Chapter Summaries

Di Xin planned to enlist Golden Spirit Mother to help persuade Tongtian to send the Jie Sect’s strongest disciples to aid Great Shang, but she had already left Chaoge. She met Duobao Daoist and other Jie Sect disciples on their way to the city, and learned they had come to lend aid under Tongtian’s decree.

• Di Xin recalled the strength of Kong Xuan and Yuan Hong, lamented that he could not find them, and decided to seek Tongtian’s support through Golden Spirit Mother.
• Golden Spirit left Chaoge to find a bodyguard squad for Nezha and received a message that Duobao Daoist and other senior disciples were approaching.
• Golden Spirit met Duobao Daoist, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian, and noticed Duobao’s bruised, swollen face.
• Duobao claimed his injuries came from body-tempering cultivation, while Zhao Gongming and Wuyun Xian struggled to hide their laughter.
• Golden Spirit learned that Tongtian had sent the male Jie Sect disciples to Chaoge to aid Great Shang and was delighted that they could serve as Nezha’s bodyguards.

Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian arrived at Chaoge with Golden Spirit to meet Di Xin, intending to judge whether he deserved their service. Di Xin recognized the formidable Jie Sect disciples and realized Golden Spirit had gone to fetch reinforcements for him.

• Duobao asked Golden Spirit why she had not returned to Golden Ao Island, and she nervously changed the subject to the urgent military situation.
• Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian recalled their agreement to serve Di Xin only if he proved worthy, otherwise they would handle the Chan Sect on their own.
• Golden Spirit led the three disciples into the palace, where Duobao was awed by Di Xin’s overwhelming fortune and unfathomable presence.
• Golden Spirit sat beside Di Xin and invited her senior brothers to make themselves at home, leaving them stunned by her familiarity with the Human Emperor.
• Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian saluted Di Xin, who recognized their reputations and rejoiced that Golden Spirit had brought him powerful allies.

Di Xin welcomed Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian to Chaoge after they arrived under Tongtian’s orders to help Great Shang fight the Xi Qi rebellion. Once they were alone, Di Xin embraced Golden Spirit and began making advances, leaving their encounter unresolved.

• Di Xin recognized that Golden Spirit had brought powerful Jie Sect disciples to Chaoge, strengthening Great Shang’s forces.
• Duobao told Di Xin that he, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian had come by Tongtian’s decree to assist Great Shang against Xi Qi.
• Di Xin welcomed the three disciples and invited them to stay in the royal palace until the army set out.
• After the three disciples left, Di Xin thanked Golden Spirit by embracing her in the empty hall.
• Di Xin slipped a hand beneath Golden Spirit’s robe, and she trembled and moaned as he reached for her sash.

Di Xin learned that a supernatural Five-Colored Pox outbreak had devastated Ji Prefecture and suspected Yu De’s poison art was responsible, though he could not explain why a loyal Shang family would attack its own people. Mei Bo urged him to call on Great Diviner Huang, whose power over divine authority threatened the king’s control.

• Golden Spirit struck Di Xin in the crotch and left the Political Affairs Hall, but Bigan then rushed in with an urgent report from Ji Prefecture.
• Bigan reported that Five-Colored Pox had infected the people and soldiers of Ji Prefecture, and that Su Hu had sealed the borders and requested immortal physicians.
• Di Xin recognized the pox as a likely supernatural disease and recalled that Yu De had used the same poison art against the Zhou army.
• The officials could find no cure, so Mei Bo urged Di Xin to summon Great Diviner Huang to divine a way to end the plague.
• Di Xin regarded Mei Bo coldly as the court’s Diviners’ authority over the gods and royal decisions came into focus.

Di Xin allowed Great Diviner Huang to perform a ritual for the plague in Ji Prefecture after old nobles demanded divination, while suspecting their motives. Huang began summoning the gods outside the Nine Halls, and the ritual was still underway when the chapter ended.

• Mei Bo and several old nobles urged Di Xin to summon Great Diviner Huang to address the plague in Ji Prefecture.
• Wen Zhong argued that the court should seek Immortal physicians instead of entrusting lives to divination, but Di Xin ordered him to stand down.
• Di Xin secretly sent a message to Golden Spirit before agreeing to let Huang perform the divination.
• Huang entered the Nine Halls and told Di Xin that a remedy would depend on the king's sincerity and required a ritual beneath the open sky.
• Di Xin led the court outside, where Huang's Daoist boys set up an incense table and Huang began chanting and dancing to summon the gods.

