Chapter Summaries

Nezha publicly declared Bai Liansheng his Dao Companion and took her home to confirm her identity. In the Human Realm, Sect Master Tongtian observed Ying Zheng’s interest in Afang, clashed views between Xu Fu and Li Si, and discovered that the realm’s timeline had gone wrong.

• Nezha announced that Bai Liansheng would be recognized as the Crown Princess and took her home to meet her family.
• Sect Master Tongtian saw Ying Zheng watching Afang at a workshop outside Xianyang City.
• Xu Fu offered to help Ying Zheng win Afang’s heart, while Li Si objected to diverting attention from governing.
• Xu Fu praised Ying Zheng and said he should live forever, but Ying Zheng dismissed his flattery.
• Ying Zheng questioned Xu Fu’s unknown lineage, and Sect Master Tongtian divined that the Human Realm’s spacetime had developed a problem.

Sect Master Tongtian investigated the Time-Space Disorder and its strange effects on his memories, then went to Nirvana Mountain to meet Sakyamuni Buddha. He was greeted as a revered master, though several young disciples did not know who he was.

• Sect Master Tongtian recalled how the Western Teachings split into Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism and how the disorder had changed Qin history and other events.
• Sect Master Tongtian considered possible causes of the formation he had apparently laid near the Spacetime Rift, including a future self, an escaped incarnation, or an impostor.
• Sect Master Tongtian arrived at Nirvana Mountain, where the vajra gatekeeper greeted him and told curious young disciples that he was the founder of the Interception Sect and Saint Tianhai's father.
• Sect Master Tongtian entered Formless Palace while Sakyamuni Buddha discussed matters with Mahayana leaders.
• Sakyamuni Buddha stepped down from his lotus throne and bowed to Sect Master Tongtian as his master, and Tongtian stopped the assembled leaders from continuing their bows.

Sect Master Tongtian reunited with Sakyamuni Buddha and the others, gave them valuable gifts, and learned they were investigating Time-Space Disorder in the Human Realm. After discovering that they had all been prevented from noticing it, he proposed restoring order and correcting the disorder first.

• Sect Master Tongtian greeted Sakyamuni Buddha, and the new-generation powerhouses were stunned by Sakyamuni Buddha's familiar, affectionate manner toward his Master.
• Sect Master Tongtian gave everyone Minor Golden Pills and Nine Revolutions Golden Elixirs, then told Sakyamuni Buddha about a place suited to growing medicinal herbs.
• Sakyamuni Buddha explained that the gathering was discussing Time-Space Disorder in the Infinite Primordial World and introduced Nine Tripod Bodhisattva, formerly the Qin Emperor Ying Zheng.
• Nine Tripod Bodhisattva and the others said they had witnessed abnormalities in the Human Realm but had only recently realized they were caused by Time-Space Disorder.
• Sect Master Tongtian said he had experienced the same loss of awareness and urged everyone to resist the unseen mastermind by restoring order in the Human Realm.

Sect Master Tongtian investigated the Human Realm’s time-space disorder and learned that Di Xin, possessing Ying Zheng, believed Afang was its cause. He gave Ying Zheng a small gourd to capture Afang’s primordial spirit, leaving Ying Zheng wondering whether it was the Qiankun Axe.

• Sect Master Tongtian gathered information at Nirvana Mountain, spoke secretly with Saint Venerable Tian Feng, and then went to Xianyang City.
• Ying Zheng watched Afang at her weaving workshop and ordered Xu Fu to build a false tomb for him.
• Sect Master Tongtian appeared beside Ying Zheng, recognized Di Xin within him, and learned that Di Xin had possessed Ying Zheng to investigate the time-space disorder.
• Ying Zheng told Sect Master Tongtian that he had met Afang twenty years earlier while she was injured after a failed assassination, then encountered her again three years ago by a river.
• Ying Zheng said he wanted to discover Afang’s motives, and Sect Master Tongtian gave him a small gourd to capture her primordial spirit.
• Ying Zheng looked at the gourd in shock and asked whether it was the Qiankun Axe.

