Chapter Summaries

Qin Xuan returned the genuine Creation Jade Plate to Hongjun after borrowing it for nearly ten thousand years, dissolving their Great Dao oath. Meanwhile, Yang Mei's hidden clone watched their reunion and weighed which side his true body should support.

• Pangu gave Qin Xuan the Creation Jade Plate, then regretted handing over his family treasure after Qin Xuan left.
• Qin Xuan went to Zixiao Palace and told Hongjun he had come to return the Creation Jade Plate.
• Yang Mei's clone watched Qin Xuan and Hongjun enter the palace and considered whether his true body should side with either of them.
• Qin Xuan claimed he had gained nothing from studying the plate and placed it before Hongjun.
• Hongjun inspected the plate, and the Great Dao oath dissolved, confirming the returned treasure was genuine.

Qin Xuan left Zixiao Palace after returning what Hongjun believed was the Creation Jade Plate, but the counterfeit shattered when Hongjun tried to use it. Enraged, Hongjun went to Buzhou Mountain to confront Qin Xuan, where the Ancestral Witches backed Qin Xuan and challenged Hongjun’s claim to the treasure.

• Qin Xuan took his leave of Hongjun after the Great Dao oath was lifted, and Hongjun began examining the returned Creation Jade Plate.
• Hongjun tried to deduce the hidden truth with the jade plate, but it cracked and shattered, revealing that Qin Xuan had given him a counterfeit.
• Yang Mei’s avatar watched as Hongjun stormed out of Zixiao Palace and headed for the Primordial World.
• Hongjun arrived outside Buzhou Mountain, summoned Qin Xuan, and alarmed the Saints, who gathered to witness the confrontation.
• Qin Xuan and the Twelve Ancestral Witches came out, and Zhurong, Gonggong, and Hou Tu denied Hongjun’s claim and argued that the Creation Jade Plate belonged to Pangu’s descendants.

Qin Xuan exposed Hongjun’s accusation over the Creation Jade Plate by showing the Saints an unaltered recording of its return at Zixiao Palace. The Ancestral Witches and Saints turned against Hongjun, and Hou Tu demanded to know what he had to say.

• The Ancestral Witches backed Hou Tu’s defense of Qin Xuan and formed the Great Heavenly Gods and Demons Array around Hongjun.
• Hongjun showed the Saints the fragments he claimed Qin Xuan had returned, while Tongtian challenged his accusation and stood by Qin Xuan.
• Qin Xuan produced an Image-Recording Stone that showed him returning the genuine Creation Jade Plate and Hongjun inspecting it before the Great Dao Oath was lifted.
• After verifying the recording had not been tampered with, the Saints concluded Hongjun was making a false accusation to extort Qin Xuan.
• Hou Tu confronted Hongjun and asked what more he had to say.

Qin Xuan exposed Hongjun’s false accusation with a recording of the Creation Jade Plate’s return, leaving Hongjun disgraced before the saints. Hongjun withdrew, while rumors spread across the Primordial World that he had borrowed Pangu’s treasure and refused to return it.

• Hongjun saw Qin Xuan’s Image-Recording Stone prove that he had accepted the Creation Jade Plate and realized the saints no longer trusted him.
• Pingxin and Nether River watched the scene from the Underworld, then secretly traveled toward Zixiao Palace to visit Hongjun.
• Qin Xuan forgave Hongjun publicly, and the saints praised Qin Xuan’s magnanimity, causing Hongjun to bleed with rage.
• Hongjun suppressed his anger, warned Qin Xuan that they would meet again, and vanished; the saints then departed.
• Stories of the confrontation spread throughout the Primordial World and changed into rumors that Hongjun had borrowed Pangu’s Creation Jade Plate and refused to return it.

Yang Mei returned to Zixiao Palace and found Hongjun raging over its destruction, while Hongjun devised a scheme to turn the human race against the Dragon Race. Years later, Shennong’s daughter Nuwa went to the seashore with guards, where Hongjun’s plot was poised to unfold.

