Chapter Summaries

Chen Qing learned that the Shen Family was a powerful sorcerer clan and suspected its legendary thousand-year-old patriarch might be nearing a dangerous breakthrough. He then learned that his fox-demon concubine had been meeting a man who looked like Cui Yan, whom Chen Qing knew was dead, and rushed out to investigate.

• Chen Qing asked Wei Gongcheng about the Shen Family and learned it had helped preserve Jiangnan during the era of warlords and held great influence in Great Jin.
• Wei Gongcheng explained that the Shen Family had twelve branches and warned Chen Qing that the first branch’s matriarch was a northern shaman from the Greedy Wolf Totem clan.
• Chen Qing questioned the story that Old Master Shen had opened a canal himself and considered whether the patriarch had discovered a method of longevity from a later sorcerer school.
• Wei Gongcheng told Chen Qing that his fox-demon concubine regularly visited Cui Yan’s courtyard and met a handsome man there.
• Chen Qing realized the man matched Cui Yan’s appearance, despite Cui Yan being dead, and ran out of the hall.

The emperor refused to see the crown prince while grieving over the fading empress and ordered the Yin-Yang Academy to hasten its work on an ancient immortal’s corpse. Chen Qing confirmed that A Li knew Cui Yan’s current identity and learned that the ghost immortal update had arrived early, but he insisted the mortal world still had hope as long as he was there.

• The crown prince was turned away from the imperial study and worried that the emperor’s suspicion and his own inability to recover were threatening his position.
• The emperor held the fading empress as she vanished, then demanded an exact timeline for deciphering the ancient immortal’s corpse despite the arcanist’s warnings about the risks.
• The emperor asked about the undying being in Jiangnan and Chen Qing’s recent actions, learning that Chen Qing had arrested three legitimate sons of the Shen Family’s eldest branch.
• Chen Qing confronted A Li about Cui Yan, and she admitted he was right before warning that the mortal world was nearing its end.
• Chen Qing declared that the mortal world still had hope as long as he was there, then left after realizing the ghost immortal update had arrived ahead of schedule.

A Li remembered a confident leader from the past who had died, leaving the mortal world without hope, while Cui Yan appeared behind her. In Liuzhou, Chen Qing planned to ransom the Shen Family’s detained sons, and the Shen Family sent Murong Yunji to confront him, leaving Shen Yixin wondering whether Chen Qing was an idiot or had a hidden contingency.

• A Li recalled the former leader whose confidence had once inspired the reincarnated demons, and Cui Yan appeared as she lamented that the mortal world could no longer be saved.
• Zhou Haitao told Chen Qing that the yamen was overwhelmed and understaffed, while Chen Qing said he expected ransom money from the Shen Family’s detained sons.
• Chen Ying warned Chen Qing that the Shen Family’s mountain-god spirit medicine made him vulnerable, but Chen Qing cited his rank, marquis title, and marriage to Princess Yong’an as backing.
• At a Shen Family meeting, Shen Yixin explained that Chen Qing had attracted the interest of powerful factions, but Murong Yunji dismissed the threat and left to confront him herself.
• Shen Yixin sent Second Master Shen and Ninth Master Shen after Murong Yunji, then said Chen Qing would have to be an idiot to expose himself without a contingency.

Shen Yiyun and Laojiu traveled toward Liuzhou while Murong Yunji confronted Yuchi Feihong aboard his military ship and uncovered his connection to the West Sea disaster. Shen Yiyun joined them, denied knowing what caused the destruction there, and explained that the Shen family was heading to Liuzhou to ransom Murong Yunji’s detained sons.