Di Xin faced a divination declaring Shang’s mandate ended and demanding that he abolish his reforms to stop the plague in Ji Prefecture. After Huang killed himself, the court stayed divided and silent, while Fei Zhong and You Hun openly defended Di Xin and the new policies.

• Huang divined that Shang’s mandate had ended and demanded that Di Xin issue an Edict of Self-Reproach, restore the old system, and resume human sacrifices.
• Wen Zhong ordered Huang seized, but Di Xin stopped the guards and asked how the plague in Ji Prefecture could be ended.
• Huang repeated his warning, glanced toward Mei Bo, and struck his head against the bronze incense table, killing himself.
• Bigan and Shang Rong remained silent as Di Xin recognized that their loyalty was conflicted by their ties to the royal clan and old nobles.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun condemned Huang and the silent ministers, then pledged to seek immortal medicines and defend Di Xin’s reforms.

Di Xin rejected Mei Bo’s demand to abolish the new policies and ordered him executed despite the royal clan’s intervention. He then calmly asked Weizi Qi, Jizi, and Shici why they had come.

• Di Xin accused Mei Bo and the old ministers of using the plague to coerce him into restoring slavery and human sacrifice.
• Mei Bo condemned Di Xin’s policies, and Di Xin stripped him of office and ordered the guards to kill him with a golden melon hammer.
• Weizi Qi, Jizi, and Shici arrived and urged Di Xin to spare Mei Bo, joined by officials who knelt in support.
• Di Xin ordered the execution to proceed, and a guard struck Mei Bo dead before the court.
• Di Xin asked Weizi Qi, Jizi, and Shici when they had arrived and what had brought them there.

After Di Xin executed Mei Bo, he forced Weizi Qi to choose between defying him and saving the dead minister. Weizi Qi then revealed a royal clan petition demanding Di Xin abdicate, turning the court confrontation into an attempted coup.

• Di Xin killed Mei Bo in court, terrifying the assembled officials and silencing Weizi Qi, Jizi, and Shici.
• Duobao Daoist, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian watched from the palace wall, and Duobao ordered them to follow Di Xin’s commands while helping Shang attack Xi Qi.
• Di Xin confronted Weizi Qi, who first backed away from opposing the new policies, but Di Xin stopped him and demanded he save Mei Bo.
• Weizi Qi again demanded that Di Xin abolish the new policies, then presented a petition from three hundred members of the Yin Shang royal clan calling for Di Xin to abdicate.
• Zhao Gongming offered to help Di Xin, but Duobao Daoist chose to wait and see whether Di Xin could handle the court crisis himself.

Weizi Qi presented a petition from three hundred royal clansmen and pressed Di Xin to answer, while Di Xin suspected someone had engineered the confrontation to force him into a disastrous choice. Di Xin struck Weizi Qi and began pulling his head from his body, leaving the court horrified as his neck snapped.

• Weizi Qi showed Di Xin a petition signed by three hundred royal clansmen and demanded to know his response.
• Di Xin considered that an unknown enemy might be sacrificing Weizi Qi and the petitioners to plunge Great Shang into chaos.
• Weizi Qi mistook Di Xin's silence for a sign that his pressure had worked and urged him again to answer.
• Di Xin slapped Weizi Qi twice, spinning his head around and leaving his face swollen.
• Di Xin pinned Weizi Qi to the ground and stretched his neck upward until it snapped.

Di Xin brutalized Weizi Qi, Shici, and Jizi, then forced the court officials to claim they had witnessed crimes by Huang and Weizi Qi’s allies. The ministers quickly learned to echo Di Xin’s accusations, and You Hun eagerly expanded them into a charge of rebellion.

• Di Xin twisted Weizi Qi’s neck into a knot and threw him onto the steps, while Jizi and Shici rushed to check on him.
• When Di Xin asked whether anyone had seen him strike Weizi Qi, Shici accused him and lost his right arm to Di Xin’s unseen attack.
• Jizi denied seeing anything, but Di Xin severed his legs and accused him of lying.
• Di Xin asked whether Huang had misled the people with demonic words, and Fei Zhong and the other ministers declared that they had witnessed it.
• Di Xin asked whether Weizi Qi, Mei Bo, Jizi, and Shici had conspired and attempted to assassinate him, and You Hun claimed they had carried poisoned weapons and intended to rebel.

Di Xin forced the court officials to deny that he had harmed the would-be assassins, and Wen Zhong joined Fei Zhong and You Hun in inventing an implausible story about the rebels fighting among themselves. The chapter ended with Di Xin and Wen Zhong privately worrying about their relationship to Golden Spirit Mother and each other.

