Chapter Summaries

Taiqing silently agreed to Yuanshi’s plan to oppose Tongtian, while Lu Yuan reflected on his recent battle and saw the Investiture of the Gods Calamity as a chance to prove the Hunyuan Dao Fruit. As the mortal conflict between Shang and Zhou intensified, the three Saints gathered for their final discussion of the Investiture of the Gods, where Yuanshi again demanded that Interception Sect disciples fill its divine posts.

• Taiqing let the last trace of protectiveness toward Tongtian fade and tacitly approved Yuanshi’s plan, warning him to restrain his disciples and wait for the right moment.
• Lu Yuan reviewed how he had withstood the attacks of Jade Pure Daoist and Primordial Heavenly Demon, then resolved to seize the calamity as an opportunity for transcendence.
• Wen Ding summoned Ji Li to Chaoge, imprisoned him, and arranged for his death; Ji Chang suppressed Xi Qi’s outrage while secretly nurturing revenge.
• Hongjun convened Taiqing, Yuanshi, and Tongtian for the final discussion of the Investiture of the Gods and declared that the matter had to be settled.
• Yuanshi argued that Chan Sect disciples such as Guangchengzi and Chijingzi should be spared, while Interception Sect disciples should fill the Scroll’s divine positions.

Sect Master Tongtian rejected Yuanshi’s plan to fill the Investiture of the Gods Scroll with Jie Sect disciples after Sage Taiqing supported signing it. Taishang Laojun entered the scroll himself, but Tongtian still left Purple Sky Palace determined to let the disciples fight for their own fates in the coming tribulation; Dao Ancestor Hongjun approved delaying the signing.

• Sect Master Tongtian defended the Jie Sect’s achievements and condemned Yuanshi’s proposal to sacrifice its disciples for the Investiture of the Gods Scroll.
• Sage Taiqing declared that the scroll must be signed, convincing Tongtian that his elder brothers had sided against him.
• Taishang Laojun entered his own name on the scroll as a divine official, disrupting Yuanshi’s effort to force Tongtian’s agreement.
• Sect Master Tongtian refused to sign and declared that the Jie Sect would fight through the tribulation rather than surrender its disciples’ fates to others.
• Tongtian left Purple Sky Palace, while Primordial Heavenly Venerate denounced him and Sage Taiqing worried that his resolve would bring the Jie Sect to ruin.
• Sage Taiqing asked Dao Ancestor Hongjun to postpone the signing, and Hongjun approved letting the tribulation determine who would receive divine positions.

After the Purple Palace gathering set the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation for three thousand years later, Taiqing ordered Xuandu to avoid the conflict, while Primordial Heavenly Venerate planned to use slaughter and wandering immortals to protect the Chan Sect. Tongtian prepared the Interception Sect for war, and Lu Yuan resolved to defend his Dao Lineages and use the Tribulation to pursue transcendence.

• Sage Taiqing Laozi warned Grand Master Xuandu that disciples of the Chan Sect and Interception Sect would perish in the Tribulation, then ordered him to remain apart from its mortal and immortal conflicts.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate declared that the Interception Sect should fill the Investiture of the Gods Scroll, and his disciples proposed killing Interception Sect immortals and drawing wandering immortals into the conflict.
• Sect Master Tongtian told his disciples to fight for their own survival and taught them savage divine abilities as protection for the coming Tribulation.
• Lu Yuan learned from Sect Master Tongtian's talisman decree that the Interception Sect faced destruction and resolved to defend his Dao Lineages and temper his Dao Fruit through the Tribulation.

Lu Yuan tried to recruit Jiang Ziya for the Interception Sect, but learned that Jiang had already reached Kunlun and been welcomed by the Chan Sect. As the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation began, Lu Yuan resolved to defy Heaven’s Will and fight for his sect’s survival and rise.

• Lu Yuan descended in an avatar to Song Family Village, where Song Yiren told him Jiang Ziya had left for Kunlun thirty years earlier.
• Jiang Ziya reached Kunlun, and White Crane Boy welcomed him under the Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s decree and carried him toward Yuxu Palace.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerate judged Jiang Ziya’s roots poor but planned to use his Heaven-backed destiny to defeat the Interception Sect and suppress Lu Yuan.
• Lu Yuan received his avatar’s memories, accepted that Jiang Ziya had fallen into the Chan Sect’s hands, and vowed to use the Tribulation to forge a path for the Interception Sect.

