Chapter Summaries

Di Jun urged Jieyin and Zhun Ti to compensate Hong Yun as the Three Pure Ones had, but they refused and complained that Hong Yun had taken Zhun Ti’s Six Roots Pure Bamboo. Hong Yun demonstrated that the bamboo had no remaining karmic connection to the West, while Xuanming proposed that Jieyin hand over his Jieyin Treasure Banner as compensation.

• Di Jun told Jieyin and Zhun Ti to compensate Hong Yun with spiritual treasures, citing Yuan Shi’s earlier compensation as an example, but both refused.
• Yuan Shi grew furious at Di Jun for using him as an example and resolved to hurry up and sever his corpses.
• Hou Tu argued that Zhun Ti had lost the Six Roots Pure Bamboo in battle and that it was Hong Yun’s spoils of war, not stolen property.
• Hong Yun showed everyone the Six Roots Pure Bamboo and claimed it had no karmic connection to the West; their examination confirmed his claim.
• Xuanming suggested that Jieyin compensate Hong Yun with his Jieyin Treasure Banner, and Jieyin flatly refused.

Xuanming pressured Jieyin and Zhun Ti to compensate Hong Yun for the damage and conflict, but they refused to surrender their most essential treasures. Zhen Yuan Zi secured Jieyin’s Eastern Green Lotus Treasure Colored Banner for Hong Yun, leaving Hong Yun with three of the Innate Five Directions Banners.

• Xuanming demanded the Jieyin Treasure Banner, the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, and the Twelve-grade Merit Golden Lotus, but Jieyin and Zhun Ti refused to give them up.
• Jieyin offered a Purple Gold Alms Bowl, but Zhen Yuan Zi rejected it as unsuitable for Hong Yun.
• Zhen Yuan Zi asked Jieyin to hand over the Eastern Green Lotus Treasure Colored Banner as compensation, and Hong Yun agreed.
• Jieyin reluctantly gave up the banner, which Zhen Yuan Zi passed to Hong Yun.
• Hong Yun unfurled the banner and gained his third Innate Five Directions Banner.

Hong Yun secured the Eastern Green Lotus Treasure Colored Banner as compensation from Jieyin and Zhun Ti, then made Zhun Ti withdraw his vow to fight him to the death. The West’s karma with Hong Yun was settled, and the two brothers departed while Zhun Ti remained resentful.

• Hong Yun considered how to obtain the Southern Blazing Flame Banner from Taiqing and the Western Plain Colored Cloud Realm Banner from West Queen Mother, then stored the Eastern Green Lotus Treasure Colored Banner inside himself.
• Hong Yun declared the karma between him and the West settled and asked Zhun Ti to retract his vow to fight him to the death.
• Jieyin explained that Zhun Ti had spoken in anger and urged him to take back his words, while the Ancestral Shamans watched the brothers with hostility.
• Zhun Ti reluctantly acknowledged that he had misspoken, and Hong Yun declared that their karma was cleared and the heavenly secrets between them had become clear again.
• Zhun Ti left with Maitreya, vowing that everyone would answer to him after he became a Saint, and Jieyin bowed farewell before following him.
• Xuanming complained that Zhun Ti still seemed resentful despite settling the karma with a banner, and Hong Yun chuckled.

After the battle, Hong Yun accepted his allies’ support and welcomed Nu Wa’s offer to help restore Fire Cloud Cave’s damaged surroundings. With Di Jun and the others gone, Hong Yun was left with Zhen Yuan Zi, Hou Tu, Xuanming, and Nu Wa, whose separate groups made the gathering awkward.

