Chapter Summaries

Qin Hong discovered that Xiqi's fortune was growing suspiciously strong and set out to investigate, while Haotian sought Hongjun's help to rebuild the weakened Heavenly Court. Hongjun ordered Haotian to borrow Nuwa's Demon Summoning Banner and recruit surviving members of the ancient Demon Clan.

• Qin Hong sensed dense, phoenix-shaped fortune gathering around Xiqi and suspected that Laozi had made arrangements there.
• Qin Hong informed Sect Master Tongtian and left Golden Ao Island for Xiqi.
• Haotian complained to Hongjun that the Heavenly Court had lost power and that the Dragon Clan had rebelled.
• Hongjun told Haotian to recruit surviving demons from the ancient Heavenly Court using Nuwa's Demon Summoning Banner.
• Haotian warned Hongjun that the Interception Sect's strength could disrupt the calamity, but Hongjun dismissed him.
• Haotian took Hongjun's decree to Wa Palace, and Nuwa produced the Demon Summoning Banner for him.

Haotian used Nuwa’s Demon Summoning Banner to recruit ancient demons for the Heavenly Court, promising to honor Di Jun and Tai Yi. Several demons joined him, while Bai Ze stayed in Wa Palace to serve Nuwa.

• Nuwa summoned the primordial demons to Wa Palace and told them that Hongjun’s decree gave them the opportunity to join the Heavenly Court as righteous gods.
• Haotian urged the demons to join, but they hesitated because they resented serving him, a former Dao attendant.
• Haotian promised to establish memorial tablets for Di Jun and Tai Yi and framed joining the Heavenly Court as returning to the Demon Clan’s home.
• Qiongqi, Bifang, Taotie, and other demons agreed to leave with Haotian, and Nuwa let them go.
• Bai Ze stayed in Wa Palace and told Nuwa he wished to await her summons.

Qin Hong investigated Fengming Qishan and discovered that the Phoenix Clan was helping Xiqi while Laozi’s followers and Nuwa’s devotees spread slander against Di Xin. He returned to Chaoge and gained Kong Xuan’s agreement to act against the Phoenix Clan, provided some of its members were spared.

• Qin Hong concealed himself with the Chaos Bead, surveyed Xiqi, and suspected the Phoenix Clan had arranged the phoenix-shaped fortune to support Xiqi.
• Qin Hong entered Xiqi in disguise and learned that Ji Chang had developed papermaking and Movable Type Printing, promoted literacy, recruited soldiers, and smeared Di Xin.
• Qin Hong discovered that Human Sect disciples and Nuwa’s followers were spreading claims that Di Xin was a tyrant who had insulted the Sages.
• Qin Hong decided to counter the schemes against Di Xin and returned to Chaoge.
• Qin Hong discussed his plan to oppose the Phoenix Clan with Kong Xuan, who agreed as long as some of the clan survived.

Di Xin grew furious over the Human Sect’s campaign against him and agreed with his ministers to confront Laozi. Qin Hong visited Di Xin that night, explained the Saints’ motives, and encouraged him to continue defending his position as Human Emperor.

• Di Xin denounced the Human Sect and Nuwa for slandering him, while Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and the court officials urged him to confront the Grand Supreme Saint.
• Di Xin agreed to visit the Temple of Taishang and demand that Laozi answer for the accusations against him.
• Qin Hong secretly entered Di Xin’s bedchamber and told him he had been planning how to counter the Human Sect and the Sect of Enlightenment.
• Qin Hong explained that the Saints were smearing Di Xin to seize his Human Emperor’s position and fortune, and Di Xin condemned Laozi for failing to protect the Human Race.
• Di Xin asked Qin Hong what he should do, and Qin Hong replied that he was already doing it.

Qin Hong encouraged Di Xin to face the Saints and gave him the Kongtong Seal, strengthening his resolve to defend the Human Race. Di Xin then set out for Taiqing Temple to confront a Saint, supported by the people of Chaoge.

• Di Xin accepted that the forces seeking to strip him of his throne would not let him avoid conflict, and vowed to lead the Human Race through hardship.
• Qin Hong gave Di Xin the Kongtong Seal and explained that it established him as the rightful Human Emperor and let him gather the Human Race's fortune and merit.
• Di Xin took command of the Kongtong Seal and promised to lead the Human Race so that no one could enslave it.
• Di Xin announced that he would personally go to Taiqing Temple to confront a Saint.
• Despite slander from disciples of the Human Teaching and Nuwa's followers, the people of Chaoge supported Di Xin and accompanied him on foot toward Taiqing Temple.

Di Xin confronted the Human Sect disciples guarding Taiqing Temple, who demanded that he perform three kneelings and nine kowtows before entering. After they insulted him and refused to stand aside, Di Xin ordered his guards to kill them, then prepared to face Laozi.

