Chapter Summaries

Li Ling returned to the Incense Accumulation Sect after reaching Spirit Transformation, defeated the Ghost Immortals, and destroyed Xin Yue’s avatar while warning him that he would settle accounts later. The sect celebrated Li Ling’s advancement and prepared to summon the souls of its dead, before a heavenly official arrived with an imperial edict investing him as an Immortal Venerable.

• Li Ling used the Soul-Summoning Method and the Myriad Incenses techniques to defeat the four Ghost Immortals, trapping the Blood Corpse Sect elder’s hidden mind in an endless dream.
• Li Ling’s divine sense overcame Xin Yue’s defenses with help from the Corpse Kun’s blood essence, seized his avatar, and destroyed it after threatening to confront him in person.
• Zhan Li and the Incense Accumulation Sect welcomed Li Ling back, and he ordered an altar and incense banquet prepared to summon the souls of the sect’s dead.
• Li Ling explained that he would develop Soul-Guiding Incense as a law-level soul-summoning method and let the sect’s disciples observe the ritual.
• Nie Yingzhi returned with the spirit-communing precious jade and reported that Pei Qingguang had entrusted the Money Guild’s secret treasure to the sect; Li Ling sent Chi Yingting to the Long Sea to rescue Luo Jingwei.
• A heavenly official arrived with an imperial edict investing Li Ling as the Incense Accumulation Immortal Venerable and congratulating him on reaching Spirit Transformation.

Li Ling received his Immortal Venerable title and learned that troubles across the realms left the seas vulnerable, so he set out to reclaim Goldsource Island and confront Xin Yue. As Grand Elder Qiu secretly moved against the Qian Household to seize the Money Guild’s treasures, Pei Qingguang realized the danger, while Li Ling learned of the plan en route.

• True Lord Guangde delivered the Heavenly Court’s decree naming Li Ling Incense Accumulation Immortal Venerable and gave him a confidential letter about crises across the realms.
• Li Ling summoned the North Sea gods, announced he would reclaim Goldsource Island, and said he planned to settle accounts with Xin Yue in the East Sea.
• Wan Yong urged Grand Elder Qiu to abandon the Demonic Path, but Qiu pretended to consider switching sides while secretly conspiring with Qian Ding and Qian Feng to force open the Secret Vault.
• Grand Elder Qiu and the Qian Household elders removed Jin Yuanbo’s authority and entered the passage to the Treasure Vault, while Pei Qingguang learned of their plan too late.
• Li Ling received news that Qiu Tianxing and the others had entered the Treasure Vault to seize the Dao Artifacts and flee.

Li Ling saw Qiu Tianxing’s betrayal as an opportunity for the Incense Accumulation Sect and ordered Wan Yong to watch the Treasure-Gathering Basin and Goldsource Island. Qiu Tianxing escaped with the Gold Mountain, while the island changed hands and Pei Qingguang ordered his Dao Artifacts recovered.

• Li Ling agreed with his disciples that Qiu Tianxing’s betrayal created an opportunity and sent Wan Yong to monitor the Treasure-Gathering Basin and the plans on Goldsource Island.
• Qiu Tianxing trapped the Qian Household in the Money Cave Heaven passage, seized the Gold Mountain from Qian Ding, and escaped while abandoning his followers.
• Wan Yong failed to intercept Qiu Tianxing, and the Money Guild’s neutral Grand Elders refused to pursue him as Qian Ding arranged for Qian Feng and Qian Ming to flee.
• Qian Feng and Qian Ming escaped Goldsource Island with several Netherworld Sect Messengers, while Qian Ding was captured and the Grand Elders rescued Jin Yuanbo.
• Pei Qingguang arrived, ordered Qian Ding executed, and commanded the Grand Elders to recover the Dao Artifacts Qiu Tianxing had taken.

Li Ling tracked down Qiu Tianxing and used his Spirit Transformation abilities to make him surrender the Treasure-Gathering Basin. After reaching Goldsource Island, Li Ling began studying the treasure’s restrictions and welcomed the Money Guild’s elders, while Pei Qingguang quietly reflected on what had already been settled.

• Qiu Tianxing disguised himself and hid in a Market Ward, but the scent of orchids led him to recognize Li Ling’s presence.
• Li Ling trapped Qiu Tianxing in his divine domain and used incense arts to make him hand over the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
• Li Ling let Qiu Tianxing leave after taking the treasure, reasoning that keeping him alive would create more trouble for the Money Guild.
• Several days later, Li Ling’s disciples tested the Treasure-Gathering Basin and found that observation by living beings interfered with its duplication ability.
• Li Ling welcomed Pei Qingguang, Jin Yuanbo, Grand Elder Leng, Grand Elder Lin, and the other Money Guild elders aboard his vessel, while Pei Qingguang reflected on the situation.

