Chapter Summaries

Supreme Xuanwei True Person arrived to stop the Buddhist assault on the human world, revealing himself as the inheritor of Dao Ancestor Taiqing Moral Celestial Venerable. He overwhelmed Namo Emperor Treasure Banner Mani Victorious Light Buddha, and the chapter ended with the Daoist temples’ bells ringing as he declared that his Dao flourished day by day.

• Supreme Xuanwei True Person rode in on a green ox with purple qi, causing the old monk to retreat and revealing his fear of the Daoist’s overwhelming momentum.
• Lü Chunyang recognized his Teacher’s signs of inheritance and told Li Zhai that Supreme Xuanwei had received the mantle of Dao Ancestor Taiqing Moral Celestial Venerable.
• Supreme Xuanwei stabilized and increased his momentum with his Inner Scenery World, while four Bodhisattvas intervened and were struck down as their power strengthened him.
• The old monk revealed himself as Namo Emperor Treasure Banner Mani Victorious Light Buddha and urged Supreme Xuanwei to retreat, but the Daoist advanced and shattered his golden Buddha body with a sword-finger strike.
• As the city drums and Daoist temple bells sounded across the nine provinces, the Buddha light and purple qi faded, and Supreme Xuanwei declared, “My Dao flourishes day by day.”

Qi WuHuo defeated the Buddhist forces, killed Namo Emperor Treasure Banner Mani Victorious Light Buddha, and captured his Sarira as the Buddhist-D Dao conflict’s main crisis ended. As the empire faced an uncertain succession, Qi WuHuo rode with Old Green Ox to take up a quiet post in the Capital City and investigate the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

• Li Hui conceded after Li Zhai’s cavalry broke into the Star Picking Tower, and he asked them to spare the innocent.
• Qi WuHuo killed Po Hui'an, whose three incarnations as Namo Emperor Treasure Banner Mani Victorious Light Buddha were extinguished, then drew the Buddha light into his Inner Scenery World and claimed the Sarira.
• Qi WuHuo received invitations from Guanyin Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Puxian Bodhisattva, and Lü Chunyang, while the Map of Mountains and Rivers stirred in his spiritual platform.
• The immortals recognized Qi WuHuo’s feat and privately named him True Martial Demon Queller Great Emperor of the Central Pole of the North.
• Li Hui was removed from power, Li Zhai was placed under house arrest and called Duke Wen Shang, and the empire’s future succession became uncertain.
• Qi WuHuo rode Old Green Ox to the Treasury Chamber of a quiet government office, where he took up a post as Treasury Keeper.

After the Buddhist and Daoist clash, Li Zhai purged the court and remade the realm while Prince Qin Li Weifeng began quietly gathering the people’s support. Qi WuHuo returned to the Treasury Chamber, where Lü Chunyang announced that he had overcome the Eight Trials and was ready to ascend.

• Li Zhai imprisoned Li Hui, executed a leading scholar, and launched a bloody purge before forcing sweeping reforms across the realm.
• Prince Qin Li Weifeng told Su Shengyuan that he wanted the throne and hoped to advance by serving the common people.
• Su Yue'er and County Princess Qiong Yu listened to tavern tales of the Daoist who had exposed the Buddha’s flaw, while Qi WuHuo passed unnoticed outside.
• Qi WuHuo returned to the Treasury Chamber with the Map of Mountains and Rivers, whose transformation had stalled at ninety percent.
• Lü Chunyang visited Qi WuHuo, said he had finally seen through the Eight Trials, and declared that he was ascending.

Lü Chunyang warned Qi WuHuo that the Great Calamity would continue and that Buddhas would enter the Mortal World in sixty years; Qi WuHuo vowed to guard the realm while Lü Chunyang went on to complete his Dao. As Qi WuHuo began studying the Treasury Chamber’s ancient records, Great Emperor Ziwei’s court received a demand to reveal the identity of the Demon-Subduer.

• Lü Chunyang told Qi WuHuo that the Buddha’s other two bodies would recover and Buddhas would come from the West in sixty years, then offered to hold them back with his sword.
• Qi WuHuo pledged to guard the Mortal World for sixty years, and Lü Chunyang departed, having overcome his Dao Tribulation and completed his cultivation.
• Old Green Ox explained Lü Chunyang’s struggle with attachment to the Dao and recognized that Qi WuHuo’s work in the Treasury Chamber might lead him to found a religion.
• Qi WuHuo began studying the records accumulated over eight thousand years to understand Xuan Zhen’s path and complete the Human Emperor Destiny Scroll.
• Heavenly Marshal Tian Peng reported to Great Emperor Ziwei that the Demon-Subduer had defeated a Buddha and passed the Northern Pole Saints’ trial, then requested that his identity be announced throughout the Six Realms.

