Chapter Summaries

Qi WuHuo pieced together Fuxi’s ancient scheme to restore the original Wa Sovereign and realized he had been made a chess piece in the Era Tribulation. He found the divine power Fuxi had left for him and faced an artifact spirit who resembled Xi Huang.

• Zhang Xiaoyu visited Qi WuHuo, who read Fuxi’s message and connected the Wa Sovereign’s blood, the Taiyi Seal, and his own erasures.
• Qi WuHuo inferred that Fuxi had manipulated Gouchen, the Nurturing Saint Embryo method, and the Era Tribulation to bring back the original Wa Sovereign through her traces.
• Qi WuHuo grew angry at being used, then read Fuxi’s wish for A’Wa’s people to endure and found the method Draw Weapons into the Soul, Unity of Person and Artifact.
• Qi WuHuo and Zhang Xiaoyu saw a gentle, jade-like artifact spirit resembling Xi Huang, who denied being Fuxi.
• The words on Qi WuHuo’s jade slip revealed STRUGGLE, BATTLE, TRIUMPH, and ART, and Qi WuHuo said he understood.

Qi WuHuo prepared to undergo the tribulation and confront Taiyi, while Fuxi’s plan used false clues to draw Taiyi’s attention away from the real move. As Taiyi chased Qi WuHuo during their battle, Fuxi appeared beside him and greeted him.

• The artifact spirit agreed to show his face after Qi WuHuo displayed Supreme Xuanwei’s token, and Zhang Xiaoyu realized it had been made to lure Taiyi’s hatred toward Fuxi.
• Qi WuHuo told Zhang Xiaoyu he would undergo the tribulation in three days and asked him to increase its power; Zhang Xiaoyu agreed to help.
• Taiyi learned from Fuxi’s records that Qi WuHuo intended to use battle arts and the tribulation against him, and dismissed the plan as foolish.
• Qi WuHuo studied the Victorious Battle Method, then told his Teacher he would fight Taiyi during the tribulation; the Supreme One and the Shangqing Great Dao Lord inferred he planned to use One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
• Qi WuHuo fought Taiyi with Three Heads Six Arms and several divine abilities, then fled toward the tribulation to draw Taiyi after him.
• Taiyi caught Qi WuHuo, but Fuxi appeared beside him and greeted him as an old friend.

Qi WuHuo underwent the tribulation while battling Taiyi in his divine-soul world, then completed One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones and defeated Taiyi with a sword technique of his own. Supreme rescued Taiyi’s soul as Qi WuHuo claimed the Taiyi Seal and absorbed its power.

• Taiyi mistook Destroy Buddha, Execute Emperor’s artifact spirit for Fuxi and attacked him, while Qi WuHuo retreated from their clash.
• Qi WuHuo summoned tribulation lightning and absorbed its pure yang qi as the Thunder Department intensified the assault under the Jade Emperor’s decree.
• Taiyi tried to suppress Qi WuHuo’s transformation with the Taiyi Seal, but Supreme used a pouch to pull Taiyi’s soul out of Qi WuHuo’s body.
• Qi WuHuo divided into three selves and wielded four swords against Taiyi, then unleashed his own fifth technique, Interception, to sever Taiyi’s hand from the Taiyi Seal.
• Taiqing Moral Celestial Venerable’s treasure drew Taiyi’s consciousness away, and Qi WuHuo seized the seal and absorbed its power into his clone.

Qi WuHuo used the Taiyi Seal, Mount Tai, and Fengdu to overcome Taiyi’s attempt to reclaim his authority and unite the divine powers within himself. After transforming into a new, imperial form, Qi WuHuo declared that his name was Taiyi, and a secluded Daoist in the Great Luo Heaven opened his eyes.

• Qi WuHuo began cultivating the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, using the Taiyi Seal and assigning the Blood River Sword, Fuxi Qin, and Earth God talisman to his three forms.
• Taiyi summoned the seal back, but Qi WuHuo joined its power to the Earth God talisman, causing Mount Tai and the Underworld to quake.
• Qi WuHuo invoked his titles and authority as Lord of Mount Tai and Prefect of Fengdu, forcing the Taiyi Seal to merge with his talisman.
• The merged seal transformed Qi WuHuo, whose newly united divine powers stirred the gods and emperors throughout the heavens.
• Qi WuHuo named himself Taiyi, and a middle-aged Daoist in the Great Luo Heaven opened his eyes.