Li Ling secured the Four Seas Commerce Guild’s cooperation in maintaining order and supplying the righteous forces, then headed to the East Sea to confront Xin Yue and the Corpse Immortal Sect. He arrived above Sangting Island, where Xin Yue had assembled his forces and prepared the Corpse Kun for battle.

• Li Ling told Pei Qingguang and the Four Seas Commerce Guild elders that they could remain neutral while providing supplies and keeping their territories orderly as the Incense Accumulation Sect fought the demonic path.
• Pei Qingguang and Jin Yuanbo discussed the guild’s acceptance of Li Ling’s new authority, the Treasure-Gathering Basin in his possession, and news that Qiu Tianxing had been sighted in Yuan Sheng Ward.
• Li Ling left Goldsource Island after meeting the maritime leaders, leaving the guild to deal with Qiu Tianxing and the risk of unrest within its ranks.
• Li Ling met Shu Changsheng in the East Sea and assigned him to manage the Heavenly Court army and coordinate relations among the allied forces.
• Li Ling traveled to Sangting Island, where Xin Yue and the Corpse Immortal Sect forces awaited him behind a strengthened Mountain-Guarding Grand Array, with the blood-stained Corpse Kun ready for battle.

Li Ling attacked Sangting Island, overcame the defenses protecting Xin Yue, and discovered that Xin Yue survived through corpse-immortal puppets tied to the Corpse Kun. He used Soul-Guiding Incense to expose Xin Yue’s dependence on a Corpse Immortal Seal, leaving him poised to strike at the true weakness.

• Li Ling summoned his eight-armed asura incense deity to battle the Corpse Kun while he advanced through Sangting Island’s restrictions.
• The demonic cultivators used Dao-Origin Stones to strengthen the grand array, but Li Ling revealed that he had infiltrated the inner city before the array activated.
• Li Ling killed one of Xin Yue’s bodies, then faced another and recognized that Xin Yue used flesh-and-blood puppets as death substitutes.
• Li Ling deduced that Xin Yue’s divine soul was likely fused with the Corpse Kun and used Soul-Guiding Incense to draw it out.
• Li Ling’s incense caused demonic cultivators across the city to collapse, and he found a rotting Corpse Immortal Seal on Xin Yue’s puppet, identifying it as Xin Yue’s fatal weakness.

Li Ling used Teaweed Incense to turn the Corpse Kun’s immortality against it and force Daoist Heavenly Calamity to negotiate for Xin Yue’s survival. Their exchange exposed a hidden connection between the two and ended with Daoist Heavenly Calamity explaining how worlds and calamities offered Spirit Transformation cultivators a chance to transcend their limits.

• Li Ling used Teaweed Incense to disrupt Xin Yue’s control of the Corpse Immortal Seals and make the Corpse Kun’s flesh grow uncontrollably.
• Li Ling’s Teaweed Incense spread across the Corpse Kun, consuming its origin and bringing it near collapse while Xin Yue suffered from the pain.
• Daoist Heavenly Calamity revealed himself as Wei Yang and offered to withdraw from the East Sea, then claimed Xin Yue was descended from the Heaven-Swallowing Old Ancestor.
• Li Ling rejected the attempt to intimidate him and noticed that Daoist Heavenly Calamity and Xin Yue shared the same aura.
• Daoist Heavenly Calamity offered Li Ling a Dao Artifact to spare Xin Yue, but Li Ling questioned why their auras matched and why the elder cared so much.
• Daoist Heavenly Calamity described worlds as small ponds and great calamities as opportunities for Spirit Transformation cultivators to transcend their limits.

Li Ling rejected Daoist Heavenly Calamity’s attempt to bargain for Xin Yue and destroyed the cultivator’s avatar before killing Xin Yue. As Li Ling struggled to destroy the enormous Corpse Kun, it suddenly leapt out of the Ten Continents and into the distant void.