The Heavenly Court chose to honor Qi WuHuo as True Martial Demon Queller Great Emperor rather than invest him with the title, while he continued serving people in the Mortal World. Four Bodhisattvas came to seek his help reversing the Buddhist and Daoist tribulation, and Qi WuHuo welcomed them as if he had expected their arrival.

• The Immortals recalled Demon Queller’s execution of Emperor Lord Donghua and were stunned to learn that he had slain a Buddha.
• Heavenly Marshal Tian Peng urged the Central Pole Ziwei Great Emperor to grant Qi WuHuo the rank of Fourth Saint, but the Emperor ordered the North Pole Exorcism Institute to honor him as True Martial Demon Queller instead.
• Qi WuHuo repaired the Treasury Chamber by hand and told Old Green Ox that he was willing to grow old while serving the people of the Mortal World.
• Guanyin, Maitreya, Puxian Bodhisattva, and a fourth Bodhisattva arrived in the Capital City seeking Qi WuHuo’s help after the Buddha Lineages were shattered.
• Guanyin noticed a Dragon Maiden had stolen his disguised purse, and the four Bodhisattvas reached the Treasury Chamber to meet Qi WuHuo.
• Qi WuHuo opened the door before Maitreya could knock and welcomed the four Bodhisattvas, saying he had been waiting for them.

The four bodhisattvas asked Qi WuHuo to help stop Buddhist cultivators who had sealed a major temple and were preparing to attack the human world. Unable to leave the city because of his ties to human destiny, Qi WuHuo offered to send his powerful friend True Lord Shangqing Dongxuan in his place.

• A young Dragon Maiden discovered that the purse she had taken contained only lotus seeds, realized she had been tricked, and hurried back to find the person who had fooled her.
• Guanyin, Maitreya, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra met Qi WuHuo in the Treasury Chamber and explained that Buddhist cultivators had turned a major temple into a sealed Buddhist realm.
• Guanyin told Qi WuHuo that the four bodhisattvas planned to enter the Buddhist realm and sacrifice themselves to break the calamity, but their power alone would not be enough.
• Qi WuHuo foresaw that the Buddhist forces could strike the human world during King Wei Wu's unification campaign, but he refused to leave the city because of his connection to human destiny.
• Qi WuHuo offered to send his friend True Lord Shangqing Dongxuan, a disciple of the Upper Pure Dao Ancestor who carried two blood-red swords, to help the bodhisattvas.

Qi WuHuo confronted four Bodhisattvas with the possibility that the campaign against corrupt Buddhist monks might require killing them all, helping them resolve their doubts before they prepared to attack Lantuo Temple. As they went to seek Niu Jinnniu’s aid, they learned that the Northern Pole’s Fourth Saint, Demon-Slayer, was about to be officially announced.

• Qi WuHuo received Guanyin Bodhisattva’s map to Lantuo Temple and agreed to inform Shangqing Dongxuan about it.
• Qi WuHuo asked the four Bodhisattvas whether Shangqing Dongxuan should slay all the monks at Lantuo Temple, prompting them to affirm that the monks must be stopped and slain.
• The four Bodhisattvas bowed to Qi WuHuo, then left to gather magic treasures, elixirs, and talismans for their planned strike against Lantuo Temple.
• Qi WuHuo saw through the disguised little Dragon Maiden with his rudimentary Heavenly Eye Dharma Gate and let her remain outside while he returned to the Treasury Chamber.
• The four Bodhisattvas decided to seek Niu Jinnniu’s help and arrived at the Department of Combat, where an immortal told them the Northern Pole’s Fourth Saint, Demon-Slayer, was about to receive his official title.

The Jade Emperor destroyed the Exorcism Department’s dossier and used the Heavenly Book to attest Qi Wuhuo as the True Martial Demon Queller Great Emperor. The decree unfurled across the Heavenly Court, revealing his deeds to the Six Realms and leaving the Immortals and Gods stunned.

