Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua recognized the auctioned soul artifact as the Lesser Brush, a tool associated with the Dao of life, and continued bidding at the Yazi Auction Venue. He acquired several cultivation techniques and a chart of Chunche Forbidden Sea, leaving his rival unsure of his real intentions.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua identified the Lesser Brush as the tool of Divine Brush Ma Liang, and Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua tested it but could not yet make its creations come alive.
• Xiao Hua returned to the auction and won several Confucian cultivation techniques, including a high-level Water Evasion Technique, after his rival stopped contesting his bids.
• Xiao Hua outbid his rival for a rare Metal Evasion Technique and gave it and the Water Evasion Technique to green-robed Xiao Hua to study.
• Xuan Kong presented sea charts, including charts of the four great forbidden seas, and Xiao Hua bid on the chart of Chunche Forbidden Sea.
• Xiao Hua raised his offer to six hundred thousand Sea Crystals, but his rival backed down, and Xiao Hua bought the chart while the rival suspected it was a feint.

Xiao Hua tricked a rival into paying more than a million sea crystals for a Buddhist formation, then mocked him with a story about dumb chickens. As the auction moved to its final round, news arrived that the Nascent Soul could be auctioned, and the rival made a bold offer that left Xuan Kong unable to decide on the spot.

• Xiao Hua joined the bidding for the Thirteen Buddhist Cloud Great Formation, then stopped bidding and forced the rival to buy it for one million and ten thousand sea crystals.
• Xiao Hua told the auction crowd a story about chicks trained to run at the sound of a bowl, calling them dumb chickens and directing his mockery toward the rival and a distant human cultivator.
• Xuan Kong sent the Buddhist formation to the rival, and the demons laughed and repeated Xiao Hua's insult while bidding enthusiastically on the demon formation.
• A swordfish delivered a message to Xuan Kong, who announced that the previously withheld Nascent Soul could now be bid for without revealing the details of Xiao Hua's trade.
• The rival claimed he could provide whatever item Xiao Hua had traded to the North Sea Dragon Palace and offered ten percent more; after inspecting the rival's item, Xuan Kong said he could not decide the matter himself.

Xiao Hua traded Soul Nurturing Pills for thirteen Nascent Soul spiritual bodies, then watched the auction shift to fish-slave sales and conclude. When Xuan Kong announced the Yazi Gladiator Arena gathering, Xiao Hua remembered Yuan Ya’s promise to return to a gladiator arena and fight.

• Xuan Kong rejected the Immortal Palace envoy’s offer and agreed to trade exclusively with Xiao Hua for Soul Nurturing Pills.
• Xiao Hua bargained for the Nascent Souls, supplied the required pills, and gained thirteen Nascent Soul spiritual bodies.
• Xuan Kong gave Xiao Hua and the Immortal Palace envoy silver Yazi credentials before beginning the fish-slave auction.
• Demons bid fiercely for eight mermaid beauties while the Immortal Palace envoy considered how to seize Xiao Hua’s Nascent Souls.
• Xuan Kong ended the auction and announced the Yazi Gladiator Arena gathering, prompting Xiao Hua to recall Yuan Ya’s promise to return to an arena and fight.

Xiao Hua brought Yuan Ya out to face the gladiator arena and settle a possible debt from his past. As Ao Feng opened the Yazi Gladiator Arena’s matches, Yuan Ya watched the arena awaken old memories, and the first bout was announced.

• Xiao Hua sent Fu Zhiwen back into the space and brought Yuan Ya out, disguising himself as Xiao Jian.
• Xiao Hua told Yuan Ya to settle his possible debt to a gladiator arena, and Yuan Ya recognized the arena as similar to one from his past.
• Ao Feng of the Yazi Gladiator Arena announced ten bouts, betting rules, and the conditions for challengers, including sealed cultivation and matched physical strength.
• Xiao Hua questioned whether Xiao Jian had invented the supposed debt to make Yuan Ya earn primeval stones.
• Ao Feng announced the opening match between Kong Pi and Zhan Hong, and the two beasts were brought out in cages.

