Chapter Summaries

Gu Shaoshang killed Lu Ya’s incarnation, then confronted the Jade Emperor in the starry sky over the Heavenly Court. He launched a punch at the Jade Emperor, who met it with a single finger.

• Gu Shaoshang used the Immortal Slaying Gourd to kill Lu Ya’s incarnation, collected his soul and corpse, and stored them in the Primordial World.
• Yang Jian confronted Gu Shaoshang, while Grand White Gold Star urged him to reconsider and then set off for Spirit Mountain to seek Tathagata Buddha.
• Lu Ya survived through his method of substituting death, realized his identity had been exposed, and decided to break through ahead of time.
• Gu Shaoshang met the Jade Emperor and revealed that he had left a strand of hair as a precaution against Lu Ya’s Nail Head Seven Arrows Book.
• Gu Shaoshang attacked the Jade Emperor with a powerful punch, and the Jade Emperor raised one finger to meet it.

Gu Shaoshang battled the Jade Emperor in the heavens, using his Heavenly Human Five Decays to weaken the emperor and destabilize his Heavenly Emperor's Fruit Status. He declared that he would become the Heavenly Emperor and brought a devastating punch down on the weakened Jade Emperor.

• The Jade Emperor's finger overwhelmed Gu Shaoshang's fist until Gu Shaoshang unleashed his innate divine ability and struck with Heavenly Human Five Decays.
• The Jade Emperor summoned the Heavenly Emperor Sword and attacked with countless sword worlds, but Gu Shaoshang's body withstood them.
• Gu Shaoshang named ten forms of decay, which pierced the sword worlds and caused the Jade Emperor's body, spirit, lifespan, and Fruit Status to weaken.
• Gu Shaoshang declared, "Today, I will become the Heavenly Emperor. Who refuses to submit?!"
• Gu Shaoshang leaped through the starry sky and plunged down with a crushing punch aimed at the weakened Jade Emperor.

Gu Shaoshang defeated the Jade Emperor in a fierce clash, and the Jade Emperor relinquished the Heavenly Emperor position and returned to reincarnation. The Queen Mother withdrew with his body as many Heavenly Court immortals abandoned their posts and descended to the lower realm.

• The Jade Emperor unleashed the Heavenly Emperor Sword, but Gu Shaoshang’s punch shattered it and pierced the Jade Emperor’s chest.
• Gu Shaoshang sent the grievously wounded Jade Emperor flying, and the Queen Mother intervened by placing a Milky Way between them.
• The Jade Emperor accepted defeat, gave the Heavenly Emperor position to Gu Shaoshang, and scattered his cultivation so his remaining spiritual light could enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
• The Queen Mother mourned the Jade Emperor, collected his body, and returned to the Jade Pool while Gu Shaoshang let his spiritual light go.
• Erlang Shen Yang Jian, Barefoot Immortal, Yisheng True Lord, Golden Summit Immortal, and other immortals abandoned their Heavenly Court positions and descended to the lower realm.

After defeating the Jade Emperor and taking the Heavenly Emperor Position, Gu Shaoshang received the allegiance of Ziwei the Great, Gouchen the Great, and the star officials. He learned that Kinnara was nearing completion of his demonic arts and declared that he would face him openly when he tried to subdue the Heaven's Heart.

• Half the immortals and gods left the Heavenly Court after Gu Shaoshang defeated the Jade Emperor, while Gu Shaoshang absorbed the Heavenly Emperor's Fruit Status.
• Gu Shaoshang arrived at Ziwei Palace, where Ziwei the Great, Gouchen the Great, and the star officials bowed to him as the Great Celestial Venerable.
• Gu Shaoshang thanked Ziwei the Great and Gouchen the Great for their help, then joined them for a gathering in Ziwei Palace.
• Ziwei the Great warned Gu Shaoshang that Kinnara was close to completing his demonic arts and might subdue the Heaven's Heart to seize ultimate power.
• Gu Shaoshang concluded that Kinnara could not attain the Dao through stealth and said the coming contest would end in victory and enlightenment or defeat and death.

