Chapter Summaries

Ji Chang questioned whether West Qi could fulfill the prophecy that Zhou would replace Shang, as Great Shang’s power and Destiny had grown instead of weakened. Immortal Elder Nanji’s divination confirmed Shang’s Fortune would endure for centuries, but he dismissed the result and left for Kunlun to consult his master.

• Ji Chang told Immortal Elder Nanji that Great Shang had crushed the rebellious lords and its Destiny had risen, making West Qi’s rebellion seem hopeless.
• Immortal Elder Nanji insisted that the Heavenly Mandate still belonged to West Qi and that the tide of the Heavenly Dao would ensure Zhou Rule replaced Shang.
• Immortal Elder Nanji calculated Great Shang’s National Fortune, was shocked to find it had surged and could endure for several more centuries, and dropped his Acquired Eight Trigrams.
• Immortal Elder Nanji dismissed the divination as subordinate to Heaven’s Will, assured Ji Chang that West Qi faced no immediate danger, and left for Kunlun to ask his master what to do.

Immortal Elder Nanji returned to Kunlun Mountain after securing his place in West Qi and discussed fortune and cultivation with Shen Gongbao. Shen Gongbao asked what to do after Jiang Ziya took the Investiture List, and Nanji told him to take it back.

• Immortal Elder Nanji reflected that entering the tribulation had raised him to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Perfect Stage and could bring even greater rewards if West Qi succeeded.
• Shen Gongbao thanked Immortal Elder Nanji for guiding him to Wangjin Mountain and offered him Kangchen Xinyi White Wax Metal and Sword-Edge Gold Qi.
• Immortal Elder Nanji accepted Shen Gongbao's treasure pouch and gave him the Changyuan Waterborne Fire-Qi Pearl for protection.
• Shen Gongbao told Immortal Elder Nanji that Jiang Ziya had taken the Investiture List, which Shen Gongbao had expected to hold.
• Immortal Elder Nanji told Shen Gongbao to take the Investiture List back if Jiang Ziya could not keep it.

Immortal Elder Nanji persuaded Shen Gongbao to seize the Investiture List from Jiang Ziya, then reported Shang Zhou’s growing power to Venerable Yuanshi. Venerable Yuanshi revealed that Tribulation Qi had affected Nanji and sent him back to West Qi to wait and safeguard the Marquis of the West.

• Immortal Elder Nanji convinced Shen Gongbao that Jiang Ziya was unworthy of the Investiture List and urged him to take it immediately.
• Immortal Elder Nanji gave Shen Gongbao a Nine-Cosmic Void-Escaping Lingbao Jade Talisman, and Shen Gongbao flew toward the East Sea Coast.
• Immortal Elder Nanji reported Shang Zhou’s defiance and rising Destiny to Venerable Yuanshi, who said someone was reversing Destiny to aid Shang.
• Venerable Yuanshi told Immortal Elder Nanji that Tribulation Qi had affected him, and Nanji realized it had made him arrogant and led him to encourage Shen Gongbao.
• Venerable Yuanshi ordered Immortal Elder Nanji to return to West Qi, safeguard the Marquis of the West, and wait for the right time.

In the Western Lands, Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti planned to use profit and the Dao Fruit to draw Eastern factions into conflict, while Zhunti was also tasked with seeking the Sky-Mending Stone in the East Sea. Meanwhile, Chong Heihu watched the Great Shang’s brutal conquest of Chouzhou and questioned its rule, leaving his unease over the people’s suffering unresolved.

• Daoist Zhunti warned Daoist Jieyin that the Great Shang’s expansion and reforms were making it difficult for the Western Lands to interfere in the East.
• Daoist Jieyin told Daoist Zhunti to lure Eastern factions into conflict with profit and the Dao Fruit, entangling them in Karma.
• Daoist Jieyin revealed that the Sky-Mending Stone on an East Sea mountain had a destined connection with the Western Lands and instructed Daoist Zhunti to seek it out.
• In Chouzhou, Chong Heihu watched Great Shang forces seize estates and purge local clans after conquering the domain.
• Chong Heihu condemned the continued attacks as tyranny and grieved that the people suffered, while Chong Yingluan, Li Li, and Gao Ding warned him to guard his words.
• Chong Heihu fell silent, but the idea of benevolence remained rooted in his heart.

Chong Heihu decided to rebel against Shang Zhou, arguing that its tyranny and slaughter had devastated the people. He planned to seize Chong Houhu and use his armies to lead the rebellion.

• Chong Heihu called on his followers to consider rebelling against Shang Zhou, but Chong Yingluan warned that Great Shang was too powerful.
• Chong Heihu condemned the king’s endless slaughter and warned that the lords could be targeted once they were no longer useful.
• Chong Yingluan asked whether his father had a plan and warned that failure could wipe out their clan.
• Chong Heihu said that Chong Houhu had the troops and territory they needed and ordered Chong Yingluan to invite him over.
• Chong Heihu declared that they would control Chong Houhu and use his authority to command his armies against Shang Zhou.

