Chapter Summaries

Yun Xiao’s formations devastated the allied forces at Golden Chicken Ridge, but Randeng, Lu Ya, and Xuandu joined forces to break them as she weakened. Far away in the Chaos Void, Yuanshi Tianzun humiliated Tongtian as the Sect of Interception’s remaining disciples hid in the Palace of Green Essence and Ling Xiao watched the disaster unfold.

• Randeng, Lu Ya, and Xuandu combined their powers to suppress Yun Xiao’s formations, while Tuxing Sun, Jin Buhuan, and other disciples died.
• Fewer than a hundred Sect of Interception disciples fled into the Palace of Green Essence and refused to leave as their island strongholds were destroyed.
• Ling Xiao and Ziwei watched from the Cloud Terrace and anticipated Tongtian’s rage, while Ling Xiao reflected on the Sect of Interception’s downfall and his own role in it.
• In the Chaos Void, Yuanshi Tianzun taunted Tongtian over the Sect of Interception’s disciples joining the Western Sect, driving Tongtian to attack him with the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation and Pangu Banner.
• Yun Xiao faced a joint assault from Randeng, Lu Ya, and Xuandu and neared death as Tongtian remained unable to stop the disasters befalling his disciples.

Randeng, Xuandu, and Lu Ya killed Yun Xiao after destroying her formations, while Ling Xiao watched without reacting. Yun Xiao’s Primordial Spirit and True Spirit reached Ling Xiao’s Cloud Terrace, leaving the aftermath of her death unresolved.

• Randeng, Xuandu, and Lu Ya shattered Yun Xiao’s formations and left her gravely wounded as she regretted how she had treated Ling Xiao.
• Ling Xiao ignored Yun Xiao’s suffering while Ksitigarbha and Ziwei teased him about her devotion.
• Yun Xiao attacked Randeng with the weakened Hun Yuan Golden Dou, but Xuandu, Lu Ya, and Randeng killed her and destroyed her body and soul.
• Jiang Ziya and Perfected Lord Jade Tripod reflected on the losses of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation as Western Qi and Great Qin seized Golden Chicken Ridge.
• Yun Xiao’s Primordial Spirit and True Spirit arrived at Ling Xiao’s Cloud Terrace under the Heavenly Dao’s guidance.

Yun Xiao reunited with Ling Xiao but accepted that he would not rekindle their relationship and entered the Investiture of the Gods List. At Golden Chicken Ridge, Ying Zheng and Ji Fa divided the captured passes and prepared to compete for the Human Sovereign’s position through their standing among the Human Clan, while Tongtian approached.

• Ling Xiao welcomed Yun Xiao, but she declined his offer of tea and flew into the Investiture of the Gods List after Ziwei invited her.
• Ling Xiao told Ziwei that Tongtian would soon arrive at Golden Chicken Ridge and asked him to keep watching.
• Ying Zheng spoke with Ji Fa on the city wall, easing Ji Fa’s pessimism and proposing how their forces would divide the captured passes.
• Ying Zheng and Ji Fa went to meet Jiang Ziya and Bo Yi as they prepared to advance against Great Shang and contend for the Human Sovereign’s position.
• Xuandu sighed over Ying Zheng’s rivalry with Ji Fa, while Daoist Ran Deng warned that Tongtian was approaching Golden Chicken Ridge.

After the Sect of Interception’s collapse, Tongtian abandoned restraint and moved to destroy the other sects’ forces at Golden Chicken Ridge. Grand Pure Laozi intervened, and Tongtian completed the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, leaving a battle between Sages imminent.

• Zhunti tried to calm Tongtian, while Yuanshi Tianzun taunted him over the destruction of the Sect of Interception.
• Tongtian declared that he would avenge his disciples and headed for Golden Chicken Ridge, using the Pangu Banner to delay Yuanshi Tianzun, Jieyin, and Zhunti.
• Tongtian summoned the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation to seal Golden Chicken Ridge, but Grand Pure Laozi appeared and knocked its formation diagram away with the Taiji Diagram.
• Tongtian restored the diagram and completed the formation, killing weaker disciples and soldiers as sword light overwhelmed Xuandu, Randeng, and the other defenders.
• Grand Pure Laozi blocked Tongtian’s attacks and ordered Xuandu and Randeng to gather and protect the living beings at Golden Chicken Ridge before the Sage battle began.
• Ling Xiao watched from above and anticipated that Tongtian would suffer a setback in the coming battle.

