Chapter Summaries

The Sages gathered at Kongtong Mountain to claim a spiritual treasure connected to Human Race Destiny, and Wu arrived as the factions argued over ownership. After Wu seized the treasure and drew attacks from all seven Sages, he tossed it into the fray, leaving them battling chaotically for it.

• Laozi, Nuwa, and Zhunti each claimed the emerging treasure, while the Sages formed three rival factions at Kongtong Mountain.
• Wu arrived and declared that he would compete for the treasure on his own, prompting the Three Pure Ones to eagerly challenge him.
• When the treasure emerged, Laozi used the Taiji Diagram to seize it, but Yuanshi and Tongtian drove back the other Sages' treasures.
• Wu knocked the Taiji Diagram aside with his bare hand and took the treasure's Spirit Light.
• The Three Pure Ones and the other four Sages attacked Wu together, wounding him until he tossed the Spirit Light away.
• The seven Sages stopped focusing on Wu and fought chaotically as the Spirit Light changed hands.

Wu outmaneuvered the Sages at Kongtong Mountain and secured the Kongtong Seal, a treasure tied to the Human Race Destiny. He revealed that the Humanity Path had concealed his escape, while Jieyin and Zhunti returned to Mount Sumeru to prepare their scheme against the Three Pure Ones.

• Wu attacked Tongtian and Yuanshi during the battle, then withdrew as the Sages fought over the Spirit Light.
• Zhunti seized the Spirit Light, but it escaped his control and flew into Wu's hand before Wu vanished.
• The Sages searched for Wu, while Tongtian realized he had secretly taken control of the treasure; Nuwa said the Humanity Path had likely shielded him.
• Jieyin and Zhunti agreed that Wu would obstruct their plans, but decided their scheme to divide the Three Pure Ones could still succeed.
• Wu reappeared in the void holding the Kongtong Seal and explained that the Humanity Path's will had helped him spirit it away without refining it.

Fuxi abdicated the position of Co-Lord of the Human Race to Shennong and recovered his memories and cultivation through heavenly merit. As Fuxi’s aura stalled just short of Sagehood, Wu asked whether he was now Fuxi of the Human Race or Fuxi the Innate Divine Being.

• Eight Sages, Gou Chen, and the Four Ancestors of the Human Race arrived in Chen City for Fuxi’s abdication ceremony.
• Wu and Tongtian exchanged barbs over Wu’s earlier plot at Mount Kongtong, and Wu said the spiritual treasure from that incident would soon be revealed.
• Fuxi praised Shennong’s contributions, abdicated the position of Co-Lord, and placed the crown on Shennong’s head with the Four Ancestors’ approval.
• Heavenly merit granted Fuxi eighty percent and Six-Eared Macaque twenty percent, while Fuxi’s cultivation rose to the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm and his past-life memories returned.
• Fuxi’s aura climbed toward Sagehood but stopped short, and Wu asked whether he was Fuxi of the Human Race or Fuxi the Innate Divine Being.

Fuxi accepted Wu’s bestowal as Heavenly Emperor of the Human Race, severed his Innate Divine Being status, and attained sainthood through Human Race Destiny. Wu then declared that harming Fuxi or offending the Human Race would make anyone his enemy, and Fuxi prepared to return with Wu to the Human Race’s Holy Land as it withdrew from the world.

• Fuxi declared himself a member of the Human Race, and Wu bestowed on him the title of Heavenly Emperor with a golden seal containing Human Race Destiny and Primordial Violet Qi.
• Fuxi dissolved his remaining Innate Divine Being aura, swore to protect and develop the Human Race, and received the Heavenly Emperor mark.
• Human Race Destiny gathered around Fuxi as he attained the Saint Dao, becoming the Human Race’s second Sage; people across the Primordial Wilderness hailed him as Heavenly Emperor.
• Wu warned the Sages that anyone who harmed Fuxi or offended the Human Race would become his enemy, unsettling Jieyin, Zhunti, and the Three Pure Ones.
• Wu told Fuxi to return with him to the Holy Land of the Human Race, which would go into seclusion under an agreement allowing Sages to teach but forbidding them from interfering in Human affairs or seizing its Destiny.

