Recaps

Nuwa demanded half of the merit Jieyin and Zhunti would gain when the West prospered as compensation for their scheme against her. When the two refused, she resumed her assault, while Taiqing and Yuanshi suspected she wanted the merit to prepare for breaking away from the Heavenly Dao.

• Taiqing stopped Yuanshi from joining the fight and urged him to settle the karma through compensation.
• Yuanshi offered to compensate Nuwa, but she said she would deal with Jieyin and Zhunti first.
• Jieyin and Zhunti offered spiritual treasures and roots, but Nuwa demanded half of their future merit instead.
• Taiqing and Yuanshi inferred that Nuwa wanted the merit to prepare for severing her ties with the Heavenly Dao.
• Jieyin and Zhunti refused Nuwa's demand, so she unleashed the full force of the Creation Cauldron and Map of Mountains and Rivers against them.

Nuwa forced Jieyin and Zhunti to negotiate after battering them with the Creation Cauldron, eventually securing ten percent of the merit from Western Prosperity. After the injured pair fled to Spirit Mountain, Nuwa turned to Venerable Lord Yuanshi to settle their own accounts.

• Nuwa continued attacking Jieyin and Zhunti, threatening to make them fall unless they gave her merit.
• Zhunti offered half a tenth of the merit, provoking Nuwa to resume her assault and demand thirty percent.
• Jieyin and Zhunti explained they could give only ten percent, citing their promised share for Zhou Ming and other obligations.
• Nuwa accepted ten percent after Jieyin and Zhunti swore an oath to give it to her.
• Jieyin and Zhunti fled west with the injured Zhunti, and Nuwa confronted Venerable Lord Yuanshi about settling their accounts.

Nuwa secured half the merit that Jieyin and Zhunti had promised her, while Yuanshi agreed to seek a share of Western Prosperity. On their way back west, Zhunti proposed sending Buddhist disciples to the Underworld to deliver suffering souls in exchange for merit, and Jieyin agreed to approach Pingxin once Zhunti recovered.

• Nuwa agreed with Yuanshi that he would give her half the merit Jieyin and Zhunti had promised, then departed for Wa Huang Palace.
• Taiqing urged Yuanshi to seek merit through Western Prosperity, and the two returned to their dojos.
• Zhunti warned Jieyin that their promised shares to Zhou Ming and Nuwa threatened their ability to repay their debt to the Heavenly Dao.
• Zhunti proposed that Buddhist disciples serve in the Underworld and earn merit by delivering sinful, suffering beings.
• Jieyin approved the plan, and the two decided to choose suitable disciples and visit Pingxin after Zhunti recovered.

After Dao Ancestor Hongjun ordered the surviving Jie Sect disciples to enter the Heavenly Court, Haotian welcomed them and assigned them high-ranking posts. The chapter ended with the new officials leaving the Lingxiao Treasure Hall to complete their induction.

• Saint Mother Jin Ling led the healed Jie Sect survivors from Jinao Island to the Heavenly Court, accepting that they had to follow its rules.
• Haotian told the newcomers to obey Heavenly Court orders, and Saint Mother Jin Ling agreed as long as those orders were reasonable and fair.
• Haotian appointed Saint Mother Jin Ling Great Emperor of the Eastern Pole and placed Saint Mother Wudang, Saint Mother Guiling, San Xiao, Zhao Gongming, and the others under her command.
• Haotian appointed Wen Zhong head of the Thunder Department and revealed that Wu had secured the position for him, prompting Wen Zhong to thank The King.
• Haotian assigned Jiang Ziya to assist Taibai Jinxing with government affairs, then sent Taibai Jinxing to arrange the newcomers' induction.

After securing the Jie Sect’s support, Haotian celebrated with Yaochi and planned how to manage the Chan Sect disciples entering the Heavenly Court. He intended to place the Chan Sect under Jie Sect authority, leaving him in control as the two groups competed for status.