• Yang Mei returned from the Primordial World and heard Hongjun accuse him of plotting against him after Zixiao Palace was destroyed.
• Hongjun rebuilt Zixiao Palace, then targeted Shennong and his daughter to provoke conflict between the human race and the Dragon Race.
• Hongjun sent a wisp of power into the East Sea and planted it in a high-status Five-Clawed Golden Dragon’s Sea of Consciousness.
• Years later, Shennong’s daughter Nuwa asked her mother to visit the seashore, and her mother sent guards to accompany her.
• Nuwa happily set out for the sea with the guards.

Nuwa discovered that the heavenly secrets surrounding the Dongyi Tribe had been obscured, and Qin Xuan realized the scheme might target Shennong’s daughter, Nuwa. The Creation Jade Plate tracked the girl toward the East Sea, and Qin Xuan prepared to intervene.

• Nuwa sensed that the heavenly secrets near the Dongyi Tribe had been concealed and suspected Hongjun was plotting against the human race.
• Nuwa summoned Qin Xuan, while Fuxi addressed him as Ancestor and reaffirmed his respect for etiquette.
• Fuxi suggested the mystery might be connected to Shennong attaining the Dao, prompting Qin Xuan to recall the legend of Jingwei.
• Qin Xuan confirmed that Shennong’s daughter was named Nuwa and found that the heavenly secrets surrounding her were also obscured.
• Qin Xuan urged the Creation Jade Plate to investigate, and it located Nuwa leaving the Dongyi Tribe for the East Sea.
• Qin Xuan promised to find the Creation Jade Plate’s missing fragments and decided to ask Pangu for help after resolving the matter.

Qin Xuan and Nuwa set a trap for Hongjun by having Nuwa pose as Shennong's daughter on the East Sea shore. When Hongjun-controlled Ao Jia attacked her, the disguised figure stopped and shattered his dragon claw, then challenged him to reveal his identity.

• Qin Xuan whispered a plan to Nuwa, and she agreed to carry it out.
• Nuwa posed as a little girl playing alone by the East Sea and claimed that Shennong was her father.
• Hongjun-controlled Ao Jia introduced himself as the East Sea Dragon Race Crown Prince, spreading news of Shennong's supposed daughter.
• Ao Jia transformed into a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon and attacked the girl, declaring that he would kill Shennong's daughter.
• The girl stopped Ao Jia's claw with one hand, shattered it, and told him she was not Nuwa before asking who he really was.

Saint Nuwa disguised herself as Nuwa to test whether Hongjun would turn her into Jingwei, but Hongjun openly admitted to his scheme and boasted that he did not care about his reputation. His fortune had surged because widespread rumors made him famous, so he had begun spreading them himself.

• Saint Nuwa revealed herself to Hongjun while the real Nuwa had safely returned to Shennong.
• Hongjun emerged from Ao Jia and admitted that Nuwa had seen through his disguise.
• Hongjun declared that the human race were ants and that he did not care what anyone thought of him, broadcasting his words across the Primordial World.
• Qin Xuan and Nuwa suspected Hongjun had lost his mind, unaware of why his fortune was rising.
• Hongjun realized rumors about him increased his fortune, so he sent tens of thousands of incarnations to spread them and embraced his ruined reputation.

Qin Xuan considered how to guide Xuanyuan and Chiyou’s fated conflict without letting Chiyou become a casualty of the original Heavenly Dao’s plan. After discovering Chiyou racing through the mountains with an Iron-Eating Beast, he discussed possible roles for Pingxin and Hou Tu, but his proposal left them awkwardly silent.