Fuxi passed the Human Race leadership to Shennong and ended his master-disciple bond with Six-Eared Macaque before returning to the Human Race Holy Land. Meanwhile, conflict between the two Asura clans erupted in the Sea of Blood, leaving the Witch Clan wary of intervening as it suspected Jieyin and Zhunti were behind the turmoil.

• Fuxi entrusted the Human Race to Shennong, thanked Six-Eared Macaque, and agreed that they would henceforth be fellow Daoists.
• Fuxi returned to the Human Race Holy Land as the humans bid farewell to their Heavenly Emperor, while the Sages departed and eyed Shennong with suspicion.
• The Sapota Asuras and the Primordial Wilderness's native Asuras resumed their old feud after Houtu and Minghe entered seclusion, and fighting engulfed the Sea of Blood.
• The Witch Clan learned of the fighting, and Xuanming accused Jieyin and Zhunti of stirring up trouble.
• Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin urged the Ancestral Witches to avoid rash intervention and investigate the purpose behind the conflict, so they watched the Sea of Blood in secret.

Jieyin and Zhunti plotted to exploit the Asura Clan’s internal conflict to establish Western Religion’s influence over the Netherworld Underworld and Lunhui. Meanwhile, the Primordial Wilderness was reshaped into three emerging worlds, leaving the Immortal Realm, Human Realm, and Underworld Realm in their early stages.

• Zhunti proposed using the Asura Clan’s strife to weaken the Netherworld Underworld’s order and send Dizang there, while Jieyin warned him to conceal their true intentions from Houtu.
• The Human Ancestors under Shennong spread the five grains, freeing humanity from food shortages as the Primordial Wilderness appeared peaceful.
• A tremendous upheaval shook Heaven and Earth as an invisible barrier divided the Primordial Wilderness and shifted regions across spatial dimensions.
• The reshaping formed three distinct worlds: a spiritually rich upper world, a middle world divided into thirteen regions, and a lower world containing the Sea of Blood and Netherworld Underworld.
• Buzhou Mountain became the pillar connecting the three layers, which were recognized as the Immortal Realm, Human Realm, and Underworld Realm but remained only embryonic.

The Three Realms became increasingly isolated as the Immortal Realm expanded with new lands and treasures, drawing cultivators into fierce competition. Hongjun saw the transformation as the beginning of a new era and the chance to regain his freedom from the Heavenly Dao.

• Beings struggled to cross the barriers between the Three Realms, while they discovered a sealed passage through Buzhou Mountain connecting them.
• Cultivators exploring the expanding Immortal Realm found new grotto-heavens, blessed lands, Innate Spirit Treasures, and other rare treasures, sparking widespread competition.
• The barriers obstructed the Sages' divine senses, prompting Zhunti to worry that the change would hinder Western Religion, while Jieyin urged him to seize opportunities in the new regions.
• Great Thousand Worlds became connected to the Human Realm, bringing diverse cultivation systems that began to mingle there.
• Hongjun reflected that the Three Realms' formation fulfilled his plans with Dao Venerable Xuanxiao and would let him escape his bond with the Heavenly Dao.

Shennong continued tasting herbs to find remedies for the Human Race, while Duer sought help from Laozi and received three treasures to protect him. After Duer returned toward the Human Realm, Shennong swallowed a deadly herb and collapsed, his life fading rapidly.

• Shennong insisted on continuing to taste herbs while Duer traveled to the Immortal Realm to seek Laozi's help.
• Duer pleaded with Laozi, who gave him the Shennong Cauldron, Hundred Herbs Pouch, and Hundred Herbs Ruler for Shennong.
• Laozi reassured Duer that protecting Shennong was valuable and sent him back.
• Without Duer beside him, Shennong relied on the pills Duer had left to survive several dangerous poisonings.
• Shennong swallowed a strange black herb in a desolate valley, collapsed unconscious, and began to die from its poison.

Shennong was poisoned while tasting herbs, leaving the Sages unable to intervene without violating Heaven's decree. A woman found an antidote and saved him, and the Sages realized his near-death experience was a destined tribulation.

