Chapter Summaries

Akasagarbha convinced E Shun and the southern feudal lords that Jiang Ziya was cursing them and that only a Saint could save their alliance, then led E Shun away to seek one. Meanwhile, two figures arrived in Ying Zhao’s Demon Kingdom, provoking the Demon Gods and demons to surround them.

• The feudal lords rejected cooperating with the Demon Race, and many were struck by mysterious curses and died horribly.
• Akasagarbha blamed Jiang Ziya for the deaths and claimed that only a Saint could stop him and save the Southern Lords Alliance.
• Akasagarbha swore an oath about the Demon Saints serving Empress Nuwa and persuaded E Shun to follow him to seek a Saint’s help.
• E Shun ordered Gao Chong to guard the camp and went with Akasagarbha through a portal opened by the monk’s prayer beads.
• Ying Zhao’s Demon Kingdom was described as housing demons across dozens of Great Thousand Worlds under his Saintly cultivation.
• Two figures split open the void and appeared in Ying Zhao’s domain, where Demon Gods and demons surrounded them.

Akasagarbha brought E Shun to Ying Zhao’s demon kingdom and proposed that Ying Zhao help overthrow King Zhou in exchange for Human Race Destiny and a stronger foundation. Ying Zhao was tempted but refused to act alone, deciding to find a friend to assist him.

• Akasagarbha and E Shun were surrounded by Demon Gods, and Akasagarbha stopped one attacker with the Pure Six-Root Bamboo.
• Akasagarbha invoked the Two Shakyas and offered Ying Zhao a chance to pursue the Transcendence Path, persuading him to bring the visitors into his dojo.
• Akasagarbha proposed that Ying Zhao support E Shun in overthrowing King Zhou and gain access to Human Race Destiny and Human Dao authority.
• Ying Zhao was strongly tempted by the offer but said he would find a friend to help, and Akasagarbha agreed.

Ying Zhao and Lu Wu agreed to aid E Shun’s Southern Lords Alliance, bringing Demon Race forces to Three Mountains Pass. After E Shun’s army challenged the defenders to an immortal contest and a Demon God appeared, the pass erupted in anger at the invaders’ choice of ally.

• Ying Zhao persuaded Lu Wu to join the campaign, and the two Demon Saints crushed and restored Akasagarbha to warn him against arrogance.
• Ying Zhao and Lu Wu gathered their Demon Gods and Great Demons and followed Akasagarbha to Three Mountains Pass.
• E Shun introduced the two Hunyuan Saints to the Southern Lords Alliance and promised to honor them with National Fortune if the alliance prevailed.
• Ying Zhao questioned whether the alliance could take Great Shang after breaching the pass, and E Shun insisted they could march straight toward Chaoge.
• E Shun’s army challenged Three Mountains Pass to an immortal contest, and the defenders erupted in fury when a Demon God appeared.

E Shun accused Jiang Ziya of cursing eighteen Southern Lords Alliance leaders to death and brought the Demon Race to Three Mountains Pass. Jiang Ziya denied killing them as the Plum Mountain Six Freaks prepared to face the enemy.

• The Southern Lords Alliance soldiers condemned E Chongyu for bringing the Demon Race, while mourners displayed the coffins of lords allegedly killed by Jiang Ziya.
• E Shun and the other mourners accused Jiang Ziya of cursing their fathers and eighteen lords to death, leaving Jiang Ziya and his allies bewildered.
• Deng Jiugong asked Jiang Ziya why he had not claimed credit for the killings, but Jiang Ziya insisted he had done nothing and had only recently arrived at Three Mountains Pass.
• E Shun challenged Jiang Ziya to a duel, and Jiang Ziya denied the accusation before cautiously retreating from E Shun’s killing intent.
• Akasagarbha challenged the defenders to send out immortals, and Kong Xuan invited the Plum Mountain Six Freaks to fight the enemy; they agreed.

