Chapter Summaries

Su Yang, Feng Yanran, Yang Mei, and Hongjun gathered in Chaos to investigate a strange disturbance that even Su Yang could not read through Tianji. Hongjun suggested that a supreme treasure might be emerging or a new life might be forming, leaving the ancient survivors alarmed by the possibility of new life in Chaos.

• Great Immortal Yang Mei sensed a disturbance in Chaos and transformed into a Daoist to investigate.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun divined that the disturbance lay within the Heavenly Dao Territory and left Zixiao Palace to examine it.
• Su Yang and Feng Yanran investigated the strange fluctuation, but Su Yang could find no trace of its cause through Tianji.
• Yang Mei arrived, greeted Su Yang and Feng Yanran, and gave Feng Yanran a willow leaf.
• Hongjun arrived and proposed that a supreme treasure was breaking free or new life was gestating in Chaos.
• Su Yang and Yang Mei grew solemn at the possibility that new life was forming in Chaos, where the Three Thousand Chaos Demon Gods had once been born.

Yang Mei recounted the Three Thousand Demon Gods’ bloody history and explained the cultivation stages, revealing the immense power of the Chaos Demon Gods and Shichen’s mastery of time. Hongjun and Feng Yanran were left stunned by the realms beyond Sainthood and Su Yang’s extraordinary standing.

• Yang Mei told Su Yang that the Three Thousand Demon Gods had once slaughtered one another over a prophecy, and that Shichen had killed Pangu’s fellow Demon Gods beneath the blade of chaos.
• Yang Mei explained that reaching the Primal Grand Unity Golden Immortal Stage required perfecting Dao attainment, divine abilities, magic power, and state of mind, making Hongjun realize he had neglected divine abilities.
• Yang Mei described how a Late Sage could open a world within the dantian and command its Heaven’s Will, startling Hongjun and Feng Yanran.
• Su Yang told Feng Yanran that the Heavenly Dao Stage was only a starting point, and Yang Mei explained that Strength, Time, and Space were the supreme Great Daos.
• Yang Mei revealed that Shichen could open a world of time and alter its passage, prompting Feng Yanran to nestle into Su Yang’s embrace.
• Yang Mei explained that Heavenly Dao Power allowed its wielder to crush Saints, and Hongjun recognized the power he used to rule over the Saints.

Yang Mei explained how the Chaos Demon Gods were lured by the Great Dao into a disastrous war against Pangu and Shichen, revealing Shichen’s overwhelming power and Yang Mei’s near-fatal defeat. As the group listened, the Chaos Sea fell still and a strange black energy appeared, devouring Chaos Origin even as Yang Mei tried to contain it.

• Yang Mei described the Supreme Being Realm and Chaos Stage, then revealed that fewer than a hundred of the Three Thousand Chaos Demon Gods had reached the Chaos Stage.
• Yang Mei said the Great Dao had lured the Demon Gods with an oracle promising authority to whoever killed Pangu and Shichen, fearing their command of Strength and Time Laws.
• Yang Mei recounted how Shichen killed Yellow Springs Daoist and Netherworld Daoist, defeated further attackers, and how Pangu slew most of Yang Mei’s enormous force, leaving Yang Mei gravely wounded.
• Su Yang clarified that the Witch Clan’s Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Array could not summon the powerful Dao Incarnation used in the ancient battle.
• Su Yang noticed the Chaos Sea had become motionless as black energy emerged, consumed Yang Mei’s green vitality, and began devouring Chaos Origin.
• Yang Mei folded layers of space around the black energy in an attempt to crush it, shattering the surrounding chaos into a silent void.

Su Yang and the others watched black qi and demonic qi merge in Chaos as the Evil Dragon helped draw in ghosts from the Underworld. As the resulting cocoons formed, Su Yang identified the being gestating inside as an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon and explained its power to invade cultivators’ minds.