• Human Sect disciples blocked Di Xin from entering Taiqing Temple and demanded the grand rite of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
• Jiang Huanchu and the Great Shang ministers protested the insult, while the disciples insisted that Di Xin had to bow to Laozi.
• Shang Rong warned the disciples that their actions risked provoking a conflict between Di Xin and a saint, but they still refused to move.
• Di Xin ordered his guards to kill the Human Sect disciples for disrespecting the Human Emperor and trying to provoke a conflict.
• Di Xin looked up at the Taiqing Temple sign and sneered after the guards beheaded the disciples.

Di Xin confronted Laozi at Taiqing Temple and demanded an explanation for calling himself the Teacher of Humanity and leading the Human Sect. Laozi defended his past contributions, and the chapter ended with Di Xin’s challenge unanswered.

• Di Xin offered incense to Laozi and summoned him to Taiqing Temple, where Laozi appeared through his statue.
• Di Xin remained unaffected by Laozi’s Saint pressure, sat in the imperial seat, and demanded a reasonable explanation.
• Di Xin asked what merit Laozi had contributed to the Human Race to justify calling himself its teacher and leading the Human Sect.
• Laozi claimed he had established the Human Sect, taught the Human Race alchemy, and enabled humans to cultivate and become immortals.

Di Xin challenged Laozi’s claim to be the Human Race’s Teacher, arguing that Laozi had sought merit for himself while failing to protect humanity from repeated disasters. As the people rallied behind Di Xin and their destiny gathered around him, observers across the primordial world watched to see how the confrontation would end.

• Di Xin argued that Laozi had taught alchemy and cultivation to attain sainthood, not out of merit toward the Human Race, and rejected Laozi’s claim to be its Teacher.
• Laozi accused Di Xin of disrespecting him and questioned whether Di Xin deserved to be Human Emperor, but Di Xin answered that the people would decide.
• Di Xin praised Great Shang’s prosperity under his rule, and ministers and citizens proclaimed him a wise emperor as the Human Race’s destiny gathered around him and weakened Laozi’s pressure.
• Di Xin accused Laozi of ignoring humanity during the Witch-Demon War, the ten suns’ calamity, and the flood caused by Gonggong, declaring that human perseverance—not Laozi—had brought the race to prosperity.
• Laozi could not refute Di Xin’s accusations, while powerful figures across the primordial world learned of the confrontation and debated Laozi’s schemes and Di Xin’s challenge.

Di Xin confronted Laozi over his exploitation of the Human Race and declared that he would abolish the Human Sect. He revealed the Kongtong Seal, gathering the Human Race’s fortune and giving him the power to challenge Laozi and restore humanity’s cultivation.

• Laozi denounced Di Xin and praised Ji Chang, while Di Xin accused Laozi of coveting the Human Race’s fortune; the commoners rallied behind their Emperor.
• Laozi unleashed his saintly pressure to force Di Xin to kneel, but Di Xin stood firm and proclaimed the abolition of the Human Sect and the end of the Human Race’s reverence for Taiqing.
• Laozi intensified his pressure, forcing Chaoge’s people to their knees and destroying Taiqing Temple, then argued that Di Xin could not abolish the sect without the Kongtong Seal.
• Di Xin revealed the Kongtong Seal, and the Human Race’s fortune surged into him as Laozi and the watching powers reacted in shock.
• The Kongtong Seal’s power offered the Human Race the chance to cultivate again and regain the bearing of the Three Sovereigns.

Di Xin used the Kongtong Seal to challenge Laozi and abolish the Human Sect, declaring that the Human Race would stand on its own. The Eye of Heavenly Dao witnessed his decree, while the powers plotting against the Human Race reconsidered their plans.

• Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning, Zhunti, Jieyin, and Nuwa saw that Di Xin possessed the Kongtong Seal and realized it threatened their schemes against the Human Race.
• Sect Master Tongtian approved of Di Xin’s strength and condemned those seeking to take the Human Race’s fortune and its hope of flourishing.
• Qin Hong watched from concealment as Di Xin confronted Laozi and saw the Human Race’s fortune surge under the Kongtong Seal.
• Di Xin accused Laozi of treating the Human Race as a tool and declared that he would abolish the Human Sect and revoke Laozi’s title of Teacher of Humanity.
• Di Xin’s decree spread throughout the Primordial Era, and the Eye of Heavenly Dao appeared to witness the Human Sect’s abolition before departing.

After the Human Sect was abolished, Laozi lost a realm of cultivation and resolved to help Xiqi overthrow Di Xin. He and Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning went to Wa Palace to enlist Nuwa, who feared Di Xin might strip her of her title as Mother of Humanity.