Gu Shaoshang honored his promise to Ziwei the Great, then took the Heavenly Emperor’s throne and summoned the immortals and gods with eighty-one tolls of the Heavenly Bell. Tathagata agreed to attend the assembly, while Wutian grew wary of Gu Shaoshang’s rapid advancement.

• Gu Shaoshang offered to help Ziwei the Great attain the Dao if he found an opportunity within three hundred years.
• Gu Shaoshang entered the Hall of Miraculous Mist, took the Heavenly Emperor’s throne, and felt its position greatly empower him.
• Gu Shaoshang ordered Wang Lingguan to ring the Heavenly Bell eighty-one times and summon the immortals and gods.
• Tathagata agreed to attend the assembly and told Guanyin to accompany him.
• Wutian worried that Gu Shaoshang might grow stronger before Wutian emerged from the demon domain.

Wutian sent Liu Chenxiang into the mortal world carrying a Black Lotus as part of his plan to leave the demonic domain. Meanwhile, Gu Shaoshang prepared to convene the Heavenly Court, where powerful immortals and gods gathered before him.

• Wutian summoned Giant Scorpion and her son Liu Chenxiang, whom he had nurtured as a Demon Embryo, and ordered Liu Chenxiang to enter the Three Realms.
• Wutian gave Liu Chenxiang a Black Lotus, and Liu Chenxiang left the demonic domain for the mortal world.
• Gu Shaoshang assessed his recent breakthrough and concluded that he needed to accumulate more strength before reaching the Divine Demon Realm.
• Wang Lingguan told Gu Shaoshang that the heavenly bell had sounded, and Gu Shaoshang ordered him to receive the arriving immortals and gods.
• The Eight Immortals met the Four Sea Dragon Kings and saw Mount Tai Prefecture Lord, Gouchen the Great, and Ziwei the Great arrive for the assembly.
• Lü Dongbin sensed that Buddha Ancestor and Longevity Great Emperor were also coming, while the gathered immortals entered the Hall of Miraculous Mist and found Gu Shaoshang seated above the imperial steps.

At the grand court assembly, Gu Shaoshang confronted Tathagata Buddha over Maitreya Buddha’s attacks and demanded more than the return of two captured Flood Dragons. Tathagata asked what Gu Shaoshang wanted, leaving their dispute unresolved.

• The immortals and gods gathered in Lingxiao Palace to recognize Gu Shaoshang as the Great Celestial Venerable.
• Great Emperor Changsheng of the South Pole arrived, and Tathagata Buddha entered with Guanyin, his presence stirring the assembled gods.
• Gu Shaoshang challenged Tathagata over whether his arrival was meant as a show of force, and the two briefly clashed with their voices before Tathagata bowed.
• Gu Shaoshang asked where Maitreya Buddha was, and Tathagata presented the two Heavenly Immortal Flood Dragons Maitreya had seized and asked Gu Shaoshang to forgive him.
• Gu Shaoshang rejected the apology and demanded more, while Tathagata asked what he wanted.

Gu Shaoshang confronted Tathagata Buddha over Buddha of the East, and the two agreed to settle the matter through three exchanges. Their first clash shattered the space above the Ninth Heaven, leaving the gathered immortals struggling to protect the palace from the aftershock.

• Gu Shaoshang told Tathagata Buddha he would repay the Jade Emperor’s former palm strike with one punch, while Tathagata offered to bear the consequences in Buddha of the East’s place.
• Laojun of the Supreme urged them to fight away from the Hall of Miraculous Mist, and Gu Shaoshang and Tathagata moved into the firmament.
• Tathagata revealed his enormous golden body and proposed three moves: if Gu Shaoshang failed to break it, he would spare Buddha of the East; if he succeeded, Tathagata would persuade Buddha of the East to enter nirvana.
• Gu Shaoshang accepted and grew to match Tathagata’s height before unleashing the first form of his Divine Fist Dao, Buzhou Break.
• Tathagata met Gu Shaoshang’s first punch with a palm strike that contained countless worlds, and their collision destroyed the space above the Ninth Heaven.
• The immortals and gods used their divine power to protect the Hall of Miraculous Mist from the battle’s devastating aftershocks.

