Chapter Summaries

Ao Po completed his arduous Dragon Ascension journey and became the True Dragon known as the White Lord, whose seat of cultivation was the Mountain-River Realm rather than any of the Four Seas. As he disappeared to consolidate his transformation, Ya Ci ordered a dragon transformation banquet to celebrate.

• Ao Po drew the dwindling flood through the Northern Territory, where the Awakening of Insects thunder reminded him that his ascension had begun on the same day the previous year.
• Ao Po reached a great river and reassured its startled river god that the waters would nourish the land rather than harm its inhabitants.
• Ao Po shed his ruined scales and claws, grew Dragon Horns, and completed his transformation into a True Dragon before concealing himself in the river.
• The river god learned from Jiang Shouqin and Yi Shuyuan that Ao Po was called the White Lord and cultivated in the Mountain-River Realm within the Mountain and River State Map.
• Hui Mian urged Ya Ci to hold a dragon transformation banquet, and Ya Ci ordered a Flood Dragon to carry the invitation to the North Sea.

After Ao Po completed his Dragon Ascension, Ya Ci prepared a Dragon-Transformation Banquet for the few cultivators who returned to the North Sea Dragon Palace. Yi Shuyuan reflected on the ascension’s meaning while his companions accepted the limits of mortal life, and the chapter ended with the Snow Flood Dragon and Monk Wufa realizing that the senior dragon had succeeded.

• Ya Ci welcomed the scattered cultivators returning to the North Sea and ordered the Dragon-Transformation Banquet prepared, while Hui Mian reassured an anxious old minister.
• Yi Shuyuan remained on a small island with Yi A Bao, Master Mo, Stoneborn, and Qi Zhongbin as the White Dragon rested unseen within the Mountain-River Realm.
• Yi Shuyuan reflected that the ascension had brought the water vapor between heaven and earth into balance and remarked that the spring breeze and equinox had passed.
• Master Mo said he was content with his mortal life, and Yi A Bao reflected on the wonders and hardships shared by the human and cultivation worlds.
• At a waterfall in the Southern Realm, the Snow Flood Dragon sensed that the senior had succeeded, and Monk Wufa turned north and bowed.

Monk Wufa and the white-robed youth headed north, while Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan stayed behind to watch the unconscious She Changlai. The North Sea Dragon-Transformation Banquet began with the White Lord absent and the Four Seas Dragon Lords and other powerful guests gathered in the palace.

• Monk Wufa told the white-robed youth that the White Dragon from the Mountain and River State Map might be someone they could meet, then set off with him toward the North Sea.
• Su Hongxuan and Su Guyan checked on She Changlai and realized he may have entered the Dragon Ascension Tide from near its front, suggesting he had an important background.
• Yuan Jingsi passed overhead with Ling Yuanqi and told the sisters about the North Sea Dragon-Transformation Banquet, but they chose to remain with She Changlai.
• People from across the Four Seas and Four Heavens traveled to the North Sea, though the White Lord was unlikely to attend because his cultivation was not complete.
• The Dragon-Transformation Banquet began in the North Sea Dragon Palace, where Ya Ci sat at the head and the Four Seas Dragon Lords and other major figures filled the main hall.

At the North Sea Dragon Palace’s Dragon-Transformation Banquet, the Four Seas Dragon Lords questioned Ya Ci about his transformation and the Dragon-Slaying Sword it had produced. Yi Shuyuan identified the dragon depicted on the sword as Yazi, one of a dragon’s nine transformations, and the tense gathering settled afterward.

• Ya Ci sent away the nervous dancers and musicians as the main hall’s banquet remained tense.
• Feng Yan asked Yi Shuyuan why Ao Po had not appeared, and Yi Shuyuan said Ao Po was focused on cultivation.
• Jin Fu asked to see Ya Ci’s Dragon-Slaying Sword, and Ya Ci warned him against addressing him as a junior before sending the sword to him.
• Jin Fu examined the sword’s icy blade, and Yi Shuyuan explained that the dragon on it was Yazi, one of nine transformations of a dragon.
• Jin Fu returned the sword to Ya Ci and apologized, easing the hall’s atmosphere.
• Hui Mian complained about the cold food, and Wu Yin invited him to visit the Southern Sea Crystal Palace for a better meal.

