Chapter Summaries

After Luo Qing finished expanding the Kunlun Mountain Range, he prepared Zhao Gongming to become its Innate Mountain Deity. The other Sages observed the upheaval, while Jieyin and Zhunti questioned Luo Qing’s motives.

• Luo Qing completed the expansion of the Kunlun Mountain Range, restoring balance to its Yin-Yang earth veins and making Hua Tian Peak its highest peak.
• Zhao Gongming realized Luo Qing intended him to become Kunlun’s Innate Mountain Deity after he merged his Split Soul into the mountain range.
• Luo Qing instructed Zhao Gongming to refine Kunlun’s Earth Pulse Ancestral Root, and Long Ling lent him the Qian Kun Position Chart to help.
• Zhao Gongming resolved to claim the Mountain Deity position quickly, imagining that Kunlun’s growth could eventually help him reach Sainthood.
• Kunlun’s immortals and gods moved into the newly formed outer region, while Jieyin and Zhunti wondered whether Luo Qing had expanded the range because it was overcrowded.

After Zhao Gongming and Huang Tian became Quasi-Sages, the Hua Tian Peak Lineage prepared for Huang Tian to succeed Haotian as Heavenly Emperor. Their rise coincided with the accelerating decline of the Innate Era, a change even Sages could not reverse.

• Jieyin and Zhunti suspected Luo Qing had a hidden reason for expanding Kunlun Mountain, but the expansion simply relieved overcrowding and left the range with room to spare.
• Zhao Gongming refined Kunlun Mountain for fifty thousand years, became its mountain god, and reached the Quasi-Sage realm as the first Third Generation Disciple to do so.
• Five thousand years later, Huang Tian emerged from beneath the Five-Colored Divine Mountain after attaining the Quasi-Sage realm, qualifying him to succeed Haotian as Heavenly Emperor.
• Luo Qing sensed the Innate Era’s decline accelerate as Innate Beings became rarer and Acquired Beings grew in number among newly born immortal gods.
• Quasi-Sages began to notice the approaching end of the Innate Era, but even Sages could not reverse the Heavenly Dao’s transformation from Innate to Acquired.

The transition from the innate era to the Acquired Era sparked fears among powerful Innate Beings that the Acquired Races would eventually challenge their control of high-level resources and seek revenge. As the Acquired Threat Theory spread, both sides grew suspicious, leaving the Primordial Wilderness on the brink of renewed conflict.

• Powerful Innate Beings worried that Acquired Races would gain strength and compete for resources they controlled.
• Quasi-Sages spread the Acquired Threat Theory among major powers and cultivators at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm or above.
• Acquired Races celebrated the coming Acquired Era, then grew uneasy when they heard the theory and feared the Innate Beings would attack first.
• Innate and acquired powerhouses began watching each other warily, and even Rogue Cultivators recognized the growing divide.

As tension between the Innate Beings and Acquired Races spread, Long Ling asked Luo Qing how the Sages intended to prevent war. Luo Qing revealed that Innate Forces should accept Acquired Beings as disciples and unite the two groups, leaving Long Ling to carry the idea forward from the Saint Lineages.

• Innate Beings sought the Sages' positions as fear of conflict with the Acquired Races grew.
• Long Ling told Luo Qing that fellow Daoists were pressing her and other disciples for answers about his stance.
• Luo Qing assured Long Ling that war could not begin while the Sages withheld their positions and warned that the vanished Demon Sages could exploit the turmoil.
• Luo Qing explained that the decline in newly born Innate Beings would eventually force lineages to recruit Acquired Beings to preserve their inheritances.
• Luo Qing urged Innate Forces and lineages to open their gates to Acquired Beings, and Long Ling understood that the Saint Lineages would need to promote the change from the top down.

Long Ling circulated Luo Qing’s solution under Hua Tian Peak’s name, signaling Saint Huode’s opposition to war and support for integrating the Acquired Races. As innate forces began accepting Acquired disciples to preserve their lineages and ease tensions, they made varied choices without knowing the consequences those choices would bring.

