Chapter Summaries

Grand Tutor Wen rushed to Chong City but arrived after Jiang Ziya executed Marquis Chong Hu and Chong Yingbiao. As Chong Heihu prepared to help Western Qi take control of Chong City’s affairs, Grand Tutor Wen confronted him.

• Di Xin assigned Grand Tutor Wen to lead troops to Chong City and left Huang Fei Hu to guard Chaoge.
• Chong Heihu brought Marquis Chong Hu and his family to the Western Qi camp, where King Wu Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya welcomed them.
• Jiang Ziya ordered Marquis Chong Hu and Chong Yingbiao executed, and their souls were drawn to the Platform of Investiture.
• Duke of Zhou Dan urged Chong Heihu to protect Marquis Chong Hu’s women, children, and elders, and Chong Heihu arranged for them to be settled in Chong City.
• Chong Heihu invited Jiang Ziya to inspect Chong City’s treasury and households, and Western Qi prepared to enter the city.
• Grand Tutor Wen arrived too late, saw the executed men’s heads above the camp gate, and angrily cursed Chong Heihu.

Grand Tutor Wen confronted Western Qi over Chong Houhu’s head, but Jiang Ziya defended keeping it on display to secure Chong Heihu’s loyalty. Wen Zhong’s disciples Ji Li and Yu Qing charged the camp and fought Nangong Shi and Xin Jia, leaving Wen Zhong to call them back as they neared defeat.

• Chong Heihu declared that he had followed Heaven’s Mandate, and Grand Tutor Wen condemned him and Jiang Ziya for their actions against Great Shang.
• Grand Tutor Wen demanded that Jiang Ziya return Chong Houhu’s head and body, threatening to lay siege to Western Qi if he refused.
• Ji Fa suggested returning the remains, but Jiang Ziya argued that doing so would undermine Chong Heihu’s security and justified the killing as a way to spare Chong City’s people from war.
• Yu Qing charged Western Qi’s camp, and Ji Li followed; Nangong Shi and Xin Jia met them, and the four generals began fighting.
• Ji Li and Yu Qing neared defeat, so Grand Tutor Wen shouted for them to return and struck the Ink Qilin beneath him.

Grand Tutor Wen rescued Ji Li and Yu Qing, drove Jiang Ziya and the Western Qi generals back, and reclaimed Chong City for Great Shang. He strengthened the city's resistance while Jiang Ziya considered seeking help from Kunlun Mountain and the Chan Sect's Golden Immortals watched Western Qi's worsening position.

• The Ink Qilin brought Grand Tutor Wen into the battle, where he overwhelmed Nangong Shi and Xin Jia and forced Jiang Ziya's forces to retreat.
• Grand Tutor Wen recovered the heads of Chong Houhu and Chong Yingbiao as the Western Qi army withdrew behind its camp defenses.
• Grand Tutor Wen led his troops to Chong City, where Chong Houhu's former troops helped him seize the city from Chong Heihu's Black Tiger Soldiers.
• Grand Tutor Wen promised Chong Houhu's descendants would inherit Chong City, rallied its people, and had Ji Li and Yu Qing defeat Western Qi forces in later clashes.
• Jiang Ziya's camp raised the "No Battle" sign, and Jiang Ziya considered returning to Kunlun Mountain as the Chan Sect's Golden Immortals watched the war worsen for Western Qi.

True Person Yu Ding sent Yuan Hong to help Jiang Ziya in Western Qi, promising to accept him as a disciple if he earned merit in the war. Yuan Hong and the Six Monsters of Mount Mei arrived at Jiang Ziya’s camp, where Yuan Hong addressed him as Uncle-Master in advance.

• True Person Yu Ding sensed his tribulation and sent Yuan Hong a talisman, offering to make him a disciple if he survived and earned merit in the upheaval.
• Yuan Hong received the message while feasting with the Six Monsters of Mount Mei and agreed to lead them to Western Qi to help Jiang Ziya.
• The seven arrived at Jiang Ziya’s military camp, and a messenger reported their strange appearance and claimed connection to him.
• Yuan Hong told Jiang Ziya that True Person Yu Ding had taught him a cultivation method and asked him to help with a great deed of merit.
• Jiang Ziya learned that Yuan Hong was not yet Yu Ding’s disciple and smiled wryly as Yuan Hong called him Uncle-Master in advance.

