Recaps

The Sages argued over whether the Western Teachings should bear the burden of the Investiture of the Gods, but Hongjun ruled that the tribulation belonged only to the orthodox Mystic Gate. Jieyin, Zhunti, and Nuwa departed, leaving the Three Pure Ones to decide who would sign the list.

• Zhunti rejected Venerable Lord Yuanshi's attempt to make the Western Teachings take part in the tribulation and argued that the Chan Sect owed the karmic debt.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi and Sect Master Tongtian claimed the Western disciples were better suited to serve in the Heavenly Court, while Saint Taiqing declared that the matter should fall to the West.
• Jieyin and Zhunti appealed to Hongjun, who ruled that the Western Teachings were outside the orthodox Mystic Gate's tribulation and had nothing to do with the Investiture of the Gods.
• Hongjun left the Sages to discuss how to sign the Investiture of the Gods, and Jieyin and Zhunti departed Zixiao Palace in relief.
• Nuwa said she had no disciples and no part in the matter, then left Zixiao Palace, leaving only the Three Pure Ones behind.

The Three Pure Ones tried to fill the Investiture of the Gods with their Good Corpse and lower-ranking disciples, but Hongjun erased the names chosen by Yuanshi and Tongtian and demanded candidates with deep roots, great fortune, and high cultivation. He gave them ten thousand years to reconsider before signing the Investiture again.

• Taiqing placed his Good Corpse, Taishang Laojun, on the Investiture of the Gods, while Yuanshi added more than a dozen Chan Sect followers and Tongtian added several dozen peripheral Interception Sect disciples.
• Yuanshi argued that Tongtian should provide more disciples, and Tongtian angrily defended his followers and their pursuit of freedom.
• Hongjun inspected the Investiture and erased every name except Taishang Laojun, declaring Yuanshi and Tongtian's choices unfit for the list.
• Taiqing asked to return and consider the matter, and Hongjun ordered the Three Pure Ones to come back and sign the Investiture of the Gods in ten thousand years.

After the Three Pure Ones argued over whose disciples should fill the Investiture of the Gods, Saint Taiqing postponed the decision for ten thousand years. Tongtian returned to Jinao Island, while Yuanshi rejected the idea of sending his disciples onto the list and flew back to Kunlun Mountain.

• Saint Taiqing warned Yuanshi and Tongtian that the Investiture of the Gods had to be filled or their disciples would face the Tribulation.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi urged Tongtian to put poorly behaved Interception Sect disciples on the list, and Tongtian demanded that Yuanshi list his Twelve Golden Immortals first.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi insulted Tongtian's disciples, and Tongtian insisted that Chan Sect disciples should face the killing Tribulation they had incurred.
• Saint Taiqing halted their quarrel and told them to return in ten thousand years to sign the Investiture of the Gods.
• Tongtian left for Jinao Island, and Saint Taiqing returned to Eight Sceneries Palace after advising Yuanshi to reconsider.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi refused to let his disciples serve Haotian and flew to Kunlun Mountain.

On Mount Sumeru, Zhunti explained to Jieyin how the Investiture of the Gods could drive a wedge between the Three Pure Ones and give the Western Teachings a chance to prosper. The two decided to wait for the conflict to unfold, while acknowledging that Zhou Ming and the Witch Clan could disrupt their plans.

• Zhunti mocked Taiqing, Yuanshi, and Tongtian for their divisions and said their conflict would create an opportunity for the Western Teachings.
• Zhunti predicted that Yuanshi would try to place the Interception Sect's disciples on the Investiture of the Gods, while Tongtian would refuse and the two sects would fall out.
• Zhunti reasoned that Yuanshi would protect his own disciples during the Tribulation and target the Interception Sect, eventually seeking help from Jieyin and Zhunti against Tongtian's Immortal Slaying Sword Formation.
• Jieyin and Zhunti agreed that they could use the conflict to convert Eastern disciples to the Western Teachings, though they worried Zhou Ming and the Witch Clan might interfere.
• Zhunti and Jieyin chose to wait on Mount Sumeru for the Three Pure Ones to fall out before beginning their plans.