• Shennong's fading vitality alarmed the Sages, who suspected Jieyin and Zhunti but could not act because the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were decreed by the Heavenly Dao.
• Tongtian accused Jieyin and Zhunti of plotting against Shennong, but Laozi stopped the argument and urged the Sages to focus on Shennong's survival.
• Houtu suggested contacting Wu, but the Sages concluded that he either could not or would not intervene.
• Yuanshi noticed a woman gathering herbs near the unconscious Shennong, and the Sages realized his crisis was a Heavenly Dao tribulation rather than a Sage's plot.
• The woman identified Heartbreak Grass poisoning, found nearby antidote herbs, and fed their juice to Shennong, whose condition stabilized.

Tingyao saved Shennong from Heartbreak Grass poisoning and shared her knowledge of using poisonous herbs as medicine, becoming his companion in developing the Medical Dao. They married and had a daughter, Jingwei, while Zhunti sent an incarnation toward the Human Realm.

• Tingyao introduced herself to the recovering Shennong and explained that she had neutralized the Heartbreak Grass poison.
• Shennong told Tingyao he had been tasting herbs to study their medicinal properties, and she explained how poisonous plants could be processed and used as medicine.
• Shennong invited Tingyao to travel with him, and she joined him in studying herbs and recording their properties across the Nine Provinces.
• Tingyao helped Shennong compile the beginnings of a medical canon, and the two gradually fell in love and married.
• Tingyao gave birth to their daughter, whom Shennong named Jingwei.
• Zhunti watched Jingwei's birth from Mount Sumeru, spoke of Shennong's destiny, and sent an incarnation toward the Human Realm.

Du'e returned to Shennong, met Tingyao and Jingwei, and gave them a Dao-Nurturing Pill and Shennong three treasures to aid his work tasting herbs. As Shennong continued his mission, Haotian expanded his influence into the Human Realm and the great thousand worlds, prompting the Sages to scheme against him while Wu watched without intervening.

• Du'e reunited with Shennong, met Tingyao and Jingwei, and gave Jingwei a Dao-Nurturing Pill as a first-meeting gift.
• Du'e gave Shennong the Shennong Cauldron, Hundred Herbs Pouch, and Hundred Herbs Ruler, explaining that Laozi had bestowed them for his work tasting herbs.
• Shennong traveled through the Nine Provinces with Tingyao and Jingwei, while Du'e secretly protected them and Shennong advanced humanity's medical Dao.
• As the Three Realms grew farther apart and powerful beings competed for new regions, Haotian sent forces to the Human Realm and the great thousand worlds to build his influence.
• Yuanshi unsettled Yaoji, Zhunti sent a soul into reincarnation, and Laozi, Sect Master Tongtian, Daoist Jieyin, and Hou each declined to stop them.
• Wu observed the Sages' moves against Haotian and chose not to intervene.

Houtu directed the Witch Clan to intensify the Sea of Blood conflict so the Western Sages would reveal their plans for reincarnation. Jieyin and Zhunti sent Dizang into the Netherworld Underworld to establish a foothold under the guise of safeguarding reincarnation, leaving the Witch Clan's trap and the Western Religion's scheme poised to collide.

• Qiang Liang and the Ancestral Witches debated intervening in the Asura civil war until Houtu emerged and urged them to let the Netherworld Underworld's disorder worsen to expose the Western Sages' intentions.
• Dijiang led the Witch Clan to the Sea of Blood, where Ravana's Sahapati Asura Clan received help from a hidden force and the Western Religion's troops, turning the battle into a stalemate.
• The Ancestral Witches deliberately prolonged the fighting, causing souls to become stranded in the Netherworld Underworld while Jieyin and Zhunti concealed the disruption from the other realms.
• Zhunti urged Jieyin to act while reincarnation was weakened, and Jieyin agreed to send Dizang into the Netherworld Underworld.
• Jieyin gave Dizang a Bodhi Seal and instructed him to claim a foothold by restoring reincarnation while secretly guiding souls to the Western Pure Land and gathering vows.
• Jieyin and Zhunti opened a lotus bridge and sent Dizang toward the Underworld, then erased the bridge's traces.