Yuan Hong joined Jiang Ziya’s forces with the other six of the Seven Freaks of Plum Mountain and immediately challenged Grand Tutor Wen to prove his strength. After Yuan Hong overwhelmed Wen Zhong in a prolonged fight, Wen Zhong retreated to the Great Shang ranks, and Jiang Ziya stopped Yuan Hong from pursuing him.

• Jiang Ziya welcomed Yuan Hong into the Chan Sect’s ranks, while Jin Dasheng clarified that the other six of the Seven Freaks of Plum Mountain had only come to earn merit.
• Yuan Hong refused to rest and asked Jiang Ziya to let him challenge the enemy, so Jiang Ziya ordered the troops to prepare for battle.
• Grand Tutor Wen assembled his forces and taunted Jiang Ziya for bringing reinforcements from Kunlun Mountain.
• Yuan Hong charged at Grand Tutor Wen and struck his Male-Female Twin Whips with his iron staff, shaking Wen Zhong and splitting the ground beneath his Ink Qilin.
• Yuan Hong and Grand Tutor Wen fought for a long time until Wen Zhong retreated to the Great Shang ranks on his Ink Qilin, and Jiang Ziya called for Yuan Hong not to pursue.

Yuan Hong drove Grand Tutor Wen from the battlefield, and Jiang Ziya appointed him vanguard general with the other Plum Mountain Seven Freaks as his deputies. Wen Zhong sought aid for Great Shang, and when Western Qi threatened to attack, Yang Jian and Nezha arrived, saying Yang Jian had come to resolve his karmic entanglement with Yuan Hong.

• Yuan Hong returned after failing to capture Grand Tutor Wen, and Jiang Ziya praised him and appointed him vanguard general.
• Jiang Ziya made the other six Plum Mountain Seven Freaks Yuan Hong's deputy generals, and Western Qi's forces returned to camp.
• Wen Zhong, worried that Yuan Hong could not be defeated, decided to seek help from fellow cultivators and told Ji Li and Yu Qing to keep the ceasefire.
• Jin Dasheng and the other Plum Mountain Seven Freaks threatened to storm the city, prompting Yu Qing to urge Ji Li to let him fight.
• A guard reported that two strangers had come to offer help, and Ji Li and Yu Qing went to meet them.
• Yang Jian introduced himself and Nezha as disciples of the Fire Cloud Cave lineage and said he had come because of his karmic entanglement with Yuan Hong.

Yang Jian and Nezha arrived to face Yuan Hong, with Yang Jian explaining that he had come to settle a karmic debt. Yang Jian gained the upper hand in their duel, leaving Yuan Hong’s companions ready to intervene.

• Hong Yun told Xuanwu to send Yang Jian to settle his karmic debt with Yuan Hong, and Nezha insisted on going with him.
• Yang Jian and Nezha reached the battlefield, where Ji Li welcomed them and Yang Jian warned that Fire Cloud Cave could not simply favor Great Shang.
• Yang Jian rejected Jiang Ziya’s appeal about Heaven’s Mandate and challenged Yuan Hong to settle their dispute by force.
• Yang Jian and Yuan Hong fought, and Yang Jian gradually drove Yuan Hong onto the defensive.
• Jin Dasheng and the other monsters called out that they would help Yuan Hong.

Nezha joined Yang Jian in fighting Yuan Hong and the Six Monsters of Mount Mei, overwhelming them before Yang Jian chose to let them go. As Yang Jian and Nezha prepared to leave, Yuan Hong demanded their names and vowed revenge, and Nezha turned back with a sinister grin.

• Nezha charged into the battle and used his speed and black spear to wound Jin Dasheng and the other members of the Six Monsters of Mount Mei.
• Yang Jian overpowered Yuan Hong with a blow from his halberd and told him to leave human territory.
• Yang Jian called Nezha away, explaining that their fight was over and he had no reason to kill Yuan Hong.
• Nezha taunted the bloodied Six Monsters of Mount Mei before rejoining Yang Jian as they turned to leave.
• Yuan Hong sprang up, demanded to know their names, and vowed to avenge his humiliation.
• Nezha stopped, turned toward Yuan Hong, and asked whether he thought he could take revenge on Yang Jian.

