Chapter Summaries

Yao Lingxian and a mysterious Grand Elder fled the Sacred Capital as the Incense Perception Cult came under threat. Li Ling manifested before the Incense Transmission Dao disciples, traced the cult to a mansion, and began drawing its Foundation Establishment members into his carriage.

• Yao Lingxian warned his disciples to leave the Sacred Capital, then the mysterious Grand Elder used Universe in the Sleeve to take him out of the city unnoticed.
• Zhu Lisheng summoned Li Ling through incense and introduced him to the Incense Transmission Dao's disciples, whom Li Ling gave magical artifacts.
• Li Ling asked Zhu Lisheng for leads on the Incense Perception Cult, and Zhu Lisheng sent Lü Cheng to guide him.
• Li Ling detected the cult's scent and located a secret hideout at the Lin Duke Mansion, then explained to Lü Cheng how the Incense-Sensing Breath-Nurturing Art could help identify incense essence.
• Li Ling burned Clear-Spirit Phantom-Dream Incense in the carriage and summoned two dazed Foundation Establishment cultivators from the cult, who climbed inside.

Li Ling uncovered how the Incense Perception Cult exploited dreamscapes and commoners, then confronted a mysterious figure whose transformation ability wielded power beyond his apparent cultivation. The figure escaped after Li Ling defeated him in the dream, while Li Ling was left startled by what he discovered.

• Li Ling learned that the Incense Perception Cult used Netherdream Incense to deceive and exploit commoners, with the Divine Dragon Cult backing it to pursue incense and fire prayer power.
• Li Ling drew Yao Lingxian and the Mysterious Figure into the dreamscape and recognized the figure as the blood shadow that had interrupted his Dream-Reversing Heaven Method.
• The Mysterious Figure tried to deceive Li Ling by imitating Zhu Lisheng and then Chi Yun-Zi, but Li Ling’s Yang Spirit body and incense domain overcame the illusions.
• Li Ling bound the Mysterious Figure with the Cicada-Wing Gauze Sash, but the figure dissolved into spiritual light, leaving Li Ling shocked.
• The Mysterious Figure awoke on a barren mountain and told Yao Lingxian that Li Ling’s strength exceeded their expectations; Yao Lingxian worried that they had betrayed the sect.

Li Ling discovered that Zhong Wen and Lin Ce belonged to Yao Lingxian’s Incense Perception Cult lineage and spared them, then decided to send them overseas to the Incense Accumulation Sect’s headquarters. The two resisted the order but were subdued and taken into custody, while Li Ling established exile as a way to handle difficult cases.

• Zhu Lisheng identified Zhong Wen and Lin Ce as True Disciples of Yao Lingxian, and Li Ling chose to spare them because they were part of Li Ying’s lineage.
• Li Ling explained that he had left the Incense Perception Cult’s affairs unresolved while waiting for answers about Yao Lingxian and the possibility that Li Ying might return.
• Li Ling entered Zhong Wen and Lin Ce’s dreams to examine their past, and the two later woke at Zhu Lisheng’s villa.
• Zhong Wen and Lin Ce recognized Li Ling as their patriarch and tried to flatter him when Zhu Lisheng introduced him.
• Li Ling ordered Zhong Wen and Lin Ce to travel to the Que Luo Immortal Abode, then used Spirit-Bewildering Incense to subdue them after they refused.
• Li Ling instructed Zhu Lisheng to exile difficult cases overseas for assessment and sent Zhong Wen and Lin Ce to work in the Immortal Abode’s mines.

Li Ling and Zhu Lisheng arranged with Great Qian to identify and punish Incense Perception Cult followers according to their affiliations and crimes, while the Three Offices began a sweeping crackdown. As Huo Luo ordered Yao Lingxian north, Li Ling learned of the route and decided to pursue him himself.

• Li Ling advised Zhu Lisheng to have Great Qian investigate Incense Perception Cult followers, punish the guilty under its laws, and extradite eligible people to the Incense Accumulation Sect.
• Zhu Lisheng presented the plan to Zhao Kong, who approved it after officials confirmed that Great Qian's laws allowed extradition and penalties for cultivators.
• The Three Offices raided Incense Perception Cult establishments across several provinces, using Li Ling's roster to identify and divide followers for punishment or extradition.
• Huo Luo learned of the agreement between Great Qian and the Incense Accumulation Sect, then ordered Yao Lingxian and his companion to head to Northern Qian Province.
• Li Ling received intelligence that Yao Lingxian was traveling north and decided to pursue him before the Three Offices could find him.