• Hongjun left the East Sea after his scheme to turn the human race against the Dragon Race failed, and Nuwa returned to find Qin Xuan gone and Fuxi alone.
• Qin Xuan met Pingxin and Hou Tu in the Underworld and discussed Hongjun’s suspicious actions with them.
• Hou Tu asked Qin Xuan about plans for the coming Human Emperor, and he reflected on Xuanyuan’s destined war against Chiyou.
• Qin Xuan found Chiyou riding an Iron-Eating Beast, which stopped to demand bamboo and sent Chiyou flying off its back.
• After Qin Xuan explained the stakes of Xuanyuan and Chiyou’s conflict, Pingxin proposed impersonating Chiyou, and Hou Tu offered to teach Xuanyuan.
• Qin Xuan suggested that Pingxin impersonate Chiyou, Hou Tu train Xuanyuan, and the two women fight, leaving them awkwardly silent.

Qin Xuan told Pingxin and Hou Tu that he would give up teaching Xuanyuan but still intended to become the Human Emperor's teacher. He decided to defy the Heavenly Dao's plans and make Chiyou a candidate to lead the human race instead.

• Qin Xuan reassured Pingxin and Hou Tu that he was not abandoning the position of Human Emperor's teacher, only Xuanyuan's tutelage.
• Qin Xuan explained that the human race needed a leader who could bring unity and prosperity, and that the leader did not have to be Xuanyuan.
• Hou Tu asked whether Qin Xuan meant to replace Xuanyuan, and Qin Xuan confirmed it.
• Qin Xuan recalled that Chiyou's Jiu Li Tribe was stronger and better armed than Xuanyuan's You Xiong Clan, yet the established outcome had Chiyou defeated at Zhulu.
• Qin Xuan resolved to change the supposed greater trend and give Chiyou the chance to become Human Emperor.

Qin Xuan arranged for Chiyou to compete openly with Xuanyuan for the Human Emperor’s position, with Qin Xuan planning to teach Chiyou and Nuwa approving the plan. Yuanshi Tianzun, unaware of the scheme, suspected Jieyin and Zhunti were plotting against him and hoped to claim the merits of teaching the Human Emperor.

• Qin Xuan clarified to Pingxin and Hou Tu that Chiyou would replace Xuanyuan by defeating him openly, rather than by secretly taking his place.
• Pingxin and Hou Tu argued over who would teach Chiyou, then drove Qin Xuan out of the Underworld after he offered to do it himself.
• Qin Xuan told Nuwa about the plan, and she agreed as long as the Human Emperor benefited humanity.
• Qin Xuan predicted that Yuanshi Tianzun would eagerly send a disciple to teach Xuanyuan, only to discover he had taught a fake Human Emperor.
• Yuanshi Tianzun sensed a plot, blamed Jieyin and Zhunti, and lamented that the merits of teaching the Human Emperor might not go to his Chan Sect.

The saints watched Xuanyuan grow up without a teacher as Qin Xuan remained inactive, leaving them puzzled about his plans. Yuanshi Tianzun finally sent the Chan Sect disciples to find Xuanyuan and educate him, with Guang Chengzi given precedence in disputes.

• A woman in the Youxiong Tribe gave birth to Xuanyuan after seeing an aurora, and the tribe initially regarded the gifted child as a sage destined for greatness.
• Xuanyuan reached middle age without any cultivator teaching him, while the saints waited and wondered why Qin Xuan had made no move.
• Tongtian repeatedly sought Qin Xuan and learned from Dijiang that Qin Xuan had other arrangements and would act in time.
• Yuanshi Tianzun decided that the Chan Sect should teach Xuanyuan, and Guang Chengzi claimed the position for the sect.
• Yuanshi Tianzun ordered all his disciples to descend the mountain together, placing Guang Chengzi in charge of resolving disputes and instructing them not to tarnish the Chan Sect's reputation.

Yuanshi Tianzun sent Guang Chengzi and the other Chan Sect disciples to assist Xuanyuan, then went to Shouyang Mountain to ask Grand Supreme Laozi for support. Grand Supreme Laozi agreed to have Xuan Du aid the Chan Sect if its rivals joined forces, while considering the dangers tied to Xuanyuan’s fate.

