Chapter Summaries

Jieyin and Zhunti discussed the West’s future before Jieyin visited Bei Ming to question him about Ming He’s advance. Bei Ming confirmed that he had ordered Ming He westward but concealed his larger scheme, leaving Jieyin to return with no answers and a call to spread the Dharma in the Western Land.

• Jieyin urged Zhunti to put the West’s prosperity ahead of the Western Religion, and Zhunti agreed to follow his decisions.
• Jieyin told Zhunti to guard the West and watch Ming He while he traveled to Great Void Palace to meet Bei Ming.
• Jieyin saw that Bei Ming’s Earth Book had recovered and asked whether Zhen Yuanzi or the Western Religion had offended him.
• Bei Ming admitted that Ming He’s westward advance was his order, denied any grudge against the Western Religion, and challenged it to face Ming He by its own means.
• Jieyin probed Bei Ming throughout their tea meeting but learned nothing about his plan to use the Western Religion as bait.
• Bei Ming sent Jieyin away and urged him to enter the Western Land and spread the Dharma.

Jieyin withdrew after warning Bei Ming that the Three Pure Ones posed a greater threat than the West, leaving the contest between Zhunti and Ming He to unfold. As Dayu’s flood-control campaign reached the Huai River, Moyuan identified a man-made obstruction created by Wuzhiqi and prepared to help Dayu defeat him.

• Jieyin told Bei Ming that the Literary Sect could spread west but warned him that the Three Pure Ones were his true rivals.
• Jieyin left Bei Ming, and the sect leaders’ contest was left to Zhunti and Ming He.
• Dayu and Moyuan found a Water vein Formation blocking the floods at the Huai River.
• Moyuan explained that the disaster was man-made and that calling someone a demon did not necessarily mean they belonged to the Demon Race.
• Moyuan identified the culprit as Wuzhiqi, a Great Luo Golden Immortal who had used an Ancient Water Vein Grand Formation to obstruct the Jianghuai region.
• Moyuan told Dayu that a Junior Brother of the Literary Sect would soon arrive and that they would kill Wuzhiqi together.

Wuzhiqi sensed Wukong’s Lingming Stone Monkey origin and attacked him to seize it, hoping to escape the Huai River and advance his cultivation. Wukong fought back with surprising strength, forcing Wuzhiqi to activate the Water Vein Formation.

• Wuzhiqi weighed whether to retreat or delay Dayu, but sensed Wukong’s bloodline and decided to capture him for his origin.
• Wukong approached Jianghuai and recognized the call of his origin before Wuzhiqi rose from the river to block his path.
• Wuzhiqi attacked with the waters of Jianghuai, but Wukong shattered his water prison and met his staff strikes head-on.
• Wukong’s strength matched Wuzhiqi’s despite his lower cultivation, and he steadily drove Wuzhiqi back in their battle above the Huai River.
• Wuzhiqi activated the Water Vein Formation, drawing the power of Jianghuai into his body.

Moyuan, Dayu, and Wukong defeated Wuzhiqi and destroyed the Water Vein Formation, ending the threat to the Huai River. Wukong accepted Moyuan’s invitation to stay for the Human Race’s celebration while he refined the Chihoumahou’s origin.

• Moyuan told Dayu to help Wukong hold off Wuzhiqi while they broke the Water Vein Formation, and Dayu led the water-control team into the Huai River.
• Dayu severed the formation’s waterway nodes as Wukong fought Wuzhiqi, and Moyuan protected them from above.
• Wukong used the Xuanhe Pendant to suppress the Jianghuai waterways, allowing Dayu to destroy the remaining connections and collapse the formation.
• Wuzhiqi lost the Huai River’s support and tried to flee, but Wukong intercepted him and Moyuan killed him with the Zhan Kong Sword.
• Wukong captured Wuzhiqi’s remnant body and origin in the Eight Desolations Domain Suppression Tower, then accepted Moyuan’s invitation to the Human Race’s celebration.