Qi WuHuo transformed the Taiyi Seal and absorbed the mysterious [One], while Taishang and Shangqing captured Taiyi’s remnant soul. After the Celestial Court mistook the sky-reaching aura for Taiyi’s return, Yuqing appeared before Qi WuHuo, Taishang, Shangqing, and Empress Houtu.

• Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole sensed an aura of [One] and wondered whether a new Taiyi had appeared, while Great Emperor Changsheng of the South Pole welcomed Taiyi’s return.
• The immortals panicked at the aura, and Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind Ear pretended to be unconscious after their failed attempt to observe it.
• Zhang Xiaoyu prepared to unleash his Haotian cultivation body and fight Taiyi, but the Haotian Mirror showed him that Taishang had taken Taiyi into a magic treasure.
• Qi WuHuo used the Taiyi Seal to transform the mysterious [One] into the Taiyi Imperial Seal, while Taishang and Shangqing contained Taiyi’s remnant soul in a pouch.
• Empress Houtu arrived to demand an explanation, learned that the new [Taiyi] was Qi WuHuo, and was joined by Yuqing, who introduced himself and offered his greetings.

Yuqing Qingyu, Shangqing, and Supreme argued over who should teach Qi WuHuo, each claiming credit for his cultivation and achievements. After Di Ting was summoned and refused to choose between them, Qingyu proposed settling the dispute with a fight, leaving the three Dao Ancestors poised to clash.

• Yuqing Qingyu examined Qi WuHuo and confirmed that Taiyi's traces had vanished, then offered to take him to Great Luo Heaven for a hundred years of secluded cultivation.
• Supreme and Shangqing Great Dao Lord each argued that their teachings and inheritance made them the best teacher for Qi WuHuo.
• Shangqing revealed that Di Ting had originally led Qi WuHuo to Supreme, and the three Daoists summoned Di Ting to ask why he had chosen him.
• Di Ting arrived in the courtyard, recognized the three Dao Ancestors, and refused to answer which one seemed most like Qi WuHuo's teacher.
• Supreme insisted he had taken Qi WuHuo as a disciple first, while Qingyu said the more capable Daoist should teach him.
• Qingyu flipped the table and challenged Supreme and Shangqing to fight before continuing their argument.

The Three Purities fought at full strength inside a sealed gap in the universe while Di Ting watched in terror. Empress Houtu stopped them and proposed that Qi WuHuo’s three incarnations each become disciples of one of the Three Purities, with their contest to resume in five hundred years.

• Di Ting tried to flee the courtyard, but the Shangqing Great Dao Lord’s spatial formation sealed it off from the outside world.
• The Shangqing Great Dao Lord and the Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable clashed with world-shaking sword and creation techniques while Dao Ancestor Tai Shang watched.
• Empress Houtu told Qi WuHuo not to interfere and entered the sealed realm carrying the Sky-Shattering Mace.
• Empress Houtu halted the fight and proposed that Qi WuHuo’s three incarnations become disciples of the Three Purities, then face off again in five hundred years.

The Three Pure Ones agreed to take Qi WuHuo’s three divided bodies as disciples, with Yuqing teaching the Primordial Spirit body, Shangqing the blood-and-essence body, and Taishang the original-qi body. After Qi WuHuo bowed to them and received gifts, a message from Prince Qin Li Weifeng arrived from the imperial capital, beginning with the words “Venerable Buddha!”

• Empress Houtu’s intervention ended the Three Pure Ones’ storm, and they agreed to settle the dispute over Qi WuHuo’s tutelage.
• Yuqing claimed the Primordial Spirit body to keep Taiyi’s influence from overwhelming Qi WuHuo, while Shangqing and Taishang chose the blood-and-essence and original-qi bodies.
• The old man explained the arrangement to Qi WuHuo, who bowed to the Three Pure Ones and called them “Teacher.”
• Yuqing gave Qi WuHuo the Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage and promised to teach him in Great Luo Heaven, while Shangqing gave him a horsetail whisk and promised battle training.
• Qi WuHuo received a message from Prince Qin Li Weifeng whose opening words were “Venerable Buddha!”

Prince Qin revealed that the emperor had turned toward the Buddhist monks after the Crown Prince poisoned Qiong Yu, while Qi WuHuo learned that Buddhist factions planned to exploit the Human Race’s rising fortune. His three teachers charged him to enter the mortal world and restore the Dao, ending with Supreme Celestial Venerable promising him the Green Ox as his mount.

