Chapter Summaries

White Crane Boy explained the Chan Sect’s rules to Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao, then assigned them a remote, unimpressive cave residence. As Jiang Ziya struggled with the sect’s cold treatment, Shen Gongbao told him that the Prehistoric Era was governed by the strong devouring the weak.

• White Crane Boy outlined the Chan Sect’s rules and warned Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao to put the sect’s honor first.
• Shen Gongbao privately dismissed the rules as hypocritical restraints while considering how to gain benefits within Jade Void Palace.
• White Crane Boy led Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao to a remote cave residence with little spiritual energy.
• Jiang Ziya nearly questioned the poor lodging, but Shen Gongbao stopped him, and White Crane Boy rebuked them before leaving.
• Jiang Ziya voiced his disillusionment with the sect, and Shen Gongbao argued that the Prehistoric Era had never been ruled by naturally virtuous gentlemen.

After thirty years on Kunlun Mountain, Jiang Ziya’s cultivation had barely advanced while Shen Gongbao had reached the Earth Immortal realm. Shen Gongbao brought Jiang Ziya to Jade Void Palace to ask Primordial Heavenly Venerate why Jiang Ziya’s Magic Power was draining away, and the chapter ended as the immortals in the hall turned to look at them.

• Shen Gongbao told Jiang Ziya that immortals and gods followed the law of the strong, and Jiang Ziya reluctantly accepted his junior martial brother’s view.
• Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao settled in a remote cave dwelling and cultivated the Yuqing Immortal Arts for thirty years.
• Shen Gongbao advanced to the Earth Immortal realm, while Jiang Ziya remained unable to enter the Immortal Dao and found his Magic Power slowly draining away.
• Shen Gongbao examined Jiang Ziya with his Divine Sense but found no cause, then insisted they seek help from Primordial Heavenly Venerate.
• Shen Gongbao and Jiang Ziya entered Jade Void Palace despite White Crane Boy’s warning that their master was cultivating in seclusion.
• Shen Gongbao explained Jiang Ziya’s lack of progress to Primordial Heavenly Venerate, and the immortals in the hall turned their attention to Jiang Ziya.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate told Jiang Ziya that his destiny belonged to the Mortal World, not the immortal path, and gave him the choice to leave Kunlun or risk ruin. Jiang Ziya chose to persist for twenty years, but when that time passed, Shen Gongbao had advanced to late Earth Immortal while Jiang Ziya had barely reached the threshold of Human Immortal.

• Primordial Heavenly Venerate explained that Jiang Ziya’s mortal destiny made the immortal path incompatible with his Origin and warned that remaining in Kunlun could destroy his Dao Foundation.
• Shen Gongbao pleaded for Jiang Ziya to be shown a way forward, and Primordial Heavenly Venerate said Jiang Ziya could return to the Mortal World or continue at great risk.
• Jiang Ziya asked to persist for another twenty years, promising to descend the mountain if he still could not advance.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate sent Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao back to their cave, where Shen Gongbao saw that Jiang Ziya had become a frail, white-haired old man after thirty years of cultivation.
• Jiang Ziya accepted that his path was tied to the Human Race, while Shen Gongbao offered him comfort before he withdrew to rest.
• Twenty years later, Shen Gongbao advanced from early to late Earth Immortal, while Jiang Ziya had only barely touched the threshold of Human Immortal.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate gave Jiang Ziya the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip, explaining that his destiny lay in God Conferment rather than mountain cultivation. After Jiang Ziya left Kunlun, Shen Gongbao’s jealousy turned to resentment, and he secretly set a trap for the Immortal Cranes.

