Chapter Summaries

Li Ping'an and his companions traveled underwater with Third Young Master to visit the Dragon Lord's mansion. The Dragon Lord was asleep when they arrived, so they waited outside until he finally awoke.

• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten rode Third Young Master underwater toward the Dragon Lord's mansion.
• Third Young Master cursed at the catfish spirit guarding the mansion, and Li Ping'an recalled him into the White Jade Capital.
• Li Ping'an asked the catfish spirit to announce his visit, but it questioned his background and told him to wait because the Dragon Lord was sleeping.
• The catfish spirit explained that visitors were bringing offerings for the Primordial Food Festival, and Li Ping'an and his companions watched the procession while they waited.
• About two hours later, the Dragon Lord awoke.

Li Ping'an visited the Dragon Lord to ask about the eastern sea countries and warn it against exploiting coastal people with excessive tributes and festivals. The Dragon Lord attacked him, but Li Ping'an defeated it and left it with a stern warning.

• The Dragon Lord admitted Li Ping'an to its water palace, where Kitten ate all the red pastries and confessed to wronging Li Ping'an and Niu Niu.
• Li Ping'an asked the Dragon Lord for the locations of the eastern sea countries and admonished it for burdening coastal people with demands and celebrations.
• The enraged Dragon Lord transformed and attacked Li Ping'an, while Li Ping'an rescued the catfish spirit from being crushed at the palace gate.
• Li Ping'an scattered the Dragon Lord's enormous wave with Fist Intent and struck it down with his saber aura.
• Li Ping'an landed on the sea and told the defeated Dragon Lord to remember the lesson.

Li Ping'an subdued the Dragon Lord, obtained a map of the Eastern Sea Nations, and left Fairy's writing in the Water Mansion as a warning. He and Kitten continued toward the Featherfolk Nation, where Li Ping'an spotted the Great An Kingdom's fleet near the island.

• Li Ping'an defeated the Dragon Lord, who promised to mend his ways and provided a map of the Eastern Sea Nations.
• Li Ping'an left Fairy's writing in the Water Mansion, and Kitten questioned his explanation for it.
• Kitten prepared breakfast while Li Ping'an and Old Ox wrestled in the sea, then the trio set off toward the Featherfolk Nation.
• Li Ping'an meditated beneath the full moon while Kitten and Old Ox slept.
• Li Ping'an woke to find the island clearly visible and the Great An Kingdom's fleet moored along its shore.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten entered the Featherfolk Nation with Zhong Guotao and learned about its people and history. As Zhong Guotao met the Featherfolk king, a messenger reported that he had been imprisoned and that the king intended to kill the outsiders.

• Zhong Guotao negotiated permission for a small group to enter the island under Featherfolk supervision.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten accompanied Zhong Guotao’s deputy into the Featherfolk Nation, where Shang explained its people, government, and customs.
• Shang showed the visitors the Featherfolk’s treetop city and recounted the nation’s history.
• Zhong Guotao went to meet the king while Li Ping'an stayed at an inn with Shang.
• A messenger told Shang that Zhong Guotao had offended the king, been imprisoned, and that the king intended to kill the two outsiders.

Li Ping'an left the Featherfolk Nation with Zhong Guotao and continued sailing with Kitten and Old Ox, visiting the strange countries marked on the Dragon Lord's map. After more than a year at sea, they failed to find the Land of the Undying and decided to turn back and rest.

• Shang persuaded the Featherfolk emperor to spare Zhong Guotao, and the emperor ordered the visitors to leave the island.
• Li Ping'an said farewell to Shang, who gave him local specialties, and set sail with Zhong Guotao continuing his search for the Longevity Pill.
• Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox traveled among the eastern sea's strange countries, enjoying their scenery and food while occasionally facing conflict.
• After more than a year, Li Ping'an's group could not find the Land of the Undying and decided to return to find a quiet place to rest and record their travels.

Li Ping'an arrived in the Great An Kingdom with Old Ox and Little Girl and looked for an affordable place to stay. After finding a neglected courtyard for a hundred copper coins every ten days, he agreed to rent it.