• Long Ling recognized that Luo Qing’s solution favored the present-day Acquired Races and that Hua Tian Peak would support the Human Race.
• Long Ling circulated the solution in Hua Tian Peak’s name, making Saint Huode’s opposition to another war clear to the innate great gods.
• Innate beings debated whether to accept Acquired disciples, while other Saint Lineages also voiced support for peace.
• Most innate great gods accepted the plan, seeing that it could ease hostility, share cultivation resources, and provide successors as talented Innate Beings became scarce.
• More innate forces began seeking disciples among the Acquired Races, but they chose different groups without realizing the consequences.

After the war between the Innate and Acquired Races, powerful orthodox lineages debated which Acquired Races would provide the best disciples for the coming Acquired Era. The chapter ended with top geniuses from several races, especially the Human Race, in high demand.

• The changed Primordial Wilderness left orthodox lineages choosing between recruiting locally and traveling to seek talented Acquired Beings.
• A Quasi-Sage in the Eastern Region argued that the demon race would rise again and could dominate the Primordial Wilderness, with Old Ancestor Kunpeng strengthening its prospects.
• A Quasi-Sage proposed recruiting the Witch Clan, and the assembled experts agreed to help free talented witches from their sentence in the Netherworld in exchange for their best members becoming disciples.
• Orthodox lineages also sought talented members of the Human Race, encouraged by its ties to Saint Nuwa and the relationship between Human Leader Yan Tianyu and Hua Tian Peak.
• Top geniuses among the major Acquired Races became highly sought-after by the orthodox lineages.

Huang Ting released tens of millions of new witches from the Netherworld, and the Witch Clan settled near Buzhou Mountain as his subordinate race. As the Innate Era declined, Sage lineages began accepting more Acquired Beings, while Luo Qing considered the uncertain struggle over which race would lead the coming age.

• Huang Ting released the new witches who were close to him and the Hua Tian Peak faction from the Netherworld, and they emerged near Buzhou Mountain.
• Immortal and divine factions came to select witch disciples, then left to judge whether the recruits would make suitable inheritors.
• The new Witch Clan settled near Buzhou Mountain under Huang Ting, while Luo Qing did not interfere with his disciple's decision.
• Luo Qing assessed the Human Race's uncertain prospects in the coming struggle, noting that the Sages would keep a balance and that Ancestor Hongjun's stance remained unclear.
• As the Innate Era declined to around thirty percent of its former birth rate, major factions expanded their recruitment of Acquired Beings.
• Luo Qing left Long Ling to plan Hua Tian Peak's support for the Human Races, while allowing Hua Tian Peak and Jade Pool to accept other Acquired Beings as disciples.

As the Acquired Era approached, the sage lineages chose which races to recruit, with Western Teachings welcoming all races while Hua Tian Peak and Phoenix Perch Mountain favored humans and demons respectively. Jade Void Mountain remained undecided publicly, but its opposing sects were already divided, leaving the Three Pure Ones on the brink of splitting.

• Hua Tian Peak chose to recruit Human Race disciples, while Phoenix Perch Mountain backed the demon race.
• Jieyin and Zhunti opened Western Teachings to disciples of every Acquired Race, seeking to bring all races under its influence.
• Luo Qing recognized that Western Teachings' inclusive policy could cause severe conflict among its races when they fought for dominance.
• The Interpretation Sect and Interception Sect's growing numbers intensified their disputes, and Yuanshi and Tongtian could no longer contain the conflict.
• Yuanshi favored recruiting the Human Race, while Tongtian favored the demon race, deepening the divide within Jade Void Mountain.

Yuanshi and Tongtian broke apart over their opposing views on the Interception Sect recruiting Demon Monster disciples, and Laozi agreed that the Three Pure Ones should separate. After they established new homes, Luo Qing wondered whether an Investiture of the Gods War was about to begin amid the struggle over the Acquired Races.

• Yuanshi criticized Tongtian for recruiting Demon Monster disciples, and Tongtian accused Yuanshi of hypocrisy over their sects’ past conflict.
• Tongtian challenged Yuanshi to hand over the Interpretation Sect disciple who had killed his disciple, then proposed that they go their separate ways.
• Laozi supported separation, reasoning that the Three Pure Ones’ incompatible principles and growing sects would lead to greater conflict if they stayed together.
• Yuanshi kept Jade Void Mountain, Laozi established the Eight Sceneries Palace Dao Field, and Tongtian led a hundred thousand Interception Sect disciples to establish the Biyou Palace Dao Field on Golden Turtle Island.
• Luo Qing heard that the Three Pure Ones had separated and wondered whether the Investiture of the Gods War would coincide with the struggle for the World Protagonist.