• Shen Yiyun told Laojiu that Murong Yunji cared little for her weak sons and had intervened because she wanted amusement.
• Murong Yunji boarded Yuchi Feihong’s ship and recognized sea corpse venom, revealing that he had visited the West Sea.
• Shen Yiyun and Laojiu arrived aboard a python, and Yuchi Feihong invited them onto his ship rather than risk a confrontation.
• Yuchi Feihong questioned Shen Yiyun about the West Sea, but Shen Yiyun said the Shen family had little information and denied that their ancestor had caused the disaster.
• Shen Yiyun showed Yuchi Feihong an official notice stating that Murong Yunji’s sons had been detained by Liuzhou’s prefect, Chen Qing, and said they were going to ransom them.
• Yuchi Feihong offered to take Shen Yiyun, Laojiu, and Murong Yunji to Liuzhou.

Second Master Shen and Yuchi Feihong arrived in Liuzhou and observed the city’s revival, while trading-company proprietors discussed the new prefect’s land purchases and his defiance of the Shen Family. The merchants’ gathering was interrupted by Yuchi Feihong’s arrival and the appearance of a notorious woman, leaving Shen Yiyan alarmed about what would happen next.

• Second Master Shen praised Liuzhou’s renewed bustle as she and Yuchi Feihong approached the harbor.
• Second Master Shen eavesdropped on Shen Yiyan and other trading-company proprietors discussing the prefect’s advance purchase of Liuzhou properties and his plans for the door gods and mountain god.
• Shen Yiyan told the proprietors that the prefect had detained Shen Family members and refused to meet him when he came to discuss their release.
• The proprietors decided they would still buy land, and Proprietor Jiang said he would pay any price to see whether the prefect could stand up to the Shen Family.
• Yuchi Feihong arrived on a warship, and Proprietor Ye and Shen Yiyan recognized the woman accompanying him, with Shen Yiyan fearing the consequences of her arrival.

Shen Yiyan welcomed Shen Yiyun and Yuchi Feihong, then Yuchi’s party reached Liuzhou’s gate, where Maozi’s guards stood their ground. A thunderous clash drew the visitors into the city, where they found Murong Yunji fighting an unknown opponent and wearing her Wind King Armor, signaling that she had reached full power.

• Shen Yiyun praised Shen Yiyan’s trading success and promised to reserve a sorcery academy place for his child.
• Murong Yunji disappeared as Shen Yiyun and Yuchi Feihong set out to meet the new prefect.
• Maozi’s guards barred Yuchi Feihong’s soldiers from entering without an announcement, and Maozi wounded Yuchi’s personal guard in a clash.
• A deafening impact erupted inside the city, and Yuchi Feihong and the Shen Family members rushed toward it.
• Yuchi Feihong and the Shen brothers found Murong Yunji fighting an unknown opponent in her Wind King Armor, which meant she was using her full strength.

Murong Yunji and the Shen Family were driven from Liuzhou after Chen Nezha appeared as a heavenly general and threatened them. Chen Qing revealed that the temporary investiture had left him in debt and Nezha exhausted, then ordered Yuchi Feihong to obey strict entry regulations.

• Chen Nezha fought Murong Yunji, declared himself the Thunder Division’s heavenly general, and gave the group three breaths to leave Liuzhou.
• Murong Yunji, Shen Yiyun, Ninth Brother, and Yuchi Feihong fled the city, while the other heads chose to wait outside.
• Chen Nezha returned to Chen Qing exhausted, ate a large meal, and fell asleep as Chen Qing worried about the cost and strain of his temporary investiture.
• Zhou Haitao reported that Yuchi Feihong was waiting at the docks, and Chen Qing ordered him to keep his soldiers outside and enter the city unarmed in official robes.

Murong Yunji and Shen Yiyun assessed the mysterious fighter who had confronted them, while Yuchi Feihong sent Zhou Haitao to negotiate with the Liuzhou authorities. At court, an urgent dispatch revealed that the West Sea fog had swallowed coastal settlements and was spreading toward Jiangnan.