Li Ling found his missing eldest disciple, Li Ying, hiding with Yao Lingxian and demanded an explanation for his apparent betrayal of the sect. Yao Lingxian revealed that Li Ying had been altered by a dangerous Dao Fruit and was entangled in a deadly inheritance struggle, leaving Li Ling to hear the full account of his disciple’s perilous choices.

• Li Ling followed an inexplicable intuition to a ruined Daoist temple, where Li Ying and Yao Lingxian were hiding from the Great Qian authorities.
• Li Ying reassured Yao Lingxian that he would help him cultivate and plotted to use the Divine Dragon Cult to seize its treasures and Dao Fruits.
• Li Ying sensed someone approaching, and Li Ling entered the temple; Li Ying’s disguises fell away until he revealed his true appearance.
• Li Ling accused Li Ying of betraying the sect through his dealings with the Divine Dragon Cult, while Li Ying denied the charge.
• Yao Lingxian knelt and explained that Li Ying had fused with Yan Buyong’s Dao Fruit, been pursued by rivals, and entered a dangerous contest for the inheritance.
• Yao Lingxian said Li Ying had used the Divine Dragon Cult to gather incense offerings and counter the Dao Fruit’s influence, but asked Li Ling for help before their plans brought further harm.

Li Ling confronted Li Ying over the dangerous choices that had led him to Core Formation, but their argument ended with Li Ling severing their master-disciple bond. When Li Ling tried to take Yao Lingxian, the two cultivators clashed, and Li Ying attacked Li Ling’s avatar with Great Clarity Divine Thunder.

• Li Ling accused Li Ying of greed, recklessness, and endangering his disciples and the Incense Perception Cult, while Li Ying defended his gamble as a refusal to accept mediocrity.
• Li Ling ended their master-disciple relationship, and Li Ying said that Li Ling would always remain his master in his heart.
• Li Ling declared that he would take Yao Lingxian with him, but Li Ying stopped him and wrested Yao Lingxian away from his avatar.
• Li Ling revealed a second, identical Yao Lingxian created through the Human Incense Method and trapped Li Ying with the Soul-Seizing Treasure Mirror.
• Li Ying broke free of the mirror’s restraint and filled the temple with blazing clouds before striking Li Ling’s avatar with Great Clarity Divine Thunder.

Li Ling defeated Li Ying in their duel but could not bring himself to kill his former disciple, then left with Yao Lingxian. Their departure was interrupted by the arrival of Huo Luo, a powerful elder of the Divine Dragon Cult who recognized Li Ling.

• Li Ying used techniques from several sects against Li Ling, who deduced that Li Ying changed faces to wield different powers.
• Li Ling outmaneuvered Li Ying and used Spirit-Bewildering Incense to disorient him, but spared him and departed with Yao Lingxian.
• Yao Lingxian questioned why Li Ling had not subdued Li Ying, and Li Ling said Li Ying's heart had left the sect while Yao Lingxian could still be saved.
• Huo Luo arrived and asked why Li Ling was taking away a member of the Divine Dragon Cult.
• Huo Luo recognized Li Ling as the renowned True Person of the North Sea and introduced himself as an elder of the Divine Dragon Cult.

Li Ling used Formless Incense to escape Huo Luo with Yao Lingxian, leaving Huo Luo confused and unable to remember their encounter. Li Ying then ambushed Huo Luo, stole his knowledge of the Great Void Dragon-Transformation Art, and attacked him with his own power.

• Huo Luo challenged Li Ling over taking Yao Lingxian and transformed into a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon to attack him.
• Li Ling hid himself and Yao Lingxian with Formless Incense, making Huo Luo forget who he was fighting, then left with Yao Lingxian.
• Li Ying arrived and pinned Huo Luo with a Coffin Nail while a shadow extracted Huo Luo's knowledge of the Great Void Dragon-Transformation Art.
• Huo Luo broke free at the cost of more than three hundred years of cultivation, but Li Ying transformed into a divine dragon and turned the Dragon-Claw Flying Knife against him.
• Li Ying struck Huo Luo with divine lightning and dove after him, crashing into the ground and collapsing several nearby peaks.