• Daoist Heavenly Calamity revealed that Xin Yue was his pawn, created to help him seize Heaven-Swallowing Old Ancestor’s legacy and origin power.
• Li Ling refused to trade Xin Yue for secrets and used his Incense Accumulation Divine Domain to disperse Daoist Heavenly Calamity’s attacks.
• Li Ling eroded the Corpse Kun for hours, used Scent Identification to find Xin Yue’s true body, and killed him as Daoist Heavenly Calamity threatened revenge.
• Li Ling realized the Corpse Kun’s undying body made it difficult to destroy despite the Incense Path’s ability to cleanse corruption.
• The Corpse Kun suddenly arched and leapt out of the Ten Continents toward the depths of the universe.

Li Ling escaped the Heaven-Swallowing Old Ancestor’s attention, retrieved the Corpse Kun from the River of Time, and warned the Heavenly Court that decaying origin had contaminated Sangting Island. After discussing the disaster with the Heavenly Venerables, he concluded that ancient dao-integrated beings continued to shape history through their lingering wills and arrangements, then began examining the captured Corpse Kun.

• Li Ling evaded the Heaven-Swallowing Old Ancestor’s gaze with the Dust-Transcending Incense, then entered the River of Time and pulled the Corpse Kun from the black, decaying current.
• The Heaven-Swallowing Old Ancestor’s power tore open the sky above Sangting Island and contaminated its inhabitants, so Li Ling told Shu Changsheng to seal off the island and patrol its perimeter.
• Li Ling informed the Heavenly Court about the disaster, and the three Heavenly Venerables confirmed that the heavens collapsing and the earth sinking was one of the ten omens of doomsday.
• After studying the Heavenly Venerables’ explanation, Li Ling concluded that ancient mighty beings had left contingencies and inheritances that continued to direct history.
• Li Ling explained his thoughts about immortality and enduring wills to Shu Changsheng, then sent him away and began studying the captured Corpse Kun.

Li Ling planted the shrunken Corpse Kun near Nine-Wan Island, and sixty years later the Incense Accumulation Sect welcomed Qian Miao and other aristocratic disciples as students. After beginning Incense Path training, Qian Miao was discovered to possess exceptional Money Dao talent, prompting the sect to direct him toward methods combining the two paths.

• Li Ling took the Corpse Kun to an island near Nine-Wan Island to plant it as a growing medium for Ji Earth Grand Tai Sui and suppress it with Teaweed Incense.
• Sixty years later, Qian Miao arrived at Nine-Wan Island with other visiting disciples and recalled his father's advice to cultivate connections at the Incense Accumulation Sect.
• Qian Miao began studying the Incense Path and found that the sect's incense products worked far better than the products he had used before.
• After half a year of training in fumigation and incense perception, Qian Miao's reassessment revealed that he had supreme talent for the Money Dao.
• The Incense Accumulation Sect and a Core Formation elder from the Que Luo Immortal Abode recommended that Qian Miao cultivate methods combining the Incense Path and Money Dao, including Copper-Stench Bewitching Incense.

Qian Miao changed from the Money Dao to the Incense Path, rose to prominence at the Incense Accumulation Sect, and won its outer sect tournament after ten years of study. Li Ling granted him the sect’s true inheritance as part of a broader effort to reshape the balance of power across the four seas, just as word arrived that a breach in the Long Sea was about to be sealed.

• Qian Miao’s clan approved his switch to the Incense Path, and Steward Du laid out his training plan and required studies.
• Qian Dan and the Qian Household elders decided to support Qian Miao while continuing to cultivate descendants through other Dao Paths.
• Pei Qingguang ordered the Money Guild’s General Association to prioritize the Money Dao and restrict the office of Treasure Envoy to its Nascent Soul cultivators.
• Ten years later, Qian Miao won first place in the outer sect martial tournament at the Incense Accumulation Sect’s 570th anniversary gathering.
• Li Ling ordered the sect to grant Qian Miao its true inheritance and explained that the seas would no longer be divided into insiders and outsiders.
• Li Ling received word that Elder Chi and President Luo had prepared to seal the breach in the Long Sea.

Li Ling inspected the secret realm cave heaven threatening the North Sea and approved a plan to seal its time-space passage while he stood guard. When Demonic Path rumors incited rogue cultivators to demand entry, he set out to uncover who was behind them.

• Li Ling instructed the Incense Accumulation Sect elders to balance the spread of its teachings with careful governance.
• Li Ling arrived at the White Sand Commerce Guild headquarters and heard Luo Jingwei explain that the ancient battlefield drew corpses from across time through the River of Time.
• Chi Yingting and Luo Jingwei proposed reinforcing ancient arrays to seal the passage, and Li Ling approved the plan and agreed to guard the site.
• Rogue cultivators gathered outside after hearing rumors that the Incense Accumulation Sect was hiding an ancient powerhouse's legacy in the secret realm.
• Li Ling recognized the rumors as a Demonic Path attempt to disrupt the blockade and told Chi Yingting and Luo Jingwei to prepare for the sealing while he investigated the instigators.