Xiao Hua brought Yuan Ya to the Yazi Gladiator Arena to fulfill an old agreement and discovered that Yuan Ya was marked for death by the North Sea Dragon Palace. Xuan Kong arranged Yuan Ya’s final match as the price for removing his gladiator slave mark, while Xiao Hua secretly arranged to keep watch over him.

• Xiao Hua and Yuan Ya approached the arena’s restricted area, and Xiao Hua forced the shrimp soldier to summon Xuan Kong.
• Xiao Hua explained Yuan Ya’s past agreement with the North Sea Dragon Palace, and Xuan Kong said Yuan Ya could win a final match at the Yazi Gladiator Arena to regain his freedom.
• Xuan Kong used the Yazi Dou Ce to confirm that Xiao Jian and Baxia 478869 were on the Myriad Kill Order, then temporarily suppressed the order.
• The Dou Ce revealed that Xiao Jian had rescued the sick Yuan Ya from the arena and promised to return him for a final match, with twenty percent of the wager going to Xiao Jian.
• Xuan Kong took Yuan Ya to prepare for a fight against another level-four gladiator beast, forbidding Weapons and Daoist techniques and ordering that Yuan Ya’s lower dantian be sealed.
• Xiao Hua placed a wisp of soul sense on Yuan Ya and sent green-robed Xiao Hua to follow him with the Formless Nascent Soul.

Xiao Hua watched the brutal gladiator battles and found that Confucian cultivator Xiao Hua had emerged from seclusion with a deeper grasp of the Heaven and Earth Sword. At the arena, Yuan Ya was brought out for his final fight against a gigantic horned python, with his freedom at stake.

• Xiao Hua watched Kong Pi lose its fight against Zhan Hong, then reflected on Yuan Ya’s life as a numbered gladiator beast.
• Confucian cultivator Xiao Hua emerged from seclusion and told Jade Slip Xiao Hua that he had advanced in his understanding of Confucian cultivation and the Heaven and Earth Sword.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua cautioned Confucian cultivator Xiao Hua against rushing to obtain missing cultivation techniques and Heavenly Hearts.
• Ao Feng announced an extra final battle and presented Yuan Ya, identified as Baxia 478869, against an enormous horned python.
• The arena audience debated whether Yuan Ya could defeat the python and began placing bets on the outcome.

Yuan Ya fought the horned python in the Yazi Gladiator Arena, where his agility and immense strength let him turn an early beating into a decisive victory. Ao Feng declared Yuan Ya the winner and sent him back through the cave entrance.

• Xiao Hua worried that Yuan Ya might be outmatched by the horned python, but resolved to intervene if Yuan Ya faced mortal danger.
• The horned python struck Yuan Ya into a boulder and then attacked again, but Yuan Ya dodged its pounce and began evading its strikes among the rocks.
• Yuan Ya used the Misty Steps to avoid the python's bite and drove both hands into its neck, wounding it at its vital point.
• Yuan Ya seized the python's tail, lifted and swung its enormous body, and battered it against the rocky arena floor until it could no longer move.
• Ao Feng announced that Number 47869 had won and sent the bloodied Yuan Ya into the cave entrance.

Xiao Hua watched Jiang Sheng defeat a Fire Lion in the arena, only for Ao Feng to torture him afterward. When Xiao Hua collected his winnings, Xuan Kong tried to make him send Yuan Ya into another match, and their discussion turned threatening.

• Ao Feng revealed the badly injured Jiang Sheng as the opponent for a Fire Lion, and Xiao Hua recognized him as the dragon general he had fought in Changsheng Town.
• Jiang Sheng fought off the Fire Lion and strangled it, but Ao Feng restrained him with streams of water that tore at his wounds.
• Xiao Hua went to the side gate and collected twenty percent of the wagers from Xuan Kong, surprised by how much the ring contained.
• Xuan Kong asked Xiao Hua to let Yuan Ya fight again, but Xiao Hua refused because Yuan Ya was injured and he wanted his freedom restored.
• Xuan Kong said Xiao Hua had refused a toast only to drink a forfeit, and Xiao Hua's expression turned cold.