After the Six Sages met at Zixiao Palace and learned that the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation was coming, Tongtian worried that his Interception Sect’s disciples would be forced onto the list. He sought Zhou Ming’s advice at Buzhou Mountain, and Zhou Ming paused before answering.

• Tongtian brooded in Biyou Palace over the coming Tribulation and concluded that he could not protect the Interception Sect’s disciples by himself.
• Tongtian decided to seek Zhou Ming’s insight and flew from Jinao Island to Buzhou Mountain.
• Zhou Ming and Houtu sensed Tongtian’s arrival, and Zhou Ming welcomed him into Pangu Hall.
• Tongtian told Zhou Ming and Houtu that Hongjun had summoned the Six Sages, announced the Tribulation, and ordered them to sign the Investiture of the Gods.
• Tongtian asked Zhou Ming for a strategy to help the Interception Sect’s disciples survive the calamity; Zhou Ming considered his request in silence.

Zhou Ming told Tongtian that the Tribulation could not be avoided and that the Interception Sect could not escape it without losses. He urged Tongtian to sign the Investiture of the Gods and place some disciples on the list, but Tongtian remained confident that his sect could survive with only limited losses.

• Zhou Ming warned Tongtian that the Tribulation would happen and could involve the Sages, making it impossible for the Interception Sect to emerge unscathed.
• Tongtian asked Zhou Ming how to protect his sect, and Zhou Ming said absolute strength could do it, but Tongtian did not possess that strength.
• Zhou Ming identified signing the Investiture of the Gods as the best way through the Tribulation, and Tongtian asked if there was another path that spared his disciples from the list.
• Zhou Ming argued that placing some disciples' physical bodies on the list could preserve their lives and immortal paths, while granting them a share of the Heavenly Court's Destiny.
• Tongtian resisted, insisting that his powerful sect could protect most of its disciples and questioning whether they would accept service in the Heavenly Court.
• Zhou Ming recognized that Tongtian still believed the Interception Sect's strength and Myriad Immortals Come to Court would carry it through with only limited losses.

Zhou Ming warned Sect Master Tongtian that the Interception Sect’s strength could make it a target for Yuanshi and the Two Sages of the West during the Tribulation. Tongtian rejected the idea that Yuanshi would betray their brotherhood, but Zhou Ming claimed he had evidence of further reasons for an alliance.

• Zhou Ming told Tongtian that the Interception Sect’s overwhelming strength and numbers made its chances of surviving the Tribulation nearly zero.
• Tongtian said his Interception Sect could defeat Yuanshi’s Chan Sect, and Zhou Ming asked whether Yuanshi knew his own disciples could not win.
• Tongtian vowed to stop Yuanshi if he attacked Interception Sect disciples, but Zhou Ming asked whether he could withstand four Sages.
• Zhou Ming suggested Yuanshi might join Jieyin and Zhunti to crush the Interception Sect, save the Chan Sect’s disciples, and recruit Interception Sect disciples for the Western Teachings.
• Tongtian insisted that Yuanshi would never ally with outsiders against him, and Zhou Ming said he had evidence of other reasons for such an alliance.

Zhou Ming explained to Sect Master Tongtian that the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation concealed a greater struggle for Human Dao Authority, making the Interception Sect a target of the other Sages. Tongtian accepted Zhou Ming’s advice to let his disciples choose whether to ascend the list or risk the fight, then left Pangu Hall.

• Zhou Ming told Tongtian that the other Sages would use the Tribulation to destroy the Interception Sect and prevent Tongtian from claiming Human Dao Authority.
• Tongtian realized the Human Dao struggle lay behind the Investiture of the Gods and acknowledged that his sect faced disaster.
• Houtu understood Zhou Ming’s strategy in handing the Kongtong Seal to the Human Race, while Zhou Ming claimed he had acted for the good of all living beings.
• Zhou Ming advised Tongtian to send some disciples onto the Investiture of the Gods to preserve their lives and the sect’s inheritance.
• Zhou Ming suggested Tongtian explain the danger and let his disciples decide for themselves; Tongtian thanked him and left Pangu Hall.

