Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua refused True Lord Qingxu’s invitation to seek protection from Ancestor Hongmeng, despite warnings that the Xuanhuang Order and Immortal Palace could track him. He accepted materials and communication methods from Ancestor Hongmeng, supplied him with refined treasures, and asked Qingxu to seek information for him.

• Xiao Hua told Fu Zhiwen that defeating the Xuanhuang Order cultivators might put him on the Xuan Ranking, then gave him their Cosmic Bags to store.
• True Lord Qingxu caught up with Xiao Hua and urged him to meet Ancestor Hongmeng for protection from the Xuanhuang Order and Immortal Palace.
• Xiao Hua declined to join Ancestor Hongmeng, while Qingxu warned that the Earth Deities and Immortal Palace could find him and that his growing reputation could bring more enemies.
• Qingxu gave Xiao Hua artifact-refinement materials, treasure-refining methods, and a way to communicate with Ancestor Hongmeng.
• Xiao Hua handed Qingxu a Cosmic Bag of previously refined magical treasures for Ancestor Hongmeng and asked him to investigate matters and share news from Cangxian Continent.

Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen discussed Ancestor Hongmeng, their families, and the meaning of cultivation before setting out for the North Sea. They arrived at the vast sea, where the narration described its legends and the elusive North Sea Dragon Palace.

• Xiao Hua asked True Lord Qingxu to seek information about rare magnetic materials and offered artifact refinement as payment; True Lord Qingxu promised to pass on the request.
• Fu Zhiwen warned Xiao Hua that Ancestor Hongmeng might eventually see him as a threat, and Xiao Hua explained why he had refused to join him.
• Xiao Hua told Fu Zhiwen that Lu Town was his hometown, and Fu Zhiwen said he wanted to return home to see his parents.
• Xiao Hua offered to move the Fu Family into the Kunlun Immortal Realm and remembered that Wang Zhengfei's mother also needed consideration.
• Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen hastened toward the North Sea as the Xuanhuang Order pursued them; the narration described the sea's legends and the North Sea Dragon Palace.

Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen arrived at Feather Spirit Bay, a vast and prosperous settlement where humans and many kinds of demons gathered. After Xiao Hua spared a serpent demon, they descended into the bay to seek the North Sea Dragon Palace general and find out whether Ao Zhantian and the others were still waiting there.

• A flying serpent demon killed a fierce bird, swallowed its demon core, and transformed into a dark-skinned woman.
• Xiao Hua revealed himself, gave the woman a Taoist robe, and sent her toward Feather Spirit Bay instead of attacking her.
• Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen discussed the bay’s grandeur and the limits of Confucian records about the North Sea.
• Xiao Hua told Fu Zhiwen they would find the North Sea Dragon Palace general stationed at the bay and check whether Ao Zhantian and the others remained there.
• Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen landed near a mountain ridge and examined the fantastical buildings filling the valley below it.

Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen entered Feather Spirit Bay to find the North Sea Dragon Palace and ask about Ao Zhantian. After Ripple guided them to Feather Spirit Hall, Xiao Hua presented Ao Zhantian’s token, and the Shrimp General went to fetch the hall steward.

• Xiao Hua suspected that the Sea Dragon Palace held influence over Feather Spirit Bay, while Fu Zhiwen explained that the Sea Whale King and Sea Soul Scholar also held power there.
• Ripple offered to guide Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen, collected five high-grade Qi Stones, and obtained Sea Whale King tokens for them.
• Ripple led the pair past Feather Spirit Bay’s guards and brought them to the North Sea Dragon Palace’s Feather Spirit Hall.
• A Shrimp General tried to bar Xiao Hua from entering, but Xiao Hua’s pressure forced it to drop its trident.
• Xiao Hua showed the Shrimp General Ao Zhantian’s token and asked to see him; the Shrimp General said the Dragon Island Selection tests had taken place months earlier and went to summon the hall steward.

Xiao Hua learned that Ao Zhantian had gone to the North Sea Dragon Palace for the Dragon Island Selection, but discovered he had no way to reach him immediately. He and Fu Zhiwen decided to leave Feather Spirit Bay, though Xiao Hua paused to hear what the bay had to offer.

• Ao Xuan returned to Feather Spirit Hall carrying a Dragon Pouch, while Xiao Hua waited outside for news of Ao Zhantian.
• A Sea Rhino told Xiao Hua that Ao Zhantian had left for the Dragon Island Selection and, under Xiao Hua's influence, explained that the group was gathering at the North Sea Dragon Palace and that Xiao Hua could still catch up.
• The Sea Rhino said he could not take Xiao Hua to the North Sea Dragon Palace because he lacked a decree and Feather Spirit Bay had no Dragon Boat.
• Xiao Hua told Fu Zhiwen that Ao Zhantian had broken his promise, and they agreed to return to Xuzhou while searching for the place Xiao Hua sought along the way.
• The fish demon urged Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen to stay until morning and see Feather Spirit Bay's advantages, so Xiao Hua asked it to explain them.

Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen explored Feather Spirit Bay while a fish demon described its markets and auction houses. After learning about Star Picking Tower and the various trading mansions, Xiao Hua chose to visit the Yazi Auction Venue to seek Iron Brown Wood.

• The fish demon guided Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen through Feather Spirit Bay and described its sea vessels, treasures, and unusual carriages.
• Xiao Hua asked where to buy Iron Brown Wood, and the fish demon named Yazi, Luoyi, Star Picking Tower, and Lilai as places that auctioned it.
• Xiao Hua learned that Star Picking Tower belonged to the far-reaching Star Moon Merchant Alliance, while Fu Zhiwen explained why merchant organizations received little attention from Confucian cultivators.
• The fish demon compared the trading houses, describing Yazi's North Sea goods, Lilai's human goods, Star Picking Tower's varied wares, and Luoyi's lower prices.
• Xiao Hua declined the fish demon's recommendation of Luoyi and agreed to visit Yazi, so the demon summoned a jellyfish-like creature pulling a seaweed-basket carriage.

Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen arrived at the Yazi Auction Venue, where Xiao Hua reflected on the boundary between humans and demons before discovering Buddhist sariras for sale. He realized the sariras had formed in North Sea creatures who worshipped the Buddha, but remained unsure what that meant for their cultivation and karma.

• A fish demon brought Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen by sea carriage to the pearl-covered Yazi Auction Venue and explained how Qi Stones exchanged for sea crystals.
• Xiao Hua gave the fish demon Qi Stones to buy two unranked fish-ring credentials, then let it keep the remaining stones and wait for him.
• Fu Zhiwen’s remark about merchants prompted Xiao Hua to wonder what truly distinguished humans from demons.
• Fu Zhiwen pointed out Buddhist sariras at a nearby stall, and Xiao Hua confirmed they were genuine despite their lack of Buddhist light.
• Xiao Hua examined a sarira and realized it had formed in a North Sea creature that worshipped the Buddha, leaving him questioning whether such creatures faced karmic hindrances or could cultivate the Nine Revolutions Golden Body.

Xiao Hua confronted a Sea General who sold Sea Sariras taken from Buddhist Sea Clan members, but learned that the general hunted them under military orders and was struggling to support his family. Xiao Hua offered to buy the sariras, and the general refused, saying the purchase would enable more hunting.

• Xiao Hua challenged a shop clerk over the price of Sea Sariras, then exposed the clerk's attempt to provoke him before the auction grounds.
• The Sea General invited Xiao Hua into the shop, where he explained that Demon Race members bought Sea Sariras to heal soul injuries.
• Xiao Hua accused the Sea General of profiting from the slaughter of Buddhist Sea Clan members, and the general defended his actions as obedience to military orders.
• A little sea shrimp named Qiu arrived seeking money for his grandfather's medicine, and Xiao Hua learned that the old shrimp and the Sea General had fought together before retiring.
• Xiao Hua offered the Sea General top-grade Qi Stones for the Sea Sariras, but the general refused, arguing that selling them would encourage further hunting.

Xiao Hua considered using pill refinement to reduce the sea clans’ dependence on Sea Sarira and gave the Sea Clan General soul-restoring pills to test. The general brought Xiao Hua to meet the little sea shrimp’s injured grandfather, but the sea snake questioned Xiao Hua’s identity as True Person Xiao.

• Xiao Hua gave the little sea shrimp primordial stones to buy medicine and offered the Sea Clan General pills to test on sea-clan customers.
• The Sea Clan General urged Xiao Hua to help his crippled former soldiers and then hurried out to bring the little sea shrimp and his injured grandfather back.
• Xiao Hua discussed his disciples’ talents and possible roles in the Creation Sect’s alchemy and artifact-refining disciplines with Fu Zhiwen.
• The Sea Clan General sealed the shop entrance, and the little sea shrimp begged Xiao Hua to save his grandfather, who suffered severe monthly pain.
• Xiao Hua introduced himself as True Person Xiao, and the sea snake said she had never heard of a cultivator by that name on Cangxian Continent.

Xiao Hua gave the sea serpent a Soul Nurturing Pill, learned that Sea Sarira offered only temporary relief from soul injuries, and failed to diagnose Old Sea Shrimp’s severe shell wound. He and Fu Zhiwen then entered the Yazi Auction Venue as the auction was about to begin.

