Chapter Summaries

Hua Dou tried to stop Zhao Gongming from joining the fighting, but Zhao Gongming chose to help the Interception Sect after Hua Dou protected two of his souls. Zhao Gongming attacked Randeng with the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors, and Randeng escaped while the scissors destroyed Zhunti’s golden body and his deer.

• Sect Master Tongtian sent Hua Dou to Three Immortals Island to try to stop Zhao Gongming from borrowing the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors.
• Hua Dou warned Zhao Gongming of his death tribulation, but Zhao Gongming insisted on helping his brothers; Qiongxiao bowed to Hua Dou, who protected two of Zhao Gongming’s souls.
• Zhao Gongming borrowed the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors and traveled to Cheng Tang’s camp despite Grand Tutor Wen’s warning about the weapon’s killing qi and karmic debt.
• Zhao Gongming confronted Randeng and demanded the return of the Sea-Calming Pearls, then attacked him with the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors.
• Randeng summoned Zhunti’s golden body, but it could not stop the scissors, so Randeng fled by Wood-Escape as the scissors cut the golden body and his deer in two.

Lu Ya helped the Zhou camp kill Zhao Gongming with the Nail Head Seven Arrows Book, while Hua Dou preserved a remnant of Zhao Gongming’s soul. After Qiongxiao and Bixiao set out for Xiqi to seek revenge, Hua Dou agreed to accompany Yunxiao and intervene.

• Lu Ya taught Jiang Ziya the Nail Head Seven Arrows Book, and Jiang Ziya used it over twenty-one days to kill Zhao Gongming.
• Lu Ya and other immortals broke several of Wen’s Ten Ultimate Formations, while Zhang Shao trapped King Wu in the Red Sand Array.
• Hua Dou drew Zhao Gongming’s remnant soul into the Eight Trigrams Compass, where a golden dragon restored a trace of life to it.
• Shen Gongbao told the Three Xiao of Zhao Gongming’s death, and Qiongxiao and Bixiao decided to go to Xiqi despite Yunxiao’s objections.
• Hua Dou stopped the sisters’ party and absorbed Han Zhi Xian’s Black Wind; Qiongxiao, Bixiao, Han Zhi Xian, and Caiyun Fairy then continued to Xiqi.
• Yunxiao warned Hua Dou that her sisters might use the Hunyuan Golden Dou against the Jade Void disciples, and Hua Dou agreed to go with her.

After Zhao Gongming’s death, Hua Dou preserved his remnant soul and began forging a new body from the Sun’s Essence. Hua Dou fought Lu Ya, absorbed his fires, and helped Yunxiao capture him, but Lu Ya escaped when Bixiao brought out the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors.

• Hua Dou burned Zhao Gongming’s body, gathered his essence into the Eight Trigrams Compass, and promised to nourish his remnant soul for reincarnation.
• Yunxiao challenged Lu Ya, and Hua Dou fought him, absorbing his Innate Li Fire and True Sun Fire while restoring the Golden Crow within the compass.
• Lu Ya attacked Hua Dou with the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, but the Eight Trigrams Compass blocked its beams, and Bixiao’s Hunyuan Golden Dou weakened Lu Ya.
• Yunxiao ordered soldiers to shoot Lu Ya in revenge for Zhao Gongming, but the arrows turned to ash against his Golden Crow form.
• Bixiao brought out the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors, and Lu Ya turned into a streak of light and fled.

Yunxiao used the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation to confront the Chan Teaching Immortals, whose treasures and counterattacks let them withstand its escalating dangers. As she raised the Hunyuan Golden Dou, the battle remained unresolved.

• Daoist Randeng examined Yunxiao’s formation, and Jiang Ziya led several disciples inside to investigate.
• The fairies fought Jiang Ziya’s group, and Qiongxiao’s Hunyuan Golden Dou captured Yang Jian and Jin Zha before Jiang Ziya escaped under the protection of the Apricot Yellow Banner.
• Daoist Randeng led the Chan Teaching Golden Immortals back into the formation with spiritual treasures to protect themselves.
• Yunxiao activated the formation’s yellow sand dragons, but Cihang Daoren used the Pure Glazed Vase to turn the sand into mud and water springs.
• Han Zhi Xian’s Black Wind disoriented the Golden Immortals, but Daoist Randeng and Cihang Daoren countered it with their treasures.
• Yunxiao unleashed fire and Three Lights Divine Water, while the Chan Teaching Immortals used their treasures to resist; she then raised the Hunyuan Golden Dou.