• Haotian told Yaochi that Saint Mother Jin Ling had accepted the Great Emperor of the Eastern Pole position and that the Jie Sect disciples would obey him.
• Haotian and Yaochi discussed the expected arrival of the Chan Sect disciples and recalled how Yuanshi had once treated Haotian with contempt.
• Haotian planned to give Yun Zhongzi an idle post but make the other Chan Sect third-generation disciples Heavenly Soldiers and Generals at the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• Haotian planned to place the reincarnated Chan Sect Golden Immortals under Saint Mother Jin Ling, while Yaochi recognized that the arrangement would keep the Jie and Chan Sects divided.

After ten years of conquest unified the Human Race’s territory, Wu passed the throne to Yin Jiao and left Chaoge for Huoyun Cave with Queen Jiang, Consort Huang, Su Daji, and the three demons. He left Yin Jiao and Yin Hong to unite the people’s hearts, promising they could join him once their service was complete.

• Wu gave Yin Jiao the Human Emperor Sword and charged him with winning the loyalty of the people across the newly unified realm.
• Wu instructed Yin Hong to support his elder brother, and Yin Hong pledged his loyalty.
• Queen Jiang and Consort Huang chose to follow Wu to Huoyun Cave, and they persuaded him to bring Su Daji and the three demons with them.
• Outside Chaoge, Wu warned Yin Jiao and Yin Hong to govern well and promised they could visit him in Huoyun Cave when their merits were complete.
• Wu departed for Huoyun Cave with his companions as Yin Jiao, Yin Hong, and the officials knelt to see them off.

Wu returned to Huoyun Cave after completing his mortal tribulation and told Hongyun that the gathered Human Race fortune would soon let him attain Hunyuan. Wu also revealed that his new Martial Dao insights could lead to a Hunyuan path for the Human Race, then entered seclusion to develop it.

• Wu arrived at Huoyun Cave with Queen Jiang, Consort Huang, and the others, where the Human Race sages welcomed him and honored his achievements.
• Wu asked Zi Yi Shi to settle Queen Jiang, Consort Huang, Su Daji, and the three demons into the cave dwelling.
• Wu told Hongyun that the Human Race's growing fortune would soon allow him to attain Hunyuan, and Hongyun immediately left to prepare in seclusion.
• Wu announced that his Martial Dao insights could establish a Hunyuan path for the Human Race and give its sages a chance to attain the Dao.
• The sages urged Wu to begin his seclusion, and he went to his quiet chamber to develop the Martial Dao.

Zhou Ming, Houtu, Dijiang, and Zhujiuyin merged the Primordial Wilderness fragments into the Pangu Realm, completing its transformation into a true, self-sustaining world. Zhou Ming planned to relocate the Witch Clan there, giving them a lasting home.

• Zhou Ming and the other three erased the Primordial Wilderness imprints from the fragments and prepared to merge them into the Pangu Realm.
• Zhou Ming brought Houtu, Dijiang, and Zhujiuyin to the Pangu Realm, where Wang Shu greeted them and the cultivators stopped the Great Formation of the Stars.
• Zhou Ming announced that they would use the fragments to evolve the Pangu Realm, and the four Sages began refining and merging them.
• Houtu guided the fragments' origin power into the world, Dijiang opened passages through its spatial barrier, and Zhujiuyin accelerated its assimilation with temporal law.
• The Pangu Realm absorbed the final fragment, became a complete, self-sustaining true world, and gave Zhou Ming a foundation for the Witch Clan to settle and thrive.

After the Pangu Realm became a complete world, Zhou Ming prepared to study Pangu’s three Sky-Opening Marks and break through to the Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. He left the realm’s witnesses to seize the chance to comprehend its newly formed laws, then began seclusion with Houtu, Dijiang, and Zhujiuyin.