The Dragon-Transformation Banquet unfolded across the Dragon Palace gardens, where Jiang Lang spoke with Meng Ru and guests gathered to hear a South Sea flood dragon describe the Pill Canon and the Sea-Calming Divine Needle. The chapter ended with Yi A Bao and old Master Mo marveling at the treasure, while Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin affirmed its power without explaining further.

• Guests mingled among the Dragon Palace gardens as the Dragon-Transformation Banquet began, and Jiang Lang stayed outside the main hall with Meng Ru.
• Meng Ru urged Jiang Lang to visit the Taiyin Palace immortals and approach the Taiyin Immortal, but Jiang Lang refused to impose on them.
• Yi A Bao and old Master Mo sampled the banquet and joined a crowd watching a South Sea flood dragon display an illusion of the Sea-Calming Divine Needle.
• The old flood dragon boasted that the Sea-Calming Divine Needle had helped save the Pill Canon when a heavenly tribulation destroyed the South Sea Crystal Palace.
• Yi A Bao asked Stoneborn and Qi Zhongbin whether the treasure could measure the sea's depth, and they confirmed its power without explaining.

Monk Wufa and Xue Tian joined Yi A Bao, Mo Yiming, Stoneborn, and Qi Zhongbin at the Dragon Palace banquet, where the two elderly men drank until their spiritual journey ended. Nearly a year after falling asleep at the Mo Residence, Yi A Bao and Mo Yiming suddenly returned to their bodies, startling the servants watching over them.

• The Great Toad King told Monk Wufa where to find Yi A Bao’s disciples and recalled seeing Fairy Mili deliver a child at the Great Autumn Temple.
• Monk Wufa and Xue Tian found Stoneborn, Qi Zhongbin, Yi A Bao, and Master Mo at a pavilion, and the group shared stories and Dragon Palace wine.
• Yi A Bao and Master Mo grew drowsy and began floating away as their paper bodies cracked, while Qi Zhongbin and the others watched.
• Nearly a year later, servants at the Mo Residence heard Yi A Bao and Master Mo murmuring in their sleep before the two men suddenly cried out as they returned to their bodies.
• The startled servants screamed and stumbled out of the room.

Yi A Bao and Mo Yiming awoke after sleeping for a year, remembering their journey to the North Sea as a vivid dream. News of their recovery spread through Tea Province, and prefect Lu Haixian hurried to visit the Mo Residence.

• Yi A Bao and Mo Yiming awoke to find their families gathered around them and learned they had slept for a year.
• Mo Yiming and Yi A Bao recalled traveling together to the North Sea and wondered whether the experience had been a dream.
• A servant told Mo Congxian that both elders had awakened, and he rushed back from the docks to the Mo Residence.
• A physician examined the elders and found them healthy, while his apprentice questioned how they could have slept so long without growing weak.
• Word of Old Master Mo's awakening reached prefect Lu Haixian, who ordered his carriage prepared and set out for the Mo Residence.

After Mo Yiming and Yi A Bao recounted their yearlong dream of the immortal realms to Lu Haixian, he found an old geographical account that seemed to support parts of their story. He stayed awake writing down what he had heard and finally named his work the Four Seas and Mountains Record.

• Lu Haixian visited the Mo Residence and joined Mo Congxian in waiting for the two recovered elders.
• Mo Yiming and Yi A Bao told Lu Haixian about their shared dream, including the North Sea Dragon Lord’s enthronement and the White Dragon’s ascension.
• After returning to his Official Residence, Lu Haixian searched an old geography book and found descriptions resembling the elders’ account.
• Lu Haixian stayed up through the night recording the dream, while Madam Lu tried to persuade him to sleep.
• When Madam Lu asked what he was writing, Lu Haixian realized he needed a title and named it the Four Seas and Mountains Record.