• Murong Yunji said the mysterious man had endured her Divine Wind without a scratch and declared she intended to have his child.
• Zhou Haitao told Yuchi Feihong that his troops must leave their armor and weapons outside Liuzhou, and Yuchi restrained his anger.
• Yuchi Feihong ordered a message sent to the capital about the West Sea and watched the Shen Family for signs of involvement.
• At court, the emperor and ministers discussed reports of the dead returning to life and the spreading West Sea fog.
• A soldier reported that the fog had engulfed twenty-seven sentry posts and nine coastal cities, and that the Sea Dragon Guard had entered the affected area.
• The soldier announced that the fog was still spreading toward Jiangnan.

Li Danian repeatedly returned to the same mist-covered road and grandfather and granddaughter, even after killing them, and feared he could not escape the loop. In Liuzhou, Ye Xiaoqian approached Zhou Haitao about buying shops held by the government and learned his price was ten thousand taels per square meter.

• Li Danian panicked when the little girl approached, then charged his horse at her and her grandfather, killing them.
• Li Danian examined the bodies and rode on, but the road, sunrise, and mist returned him to the same junction and the same pair.
• Ye Xiaoqian met Zhou Haitao at a teahouse and praised his conduct while asking about the shops on South Street.
• Zhou Haitao said he could decide the matter himself and named a price of ten thousand taels per square meter, shocking Ye Xiaoqian.

Ye Xiaoqian argued with Zhou Haitao over the government’s costly, bundled South Street property sales, then stormed out after buying only a few locations. Chen Qing met Yuchi Feihong and the Shen Family, recognized something alarming about Yuchi’s wound, and refused to pardon the Shen juniors, leaving him to face Yuchi without the chance to discuss the real issue.

• Zhou Haitao presented the South Street development plan and demanded ten thousand per square unit for property, selling only a quarter of the area.
• Ye Xiaoqian agreed to buy several locations, but Zhou Haitao insisted that her purchase include shops without street frontage, so she left in anger.
• Chen Qing received Yuchi Feihong and members of the Shen Family, and Murong Yunji teased him about his attention to her revealing clothes.
• Chen Qing examined Yuchi Feihong’s wound and suspected it was more serious than snake venom, while Yuchi realized Chen Qing might know what was wrong.
• Yuchi Feihong asked Chen Qing to intercede for the Shen Family juniors, but Chen Qing refused because they had attacked an official.

Chen Qing negotiated with the Shen Family while Yuchi Feihong’s dangerous, beastlike behavior disrupted the talks. After questioning Chen Qing about the West Sea threat and his own wound, Yuchi Feihong headed for the army camp, where an emergency was soon reported.

• Chen Qing demanded a million-tael fine and a three-day public parade, prompting Shen Laojiu to confront him.
• Yuchi Feihong attacked Shen Laojiu, but Murong Yunji rescued him and wounded his face; Chen Qing then kept the fine but canceled the parade and gave the Shen Family three days to decide.
• After the Shen Family left, Yuchi Feihong asked Chen Qing about the West Sea creature that had wounded him and whether it could invade Great Jin or be defeated.
• Yuchi Feihong left for the army camp, explaining that he had bitten Shen Laojiu to help Chen Qing keep the Shen Family in Liuzhou.
• Chen Qing asked Wei Gongcheng about Yuchi Feihong and voiced concern that time was running short as few residents had returned to North Street.
• The fatty rushed in and told Chen Qing that something had happened at the army camp.

Chen Qing recognized that Yuchi Feihong had killed his own guards because they had become dangerous puppets, while the Shen family investigated Liuzhou’s property and the prefect’s strange behavior. Shen Yiyun ordered the family to buy property despite its outrageous price, then hurried to leave Liuzhou after the family’s other branches failed to reply.