Yunxiao’s Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation stripped the Twelve Golden Immortals of their cultivation, while Randeng escaped and the Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Dao De Tianzun arrived in Xiqi. After Dao De Tianzun gave Hua Dou the Chaos Bell’s trace of Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s spirit, the two Saints entered the formation, where Qiongxiao and Bixiao were killed and Yunxiao was carried away.

• Yunxiao powered the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation, and the Hunyuan Golden Dou stripped the Twelve Golden Immortals of their cultivation while Randeng broke through the formation and fled.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerate arrived in Xiqi, followed by Dao De Tianzun, who gave Hua Dou the Chaos Bell and Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s trace of true spirit for his Eight Trigrams Compass.
• Hua Dou asked to save one person and discussed the remaining chance to defy fate with the two Saints, who then set out to break the Yellow River Formation.
• Nuwa and Lady Houtu sealed Biyou Palace to prevent Sect Master Tongtian from intervening, while the two Heavenly Venerates entered the formation with their companions.
• Laozi sent Yunxiao away beneath Kirin Cliff, and the Primordial Heavenly Venerate killed Qiongxiao and Bixiao, sending their souls to the Platform of Investiture.

Hua Dou and the White Rabbit Medicine King encountered a Sky Peng Bird in the North Nether Sea while seeking the elements needed to complete the Eight Trigrams Disk. After battling it and absorbing its wind, they faced its twenty-eight Star Dou Small Banners, whose origin Hua Dou questioned.

• Hua Dou restrained a giant fish in the North Nether Sea, but a Sky Peng Bird appeared and attacked him and the White Rabbit Medicine King.
• The Medicine King used moonlight to restrain the Sky Peng’s gale, allowing Hua Dou to absorb its Wind Element power and strengthen the Wind star within him.
• The Sky Peng lunged at the Medicine King’s full-moon form, and Hua Dou struck its golden talon with a purple fist.
• The Medicine King pinned the Sky Peng beneath his moonlit ability until it transformed into a young man and summoned twenty-eight Star Dou Small Banners.
• The Medicine King fled into Hua Dou’s arms as the banners descended, and Hua Dou suspected they were weaker imitations of the Star Banners from the Grand Formation of the Myriad Stars.

Hua Dou pursued the Sky Peng Bird to the Demon Master Palace and learned that Kun Peng had expelled the Laws of Wind and Water from his injured body, creating the Sky Peng and Swallowing Fish. The Eight Trigrams Compass gained the Sky Peng and Medicine King as spirits, and its power began rebuilding Kun Peng’s body while Hua Dou cultivated under the Star Dou Banners.

• Hua Dou forced the Sky Peng Bird to flee to the depths of the Northern Sea after Heaven and Earth suppressed his destructive power.
• Hua Dou entered the Demon Master Palace and found Kun Peng surviving as spiritual energy in a Spirit Gathering Spring Eye.
• Kun Peng explained that his expelled Laws of Wind and Water had become the Sky Peng Bird and Swallowing Fish, and asked Hua Dou to help restore the Sky Peng’s mind.
• The Sky Peng entered the Eight Trigrams Disk at the Xun Wind position, and the Medicine King unexpectedly joined it at the Kun Earth (Moon) position.
• The Sky Peng told Hua Dou that the compass could restore Kun Peng’s body, and Kun Peng arranged the Star Dou Banners to draw down starlight for Hua Dou’s cultivation.
• Hua Dou cultivated as the compass developed five elements, then its power flowed into Kun Peng and began rebuilding his body.

Hua Dou and Kun Peng intercepted Zhunti after he subdued Kong Xuan and took him toward Spirit Mountain. Hua Dou reclaimed the Five Elements Illustrated Tome, while Kong Xuan remained under Zhunti’s influence with a hidden purple light entering the seal on his true spirit.

• The Eight Trigrams Compass restored Kun Peng, and Hua Dou discovered that reversing his nebula’s rotation could instantly replenish his spiritual energy.
• Zhunti trapped Kong Xuan inside his golden body, but Kong Xuan used the Five-Colored Divine Light and Five Elements Illustrated Tome to damage Zhunti’s manifested golden form.
• Zhunti used his Saintly powers to overwhelm Kong Xuan’s mind, make him take refuge, and ride him in peacock form toward Spirit Mountain.
• Hua Dou and Kun Peng intercepted Zhunti, and Hua Dou asked for the Five Elements Illustrated Tome that Tongtian had promised him.
• Zhunti tried to subdue Kun Peng with a mantra, but Hua Dou protected him, and Kun Peng prepared to fight Zhunti.
• Hua Dou used the Eight Trigrams Compass to draw the Five Elements Illustrated Tome away from Kong Xuan’s primordial spirit, while a streak of purple light slipped into the force sealing Kong Xuan’s true spirit.