• Zhou Ming, Houtu, Dijiang, and Zhujiuyin celebrated the completion of the Pangu Realm, and Zhou Ming said he would break through before moving the Witch Clan there.
• Di Jun, Taiyi, Wang Shu, and the other witnesses were shocked to learn Zhou Ming intended to reach the Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
• Zhou Ming told everyone to stop operating the Great Formation of the Stars and enter seclusion to comprehend the Pangu Realm’s newly formed laws.
• Di Jun led the gathered powers in thanking Zhou Ming, and they scattered to find places to cultivate.
• Zhou Ming returned to Pangu Hall with Houtu, Dijiang, and Zhujiuyin and began studying the three Sky-Opening Marks to pursue his breakthrough.

After a thousand years of healing, Zhunti recovered and learned that Burning Lamp and Shen Gongbao had helped Buddhism bring most converted Jie Sect disciples into its fold. He and Jieyin then prepared to send Ksitigarbha and other disciples to the Underworld to earn merit, arriving above the Sea of Blood to discuss the plan with Pingxin.

• Zhunti awoke from seclusion beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, and Jieyin confirmed that his injuries had fully healed.
• Jieyin told Zhunti that Burning Lamp and Shen Gongbao had helped convert more than half of the Jie Sect disciples, while the remaining dissenters were suppressed beneath the Merit Pool.
• Zhunti asked whom Jieyin had chosen to serve in the Underworld, and Jieyin named Ksitigarbha.
• Zhunti suggested sending additional disciples skilled in salvation with Ksitigarbha, and Jieyin said he had already selected a group to accompany him.
• Zhunti and Jieyin left Mount Sumeru and appeared above the Sea of Blood to discuss the plan with Pingxin.

Zhen Yuanzi reported on the Underworld’s progress to Pingxin while Minghe eagerly sought chances to prove his loyalty. When Jieyin and Zhunti arrived, Minghe welcomed them in place of Zhen Yuanzi, and the two Western Sages privately told Pingxin they had come to resolve a major hidden danger in the Underworld.

• Zhen Yuanzi reported that the Eighteen Layers of Hell had been repaired, soul diversion was running smoothly, and the backlog of wronged souls was being addressed.
• Pingxin sensed Jieyin and Zhunti arriving, and Minghe volunteered to welcome them before Zhen Yuanzi could go.
• Minghe greeted the Western Sages at Ghost Gate Pass and escorted them to Pingxin Hall.
• Jieyin and Zhunti signaled that they wanted to speak privately, so Minghe and Zhen Yuanzi left the hall.
• Zhunti told Pingxin that he and Jieyin had come to help resolve a major hidden danger facing the Underworld.

Zhunti offered to have Buddhist disciples help Pingxin liberate sinful ghosts in exchange for a share of the merit. Pingxin agreed to the work but rejected the idea of granting the disciples official Underworld posts, leaving Zhunti's greater plan in question.

• Zhunti told Pingxin that Buddhist disciples could help purify sinful ghosts and resentful souls in the Underworld.
• Pingxin saw through Zhunti's offer and asked what the Two Sages of the West wanted in return.
• Zhunti admitted that Buddhism sought the merit earned from delivering and transforming the dead souls.
• Pingxin agreed to pay merit for help with deeply sinful ghosts but reserved ordinary souls for the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
• Zhunti asked Pingxin to grant the stationed Buddhist disciple an official divine post, and she challenged the demand.

Pingxin agreed to let Buddhism establish a presence in the Underworld, appointing Ksitigarbha King to oversee Yin Mountain and deliver evil ghosts under her authority. When Zhunti asked about compensation, Pingxin offered one percent of the merit, prompting the Two Sages of the West to protest and demand more.

