Chapter Summaries

The Imperial Court debated Qing Chen’s future and granted him an honorary governorship, a marquis title, and an imperial marriage to Tie Qingyao while summoning him to the Capital Region. Qing Chen learned of the unexpected decrees at an inn and wondered what the court’s powerful figures intended.

• Hu Yong advised rewarding Qing Chen without giving him a substantive appointment, while Wu Zhanxian left the decision to the Inner Cabinet and Emperor Jingtai.
• Zhang Taiyue proposed appointing Chan Master Hui'an as Gouwu Sea Circuit Inspector and granting Qing Chen an honorary Subordinate Second Rank title before summoning him to the Capital Region.
• Emperor Jingtai approved the proposal, ennobled Qing Chen as First-Class Azure Abyss Marquis, and ordered him to enter the capital.
• Emperor Jingtai named Tie Qingyao Qingning Commandery Princess and decreed her marriage to Qing Chen.
• At the Lakeside Inn, Qing Chen read the decrees in a jade slip and wondered what Zhang Taiyue and the other powerful officials were planning.

Qing Chen silently detected an Iron Household contact point in Cloud Dream Province, where Deputy General Tie Qingniu came to meet him and briefed him on the Imperial Court’s succession tensions. Qing Chen learned that his imperial marriage, new rank, military strength, and influence had made him a figure the princes could not ignore, and he left the meeting questioning why they were already uneasy before he reached the capital.

• Qing Chen used his advanced divine sense to find the Iron Household’s secret contact point beneath Cloud Brocade Studio.
• Tie Qingniu sensed Qing Chen’s divine presence, recognized his arrival, and traveled to meet him at an inn beside Yunmeng Lake.
• Tie Qingniu waited several hours before Qing Chen invited him inside, where he greeted Qing Chen as Marquis and was asked about the Imperial Court.
• Tie Qingniu explained that the Emperor might enter prolonged seclusion and outlined the First, Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Princes’ prospects to oversee the realm.
• Tie Qingniu warned that Qing Chen’s rank, strength, troops, and imperial marriage would draw the princes’ attention, and Qing Chen questioned why they were already uneasy.

Qing Chen weighed the dangers awaiting him in the capital and chose to prioritize his imperial audience over settling old grudges. He ordered Tie Qingniu to lead him there the next day and continue investigating his enemies, while he contemplated the powerful forces gathered around the Immortal Dynasty’s court.

• Tie Qingniu warned Qing Chen that the imperial princes would seek his support and advised him to reach the capital within a month for the emperor’s audience and marriage arrangements.
• Qing Chen asked about Emperor Jingtai, and Tie Qingniu described the sovereign as powerful, distant, and difficult to understand.
• Qing Chen learned that the Moon-Eroding Way’s Lesser Fate Commander was reportedly in seclusion on Moon-Hidden Mountain and that Yue Gu had been seen in E Province.
• Tie Qingniu urged Qing Chen to postpone seeking revenge on the Lesser Fate Commander and Yue Gu until after his audience with the emperor, and Qing Chen agreed.
• Qing Chen ordered Tie Qingniu to lead him toward the capital the next day, arrange an appropriate journey, and obtain accurate information about the two enemies.
• After Tie Qingniu left, Qing Chen reflected on the many powers awaiting him in the capital and wondered what the Immortal Dynasty’s favors would cost.

Qing Chen arrived at Cloud Dream Province City in a lavish Iron Household procession, and the provincial officials and crowds welcomed him as the Azure Abyss Marquis. He stepped from the Dragon Carriage, acknowledging Tie Qingniu’s elaborate efforts.

• The Iron Household procession approached Cloud Dream Province City with spirit beasts, official cloud-script titles, and a fourth-tier flood dragon pulling Qing Chen’s carriage.
• Cultivators in the crowd reacted with awe and alarm as they learned of Qing Chen’s marquis title, official rank, Heavenly Gang ranking, and imperial betrothal.
• Xu Zhiyin and the provincial officials welcomed Qing Chen outside the south gate as the Azure Abyss Marquis.
• Qing Chen stepped out of the Dragon Carriage and remarked that Tie Qingniu had really put him through it.

