Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ziya failed to activate the Investiture Altar before Di Xin and the court, prompting Di Xin to threaten to tear it down and eradicate the Chan Sect’s incense power. A Heavenly Dao Saint appeared and declared that Di Xin was not destined to possess the altar because heaven’s mandate belonged to Zhou.

• The Twelve Golden Immortals worried that Jiang Ziya had made a serious mistake, but Venerable Yuanshi said there was no need to intervene because the altar could not function without his approval.
• Jiang Ziya repeatedly performed the ritual at the Investiture Altar outside Chaoge, but no Saint answered, and You Hun accused him of wasting the people’s wealth and betraying Di Xin’s trust.
• Di Xin ordered the altar torn down, but Jiang Ziya pleaded that destroying it would anger the Saint and bring Heavenly Retribution.
• Di Xin declared that he was the Human Emperor and threatened to eradicate the Chan Sect’s temples and incense power throughout Great Shang.
• A pair of eyes appeared in the heavens, and the Saint told Di Xin that he was not destined to possess the Investiture Altar because the mandate belonged to Zhou.

Di Xin rejected the Saint’s demand that Great Shang submit to the Chan Sect and outlawed worship of its immortals, declaring that the Human Race must resist Heaven to preserve Human Dao. The Saint retaliated by weakening Shang’s Destiny and proclaiming that anyone who defeated Zhou could become the new Human Emperor.

• Di Xin ordered that worship of Heavenly Origin Sect Immortals be forbidden throughout the Human Realm and defied the Saint’s threats of Heavenly Retribution.
• The Saint declared that Shang’s Destiny would be exhausted and warned that spirits and immortals who abandoned Shang’s protection would bring disasters upon the realm.
• Di Xin killed ministers who knelt to worship the Saint and challenged the Chan Sect figure to reveal his true body.
• The Two Sages of the West withdrew their pieces from Great Shang’s northern border as they anticipated the conflict spreading.
• Yuqing decreed that Shang Zhou lacked virtue and that anyone who honored the Chan Sect and defeated Zhou could claim Shang’s Fortune Aura and become Human Emperor.

Venerable Yuanshi declared that Great Shang had lost its mandate, prompting lords across the realm to consider the Conquest of Zhou. West Qi’s Ji Chang secured Chan Sect support and began preparing to replace Di Xin, while Shen Gongbao was left uncertain about his plans.

• Venerable Yuanshi declared that a worthy man could undertake the Conquest of Zhou and become the next Human Emperor.
• Lords across the East Sea Coast considered rebelling against Great Shang, and northern lords rushed to build temples to the Chan Sect.
• Ji Chang made the Chan Sect West Qi’s state religion, and Chan Sect disciples and local immortals gathered to support his campaign.
• Ji Chang began discussing a dynastic name and plans for ruling the Nine Provinces after replacing Di Xin.
• Shen Gongbao sensed the upheaval in the Northern Border and wondered how he could still achieve his goals in Great Shang.

Shen Gongbao delivered Chong Heihu’s decree to Yuan Futong and the Northern Border feudal lords, then mocked Yuan Futong for settling for a corner of the realm and urged him to seek the Human Emperor’s throne. Yuan Futong stopped his angry followers and demanded to know why Shen Gongbao, who served Chong Heihu, was trying to provoke him.

• Shen Gongbao considered abandoning Great Shang because he feared the Chan Sect, but decided to continue his plan to defeat Yuan Futong and impress his fellow disciples.
• Shen Gongbao visited Yuan Futong and read Chong Heihu’s decree, offering the rebels three-fifths of the Northern Border in exchange for taxes, troops, and obedience.
• Yuan Futong and the other feudal lords agreed to the terms, then discussed dividing and governing their vast territory.
• Yuan Futong declared that he was content with his wealth, lands, and comfortable life, prompting Shen Gongbao to burst out laughing.
• Shen Gongbao accused Yuan Futong of having small ambitions and warned that Chong Heihu would eventually destroy him if he failed to pursue the Human Emperor’s throne.
• Yuan Futong restrained the feudal lords who reached for their weapons and asked Shen Gongbao why he was urging him to oppose Chong Heihu.

Shen Gongbao persuaded Yuan Futong and the northern lords that Chong Heihu would betray them, then urged Yuan Futong to seek the Human Emperor’s throne. Yuan Futong asked Shen Gongbao for a plan to consolidate his power, and Shen Gongbao began laying one out.

• Shen Gongbao denounced Chong Heihu’s disloyalty and urged Yuan Futong to become Human Emperor.
• Lin Tong and the other lords reacted angrily to Shen Gongbao’s claim that Chong Heihu planned to eliminate them.
• Yuan Futong ordered Shen Gongbao seized and killed, but called him back just before his execution.
• Shen Gongbao praised Yuan Futong as a potential ruler and advised him to consolidate his territory before conquering Chong Heihu and the Northern Border.
• Yuan Futong asked Shen Gongbao what he should do, and Shen Gongbao began explaining his plan.