Gu Shaoshang defeated Tathagata Buddha in a fierce exchange, earning the Heavenly Court’s sincere respect as Great Celestial Venerable. The story then shifted to Liu Chenxiang, who entered the Demon Master’s Mansion with Lu Ya to meet Kunpeng.

• Gu Shaoshang traded blows with Tathagata Buddha, shattered his Golden Body, and won their contest despite suffering severe injuries.
• Tathagata accepted defeat and returned to Mount Spirit, while Maitreya Buddha departed for the eastern heavens to seek rebirth in the Saha World.
• The Heavenly Court’s gods bowed sincerely to Gu Shaoshang, and Grand White Gold Star reflected on the need for strength to command the Three Realms.
• Liu Chenxiang reached a cave in the Northern Continent of Julu, where Lu Ya had waited a year for his teacher to receive him.
• The cave’s master summoned Liu Chenxiang and Lu Ya into the Demon Master’s Mansion, where a voice called them to come in and meet Kunpeng.

Kun Peng and Wutian agreed that the demon clans would rise against Heaven once Wutian proved his sincerity, while Kun Peng prepared to strengthen Lu Ya. Decades later, gods and immortals who descended to the mortal realm found Chang'an closed to all but martial cultivators, and Li Shimin had become a powerful Heavenly Immortal.

• Kun Peng met Wutian, who had possessed Liu Chenxiang, and discussed Gu Shaoshang’s growing strength and the danger he posed.
• Wutian proposed that he and Kun Peng emerge early and jointly rule the Three Realms, with Kun Peng leading the demon clans against Heaven.
• Kun Peng agreed to raise the demon clans only after Wutian showed sufficient sincerity, and Wutian promised he would do so.
• Kun Peng told Lu Ya to gather his eight incarnations so he could help Lu Ya merge them and become the undisputed King of Ten Thousand Demons.
• Decades later, many gods and immortals descended to Chang’an, where Li Shimin’s decree barred everyone except martial cultivators from entering.
• Li Shimin had advanced to the Heavenly Immortal realm through Gu Shaoshang’s imperial martial path, which drew power from the Great Tang’s dragon qi.

Li Shimin’s Tang Dynasty had grown powerful through a martial path tied to its people and fortune, drawing the attention of immortals who feared its rise. After a plague struck Jingzhou and Li Shimin sensed divine power behind it, he led Yun Ye and the Xuanjia Army to exterminate the immortals responsible.

• Li Jing and the Four Heavenly Kings examined Chang'an and recognized that Li Shimin’s martial arts drew strength from the Tang Dynasty’s vast Human Dao Fortune.
• Li Jing warned that Li Shimin’s bond to the dynasty would make reaching the Golden Immortal realm difficult, then left with the Four Heavenly Kings for the East Sea.
• Yun Ye met Li Shimin in the palace, where Li Shimin ordered that no inheritance besides martial arts be allowed in the Tang Dynasty.
• A soldier reported a deadly plague in Jingzhou, and Li Shimin sensed divine power covering the region.
• Li Shimin ordered Yun Ye to gather three thousand Xuanjia Soldiers, then led them with Yun Ye and Xue Li toward Jingzhou to exterminate immortals.

Gu Shaoshang sent incarnations to the mortal realm to capture immortal gods who committed evil, while Li Shimin fought the Plague God Shi Wenye. In the After Ascension world, Wushang and Song Que reached the end of their three-year term, and Song Que prepared to leave.

• Shi Wenye clashed with Li Shimin after admitting his plague had killed more than three thousand people, and Li Shimin struck him with Dragon Fist while Yun Ye and Xue Li moved to attack.
• Gu Shaoshang praised Li Shimin’s Dragon Qi martial arts and sent hundreds of powerful incarnations down to capture immortal gods who committed evil.
• Gu Shaoshang sensed Wushang in the After Ascension world and observed him practicing martial arts in an underground cavern with Song Que nearby.
• Song Que told Wushang that his three-year term had ended and that he was leaving, and Wushang told him to be careful.

Song Que completed his three-year stay in the Sacred Hall, received martial arts and jade pendants from Gu Shaoshang, and set out for the Blade Domain. Back in his own world, Gu Shaoshang prepared to enter the Perfect World but noticed Ran Deng arriving at Tushita Palace to discuss the Dao.