• Yuanshi Tianzun ordered Guang Chengzi and the other disciples to assist Xuanyuan and return to Kunlun Mountain if they encountered difficulties.
• True Person Huang Long tried to ask Yuanshi Tianzun about his conflicting orders, but Yuanshi Tianzun left without answering.
• Yuanshi Tianzun went to Eight Views Palace and asked Grand Supreme Laozi whether Xuan Du would help the Chan Sect compete for the position of Xuanyuan’s teacher.
• Grand Supreme Laozi agreed to send Xuan Du to support Guang Chengzi and the others if Jie Sect and Western Sect disciples joined forces against them.
• Grand Supreme Laozi considered the slaughterous karma foretold for Xuanyuan’s path to the Dao and questioned whether the Chan Sect disciples would gain fortune or disaster.

Yuanshi Tianzun secured Grand Supreme Laozi’s agreement to let Guang Chengzi teach Xuanyuan, while venting his grievances about Tongtian. Guang Chengzi and the other Chan Sect Golden Immortals sidelined Xuanyuan to claim most of the merit for themselves, and their first move was to attack the Shennong Clan.

• Grand Supreme Laozi suspected Qin Xuan had deliberately let Yuanshi Tianzun take on the trouble of teaching Xuanyuan, but chose not to warn him.
• Yuanshi Tianzun complained to Grand Supreme Laozi about Tongtian’s visits to Buzhou Mountain and demanded that he discipline their younger brother.
• Grand Supreme Laozi tried to end the conversation by claiming he needed to guard his pill furnace, but Yuanshi stayed to complain until Laozi sealed off his senses and began refining pills.
• Guang Chengzi and the Chan Sect Golden Immortals accepted Xuanyuan as their disciple, gave him a basic cultivation method, and secretly agreed to control his rise so they could claim most of the merit.
• With the Golden Immortals’ support, Xuanyuan became leader of the You Xiong Clan within a few years and ordered an attack on the Shennong Clan.

Guang Chengzi expanded Xuanyuan’s power by violently annexing the tribes around the Shennong Clan, leaving Shennong’s territory encircled. Shennong refused to resist, choosing to avoid a wider conflict among humanity, and asked Medicine Master not to change his mind.

• Guang Chengzi chose to attack the tribes surrounding the You Xiong Clan before moving against the Shennong Clan.
• Guang Chengzi suppressed the neighboring tribes with violence, and the You Xiong Clan annexed them over several years, surrounding the Shennong Clan.
• Shennong told Fuxi that he would not intervene because doing so could spark a catastrophic war between human generations.
• Medicine Master hurried to the Human Emperor Mansion and urged Shennong not to let Xuanyuan use the Shennong Clan as a stepping stone.
• Shennong told Medicine Master that he was attached to appearances and asked him not to persuade him further.

Medicine Master failed to persuade Shennong and appealed to Jieyin, who was already negotiating with Yuanshi Tianzun. At Jade Void Palace, Jieyin and Zhunti confronted Yuanshi over the Chan Sect's interference, and Yuanshi answered their challenge by summoning his disciples and revealing Randeng as one of them.

• Medicine Master found Shennong resolved to proceed, then called for Jieyin and reported the Chan Sect's plans; Jieyin told him to wait for the outcome of his negotiations with Yuanshi Tianzun.
• Jieyin and Zhunti confronted Yuanshi Tianzun after discovering Chan Sect disciples surrounding the Shennong Clan's tribe, but Yuanshi denied ordering the attack and supported his disciples' actions.
• Zhunti threatened to send Western Sect disciples to compete for merit, and Yuanshi mocked the sect's strength before summoning several dozen Chan Sect disciples.
• Yuanshi had Randeng greet Zhunti as Uncle-Master, revealing that the Quasi-Sage had joined the Chan Sect and leaving Zhunti furious.

Jieyin realized the upheaval among the human tribes might conceal a deeper scheme and persuaded Zhunti to avoid confronting Yuanshi Tianzun. Meanwhile, the You Xiong Clan annexed the Shennong Clan and won the allegiance of nearly every Central Plains tribe, bringing Xuanyuan close to unifying the human race.