• Yang Mei’s spatial attack was undone by the Great Dao, while the black qi absorbed Chaos Vital Energy and a strange demonic aura appeared.
• Su Yang recognized a demonic dragon’s roar, and the Evil Dragon emerged from the mist and circled the merging streams of qi.
• The Evil Dragon transformed into a gate, and a vortex swallowed demonic qi and dark auras as ghosts broke free from the Underworld and rushed into Chaos.
• A mysterious light turned the ghosts into pure soul qi, which the expanding cocoon formation absorbed along with demonic and Chaos qi.
• Su Yang concluded that the largest cocoon was gestating an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon and explained that it could exploit cultivators’ inner demons and seize their bodies.

Su Yang explained the limits and dangers of the heavenly devils before he and Feng Yanran returned to the Earthly Immortal Realm. Meanwhile, Ji Chang returned to Xiqi, strengthened his rule by honoring the people and building a Spirit Platform, then awoke from a frightening dream and summoned San Yisheng to interpret it.

• Su Yang told Hongjun and Yang Mei that heavenly devils were constrained by the Heavenly Dao but could serve as trials for cultivators, and the group parted ways.
• Lei Zhenzi escorted Ji Chang back to Xiqi, where Tai Jiang, Bo Yikao, and the officials welcomed him with joy after his seven-year absence.
• Ji Chang praised both Bo Yikao and Ji Fa to avoid favoring either sect's choice of heir, and declared that he would focus on the people's welfare and the kingdom's stability.
• Ji Chang ordered the construction of a Spirit Platform, then earned the people's admiration by arranging a proper burial for a skeleton found at the site.
• After a feast on the completed platform, Ji Chang dreamed of a winged tiger attacking him and summoned San Yisheng the next morning to ask what it meant.

Daji manipulated King Zhou into imposing cruel punishments and ordering the construction of Deer Terrace, driving Jiang Ziya to flee Chaoge and settle in Xiqi. Ziya later took Wu Ji as his disciple and helped him evade his sentence, but Ji Chang unexpectedly encountered Wu Ji alive.

• Ji Chang accepted San Yisheng’s interpretation of his dream as an auspicious sign and resolved to seek worthy men.
• Daji persuaded King Zhou to create the Scorpion Basin, the Wine Pool, and the Meat Forest, where she secretly fed on the dead.
• Daji framed Jiang Ziya by recommending him to supervise Deer Terrace, and Ziya escaped Chaoge after refusing the impossible construction deadline.
• Ziya divorced Lady Ma, used Earth Evasion to lead fleeing commoners safely to Xiqi, and then settled at Panxi to fish.
• After Ziya predicted that Wu Ji would kill someone, Wu Ji accidentally killed the guard Wang Xiang and Ji Chang confined him in a ground-drawn prison.
• Ziya accepted Wu Ji as his disciple and used magic to make his death appear genuine, but Ji Chang later encountered Wu Ji alive and questioned him.

Ji Chang brought Jiang Ziya out of seclusion and returned with him to Xiqi, while King Zhou ignored warnings about the growing threat. Daji’s plots led to the destruction of the fox demons and Bi Gan’s death, as Grand Tutor Wen pacified the North Sea and Tianyi Sanren departed.

• After Wu Ji explained Jiang Ziya’s reputation, Ji Chang fasted and returned to Panxi with a grand procession to summon him to Xiqi, appointing Wu Ji General of Martial Virtue.
• Han Rong urged King Zhou not to attack Xiqi, and King Zhou dismissed the warning while preparing to inspect Deer Terrace with Daji.
• Daji enlisted the foxes of Xuanyuan Mound to pose as immortals at King Zhou’s banquet, but Bi Gan recognized them, and Huang Feihu’s men burned them in their cave.
• Daji introduced Hu Ximei to King Zhou, then arranged for Bi Gan to be ordered to surrender his heart as a cure; Bi Gan removed it but died after a woman selling Heartless Vegetable told him a person could not live without a heart.
• Bi Gan’s soul reached Kunlun Mountain Peak, where Primordial Lord of Heaven enfeoffed him as the Star Lord of Literature.
• Grand Tutor Wen and Tianyi Sanren defeated Purple Emperor and pacified the North Sea, after which Tianyi Sanren took his leave.

