Chapter Summaries

Kunpeng and Xuandu ended their battle by agreeing to a three-month truce, while Yun Ting prepared to enter seclusion and Yun Zhongzi set out to slay a fox demon. At Chaoge, ministers summoned Dixin to court to remonstrate with him over his neglect of state affairs, leaving him reluctant to face their memorials.

• Kunpeng and Xuandu exchanged attacks, then called their fight a draw and agreed to a three-month truce; Wenzhong accepted Kunpeng's decision.
• Yun Ting announced that he would enter seclusion to study the Law of Battle and merge it with the Law of the Sword Dao, and asked Jingwei to watch over Chaoge.
• Yun Zhongzi spotted a fox demon and carved a wooden sword from an old pine branch before setting out to kill it.
• Mei Bo urged Bi Gan and Shang Rong to summon Dixin to court so the officials could remonstrate with him over his indulgence and neglect of government.
• Shang Rong ordered the bells and drums rung, and Dixin left Daji at Star Picking Tower to attend court, where he saw officials gathered with memorials.

Yun Zhongzi warned Dixin that a demon was hidden in the palace and gave him a pine sword to suppress it. Meanwhile, Jingwei and Yuan Hong decided not to wake the Holy Envoy.

• Shang Rong urged Dixin to return to court and attend to state affairs, but Dixin dismissed his concerns.
• An official reported that Yun Zhongzi sought an audience, and Dixin summoned him to avoid further remonstrance from the ministers.
• Yun Zhongzi told Dixin that demonic qi lurked in the palace and offered him a pine sword called Juque to drive it away.
• Dixin ordered an attendant to hang Juque before Fenglian Tower, then invited Yun Zhongzi to serve as an official.
• Yun Zhongzi refused the offer and transformed into a streak of light to leave.
• On Yingzhou Island, Jingwei and Yuan Hong agreed not to wake the Holy Envoy.

Dixin believed Daji’s claim that Yun Zhongzi’s sword had made her gravely ill and ordered it burned, rejecting Yun Zhongzi’s warning about demons in the palace. Yun Zhongzi gave up trying to help him, while Jingwei and Yuan Hong discussed the consequences for the Yin Shang Dynasty and the Human Race.

• After Dixin returned to Shouxian Palace, an attendant told him that Daji had fallen gravely ill.
• Daji claimed that seeing the sword Yun Zhongzi had hung at Fenglian Tower caused her illness and begged Dixin not to forget her.
• Dixin accused Yun Zhongzi of trying to harm Daji and ordered the wooden sword burned.
• Yun Zhongzi lamented the fate of the Yin Shang Dynasty and decided to go into seclusion rather than help Dixin again.
• Jingwei and Yuan Hong watched the sword burn and discussed Dixin’s weakening authority and the difficulty of replacing him as Human Emperor.

After Yun Zhongzi’s poem warned of bloodshed in Chaoge, Du Yuanxi interpreted it as a sign of growing danger and wrote a memorial urging Dixin to attend to state affairs. Shang Rong delivered the remonstrance to Dixin, who read it and then asked Daji why Du Yuanxi had spoken of demonic spirits.

• Yun Zhongzi wrote a cryptic poem on a government office wall after his wooden sword burned, and Du Yuanxi ordered the poem washed away.
• Du Yuanxi pondered the poem and the growing demonic energy around the palace, then wrote a memorial criticizing Dixin’s neglect of the realm.
• Du Yuanxi asked Shang Rong to submit the memorial, and Shang Rong agreed to bring him before Dixin.
• Shang Rong presented Du Yuanxi’s remonstrance to Dixin, who read it and said he would consider it.
• Dixin went to Shouxian Palace and asked Daji why Du Yuanxi had reported demonic spirits encroaching upon him.

Dixin ordered Du Yuanxi executed for warning that demonic signs threatened the realm, despite Shang Rong’s defense of the old minister. Mei Bo confronted Shang Rong and then entered the inner court to challenge Dixin, beginning a fierce denunciation of the sovereign’s rule.

• Daji accused Du Yuanxi of spreading wicked rumors, and Dixin ordered him beheaded.
• Shang Rong pleaded with Dixin to pardon Du Yuanxi, but Dixin refused and sent Shang Rong away.
• An imperial decree condemned Du Yuanxi, and officials bound him and escorted him out of the palace.
• Mei Bo stopped Du Yuanxi’s escort and learned from him and Shang Rong why Dixin had sentenced him to death.
• Mei Bo rebuked Shang Rong for failing to protect Du Yuanxi and brought him into the inner court to confront Dixin.
• Dixin defended Du Yuanxi’s execution, and Mei Bo began denouncing Dixin for neglecting court affairs and rejecting remonstrance.

