Chapter Summaries

Fuxi became the Tribal Chief of the Dongyi Tribe and led it to prosperity, drawing people from across the human race to visit and trade. He proposed using shells as currency, but the tribe doubted the idea until a young man offered to try it if Dongyi guaranteed the shells' value.

• Guang Chengzi blamed Huang Long for Yuanshi Tianzun's decision and left to gather confidants after Huang Long declined the responsibility.
• Fuxi accepted the Dongyi Tribal Chief Token after the Old Tribal Chief and Elders urged him to take the position.
• Fuxi improved the Dongyi Tribe's living standards and welcomed visitors, causing trade to flourish.
• Fuxi saw that visitors lacked goods to barter and proposed using shells as a medium of exchange.
• The tribe members doubted shell trading until a handsome young man said they would try it if Dongyi guaranteed the shells' value.

Qin Xuan, disguised as a youth, helped Fuxi establish shell currency and then revealed his identity as Fuxi’s revered Ancestor. He gave Fuxi a suspicious black banner as a meeting gift, while Nuwa privately questioned whether it was right to deceive him.

• Qin Xuan persuaded the crowd to accept shells as currency, and Fuxi announced that the Dongyi Tribe would exchange supplies for shells.
• Fuxi hurried after Qin Xuan into Nuwa’s residence, then rebuked him for entering without proper respect.
• Nuwa told Fuxi that the youth was his Ancestor, Qin Xuan, and Fuxi apologized in alarm and bowed to him.
• Qin Xuan gave Fuxi the six-tailed Human Emperor Banner and claimed it could curse enemies to death.
• Nuwa recognized the banner as the Six Souls Banner and privately asked Qin Xuan whether it was all right to fool Fuxi.

Qin Xuan gave Fuxi a million preserved beasts to support Shell Trading, then revealed his plan to settle the Witch Clan among the human tribes. Fuxi departed with ten million Witch Clan members to help spread shell-based trade, while Nuwa asked Qin Xuan how she could help.

• Fuxi explained the risks facing Shell Trading, and Qin Xuan gave him a storage ring containing over a million beast carcasses preserved in frozen time.
• Qin Xuan concealed the heavenly secrets, summoned Pangu Temple, and released more than ten million tiny Witch Clan members before Fuxi and Nuwa.
• Qin Xuan told Fuxi to distribute the Witch Clan among human tribes and use Sleeve Universe to carry them there.
• Qin Xuan instructed Fuxi to have the Witch Clan trade beast meat only for shells, and Fuxi agreed and left with the clanspeople.
• Nuwa ended her disguise, embraced Qin Xuan, and eagerly asked what she could do.

Qin Xuan sent Nuwa to give Haotian a lesson, while secretly plotting against Hongjun’s schemes. Near the Heavenly Court, Pingxin and Patriarch Nether River prepared to impersonate Hongjun and stage an attack on Haotian, but another muscular man arrived first claiming to be a talented loose cultivator.

• Qin Xuan teased Nuwa into agreeing to beat Haotian, and she devised a plan to disguise herself and make it seem as if she had rescued him.
• After Nuwa left, Qin Xuan reflected that Hongjun was trying to undermine his relationship with the Human Emperor and resolved to respond with schemes of his own.
• Pingxin disguised herself as Hongjun and recruited Patriarch Nether River to attack Haotian, promising him a chance to cultivate in the Earth Dao space.
• Pingxin concealed herself and Nether River near the South Heaven Gate and pointed out a muscular man approaching it.
• The muscular man arrived at the South Heaven Gate and announced that he was a South Sea loose cultivator who had come to pay his respects to Haotian.

Nuwa’s avatar slapped Haotian and vanished, leaving him injured and wary of powerful visitors to the Heavenly Court. A year later, Nether River arrived as He Ming, and Haotian welcomed him while hoping this visitor would not attack.

• Pingxin and Nether River realized the peak Quasi-Sage visitor was an avatar, while Haotian suspected a double agent and invited him inside.
• Nuwa’s burly avatar slapped Haotian and disappeared, and Pingxin and Nether River mistook it for an avatar of Jieyin or Zhunti.
• Nuwa waited about a year for Haotian to recover before preparing to send out an elegant Daoist avatar.
• Nether River arrived at the South Heaven Gate disguised as He Ming, another peak Quasi-Sage, and Haotian greeted him despite the palm print still on his face.

Nether River attacked Haotian, while Haotian and Nuwa mistook him for one of the Western Two Sages, Jieyin and Zhunti. As Hongjun waited for Haotian to reach despair before intervening, he discovered that he could not divine He Ming’s origins and suspected Jieyin and Zhunti.

