace and send invitations throughout the Three Seas and four heavens.

North Sea Dragonkind envoys delivered invitations to Ya Ci’s dragon-transformation ceremony, and Jiang Lang agreed to attend after learning Yi Daozi was in the North Sea. Three senior dragons then visited the Demon-Subduing Palace, where Lu Xin explained that the divine radiance they had mistaken for the Great Emperor came from his weapon; they left the invitation without meeting him.

• Two North Sea dragons invited Jiang Lang to Ya Ci’s dragon-transformation ceremony, and Jiang Lang accepted after hearing Yi Daozi was with the new Dragon Lord.
• Three senior North Sea dragons traveled to the Demon-Subduing Palace and nervously asked to deliver an invitation to the Demon-Subduing Great Emperor.
• Lu Xin escorted the dragons to the Demon-Subduing Hall and explained that the Great Emperor was absent.
• The dragons discovered that the divine radiance came from the Three-Pointed, Two-Edged Blade, not the Great Emperor.
• Lu Xin reassured the dragons that the Great Emperor was not slighting the North Sea Dragonkind, and the old flood dragon handed him the invitation.