Chong Yingluan hurried toward his uncle Chong Houhu, worried about confronting him and uncertain whether his father's Buddhist prayer beads would help. Meanwhile, Shen Gongbao avoided going straight to Chaoge to confront Jiang Shang and captured a fleeing Fierce Beast, bringing him into conflict with the people pursuing it.

• Chong Yingluan rode toward Chong Houhu while weighing how to lure him out and wondering about the prayer beads his father had given him.
• Shen Gongbao decided he could not safely go to Chaoge to confront Jiang Shang and began searching for another solution.
• After hearing a fight nearby, Shen Gongbao set a formation in the mountains and waited for the fleeing Fierce Beast to arrive.
• Shen Gongbao trapped the Fierce Beast in his formation and bound it with a magic treasure.
• The fierce general leading the pursuing crowd accused Shen Gongbao of stealing their prey, and Shen Gongbao introduced himself.

Shen Gongbao sought a post in Chong Houhu’s service and persuaded the Marquis of the North to keep him as an adviser. After warning Chong Houhu of danger ahead, he was interrupted by news that Chong Yingluan had arrived with urgent information.

• Chong Houhu’s soldiers surrounded Shen Gongbao when he appeared, but Chong Houhu questioned him about his purpose.
• Shen Gongbao declared that he was a Chan Sect Outer Disciple who had come to pledge allegiance and help Chong Houhu subdue the Northern Lands.
• Chong Houhu threatened Shen Gongbao, then appointed him as an adviser and promised him a chance to prove his ability.
• Shen Gongbao remained composed as Chong Houhu tested and insulted him, earning the Marquis’s trust.
• Shen Gongbao sensed danger ahead and urged Chong Houhu not to proceed, but an attendant announced that Chong Yingluan had arrived with urgent news.

Chong Houhu received an urgent message from Chong Yingluan and set out to meet him despite Shen Gongbao’s warnings that the report could be a trap. Shen Gongbao was left under guard as Chong Houhu went alone, while a hidden threat loomed over the northern army.

• A personal attendant told Chong Houhu that Chong Yingluan had an urgent matter concerning the northern army’s safety.
• Chong Houhu prepared to go meet Chong Yingluan alone without checking the report’s authenticity.
• Shen Gongbao urged Chong Houhu to summon an escort, investigate, and have Chong Yingluan come to camp instead.
• Chong Houhu rejected Shen Gongbao’s advice, ordered him watched, and went to meet Chong Yingluan alone.
• Shen Gongbao sensed a powerful threat, abandoned his plan to follow, and was prevented from leaving by the soldiers.

After escaping Chong Houhu’s camp, Shen Gongbao went to the North Sea to seek cooperation with Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong. He warned Wen Zhong that Chong Houhu might be under attack by a hidden enemy, putting the Northern Border at risk.

• Shen Gongbao escaped underground from Chong Houhu’s generals using a Chan Sect disciple token and its Fortune Aura.
• Shen Gongbao concluded that Chong Houhu faced a powerful enemy and decided to approach Wen Zhong for cooperation.
• Wen Zhong attacked Shen Gongbao as he neared the Great Shang military camp, then demanded to know why he had come.
• Shen Gongbao told Wen Zhong about Chong Houhu’s strange behavior and warned that the Northern Border could fall into danger if anything happened to him.

Shen Gongbao warned Wen Zhong about the dangers facing the Northern Marquis, then fought him to a standstill and earned his respect. Over tea, Shen Gongbao explained that he had come to reclaim the Investiture List Jiang Ziya had taken from him.

• Shen Gongbao warned Wen Zhong that the Northern Marquis's expedition could leave the northern territory in chaos, but Wen Zhong dismissed his concerns and trusted Great Shang and the Interception Sect's strength.
• Shen Gongbao mocked the Interception Sect's failure to pacify the North Sea's seventy-two lords, prompting Wen Zhong to attack him with the Male-Female Flood Dragon Golden Whip.
• Shen Gongbao and Wen Zhong fought for over a hundred exchanges, with Wen Zhong eventually sending Shen Gongbao flying with a whip strike.
• Wen Zhong recognized Shen Gongbao's mastery of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique, and the two acknowledged each other's abilities before going into the camp to talk.
• Shen Gongbao told Wen Zhong that Jiang Ziya had slandered him and taken the Investiture List, and that he had come to reclaim what he had lost.

Wen Zhong learned Shen Gongbao’s accusations against Jiang Ziya and condemned Jiang as deceitful, while explaining why the North Sea rebellion was difficult to suppress. Shen Gongbao joined Wen Zhong’s campaign as a military adviser and received Great Shang’s recognition and a surge of National Fortune.