• Nether River tore off Haotian’s head, and Haotian called for Liu Er and Bai Ze to help him.
• Liu Er ignored Haotian’s summons while Bai Ze claimed he was not skilled in combat, leaving Haotian to plead with Nether River.
• After Nether River slapped him, Haotian concluded that his attacker was Jieyin or Zhunti seeking revenge, and Nuwa reached the same conclusion.
• Jieyin sensed trouble and summoned Zhunti back to Spirit Mountain, fearing that they were once again being blamed for someone else’s actions.
• Haotian begged Hongjun to save him, but Hongjun chose to wait until Haotian was truly desperate before intervening.
• Hongjun failed to divine He Ming’s origins and wondered whether Jieyin and Zhunti were behind the attack.

Hongjun mistakenly blamed Jieyin and Zhunti for Haotian’s beating and tormented their Primordial Spirits, while Pingxin impersonated Hongjun to rescue Haotian. The real Hongjun arrived at the South Heaven Gate and confronted the impostor.

• Hongjun seized and tormented Jieyin and Zhunti’s Primordial Spirits, and they blamed Haotian and vowed to claim the Heavenly Court for the west.
• Pingxin prepared her entrance despite knowing Hongjun might be watching, then appeared outside the South Heaven Gate disguised as Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
• Pingxin’s phantom strike crushed Nether River into dust, but Haotian’s head bounced between the gate’s pillars while the guards watched in fear.
• Nuwa secretly recorded the scene, and Haotian resolved to silence the guards who had witnessed his humiliation.
• The real Hongjun realized someone was impersonating him, crossed space-time to the South Heaven Gate, and demanded to know the impostor’s identity.

Pingxin impersonated Hongjun so convincingly that even the real Hongjun and the Saints could not tell them apart. After their attacks matched, Hongjun mistook Pingxin for the returning Yang Mei and tried to test her, while Pingxin kept up the deception.

• Nether River quietly withdrew toward Buzhou Mountain to warn Qin Xuan about the situation.
• Pingxin accused the real Hongjun of being an impostor, and Haotian joined her in denouncing him.
• Hongjun and Pingxin exchanged matching palm strikes that shook the Primordial World but left it unharmed.
• Grand Supreme Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, Tongtian, Jieyin, and Zhunti arrived, but none could distinguish the two Hongjuns.
• Hongjun guessed that Pingxin might be Yang Mei and called her an old friend, and Pingxin answered by accusing him of impersonating her first.

Jieyin proposed that Haotian identify the real Hongjun, but Haotian’s questions failed to distinguish Hongjun from Pingxin and instead exposed Hongjun’s secrets. The saints then suggested asking Qin Xuan to judge which Hongjun was real.

• Jieyin suggested Haotian identify the two Hongjuns, and Hongjun and Pingxin agreed to let him try.
• Haotian asked whether either Hongjun had visited Lingxiao Treasure Hall in the past ten thousand years, and both denied it.
• Haotian began asking about a private memory, but Hongjun and Pingxin rebuked him before he could finish.
• With Qin Xuan’s guidance, Pingxin answered Haotian’s questions about smoke in Zixiao Palace, and Hongjun confirmed her answers before striking Haotian away.
• Hongjun insisted he was the real Hongjun, and Tongtian suggested that Qin Xuan distinguish between them; the saints agreed.

The Saints brought the two Hongjuns to Qin Xuan so he could determine which one was genuine, while Pingxin continued impersonating Hongjun. The real Hongjun accused Pingxin of being Yang Mei, and Qin Xuan secretly planned for Pingxin to flee when he gave a signal.

• Nuwa told the group that Qin Xuan was waiting in Creation Heaven, and the Saints followed her to his hall.
• The real Hongjun reminded Qin Xuan that he had borrowed the Creation Jade Plate for ten thousand years, and Pingxin backed him up by mentioning Qin Xuan's Great Dao oath.
• Pingxin recounted the South Heaven Gate incident as though she were the real Hongjun and accused the other Hongjun of impersonation.
• The real Hongjun angrily called Pingxin Old Man Yang Mei, prompting Qin Xuan and Pingxin to realize he had mistaken her for his rival.
• Qin Xuan secretly told Pingxin to wait for his signal before fleeing, and the real Hongjun asked Qin Xuan to identify the genuine Hongjun.

Qin Xuan used a Daoic lecture to distract the Saints while Pingxin’s impersonation of Hongjun disappeared, leaving the real Hongjun identified but wary of future deception. After the Saints departed, Qin Xuan worried about Father God, and Nuwa accidentally said aloud that he was full of dirty tricks.

