Chapter Summaries

Dao Ancestor Hongjun awarded Haotian the Saint Dao Fruit for his service in the war against the Xuanhuang Realm, granting him Primordial Violet Qi rather than a Saint Crystal. Haotian accepted the gift but wondered about the difference, while Niu Ben considered the Primordial Violet Qi he had kept and whom he might give it to.

• Saints and Quasi-Saints argued over whether Haotian, Ksitigarbha King, Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi, or Kunpeng deserved the Saint Dao Fruit.
• Niu Ben concluded that Dao Ancestor Hongjun had already chosen the recipient as Hongjun let the debate continue.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun declared Haotian the Heavenly Dao's chosen recipient and sent Primordial Violet Qi into his brow.
• Haotian thanked Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao, while privately wondering why he had received Primordial Violet Qi instead of a Saint Crystal.
• Niu Ben recalled that he possessed a strand of Primordial Violet Qi and considered whether to give it to the Ox Clan, the Three Teachings, or the Human Race.
• Jieyin and Zhunti looked dissatisfied with Haotian receiving the Saint Dao Fruit.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun granted Haotian a Saint Dao Fruit, provoking protests from the Western Teachings and leaving Zhunti furious when their war merit was reclaimed. Haotian planned to build the merit and Fortune needed to become a Saint, while the Three Pure Ones considered who would rule the Human Race next.

• Hongjun awarded the Saint Dao Fruit and Primordial Violet Qi to Haotian, and the Western Teachings' Quasi-Saints protested that Ksitigarbha King Bodhisattva deserved it instead.
• Hongjun silenced the protestors and declared the Heavenly Court needed a Saint to uphold the order of heaven and earth.
• The Heavenly Dao distributed merit to those who fought the Xuanhuang Realm but took back the merit that was flying toward the Western Teachings, enraging Zhunti.
• Haotian celebrated his reward and resolved to gather enough merit and Fortune to attain the Saint realm.
• After Da Yu's reign began and the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors ended, the Three Pure Ones discussed the next Human ruler and the Fortune involved.
• Haotian sat in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and considered how he would obtain the merit and Fortune required to attain the Dao.

Haotian supported Xia Qi’s rise to power, helping him establish the Xia Dynasty and earn great merit and fortune. As Haotian anticipated proving Dao and becoming a Saint, Zhunti proposed that the Western Teachings take advantage of the Human Race’s new era by sending disciples to spread their doctrines.

• Haotian learned that Da Yu’s son, Xia Qi, was destined to rule the Human Tribe and went to Tushan disguised as a Daoist to become his master.
• As Xia Qi grew up, he followed Haotian’s counsel, undermined Boyi, had him imprisoned and executed, and suppressed the tribes and officials who opposed him.
• Xia Qi abolished abdication, established hereditary rule, ascended the throne as King, and named his state Xia.
• The Heavenly Dao granted Haotian immense merit for supporting Xia Qi, and Haotian anticipated that he could soon prove Dao and become a Saint.
• The Three Pure Ones discussed Xia Qi’s new dynasty, while Zhunti urged Jieyin to send Western Teachings disciples to spread their doctrines among the Human Race.

Haotian returned to the Heavenly Court after helping Xia Qi establish hereditary rule and entered seclusion to pursue the Saint Path. Years later, the tyrannical Xia Jie lost the Mandate of Heaven to Cheng Tang, who defeated the Xia army and brought the dynasty to an end.

• Saint Nuwa, Niu Ba, and Niu Ben sensed Haotian's heavenly Dao merit and considered its implications for the Human Race and the Heavenly Court.
• Haotian appointed Jade Pool to oversee the Heavenly Court and entered seclusion to pursue the Saint Path.
• Xia Qi founded the Xia Dynasty, but later rulers weakened it, and Xia Jie became a tyrant who turned the people and the lords against him.
• Saint Taishang ordered the Three Teachings disciples to discreetly support Cheng Tang, while Jieyin and Zhunti sent Western Teachings disciples to help him and spread their teachings.
• Cheng Tang won over the lords, defeated Xia's loyal vassal states, and routed Xia Jie's army at the Mingtiao Plains.
• Xia Jie fled to South Nest, where Cheng Tang captured and imprisoned him; Xia Jie later died, ending the Xia Dynasty.

Cheng Tang established the Shang Dynasty, abolished human sacrifice, and proclaimed new laws as the Saints watched the Human Race enter another era. After an age passed, Haotian released Saintly Might from his seclusion, and the Heavenly Court believed he was about to become a Saint.

