Chapter Summaries

Qing Chen saw Imperial Envoy Li Wenbi depart from Qiongzhou after publicly thanking him, while Li maintained a cold distance under orders to put the greater interests first. Rumors and official inquiries pointed toward growing scrutiny of Qing Chen and Qiongzhou, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Qing Chen and Ding Buxing reached a preliminary understanding about sharing information and support in the Divine Capital.
• Three months later, Li Wenbi prepared to leave Qiongzhou, and Qing Chen bowed to thank him for saving Qiongzhou at Blackstone County Seat.
• Li Wenbi rebuffed Qing Chen with a stern reminder to uphold his duties and avoid sinister elements, then departed with Ding Buxing.
• Qing Chen watched the Imperial Envoy's Procession disappear before leaving, while Yan Ming and Qing Xuansu welcomed the prospect of freedom from his control.
• Heavenly Abyss Pass ordered Qiongzhou to compile fifty years of administrative records and restrict troop movements, while the Ministry of Personnel began assessing Qiongzhou officials.

Qing Chen received Dongfang Ming, who warned that the Imperial Court was using old accusations and rumors to pressure him and urged him to seek protection through a northern campaign. Qing Chen recognized that a greater power was behind the maneuver and was summoned by Xiao Governor-General to Heavenly Abyss Pass.

• After two months of rumors about his demotion and exile, Qing Chen received Dongfang Ming in Qiong-Subduing Hall.
• Dongfang Ming delivered Xiao Governor-General’s message inviting Qing Chen to campaign against the Ten Thousand Saints Demon Kingdom in the southwest.
• Dongfang Ming warned Qing Chen that Qing Xuansu and Yan Ming had submitted old account books, military records, and accusations to Heavenly Abyss Pass and the Censorate.
• Qing Chen told Dongfang Ming that powerful figures were using the rules and rumors to pressure him, and advised him to speak ill of Qing Chen during his Imperial Envoy assignment.
• Dongfang Ming delivered Xiao Governor-General’s command for Qing Chen to come to Heavenly Abyss Pass if he would not campaign elsewhere, and Qing Chen accepted that the meeting was inevitable.

Qing Chen considered the risks of being drawn into the Iron Household’s war in the Northern Border and chose to preserve his freedom to pursue his cultivation and investigate lingering threats. He summoned his trusted retainers to settle several matters before departing for Heavenly Abyss Pass.

• Qing Chen realized that marrying into the Iron Household could have led to his deployment to the Northern Border, where he would fight under its generals and risk losing his freedom.
• Qing Chen rejected the prospect of serving as a loyal minister and decided to focus on breaking through his cultivation bottleneck, preparing to suppress the Demon Seed Golden Lotus, and investigating hidden secrets.
• Qing Chen concluded that he had matters to handle before meeting Xiao Canglan and called Changsheng, Zixuan, Xu Jiuling, and Xin Bairen to the hall.
• Qing Chen told the four retainers that he would soon leave for Heavenly Abyss Pass and needed to settle several matters first.

Qing Chen ordered Qiongzhou to raise funds, equip his elite troops, and reposition the Demon Lotus Sect as he prepared to face Xiao Canglan at Heavenly Abyss Pass. He arrived at the pass and met an armed challenge after Xiao Canglan refused to receive him.

• Qing Chen ordered Xu Jiuling and Xin Bairen to levy military contributions and taxes, Lin Changsheng to outfit sixty thousand elite troops, and Su Zixuan to redeploy Demon Lotus Sect disciples.
• Qing Chen decided to travel alone to Heavenly Abyss Pass and flew west, receiving intelligence reports about Qiongzhou, Southern Yue, and the Condensed Jade Sect’s planned Nascent Soul Ceremony.
• Qing Chen crossed Annan Province and reached Heavenly Abyss Pass, where Xiao Canglan’s failure to send a welcoming party convinced him he was being shown force.
• Qing Chen displayed his Azure Abyss Marquis Seal and flew openly toward the southern gate, prompting ten Floating Fortresses to activate and a voice to demand his identity.