• Puxian Bodhisattva was shocked to learn that Demon Queller had killed Emperor Lord Donghua, while an immortal directed the four Bodhisattvas to Niu Jinnniu.
• Niu Jinnniu defended True Martial Lingying against claims that he was aggressive and difficult, then heard the Bodhisattvas explain their situation and promised to prepare their magic treasures.
• Jade Emperor Zhang Xiaoyu burned the North Pole Exorcism Institute’s dossier and wrote his own decree on the Heavenly Book’s secondary scroll, changing the title’s wording to “attest.”
• Thunder shook the Heavenly Court as a vast scroll unfurled across the Thirty-three Heavenly Gates, listing Qi Wuhuo’s age and his deeds, including killing a Buddha and Emperor Lord Donghua.
• The scroll proclaimed Qi Wuhuo as the True Martial Demon Queller Great Emperor, leaving the Immortals and Gods in silence.

Qi WuHuo visited Li Zhai and learned that the final node of the Buddhist formation was Li Hui himself, leaving Li Zhai torn over whether to kill his elder brother. As Li Zhai considered Qi WuHuo’s promise of another way to break the formation, a blood-robed Daoist arrived before the Buddhist temple.

• The revelation that Supreme Xuanwei True Person was the ruthless True Martial Demon Queller Great Emperor shocked Old Yellow Ox, the Yun Family Couple, and the Bodhisattvas, who hurried toward the Treasury Chamber after realizing his threat to slay them all had been serious.
• Qi WuHuo left the Treasury Chamber and noted the hidden Dragon Maiden’s karma before she decided to steal silver from him for her stay in the human world.
• Qi WuHuo visited Li Zhai’s residence to discuss his plans and discovered that Li Zhai had been unable to find the last node of the Buddhist formation.
• Li Zhai revealed that the formation’s final node was Li Hui’s body, forcing him to confront the prospect of killing the elder brother he loved.
• Qi WuHuo told Li Zhai that another way to break the formation might exist, then asked him to finish his tea and wait for events to turn.
• A dark-red-robed Daoist arrived at the river before the Buddha-lit temple as blood spread through the water.

Qi WuHuo infiltrated Lantuo Temple, discovered its monks were making artifacts and Physical Body Buddhas from victims, and found hundreds of captives protected by a dying monk. After leaving the survivors under his protection, he attacked the temple with a sea of blood and began cutting down its Bodhisattvas.

• Qi WuHuo used his Heavenly Eye to see crimson streams and hidden corruption beneath Lantuo Temple's pure Buddha light.
• Qi WuHuo sent a divine-thought insect into the temple, where he found tens of thousands of newly made ritual artifacts and Buddha statues containing murdered people.
• Qi WuHuo discovered hundreds of captives and learned that Buddhist monks had abducted them for a ritual, while the former Human Emperor had helped prepare the scheme.
• The old monk revealed that his disciples Jue Zhong and Jue Hui had tried to seek help, then died after protecting the captives; he died after asking Qi WuHuo to exorcise the evil.
• Qi WuHuo killed the monks who attacked the captives and left the survivors inside a protective golden circle.
• Qi WuHuo unleashed a sea of blood upon Lantuo Temple and used his sword to destroy the Bodhisattvas' lotus defenses and decapitate them.

Qi WuHuo unleashed the Blood Sea and destroyed Lantuo Temple, defeating its Buddhist defenders and freeing the survivors trapped inside. As the old bodhisattva called for help, the Buddha appeared from the west and pointed at Qi WuHuo.

• Qi WuHuo used the twin Tribulation Swords and the Blood Sea to break the monks’ ritual and engulf Lantuo Temple.
• The trapped survivors watched the temple walls collapse as the Blood Sea swept past them, leaving them unharmed beneath the open sky.
• Qi WuHuo’s Blood Sea killed several bodhisattvas and swallowed many other Buddhist cultivators as Lantuo Temple was destroyed.
• The old bodhisattva recognized Qi WuHuo as the ancient Blood Demon and called on the Buddha to destroy him.
• The Buddha appeared from the west and pointed directly at Qi WuHuo.

Qi WuHuo used Li Zhai’s destiny-fueled sword to force Namo Joyful Sound and Light Tathagata to retreat, then destroyed Lantuo Temple and its Buddhist lineage. As the temple burned, he discovered the imprisoned Lamp-Burning inside it.

• Namo Joyful Sound and Light Tathagata attacked Qi WuHuo’s blood-robed body while its power was waning.
• Qi WuHuo borrowed Li Zhai’s sword and sent it a hundred li to pierce the Buddha’s heart and halt his Divine Ability.
• Namo Joyful Sound and Light Tathagata retreated beyond the frontier, then fled another 108,000 li when Qi WuHuo pressed forward.
• Qi WuHuo burned Lantuo Temple and destroyed its scriptures and statues, killing the monks and Bodhisattvas who embraced the sinister Blood Sea Dharma.
• Qi WuHuo sensed a familiar aura in the collapsing temple and found Lamp-Burning chained inside a hollow behind a shattered Buddha statue.