Li Ling quelled a rogue cultivator disturbance, then helped the Incense Accumulation Sect and its allies capture Demonic Path infiltrators plotting to unleash a secret realm’s corruption. After Chi Yingting and Luo Jingwei repaired the secret realm’s final formation, Chi Yingting discovered a house-sized mass of ambergris on the island.

• Li Ling reassured the rogue cultivators that the sealed site was a source of calamity, then secretly instructed the White Sand Commerce Guild to arrest suspected Corpse Immortal Sect and Ghost Soul Sect agents.
• Li Ling taught his disciples to treat ordinary cultivators with tolerance, build alliances, and spread the Incense Path to gain future support.
• The Incense Accumulation Sect and local forces raided a Demonic Path meeting place, captured the infiltrators, and found letters describing plans to contaminate the sea through the secret realm.
• Local forces launched a broad manhunt that devastated the Unorthodox Path presence in the North Sea and captured several Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Chi Yingting, Luo Jingwei, and their team repaired the secret realm’s last formation, clearing the fog and restoring its passage.
• Chi Yingting followed a hidden scent to a house-sized, grayish-brown mass and recognized it as ambergris.

Li Ling opened the dangerous secret realm to cultivators so they could gather its rare incense materials, then classified the discoveries and assigned their study to his disciples. Twenty years later, newly promoted True Disciple Mo Qingheng was warned not to attempt creating a cultivation method, but he announced three months later that he had succeeded.

• Chi Yingting reported that the secret realm contained high-grade ambergris, and Li Ling decided to open it to cultivators rather than reserve it for the sect.
• Li Ling explained that broader access would help the Incense Path flourish, while Luo Jingwei warned that the realm remained dangerous.
• The White Sand Commerce Guild recruited rogue cultivators and bought their spirit incense, creating a thriving market over the next few years.
• Li Ling classified the materials into five kinds of incense and assigned his disciples to develop and use them.
• Twenty years later, Mo Qingheng attained foundation establishment and became a seventh-generation True Disciple; Luo You advised him to master an existing branch before pursuing his own method.
• Three months later, Mo Qingheng rushed to tell his master that he had created his own cultivation method.

Mo Qingheng created the Eight Methods of Famous Incense, a powerful technique that impressed Li Ling and encouraged further advances in the Incense Path. At the Whale Incense Tower, Zhou Du spent his savings on Dragon-Transforming Incense, beginning a risky attempt to strengthen himself after losing his companions.

• Mo Qingheng demonstrated the Eight Methods of Famous Incense to Luo You, who recognized its extraordinary power and sustained effects.
• Li Ling identified Mo Qingheng's creation as an incense-blending method, mastered it, and rewarded him; new contributions and cultivation methods continued to advance the Incense Accumulation Sect.
• The Incense Accumulation Sect and the White Sand Commerce Guild developed the Whale Realm Cave Heaven's products, including methods that used spirit incense to strengthen and transform cultivators.
• After bandits killed his senior and several friends, Zhou Du chose to pursue strength rather than leave the cultivation world.
• Zhou Du spent three hundred thousand spirit stones on three portions of Dragon-Transforming Incense at the Whale Incense Tower and began the incense-based transformation process.

Zhou Du avenged the cultivators murdered by bandits, then used his knowledge of Dragon-Transforming Incense to build a successful incense business. Years later, he brought his children to seek admission to the Incense Accumulation Sect as the sect welcomed new disciples and celebrated the Three True Ones of Incense Accumulation reaching Core Formation.

• Zhou Du joined the fight on a deserted island, helped the victims defeat the bandits, and killed their leader with a Jujube-Pit Nail.
• Zhou Du reflected that Dragon-Transforming Incense had strengthened him and opened new possibilities for his cultivation.
• Zhou Du spent years exploring secluded mysteries, learned to prepare Dragon-Transforming Incense, and became a renowned incense maker.
• Zhou Du decided to send his children to study at the Incense Accumulation Sect and told his family that joining the sect was essential to the Zhou Clan's future.
• Luo Zhen, Han Zhen, and Ye Zhen returned to the sect after reaching Core Formation, and the sect announced the Eighth-Generation Lineage.
• Zhou Du brought his children to Nine-Wan Island during the celebration and urged them to strive to study under the Three True Lords.