Nezha killed Yuan Hong with his Fire-Tipped Spear, shocking both armies, but the Investiture of the Gods pulled Yuan Hong’s soul away before the spear could devour it. As the Six Monsters of Mount Mei charged to avenge Yuan Hong, Nezha bound them with Hun Tian Ling.

• Nezha ignored Yang Jian’s warning and appeared before Yuan Hong, thrusting his spear through Yuan Hong’s chest.
• Nezha revealed his name as Li Nezha, while Yang Jian stopped him from mentioning Empress Pingxin.
• Yuan Hong died and transformed into a white ape, but the Investiture of the Gods dragged his soul toward the Platform of Investiture.
• The Six Monsters of Mount Mei attacked Nezha to avenge Yuan Hong.
• Nezha sent out Hun Tian Ling and bound all six monsters together.

Nezha killed the Six Monsters of Mount Mei after Yang Jian had defeated Yuan Hong, then Yang Jian took Nezha home, leaving the Great Shang and Western Qi armies to withdraw. Grieving Yuan Hong's death, True Person Yu Ding went to Jade Void Palace, where the Primordial Heavenly Lord noticed his troubled expression.

• Nezha killed the Six Monsters of Mount Mei, and Yang Jian warned him that killing could bring Karmic Debt.
• Yang Jian took Nezha away from the battlefield and headed toward Great Shang, leaving both armies stunned.
• Jiang Ziya ordered the soldiers to collect the Seven Freaks of Plum Mountain, while Ji Li and Yu Qing withdrew their troops to camp.
• True Person Yu Ding grieved over Yuan Hong's death and admitted to himself that he had knowingly sent Yuan Hong to die in his place.
• True Person Yu Ding went to Jade Void Palace to ask the Primordial Heavenly Lord for permission to take someone as his disciple.
• The Primordial Heavenly Lord calculated that True Person Yu Ding's tribulation had passed, then frowned at his expression and began to ask him a question.

True Person Yu Ding persuaded Primordial Heavenly Lord to let him take Yuan Hong as his disciple despite Yuan Hong’s death and placement on the Investiture of the Gods. At the Platform of Investiture, Yu Ding summoned Yuan Hong’s soul and heard him ask for revenge against Nezha and Yang Jian.

• True Person Yu Ding pleaded with Primordial Heavenly Lord to let him take Yuan Hong as his disciple because Yuan Hong had died in his place.
• Primordial Heavenly Lord explained that Yuan Hong’s soul would be bound to the Investiture of the Gods, then relented and let Yu Ding do as he pleased.
• True Person Yu Ding went to the Platform of Investiture, where Bo Jian helped him summon Yuan Hong’s soul.
• True Person Yu Ding awakened Yuan Hong, who apologized for failing him and demanded revenge against Nezha and Yang Jian.

True Person Yu Ding told Yuan Hong that he could join the Chan Sect after the Investiture of the Gods, but warned him that Yang Jian and Nezha were too well-connected to take revenge on. Meanwhile, Grand Tutor Wen recruited the Four Saints of Nine Dragon Island to help him against Jiang Ziya.

• True Person Yu Ding told Yuan Hong that he had permission to take him into the Chan Sect and that Yuan Hong could rebuild his body after the Investiture was completed.
• Yuan Hong asked to avenge himself on Yang Jian and Nezha, but True Person Yu Ding explained Yang Jian's ties to Lord Hao Tian and the Black Tortoise, then warned that Nezha's master was even more troublesome.
• True Person Yu Ding nourished Yuan Hong's soul with Three Lights Divine Water, then thanked Bo Jian for making an exception and departed.
• Grand Tutor Wen traveled to Nine Dragon Island and asked Wang Mo, Yang Sen, Gao Youqian, and Li Xingba for help.
• The Four Saints agreed to accompany Grand Tutor Wen, who left ahead of them on his Ink Qilin.

Grand Tutor Wen received reinforcements for Great Shang as Shen Gongbao rallied Interception Sect cultivators to oppose Western Qi. The Ten Heavenly Lords of Golden Ao Island joined the camp, willing to face the Investiture of the Gods Calamity alongside him.