Shen Gongbao helped Yuan Futong plan how to consolidate and develop the Northern Border, but Yuan Futong's executions and the lords' growing ambitions sparked deadly infighting. After the lords learned Yuan Futong planned to disarm them at a banquet, they attacked and killed him, scattering his soul.

• Shen Gongbao advised Yuan Futong to secure key cities, govern effectively, and eventually redistribute the great clans' land.
• Yuan Futong discovered that his lesser lords were exploiting the people and withholding tribute, then executed more than a dozen despite protests from his sworn brothers.
• Yuan Futong sent the other four Great Vassals to govern key cities, and the scattered lords began fighting one another for power and prosperous territory.
• Shen Gongbao advised Yuan Futong to strip the lords of military command at a victory banquet, but word of the plan leaked.
• The enraged lords attacked Yuan Futong at the banquet, killed him, and scattered his soul.

Shen Gongbao disguised himself as E Chi’s guard and turned the feudal lords’ plot against Yuan Futong into a battlefield victory for E Chi’s forces. After E Chi was left unconscious, the generals praised Shen Gongbao and asked him to guide them in the future.

• Shen Gongbao rescued the gravely wounded E Chi and rallied his scattered troops by claiming the other feudal lords had murdered Yuan Futong.
• Shen Gongbao directed the battle, secretly killed enemy commanders, and helped E Chi’s forces defeat the opposing camps and kill two more major feudal lords.
• Shen Gongbao organized the troops and told Liang Shang that E Chi would take time to wake after Lin Tong struck his head.
• Liang Shang, Chu Shanqiang, and the other generals praised Shen Gongbao and asked him to speak on their behalf to E Chi.
• Shen Gongbao accepted their praise modestly while thinking that his plan had succeeded.

E Chi awoke as a powerful lord but squandered his new authority with cruelty and excess, alienating his generals. After Liang Shang and the others killed him, they chose Shen Gongbao as their new lord.

• Shen Gongbao told E Chi that he commanded hundreds of thousands of soldiers and had secured the Northern Lands, but E Chi focused on indulging himself and ordered Yuan Futong's women brought to him.
• E Chi beat Shen Gongbao despite his soldiers pleading for mercy, then claimed his subordinates' military achievements and rewarded Yuan Futong's former followers instead of his own officers.
• E Chi forced his people to build a lavish palace, withheld his troops' provisions and pay, and demanded that Liang Shang and the other generals bring their wives to dinner.
• Liang Shang and dozens of generals led elite troops into E Chi's palace and killed him.
• To escape the stigma of killing their lord, Liang Shang and the generals acclaimed Shen Gongbao as their new ruler.

Shen Gongbao seized E Chi’s territory and brought it under his control, then traveled secretly to West Qi to report to Immortal Elder Nanji. At Ji Family residence, Ji Kao denied knowing him and ordered him driven away, leaving Shen Gongbao furious and ready to fight.

• Shen Gongbao accepted the generals’ allegiance and took responsibility for E Chi’s death, then suppressed the rebellion and brought the territory under his command.
• Shen Gongbao spent three months stabilizing the region, appointing officials, and winning the obedience of the local clans and people.
• Shen Gongbao left Liang Shang in charge and secretly traveled to West Qi to seek an audience with Immortal Elder Nanji.
• A servant at Ji Family residence dismissed Shen Gongbao as an impostor and refused to deliver his message.
• Ji Kao also claimed not to know Shen Gongbao and ordered guards to beat him out, but Shen Gongbao refused to leave and challenged them.

Ji Kao summoned the Ji Family’s cultivators to stop Shen Gongbao, but their strongest retainer, Fu Feng, was no match for him. Shen Gongbao crushed Fu Feng after discovering he had no hidden move.

• Ji Kao summoned the Ji Family retainers after Shen Gongbao defeated the martial artists outside the residence.
• The retainers attacked Shen Gongbao, but he held them off and warned them that he was a Chan Sect Outer Disciple.
• Ji Kao urged the retainers to ignore Shen Gongbao’s claim, and Fu Feng offered to capture him in exchange for Ji Kao’s agreement to a request.
• Fu Feng sent the other retainers away and mocked Shen Gongbao, who stayed on guard for a hidden technique.
• Fu Feng grabbed Shen Gongbao by the neck, and Shen Gongbao pinned his hand before asking where his move was.
• Shen Gongbao realized Fu Feng had no backup plan and smashed him into scattered mist.