• Zhunti assured Pingxin that Buddhist disciples would focus on deliverance, avoid Underworld administration, and obey her orders.
• Jieyin proposed sending his disciple Ksitigarbha, and Pingxin agreed to make him Ksitigarbha King and grant Buddhism Yin Mountain as its residence.
• Pingxin warned that she would punish any Buddhist disciple who overstepped the Underworld's rules, and Zhunti promised to discipline them.
• Zhunti asked how much merit Buddhism would receive, and Pingxin offered one percent.
• Zhunti and Jieyin objected that one percent was too little, with Jieyin arguing they should receive at least twenty percent.

Pingxin negotiated a deal allowing the Two Sages of the West to send Buddhist disciples into the Underworld to deliver dead souls in exchange for one percent of the merit. After they left for Mount Sumeru, she summoned Zhen Yuanzi and Ancestor Minghe, and Minghe praised her bargain as a clever way to get the Underworld's work done cheaply.

• Zhunti asked for thirty percent of the merit, but Pingxin refused and explained that the West also wanted Underworld offices and Fortune.
• Pingxin threatened to cancel the deal, so Zhunti and Jieyin accepted her one-percent offer and left the Underworld.
• Jieyin worried that the West had lost out, but Zhunti argued that the arrangement would provide a steady stream of merit.
• Pingxin summoned Zhen Yuanzi and Ancestor Minghe and recounted the agreement with the Two Sages of the West.
• Ancestor Minghe praised Pingxin's deal as a way to use Buddhist disciples as laborers while paying them only a small share of the merit.

Empress Pingxin approved Ksitigarbha and Buddhist disciples entering the Underworld, but assigned them to harsh work so they would earn their share of its merit. On Mount Sumeru, Jieyin and Zhunti sent for Ksitigarbha and told him his path lay in the Underworld.

• Empress Pingxin reassured Zhen Yuanzi that she could control Ksitigarbha and the Western Teachings within the Underworld.
• Empress Pingxin ordered Zhen Yuanzi to establish the Buddhist disciples near Yin Mountain and assign them the Underworld’s dirty, tiring, and dangerous work.
• Minghe offered to send stubborn ghosts from his Asura Path to Ksitigarbha, while Zhen Yuanzi agreed that evil ghosts in the Eighteen Layers of Hell should be cleared out.
• Jieyin and Zhunti summoned Ksitigarbha at Mount Sumeru and told him that he would enter the Underworld to convert departed souls with several hundred Buddhist disciples under his command.

Ksitigarbha embraced his mission to redeem the Underworld’s suffering souls and arrived at Yin Mountain with Jieyin, Zhunti, and the Buddhist disciples. After he swore to keep working until hell was empty, Pingxin let the vow stand and ordered that Yin Mountain receive no extra assistance.

• Zhunti persuaded Ksitigarbha that delivering the Underworld’s souls was his Dao, and Ksitigarbha agreed to go.
• Jieyin and Zhunti brought Ksitigarbha and several hundred Buddhist disciples to Ghost Gate Pass, where Ancestor Minghe led them to the barren, resentment-filled Yin Mountain.
• Ksitigarbha accepted the harsh place as his charge and vowed to liberate suffering beings until hell was empty, triggering a surge of merit and cultivation.
• Ancestor Minghe grew furious at Jieyin and Zhunti’s scheme, but Empress Pingxin told him to let Ksitigarbha proceed.
• Zhen Yuanzi warned Pingxin that Buddhism meant to bind the Underworld to its merit, and Pingxin ordered that Yin Mountain receive no extra assistance.

Ksitigarbha and several hundred Buddhist disciples entered Yin Mountain to fulfill his vow to deliver the dead, while Pingxin revealed to Minghe that she might eventually use merit to buy Ksitigarbha’s allegiance for the Underworld. Pingxin chose to wait and see whether Ksitigarbha proved useful.

• Zhunti warned Ksitigarbha to deliver dead souls without interfering with the Underworld or the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and Jieyin ordered the other disciples to follow him.
• Jieyin and Zhunti left, and Minghe mocked Ksitigarbha before departing as well.
• Ksitigarbha reassured the disciples, then led them into Yin Mountain to begin their work.
• Minghe complained to Pingxin about the Two Sages of the West, but she said Ksitigarbha could help ease the Underworld’s burden.
• Pingxin told Minghe she might spend merit to make Ksitigarbha a man of the Underworld, and they agreed to see whether he was worth recruiting.

