Chapter Summaries

Li Ling discovered that surviving the Filth Abyss had purified his spirit and advanced his Incense Path, allowing his intent to produce incense essence directly. His new treasures and a vision of Daoist Hao suggested the Filth Abyss was key to developing Dust-Transcending Incense, but as he considered returning, an unknown presence entered his dreamscape.

• Li Ling told Elder Shang that the Merfolk had agreed to withdraw their troops, then accepted her offer to have Shang Yuxian handle arrangements in Deepwater Guestland.
• Li Ling realized that the Filth Abyss had purified his spirit, advancing the Myriad Wonders Incense Transformation Art into a law that let his intent produce fragrance.
• Li Ling examined his treasures from the Filth Abyss, discovered that the Heart-Reflecting Mirror revealed Lin Rouniang's true form, and found that Filth Abyss water suppressed the Blood Spirit Bride.
• Li Ling connected the porous crystals and his purification in the Filth Abyss to the Dust-Transcending Incense, then used the Dream-Reversing Heaven Method to confirm that Daoist Hao had entered the Abyss.
• Li Ling considered asking Sea Ji to let him return to the Filth Abyss, but sensed a faint fragrance enter his dreamscape and realized someone had slipped in.

Li Ling was drawn into a dream by a mysterious merfolk woman who tried to bewitch him, then spent the next day wondering who had targeted him as he navigated the Merfolk Kingdom’s attention. He decided to stay in Deepwater Guestland and planned to visit a large gathering in Great Abyssland to see the kingdom for himself.

• Li Ling resisted a mysterious merfolk woman’s dream-entry and bewitching song, drove her away with a flame-covered wooden dragon, and suspected she might be Sea Ji, her mother, or another clan member.
• Die'er told Li Ling that General Lianju had come to apologize, and Lianju arrived with wine and invited Li Ling to visit his home.
• Several Demon Kings invited Li Ling to visit, but he noticed his unusual allure had weakened and decided not to flee Deepwater Guestland.
• Li Ling told Sea Ji he wanted to travel around the Merfolk Kingdom, then asked Die'er about local attractions.
• Die'er told Li Ling that tribes would gather in Great Abyssland in a few days to trade, including with visiting human rogue cultivators, and Li Ling decided to see it for himself.

Li Ling explored the Market Gathering in Great Abyssland and saw how human goods and sea specialties were exchanged. When he urged Sea Ji to open stable trade with humans, she explained the Merfolk Kingdom’s history of conflict and its policy of protecting its way of life, leaving no possibility of expanded trade for now.

• Li Ling toured the Market Gathering with Die'er, bought incense materials, and learned that spirit materials were usually purchased with spirit pearls or traded by barter.
• Li Ling met human cultivators selling mundane goods to sea demons and learned they were rogue cultivators working through the Treasure Pavilion.
• Li Ling visited demon cultivator caravans and asked Sea Ji why the Merfolk Kingdom did not expand trade with humans.
• Sea Ji explained that human plundering, slave hunting, and past wars had bred deep grudges, while extensive trade threatened to alter the Demon Race’s customs and livelihoods.
• Sea Ji rejected the possibility of opening the kingdom’s borders for stable trade unless the merfolk could influence humans and control integration.

Li Ling negotiated a limited barter trade with Sea Ji and invited the Merfolk to visit the Incense Accumulation Sect, then began teaching Die'er to read. He ended by offering to teach her incense-making, opening a possible new path for cooperation with the Merfolk.

• Sea Ji offered Li Ling private credentials to trade goods with the Merfolk Kingdom, and they agreed that purchases would be paid for through barter.
• Li Ling asked Sea Ji to send Merfolk to visit his sect, and she agreed to arrange a visit when an opportunity arose.
• Li Ling discovered that Die'er could not read Travels in the Merfolk Kingdom and explained how books passed down people's experiences and ideas.
• Li Ling taught Die'er a method for learning characters, and she quickly began reading the book and copying unfamiliar characters onto bamboo slips.
• Li Ling asked Die'er whether she would like to learn how to make incense.

Li Ling taught Die'er the Incense Path and began exploring ways to improve its cultivation methods, including developing Skin-Fumigating Incense and safely using Filth Abyss Water. After Sea Ji learned that Die'er had been studying under him, she summoned Die'er for an explanation while Li Ling was away.