• Qin Xuan asked Nuwa which Hongjun was real, then delivered cryptic teachings that led Jieyin to realize the foundations of Great Vehicle Buddhism.
• While the Saints were absorbed in Jieyin’s enlightenment, Yuanshi Tianzun noticed the second Hongjun had vanished, and the real Hongjun blamed Yang Mei.
• Hongjun warned the Saints not to trust him when he appeared alone outside Zixiao Palace, prompting Qin Xuan to consider creating a fake palace and issuing Yuanshi Tianzun a false order.
• Hongjun reminded Qin Xuan to return the Creation Jade Plate in ten thousand years and showed him an Image-Recording Stone as leverage.
• After the others left, Qin Xuan wondered whether Father God had found a solution, and Nuwa reassured him before realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

Qin Xuan and Nuwa discussed Yang Mei's secret surveillance of Zixiao Palace and suspected that Bai Ze might be working for him. Qin Xuan tasked the Six-Eared Macaque with watching Bai Ze, while Nuwa headed back to the human race and Qin Xuan planned to return to Buzhou Mountain until Fuxi attained the Dao.

• Qin Xuan told Nuwa that the sentient Creation Jade Plate had detected Yang Mei secretly watching Zixiao Palace.
• Qin Xuan reasoned that Yang Mei might have returned to take revenge on Hongjun, but said they should wait rather than approach him.
• Nuwa questioned why Bai Ze served in Haotian's Heavenly Court while refusing to help the declining demon race, and Qin Xuan guessed that Bai Ze might be Yang Mei's man.
• Qin Xuan sent the Six-Eared Macaque a Divine Sense message instructing him to watch Bai Ze and report anything unusual.
• Nuwa said she would return to the human race, while Qin Xuan planned to return to Buzhou Mountain and appear when Fuxi attained the Dao.

After centuries of Fuxi’s seclusion, Kong Xuan secretly investigated the news that he had become Fuxi’s teacher and arrived at the human tribe to confront the supposed impostor. He found Nuwa and a man who looked exactly like him, and demanded to know who the man was.

• Fuxi’s achievements led the tribes to choose him as the common ruler of the human race.
• Fuxi entered seclusion to comprehend the laws of Heaven and Earth while generations of guards protected his meditation chamber.
• Nuwa watched over Fuxi’s guards and worried about how he would react when he recovered his past-life memories.
• Kong Xuan learned that he had supposedly become Fuxi’s teacher and visited Buzhou Mountain, but could not find Qin Xuan or Nuwa.
• Kong Xuan disguised himself as Zi Xuan, investigated the Dongyi Tribe, and went to meet the person claiming to be his namesake.
• Kong Xuan entered the house, saw Nuwa and a Daoist who looked exactly like him, and asked the Daoist why he was impersonating him.

Nuwa revealed herself to Kong Xuan and handed over the role of Fuxi’s teacher, then left him waiting in the Dongyi Tribe. After nearly a thousand years in seclusion, Fuxi emerged determined to create a way for mortals to divine fortune and calamity, while Kong Xuan protected him as he followed his insight.

• Nuwa revealed her true identity to Kong Xuan and explained that she had taught Fuxi in his place until Kong Xuan arrived.
• Kong Xuan accepted the role of Fuxi’s teacher, learned about Fuxi’s temperament from Nuwa, and took over the identity without anyone in the human race noticing.
• Kong Xuan waited in the Dongyi Tribe for several hundred years while Fuxi remained in seclusion.
• Fuxi considered the human race’s ability to withstand the merits and fortune of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and resolved to leave it a strong foundation.
• The River Diagram and Luo Script responded to Fuxi’s thoughts, inspiring him to create a divination art for mortals.
• Fuxi emerged from seclusion and walked forward in a state of Dao comprehension, so Kong Xuan froze the guards and followed behind to protect him.

Fuxi attained enlightenment and created the Innate Eight Trigrams, drawing immense Heavenly Dao Merit and attention across the Primordial World. As the merit gathered, Hongjun invoked Heavenly Dao power to send tribulation clouds over the human territory.

• Qin Xuan revealed that he had sealed Fuxi's past-life memories and used an imitation Taiji Diagram to guide his enlightenment.
• Fuxi derived yin and yang, the Four Symbols, and the Eight Trigrams, then carved their patterns onto the eight stone pillars.
• Fuxi proclaimed the Innate Eight Trigrams as a foundation for the human race to understand fortune and misfortune, and vast Heavenly Dao Merit gathered.
• Jieyin and Zhunti celebrated Fuxi's achievement and anticipated Medicine Master's chance to guide the Earthly Sovereign.
• Hongjun decided the Innate Eight Trigrams were an object that defied heaven and summoned black tribulation clouds above the human territory.

After Hongjun sent a tribulation against Fuxi’s Eight Trigrams, Qin Xuan intervened and stopped the lightning before it could harm Kong Xuan, Fuxi, or the diagram. He persuaded the resentful tribulation cloud to report future tribulations ordered by Hongjun, then waited for the Heavenly Dao merit to be distributed.