Qing Chen reached Heavenly Abyss Pass to answer Spirit Venerable Xiao Canglan’s summons, overcoming True Lord Yunmiao’s deliberate inspection with a show of overwhelming Divine Sense. He entered Blackstone Manor and was left waiting before Xiao Canglan, whose Water Rule filled the hall with an oppressive emptiness.

• Qing Chen presented his Jade Slip and Magic Seal to True Lord Yunmiao, who delayed the inspection and questioned him about his unusual aura and a possible Ominous Spear.
• Qing Chen overwhelmed Yunmiao with his Demon Lotus Platform Divine Sense, forcing Yunmiao to end the inspection and let him enter Pass City.
• Yunmiao decided to report Qing Chen for arrogance, while Qing Chen flew through the heavily guarded city toward Blackstone Manor.
• Qing Chen waited outside the main hall after the manor gates opened, then sensed Xiao Canglan’s formidable presence and Water Rule within.

Qing Chen endured Xiao Canglan’s Spirit Transformation pressure and, under the strain, began melding blood-path and magnetic-origin laws into a small domain. Xiao Canglan confronted him over his rule in Qiongzhou and his resignation request, while Qing Chen insisted he wanted to return to his homeland; the chapter left Xiao Canglan weighing whether he could afford to let him go.

• Qing Chen resisted the crushing pressure in the great hall, awakened his divine sense, and formed a foot-wide domain from blood-path and magnetic-origin law powers.
• Xiao Canglan’s icy strike targeted Qing Chen’s divine soul, but Qing Chen’s domain and defensive techniques stopped it just before it reached his brow.
• Qing Chen bowed and thanked Xiao Canglan for the tempering, while Xiao Canglan recognized that the strike had helped him begin melding his laws.
• Xiao Canglan accused Qing Chen of abusing his authority in Qiongzhou and questioned whether he considered the prefecture his own.
• Qing Chen denied any intention to betray the Immortal Dynasty and explained that he had requested resignation so he could return to his fief and cultivate.
• Xiao Canglan considered his plans for Qing Chen and realized that Qing Chen’s firm resignation had disrupted them.

Xiao Canglan reconsidered his attempt to control Qing Chen after three powerful figures intervened on Qing Chen’s behalf. Qing Chen’s resignation remained before him, and Qing Chen endured the humiliation while resolving to gain the strength to control his own fate.

• Xiao Canglan recalled how he had elevated Qing Chen into a powerful marquis and intended to use him as a weapon in future wars.
• Xiao Canglan remembered that Qiu Qiansha of the Primordial Magnetism Devil Branch had warned him against making a show of force over a dispute between juniors.
• The Eastern Prince’s Principal Consort had reminded Xiao Canglan of Qing Chen’s role in saving the Heir Apparent and urged him to judge Qing Chen fairly.
• Hu Yong had told Xiao Canglan that the court had reached a settled judgment on Qing Chen’s matter and that a superior should know when to loosen the reins.
• Xiao Canglan realized he had to back down, while Qing Chen endured the encounter and wished for the strength to determine his own fate.

Qing Chen resigned as acting Qiongzhou Governor and Qiong-Pacifying Senior General, and Xiao Canglan granted him the honorary rank of subordinate third-rank Evil-Slaying Grandee. After accepting his new seal, Qing Chen left Heavenly Abyss Pass for his fief in the Gouwu Sea, declaring that he would return.

• Xiao Canglan approved Qing Chen's resignation and transferred Qiongzhou's affairs to Qing Xuansu and Yan Ming.
• Xiao Canglan granted Qing Chen the honorary rank of Evil-Slaying Grandee and ordered him to cultivate in seclusion while awaiting the Immortal Dynasty's summons.
• Xiao Canglan used his discretionary authority to strip Qing Chen of the Qiongzhou Governor Seal and Qiong-Pacifying Senior General Seal, then gave him a new Evil-Slaying Grandee Seal.
• Qing Chen left the Spirit Venerable's Residence wearing his new seal, while observers at Heavenly Abyss Pass speculated about his unexpected outcome.
• Qing Chen passed through the East Gate and told those there, "I, Qing Chen, will return."