Zhou Ming promised Tongtian that he could block one Sage during the coming tribulation, giving the Interception Sect a chance to survive. He revealed to Houtu that he intended to use that promise to obtain Tongtian’s Sky-Opening Mark, and explained why Tongtian and his disciples would still fight rather than surrender.

• Zhou Ming reminded Tongtian of the favor he owed him and promised to block one Sage if Tongtian reached a desperate situation.
• Tongtian thanked Zhou Ming and departed, encouraged by the possibility that the Interception Sect might survive.
• Houtu guessed that Zhou Ming wanted Tongtian’s Sky-Opening Mark, and Zhou Ming confirmed that he expected Tongtian to trade it for a chance to save his sect.
• Zhou Ming explained that Tongtian’s proud disciples would rather fight than submit, and that his promise of aid would make them even less likely to compromise.
• Houtu praised Zhou Ming’s foresight, then asked what he meant by the Saint-Slaying Pill.

Zhou Ming explained that the Saint-Slaying Pill let the Heavenly Dao control the Three Pure Ones and discussed whether he could also help Taiqing and Yuanshi. On Jinao Island, Tongtian summoned the Interception Sect disciples and warned them that the Tribulation was about to begin.

• Zhou Ming told Houtu that the Saint-Slaying Pill could kill a Sage and that the Heavenly Dao had prepared it to control the Three Pure Ones.
• Houtu asked Zhou Ming to help Taiqing and Yuanshi as well as Tongtian, and Zhou Ming said they could try if the risk was bearable.
• Tongtian arrived at Jinao Island and ordered Duobao to summon every Interception Sect disciple.
• The Interception Sect disciples gathered at Biyou Palace, where Tongtian told them their sect's survival was at stake and announced that the Tribulation was about to begin.

Tongtian told the Interception Sect disciples that the Tribulation could pit them against four Sages, then offered them the choice of joining the Investiture of the Gods or fighting alongside him. Bixiao and Zhao Gongming led the disciples in refusing the list, and Tongtian promised to protect them and said he had helpers.

• Tongtian explained that listed disciples would serve the Heavenly Court but avoid death in the Tribulation, while those who refused might face four Sages.
• Tongtian offered the disciples the choice of entering the Investiture of the Gods or fighting with the Interception Sect.
• Bixiao refused the list and urged the disciples to fight alongside Tongtian rather than surrender.
• Zhao Gongming and the other disciples joined Bixiao, pledging to live or die with the Interception Sect.
• Tongtian praised their resolve, promised to block the Sages, and revealed that he had helpers.
• Tongtian ordered the disciples to disperse and improve their strength before the Tribulation arrived.

The Sages reacted to Tongtian’s public show of resolve, while Venerable Lord Yuanshi summoned the Twelve Golden Immortals to discuss the approaching Tribulation. He told them he had already devised a way for them to survive it.

• Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti welcomed Tongtian’s defiance, believing the growing rift among the Three Pure Ones would benefit the Western Teachings.
• Sage Nuwa chose not to interfere, and Saint Taiqing lamented that the Tribulation could not be avoided.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi decided to act against Tongtian’s refusal and summoned the Twelve Golden Immortals to Jade Void Palace.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi warned the Twelve Golden Immortals that the Tribulation was approaching and that their past Karma from assisting Human Emperor Xuanyuan would come due.
• The Twelve Golden Immortals pleaded for guidance, and Venerable Lord Yuanshi said he had already found a way for them to survive the Tribulation.

Venerable Lord Yuanshi told the Twelve Golden Immortals to train disciples who could take their places in the Tribulation and be placed on the Investiture of the Gods. At Huoyun Cave, Wu warned the human sages that the Tribulation would use the Human Race as its battlefield, leaving them furious at the threat to their people.

• Venerable Lord Yuanshi explained that disciples placed on the Investiture of the Gods would avoid death but become bound to the Heavenly Court.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi proposed that the Twelve Golden Immortals train disciples to undergo the Tribulation in their stead, then warned them not to neglect their cultivation.
• Fuxi told the human sages that Empress Nuwa had warned them to avoid the Mystic Gate’s killing tribulation.
• Sui Ren Shi and Shennong agreed that the Human Race could stay safe by remaining uninvolved, but Wu said the people outside Huoyun Cave could not escape the Tribulation.
• Wu explained that the Chan Sect and Interception Sect would use the Human Race’s change of dynasties as a battlefield to complete the Tribulation and fill the Investiture of the Gods.
• Shennong and the other sages grew furious at the prospect of their people becoming casualties in the Sages’ conflict.