• The Eye of Heavenly Dao abolished the Human Sect and revoked Laozi’s title as Teacher of Humanity, causing his cultivation to fall from the fifth to the fourth level of the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
• Laozi blamed Di Xin and the Human Race, then vowed to destroy Great Shang and restore the Human Sect.
• Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning urged Laozi to raise an army with Xiqi, citing Ji Chang’s growing fortune, Xiqi’s troops, and the Phoenix Clan’s support.
• Laozi decided to enlist Nuwa’s help by accusing Di Xin of disrespecting the Mother of Humanity, and Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning reluctantly agreed to go with him.
• Nuwa feared that Di Xin could abolish her title, then Laozi and Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning arrived at Wa Palace and Laozi began warning her about Di Xin.

Laozi and Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning persuaded Nuwa to use the destruction of her palace to turn the people against Di Xin. Instead, Di Xin reached Nuwa Palace, publicly apologized with elaborate filial rites, and earned recognition as Emperor Xin, expanding the Human Race’s rulers to the Three Sovereigns and Six Emperors.

• Laozi and Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning urged Nuwa to rebuke Di Xin and help Xiqi gain popular support.
• Nuwa sent an incarnation toward Chaoge as Di Xin headed for Nuwa Palace after leveling Taiqing Temple.
• Di Xin bared his back, bound thorny branches to it, and kowtowed toward Nuwa Palace as Great Shang officials and citizens followed his example.
• Di Xin knelt before Nuwa’s statue, praised her protection of the Human Race, apologized for the bull’s intrusion into her palace, and had himself whipped with the branches.
• Nuwa and the watching Great Powers were stunned by Di Xin’s apology, and he was hailed as Emperor Xin, making the Human Race’s rulers the Three Sovereigns and Six Emperors.

Di Xin thwarted Laozi and Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning’s attempt to use Nuwa to condemn him, and Nuwa agreed to help Xiqi instead. Back at the royal palace, Qin Hong warned Di Xin that Xiqi would soon rebel and proposed using the rebellion to weaken the feudal lords, though Di Xin worried that this would drive them to Xiqi.

• Di Xin apologized to Nuwa and punished himself, leaving her unable to reprimand him without appearing unreasonable.
• Laozi urged Nuwa to support Ji Chang and Xiqi after their scheme against Di Xin failed, and Nuwa agreed.
• Di Xin returned to the royal palace and told Qin Hong that he would not hold Nuwa’s actions against her.
• Qin Hong warned Di Xin that Laozi would arrange for Xiqi to rebel, and they vowed to act as players rather than pawns.
• Qin Hong suggested using Xiqi’s rebellion to weaken the feudal lords and implement the commandery-county system, but Di Xin feared that would push wavering lords into Xiqi’s camp.

Qin Hong proposed the Imperial Favor Edict as a way for Di Xin to gradually divide the feudal lords’ power. Meanwhile, the Saints backed Ji Chang’s rebellion, and Xiqi began presenting him as a human Saint as its uprising got underway.

• Qin Hong explained that the Imperial Favor Edict would let all a feudal lord’s children inherit his lands and power, gradually splintering the feudal states.
• Di Xin praised Qin Hong’s plan after realizing the feudal lords would struggle to oppose it without provoking their other children.
• Laozi, Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning, and Nuwa urged Ji Chang to rebel against Di Xin, and Ji Chang agreed to unite with allied feudal lords.
• Ji Chang sent envoys to coordinate the uprising, while the Saints arranged for the Phoenix Clan to support Xiqi.
• Ten days later, phoenixes appeared over Mount Qi, and Xiqi proclaimed Ji Chang a Saint of the Human Race while the three Saints publicly endorsed him.

Di Xin issued the Imperial Favor Edict to divide feudal power and draw the younger descendants of lords to his side, while the court accepted his replacement peerage system. The edict sparked rebellions within many lords’ households, forcing Xiqi’s allies to leave the campaign and return home to suppress them.

• Di Xin and Qin Hong’s plan used the Imperial Favor Edict to win support from younger heirs and weaken the rebellious lords.
• Di Xin proposed replacing the enfeoffment system with five peerage ranks that granted land and wealth but no authority over people, politics, or armies.
• Jiang Huanchu supported Di Xin’s plan, and ministers with fiefs relinquished their administrative and military powers.
• The Imperial Favor Edict prompted younger descendants to rebel against their fathers, throwing many feudal states into turmoil.
• Ji Chang welcomed the edict, but learned that lords in his allied army were returning to their fiefs to quell household rebellions.

Ji Chang gathered Chong Hei Hu and the minor marquises to begin Xiqi’s rebellion against Di Xin, while E Chongyu remained loyal to Great Shang. The armies converged at Sishui Pass, where Huang Feihu arrived with Great Shang’s Crimson Flame Army, though the rebels believed he secretly served Xiqi.

