Chapter Summaries

Zhao Gongming arrived at Hangu Pass and tried to stop the Jie Sect from suffering further losses, but led a night raid to rescue Zhao Jiang after the Six Lords refused to withdraw without him. The raid turned into a fight against Randeng and the Twelve Golden Immortals, leaving Zhao Gongming and his allies in danger.

• Zhao Gongming reached Hangu Pass, stopped Holy Mother Jinguang from rushing into the fifth formation, and led the remaining Six Lords back to camp.
• Zhao Gongming advised the Jie Sect disciples to withdraw to Golden Turtle Island, but agreed to raid Hangu Pass at night after Lord Wang and Lord Zhang insisted on rescuing Zhao Jiang.
• Zhao Gongming led the Six Lords into Hangu Pass, where Randeng and the Twelve Golden Immortals were waiting in ambush.
• Zhao Gongming fought seven opponents with the Purple Lightning Hammer while the Six Lords fought the other immortals and were quickly wounded.
• Zhao Gongming ordered the Six Lords to retreat; Kushou bound Lord Wang with the Binding Immortal Rope, and Zhao Gongming bound Huanglong Zhenren with the Binding Dragon Rope.

Zhao Gongming exchanged Huanglong Zhenren for Zhao Jiang and Wang Bian, then returned with the Seven Heavenly Lords to Golden Turtle Island to report a major matter to Tongtian Sect Master. Meanwhile, Qin expanded across the states, and King Wu of Qin died after breaking the Yong Province Cauldron; the chapter ended as Tongtian Sect Master received his disciples.

• Zhao Gongming threatened Huanglong Zhenren’s life and secured the release of Zhao Jiang and Wang Bian in a prisoner exchange outside Hangu Pass.
• The Qin army defeated the Three Jin Allied Forces, conquered Shu, Ju, and Ba, and later won further battles against Wei, Han, and Chu as alliances shifted.
• Zhang Yi’s deception persuaded King Huai of Chu to break with Qi State, leaving Chu vulnerable to defeat by Qin and the Han-Wei allied forces.
• Gongsun Yan retired to Yunmeng Marsh, while Su Qin began advancing the Vertical Alliance; Zhao State also annexed Zhongshan State.
• King Wu of Qin lifted the Yong Province Cauldron, broke his kneecaps when it fell, and died, after which Ying Ji returned from Zhao State and became King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
• Zhao Gongming and the Seven Heavenly Lords reached Biyou Palace, asked to see Tongtian Sect Master, and entered the hall after its doors opened.

Zhao Gongming reported the Jie Sect’s losses in the Investiture War and asked Tongtian Sect Master for guidance, but Tongtian refused to intervene and rebuked his disciples for leaving the mountain. Outside Biyou Palace, Saint Mother Wudang urged Zhao Gongming to act cautiously and offered two ways to respond to the conflict.

• Zhao Gongming told Tongtian Sect Master that the Four Sages of Nine Dragon Island, four Ten Jue formations, and three Ten Heavenly Lords had fallen, while the Literary Sect appeared ready to join the war.
• Tongtian calculated the situation and said both the Jie Sect and Chan Sect had incurred losses, reminding his disciples that he had warned them to remain in their caves during the calamity.
• Tongtian rebuked Zhao Gongming for leaving the mountain and provoking conflict, then ordered the group to withdraw from Biyou Palace.
• Outside the hall, Zhao Gongming argued that the Chan Sect and Literary Sect were conspiring to weaken the Jie Sect, but Saint Mother Wudang questioned what he expected Tongtian to do.
• Saint Mother Wudang advised Zhao Gongming either to gather Jie Sect disciples back at Golden Turtle Island or to lead willing disciples to fight the Chan Sect in the Nine Provinces.

Zhao Gongming rallied Jie Sect disciples to avenge the Ten Heavenly Lords, but Clouds refused to leave Biyou Palace because of Tongtian Sect Master's warning. As the war between Qin and the Han-Wei coalition intensified, Lu Yue and his companions arrived at Yique and challenged the Chan Sect and Literary Sect, prompting Jiang Ziya to lead the Chan Sect disciples there.

• Zhao Gongming and the Seven Heavenly Lords vowed to fight the Chan Sect and began gathering Jie Sect disciples for the journey to the Nine Provinces.
• Zhao Gongming asked Clouds, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao for help, and Clouds explained that the Ten Jue Formation needed stronger formation expertise and treasures to protect its formation eyes.
• Bixiao urged her sisters to join Zhao Gongming with the Nine Bend Yellow River Formation, but Clouds refused because Tongtian Sect Master had ordered them to stay out of the calamity.
• As the Jie Sect mobilized, Bai Qi defeated the Eastern Zhou army and advanced toward Yique, where Han and Wei assembled a coalition of two hundred and forty thousand troops.
• Lu Yue arrived at the Han-Wei camp with Yu De and four disciples, challenged the Chan Sect and Literary Sect, and prompted Jiang Ziya to lead the Chan Sect disciples to Yique.