Luo Qing interpreted the signs of a coming Heavenly Dao Investiture of the Gods as an effort to strengthen the Heavenly Court, potentially drawing major sects and powerful immortals into its ranks. As the Three Pure Ones separated and other Sage lineages assessed the shift in power, Luo Qing connected the split to the earlier deaths and dispersal of Pangu’s descendants.

• Luo Qing reasoned that the Heavenly Dao might use an Investiture of the Gods to bolster the weak Heavenly Court and compel powerful immortals to serve it.
• Luo Qing foresaw that the coming investiture could involve the major Sage lineages and lead to many high-level immortals being appointed or sent into reincarnation, so he resolved to strengthen his disciples.
• Laozi established Eight Sceneries Palace on Grand Unity Mountain, while Sect Master Tongtian established Biyou Palace on Golden Turtle Island, confirming that the Three Pure Ones had split.
• Zhunti celebrated Jade Void Mountain’s weakening, but Jieyin cautioned him to remain wary of Hua Tian Peak and warned that the Western Teachings’ internal divisions required attention.
• Nuwa’s Phoenix Perch Mountain took limited comfort from the split, while Ancestor Hongjun regarded it as inevitable.
• Luo Qing linked the Three Pure Ones’ split to the earlier deaths of the Twelve Ancestor Witches, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Di Jun, Chang Xi, and Xi He, suspecting a common cause behind Pangu’s descendants being wiped out or scattered.

After the Three Pure Ones split, Tongtian settled the Interception Sect in the Eastern Sea, alarming the Dragon Race and bringing relief to factions in the Eastern Region. Water Spirit Holy Mother ordered the Dragon Race to gather Innate Spiritual Treasures to protect her path to sainthood, while Tongtian warned his disciples not to provoke their new neighbors.

• The Three Pure Ones' split became widely known, and Eastern Region factions celebrated the loss of Jade Void Mountain's influence.
• Laozi settled at Grand Unity Mountain, drawing immortals and gods to join the Eight Sceneries Palace.
• Tongtian moved the Interception Sect to the Eastern Sea, where its disciples claimed islands and territory, worrying the Dragon Race.
• Water Spirit Holy Mother told Azure Dragon to accelerate the Dragon Race's acquisition of Innate Spiritual Treasures before she attained sainthood.
• Tongtian warned the Interception Sect against acting arrogantly, and anxious disciples kept a low profile as they settled in the Eastern Sea.

As the Innate Era declined and low-level Innate Immortal Gods died off, Acquired Beings spread throughout the Primordial Wilderness and orthodox forces began accepting them as disciples. The Human Race prospered under Yan Tianyu’s leadership, while Lu Ya and Old Ancestor Kunpeng rallied the Demon Race to establish a powerful Demon Court in the Central Region.

• Innate Immortal Gods below the Golden Immortal realm died in large numbers, and Acquired Immortal Gods filled the vacancies across the Primordial Wilderness.
• Orthodox forces began selecting Acquired Beings as inheriting disciples, while Human settlements and cultivation sects rapidly spread through the Southern Domain.
• Yan Tianyu used advance information from Hua Tian Peak to guide Human development and prevent the race from falling behind its rivals.
• Hua Tian Peak, Jade Pool, the Interpretation Sect, and other Kunlun forces recruited Human geniuses as disciples.
• Lu Ya appeared as Di Jun’s descendant, and Old Ancestor Kunpeng openly rallied the Demon Race around him.
• Great Demons gathered under Lu Ya and established a powerful Demon Court in the Central Region.

As the Nine Heavens Rotation approached, many Sages sought to place their disciples on the Heavenly Throne, threatening Hua Tian Peak’s plan for Huang Tian to succeed Haotian. Luo Qing and Ancestor Hongjun agreed to choose the next Heavenly Emperor through a contest among candidates capped at Mid Quasi-Sage cultivation, and Hongjun lent Luo Qing the God-Slaying Spear to help Huang Tian compete.