• Primordial Heavenly Venerate summoned Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao to Jade Void Palace and gave Jiang Ziya the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate explained that Jiang Ziya’s cultivation had stalled because he was destined to follow the path of God Conferment.
• Shen Gongbao grew jealous and resentful after learning the treasures were Innate Supreme Treasures, while hiding his feelings from Primordial Heavenly Venerate.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate sent Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao out of Jade Void Palace, and Jiang Ziya returned to the mortal world through a spatial whirlpool.
• After Jiang Ziya departed, Shen Gongbao planted Psychedelic Immortal Herbs beside a stream where Immortal Cranes drank, then concealed himself with the Qi of Calamity and Luck.

Shen Gongbao drugged and killed the Immortal Cranes, then used calamity Qi to make White Crane Boy eat their roasted meat and carry some away. Fearing discovery, Shen Gongbao fled Kunlun Mountain and vowed never to return to the Chan Sect.

• Shen Gongbao lured the Immortal Cranes to Psychedelic Immortal Herbs, knocked them unconscious, and killed them.
• Shen Gongbao collected the cranes' Spiritual Cores and Immortal Marrow, then roasted their meat by the stream.
• White Crane Boy arrived, and a wisp of Shen Gongbao's Qi of Calamity and Luck made him crave the roasted crane meat.
• Shen Gongbao gave White Crane Boy meat to take to the other senior brothers, and White Crane Boy left with it.
• Shen Gongbao packed his belongings and crane cores, escaped Kunlun Mountain, and vowed never to return to the Chan Sect.

White Crane Boy shared roasted Kunlun Immortal Cranes with Guang Chengzi and the Chan Sect disciples, unaware that Shen Gongbao's Calamity Qi had concealed what they were eating. Primordial Heavenly Venerate uncovered the truth, and the disciples discovered Shen Gongbao had fled Kunlun Mountain.

• White Crane Boy brought Spiritual Wine and roasted cranes to Guang Chengzi, who summoned the other Chan Sect disciples to feast with them.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate remembered the disciples were meant to descend the mountain for the Investiture of the Gods tribulation and angrily confronted them at the feast.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate revealed that White Crane Boy had slaughtered Kunlun's Immortal Cranes, and his Saintly pressure cleared the disciples' clouded minds.
• White Crane Boy said Shen Gongbao had given him the birds as Spiritual Beast meat and had bewitched him so he could not see their true forms.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate searched for Shen Gongbao, but Guang Chengzi and the others found that he had vanished from Kunlun Mountain.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate let Shen Gongbao flee as part of his scheme for the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods, while sending the Chan Sect disciples toward the mortal world. After mysterious figures brought Shen Gongbao to the East Sea, he awoke near Golden Ao Island and rejoiced at reaching Master Tongtian’s Dao Field.

• Primordial Heavenly Venerate refused to let Guang Chengzi pursue Shen Gongbao and ordered the Chan Sect disciples to begin their move for the coming tribulation.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate gave True Man Taiyi the Universe Ring, Heaven-Mixing Silk, and Wind-Fire Wheels for a future disciple.
• Shen Gongbao fled toward the East Sea, exhausted his Immortal Essence, and fainted after crashing into an ancient tree.
• Tianyu and Fellow Daoist Chong Shan identified Shen Gongbao as the bearer of the Flying Bear mark and brought him to Golden Ao Island.
• Shen Gongbao woke on an island near Golden Ao Island and celebrated his unexpected arrival at Master Tongtian’s Dao Field.

Shen Gongbao reached Golden Ao Island seeking to become Tongtian’s disciple and met Yunxiao after Shi Ji guided him to her. Yunxiao examined his Primordial Spirit and discovered a vision of a Flying Bear behind it.

• Shen Gongbao bribed two Jie Sect Outer Sect Disciples with a roasted Immortal Crane, and they directed him toward the Cultivation Plaza and Yunxiao.
• Shen Gongbao noticed the disciples at the plaza were composed and disciplined, unlike the Jie Sect members described in rumors.
• Shi Ji agreed to summon Yunxiao after Shen Gongbao asked to meet her and explained that he sought Tongtian as his master.
• Yunxiao inspected Shen Gongbao’s Primordial Spirit, saw violent Calamity Qi coiled around it, and discovered the image of a Flying Bear behind it.