• Gu Shaoshang descended through Wushang to warn Song Que about the dangers beyond the Sacred Hall and passed him martial arts and a jade pendant.
• Song Que confirmed that he cultivated the incomplete Hengyu Scripture, and Gu Shaoshang gave him additional secret arts and a jade pendant that could obtain Source Power, repair him, and deduce martial arts.
• Song Que left the Sacred Hall after his three-year term ended, and its attendants lamented humanity's weakness as he departed the Sacred Mountain.
• Song Que surveyed the dangerous wilderness and headed toward the Blade Domain, hoping its formidable practitioners would sharpen his blade path.
• Gu Shaoshang replenished his will, considered the avatar trapped in the Boundary Sea, and saw Ran Deng arrive at Tushita Palace to discuss the Dao.

Gu Shaoshang reached his stranded incarnation in the Boundary Sea and found it had survived there for over three hundred years, while Nezha stole the Limitless Fortune Golden Elixir during Ran Deng and Old Lord’s discussion of the Dao. Ran Deng left Tushita Palace and encountered a black-robed man in the clouds.

• Gu Shaoshang sent his will to his incarnation on a tiny island in the Boundary Sea and used Source Power to restore its strength.
• Gu Shaoshang realized the Boundary Sea’s laws could threaten even his true body, but decided his incarnation might grow stronger by surviving there.
• Nezha entered Tushita Palace while Old Lord and Ran Deng discussed the Dao, then tried to steal the Limitless Fortune Golden Elixir from the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
• Golden Horn Child caught Nezha in the act, but Nezha seized the elixir and escaped on his Wind Fire Wheels.
• Ran Deng and Old Lord spoke privately about Ran Deng’s death, after which Ran Deng left Tushita Palace and met a black-robed man amid the clouds.

Wutian emerged early, killed Ran Deng, and began spreading demonic qi across the Three Realms. As Lu Ya and Kun Peng rallied the demons against Heaven beneath ten suns, Gu Shaoshang watched the upheaval and Great Tang prepared for war.

• Wutian met Ran Deng, declared that Buddha and demon were one, and Ran Deng vanished as the two lights fused.
• Gu Shaoshang sensed Ran Deng's death, ordered Wang Lingguan to watch the demonic qi, and wiped away the clouds near the Ninth Heaven.
• Lu Ya summoned the demons to attack Heaven as nine suns rose, while Kun Peng emerged and the demons gathered in the Northern Continent of Julu.
• Li Shimin ordered Yun Ye to teach the Great Tang army the Earth Immortal cultivation method and prepare the nation for war.

Gu Shaoshang fought Kunpeng and Lu Ya as they demanded that he surrender the Hall of Miraculous Mist. The battle escalated when Lu Ya unleashed the True Sun Fire, leaving the immortals and gods on guard against its spread.

• The Heavenly Court's immortals and gods assembled outside the South Heaven Gate, and Puhua Tianzun told them to await Gu Shaoshang's command rather than face Kunpeng.
• Gu Shaoshang attacked Kunpeng with a massive Wheel Seal, and the two exchanged hundreds of blows that injured them both.
• Lu Ya joined Kunpeng and demanded that Gu Shaoshang return the Heavenly Court to the demon race, but Gu Shaoshang attacked them again.
• Kunpeng and Lu Ya fought Gu Shaoshang together, with Kunpeng striking his fist with a lightning-wreathed claw.
• Lu Ya unleashed the True Sun Fire toward Gu Shaoshang, and Wang Lingguan and Puhua Tianzun warned the assembled gods not to block the flame with divine power.

Gu Shaoshang nearly killed Kunpeng with a devastating punch, but Lu Ya summoned a will left by Demon Emperor Taiyi to save him. The Demon Emperor’s overwhelming presence descended upon the Three Realms, leaving Gu Shaoshang facing a foe far beyond his current strength.