Shen Gongbao tried to meet the Chan Sect disciples at the Ji Residence, but Ji Kao treated him as a threat and Immortal Elder Nanji rebuked and struck him. Nanji blamed Shen Gongbao for failing to retrieve the Investiture List and continued insulting him, leaving Shen Gongbao seething with resentment.

• Fu Feng reformed after Shen Gongbao smashed his body and suspected that Shen Gongbao belonged to the Witch Clan.
• Shen Gongbao identified himself as a Chan Sect Disciple and asked Ji Kao to pass word to the senior disciples, but Ji Kao refused to trust him and ordered him to wait outside.
• Immortal Elder Nanji emerged from the Ji Residence, slapped Shen Gongbao, and ordered him to apologize to Ji Kao.
• Shen Gongbao tried to explain that he had important news, but Nanji demanded the Investiture List and scolded him for failing to retrieve it.
• Nanji accused Shen Gongbao of seeking credit in West Qi and insulted his origins and abilities, while Shen Gongbao suppressed his resentment.

After Immortal Elder Nanji publicly humiliated and beat Shen Gongbao, Shen Gongbao left West Qi determined to join Great Shang and bring down West Qi. He met with Wen Zhong, planned how to subdue Chong Heihu, and returned to the Northern Border to prepare an army before setting out for Chong Heihu's territory.

• Immortal Elder Nanji insulted Shen Gongbao for failing to retrieve the Investiture List and slapped him repeatedly in front of the Chan Sect Disciples and the Ji Residence residents.
• Shen Gongbao left West Qi, resolved to prove himself, and chose to join Great Shang and oppose West Qi.
• Shen Gongbao flew to Chentang Pass and told Wen Zhong what had happened, including how he had subdued the seventy-two rebel factions of the North Sea.
• Shen Gongbao and Wen Zhong spent two or three days in Secluded Cultivation devising a plan to bring Chong Heihu to heel.
• Shen Gongbao returned to the Northern Border, assembled an army, and prepared the fiends before traveling alone to Chong Heihu's territory.

Shen Gongbao returned to Chong Heihu’s court after months away, provoking the ruler and his ministers by claiming he had brought a great gift. He left them staring at the object he tossed onto the floor.

• Chong Heihu and his ministers debated whether to ally with West Qi as it prepared to attack Great Shang.
• A guard announced that Shen Gongbao had arrived, and the ministers urged Chong Heihu to refuse him because they distrusted him.
• Chong Heihu ordered Shen Gongbao admitted after hearing him claim he would give three thousand Northern Border cities to Great Shang.
• Shen Gongbao greeted Chong Heihu and insisted he had brought a great gift, while the ministers accused him of deceit.
• Chong Heihu demanded Yuan Futong’s head, which Shen Gongbao had previously pledged to deliver, and threatened to kill him.
• Shen Gongbao dismissed Chong Heihu’s anger and tossed a round object onto the floor.

Shen Gongbao presented Yuan Futong’s head and the Three Thousand Cities to Chong Heihu, then exploited the king’s apology to whip him before persuading him to pursue the throne. The plan hit a setback when Cui Ying revealed that the command tally was incomplete, and Shen Gongbao explained that Liang Shang and the demons held the other half.

• Shen Gongbao brought Yuan Futong’s head to Chong Heihu and claimed he had brought the Three Thousand Cities under his control.
• Chong Heihu apologized, offered Shen Gongbao the Golden Whip, and invited him to vent his grievance, so Shen Gongbao whipped him several times.
• Shen Gongbao showed Chong Heihu a map, a great seal, and half a command tally, then urged him to absorb the Northern Border and contend for the Central Plains.
• Cui Ying warned that the incomplete command tally could not mobilize Yuan Futong’s former troops, and the ministers questioned Shen Gongbao.
• Shen Gongbao said Liang Shang, a general controlled by the demons, held the other half of the command tally.

Shen Gongbao offered Chong Heihu half of the military tally and proposed a plan to bring the Northern Border fully under his rule. Chong Heihu agreed to consider an ambush against the demons, leaving Shen Gongbao poised to lure them into it.

• Chong Heihu verified that Shen Gongbao’s military tally was genuine and promised to pardon and reward him if he recovered the other half.
• Shen Gongbao warned that Liang Shang’s demons would resist losing the tally and that he could not take it alone without risking a war.
• Chong Heihu demanded that Shen Gongbao retrieve the tally, but Shen Gongbao asked for death rather than promise what he could not accomplish alone.
• Shen Gongbao argued that controlling the Northern Border’s people and wealth mattered more than merely taking its troops and military tally.
• Shen Gongbao proposed luring the demons into an ambush, where Chong Heihu’s forces could kill them and secure the Northern Border.