• Xuanming criticized Hong Yun for trying to spare his enemies, while Zhen Yuan Zi privately thought no one would dare bully him after he had subdued Yuan Shi and Zhun Ti.
• Dijiang and the Ancestral Shamans pledged their support to Hong Yun because he was Hou Tu’s Dao Companion, then prepared to leave while Xuanming stayed to learn Hong Yun’s martial arts hand seals.
• Di Jun asked Nu Wa to remain and use her Dao of Creation to restore the vitality around Fire Cloud Cave, and Hong Yun gladly welcomed her help.
• Di Jun, Taiyi, and Fuxi left after Hong Yun thanked them for supporting him, while Fuxi gave the smiling Nu Wa a rueful look.
• Zhen Yuan Zi offered to leave Hong Yun alone with Hou Tu, Xuanming, and Nu Wa, but Hong Yun noticed the women stood in separate groups and realized their presence together felt awkward.

Hong Yun proposed using the severed leyline as part of his inner world, turning the place into his Daoist sanctuary. He named it Fire Cloud Cave—Heaven, which was destined to become a sacred land of the Human Race.

• Hong Yun persuaded Zhen Yuan Zi to stay by offering to show him his inner world and help him understand his cultivation path.
• Xuanming warned Hou Tu that Nu Wa might be interested in Hong Yun, and Hou Tu grew uneasy as she watched Nu Wa’s attention.
• Hou Tu and Nu Wa exchanged remarks about which of them should be called the elder sister while Zhen Yuan Zi teased Hong Yun in his thoughts.
• Hong Yun changed the subject by explaining that he planned to refine the severed leyline into his inner world.
• Hong Yun named his new sanctuary Fire Cloud Cave—Heaven, which would later become a sacred place of the Human Race.

Hong Yun planned to turn Fire Cloud Cave into a hidden realm within his body and make it a foundation for the Human Race. He assigned tasks to his companions as work began, leaving Fire Cloud Cave connected to the Primordial Wilderness through a sacred mountain.

• Hong Yun explained that he would refine Fire Cloud Cave into a realm within his body and use a sacred mountain at its original site as a gateway.
• Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu began using the Earth Book to gather and reorganize the surrounding earth veins.
• Nu Wa agreed to tend to the life force around Fire Cloud Cave.
• Hong Yun gave Xuanming the rescued beings to look after and passed her the incomplete Twelve Martial Dao Seals to study.
• Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu activated the Earth Book Barrier, which spread across the land as its earth veins began to glow.

Hong Yun, Nu Wa, Zhen Yuan Zi, and Hou Tu worked to restore the land around Fire Cloud Cave after its upheaval. Hong Yun shrank the cave into a magic treasure and reinforced its restrictions, while Xuanming and the creatures inside remained safe.

• Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu reshaped the earth and ley lines around the place where Fire Cloud Cave had stood.
• Nu Wa used the Creation Qiankun Cauldron’s Power of Creation to heal the plants and living beings damaged by the upheaval.
• Hong Yun used the Law of Space to take control of Fire Cloud Cave and shrink it to the size of a fist.
• Hong Yun replaced Maitreya’s restrictions on Fire Cloud Cave with stronger ones of his own.
• Xuanming looked for the creatures inside the transforming cave, while Long Jiu admired Hong Yun’s strength.

Long Wu and Long Jiu sought a place under Hong Yun’s protection and received martial arts from Xuanming, hoping it could help the Dragon Clan. Meanwhile, Zhen Yuan Zi, Hou Tu, and Nu Wa repaired the earth veins and raised a new mountain where Fire Cloud Cave had stood, though it still lacked a firm foundation.

• Long Wu and Long Jiu decided to join Hong Yun’s sect, hoping they might someday help the declining Dragon Clan.
• Xuanming gave Long Wu and Long Jiu Hong Yun’s martial arts, and they thanked Hong Yun for the gift.
• Hong Yun recognized the dragons’ motives and considered their connection to the Dragon Clan potentially useful to his plans.
• Zhen Yuan Zi and Hou Tu repaired the ravines and earth veins while Nu Wa’s Creation Qiankun Cauldron released the Power of Creation.
• Zhen Yuan Zi, Hou Tu, and Nu Wa finished raising a mountain where Fire Cloud Cave had stood, but Zhen Yuan Zi said its foundation was still weak.