• Nuwa and Qin Xuan realized the lightning tribulation was targeting Fuxi’s Eight Trigrams, and Qin Xuan suspected Hongjun was behind it.
• Kong Xuan stood beside Fuxi and used his Five-Colored Divine Light, but it could not stop the lightning dragons, so he transformed into his peacock form to shield Fuxi and the diagram.
• Qin Xuan appeared and dispersed the lightning dragons with a single word, earning the grateful greetings of Kong Xuan, Fuxi, and the gathered humans.
• The tribulation cloud pleaded with Qin Xuan, explaining that Hongjun had sent it, and Qin Xuan asked it to notify him about future tribulations Hongjun ordered.
• The tribulation cloud agreed and left, the dark clouds vanished, and Qin Xuan looked toward Zixiao Palace for the merit to be distributed.

After Fuxi used the Heavenly Dao Merit to reach the peak of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm, Qin Xuan proclaimed him the human race’s Heavenly Emperor. The Book of Life and Death briefly manifested the power of the Human Dao, leaving Qin Xuan eager to see what would happen when all eight Human Emperors took their places.

• Hongjun withdrew his suppression of the Heavenly Dao, allowing its Merit Golden Light to descend upon Fuxi.
• Fuxi burned the merit to refine Innate Qi and advanced to the peak of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm.
• Qin Xuan reassured Kong Xuan about Fuxi’s rapid progress, and Fuxi thanked Qin Xuan and Kong Xuan for protecting his Dao.
• Qin Xuan used the Kongtong Seal to proclaim Fuxi the human race’s Heavenly Emperor and grant him the Human Emperor Mansion.
• The Book of Life and Death briefly released the power of the Human Dao before falling still, and Fuxi accepted the decree while holding the Human Emperor Mansion and Banner.

Fuxi became the first Human Emperor, gaining the human race’s fortune and enough power to rival a Saint. After merit elevated his treasures, the Saints came to congratulate him, while Qin Xuan recognized that the Human Emperor Mansion had once been given to him by Pingxin.

• Nuwa proclaimed Fuxi the first Human Emperor, and the human race’s fortune gathered into him, helping him condense the Human Emperor Dao Fruit.
• Heavenly Dao Merit descended, with seventy percent going to Fuxi and thirty percent to Kong Xuan; Fuxi used his share to elevate the Human Emperor Banner and Human Emperor Mansion into postnatal merit supreme treasures.
• Grand Supreme Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, Tongtian, Jieyin, and Zhunti arrived to congratulate Fuxi on attaining the Dao as Human Emperor.
• Fuxi thanked Qin Xuan and Nuwa, while the humans knelt and voiced their gratitude to them.
• Qin Xuan recalled that Pingxin had given him the pitch-black cave-dwelling treasure that had become the Human Emperor Mansion.

After Fuxi attained the Human Emperor's Dao, Jieyin set out to learn humanity's hardships and earn merit. In the Jiang Clan Tribe, his disciple Lie Shan Shi began searching for edible plants, setting him on the path to becoming Shennong.

• Qin Xuan left with Nuwa after urging Fuxi to continue guiding humanity, while he and Tongtian speculated that Hongjun had withheld Fuxi's memories.
• Jieyin decided to seek merit by understanding humanity's suffering and took Medicine Master to travel among human tribes in disguise.
• As Fuxi's rule brought humanity prosperity, the Jiang Clan Tribe still faced food shortages and hunger.
• Lie Shan Shi tried to eat an unfamiliar wild grass, but his mother stopped him and scolded him for risking his life.
• Lie Shan Shi explained that he wanted to identify safe, nourishing plants so his tribe would no longer go hungry.

Lie Shan Shi survived decades of tasting plants and used what he learned to bring agriculture to the Jiang Clan Tribe, earning the name Shennong. At Buzhou Mountain, Pangu gave Qin Xuan a fake Creation Jade Plate to return to Hongjun and claimed he could erase Qin Xuan’s Great Dao oath; Qin Xuan responded by asking to use the real plate.

• Medicine Master supported Lie Shan Shi’s plan to taste herbs and accompanied him, while Jieyin secretly saved him from death when he was poisoned.
• Lie Shan Shi recorded the plants he tasted in the Herbal Classic, including grains, medicinal herbs, and dangerous poisons.
• Lie Shan Shi distributed grain seeds, taught the tribe to plow and irrigate, and led the Jiang Clan Tribe to a great harvest; the people began calling him Shennong.
• Shennong invented grain storage in clay jars, and Human Emperor Fuxi began teaching him how to govern the Human Tribe.
• Pangu gave Qin Xuan a fake Creation Jade Plate and told him to return it to Hongjun while recording Hongjun’s reaction.
• Pangu said he could erase Qin Xuan’s Great Dao oath, and Qin Xuan praised him before asking to use the real jade plate.