Chapter Summaries

Elder Shang used the Gold-Splitting Scale to discover the extraordinary value of Li Ling’s incense formula, insights, and contract, then arranged to strengthen the Shang Family’s ties to him. Cui Zhi was reassigned to oversee the Suyuan Kingdom, while Shang Yuxian took over his former role; by mid-July, Li Ling and the Ninth Princess went to Lucky Harbor Market to see how his products were selling.

• Elder Shang weighed Li Ling’s incense, formula, statements, and contract, discovering that the contract’s value exceeded the Gold-Splitting Scale’s ability to measure it.
• Elder Shang concluded that Li Ling could become a powerful cultivator and urged Shang Yuxian to advance to Foundation Establishment, while privately regretting that Yellow Cloud had acted quickly.
• Cui Zhi’s superior praised his work and assigned him to rebuild the branch’s outpost in the Suyuan Kingdom, effectively promoting him to regional chief steward.
• Min Lian told Cui Zhi that Shang Yuxian would replace him, and Cui Zhi realized Elder Shang had arranged both their positions.
• By mid-July, Shang Yuxian had prepared Li Ling’s incense products for sale, and Li Ling and the Ninth Princess traveled to Lucky Harbor Market to see them on the shelves.

Li Ling and the Ninth Princess visited Lucky Harbor to inspect the sales of his incense products and learned how the Four Seas Commerce Guild planned to market them to traveling merchants. Their trial stock sold well overall, but the chapter ended as Li Ling asked Shang Yuxian which products she thought they should prioritize.

• Li Ling and the Ninth Princess met Shang Yuxian, a senior steward of the Money Guild, who guided them through Lucky Harbor’s Market Ward.
• Shang Yuxian explained how traveling merchants distributed goods between countries and described the Four Seas Commerce Guild’s plan to promote incense materials and products.
• At the Four Seas Rare Treasures Tower, Li Ling and the Ninth Princess inspected a shelf reserved for his incense products and watched traveling traders buy Teaweed Incense and Hearing-Reach Herb Fragrance.
• Li Ling and the Ninth Princess discussed delaying the release of more powerful products until they had established themselves and gained stronger backing.
• The group observed that Teaweed Incense sold quickly, Spirit-Communing Incense brought steady sales, and the expensive perfume attracted no buyers.
• After returning to their residence, Li Ling asked Shang Yuxian which incense products she thought they should focus on.

Li Ling discussed the commercial future of his incense and proposed compiling the Incense Path Compendium, prompting the Shang Family to decide to invest in his ambitions. The chapter left Li Ling and his companions at a staged incense demonstration in the Four Seas Rare Treasures Tower, where spilled bottles let the crowd experience Spirit Incense.

• Shang Yuxian outlined the guild's plans for Spirit-Communing Incense and discussed pricing, production, and Li Ling's precious Spirit Incense.
• Li Ling proposed the Incense Path Compendium, covering aromatic materials, formulas, cultivation methods, lore, and implements.
• Elder Shang urged Shang Yuxian to treat Li Ling as a valuable future investment and have the Shang Family support his research.
• Shang Yuxian offered the Shang Family's help collecting books and Incense Path materials, while Li Ling considered the obligations such support might bring.
• Shang Yuxian led Li Ling and the Ninth Princess to the Four Seas Rare Treasures Tower, where attendants rearranged the displays and spilled bottles of Spirit Incense.
• The fragrance spread through the hall, and cultivators exclaimed that their hearing and sight had become sharper.

Li Ling and Shang Yuxian discussed how to market Spirit-Communing Incense, and he proposed a blessing ceremony to promote it. As evening approached, Li Ling and the Ninth Princess explored Lucky Harbor and learned about the Earthly Sha Sect’s influence over the night market; Li Ling asked Shang Yuxian to introduce him to black-market intelligence sellers.

• Shang Yuxian explained how the guild used broken perfume bottles and free samples to make rogue cultivators notice hearing-reach herb fragrance.
• Li Ling suggested holding blessing ceremonies and using rituals and cultivation rumors to build demand for Spirit-Communing Incense, while stressing that a steady supply from an incense workshop mattered most.
• Shang Yuxian asked whether Li Ling would cultivate the money Dao, but he declined because his cultivation foundation was bound to the Myriad Wonders Incense Transformation Art.
• Li Ling bought aromatic materials and three portions of devil finger wood, then purchased a Golden Butterfly Hairpin for the Ninth Princess.
• Shang Yuxian explained that the Earthly Sha Sect’s affiliates influenced Lucky Harbor’s night market, and Li Ling said he wanted to see how its black-market intelligence trade worked.

