Recaps

Bei Ming and his allies confronted growing demonic influence while the Saints debated filling the Heavenly Court’s ranks. As Dayu completed the Nine Cauldrons, the Demon Sect moved to infiltrate Jie Sect and Ling Yan set out to hunt Qiongqi.

• Bei Ming sent Jieyin west to spread the Dharma as Dayu and Moyuan discovered that Wuzhiqi had blocked the Huai River with a Water Vein Formation.
• Wukong and Dayu broke the formation, and Moyuan killed Wuzhiqi before Wukong refined Chihoumahou’s origin and reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
• The Demon Spirit Saint recruited Six-Ears to exploit the conflict between the Western Religion and the Asura Religion, while Moyuan accepted Yang Jian as his disciple and Yunhua returned to the Heavenly Court.
• Hongjun summoned the Saints to address the Heavenly Court’s vacant divine ranks, presented the Investiture of the Gods List and God-Smiting Whip, and warned them of rising demonic forces.
• Bei Ming proposed suspending the list and letting each teaching bear its own gains and losses, then defeated Tongtian’s Jie Tian Sword Intent in a contest over the Dao.
• Dayu and Moyuan consecrated the Nine Cauldrons to suppress Human Race luck, while the Demon Spirit Saint sent Six-Ears and Qiongqi to infiltrate Jie Sect and plant Devil Seeds.
• Bei Ming sent Ling Yan to intercept Qiongqi with the Zhu Shen Gourd, as the Demon Spirit Saint headed for Mount Sumeru to visit Jieyin.

Bei Ming forced Jieyin to end the Western Religion’s monopoly in the West, while Wutian used Kimnara’s body to revive Luo Hou’s plans. As the Yang family reunited and the Shang Dynasty fell, the great sects began positioning themselves for the coming Investiture Cataclysm, and Randeng sought a way beyond the Chan Sect.

• Demon Spirit Saint persuaded Jieyin to keep a Devil Seed and consider an independent sect, while Fuxi returned to oversee the Human Race after Dayu entered Huoyun Cave.
• Qi seized power from Boyi, founded the Xia Dynasty, and received Fuxi’s permission to govern the Nine Provinces under the ancestral land’s authority.
• Ling Yan killed Qiongqi, purified the battlefield’s Baleful Aura, and advanced to the Quasi-Saint Late Stage, while Bei Ming sent her west to watch the Demon Sect and Western Religion.
• Moyuan took Yang Jian to Huoyun Cave, where Yang Jian reunited with Yang Tianyou, Yang Jiao, and Yang Chan, then used Dayu’s Mountain-Splitting Axe to free Yunhua from Peach Mountain.
• Bei Ming intervened in the battle between Ming He and Zhunti, secured Jieyin’s agreement to open the eastern and western gates to free preaching, and declared that beings could choose their faith.
• Demon Spirit Saint helped Luo Hou take over Kimnara’s body as Wutian, who prepared the Demon Sect to retake Mount Sumeru and attack the Heavenly Court, while Shang Tang’s rebellion brought down Xia.
• Yuanshi Tianzun sent Randeng and Kushou west to preach, Tongtian sent Duobao’s disciples to establish a Jie Sect branch, and Ji Fa defeated Shang and founded the Western Zhou.
• Randeng asked to join the Western Religion, and Jieyin explained that Randeng’s failure to Slash Corpse came from pursuing a Dao that did not match his innate foundation.

As the Investiture Cataclysm approached, Bei Ming and Ling Yan prepared the Literary Sect while the Chan and Jie Sects became entangled in the wars among the human states. Jiang Ziya entered Qin’s service as the Person of Heavenly Mandate, and Moyuan sent Wei Ran, Bai Qi, and Yang Jian to aid Qin.

• Laozi challenged Bei Ming with Yuanshi and Tongtian, but Bei Ming defeated all Three Pure Ones and warned them against troubling the Literary Sect during the cataclysm.
• Ling Yan rescued Kong Xuan from Wutian’s demonization, defeated Zhunti when he tried to claim him, and forced him to pay compensation before Nüwa cleansed Kong Xuan and made him Mount Qixi’s protector.
• Bei Ming and Nüwa planned for the cataclysm as Ling Yan reorganized the Literary Sect, directed its disciples to monitor the Chan and Jie Sects, and trained them in a mountain-protecting formation.
• Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao became Yuanshi’s disciples, and Yuanshi named Jiang Ziya the Person of Heavenly Mandate before sending him into the Human Realm with the God-Smiting Whip and Investiture of the Gods List.
• The feuding states drew immortals into battle as Pang Juan’s True Spirit entered the Investiture of the Gods List and Gongsun Yan, aided by Chijingzi and Yuding Zhenren, defeated the Four Sages of Nine Dragon Island at Hexi.
• Jiang Ziya became Qin’s National Preceptor after Zhang Yi captured him, while Chan Sect disciples gathered around him and Ying Ji sought Moyuan’s help against their growing influence.
• Moyuan sent Wei Ran and Bai Qi to serve Ying Ji, instructed Yang Jian to oversee battles between immortals, and dispatched all three to Qin, where Ying Ji welcomed them in Xianyang.

The Qin campaigns pushed the war toward Changping, where the Chan Sect shattered the Ten Jue Formation and Lu Ya helped Jiang Ziya curse Zhao Gongming. Shen Gongbao’s efforts to draw Jie Sect reinforcements ended with his death, while the Sanxiao set out to rescue Zhao Gongming.

• Shen Gongbao brought the Ten Heavenly Lords into Gongsun Yan’s alliance, but the Chan Sect broke several of their formations and Zhao Gongming led the surviving lords to Biyou Palace for help.
• Tongtian Sect Master rebuked Zhao Gongming for joining the calamity, while Zhao Gongming gathered Jie Sect disciples and advanced toward the Nine Provinces as Lu Yue’s plague and Luo Xuan’s fire attacks were defeated.
• Xuantian killed Luo Xuan and his allies, took Randeng’s Lingjiu Lamp and Qiankun Ruler, and helped Bai Qi’s campaigns bring Chu’s territories under Qin control.
• After Qin and Zhao prepared for war at Changping, Zhao Gongming led Jie Sect disciples to the battlefield, where the Chan Sect attacked the Ten Jue Formation and killed its lords and many defenders.
• Lu Ya broke the Blazing Flame Formation, then explained the Dingtou Qijianshu to Jiang Ziya, who secretly began a twenty-one-day curse against Zhao Gongming.
• Wukong killed Yuan Hong, while Shen Gongbao learned of Zhao Gongming’s curse and persuaded Yuyi Xian to carry him to Golden Turtle Island.
• Clouds, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao set out for Changping to bring Zhao Gongming back, but Jin Chanzi accused Shen Gongbao of leading Jie Sect disciples to their deaths, and Duobao killed Shen Gongbao before ordering the Inner Sect Disciples to assemble.