Hong Yun brought the Fire Cloud Cave into his inner world and established it as his home with Hou Tu. He began reshaping the cave and appointed Long Wu and Long Jiu to guard its entrance.

• Hong Yun sent the Fire Cloud Cave into his inner world, where the Innate Gourd Vine connected it to the Primordial Wilderness.
• Hong Yun invited Zhen Yuan Zi and the others into the cave and told Hou Tu it would be their home.
• Hou Tu took Hong Yun's hand, and he vowed to protect what he had gained and seek more.
• Hong Yun reshaped the entrance into a grand gateway bearing the name Fire Cloud Cave.
• Long Wu and Long Jiu welcomed Hong Yun back, and he assigned them to guard the entrance.

Hong Yun officially brought Long Wu and Long Jiu into Fire Cloud Cave to guard its entrance, then showed Hou Tu the cave’s new mountaintop hall and plaza. Zhen Yuan Zi gave Hong Yun Treasure Distribution Cliff, and Hong Yun placed Six Roots Pure Bamboo beside it, intending for the grove to calm minds and eventually help support a future human population.

• Hong Yun assigned Long Wu and Long Jiu to guard Fire Cloud Cave’s entrance, and they transformed into golden dragons and coiled around its pillars.
• Hong Yun led Hou Tu to the mountaintop plaza and white jade hall, and Hou Tu agreed to arrange the cave herself later.
• Zhen Yuan Zi gave Treasure Distribution Cliff to Hong Yun as a decoration for the plaza.
• Hong Yun planted Six Roots Pure Bamboo beside Treasure Distribution Cliff, where it grew into a grove and spread its roots into the mountain.
• Hong Yun explained that the grove could regulate emotions and help future residents of Fire Cloud Cave cultivate calmly.

Nu Wa gave Hong Yun half of her Innate Xi Rang as a congratulatory gift, and he accepted it after his system promised it could help him become humanity’s Saint Father. Hong Yun placed the Xi Rang on Treasure Distribution Cliff to nourish his spiritual roots while keeping it available for Nu Wa’s future creation of humanity.

• Nu Wa presented Innate Xi Rang to congratulate Hong Yun on establishing his abode, but he initially refused because he knew it was needed to create humanity.
• Hong Yun’s system advised him to accept half the Xi Rang in exchange for becoming humanity’s Saint Father, so he agreed to take half.
• Nu Wa divided the Xi Rang and gave one half to Hong Yun, explaining that it needed Earth Element power to grow.
• Hong Yun placed the Xi Rang on Treasure Distribution Cliff so it could nourish the Six Roots Pure Bamboo and Innate Gourd Vine without being absorbed directly.
• The Six Roots Pure Bamboo leaned toward Treasure Distribution Cliff, and Zhen Yuan Zi remarked on its sentience.

Hong Yun revealed that Fire Cloud Cave existed within his inner world, which he had formed through the Dao of Space. Zhen Yuan Zi, Nu Wa, and Hou Tu saw the world for themselves, while Nu Wa realized Hong Yun had taken a path to Quasi-Saint that did not rely on slaying the three corpses.

• A branch of the Innate Gourd Vine appeared above Treasure Distribution Cliff and absorbed power from the Breathing Soil, confusing Nu Wa, Zhen Yuan Zi, and Hou Tu.
• The three probed the space around Fire Cloud Cave and discovered layers of space and dense Power of Law.
• Hong Yun told them they were inside his inner world and led Hou Tu upward to view it.
• The group saw that Fire Cloud Cave and the Innate Gourd Vine were the only things in the vast, law-filled world.
• Zhen Yuan Zi sensed that the world’s laws were incomplete, and Hong Yun explained that he was only a Quasi-Saint.
• Nu Wa admired Hong Yun’s unusual path to Quasi-Saint and understood why he had not wanted the Primordial Violet Qi, while Hou Tu asked whether others had mistaken him for foolish or fearful.