Wu persuaded the Human Race's leaders that he would enter the Tribulation by reincarnating as a Human Emperor, using the Human Race's Destiny to resist the Sages' scheme. He also arranged for Yang Jiao, Yang Jian, and Yang Chan to enter the Tribulation and help him, leaving Huoyun Cave prepared for the coming conflict.

• Wu explained that surviving the Tribulation could raise the Human Race's Destiny and possibly produce a Human Sage, though Fuxi and the others warned that the Sages' scheme made direct involvement dangerous.
• Wu proposed reincarnating as a Human Emperor rather than entering the Tribulation in his true body, so the Human Race's Destiny would protect him and limit the Sages' methods.
• Fuxi deduced that Wu's plan was feasible, and the Human Race's ancient sages agreed to let him take charge of the killing calamity.
• Wu said Yang Jiao, Yang Jian, and Yang Chan should enter the Tribulation to assist his reincarnated self and settle their Karma with the Chan Sect.
• The leaders of the Human Race approved Wu's plan as the coming Tribulation approached.

After several thousand years of seclusion, Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun emerged with their foundations restored and had reached the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm. Zhou Ming told them that the Mystic Gate's killing tribulation was coming, and they believed it would not involve them.

• Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun emerged from seclusion and bowed to Zhou Ming and Houtu.
• Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun thanked Zhou Ming for urging them to keep comprehending the laws, and Zhou Ming congratulated them on reaching the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm.
• Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun pledged their loyalty and gratitude to Zhou Ming, who accepted their bow and reaffirmed their friendship.
• Zhou Ming told Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun that the Tribulation was coming and explained that Hongjun had ordered the Three Sects' disciples to fill the Heavenly Court's divine positions.
• Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun concluded that the Mystic Gate's killing tribulation would not involve them and planned to wait it out in seclusion.

Hong Yun learned that the Human Race would be drawn into the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation and returned to Huoyun Cave, where Wu explained the Saints’ plans and his own countermeasures. Wu then argued that even Saints were constrained by greater schemes, leaving the ancient sages to reconsider their own powerlessness.

• Zhou Ming told Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi that the Human Race outside Huoyun Cave would be drawn into the Tribulation, and Hong Yun hurried back to Huoyun Cave.
• Wu, Fuxi, Shennong, Sui Ren Shi, and the other ancient sages welcomed Hong Yun, and Wu explained how the Saints planned to use dynastic change to complete the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation and how he intended to respond.
• Hong Yun worried that Wu would personally enter the Tribulation through Reincarnation as the Human Emperor, but Wu assured him that he had his own plans.
• Hong Yun lamented that beings beneath the Saints were mere insects, and Wu replied that even Saints were constrained by rival schemes, the Dao Ancestor’s edict, and the momentum of the Heavenly Dao.
• Wu told the ancient sages that only strength sufficient to disregard schemes and rules could secure control over one’s fate, and his words eased their sense of helplessness.

Wu told Hong Yun that the coming Investiture of the Gods Calamity could let the Human Race gain Destiny and help Hong Yun reach Hunyuan. Hong Yun then warned the Human Race to abandon the Method of Slaying Three Corpses and cultivate the Way of Laws instead, and they prepared to await the calamity.

• Wu asked Hong Yun when he expected to break through to Hunyuan, and Hong Yun said the final step was immensely difficult.
• Shennong and Fuxi agreed that the Human Race's Martial Dao still needed to be developed before it could support a Hunyuan Dao Fruit.
• Wu said surviving the Investiture of the Gods Calamity could increase Human Dao Destiny and give Hong Yun a chance to break through.
• Hong Yun thanked Wu for seeking that opportunity for the Human Race and reminded everyone that the calamity was approaching.
• Hong Yun ordered Human Race Immortal Dao cultivators to stop practicing the Method of Slaying Three Corpses and follow the Way of Laws, citing secrets he could not reveal.
• Fuxi agreed to change Huoyun Cave's teachings, and Hong Yun said they would quietly await the Tribulation.