Yunxiao brought Shen Gongbao, whose overwhelming Calamity Qi marked him as destined for the Investiture of the Gods, to Master Tongtian. Tongtian recognized the tribulation’s design against the Jie Sect and accepted Shen Gongbao as an Outer Sect Deacon, then stripped away his Chan Sect cultivation.

• Yunxiao bound Shen Gongbao and brought him to Biyou Palace, where Kui Niu recognized him as someone born to answer the calamity of God Conferment.
• Master Tongtian shattered the Calamity Qi that attacked him and realized the Great Tribulation had been aimed at the Jie Sect; he planned to send disciples’ false bodies onto the list while their True Spirits escaped.
• Shen Gongbao begged Tongtian to accept him, while Yunxiao discerned that he had cultivated Chan Sect methods and recommended keeping him only as an Outer Sect Deacon.
• Tongtian accepted Shen Gongbao into the Jie Sect, and Shen Gongbao pledged loyalty to Tongtian and Yunxiao.
• Tongtian used spiritual light to destroy Shen Gongbao’s Yuqing Immortal Arts and reduce his cultivation from Earth Immortal to a mortal body.

Tongtian remade Shen Gongbao as a Jie Sect disciple, and Yunxiao proposed using him to turn Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s scheme to their advantage. Later, King Zhou visited Nuwa Palace for her birthday and became captivated by her statue as Zhunti secretly acted from above.

• Tongtian restored Shen Gongbao’s cultivation as tyrannical Shangqing Magic Power and raised him to the Heavenly Immortal realm.
• Yunxiao suggested that Primordial Heavenly Venerate had another person with the Flying Bear physiognomy and had sent Shen Gongbao into the Jie Sect as a pawn.
• Tongtian entrusted Yunxiao with control of the Investiture Chessboard, and she promised to carry out her plan.
• King Zhou visited Nuwa Palace and completed the birthday rites before becoming unable to look away from Nuwa’s statue.
• Zhunti watched from the clouds with Jieyin, then flicked a finger toward Nuwa Palace.

Zhunti used divine power to make King Zhou write a profane poem about Nuwa, provoking her wrath. Though imperial auspicious qi blocked her from killing him, Nuwa sent the Three Demons to Zhaoge to corrupt the court and hasten Yin Shang’s fall, beginning the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods.

• Zhunti sent golden light into King Zhou, stirring his desire as he gazed at Nuwa’s statue.
• King Zhou wrote a poem praising Nuwa’s beauty, and Shang Rong and Bi Gan urged him to erase it, but he angrily refused.
• Nuwa discovered the poem, identified King Zhou as its author, and set out to punish him.
• King Zhou’s sons’ imperial auspicious qi blocked Nuwa, and she withdrew after calculating that his destiny still had twenty-eight years remaining.
• Nuwa summoned the Three Demons, strengthened their cultivation, and ordered them to enter Zhaoge and help Zhou conquer Shang without harming innocents.
• The Three Demons departed for the mortal world under Nuwa’s edict, and the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods began.

Nuwa confronted Hongjun over King Zhou’s profane poem and agreed to help Zhou destroy Shang, entering the God Conferment tribulation. At Azure Nether Island, Xuan Qing revealed that Zhunti and Jieyin had clouded King Zhou’s mind to manipulate her, leaving Nuwa wondering why she had failed to detect their spell.

• Nuwa flew to Zixiao Palace, showed Hongjun King Zhou’s poem, and demanded an explanation for the insult.
• Hongjun said King Zhou’s misconduct marked the tribulation’s beginning, and Nuwa declared she would aid Zhou in destroying Shang.
• Qing Ya intercepted Nuwa and brought her to Azure Nether Island at Xuan Qing’s instruction.
• Xuan Qing showed Nuwa visions of Zhunti and Jieyin manipulating King Zhou and Master Tongtian making covert arrangements in Biyou Palace.
• Nuwa realized the Western Two Saints had used a Mind-Confounding Art to draw her into the tribulation, but questioned how she had failed to detect it.