• Grand Tutor Wen learned that Yang Jian and Nezha had killed Yuan Hong and left, and he took their arrival as a possible sign of Ancestor Hong Yun's intentions.
• Di Xin sent Zhang Guifang to reinforce Grand Tutor Wen, while Shen Gongbao set out to recruit fellow Interception Sect cultivators.
• The Four Saints of Nine Dragon Island and Zhang Guifang fought for Great Shang, but Chan Sect disciples killed them, leaving Grand Tutor Wen remorseful.
• Shen Gongbao's appeal brought the Ten Heavenly Lords of Golden Ao Island to the Great Shang camp.
• Golden Light Holy Mother told Grand Tutor Wen that they accepted the risk of entering the calamity, and he welcomed the Ten Heavenly Lords into camp.

Grand Tutor Wen and the Ten Heavenly Lords challenged Jiang Ziya with the Ten Absolute Arrays, and Jiang Ziya agreed to return after they were complete. Heavenly Lord Yao then used the Soul Falling Formation to curse him, leaving Jiang Ziya unconscious and his soul drifting toward the Platform of Investiture.

• Grand Tutor Wen led the Ten Heavenly Lords out to confront Jiang Ziya, and Tianjun Qin challenged him to break their ten formations.
• The Ten Heavenly Lords laid out the Ten Absolute Arrays, and Jiang Ziya inspected them before returning to camp to give them time to finish setting them up.
• At the feast, the Ten Heavenly Lords explained their formations to Grand Tutor Wen, and Heavenly Lord Yao began a three-day ritual against Jiang Ziya in the Soul Falling Formation.
• Jiang Ziya grew restless, then fell into a deep sleep as the ritual took effect and his soul drifted toward the Platform of Investiture.
• Bo Jian saw Jiang Ziya at the platform and asked why he had come when his task of Investiture was unfinished.

After Jiang Ziya’s soul was taken to Kunlun Mountain, Chi Jingzi tried to recover it from the Soul Falling Formation but was driven off by Heavenly Lord Yao. Primordial Heavenly Lord sent Chi Jingzi to borrow the Taiji Diagram, and Taiqing gave him a convincing fake that could imitate the real treasure only once.

• Nan Ji brought Jiang Ziya’s soul to Primordial Heavenly Lord, who summoned Daoist Ran Deng to help break the Ten Absolute Arrays.
• Chi Jingzi took Jiang Ziya’s soul to the Western Qi camp and found that the remaining two souls and six spirits had been drawn into Heavenly Lord Yao’s Soul Falling Formation.
• Chi Jingzi entered the formation to seize the straw effigy, but Heavenly Lord Yao attacked him with black sand, forcing him to flee without Jiang Ziya’s soul.
• Chi Jingzi returned to Kunlun Mountain, where Primordial Heavenly Lord told him to ask Taiqing for the Taiji Diagram.
• Taiqing worried Hong Yun might intervene if the real Taiji Diagram appeared, so he gave Chi Jingzi a fake that could unleash the real diagram’s mysteries once.

Chi Jingzi rescued Jiang Ziya from the Soul Falling Formation, though he believed he had lost the Taiji Diagram, which Hong Yun secretly returned. After the Chan Sect disciples gathered in Western Qi, Daoist Ran Deng determined that breaking the Ten Absolute Arrays would require a sacrifice, and the two sides prepared to face each other.

• Chi Jingzi used the Taiji Diagram to enter the Soul Falling Formation and recover Jiang Ziya’s straw effigy, but the diagram fell silent after he threw it at Heavenly Lord Yao.
• Hong Yun secretly retrieved the Taiji Diagram and returned it to the formation, then continued watching the escalating conflict between the Chan and Jie Sects.
• Chi Jingzi restored Jiang Ziya’s soul and told him that Nan Ji had gone to find Daoist Ran Deng and the other Chan Sect disciples.
• Jiang Ziya and King Wu Ji Fa welcomed Daoist Ran Deng, Guang Chengzi, and the other Chan Sect disciples into Western Qi.
• Daoist Ran Deng inspected the Ten Absolute Arrays and concluded that one person would have to die to weaken each formation’s killing intent and baleful energy.
• Daoist Ran Deng ordered Jiang Ziya to challenge the Ten Heavenly Lords, and Qin Wan rode out to confront him as the Chan Sect disciples gathered behind Jiang Ziya.

The Chan Sect challenged the Ten Heavenly Lords’ formations, and Daoist Ran Deng sent Deng Hua and Han Du Long to test them; both died, while Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Lord defeated Tianjun Qin in the Heavenly Severing Formation. After Zhao Jiang killed Han Du Long in the Earth Blazing Formation, Daoist Ran Deng sent Juliusun to challenge him, leaving True Man Huang Long unable to volunteer.

