Chapter Summaries

After leaving the Institute for the Investigation of Things, Di Xin announced that Great Shang would build a free academy open to all citizens, and the people of Chaoge cleared his procession’s path with cheers. Their support caused Great Shang’s fortune to surge, prompting Hongjun to decide they could wait no longer and a new heavenly decree to demand Shi Ji’s execution.

• Di Xin emerged from the Institute for the Investigation of Things and summoned the civil and military officials to accompany him through Chaoge.
• The people crowded around Di Xin’s carriage, and he stopped the procession to announce a free academy open to citizens regardless of status or gender.
• The people cheered and cleared the road as Di Xin returned to his carriage and Huang Feihu led the procession onward.
• The unity of Chaoge’s people caused Great Shang’s fortune to surge, and Hongjun saw that its national fortune had been extended to eight thousand years.
• Hongjun turned his attention to Kunlun Mountain, where Yuanshi Tianzun sensed a heavenly decree ordering Shi Ji of White Bone Cave on Skull Mountain executed.

Di Xin established the Extreme Dao Academy on Yunmeng Mountain, drawing the attention of the Saints and signaling his intent to change the course of the Investiture of the Gods. Meanwhile, Yuanshi Tianzun received new heavenly revelations about Shi Ji, Shen Gongbao, and Jiang Ziya.

• Yuanshi Tianzun suspected Hongjun had manipulated the heavenly secrets and sent demon-clan disciples to kill Shi Ji.
• The heavenly secrets revealed that Shen Gongbao was plagued by misfortune and Jiang Ziya was destined for the Investiture of the Gods, so Yuanshi Tianzun decided to summon Jiang Ziya and replace Shen Gongbao in Xi Qi.
• Di Xin brought his officials to Yunmeng Mountain and used his Human Emperor mana to raise the Extreme Dao Academy’s palaces onto the mountain.
• Di Xin declared the Extreme Dao Academy a sacred artifact of the human race, shocking his ministers and attracting the attention of the Saints.
• Tongtian praised Di Xin’s ambition, suspected Qin Xuan was guiding him, and wondered why Golden Spirit had not returned to Biyou Palace.

Qin Xuan used the Time Wheel to seal the central hall and spend three thousand years with Nuwa, refining the Primordial Violet Qi within him. Meanwhile, Yuanshi Tianzun summoned Jiang Ziya back to Jade Void Palace and ordered him to go to Xi Qi to assist its holy ruler against Shang.

• Nuwa approached Qin Xuan as his Primordial Violet Qi threatened to break free, and he prepared to refine it with her help.
• Qin Xuan brought out the Time Wheel, which he said Father Pangu had given him, and formed a Time Formation around the hall.
• Qin Xuan activated Time Stop, freezing Nuwa while she remained aware of her surroundings.
• After three thousand years within the formation, Nuwa rose from Qin Xuan, who entered deep cultivation as the Primordial Violet Qi merged into him.
• Yuanshi Tianzun summoned Jiang Ziya from Ji Prefecture to Jade Void Palace and ordered him to assist Xi Qi's holy ruler in attacking Shang.

Yuanshi Tianzun sent Jiang Ziya to Xi Qi with the Investiture of the Gods and ordered him to help overthrow Great Shang, despite Jiang Ziya’s doubts about the prophecy. After Shen Gongbao stopped him on the road, he condemned Jiang Ziya for betraying Di Xin and Great Shang.

• Jiang Ziya questioned Yuanshi Tianzun’s claim that Great Shang was nearing its end, but Yuanshi rebuked him and ordered him to obey.
• Yuanshi Tianzun sent Southern Pole Immortal to escort Jiang Ziya to Xi Qi and gave Jiang Ziya the Investiture of the Gods to establish the Investiture Platform on Mount Qi.
• White Crane Boy warned Jiang Ziya not to answer anyone who called his name, and Southern Pole Immortal carried him to Xi Qi before secretly watching him from the clouds.
• Jiang Ziya ignored repeated calls of his name but turned around when Shen Gongbao called him “Fellow Daoist.”
• Jiang Ziya explained that Yuanshi Tianzun had ordered him to help Xi Qi attack Great Shang, and Shen Gongbao accused him of betraying Di Xin and the people who had supported him.