• Ji Chang warned Ji Fa and his other sons against fighting over Xiqi before Great Shang had been conquered, then sent envoys promising land to the Southern and Northern Marquises.
• Chong Hei Hu killed his brother Chong Houhu and joined Xiqi, while E Chongyu accepted Di Xin’s Imperial Favor Edict and stayed loyal to Great Shang.
• Five months later, Ji Chang and his allies launched their campaign against Di Xin, who appointed Huang Feihu to lead Great Shang’s army against them.
• The rebel army advanced to Sishui Pass, where Han Rong and his sons Han Sheng and Han Bian defended the well-stocked fortress and stalemated the attackers.
• Huang Feihu arrived with the elite Crimson Flame Army, and Great Shang’s main forces soon gathered at the pass as the rebels anticipated that Huang Feihu’s secret agreement with Shen Gongbao would make him an ally.

Xiqi fell for Huang Feihu’s feigned surrender and sent its vanguard into a trap at Sishui Pass. After Lei Zhenzi warned Ji Chang that the army was surrounded, Bo Yikao called for a rescue.

• Ji Chang waited for Huang Feihu’s secret surrender plan, then agreed to coordinate an attack on Sishui Pass.
• Huang Feihu opened the pass to Xiqi’s vanguard, then ambushed the troops with Great Shang soldiers and cut off their retreat.
• The chapter revealed that Qin Hong, Di Xin, and Huang Feihu had staged the betrayal to deceive Xiqi and the Saints.
• Lei Zhenzi escaped the pass and told Ji Chang, Bo Yikao, and Ji Fa that Wang Teng and the Xiqi army were trapped.
• Ji Chang could not think of a solution, so Bo Yikao urged the army to rescue Wang Teng and the surrounded troops.

Ji Chang sought help from Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning after Xiqi's vanguard was trapped at Sishui Pass, prompting the Sect of Enlightenment and the Phoenix Clan to intervene. As Sishui Pass fell and Daoist Heavenly Venerate attacked Huang Feihu, Kong Xuan appeared and stopped his killing blow.

• Ji Chang followed Bo Yikao and Ji Fa's advice and used Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning's decree to ask for help.
• Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning saw the crisis at Sishui Pass and sent the Eleven Golden Immortals and the Phoenix Clan to aid Xiqi.
• More than a hundred phoenixes arrived, but Huang Feihu rallied Great Shang's troops to fight them as the Xiqi army broke through Sishui Pass.
• Daoist Heavenly Venerate attacked Great Shang's soldiers and then struck at Huang Feihu with his Demon-Subduing Pestle.
• Kong Xuan appeared beside Huang Feihu, made the Demon-Subduing Pestle vanish with Five-Colored Divine Light, and identified himself to the shocked Daoist Heavenly Venerate.

Kong Xuan fought Guangchengzi and the other Golden Immortals while Huang Feihu’s ambush inflicted heavy losses on the Xiqi rebels. As Kong Xuan neared defeat, Yun Xiao and the Interception Sect arrived, and Three Lights Divine Water restored him, forcing the eleven Golden Immortals to retreat.

• Kong Xuan denounced Daoist Heavenly Venerate’s accusations and fought him, then resisted Guangchengzi’s ambush and the growing group of Golden Immortals.
• Huang Feihu’s forces, led by Zhang Guifang, attacked the exhausted Xiqi camp, killing tens of thousands of rebels and driving the survivors into retreat.
• Guangchengzi and ten other Golden Immortals overwhelmed Kong Xuan, who began to show signs of defeat.
• Yun Xiao, Zhao Gongming, the San Xiao, and the Ten Heavenly Lords arrived and blocked Guangchengzi’s attack on Kong Xuan.
• Yun Xiao gave Kong Xuan Three Lights Divine Water, healing his injuries and restoring his strength.
• Guangchengzi declared that the Interception Sect would face Heaven’s punishment and led the eleven Golden Immortals away.

After the Eleven Golden Immortals failed to defeat Kong Xuan at Sishui Pass, Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning berated Shen Gongbao for being deceived by Huang Feihu but stopped him from killing himself. Shen Gongbao accepted a reserve position among the Twelve Golden Immortals while privately recognizing that his master was still using him, and the Primordial Era Great Powers were left stunned by Xiqi’s disastrous defeat.

• The Eleven Golden Immortals retreated from Sishui Pass after Zhao Gongming and other Interception Sect disciples arrived to support Kong Xuan.
• Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning blamed Shen Gongbao for believing Huang Feihu had surrendered, and Shen Gongbao tried to strike his own head.
• Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning stopped Shen Gongbao and consoled him, then promised to make him a reserve member of the Twelve Golden Immortals.
• Shen Gongbao thanked Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning while privately thinking that his master was still exploiting him and that Qin Hong had helped him avoid taking on more blame.
• The Primordial Era Great Powers watched the battle and marveled that Xiqi had lost so badly despite its many advantages.