• Xiao Hua explained that his pill might help the sea serpent, while the Sea Clan General described how Sea Sarira’s relief faded and later episodes caused doubled pain.
• The sea serpent collapsed after taking the pill, and Xiao Hua examined Old Sea Shrimp’s wound but could not treat it without knowledge of Sea Clan shells.
• The Sea Clan General promised to search for shell writings and invited Xiao Hua to take the shop’s Sea Sarira, but Xiao Hua accepted only the ones by the entrance.
• Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen headed for the auction venue, while a watching Sea Clan member followed toward the shop after they departed.
• Xiao Hua entered the Yazi Auction Venue through its water curtain and saw a vast domed hall adorned with the Nine Dragon Sons and tiers of seats around a coral-paved center.

At the Yazi Auction Venue, Xiao Hua studied records on demon healing and discovered how to use stellar and lunar power to develop medicines suited to demons. The auction began with a grand spectacle, and the dancing Shell Maidens appeared again inside a towering column of water.

• Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen took their assigned seats at the outer edge of the Yazi Auction Venue and watched the crowds arrive.
• Xiao Hua examined demon beast hides and human jade pupils in his space to learn about treating demon illnesses and injuries.
• Xiao Hua realized that medicines made from plants grown in the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons could retain stellar and lunar power and be used to refine demon pills.
• Fu Zhiwen told Xiao Hua that the auction had begun, and Xiao Hua opened his eyes to see the nine Dragon Sons descend into the arena.
• After the Dragon Sons vanished, Shell Maidens danced on sprays of water as the crowd threw sea crystals, before waves submerged them and gathered into a great water column.

Xiao Hua watched the Yazi Auction Venue stage a brutal fight between a Mighty Rhinoceros and Kun Lie, then realized the spectacle was meant to inflame the crowd before bidding. After waves crushed the beasts, the old turtle offered their weapons for auction, and bids began as Xiao Hua prepared to leave.

• A water sword opened two holes in the auction venue’s walls, and a Mighty Rhinoceros and Kun Lie charged out to face each other.
• Kun Lie and the Mighty Rhinoceros traded cunning attacks, wounding each other as the Demon Race and human cultivators cheered.
• Xiao Hua told Fu Zhiwen that the venue was using beauty and bloodshed to stir the crowd for the North Sea Dragon Palace’s profit, then decided to leave.
• Kun Lie drove its hind-hoof blades into the Mighty Rhinoceros’s eyes and head, and both beasts collapsed from their wounds.
• Waves crushed the barely living beasts into minced flesh, leaving their weapons behind for the old turtle to auction at a starting bid of ten thousand sea crystals.
• Bids rose from the crowd before Xiao Hua could leave.

Xiao Hua watched the Yazi Auction Venue sell its first lots and learned that humans valued goods from the Demon Race and Sea Clan for trade and medicine-making. He examined a batch of demon herbs but withdrew his bid after deciding they would not help Old Sea Shrimp, leaving the auction to continue.

• Xiao Hua watched the remains of two ferocious beasts sell for ninety thousand Sea Crystals and learned that the first successful bidder would receive a discount voucher from Xuan Kong.
• Xuan Kong auctioned batches of Sea Clan pearls, coral, armor, and other goods, which human bidders bought before leaving under the venue's escort.
• Xuan Kong explained that humans used plants from the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons to refine medicine, making the herbs valuable to them.
• Xiao Hua bid against another human for a batch of demon herbs, then inspected the Qiankun Ring and withdrew after deciding the high-grade herbs would not treat Old Sea Shrimp's injuries.

Xiao Hua watched the auction of pills, demon cores, sarira, and Nascent Souls at the Yazi Auction Venue, then tried to buy the Nascent Souls before the demons could claim them. Another human made the same bid, leaving the auctioneer to consider selling the Nascent Souls as a single lot.

• Xiao Hua obtained a Qiankun Ring containing Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons materials after the first bidding round ended.
• Xuan Kong auctioned human pills and medicines for enormous sums, and Xiao Hua told Fu Zhiwen that the Creation Sect should train pill refiners.
• Shrimp soldiers and crab generals brought out demon cores, Buddhist sarira, Golden Cores, Nascent Souls, and bottles containing living souls for auction.
• Xiao Hua resolved to bid for the Nascent Souls after seeing that their Primordial Spirits had been erased and the demons might devour them.
• Xiao Hua and an unidentified human both bid 4.2 million Sea Crystals for all the Nascent Souls, prompting Xuan Kong to propose auctioning them together.

Xiao Hua bid against a wealthy rival for thirteen Nascent Souls at the Yazi Auction Venue, then suspected his opponent was an Immortal Envoy from the Immortal Palace. Unable to outbid him with sea crystals, Xiao Hua offered Xuan Kong a bottle of Soul Nurturing Pills, claiming they surpassed ordinary Fourth-turn pills.