After Wukong killed Chihoumahou, the Six Eared Macaque panicked over his own fate and drew the attention of the Demon Spirit Saint, who discovered the macaque was descended from an old acquaintance. The chapter left the Demon Spirit Saint poised to approach Six-Ears.

• Wukong retrieved the Xuanhe Pendant and went with Moyuan to the Human Race’s ancestral land to refine Chihoumahou.
• The Six Eared Macaque learned that Sun Wukong had killed Chihoumahou and feared the Lingming Stone Monkey’s powerful backing.
• The Demon Spirit Saint appeared in Six-Ears’s cave, explaining that his fear had stirred a Heart Demon and brought him there.
• The Demon Spirit Saint sensed a familiar aura in Six-Ears and recognized him as a descendant of an old acquaintance.

Demon Spirit forced Six-Ears to cultivate the Law of Fear, transforming him into a Great Luo Golden Immortal and taking him west to exploit the conflict between the Western Religion and the Asura Religion. Meanwhile, Wukong began refining the Chihoumahou's corpse in the Hunyuan Gathering Spirit Cauldron to extract its origin, with Moyuan guarding him.

• Demon Spirit told Six-Ears that his karma with Hongjun left him no path to survive, and Six-Ears submitted to his orders.
• Demon Spirit opened Six-Ears' accumulated fears, allowing his Heart Demon to seize his body and helping him break through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm through the Law of Fear.
• Demon Spirit ordered Six-Ears to accompany him west and secretly exploit the conflict between the Western Religion and the Asura Religion to revive the Demon Sect.
• Moyuan gave Wukong the Hunyuan Gathering Spirit Cauldron and promised to guard the courtyard while Wukong refined the Chihoumahou's origin.
• Wukong put the Chihoumahou's corpse into the cauldron and began refining it, aiming to extract the Chaos Demon Ape's origin.

Wukong absorbed Chihoumahou’s origin essence and began to comprehend the Law of Battle, while Bei Ming watched over the process and considered Wukong’s possible future as the new Battle Demon God. Bei Ming then used the Earth Book’s Pangu Meridian Diagram to plan how to restore the Western Spiritual Veins.

• Wukong absorbed the crimson origin essence from Chihoumahou’s remains and witnessed the Chaos Demon Ape battling amid Hundun.
• Wukong felt the Law of Battle stir and began comprehending the Chaos Demon Ape’s fighting spirit.
• Bei Ming confirmed that the Chaos Demon Ape was truly dead and considered that Wukong might one day gather the Four Monkeys’ origins and claim the Battle Great Dao Imprint.
• Bei Ming sensed that the Soul Demon God had begun acting under Luo Hou’s cover and decided to let the demonic forces make a greater disturbance.
• Bei Ming studied the Earth Book and recognized that its records formed a Pangu Meridian Diagram needed to restore the Western Spiritual Veins.

Bei Ming used the Earth Book to confirm that restoring the Western Spiritual Veins was possible, while the Soul Demon God gathered allies in the Hundun and waited for Luo Hou to weaken Hongjun. The Soul Demon God’s group prepared to pursue their plan to seize the Primordial Wilderness.

• Bei Ming used the Earth Book to map the Primordial Wilderness’s Spiritual Veins and confirmed that the Western Spiritual Veins could be remade with a captured Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal.
• Bei Ming reflected that Zhen Yuanzi had missed chances to discover the Earth Book’s map and attain Dao-Proving because of the destruction of the Western Spiritual Veins, Hong Yun’s death, and his own reclusion.
• The Soul Demon God met the Emotion Demon God and the Sin Demon God in the Hundun and asked whether they had found other allies.
• The Emotion Demon God said he had found no one, while the Sin Demon God said the Sword Demon God might join them after pursuing a breakthrough.
• The Soul Demon God, the Emotion Demon God, and the Sin Demon God agreed to remain hidden outside the Primordial Wilderness and wait for Luo Hou to weaken Heavenly Dao Hongjun.

Yang Mei watched the three Chaos Gods prepare to test the Primordial Wilderness, while Hongjun sensed the spying and continued planning against Luo Hou. In the Human Race’s ancestral land, Wukong broke through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm and took human form at Moyuan’s suggestion.