Li Ling obtained Black Market contacts and an Earthly Fiend Secret Manual from Qi Qiushan before secretly leaving to investigate a disturbance in Lucky Harbor. He watched a lightning-sword cultivator fight the market attendants, killing one of them and leaving the merchant association badly outmatched.

• Shang Yuxian introduced Li Ling and the Ninth Princess to Qi Qiushan, who gave Li Ling Black Market contacts and a local Earthly Fiend Secret Manual.
• After a crash interrupted their visit, Li Ling returned to the lodgings with Shang Yuxian, then used Soul Departure to head east while the Ninth Princess lit Returning Soul Incense.
• Li Ling found a lightning-sword cultivator demanding a refund and an apology from night-market merchants, while nearby cultivators watched and whispered.
• The sword cultivator attacked the market attendants, injuring one and trading blows with the white-haired elder as he evaded the elder's gold ingot.
• A Money Guild attendant named Lin arrived and restrained the sword cultivator with a money Dao formation, but the cultivator killed Lin with his flying sword before being struck by the ingot.
• The sword cultivator seized the gold ingot as the remaining attendants discovered that Lin had been cut in two, and Li Ling was surprised by how easily a Foundation Establishment cultivator had died.

Li Ling witnessed a sword cultivator spark a riot in Lucky Harbor by defeating the commerce guild’s attendants and urging rogue cultivators to loot its shops. He returned to the Guesthouse and warned the Ninth Princess, but the sword cultivator soon arrived there, where Shang Yuxian tried to reassure them with defenses that might not be enough.

• The sword cultivator defeated the commerce guild’s attendants, drove them away, and claimed the North Sea branch headquarters was under attack.
• The sword cultivator raided a shop, and rogue cultivators began looting and setting fires throughout Lucky Harbor.
• Li Ling returned to the Guesthouse and told the Ninth Princess that the unrest might be part of a plot targeting the harbor.
• Li Ling suspected the sword cultivator was searching for someone or something and warned the Ninth Princess they should avoid getting involved.
• Shang Yuxian arrived with Min Lian and reported that an unidentified Foundation Establishment cultivator was forcing his way into the Guesthouse.

Li Ling learned that the Four Seas Commerce Guild had sealed Lucky Harbor while a powerful sword cultivator searched for his daughter, and he weighed whether the danger might force him to reveal his strength. The sword cultivator found the girl and left with her, while Blood Shark Gang members disabled the treasury’s Array and prepared to escape with the loot.

• Li Ling considered leaving Lucky Harbor, but Shang Yuxian told him the guild’s grand formation had sealed the area; he agreed to wait while remaining ready to change his mind.
• Shang Yuxian explained that attackers had coordinated an assault on the guild’s North Sea Branch Headquarters and its local holdings, leaving the Branch Headquarters unable to control the situation.
• The Foundation Establishment sword cultivator found a mortal dancing girl named Xiaoyi and revealed that he was her father, then killed the Wang royal grandson when he claimed to have bought her.
• The sword cultivator left with Xiaoyi, while spies working for the Blood Shark Gang disabled the treasury’s Array and began preparing to carry off its valuables.
• The Blood Shark Gang’s Ninth Chieftain arrived and urged the group to leave, noting that the battle at the Branch Headquarters could soon change their situation.

Li Ling and the others fled the Blood Shark Bandits’ attack on Lucky Harbor and hid in an unfinished ornamental lake area, only to encounter the sword cultivator and two Foundation Establishment experts waiting there. The veiled man recognized Li Ling as a valuable catch, leaving them facing a new confrontation.