Xiao Hua negotiated for Yuan Ya’s gladiator slave mark to be removed before Yuan Ya agreed to fight another match, while Jiang Sheng’s strength shocked the crowd. Xuan Kong arranged another bout for both warriors, and the chapter ended with Jiang Sheng and Yuan Ya entering the arena together.

• Xuan Kong told Xiao Hua that Baxia 478869 had to fight another level-five beast, and Xiao Hua negotiated for Yuan Ya’s slave mark to be removed before the match.
• Xuan Kong used the Dou Ce to remove Yuan Ya’s gladiator slave mark, and Xiao Hua burned the blood-mark away as Yuan Ya left for the arena.
• Xiao Hua saw Jiang Sheng being badly injured by an Orca, then watched Jiang Sheng transform and overpower it before Ao Feng imprisoned him.
• Xuan Kong soothed the protesting spectators by promising another match for Jiang Sheng and another for Baxia 478869.
• Two cages appeared: Jiang Sheng returned in his small form with a Fangtian Huaji, and Yuan Ya appeared in Daoist robes with demonic hammers.

Xiao Hua interrupted Yuan Ya and Jiang Sheng’s death match, rescued them both, and escaped the Yazi Gladiator Arena after attacking Ao Feng and breaking through its formations. A giant dragon followed him out as the arena erupted into chaos.

• Xiao Hua watched Yuan Ya and Jiang Sheng prepare to fight to the death in the Yazi Gladiator Arena.
• Xiao Hua’s sword strike destroyed the central demon formation and nearly hit Ao Feng, while Xuan Kong knocked Ao Feng aside with a staff.
• Xiao Hua brought Yuan Ya into the Kunlun Immortal Realm and persuaded Jiang Sheng to come with him by naming Jiang Che, Jiang Peng, and Jiang Hong.
• Xiao Hua claimed Ao Feng had wronged him in a private dispute, then used another sword strike to break the arena’s exit formations and escape.
• A giant dragon smashed through the breach and pursued Xiao Hua as several demons followed, leaving the arena crowd rushing toward the opening.

Xiao Hua evaded the North Sea Dragon Palace's Second Crown Prince while fleeing toward Feather Spirit Bay. The Second Crown Prince lost his trail and found the Serpent Demon waiting at a pointed cliff.

• Ao Feng overheard Demon Race cultivators gossiping about his supposed affair with a sow, while Xuan Kong lamented that he could no longer investigate Xiao Hua's background.
• The Second Crown Prince pursued Xiao Hua into the North Sea, but Xiao Hua used Water Evasion and the Dongtian River secret technique to conceal himself and escape his detection.
• Xiao Hua washed away the tracking marks with soul sense and led the Second Crown Prince toward Feather Spirit Bay before vanishing from his perception.
• The Second Crown Prince searched the sea, then noticed that seagulls had disappeared from a pointed cliff and flew there as Demon Race experts and Dragon Palace soldiers surrounded it.
• The Serpent Demon emerged from a stone hut on the cliff, revealing herself to the Second Crown Prince.

Ao Jing and Ao Feng confronted a Serpent Demon who lived with the blind Xu Lang, and she explained how he had saved her when she was a frozen snake and how she had stayed by him for decades. After Ao Feng revealed her true nature to Xu Lang, he demanded answers, and the chapter ended as he began approaching her despite her plea.

• The Serpent Demon trembled before Ao Jing, and Ao Feng attacked her for being with a human until Feng Wu blocked his weapon.
• Ao Jing introduced himself to Feng Wu and asked whether he had seen Xiao Hua, but Feng Wu denied noticing the cultivator.
• The Serpent Demon told Ao Jing that Xu Lang had saved her from freezing as a young snake, and that she had later married him and accompanied him on his travels.
• Ao Feng told Xu Lang that his wife was a Serpent Demon, leaving Xu Lang shocked and questioning her identity.
• The Serpent Demon recalled the story of a little snake repaying kindness, but Ao Jing and Ao Feng mocked Xu Lang, and he began walking toward her as she pleaded with him not to.