• Yang Mei observed the Soul Demon God, Emotion Demon God, and Sin Demon God and decided to let them scout the Primordial Wilderness before acting himself.
• Hongjun sensed Yang Mei’s surveillance but left it alone, and he considered the Demon Sect’s resurgence and the Heavenly Court as the starting point of the next great trend.
• Wukong absorbed the Chihoumahou’s origins and broke through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
• Wukong thanked Moyuan, who warned that the Human Race remained wary of those who looked different.
• Wukong transformed into a Dao Body and appeared in his armor and garments bestowed by Bei Ming.

Wukong attended the Human Race celebration before Emperor Shun abdicated to Dayu, whose new authority and Merit advanced his cultivation. As Emperor Shun prepared to retire to Huoyun Cave, Moyuan and Yao Shi discussed the West’s limited prospects and the Human Race’s cautious plans.

• Wukong praised his own martial bearing, attended the celebration with Moyuan, and mingled confidently with the cultivators.
• Emperor Shun handed the Kongtong Seal to Dayu, and the Human Race’s luck raised Dayu into the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
• Emperor Shun’s Merit reached Yao Shi, strengthening his prospects of becoming the Western Religion’s first disciple to Slash Corpse.
• Dayu vowed to fulfill the trust placed in him, while Moyuan and Dayu’s plan to stabilize the Human Race’s luck received the Three Sovereigns’ approval.
• Moyuan told Yao Shi that large-scale migration west would create only false prosperity, and the two prepared to join the procession escorting Emperor Shun to Huoyun Cave.

After Emperor Shun entered Huoyun Cave, Moyuan and Dayu began their new era of leadership while Wukong returned to Changbai Mountain. Meanwhile, Yunhua was gravely wounded while pursuing the Three-Headed Flood Dragon, married the mortal Yang Tianyou after he saved her, and faced the danger of discovery by Haotian as he began to worry about her long absence.

• Emperor Shun entered Huoyun Cave, and Moyuan and Dayu prepared to return to the Human Race's ancestral land to govern.
• Wukong told Moyuan and Dayu that he would return to Changbai Mountain to pay his respects to his master, then parted from them.
• Yunhua and the Three-Headed Flood Dragon suffered grave injuries in battle, and both fell into the mountains below.
• Yang Tianyou found Yunhua in a ruined temple and used his heart's vitality to form a bond that helped her recover her Heartfire Qi.
• Yunhua and Yang Tianyou settled in Lingbo City, married, and had three children: Yang Jiao, Yang Jian, and Yang Chan.
• Yunhua worried that Yang Tianyou lacked the aptitude to cultivate and that Haotian would discover their marriage; after more than ten days in Heaven passed without her return, Haotian grew uneasy.

Haotian discovered that Yunhua had married Yang Tianyou and borne three children, so he sent Juling Shen to arrest her. The Human Race barred the heavenly army from Lingbo City, and Dayu agreed to let Juling Shen make the arrest with a small escort under supervision.

• Haotian viewed the Haotian Mirror, learned Yunhua had married Yang Tianyou and borne two sons and a daughter, and ordered Juling Shen to arrest her.
• Juling Shen led three thousand heavenly soldiers to Lingbo City and demanded entry from its defending general, Ling Tao.
• Ling Tao refused to let the Heavenly Court search the Human Race city and directed Juling Shen to seek coordination from the Human Race Ancestral land.
• Juling Shen withdrew his army and headed for the Ancestral land while Ling Tao sent a report to Dayu.
• Dayu consulted Moyuan, who advised allowing Juling Shen to arrest Yunhua with a few guards under Ling Tao's supervision and without harming innocents.

Moyuan planned to bring Yang Tianyou and Yunhua’s three children to the Human Race Ancestral Land, while the Heavenly Court prepared to reclaim Yunhua. The chapter ended with Yunhua accepting Moyuan’s invitation and welcoming him into the mansion.

