Chapter Summaries

Ninth Lady and the Turtle Chancellor traveled to a remote Ji River Water Eye to release Langdi Golden-Eyed Hou, but found Si Liu'er had turned the surrounding lake into a poisonous marsh. Ninth Lady entered the marsh to open the Water Eye, only for Si Liu'er and a companion to confront her.

• Ninth Lady left Jining City and returned to Jidu Shrine, where she and the Turtle Chancellor planned to open a Water Eye to strengthen the Ji River against the Yellow River.
• Ninth Lady and the Turtle Chancellor traveled to an old watercourse north of Weishan Lake, seeking the Water Eye that held Langdi Golden-Eyed Hou.
• Ninth Lady and the Turtle Chancellor followed the polluted stream to a poisonous marsh and realized Si Liu'er had made it his lair.
• Ninth Lady refused to retreat, put on the Blue-Feathered Crane Nuo Mask, and entered the marsh with the Turtle Chancellor serving as a shield.
• Ninth Lady reached the clear pool at the Water Eye and prepared to use the Jishui Water Palace seal, but Si Liu'er appeared with a brown-robed companion.

Ninth Lady escaped Siliuer’s poisoned swamp with Golden-Eyed Hou after breaking the Yellow River Water God’s seal, while Siliuer returned to the River Lord and began framing Ninth Lady for the Playing Water Lord’s death. The River Lord’s fear that drought would force him to surrender water and risk the Yellow River’s survival left Siliuer an opening to turn him against the Ji River.

• Siliuer trapped Ninth Lady in the poisonous swamp and tried to blame her for the Playing Water Lord’s death, but Ninth Lady used the Sail-Poling Soul to clear the poison and free Golden-Eyed Hou from the Water Eye.
• Ninth Lady, the Turtle Chancellor, and Golden-Eyed Hou fled the mountains as mystic light.
• Siliuer returned to the Yellow River Water Palace and found the River Lord studying a map as drought threatened the Yellow River and its tributaries.
• The River Lord explained that he feared allocating water veins to the tributaries because their gods might be unable to return them if the drought worsened.
• Siliuer claimed that Ninth Lady had entered her swamp with a companion and that the Playing Water Lord had been killed there, preparing to accuse the Ji River’s Chief Sacrificer.

The Yellow River River Lord invaded the Ji River to seize its Water Eyes and veins amid the drought, while Ninth Lady held Jidu Shrine’s defenses and waited for Cui Jiuyang’s return. Grandmother Hunsha arrived to help the Yellow River break the Ji River Celestial Cycle Grand Formation’s first layer.

• Siliuer reported that the Ji River Chief Sacrificer had killed the Playing Water Lord while protecting a sealed Water Eye, and the River Lord decided to use the conflict to pursue the Ji River’s resources.
• The Yellow River River Lord ordered an attack on Jidu Shrine, and the resulting flood forced people around Jining to flee into the city.
• Fifth Master Yang offered the authorities free aid for the refugees as the Ji River formation stopped the flood and thousands of Yellow River Demon Soldiers surrounded Jidu Shrine.
• Ninth Lady refused to leave the formation to fight, despite the Langdi Golden-Eyed Hou urging her to respond, and continued waiting for the Turtle Chancellor and Cui Jiuyang.
• Grandmother Hunsha explained the first two layers of the Ji River Celestial Cycle Grand Formation to the River Lord and volunteered to help breach its defenses.
• The Langdi Golden-Eyed Hou recognized Grandmother Hunsha outside the formation and urgently sent for Ninth Lady.

Cui Jiuyang arrived at Jidu Shrine as the Ji River forces were on the verge of defeat, froze the Yellow River army, and rescued Ninth Lady. After Siliuer reported the defeat, the River Lord suspected Cui Jiuyang’s appearance meant someone was defying Heaven’s Mandate and began weighing a momentous decision.