• Cheng Tang enthroned himself, condemned Jie, and declared rites, farming, and the Tang Code as foundations for Shang rule.
• The Saints reflected on Shang's rise and the growing Calamity Qi, while Western Teachings considered how the coming Tribulation might benefit them.
• Niu Ba wondered why Niu Ben had kept the Ox Clan from contending for supremacy, but chose to trust his son.
• Niu Ben awoke in the Netherworld Underworld and anticipated the Investiture Tribulation after Shang's era, resolving to keep strengthening himself.
• After an age passed, violet-gold light and Saintly Might erupted from Haotian's seclusion in the Heavenly Court, and the immortals concluded he was nearing Sainthood.

Haotian’s impending ascension stirred envy and speculation among powerful figures across the Primordial Wilderness, including Ancestor Minghe, Ksitigarbha King, Zhen Yuanzi, and Kunpeng. Haotian then proclaimed that he had proved the Dao, broke through to the Saint level, and became the Heavenly Court’s Saint.

• Ancestor Minghe, Ksitigarbha King, and Zhen Yuanzi sensed Haotian’s Saint Aura and lamented that they had not become Saints.
• Kunpeng sensed Haotian’s impending ascension and considered seeking the Primordial Violet Qi he believed Niu Ben possessed, but decided not to approach him.
• Haotian rose from the depths of the Heavenly Court and proclaimed that he had endured countless calamities and proved the Dao.
• Haotian declared that he would wield heavenly punishment, establish heavenly laws, and kill those who defied Heaven.
• Haotian’s cultivation broke through the Sub-Saint Level into the Saint level, and the Heavenly Court’s soldiers and officials celebrated.

Haotian celebrated attaining sainthood by hosting a grand banquet in the Heavenly Court, where the saints and other great experts gathered. He thanked Niu Ben for recommending him as Heavenly Emperor and raised a cup to him.

• Jade Pool and the Heavenly Court's immortals congratulated Haotian after he became a saint, and he ordered a banquet to announce the Heavenly Court's new strength.
• Niu Ben received Haotian's invitation and decided to attend in support of him.
• The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, Zhunti, Niu Ba, Niu Ben, and other great experts arrived at the Heavenly Court's lavish banquet.
• Haotian welcomed his guests, and Niu Ben and the Three Pure Ones discussed how his sainthood strengthened the Heavenly Court.
• Zhunti regretted that Ksitigarbha King had not earned enough Military Merit to become a saint before Haotian.
• Haotian approached Niu Ben, thanked him for recommending him as Heavenly Emperor, and offered him a cup.

After the Heavenly Court’s feast, Niu Ben encountered the young Zishou, recognized him as the future King Zhou of Shang, and accepted him as a disciple. After several years of training him in cultivation, combat, and governance, Niu Ben sent Zishou back to the Shang Dynasty to fulfill his destiny.

• Niu Ben left the Heavenly Court and found the ragged child Zishou beside a stream in the mountains.
• Niu Ben learned that Zishou was Di Yi’s youngest son, unable to cultivate, and had run away from the palace.
• Niu Ben accepted Zishou as his disciple and used immortal light to transform his foundation so he could cultivate.
• Niu Ben trained Zishou for several years in cultivation, swordsmanship, warfare, battle formations, and governing.
• Niu Ben told Zishou to return to the Shang Dynasty, and Zishou bowed to his master before departing.

Niu Ben returned to the Ox Clan, reassured his father that avoiding supremacy would help the clan stay clear of an approaching great tribulation, then returned to the underworld with Niu Xiaomei. Meanwhile, Haotian decided to recruit powerful figures for the understaffed Heavenly Court and went to seek Niu Ben's help.

• Niu Ben visited the Ox Clan and learned from Niu Ba that the clan had grown stronger, with several Daluo Golden Immortals among its younger members.
• Niu Ba asked why Niu Ben would not let the Ox Clan seek supremacy, and Niu Ben warned that a great upheaval was approaching and the clan should avoid being drawn into it.
• Niu Ben spent time with Niu Mu and Niu Xiaomei, then returned to the underworld with his younger sister, who went to visit Xi He and Chang Xi.
• Haotian worried that the Heavenly Court lacked powerful experts and decided to recruit allies to strengthen it.
• Haotian went to the Netherworld Underworld, intending to ask Niu Ben to help recruit disciples of the Three Teachings.

Haotian sought Niu Ben’s help recruiting disciples from the Three Teachings to replenish the Heavenly Court, but Niu Ben refused and sent him to Penglai. Haotian was turned down by the Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, Zhunti, and other sects, and ended the chapter furious and without recruits.

• Haotian asked Niu Ben to persuade the Three Teachings to send disciples to the Heavenly Court, but Niu Ben refused to compel anyone and directed him to Penglai.
• Haotian visited Taishang, who declined to provide Human Sect disciples and sent him to the other two auxiliary islands.
• The Primordial Heavenly Lord and Tongtian Cult Master both refused Haotian’s request for disciples.
• Haotian asked Jieyin and Zhunti for Western Teachings disciples, but they also refused.
• Haotian visited several larger sects, but they all rejected him, leaving him furious.