Qi WuHuo rescued Burning Lamp and the captives from Lantuo Temple, then left a blood-written warning among the temple’s ruins. The survivors returned to the Capital City, while four bodhisattvas arrived too late and discovered the destruction attributed to Shangqing Dongxuan.

• Qi WuHuo freed Burning Lamp from the Garbhadhatu Mandala seal and evacuated several hundred captives from Lantuo Temple.
• Qi WuHuo calmed the survivors’ extreme emotions, escorted them toward the Capital City aboard a ship formed from the blood sea, and realized that the Law could be used for good or evil.
• The captives returned to their families, and Prince Qin Li Weifeng arranged their travel and support; decades later, their descendants honored the Blood Sea Dao Lord for saving them.
• Guanyin, Maitreya, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra arrived at Lantuo Temple and found its ruins and a cliff carved with Shangqing Dongxuan’s seven-kill warning.
• The chapter ended with Lantuo Temple destroyed, Namo Joyful Sound and Light Tathagata retreating 108,000 li, and True Lord Shangqing Dongxuan appearing before the Six Realms for the first time.

Qi WuHuo returned Li Zhai’s sword after the Blood Sea rescued the imprisoned people, while Li Weifeng organized their care. With the Buddhist array in the Capital City broken and Human Dao Destiny converging, Li Zhai prepared to face his brother Li Hui; Qi WuHuo sensed Buddhas arriving from the west.

• The Bodhisattvas left Lantuo Temple without praying for the dead, choosing to preserve the site as a warning after the monks’ slaughter.
• Namo Joyful Sound and Light Tathagata summoned Buddhas to discuss Supreme Xuanwei, but stayed 108,000 li from the Divine Martial Dynasty’s western border while the others went to seek an explanation.
• Qi WuHuo returned Li Zhai’s sword, and Li Weifeng arranged shelter, medical care, and help contacting relatives for the rescued people.
• Qi WuHuo revealed that the Buddhist Garbhadhatu Mandala array had been broken because his friend had destroyed Lantuo Temple, freeing the Capital City’s final node.
• Human Dao Destiny began to converge, Li Zhai resolved to meet Li Hui, and Qi WuHuo sensed Buddhas approaching from the west.

Qi WuHuo accompanied Li Zhai to Star Picking Tower, where Li Zhai confronted his imprisoned brother Li Hui and declared his ambition to unite the human world. As the brothers faced each other, Human Dao Destiny stabilized and blazed like fire.

• Qi WuHuo sensed the Buddhas approaching and sent Little Medicine Spirit to meet them while he accompanied Li Zhai to Star Picking Tower.
• Li Zhai entered the tower alone to face Li Hui, while Qi WuHuo remained outside and watched Human Qi begin to stabilize.
• Li Hui accused Li Zhai of killing loyal subjects and relatives, then drew his sword, but could not bring himself to strike his kneeling younger brother.
• Li Zhai condemned the aristocratic clans and declared that he would reform the realm, defeat Buddhism, unite the nations, and end war across the Four Seas.
• Li Zhai proclaimed that he would make all under Heaven one, and Human Dao blazed as its Destiny became completely stabilized.

Li Zhai revealed his ambition to unite the four seas, while Qi WuHuo chose to remain in the Capital City for sixty years and sheltered the gravely wounded Master Lantern-Burning. As Qi WuHuo strengthened the Map of Mountains and Rivers, the Buddhas gathered at the border but were stopped by the human world’s destiny and a plum grove conjured by Little Medicine Spirit.

• Li Hui was shaken by Li Zhai’s ambition to unite the four seas and wept as he recognized his younger brother’s greater vision.
• Li Zhai explained to Qi WuHuo why he intended to unite the world, and Qi WuHuo said he would remain in the Capital City for sixty years.
• Qi WuHuo and Old Green Ox stabilized the wounded Master Lantern-Burning, while Qi WuHuo began restoring Empress Nuwa’s Map of Mountains and Rivers with Human Dao Destiny.
• A dozen Buddhas gathered beyond the border but hesitated to enter Divine Martial Nine Provinces, fearing its growing destiny and Qi WuHuo’s sword.
• Little Medicine Spirit delivered Qi WuHuo’s message to the Buddhas, and a ten-li plum grove appeared at the frontier as Qi WuHuo painted the map.
• Guanyin told the Buddhas that they had come to the human world sixty years too early and relayed Qi WuHuo’s command that they return.