Hua Dou explained that he had secretly placed a trace of primordial violet qi in Kong Xuan’s true spirit, then protected Kun Peng as he recovered much of his cultivation and gained insight into the Five Elements. As Tongtian unleashed the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, the Eastern Saints negotiated with Jieyin and Zhunti, who secured the West’s plans to spread Buddhism and take three thousand Interception Sect disciples.

• Hua Dou told Kun Peng that they had succeeded in placing primordial violet qi in Kong Xuan’s true spirit without Zhunti noticing, and discussed the Five Elements treasure and Hua Dou’s cultivation path.
• Kun Peng entered a state of enlightenment, recovered to seven-tenths of his former cultivation, and returned his revealed Kun Peng true form to his body.
• Hua Dou saw that the Eight Trigrams Compass had changed to display rings of Five Elements beasts, then sensed Tongtian’s Immortal Slaying Sword Formation erupt over Xiqi.
• At Shouyang Mountain, Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Grand Supreme Dao De Tianzun discussed the formation and summoned Jieyin and Zhunti to negotiate.
• Jieyin and Zhunti demanded that Buddhism flourish and confirmed a plan involving eighty-one trials and three thousand Interception Sect disciples; Zhunti said Yang Mei and Hongjun had accepted the associated Karma.

Dao De Tianzun and the other Saints arranged Yunxiao’s role in the Underworld and planned how to break the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation. The Saints overcame the formation, took its four swords, and forced Sect Master Tongtian to flee as his disciples scattered.

• Dao De Tianzun transformed Yunxiao’s Hunyuan Golden Dou into the Reincarnation Pool and proposed using her Good Corpse to suppress Hell, while Zhunti negotiated a place for Buddhism in the Underworld.
• Dao De Tianzun assigned the Saints treasures and roles for breaking the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, and Primordial Heavenly Venerate went to confront Sect Master Tongtian.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Sect Master Tongtian argued over the Interception Sect’s disciples and Guang Chengzi, but Tongtian refused to withdraw the formation.
• Laozi, Primordial Heavenly Venerate, Jieyin, and Zhunti entered the formation and used their treasures and divine abilities to withstand its four swords.
• The four Saints attacked Sect Master Tongtian, while Guang Chengzi, Chi Jingzi, True Person Yu Ding, and Heavenly Venerate Daoxing removed the four swords.
• Sect Master Tongtian fled after the formation broke, and his disciples scattered.

After the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation fell, Hua Dou went to the underworld and witnessed Yunxiao's Good Corpse become Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Zhunti Daoist then captured Mosquito Daoist, who had grown powerful by refining the Blood Sea, and prepared to eliminate him.

• Hua Dou and Kun Peng discussed the broken Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, then Kun Peng left to stabilize his cultivation.
• Mosquito Daoist reshaped his body by swallowing Blood Sea water, sent out small mosquitoes to refine its essence, and gradually refined a world within himself.
• Mosquito Daoist reached the middle-to-late Quasi-Saint stage as members of the Asura Clan noticed the Blood Sea shrinking.
• Zhunti Daoist taught Yunxiao's Good Corpse the Ksitigarbha Ten Wheels Sutra, gave her a Golden Body Dharma Form, and she vowed not to become a Buddha until the hells were empty.
• Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva manifested six incarnations, each seated at a different Reincarnation Gate.
• Zhunti Daoist revealed Hua Dou's presence and seized Mosquito Daoist, then told Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva that they should eliminate him; Mosquito Daoist struck at the binding barrier with his proboscis, but Zhunti Daoist brushed away its blood with the Bodhi Tree.

Hua Dou escaped the demon realm’s Sea of Lightning after absorbing its power and battling the Lightning Beast. He captured the beast in the Eight Trigrams Compass, where it settled into the Zhen position.

• Mosquito Daoist escaped Zhunti’s search by hiding his true form inside Zhunti’s cloth pouch, though he lost most of his Sea of Blood body.
• Hua Dou followed a subtle force to a lightning-wreathed planet in the demon realm and absorbed its boundless lightning.
• Hua Dou detected the hidden Lightning Beast, whose lightning attacks he absorbed or deflected.
• The Lightning Beast opened the Eye of Heavenly Punishment and unleashed World-Destroying Lightning, but Hua Dou resisted its attacks.
• The Lightning Beast’s assault triggered the planet’s explosion and released immense thunder power, which Hua Dou endured with the Eight Trigrams Compass.
• Hua Dou used the compass to capture the Lightning Beast, which settled into the Zhen position.

