Chen Qing uncovered a conspiracy in Liuzhou involving the Thousand-Faced Fox, Painted Skin Mister, and Master Huang, and secured the Mirror Demon after Wang Ye escaped captivity. In the capital, he began investigating the crown prince’s consort candidates, only to find the Yang Household murdered and suspect the fox had a different plan for the selection.
Chen Qing helped expose the Thousand-Faced Fox, rescue the crown prince, and learn why the emperor spared the demon. Sent to govern a deserted Liuzhou, he began rebuilding the city and assembling the people and spirits for his divine gate-guardian plan.
Chen Qing established Liuzhou’s divine protections, drew the Shen Family into conflict, and recruited Chen Ying into his household. As the West Sea fog engulfed Jiangnan, the Azure Dragon Spell revealed that Liuzhou was at the center of the unfolding crisis.
Chen Qing confronted the living corpse outbreak, rescued survivors, and began building Liuzhou’s defenses and underworld administration. The arc left him preparing to expand his domain while the Door God and Wei Gongcheng both sought Xu Hu.
Chen Qing secured Liuzhou, protected the birth of the emperor’s child, and pursued the poisoners and the mystery behind the Shen Family’s dragon transformations. Wang Ye uncovered the family’s bloody history while Chen Qing confronted a fugitive spellcaster beneath the sea and proposed an alliance.
Chen Qing expanded Liuzhou’s forces, academy, and Underworld while cooperating with Shen Yiyun to draw the Shen family’s hidden monster into the open. A soul test in Nanyang exposed Shen Laoliu as a puppet controller and raised the possibility that living corpses had infiltrated the court and military.
As the Shen Family’s ancient insects and the eldest princess’s forces devastated Jiangnan, Chen Qing brought refugees and troops toward Liuzhou, where its growing armies and academy offered a new kind of strength. The arc left Liuzhou preparing for conflict over the Dragon Palace inheritance while outsiders began to question its methods and power.
Chen Qing defeated Xiao Mingyue’s forces through a costly formation and secured support from Tian Heng as he sought the court’s backing for a new order in Jiangnan. Meanwhile, Wang Ye and Hei Yun uncovered signs that Yin Devourers were infiltrating the capital and Great Azure Mountain.
Chen Qing secured control of the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley, prepared Jiangnan for war, and rejected the court’s order to return to the capital. When imperial forces advanced, Yuchi Feihu led the Battle God Army into battle while Xu Hu engaged Yuchi Peng.
Chen Qing defeated the court’s army and drew rival powers to Nanming Prefecture with Jiangnan’s prosperity, inventions, and Dragon Palace secrets. As negotiations began, Lu Ming plotted to exploit the gathering, while his buried family ties resurfaced.
Chen Qing tried to unite the factions before the Dragon Palace opened while Lu Ming’s wife attacked Yun Yu’e and Ke’er. He exposed and killed Madam Lu, defeated Lu Ming, and learned the Flying Star Bottle was an artifact from the Great Snake Kingdom.
Shen Yuan returned to the capital, demonstrated his formation skills, and secured the Shen Family a chance to study his methods, while bringing Madam Zheng with him to Jiangnan. As the families sent youths to compete for places at Jiangnan’s academies, Shen Xue prepared to escape Shen Yu’s control and Shen Yu decided to stay after learning about the academies’ spiritual energy.
As Shen Xue entered the Earth Academy, a sinister scarecrow and the schemes around Great Azure Mountain led to Murong Bingyun’s death. With the Dragon Palace opening early, unrest spread through Liuzhou, and Wei Gongcheng began investigating the source of the panic.
Chen Qing gathered the factions at the Dragon Palace and led Ziyue, Baiyu, and Murong Yunji into its core to seize its weapon-making legacy and jade resources. They encountered the Heavenly Ghost Octopus, which grew stronger after devouring another monster, while Xiao Mingxue and her allies chose to pursue Dragon Transformation species.
Chen Qing outmaneuvered Baiyu, escaped the collapsing Dragon Palace formation, and seized leverage over Ao Xin and the Dragon Palace’s resources. As ancient powers began awakening and the northern crisis worsened, the Dragon Palace tried to recruit human factions into Dragon Transformation, while Chen Qing warned Ao Xin that the Ancient Insect was approaching the West Sea Dragon Palace.
Chen Qing and his allies battled Shen Laoda, Ao Xin, and the Dragon Palace’s schemes while the Duke of Wei’s sacrifice sent the Fighter Army north to save survivors. The Heavenly Ghost Octopus reached the West Sea Dragon Palace, where Chen Qing began seeking a way to stop it as another Dragon King Breed appeared.
Chen Qing forged an alliance with Ao Zhen and faced Prince Consort Fei while the Heavenly Ghost Octopus and Dragon Palace crises unfolded. As Liu Yu’s long-laid plans drew rival factions into the East Sea Dragon Palace, blood from the Outer Heaven Demon Statue triggered mutations and turned them against one another.
Chen Qing rejected Pu Yunchuan’s plan for humanity and became trapped in a sealed region with Heavenly Secrets and Quefeng. While Ziyue managed Jiangnan and prepared to respond to threats from the capital, refugees began arriving from the Southern Barbarians, and Chen Qing discovered Quefeng had led them into a poison domain.
Chen Qing became trapped on the Yin-Yang Road while a false Chen Qing led Jiangnan’s mission to the capital, where the empress’s schemes threatened Ao Zhen and A Li. As the capital’s factions prepared for a deadly duel over Xiao Mingxue, A Li learned the truth about Cui Yan and lost herself to grief.
Chen Qing defeated Wutu Gu, uncovered the emperor’s Ghost Temple plot, and rescued Ao Zhen, while the rising threat in the north drew Jiangnan into a dangerous contest for allies and resources. The arc ended with northern refugees setting out across the ice road as Yuchi Feihong began building a force from them.