Grand Tutor Wen tried to reform King Zhou’s court, but rebellion and Daji’s violence drove the realm closer to collapse. After Huang Feihu fled toward Xiqi, Qingxu Daode True Lord rescued him from the forces pursuing him and sent Grand Tutor Wen after a false trail.

• Grand Tutor Wen presented King Zhou with ten policies to reform the court, but King Zhou rejected three of them before the East Sea’s Pingling King rebelled.
• At a banquet, Su Daji revealed her nine-tailed fox form and attacked the guests; Huang Feihu wounded her with help from a Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle, and King Zhou found white bones beneath the stones.
• Jiang Ziya persuaded Ji Chang to attack Chong Houhu, and Chong Heihu helped capture Chong Houhu and Chong Yingbiao before Jiang Ziya beheaded them.
• Daji’s schemes led to the deaths of Lady Jia and Lady Huang, so Huang Feihu abandoned his post and fled toward Xiqi with his family and followers.
• Grand Tutor Wen sealed the passes and pursued Huang Feihu, but Qingxu Daode True Lord used the Hunyuan Banner to move the fugitives to safety and created a false party with Divine Sand to mislead Wen.

Huang Feihu’s family struggled westward, losing and regaining their freedom as Nezha rescued them from Yu Hua and escorted them toward Xiqi. As Ji Chang fell gravely ill after Chong Houhu’s execution, Zhunti and Jieyin feared that the Investiture of Gods would draw the Western Teachings further into its fate.

• Huang Tianhua healed Huang Feihu, seized Chen Tong’s Fire Dragon Dart, killed him with Moye, and returned to Qingxu Daode True Lord.
• Huang Feihu escaped Chen Wu’s poisoned banquet and fire trap, then continued west with Huang Gun and the rest of his family.
• Yu Hua captured Huang Feihu and his family with the Soul Slaying Banner, but Nezha intercepted their escort, disabled the banner, and rescued them after defeating Yu Hua and Han Rong.
• Nezha escorted the Huang family toward Xiqi, while Ji Chang became bedridden with fear after Jiang Ziya presented Chong Houhu’s head.
• Zhunti warned Jieyin that the Western Teachings should prepare for the Investiture of Gods, whose workings even Saints could not fully foresee.

Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti tried to secure the Western Teachings’ position by making Bo Yikao Marquis of the West, prompting the Saints to battle over Bo Yikao and Ji Fa’s Fate Stars. Empress Nuwa’s marriage fortune strengthened Bo Yikao’s star, leaving the contest unresolved.

• Daoist Jieyin warned Daoist Zhunti that Su Yang’s disciples and treasures could threaten their plans, and Zhunti regretted losing the Six Roots Pure Bamboo to Su Yang.
• Daoist Jieyin proposed quickly installing Bo Yikao as Marquis of the West, and Daoist Zhunti used the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree to raise Bo Yikao’s fortune.
• As Ji Chang lay dying, Primordial Lord of Heaven and the Western Saints attacked and defended Bo Yikao and Ji Fa’s Fate Stars with their treasures and powers.
• Laozi sent an Exquisite Pagoda to protect Ji Fa’s Fate Star after Empress Nuwa’s Landscape Scroll boosted Bo Yikao’s fortune.
• Empress Nuwa used the Red Embroidered Ball to shower Bo Yikao’s Fate Star with marriage fortune, renewing the struggle between the two sides.