Dixin condemned Mei Bo after Mei Bo denounced his rule, while Daji proposed the brutal Cannon Branding punishment. On Yingzhou Island, Jingwei and Yuan Hong decided to let events continue so Mei Bo could gain a place on the Investiture of the Gods List before they woke the Holy Envoy.

• Dixin stripped Mei Bo of his office and ordered him punished after Mei Bo condemned his treatment of Yuanxi and his rule.
• Daji persuaded Dixin to imprison Mei Bo and proposed Cannon Branding for ministers who criticized the sovereign.
• Dixin ordered Yuanxi beheaded publicly, Mei Bo imprisoned, and the Cannon Branding device built.
• Shang Rong retired to his hometown in anger after witnessing Dixin's decisions.
• Jingwei and Yuan Hong agreed to wait before waking the Holy Envoy, hoping Mei Bo would be burned and gain a divine post.

Dixin executed Mei Bo with the Pao Luo Punishment and celebrated with Daji, while Jingwei and Yuan Hong watched through a water mirror. After hearing the palace revelry and condemning Daji’s influence, Empress Jiang set out for Shouxian Palace, where Yuan Hong feared she would be killed.

• Dixin ordered Mei Bo executed with the newly built Pao Luo bronze pillar, and Mei Bo denounced him as a tyrant before dying.
• Jingwei and Yuan Hong watched Mei Bo’s execution through the water mirror and resumed watching after Jingwei demanded to see what happened next.
• Dixin praised Daji’s plan, saying Mei Bo’s execution had silenced the ministers, and arranged a banquet to celebrate with her.
• Empress Jiang heard music from Shouxian Palace, condemned Daji’s influence over Dixin, and ordered a carriage to take her there.
• Yuan Hong feared that Empress Jiang was heading toward her death.

Empress Jiang confronted Dixin about his indulgence in Daji’s song and dance, warning him about the virtues a ruler should value. In Guardian God Hall, Yuan Hong and Jingwei wagered over whether Empress Jiang would die, and Yun Ting woke to hear their dispute.

• Dixin ordered Daji to welcome Empress Jiang, then had her perform a song and dance while Empress Jiang watched solemnly.
• Empress Jiang criticized Dixin’s indulgence and described virtue, worthy ministers, and filial descendants as true treasures before leaving Shouxian Palace.
• Yuan Hong predicted that Daji would slander Empress Jiang and bring about her death, while Jingwei argued that Dixin would not neglect his principal consort.
• Yuan Hong wagered his Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure against Jingwei’s promise to buy him a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure if she lost.
• Yun Ting woke, and Yuan Hong and Jingwei gave him opposing predictions about Empress Jiang’s fate.

Dixin grew angry at Empress Jiang and promised Daji he would make her empress, while Yun Ting and his disciples watched. Ao Bing sought help after a quarrel with Ao Guang, but Yun Ting revealed that Xuanming had already beaten the Dragon King.

• Dixin condemned Empress Jiang, and Daji claimed she would stop dancing because the Empress had scolded her.
• Daji's tears enraged Dixin, who promised to depose Empress Jiang and make Daji empress.
• Yun Ting, Yuan Hong, and Jingwei watched Dixin's behavior through a water mirror and debated whether Daji could remove Empress Jiang.
• Ao Bing told Yun Ting that Ao Guang had asked whether he would save his father or Xuanming first if both fell into the sea.
• Yun Ting told Ao Bing that Xuanming had beaten Ao Guang and advised him to bring Three Lights Divine Water to treat the Dragon King's injuries.

Ao Bing healed Ao Guang, who bargained with Xuanming over their wedding while Yun Ting and his companions watched. Yun Ting then showed Jingwei that Empress Jiang had been framed for an assassination attempt and sent to the West Palace, where her fate remained uncertain.

• Ao Bing healed Ao Guang with Three Lights Divine Water, and Ao Guang demanded compensation from Xuanming before their wedding.
• Yun Ting and Jingwei laughed at Ao Guang's antics, while Jingwei struck Yuan Hong for proposing to her and paid Yun Ting for the ceiling damage.
• Jingwei asked Yun Ting to check whether Empress Jiang had survived, and he showed her the imperial decree accusing Empress Jiang of plotting against Dixin.
• Empress Jiang pleaded her innocence to Consort Huang, who left for Shouxian Palace after another order arrived.
• Yun Ting told Jingwei that Empress Jiang had been framed and warned that Daji might treat her harshly.

Dixin accepted Daji’s advice to torture Empress Jiang until she confessed, and the palace officials gouged out one of her eyes when she refused. Yun Ting explained that Empress Jiang’s suffering would lead to her becoming a god, while Jingwei mourned and Yuan Hong was beaten for bringing up their wager.