• Gu Shaoshang doubled his strength and speed, struck Kunpeng from the sky, and captured the True Sun Fire before storing it in his Primordial World.
• Kunpeng resumed his colossal true form and charged Gu Shaoshang, who unleashed his full power and shattered Kunpeng’s body with a single punch.
• Lu Ya feared Gu Shaoshang would kill Kunpeng, so he opened the Myriad Demons Paying Homage Scroll and released the will of Demon Emperor Taiyi.
• Demon Emperor Taiyi’s phantom emerged from the scroll, freezing heaven and earth as beings across the Three Realms and Six Paths bowed before him.
• Gu Shaoshang recovered his shattered arm and faced Demon Emperor Taiyi’s overwhelming pressure as the primordial qi around him exploded.

Gu Shaoshang confronted Demon Emperor Taiyi’s residual image and unleashed his Myriad Heavens Life and Death Wheel against its devastating strike. As their attacks collided, Wutian took advantage of the battle to send his forces against Buddhist sites and went to Spirit Mountain to challenge Tathagata.

• Gu Shaoshang endured Demon Emperor Taiyi’s pressure and built up his power through eight steps, summoning his Sacred Body phenomena across the starry sky.
• Gu Shaoshang took a ninth step, merged the phenomena, and launched the Myriad Heavens Life and Death Wheel.
• Demon Emperor Taiyi’s residual image sent Lu Ya flying, then pointed at Gu Shaoshang with a strike that ignited the True Sun Fire and vaporized the North Sea.
• Gu Shaoshang’s fist collided with Demon Emperor Taiyi’s swordlike finger strike as Wutian watched from Xiniu Hezhou.
• Wutian ordered Black Robe to lead Liu Yanchang, Giant Scorpion, Nine Heads, and others to Buddhist sites and kill the Buddhists, while bringing gods and immortals who had descended to the mortal realm under his control.
• Wutian traveled to Spirit Mountain and declared that he was coming for Tathagata.

Gu Shaoshang survived a devastating clash with Demon Emperor Taiyi’s phantom, forcing Kunpeng and Lu Ya to flee as he began healing his wounds. Wutian killed Tathagata and engulfed Xiniu Hezhou in demonic qi, leaving the Three Realms mourning while Gu Shaoshang’s allies guarded him in the Heavenly Court.

• Tathagata learned that Dragon Subduing Arhat had entered the monastic life, then sensed Wutian approaching Spirit Mountain and accepted Buddhism’s coming annihilation.
• Wutian stormed the Great Thunder Sound Temple, killing its defenders as he advanced toward Tathagata.
• Gu Shaoshang survived Taiyi’s finger but suffered grave injuries, and Kunpeng and Lu Ya fled rather than risk fighting him.
• Heavenly rain of blood and demonic qi revealed that Wutian had killed Tathagata and seized Spirit Mountain.
• Gu Shaoshang ordered the immortals to guard the Hall of Miraculous Mist while he healed, and Puhua Tianzun barred entry and exit until then.

Gu Shaoshang recovered from his wounds and sent the remnant of Demon Emperor Taiyi’s will and the damaged Eastern Emperor Bell into the Primordial World’s sun. Meanwhile, Nine-Headed Worm chased Zhu Bajie across the sky, and Zhu Bajie fled toward the Hall of Miraculous Mist as Nine-Headed Worm gradually gained on him.

• Puhua Tianzun ordered the immortals and gods to stay vigilant and said his true self, Great Emperor Changsheng of the South Pole, would come to the Hall of Miraculous Mist while Gu Shaoshang recovered.
• Gu Shaoshang examined the remnant of Demon Emperor Taiyi’s will, then had the Future Lord place it and the damaged Eastern Emperor Bell in the Primordial World’s sun.
• The Future Lord warned Gu Shaoshang that the Primordial World’s next evolution would require countless demon essences or its source Creation Qi, and Gu Shaoshang postponed the decision.
• Nine-Headed Worm pursued Zhu Bajie, who turned toward the Hall of Miraculous Mist after realizing he needed a powerful backer.
• Nine-Headed Worm used Wutian’s Black Lotus to overpower Zhu Bajie and knock him from the clouds, but Zhu Bajie transformed into a Golden-Winged Great Peng and continued fleeing.
• After chasing Zhu Bajie for hundreds of thousands of miles, Nine-Headed Worm gradually caught up, though he hesitated to use the Black Lotus again.