The Serpent Demon revealed her true scales to Xu Lang, who died of shock when he touched them, leaving her to mourn the collapse of the love she thought they shared. Xiao Hua flew away in his Heavenly Phoenix form, while Ao Jing ordered a search for the disguised cultivator and investigated Baxia 478869’s connection to the escape.

• The Serpent Demon guided Xu Lang’s hand to her untransformed scales, and he died in terror after touching them.
• The Serpent Demon mourned Xu Lang, broke his grip on her scale, and asked Ao Jing for permission to bury his body; Ao Jing let her leave.
• Xiao Hua departed as Fengwu, while Ao Jing and Ao Feng discussed the escaped Confucian cultivator and suspected that Baxia 478869 had been his main target.
• Ao Jing ordered an investigation into Baxia 478869 and the humans at Feather Spirit Bay, unaware that the fugitive was Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua enjoyed flying across the North Sea in his Heavenly Phoenix form, then changed back and drove his flying carriage toward another region of Cangxian Continent.

Xiao Hua freed Jiang Sheng from the North Sea Dragon Palace’s Demon Capturing Seal and evaded Ao Jing by luring him away from Feather Spirit Bay. After learning that Jiang Hong had also been captured, Xiao Hua changed his mind and agreed to take Jiang Sheng to Liuting Residence so he could help rescue her.

• Xiao Hua released Jiang Sheng and discovered that the North Sea Dragon Palace had placed a powerful Demon Capturing Seal in his bloodline.
• Xiao Hua removed the seal, alerting Ao Jing, then escaped with Jiang Sheng while Ao Jing searched the shore.
• Xuan Kong ordered the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to track down people from the Immortal Palace as Ao Jing returned to Feather Spirit Bay.
• Xiao Hua doubled back toward Feather Spirit Bay and told Jiang Sheng that he would not involve himself further in Dongtian River’s affairs.
• Jiang Sheng revealed that Jiang Hong had been captured alongside him, and Xiao Hua agreed to take him to Liuting Residence.

Xiao Hua searched Feather Spirit Bay for Liuting Residence, then was challenged by Sea Clan patrols while visiting General Liu. General Liu and Li intervened to protect Xiao Hua from Xiu, who had been ordered to take them to Feather Spirit Hall.

• Xiao Hua failed to find anyone who knew Liuting Residence and entered a shop to ask for directions.
• Shrimp soldiers and crab generals demanded Xiao Hua’s entry proof, but let him go when they learned he was a Daoist cultivator rather than a Confucian scholar.
• Xiao Hua went to Yazi Auction Venue and met General Liu, where Xiu demanded to see Xiao Hua’s Feather Spirit Hall proof.
• Yuan vouched for Xiao Hua and offered to accompany him, but Xiu insisted that both Xiao Hua and Yuan come to Feather Spirit Hall.
• General Liu confronted Xiu, and Li emerged to guarantee Xiao Hua as well, unsettling Xiu with a taunt about his former reputation.

Xiao Hua returned to Liu’s shop, where Xiu tried to take him to the Feather Spirit Hall for questioning. Old Sea Shrimp and other veteran sea folk drove Xiu away, and Xiao Hua agreed to help treat their illnesses as Liu proposed seeking remedies through the Luoyi Merchant Alliance.

• Xiu confronted Xiao Hua and threatened to take him to the Feather Spirit Hall, but Old Sea Shrimp and other veteran sea folk stood up to guarantee Xiao Hua.
• Xiu backed down and fled after the gathered North Sea Dragon Palace soldiers also withdrew.
• Xiao Hua entered Liu’s shop with the veterans and learned that Li had recovered from the Soul Nurturing Pill and expected her strength to grow.
• Xiao Hua offered to help the sea folk find treatment so they would have less need to kill Sea Sarira.
• Liu explained that obtaining formulas from human apothecaries was impractical and said he planned to approach the Luoyi Merchant Alliance for help.

