Recaps

As the Investiture of the Gods approached, Cangyuan prepared Great Shang for war, recruited disciples, and chose to defend the dynasty. After Di Xin took the throne, Great Shang crushed Yuan Futong’s rebellion, but Zhunti confronted Kong Xuan and Styx in the North Sea.

• Ksitigarbha vowed to remain in Avici Hell until every sinful soul was saved, gained merit and reached the Great Perfection of the Quasi-Saint realm, then refused Zhunti and Jieyin’s request to return to The West.
• Heavenly Dao Hongjun summoned the Six Saints to Zixiao Palace and revealed the Investiture of the Gods, assigning its burden to the Four Sects and declaring that the sect accepting the Sign of the Flying Bear would oversee it.
• Tongtian warned the Ten Thousand Immortals to avoid the Calamity, while Cangyuan, Tongtian, and Haotian suspected that it would involve the Human Race and Great Shang.
• Cangyuan arranged for the Spirit Pearl to reincarnate and become Zhao Gongming’s disciple, and Zhao accepted Li Jing and Yin Shiniang’s sons Jinzha and Muzha despite challenges from Manjushri Guangfa Tianzun and Puxian Zhenren.
• Primordial Lord of Heaven accepted Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao as Registered Disciples, while Cangyuan planned to recruit Shen Gongbao after the Chan Sect mistreated him, and Cangyuan also accepted Yuan Hong as his fifteenth disciple.
• Di Xin built a trained army from formerly enslaved people, and the Saints chose sides after the decree “Destiny Returns to Zhou”: Tongtian backed Great Shang, while Taiqing Laozi, Primordial Lord of Heaven, and Western Teach supported Zhou.
• Zi Shou married Jiang Zitong, adopted Yin Jiao and Yin Hong, and succeeded Di Yi as Di Xin, and he then sent Wen Zhong north with a million troops and Kong Xuan as vanguard to suppress Yuan Futong’s rebellion.
• Kong Xuan’s forces and Heaven Monitoring Guard agents captured Yuan Futong and the seventy-two lords, but Zhunti intervened and tried to recruit Kong Xuan, and Styx stopped Zhunti’s attack, negotiated his withdrawal, and left as Kong Xuan challenged the Saint.

Di Xin consolidated Great Shang’s hold over the North Sea and weakened the feudal lords while Zhunti’s plot against him was exposed and punished. As the Saints backed Ji Chang and sent demons to undermine Shang, Su Daji arrived in Chaoge possessed by the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, with Master Cangwu watching from the shadows.

• Cangyuan’s incarnations forced Zhunti to abandon the North Sea, and Great Shang brought the rebellious region under its control while offering aid to its people.
• Zhunti’s attempt to use the Seed of Evil Desire and a blasphemous poem against Di Xin was exposed, prompting Tongtian to confront the Western Teach and Nuwa to claim part of its destiny.
• Taiqing Laozi, Primordial Lord of Heaven, Zhunti, and Jieyin agreed to support Ji Chang and sent the Three Demons to destroy Great Shang’s fortune.
• Di Xin summoned the feudal lords to Chaoge, arrested Ji Chang over alleged support for Yuan Futong, and announced the Tui En Ling to divide the lords’ territories among their sons.
• Wen Zhong brought Lei Zhenzi to Chaoge as Di Xin’s disciple, while Su Hu agreed to send Su Daji to marry Di Xin.
• The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox and her companions possessed Su Daji, but Master Cangwu watched them and left them wary of his strength.
• Su Hu’s bridal procession reached Chaoge, where the three demons worried about passing the city’s Demon Detection Restriction.

Di Xin’s court gained Wu Geng as Crown Prince while Jiang Ziya abandoned the Chan Sect’s mission and Shen Gongbao joined Feng Yuan. Nezha became Zhao Gongming’s disciple, then faced a devastating demon invasion that exposed his connection to the Chaos Pearl and left Cangyuan with a choice.

• Di Xin forced the Three Demons out of Su Daji and spared them at Jiang Zitong’s request, binding them to protect her.
• Guangchengzi and Chijingzi’s visions led Yin Jiao and Yin Hong to leave for Kunlun, so Di Xin named Wu Geng Crown Prince and appointed Wen Zhong as his teacher.
• Primordial Lord of Heaven sent Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao to aid a Heroic Lord, but Jiang Ziya married Ma Zhaodi and questioned whether Great Shang was truly corrupt.
• Feng Yuan recruited Shen Gongbao into the Heaven Monitoring Department, while Jiang Ziya renounced the rebellion and gave up the Investiture of the Gods.
• Li Jing and Yin Shiniang welcomed Nezha, who became Zhao Gongming’s disciple and helped Shiji defeat Taiyi Zhenren after Taiyi attacked her to escape his killing tribulation.
• A dark curtain trapped Chentang Pass and nearby cities, and Nezha was believed dead after sacrificing himself to save civilians when a Devil Saint identified him as the Chaos Pearl Spirit’s reincarnation.
• Nezha fought the invading demons alongside Ao Bing, whose ability raised him to Great Luo Golden Immortal, and their Chaos Return to Void assimilated most of the demon army.
• Cangyuan watched in disguise as Nezha’s power revealed the Chaos Pearl’s connection to Ao Bing, then received a system choice after learning the Heavenly Dao wanted Nezha’s Chaos Pearl origin destroyed.

Di Xin rebuilt Nezha and Ao Bing, strengthened the Human Race, and prepared against the Heavenly Dao while Xi Qi began its rebellion. Shen Gongbao joined Ji Chang and drew Chan and Western Teach disciples into the conflict, as the Calamity spread across the realm.

• Evil Dragon forced Nezha to sacrifice himself, but Sect Master Tongtian killed the dragon and Di Xin later restored Nezha and Ao Bing from their entwined true spirits.
• Di Xin banned human sacrifice, made Xi Qi pay heavily for Ji Chang’s release, and exposed Bo Yikao’s White Ape as an assassination attempt before Xi Qi’s fortune rose in a phoenix.
• Cangyuan gave Human Dao Primordial Violet Qi to Fuxi and Shennong, then gathered Xiao Bai, Emperor Yu, Cangjie, and Queen Mother of the West to cultivate in the Myriad Heavens Universe.
• Ji Chang formed an alliance of two hundred lords and sent three armies against Great Shang, but Great Shang routed them and seized Binzhou and Chuzhou.
• Ji Chang appointed Shen Gongbao prime minister after Shen persuaded him that the royal carriage journey had secured Xi Qi’s fortune, then followed his counsel through defeats and military setbacks.
• Shen Gongbao’s calls afflicted Chan Sect disciples with Karmic Tribulation Energy and raised his cultivation, prompting Guangchengzi and others to agree to aid Xi Qi.
• Primordial Lord of Heaven armed Shen Gongbao with the Investiture-Smiting Divine Whip, while Zhunti won permission to send Western Teach disciples into the Calamity.
• Shen Gongbao’s calls raised his cultivation again, and Zhunti gave him a Gengjin Bodhi Seed before deciding to recruit him for The West.