Qing Chen traveled north toward the capital in a magnificent procession, making his rank and growing reputation known throughout Great Jin. At Green-Tiled Terrace, Dongfang Ming arrived bearing an imperial decree that would formalize Qing Chen’s rewards, rank, and marriage decree.

• Qing Chen arrived in Cloud Dream Province, where Tie Ming welcomed him and personally took the reins of the flood dragon carriage while Vice-Governor Xu Zhiyin greeted him in place of the absent provincial governor.
• Qing Chen declined the welcoming banquet and continued north with the Iron Household Procession, whose grand passage through provinces and cities spread his name across Great Jin’s heartland.
• The procession crossed White Emperor Gorge and passed Red Rosy Clouds City, where cultivators watched Qing Chen’s carriage and marveled at his status and grandeur.
• On the tenth day, the procession reached Jade Billows Prefecture and paused at Green-Tiled Terrace while Qing Chen studied a register of influential Capital Region figures.
• Three envoys arrived from the north with an imperial edict, led by Dongfang Ming, the talented cultivator Qing Chen had discovered in Qiongzhou more than a century earlier.

Qing Chen received an imperial decree elevating him to First-Class Azure Abyss Marquis and appointing him Subordinate Second-Rank Heaven-Patrolling Governor-General of Gou Wu, while ordering him to enter the capital and await further assignment. The court also granted him an auspicious residence, wedding expenses, and exceptionally valuable cultivation treasures.

• Dongfang Ming, Li Wenbi, and Ji Jin arrived at the relay pavilion to proclaim the imperial decree to Qing Chen.
• Dongfang Ming read that Qing Chen had been promoted to First-Class Azure Abyss Marquis and given the titular rank of Subordinate Second-Rank Heaven-Patrolling Governor-General of Gou Wu.
• The decree ordered Qing Chen to enter the capital, receive an imperial audience, and await a further assignment, while Hui'an provisionally took the post of Circuit Inspector of Gou Wu.
• The Imperial Court awarded Qing Chen a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone, a Nascent Soul Formation Pill, Nine-Aperture Cloud-Brocade Pills, Fortune Crystals, and a Three-Turn Purple Mansion Origin-Raising Pill.
• Qing Chen accepted the decree and vowed to serve Great Jin and fight its bandits and marauders.

Qing Chen accepted the imperial court’s lavish treasures and renewed ties with Dongfang Ming, Li Wenbi, and Ji Jin. As the Iron Household’s procession entered Central Province, he marveled at its immense spiritual resources and sensed the fortune power converging toward the Imperial Capital, whose outline appeared ahead.

• Dongfang Ming presented Qing Chen with a treasure casket containing spirit stones, fortune crystals, pills, and other rare treasures, then congratulated him and thanked him for his past support.
• Qing Chen exchanged words with Li Wenbi and Ji Jin, who invited him to visit the Eastern Prince’s Household after he reached the capital.
• The Iron Household’s procession traveled north into Central Province, where Qing Chen observed its ordered spiritual qi, abundant resources, and many powerful cultivators.
• Qing Chen sensed threads of Great Jin’s fortune rising from provincial seats and blessed lands and converging beyond a sea of clouds.
• The Iron-Scaled Flood Dragon slowed, and the outline of the Imperial Capital appeared in the distance.

Qing Chen and the Iron Household’s procession reached the Imperial Capital, where Ji Chengjing and a group of noble youths blocked their way at Heaven-Bearing Gate. Ji Chengjing’s long-held desire to marry Tie Qingyao came to light as the procession faced the obstruction.

• Qing Chen saw the Imperial Capital and marveled at its immense walls, Heavenly Luo River, and Jade Capital Mountain.
• The Iron Household’s procession approached Heaven-Bearing Gate to undergo inspection, despite carrying an imperial decree summoning Qing Chen.
• Ji Chengjing, the Luan-yang Princess, Xiao Chengyue, Chen Lingyi, and other young nobles cut across the procession’s route and forced it to stop.
• Tie Ming challenged Ji Chengjing and the Luan-yang Princess over blocking the Iron Household and imperial envoys, while Tie Qingniu readied his hand on his saber.
• Ji Chengjing watched Qing Chen and the Iron Household with jealousy and resentment, remembering that he had long wanted to marry Tie Qingyao.