Ying Zheng tried to use the Qiankun Axe on Afang, but she resisted and trapped him until Sect Master Tongtian intervened. Tongtian captured Afang in his Small World, where she revealed that she was Cloud Mother and told him secrets about the Primordial World, including Yuanshi’s ancient origins.

• Ying Zheng summoned Afang to the workshop and tried to capture her with the Qiankun Axe.
• Afang resisted the axe and trapped Ying Zheng with purple light from the eye between her brows.
• Sect Master Tongtian freed Ying Zheng and received a system mission to capture Afang and investigate the Time-Space Disorder.
• Tongtian chose the mission, gained the Eyes of Myriad Domains and Power of Myriad Domains, and moved Afang into his Small World.
• Afang revealed that she was Cloud Mother, a primordial lifeform, and said Yuanshi existed before Pangu and Hongjun and had concealed the truth about the Three Pure Ones.

Cloudmother told Sect Master Tongtian how Yuanshi betrayed the five Primordial Beings and how she later plotted to reset the world to the Primordial Era. Tongtian realized he could not decipher Cloudmother’s unusual primordial spirit, and she suddenly emerged from Afang’s Violet Palace, growing infinitely huge.

• Cloudmother explained that Yuanshi crippled the other four Primordial Beings and cast their primordial spirits into the vortex after entering the light.
• Cloudmother described how she waited in the future, then manipulated crises and infiltrated Elder Wei’s team through her incarnation, Afang, to bring the world toward collapse.
• Sect Master Tongtian reflected that Dao Ancestor Hongjun, Lord of the Beginning, and Cloudmother had outmatched his expectations with their schemes.
• Tongtian asked why he could not see Cloudmother’s memories, and she explained that her primordial spirit followed rules beyond his knowledge.
• Cloudmother leaped out of Afang’s Violet Palace and became infinitely huge.

Sect Master Tongtian restored Ying Zheng after a black mist consumed his primordial spirit and offered him a choice: take a new body or withdraw from the world. Ying Zheng chose seclusion, while Sect Master Tongtian prepared to erase Xianyang City, accepting the Karma that would follow.

• Sect Master Tongtian's head exploded, and Ying Zheng's primordial spirit was drawn into a black mist until his consciousness vanished.
• Ying Zheng awoke in his bedchamber to find Sect Master Tongtian playing the zither and learned that he could either take a Saintly Sovereign's body or live in seclusion.
• Ying Zheng chose to withdraw from the world and disappeared into the darkness of the bedchamber.
• Cloud Mother questioned Sect Master Tongtian's willingness to incur Karma for humanity, and he explained that humans could sacrifice everything for others.
• Sect Master Tongtian cast a spell from Star-Picking Tower, enveloped Xianyang City in a shining net, and sent the city into a gigantic black hole.

Sect Master Tongtian eliminated the Time-Space Disorder’s redundant objects, but the Primordial Tribulation Realm’s power bound him and destroyed his Saint body. After the power vanished, he learned he had to undergo the eighty-one tribulations himself and returned to the Heavenly Court, where he met Marshal Tian Peng after his breakthrough.

• Sect Master Tongtian swallowed the redundant cities and mountains with a vortex, clearing away the Time-Space Disorder by dawn.
• A strange power restrained Sect Master Tongtian, destroyed his Saint body, and vanished after the sun rose; he reassembled his body but could not remove the repulsive force between its specks of light.
• A streak of light entered Sun Wukong’s Violet Palace, and Sun Wukong realized he had to undergo the eighty-one tribulations to preserve his True Self Saint Venerable body.
• Sect Master Tongtian returned to the Heavenly Court, knowing his true body would have to undertake the Journey to the West and face its dangers.
• Marshal Tian Peng told Sect Master Tongtian he had broken through to the Saint Venerable Realm, and Sect Master Tongtian congratulated him and warned him against getting drunk.

Sect Master Tongtian returned to the Heavenly Court with Marshal Tian Peng and learned that Niangniang Shen Jiang was preparing the Peach Banquet. At Tushita Palace, he found Nezha being disciplined by Bai Liansheng as he learned alchemy, then affirmed his support for their relationship.