• Wen Zhong reacted with anger after hearing Shen Gongbao accuse Jiang Ziya of betraying his benefactor and framing him before a Saint.
• Wen Zhong said he would punish Jiang Ziya himself if imperial orders did not keep him in the North Sea.
• Wen Zhong explained that the Seventy-Two Lords had powerful backers, including suspected demons and Witch Barbarian descendants, and that the terrain, weather, and opposing National Fortune complicated the campaign.
• Shen Gongbao asked why Wen Zhong had not sought help from fellow disciples, and Wen Zhong refused because the rebellion was a Human Race matter and he wished to avoid causing others to incur Karma.
• Wen Zhong appointed Shen Gongbao as his military adviser and stamped official seals on his appointment, causing Great Shang’s National Fortune to flood into Shen Gongbao.

Shen Gongbao experienced the power of Great Shang’s National Fortune empowerment and then studied information about the Seventy-Two Rebel Routes. He asked Wen Zhong to take him to the nearest rebel force so he could assess their strength and methods.

• Wen Zhong watched Shen Gongbao react with astonishment to National Fortune empowerment and explained that serving Great Shang could bring even greater benefits.
• Shen Gongbao offered his knowledge of military strategy, formations, and artifact refinement, then asked to study the Seventy-Two Rebel Routes.
• Wen Zhong had an attendant show Shen Gongbao the recorded information on a phone.
• Shen Gongbao learned that the rebel forces were allied with powerful demons and used their subjects as offerings in exchange for protection.
• Wen Zhong explained why he had not asked outsiders for help, and Shen Gongbao asked him to visit the nearest rebel force.

Shen Gongbao investigated Ghostfang’s territory and found a ghost kingdom protected by powerful yin creatures, forcing him to flee and seek his teacher’s help. As he reached the Jade Void Palace, Wen Zhong had already withdrawn from the North Sea amid chaos in the Northern Border.

• Wen Zhong led Shen Gongbao and a few thousand tiger cavalry toward Ghostfang’s territory, explaining the rebel alliance and promising to recommend Shen Gongbao for high office.
• Shen Gongbao examined Ghostfang’s realm and discovered that its Earth Veins drew on the Netherworld, binding residents under its laws and leaving humans oppressed by yin creatures.
• Shen Gongbao entered the royal city and learned that Ghostfang fed human subjects to yin creatures, but several Golden Immortals, including a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, detected him.
• Shen Gongbao escaped with Earth Escape and told Wen Zhong he would return to the Kunlun Mountains to ask his teacher for help.
• Wen Zhong withdrew from the North Sea to defend the passes after Chong Yingluan took Chong Houhu hostage and the Northern Border fell into chaos.
• Shen Gongbao reached the Jade Void Palace, knelt outside, and requested an audience with his teacher.

Shen Gongbao returned to Jade Void Palace seeking help against the North Sea rebellion, only to learn that Great Shang’s northern forces had collapsed and Wen Zhong had been routed. He tracked Wen Zhong to Chentang Pass, where Li Jing and Yun Zhongzi were summoned to determine whether Shen Gongbao was friend or foe.

• Shen Gongbao asked Yuanshi and the immortals for help with the Seventy-Two Lords of the North Sea, but Immortal Elder Nanji told him Chong Houhu had been captured and Wen Zhong’s army had been defeated.
• Shen Gongbao left Jade Void Palace and learned that Chong Yingluan’s attack had plunged Great Shang’s Northern Border into rebellion, while Ji Chang called on lords and capable people to join the Conquest of Zhou.
• Shen Gongbao learned that Wen Zhong was recovering at Chentang Pass after Yun Zhongzi had aided him during his escape.
• Shen Gongbao presented his token to a guard at Chentang Pass, but the general distrusted him and secretly reported his arrival to Li Jing.
• Li Jing consulted Wen Zhong about Shen Gongbao and invited Yun Zhongzi to help determine whether Shen Gongbao was friend or foe.

Shen Gongbao arrived at Chentang Pass to help Wen Zhong reclaim the Northern Border, despite Li Jing’s contempt and suspicion. He privately proposed rescuing the Marquis of the North as the first step toward turning the tide.

• Yun Zhongzi identified Shen Gongbao as a Chan Sect Outer Disciple and urged Li Jing to make use of him.
• Li Jing questioned Shen Gongbao’s ability to reclaim the Northern Border but allowed him into Chentang Pass after soldiers searched and suppressed him.
• Shen Gongbao met the wounded Wen Zhong, who regretted ignoring Shen Gongbao’s earlier warning about the Northern Border.
• Li Jing scoffed at Shen Gongbao’s promise to recover the lost territory, but Wen Zhong asked Li Jing to leave so they could speak privately.
• Shen Gongbao told Wen Zhong that rescuing the Marquis of the North would turn the tide more than halfway in their favor.