• Consort Huang defended Empress Jiang to Dixin, but Daji argued that she was guilty and urged him to order her eye gouged out if she would not confess.
• Dixin approved Daji’s proposal, and Consort Huang returned to West Palace to warn Empress Jiang that she faced torture.
• Empress Jiang refused to falsely confess, insisting that doing so would dishonor her family and endanger the Crown Prince.
• The palace officials gouged out one of Empress Jiang’s eyes, and she fainted from the pain.
• Jingwei begged Yun Ting to save Empress Jiang, but Yun Ting said her death would allow her to become a god on the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Yuan Hong asked Jingwei to honor their wager, and Jingwei chased him down and beat him.

Empress Jiang endured torture for false accusations while Dixin, urged on by Daji, ordered her hands branded when she would not confess. Yin Jiao and Yin Hong rushed to her defense, and Yin Jiao attacked the palace official as the punishment began.

• Consort Huang reported that Empress Jiang had refused to confess and presented her gouged-out eye to Dixin.
• Dixin blamed Daji for the unjust punishment, but Daji urged him to order the Pao Luo Punishment to force a confession.
• Dixin ordered Empress Jiang's hands branded if she continued to refuse to confess.
• Yun Ting was prevented from saving Empress Jiang by a bolt of Purple Firmament Divine Thunder, and he told Jingwei he could not intervene.
• Yin Jiao and Yin Hong rushed from the Eastern Palace to the West Palace after hearing of Empress Jiang's suffering.
• The palace official pressed the red-hot bronze brazier onto Empress Jiang's hands, and Yin Jiao attacked him.

After Empress Jiang died, Yin Jiao and Yin Hong fled Chaoge with Fang Bi and Fang Xiang, while Huang Feihu secretly helped them escape. Yun Ting arranged a staged fight to protect Huang Feihu from blame, and an unseen voice insisted the princes still needed to join the Chan Sect.

• Yin Jiao and Yin Hong attacked Daji to avenge Empress Jiang, but Dixin ordered Fang Bi and Fang Xiang to execute them.
• Fang Bi and Fang Xiang fled with the princes, and Huang Feihu caught up with them under orders to demand their deaths.
• After the brothers each offered to die for the other, Huang Feihu sent Fang Bi to escort them to East Lu and Fang Xiang to inform E Chongyu.
• Yun Ting had Yuan Hong impersonate Yin Hong and stage a fight in which Huang Feihu appeared to lose, giving him a cover story for Dixin.
• Huang Feihu returned to Chaoge and claimed an immortal had aided Yin Hong, while Yuan Hong returned to Yingzhou Island.
• An unseen voice told Yun Ting that Yin Jiao and Yin Hong should join the Chan Sect, prompting Yun Ting to assure it that Guang Chengzi would find a way.

Guang Chengzi accepted Yin Jiao as his disciple, while Chi Jingzi took Yin Hong after persuading him that the Chan Sect offered more treasures. Yun Ting joked with Yuan Hong about being poorer than Chi Jingzi as the new disciples began their training.

• Yuanshi and White Crane laughed over Yun Ting calling Guang Chengzi “baldly brilliant,” and Yuanshi decided to see whether Guang Chengzi was truly clever.
• Guang Chengzi met Yin Jiao and Fang Bi, accepted Yin Jiao as his disciple, and sent Fang Bi away to seek his own fortune.
• Guang Chengzi brought Yin Jiao to Peach Blossom Cave on Nine Immortals Mountain and began preparing to teach him.
• Chi Jingzi recruited Yin Hong, who asked whether Chi Jingzi or Yun Ting was stronger and concluded that Chi Jingzi had more treasures.
• Yuan Hong questioned whether Yun Ting was poorer than Chi Jingzi, and Yun Ting answered by giving him an “imposing brow” while Jingwei teased him about it.
• Chi Jingzi began teaching Yin Hong after taking him as his disciple.

Li Jing and Madam Yin sought help from Yun Ting when Nezha remained unborn, but Li Jing refused to let Yun Ting take the child as his disciple. Yun Ting left after threatening Li Jing, then struck him with divine thunder when he insulted him.

• Li Jing and Madam Yin went to the Guardian God Hall to pray, and Madam Yin threatened to smash Yun Ting’s statue.
• Yun Ting decided to delay Nezha’s birth and, after Jingwei suggested pressuring Li Jing, manifested at the hall.
• Yun Ting offered to take Madam Yin away and promised the child would be born within a year, but Li Jing accused him of trickery and attacked him with the True Five Thunder Method.
• Yun Ting shattered Li Jing’s lightning and demanded to take the unborn child as his disciple, but Li Jing refused because his family belonged to the Chan Sect.
• Yun Ting left in a huff, and Li Jing mocked his lack of ability before Yun Ting struck him with Shangqing Divine Thunder.