Dizang entered the Netherworld intending to secure reincarnation for the Western Religion, but witnessing the souls’ suffering led him to reject its claim on him and make a vow to remain in hell until it was empty. His vow tied him to the Earthly Dao, thwarted Jieyin and Zhunti’s scheme, and left him to serve as the Netherworld’s Bodhisattva of Crossing Calamities.

• Dizang arrived in the Netherworld and used the Bodhi Seal to ease the suffering of souls while attempting to clear the stalled reincarnation passages.
• Houtu subtly guided Dizang’s Buddhist light so he could help more souls and feel their suffering more deeply, prompting him to question the Western Religion’s motives.
• After reflecting on his original wish to deliver all suffering, Dizang erased the Western Religion’s golden lotus mark and vowed not to become a Buddha until hell was empty.
• Dizang’s vow shook the Netherworld, calmed some of its resentment, and merged with the Earthly Dao, preventing Jieyin from recalling him without confronting its power.
• Houtu praised Dizang as a worthy candidate for the Sage of the Earthly Dao, while Dizang remained in the Netherworld to deliver souls and safeguard reincarnation.
• Jieyin and Zhunti realized their scheme had failed, and Zhunti insisted they could not let the matter end there.

Houtu and the Ancestral Witches confronted Jieyin and Zhunti at the Sea of Blood after Dizang’s vow thwarted the Western Religion’s plan to control reincarnation. The two sides accused each other, and the Ancestral Witches clashed with the Sages’ pressure as Zhunti prepared to fight.

• Nuwa and Zhenyuanzi surmised that Houtu and the Three Pure Ones had helped unravel the Western Sages’ scheme.
• Zhunti roared at Houtu, and his Sage resonance shook the Sea of Blood and injured many Asuras and members of the Witch Clan.
• Ravana fled the Sea of Blood, abandoning his clansmen, while Yanluo condemned him as a coward.
• Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches confronted Jieyin and Zhunti, who accused them of plotting against the Western Religion.
• Houtu appeared before the Ancestral Witches and accused the Western Sages of disrupting reincarnation and coveting the Earthly Dao’s authority.
• Zhunti accused Houtu of forcing Dizang to make his vow, and the enraged Ancestral Witches clashed their pressure against the Two Sages of the West.

Jieyin and Zhunti attacked Houtu and the Ancestral Witches over Dizang, but Minghe’s establishment of the Asura Cult and attainment of Sagehood forced the Western Sages to retreat. The others congratulated Minghe and left to celebrate, while Houtu warned that Western Religion might retaliate.

• Houtu refused to hand Dizang over, and Zhunti and Jieyin attacked her and the Ancestral Witches; Houtu blocked their strikes with an Earthly Dao barrier.
• Mo Yuan, the Three Pure Ones, and Gou Chen appeared, and Mo Yuan claimed they had come only to watch as Dijiang led the Ancestral Witches in forming the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Array.
• The array manifested a Pangu phantom that struck Jieyin and Zhunti with a phantom Pangu Axe, injuring Zhunti and forcing the brothers onto the defensive.
• Minghe established the Asura Cult in the Sea of Blood and attained Sagehood, prompting Jieyin and Zhunti to abandon the fight and depart in anger.
• Houtu cautioned the Ancestral Witches to remain vigilant against Western Religion, and the group congratulated Minghe before leaving to celebrate.

After an Eon of expanding their influence, the Two Sages of the West set a trap that led Ying Yuan to kill Jingwei. Shennong and Tingyao sensed their daughter's death, and Du'e rushed to them as Shennong was overcome with grief.

• After the Sea of Blood conflict ended, Ravana fled with his remaining followers to seek refuge with Western Religion, while Yanluo was killed by Brahma-Shakra and Great Brahma.
• Minghe spread the Asura Cult's teachings in the Human Realm, where the Major Sects resisted its doctrine of slaughter.
• An Eon passed as the forces divided the Immortal Realm's new regions, while the Two Sages of the West kept their pieces among the Human Race in play.
• Jingwei followed a faint pull to the eastern coast and played by the sea as Xuandu watched from hiding and recognized the Two Sages of the West's plan.
• Ying Yuan attacked Jingwei with Sin Fire; Shennong's protective Dao Rhyme blocked the first strike, but Ying Yuan's next attack engulfed her and left no trace.
• Shennong and Tingyao sensed Jingwei's death and collapsed in grief, while Du'e hurried toward them after feeling a sudden unease.