• As the Innate Era neared its end, Hua Tian Peak focused on Huang Tian’s succession to the Heavenly Throne while Quasi-Sages across the Primordial Wilderness watched the approaching Nine Heavens Rotation.
• Nuwa, the Three Pure Ones, and the Two Saints of the West indicated that they would put forward their own candidates, leaving Laozi as the only Sage who had not declared a position.
• Luo Qing and Ancestor Hongjun discussed how to resolve the contest and agreed that candidates should debate the Dao, with their cultivation restricted to no higher than Mid Quasi-Sage.
• Ancestor Hongjun lent Luo Qing the God-Slaying Spear for Huang Tian to use in competing for the Heavenly Throne.

Luo Qing and Ancestor Hongjun arranged a public contest for the second Heavenly Emperor, while the other Sages accepted it as a step toward competing for later thrones. As Haotian prepared to retire, the Innate Era continued to fade and Acquired Beings became the Primordial World’s majority.

• Luo Qing and Ancestor Hongjun agreed that candidates nominated by the Sages would debate the Dao for the second Heavenly Emperor’s throne, with Huang Tian protected by powerful treasures.
• Nuwa, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and the Two Saints of the West discussed the selection and accepted Hua Tian Peak’s advantage, intending to seek fairer chances in later contests.
• Haotian learned the new selection rules from Ancestor Hongjun and resolved to preserve the Heavenly Court’s peace until his retirement in less than one hundred thousand years.
• Haotian reflected that his accomplishments had outweighed his faults, allowing him to leave the throne without carrying harmful karma.
• The Innate Era declined as Azure Heaven faded, Acquired Beings spread across the Primordial World, and innate energy, spiritual roots, and water-race Immortal Gods dwindled.

After Haotian and Azure Radiance abdicated, five candidates began a round-robin contest to choose the Heavenly Court’s next Heavenly Emperor. Huang Tian faced the Golden Winged Great Peng first and quickly seized control of their battle with two Innate Supreme Treasures.

• Haotian and Azure Radiance stepped down, and Ancestor Hongjun's incarnation announced that the five candidates would each fight and debate the Dao against the others.
• Huang Tian's four rivals were determined to challenge him rather than concede the throne, while Huang Tian resolved to fulfill the decision of Huang Ting and Luo Qing.
• Huang Tian and the Golden Winged Great Peng opened the contest, and Huang Tian addressed him as Martial Uncle before attacking.
• Huang Tian summoned the Creation Green Lotus and the God-Slaying Spear, trapping the Golden Winged Great Peng's movement and prompting him to realize why his teacher had expected him to lose.

Huang Tian defeated the Golden Winged Great Peng and secured the Heavenly Throne, while the other candidates conceded rather than face his two Innate Supreme Treasures. The Sages accepted Luo Qing’s promise that future Heavenly Emperor candidates would receive no treasure-grade magic treasures.

• The Golden Winged Great Peng held back and quickly admitted defeat to Huang Tian, refusing to risk severe injuries for the other candidates’ sake.
• Guang Chengzi, Daoist Duobao, and the other candidates lost their chance to exhaust Huang Tian’s Dharma Power and compete for the Heavenly Throne.
• Nuwa and Zhunti complained to Luo Qing that his gift of two Innate Supreme Treasures to Huang Tian had made the selection unfair.
• Luo Qing agreed that future Heavenly Emperor candidates would not be provided with treasure-grade magic treasures.
• Guang Chengzi, Daoist Duobao, and Lu Ya went through the motions of fighting Huang Tian before dignifiedly conceding.

Huang Tian secured the Heavenly Throne with two Innate Supreme Treasures, while Golden Winged Great Peng, Guang Chengzi, Daoist Duobao, and Lu Ya fought among themselves. Daoist Duobao won all three battles, and the Sages departed amid open tension between Yuanshi and Tongtian.