Hua Dou learned the Dao of Qi from Lu Tian and traveled toward the battle at Tong Pass, where the Eight Trigrams Compass absorbed the Law of Killing and gained another pattern. At Tong Pass, the Chan and Western Sects broke several Interception Sect formations, and Jieyin captured Turtle Spirit Mother after she pursued Juliusun.

• Hua Dou sensed the Asura Demon Realm evolving and discussed the Myriad Immortals Formation with Lu Tian, who had come at the Demon Ancestor's request.
• Lu Tian demonstrated how Qi could defend, attack, and transform into wind and water, then opened a Space Tunnel for Hua Dou.
• The Eight Trigrams Compass absorbed Lu Tian's Killing Intent, engraved a Law of Killing pattern, and devoured the sword light sustaining the Space Tunnel.
• At Tong Pass, Zhunti and the Chan Sect's Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Venerate, Puxian Zhenren, and Cihang Daoren defeated Interception Sect disciples and broke several formations.
• Turtle Spirit Mother drove Juliusun west with her Sun Moon Pearl, but Jieyin stopped her, pinned her in her giant turtle form with his Prayer Beads, and ordered an attendant to take her away.

Hua Dou watched Mosquito Daoist attack Turtle Spirit Mother inside Jieyin’s sack, where she fought back with the power of Heaven and Earth before Mosquito Daoist drained her body and escaped. Her primordial spirit joined the Eight Trigrams Compass, while Mosquito Daoist rampaged through the Earth Immortal Realm and set his sights on the Merit Golden Lotus at Mount Sumeru.

• Hua Dou reflected on Turtle Spirit Mother’s fate and suspected that she was the missing Spirit of the Mountain of Stillness in the Eight Trigrams Compass.
• Mosquito Daoist awoke inside Jieyin’s sack, attacked Turtle Spirit Mother, and began devouring her essence and spiritual power.
• Turtle Spirit Mother used twelve runes to resist Mosquito Daoist’s Blood Sea, but Mosquito Daoist pierced her scales and drained her body.
• A strange light drove Mosquito Daoist out of the sack; Turtle Spirit Mother’s primordial spirit entered the Eight Trigrams Compass, and Hua Dou took her merit-gathering Turtle Shell.
• Mosquito Daoist rampaged through the Earth Immortal Realm, then decided to steal the Merit Golden Lotus at Mount Sumeru to cleanse his Karmic Debt.

Hua Dou was summoned to Zixiao Palace, where Hongjun decreed that Saints could no longer interfere in the mortal world unless a great tribulation threatened Heaven and Earth. As the Saints discussed opening territories in chaos, Tongtian confronted Zhunti and Jieyin over Turtle Spirit and the Demon Mosquito, and the Western Saints left without borrowing the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation.

• Jieyin's golden finger attack exceeded Heaven and Earth's limits, and Hongjun used the Chaos Bell to shatter it and repair the void.
• Hongjun summoned Hua Dou and other cultivators to Zixiao Palace, where Hua Dou meditated on the Dao and refined the circulation of his nebula.
• Hongjun declared that immortals and mortals would be separated, barred Saints from intervening unless a great tribulation threatened Heaven and Earth, and taught them to open worlds in chaos.
• Zhunti asked Tongtian to lend him the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation so the Western Saints could open a territory near the West.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate raised the Demon Mosquito's theft of the golden lotus, and Tongtian accused Zhunti and Jieyin of causing Turtle Spirit's death.
• Jieyin stopped Zhunti from continuing the dispute, and the Western Saints left without the formation.

The Sages joined forces to open a new world from chaos, while Hua Dou used his power to create its starry universe. After Houtu sent his true spirit into reincarnation, the chapter left his fate in the cycle of rebirth.

• Hua Dou emerged from Zixiao Palace as the Sages discussed the Western Teachings and the declining Daoist sect.
• Saint Tongtian used the Immortal Slaying Sword to cleave open chaos, and the Sages stabilized and shaped the new world.
• Dao De Tianzun absorbed the world's pure energy and assigned the other Sages to manage their domains and help replenish the Three Realms.
• Empress Nuwa and Empress Houtu formed the land, planets, and stars as the Sages poured their power into the new world.
• Hua Dou transformed his nebula into the universe of the new world, exhausting his power to bear the Heavenly Dao's punishment.
• Houtu sent Hua Dou's true spirit, carried by the Eight Trigrams Compass, toward reincarnation.