After Qing Chen left Heavenly Abyss Pass, Xiao Canglan ordered him placed under close surveillance, while Wei Ting warned that the Iron Household might reconsider its marriage alliance. Qing Chen rejected the prospect of relying on the Iron Household and continued toward the Gouwu Sea.

• Xiao Canglan explained that Qing Chen’s ambition made him a potential threat and ordered the Profound Mirror Sky-Hunting Bureau to designate him a B-Upper Rank surveillance target.
• Wei Ting met Qing Chen in the sky and admitted that Circuit Inspector Tie Zhan had asked him to approach Qing Chen on the Iron Household’s behalf.
• Wei Ting warned that the Iron Household might break off its marriage alliance if Qing Chen returned to the Gouwu Sea and failed to build a career.
• Qing Chen refused to rely on powerful allies or women, citing the heavy casualties in the ongoing war as another reason not to seek merit on the battlefield.
• Wei Ting and Qing Chen exchanged farewells, and Qing Chen resumed his journey east.

Ye Wushang’s forces began transferring Qing Chen’s accumulated wealth from the Qiongzhou Prefecture Treasury, but Qing Xuansu and Yan Ming arrived to stop them. Su Zixuan challenged their authority under the law, and Ye Wushang prepared to defend the transfer as the treasury standoff escalated.

• Ye Wushang ordered Lin Changsheng, Su Zixuan, and the troops to load the Prefecture Treasury’s resources onto the ships for Qing Chen.
• Qing Xuansu and Yan Ming arrived with cultivators and demanded that the transfer stop.
• Lin Changsheng presented Qing Chen’s written order, but Qing Xuansu declared it invalid because Qing Chen was no longer governor.
• Su Zixuan demanded that Qing Xuansu and Yan Ming produce an official order revoking the document, and they could not do so.
• Yan Ming ordered his cultivators to seize Su Zixuan, but Ye Wushang and the sixty thousand elites drove them back and resumed loading the ships.

Qing Xuansu tried to make Qing Chen’s troops abandon him by promising stipends to those who submitted, but Jia Daoyi and Lei Bao publicly chose to follow Qing Chen. Xin Bairen and the loyal commanders then expelled the wavering cultivators from the battle formation, leaving them exposed before Qing Xuansu.

• Qing Xuansu warned the Qiongzhou cultivators that Qing Chen had lost his authority and promised rewards to those who joined him.
• Qing Xuansu pointed out that several of Qing Chen’s powerful allies had left or failed to appear, increasing unrest among the troops.
• Jia Daoyi arrived after resigning his post and declared that he would follow Hidden Spirit True Lord.
• Lei Bao also declared his loyalty to the Marquis, and Xin Bairen coordinated with Ye Wushang and the other commanders.
• Xin Bairen divided the battle formation’s power and forced several thousand wavering cultivators, including Wuxin Dharma Master, out of the ranks.
• Xin Bairen told Qing Xuansu that the expelled cultivators were his to take.

Qing Chen intervened as Qing Xuansu and Yan Ming tried to challenge his authority, then oversaw the lawful removal of the provincial treasury’s supplies. After rewarding the cultivators who stayed loyal, he ordered everyone back to the Gouwu Sea.

• Qing Chen revealed himself above the gathered cultivators and called Qing Tingxue out of hiding to join Qing Xuansu and Yan Ming.
• Qing Chen invoked his rank as a Subordinate Third Rank Evil-Slaying Grandee and used the Vajra Mound’s power to suppress the three Nascent Soul Middle Stage opponents.
• Qing Chen ordered Lin Changsheng and the others to resume transporting the treasury’s supplies according to the written order.
• Lin Changsheng reported that every listed supply had been counted and loaded onto the treasure ships.
• Qing Chen granted the loyal cultivators another two years of Immortal Stipend and ordered the group to return to the Gouwu Sea.