Shen Gongbao abandoned his attempt to join the Chan Sect and headed for Biyou Palace, becoming a new variable in the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation. Three thousand years later, Zhunti eyed the intertwined fortunes of Yin Shang and the Interception Sect as a prize for the West.

• Shen Gongbao sensed that his Xia Hou bloodline warned him away from Yuxu Palace, tore up his invitation, and redirected his journey toward the East Sea.
• Lu Yuan recognized Shen Gongbao as the Sign of the Flying Bear and realized his choice had shifted his destiny toward the Interception Sect.
• Sect Master Tongtian decided to accept Shen Gongbao, conceal the change from Primordial Heavenly Venerate, and use him to challenge the destiny arranged against the Interception Sect.
• Three thousand years later, Zhunti observed that the Interception Sect's fortune had become intertwined with Yin Shang's Dragon Qi and lamented that the West could not claim it.
• Zhunti considered Di Xin's potential and resolved that Yin Shang's Human Dragon Qi should nourish the Great Prosperity of the West.

Zhunti manipulated Shang Rong into persuading Di Xin to visit Wa Huang Temple, then used the ceremony and a bewitched vision of Nuwa to overwhelm the Human Emperor. Di Xin’s reason collapsed before the sacred image, leaving his actions poised to bring the plot against him to fruition.

• Zhunti saw the North Sea rebellion and sent Nirvana Buddha Light to bewitch Shang Rong into believing that Nuwa’s anger had caused the crisis.
• Shang Rong, convinced that Di Xin had to beg Nuwa’s forgiveness, urged him and the court to arrange a visit to Wa Huang Temple.
• Di Xin resisted the petition at first but agreed after his ministers argued that honoring Nuwa would show filial piety and strengthen his reputation.
• Di Xin traveled to Wa Huang Temple and prepared to offer incense before Nuwa’s veiled image.
• A sinister wind tore away the Divine Curtain, and Zhunti’s Mind-Bewitching Curse struck Di Xin as he looked upon the revealed statue.
• Di Xin’s perception of Nuwa became a bewitching vision, and his reason, restraint, and reverence were overwhelmed.

Di Xin wrote a sacrilegious poem in Wa Huang Palace under Zhunti’s spell, while Lu Yuan exposed Zhunti’s scheme before the Sages concealed the truth. Nuwa sent three demons to bring down the Shang Dynasty, Zhunti secretly removed her restriction against harming innocents, and Shang Rong died after leaving warnings about the dynasty’s fate as the demons set out for Zhaoge.

• Di Xin wrote a poem praising Nuwa and ignored Shang Rong’s pleas to erase it and apologize.
• Lu Yuan traced Zhunti’s role in manipulating Di Xin and Shang Rong, but Yuanshi, Taiqing, Minghe, and other powers helped bury the revelation in the heavenly secrets.
• Nuwa ordered the Nine-headed Pheasant Spirit and Jade Pipa Spirit to join the Nine-tailed Fox in the palace and help bring down the Shang Dynasty, while Zhunti secretly removed her order forbidding harm to the people.
• Shang Rong recovered his true memories, wrote a blood warning, and killed himself before Cheng Tang’s ancestral tablet.
• The three demons accepted Nuwa’s decree and left Xuanyuan Tomb, while Lu Yuan watched the Shang Dynasty’s destiny dim and tribulation energy spread.

After the Saints erased the truth Lu Yuan exposed about Zhunti, he recognized that the Interception Sect faced a coordinated threat and resolved to prove the Dao of Hunyuan to protect its legacy. In a ruined temple, the Nine-tailed Fox, Nine-headed Pheasant Spirit, and Jade Pipa Spirit devised a plan to possess noble maidens and infiltrate Di Xin’s palace.

• Lu Yuan realized Primordial Heavenly Venerate, Sage Taiqing, and the Western Teachings intended to weaken and divide the Interception Sect.
• Lu Yuan concluded that only becoming a Hunyuan Saint could help him and Sect Master Tongtian preserve the sect’s foundation.
• The Nine-tailed Fox and Nine-headed Pheasant Spirit warned that Chaoge’s Human Dao Destiny would expose and destroy demons who approached Di Xin in their true forms.
• The Jade Pipa Spirit proposed possessing noble maidens selected for the palace so the three demons could enter as humans.
• The Jade Pipa Spirit explained how their three soul arts could transfer the maidens’ bodies, remove their souls, and conceal the demons’ traces.