Qi WuHuo used Human Dao Destiny and Empress Nuwa’s Map of Mountains and Rivers to make a plum grove appear and drive the Buddhas from the human realm, then transformed the artifact into the Map of Mountains and Rivers and State and Altar. As Guanyin returned to the Treasury Chamber, she sensed that Qi WuHuo’s Spirit Charm had reached the Great Grade.

• Little Medicine Spirit appeared before the Buddhas with a plum branch, conjured a grove, and warned them to arrive one sexagenary cycle early; the Buddhas withdrew.
• Qi WuHuo revealed that he had painted the plum grove into the Map of Mountains and Rivers and used Human Dao Destiny to influence the human realm.
• Qi WuHuo experimented with the Map’s powers, learning that it let him wield Human Dao Destiny across Divine Martial Nine Provinces and alter its landscape.
• Old Green Ox watched Qi WuHuo create and erase things in the courtyard, then wrote to his master that Second Master had found a path to another Great Grade.
• Qi WuHuo renamed the transformed treasure the Map of Mountains and Rivers and State and Altar, recognizing a path toward becoming a Ruler of the human realm.
• Guanyin accompanied Little Medicine Spirit back to the Treasury Chamber, saw Qi WuHuo, and recognized his Spirit Charm as Great Grade.

Qi WuHuo explained to Guanyin why he would fight back if the Buddhas invaded the Mortal World, then brought him to see the wounded Dipankara. After learning that Lantuo Temple had been destroyed and most of its captives had died, Dipankara renounced Buddhism, and Little Medicine Spirit invited him to practice the Dao.

• Qi WuHuo showed Guanyin the atrocities at Lantuo Temple and explained that he would fight only if the Buddhas returned to the Mortal World.
• Guanyin agreed to warn the Buddhas and went with Qi WuHuo to visit the recovering Dipankara.
• Dipankara learned that the Buddhas had tacitly approved Lantuo Temple's crimes and that only a little over seven hundred common folk had survived.
• Dipankara recounted how his companion betrayed him and Lantuo Temple's Buddhists tortured him and made him a Physical Body Buddha.
• Dipankara declared that he would no longer practice Buddhism, and Little Medicine Spirit invited him to join them in practicing the Dao.

Little Medicine Spirit’s innocent words awakened Lamp-Bearer from despair and led him to reconsider his Buddhist path. After seeing Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata reborn as a child, Lamp-Bearer chose Daoism, and his transformation triggered an upheaval in the Buddhist Kingdom.

• Little Medicine Spirit’s remark broke through Lamp-Bearer’s despair, while Old Green Ox hurriedly carried the boy away.
• Qi WuHuo discovered that Lamp-Bearer’s choice was bound to Human Dao Destiny, then sent an incarnation to take Lamp-Bearer and Guanyin on a journey.
• Qi WuHuo’s incarnation brought Lamp-Bearer to Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata’s hundred-day celebration, where the reincarnated Buddha touched Lamp-Bearer’s hand.
• Lamp-Bearer realized he could release his past, renounced Buddhism, and asked Supreme Xuanwei to lead him into the Dao.
• Lamp-Bearer transformed into a Daoist, and his change sparked an upheaval in the Buddhist Kingdom’s ancestral grounds.

The Buddhas concealed the Burning Lamp’s extinction and agreed to undermine King Wei Wu’s Human Dao Destiny by backing his brothers. Great Emperor Changsheng worked to sever Supreme Xuanwei’s Dao Path through the puppet-like Tathagata, while Great Emperor Zhuling of the South Pole secretly descended to confront Supreme Xuanwei.

• An arhat saw the Burning Lamp go out, and one third of the Bodhi Tree’s leaves fell.
• The Buddhas hid the lamp’s extinction and discussed how to enter the human realm despite Supreme Xuanwei’s protection.
• Buddha of Boundless Life, Wisdom, and Light proposed supporting King Wei Wu’s brothers to divide the court and weaken his Human Dao Destiny.
• Great Emperor Changsheng judged Supreme Xuanwei a future threat, then sent threads to control the Holy King of Immeasurable Life, Wisdom, and Determinate Light Tathagata on Mount Ling.
• Great Emperor Zhuling of the South Pole secretly descended to the mortal world, seeking to punish Supreme Xuanwei for what he had done to Donghua.