• At the armory, Chen Qing identified the boiled and sun-baked bodies as Yuchi Feihong’s guards and explained that Yuchi had likely killed them to stop them from attacking people as puppets.
• Over a meal, Shen Yiyun questioned Shen Yizhuo and Murong Yunji about the prefect, but neither offered a useful explanation; Shen Yiyun remained puzzled by the prefect’s dealings with Yuchi Feihong.
• Shen Yiyan reported that Zhou Haitao had quoted Ye Xiaoqian a price of ten thousand taels per square meter, with buyers required to purchase additional shops at the same price.
• Shen Yiyun ordered Shen Yiyan to buy as much property as possible, then learned that the Suyang and Nanming branches had not replied to his requests for funds.
• Uneasy about the silence and his growing sense of danger, Shen Yiyun ordered Shen Yiyan to arrange a boat so he, Shen Yizhuo, and Murong Yunji could leave for Nanyang that night.

Chen Qing and Shen Yiyun discovered that a vast fog had spread across the sea, and Chen Qing feared it meant a powerful being had been released ahead of schedule. The chapter left Chen Qing realizing that events were diverging from the setting he relied on to predict the future.

• Shen Yiyun learned that no new ships had entered Liuzhou’s port and went there with Shen Yiyan, Shen Yizhuo, and Murong Yunji to investigate.
• At the port, Chen Qing warned Shen Yiyun that the fog meant they would not be able to leave, then returned to the city.
• Chen Qing told Zhou Haitao to bring his family from Whitewater County and ordered Gu Bei and the others to report to him instead of going to the countryside.
• Chen Qing discussed the fog with the Mirror Demon and concluded that a powerful being from the Ancient Dragon Palace route had appeared before the planned sequence of events.

Chen Qing offered Chen Ying the Azure Dragon Spell as a bride price, binding her to the Chen Household with a blood oath. When he placed the jade ring on her hand, the Azure Dragon Spell revealed itself to spellcaster families across Jiangnan.

• Chen Qing learned that the five prefectures had not answered his urgent letters and that a vast, unusually tall fog covered the harbor's waterways.
• Wei Gongcheng explained that Chen Ying had reached the fourth rank using basic spells because she lacked a suitable inheritance.
• Chen Qing offered Chen Ying a place in the Chen Household, and she demanded a bride price worthy of the arrangement.
• Chen Qing revealed a Heavenly Dipper Spell, and Chen Ying swore a blood oath to join his household in exchange for it.
• Chen Qing placed the transformed jade ring on Chen Ying's hand, sealing the oath as the Azure Dragon Spell's light and roar drew the attention of spellcaster families across Jiangnan.

The Duke of Qin and his allies investigated an expanding fog that swallowed anyone who entered, including a powerful deputy general. When the fog stopped spreading, an Azure Dragon Spell appeared from within it, and Yuchi Peng traced its source to Liuzhou.

• Yuchi Peng and Fei Jun reported that the fog extended beyond a hundred thousand feet and had engulfed all seven prefectures of Jiangnan.
• The Duke of Qin explained that a deputy general had vanished inside the fog despite being secured by a star chain whose lock remained undisturbed.
• An officer reported that the fog had stopped spreading at all seven locations half an hour earlier.
• An Azure Dragon Spell burst from the fog, alarming the warlocks and prompting the Duke of Qin to order Jiangnan sealed off.
• The Duke of Qin sent Yuchi Peng to locate the spell, and Yuchi reported that it came from Liuzhou.

The Shen Family and Nanming’s officials investigated a vast mist that trapped ships and troops, then saw the lost Azure Dragon Spell appear over Liuzhou. The Shen Family decided to confront whoever had sealed the region, while Mu Hongqing worried that his disciple was caught near the inheritance.

• Shen Yixin and the Shen Family branch heads gathered at Starwatch Tower after the Azure Dragon Spell appeared over Liuzhou.
• Shen Yixin told the family that boats entering the mist returned to their starting point, and the brothers suspected a large formation had surrounded Nanming.
• Shen Yixin and the third brother reasoned that someone might have trapped the Shen Family to prevent them from claiming the Azure Dragon Inheritance.
• The Shen Family decided to enter the mist and find the person behind the formation.
• Mu Hongqing and the Jiangnan admiral learned that thirty thousand troops, over a hundred warships, and several warlocks could not escape the mist.
• Mu Hongqing worried that his final disciple was in Liuzhou and could be drawn into the Azure Dragon Inheritance conflict.