• Di Xin asked the officials whether anyone had seen him harm the supposed assassins, and Wen Zhong declared that he had seen no such thing.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun stood beside Wen Zhong, making the three officials appear united in their support of Di Xin.
• Di Xin pointed to the bodies and injuries and asked how they had come about.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun blamed infighting among five plotters, and Wen Zhong confirmed that their fierce mutual combat had left two dead and three injured.
• Di Xin imagined Wen Zhong calling him teacher or master’s husband, while Wen Zhong feared Di Xin was displeased and thought of their connection through Golden Spirit Mother.

Di Xin crushed a court rebellion, forced the officials to praise his mercy, and burned the list of conspirators’ names while secretly memorizing it. Shennong and Golden Spirit Mother arrived to meet him, and Di Xin resolved to deal with Zu Yi later after spotting his contempt.

• Di Xin declared Weizi Qi, Jizi, and Shici guilty of plotting rebellion but ordered them taken to the palace dungeons under the pretense of treating their wounds.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun forced Wen Zhong to join them in praising Di Xin, and the ministers and people of Chaoge echoed their cries.
• Shennong mistook the city’s worship for proof that Di Xin was a benevolent sage ruler, while Golden Spirit Mother realized she had missed the court’s bloody upheaval.
• Golden Spirit Mother led Shennong toward Di Xin after he insisted on leaving Huoyun Palace to meet the emperor.
• Di Xin burned the bamboo scroll listing the conspirators, reassured the ministers, and secretly resolved to punish Zu Yi after noticing his mocking gaze.

Di Xin accused Zu Yi of masterminding the coup and had him dragged away for “treatment,” while Shennong mistook the bloody scene for proof of Di Xin’s benevolence. When Wen Zhong raised the urgent plague in Ji Prefecture, Fei Zhong and You Hun stopped him from questioning Di Xin’s assurances.

• Di Xin branded Zu Yi a hidden coup mastermind, and Zu Yi angrily denounced him before soldiers dragged him to the royal palace.
• Shennong praised Di Xin’s supposed benevolence, while Golden Spirit concealed her disbelief and humored him.
• Wen Zhong warned Di Xin that the plague in Ji Prefecture was spreading and disaster relief could not wait.
• Di Xin claimed he had prepared for the plague, but Wen Zhong doubted him because he had not left the Nine Halls.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun restrained Wen Zhong and insisted that loyal ministers should support Di Xin without questioning him.

Wen Zhong questioned what true loyalty meant after Fei Zhong and You Hun proudly declared their blind devotion to Di Xin. Golden Spirit arrived at the palace with Earthly Sovereign Shennong, and the ministers learned Di Xin had summoned him to save the people of Ji Prefecture.

• Fei Zhong and You Hun praised blind loyalty to Di Xin, leaving Wen Zhong to doubt his own ideas about loyal ministers.
• Shennong watched the ministers from the clouds and judged Fei Zhong and You Hun loyal, while criticizing Wen Zhong.
• Golden Spirit and Shennong descended into the palace, and Di Xin recognized Shennong as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
• Wen Zhong asked whether the old man was Shennong, and Golden Spirit confirmed his identity to the assembled officials.
• Golden Spirit revealed that Di Xin had sent her to request medicine, prompting the ministers to bow to Shennong and Fei Zhong and You Hun to lavishly praise Di Xin.

Di Xin welcomed Shennong, received the Shennong Ruler, and learned how to use it to cure Ji Prefecture City’s plague. Shennong departed after calling Di Xin too soft-hearted, leaving the court and hidden immortals stunned by the contrast with Di Xin’s ruthless actions.

• Wen Zhong praised Di Xin before Shennong, who criticized him for being slow and rigid at flattering people.
• Di Xin greeted Shennong and praised his ancient achievements, prompting Shennong to give him the Shennong Ruler, a treasure with powers over medicine and poison.
• Shennong explained that the ruler could dispel Ji Prefecture City’s plague and declined Di Xin’s invitation to stay.
• Before leaving, Shennong warned Di Xin that he was too soft-hearted and should act with greater decisiveness, shocking the assembled officials.
• Wen Zhong, Bigan, and Shang Rong marveled at Di Xin’s carefully orchestrated response to the rebellion and plague, while Duobao Daoist, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian called him unfathomably deep.

