Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Zhao Gongming tells Wen Zhong that Ji Chang’s rebellion in Xiqi and Yuan Futong’s uprising in the North Sea are likely being encouraged by hidden forces. He suspects the Chan Sect is backing Xiqi and remnants of Kunpeng’s allies may be behind Yuan Futong.
• Zhao advises tackling the North Sea first: Yuan Futong lacks a Saint’s backing, while Xiqi is supported by the Chan Sect and is harder to defeat. Concentrating forces in the north could stabilize the border, deter wavering lords, and leave Xiqi isolated.
• Zhao warns Wen Zhong that the conflict is part of the larger Investiture of Gods struggle between the Chan and Interception Sects. He urges Wen Zhong to avoid confronting Chan Sect cultivators and to report any encounters to Biyou Palace.
• Wen Zhong petitions King Di Xin for permission to lead 200,000 troops north. Di Xin grants him command of the Northern Border forces and gives him half the Tiger Tally.
• Despite the usual time needed to assemble an army, Wen Zhong’s authority and reputation enable him to muster the troops in just three days.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Zhong emerges as a disciplined, loyal commander: he accepts Zhao’s strategic counsel, pledges to defeat Yuan Futong within three months, and quickly mobilizes his forces. Seeing Di Xin distracted by Daji, he feels anguish but remains resolute.
• Zhao Gongming acts as strategist and mentor, combining practical military advice with a warning about the spiritual conflict behind the rebellions. His pride in Wen Zhong is tempered by concern for the burden he carries.
• Di Xin shows that he still understands the military danger despite his neglect of court affairs. He trusts Wen Zhong and formally empowers him.
• Daji gently persuades Di Xin to grant Wen Zhong an audience, yet the king’s return to feasting and laughter underscores how little attention he gives the realm’s crisis.

Significant themes

• Strategy and prioritization: Fighting on two fronts is unsustainable, so Wen Zhong will strike the weaker enemy first.
• Hidden forces behind political conflict: The rebellions are presented as part of a larger sectarian struggle, not merely a mortal war.
• Duty amid decay: Wen Zhong’s commitment to the kingdom contrasts with Di Xin’s indulgence and the neglected court.
• Loyalty and legacy: Zhao recalls Wen Zhong’s long service and the hopes placed in him, reinforcing the weight of his mission.

Wen Zhong marched north to defeat Yuan Futong while Xiqi attacked Chaoge, beginning a prolonged war between the Chan and Interception Sects. After thousands of years of attrition, Zhao Gongming was ambushed and killed by Lu Ya during a battle at Tong Pass, and he called on Wen Zhong to hold Chaoge as he died.

• Wen Zhong outmaneuvered Yuan Futong’s forces and led five thousand iron cavalry toward Youzhou, ordering an assault on its South Gate.
• Yuan Futong called for Youzhou’s defenses, while Zhao Gongming anticipated that Ji Chang would exploit Wen Zhong’s absence to attack Chaoge.
• Ji Chang sent several hundred thousand soldiers east, and the Chan and Interception Sects fought across the mortal world for nearly ten thousand years as the Interception Sect’s outer disciples were steadily wiped out.
• At Tong Pass, Zhao Gongming fought Guangchengzi, Red Essence Immortal, and Yellow Dragon True Person for three hundred exchanges.
• Lu Ya struck Zhao Gongming with the Nail-Head Seven Arrows, sealing his magical power and enabling the three Chan Sect Golden Immortals to wound him.
• As Guangchengzi’s Heaven-Flipping Seal fell, Zhao Gongming cried out for Wen Zhong to hold Chaoge.

After Zhao Gongming’s death, Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao established the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation to avenge him. Guangchengzi and Red Essence Immortal escaped its Dao-eroding power, and Guangchengzi went to seek an audience with his master.

• Wen Zhong, Duobao, and the Tongtian Sect Master learned of Zhao Gongming’s death and grieved for him.
• Yunxiao ordered Qiongxiao and Bixiao to establish the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation at Two Realms Mountain.
• Guangchengzi sent Xiqi soldiers and Chan Sect disciples into the formation, but they vanished without a trace.
• Guangchengzi and Red Essence Immortal entered together and discovered that the formation’s Yellow River water veins eroded their magical power and Dao attainment.
• Yunxiao attacked the two Golden Immortals, and they escaped after Guangchengzi forced an opening, though Red Essence Immortal was wounded and both lost three yuanhui of Dao attainment.
• Guangchengzi flew to Jade Void Palace to seek an audience with his master.