Li Ling led the Incense Accumulation Sect in compiling the Ten Thousand Incense Compendium, which transformed how disciples studied and practiced the Incense Path. As the new methods spread, the Withering of the Immortal Root engulfed nearly half of the southeastern Mystic Continent.

• Nie Yingzhi announced that the sect's branches would work together to complete the Ten Thousand Incense Compendium, and Li Ling organized the project.
• Li Ling verified the compendium's classifications by synthesizing an ambergris-like incense essence, then ordered the sect to replace his talent-dependent Myriad Wonders Incense Transformation Art with methods based on the chart.
• The Incense Accumulation Sect developed the Hundred Branches of the Incense Path and a simplified Incense Deity Method, drawing more cultivators to the practice.
• A mine controlled by the Lin Household developed fissures and lost spiritual energy as the Withering of the Immortal Root spread across nearly half of the southeastern Mystic Continent within a month.

Li Ling attended a Heavenly Court gathering where the three Heavenly Venerables called on the immortal sects to sign the Golden Roll and supply candidates for apotheosis. He agreed to provide the Incense Accumulation Sect’s quota and offered to take on additional quotas, while requesting permission to make private arrangements.

• After demons and unorthodox cultivators stirred up chaos across Mystic Continent, Li Ling prepared the Incense Accumulation Sect for the coming war and traveled to Cloud Above Heaven at the Heavenly Court’s invitation.
• Li Ling joined representatives of the immortal sects for a lavish banquet hosted by the three Heavenly Venerables, which extended his lifespan and increased his dharma power.
• Miro Heavenly Venerable recounted the Heavenly Court’s defeat over the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel and revealed that the gathering’s main purpose was to revisit apotheosis and have the sects sign the Golden Roll.
• The Universal Salvation Heavenly Venerable promised that immortal sect disciples appointed to divine positions would receive Great Luo status, and Li Ling agreed to provide candidates from the Incense Accumulation Sect.
• Li Ling accepted a quota of ten Core Formation, three hundred Foundation Establishment, and three thousand Qi Refining candidates, offered to cover some other sects’ quotas, and asked to make private arrangements.

Li Ling negotiated Apotheosis quotas with other sects and prepared the Incense Accumulation Sect to use the Divine Path as a fallback for disciples who died untimely deaths. Years later, Zhou Xing died in an accident after celebrating his graduation, and Nie Yingzhi considered summoning his soul to ask whether he would serve in the Heavenly Court.

• Li Ling traded Apotheosis exemptions to other sects for longevity wine and magic treasures, then explained the renewed Apotheosis arrangements to Nie Yingzhi.
• Nie Yingzhi worried about choosing candidates, while Li Ling said the sect would make arrangements for disciples who died in future disasters and continued promoting the Ten Thousand Incense Compendium.
• Zhou Xing completed twenty years of study, became an inner sect disciple and qualified teacher, then celebrated with his classmates at the Sea-Viewing Tower.
• Drunk and disoriented after the banquet, Zhou Xing took the wrong path, fell from a cliff, and died; the sect investigated and determined it was an accident.
• Nie Yingzhi stopped the elder from notifying Zhou Xing's family and proposed summoning his soul to ask whether he would accept Apotheosis.

Li Ling and Nie Yingzhi arranged for the deceased Zhou Xing to undergo apotheosis, and Zhou Xing took up a low-ranking post in the Heavenly Court after years of receiving incense offerings. His appointment led the Incense Accumulation Sect to offer posthumous apotheosis to its formal disciples, while disasters continued to ravage the continents and the seas remained calm.

• Nie Yingzhi proposed submitting Zhou Xing for apotheosis, and Li Ling explained that Zhou Xing’s lack of cultivation would not prevent him from serving the Heavenly Court.
• Li Ling summoned Zhou Xing’s soul, and Zhou Xing accepted apotheosis before being appointed to the Bureau of Sacrificial Meals.
• After years of incense offerings, Zhou Xing awakened, received his official appointment, blessed the villagers’ wine, and departed for the Heavenly Court.
• Li Ling and Nie Yingzhi confirmed that Zhou Xing had settled into his duties, and the Incense Accumulation Sect announced posthumous apotheosis as a benefit for formal disciples.
• Li Ling offered aging foundation establishment cultivators the choice of apotheosis or reincarnation, while increasingly severe disasters spread across the continents and the seas stayed calm.