Dixin followed Fei Zhong’s advice and summoned the four great feudal lords to Chaoge, while Ji Chang received the decree in Xiqi and divined that he would face seven years of hardship. Ji Chang prepared to leave for the capital after entrusting state affairs to Bo Yikao.

• Daji urged Dixin to consult Fei Zhong about the danger of Jiang Huanchu rebelling over Empress Jiang’s death.
• Fei Zhong advised Dixin to lure the four great feudal lords to Chaoge and have them executed, and Dixin sent out secret decrees summoning them.
• The messenger arrived in Xiqi and delivered the decree ordering Ji Chang to come to Chaoge.
• Ji Chang divined that his journey would bring seven years of hardship, and Yun Ting said the prediction depended on whom Ji Chang had divined for.
• Ji Chang told Tai Jiang that he had entrusted family and state affairs to Bo Yikao and would depart for Chaoge the next day.

Ji Chang left his ministers and traveled toward Xiqi, where a thunderstorm led him to find the infant General Star. Yun Zhongzi took the child to train as his disciple, and Ji Chang named him Lei Zhenzi; Yun Ting chose not to interfere.

• Ji Chang bade farewell to Bo Yikao and his ministers, then set out on his seven-year journey.
• At Yan Mountain, Ji Chang sheltered in the woods during a sudden storm, and Yun Ting struck the forest with lightning using the Five Thunder Technique.
• After the rain stopped, Ji Chang interpreted the thunder and light as signs of a General Star and found an infant beside an ancient tomb.
• Ji Chang left the child in a village to be raised until his return, then met Yun Zhongzi, who asked to take the infant as his disciple.
• Ji Chang agreed, and Yun Zhongzi named the child Lei Zhenzi before taking him to Zhongnan Mountain.
• Yuan Hong asked whether Yun Ting would take Lei Zhenzi, but Yun Ting declined because he was unimpressed by the child’s aptitude.

Ji Chang arrived at the Golden Court Posthouse, where E Chongyu confronted Chong Houhu over his abuses and Jiang Huanchu stopped them from fighting. After Yao Fu revealed what had happened to Empress Jiang and her sons, Yun Ting predicted Jiang Huanchu would rebel against Dixin the next day.

• Ji Chang arrived at the Golden Court Posthouse and joined Jiang Huanchu, E Chongyu, and Chong Houhu for a banquet.
• E Chongyu accused Chong Houhu of exploiting the people and abusing his power, and Chong Houhu angrily challenged him.
• Ji Chang urged Chong Houhu to accept E Chongyu's advice, but E Chongyu splashed wine in Chong Houhu's face, and Jiang Huanchu separated them.
• Yao Fu warned Chong Houhu that he would be beheaded and told Ji Chang and the other lords what had happened to Empress Jiang, Yin Jiao, and Yin Hong.
• Jingwei asked Yun Ting whether Jiang Huanchu would turn against Dixin, and Yun Ting said he expected him to rebel.

Jiang Huanchu confronted Dixin over Empress Jiang’s death, but Dixin branded him a traitor and ordered him executed. Yun Ting and his companions watched the confrontation and discussed how Dixin’s actions could provoke Jiang Huanchu’s son to rebel.

• Jiang Huanchu learned from Yao Fu how Empress Jiang had been tortured and killed, then wept and wrote a memorial with Ji Chang and the other lords.
• Fei Zhong advised Dixin to execute the four feudal lords without reading their memorials, and Dixin agreed.
• At morning court, Jiang Huanchu presented his memorial and accused Dixin of tyranny, murder, and trusting treacherous ministers.
• Dixin accused Jiang Huanchu of plotting against the throne and ordered the warriors to drag him to the Meridian Gate and tear him apart.
• Yun Ting criticized Dixin for leaving Jiang Huanchu’s son alive, while Jingwei and Yuan Hong praised Yun Ting’s ability to rule.

Dixin ordered the execution of Ji Chang, E Chongyu, and Chong Houhu after they submitted a memorial condemning his rule, but Fei Zhong and You Hun persuaded him to pardon Chong Houhu. In the Guardian God Hall, Yuan Hong asked Yun Ting for armor, and Yun Ting sent him to Ao Bing at the East Sea Dragon Palace.

• Ji Chang, E Chongyu, and Chong Houhu submitted a memorial urging Dixin to dismiss corrupt ministers and punish Daji.
• Dixin tore up the memorial and ordered Lu Xiong to execute the three ministers.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun argued that Chong Houhu deserved a pardon for his past service, and Dixin spared him.
• Yuan Hong wagered that Fei Zhong and You Hun had accepted gifts from Chong Houhu, but Yun Ting refused to bet.
• Yuan Hong asked Yun Ting for armor, and Yun Ting told him to get some from Ao Bing at the East Sea Dragon Palace.