The Three Pure Ones met in Zixiao Palace to decide whether their disciples would sign the Investiture of the Gods, but Yuanshi and Tongtian refused. Hongjun allowed them to leave it unsigned and decreed that the defeated in the tribulation would perish and have their true spirits placed on the list.

• Taiqing, Yuanshi, and Tongtian arrived at Zixiao Palace as the ten-thousand-year deadline expired, where the Investiture of the Gods appeared before them.
• Tongtian declared that none of his Interception Sect disciples would sign, and Yuanshi likewise refused to offer any Chan Sect disciples.
• Taiqing accepted that neither sect would sign and proposed that their disciples face the tribulation and rely on their own abilities.
• Taiqing reported the Three Pure Ones' decision to Hongjun, who appeared and permitted them not to sign.
• Hongjun decreed that victors would survive free, while the defeated would perish and have their true spirits placed on the Investiture of the Gods to serve the Heavenly Court.

Hongjun told the Three Pure Ones that the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation would be guided by a Person of Destiny born ten thousand years later with the Flying Bear Aspect. He gave them the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip to retrieve once they found that person, then left them to depart Zixiao Palace with their own plans.

• Yuanshi asked Hongjun when the Tribulation would begin and how it would unfold, and Hongjun explained that it had a Person of Destiny.
• Hongjun revealed the God-Beating Whip and said the Person of Destiny would receive it and the Investiture of the Gods to confer the gods on Heaven's behalf.
• Hongjun said the Person of Destiny would be born ten thousand years later with the Flying Bear Aspect, but told the Three Pure Ones that they would find him through fate.
• Hongjun dismissed the Three Pure Ones and instructed them to return for the two treasures after finding the Person of Destiny.
• Tongtian and Yuanshi left Zixiao Palace, while Taiqing remained outside in silence.

After the Dao Ancestor declared that the Tribulation would begin in ten thousand years and be decided by each sect’s strength, Tongtian and Yuanshi ordered their disciples to find the Person of Destiny bearing the Auspicious Sign of the Flying Bear. Taiqing agreed to shelter Ziyang’s apprentice Bian Zhuang in the Eight Sceneries Palace, leaving him a refuge from the coming Tribulation.

• Tongtian told Duobao that the sects had refused to sign the Investiture of the Gods, but the Tribulation would begin in ten thousand years and its Person of Destiny would wield the Investiture and God-Beating Whip.
• Tongtian ordered Duobao to alert the Interception Sect and have its disciples search the Primordial Wilderness for the Person of Destiny.
• Yuanshi told the Twelve Golden Immortals to find the Person of Destiny and bring him to Kunlun Mountain for the Chan Sect.
• Taiqing ordered Ziyang to remain in the Eight Sceneries Palace during the Tribulation.
• Ziyang asked Taiqing to shelter his apprentice Bian Zhuang, and Taiqing agreed.

Yuanshi went to Wa Huang Palace to obtain Lingzhuzi as a disciple for Tai Yi and a substitute to bear the Tribulation. Nuwa reluctantly gave Lingzhuzi to Yuanshi in repayment of an old debt, while severing her ties to him and the Chan Sect.

• Yuanshi decided to find disciples to bear the Tribulation for the Twelve Golden Immortals and chose Lingzhuzi as the ideal candidate for Tai Yi.
• Nuwa welcomed Yuanshi at Wa Huang Palace and grew wary when he asked to take Lingzhuzi in exchange for a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
• Yuanshi admitted that he wanted Lingzhuzi to become Tai Yi's disciple and bear the Tribulation, but Nuwa refused to involve herself in the calamity.
• Yuanshi invoked the debt Nuwa owed him for lending her Three Lights Divine Water when she created humanity, and offered to exchange that Karma for Lingzhuzi.
• Nuwa agreed to give Yuanshi Lingzhuzi but declared that the spirit pearl would have no further connection to her or Wa Huang Palace and that the Chan Sect would bear all responsibility.
• Yuanshi took Lingzhuzi and departed, and Nuwa sealed the gates of Wa Huang Palace.