The Taiyin Palace disciples departed after the Dragon-Transformation Banquet, while the Great Toad King held to his hopeful feelings for Fairy Mili despite Chan Qin’s warnings. At a dockside tea stall, Jiang Lang questioned Yi Shuyuan about the Taiyin Palace and guessed that Mili had found Zhuo Qing through reincarnation, but Yi Shuyuan slipped away as a strand of hair.

• Du Xiaolin praised the Great Toad King’s feelings as an illusory dream, and Zhuo Qing quietly repeated the phrase as the Taiyin Palace flying boat departed.
• Chan Qin warned the Great Toad King that Fairy Mili had slain the Northern Mang Demon King, but he said he would not act recklessly and urged Chan Qin to cultivate.
• Jiang Lang gave Xue Tian a jade slip containing Dragonkind secret arts, and Xue Tian left with Monk Wufa to cultivate.
• Yi Shuyuan explained his connection to Zhuo Qing and Mili, but Jiang Lang suspected Zhuo Qing had reincarnated through the Taiyin Reincarnation Secret Art and that Mili had found her.
• When Jiang Lang tried to take Yi Shuyuan to the Taiyin Palace, Yi Shuyuan vanished, leaving only a strand of hair in Jiang Lang’s hand.

Hui Mian returned to the Eastern Territory and woke She Chাংলai, who had been overwhelmed while contemplating dragon transformation. After She Chাংলai complained about being struck, Hui Mian hit him again, leaving Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan stunned.

• Jiang Lang, Stoneborn, and Qi Zhongbin watched their master’s strand of hair fly away, while Yi Shuyuan’s true body rested as the wounded White Dragon inside the Mountain and River State Map.
• Hui Mian reached She Chাংলai at the mountain stream and wrote the character for “tranquility” on his head before striking him three times with his golden brush to wake him.
• Su Guyan and Su Hongxuan rushed to the stream, initially failed to notice Hui Mian, then recognized him and bowed respectfully.
• Hui Mian told the sisters that She Chাংলai was his friend and Chen Han’s younger brother, and the serpent soon woke up.
• She Chাংলai complained that someone had hit his head, so Hui Mian struck him again with his Magical Treasure and asked, “Was this how they hit you?”

Hui Mian took Su Guyan, Su Hongxuan, and the giant serpent to the True Lord Temple after learning how the sisters had survived and trained without a master. Eleven years after the Dragon Ascension, Yi A Bao continued teaching at Moon Province Academy and reunited with Lu Haixian, who visited to consult him about completing his six-volume Four Seas and Mountains Record.

• Su Guyan explained that she and Su Hongxuan had survived the fire poison through diligent cultivation, and she described the scattered guidance and sword techniques she had encountered.
• Hui Mian praised the sisters’ perseverance and carried them and the giant serpent away in a bank of mist toward the True Lord Temple.
• Yuan Jingsi and Ling Yuanqi left the North Sea Dragon Palace, reflecting that they had seen the Mountain and River State Map and the Grotto-Heaven world during the Dragon Ascension.
• As time passed, Yi A Bao taught fewer lessons at Moon Province Academy, but his classes drew growing crowds of students and fellow teachers.
• Lu Haixian visited Yi A Bao after his term as prefect of Yun Province ended, explaining that he planned to finish his Four Seas and Mountains Record before retiring.
• Yi A Bao and Lu Haixian reminisced about their years of correspondence and agreed to spend Lu Haixian’s three-day stay discussing the book.

Yi A Bao reflected on his dreams and his hopes for the Yi family before discovering that the ink on Granduncle’s calligraphy concealed something extraordinary. Meanwhile, Lu Haixian completed the Four Seas and Mountains Record, presented it to the emperor, and began to draw him into its uncanny origins.