• Li Ling taught Die'er how to make incense and explained the Incense Path’s cultivation methods, giving her a copy of the Concise Incense Canon.
• Li Ling reflected on how to extend the Incense Path beyond foundation establishment and began experimenting with Skin-Fumigating Incense to help Die'er cultivate.
• Shang Yuxian and her party arrived from Faraway with war reparations, while Li Ling met Shang Yuxian and then continued teaching Die'er.
• Li Ling noticed that incense fragrance had not penetrated beyond Die'er's skin and considered using Filth Abyss Water to cleanse her, but held back because it might be dangerous.
• Qing'er came to Stone Cave and took Die'er to Sea Ji, who questioned her about learning the Incense Path from Li Ling.
• Die'er honestly recounted how Li Ling had taught her, and Sea Ji chuckled at the explanation.

Li Ling discovered that the Holy Water Festival might preserve the lost method for drawing purifying water from the Filth Abyss, which could advance his incense research. After learning that the Merfolk Empress might know the method, he secretly used Returning Soul Incense and the Dream-Reversing Heaven Method to revisit his descent into the abyss and search for hidden records.

• Sea Ji praised Li Ling's teaching and urged Die'er to study diligently, then Li Ling made Die'er a teaching assistant for the mermaids who asked to learn reading and incense-making.
• Li Ling took Die'er to the Holy Water Festival on Pu'er Island and recognized that its history might concern cleansing demonic miasma with water from the Filth Abyss.
• Li Ling recalled conflicting historical accounts and realized that the festival's origin could reveal a way to make purifying holy water for his incense methods.
• Sea Ji confirmed that the Filth Abyss connection was likely true, but said the method for bringing out its water had been lost and might be known to the Merfolk Empress.
• Li Ling suspected records remained in the Filth Abyss and secretly projected his soul to reenact his earlier descent using the Dream-Reversing Heaven Method.

Li Ling used the Dream-Reversing Heaven Method to uncover a merfolk woman watching his descent into the Filth Abyss, then developed Elephant-Treasure Incense to use its purifying water in his cultivation. After testing it on Die'er, he helped her cleanse herself and make rapid progress in the Incense Path, leaving her advancing toward Foundation Establishment.

• Li Ling retraced his journey into the Filth Abyss and found a beautiful merfolk woman watching his past self descend more than ten thousand zhang.
• The merfolk woman sensed something unusual, searched the dark waters, and returned to a giant clam shell.
• Li Ling drew on Buddhist scriptures and his knowledge of incense to formulate Elephant-Treasure Incense using agarwood and purifying water leaves.
• Die'er returned to Li Ling's cave and watched him test the golden incense, which purified her and made her feel as though she were bathing in rain.
• Li Ling gave Die'er Sweetbrier Blossom Dew, and she bathed in it to strengthen the incense's effect.
• Li Ling continued cleansing Die'er with Elephant-Treasure Incense, helping her cultivate her own human incense, master two incense methods, enter the Qi Refining Realm, and pursue Foundation Establishment.

Li Ling discussed the cultivation method he had developed for Die'er with Sea Ji and proposed broader trade between the Merfolk Kingdom and the Incense Accumulation Sect. Sea Ji agreed to begin a trial next year, while Li Ling planned to keep the arrangement hidden from the Merchant Association.

• Li Ling considered how his incense-fumigation method might help humans with poor spirit root aptitude cultivate, though he still needed to test whether Filth Abyss water from shallower depths would work.
• Sea Ji questioned Die'er about her rapid cultivation progress and learned that Li Ling had taught her a complete incense-based cultivation method and shared its formulas with the Merfolk.
• Li Ling assured Sea Ji that he sought no control over the Merfolk and asked to expand mutual trade in Filth Abyss water and related spirit materials.
• Li Ling proposed voluntary trade through the Auspicious Ward Incense Market, with sea spirit pearls as payment, and said the Merfolk would retain control of their own affairs.
• Sea Ji agreed to oversee a trial of the trade starting next year, and Li Ling decided to keep the arrangement from the Merchant Association and avoid using a middleman.