Jiang Ziya completed the investiture of the 365 Righteous Gods, and the Heavenly Court began its rule over the Three Realms. The chapter then traced Zhou’s political reforms and decline, ending with Western Zhou’s fall and the rise of Eastern Zhou amid the growing power of the vassal states.

• Jiang Ziya read Primordial Heavenly Venerate’s decree and conferred titles on the 365 Righteous Gods, with Bai Jian first on the list.
• The gods took up their offices, and the Investiture of the Gods flew to the Heavenly Court, placing them under the Jade Emperor, Haotian.
• King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, began reforms before his death, and Duke of Zhou Dan quelled the rebellion of Guanshu, Uncle Cai, and Wu Geng while regent for King Cheng of Zhou, Song.
• Duke of Zhou Dan strengthened Zhou rule through the Feudal System, the Patriarchal Clan System, and the Music and Ritual System, but later rebellions and wars weakened the dynasty.
• King You of Zhou deposed Yi Jiu and made Bao Si queen; the Marquis of Shen allied with Zeng and the Quan Rong, who killed King You and Bo Fu and brought down Western Zhou in 771 BCE.
• Yi Jiu became King Ping of Zhou and moved the capital to Luoyi, founding Eastern Zhou as the vassal lords increasingly contended for power.

The chapter recounts the mortal lives and teachings of Lao Dan, Confucius, and Shakyamuni, presenting their roles in the emergence of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It ends with Shakyamuni entering nirvana after teaching the Dharma for forty-five years.

• Lao Dan studied the classics in Zhou, rose to become a historian, and gained profound understanding of Dao and virtue.
• After his mother's death, Lao Dan grieved deeply, then reached an understanding that eased his sorrow.
• Confucius founded the Confucian School, traveled among the states, taught thousands of disciples, and revised the classics before his death in 479 BCE.
• Duanmu Ci mourned Confucius for six years, and after his own death was honored by later generations as the God of Wealth.
• Zhunti reincarnated as Siddhartha, who left royal life, practiced austerities, and attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi Tree as Shakyamuni Buddha.
• Shakyamuni preached the Dharma for forty-five years, then entered the Great Nirvana near Kushinagar after instructing Ananda to take the Dharma as his teacher.

Daoist Hunyuan comprehended the origins of his true form and formed a three-tiered Law Altar from the Great Dao laws he had absorbed. Realizing that completing the altar might rival Dao Ancestor Hongjun, he stored it in the Chaos of his dantian nebula world, where he could draw on its power without directly merging with the Heavenly Dao.

• A soul entered the nine-petaled lotus, and figures emerged to split the Chaos with the Law of Strength and hold Heaven and Earth apart with the Laws of Balance and Origin Qi.
• The figures' laws formed a three-tiered altar that fixed the newly opened Chaos space in place, which the mass of Qi then swallowed.
• The Chaos realm absorbed a purple nebula and transformed into a Daoist resembling Kong Qiu, who received Great Dao teachings from figures resembling Great God Pangu, Great God Xuanhuang, Ziyang, Hua Dou, and Kong Qiu.
• The Daoist named himself Hunyuan and used his Way of Evolution to shape a Law Altar and begin condensing the laws of the Heavenly Dao.
• Hunyuan realized that completing the altar could make him a second Dao Ancestor, so he sent it into the Chaos of his dantian nebula world.

Daoist Hunyuan taught the sages how to form Law Altars, allowing Dao De Tianzun to expand the laws he could control and suppress fortune. After Lingbao Tianzun hinted at secrets about Hunyuan’s origin and the Heavenly Gate, Hunyuan protected him from Heaven’s punishment, while still wondering what fundamental power his inner world lacked.

• Daoist Hunyuan declined to explain the Dao of Strength and instead taught the sages how to entrust their primordial spirits to Heaven’s law and condense Law Altars.
• Dao De Tianzun formed an altar supported by the Power of Faith and discovered that it let him control more Heaven and Earth Laws.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate explained how fortune and faith worked, and the sages realized Law Altars could help them study laws beyond their own innate Rule Power.
• Daoist Hunyuan failed to sense fortune and considered the hidden realms beyond Heaven and Earth, while questioning what fundamental power his unfinished inner world lacked.
• Lingbao Tianzun sent Hunyuan a cryptic message about returning to his origin and the Heavenly Gate, then nearly lost control of his Rule Power when Heaven’s punishment struck.
• Daoist Hunyuan used his Eight Trigrams Compass to shield Lingbao Tianzun, who regained control and thanked him for the protection.