Tongtian fought Grand Pure Laozi and the other Heavenly Dao Sages inside the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation after his attacks killed Yang Chan and Yang Jiao and the Sect of Interception was destroyed. He badly wounded Yuanshi Tianzun, and Grand Pure Laozi told him to withdraw so Ling Xiao could help him recover while the others continued suppressing Tongtian.

• Tongtian activated the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, killing Yang Chan, Yang Jiao, and tens of thousands of soldiers despite Grand Pure Laozi's efforts to protect them.
• Yuanshi Tianzun and the Two Sages of the West entered the formation to aid Grand Pure Laozi, and Yuanshi Tianzun provoked Tongtian with cutting insults.
• The four Sages attacked Tongtian together, but Tongtian endured their blows and struck Yuanshi Tianzun with the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and Pangu Banner.
• Tongtian withdrew the Four Swords of Zhu Xian from Yuanshi Tianzun and restored them to the formation's four positions.
• Grand Pure Laozi urged the badly injured Yuanshi Tianzun to withdraw and seek help from Ling Xiao while he and the Two Sages of the West continued fighting Tongtian.

Grand Pure Laozi used One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones to create three saint-level avatars and prepared to break Tongtian’s Immortal Slaying Sword Formation. As Ling Xiao healed Yuanshi Tianzun, Tongtian panicked and tried to sow distrust between the brothers.

• Yuanshi Tianzun fled toward the Nine Heavens Clouds to seek Ling Xiao’s healing, while Tongtian pursued him with the Pangu Banner.
• Grand Pure Laozi and Zhunti blocked Tongtian and defended Yuanshi Tianzun’s request for Ling Xiao’s help, provoking Tongtian’s accusations of unfairness.
• Ling Xiao healed Yuanshi Tianzun with Creation Law as Grand Pure Laozi revealed One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
• Grand Pure Laozi ordered Jieyin and Zhunti to hold Tongtian back while he and his three avatars took the Four Swords of Zhu Xian.
• Tongtian questioned whether Grand Pure Laozi had plotted against him and Yuanshi Tianzun, but Zhunti charged at him with the Seven Treasure Tree.

Tongtian fought Zhunti and Jieyin to keep Grand Pure Laozi from taking the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, while Ling Xiao watched from the sidelines. Yuanshi Tianzun joined the attack, and the Four Swords began to slip from Tongtian’s control.

• Tongtian attacked Zhunti and Jieyin inside the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, trying to capture Zhunti as a hostage.
• Jieyin invoked the authority of Heaven and Earth and the Western Sect’s luck to keep Tongtian from suppressing Zhunti.
• Yuanshi Tianzun left Ling Xiao and entered the battle, while Ling Xiao told Ziwei that Tongtian had to bear the consequences of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation.
• Grand Pure Laozi and his three incarnations reached the four directions of the formation and reached for the Four Swords of Zhu Xian.
• Yuanshi Tianzun mocked Tongtian as Tongtian struggled against him, Zhunti, and Jieyin while trying to hold onto the swords, which had begun to fall into others’ hands.

Grand Pure Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun defeated Tongtian, seized the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, and arranged for Daoist Duobao to be taken by Zhunti and Jieyin. Ling Xiao appeared as Yuanshi Tianzun called for Tongtian to be severely wounded and driven to the source of the Heavenly Dao.

• Grand Pure Laozi captured the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, and Yuanshi Tianzun mocked Tongtian as the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation collapsed.
• Xuandu released Daoist Duobao, who knelt before Tongtian and mourned the deaths of his fellow Sect of Interception disciples, including Kong Xuan and Yun Xiao.
• The Taiji Diagram stopped Tongtian from reaching Duobao, while Zhunti and Jieyin took Duobao and Yuanshi Tianzun demanded that Tongtian choose between him and the Four Swords of Zhu Xian.
• Tongtian demanded both Duobao and the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, but Ling Xiao appeared and exposed Yuanshi Tianzun's attempt to provoke him.
• Yuanshi Tianzun admitted he would not return either Duobao or the swords and called for Tongtian to be severely wounded and forced to seek healing at the source of the Heavenly Dao.