• Sect Master Tongtian warned Marshal Tian Peng to study his abilities, but Tian Peng remained unconcerned about changing his fate.
• Marshal Tian Peng told Sect Master Tongtian that Niangniang Shen Jiang was about to hold the Peach Banquet and explained that guests received different levels of treatment.
• Sect Master Tongtian and Marshal Tian Peng went to Tushita Palace, where Bai Liansheng corrected Nezha's alchemy with a vine whip as the others laughed.
• Bai Liansheng greeted Sect Master Tongtian and showed him the Heaven and Earth Furnace, which she was using to refine the Qiankun Limitless Pill.
• Sect Master Tongtian praised Bai Liansheng and told King Li and Madam Yin that he supported her marriage to Nezha and would protect her from mistreatment.

Sect Master Tongtian arranged Nezha and Bai Liansheng’s betrothal, bringing their families together to settle the marriage. After the proposal and gifts went smoothly, Tongtian worried that the Peach Banquet would soon end his freedom and leave him trapped beneath a Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain.

• Madam Yin and Li Jing agreed to have Sect Master Tongtian act as matchmaker and arrange the proposal and betrothal gifts for Nezha and Bai Liansheng.
• Tongtian told the Li family that the White Lotus Sect was in turmoil, then revealed that he had already resolved the problem and that Sect Master Bai had arrived.
• Sect Master Bai praised the Li family’s sincerity, and he and Li Jing bonded over a banquet before he took the family to the White Lotus Sect.
• Madam Yin handled the betrothal, Nezha and Bai Liansheng’s marriage was settled, and their wedding was set for the first auspicious day after the Peach Banquet.
• Tongtian spent the night thinking that the Peach Banquet would mark a turning point and that he might soon be crushed beneath Five Finger Mountain.

At the Peach Banquet, Great Sage Sun found himself assigned a seat in the corner of the fifth row despite his stature as the Heavenly Court’s chief alchemist. The other guests suspected the seating was deliberate, leaving them to wonder what Niangniang Shen Jiang intended.

• Sect Master Tongtian, Nezha, and Bai Liansheng questioned the seating, but Sect Master Tongtian told them to attend and accept their places.
• Sect Master Tongtian took the seat marked with his name in the fifth row while Grand White Golden Star noticed him and asked why he was sitting there.
• Marshal Tian Peng saw Great Sage Sun behind him and grew alarmed, then asked Nezha about the arrangement.
• The White Lotus Sect’s master sat beside Li Jing in the first row, where Grand White Golden Star pointed out Great Sage Sun’s seat.
• Li Jing recognized Great Sage Sun in the fifth row and concluded that, if Niangniang Shen Jiang had arranged it, the placement might have been deliberate humiliation.

At the Peach Banquet, rumors spread that Sun Wukong had angered Niangniang Shen Jiang by matching Nezha with Bai Liansheng, and his place in the fifth row drew widespread attention. Sun Wukong urged his allies not to intervene as the Jade Emperor and Niangniang Shen Jiang arrived, leaving the banquet poised for confrontation.

• Guests noticed Sun Wukong seated in the fifth row and speculated that Niangniang Shen Jiang had snubbed him over Nezha's match with Bai Liansheng.
• Madam Yin confirmed that Shen Jiang's niece had been intended for Nezha, and urged Li Jing to sit beside Sun Wukong in support.
• Sun Wukong told Li Jing, Madam Yin, Sect Master Bai, and Grand White Golden Star not to turn his personal affair into a conflict within the Heavenly Court.
• Nezha and Bai Liansheng suspected that Sect Master Tongtian had planned the apparent dispute, while rumors about Sun Wukong spread among the banquet guests.
• The Jade Emperor Jiang Ziya and Niangniang Shen Jiang arrived and took their seats, and the Jade Emperor looked toward Sun Wukong.