The Nine-tailed Fox possessed Su Daji to enter Di Xin’s palace, while a beam of starlight secretly saved the last fragment of Daji’s true spirit and sent it into reincarnation. The fox set out for Zhaoge in Daji’s body, unaware that Daji’s spirit had escaped her grasp.

• The Nine-tailed Fox and the other demons agreed to use the blood of one hundred children in a formation to evade Heaven’s scrutiny.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun persuaded Di Xin to summon Daji to Zhaoge, and Su Hu rebelled by writing a poem denouncing Shang.
• Fei Zhong advised Di Xin to order Ji Chang to attack Jizhou, but Ji Chang surrounded the city without fighting and secretly sent San Yi Sheng to negotiate with Su Hu.
• Ji Chang convinced Su Hu to feign defeat and send Daji to Zhaoge, and Di Xin pardoned Jizhou after Su Hu and Ji Chang sent letters of repentance.
• At Pingqiao Post, the Nine-tailed Fox possessed Su Daji, but starlight rescued Daji’s remaining true spirit and sent it into reincarnation.
• The Nine-tailed Fox claimed Daji’s identity and prepared to enter Di Xin’s palace, while Su Hu slept unaware that his daughter’s spirit had departed.

Lu Yuan discovered that Su Daji’s True Spirit had been marked by the Reincarnation Great Dao as an “uncertainty,” and he and Sect Master Tongtian planned to use her to disrupt the Saints’ schemes against the Interception Sect. Tongtian urged Lu Yuan to attain the Primordial Dao Fruit as the sect’s only hope, and Lu Yuan set out to strengthen reincarnation in the Hungry Ghost Path.

• Lu Yuan traced Su Daji’s True Spirit in reincarnation and discovered that the Reincarnation Great Dao had marked her as an “uncertainty.”
• Lu Yuan concluded that the Saints planned to destroy the Interception Sect and resolved to attain the Primordial Dao Fruit to protect its lineage.
• Lu Yuan met Sect Master Tongtian at Biyou Palace, where Tongtian raged against the Saints’ plots.
• Lu Yuan showed Tongtian Su Daji’s mark, and Tongtian agreed to conceal and protect her when she returned to the mortal world.
• Tongtian told Lu Yuan that attaining the Primordial Dao Fruit could secure the Interception Sect’s survival, and Lu Yuan vowed to prove the Dao of Hunyuan.
• Lu Yuan announced that he would go to the Hungry Ghost Path to strengthen reincarnation and prepare another safeguard for his path to Hunyuan.

Lu Yuan secretly planted a fragment of his Profound Yellow Great Dao Origin in the Hungry Ghost Path’s reincarnation foundation as a contingency for Su Daji and his future attempt at the Primordial Dao Fruit. Meanwhile, Nuwa, furious at Zhunti and Qingxuanzi, sentenced Lingzhuzi to reincarnation, sending him toward the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

• Lu Yuan used Tongtian’s Qingping Sword intent to conceal himself and traveled to the Hungry Ghost Path.
• Lu Yuan merged a mote of his Profound Yellow Great Dao Origin with the foundation of reincarnation, hiding it as a safeguard linked to the variable bearing Su Daji’s fate.
• Nuwa brooded over how Zhunti had used her and how Qingxuanzi had exposed the scheme, while fearing Tongtian might transcend the Heavenly Dao.
• Nuwa sealed Lingzhuzi’s innate spirit pearl origin and sentenced him to reincarnate until the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation ended.
• Lingzhuzi shot through Yellow Springs Road toward the Netherworld Vortex and the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Nuwa arranged for Lingzhuzi to be reborn into Li Jing's family and join the Chan Sect, while Lu Yuan recognized her move as part of the Sages' effort to weaken the Interception Sect. In Chaoge, Su Hu pleaded for mercy with the help of ministers and presented the fox possessing Su Daji to Di Xin, whose desire for her was stirred.

• Nuwa sent Lingzhuzi into reincarnation to be born to Li Jing and Lady Yin at Chentang Pass, with an agreement that he would become a core third-generation disciple of the Chan Sect.
• Lu Yuan divined Nuwa's arrangement and concluded that the Sages were joining forces against the Interception Sect and the Shang Dynasty's Dao lineage.
• Su Hu arrived in Chaoge, sought Bi Gan and Huang Feihu's support, and bribed Fei Zhong and You Hun, who agreed to speak for him after seeing the fox posing as Daji.
• Su Hu brought Daji before Di Xin in Wude Hall and begged him to spare the Su clan; Bi Gan, Huang Feihu, and other officials argued for mercy.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun praised Daji's beauty before Di Xin, whose attention and desire settled on her.