• Juling Shen met Dayu, who said the Human Race would not interfere in the Heavenly Court’s internal affairs and ordered Ling Tao to cooperate with him.
• Moyuan proposed bringing Yang Tianyou, Yang Jiao, Yang Jian, and Yang Chan to the Ancestral Land for cultivation, and Dayu asked him to go personally.
• Yuanshi Tianzun determined that Yang Jian was fated to the Chan Sect and sent Yuding Zhenren to Lingbo City to accept him as a disciple.
• Moyuan arrived in Lingbo City, instructed Ling Tao to monitor Juling Shen, and said he would personally bring the four Yangs to the Ancestral Land.
• Yunhua sensed Moyuan’s powerful aura, went to meet him, and learned that he had come on Dayu’s order to invite her family to the Ancestral Land.
• Yunhua decided that the Human Race offered her family a safer path and invited Moyuan into the mansion.

Moyuan visited Yang Mansion, where Yunhua explained the Heavenly Court’s demand that she return, and arranged for her to help secure compensation for Lingbo City. As Moyuan guided the Yang siblings in cultivation, Yang Jian opened his Heavenly Eye, prompting Moyuan to offer to accept him as a Direct Disciple.

• Yang Tianyou recognized Moyuan and begged him to save his family, and Yunhua recounted the events that led to her impending return to the Heavenly Court.
• Yunhua asked Moyuan to take her family away, but Moyuan urged them to stay longer and asked her to exchange blows with Juling Shen to cause damage and secure compensation.
• Yunhua and Yang Tianyou understood Moyuan’s plan to make the Heavenly Court pay for sending forces into Human Race territory.
• Moyuan stayed at Yang Mansion and guided the three Yang siblings in their cultivation.
• Yang Jian opened his Heavenly Eye while cultivating, and Moyuan judged him qualified to become a second-generation Direct Disciple of the Literary Sect.
• Moyuan told Yang Tianyou and Yunhua that he intended to accept Yang Jian as his Direct Disciple.

Moyuan accepted Yang Jian as his disciple before Yuding Zhenren could claim him, prompting Yuanshi Tianzun to accept the changed outcome as a minor shift in fate. Days later, Juling Shen came to the Yang Mansion for Yunhua, who met him with her sword.

• Yunhua urged Yang Jian to accept Moyuan as his master, and Yang Jian completed the disciple-taking ceremony.
• Yuding Zhenren arrived to recruit Yang Jian, but Yang Tianyou told him that Yang Jian had already entered Moyuan's school.
• Yuanshi Tianzun learned that Yuding Zhenren had missed his chance and warned him to remember the lesson.
• Yuding Zhenren greeted Moyuan, then left without pressing his claim to Yang Jian.
• Juling Shen arrived at the Yang Mansion with soldiers, and Yunhua charged at him with her sword.

Yunhua returned to the Heavenly Court, and the Four Yangs went back to the Human Race’s ancestral land, where Dayu demanded compensation for the damage caused in Lingbo City. Overwhelmed by his losses of authority, Haotian sought help from Hongjun, who promised to summon the disciples and deliberate about the Heavenly Court’s Righteous Gods.

• Yunhua sheathed her sword and agreed to return with Juling Shen, while Ling Tao warned that the Human Race would report its losses to the Heavenly Court.
• Moyuan led the Four Yangs back to the Human Race’s ancestral land, where he continued guiding cultivators.
• Dayu formally demanded compensation from the Heavenly Court for the damage caused during Juling Shen’s pursuit of Yunhua.
• Haotian suppressed Yunhua beneath Peach Mountain, sent Taibai Jinxing to discuss compensation, and then left the Heavenly Court to seek Hongjun’s help.
• Haotian knelt before Hongjun and complained about the Saints’ sects and their disciples undermining his authority as Heavenly Emperor.
• Hongjun told Haotian that no one else could hold the position for now and promised to summon the disciples to deliberate about the Righteous Gods.

