Chapter Summaries

Ai Qingren and Zhu Xinglian traveled to Mingzhou City to visit Stoneborn, arriving at the Mo Residence during Old Master Mo’s ninetieth birthday celebration. Stoneborn welcomed Yi A Bao at the docks, while the guests awaited a reunion at his family home.

• Ai Qingren and Zhu Xinglian left the Demon-Subduing Palace and traveled with a Water Department Divine Official to Mingzhou City.
• Ai Qingren and Zhu Xinglian discovered that Old Master Mo was celebrating his ninetieth birthday and entered the Mo Residence with a joint gift.
• Stoneborn sensed the two visitors’ arrival and sent A Shan back to the residence to receive them.
• Stoneborn waited at the Mingzhou docks and watched a ship approach, reflecting on cultivating amid mortal life.
• Stoneborn warmly greeted Yi A Bao, who had traveled from Yuanjiang County to attend Old Master Mo’s birthday.

Stoneborn welcomed Yi A Bao and his companions to the Mo Residence for Old Master Mo’s birthday banquet, where he learned that upheavals in the North Sea involved his master. He accepted an invitation to the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony and agreed to deliver one to his junior brother, while Zhu Xinglian cautiously probed the history of Yi Daozi’s ties to the Dragonkind.

• Stoneborn met Yi A Bao at Mingzhou Harbor and escorted him and the others to the Mo Residence, where guests gathered for Old Master Mo’s birthday.
• Zhu Xinglian and Ai Qingren waited at a table apart, and Zhu recognized Mo Xiaorong as the mortal girl who had ascended to heaven during the Starwoven Dharma Assembly.
• Stoneborn reunited with Mo Xiaorong, then went to meet Zhu Xinglian and the Old Flood Dragon, who told him that two True Dragons had fought to the death and the old Dragon Lord had fallen.
• The Old Flood Dragon invited Stoneborn to the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, and Stoneborn agreed to attend if his master was there and to deliver an invitation to his junior brother.
• Zhu Xinglian asked whether Yi Daozi’s close ties with the Dragonkind stretched back to ancient times, but Stoneborn and Ai Qingren said they did not know.

At Old Master Mo’s birthday banquet, Stoneborn’s reflections on worldly experience deepened Ai Qingren’s understanding of Dragon Lord Ya Ci. Qi Zhongbin arrived with news that Ya Ci had transformed, killed Ya You, and was inviting guests to his Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, while rumors spread that Stoneborn’s master possessed a Dragon-Transforming Immortal Elixir; Qi then reunited with Old Master Mo and was recognized by the Provincial Governor of Tea Province.

• Stoneborn told Zhu Xinglian and Ai Qingren that pursuing the Dao required engaging with mortal life, prompting Ai Qingren to reconsider Ya Ci’s transformation and gain confidence.
• Stoneborn sensed Qi Zhongbin’s arrival, excused himself from the banquet, and welcomed his junior brother at the Mo Residence.
• Qi Zhongbin told Stoneborn that Ya Ci had transformed into a dragon, slain Ya You, and sent invitations to his Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, and that their master was in the North Sea.
• Stoneborn told Qi Zhongbin that Zhu Xinglian and a North Sea dragon had already come with invitations, while Qi revealed rumors that their master had a Dragon-Transforming Immortal Elixir.
• Stoneborn introduced Qi Zhongbin to Old Master Mo, who recognized him with delight, while the Provincial Governor of Tea Province recalled Qi’s imperial title and recognized him as the Celestial Master of Wondrous Mystery, True Purity, Imperial Arts, and Demon-Slaying of Great Yong.

At Mo Xiaorong’s birthday banquet, Qi Zhongbin and Stoneborn learned more about the North Sea Dragonkind’s past and reflected on family, fate, and their master’s possible Dragon-Transformation Pill. The guests began traveling toward the Northern Territories for the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony as Qi Zhongbin visited an old temple in Tea Province.