• Grandmother Hunsha broke through the Ji River formation’s first layer, and Siliuer ordered the Yellow River army to attack Langdi Golden-Eyed Hou’s position.
• After three days of fighting, the Yellow River army overwhelmed the exhausted Ji River defenders, and Ninth Lady’s Water Palace seal lost its power.
• Cui Jiuyang arrived on a dragon, froze the Yellow River army, and entered Jidu Shrine with Ninth Lady while Ming and the yin soldiers relieved Langdi Golden-Eyed Hou.
• Cui Jiuyang told Siliuer that the Ji River was under his protection and that he would visit the River Lord, then Three Chi Seven slaughtered the surviving Yellow River forces as Siliuer fled.
• Siliuer reported Cui Jiuyang’s arrival to the River Lord, who linked the Jisi Cui Family’s unexpected cultivator to a possible defiance of Heaven’s Mandate.

Cui Jiuyang returned to Jidu Shrine after reaching the Seven Extremes, and he and Ninth Lady reunited in the rear hall. Their intimacy was interrupted by the looming threat from the Yellow River.

• Cui Jiuyang advanced to the Seven Extremes over the East Sea as black tribulation clouds gathered, but white vapor held them back until both forces dispersed without striking him.
• Cui Jiuyang traveled to the Ji River with Turtle Chancellor and Ming, then reunited with Ninth Lady at Jidu Shrine.
• Turtle Chancellor questioned Ming about Cui Jiuyang’s cultivation and the failed tribulation, but Ming could not explain either.
• Cui Jiuyang restored Ninth Lady’s vitality and teased her about missing him before they shared an intimate moment behind a soundproofing spell.
• Ninth Lady pulled away from Cui Jiuyang and reminded him that the matter involving the Yellow River was not over.

Cui Jiuyang helped Ninth Lady restore the Ji River’s strength, reorganized its forces, and gained insight into the forces shaping his journey. He then went with Ninth Lady and Ming to confront the River Lord, capturing a River-Patrolling Yaksha outside the Yellow River Water Palace.

• Cui Jiuyang gave Ninth Lady the Xuanning Water-Dividing Shears, then worked with her to unseal the Ji River’s Water Eyes and gather its surviving demon generals.
• Cui Jiuyang replenished the Ji River’s troops, completed the Ten Directions Demon Army and Heaven-Slaying formations, and gave the Turtle Chancellor instructions for the Dragon Palace Crossing Waves Military Formation.
• Cui Jiuyang realized that unseen forces might be guiding and obstructing his journey, and suspected that he would eventually have to question the Heavenly Court.
• Cui Jiuyang agreed to bring Ninth Lady along to meet the River Lord, while the Turtle Chancellor stayed behind to oversee the Ji River’s military preparations.
• Cui Jiuyang bound a River-Patrolling Yaksha with an Immortal-Binding Rope and hauled him out of the water outside the Yellow River Water Palace.

Cui Jiuyang and Ninth Lady went to the Yellow River to confront its River Lord over the battle with the Ji River, but learned he was absent. At the chapter’s end, Chancellor Li met them on the riverbank and ordered Siliuer brought up.

• Cui Jiuyang threatened a river-patrol Yaksha with a fake Meridian-Severing Talisman and sent him to summon the River Lord.
• The Yaksha reached the Water Palace, where Siliuer learned the River Lord was absent and went to demand a response from the Deliberation Hall.
• Li Ziqing and Official Xie rebuked Siliuer for expecting the ministers to answer for a campaign they had not authorized.
• Li Ziqing left with Official Xie to meet Cui Jiuyang and Ninth Lady, while the officials mocked Siliuer after she departed.
• Li Ziqing greeted Cui Jiuyang on the riverbank, explained that the River Lord was absent, and ordered Siliuer brought to them.

Cui Jiuyang learned from Chancellor Li that the Yellow River’s drought came from the Heavenly River Source drying up, and that both the Spirit Source Water Lord and the River Lord had gone there and never returned. The River Lord’s letter urged Cui Jiuyang to follow him, leaving Cui Jiuyang torn between investigating and staying with Ninth Lady.

• Chancellor Li explained that Siliuer had been executed, then revealed that the River Lord was a spirit soul left by the Spirit Source Water Lord.
• Chancellor Li told Cui Jiuyang that the Yellow River depended on the Heavenly River Source, which had dried up and prompted the Spirit Source Water Lord and the River Lord to travel there.
• Chancellor Li gave Cui Jiuyang the River Lord’s letter, which read, “If you wish to know how high heaven is, follow me.”
• Ninth Lady begged Cui Jiuyang not to go to the Heavenly River Source, fearing that he would never return.
• Cui Jiuyang promised he would not leave that day and spent the night telling Ninth Lady about his life, while she listened and joked about their hundred-year age difference.