Tongtian burns his origin to attack Primal Lord of Heaven, but Grand Pure Laozi and the Two Sages of the West join forces to overwhelm him. As Duobao watches Tongtian fall and questions his own loyalty, Grand Pure Laozi’s reminder that Tongtian no longer belongs to the Mystic Sect leaves him desolate.

• Tongtian attacks Primal Lord of Heaven with the Pangu Banner, and Primal Lord of Heaven calls on Grand Pure Laozi for help.
• Grand Pure Laozi drives Tongtian back, but Tongtian turns his fury on Laozi and threatens Xuandu.
• Primal Lord of Heaven urges Zhunti and Jieyin to attack Tongtian, while Duobao begs them to stop and struggles with doubts about his master.
• Ling Xiao asks Duobao whether he is willing to convert to the Western Sect, and Duobao angrily calls Ling Xiao a traitor to the Sect of Interception.
• Grand Pure Laozi and the Two Sages of the West batter Tongtian until his injuries worsen and his Mana nearly runs out.
• Grand Pure Laozi says Tongtian is no longer part of the Mystic Sect, leaving Tongtian desolate.

Tongtian was rejected by the Mystic Sect and confronted with how his treatment of Ling Xiao had mirrored his own abandonment. As Grand Pure Laozi refused to let him leave with Daoist Duobao, Yuanshi Tianzun proposed returning the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and letting the brothers begin their contest anew.

• Jieyin and Zhunti disowned Tongtian as a fellow disciple, and Jieyin called his abandonment karmic retribution.
• Ling Xiao mocked the Saints for beating Tongtian when he was down, then demanded to be addressed as Great Emperor of the Azure Radiance and threatened him with the Primordial Creation Seal.
• Tongtian asked Grand Pure Laozi to return the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and leave Daoist Duobao with him.
• Grand Pure Laozi refused to release Tongtian unless he swore to retreat on Golden Turtle Island, and he insisted that Daoist Duobao was fated to join the Western Sect.
• Daoist Duobao threatened to destroy himself unless Grand Pure Laozi returned the swords and let Tongtian leave freely.
• Yuanshi Tianzun urged Grand Pure Laozi to return the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and make a clean break with Tongtian, believing the calamity was not yet over.

After Grand Pure Laozi freed Tongtian and the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, Duobao chose to sever his bond with his master and join the Western Sect. Tongtian left Golden Chicken Ridge devastated, while Duobao became a disciple of Jieyin and Zhunti.

• Grand Pure Laozi shattered the restraints on the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and allowed Tongtian to leave.
• Duobao knelt before Tongtian and urged him to survive, while Tongtian vowed to rescue him from Mount Sumeru.
• Yuanshi Tianzun insisted that Duobao swear before the Heavenly Dao to sever his bond with Tongtian and the Sect of Interception.
• After questioning his affinity for the Buddhist Dao, Duobao declared that he wanted to join the Western Sect and made the Heavenly Dao Oath.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun approved the oath, severing Duobao's karmic ties, and Duobao performed the disciple-initiation rites before Jieyin and Zhunti.
• Tongtian left Golden Chicken Ridge wounded and devastated as Yuanshi Tianzun congratulated the Two Sages of the West.

Duobao completed his transformation into Shakyamuni Buddha and joined the Western Sect, while Tongtian left Golden Chicken Ridge furious. Ling Xiao then set out for Mianchi County as the war against Great Shang neared its decisive stages.

• Zhunti transformed Duobao into Shakyamuni Buddha and accepted him as a Western Sect disciple, with Jieyin and Zhunti promising their support.
• Duobao paid respects to the gathered elders and emperors, and Ling Xiao accepted his new allegiance without hostility.
• Primal Lord of Heaven taunted Tongtian, who angrily vowed revenge and departed Golden Chicken Ridge.
• Grand Pure Laozi and Burning Lamp returned the beings they had sheltered, while Duobao let Burning Lamp keep the twenty-four Sea Pacifying Pearls and accepted the Spirit Coffin Lamp.
• Ling Xiao warned that Tongtian might still have a major plan and announced he would go ahead to Mianchi County for the coming battle.

After the Sect of Interception’s defeat, Tongtian regretted expelling Ling Xiao and sought to recover and strengthen the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation. Demon Ancestor Rahu appeared and offered power capable of making the formation kill saints, leaving Tongtian wary of accepting his help.