At the Peach Banquet, Shen Jiang’s ambition to build her own faction became obvious as she acted as though the Jade Pool were hers to command. Dao Ancestor Hongjun arrived to confront Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong, leaving the assembled powers braced for conflict.

• Shen Jiang explained to the Jade Emperor that she had used the banquet to advance his plans, while Jiang Ziya recognized her growing ambitions and interest in winning Li Jing’s faction over.
• Shen Jiang welcomed the guests to the Jade Pool rather than the Heavenly Court, prompting the assembled immortals and saints to mock her presumption.
• The guests discussed Sect Master Tongtian’s absence and criticized Shen Jiang for seating Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong in the fifth row.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun appeared at the banquet and announced that he had come to find Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong.
• Old Ancestor Bodhi questioned Hongjun’s reason for confronting Wukong, and Shen Jiang tried to lecture Bodhi about showing Hongjun respect.

At the Peach Banquet, Shen Jiang tried to command Li Jing, but he refused and upheld the Jade Emperor’s authority. After Sect Master Tongtian killed Shen Shan, Shen Jiang revealed her Fire Phoenix bloodline and attacked Sun Wukong, only for Tongtian to smash her head with his staff.

• Old Ancestor Bodhi called Shen Jiang a village woman, and Sect Master Tongtian mocked her as well.
• Shen Jiang ordered Li Jing to seize the others, but Li Jing refused, saying he obeyed only the Jade Emperor and Emperor Ziwei.
• Shen Shan challenged Li Jing, and Sect Master Tongtian killed him with a dining knife.
• Shen Jiang transformed into a Fire Phoenix and unleashed Nirvana Fire at Sun Wukong.
• Sect Master Tongtian struck Shen Jiang's head with his great staff, and the Nirvana Fire vanished from it.

At the Peach Banquet, Sun Wukong struck the Fire Phoenix, but Dao Ancestor Hongjun overpowered and incapacitated Sect Master Tongtian. Tongtian awoke beneath Five Finger Mountain as his tribulation began, then used visualization to regain a measure of power.

• Sun Wukong smashed the Fire Phoenix's head, and the phoenix regenerated before transforming into a Female War God and attacking him.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun caught Sun Wukong's staff and immobilized Sect Master Tongtian, then struck him unconscious.
• Sect Master Tongtian awoke beneath Five Finger Mountain with a python around his neck and realized he had begun his tribulation.
• Sect Master Tongtian devoured the python and discovered his body was weak and unable to circulate energy.
• Sect Master Tongtian visualized the clouds for seven days and formed a cloud, then created a longbow and arrow three months later.

Sect Master Tongtian survived his isolation at Five Finger Mountain by cultivating, defeating demons for food, and caring for the local living beings. After a long winter, he unlocked his Small World and helped the insects and other creatures establish a warm, cultivated valley where peach trees began bearing fruit.

• Sect Master Tongtian killed a Tiger Demon that attacked him, roasted its body, and shared the remains with nearby living beings.
• Sect Master Tongtian fed the local creatures demon meat and arranged warm caves for them to survive a bitter winter.
• During the long winter, Sect Master Tongtian continued visualizing the sun, moon, and stars as he cultivated.
• When spring arrived, Sect Master Tongtian fed the living beings roasted fish and planted peach pits in a valley near Five Finger Mountain.
• The living beings formed a concealed valley, awakened their spiritual intelligence, and cultivated under Sect Master Tongtian's guidance.
• After the next winter began, Sect Master Tongtian unlocked his Small World and discovered that the peach trees could absorb spiritual energy on their own.

Nezha visited Sect Master Tongtian and recounted how Ancestor Hongjun defeated their allies, reshaped control of the Heavenly Court, and left many powerful figures weakened. After Nezha departed with a secret cultivation method and a bead containing records of the Heavenly Realm, Tongtian identified Hongjun’s strange power as a cultivation system unknown even in the later Supreme Primordial World.