Li Ling explained why Li Ying might have been changed through Soul Possession, then realized that Scent Identification revealed how perception shaped fragrance and stench, bringing his Dharma power close to the Nascent Soul Realm. News later arrived that Huo Luo had returned wounded while Li Ying's whereabouts remained unknown, and Li Ling ordered Zhu Lisheng not to investigate further.

• Li Ling told Yao Lingxian that Li Ying might have been replaced through Soul Possession, though Yao Lingxian doubted the claim.
• Li Ling brought Yao Lingxian to the Sacred Capital, left him with Zhu Lisheng, and asked Great Qian to eradicate the Incense Perception Cult's forces.
• While meditating, Li Ling understood that fragrance and stench reflected perception, and his Dharma power began to show Nascent Soul-level qualities.
• Zhu Lisheng reported that Huo Luo had returned wounded from a magical battle and Li Ying was missing.
• Li Ling told Zhu Lisheng to leave the matter alone.

Li Ling met One-Mind Daoist and asked what the Dragon-Seeking Society had learned about Yan Buyong’s death twenty-one years earlier. One-Mind Daoist suspected Yan Buyong had killed himself, and Li Ling left uncertain about what his former disciple Li Ying had become or whether they would meet again.

• Li Ling met One-Mind Daoist in a secluded valley, and they discussed the Dragon-Seeking Society’s difficulties and the cultivation world’s changing fortunes.
• Li Ling asked what had happened twenty-one years earlier, and One-Mind Daoist explained that Yan Buyong had practiced a Reincarnation Path derived from the Netherworld Sect.
• One-Mind Daoist said Yan Buyong’s method could evade the Heavenly Dao, making him a target for the Mystic Heaven Dao Venerable, but the latter may have been too occupied with self-slaying and Dao integration to intervene.
• One-Mind Daoist proposed that Yan Buyong had killed himself, noting that the evidence and the suspicious legacy left behind supported the possibility.
• One-Mind Daoist warned Li Ling that Li Ying might no longer be the person he once knew, and Li Ling sensed that they would meet again under changed circumstances.

Li Ling learned from One-Mind Daoist that the renewed conflict between the immortal and demonic paths was connected to an approaching cataclysm and the struggle to shape the next era. After completing his work on the Mystic Continent, Li Ling returned to his true body and suddenly realized something about his surroundings.

• One-Mind Daoist explained that Yan Buyong may have used the Thousand-Face Illusion Art and a ritual death to pursue Ten-Thousand-Lifetime Reincarnation, while Li Ying and Nan Zengyu might be searching for a suitable successor.
• One-Mind Daoist told Li Ling that Yan Buyong was likely a Netherworld Sect piece in preparations to establish the Underworld, setting the stage for renewed wars between immortals and demons.
• One-Mind Daoist described the universe’s past eras and explained that an apocalyptic cataclysm could strip cultivators of their cultivation, prompting Li Ling to infer that the factions were vying for authority over the next era.
• Li Ling and One-Mind Daoist made agreements about cooperation between the Incense Accumulation Sect and the Dragon-Seeking Society, then parted on good terms.
• At the end of the month, Li Ling dispersed his avatar and performed Soul-Returning Reentry; after waking from seclusion, he looked around his room and Immortal Abode and abruptly understood something.

Li Ling traced the origins of Jun Heaven through a vision of an ancient being’s Cave Heaven becoming a world ruled by its own will, and concluded that the Que Luo Immortal Abode was tied to Jun Heaven and his future enlightenment. After resolving to advance toward Nascent Soul through earthly incense, he arranged for Nie Yingzhi to welcome Yao Lingxian and the others to the sect.

• Li Ling told Mu Qingsi what Senior Yixin had revealed and discussed how the Que Luo Immortal Abode could be both an opportunity and a danger.
• Li Ling repeatedly used the Dream-Reversing Great Art and finally witnessed an ancient being’s inner world form, flourish, and perish, leaving behind the will called Jun Heaven.
• Li Ling researched ancient legends and concluded that stars were ancient cultivators’ Cave Heavens and that successive powers had contended to become the Heavenly Dao.
• Li Ling suspected the Que Luo Immortal Abode had belonged to First Jun Heaven or one of Jun Heaven’s incarnations, and reaffirmed his plan to pursue Nascent Soul through earthly incense.
• After learning that Yao Lingxian, Zhong Wen, Lin Ce, and the others had arrived, Li Ling ordered Nie Yingzhi to welcome them, show them around, and bring them to meet him.