Qing Chen faced Ji Chengjing and several noble scions who blocked his way at the Heaven-Bearing Gate, then exposed the prince’s lack of authority with a pointed warning about imperial rules. The standoff ended when Ding Buxing arrived and ordered the carriages allowed into the capital.

• Ji Chengjing recalled his resentment over Qing Chen’s imperial marriage to Tie Qingyao and came with several nobles to confront him at the Heaven-Bearing Gate.
• Ji Chengjing, Xiao Chengyue, and Chen Lingyi challenged Qing Chen and told him to learn the capital’s rules.
• Qing Chen stopped Tie Ming from intervening, demanded that Ji Chengjing clear the way, and answered the prince’s threats by insisting that rules required official authority.
• Qing Chen warned Ji Chengjing that blocking an imperial appointee without an edict made the prince’s rules seem greater than those of every other imperial prince.
• Ding Buxing arrived with officials and soldiers, addressed Ji Chengjing, the Luan-yang Princess, and Qing Chen, and asked them to let the carriages enter the city.

After entering the Divine Capital, Qing Chen faced an imperial prince and princess before the city’s restrictions suppressed his powers. A successor of the Taiyi Daoist Sect then blocked the procession and challenged him to a fight.

• Ji Chengjing threatened Qing Chen outside Heaven-Bearing Gate, while Luan-yang Princess warned him not to mistreat Qingyao.
• Qing Chen assured Luan-yang Princess that he and Qingyao loved one another, and Ji Chengjing departed with the imperial party.
• Tie Ming led the Iron Household’s procession through Heaven-Bearing Gate, where the Imperial Capital’s grand formation restricted Qing Chen’s divine sense and flight.
• Xie Xuanwei of the One Unity Daoist Sect stopped the procession and asked Qing Chen, a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator, to instruct him in a fight.

Qing Chen avoided an immediate duel with Xie Xuanwei by challenging him to answer a question from an obscure Daoist book. He posed the Butterfly Dream Question, leaving Xie Xuanwei stunned and the watching crowd silent.

• Tie Ming warned Qing Chen that Xie Xuanwei was a powerful Taiyi Daoist Sect disciple and that killing or fighting him could have serious consequences.
• Qing Chen refused to fight immediately because he was about to marry and had to meet the emperor, then offered Xie Xuanwei a wager based on a Daoist question.
• Xie Xuanwei accepted, agreeing to owe Qing Chen a favor if he could not answer, while Qing Chen would still fight him at a time and place of his choosing.
• Qing Chen recounted a Daoist's dream of becoming a butterfly and asked whether the Daoist had dreamed of being a butterfly or the butterfly had dreamed of being a Daoist.
• Qing Chen pressed Xie Xuanwei to explain which self was real and what it meant to cultivate the Dao if neither could be distinguished; Xie Xuanwei could not answer and stood stunned.

Qing Chen stumped Xie Xuanwei with the Butterfly-Dream Question, prompting Xie to ask for ten days to find an answer. As the Iron Household procession continued into the Imperial Capital’s wealthy inner district, Qing Chen marveled at its spiritual abundance and wished it were all his territory.

• Xie Xuanwei admitted he had never heard the Butterfly-Dream Question and asked for ten days to answer it, promising Qing Chen a favor if he failed.
• Qing Chen wagered that if Xie answered within ten days, he would accompany him outside the city for a fight, then resumed the procession.
• The Butterfly-Dream Question spread throughout the Imperial Capital, stirring debate among cultivators, scholars, and aristocratic scions, while taverns opened betting pools on Xie’s answer.
• Tie Ming asked Qing Chen where he had learned the question, and Qing Chen claimed he had encountered it while roaming Immortal Mountain in a dream.
• The Dragon Carriage entered the Imperial Capital’s inner district, where Qing Chen admired its spirit-rich mansions and landscapes and wished the territory belonged to him.