Venerable Lord Yuanshi secured Lingzhuzi as a substitute for Tai Yi and devised a plan to find human disciples to replace the other Golden Immortals in the Tribulation. He left the Jade Void Palace to refine Lingzhuzi and wait until the Tribulation approached in ten thousand years.

• Venerable Lord Yuanshi placed Lingzhuzi on the Jade Void Palace's Lotus Platform to cleanse its connection to Wa Huang Palace and bind it to the Chan Sect.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi decided that finding innate treasures to replace his remaining disciples was unrealistic and rejected candidates from the Demon Clan.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi regretted that Huoyun Cave's sages had kept Yao Ji's son from joining the Chan Sect as True Lord Yu Ding's disciple.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi resolved to wait until the eve of the Tribulation, then have his disciples seek human prodigies born in response to fate and personally teach them.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi settled into meditation while Lingzhuzi breathed in and out within the Jade Purity Immortal aura.

Zhou Ming told Houtu he would guide Tongtian to the Heaven-appointed Person of Destiny and use the choice between two people with the appearance of a Flying Bear to test whether destiny followed the person or the sect. He suspected the Investiture of the Gods was designed to target the Three Pure Ones, and the chapter ended as Zhou Ming sensed something had happened.

• Houtu suggested that the Witch Clan search for the Person of Destiny, but Zhou Ming said he already knew where the person would be born and planned to direct Tongtian to him.
• Zhou Ming explained that two people would have the appearance of a Flying Bear and that he would have Tongtian accept the true Person of Destiny into the Interception Sect.
• Zhou Ming proposed testing whether the authority to preside over the Investiture of the Gods followed the Heaven-appointed person or the sect, while the Chan Sect received the other candidate.
• Houtu realized Zhou Ming suspected Hongjun had rigged the contest so the Chan Sect would control the Investiture of the Gods regardless of Tongtian's actions.
• Zhou Ming explained that Hongjun intended to use the Chan and Interception Sects to make the Three Pure Ones fight, accumulate karma, and become vulnerable to the Saint-Slaying Pill.
• Zhou Ming sensed that something had happened, and Houtu asked him what was wrong.

Zhou Ming visited the newborn world after Chang Xi summoned him, saw that it had developed well, and named it the Pangu Realm. He then went to the Moon Star to meet Wang Shu, whose remnant soul had gathered enough merit and Destiny/Fortune to prepare for recovery.

• Houtu urged Zhou Ming to answer Chang Xi's summons, and Zhou Ming guessed that Wang Shu was ready to reconstruct her Dao Body.
• Zhou Ming entered the newborn world and praised Chang Xi and the others for helping it flourish.
• Zhou Ming named the world the Pangu Realm and considered making it a refuge for the Witch Clan and a safeguard against the Heavenly Dao.
• Chang Xi told Zhou Ming that Wang Shu had sent her to summon him, then returned to oversee the Great Formation of the Stars.
• Zhou Ming went to the Moon Star, where Wang Shu's remnant soul gathered beneath the Moon Laurel Tree and greeted him.

Zhou Ming took Wang Shu to Buzhou Mountain and forcibly drew on the Primordial Origin to reforge her Dao Body, provoking the Primordial Wilderness and Heavenly Dao. Wang Shu used her Merit and Destiny to withstand the resulting lightning tribulation as her body reconstruction continued.

• Wang Shu abandoned her plan to reforge a top-tier Innate Dao Body and agreed to let Zhou Ming protect her through the process.
• Zhou Ming brought Wang Shu's remnant soul from the Pangu Realm to Buzhou Mountain in the Primordial Wilderness.
• Zhou Ming drew Primordial Origin from the land and poured it into Wang Shu's soul, rapidly rebuilding her flesh, meridians, and bones.
• The Primordial Wilderness retaliated with a devastating lightning tribulation, and Zhou Ming told Wang Shu to use her Merit and Destiny to counter it.
• Wang Shu raised a canopy of Merit and Destiny against the divine lightning, but each strike consumed her reserves and the barrage continued.