After failing to recruit disciples from the major sects, Haotian followed Jade Pool’s advice and went to the Witch Realm to invite the Wu Clan into the Heavenly Court. Dijiang rejected him, and Haotian left without securing their support.

• Haotian told Jade Pool that the major sects had refused his recruitment efforts, and she suggested approaching the Wu and Yao Realms.
• Haotian recalled that Niu Ben had loosened restrictions on the two realms and set off for the Witch Realm.
• Dijiang noticed Haotian’s arrival and received him in the Wu Clan’s hall.
• Haotian offered to let Wu Clan members join the Heavenly Court and regain their freedom, but Dijiang refused.
• Haotian departed, while Dijiang worried that joining the Heavenly Court might anger Niu Ben and endanger the Wu Clan.

Haotian went to the Wu Clan and then the Demon Race to recruit their powerful beings into the Heavenly Court, but both Di Jiang and Di Jun refused. In the Yao Realm, Di Jun challenged Haotian’s authority and overpowered him in a clash of Saintly Might.

• Di Jiang told the other Ancestor Witches that Haotian had tried to recruit the Wu Clan, and they all opposed joining the Heavenly Court.
• Di Jiang confirmed that he had refused Haotian, while Haotian left the Witch Realm in anger and decided to approach the demon race instead.
• Haotian arrived in the Yao Realm and asked Di Jun and Emperor Taiyi to let powerful demon race members join the Heavenly Court.
• Di Jun cut off Haotian’s pitch, refused to join, and demanded that he leave the Yao Realm.
• Haotian argued that joining could free the demon race from its confinement, but Di Jun angrily ordered him out.
• Di Jun and Haotian clashed with their Saintly Might, and Haotian staggered backward as Di Jun threatened to force him out.

Haotian clashed with Di Jun after Di Jun refused to let the demon race join the Heavenly Court and Haotian threatened to take recruits by force. The two Saints began fighting in the Yao Realm, while Niu Ben observed from the Netherworld Underworld.

• Di Jun mocked Haotian and refused to send demon race members to the Heavenly Court, so Haotian stormed out and vowed to recruit them himself.
• Di Jun intercepted Haotian in the Yao Realm, and Haotian drew the Seven Stars Suppressing Heaven Sword when Di Jun blocked him.
• The demon race learned of the confrontation, and Emperor Taiyi explained that Haotian had demanded their submission to the Heavenly Court.
• Niu Ben sensed the clash from the Netherworld Underworld and wondered whether the newly ascended Haotian could defeat Di Jun.
• Haotian and Di Jun attacked at the same time as Haotian sent seven streaks of starlight at Di Jun, who raised a hand and condensed True Sun Fire.

Di Jun defeated Haotian in the Yao Realm, forcing the Heavenly Emperor to flee. Back in the Heavenly Court, Haotian told Jade Pool that both the Wu Clan and the Demon Race had rejected his recruitment.

• Di Jun blocked Haotian's attacks with the River Diagram and Luo Script, then struck him with a Starlight Pillar that sent him flying and left him injured.
• Haotian realized he could not defeat Di Jun and fled the Yao Realm as Emperor Taiyi and the Demon Gods mocked him.
• Outside the Yao Realm, Haotian vowed to repay Di Jun for the humiliation and lamented that the clans and sects ignored his authority.
• Haotian returned to the Heavenly Court, where Jade Pool asked whether the Wu Clan and the Demon Race had agreed to join.
• Haotian angrily told Jade Pool that both clans had rejected him, and Jade Pool expressed surprise at their refusal.

Haotian went to the Purple Cloud Palace to ask Dao Ancestor Hongjun for help staffing the Heavenly Court after the major sects refused to send disciples. Hongjun instead announced that a Great Tribulation was approaching and summoned the saints, leaving Haotian and the saints wondering what he intended to discuss.

• Jade Pool suggested that Haotian seek Dao Ancestor Hongjun's help after the major sects, Witch Realm, and Yao Realm refused to provide people for the Heavenly Court.
• Haotian told Hongjun about the Heavenly Court's shortage of people and asked him to intervene, but Hongjun said the Great Tribulation was drawing near.
• Hongjun sent a divine thought summoning the All Heavens Saints to the Purple Cloud Palace to discuss an important matter.
• Jieyin and Zhunti received Hongjun's summons and set out from Mount Sumeru for the Purple Cloud Palace.
• Nuwa received the summons at Nuwa Palace and hurried toward the Purple Cloud Palace.
• Taishang, Tongtian Cult Master, and Primordial Heavenly Lord discussed the summons on Penglai Immortal Island before deciding to go and hear Hongjun's explanation.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun summoned the Saints to Purple Cloud Palace and announced that the Investiture Tribulation was about to begin, unveiling the Investiture of the Gods and explaining its rules. Di Jun argued that the Demon Clan, isolated in the Yao Realm, should be excluded from the tribulation and its list.