• Shang Yuxian learned that the Blood Shark Bandits were targeting the Hai Lanzhu shipment and that the Four Seas Commerce Guild had kept the district sealed while pursuing them.
• Li Ling used the Myriad Wonders Incense Transformation Art to listen to the fighting and sensed the Blood Shark Bandits’ tenth chief approaching with hostages.
• Li Ling led Shang Yuxian, Min Lian, and the Ninth Princess away from their lodging before the bandits reached it.
• The group hid near an unfinished ornamental lake on the eastern side of the guildhall district.
• Li Ling recognized the sword cultivator among three figures waiting by the lake, and a veiled man called him a big fish.

Li Ling and his companions faced the Blood Shark Bandits' Ninth Chieftain, Leng Yi, who tried to capture them for ransom. Li Ling and the Ninth Princess struck first and apparently cut Leng Yi in half, but he escaped into the lake, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Li Ling revealed his companions' powerful connections, but Leng Yi dismissed the threat and prepared to bind them for ransom.
• Shang Yuxian tried to negotiate while Li Ling and the Ninth Princess assessed Leng Yi and the sword cultivator who accompanied him.
• The sword cultivator, Han, refused to join the kidnapping and left the pavilion with another figure.
• Li Ling used the Soul-Seizing Mirror to restrain Leng Yi, and the Ninth Princess attacked him with a powerful golden scissors treasure.
• Leng Yi's apparent body turned into water, and he emerged from the nearby lake alive, shocking Li Ling and his companions.

Li Ling and the Ninth Princess teamed up against the Ninth Chief of the Blood Shark Bandits, using the Blazing Cloud Gourd and their magic treasures to injure and corner him. The chief countered their coordinated attack with a thrown object and a Black-and-Gold Triangular Flag, then charged toward them.

• Li Ling used the Blazing Cloud Gourd to spread scorching clouds, forcing the Ninth Chief of the Blood Shark Bandits to evade and defend himself with walls of water.
• The Ninth Princess activated the Soul-Suppressing Xun, allowing Li Ling's clouds to strike and injure the Ninth Chief.
• Li Ling pursued the chief's retreating figure with the clouds, revealing that he had reached Foundation Establishment and could control his treasure at long range.
• Li Ling asked Shang Yuxian for help, and she attacked the Ninth Chief with her golden ingot while the Ninth Princess and Li Ling kept up their assault.
• After more than a hundred breaths of fighting, the Ninth Chief threw an object to intercept Li Ling's red light, charged toward the group, and activated a Black-and-Gold Triangular Flag.

Li Ling and the Ninth Princess fought off the Ninth Chief of the Blood Shark Bandits, protecting Shang Yuxian and rescuing the badly injured Min Lian. After the chief fled, Li Ling left his body behind through Soul Departure and pursued him, hinting that the escape would not save him.

• Shang Yuxian identified the Blackwater Command Banner as the source of the Ninth Chief's powerful water puppet, while Li Ling used a fire crane to harry the chief.
• The Ninth Chief attacked with scalding water and the falling puppet; Li Ling and the Ninth Princess became insubstantial to evade the impact, but Min Lian was hurled into a boulder and badly injured.
• The Ninth Chief tried to seize Shang Yuxian, but Li Ling pulled her to safety and used the remaining fire clouds to hold him off.
• The Ninth Chief abandoned the fight and fled, while Li Ling, the Ninth Princess, and Shang Yuxian used Teaweed Incense to treat Min Lian.
• After telling the Ninth Princess to watch over him, Li Ling departed his body and pursued the Ninth Chief, finding him by following the scorched smell.

Li Ling used Spirit-Bewildering Incense to confuse and kill the Ninth Chief of the Blood Shark Bandits, then searched his possessions and returned to the group by the lake. He revealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation to Shang Yuxian and Min Lian, asked them to keep it secret, and told the Ninth Princess that he had erased the evidence of the killing.

• The Ninth Chief of the Blood Shark Bandits tried to recover from his wounds, but Li Ling trapped him in an illusion of vengeful spirits and killed him with a surprise attack on his heart.
• Li Ling searched the Ninth Chief's belongings and found several treasures, an unfinished Sword Pellet blank, water-essence beads, and ten talisman-sealed boxes bearing the Four Seas Commerce Guild emblem.
• Back by the lake, Shang Yuxian questioned Li Ling's hidden Foundation Establishment cultivation, and he explained that he had concealed it because of trouble with the Skycloud Sect.
• Shang Yuxian and Min Lian promised to keep Li Ling's cultivation secret, while he privately told the Ninth Princess that he had killed the Ninth Chief and disposed of the evidence.