The Plum Mountain Six Freaks and the Interception Sect immortals fought the Demon Race forces at Three Mountains Pass, while Kong Xuan confronted Ying Zhao. After Kong Xuan warned the Demon Race Saint to leave, Ying Zhao's head suddenly fell, leaving the battle in shock.

• The Plum Mountain Six Freaks joined Kong Xuan at Three Mountains Pass, where they had strengthened their cultivation while receiving the blessing of Human Race Destiny.
• Jin Dasheng fought Zhu Bi and killed him, then the other Plum Mountain Freaks joined the battle against the Demon Gods.
• Dozens of Demon Gods and their followers surrounded the Plum Mountain Six Freaks, prompting more than a thousand Interception Sect immortals to join the fight.
• Kong Xuan unleashed a storm of sword lights, but Ying Zhao swallowed them before confronting him.
• Kong Xuan warned Ying Zhao to leave Three Mountains Pass or die, and Ying Zhao's head fell as his challenge ended.

Kong Xuan killed Ying Zhao with the Qingping Sword and routed the Southern Lords Alliance at Three Mountains Pass. After the victory, Deng Jiugong struggled to decide what credit Jiang Ziya deserved.

• Ying Zhao died after Kong Xuan struck him with the Qingping Sword, and Lu Wu fled the scene.
• The fall of Ying Zhao caused blood rain and grief across the Primordial Wilderness, while the Hunyuan Saints retreated from the conflict in fear.
• Kong Xuan wiped out the Demon Race forces on the battlefield and ordered Deng Jiugong and Jiang Ziya to lead the troops out of Three Mountains Pass.
• Deng Jiugong’s forces and the Rebellion-Suppression Army routed the fifty-thousand-strong rebel army.
• Deng Jiugong began recording the officers’ merits but could not determine what credit Jiang Ziya had earned.

Jiang Shang returned from Three Mountains Pass after the Southern Lords Alliance was defeated without his help, yet Di Xin rewarded him with a ministerial post and a mansion. When Jiang Ziya warned Di Xin about the Nine-Tailed Fox, Di Xin asked whether he had the Investiture List, leaving Jiang Shang panicked and wondering how the king knew about it.

• Jiang Shang arrived at Three Mountains Pass, where the rebels were defeated by the Disciples of the Sect of Interception before he could fight.
• Jiang Shang returned to Chaoge, and Di Xin rewarded him with a court position, fine gifts, and a mansion despite officials’ objections.
• Jiang Ziya followed Di Xin to the Martial Training Hall and warned that a demon was feeding on the king.
• Di Xin dismissed Jiang Ziya’s warning and asked if he had the Investiture List.
• Jiang Ziya denied knowing about the list, and Di Xin held him in place and whispered, “Boundless Heavenly Venerate.”

Di Xin convinced Jiang Ziya that he had a Saint’s backing and persuaded him to hand over the Investiture List and Divine Whip. Meanwhile, the four Demon Saints sought Empress Nuwa’s protection after Kong Xuan killed Ying Zhao.

• Di Xin revealed Jiang Ziya’s hidden mission and knowledge of the Investiture List, leading Jiang Ziya to believe the king was connected to a Saint.
• Di Xin asked Jiang Ziya to hand over the Investiture List and Divine Whip so he could build the Investiture Altar and appoint Jiang Ziya as Great Shang’s grand marshal.
• Jiang Ziya trusted Di Xin and personally gave him the Investiture List.
• Bai Ze, Lu Wu, Shang Yang, and Kunpeng gathered outside Empress Nuwa’s Dojo and pleaded for justice over Ying Zhao’s death at Three Mountains Pass.
• Empress Nuwa opened the gates, and the four Demon Saints entered her Dojo seeking her protection.

Empress Nuwa learned that the Western Teachings had manipulated the Demon Saints into joining the conflict, leading to Ying Zhao’s death, and ordered the survivors to unite under Lu Ya. She then confronted Jieyin and Zhunti, accused them of orchestrating the scheme, and left after fighting them and shattering the Ultimate Bliss World.