• Tongtian found the Sect of Interception reduced to fewer than a hundred disciples, with Maori Sun Immortal the strongest among those gathered at the Palace of Green Essence.
• Maori Sun Immortal admitted that he had fled the decisive battle, and Tongtian let the surviving disciples use the sect’s resources to cultivate before he entered the Heavenly Dao’s place of origin to heal.
• Tongtian summoned the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation and resolved to repair its weaknesses so he could defeat Grand Pure Laozi and the other sects.
• Demon Ancestor Rahu appeared before Tongtian, took the Immortal Slaying Sword, and offered killing intent and the residual might of the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods to empower the formation to slay saints.
• Tongtian questioned Rahu’s motives as the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation urged him to absorb the offered power.

Tongtian refined the Heavenly Dao source to strengthen the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, resisting Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s warnings as Demon Ancestor Rahu encouraged his resentment. Hongjun destroyed Rahu’s Divine Sense avatar but let Tongtian continue, leaving Tongtian to risk being consumed by Heavenly Dao’s will.

• Demon Ancestor Rahu urged Tongtian to refine the killing aura and the lingering might of the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods, and Tongtian used the Heavenly Dao source to strengthen his formation and heal himself.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun appeared and urged Tongtian to wake up, but Tongtian insisted he had done nothing wrong and vowed to kill Grand Pure Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Ling Xiao.
• Demon Ancestor Rahu turned Tongtian’s suspicions against Hongjun, and Tongtian grew resentful over what he saw as Hongjun’s favoritism toward other sects.
• Hongjun promised not to help Taiqing and the others or stop Tongtian’s revenge, but warned that Tongtian would lose his Sage position if he perished.
• Hongjun sealed time and space and crushed Rahu’s Divine Sense avatar, while Tongtian continued refining the Heavenly Dao source despite its will assimilating his own.

As Great Shang’s territory dwindled to Mianchi County and Zhaoge, Ling Xiao and Ziwei discussed Tongtian’s growing threat while Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying prepared to defend Mianchi. Yu Hua regained his resolve to face the advancing armies, and Zhang Kui chose to fight Jiang Ziya openly and honorably.

• Ziwei asked Ling Xiao about Great Shang’s collapse and the danger of Tongtian’s return, and Ling Xiao warned that Tongtian’s Immortal Slaying Sword Formation was growing stronger.
• Ling Xiao agreed with Ziwei that Mianchi County would soon fall and relied on Tongtian Jianmu to reverse events if necessary.
• Yu Hua lamented Great Shang’s losses, and Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying urged him to face the coming battle without fear.
• Yu Hua regained his battle spirit and affirmed he would not disgrace his master or Emperor Xin, while explaining that he had sent gathered soldiers to Zhaoge.
• Zhang Kui declared that he would meet Western Qi and the Great Qin Empire openly at Mianchi County, and Yu Hua volunteered to lead the vanguard.

Zhang Kui unleashed the Evil Dragon Soul-Devouring Formation outside Mianchi County and challenged Western Qi and the Great Qin Empire to an honorable battle. As the armies clashed, Deng Chanyu entered the fight despite Jiang Ziya warning that she was destined to die, and Zhang Kui prepared to face Jiang Ziya.

• Zhang Kui activated the Evil Dragon Soul-Devouring Formation, which summoned a conscious evil dragon but drained the lifespans of the soldiers who formed it.
• Jiang Ziya agreed to Zhang Kui's request for an honorable battle, sending Li Jing, Ao Moang, and ninety thousand soldiers each from Western Qi and Great Qin against Mianchi County's army.
• Yu Hua challenged Lei Zhenzi to avenge his master Yu Yuan, while Deng Chanyu asked Jiang Ziya for permission to fight despite his warning that she would die.
• Ao Moang and Duanshi led their forces against the formation as Deng Chanyu burned her essence, attacked Mianchi's soldiers, and used the Five-Colored Divine Stone against its generals.
• Li Jing fought Gao Lanying, and Zhang Kui challenged Jiang Ziya as the battle erupted before Mianchi County.

The battle outside Mianchi County intensified as Deng Chanyu used the Five-Colored Stone to suppress Zhang Kui’s formation, but Yu Hua struck her down and sent her to the Investiture of the Gods List. As Ao Moang fought the sentient evil dragon, Ling Xiao ordered him to spare it after recognizing its unusual origin.