• Prince Qin wrote to his teacher that Crown Prince Li Hui had poisoned Qiong Yu and that the emperor had become enthralled by monks from the White Horse Temple.
• Qi WuHuo read Prince Qin’s letter and realized the emperor had sought Buddhist support after losing his allies and fearing the Daoist sect and Heavenly Court.
• Supreme Stroking Beard explained that the Buddhist sect intended to use the Human Race’s rising fortune to bring a Bodhi seed into the mortal world and eventually turn it into a Buddha.
• Primordial Celestial Venerable Yuqing said Qi WuHuo had to settle his worldly affairs within sixty years before ascending, while his teachers agreed to establish his foundation for three months.
• Taiqing Moral Celestial Venerable ordered Qi WuHuo to enter the mortal world, spread the Dao, and restore peace, and Qi WuHuo accepted the charge.
• Supreme Celestial Venerable told Qi WuHuo to ride the Green Ox into the mortal world after three months and uphold the righteous law.

Qi WuHuo learned that the Human Emperor was again using the human race as a bargaining chip and resolved to strip him of his title. After seeing the worsening effects of the emperor’s Buddhist policies in town, Qi WuHuo sent an incarnation carrying the Human Emperor Seal to act immediately, rather than wait three months.

• Yuqing, Shangqing, and Empress Houtu offered Qi WuHuo instruction or gifts before leaving, while Di Ting stayed for dinner with the old man.
• Qi WuHuo sensed the Human Emperor Seal’s authority and planned to expose the emperor’s crimes and strip him of his title when he descended the mountain in three months.
• Qi WuHuo returned to town, taught the children for the last time, and met Master Zhao, who described the emperor’s Buddhist policies and their effects on the people.
• Qi WuHuo defeated Master Zhao at Go and warned that the emperor’s choices could turn peace into chaos.
• Qi WuHuo’s incarnation appeared with the Human Emperor Seal, accepted the decree, and set out to strip the emperor of his title that day.

Qi WuHuo’s primordial-qi incarnation traveled through the Netherworld to the Divine Martial Dynasty’s capital and confronted the Human Emperor, who had embraced Buddhism and planned to tear down Empress Nuwa’s shrine. After defeating the monks and crushing the Human Emperor’s defenses, Qi WuHuo forced the emperor to his knees and began issuing a decree.

• Qi WuHuo’s primordial-qi incarnation crossed the Netherworld and entered the capital, where he saw monks harassing residents and sensed the city’s troubled state.
• Li Qiongyu and Prince Qin failed to reach the Human Emperor and lamented his plan to build a Buddhist temple where Empress Nuwa’s shrine stood.
• Qi WuHuo entered the palace and heard the Human Emperor praise Buddhism, dismiss Empress Nuwa as a legend, and ask to become the Buddha’s disciple.
• The Human Emperor revealed that he had used himself as bait to draw out the Daoist disciples, and the three monks attacked Qi WuHuo as Feather Forest Guards surrounded him.
• Qi WuHuo used Turn the Heavens Upside Down to shatter the Buddhist manifestations and the Human Emperor’s Human Dao Destiny, then forced the emperor to his knees and ordered him to receive the decree.

Qi WuHuo used the First Emperor’s seal and Human Dao Destiny to depose the Human Emperor, severing the ruler’s hoarded destiny and returning it to people throughout the realm. He spared the crippled emperor and left the final stroke of [Depose] unwritten, calling on all under Heaven to write it.

• The Human Emperor argued that killing him would turn the court, Aristocratic Clans, and people against the Daoist sect, while Qi WuHuo listened and recognized the power behind the throne.
• Qi WuHuo summoned the First Emperor’s manifestation, suppressed the realm’s Human Dao Destiny, and declared that the current emperor must be deposed.
• The First Emperor’s sword destroyed the Human Emperor’s manifested destiny, and Qi WuHuo sent the severed destiny across the realm to its people.
• Qi WuHuo wielded the Human Emperor Sword to write [Depose] on the screen wall, then handed the sword to the disgraced Human Emperor without finishing the final stroke.
• The Human Emperor begged Qi WuHuo to kill him and complete the character, but Qi WuHuo spared him and said that all under Heaven would write the last stroke.

The Daoist’s actions left the Human Emperor unable to wield Human Dao Destiny, and Crown Prince Li Hui began governing in his stead as the emperor’s crimes spread throughout the realm. The Daoist planned to enter the Capital in three months as a Keeper of the Repository, where he could watch events unfold and consult ancient records.