• Lu Wu told Empress Nuwa that Ying Zhao had lured him into the East Sea Coast conflict, and Baize concluded that Tribulation Qi had clouded their judgment.
• Empress Nuwa warned the Demon Saints against meddling in the Investiture of the Gods and ordered them to gather the Demon Race under Lu Ya and stay together.
• The Demon Saints asked to remain in Wa Huang Heaven, but Empress Nuwa sent them away with Lu Ya.
• Empress Nuwa confronted Jieyin and Zhunti outside the Ultimate Bliss World, accusing them of causing Ying Zhao’s death.
• Jieyin and Zhunti denied the accusation, and Empress Nuwa fought them, shattered the Ultimate Bliss World, and departed.

Jieyin and Zhunti planned to exploit the Mystic Gate’s infighting to strengthen the Western Teachings. Jieyin sent Zhunti east to undermine the Great Shang and provoke conflict between the Chan and Interception Sects, while Zhunti questioned Taiqing’s choice to reincarnate Ji Fengming as Zhang Youren in East Victory State.

• Jieyin rejected Zhunti’s suggestion to complain to their teacher about Tongtian and instead planned to wait for the Mystic Gate’s factions to weaken one another.
• Jieyin proposed poaching Randeng and using the Mystic Gate’s crisis to make Taiqing and Yuqing accept Western Teachings’ conditions.
• Jieyin sent Zhunti to Chentang Pass to win Li Jing’s trust, manipulate him against the child born to Lady Yin, and use the child and the East Sea Dragon Palace to provoke conflict between the Chan and Interception Sects.
• Jieyin instructed Zhunti to spread claims that King Zhou was a tyrant and that the Great Shang’s Destiny had ended, urging the regional lords to attack it.
• Zhunti told Jieyin that Ji Fengming had been reborn as Zhang Youren, a mountain stronghold chief in East Victory State, and questioned how Taiqing expected him to affect the struggle over the Great Shang.

Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti chose not to interfere in East Victory State, while Qingyuan defended killing Ying Zhao to Sect Master Tongtian and promised to protect the Interception Sect. At Chentang Pass, Li Jing met a Wandering Taoist who warned him that his guests were hollow men before several cultivators attacked the stranger.

• Daoist Jieyin warned Daoist Zhunti that offending Taiqing could ruin the Western Teachings, and Zhunti headed toward the East Sea Coast.
• Sect Master Tongtian scolded Qingyuan for killing Ying Zhao and risking the Interception Sect's safety.
• Qingyuan argued that retreat would not protect the Interception Sect and promised Sect Master Tongtian he would handle matters outside Golden Ao Island.
• Li Jing invited a Wandering Taoist into his banquet after learning he had asked for water.
• The Wandering Taoist thanked Li Jing, called the gathered cultivators hollow men, and warned him not to be misled by them.
• Several angry cultivators attacked the Wandering Taoist.

At Li Jing’s banquet, the mysterious Wandering Taoist proved powerful, revealed secrets about Li Jing’s fate and sons, and warned that his overdue child might be unusual. After the Taoist vanished, Jin Zha returned home and proposed asking his master to investigate the stranger and Li Jing’s unborn child.

• The Wandering Taoist reflected the cultivators’ attacks back at them, badly injuring several and driving the guests from Li Jing’s banquet.
• The Wandering Taoist told Li Jing that he would attain immortality and power in the future, and that his eldest and second sons would study under Golden Immortals of the Kunlun Mountains.
• Li Jing questioned why the Taoist had said nothing about his third son, and the Taoist warned that the pregnancy lasting over ten months might be against the natural order.
• The Wandering Taoist left, and Li Jing could not discover his whereabouts or origins.
• Jin Zha returned home, questioned why his mother had been pregnant for a year and six months, and suggested asking his master Venerable Manjushri Guangfa to investigate.