• Little Girl recorded her journey in a diary, and Li Ping'an teased her about how it portrayed him.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Little Girl disembarked in the Great An Kingdom and entered a busy city.
• Little Girl worried that their restaurant meal would leave them without money, but Li Ping'an ordered food and she promised to provide for him and Niu Niu.
• A waiter directed Li Ping'an to his cousin, a property broker, who showed him a neglected courtyard beside a willow tree.
• Li Ping'an accepted the courtyard's rent of a hundred copper coins every ten days, and the broker went to fetch a contract.

Li Ping'an settled into a cheap house in Smoke City with Kitten and Old Ox, then learned the house was haunted by a wild god’s shrine. As Kitten took on paid mouse-catching work, the shrine tried to enter Li Ping'an’s dream, while Kitten confronted a mouse at another residence.

• Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox cleaned their new house and settled in, with Kitten promising to earn money.
• Li Ping'an visited a bun seller, who warned him that the house had been plagued by a wild god’s statue and that past tenants had fled.
• Li Ping'an returned to find neighbors watching and predicting he would not last long in the house.
• Kitten caught mice, stocked the household with supplies, and left after agreeing to catch mice for someone else for two copper coins each.
• A palm-sized shrine entered Li Ping'an’s room and tried to use a Dream-Entering Great Art, but Li Ping'an met its gray-eyed gaze.
• At another residence, Kitten bent down to meet the gaze of a mouse.

Li Ping'an spared a weak Artifact God and gave it a talisman so it could make amends, then watched Kitten recover from a series of fights with other cats and find a place among them. When he later met her leading a group of cats, she pretended not to know him.

• Li Ping'an questioned the shrine, learned it was an Artifact God that had frightened local households to obtain incense, and gave it a talisman to travel and repay its karmic debts.
• Kitten hid her injuries from Li Ping'an after fighting other cats over hunting territory, then returned home more confident after taking Old Ox and a packet of beef out at night.
• Kitten made friends with the other cats and began spending less time at home.
• Li Ping'an went to look for the City God and ran into Cat Immortal leading several cats across a bridge.
• Kitten denied knowing Li Ping'an when one of the cats asked why he had called her Cat Immortal, then hurried away with the group.

Li Ping'an visited Yanzhou City's City God Temple, went fishing, and returned home to find Kitten earning money by catching mice and using a fearsome Jianghu name. After dinner, their neighbor Fang Jin came to invite him over for tea.

• Li Ping'an found no divine presence at the City God Temple, then caught many fish and gave two to an old fisherman.
• Kitten admitted that Niu Niu had named her Cat Aotian and that she called herself Scarface in the Jianghu, claiming her belly scar came from fighting a Demon Sage.
• Kitten showed Li Ping'an the copper coins she had earned by catching mice and said the other cats had told her about a Big Rat Demon in Yanzhou City.
• Li Ping'an and Kitten ate fried flatbread and little fish soup, and Li Ping'an praised her cooking.
• Fang Jin, a neighboring licentiate, invited Li Ping'an to his home for tea.

Li Ping'an learned that strange hauntings had become more common in Smoke Continent and sent Kitten to deal with Scholar Fang’s Knocking Ghost. After she reported that the ghost had lost its mind, Li Ping'an asked her to investigate further, and several people arrived seeking his help with other uncanny matters.

• Scholar Fang told Li Ping'an that a Knocking Ghost had been pounding on his gates and asked him for help.
• Li Ping'an sent Kitten to watch over Scholar Fang’s home, and she drove off the Knocking Ghost that night.
• Kitten told Li Ping'an that the ghost had lost its mind, so he asked her to gather rumors about strange occurrences in Smoke Continent City.
• Two or three days later, several people came to Li Ping'an’s home to ask him to deal with uncanny matters they had experienced.

Li Ping'an resolved several minor supernatural troubles and learned that Kitten would miss dinner because Aotian was busy. Kitten returned with news about a suspicious Maiden Temple as Li Ping'an went to investigate a wealthy woman's vanishing valuables.