Daji’s arrival at Shouxian Palace consumed Di Xin’s attention and weakened his rule, while Li Jing grew convinced that the child Lady Yin had carried for three years was a monster. When Lady Yin finally gave birth, Li Jing rushed to the birthing chamber with his sword, but she stopped him and revealed their newborn son.

• Di Xin pardoned Su Hu, restored his title, and made Daji his Noble Consort after seeing her beauty.
• Di Xin abandoned morning audiences and dismissed concerns about the North Sea as Daji, Fei Zhong, and You Hun gained influence.
• For three years, Li Jing feared that Lady Yin’s unborn child was a Yao Mo, despite her reassurances that the child might be extraordinary.
• Lady Yin went into labor as strange weather gathered over Chentang Pass, and Li Jing seized his warding sword and rushed to the birthing chamber.
• A piercing cry, heavenly fragrance, and sudden spiritual pressure convinced Li Jing the newborn was a monster, but Lady Yin held the door shut and showed him the child.

Li Jing mistook his newborn son for a demon and nearly killed him before True Person Taiyi arrived with Primordial Heavenly Venerate's decree to take the child as a disciple. Taiyi named the boy Li Nezha and said he would return in ten years to teach him, leaving the Li family relieved and proud.

• Li Jing drew his sword against the newborn, but Lady Yin shielded the child and begged him to stop.
• True Person Taiyi appeared and revealed that he had come on Primordial Heavenly Venerate's orders to take Li Jing's third son as his disciple.
• Taiyi identified the baby as the reincarnation of Lingzhuzi, an immortal attendant of Empress Nuwa, and praised his innate talent.
• Li Jing apologized and welcomed Taiyi, while Lady Yin thanked him for protecting her child and choosing him as a disciple.
• Taiyi named the child Nezha, and Li Jing declared that he would be called Li Nezha.
• Taiyi said Nezha would remain with his parents for ten years before he returned to formally take him as a disciple, then departed from Chentang Pass.

Lu Yuan secretly entered Zhaoge and revealed to Di Xin that Saints and demons were manipulating him to destroy the Shang Dynasty during the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation. He gave Di Xin a pendant to suppress the calamity’s influence, leaving the Human Emperor resolved to revive the Shang lineage while keeping his enemies unaware.

• Lu Yuan concealed his presence and descended from Ziwei Palace into Zhaoge to protect the Shang Dynasty and the Interception Sect.
• Lu Yuan entered Di Xin’s inner palace and showed him visions of Zhunti’s curse, Nuwa’s plot, and the Nine-tailed Fox’s possession of Daji.
• Di Xin understood that his blasphemous poem and obsession with Daji had been manipulated, and Lu Yuan warned him not to expose the demon yet.
• Lu Yuan explained the Saints’ scheme against the Shang Dynasty and the Interception Sect, then urged Di Xin to restore the realm and stabilize human destiny.
• Lu Yuan gave Di Xin the Chaos Calamity Fortune Profound Yellow Pendant, which eased the calamity clouding his mind.
• After Lu Yuan disappeared, Di Xin concealed his knowledge of Daji’s identity and resolved to strengthen the Shang Dynasty before taking revenge on those plotting against it.

Daoist Zhunti visited Daoist Randeng and exploited his frustration with Primordial Heavenly Venerate to recruit him into the Western Teachings. Randeng accepted, choosing to pursue the Nirvana Great Dao and the Past Buddha’s fruition despite his fear of Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s response.

• Daoist Randeng brooded over Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s distrust and his own stalled cultivation in Primordial Awakening Cave.
• Daoist Zhunti appeared in Randeng’s cave and pointed out that Randeng felt excluded from the Chan Sect’s teachings.
• Zhunti revealed the Western Teachings’ Nirvana Great Dao, which resonated with Randeng and seemed to crack his Hunyuan barrier.
• Zhunti promised Randeng a path to the Past Buddha’s fruition and claimed Primordial Heavenly Venerate would tacitly approve his departure during the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation.
• Randeng overcame his fear of Primordial Heavenly Venerate, knelt before Zhunti, and pledged himself to the Western Teachings.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate and the Western sages treated Randeng’s planned defection as part of their strategy against the Interception Sect, while Randeng embraced his promised future in the West. In Zhaoge, Di Xin regained his resolve, launched reforms, sent Huang Feihu to the Northern Frontier, and recruited Fei Zhong and You Hun as secret agents.