Ji Fa secured the Mandate of Heaven and became King Wu, while the allied sages reacted to the outcome and Su Yang quietly prepared his next move. As Xiqi faced a campaign from Chaoge, Jiang Ziya received instructions to build the Investiture of the Gods Platform and encountered Shen Gongbao.

• A jade-green flute shattered the blessings supporting Bo Yikao, and Ji Fa’s Imperial Star claimed the position of Human Lord; Ji Chang named Ji Fa his successor before dying.
• Nuwa withdrew her treasures, Zhunti’s rage devastated the Pure Land until Jieyin calmed him, and Laozi and Primordial Lord of Heaven resented Tongtian’s absence.
• Ji Fa inherited the throne, proclaimed himself King Wu, and welcomed Huang Feihu’s family to Xiqi, enfeoffing Huang Feihu as State-Guarding King Wucheng.
• Wen Zhong sent Zhang Guifang against Xiqi, but Nezha killed Zhang Guifang with the aid of his Ninth-Rank White Lotus, prompting Zhang Guifang to request reinforcements.
• Jiang Ziya sought Primordial Lord of Heaven’s guidance and was told to obtain the Investiture of the Gods List, build its platform at Mount Qi, and beware of looking back or of a person in the North Sea.
• Jiang Ziya received the list from Immortal Official Nanji and encountered Shen Gongbao as he prepared to leave the mountain.

Jiang Ziya returned from Kunlun with new treasures and Dragon-Bearded Tiger to face the Four Saints, who had routed the Xiqi forces and killed him in battle. Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Venerate revived him, and three of the Four Saints died as Li Xingba tried to flee.

• Jiang Ziya ordered Bojian to oversee construction of the Investiture of the Gods Platform, then returned to Xiqi as Grand Tutor Wen summoned the Four Saints to aid the Shang forces.
• The Four Saints’ mounts sent the Xiqi warhorses into panic, forcing Jiang Ziya to retreat; Primordial Lord of Heaven later gave him Four-Doesn't-Resemble, the God-Beating Whip, and the Apricot Yellow Banner.
• Wang Mo and Yang Sen defeated Nezha, Huang Feihu, and Dragon-Bearded Tiger, then killed Jiang Ziya with the Heaven Opening Pearl.
• Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Venerate intervened, and Jin Zha killed Wang Mo while Manjushri revived Jiang Ziya.
• Jiang Ziya killed Gao Yougan with the God-Beating Whip, and Jin Zha killed Yang Sen with the Dragon Subduing Stake as Li Xingba tried to escape.
• Muzha blocked Li Xingba's path with his paired Wu Hooks.

After Jiang Ziya defeated Lu Xiong’s army with snow and ice magic, King Wu Ji Fa sacrificed Lu Xiong, Fei Zhong, and You Hun to the Investiture of the Gods List. The Four Generals of the Mo Family arrived to attack Xiqi, and Jiang Ziya went out to meet two Daoist priests who had requested an audience.

• Muzha killed Li Xingba with the Mighty Sword, sending Li Xingba’s soul to the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Grand Tutor Wen sent Lu Xiong west with Fei Zhong and You Hun as military advisers, and Jiang Ziya’s forces seized the summit of Mount Qi.
• Jiang Ziya summoned fierce winds and snow, freezing the Cheng Tang army, while his soldiers stayed warm in the winter clothing he had arranged.
• Nangong Shi and Wu Ji captured Lu Xiong, Fei Zhong, and You Hun, and King Wu Ji Fa executed them as a sacrifice to the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Grand Tutor Wen dispatched the Four Generals of the Mo Family to attack Xiqi, and Huang Feihu warned Jiang Ziya about their powerful magic.
• Two Daoist priests requested an audience, and Jiang Ziya went out of his tent to receive them.

Jiang Ziya welcomed Daoist Chen Guang and Tianshu, who offered to confront the Four Generals of the Mo Family. In battle, the two Daoists countered the brothers’ magical weapons, killed Mo Lishou, and faced the remaining three generals’ furious counterattack.