• Old Master Mo drank too much, left the banquet with his family’s help, and Lu Haixian quietly toasted Qi Zhongbin as the Old Celestial Master.
• Ai Qingren told Stoneborn, Qi Zhongbin, and Zhu Xinglian about the North Sea Dragonkind’s past sins and said the Dragonkind Rebels still had to die.
• Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin wondered whether their master had a Dragon-Transformation Pill, and Stoneborn decided not to take Mo Xiaorong away from her family.
• Stoneborn considered taking Yi A Bao with him, but Qi Zhongbin said it was hard to know whether their master would approve.
• Qi Zhongbin wandered through Tea Province toward the Lady Temple, while practitioners from across the world set out for the Northern Territories and the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony.

Stoneborn identified the Abyssal Glow Pearls among the Mo Residence’s birthday gifts and entrusted them to his younger siblings as family heirlooms. He then prepared to take his sleeping father and Yi A Bao on a long journey, leaving Mo Xiaorong to understand that he was serious.

• Qi Zhongbin visited the Shuntian Lady Temple, recognized a familiar statue, and left after exchanging a nod with Li Suping.
• The Mo Residence’s steward opened Zhu Xinglian and Ai Qingren’s gift and found two radiant Abyssal Glow Pearls in a Coral Treasure Box.
• Stoneborn closed the box, warned the household not to spread word of the pearls, and took them to Mo Congxian and Mo Xiaorong.
• Stoneborn told his siblings he would be taking a long journey and left one Abyssal Glow Pearl for each of them to keep as a family heirloom.
• Stoneborn entered his father’s room, used a stream of light to draw Old Master Mo from his body, and sent a clear breeze skyward as Old Master Mo and Yi A Bao fell into a deep slumber.

Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin brought Old Master Mo and Yi A Bao along on a cloud to the North Sea Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, where Ya Ci ordered the gathering held amid the ruined North Sea Dragon Palace. As countless beings traveled toward the ceremony, Yuan Jingsi spared a demon, and two foxes encountered a person threatened by baleful energy.

• Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin used dream-based transformations to bring Old Master Mo and Yi A Bao onto their cloud, then told them they were headed to the North Sea for the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony.
• Ya Ci and Yin Lian reached the North Sea Dragon Palace, where Ya Ci ordered the ceremony held among its ruins rather than at a prepared venue.
• Ya Ci sensed that the ceremony could gather the destiny of the Dragonkind and draw aquatic beings and many other visitors, including monsters and demons.
• Yuan Jingsi killed a demon traveling toward the ceremony but left it a chance to live, while Ling Yuanqi watched the demon dissolve into rain.
• A gray fox sheltered with her red fox sister from the strange rain, then rushed to stop baleful energy from striking a person near a stuck carriage; the gray-robed woman cut down the threat.

Two fox sisters endured another flare of their Pill-Scorching Fire Poison and headed toward the North Sea, where they encountered Monk Wufa riding the Snow Flood Dragon. Meanwhile, Ya Ci began releasing the water essence from a dead true dragon into the North Sea, preparing for the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony.

• On the new moon, the gray-clad fox woman suffered a fire-poison attack, and the rain cooled her enough to recover while her red fox sister watched anxiously.
• The sisters set out for the North Sea Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, hoping to find Immortal Venerable Danxuan Daomiao or another way to cure their poison.
• The sisters met Monk Wufa riding the Snow Flood Dragon, declined his offer to travel together, and changed course to avoid him.
• Yi Shuyuan watched the North Sea's rising water energy and told Hui Mian that Ya Ci's ceremony might surpass earlier ones because Ya Ci had a good father.
• In a forbidden hall beneath the North Sea Dragon Palace, Ya Ci brought out a dead true dragon stripped of its Dragon Horn and began returning its water essence to the North Sea, heaven and earth, and all living beings.

She Chাংলai made a grueling journey from Great Yong to the North Sea for the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony. After learning the Demon-Subduing Palace’s divine beings had not arrived, he was relieved when Hui Mian appeared and recognized him.

• Spring rains spread through the lands connected to the North Sea as the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony approached.
• Chen Han gave She Chাংলai the invitation and a divine talisman, and he traveled alone toward the North Sea.
• She Chাংলai reached the North Sea, recovered his strength, and followed his glowing invitation to the ceremony grounds.
• A Dragonkind guide confirmed She Chাংলai’s invitation and said the ceremony would begin in three days, but the Demon-Subduing Palace’s divine beings had not arrived.
• Hui Mian appeared, greeted She Chাংলai, and settled on his head, reassuring the Dragonkind guide that the serpent had a powerful ally.