Li Ling returned from the Merfolk Kingdom to find pirates threatening Northsky Island and the Merchant Association delaying its search for the culprit who had wronged the merfolk. Using soul projection, he discovered black market traders secretly showing pirates the island’s defenses, revealing a dangerous betrayal that he resolved to investigate.

• Li Ling and Shang Yuxian returned to Northsky Island, where Elder Shang admitted the Merchant Association had not yet found the true culprit and appointed Li Ling a senior member of the North Sea Branch Council of Elders.
• Li Ling reunited with Mu Qingsi, who told him that pirates had attacked shipping routes, killed rogue cultivators, and severely disrupted trade around Northsky Island.
• After learning the island’s leaders were hesitating to confront the pirates, Li Ling decided to investigate the culprit himself.
• Li Ling used soul projection to witness black market traders secretly meeting men from a boat and showing them Northsky Island’s arrays, restrictions, and patrol deployments.
• Li Ling concluded the traders were colluding with pirates and decided to uncover who was helping them prepare an attack on the island.

Li Ling traced the people colluding with the Blood Shark Bandits to the Zhu Household, then secretly observed their plot to silence Pang Shuo and pledge themselves to the Blood Shark King. He realized the Zhu Household was helping the enemy target the island, making the crisis far more urgent than he had expected.

• Li Ling used soul projection and remembered faces to uncover a Blood Shark Bandit operative and follow his contacts to the Zhu Household.
• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi discussed how to expose the Zhu Household without drawing the Merchant Association's suspicion onto Li Ling.
• Zhu Shan and Han Xiu planned to kill Pang Shuo and use him as a scapegoat for their crimes against the merfolk.
• Huo Jiu trapped Pang Shuo in a sealed minor cave heaven, poisoned him, and attacked while the banquet continued unaware.
• Li Ling secretly watched Zhu Shan and Han Xiu and discovered that the Zhu Household had pledged itself to the Blood Shark King and sold him the city's defensive intelligence.

Li Ling learned that the Blood Shark Bandits planned to attack Northsky Island in two days and uncovered the Zhu Household’s plot to eliminate Han Xiu. After killing Zhu Kuang and taking the Water-Moon Mirror, Li Ling waited as Zhu Shan killed Han Xiu inside it, then trapped Zhu Shan when he emerged.

• Li Ling overheard Huo Jiu and Zhu Kuang confirm that the Blood Shark Bandits would attack Northsky Island the day after tomorrow.
• Zhu Kuang ordered Zhu Shan to kill Han Xiu, explaining that Han Xiu knew too much about the Zhu Household’s dealings.
• Li Ling warned Han Xiu that Zhu Shan intended to kill him, prompting Han Xiu to flee, but Zhu Shan and Zhu Kuang sealed him inside the Water-Moon Mirror.
• Li Ling ambushed Zhu Kuang with incense, killed him, took the Water-Moon Mirror, and waited for the fight inside it to end.
• Zhu Shan killed Han Xiu inside the mirror and emerged wounded, where Li Ling immobilized him with incense.

After the Jade-Carving Pavilion's crimes were exposed, the Zhu Household's links to the Blood Shark Bandits came to light, and Elder Shang warned that the pirates might attack early. The Blood Shark Bandits launched their assault on Northsky Island the next day, and Li Ling faced the arrival of their formidable Second and Third Chieftains.

• A rogue cultivator used Han Xiu's remnant soul to reveal that Zhu Shan had killed him with the Water-Moon Mirror, prompting the guests to expose the Jade-Carving Pavilion's crimes.
• The island guards and rogue cultivators discovered evidence tying the Jade-Carving Pavilion to the Zhu Family Trading House and the Blood Shark Bandits, and the Council of Elders moved to seize the Zhu shops and hunt Zhu Shan and Zhu Kuang.
• Elder Shang told Li Ling that the Zhu Household's patriarch had fled by sea and warned that the Blood Shark Bandits might attack ahead of schedule.
• The Blood Shark Bandits launched a large-scale assault on Northsky Island, and Elder Shang explained that the Merchant Association's Core Formation cultivators would struggle against the pirates' leaders.
• The Jade-Eyed Demon King and Blood Lion flew out from the pirate flagship, and their overwhelming presence alarmed Li Ling and the defenders.