• Niu Ba, Niu Ben, Di Jun, and Di Jiang received Hongjun's summons and set out for Purple Cloud Palace.
• The Saints gathered at Purple Cloud Palace, where Haotian glared at Di Jun over their past conflict.
• Hongjun announced the coming Investiture Tribulation and revealed the Investiture of the Gods, which had to be filled with names to overcome the tribulation.
• Hongjun explained that listed beings' True Spirits would become imperishable, but they would have to obey whoever held the list.
• Di Jun asked Hongjun to keep the Demon Clan off the list because it lived apart from the Primordial Wilderness in the Yao Realm.

Haotian learned that Dao Ancestor Hongjun would entrust him with the Investiture of the Gods, making its bearer's authority a way to recruit followers for the Heavenly Court. The Saints resisted having their people listed, and the chapter ended with Niu Ba challenging Di Jun over the standard for claiming exemption.

• Di Jiang Ancestor Witch asked whether the Wu Clan could avoid the Investiture Tribulation because it lived in the Witch Realm.
• Haotian realized the Investiture of the Gods might be intended for him, and Hongjun confirmed that Haotian would control it.
• Di Jun and Di Jiang Ancestor Witch argued that the Demon Clan and Wu Clan should be exempt because they lived outside the Primordial Wilderness.
• Tongtian Cult Master, Primordial Heavenly Lord, and Saint Taishang rejected their reasoning, while Di Jun held back his anger.
• Niu Ba asked whether the Ox Clan could also claim exemption because it kept to itself, and Di Jun challenged him.
• Niu Ba replied that he was merely following the standards Di Jun had set.

The Saints argued over which disciples should enter the Investiture of the Gods, while Haotian demanded a way to staff the Heavenly Court. Niu Ben proposed that every Saint swear an oath to send all their disciples into the tribulation, and Di Jun could not refute his warning that the Demon Clan could not escape it.

• Tongtian Cult Master accused Jieyin and Zhunti of secretly converting destined people and urged the Western Teachings to provide disciples for the Investiture.
• Jieyin appealed to Hongjun for a fair ruling as the Saints argued over who should enter the register.
• Haotian asked Hongjun how the Heavenly Court could govern the Three Realms if the Saints refused to provide people.
• Hongjun asked Niu Ben for his opinion, and Niu Ben proposed that all Saints jointly swear to send their disciples into the tribulation, with those who died entering the register.
• Tongtian Cult Master, Primordial Heavenly Lord, Saint Taishang, Niu Ba, and Saint Nuwa supported Niu Ben's proposal.
• Di Jun objected, but Niu Ben warned that the Demon Clan's Saint Position and Fortune remained tied to the Primordial Wilderness, leaving Di Jun speechless.

Hongjun finalized the Investiture Tribulation after Niu Ben and the other saints pressed their imprints onto the Investiture of the Gods. The saints returned to their domains to prepare, while Haotian brought the completed list back to the Heavenly Court.

• Hongjun ordered all saints to swear a Heavenly Dao oath and enter their disciples and rogue immortals into the Investiture Tribulation, with the fallen assigned to the list.
• Taishang, Primordial Heavenly Lord, Tongtian Cult Master, Haotian, Nuwa, Jieyin, Zhunti, Di Jun, Dijiang, Niu Ba, and Niu Ben each imprinted the Investiture of the Gods, binding them to the Tribulation.
• Di Jun told Emperor Taiyi that the Demon Clan would have to enter the Tribulation, and they agreed to plan for it.
• Dijiang informed the other Ancestor Witches that the Wu Clan must enter the Tribulation, and they discussed countermeasures.
• The Three Pure Ones warned their disciples about the Tribulation, while Jieyin and Zhunti considered how to preserve the Western Teachings.
• Haotian returned to the Heavenly Court carrying the Investiture of the Gods, looking pleased.

Haotian learned that he held the Investiture of the Gods and expected the coming Tribulation to strengthen the Heavenly Court. Niu Ben chose to protect the Three Teachings’ disciples, then arrived at the Ox Clan as Niu Ba asked how they should face the Investiture Tribulation.

• Jade Pool welcomed Haotian back, and he told her about the Investiture Tribulation and the Investiture of the Gods.
• Niu Ben met with the Three Pure Ones, who asked about his plans for the Tribulation.
• After a system mission offered rewards for aiding the Three Teachings or standing aside, Niu Ben chose to help the Three Teachings and promised to protect their disciples.
• Niu Ba told the Ox Clan’s leaders about the Investiture of the Gods, leaving them fearful about the powerful factions they might face.
• Niu Ben arrived at the Ox Clan, and Niu Ba asked him what the clan should do about the coming Tribulation.