Qing Chen arrived at the Imperial Capital and inspected the estate bestowed upon him, Cangming Peak. Before he could enter, Wei Jin delivered Emperor Jingtai’s summons ordering him to go to Jade Capital Mountain at once.

• Tie Ming explained the value of the Imperial Capital’s estates as Qing Chen traveled toward his new residence.
• Qing Chen arrived at Cangming Peak and saw its estate, spirit vein, and view of Jade Capital Mountain.
• An imperial procession led by Wei Jin arrived, carrying a Purple-Gold Jade Scroll.
• Wei Jin delivered Emperor Jingtai’s decree summoning Qing Chen to Jade Capital Mountain for an immediate audience.
• Qing Chen accepted the decree and left without entering Cangming Peak.

Qing Chen was summoned to Jade Capital Mountain by Emperor Jingtai and escorted through the heavily guarded, lavish imperial grounds. He reached the Profound-Nurturing Hall and waited alone while Wei Jin went to announce him.

• Qing Chen accepted Wei Jin's invitation and boarded the imperial palace carriage.
• The carriage traveled up Jade Capital Mountain, where Qing Chen sensed the powerful restrictions and marveled at its immense spiritual resources.
• Wei Jin explained that Qing Chen could ride to the Side Hall but would need his identity verified before entering the Imperial Pole Main Hall.
• The carriage stopped outside the Profound-Nurturing Hall, where Qing Chen's Marquis Seal responded to the golden lamps.
• Wei Jin left to announce Qing Chen, and the hall doors closed with Qing Chen waiting inside alone.

Qing Chen studied the strange murals in the side hall and gained insights into dreams and the spirit before Emperor Jingtai appeared and questioned him. Qing Chen offered a cautious explanation of cultivation through dreams, leaving the emperor visibly interested.

• Qing Chen walked down the corridor and examined murals depicting a city within a Daoist’s dream and three thousand figures gathered around a lamp.
• As Qing Chen studied the murals, a golden spark tried to enter his Divine Soul, but the Mysterious Womb Demon Lotus Platform and Nine-Colored Pearl reacted to protect him.
• Emperor Jingtai appeared without Qing Chen detecting him and asked what he had seen after twelve hours of studying the murals.
• Qing Chen realized Emperor Jingtai had summoned him because of the Butterfly Dream Question and suspected the emperor did not follow the Imperial House’s usual cultivation path.
• When Emperor Jingtai pressed him about dreams and spirit, Qing Chen explained that dreams could serve as cultivation and that spirit could enter a dream without being consumed by it.
• Emperor Jingtai’s eyes brightened at Qing Chen’s answer, and Qing Chen stopped speaking before revealing more.

Emperor Jingtai revealed the three paintings as the Mars Illusory Void Dream Record and recruited Qing Chen to study them and report his insights. He appointed Qing Chen a Palace Attendant with unrestricted access to Jade Capital Mountain, then summoned Gao Wuyong to assist him.

• Emperor Jingtai named the paintings Carefree Journey, One Dream, Three Thousand, and Record of the Imperial Ultimate Overturning the Boat.
• Emperor Jingtai gave Qing Chen permission to enter Jade Capital Mountain and study the dream records, requiring him to keep them secret and submit any useful insights.
• Emperor Jingtai revealed rare scriptures and promised rewards for Qing Chen's findings, including Spirit Transformation spirit items.
• Emperor Jingtai appointed Qing Chen as a Palace Attendant, placing him directly in service to the Son of Heaven.
• Emperor Jingtai summoned Gao Wuyong, the Brush-Holding Eunuch and Eastern Depot Circuit Inspector.

Emperor Jingtai appointed Qing Chen as a Palace Attendant and granted him direct access to Jade Capital Mountain, then Gao Wuyong personally escorted him home. The news shook the capital and changed how its factions treated Qing Chen, while he left with the emperor’s Jade Token and a dark thought of Emperor Jingtai.