Hong Yun established his Fire Cloud Cave dojo and gathered his companions to explain the Dao of forging a world. He demonstrated his control over the laws within his world, leaving everyone impressed by the power and potential of his cultivation path.

• Hong Yun established Fire Cloud Cave as his dojo and invited everyone to discuss the Dao together.
• Hong Yun used the Innate Gourd Vine and the Power of Space Law to gather the group, bringing Xuanming to them from above Fire Cloud Cave.
• Hong Yun explained how forging a world had allowed him to become a Quasi-Saint and answered questions about how his realm compared with the Path of Slaying Three Corpses.
• Hong Yun demonstrated his control over Time Law by rapidly aging a tree and then reversing its growth within a small section of land.
• Hong Yun explained that he could control time because the river of time in his own world was only a small branch of the Great Dao.

Nu Wa worried that Yuan Shi and Zhun Ti would target Hong Yun after becoming Saints, but Hong Yun trusted his allies and his plans to protect him. He then decided to warn Nu Wa about Di Jun and the others’ plans for the Myriad Spirits Dao.

• Nu Wa praised Hong Yun’s ambitions but cautioned that his mild temperament could invite trouble.
• Nu Wa worried that Yuan Shi and Zhun Ti might attack Hong Yun after becoming Saints, while Hou Tu, Xuanming, and Zhen Yuan Zi considered how they could protect him.
• Hong Yun said that his allies’ support and the people’s judgment would restrain the Saints, and he also trusted his growing strength and Hou Tu’s future sainthood.
• Hong Yun reconsidered keeping quiet about Nu Wa joining Di Jun and the others to establish the Myriad Spirits Dao.

Hong Yun warned Nu Wa that the Myriad Spirits Dao could threaten Hongjun and the Saints, and suggested that Di Jun involve more powerful allies in the demon race’s plans. Nu Wa hurried away to share his advice, while Zhen Yuan Zi planned to strengthen ties between their abodes because he feared future retaliation from Yuan Shi and Zhun Ti.

• Hong Yun explained to Nu Wa that guiding all beings through the Myriad Spirits Dao could put Di Jun and his allies in conflict with Hongjun and the Saints.
• Nu Wa said Di Jun had considered the danger but had trusted their bond with Hongjun, then promised to discuss Hong Yun’s warning with him.
• Hong Yun advised Nu Wa that Di Jun should bring more people, especially influential ones, into the demon race’s plans so everyone would share its fate.
• Nu Wa thanked Hong Yun and left for her cave abode to speak with Di Jun, Taiyi, and her elder brother.
• Zhen Yuan Zi said he would return to Wuzhuang Temple and try to connect it with Hong Yun’s abode, fearing Yuan Shi and Zhun Ti would retaliate after becoming Saints.

Hong Yun and Zhen Yuan Zi discussed connecting their abodes and developing their own paths, while joking with Hou Tu and Xuanming. Hou Tu then returned to the Houtu Tribe, leaving Hong Yun and Zhen Yuan Zi together at their newly established abode.

• Hong Yun and Zhen Yuan Zi agreed to explore a passage or teleportation array between Wuzhuang Temple and Fire Cloud Cave.
• Zhen Yuan Zi said he planned to combine his circumstances with Hong Yun's Dao of the World to find his own path, and Hong Yun encouraged him.
• Zhen Yuan Zi teased Xuanming about being one of Hong Yun's Dao Companions, so she kicked him flying into the ground.
• Hou Tu said she would return to the Houtu Tribe to handle its affairs, and Hong Yun agreed.
• Zhen Yuan Zi brushed off the dust and joked with Hong Yun after Hou Tu left.

After Zhen Yuan Zi warned Hong Yun to stay cautious, Hong Yun recalled the system’s opportunity involving the Twelve-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus and considered claiming it to strengthen himself. Meanwhile, Nu Wa returned to Bu Zhou Mountain and told Di Jun, Taiyi, and Fuxi about Hong Yun’s concerns over their plans, leaving them to face the risks of their undertaking.