• Daoist Ran Deng hesitated to choose a challenger, but Deng Hua stepped forward and pursued Tianjun Qin into the Heavenly Severing Formation, where Tianjun Qin killed him.
• Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Lord entered the formation, resisted its thunder with his lotus and golden lamp, bound Tianjun Qin with the Dragon Subduing Stake, and killed him.
• Grand Tutor Wen prepared to avenge Tianjun Qin, but Zhao Jiang challenged Manjushri Guangfa Heavenly Lord to enter the Earth Blazing Formation, and True Man Huang Long stepped forward to face him.
• Daoist Ran Deng sent Han Du Long to challenge Zhao Jiang, who killed him in the Earth Blazing Formation.
• Daoist Ran Deng then sent Juliusun to challenge Zhao Jiang, while True Man Huang Long frowned because he had wanted to volunteer.

Juliusun captured Zhao Jiang and broke the Earth Blazing Formation, after which the Chan Sect broke four more of the Ten Absolute Arrays at the cost of lives on both sides. With six formations destroyed and only four Heavenly Lords remaining, Wen Zhong urged them to withdraw while he faced Western Qi alone, but they chose to stay.

• Daoist Ran Deng sent Juliusun to counter Zhao Jiang, and Juliusun captured him and broke the Earth Blazing Formation.
• True Person Yu Ding blocked Wen Zhong from pursuing, and the Western Qi forces withdrew while Wen Zhong regrouped with the remaining Heavenly Lords.
• Fang Bi died in the Wind Roaring Formation, while True Person Cihang killed Heavenly Lord Dong; Xue E Hu also died in the Ice Formation before True Person Samantabhadra killed Heavenly Lord Yuan.
• Guang Chengzi entered the Golden Light Formation and killed Golden Light Holy Mother, then secretly contacted True Person Taiyi after leaving.
• Heavenly Lord Sun killed Qiao Kun in the Blood Dissolving Formation, and True Person Taiyi shattered the formation, leaving six arrays broken and four Heavenly Lords alive.
• Wen Zhong offered to face Western Qi alone and urged the four Heavenly Lords to return home, but they refused to abandon him.

Grand Tutor Wen sought Zhao Gongming’s help against the Chan Sect, and Zhao Gongming agreed to join the conflict despite the warnings about the Investiture of the Gods. After seeing Zhao Jiang displayed at the battlefield gate, Zhao Gongming challenged the Chan Sect forces, confronting Daoist Ran Deng.

• Grand Tutor Wen rode to Luofu Cave on Mount Emei to ask Zhao Gongming for help against the Chan Sect.
• Zhao Gongming agreed to aid Wen Zhong and brought his disciples Chen Jiugong and Yao Shaosi along.
• Zhao Gongming subdued a black tiger and took it as his mount on the way to the battlefield.
• At Great Shang’s camp, Zhao Gongming saw Zhao Jiang hanging at the gate and flew into a rage.
• Grand Tutor Wen beat the drums to challenge the enemy, and Zhao Gongming confronted Daoist Ran Deng.

Zhao Gongming attacked the Chan Sect camp after Guang Chengzi defended the humiliation of Zhao Jiang, and he overwhelmed the Golden Immortals with the Sky-Flipping Seal. He wounded Jiang Ziya and captured True Man Huang Long, ordering him hung above the camp gate, but Zhao Jiang remained in Chan Sect hands.

• Guang Chengzi rejected Zhao Gongming's appeal to the Three Pure Ones' former unity and defended hanging Zhao Jiang above the camp gate.
• Zhao Gongming charged the Chan Sect disciples with his Sea Suppressing Divine Whip and fought Daoist Ran Deng and five of the Twelve Golden Immortals.
• Zhao Gongming hurled the Sky-Flipping Seal at Guang Chengzi and the others, gravely wounding them before recalling it.
• Zhao Gongming struck Jiang Ziya with the Sea Suppressing Divine Whip, then tried to reach Zhao Jiang but was blocked by Daoist Ran Deng.
• Zhao Gongming used the Dragon Binding Rope to capture True Man Huang Long and ordered him hung above the Great Shang camp gate.