Xuan Qing explained to Nuwa that her involvement in the Investiture of the Gods was an inevitable consequence of Human Dao’s role in the tribulation, not a personal failure. Nuwa resolved to appear to undermine Shang while secretly preserving Cheng Tang and the Human Emperor’s lineage, leaving the plan approved by Xuan Qing.

• Xuan Qing told Nuwa that Human Dao and the Three Realms’ Saints were caught up in the Investiture of the Gods, and that her part in it had been fated.
• Nuwa realized Master Tongtian and Yunxiao had recognized an opportunity in the tribulation and planned to use it to benefit the Jie Sect and the Three Tribes.
• Nuwa remembered ordering the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb to disrupt Shang’s fortune and worried that she had fallen into Hongjun’s trap.
• Nuwa proposed publicly helping bring calamity to Shang while secretly using Human Dao to preserve Cheng Tang’s realm and foundation.
• Xuan Qing approved Nuwa’s plan, explaining that preserving the Human Emperor’s lineage would protect Human Dao and help avert a direct war between Heavenly Dao and Human Dao.

Nuwa returned to Zhaoge and witnessed King Zhou order Su Hu to send Daji to the palace, confirming her poor opinion of his rule. When she appeared before him, she discovered a Buddhist seal was suppressing his consciousness and that the Buddhist Sect had secretly manipulated him to destabilize Great Shang.

• Fei Zhong and You Hun persuaded King Zhou to recruit beauties for the imperial harem, and Fei Zhong urged him to summon Daji, Su Hu's daughter.
• King Zhou approved the order for Su Hu to send Daji to Zhaoge, alarming the court and upsetting the hidden Nuwa.
• Nuwa appeared in the Great Hall, and King Zhou recognized her, collapsed in terror, and begged her to spare him.
• Nuwa examined King Zhou's Primordial Spirit and found a Buddha Seal eroding his reason and suppressing his imperial nature.
• Nuwa realized the Buddhist Sect had manipulated King Zhou to weaken Great Shang and prepare for the God Conferment tribulation.

Nuwa restored King Zhou’s clarity and revealed that the Western Two Saints had manipulated him as part of the Investiture of the Gods tribulation. Meanwhile, King Zhou secretly planned with Nuwa, but Su Hu rebelled against Great Shang after receiving the order to send Daji to the palace, and Daji pleaded with him not to ruin the family’s honor.

• Nuwa healed King Zhou and shielded his mind from the Buddha Seal, allowing him to remember how he had been controlled.
• Nuwa told King Zhou that the Western Two Saints had targeted him because Great Shang’s Human Race Fortune made him a key piece in the Investiture of the Gods tribulation.
• King Zhou asked Nuwa for guidance, and they spoke privately through the night while she concealed their conversation from the Buddha Seal.
• After Nuwa departed, King Zhou returned to court acting as foolish and lecherous as before.
• When Su Hu received the royal decree demanding Daji, he blamed Fei Zhong’s slander, rejected the order, wrote a rebellious poem at Wumen Gate, and returned to Jizhou with his troops.
• Daji knelt before Su Hu and urged him not to rebel or sacrifice the Su Family’s honor for her sake.

After Su Hu rebelled against King Zhou to protect Daji, Chong Houhu marched on Jizhou with fifty thousand troops but suffered a crushing defeat. Su Hu celebrated the victory with his family, yet feared they could not withstand the full might of Great Shang.