The Blood Shark Bandits broke through Northsky Island’s defenses and plundered its eastern districts, taking prominent residents hostage. The next day, Tong Zhifeng arrived to deliver letters from the captives to their families, effectively demanding ransom.

• The Blood Lion King and Jade-Eyed Demon King entered the Incense Array as the Blood Shark Bandits attacked Northsky Island, while pirates set fires to distract the defenders.
• The pirates used Thunderclap Cannons to expose and destroy a vulnerable formation point, then broke through the great array and stormed the island’s warehouses and residences.
• The Merchant Association abandoned the eastern districts and regrouped on the main island as the pirates looted, killed resistors, and captured stewards and young members of prominent households.
• Li Ling worried about the safety of his residence and servants, noting that the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals might flee or turn to looting if the estate fell.
• After a day and night of fighting, Tong Zhifeng entered the Merchant Association council hall and handed letters from captured family members to their relatives.

Li Ling watched the Blood Shark Bandits extort ransom and travel expenses from the households and factions around Northsky Island, while the Incense Accumulation Sect refused to pay. He secretly followed Tong Zhifeng and discovered the pirates’ leaders divided stolen goods under a system that sent shares to the Blood Shark King and powerful households ashore.

• Tong Zhifeng collected ransom from Wang for his captured wife and demanded that nearby factions each contribute one million in travel expenses.
• Li Ling refused to let the Incense Accumulation Sect pay, while several households chose to pay and the Dragon Household and others refused.
• Li Ling projected his soul and followed Tong Zhifeng to a Treasure Pavilion where Blood Shark Bandit leaders discussed which factions to target.
• Blood Lion warned the pirates not to provoke the Incense Accumulation Sect, while Li Du questioned whether Li Ling remained protected by Mystic Xin Peak.
• Blood Lion ordered the pirates to divide their loot, with portions sent to the Blood Shark King and their households ashore, as Li Ling suspected local families had helped the raid.

Li Ling learned that the Blood Shark Bandits planned to make the Incense Accumulation Sect their shore-side patron, then raided the pirates and killed Huo Jiu. He discovered Huo Jiu's Treasure Pouch held plunder worth at least a hundred million and prepared to erase the traces that could lead pursuers to him.

• Tong Zhifeng proposed using commercial ties and blackmail to turn the Incense Accumulation Sect into a shore-side patron, and Blood Lion agreed to let him approach Li Ling.
• Li Ling told Mu Qingsi what he had learned and resolved to keep the Incense Path on an honorable course.
• Li Ling used soul projection to kill pirate lackeys and distract the Blood Shark Bandits' leaders while he searched for Huo Jiu.
• Li Ling tracked Huo Jiu to a Zhu Household property, rescued a victim's true spirit from Huo Jiu's ghost monster, and killed Huo Jiu.
• Li Ling opened Huo Jiu's Treasure Pouch with human incense and found plunder worth at least a hundred million.
• Li Ling hid the Treasure Pouch and asked Mu Qingsi to guard him while he used Dreamscape Reversal to remove traces that might allow powerful experts to track him.

Li Ling tried to master the Zhu Household’s Water-Moon Mirror, but Zhu Zhiping used a blood sacrifice to summon it back. Li Ling marked the mirror with Returning Soul Incense and followed it, trapping Zhu Zhiping and the surviving Zhu Household members inside its Cave Heaven before incapacitating them.

• After Huo Jiu’s death, the Merchant Association ordered Li Ling to help repair Northsky Island’s grand array and watch for stolen incense entering circulation.
• As the Blood Shark Bandits’ attack weakened, Lin Ji suggested they might be preparing to flee, and Li Ling secretly studied the Water-Moon Mirror with Mu Qingsi.
• Li Ling imitated Zhu Kuang’s aura to gain control of the mirror’s Restrictions, but discovered its ancestral safeguards and a concealed Core Formation contingency.
• Zhu Zhiping and the Zhu Household elders performed a blood sacrifice to summon the Water-Moon Mirror back to them.
• Li Ling marked the mirror with Returning Soul Incense before it vanished, then followed its scent to the Zhu Household’s ship.
• The mirror trapped Zhu Zhiping and the surviving Zhu Household members inside its Cave Heaven, where Li Ling attacked them and overwhelmed Zhu Zhiping with incense.