Cui Jiuyang brought Ninth Lady to the Old Residence to meet Great-Grandfather, only to find Senior Sister and Su Su there as well. After Cui Jiuyang introduced the three women, Great-Grandfather invented an excuse to leave him alone with them, and Cui Jiuyang faced an awkward reunion.

• Cui Jiuyang reluctantly brought Ninth Lady to the village, where the villagers admired them and learned he was Cui Chengshou's great-grandson.
• Cui Jiuyang found Great-Grandfather watering a plant with three different flowers, then reunited with Su Su and Senior Sister.
• Cui Jiuyang introduced Ninth Lady, Su Su, and Senior Sister, while Ninth Lady realized he had omitted the other women from the stories he told her.
• Great-Grandfather claimed a Primordial Fierce Beast had appeared on East Mountain and fled, leaving Cui Jiuyang to face the three women alone.

Cui Jiuyang and Ninth Lady reconciled, and Li Mingyue and Su Su welcomed her into their household with a tea ceremony. Later, Cui Jiuyang drank with Great-Grandfather, who revealed his ambition to restore his shattered dantian before Cui Jiuyang asked about the Heavenly River Source.

• Cui Jiuyang explained his history with Su Su and Senior Sister to Ninth Lady, who accepted their bond despite her jealousy and worries about his coming journey.
• Li Mingyue and Su Su exchanged tea with Ninth Lady, recognizing her as part of their household.
• Cui Jiuyang confronted Great-Grandfather for abandoning him, then joined him on the roof to drink and complain about the three women taking separate wings of the house.
• Great-Grandfather admitted he knew Li Yuanyue loved him but said worldly love and suffering were too small to hold his attention because he sought ascension.
• Great-Grandfather said he could restore his shattered dantian by pointing to the mended sky and the purpose of Cui Jiuyang's Yin Soldiers.
• Cui Jiuyang asked Great-Grandfather whether he knew that the Yellow River's source was the Heavenly River Source rather than the Water Eye in Guixu.

Cui Jiuyang prepared to travel alone to the heavenly river source, and Great-Grandfather reinforced his Formation Disc and lent him a Soul Sword. After an awkward night sharing a room with Su Su, Senior Sister, and Ninth Lady, Cui Jiuyang stayed home for several days, spending time with them while waiting for the River Lord’s situation to develop.

• Cui Jiuyang told Great-Grandfather about the heavenly river source and resolved to investigate the Heavenly Court alone, using the reversed Heaven and Earth Creation Art to escape if necessary.
• Great-Grandfather added protective runes to Cui Jiuyang’s Formation Disc and lent him his Soul Sword before leaving to visit friends.
• Cui Jiuyang carried Su Su and Senior Sister into Ninth Lady’s room and persuaded all three women to share a bed, though Ninth Lady insisted he could not touch them.
• Cui Jiuyang divined that the River Lord was trapped but not in danger, and that intervening now could disrupt his condition, so he decided to wait at home.
• Cui Jiuyang spent the following days taking Su Su, Senior Sister, and Ninth Lady around the village to gather spring vegetables and prepare meals together.

Cui Jiuyang left his three wives behind and set out for the Yellow River's source, following the divination that said he had to depart that day. As he flew west on Three Chi Seven, he entertained himself with sword tricks and a nursery rhyme while the river's inhabitants hurried out of his way.

• Cui Jiuyang discovered that his senior sister's swollen belly was a false pregnancy, then joked with the three women about having children while hiding his worries about an impending journey.
• Cui Jiuyang told the women he had to seek the Heavenly River Source and explained that he could retreat a hundred years into the future if he faced mortal danger.
• Su Su, his senior sister, and Ninth Lady prepared food for Cui Jiuyang and agreed to stay together at Jidu Shrine while he was away.
• Cui Jiuyang said farewell to the three women, then rode Three Chi Seven away as they watched and wept.
• Cui Jiuyang flew upstream above the Yellow River, sang a boastful nursery rhyme, and startled lesser Demons and cultivators with his aura.
• Chancellor Li ordered the Yellow River Water Palace's patrols to stay out of Cui Jiuyang's way as he hurried toward the river's source.