Hongyun used the Human Race’s peak fortune to attain Hunyuan, shocking the Sages and alarming Jieyin and Zhunti, who feared he would demand repayment for the seat he had once given them. In the Netherworld, Pingxin then arranged for Zhen Yuanzi to pursue Hunyuan with her help and appointed Minghe acting Great Emperor Fengdu during his seclusion.

• As the Human Race’s fortune peaked, Hongyun broke through in Huoyun Cave and attained the Hunyuan Dao Fruit.
• Jieyin and Zhunti sensed Hongyun’s breakthrough and worried that he would collect the cause-and-effect owed for the seat he had given them.
• Taiqing, Yuanshi, and Nuwa sensed Hongyun’s new aura, while Nuwa amused herself imagining Jieyin and Zhunti’s alarm.
• Pingxin summoned Zhen Yuanzi and Minghe, told them Hongyun had attained Hunyuan, and said Zhen Yuanzi could begin his own breakthrough with the Earth Dao’s support.
• Pingxin appointed Minghe acting Great Emperor Fengdu while Zhen Yuanzi entered secluded cultivation.

After proving the Hunyuan Dao, Hongyun left Huoyun Cave to settle the cause and effect of yielding his seat at Zixiao Palace to Jieyin and Zhunti. He confronted the two Sages at Mount Sumeru and declared that he had come to settle their debt.

• Hongyun emerged from seclusion at Huoyun Cave after proving the Hunyuan Dao, and Fuxi, Shennong, Xuanyuan, and the other Human Race worthies congratulated him.
• Hongyun said he would repay the Human Race for supporting his cultivation by seeking benefits from the Two Sages of the West.
• Shennong and Xuanyuan warned Hongyun to be cautious, but he said his Law-proven foundation would let him protect himself and that the debt could not be avoided.
• Hongyun departed for the West, while Jieyin and Zhunti sensed his approach and reluctantly prepared to welcome him.
• Jieyin and Zhunti greeted Hongyun at Mount Sumeru and invited him to tea, but he dismissed their act and said he had come to settle their Zixiao Palace karma.

Hongyun confronted Jieyin and Zhunti over the Saint Position karma they owed him, but the two Sages pleaded poverty and refused to surrender their treasures. Hongyun demanded repayment by force, and the chapter ended as the three prepared to clash.

• Zhunti and Jieyin thanked Hongyun for yielding the Saint Position but claimed the West was too poor to repay him and asked for more time.
• Hongyun pointed out the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, Jieyin's Twelve-grade Golden Lotus of Merit, Zhunti's Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, and the merit of Western Prosperity as possible payment.
• Jieyin and Zhunti refused to give up any of those treasures, calling them essential to their Dao and the Western Teachings.
• Hongyun rejected their excuses, unleashed his Sage pressure, and demanded they repay the karmic debt that day.
• Zhunti raised the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and Jieyin summoned the Twelve-grade Golden Lotus of Merit as Hongyun declared he would take justice himself.

Hongyun confronted Jieyin and Zhunti on Mount Sumeru over their debt for the Saint Position he had surrendered. They agreed to settle the dispute through a Sage duel, one opponent at a time, and the three left for Chaos to fight.

• Zhunti threatened Hongyun with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree as Jieyin and Zhunti prepared to defend Mount Sumeru.
• Jieyin pleaded that the West had no treasure to repay Hongyun, but Hongyun reminded him that the two had never tried to settle their debt.
• Zhunti proposed a duel: if he and Jieyin won, Hongyun would grant them more time, while Hongyun would decide how to settle the debt if he won.
• Hongyun accepted but insisted on fighting them one at a time, and Jieyin and Zhunti agreed.
• Hongyun, Jieyin, and Zhunti left Mount Sumeru and headed into Chaos beyond the Thirty-Third Heaven.