Nuwa transferred the Investiture of the Gods to Pingxin and sealed Skull Mountain while Hongjun and the Pangu True Body remained locked in a standoff. Southern Pole Immortal and White Crane Boy were killed by a golden arrow on their way back to Kunlun Mountain, and their souls drifted toward the Underworld.

• Hongjun accused Qin Xuan of stealing the Investiture of the Gods and demanded that he appear, while Hou Tu defended him.
• Nuwa deflected a golden arrow near Skull Mountain as she worried about protecting Qin Xuan's reputation.
• Pingxin arrived, took the Investiture of the Gods from Nuwa, and descended into the Underworld with it.
• Nuwa placed a barrier around Skull Mountain to protect Shi Ji and prevent her from leaving.
• Hongjun and the Pangu True Body continued to face each other at Buzhou Mountain without daring to fight.
• A golden arrow struck Southern Pole Immortal and White Crane Boy as they traveled toward Kunlun Mountain, killing them and sending their souls toward the Underworld.

Yuanshi Tianzun discovered that Southern Pole Immortal and White Crane Boy had lost their cultivation and blamed Tongtian, then failed to persuade Pingxin to spare his disciples. As Pingxin took them away, Yuanshi Tianzun erupted in rage and vowed to recreate Primordial Chaos.

• Yuanshi Tianzun realized the Heaven-Shaking Arrows had destroyed Southern Pole Immortal and White Crane Boy’s Dao Foundations, and he concluded that Tongtian had attacked them.
• Yuanshi Tianzun offered Pingxin ten Innate Spiritual Treasures to spare his disciples, but Pingxin rejected the offer.
• Zhunti proposed that he impersonate Tongtian and bargain with Yuanshi Tianzun for the Chan Sect disciples’ karmic opportunity, and Jieyin agreed.
• Pingxin waved Yuanshi Tianzun aside and led the two underworld messengers away with his disciples.
• Yuanshi Tianzun watched helplessly, then vowed to reopen earth, water, fire, and wind and recreate Primordial Chaos.

Yuanshi Tianzun tried to force Pingxin to return the departed souls by threatening to destroy the Primordial World, but backed down when she refused to yield and Hongjun arrived. As Pingxin left with the souls, Hongjun challenged her over the Investiture of the Gods, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches rushed to defend her.

• Yuanshi Tianzun unleashed terrifying Saintly Power and threatened to recreate earth, fire, water, and wind, while Pingxin remained calm and refused to compromise.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches and the other Saints realized Yuanshi Tianzun was bluffing and resumed watching after setting aside their preparations to flee.
• Yuanshi Tianzun admitted he had only been impulsive and withdrew his power, but Pingxin pointed out that Hongjun was behind him.
• Hongjun confronted Yuanshi Tianzun, who panicked and insisted he had never intended to destroy the Primordial World.
• Pingxin left with the Underworld officials and the two departed souls, but Hongjun blocked her and accused her of seizing the Investiture of the Gods by force.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches shouted from the horizon, defending Pingxin and challenging Hongjun's accusation.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches nearly unleashed the Twelve Great Heavenly Gods and Demons Array against Hongjun after he accused Pingxin of taking the Investiture of the Gods. Jumang defended Pingxin by arguing that the Underworld had only fulfilled its duty by receiving the souls of the dead, leaving Hongjun unable to challenge her without grounds.

• Dijiang ordered the Twelve Ancestral Witches to form their array, but Pingxin persuaded them to withdraw their Baleful Qi before they destroyed the Primordial World.
• Jumang inferred that Hongjun was blaming Pingxin for the Investiture of the Gods and stepped forward to demand evidence.
• Hongjun cited the souls of Southern Pole Immortal and White Crane Boy returning to the Underworld as proof.
• Jumang argued that receiving the dead was the Underworld's duty, and Pingxin and the other Ancestral Witches were astonished by his reasoning.
• Hongjun declared that the Heavenly Dao's decree concerning the Investiture of the Gods could not be changed, then seized Yuanshi Tianzun and vanished with him.