• Zhen Yuan Zi advised Hong Yun to cultivate in seclusion at Fire Cloud Cave because other Quasi-Saints might break through and join forces against him.
• Hong Yun realized he needed stronger trump cards and remembered the system’s opportunity involving the Twelve-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus.
• Di Jun, Taiyi, and Fuxi discussed their growing influence as tribes rallied around them and received their protection and teachings.
• Nu Wa returned to Bu Zhou Mountain and told the others that Hong Yun had warned her about the dangers of their undertaking.
• Di Jun agreed that Hong Yun’s concerns were justified but insisted that their great undertaking had advanced too far to abandon.

Di Jun, Taiyi, Fuxi, and Nu Wa agreed to unite the myriad races by establishing the Demon Clan and proclaiming it to Heaven and Earth. Di Jun then suggested that Nu Wa ask Hong Yun to join them, leaving her flustered and protesting that she meant nothing special to him.

• Di Jun argued that their group differed from the Three Clans because any living being with a spirit could join, and Fuxi and Taiyi supported his proposal.
• Di Jun realized that proclaiming the myriad races as one clan would unite their fortune and give them the standing to educate their own members.
• Di Jun proposed establishing the Demon Clan atop Bu Zhou Mountain, and Fuxi, Taiyi, and Nu Wa agreed to summon their followers.
• Di Jun and Fuxi teased Nu Wa about persuading Hong Yun to join them, and Taiyi said his elder brother believed she had the best chance.
• Nu Wa blushed and denied that Hong Yun's decision had anything to do with her.

Nu Wa agreed to convey Di Jun’s appeal to Hong Yun, while Di Jun and his companions began gathering the myriad races to establish the Demon Race at Bu Zhou Mountain. Zhu Jiuyin worried that the Demon Race’s rise could threaten the Witch Clan, but Dijiang questioned whether Zhu Jiuyin had foreseen something.

• Di Jun asked Nu Wa to help bring Hong Yun closer to the Demon Race, and Nu Wa agreed to speak with him at Fire Cloud Cave.
• After Nu Wa left, Di Jun, Fuxi, and Taiyi summoned their scattered subordinates to gather the myriad races.
• The races began traveling toward Bu Zhou Mountain, though some leaders feared losing their separate identities and others welcomed joining the Demon Race.
• Zhu Jiuyin noticed the gathering and, after Di Jun explained his plans, grew uneasy about a glimpse he had seen in the river of time.
• Zhu Jiuyin asked Dijiang whether the Witch Clan should intervene, and Dijiang said they would leave Di Jun alone unless he caused trouble at Bu Zhou Mountain.
• When Zhu Jiuyin wondered whether the Demon Race would conflict with the Witch Clan, Dijiang asked if he had seen something earlier.

Zhu Jiuyin worried that the emerging Demon Race could threaten the Witch Clan, and Dijiang suggested asking Hong Yun for his view rather than opposing its founding. Nu Wa visited Hong Yun to invite him and Zhen Yuan Zi to join the Demon Race as leaders, and she awaited his answer.

• Zhu Jiuyin told Dijiang that the Demon Race could unite the scattered groups that had clashed with Witch Clan tribes, though he could only describe his concern as a bad feeling.
• Dijiang concluded that Di Jun’s founding of the Demon Race was inevitable and proposed asking Hong Yun what he thought.
• Hong Yun learned through a bloodline message that Di Jun was founding the Demon Race and saw Nu Wa arrive at Fire Cloud Cave.
• Hong Yun welcomed Nu Wa and sat with her beside the bamboo grove, where she asked if he had guessed why she came.
• Nu Wa explained that Di Jun, Taiyi, and her brother wanted Hong Yun and Zhen Yuan Zi to join the Demon Race as equals and share its leadership and fortune.