• Jiang Ziya welcomed Daoist Chen Guang and Tianshu into his camp after they offered to help him against the Four Generals of the Mo Family.
• Mo Liqing gathered his brothers and led the Shang army out to challenge the Zhou camp the following morning.
• Daoist Chen Guang and Tianshu led the Zhou forces into battle while Nezha guarded the rear and central army.
• Daoist Chen Guang repelled Mo Liqing’s Azure Cloud Sword, and Tianshu dispelled Mo Lihong’s Hunyuan Umbrella with a Banner Flag.
• Mo Lihai’s lute music shook the Daoists’ primordial spirits, but Daoist Chen Guang stopped him with a burst of Moral Pure Qi.
• Daoist Chen Guang seized Mo Lishou’s Flower Fox Sable with a whirlwind and killed Mo Lishou when he charged to protect it; the other three brothers attacked in rage.

Tianshu and Chen Guang defeated the Four Generals of the Mo Family, whose true spirits entered the Investiture of the Gods, while Grand Tutor Wen marched on Xiqi with a massive army. After Wen overwhelmed Jiang Ziya’s forces, Yang Jian confronted him and helped Nezha retreat, but Wen escaped using Earth Evasion.

• Tianshu and Chen Guang killed the Four Generals of the Mo Family, and Bojian guided their true spirits into the Investiture of the Gods.
• Jiang Ziya welcomed Chen Guang and Tianshu at Xiqi, while Grand Tutor Wen decided to lead an army against the growing Zhou forces.
• Qingxu Daode True Lord sent Huang Tianhua to aid his father, and Daoxing Heavenly Venerate sent Han Dulong and Xue Ehu to assist Jiang Ziya.
• Grand Tutor Wen marched west with three hundred thousand troops, subdued the Four Heavenly Lords at Huanghua Pass, and reached Xiqi.
• Grand Tutor Wen defeated Jiang Ziya, Nezha, Jin Zha, Muzha, and Han Dulong in battle, forcing Chen Guang to send Yang Jian against him.
• Yang Jian withstood Grand Tutor Wen’s Twin Whips and carried Nezha back to the city tower, while Wen escaped with Earth Evasion.

Tao Rong’s Wind Gathering Banner helped Xiqi defeat Grand Tutor Wen, but the Shang forces burned Xiqi’s provisions and forced a retreat toward Mount Qi. Grand Tutor Wen gathered Interception Sect allies, who established the Ten Absolute Formations, and Jiang Ziya’s side prepared to face them.

• Tao Rong used the Wind Gathering Banner to scatter Xiqi’s soldiers, and Jiang Ziya later broke Grand Tutor Wen’s female Yin-Yang Twin Whip with the God-Beating Whip before Wen escaped.
• Yang Jian infiltrated the Shang camp and burned its grain and fodder, forcing Grand Tutor Wen to retreat toward Mount Qi as Xin Huan fought off the Xiqi troops.
• Yun Zhongzi sent Lei Zhenzi to aid Zhou, and Lei Zhenzi battled Xin Huan before visiting King Wu Ji Fa and Assistant Prime Minister Bo Yikao.
• Grand Tutor Wen rode to Golden Ao Island seeking allies and learned that Shen Gongbao had gathered Interception Sect immortals to help him defeat Xiqi.
• The Ten Heavenly Lords established the Ten Absolute Formations, and Jiang Ziya held his troops back after Daoist Chen Guang advised waiting to see which expert would appear.
• Grand Tutor Wen and the Ten Heavenly Lords confronted Jiang Ziya’s side and revealed the names of their first six formations.

Yao Tianjun used the Soul Falling Formation to strip Jiang Ziya of nearly all his souls and spirits, leaving him close to death. Chi failed to recover the last soul from the formation and went to Kunlun to ask the Primordial Lord of Heaven for help.