After Venerable Manjushri Guangfa failed to divine the Wandering Taoist’s origins, he assured Li Jing that the Chan Sect would protect him. Later, Li Jing followed a recurring dream to a Sea Eye, drove off its demons with his official authority, and rescued the Wandering Taoist, who offered to serve him for twenty years.

• Jin Zha summoned Venerable Manjushri Guangfa, who admitted he could not divine the Wandering Taoist’s whereabouts and told Li Jing not to fear him.
• Manjushri assured Li Jing that the Chan Sect and National Fortune would deter anyone from harming him, then sent Jin Zha back to the sect after his visit home.
• Li Jing dreamed repeatedly of someone calling for rescue and learned the person was trapped in a Sea Eye beyond Chentang Pass.
• Li Jing used his official seal to order the demons and ghosts at the Sea Eye to retreat, and they fled.
• The Wandering Taoist emerged from the Sea Eye, thanked Li Jing for saving him, and offered to serve him for twenty years.

Li Jing rescued Wood Daoist from the Sea Eye, and Wood Daoist repaid him with cultivation guidance that helped him rise in power and defeat sea demons. When Li Jing asked about Lady Yin’s pregnancy, Wood Daoist warned that a powerful being might have seized the body of their unborn child, leaving Li Jing stunned.

• Li Jing welcomed Wood Daoist’s offer to serve him for twenty years, and Wood Daoist taught him the Eight-Origin Return-to-Sense Spirit-Nurturing Method.
• Wood Daoist helped Li Jing with cultivation, government, and military affairs, earning his deep trust while saving him from sea demons.
• Wood Daoist showed Li Jing how to refine sea demons’ Demon Cores into Spirit Elixirs, and Li Jing used them to advance his cultivation and win public favor.
• Li Jing asked Wood Daoist about Lady Yin’s pregnancy, which had lasted more than three years.
• Wood Daoist warned Li Jing that a powerful being might have used a secret art to seize the body of his unborn child, and Li Jing was left stunned.

Wood Daoist revealed that Li Jing's unborn child had been possessed by a powerful figure, but the River of Time destroyed him and a mysterious power erased Li Jing's memories. After realizing Lady Yin also could not remember Wood Daoist, Li Jing rushed to the army to look for evidence that he had existed.

• Li Jing rejected Wood Daoist's claim that a great figure had possessed his unborn child and demanded an explanation.
• Wood Daoist revealed that powerful figures were using the Human Realm as a chessboard and that Li Jing's child would be treated as the reincarnation of a great figure.
• Wood Daoist began to sacrifice his life essence and Daoxing to help Li Jing, but the River of Time swallowed him before he could finish.
• A great figure erased Li Jing's memories, and Li Jing returned to reality unable to remember what he had been doing.
• Li Jing asked Lady Yin about Wood Daoist, but she did not remember him or the source of the sea-demon campaign.
• Li Jing rushed to the army to search for traces of Wood Daoist.

Li Jing discovered that the world had forgotten Wood Daoist and blamed his unborn child for Wood Daoist’s fate. After Manjushri dismissed his concerns, Li Jing concluded the immortals intended to use his family and went to confront Lady Yin.

• Li Jing questioned Liu Xun, Jin Zha, and others, but none of them remembered Wood Daoist or the events Li Jing attributed to him.
• Li Jing blamed his wife’s three-year-and-six-month pregnancy for Wood Daoist’s disappearance and grew furious at the unborn child.
• Li Jing asked Jin Zha to consult Manjushri about the pregnancy, and Manjushri told him not to worry because the child would bring the Li Family an easy life.
• Manjushri rebuked Jin Zha for interrupting his cultivation, and Jin Zha hurried back to his Cave Abode.
• Li Jing crushed his phone, decided the immortals were treating his family as pawns, and took the Xuanyuan Sword to confront Lady Yin.