• The imperial physician declared that the Human Emperor could no longer use Human Dao Destiny, and the ministers urged Crown Prince Li Hui to govern in his stead, though no one could draw the Human Emperor Sword from the screen wall.
• Rumors about the Human Emperor’s past crimes spread across the nine provinces, and scholars made accusations in the Spring Examination Petition.
• A monk requested help from the Western Heaven Buddha Kingdom, while Prince Qin and Li Qiongyu concluded that the Daoist intended for the people to expose and judge the Human Emperor’s crimes before his execution.
• The Daoist played chess with Master Zhao, gave food to travelers returning to Jinzhou, and noticed snow falling as Li Qiongyu watched the same snowfall in the Capital.
• The Daoist told Prince Qin he would enter the Capital in three months and chose the position of Keeper of the Repository so he could observe events and consult the First Human Emperor’s ancient records.

After Qi WuHuo returned to Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable, his teacher warned him that his actions had drawn three Buddhist Bodhisattvas into the mortal world and told him to prepare to face them. Amitabha Buddha tried to recruit Qi WuHuo into Buddhism, but froze when the Daoist turned to answer him.

• Qi WuHuo climbed through the blizzard to meet Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable, who questioned why he had entered the tribulation early and deposed the Human Emperor.
• Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable told Qi WuHuo to cultivate for three months and defeat Manjushri, Guanyin, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta to prove himself as a Daoist disciple.
• Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable sent Qi WuHuo to Supreme Pure Spirit Treasure Celestial Venerable to have a sword forged.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva lamented that the Capital City affair had drawn her into Buddhist karma, while Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva reported Qi WuHuo's actions to Amitabha Buddha.
• Amitabha Buddha resolved to approach Qi WuHuo and persuade him to join Buddhism, then sent him a message calling him a young lay practitioner with Buddhist affinity.
• Qi WuHuo turned to face Amitabha Buddha, whose smile froze.

Amitabha Buddha met the Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable, surrendered the Bodhi Tree, and withdrew from the tribulation. Meanwhile, Qi WuHuo tested the Sword Embryo forged from Great Emperor Gouchen’s weapon and awakened a Taiyi Dharma Body True Form as Gouchen’s divine will attacked him.

• Amitabha Buddha recognized the Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable, offered him the Bodhi Tree, and learned that the Dao Lord in the imperial capital was his unworthy little disciple.
• The Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable warned Amitabha Buddha not to interfere when beings of equal standing fought, and Amitabha Buddha withdrew to the Buddhist realm.
• Amitabha Buddha gave Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva a decree to gather bodhisattvas for the Buddhist tribulation, then admitted he could take no part in it.
• The Supreme Pure Spirit Treasure Celestial Venerable led Qi WuHuo to a Sword Embryo forged from Great Emperor Gouchen’s weapon and asked him to choose whether to preserve Gouchen’s aura.
• Qi WuHuo accepted the Sword Embryo’s challenge, fought through its battle memories, and confronted Great Emperor Gouchen’s divine will.
• Great Emperor Gouchen attacked Qi WuHuo, but Qi WuHuo manifested a Taiyi Dharma Body True Form and seized the weapon.

Qi WuHuo used the Taiyi Cultivation Body to fight Great Emperor Gouchen’s consciousness and complete the Gouchen Sword. As Shangqing Great Dao Lord celebrated his disciple’s achievement, the Fire Luminary erupted again with the new weapon in Qi WuHuo’s hand.

• Great Emperor Gouchen recognized the Taiyi Cultivation Body and challenged Qi WuHuo to a duel for the right to claim the other’s body or weapon.
• Qi WuHuo wielded Taiyi’s power to match Gouchen’s status and adapt his techniques, forcing Gouchen back with attacks that carried different Daoist resonances.
• Shangqing Great Dao Lord watched the sword-forging formation and realized Qi WuHuo was fighting Gouchen’s consciousness inside the Sword Embryo.
• Qi WuHuo saw the Empress briefly during the duel, then returned to the battle and unleashed the Tribulation Sword’s final strike.
• Qi WuHuo drew the completed Gouchen Sword from the Eight Trigrams formation and saluted Shangqing Great Dao Lord, who joyfully claimed him as his disciple.
• The Fire Luminary erupted with blazing light again, and the celestial officials reported that it now held a weapon.

The Fire Luminary drew the White Tiger Seven Mansions’ weaponry power into a sword aimed at the capital of Divine Martial Nine Provinces, while the Department of Dipper suspected Qi WuHuo was behind the change. As Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable began teaching Qi WuHuo Earth Immortal cultivation, pure Fire Source Qi and weaponry Gold Qi gathered under his control.