• Zhang Kui summoned skeletons, vicious ghosts, and wandering souls while he fought Jiang Ziya, and Deng Chanyu used the Five-Colored Stone to turn the tide against the formation’s creatures.
• Gao Lanying attacked Deng Chanyu, but Li Jing intercepted her and forced her to fight him instead.
• Yu Hua struck Deng Chanyu with the Blood-Soaked Divine Saber; she used her last strength to unleash the Five-Colored Stone before her spirit went to the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Yu Hua and Lei Zhenzi resumed their fight after Lei Zhenzi rebuked Yu Hua for killing Deng Chanyu.
• Ao Moang pressed the evil dragon, which begged for its life and offered to leave the Evil Dragon Soul-Devouring Formation.
• Ling Xiao ordered Ao Moang to spare the evil dragon, whose intelligence and physical body had arisen through a blessing from the Heavenly Dao.

Ling Xiao spared the Evil Dragon, and Ziwei named him Ao Yuan and sent him to the Netherworld to serve Tian Boxun. Meanwhile, Western Qi and Great Qin crushed Zhang Kui’s forces at Mianchi, leaving Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying to face their final battle.

• Ling Xiao stopped Ao Moang from killing the Evil Dragon and agreed that Ziwei could grant him a name.
• Ziwei named the Evil Dragon Ao Yuan, and Ling Xiao directed him to the Netherworld to serve a Great Being.
• Ao Yuan departed, and Ziwei explained that his service could help Tian Boxun build prestige before becoming Emperor Fengdu.
• After the Evil Dragon Soul-Devouring Formation collapsed, Western Qi and Great Qin routed Mianchi’s soldiers, killing most of them.
• Duanshi killed Yu Hua with the Qilin Seal while preserving his corpse, and Gao Lanying continued fighting Li Jing and Ao Moang.
• Zhang Kui asked Jiang Ziya to preserve his and Gao Lanying’s bodies for burial outside Mianchi, then burned his essence and Mana and charged at Jiang Ziya.

Jiang Ziya’s forces captured Mianchi County after Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying died defending it, and the army prepared to march on Zhaoge. Meanwhile, Sect Master Tongtian revealed that he had traded with the Heavenly Dao for greater power and intended to reshape the Primordial Three Realms.

• Jiang Ziya killed Zhang Kui by striking his crown with the God-Slaying Whip, and Zhang Kui’s spirit departed for the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Gao Lanying attacked Li Jing to avenge Zhang Kui, but Li Jing suppressed and killed her with the Seven Treasure Exquisite Pagoda.
• Yang Jian reflected on the deaths he had witnessed as Jiang Ziya, Duanshi, and Nezha prepared to advance toward Zhaoge, leaving Mianchi County under Qin and Western Qi’s administration.
• Mianchi County’s people mourned their dead, and an ancestral hall and grave honored Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying.
• Sect Master Tongtian revealed that he had reached the middle stage of the Heavenly Dao Sage realm through a deal with the Heavenly Dao and had empowered the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation into a low-grade Chaos Spiritual Treasure.
• Sect Master Tongtian vowed to stop Human Dao’s awakening, help the Heavenly Dao devour the Earthly Dao, defeat his rivals, and make the Sect of Interception replace the Mystic Sect.

Emperor Xin prepared to make a final stand as Great Shang faced the armies of Ying Zheng and Ji Fa, while Ling Xiao hosted the Saints as the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation neared its end. Haotian revealed that Tongtian had entered the middle stage of the Heavenly Dao Saint realm and was plotting with the Heavenly Dao.

• Emperor Xin mourned Great Shang’s collapse and agreed with Feilian to lead the gathered army in a final battle for Zhaoge.
• Emperor Xin ordered Feilian to deal with traitorous ministers and corrupt officials preparing to surrender the city.
• Ling Xiao welcomed the Saints to the Cloud Terrace, where Yuanshi Tianzun and Grand Pure Laozi praised his contributions and his vision for the Primordial Wilderness.
• Haotian arrived with Zhen Yuanzi, Pingxin, and Hong Yun, and Zhen Yuanzi teased Yuanshi Tianzun about not taking Ling Xiao as his disciple.
• Haotian announced that Tongtian had used the Heavenly Dao’s origin to reach the middle stage of the Heavenly Dao Saint realm and was plotting something immense with the Heavenly Dao.