• Lu Haixian and Yi A Bao discussed the Four Seas and Mountains Record at Moon Province Academy and at Yi A Bao’s home before Lu Haixian departed for the Capital City.
• Yi A Bao considered his lack of immortal affinity and decided to preserve the pill Hui Mian had given him as a family heirloom.
• Yi A Bao unrolled Granduncle’s calligraphy and became absorbed as concealed writing emerged from the faded ink; the Land God saw the scroll’s terrifying radiance and covered his eyes.
• Lu Haixian finished the Four Seas and Mountains Record and sought permission to print it and retire to his home.
• Lu Haixian presented the six-volume book to the emperor, who read its preface about an old man who awoke after more than a year of sleep.

The emperor became engrossed in Lu Haixian’s Four Seas and Mountains Record, a novel that combined geography with tales of an old man’s supernatural travels. After Yu Ziye confirmed the book’s geographical accuracy and praised Lu Haixian’s talent, he warned the author that the emperor might be stirred to seek immortals and pursue the Dao.

• Lu Haixian presented the Four Seas and Mountains Record to the emperor while requesting permission to retire, and the emperor postponed his decision to discuss the book.
• The emperor read the book for several days, became captivated by its account of the North Sea Dragon Lord’s accession, and summoned Yu Ziye to assess its accuracy.
• Yu Ziye read the first volume, praised its prose and carefully researched geography, and regretted that Great Yong had recognized Lu Haixian’s ability so late.
• After dining with the emperor, Yu Ziye visited Lu Haixian and discussed the book with him at the Ministry of Rites.
• As they parted, Yu Ziye warned Lu Haixian that the emperor might ask about supernatural matters and develop a desire to seek immortals and pursue the Dao.

Lu Haixian carefully answered the emperor’s questions about the Four Seas and Mountains Record, then secured imperial approval to print it. As copies spread through the Capital City, Tan Yuanshang began reading and felt that the book’s events seemed real.

• Lu Haixian told the emperor that the book’s stories drew on folk tales, dreams, and a real friend’s illness, and he denied that the supernatural events had truly happened.
• Lu Haixian argued that the great flood in the book could not have been real because Great Yong had suffered no such flood during the Shaoyuan era.
• The emperor praised Lu Haixian’s talents, but rejected his request to resign and continued discussing the book with him.
• The Imperial College printed three hundred sets of the Four Seas and Mountains Record, and the book became sought after among Capital City officials and scholars.
• Tan Yuanshang obtained a printed set and a handwritten copy, then read the book and felt its events seemed real.

Tan Yuanshang traveled by ship to Tea Province to visit Mo Yiming, while reflecting on old friends and the mysteries of the Four Seas and Mountains Record. After he fell asleep, Xie Qing returned his jade cup and discovered that the book described the White Lord’s dragon ascension in the North Sea.

• Tan Yuanshang inferred that the old man in the book was Mo Yiming and set out for Tea Province to visit him.
• While sailing along the Kaiyang River, Tan Yuanshang read the Four Seas and Mountains Record and pondered its account of the world’s geography and a great flood.
• Tan Yuanshang drank alone, recalled departed companions, and let his jade cup fall into the river as he entrusted his longing to the waves.
• Xie Qing retrieved the cup, boarded Tan Yuanshang’s ship unseen, and found him asleep in his cabin.
• Xie Qing examined the Four Seas and Mountains Record and recognized that it described the White Lord’s dragon ascension in the North Sea.

Tan Yuanshang dreamed that General Crab invited him to the Kaiyang Water Palace, where they drank and discussed the truths behind the Four Seas and Mountains Record. After waking, Tan Yuanshang learned that his journey might have been a dream, but the jade cup he remembered throwing into the river had mysteriously returned.

• General Crab appeared beside Tan Yuanshang's bed, identified himself, and invited him on an excursion.
• General Crab carried Tan Yuanshang across the river, showed him the underwater realm, and served him Mulberry Silkworm Wine at the Kaiyang Water Palace.
• General Crab confirmed the Four Seas and Mountains Record was accurate, revealed details of Ya Ci's transformation into the North Sea Dragon Lord, and warned that Lu Haixian might face disaster.
• Tan Yuanshang woke in his cabin and learned from his old servant that he had supposedly spent the night asleep in a chair.
• Tan Yuanshang noticed the jade cup he remembered throwing into the river had returned, and he burst into laughter.