Chen Qing prepared to establish an underworld administration and recruit soldiers as danger spread beyond Liuzhou. After learning Chen Ying had left the city with the Azure Dragon Spell, he worried she might encounter the Shen Family.

• Chen Qing gave Wei Gongcheng plans for Liuzhou Underworld City and told him to study them.
• Chen Qing asked Wei Gongcheng to train the roughly thousand young men who had returned to Liuzhou, offering generous pay and food for recruits.
• Wei Gongcheng agreed to train the recruits after Chen Qing said Liuzhou and Nanming Prefecture faced an uncertain crisis.
• Wei Gongcheng told Chen Qing that Chen Ying had left the city after receiving the Azure Dragon Spell as a betrothal gift.
• Chen Qing said Chen Ying could pass on the spell but worried she might encounter members of the Shen Family, including one who had been bitten.

Chen Ying and A Li discovered that a strange river fog trapped boats in a repeating loop, while Chen Qing realized the fog was protecting the merchants and went searching for Commander Yuchi. The chapter ended with Chen Qing calling into a dangerous, black-tinged fog as A Li warned him not to approach.

• Chen Ying found A Li at the harbor, where both women watched a merchant boat emerge from the fog.
• The merchants explained that they had sailed for four days but kept returning to the harbor, despite setting out only the previous day.
• Chen Ying boarded the boat to investigate, while A Li stayed behind because she sensed danger and thought it safer to return to Chen Qing.
• Chen Qing arrived at the docks, learned what the merchants had reported, and said the fog was protecting them rather than toying with them.
• Chen Qing went to find someone, and he and A Li reached a patch of black-tinged fog that filled her with terror.
• Chen Qing called into the fog and asked Commander Yuchi to show himself.

Chen Qing explained to Yuchi Feihong how the black fog, the white fog, and the infected beings threatened Jiangnan, then offered to try to save him if he helped rescue others. Meanwhile, Laojiu’s condition worsened aboard a cargo ship trapped in the fog, where Shen Yiyun’s group encountered Chen Ying and Laojiu ordered them to seize her.

• Chen Qing told Yuchi Feihong that the black fog came from the being inside him and that millions of infected households were trapped within it.
• Chen Qing explained that the white fog sealed off waterways across at least seven provinces, but might eventually fail to contain the monsters.
• Chen Qing promised to try saving Yuchi Feihong if he helped bring several people back safely, and Yuchi Feihong reacted with shock.
• Shen Yiyun described how Laojiu had grown increasingly monstrous and sunlight-averse during their three days trapped on the river.
• Murong Yunji immobilized Chen Ying’s ship, and Shen Yiyun questioned her about her journey and the Azure Dragon Inheritance.
• A roar came from the cabin, and Laojiu ordered Shen Yiyun to seize Chen Ying.

As Liuzhou's dock work dried up, Gu Bei recruited a thousand prefectural troops with generous wages, while Chen Qing rushed through the mist to rescue Chen Ying from the Shen Family. Shen Yiyun turned hostile and challenged Chen Qing as the chapter ended.

• Young men who had come to Liuzhou for dock work learned that the ships and jobs had disappeared.
• Gu Bei announced that the authorities were recruiting prefectural troops for ten taels a month and meals, and eager young men crowded to enlist.
• Zhou Haitao and Wei Gongcheng worried about the cost of recruiting so many troops and about Chen Qing being outside the city at dusk.
• Shen Yiyun's ninth brother demanded Chen Ying, and Murong Yunji held her captive aboard the Shen Family's ship.
• Chen Qing arrived with Yuchi Feihong's warship and a mass of corpses, then called Chen Ying his wife and confronted the Shen Family.
• Shen Yiyun threatened Chen Qing, who confidently invited him to try.