• Randeng calmly refused Zhunti's accusation, and Zhunti threatened Yuanshi Tianzun until Jieyin chose to leave Kunlun Mountain with him.
• Jieyin warned Zhunti that Nuwa, Fuxi, and other human allies had not intervened, suggesting the upheaval began when Qin Xuan stopped teaching Xuanyuan.
• Jieyin and Zhunti decided to stay out of the conflict, inform Medicine Master to be careful, and return to Spirit Mountain, while joking that Randeng had an affinity with Buddhism.
• Over three years, the You Xiong Clan annexed the leaderless Shennong Clan with help from the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect.
• Tribes across the Central Plains voluntarily pledged allegiance to Xuanyuan, leaving only the Dongyi Tribe alliance and the southern Jiu Li Tribe outside his rule.

Guang Chengzi and the Chan Sect Golden Immortals debated how to bring the Dongyi and Jiu Li Tribes under Xuanyuan’s rule, while Huang Long noticed that Xuanyuan seemed close to death. The council ended on Daoist Cihang’s challenge to True Person Daoxing to say whether he could withstand Fuxi.

• Guang Chengzi hosted the Chan Sect Golden Immortals in the You Xiong Clan’s palace while Xuanyuan stood silently behind him and Huang Long was left without a seat.
• Huang Long sensed that Xuanyuan’s aura showed he was near death, despite being the Human Emperor, but chose not to warn Guang Chengzi.
• Guang Chengzi asked the Golden Immortals how to deal with the remaining Dongyi and Jiu Li Tribes.
• True Person Daoxing proposed conquering the Dongyi Tribe first, and Chijingzi backed his plan.
• Daoist Cihang opposed the proposal, warning that the Dongyi Tribe’s ties to Fuxi could provoke the powerful Human Emperor, then asked Daoxing if he could withstand Fuxi.

The Jade Void Twelve Golden Immortals debated whether to attack the Dongyi Tribe, fearing Fuxi’s powerful allies and the consequences of provoking Qin Xuan. Guang Chengzi shifted responsibility to Huang Long, who was forced into the seat of honor and made to lead the decision.

• True Person Daoxing and Daoist Cihang argued over the danger of confronting Fuxi until Real Person Taiyi tried to calm them.
• True Person Puxian warned that provoking Fuxi could bring Nuwa and Qin Xuan into conflict with Yuanshi Tianzun, silencing the Golden Immortals.
• The Golden Immortals looked to Guang Chengzi to decide what to do, and he chose Huang Long as a scapegoat.
• Guang Chengzi and the others pushed Huang Long into the seat of honor and insisted he take responsibility for the operation.
• Huang Long protested that his Senior Brothers were harming him, while their silence confirmed they expected him to bear the blame.

Guang Chengzi forced True Person Huang Long to lead the Chan Sect’s Golden Immortals in supporting Xuanyuan’s campaign against the Dongyi Tribe. Far south, Chiyou withdrew from his expansion campaign and prepared to return north, where the real Xuanyuan was with him and the Xuanyuan in the You Xiong Clan was revealed to be Qin Xuan’s puppet.

• Daoist Cihang and Guang Chengzi threatened and mocked True Person Huang Long until he stopped resisting.
• Guang Chengzi ordered the Golden Immortals to follow True Person Huang Long and Xuanyuan and march against the Dongyi Tribe.
• The Jiu Li Tribe’s Witch-Human descendants became formidable hunters, hunted the local beasts nearly to extinction, and turned to farming and animal husbandry.
• Chiyou asked Xuanyuan where to expand next, and Xuanyuan advised him to withdraw and return north for the approaching war.
• Qin Xuan watched Chiyou and the real Xuanyuan from a mountain and revealed that the Xuanyuan in the You Xiong Clan was a puppet made from the real Xuanyuan’s blood essence.