Tan Yuanshang arrived in Mingzhou and learned that Mo Yiming had established Dream Sea Tower to recreate dishes from a dream of the Dragon Palace. He visited the Mo Residence, where the two old men reunited after forty-three years and Mo Yiming invited him inside to share something wonderful.

• Tan Yuanshang arrived at Mingzhou Harbor and asked about the busy Dream Sea Tower on his way to the Mo Residence.
• Bystanders explained that Dream Sea Tower was hiring renowned cooks and gathering rare ingredients to recreate dishes from Mo Yiming's dream of a banquet at the Dragon Palace.
• Tan Yuanshang considered the strange story and the situation in Tea Province before reaching the Mo Residence.
• Mo Congxian told Mo Yiming that someone from the Tan Household had come to visit, and Mo Yiming hurried to welcome him.
• Tan Yuanshang and Mo Yiming recognized each other after forty-three years and entered the residence together.

Tan Yuanshang visited the Mo Household, discussed Mo Yiming’s dream recorded in the Four Seas and Mountains Record, and learned that imperial spies were watching Dream Sea Tower. He predicted that Lu Haixian would be accused of deceiving the sovereign, and Imperial Guards arrived at the Lu Residence to arrest him.

• Mo Yiming welcomed Tan Yuanshang and confirmed that he was the old man whose long dream appeared in the Four Seas and Mountains Record.
• Mo Yiming recalled parts of his dream and served Tan Yuanshang a rare fish soup he called a Dragon Palace delicacy.
• A Tan household guard reported that palace spies had been watching Dream Sea Tower, and Tan Yuanshang warned that Lu Haixian was likely in danger.
• Tan Yuanshang predicted that Lu Haixian would be charged with deceiving the sovereign.
• The emperor concluded that Lu Haixian had concealed the truth about the dream, and Imperial Guards entered the Lu Residence to arrest him.

Lu Haixian was arrested after the emperor learned that the Four Seas and Mountains Record described genuine encounters with immortals. Yu Ziye left the Imperial Study realizing the emperor intended to seek an immortal master and that Lu Haixian might not survive the emperor’s demands.

• Imperial Guards arrested Lu Haixian and delivered him to the Heavenly Prison, where the head jailer was ordered to keep him safe.
• Yu Ziye heard of Lu Haixian’s arrest but waited until the emperor summoned him before intervening.
• The emperor told Yu Ziye that reports from Tea Province supported the extraordinary events in the Four Seas and Mountains Record, and accused Lu Haixian of deceiving his sovereign.
• Yu Ziye questioned how Lu Haixian’s year-long absence from his duties as prefect could have gone unnoticed and urged an investigation into Tea Province’s officials.
• The emperor asked how best to invite an immortal master, explained that he wanted help for his failing health, and recalled Demon-Slaying Celestial Master Qi.
• Yu Ziye left the Imperial Study believing Lu Haixian would struggle to satisfy the emperor and survive the ordeal.

Eunuch Zhao persuaded Lu Haixian to tell the emperor that Elder Celestial Master Qi had taken him and Old Master Mo on a dream journey, earning him an Innocence Edict. When Zhao returned to summon Lu Haixian to the palace, he found the old man unconscious after eating everything in the cell and urgently called for an Imperial Physician.

• Eunuch Zhao visited Lu Haixian in the Heavenly Prison and said the emperor suspected he had concealed an encounter with an Immortal.
• Zhao showed Lu Haixian the emperor's message, “Deceive, and you die,” and promised him an Innocence Edict if he revealed what had happened.
• Lu Haixian told Zhao that Elder Celestial Master Qi had taken him and Old Master Mo on a three-day dream journey, inspiring him to write the Four Seas and Mountains Record.
• The emperor rejoiced at Lu Haixian's account and ordered Zhao to bring him to the palace.
• Zhao returned to Lu Haixian's cell and found him slumped unconscious after finishing the food; he tried to revive him and sent for an Imperial Physician.