Hongjun forced Yuanshi Tianzun to swallow a strange pill after Yuanshi apologized for threatening to self-destruct, then ordered him to push ahead with Xi Qi’s Attack Shang. Yuanshi agreed after Hongjun used the pill’s power to inflict agony that nearly erased his Dao Foundation.

• Yuanshi Tianzun knelt before Hongjun and apologized for threatening to self-destruct to scare Pingxin.
• Hongjun offered Yuanshi Tianzun a dark-red pill, and Yuanshi swallowed it after Hongjun threatened his position as a Heavenly Dao Saint.
• Yuanshi Tianzun felt his cultivation begin to rise after taking the pill and thanked Hongjun.
• Hongjun ordered Yuanshi Tianzun to advance Xi Qi’s Attack Shang, but Yuanshi argued that his forces were too weak.
• Hongjun triggered the pill’s power, causing Yuanshi Tianzun excruciating pain that threatened to erase his Dao Foundation.
• Yuanshi Tianzun begged for mercy and agreed to carry out Attack Shang before Hongjun dismissed him with a warning to consider the consequences of his actions.

After Hongjun forced Yuanshi Tianzun to submit, Yuanshi asked Guang Chengzi how the Chan Sect should support Xi Qi without provoking Qin Xuan. Guang Chengzi proposed using Shen Gongbao and the sect’s registered disciples as scapegoats, and Shen Gongbao eagerly answered Yuanshi’s summons.

• Yuanshi Tianzun returned to Kunlun Mountain after Hongjun threatened him with the Saint Slaying Pill and summoned Guang Chengzi.
• Guang Chengzi suggested sending registered disciples, including Lü Yue and Yu De, to help Xi Qi attack Shang and face the tribulation.
• Yuanshi Tianzun worried their poison arts would violate Qin Xuan’s ban on harming Great Shang’s mortals.
• Guang Chengzi proposed having Yuanshi recruit Shen Gongbao to send the registered disciples down the mountain and bear the blame.
• Yuanshi Tianzun announced he was entering seclusion, while Shen Gongbao received a summons and rejoiced at being entrusted with an important task.

Shen Gongbao hurried to Kunlun Mountain after deciding he could use the rebellion to surpass Jiang Ziya. In Chaoge, Di Xin rejected his ministers’ call to send Zhang Guifang against Xi Qi and prepared to send Ji Kao back to his rebellious brother Ji Fa.

• Shen Gongbao rushed toward Kunlun Mountain, hoping to win merit and surpass Jiang Ziya.
• Wen Zhong and other officials urged Di Xin to send Zhang Guifang and an army against Ji Fa’s rebellion.
• Di Xin dismissed court without accepting the proposal, unwilling to send Zhang Guifang to certain death against the immortals behind Xi Qi.
• Di Xin dragged Ji Kao from the death prison, told him Ji Fa had rebelled, and said he would send him back to Xi Qi for a reunion with his brother.

Di Xin sent Bo Yikao back to Xi Qi, where Ji Fa denied recognizing his elder brother and ordered him imprisoned. Jiang Ziya urged Ji Fa to investigate Bo Yikao’s identity, but Ji Fa refused, leaving Bo Yikao in the death row prison.

• Bo Yikao rejected Di Xin’s offer to return to Xi Qi and assist Ji Fa, but Di Xin tore open a spatial rift and took him there anyway.
• Di Xin dropped Bo Yikao outside the Marquis of the West’s Mansion and announced his return to the people of Xi Qi.
• Ji Fa recognized Bo Yikao but called him an impostor and ordered the guards to take him to the death row prison.
• Bo Yikao protested that he was Ji Fa’s legitimate elder brother while Xi Qi’s old retainers stayed silent.
• Jiang Ziya asked Ji Fa to investigate whether Bo Yikao was truly the man in the wanted portrait, but Ji Fa dismissed his advice and had Bo Yikao dragged away.
• Jiang Ziya left for his residence after Bo Yikao’s cries faded down the street.