Hui Mian reunited with She Changlai at the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony and guided him into the North Sea Dragon Palace, where rumors about Yi Daozi’s Dragon-Transformation Pill had already spread. She Changlai settled into the hall reserved for the Demon-Subduing Palace and asked where the Immortal Venerable was, while Flood Dragons fought outside.

• Hui Mian found She Changlai at the ceremony and learned that he had traveled alone from Great Yong to the North Sea under his sister’s strict instructions.
• A Dragonkind guide escorted She Changlai and Hui Mian into the North Sea Dragon Palace and showed them the place reserved for the Demon-Subduing Palace’s Divine Beings.
• Guests recognized Hui Mian and discussed rumors that Yi Daozi had refined a Dragon-Transformation Pill, prompting Hui Mian to say that his master had helped Ya Ci and warn that such an elixir could not be taken by just anyone.
• Hui Mian told She Changlai that Lu Xin would likely come to the ceremony, though Manifest Holiness True Lord probably would not.
• After two Flood Dragons began fighting beyond the Dragon Palace’s water barrier, She Changlai asked where the Immortal Venerable was, and Hui Mian said his master was probably avoiding the crowds.

As Haiyu County’s harbor prospered from visitors seeking supernatural sights, Yi Shuyuan watched stories about the events he had written spread and encountered the real Chief Constable Zhong. Meanwhile, spirits and demon cultivators traveled toward the North Sea Dragon Palace ahead of the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, each seeking a way to approach it.

• A storyteller performed a popular version of Yi Shuyuan’s “Dragon Scale Transformation” at the wharf, drawing cheers from the crowd.
• Zhong Xingwen’s child recognized him as the righteous chief constable from the story, and local residents gathered around Zhong before he hurried away with his child.
• Yi Shuyuan praised the storyteller and gave him copper coins, but disappeared before the storyteller could follow him.
• Visitors hired fishing boats to sail out for the harbor’s unusual evening radiance and other coastal sights.
• Yi Shuyuan spotted two women in gray and red boarding a fishing boat, while spirits and demon cultivators secretly traveled toward islands near the Dragon Palace before the ceremony.

As the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony began, cultivators gathered on a small island to witness a spectacular tide of spiritual essence rising from the North Sea. The surge stirred the destinies of those present, while Yi Shuyuan remained untouched by its radiance.

• Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan traveled by fishing boat to the island and discussed rumors of a Dragon-Transformation Pill with Wu Niansheng and the other passengers.
• At sunset, the North Sea’s spiritual tide illuminated the sky, and flood dragons rose amid the radiance as cultivators gathered the freely available essence.
• A bright moon appeared above the clouds, and immortal maidens’ music sent powerful Taiyin immortal qi across the sea, soothing Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan’s pill-scorching fire poison.
• An old monk and a white-robed youth watched the spectacle from the island’s peak as Buddha light rose around the monk.
• At the rocks near Haiyu County’s harbor, Stoneborn asked Yi Shuyuan whether he truly possessed a Dragon-Transformation Pill, and the passing spiritual tide stirred no radiance around Yi Shuyuan.

The North Sea Dragon-Transformation Ceremony began with a spectacular gathering of dragons and the arrival of Du Xiaolin and Taiyin Palace. Jiang Lang and the Great Toad King separately recognized clues linking Zhuo Qing to Mili, while Du Xiaolin later admitted how nervous she had been performing as the Taiyin Immortal.

• Dragons from the North Sea and the other Three Seas soared through the night as the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony’s spiritual resonance spread across the region.
• Yin Lian welcomed Du Xiaolin and the Taiyin Palace cultivators, and Du Xiaolin told him to address her by her new name rather than Shi Ying.
• Jiang Lang recognized Zhuo Qing’s resemblance to Mili and decided to find Yi Shuyuan for answers.
• The Great Toad King mistook Zhuo Qing for a relative of Fairy Mili, denied knowing Mili when Jiang Lang questioned him, and walked away.
• Du Xiaolin asked Zhuo Qing and the Taiyin Palace women how she had performed, and they reassured her that she had convincingly appeared as the Taiyin Immortal.