• Huang Tian defeated the other four Heavenly Throne candidates and claimed the throne, after which Golden Winged Great Peng, Guang Chengzi, Daoist Duobao, and Lu Ya fought six matches among themselves.
• Daoist Duobao won all three of his battles, Golden Winged Great Peng won two, and Guang Chengzi lost to all three opponents.
• Zhunti praised Daoist Duobao, while Tongtian praised both Duobao and Golden Winged Great Peng, and Yuanshi and Nuwa kept their displeasure hidden.
• Yuanshi called Guang Chengzi away and advised him not to despair over his defeats before leaving the Heavenly Realm with him.
• Tongtian declared that Daoist Duobao would keep defeating Yuanshi's disciples, and Zhunti welcomed the growing rift between the Three Pure Ones.
• Nuwa left with Lu Ya, Tongtian departed with Daoist Duobao, and Zhunti privately envied Tongtian's gifted disciple.

Luo Qing considered how Daoist Duobao and Luo Lian might contend over the Demon Ancestor’s legacy, then watched the Western Saints and Ancestor Hongjun depart after the Heavenly Emperor succession arrangements were completed. Huang Tian accepted his new role as the second Heavenly Emperor, though he had hoped for a quieter path.

• Luo Qing deduced that Duobao could become a Demon Saint through Buddhism and help revive Demon Ancestor Luohu, while Luo Lian could block that fate and claim the path to Sainthood instead.
• Jieyin took the Golden Winged Great Peng with him after the bird won two of the three contests, and the Western Saints took their leave.
• Ancestor Hongjun gave Huang Tian the Heavenly Emperor’s imperial objects, while Luo Qing returned the God-Slaying Spear to Hongjun.
• Ancestor Hongjun departed, and the Four Great Emperors saluted Huang Tian as the Heavenly Court’s new ruler.
• Huang Tian reluctantly accepted the salute after Luo Qing encouraged him, reflecting that he had wanted to pursue cultivation and eventually inherit the Buzhou Mountain God position.

Huang Tian became the new Heavenly Emperor after Luo Qing told him to govern independently and promised that success could bring him a chance at Sainthood. The Primordial Wilderness learned of his succession only after the ceremony was complete, leaving would-be candidates shocked and silenced once they recognized his ties to Hua Tian Peak.

• Huang Tian asked Luo Qing to let Yun Xiao and the others help him manage the entrenched factions in the Heavenly Court, but Luo Qing told him to face the difficulties himself.
• Luo Qing encouraged Huang Tian with the possibility of becoming a Primordial Chaos Saint and said Bi Xiao and Qiong Xiao could assist him, while his teacher beneath the Heavenly Court could be contacted in an emergency.
• Huang Tian vowed to become the greatest Heavenly Emperor, and the ceremony to receive the Primordial Era Heavenly Dao's recognition began.
• The Heavenly Dao proclaimed that Azure Heaven had withdrawn and Desolate Heaven had taken his turn, confirming Huang Tian as the new Heavenly Emperor.
• Quasi-Sages were stunned that Huang Tian had already taken the position, then stopped voicing doubts after learning he was Huang Ting's disciple and a direct Third Generation Disciple of Hua Tian Peak.

As Huang Tian quietly became the Heavenly Court’s second Heavenly Emperor, the Primordial World entered the Acquired Era and underwent changes that Luo Qing studied from Hua Tian Immortal Realm. He sensed that the declining proportion of Immortal Gods among the growing population was strengthening the Path of Emotion within the Heavenly Dao.

• Huang Tian succeeded Haotian as Heavenly Emperor, while Azure Heaven withdrew and Desolate Heaven appeared as the Innate Era ended.
• Acquired qi replaced innate essence qi and spiritual qi, new Innate Gods ceased to be nurtured, and the population of Acquired races grew across the Primordial World.
• Luo Qing dispersed his avatar after leaving Huang Tian to adapt to his new position with Kong Xuan, Holy Mother Zi Guang, Qiong Xiao, and Bi Xiao looking after him.
• Luo Qing studied how clear and turbid qi separated and how spiritual qi gathered around mountains, rivers, and Water Veins, drawing Immortal Gods toward those places as ordinary beings settled in the plains.
• Luo Qing sensed that the declining proportion of Immortal Gods amid the growing population had stirred the Heavenly Dao and strengthened its Path of Emotion.