• A hunter asked Li Ping'an for help escaping a mountain path where minor ghosts kept making him lose his way, and Li Ping'an told him to curse at them and avoid the woods for a few days.
• Li Ping'an advised a man whose family was frightened by a one-eyed Demon Ghost to splash his young son's urine on it.
• A black-and-white cat brought Li Ping'an money and Aotian's message that she would not come home that night, so Li Ping'an and Old Ox went out to eat.
• Two days later, people whose troubles Li Ping'an had resolved returned with gifts and money, and a wealthy woman asked him to investigate food and valuables that vanished from her home.
• Kitten joined Li Ping'an on the way to the woman's home and revealed that she had investigated the Maiden Temple with other cats and discovered something suspicious there.

Li Ping'an and Kitten investigated a wealthy woman's missing jewelry and discovered that an old yellow dog had hidden it to help his impoverished owner. Li Ping'an made the wealthy woman return the fields she had seized, then walked through snowy Yanzhou City sensing that events were approaching.

• Kitten identified an old yellow dog as the one who had taken the woman's valuables, and Li Ping'an followed her to his home.
• The old woman explained that Big Yellow had stolen food, clothing, and jewelry after the wealthy household seized their land, and Li Ping'an confirmed the dog's account.
• Li Ping'an learned where Big Yellow had hidden the jewelry, gave him a pill as compensation, and left with Kitten.
• Li Ping'an told the wealthy woman that a deity had taken her jewelry and warned her to return the seized fields and apologize to their owners.
• Li Ping'an refused the woman's payment and walked back through snowy Yanzhou City, sensing that something was about to happen.

Li Ping'an and Old Ox joined Cat Immortal’s plan to attack the Maiden Temple, where a giant rat demon was exposed before the worshippers. The crowd fled as Rat Lady begged an unknown Immortal Master to spare her.

• Cat Immortal gathered an army of cats and planned a nighttime assault on the Maiden Temple to eliminate the rat demons.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox went to the crowded temple, where followers demanded payment for access and a tea stall attendant warned Li Ping'an that the temple was sinister.
• The Maiden Temple’s golden statue cracked apart as Rat Lady’s enormous form emerged and revealed the human remains she had eaten.
• The worshippers fled in terror while Li Ping'an calmly drank tea and Old Ox poured himself a cup.
• Rat Lady pleaded with an unknown Immortal Master to spare her life.

Li Ping'an questioned the Rat Maiden about the strange gathering of demon ghosts in Smoke Continent, then left her to die. Cat Immortal led the cats in defeating the rats at the Maiden Temple, and Little Girl returned home wounded before dawn.

• Li Ping'an questioned the Rat Maiden, who said she had been drawn to Smoke Continent and described the City God’s disappearance and the sudden growth of demon ghosts; he left her to die.
• Cat Immortal led a force of cats against the rats behind the Maiden Temple, using Earth Armor Puppets and fire to drive them back.
• The rats fled as the Maiden Temple collapsed, and people discovered that the shrine had been a rat’s nest.
• After Government Office personnel arrived, Li Ping'an and Old Ox left; near daybreak, Little Girl returned exhausted and wounded, changed back from cat form, and went to sleep beside Old Ox.

Li Ping'an learned that the City Gods and their officials had vanished across Smoke Continent, leaving its Underworld without order, and found the situation unexplained. He asked Black-and-White Kitten to investigate the upheaval while sharing fried tofu with the cats.

• Li Ping'an heard people discussing the rat spirit at the Maiden Temple and learned that the Government Office had sealed it and arrested some of its followers.
• Li Ping'an visited the remaining City Gods in Yanzhou City and discovered that they and all their officials had disappeared.
• Li Ping'an wondered why the imperial court seemed unaware of the crisis and decided not to force what was beyond his abilities.
• Li Ping'an shared fried tofu with Black-and-White Kitten and another cat, then bought the stall's remaining tofu for the cats.
• Li Ping'an asked Black-and-White Kitten to find out what powerful demon ghosts were in the city, where the City Gods had gone, and when the upheaval began.

Li Ping'an hosted Tianyuanzi, a Dragon-Tiger Mountain Daoist investigating an Extraterrestrial Demon in Smoke Continent. Tianyuanzi warned that great turmoil was coming and promised to tell Li Ping'an if he found the demon.