• Su Hu refused to send Daji to King Zhou, and Su Quanzhong and the rest of the Su Family supported his rebellion.
• King Zhou approved Fei Zhong and You Hun's proposal to send Chong Houhu to capture Su Hu.
• Chong Houhu led fifty thousand soldiers to Jizhou and demanded Su Hu surrender, but Su Hu charged out with his army.
• Su Quanzhong killed Mei Wu, and Jizhou's forces routed Chong Houhu's generals in battle.
• Su Hu led a nighttime raid on the Northern Army's camp, forcing Chong Houhu to flee after losing more than half his troops.
• The Su Family celebrated their victory, while Su Hu worried that Jizhou could not stand against all of Great Shang.

After Ji Chang urged Su Hu to send Su Daji to Zhaoge to spare Jizhou and Xiqi from war, Su Daji agreed to go with her father. At Enzhou Post Station, the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked her in her sleep and pulled her spirit from her body.

• Ji Chang's letter urged Su Hu to offer Su Daji to King Zhou rather than risk a war between Great Shang and Xiqi.
• Su Hu accepted that there was no other way to protect Jizhou's people, and Su Daji resolved to enter the palace to keep her family safe.
• Su Hu set out for Zhaoge with Su Daji and three thousand troops, then stopped at Enzhou Post Station despite the Post Station Master's warning about evil spirits.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox appeared beside the sleeping Su Daji and sucked her three souls and seven spirits from her body.
• Su Daji's spirit saw the Nine-Tailed Fox and begged it not to kill her, fearing King Zhou would punish her family.

The Nine-Tailed Fox swallowed Su Daji’s Primordial Spirit and took over her body, while the real Daji was saved by Nuwa. Daji accepted Nuwa as her teacher, and their bond sent auspicious qi to Su Hu and the Su Family.

• The Nine-Tailed Fox swallowed Daji’s Primordial Spirit, entered her body, and assumed her identity.
• Nuwa saved Daji’s Primordial Spirit outside Enzhou Post Station and explained that the fox had entered the mortal world under her orders.
• Nuwa offered to take Daji to Empress Wa’s Palace to cultivate, and Daji agreed after learning she might reunite with her family.
• Daji acknowledged Nuwa as her teacher, becoming Nuwa’s second disciple.
• The master-disciple bond sent auspicious qi through the Karma Line to Su Hu and the Su Family.

The Nine-Tailed Fox entered Zhaoge in Daji’s form, and King Zhou pretended to be bewitched by her to preserve Empress Nuwa’s plans. Meanwhile, at Chentang Pass, Li Jing sought help from True Man Taiyi over Lady Yin’s unusually long pregnancy.

• The Nine-Tailed Fox, impersonating Su Daji, arrived at court, where King Zhou pardoned Su Hu’s family and restored his office after seeing her beauty.
• King Zhou privately acted infatuated with Daji, concealing his awareness of her origins and letting rumors spread that he had abandoned government for pleasure.
• Lady Yin remained pregnant for more than three years, and Li Jing argued with her over whether the unborn child was a demon.
• Li Jing met True Man Taiyi outside his residence and urgently asked the immortal to help with Lady Yin’s pregnancy.

True Man Taiyi identified Lady Yin’s unborn child as a Spiritual Fetus and gave Li Jing two treasures before departing. Six months later, Lady Yin gave birth to a crimson fleshy ball, and Li Jing struck it with his sword just as True Man Taiyi arrived to stop him.

• Li Jing brought True Man Taiyi to Lady Yin, who learned that the child she had carried for three years was a Spiritual Fetus, not a demon.
• True Man Taiyi offered the Universe Ring and Heaven-Mixing Silk as gifts and said he would return after six months to take the child as his disciple.
• After True Man Taiyi left, Li Jing ordered the servants to care for Lady Yin until the child’s expected birth.
• Six months later, Lady Yin gave birth to a crimson fleshy ball, and Li Jing mistook it for a demon.
• True Man Taiyi appeared and shouted for Li Jing to stop, but Li Jing’s sword struck the fleshy ball.