After leaving Lucky Harbor with the Ninth Princess, Li Ling returned to the Mystic Xin Kingdom and told Yellow Cloud True Person that he had reached Foundation Establishment. While sorting the Blood Shark Bandits’ plunder, he discovered spirit-material-grade ambergris and other fragrant treasures that could help him refine incense.

• Li Ling and the Ninth Princess left Lucky Harbor with loot taken from Three-Headed Shark Leng Yi, and they discussed using soul projection to hunt overseas bandits for wealth.
• The Ninth Princess said the battle had brought her closer to Foundation Establishment, while Li Ling reflected on how strong emotions and confidence could help form a Dao heart.
• After they returned home, Li Ling told Yellow Cloud True Person about the Blood Shark Bandits and claimed he had advanced to Foundation Establishment during the battle.
• Yellow Cloud True Person warned Li Ling not to rely on reputation or treasures for protection and said she would seek compensation from the merchant association and warn the bandits.
• Li Ling cleansed the three magic treasures he had seized and examined his other spoils, discovering spirit-material-grade ambergris and several fine flowing conches.

Li Ling tested spirit-material-grade ambergris in Cloud-Producing Incense and imagined turning its condensed mist into a Cloud Dao treasure. He learned that the Four Seas Commerce Guild’s Northsky Archipelago business would become his foothold overseas, while the chapter ended with Yellow Cloud True Person meeting Guild members there.

• Li Ling used spirit-material-grade ambergris to make Cloud-Producing Incense whose mist could hold its shape, and he conceived of creating a Mirage Tower from spirit materials.
• Yellow Cloud True Person scolded Li Ling for seeking ambergris and told him she planned to secure him a business in the Northsky Archipelago so he and Qing Si could move there with Mystic Xin Peak disciples.
• At the Dreamlike Island Market Gathering, Mo Qingping explained that the Four Seas Commerce Guild had suffered heavy losses while investigating the Overseas Immortal Mountain, leaving its North Sea headquarters vulnerable to attacks.
• Li Ling told Mo Qingping he had reached Foundation Establishment, then questioned him about overseas specialties and incense materials for his Incense Path Compendium.
• Li Ling reflected that the Incense Path needed to organize its knowledge and build its own strength as the chapter shifted to the Northsky Archipelago, where Yellow Cloud True Person met with Commerce Guild members.

Yellow Cloud True Person arrived at Northsky Island to demand justice for her junior, killing the Blood Shark Bandits' Tenth Chieftain and demanding Moon-Sand Island as compensation. She revealed to Elder Shang that her junior had reached Foundation Establishment and that her own failed advancement would lead to apotheosis into an immortal deity, not her death.

• Yellow Cloud True Person burned the Tenth Chieftain to charcoal and ordered the guild to tell the Blood Shark chief to hand over Three-Headed Shark.
• Yellow Cloud True Person reunited with Elder Shang at the Shang Family estate and demanded an estate in the Northsky Archipelago for her junior's mistreatment in Lucky Harbor.
• Yellow Cloud True Person demanded Moon-Sand Island for compensation plus one million in talisman currency, and the guild stewards left to consider the offer.
• Elder Shang privately questioned Yellow Cloud True Person's demand, and Yellow Cloud True Person said her junior had reached Foundation Establishment and could hold the estate.
• Yellow Cloud True Person told Elder Shang that failing to advance would mean apotheosis into an immortal deity of the Heavenly Court, leaving Elder Shang stunned.

Li Ling experimented with ways to use incense in combat and reasoned that Spirit Resonance and dharma power might let fragrance travel against the wind. In the Dream Realm, he bought rainbow flowers and Netherdream Incense from Mo Qingping, then returned home to discover that Mu Qingsi had reached Foundation Establishment.