After Jingwei’s death, Shennong, Tingyao, and Du'e rushed to the East Sea coast to seek revenge as the Human Race mobilized. Ying Yuan unexpectedly broke through to Grand Luo Golden Immortal after killing her, unaware that he had absorbed the remnants of her Human Race Destiny and life force.

• Du'e found Shennong and Tingyao devastated by Jingwei’s death, then suppressed the toxins erupting in Shennong’s body with an Eight-Turn Golden Elixir.
• Shennong and Tingyao vowed to avenge Jingwei, and Du'e agreed to take them to the East Sea coast.
• The Human Race’s leaders and several Grand Luo Golden Immortals hurried toward the coast, while rival factions fell quiet to avoid provoking them.
• Ying Yuan celebrated Jingwei’s death but felt confused by a trace of sorrow before pushing the feeling aside.
• Ying Yuan broke through to Grand Luo Golden Immortal after absorbing the remnants of Jingwei’s Human Race Destiny and life force through his innate constitution as an embodiment of sin.

Jieyin and Zhunti’s scheme to drive a wedge between the Human Race, Human Teachings, and the Interception Sect led to a tense confrontation over Jingwei’s death. Just as the factions’ conflict threatened to escalate, Xuandu appeared with Jingwei’s surviving soul, giving Shennong and Tingyao hope that she could be revived.

• Jieyin and Zhunti accepted the backlash from Jingwei’s death, believing it would create a rift between Human Teachings and the Interception Sect and help Western Religion spread east.
• The Human Race, Human Teachings, and Interception Sect gathered at the East Sea shore, where Shennong demanded Ying Yuan’s death.
• The Human Race attacked Ying Yuan, but Zhao Gongming shielded him with the twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls.
• Du'e stopped the confrontation before it could spark a broader conflict between the factions.
• An invisible barrier sealed off the East Sea shore, making the gathered figures suspect they had been lured into a trap.
• Xuandu arrived with Jingwei’s soul, and Shennong and Tingyao wept with joy upon realizing she could still be revived.

Xuandu explained that a Sage had schemed to turn the Human Race, the Human Teachings, and the Interception Sect against one another after Jingwei was nearly killed. He arranged for Ying Yuan to become Jingwei’s mount, and the three forces quietly departed after agreeing to keep the events secret.

• Du'e told Shennong and Tingyao that a Sage had engineered Jingwei’s disaster, and Xuandu confirmed that he had rescued her soul.
• Tingyao demanded to know which Sage was responsible, but Du'e warned that naming or thinking of a Sage could reveal them.
• Zhao Gongming offered the Interception Sect’s help, and Xuandu explained that they should wait rather than interfere in a contest between Sages.
• Shennong demanded that Ying Yuan answer for attacking Jingwei, and Xuandu proposed making him her mount to repay his wrongdoing and past karma.
• Shennong accepted Xuandu’s solution, Ying Yuan agreed to serve Jingwei, and everyone promised to keep the matter secret before the three forces departed.

After Jingwei’s rescue, Shennong arranged the affairs of the human race and entered seclusion to pursue the Dao. The Witch Clan chose Chiyou to be reincarnated among the Jiuli, while the factions prepared to counter the Western Religion’s schemes.

• Jieyin and Zhunti concluded that the human race’s destiny had settled because one faction had compromised, then agreed to lie low and await another opportunity.
• Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian decided to postpone confronting the Western Religion and instead planned to retaliate when the next Co-Lord of the Human Race appeared.
• Shennong told Du'e he would enter seclusion, made arrangements with Du'e, Tingyao, and the human leaders, and then withdrew to cultivate.
• Dijiang proposed that the Witch Clan give up teaching the next Human Emperor and secretly work with Yuanshi against the Western Religion, and the Ancestral Witches agreed.
• The Ancestral Witches chose Chiyou to resolve the future Co-Lord’s karmic ties to the Witch Clan, and Houtu helped reincarnate him into the human race’s Jiuli Tribe.