Jiang Ziya questioned whether Ji Fa was the wise ruler destined to overthrow Di Xin, while Ji Fa arranged for Yu De to kill Bo Yikao and recruit Yu De’s family from Great Shang. As Ji Fa returned home, a supernatural announcement declared that Ji Dan had returned to the residence.

• Jiang Ziya recalled Ji Fa rejecting reforms and imprisoning Bo Yikao, then shut himself away as doubts about Ji Fa and Di Xin grew.
• Ji Fa visited Bo Yikao in the death row prison and told him that his existence threatened Xi Qi’s stability.
• Ji Fa summoned Yu De, who killed Bo Yikao and promised to persuade his father and four brothers to defect to Xi Qi.
• Bo Yikao’s dead soul passed through the prison walls and drifted toward the Netherworld.
• Ji Fa returned to his residence, where a voice announced across Xi Qi City that Ji Dan had returned.

Ji Fa accepted Ji Dan’s appointment as Young Master while keeping him under guard, and learned that Ji Chang had been tortured into a cripple. At Tong Pass, Yu De urged his father and brothers to join Xi Qi, prompting Yu Hualong to rage at him for proposing treason.

• A decree appointed Ji Dan Young Master of the Marquis of the West, leaving Ji Fa unable to kill or reject him without risking his reputation.
• Ji Dan knelt to Ji Fa as king, then said he had no desire to become Young Master and described how Di Xin had secretly imprisoned their family.
• Ji Dan told Ji Fa that Ji Chang had been tortured until he was barely recognizable as human, and Ji Fa was relieved that his father could no longer challenge his rule.
• Ji Fa gave Ji Dan a courtyard in the Royal Mansion and assigned ten guards to watch over him.
• Yu De reunited with Yu Hualong and his brothers at Tong Pass, then urged them to join Xi Qi’s campaign against Shang.
• Yu Hualong struck the table and threatened to beat Yu De for urging his family to betray Great Shang.

Yu De seized control of Tong Pass by immobilizing his parents and arranging for Yu Da to impersonate Yu Hualong. Shen Gongbao recruited Yang Jian to aid Xi Qi, unaware that Yang Jian intended to sabotage the Chan Sect, and they set out with more than a thousand cultivators.

• Yu De restrained Yu Hualong and his wife, then persuaded Yu Da and his brothers to cooperate with his plan to betray Tong Pass to Xi Qi.
• Yu De transformed Yu Da to look like Yu Hualong, concealed his parents in his sleeve, and flew toward Xi Qi.
• Shen Gongbao, seeking greater credit in the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, decided to recruit Real Person Jade Tripod and Yang Jian.
• Real Person Jade Tripod agreed to descend the mountain, hoping to send Yang Jian to face his killing tribulation.
• Yang Jian agreed to join Shen Gongbao while secretly planning to sabotage the Chan Sect and undermine Xi Qi.
• Yang Jian left Jade Spring Mountain with Shen Gongbao, joined the recruited Outer Sect cultivators, and marched toward Xi Qi.

Shen Gongbao arrived in Xi Qi with over a thousand Chan Sect cultivators and challenged Jiang Ziya before leaving to recruit border tribes against Great Shang. Meanwhile, Tongtian made Duobao prepare to jump through a ring of Samadhi True Fire, leaving Duobao pleading for rescue.

• Ji Fa welcomed Shen Gongbao and the Chan Sect cultivators, appointed Shen Gongbao Grand Preceptor, and made Yang Jian Xi Qi's foremost vanguard general.
• Shen Gongbao visited Jiang Ziya, boasted of his new authority, and urged him to serve under him, but Jiang Ziya rejected him and drove him out.
• Shen Gongbao decided to recruit the Quanrong, Bei Qiang, and Gui Fang tribes to join Xi Qi against Great Shang, then left Xi Qi to approach them.
• Duobao rushed into Biyou Palace to report news from Kunlun Mountain, but Tongtian ignored him and said he wanted to watch a show.
• Tongtian conjured a ring of Samadhi True Fire and ordered Duobao to jump through it, while Duobao begged him to play with his ears instead.