• Li Ling tested an incense-laden vapor sword and concluded that incense that enhanced himself was more practical than incense used against resistant opponents.
• Li Ling considered how Headwind Incense could transcend airflow through Spirit Resonance and dharma power, and planned to synthesize rainbow flower petals from materials gathered in the Dream Realm.
• Li Ling visited Mo Qingping on Dreamlike Island and bought rainbow flowers, while Mo Qingping could offer only three to five portions of Netherdream Incense.
• Mo Qingping considered distributing the Netherdream Incense formula to expand production, and Li Ling shared advice from his experience managing Li's Incense Workshop.
• Li Ling sensed Mu Qingsi through the mechanism in his room and learned that she had successfully reached Foundation Establishment.

Mu Qingsi celebrated reaching Foundation Establishment and considered which Dao Path to pursue, then tried pill refining with disastrous results. In mid-December, Yellow Cloud True Person summoned Li Ling and Mu Qingsi for a trip to the Northsky Archipelago, leaving its purpose unknown.

• Mu Qingsi told Li Ling she had reached Foundation Establishment and explained that she feared their lifespans would diverge if she could not advance beside him.
• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi discussed her future Dao Path, and she decided to try pill refining because it could complement his Incense Path.
• Mu Qingsi set up an Alchemical Room and attempted to refine pills, but her furnace belched smoke and one of her pills poisoned a rabbit.
• Yellow Cloud True Person told Li Ling to wait at the residence because he would take them to the Northsky Archipelago, but he did not explain why.

Yellow Cloud True Person moved Li Ling and Mu Qingsi to Moon-Sand Island, where she explained how spirit veins supported cultivation and established sects. She gave them the island’s array diagram and urged Mu Qingsi to cultivate swordsmanship to protect herself.

• Yellow Cloud True Person told Li Ling and Mu Qingsi that they would settle overseas and brought them, with the Inner Garden servants, to Moon-Sand Island.
• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi surveyed the island as workers recreated the layout of their former residence.
• Yellow Cloud True Person explained that spirit veins sustained Mountain Gate Grand Arrays and could accelerate cultivation through spirit spring water.
• Yellow Cloud True Person gave Li Ling the island’s array diagram and explained how they could collect spirit spring water starting the following year.
• Yellow Cloud True Person offered Mu Qingsi the Profound Yin Divine Sword Art and advised her to develop swordsmanship for self-defense.

Yellow Cloud True Person taught Mu Qingsi the Profound Yin Divine Sword Art and gave her a Fifth Grade Profound Yin Sword Pellet before bringing her and Li Ling to meet influential figures on Northsky Island. There, they learned the arrangements to transfer Moon-Sand Island into their names were already underway.

• Yellow Cloud True Person explained the Profound Yin Divine Sword Art and taught it to Mu Qingsi, whose transformed yin-nature Dao body suited the technique.
• Yellow Cloud True Person gave Mu Qingsi a Fifth Grade Profound Yin Sword Pellet, and Mu Qingsi tested its powerful, high-speed attack on a reef.
• Yellow Cloud True Person took Li Ling and Mu Qingsi to Northsky Island to meet Elder Shang, Shang Yuxian, Sea Ji, and Zhao Ran.
• Elder Shang welcomed Li Ling and Mu Qingsi and promised to help them establish themselves in the North Sea.
• Shang Yuxian told Mu Qingsi that the transfer of Moon-Sand Island's title deed and associated rights had been handled and that she would oversee the process.

Li Ling met key North Sea cultivators at Yellow Cloud True Person’s gathering and outfitted his household on Moon-Sand Island with sea-race servants and an experienced turtle-demon steward. Yellow Cloud True Person then explained how Elder Shang and Zhao Ran could shape Li Ling’s future in the Incense Path, leaving him to manage those powerful connections himself.

• Yellow Cloud True Person introduced Li Ling and Mu Qingsi to North Sea guild elders, demon kings, and other Core Formation cultivators before discussing household help with the Four Seas Commerce Guild.
• Manager Cui demonstrated shrimp and crab soldiers, and Li Ling chose a shrimp clan to guard Moon-Sand Island after hearing the costs and practical considerations.
• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi selected over a hundred sea-race servants, then hired Gui Yecheng as their outer household’s head butler.
• Li Ling joked to Mu Qingsi that his island was becoming a dragon palace, then reported his selections to Yellow Cloud True Person.
• Yellow Cloud True Person explained that Elder Shang could support Li Ling’s business and that Zhao Ran’s Incense Path enterprises could help him obtain materials, commissions, and a reputation.