• Xuan Kong overruled the demons’ objections and continued auctioning the thirteen Nascent Souls, while Xiao Hua began bidding against another human.
• The rival rapidly raised the price to 10 million sea crystals, and Xiao Hua realized the bidder might be an Immortal Envoy from the Immortal Palace seeking Nascent Souls for the Sun Moon Star Three Formations at Yaotai Mountain.
• Xiao Hua asked whether the Nascent Souls belonged to the Yazi Auction Venue, then offered Xuan Kong a jade bottle for examination.
• Xuan Kong inspected the pills and was astonished by their quality, and Xiao Hua identified them as unusually potent Soul Nurturing Pills, better than ordinary Fourth-turn pills.

Xiao Hua manipulated a rival into spending heavily on Xitian Yu and a pagoda-like magical treasure while preserving his own resources for the Nascent Souls. The auction moved on to Buddhist artifacts, where the Reincarnation Drum drew eager bids from the demons.

• Xuan Kong introduced Xitian Yu, and Xiao Hua bid against a Confucian cultivator until the man paid eight million sea crystals for it.
• Xiao Hua asked whether the man would still bid on Nascent Souls, then let him keep Xitian Yu and was told he could no longer use sea crystals to bid on the Nascent Souls.
• Xiao Hua declined to bid on the remaining imperial artifacts, then challenged the man over a pagoda-like magical treasure and withdrew after the man raised its price to five million sea crystals.
• The man bought the pagoda-like treasure, while Xiao Hua refrained from bidding on the Buddhist artifacts that followed.
• Xuan Kong presented the Reincarnation Drum, and the demons began bidding after hearing of its connection to the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One.

Xiao Hua sparred with a human cultivator over sea vessels and shipbuilding materials while Xuan Kong paused the Nascent Soul auction to verify Xiao Hua’s Soul Nurturing Pills. After the materials auction ended, Xuan Kong introduced a new round of magical treasures and artifacts.

• Xuan Kong postponed the Nascent Soul auction to inspect Xiao Hua’s claimed Fourth-turn Soul Nurturing Pills, and the human cultivator objected to the change in rules.
• Xiao Hua bid against the human cultivator for a sea vessel, then yielded it after driving its price to six million three hundred and ten thousand sea crystals.
• Xiao Hua bid on shipbuilding materials, and the human cultivator stopped bidding after suspecting Xiao Hua wanted them to build sea vessels.
• Xiao Hua and the human cultivator continued bidding cautiously through several more lots without revealing their intentions.
• Xuan Kong began auctioning magical treasures and artifacts from Daoist, Confucian, Buddhist, and Demon Race traditions.

Xiao Hua outbid a rival for the Reincarnation Drum, which he discovered was actually a soul artifact rather than a Buddhist treasure. He inspected its carvings of the Six Paths of Reincarnation and concluded that, despite its appearance, it lacked the true workings of Buddhist reincarnation.

• Xiao Hua and another bidder drove the Reincarnation Drum's price upward through a series of bids, while the demons watched and cheered.
• Xiao Hua bid 13.1 million Sea Crystals after repeatedly provoking his rival, who finally conceded the item to him.
• Xuan Kong refused Xiao Hua's request to speak with the bidder for the Nascent Soul, and Xiao Hua paid for and collected the Reincarnation Drum.
• Xiao Hua examined the drum with his Buddhist and soul consciousness and realized it was a soul artifact disguised as a Buddhist treasure.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua studied the drum's carvings of the Buddhist Sect's Six Paths of Reincarnation and judged that they showed only their outward forms, not their true workings.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua visited Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua after the mysterious dark cloud and Soul Knot Heaven had transformed, bringing him the Reincarnation Drum as a soul artifact. Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua revealed that the drum concealed a strange brush, and Jade Slip Xiao Hua suspected it was Divine Brush Ma Liang’s divine brush.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua entered the crystalline mysterious dark cloud, whose defenses recognized him, and met Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua and Little White Dragon in Soul Knot Heaven.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua saw that Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua had become solid and greatly advanced, while Little White Dragon had gained strength but still lacked a body.
• Little White Dragon asked about shaping his body, and Jade Slip Xiao Hua explained that he had missed meeting Ao Zhantian and would contact Jiang Che again about the Dragon Cleansing Pool.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua presented Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua with the Reincarnation Drum, which Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua examined using green seal characters.
• Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua stripped away the drum’s Buddhist appearance and revealed a three-foot brush engraved with the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua recognized that the brush might be Divine Brush Ma Liang’s and noted that their scholar cultivator immortal friend was in seclusion.

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.