• Kitten learned Li Ping'an had also bought fried tofu for the cats after she had already treated them to grilled fish, then asked him for demon-catching work to earn money back.
• Li Ping'an gave Kitten details about people who needed help dealing with demons, and she hurried out to take the jobs.
• A filthy old Daoist named Tianyuanzi arrived at Li Ping'an's home, recognized him as the Heaven's Punishment One, and explained that he was a Dragon-Tiger Mountain disciple.
• Tianyuanzi revealed that he had followed the scent of Extraterrestrial Demons to Smoke Continent and believed great turmoil was coming.
• Li Ping'an asked Tianyuanzi to inform him if he found the demon, and Tianyuanzi agreed before leaving.

Li Ping'an investigated why County Magistrate Zhang and several other county officials had fallen into an unnatural sleep, then went to the prefect's residence with Zhang County Deputy. There, he recognized Prefect Zhao Huaimin as Daoist Tianyuanzi and confronted him.

• A steward invited Li Ping'an to County Magistrate Zhang's home because Zhang had fallen into an unshakeable sleep after visiting the prefect's residence.
• Li Ping'an diagnosed a Dream Devouring art, drew a talisman on white hemp paper, and woke Zhang County Deputy.
• After learning that other county officials were similarly afflicted, Li Ping'an asked Zhang County Deputy to accompany him to the prefect's residence and sent talismans to the others.
• At the prefect's residence, Zhang County Deputy introduced Li Ping'an to Prefect Zhao Huaimin, a master of the School of Mind.
• Li Ping'an recognized Zhao Huaimin as Daoist Tianyuanzi and accused him of hiding openly as a prefect.

Li Ping'an confronted the Prefect and learned that an Extraterrestrial Demon was behind the turmoil. Tianyuanzi and two allies arrived to capture it, but the Prefect threatened Smoke Continent’s civilians, leaving Li Ping'an to decide whether they would fight.

• Li Ping'an questioned the possessed Prefect about the coming turmoil and why he had come to Smoke Continent.
• The Prefect claimed Dragon-Tiger Mountain had mistaken him for the source of the turmoil and said he had once destroyed its lineage.
• Li Ping'an revealed that he had alerted Tianyuanzi, who arrived with Liu Wu and a wooden-faced middle-aged man.
• The Prefect warned that a battle would endanger Smoke Continent’s common people, and the group fell into a stalemate.
• Li Ping'an asked the Prefect how he proposed to resolve the matter.

The Extraterrestrial Demon fled Smoke Continent after the four pursuers each made one move and cultivators outside attacked. As the demon escaped toward the Great An Kingdom border, the Blue Robes Man finally unleashed a flying sword from White Jade Capital’s Eleventh Floor.

• The Great An Kingdom’s Director and Chief Attendant joined the cultivators surrounding Smoke Continent after hearing that an Extraterrestrial Demon was involved.
• Liu Wu and three others each struck the fleeing Extraterrestrial Demon once, then stopped their pursuit as agreed.
• Cultivators waiting outside Smoke Continent attacked, but the demon evaded their techniques and sped away.
• The demon realized the Blue Robes Man had not yet made his move and spotted White Jade Capital approaching.
• A flying sword dropped from White Jade Capital’s Eleventh Floor and swept across the mountains at the Great An Kingdom border in a vast wave of Sword Qi.

Li Ping'an wounded the Heavenly Demon with a sword from the White Jade Capital, then returned home to rest while the Great An Kingdom dealt with the aftermath. As demon-exorcism work dried up, two senior officials arrived to meet him, and the chapter ended as Li Ping'an returned from fishing.

• Li Ping'an failed to kill the Heavenly Demon but gravely wounded him, then left the officials to handle the aftermath.
• Li Ping'an returned to Willow Tree Alley, rested, and later enjoyed dinner and wine sent by Tianyuanzi.
• The Great An Kingdom sent more personnel to Smoke Continent and transferred Underworld officials to Yanzhou City, leaving Kitten with fewer demon-exorcism jobs.
• Little Girl answered the door to the Great An Kingdom's Chief Attendant and the Director of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, who asked to see Li Ping'an.
• The two officials waited at Li Ping'an's home while Little Girl watched them warily, and Li Ping'an returned from fishing with a large catch.