Hongyun defeated Zhunti in their contest of Dao, revealing power and skill beyond what Zhunti expected. Jieyin intervened to save Zhunti and prepared to face Hongyun with three powerful treasures.

• Zhunti attacked Hongyun with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, but Hongyun effortlessly dispelled his divine light and sent him flying with a punch.
• Zhunti launched a stronger assault, while Hongyun calmly deflected it and used the battle to refine his techniques.
• Zhunti unleashed his Great Extinction Divine Light, but Hongyun shattered it and overwhelmed him with precise attacks.
• As Hongyun’s strike threatened Zhunti, Jieyin blocked it with the Twelve-grade Golden Lotus of Merit and told Zhunti to step back.
• Jieyin accepted the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and faced Hongyun while wielding it alongside the Golden Lotus of Merit and the Jieyin Treasure Banner.

Hongyun fought Jieyin to a draw while pressing him to settle the karma owed by the Western Sages. Jieyin secured an extension, agreeing that he and Zhunti would repay Hongyun within ten thousand years after Western Prosperity, and Hongyun left Chaos.

• Jieyin attacked Hongyun with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and Jieyin Treasure Banner, but Hongyun matched his laws and power.
• Hongyun and Jieyin fought evenly, with neither able to overcome the other's defenses.
• Jieyin asked Hongyun to grant more time to repay the karma, while Hongyun argued that their draw meant the debt should be settled now.
• Jieyin agreed to repay the karma within ten thousand years after Western Prosperity, despite Zhunti's objection.
• Hongyun warned the two Sages to keep their word, then departed Chaos.

Jieyin convinced Zhunti to accept Hongyun’s repayment terms and give up their treasures if necessary, arguing that their Saint positions and reliance on spiritual treasures held them back. They resolved to pursue Western Prosperity, repay their karmic debts, and later seek Zhou Ming’s guidance on proving Dao by Law.

• Zhunti questioned why Jieyin had agreed to repay Hongyun after Western Prosperity, and Jieyin said they had no choice given Hongyun’s growing strength.
• Jieyin told Zhunti that if they could not gather enough treasures, they would surrender the Twelve-grade Golden Lotus of Merit, Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, and Eight Treasures Merit Pool.
• Jieyin argued that Innate Spiritual Treasures were external objects and that true powerhouses such as Zhou Ming and Hongyun relied on laws instead.
• Jieyin said he wanted to repay their karma, leave the Heavenly Dao Saint position, and pursue the path of laws; he suggested Zhou Ming could later guide them.
• Zhunti agreed to Jieyin’s plan, and the two returned to Mount Sumeru.

After Hongyun’s battle with the Two Sages of the West revealed the strength of a Daluo Golden Immortal of the Origin, the other Saints planned to seek merit from Western Prosperity and pursue freedom from the Heavenly Dao. Hongyun returned to Huoyun Cave with a deadline for settling the cause and effect, then entered seclusion to digest what he had learned.

• Saint Taiqing summoned True Person Ziyang and ordered him to arrange for Bian Zhuang to take a post in the Heavenly Court.
• Venerable Lord Yuanshi planned to send Guang Chengzi and the other disciples to the Heavenly Court so the Chan Sect could claim a share of Western Prosperity’s merit.
• Nuwa reflected that securing two portions of merit from the Two Sages of the West and Venerable Lord Yuanshi would aid her future break from the Heavenly Dao.
• Hongyun returned to Huoyun Cave and told Fuxi, Shennong, Xuanyuan, and the others that he had set a deadline for settling the cause and effect and gained insight from fighting the Two Sages of the West.
• Hongyun shared his understanding of the Hunyuan Realm with the Human Race sages, then entered seclusion while they stayed to protect his Dao.