Xiao Hua learned that Liuting Residence had become the dangerous Bo Bao-occupied valley called Ping Tiao, then brought Jiang Sheng there to search for Jiang Che. The chapter ended with Jiang Sheng flying into the valley while Xiao Hua looked for the Bo Bao.

• Xiao Hua asked the old sea clansmen about Liuting Residence, and Old Sea Shrimp recalled that it lay at Ping Tiao.
• Liu went to the Luoyi Merchant Alliance to seek pill formulas, while Xiao Hua received Sea Sarira and a fish token credential.
• Xiao Hua and Yuan flew toward Ping Tiao, but Yuan turned back when the valley's heat became unbearable.
• Xiao Hua found the ruins of Liuting Residence and released Jiang Sheng, explaining that the place was now called Ping Tiao and was occupied by Bo Bao.
• Jiang Sheng asked whether the North Sea Dragon Palace had pursued them, then flew down into the valley to look for Jiang Che.

Xiao Hua followed Jiang Sheng into the Bo Bao’s stronghold, only to learn that Jiang Sheng had deceived him and provoked the demons into attacking. Xiao Hua escaped and left Jiang Sheng behind, then continued with Yuan toward Yaoxi.

• Jiang Sheng spoke with the Bo Bao and led Xiao Hua into their weapon-forging caves.
• In the deepest cave, Jiang Sheng claimed to be a North Sea Dragon Palace general and threatened the Bo Bao, drawing their leader’s attack onto Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua fought off the Bo Bao leader’s first strikes, then used the Fire Evasion Technique to escape as the demons turned on Jiang Sheng.
• Xiao Hua flew out of the valley, collected Yuan, and left without helping Jiang Sheng further.
• Yuan led Xiao Hua deeper into Feather Spirit Bay toward Yaoxi while Xiao Hua considered refining medicinal pills for Old Sea Shrimp and the others.

Xiao Hua left Jiang Sheng after realizing Jiang Hong was safe, then visited Old Sea Shrimp and learned about the injured retired Sea Clan soldiers living in Feather Spirit Bay. When Li reported that Liu had gotten into a bidding dispute at the Luoyi Merchant Alliance, Xiao Hua hurried to help and assured her he could afford the price.

• Xiao Hua concluded that Jiang Sheng had been testing him and left, reassured that Jiang Hong had not been captured.
• Yuan guided Xiao Hua through the foul pools where injured Sea Clan members lived and brought him to Old Sea Shrimp and the other elders.
• Old Sea Shrimp explained that he and the others were former North Sea Dragon Palace soldiers, and that General Liu spent his savings treating their wounds.
• Li arrived to report that Liu was bidding against Xinglin Apothecary for a beast hide and a shell-script pill formula at the Luoyi Merchant Alliance.
• Xiao Hua flew with Li to help Liu and promised that he could pay even if the price were ten times higher.

Xiao Hua reunited with Ying Bo at the Luoyi Merchant Alliance’s auction and helped General Liu resolve a dispute over two treasures and their payment. After the auction ended, Xiao Hua and Ying Bo prepared to speak privately while Liu and Li departed with compensation.

• Li brought Xiao Hua to the Luoyi Merchant Alliance, where Zhang Yong demanded payment from General Liu for a pill formula and shell script.
• Xiao Hua arrived and recognized Ying Bo, then gave Liu sea crystals to cover the purchase.
• Ying Bo canceled the auction after learning Liu knew Xiao Hua, and Xiao Hua inspected the beast hide and shell script before handing them to Liu.
• Xiao Hua yielded the treasures to Zhang Yong out of respect for his ancestor, Medical Sage Zhang Zhongjing, and paid Xinglin Apothecary five thousand sea crystals.
• Zhang Yong paid Ying Bo seventy-five thousand sea crystals and promised to deliver the remaining twenty thousand later.
• Ying Bo thanked Xiao Hua for helping establish the Luoyi Merchant Alliance, and Xiao Hua sent Liu and Li away with five thousand sea crystals as compensation.