• Emperor Jingtai ordered Gao Wuyong to escort Qing Chen home and personally granted Qing Chen the title of Palace Attendant, allowing him to enter Jade Capital Mountain without prior permission.
• Gao Wuyong escorted Qing Chen down Jade Capital Mountain, and palace witnesses spread news of the emperor’s favor throughout the capital.
• Ji Jin, Xiao Chengyue, Chen Lingyi, Xie Xuanwei, the Luan-yang Princess, and Ji Chengjing reacted to Qing Chen’s new standing, while Chen Lingyi warned against clashing with him again.
• Tie Ming praised Qing Chen as a fine son-in-law, and an Imperial Household Department official upgraded Tie Qingyao’s wedding rites to include the Phoenix Mantle and Rosy Crown.
• Qing Chen left in a palace carriage with the emperor’s Jade Token and silently thought of Emperor Jingtai as a dark Demon Lotus flashed in his eyes.

Emperor Jingtai struggled with his dangerous dream-cultivation method and became intrigued by Qing Chen’s aptitude for dream cultivation. Qing Chen returned to his newly bestowed Marquis’s Manor, while Gao Wuyong watched him enter under imperial orders.

• Emperor Jingtai’s attempt to cultivate through dreams failed, leaving him injured and weakened.
• Emperor Jingtai reflected on how humanity’s fortune burdened his primordial spirit and on his One Dream, Three Thousand method.
• Emperor Jingtai recalled Qing Chen’s insight into the Yinghuo Grand Void Dream Seal and considered him an unusually gifted dream cultivator.
• Emperor Jingtai wondered who he would be without Great Jin’s fortune, mountains, and imperial throne.
• Gao Wuyong escorted Qing Chen to Cangming Peak and offered to arrange the Marquis’s Manor and wedding affairs.
• Gao Wuyong watched Qing Chen enter the manor, obeying an imperial command.

Qing Chen fortified his new manor before discovering Yan Moyou had entered it unnoticed. Yan Moyou told him that Spirit Transformation Venerables were heading to the Chi Xi Ancient Battlefield to contain foreign races and cleanse its contamination, leaving Qing Chen to hear about the expedition without yet being asked to join it.

• Qing Chen activated the manor's existing formations and concealed over a hundred additional formation flags throughout the estate.
• Sensing an intruder, Qing Chen readied the Blood River God-Slaying Spear and confronted Yan Moyou, who emerged from the shadows beneath an old pine.
• Yan Moyou praised Qing Chen's improved strength and said he had come for three reasons.
• Yan Moyou explained that Spirit Transformation Venerables from major factions had set out for the Chi Xi Ancient Battlefield, where the Gouchen Star-Commanding Palace guarded an unstable seal.
• Yan Moyou identified the Star-Skeleton, Spirit-Devouring, Void-Scale, and Obsidian-Bone Races as foreign threats that had entered through ancient contaminated passages.

Yan Moyou told Qing Chen that he had grown much stronger and wanted to fight Qin Jundi, then revealed that Qiu Qiansha had arrived in Capital City and wished to see him. Qiu Qiansha met Qing Chen, praised his cultivation, and recounted how he had silenced the Blood God Sect’s Blood Saber Ancestor, who wanted Qing Chen to join his sect.

• Yan Moyou told Qing Chen that he intended to challenge Qin Jundi, and Qing Chen agreed to arrange their fight after his wedding and clear the area outside Capital City.
• Yan Moyou told Qing Chen that Branch Master Qiu Qiansha wanted to see him immediately.
• Qiu Qiansha arrived at the Wave-Viewing Pavilion, and Qing Chen knelt to pay his respects before the Branch Master ordered him to rise.
• Qiu Qiansha praised Qing Chen’s Primordial Magnetism and blood path cultivation, then explained that Blood Saber Ancestor had tried to recruit him into the Blood God Sect.
• Qiu Qiansha said he had fought Blood Saber Ancestor and made him stop insisting that Qing Chen join the Blood God Sect.