Shen Gongbao proposed using his Soul-Clearing Bell to free the mind-controlled Northern Marquis and restore order in the Northern Border. He planned to openly defect to the rebels and approach Chong Houhu, despite Wen Zhong’s concern about the danger.

• Wen Zhong explained that the Northern Marquis’s controlled mind had allowed the million-strong Northern Border army to be used against Shang, and asked Shen Gongbao how he could be rescued.
• Shen Gongbao revealed that his bell could awaken the Northern Marquis’s consciousness through Soul Substitution, but would be destroyed in the process.
• Wen Zhong rejected asking Yun Zhongzi for help because the matter was his responsibility and had no connection to Yun Zhongzi.
• Shen Gongbao pondered for half a day while Wen Zhong kept others away, then announced that he had devised a plan to restore peace without a battle.
• Shen Gongbao said he would openly defect to the rebels and use the bell on Chong Houhu, allowing the Northern Marquis to regain command of the army; Wen Zhong warned that the plan was dangerous, but Shen Gongbao remained fearless.

Chong Heihu weighed Yuan Futong’s demand for two-thirds of the Northern Border against the need to preserve support for his campaign against King Zhou. After the court debated whether to accept or kill Yuan Futong, a Chan Sect Disciple arrived to join them.

• Outside Chentang Pass, a bedraggled figure fled after being scolded and attacked with spells, threatening to return and kill Wen Zhong.
• In Northguard City, Sun Ziyu reported that Yuan Futong demanded two-thirds of the Northern Border in exchange for recognizing Chong Heihu as lord.
• Chong Heihu’s generals condemned Yuan Futong and urged their king to kill him and his allied feudal lords for serving demons and monsters.
• Chong Heihu said killing Yuan Futong could chill the hearts of other lords and complicate the campaign against King Zhou, so he postponed the decision.
• A report arrived that a Chan Sect Disciple had come to join Chong Heihu.

Shen Gongbao offered to help Chong Heihu conquer the Northern Border and the seventy-two North Sea feudal lords, but his past allegiance to Wen Zhong made the New Northern King’s court suspect him. Surrounded by hostile generals, Shen Gongbao offered to share strategies against Yuan Futong and the other uncontrollable forces, or let them kill him.

• Chong Heihu summoned Shen Gongbao, who introduced himself as a Chan Sect disciple and offered to help conquer the Northern Border and the seventy-two North Sea feudal lords.
• Chong Heihu and his generals scoffed at Shen Gongbao’s claims, citing his Golden Immortal cultivation and the strength of the lords’ forces.
• Jin Kui recognized Shen Gongbao as someone who had previously pledged allegiance to Wen Zhong and accused him of plotting against Chong Heihu.
• The generals surrounded Shen Gongbao and called for his death, fearing he would reveal their plans in the Northern Border.
• Shen Gongbao asked whether Chong Heihu wanted to eliminate Yuan Futong and the other uncontrollable forces, offering strategies if he did.

Shen Gongbao persuaded Chong Heihu to give him authority to divide the northern rebels and promised to defeat Yuan Futong and the other feudal lords within three months. He left as the New Dynasty’s temporary prime minister, while Chong Heihu questioned whether he could be trusted.

• Chong Heihu offered Shen Gongbao high office and rewards if he resolved the threat posed by Yuan Futong and the other rebels.
• Shen Gongbao proposed exploiting divisions among the rebels with profit and reputation as bait, and asked for authority over the northern territories.
• Shen Gongbao pledged to defeat the rebels within three months or bring his own head as punishment for failure.
• Chong Heihu appointed Shen Gongbao temporary prime minister and granted him broad authority over the New Dynasty’s court.
• After Shen Gongbao departed, Chong Heihu asked whether he could be trusted.

Jiang Ziya completed the Investiture Altar outside Chaoge and repeatedly called on Venerable Yuanshi for a blessing, shocking the Heavenly Court and the factions across the Primordial Wilderness. Venerable Yuanshi's expression turned cold as he noticed the altar's completion.

• Chong Heihu's advisers urged him to use Shen Gongbao to restrain Yuan Futong while withholding real authority and troop command from him.
• Chong Heihu sensed a startling change in Chaoge and suspected King Zhou was behind it, dismissing the idea that Shen Gongbao was responsible.
• Jiang Ziya completed the Investiture Altar outside Chaoge as Di Xin and Great Shang's officials watched, stirring unease among those destined to face the calamity.
• Heavenly Emperor Haotian realized that Jiang Ziya had built the altar in Chaoge and was repeatedly calling on Venerable Yuanshi, then returned to secluded cultivation.
• Factions across the Primordial Wilderness reacted with disbelief to the altar, while Venerable Yuanshi's expression grew cold as he preached in the Jade Void Palace.