Li Jing rushed to kill the child he believed had possessed his unborn son, but the Xuanyuan Sword split the fleshy birth-ball and revealed Nezha, a five- or six-year-old boy with magical treasures. Convinced that Nezha had killed his child and that Wood Daoist’s claims were true, Li Jing attacked him, and Nezha prepared to strike back.

• Li Jing took the Xuanyuan Sword to Lady Yin’s room, learned she had gone into labor at a midwife’s home, and hurried there.
• Li Jing found Lady Yin unconscious and a hopping fleshy ball calling him Father, then begged the Xuanyuan Sword to help him kill it.
• Li Jing drew the Xuanyuan Sword and chased the fleshy ball around the courtyard before slicing it open with a blood-essence-fueled strike.
• Nezha emerged from the ball as a five- or six-year-old boy carrying the Universe Ring and wearing the Hunyuan Silk, then angrily asked why Li Jing had attacked him.
• Li Jing decided Nezha was the possessor who had killed his unborn child and charged him again, while Nezha raised the Universe Ring to strike Li Jing.

Li Jing fought with his newly born child until Yun Zhongzi stopped True Person Taiyi from claiming the child as a disciple. After Taiyi left, Yun Zhongzi calmed Li Jing and the child, but Li Jing still mistook his son for a demon and asked Yun Zhongzi to subdue him.

• The child tied Li Jing up with the Hunyuan Silk after the Xuanyuan Sword blocked the Universe Ring, and Lady Yin woke to plead with the child to respect his father.
• True Person Taiyi prepared to descend, but Yun Zhongzi blocked him and argued that Taiyi wanted the child as a tool to ward off the Slaughter Tribulation.
• True Person Taiyi backed down and left Chentang Pass rather than fight Yun Zhongzi.
• Yun Zhongzi separated Li Jing and the child and used spiritual qi to dispel their anger.
• Li Jing recognized Yun Zhongzi as an Ancestor of Humanity, then called his child a demon and asked Yun Zhongzi to subdue him.

Yun Zhongzi explained that Li Jing’s newborn son was Ling Zhuzi reincarnated, not a demon who had possessed his child, but Li Jing remained convinced that the boy was an impostor. After Nezha accepted Yun Zhongzi as his master, Li Jing left in suspicion, and Yun Zhongzi wondered whether someone had plotted against him.

• Li Jing accused the child of being a monster, while the child argued that he had only defended himself from Li Jing’s attacks.
• Li Jing claimed the child had seized his unborn son’s body and said Venerable Manjushri Guangfa’s words had convinced him of it.
• Yun Zhongzi explained that the child was Ling Zhuzi reincarnated into Li Jing’s family and had not possessed anyone.
• Li Jing interpreted the explanation as confirmation of his suspicions, thanked Yun Zhongzi coldly, and resolved to kill the child when he got the chance.
• Nezha knelt and accepted Yun Zhongzi as his master, while Li Jing left, convinced that the two had conspired against him.
• Yun Zhongzi examined Li Jing’s life with his Dharma Eye but saw only its corrected history, leaving him to wonder whether someone had plotted against Li Jing.

Yun Zhongzi named Nezha, healed Lady Yin, and raised Nezha as his disciple while Li Jing remained coldly indifferent to his third son. After Nezha reached the Earth Immortal Realm in a year, West Qi began preparing to make trouble.

• Yun Zhongzi named the child Nezha and taught him to rely on his master and the Interception Sect while avoiding entanglement in others’ grudges.
• Nezha ran to Lady Yin to share his name, but she fainted, so Yun Zhongzi gave Nezha an elixir that restored her health.
• Lady Yin thanked Yun Zhongzi and explained Nezha’s origins to the people, while Nezha began studying the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique and other abilities under Yun Zhongzi.
• Nezha reached the Earth Immortal Realm within a year and mastered several powerful Divine Abilities and magical treasures.
• Li Jing ignored Nezha’s attempts to approach him, while Yun Zhongzi and Lady Yin continued to care for the boy.
• West Qi began preparing to make trouble.