Cui Jiuyang entered the natural formation concealing the Heavenly River Source and followed its streams to a mirrorlike lake, where he sensed the River Lord was waiting. He jumped into the freezing Heavenly River Water to search for him, and frost formed on his robe as he descended.

• Cui Jiuyang used the River Lord’s letter to open a water gateway through the formation around the Heavenly River Source.
• Cui Jiuyang found that the formation’s dense Spiritual Energy had made the grasses intelligent, and he hopped across their stream-filled plain while they sang nursery rhymes.
• Cui Jiuyang followed the streams to a mirrorlike lake and realized it was the source of the Heavenly River Water.
• Cui Jiuyang stirred the lake with an ebony stick, then jumped in to find the River Lord.
• Cui Jiuyang descended into the lake and discovered that the water was bone-chilling, with frost forming on his robe.

Cui Jiuyang followed the River Lord’s letter through the Celestial River, discovering that it lay beyond the Three Realms and that its banks had broken apart. The letter’s loach vanished near a Water Palace Seal, leaving Cui Jiuyang to search for the River Lord.

• Cui Jiuyang found a bowl-sized opening at the bottom of Mirror Lake and recognized it as a breach in the shattered barrier of the Three Realms.
• Cui Jiuyang passed through the opening into the Celestial River and was swept thousands of li away by its currents.
• Cui Jiuyang followed a loach formed from the River Lord’s letter, using Three Chi Seven to withstand the currents and gold and silver sand.
• Cui Jiuyang used the Yin-Yang Qi Reversal Gourd to study black and white grains, learning that they were the Celestial River’s former banks, shaped by Gun and Yu.
• Cui Jiuyang suspected the Celestial River had burst its banks and that the Heavenly Court had summoned the River Lord to address the flood.
• The loach broke apart in the current, and Cui Jiuyang spotted a Water Palace Seal in the distance.

Cui Jiuyang found the Yellow River Seal and followed its warning to the wounded River Lord, who explained that the Heavenly River had flooded thousands of years ago when the Heavenly Court stopped sending emissaries. As the River Lord told him to look behind, a black spear flew at Cui Jiuyang.

• Cui Jiuyang took the Yellow River Seal and heard the River Lord warn him to flee because of a heaven-collapsing calamity.
• Cui Jiuyang used the seal to locate the gravely wounded River Lord on a riverbed of black-and-white stones in the flooded Heavenly River.
• Cui Jiuyang confronted the River Lord over his attempt to seize the Ji River's holdings and threaten his wife, then agreed to postpone their fight until the River Lord recovered.
• The River Lord explained that he had entered the Heavenly River Source to help Cui Jiuyang reach the Stairway to Heaven and South Heavenly Gate, but a sudden suction force swept him away and injured him.
• The River Lord said the Heavenly River had likely flooded thousands of years earlier, when the Heavenly Court stopped sending emissaries, then directed Cui Jiuyang to look behind him.
• A black spear rushed toward Cui Jiuyang and embedded itself in a nearby white stone after he dodged it.

Cui Jiuyang investigated the River Lord’s strange behavior and learned that the flooded Heavenly River had lost its banks, leaving the Water Eye as the route back to the mortal world. After discovering black spiritual power in the river’s water, he suspected the Heavenly Court’s forces were corrupted, and he and the River Lord set out toward the Water Eye.

• Cui Jiuyang noticed a living face on the back of the River Lord’s head but kept his suspicion to himself while questioning him about the Heavenly River Army.
• The River Lord explained that the Heavenly River’s banks had collapsed and that finding its source’s Water Eye was the only way back to the mortal world.
• Cui Jiuyang collected Heavenly River water in Abyss in the Water and refined it into pearls that contained black vapor capable of dissolving his spiritual power.
• Cui Jiuyang connected the black vapor to the corruption affecting the Dragon Princes and wondered whether the Heavenly Court’s soldiers and generals had practiced the same evil art.
• The River Lord expelled black blood containing chaotic spiritual power, and Cui Jiuyang told him to lead the way toward the Water Eye.

Cui Jiuyang and the River Lord battled Heavenly Soldiers while traveling through the Heavenly River toward its source. After Cui Jiuyang destroyed one group, they fled from a vastly larger force, leaving the pursuing Heavenly General enraged and intent on stopping them.