Yaochi visited Ling Yan on Jinping Peak, where they discussed Haotian’s appeal to Hongjun before Wukong returned from his travels. At the Great Void Palace, Ling Yan warned Bei Ming that growing conflicts among Human Race cities suggested the Demon Sect was manipulating ambitions and unrest.

• Yaochi told Ling Yan that Haotian had gone to Hongjun for help, and Ling Yan said Hongjun was unlikely to intervene against the Saints.
• Wukong arrived at Jinping Peak, greeted Yaochi, and received a Renshui Flat Peach from Ling Yan.
• Yaochi departed, and Wukong told Ling Yan that he had become a Great Luo Golden Immortal before they went to see Bei Ming.
• Bei Ming asked Ling Yan and Wukong about the Primordial Wilderness’s growing unrest, and Wukong offered to help settle it.
• Ling Yan described wars between Human Race cities and explained that the conflicts appeared to reflect leaders’ ambitions as well as hidden manipulation.
• Bei Ming recognized the signs of the Demon Sect’s covert influence, which was magnifying desires and stoking conflicts across the Primordial Wilderness.

Ling Yan warned Bei Ming and Wukong that the Demon Race’s return could trigger a greater calamity, while the Human Race faced a growing divide between cultivators and mortals. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors still held the division in check, but Wukong pointed to the danger mortals would face if they were gone.

• Bei Ming explained that Luo Hou’s return could let the demons rise in the West and challenge the Heavenly Dao, and said he would destroy the Devil Realm if Luo Hou failed.
• Ling Yan warned that the growing gap between Human Race cultivators and mortals could deepen into a split, as some city leaders sought to prioritize expansion over protecting mortals.
• Bei Ming compared the Human Race’s cultivator-mortal divide to the old Demon Race’s split between Heavenly Court elites and lower-realm demons.
• Ling Yan agreed that the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors’ universal cultivation policies helped preserve balance by giving talented mortals a chance to cultivate.
• Wukong warned that mortals would likely struggle to survive if the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were gone.

Bei Ming and the other five saints gathered at Zixiao Palace after Hongjun summoned them to discuss an important matter. Haotian’s presence suggested the summons was connected to the Heavenly Court, though the saints could not yet discern the full cause.

• Bei Ming received Hongjun’s summons and told Ling Yan and Wukong to remain at Great Void Palace and cultivate while he went to Zixiao Palace.
• Bei Ming met Tongtian in Chaos, and the two agreed to discuss the Dao after the meeting.
• Yuanshi, Nüwa, Jieyin, and Laozi joined Bei Ming and Tongtian, and the saints speculated about the reason for Hongjun’s summons.
• Nüwa suggested the summons might concern Haotian and the immortal-mortal romance that followed Yuanshi’s display of power.
• Zixiao Palace appeared, and the six saints entered and greeted Hongjun, where they saw Haotian waiting beside the Cloud Platform.
• The saints noticed Haotian and sensed that the matter was connected to him, but the Heavenly Secrets concealed the full picture.

Hongjun summoned the Saints to address the Heavenly Court’s unfilled divine ranks and revealed that a calamity involving the rising Demonic Dao was approaching. He left the Investiture of the Gods List and God-Smiting Whip behind and ordered the Mystic Gate to select disciples for the list, while Haotian quietly anticipated gaining control over the appointed gods.

• Hongjun questioned the Saints about why the Heavenly Court’s Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Righteous Gods had not been appointed, and the Saints disputed responsibility with Haotian.
• Bei Ming defended the Literary Sect’s contributions and challenged Haotian after he complained that its disciples had taken the best divine positions.
• Hongjun declared that the Heavenly Court’s ranks had to be filled and produced the Investiture of the Gods List and the God-Smiting Whip.
• Hongjun warned the Saints that demonic aura was rising and that the calamity’s boundaries were unclear because the Demons Outside the Domain of Heaven were beyond the Heavenly Dao’s governance.
• Hongjun instructed the Saints to stabilize the Heavenly Court, reconcile it with the Human Race, combat demons, and select Mystic Gate disciples for the list before he vanished.
• Haotian concealed his excitement at the prospect of using the list and whip to control the gods.