• Nezha told Sect Master Tongtian that Hongjun had defeated their side, imprisoned Sun Wukong beneath Five Finger Mountain for five hundred years, and installed Shen Jiang and Haotian in positions of power.
• Nezha explained that the Jade Emperor and other experts had lost cultivation realms, while the Heavenly King, Emperor Ziwei, and Emperor Gouchen helped the Jade Emperor retain some authority.
• Nezha told Tongtian that he had married Liansheng and would soon have a son, and Tongtian named the child Li Bai, with the courtesy name Taibai.
• Nezha revealed that Hongjun’s barrier restricted travel between the Heavenly Realm and Human Realm, then apologized for Tongtian’s imprisonment; Tongtian told him the tribulation had been necessary regardless.
• Tongtian whispered a cultivation method to Nezha, who swore not to spread it, and Nezha left Tongtian a bead containing images of events in the Heavenly Realm.
• Three years later, Tongtian determined how Hongjun’s unfamiliar cultivation power worked and realized that its system did not exist even in the later Supreme Primordial World.

Sect Master Tongtian continued studying the power Dao Ancestor Hongjun used to imprison him while training the creatures around Five Finger Mountain. When the creatures found an underground cavern filled with ancient books, he discovered that their scripts came from beyond the Infinite Primordial World.

• Sect Master Tongtian remained unconcerned that no one visited him and continued treating his imprisonment as a chance to temper himself.
• During spring, the valley's formations helped the peach trees bear Immortal Peaches early, and the creatures evolved after eating monster bones and learning cultivation techniques from Sect Master Tongtian.
• Sect Master Tongtian gave the creatures peach pits and sent them to search distant caves for useful resources, training them to survive without him.
• When winter returned, Sect Master Tongtian roasted two wolf demons attracted by the Immortal Peaches while the creatures took turns keeping watch.
• A Human-faced Ant reported finding a vast cavern three thousand li away and brought back chests of ancient classics written in unfamiliar scripts.
• Sect Master Tongtian read the classics and realized their languages did not belong to the Infinite Primordial World.

After a century beneath Five Finger Mountain, Sect Master Tongtian recovered part of his strength and mastered knowledge from ancient books brought from other domains. He left the mountain to find Golden Ao Island, discovered it had disappeared, and searched the Eastern Sea for clues.

• Sect Master Tongtian spent three years moving more than a hundred ancient books underground while the living beings he guided evolved, cultivated, and built grotto-heavens around Five Finger Mountain.
• Sect Master Tongtian used the readers' auras to recreate them and learn the languages of the ancient books, which contained encyclopedias and cultivation methods from other domains.
• A hundred years passed as Sect Master Tongtian studied and cultivated; his primordial spirit broke free, and he recovered one-tenth of his original magic power.
• Sect Master Tongtian left Five Finger Mountain and determined that the barren land between Southern Jambudvipa and Eastern Continent had become ownerless.
• Sect Master Tongtian reached the Eastern Sea, found Golden Ao Island missing, and used his abilities to search toward the sea's depths.

Sect Master Tongtian discovered that Golden Ao Island rested on an awakened golden ao, a sign that a world-destroying calamity was approaching, and secretly strengthened his disciples and allies with foreign-domain techniques. Though he appeared to remain trapped beneath Five Finger Mountain, a group led by General Shen arrived to torment Sun Wukong and seek revenge for Marshal Shen.

• Sect Master Tongtian found Golden Ao Island moving across the East Sea on the back of an awakened golden ao and suspected a world-destroying calamity was near.
• He entered Golden Ao Island, found its disciples in seclusion with their cultivation realms diminished, and awakened Tianhai, Kong Xuan, Duobao, and Zhao Gongming.
• Sect Master Tongtian taught his son and disciples foreign-domain techniques, then secretly visited allies and sent a hundred thousand clones to cultivate across different domains.
• After a hundred years of preparations, Sect Master Tongtian continued pretending to be trapped beneath Five Finger Mountain while waiting for an opportunity to strike at Dao Ancestor Hongjun, Amitabha Buddha, and Niangniang Shen Jiang.
• General Shen and his companions arrived at Five Finger Mountain, mocked Sun Wukong, and demanded revenge for Marshal Shen.