Qing Chen led the Demon Lotus fleet from Qiongzhou through Cloud-Hanging Pass and across the Southeastern Circuit, leaving the region behind as he headed toward the Gouwu Sea. After several more days, the fleet reached the Star-Shattering Strait.

• Qing Chen ordered his sixty-thousand-plus followers and fleet to pass Cloud-Hanging Pass without stopping or announcing their arrival.
• Tie Shou ordered the pass's defenses opened, and the enormous Demon Lotus fleet crossed without incident.
• Cultivators across the Southeastern Circuit watched the fleet pass and recognized Qing Chen as the Azure Abyss Marquis returning to his fief.
• Qing Chen listened to the reactions below through his divine sense as the fleet continued eastward.
• After another dozen days, the fleet reached the Star-Shattering Strait, the boundary between the Southeastern Circuit and the Gouwu Sea.

Qing Chen led the Demon Lotus Sect fleet through Star-Shattering Strait toward Gouwu Sea while Lin Changsheng reported the immense spoils and forces gathered from their conquest of Qiongzhou. As the fleet neared its new base, Qing Chen ordered the Qiongzhou Army's organization secretly abolished and its members absorbed into the Demon Lotus Sect.

• Lin Changsheng reported more than two billion low-grade spirit stones, vast supplies and texts, and an army of over sixty-five thousand cultivators, including seventy-two Golden Core cultivators.
• Qing Chen reviewed the gains and told Lin Changsheng to maintain Great Jin contacts and continue using official channels to acquire resources.
• Qing Chen transmitted a command to secretly abolish every organizational structure of the Qiongzhou Army.
• Qing Chen ordered all former Qiongzhou Army members incorporated into the Demon Lotus Sect and assigned new positions according to their merits and cultivation.

The Demon Lotus Sect established new halls, ranks, and stipends as Qing Chen traveled toward the Gouwu Sea. Wu Gui’s allies urged him to focus on their Fortune Anchor Plan instead of pursuing Qing Chen, while Wu Gui prepared to use the Ten Thousand Gu Source Cauldron to steal Annan Province’s fortune and escape the limits of the Nanhua Realm.

• The Demon Lotus Sect created three halls, six departments, local Branch Halls, new ranks for its cultivators, and merit-based advancement with increased stipends.
• Mad Shark True Lord asked Wu Gui for troops to intercept Qing Chen, but Golden Toad Granny and White Snake True Lord warned that attacking him would be too risky and would distract from their grand plan.
• Wu Gui ordered his followers to prioritize the Fortune Anchor Plan and asked White Snake how much of Annan Province’s fortune had been extracted.
• White Snake reported that Vein-Eroding Gu had infested eighty-five percent of the province’s principal Spirit Veins and Fortune Nodes, with the first overflow expected within thirty years.
• Wu Gui sensed the Ten Thousand Gu Source Cauldron nearing the formation of fortune’s essence and reflected that he would rather die than remain trapped in the Nanhua Realm without a path to the Dao.

Wu Gui ordered the Golden Toad Gu Tribe and Southern Yue to gather materials and extract spiritual energy for his Fortune Anchor plan. Qing Chen arrived at Vajra Spirit Island, where he was welcomed by its senior monks and reunited with his long-lost master, True Person Budong.

• Wu Gui threatened Golden Toad Granny with destroying her tribe if it failed to find enough Four-Winged Golden Cicada Gu within ten years.
• Wu Gui ordered White Snake to accelerate spiritual-energy extraction, even by causing natural disasters if necessary.
• Qing Chen and his fleet approached Vajra Spirit Island and received a grand welcome from Chan Master Hui'an, Chan Master Wuxiang, Numu, and Buddha's Son Wuchen.
• Qing Chen recognized that several Vajra Zen Sect figures had advanced in cultivation, including Numu and Wuchen.
• Qing Chen discovered that True Person Budong had been standing behind Hui'an, and Budong welcomed his returning disciple.