• Yao Tianjun set up a straw effigy of Jiang Shang and used the Soul Falling Formation to draw away his souls and spirits.
• Yang Jian alerted Chen Guang and Tianshu after Jiang Ziya grew weak and lost his judgment.
• Qing Fu Shen Bai Jian diverted Jiang Ziya's final soul from the Investiture of the Gods Platform, and Immortal Official Nanji captured it in a Treasure Gourd.
• Chi took the gourd to Xiqi and entered the Soul Falling Formation, but Yao Bin drove him away and Chi lost his two protective lotuses.
• Chi left for Kunlun to report to the Primordial Lord of Heaven after reassuring King Wu that Jiang Ziya might still be saved.

Chi sought aid from the Primordial Lord of Heaven and Laozi, then rescued Jiang Ziya’s soul from the Soul Falling Formation with the Tai Chi Diagram, which Yao Tianjun seized. After Jiang Ziya recovered, the Elucidation Sect’s immortals gathered outside Xiqi to plan how to break the Ten Absolute Formations, as another Daoist arrived.

• Chi reported Jiang Ziya’s calamity to the Primordial Lord of Heaven, who sent him to seek Laozi’s help.
• Laozi lent Chi the Tai Chi Diagram and warned that Jiang Ziya’s disaster was bound by Heaven’s will.
• Chi used the diagram to recover Jiang Ziya’s straw effigy and soul, but Yao Tianjun seized the diagram during the escape.
• Chi restored Jiang Ziya’s soul, and Jiang Ziya awoke; Chi admitted that Yao Tianjun had taken Laozi’s treasure.
• True Man Huang Long arrived and asked Jiang Ziya to prepare a meeting place, where the Elucidation Sect immortals gathered to plan against the Ten Absolute Formations.
• A Daoist riding a deer descended from the sky as the immortals discussed their strategy.

Dipamkara Buddha took command of the campaign against the Ten Absolute Formations and joined the assembled immortals in planning to break them. The first challenger, Deng Hua, entered the Heavenly Absolute Formation and was killed by Heavenly Lord Qin.

• Dipamkara Buddha arrived at the Xiqi camp, received Jiang Ziya's military tally, and declared that ten Daoists would have to die to break the formations.
• Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva arrived with the Western Teachings, and Dipamkara Buddha secretly focused on Chen Guang and Tianshu.
• Grand Tutor Wen sent Deng Zhong to deliver a challenge, and Jiang Ziya agreed that the two sides would fight three days later.
• The two armies assembled before the Ten Absolute Formations, and Deng Hua volunteered to challenge the Heavenly Absolute Formation.
• Heavenly Lord Qin lured Deng Hua inside, used the Three-Headed Banner to knock him unconscious, and beheaded him.

Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Venerate broke Qin Wan’s Heavenly Absolute Formation and killed him, while Han Dulong died trying to break Zhao Tianjun’s Earth Fierce Formation. Mahasthamaprapta then sent Chan Yin Guan Hui Tong Ming Wang into the weakened formation, where he urged Zhao Tianjun to abandon it and join the Western Land.

• Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Venerate entered the Heavenly Absolute Formation, resisted Qin Wan’s attacks, bound him with the Dragon Subduing Stake, and killed him.
• Grand Tutor Wen charged at Manjushri, but True Person Yuding blocked him as Zhao Jiang emerged and challenged the camps to break the Earth Fierce Formation.
• Dipamkara Buddha Daoist sent Han Dulong into the Earth Fierce Formation, where Zhao Tianjun’s thunder and fire burned him to ashes.
• Mahasthamaprapta sent Chan Yin Guan Hui Tong Ming Wang into the weakened Earth Fierce Formation after Dipamkara Buddha Daoist invited the Western Teaching to demonstrate its abilities.
• Chan Yin Guan Hui Tong Ming Wang urged Zhao Tianjun to withdraw the formation and join the Western Land, but Zhao Tianjun had already mocked the Western Teaching.