Li Ling secretly wiped out the Zhu Household’s remaining leaders and stole their wealth, leaving the Blood Shark Bandits searching for an invisible enemy. Back on Northsky Island, he accepted a commission to replenish the Merchant Association’s incense supplies and demanded ten times the offered price.

• Tong Zhifeng pursued the fleeing Zhu Household’s Treasure Ship, and the Jade-Eyed Demon King joined him in investigating its claims about an attack.
• Tong Zhifeng and the Jade-Eyed Demon King learned that an impostor had impersonated the Demon King and killed Zhu Zhiping, then ordered the Zhu Household to return and accept incorporation.
• Li Ling used Spirit-Bewildering Incense to trap the Zhu Household’s leaders again, silently killed them, and took their treasures and profits.
• Tong Zhifeng and the Jade-Eyed Demon King discovered the deaths, concluded that the hidden enemy had infiltrated their ship, and urged the Blood Shark King to enlist Old Ancestor Stone Octopus.
• Li Ling returned to Northsky Island, concealed his acquisitions, and agreed to replenish the Merchant Association’s incense supplies for ten times the offered price.

Li Ling exploited the Blood Shark Bandits’ planned withdrawal to expand his shipping business and secretly tracked them to a black-market exchange where they sold their plunder. As Third Chieftain Blood Lion warned Jade-Eyed Demon King about an unknown enemy, Li Ling found the pirates’ market and began observing it.

• Li Ling negotiated a fivefold price for supplies, expanded his shipping operations, and used soul departure to confirm that the Blood Shark Bandits intended to withdraw.
• Li Ling chartered the Flying Boat Guild’s cargo ships and secretly followed the bandits by tracing the Zhu Household’s treasure ship.
• Tong Zhifeng and Shang Ningzhen hosted black-market traders, selling water spirit pearls and other stolen goods while the pirates celebrated their spoils.
• Blood Lion explained the five virtues behind the bandits’ success and warned Jade-Eyed Demon King that their unknown opponent could become a formidable enemy.
• Blood Lion proposed using the stolen goods and their karmic ties to expose their opponent, while Li Ling’s soul reached the black market and surveyed the gathering.

While observing the Blood Shark Bandits, Li Ling learned about their leaders, defenses, and Black Market connections, then created Copper-Stench Bewitching Incense to exploit their greed. He secretly spread it among the pirates and traders, triggering a bloody brawl that Xu Yan mistook for a planned betrayal by the Four Seas Commerce Guild.

• Li Ling studied the pirates’ organization and dealings, memorized their connections, and learned the identities and strengths of several chieftains.
• After observing the gathering for three days, Li Ling discovered Blood Lion’s anti-Dao Body treasures and the nearby One-Horned White Whale.
• Li Ling refined Copper-Stench Bewitching Incense and explained to Mu Qingsi how his headwind incense could spread it without revealing his identity.
• Li Ling secretly spread the incense among the gathered pirates and traders, overwhelming the greed of those below Foundation Establishment.
• An underling lunged for a chest of goods, a Black Market guard killed him, and the ensuing greed-fueled fight spread through the gathering.
• When Xu Yan learned of the fighting, he suspected the traders had secretly sided with the Four Seas Commerce Guild.

Li Ling used the Copper-Stench Bewitching Incense to turn greed and suspicion among the Blood Shark Bandits and Black Market Traders into chaos. After Blood Lion ordered the fleets to disperse, Li Ling targeted Eighth Chieftain Xu Yan’s flagship, where Xu Yan and those around him began collapsing.

• Xu Yan warned his subordinates and secured his forces as the fighting over the beach’s goods intensified.
• Tong Zhifeng recognized that the incense might be stirring greed, while Blood Lion warned the other chieftains that a dangerous mastermind could be among them.
• Blood Lion identified Ninth Chieftain Li Du as a likely would-be robber, then learned that Li Du had been killed and his ship had fallen into chaos.
• Blood Lion ordered the fleets to disperse and forbade attacks, prompting Li Ling to admire his judgment before choosing Xu Yan’s flagship as his next target.
• Li Ling reached Xu Yan’s ship, and Xu Yan and the people beside him suddenly collapsed and died.