A celestial anomaly appeared over Eternal Capital as the North Sea Dragon Palace began Ya Ci’s Dragon-Transformation Ceremony. Yi Shuyuan encouraged Ya Ci to accept the role of North Sea Dragon Lord, and Dragonkind’s ancient song began to shake the heavens and earth.

• The Deputy Director and the Directorate officials observed the clouds clear, the moon and stars blaze, and strange light rise from the north, so the Director recorded the celestial anomaly.
• At the North Sea Dragon Palace, guests gathered for the ceremony while several attendees searched for Yi Shuyuan and the absent North Sea Dragon Lord.
• Ya Ci asked Yi Shuyuan whether he should become North Sea Dragon Lord, and Yi Shuyuan urged him to take responsibility for Dragonkind’s destiny.
• Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin arrived as the hour of the rat came, and Yin Lian began chanting the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony’s ancient song.
• North Sea Dragonkind and dragons from the other seas joined the song, whose force spread across the world and stirred Ya Ci’s heart.

Ya Ci led the Dragonkind Song through the Dragon-Transformation Ceremony and accepted the North Sea Dragon Lord’s crown, turning the gathering into a coronation. As the ceremony ended, the True Dragon’s remains enriched the North Sea’s water essence, giving cultivators an opportunity to practice while guests dispersed.

• Yin Lian began the Dragonkind Song, stirring Dragonkind and shocking the gathered guests with its ancient power.
• Ya Ci led the dragons in song as he descended through the North Sea and entered the Dragon Palace, with Yi Shuyuan following.
• Ya Ci took the Rolling Dragon Crown and was acclaimed as North Sea Dragon Lord by Yin Lian and the gathered dragons and aquatic folk.
• The white-robed youth, Su Guyan, Su Hongxuan, and other cultivators meditated amid the abundant water essence while Monk Wufa recited the Nameless Sutra.
• Ya Ci dispensed with a coronation banquet so guests could cultivate or visit, and Hui Mian lamented the loss of the feast to She Chাংলai and Yi Shuyuan.

At the North Sea Dragon-Transformation Ceremony, Ya Ci released the primordial essence from Ya You’s corpse, triggering Dragon Ascension and drawing dragons and cultivators into the rushing waters. Yi Shuyuan and the others followed the dragon-shaped current, while a white-robed youth transformed into a white dragon and carried an old monk after it.

• Yi Shuyuan told Jiang Lang that the ceremony’s greatest event was still to come, and Jiang Lang mentioned that a Taiyin Palace immortal resembled Mili.
• Ya Ci ordered lighter-offense prisoners released so they could seize the opportunity, then used his treasured sword to break the restraint on Ya You’s water essence.
• Ya You’s primordial essence surged free and streamed away as a dragon-shaped current, prompting Ya Ci and countless dragons to pursue it.
• Yi Shuyuan confirmed that Dragon Ascension was underway and led his companions and other gathered factions after the current.
• Enormous waves swept over an island, where a white-robed youth became a white dragon, carried the old monk, and chased after the waves as Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan followed.

The dragon essence from the North Sea Dragon Palace surged across the sea during its Dragon Ascension, carrying Ya Ci, Yi Shuyuan, and countless others with it. Yi Shuyuan prepared the way for an unnamed fellow Daoist to undergo Dragon Ascension, and a white dragon emerged from the Mountain and River State Map into the primordial essence tide.

• The North Sea Dragon Lord Ya Ci led the North Sea Dragonkind through the vast dragon essence as cultivators and Aquatic Folk struggled to keep pace.
• Jiang Lang changed into a Flood Dragon and left to guide the East Sea Dragonkind, after teasing Hui Mian about his resemblance to a rat and hinting that he knew a secret.
• Yi Shuyuan left She Chাংলai to face the Dragon Ascension tide alone, then told Ya Ci that an acquaintance would attempt Dragon Ascension and that the tribulation could be managed.
• Yi Shuyuan created a hair-clone, concealed himself inside it, and released the Mountain and River State Map above the dragon essence.
• A white dragon flew out of the painting and plunged into the surging primordial essence tide.