• Primordial Heavenly Venerate watched Randeng pledge himself to Zhunti and accepted the defection as a bargain that would help Yuxu Palace undermine Tongtian and the Interception Sect.
• Jieyin and Zhunti agreed to use Randeng as a pawn to advance the Western Teachings, then discard him after the tribulation.
• Randeng thanked Zhunti, resolved to leave Yuxu for the West when the time came, and began cultivating Nirvana Buddha Light.
• Di Xin stripped Fei Zhong and You Hun of their offices, appointed Bi Gan Grand Preceptor to lead reforms, and ordered Huang Feihu north to assist Wen Zhong against Yuan Futong.
• Di Xin used the Chaos Calamity Fortune Profound Yellow Pendant to suppress his agitation and resist Daji’s influence while restoring loyal officials and reviewing memorials.
• Di Xin offered Fei Zhong and You Hun a chance to atone by serving as hidden blades, and they agreed to spy on Xi Qi, Zhaoge’s enemies, and Shouxian Palace.

Di Xin bound Fei Zhong and You Hun to him and appointed them to lead a Secret Inspection Office, while Wen Zhong’s forces broke Yuan Futong’s demonic defenses in the North Sea. Primordial Heavenly Venerate saw these setbacks as a challenge to his plans, but resolved to use the Investiture of the Gods Scroll and God-Beating Whip to enforce the Mandate of Heaven.

• Di Xin branded Fei Zhong and You Hun with a life-and-death talisman and ordered them to run a Secret Inspection Office focused on officials, vassal lords, and Xi Qi.
• Wen Zhong and Huang Feihu led the Shang army against Yuan Futong after Intercepting Sect immortals broke the Profound Yin Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation at Black Wind Valley.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate realized Lu Yuan’s pendant and Di Xin’s renewed rule had disrupted his plans, but predicted calamity would eventually overwhelm them.
• Nuwa resented Di Xin’s renewed vigor, Zhunti considered using the disruption to gain leverage for the West, and Tongtian welcomed Lu Yuan’s protection of the Shang Dynasty.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate took up the Investiture of the Gods Scroll and God-Beating Whip and declared that Yuxu Palace would make the first move to enforce the Mandate of Heaven.

Nezha accidentally killed Biyun with the Qian Kun Circle, prompting Niangniang Shi Ji to seek revenge and True Person Taiyi to try to kill her. Daoist Honglu intervened on Qingxuan’s orders, drove Taiyi away, and took Shi Ji to Qingxu Mountain for protection.

• Nezha threw the Qian Kun Circle across the sky, and it killed Biyun outside White Bone Cave.
• Caiyun reported Biyun’s death, and Niangniang Shi Ji traced the treasure to Nezha and confronted Li Jing at Chentang Pass.
• Nezha admitted killing Biyun and fought Niangniang Shi Ji, who overwhelmed him until True Person Taiyi arrived.
• True Person Taiyi trapped Niangniang Shi Ji inside the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover, but Daoist Honglu broke the treasure with Honglu Dao Light and healed her.
• Daoist Honglu condemned Taiyi’s actions under Qingxuan’s edict, ordered him to leave with Nezha, and escorted Niangniang Shi Ji to Qingxu Mountain.

Nezha’s defiance escalated into a massacre in the East Sea, prompting the Four Sea Dragon Kings to threaten Chentang Pass unless he was executed. To spare his parents and the city, Nezha declared that he was returning his flesh and blood to them and began carving it from his body.

• True Person Taiyi scolded Nezha for his reckless actions, but Nezha left Golden Light Cave in anger and went to the East Sea.
• Nezha churned the sea with Qian Kun Circle and Chaos-Controlling Silk, killed the patrol night yaksha, and then defeated Ao Bing and tore out his dragon tendon.
• Ao Guang learned of Ao Bing’s death and led the Four Sea Dragon Kings to Chentang Pass, threatening to flood the city unless Li Jing handed over Nezha.
• As Ao Guang counted down, Li Jing faltered over whether to sacrifice his son, and Nezha broke free of Lady Yin to accept responsibility for his actions.
• Nezha declared that he would repay his parents by returning his flesh and blood, then began cutting flesh from his own body as the Dragon Kings watched.