• The River Lord led Cui Jiuyang through the Heavenly River and gave him valuable gold-silver and black-white sand.
• A force of Heavenly Soldiers ambushed the pair, focusing most of its attacks on the River Lord.
• The River Lord summoned the Nine-Bend Yellow River Diagram to hold the soldiers back while Cui Jiuyang used Heaven-Slaying to destroy their Heavenly General and disperse them.
• The River Lord explained that the Heavenly Soldiers targeted him for his divine power, then continued leading Cui Jiuyang despite his injuries.
• A stronger Heavenly General arrived with three thousand soldiers, so Cui Jiuyang grabbed the River Lord and fled on his sword; the general recovered from his surprise and pursued them.

Cui Jiuyang escaped the Heavenly River Army’s formation by using Heaven-Slaying, Earth-Extinction, then explored the captured great standard and discovered a pool of water promising eternal life. He chose to wash the standard in the pool, and its restored colors began spreading through the death-filled world.

• Cui Jiuyang destroyed the Heavenly River soldiers and generals with Three Chi Seven and the Soul Sword, then continued onward with the River Lord.
• Cui Jiuyang secretly kept the celestial general’s great standard and examined its formation space, finding the remains of countless celestial soldiers and generals.
• Cui Jiuyang climbed a mountain of corpses within the standard and resisted the ultimate death that began transforming his divine sense into a jiangshi.
• Cui Jiuyang reached a pool of clear water that called to him with the promise of eternal life, but decided to use it to clean the great standard.
• Cui Jiuyang washed the standard in the pool, restoring its colors as they began spreading across the corpse-filled land.

Cui Jiuyang reached the peak of the seven extremes after contemplating life and death, then cleared the Heavenly River of its hostile soldiers. At the Water Eye, the Spirit Source Water Lord ambushed the River Lord, and Cui Jiuyang killed him before learning that his possession of the River Lord involved an intrusion of the unorthodox path.

• Cui Jiuyang revived the heavenly soldiers and generals within the Great Banner’s space and reached the peak of the seven extremes.
• Cui Jiuyang erased fifty thousand hostile heavenly soldiers and generals with the Great Banner, then continued with the River Lord toward the Water Eye.
• The Spirit Source Water Lord emerged at the Water Eye, drained the River Lord’s divine power, and took the Water Palace’s seal.
• Cui Jiuyang struck down the Spirit Source Water Lord with Three Chi Seven and destroyed his attempt to flee as water.
• The River Lord explained that the Spirit Source Water Lord had once left a Soul Seed in the Yellow River, and Cui Jiuyang suspected the injured River Lord had been possessed.
• The River Lord concluded that the Spirit Source Water Lord’s ability to possess him without a divine seat was an intrusion of the unorthodox path.

Cui Jiuyang fought Spirit Source Water Lord, who had taken part of Marshal Tianpeng’s authority and was trying to escape the Heavenly River by leaving the River Lord in his place. Cui Jiuyang summoned Ming and Lei Chuanyun’s Ten Directions Demon Army to battle the water-empowered heavenly troops, then discovered that the scattered soldiers formed a hidden battle formation feeding Spirit Source Water Lord’s strength.

• The River Lord realized Spirit Source Water Lord planned to leave him trapped in the Heavenly River and return to the Yellow River Water Palace, so Cui Jiuyang sealed him inside the Great Expansion Command Flags.
• Spirit Source Water Lord appeared and revealed traces of Heavenly River authority, leading Cui Jiuyang to suspect he had stolen part of Marshal Tianpeng’s power.
• Cui Jiuyang summoned Ming to help capture Spirit Source Water Lord alive, while Spirit Source Water Lord called forth a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals.
• Cui Jiuyang summoned Lei Chuanyun and the Ten Directions Demon Army, whose demon kings manifested ancient beast forms and attacked the heavenly troops.
• Cui Jiuyang and Ming fought Spirit Source Water Lord while the Demon Army battled his troops, and Cui Jiuyang noticed that the enemy’s divine power was not weakening.
• Cui Jiuyang and Ming realized the scattered heavenly soldiers were linked in a hidden battle formation that strengthened Spirit Source Water Lord, and Cui Jiuyang called out the method to him.