Ao Po entered the North Sea dragon essence tide and began his Dragon Ascension, his struggle stirring violent currents and storms across the waters. Yi Shuyuan explained that Ao Po had come into the world through the Mountain and River State Map as Ao Po invited those present to witness his transformation.

• A white dragon emerged from Yi Shuyuan's Mountain and River State Map, and Ya Ci recognized that the dragon essence tide was enabling his Dragon Ascension.
• Jiang Lang identified the white dragon as Ao Po, the dragon the East Sea Dragonkind had long sought, and realized Yi Shuyuan had kept his whereabouts secret.
• Ao Po swam into the forefront of the tide, driving the waters into enormous waves as the unbearable itching beneath his scales intensified.
• Ao Po's roars brought dark clouds and thunder, while the rising flood swept away cultivators who could no longer keep pace with the tide.
• Yi Shuyuan told Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin that Ao Po was at a crucial stage of cultivation and had come into the world through the Mountain and River State Map.
• Ao Po addressed the gathered practitioners and invited them to witness his path to dragon transformation.

Ao Po led the White Dragon’s Dragon Ascension through the North Sea, drawing the dragon essence tide and everyone caught in it into increasingly violent currents. As the Great Toad King warned that a heavenly tribulation was approaching, the followers behind struggled to keep pace, unaware that the true trials of Dragon Ascension had only begun.

• The White Dragon announced his intent to undergo Dragon Ascension and surged ahead, pulling the dragon essence tide forward as others struggled to approach him.
• The Great Toad King helped gather lightning away from the Taiyin Palace, then warned the Golden Toad Palace and others that a tribulation was coming and they would have to rely on themselves.
• Yuan Jingsi, Ling Yuanqi, and Immortal Elder Cloud Emerald gazed at the Mountain and River State Map while the tide’s currents grew fiercer.
• She Chànglai fought to remain in the tide as a Flood Dragon and other cultivators were swept away or struck by lightning.
• Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan struggled through the waves and lightning, drawing courage from She Chànglai’s persistence.
• Ao Po sensed the desperate efforts of those behind him and recognized that the Dragon Ascension’s real difficulties had yet to begin.

Ao Po led the dragon essence tide out of the North Sea and into the Mountain and River State Map, where the dragon ascension became a perilous trial through a shifting landscape of mountains, rushing water, and lightning. Many followers were swept away or expelled from the map, including Ling Yuanqi, while Yuan Jingsi continued onward and discovered his disciple was missing.

• Ya Ci sensed that the White Dragon’s ascension had gathered power for a deeper trial and chose not to interfere with the North Sea Dragonkind.
• Ao Po led the tide into a river mouth, and the Mountain and River State Map reappeared, turning the tide’s passage into a waterway through its grotto-heaven world.
• Mountains, violent currents, and lightning battered the followers, eliminating nearly half of the practitioners and casting many out of the map.
• Ling Yuanqi fell out of the Mountain and River State Map but glimpsed the White Dragon’s ascension from below.
• Yuan Jingsi admired the grotto-heaven’s scenery, then realized Ling Yuanqi was missing and saw a struggling Flood Dragon fall away through the clouds.

Ao Po's Dragon Ascension carried a devastating flood through the Mountain-River Realm and out into the East Sea, while Yi Shuyuan protected his companions and helped the tide break through. Though Ao Po was badly wounded and his transformation remained uncertain, he pressed on toward becoming a True Dragon.

• Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin released Old Master Mo and Yi A Bao from their paper forms, and the group rode the flood through the Mountain-River Realm.
• Yi Shuyuan protected the group from falling mountains and said he would help the White Dragon incur fewer sins as the flood advanced.
• Two blood-red bolts of Tribulation Lightning struck Ao Po, injuring him but easing the maddening itch in his head.
• Yi Shuyuan swept his Folding Fan and the flood emerged from the Mountain-River Realm into the mortal world's river, which widened before flowing into the East Sea.
• Feng Yan recognized Ao Po's Dragon Ascension from afar but chose not to approach, while most of the followers were swept away or left behind.
• Ao Po saw that his body remained badly wounded and unchanged beyond his head, but vowed to cross all Four Seas if necessary to become a True Dragon.