Shen Gongbao proposed using Chong Houhu as bait to lure Yuan Futong’s former subordinates into an ambush, but Chong Heihu and his ministers suspected him of plotting against the New Dynasty. Shen Gongbao defended his motives and won Chong Heihu’s trust, leaving with an appointment as State Preceptor and authority over the Northern Border.

• Shen Gongbao proposed luring the demons with Chong Houhu as bait, prompting Chong Heihu’s ministers to accuse him of seeking the Northern Marquis’s death.
• Chong Heihu questioned whether Shen Gongbao had come on Wen Zhong’s orders, while Shen Gongbao defended his past service and threatened to leave.
• Shen Gongbao argued that killing a meritorious ally would damage Chong Heihu’s reputation and make other officials fear earning merit.
• Shen Gongbao denied seeking power, explained why he had chosen the New Dynasty, and noted that a fellow disciple had gone to assist West Qi.
• Chong Heihu praised Shen Gongbao and appointed him State Preceptor, giving him authority to subdue the Northern Border.

Chong Yingluan led a million troops to ambush Yuan Futong’s former followers, trusting Shen Gongbao to prepare a formation that he could control. When Shen Gongbao shattered a bell placed around the bound Chong Houhu’s neck, Chong Yingluan began losing control and Chong Houhu seized him by the throat.

• Chong Yingluan threatened Shen Gongbao as the army marched toward the ambush site, while Shen Gongbao promised him the greatest credit for defeating the demons.
• At the gourd-shaped valley, Shen Gongbao explained that his formation would conceal the army and trap the demons, and Chong Yingluan agreed to let him set it up while claiming control of it.
• Shen Gongbao planted Five Elements Flags, and the soldiers consecrated them with blood until Chong Yingluan sensed that he could command the space around him.
• Shen Gongbao gave Chong Yingluan a bell and told him to hang it on the bound Chong Houhu as the formation’s final step.
• Shen Gongbao shattered the bell, green smoke engulfed Chong Houhu, and Chong Yingluan rushed to check on him as his control slipped away.
• Chong Houhu shot an iron-hard arm from the smoke and clamped it around Chong Yingluan’s throat.

Chong Houhu broke free of Chong Heihu’s control, killed Chong Yingluan, and reclaimed command of the Northern Border with Shen Gongbao’s help. He then accepted Shen Gongbao’s proposed deed as a way to make amends for his failures.

• Chong Houhu emerged from the mist, awakened the National Destiny Golden Dragon, and freed himself and his subordinates from their restraints.
• Chong Yingluan’s subordinates were captured, and Chong Houhu ordered them killed while taking control of the remaining soldiers.
• Chong Houhu thanked Shen Gongbao and blamed himself for the Northern Border’s fall, but Shen Gongbao stopped him from taking his own life.
• Shen Gongbao offered Chong Houhu a deed to ease his guilt, and Chong Houhu agreed to undertake it.

Shen Gongbao lured Sang Qi and a horde of demons into Gourd Valley by promising them Chong Houhu. When Chong Houhu revealed the trap, a great formation and a million troops suppressed the demons, leaving them trapped and weakened.

• Shen Gongbao led Sang Qi and the demons into Gourd Valley, where they found Chong Houhu waiting in chains.
• Sang Qi and two other Demon Gods fought over who would seize Chong Houhu, while the other demons tried to approach him.
• Shen Gongbao stopped the fighting by urging the demons to examine Chong Houhu's restrictions before dividing their prize.
• Chong Houhu revealed himself and called for the formation as the demons turned to flee.
• A great formation and the Human Dao's National Fortune suppressed Sang Qi and the other demons by seventy percent.

Shen Gongbao helped Chong Houhu destroy the demons and gave him a tiger tally that helped restore his authority. Chong Houhu reclaimed much of the Northern Border, while Shen Gongbao returned to urge Wen Zhong and Li Jing to send reinforcements, but Li Jing rejected his account.

• Chong Houhu's million soldiers used their national fortune to crush the demons trapped in Gourd Valley, and Chong Houhu apologized to Shen Gongbao afterward.
• Shen Gongbao gave Chong Houhu the tiger tally and asked him to spare Liang Shang and the other former followers of Yuan Futong; Chong Houhu agreed and promised to reward Shen Gongbao's service.
• Chong Houhu used the tiger tally to bring Yuan Futong's former subordinates into his camp, while Liang Shang helped reclaim three-fifths of the Northern Border for Great Shang.
• Chong Houhu advanced into Chong Heihu's territory, and Chong Heihu's poorly trained forces repeatedly fell apart against him.
• Shen Gongbao returned to Chentang Pass and urged Wen Zhong and Li Jing to send reinforcements, but Li Jing mocked him and refused to believe him.