Yao Lingxian, Zhong Wen, and Lin Ce arrived at the Incense Accumulation Sect, where Li Ling offered them a path to rebuild the Incense Perception Cult branch while requiring them to retrain in the Incense Path. Their doubts about abandoning their old cultivation methods were crushed when Bai Xiaohuan defeated Zhong Wen and Lin Ce in a spar, leaving them to accept the change.

• Nie Yingzhi welcomed Yao Lingxian, Zhong Wen, Lin Ce, and their followers, then showed them the Incense Accumulation Sect’s grounds and explained its schools, holdings, and opportunities for disciples to establish branches.
• Li Ling told Nie Yingzhi to raise more true disciples and praised Zhu Lisheng for spreading the Incense Path, while criticizing Li Ying for failing to build its foundations.
• Li Ling told Yao Lingxian, Zhong Wen, and Lin Ce to retrain for sixty years, learn the Incense-Sensing Breath-Nurturing Art, and pass the sect’s tests before receiving true disciple status.
• Zhong Wen and Lin Ce questioned whether they needed to abandon the Five-Element Primordial Chaos Art, so Li Ling called Bai Xiaohuan to demonstrate the difference between their cultivation and that of the sect.
• Bai Xiaohuan knocked Zhong Wen down with a punch and buried Lin Ce in the mud with her carrot, after which both men accepted that they and their followers would have to change cultivation methods.

Li Ling investigated the Divine Dragon Cult’s schemes and helped Yao Lingxian and the other former Incense Perception Cult disciples find new places in the Incense Accumulation Sect. After the first group earned pardons and the old cult’s remnants were nearly cleared, Li Ling felt his ties to the matter break; that evening, Chi Yingting advanced to Core Formation.

• Li Ling questioned Yao Lingxian about the Divine Dragon Cult’s apocalyptic deception, its use of Netherdream Incense, and the Netherworld Sect’s involvement.
• Nie Yingzhi taught Yao Lingxian the Incense-Sensing Breath-Nurturing Art, while Zhong Wen and Lin Ce found suitable work in business and artifact refining.
• Li Ling arranged for Yao Lingxian to cultivate his incense aptitude and potentially spread the teachings around the Boli Kingdom.
• Li Ling pardoned the first reviewed group of Incense Perception Cult disciples and reduced the sentences of others who had not committed grave crimes.
• Li Ling sensed that his ties to the Incense Perception Cult had ended, and news arrived that Chi Yingting had advanced to Core Formation.

Chi Yingting returned to the Incense Accumulation Sect as a Core Formation cultivator who had advanced the Incense Path, and Li Ling formally named him heir to the Dao lineage and charged him with revising its methods. With the sect reorganized and its future secured, Li Ling prepared to travel in search of earthly incense and his own advancement.

• Li Ling summoned the branch leaders after Chi Yingting proved himself worthy of support, then welcomed him back from Goldsource Island with a grand ceremony.
• Chi Yingting presented his Incense Path achievements, including the Floating Incense Art and Myriad Incenses Transforming into Rainbows Chapter, and Li Ling confirmed that he had reached Core Formation through incense.
• Li Ling appointed Chi Yingting a Transmission Hall elder and chief elder of the Council of Elders, naming him heir to the Dao lineage and placing him in charge of transmitting and refining the Incense Path.
• Li Ling reformed the sect’s governing structure and authorized Chi Yingting to compile the Incense Path Compendium across its cultivation stages.
• Li Ling told Chi Yingting that he intended to leave the sect and travel as a rogue cultivator to seek earthly incense and pursue advancement.

Li Ling prepared the Incense Accumulation Sect for his departure and used dream divination to seek the superior-grade orchid material needed for his next breakthrough. His vision pointed him toward Jade Lang Mountain in the West Sea, where a future raid on the Four Seas Commerce Guild’s branch headquarters might reveal the treasure he sought.

• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi entrusted Chi Yingting with the Water-Moon Mirror and Soul-Seizing Mirror, then gave the sect forty-nine time-resistant incense treasures for its disciples to preserve and study.
• After the disciples left, Chi Yingting and the others concluded that Li Ling was preparing to leave the sect and agreed to keep his travels secret from outsiders.
• Li Ling meditated with the Dream-Reversing Heaven Method and received the prophecy, “Orchid-Inspired Enlightenment,” which he and Mu Qingsi interpreted as a sign that he needed a superior-grade orchid spirit material.
• Li Ling ordered his forces to search for fragrant treasures and continued divining, then dreamed of a market ward being attacked and plundered by a Nascent Soul cultivator riding a Sea-Tower Behemoth.
• Li Ling sensed an extraordinary orchid fragrance in the dream, identified the setting as Jade Lang Mountain, the West Sea Branch Headquarters of the Four Seas Commerce Guild, and resolved to travel there quickly.

Li Ling and Mu Qingsi crossed the world’s edge from the North Sea into the troubled West Sea and traveled to Li Mountain to meet the Le Household. Rogue cultivators attacked them as they approached, and Li Ling captured their leader to learn what was happening.

• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi followed the Returning Ruins’ edge, crossing more than two hundred thousand li while flying just over twenty thousand li.
• Li Ling sensed a foul odor throughout the West Sea and learned from Mu Qingsi that demonic turmoil and human disasters had devastated the region.
• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi disguised themselves and headed toward Li Mountain, where the Le Household was preparing to relocate to the North Sea.
• Four rogue cultivators blocked their route and accused them of being reinforcements for Li Mountain before launching an attack.
• Li Ling used the Wind Spirit Butterfly to kill two attackers, and Mu Qingsi killed the black-clad woman.
• Li Ling captured the remaining brawler alive so he could question him about the dispute.

Li Ling and Mu Qingsi learned that Li Mountain had fallen to Immortal Long’s Rogue Cultivator Alliance and planned to infiltrate the Dragon Palace by posing as ancient demon nobles. After Li Ling sent Lin Rouniang to kill a fleeing bandit before he could report them, the pair searched nearby and discovered a Dragonhead Treasure Ship.

• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi questioned a Foundation Establishment bandit and learned about Immortal Long, the fallen Li Mountain, and the region’s turmoil.
• Li Ling spared the bandit publicly so he could follow him to the Dragon Palace, while he and Mu Qingsi planned to pose as Nine-Infant descendants.
• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi surveyed Li Mountain’s ruined market ward, then followed the bandit’s trail toward the Dragon Palace.
• The bandit fled to a refuge and reached for a Communication Talisman, but Lin Rouniang trapped him in a nightmare and killed him before he could send a message.
• Li Ling sensed the bandit’s death, searched the area with Mu Qingsi, and found a Dragonhead Treasure Ship.

Li Ling and Mu Qingsi infiltrated Immortal Long’s ship by posing as heavenly demon nobility and used the Mind-Harmony Incense to win his trust. Immortal Long welcomed them as distant relatives, but when he introduced other guests at the banquet, Li Ling recognized the aura of the Netherworld Sect.

• Li Ling and Mu Qingsi claimed to be descendants of the Nine-Infant lineage and persuaded the lookout to escort them aboard Immortal Long’s ship.
• Li Ling used the Mind-Harmony Incense and details learned from Ju Huang to convince General Zhilong and Hai Zhenming of their fabricated identities.
• Immortal Long arrived, welcomed Li Ling and Mu Qingsi, and invited them to a banquet after they praised his reputation.
• Li Ling and Immortal Long established a friendly bond as distant relatives, while Immortal Long showed them whales being slaughtered for Blood Pills.
• Li Ling noticed that some of the guests arriving for the evening banquet carried the aura of the Netherworld Sect.

Li Ling and Mu Qingsi attended Immortal Long’s banquet and discovered that Netherworld Sect members were secretly seeking his help to open the Water Demon Palace. Immortal Long refused, while Illusionist’s group resolved to proceed with their mission regardless.

• Immortal Long welcomed Li Ling, Mu Qingsi, and a crowd of cultivators to his ship for a month-long fair celebrating the capture of Li Mountain.
• Li Ling learned that Illusionist and other Netherworld Sect cultivators had secretly helped breach Li Mountain Island’s grand array and suspected they were trying to create unrest.
• Li Ling projected his soul and followed Immortal Long and the Netherworld Sect members to spy on their private discussion.
• Immortal Long refused to help open the Water Demon Palace, warning his granddaughter that releasing its fiends could devastate the West Sea.
• Illusionist’s group discussed Immortal Long’s refusal and decided to move quickly with the Demon Venerable’s orders, even if conditions did not permit it.