• The celestial official reported that the Fire Luminary had grown enormous and was drawing stellar power from the White Tiger Seven Mansions, shocking the Department of Dipper’s Star Lords.
• White Tiger Jianbing Divine Lord confronted the Star Lords, and Primordial Lady Taiyin used her astrolabe to discover that the Fire Luminary was forming a sword from the White Tiger’s weaponry Qi.
• Primordial Lady Taiyin’s calculations showed that the sword was aimed at the capital of Divine Martial Nine Provinces, prompting the Star Lords to wonder whether Qi WuHuo’s arrival could let them bring the Three Qi Fire Official Great Emperor back to the Department of Dipper.
• The Fire Luminary sent pure stellar power into the human world, and Qi WuHuo visited the Supreme One before Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable agreed to teach him Earth Immortal cultivation.
• As Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable spoke about gathering the five Qi, Fire Source Qi and weaponry Gold Qi surged onto Qi WuHuo’s hand and gathered at his command, leaving him asking whether this was normal.

Qi WuHuo began gathering the Five Qi under the Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable’s guidance, but his Taiyi Cultivation Body absorbed the Fire and Gold Qi. He proposed using Taiyi’s Qi as Spirit and gathering the Qi of Heaven, Earth, Human, Spirit, and Ghost to build an Inner Scenery of the Six Realms.

• The Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable guided Qi WuHuo as he began cultivating with the Fire Source Qi and Gold Source Qi.
• Qi WuHuo absorbed the Geng Metal Qi and gained the Innate White Tiger Tribulation-Slaying Geng Metal Sword Qi, while the Fire Luminary poured its divine abilities into him.
• The Fire Source Qi reached perfect mastery in a single breath, but the Taiyi Cultivation Body swallowed both gathered Qi and grew stronger.
• The Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable explained that the Taiyi Cultivation Body would prevent Qi WuHuo’s true body from gathering the Five Qi by ordinary methods.
• Qi WuHuo proposed using Taiyi’s Qi as Spirit and gathering the Qi of Heaven, Earth, Human, Spirit, and Ghost to form an Inner Scenery of the Six Realms.
• The Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable praised Qi WuHuo’s insight.

Qi WuHuo chose Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable’s arduous path to seek the supreme Dao and incorporated Taiyi’s power into his Five Qi. After he sensed the Empress Wa again while fighting, the Three Dao Ancestors sealed the surrounding world and prepared to help him trace her.

• Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable explained that Qi WuHuo needed four powers beyond the traditional Heaven, Earth, Man, and Ghost to balance Taiyi, and offered him an easier Yin-and-Yang cultivation method as an alternative.
• Qi WuHuo asked whether the Yin-and-Yang path could reach Imperial, Extreme, and Pure realms, then chose to seek the supreme path; Yuqing told him to merge Taiyi Qi into his Five Qi.
• Yuqing Primordial Celestial Venerable confronted Old Green Ox in the courtyard, sealed the area into an independent realm, and called out to Tai Shang.
• Qi WuHuo incorporated Taiyi’s power and spent the following days adapting to it, strengthening his techniques and adding new variations to the Tribulation Sword.
• During a spar with the Great Dao Lord, Qi WuHuo’s Qi faltered after he saw the Empress Wa again, and the Great Dao Lord suspected he could sense her traces.
• The Three Dao Ancestors appeared around Qi WuHuo, sealed off Heaven and Earth, and prepared to join forces if he could sense the Empress Wa’s traces.

Qi WuHuo joined the Three Pure Dao Ancestors to reach the Wa Sovereign, whose spirit had been trapped in a realm of silence after Taiyi erased her. He could not bring her back, but their brief contact let her give him a gift of power before he was expelled.

• The Three Pure Dao Ancestors joined forces with Qi WuHuo to reveal the Wa Sovereign in the darkness where Taiyi's authority had trapped her.
• The Wa Sovereign recognized Qi WuHuo as human, and he reached for her but initially could not touch her.
• Shangqing Great Dao Lord sent the Tribulation Sword beneath Qi WuHuo, helping him reach the Wa Sovereign and touch her hand.
• The Wa Sovereign touched Qi WuHuo's head and gave him her power, but the Taiyi Cultivation Body shattered and Qi WuHuo returned to the Three Dao Ancestors.
• The Wa Sovereign's power strengthened Qi WuHuo's body, soul, and foundation, and he understood that she had said, "Thank you."