Qing Chen met with Chan Master Hui'an, who proposed elevating the Condensed Jade Sect to the Upper Eight Cave Spirit Islands and revealed that Xuanji True Lord had vanished near the Reincarnation Dead Sea. Qing Chen realized that the change would require one of the current eight factions to lose its seat.

• Qing Chen reunited with his master, True Person Budong, and went with him and Jia Daoyi to Vajra Hall.
• Chan Master Hui'an offered the Condensed Jade Sect a chance to join the Upper Eight Cave Spirit Islands, explaining that another faction would have to give up its seat.
• Qing Chen understood that he would need to resolve the matter of which faction was displaced.
• Chan Master Hui'an reported that Xuanji True Lord had gone missing after entering the Reincarnation Dead Sea with True Lord Jiyin of Mystic Yin Island.
• Qing Chen inferred that Mystic Yin Island was likely the faction to be replaced.

Qing Chen accepted the Vajra Zen Sect’s offer to have the Condensed Jade Sect replace Mystic Yin Island among the Upper Eight Cave Spirit Islands, agreeing to take on the conflict with Mystic Yin Island. After leaving the meeting, he offered to help his master True Person Budong break through to the immortal physical realm.

• Qing Chen considered how the Vajra Zen Sect’s offer would weaken the Blissful Union Tower’s influence while binding the Condensed Jade Sect to the Vajra Zen Sect.
• Qing Chen accepted the opportunity and invited Chan Master Hui'an and the others to his upcoming nascent soul ceremony.
• Qing Chen spoke with Wuchen and Fierce-Eyed Vajra for four hours before leaving Buddha Summit Mountain with True Person Budong and Jia Daoyi.
• Qing Chen told True Person Budong that the continuation of the Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method lay within the Vajra Mound and promised him body-tempering medicines and Grotto-Heaven Treasure Marrow.

Qing Chen gave True Person Budong the Vajra Mound and three rare body-tempering treasures to help him break through to the Immortal Realm, then led the fleet back to Cangming Island. Budong saw how the island had grown into a fortified great island, with Heavenly Ming Palace at its center.

• Qing Chen praised True Person Budong’s aptitude and offered him the Vajra Mound, activating its later cultivation techniques for him.
• Qing Chen gave True Person Budong a blood essence vine, a blood dragon marrow herb, and Stars Body-Tempering Liquid to support his breakthrough.
• True Person Budong accepted the treasures and agreed to pursue the Immortal Realm, and Qing Chen ordered everyone to return to Cangming Island.
• Lin Changsheng, Su Zixuan, Xu Jiuling, Xin Bairen, Hua Tieshou, Lei Bao, and the other envoys welcomed Qing Chen’s fleet before it sailed east.
• After half a month, True Person Budong saw Cangming Island’s vast expansion, towering walls, and seven palaces, including Heavenly Ming Palace.

Qing Chen returned to Cangming Island, where the Condensed Jade Sect and cultivators across the island waited in fear after his reputation as the Blood River Old Devil spread. He allowed the Golden Core cultivators to rise, but left the thousands kneeling behind them prostrate.

• Over three thousand Condensed Jade Sect cultivators, led by Wan Hun, Yuji, and Chi Xuntian, knelt to welcome Qing Chen at Giant Harbor.
• As Qing Chen remained aboard his ship for hours, frightened cultivators from across Cangming Island rushed to the docks and joined the kneeling crowd.
• More than ten thousand cultivators waited in silence while Wan Hun and the other Golden Core elders feared Qing Chen’s return and the power of his fleet.
• Qing Chen stepped onto the dock, addressed Wan Hun, Yuji, and Xuntian as martial nephews, and told the Golden Core cultivators to rise.
• The cultivators behind the elders stayed kneeling because Qing Chen had not told them to get up.