Tongtian forced Duobao to leap through a Samadhi True Fire ring formation while the other disciples watched and cheered. After Tongtian healed him, Duobao discovered that the ordeal had strengthened his Daluo Flesh Body, leaving the other disciples eager to perform too.

• Turtle Spirit Mother, Wudang Mother, Zhao Gongming, the Three Xiao sisters, and Wuyun Xian arrived at Biyou Palace and mistook Duobao's predicament for a performance.
• Bixiao and Qiong Xiao teased Tongtian for keeping Duobao's fire-ring act from them, and Tongtian ordered Duobao to jump.
• Duobao leaped through the first fire ring, then struggled through a growing S-shaped passage of dozens of rings as the disciples cheered.
• After Duobao collapsed at the end of the passage, Tongtian healed his burns with saintly power.
• Duobao realized the ordeal had strengthened his Daluo Flesh Body, and Zhao Gongming, the Three Xiaos, and the others grew envious and wanted to perform too.

After learning that Shen Gongbao had led over a thousand Chan Sect disciples toward Xi Qi, Tongtian ordered Duobao and two others to go to Chaoge and assist Great Shang. He barred his female disciples from joining them, then spent three days punishing Duobao for calling him “old man,” before Duobao emerged carrying Tongtian’s decree, badly swollen and bruised.

• Duobao reported that Shen Gongbao had persuaded Chan Sect disciples to descend the mountain and that he had seen over a thousand of them heading toward Xi Qi.
• Zhao Gongming and the other Jie Sect disciples volunteered to go to Chaoge, and Tongtian ordered Duobao to lead Zhao Gongming and Wuyun Xian there with full command authority.
• Bixiao, Qiong Xiao, Turtle Spirit Mother, and the other female disciples asked to go, but Tongtian firmly refused and warned the chosen disciples not to offend Di Xin.
• Duobao excitedly called himself “Brother Bao” and referred to Tongtian as “old man,” prompting Tongtian to dismiss the others and keep Duobao behind.
• After three days and nights of punishment in Biyou Palace, Duobao emerged carrying Tongtian’s decree, swollen and bruised.

Di Xin and Golden Spirit grew increasingly intimate as they sat together in Fragrant Condensation Pavilion, though Golden Spirit still reacted nervously to his advances. Just as Di Xin was about to touch her chest, a child’s voice interrupted them.

• Di Xin led Golden Spirit through the royal garden to Fragrant Condensation Pavilion, where they sat together.
• Di Xin pulled Golden Spirit into his arms, and she struggled before twisting his thigh in retaliation.
• Golden Spirit softened, tended to Di Xin’s bruised thigh, and leaned against his shoulder.
• Golden Spirit allowed Di Xin to touch her thigh, and he began moving his hand upward.
• A child called out to Di Xin and Golden Spirit from outside the pavilion, interrupting Di Xin’s advance.

Nezha asked Di Xin for permission to fight against Xi Qi, and Di Xin agreed, believing the campaign would temper him. After sending Nezha to prepare, Di Xin returned to the Political Affairs Hall and assessed Great Shang’s military strength and lack of powerful cultivators.

• Nezha interrupted Di Xin and Golden Spirit’s embrace and asked to join the war against Xi Qi.
• Di Xin agreed to let Nezha fight, while Golden Spirit worried about the dangers and considered bringing more disciples from Golden Ao Island to protect him.
• Di Xin told Nezha to train in the palace until the army assembled and departed.
• Di Xin returned to the Political Affairs Hall and considered Great Shang’s stable rule and flourishing human-path fortune.
• Di Xin recognized that Great Shang lacked top-tier fighters capable of matching Chan Sect’s powerful disciples.