Di Xin hurried to Ji Prefecture with the Shennong Ruler while Golden Spirit introduced Nezha to Duobao Daoist, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian. As Duobao prepared a generous gift for Nezha, he spotted a glimpse of an exceptionally powerful Innate Spiritual Treasure beneath the child's clothes.

• Di Xin obtained the Shennong Ruler and rushed to Ji Prefecture to address the epidemic.
• Golden Spirit brought Nezha to meet Duobao Daoist, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian and introduced them as his Martial Uncles.
• Zhao Gongming and Wuyun Xian gave Nezha mid-grade Postnatal Spiritual Treasures, which he stored inside Golden Spirit's Four Symbols Pagoda.
• Nezha respectfully greeted Duobao, who searched his Duobao Pagoda for a suitable gift and chose the Purple Lightning Hammer.
• Duobao noticed a brilliant glimpse of a treasure beneath Nezha's clothes and realized it was likely one of the strongest Innate Spiritual Treasures.

Duobao mistook Nezha for an ancient evil cultivator after sensing the immense power of the treasure in his arms, and grew concerned that Golden Spirit was in danger. Golden Spirit identified the treasure as the He Tu Luo Shu and revealed that Nezha had another master, leaving Duobao and the others shocked by the treasure’s presence.

• Duobao sensed that the treasure Nezha carried surpassed even the Qingping Sword and suspected Nezha was a reincarnated ancient expert with sinister intentions toward Golden Spirit.
• Duobao questioned Golden Spirit about Nezha’s origins, while Nezha glared back at him and Golden Spirit defended her disciple.
• Duobao warned Golden Spirit that Nezha carried an Innate Spiritual Treasure with a stronger aura than the Qingping Sword.
• Golden Spirit explained that the treasure was the He Tu Luo Shu, a gift from Nezha’s other master, shocking Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and Wuyun Xian.
• Duobao recognized the He Tu Luo Shu as Demon Emperor Dijun’s legendary companion treasure and recalled that Demon Master Kunpeng had taken it during the final Witch-Demon battle.

Duobao and the others learned that Nezha’s other Master was the Human Emperor Di Xin and concluded that a hidden great power stood behind Great Shang, perhaps connected to Buzhou Mountain. After apologizing to Nezha, Duobao gave him the Li Fire Cover as a gift.

• Duobao recalled rumors that Kunpeng had been captured and linked them to the He Tu Luo Shu hanging from Nezha’s collar.
• Golden Spirit told Zhao Gongming and the others that Nezha’s other Master was Di Xin, leading them to suspect a powerful figure stood behind the Human Emperor.
• Duobao reconsidered Di Xin’s authority and Great Shang’s strength, then apologized to Nezha for suspecting him.
• Nezha continued displaying the He Tu Luo Shu, so Duobao chose the Innate Spiritual Treasure Li Fire Cover instead of the gift he had first planned.
• Nezha eagerly accepted the Li Fire Cover and praised Duobao’s generosity while Duobao hid how much the gift pained him.

Nezha accepted Duobao’s Li Fire Cover after he and Golden Spirit persuaded Duobao to insist, while Golden Spirit evaded questions about her relationship with Di Xin. She then joined Di Xin in Ji Prefecture, where he used the Shennong Ruler to eradicate the plague, and persuaded him to stroll through the city with her.

• Nezha pretended to refuse Duobao’s Li Fire Cover, but Golden Spirit urged Duobao to press the gift on him, and Nezha accepted it.
• Zhao Gongming questioned Golden Spirit about her closeness to Di Xin, and she made an excuse before leaving for Ji Prefecture.
• Golden Spirit found Di Xin using the Shennong Ruler to heal the plague-stricken people of Ji Prefecture.
• After the plague was eradicated, Golden Spirit asked Di Xin to stroll through Ji Prefecture City with her, and he agreed.

Di Xin and Golden Spirit disguised themselves and enjoyed a day exploring Ji Prefecture City, where her striking appearance sparked wild rumors. That night, they sat atop the city tower, and Golden Spirit shyly reacted when Di Xin held her feet.

• Di Xin changed his royal robe into commoner clothes while Golden Spirit conjured a barrier and dressed in ornate mortal attire.
• Golden Spirit joined Di Xin on the busy street, where passersby stared at her and glared jealously at him.
• Golden Spirit explored the city's performers and food stalls, while a fantastical rumor about her and Di Xin spread through Ji Prefecture City.
• After nightfall, Di Xin and Golden Spirit sat atop the tallest city tower, and she rested her calves across his lap.
• Di Xin held Golden Spirit's feet and admired her Stainless Body, while she blushed and told him it tickled.