Lu Yue’s disciples and Yu De fought Yang Jian and Nezha at Yique, but Jiang Ziya struck Lu Yue with the God-Smiting Whip, allowing the Qin side to win. Believing his name had already been placed on the Investiture of the Gods List, Lu Yue planned to poison the Qin army and spread plague through Qin State.

• Moyuan sent Wang Du and Lan Sheng toward the battlefield at Yique.
• Lu Yue’s disciples and Yu De poisoned several Qin cultivators, but Yang Jian and Nezha resisted their attacks and killed Yu De, Zhu Tianlin, Yang Wenhui, and Li Qi.
• Lu Yue attacked Yang Jian and Nezha with his Spirit Treasures, but Jiang Ziya struck him with the God-Smiting Whip and badly wounded him.
• Lu Yue fled to the allied army’s camp with Zhou Xin as the Qin side claimed victory and Bai Qi prepared a general attack.
• Lu Yue concluded that his Master had placed his name on the Investiture of the Gods List and ordered Zhou Xin to spread plague through Qin State while he laid down the Plague Formation.

Wang Du and Lan Sheng reached Qin State as Lu Yue’s plague ravaged the army and spread through its cities. Wang Du sent Lan Sheng to distribute Anti-Plague Talismans and seek Shennong’s cure, then arrived at Yique and examined the poisoned generals, promising to cure them with poison pills.

• Jiang Ziya called for aid from Kunlun Mountain, and Qingxu Moral True Monarch was sent to counter Lu Yue’s Plague Formation.
• Wang Du identified the spreading plague as immortal-made poison and gave Lan Sheng Anti-Plague Talismans to protect the afflicted while she sought Shennong’s help.
• Lan Sheng dispatched Phantom Spirit Avatars to deliver the talismans as she hurried toward Huoyun Cave.
• Wang Du arrived at the Qin camp at Yique, where Bai Qi, Yang Jian, Jiang Ziya, and Nezha welcomed him and asked him to save the poisoned generals.
• After examining Li Jing, Jinzha, Muzha, Leizhenzi, and Wei Hu, Wang Du said his poison pills could overcome Lu Yue’s plague-poison.

Wang Du cured five cultivators of Lu Yue’s plague poison and arranged for Lan Sheng to seek Shennong’s aid for the infected soldiers and people of Qin State. Wang Du and Qingxu Moral True Monarch entered Lu Yue’s Plague Formation and Wang Du killed him with a Purple Poison Feather.

• Wang Du used five black pills and talismans to cure the plague poison afflicting five cultivators, though they remained weak and needed time to recover.
• Wang Du said ordinary soldiers could not withstand his poison-based treatment, so he advised using talisman water to suppress the plague and sending Lan Sheng to seek the Earth Emperor Shennong’s help.
• Qingxu Moral True Monarch arrived, and he and Wang Du agreed to kill Lu Yue and destroy the Plague Formation.
• Wang Du and Qingxu entered the formation, where Lu Yue attacked them with his Plague-Pointing Dual Swords and strengthened the poisonous miasma.
• Wang Du used the Five Poisons Holy Source Pearl to absorb the plague poison, then struck Lu Yue with a Purple Poison Feather that dissolved his body and Primordial Spirit.

Wang Du and Qingxu Moral True Monarch destroyed Lu Yue’s plague formation, while Lan Sheng spread Shennong’s antidote and treated the sick. Bai Qi’s victories opened Qin’s route east and south, but as Qin invaded Chu, Luo Xuan’s flames threatened the army until Yang Jian raised a water array and aid arrived.

• Wang Du erased Lu Yue, and Qingxu Moral True Monarch burned away the Plague Formation with the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan.
• Zhou Xin tried to attack Lan Sheng’s Phantom Spirit Avatar and was erased; Lan Sheng then received Shennong’s medicine and spread the antidote throughout the Primordial Wilderness.
• Bai Qi routed the Han and Wei armies at Yique, then led further campaigns that seized Wei cities, attacked Zhao, and weakened Chu.
• Luo Xuan joined Chu with Liu Huan and his new disciple Ma Shan, using his fire treasures to attack Bai Qi’s army.
• Yang Jian protected the Qin army with the Boundless Sea Array, Jiang Ziya sought aid from Kunlun Mountain, and Daoist Cihang, Daoist Randeng, and Daoist Xuantian arrived.

Daoist Xuantian defeated Luo Xuan, Liu Huan, and Ma Shan, then used the Falling Treasure Money to seize Randeng’s Lingjiu Lamp. Randeng invoked the Chan Sect and Yuanshi Tianzun, but Xuantian declared that the Investiture Cataclysm allowed him to kill Randeng and struck at him with his Dragon Head Crutch.

• Daoist Xuantian ignored Luo Xuan’s warning and urged him to withdraw from the Qin army’s camp.
• Luo Xuan, Liu Huan, and Ma Shan attacked Xuantian with their fire arts, but his Twenty-four Dinghai Divine Pearls extinguished their flames and killed them.
• Ma Shan’s true form, a Lamp Wick, flew into Randeng’s Lingjiu Lamp and began merging with it.
• Xuantian used the Falling Treasure Money to knock the Lingjiu Lamp away from Randeng and draw it into his palm.
• Randeng demanded the lamp back and threatened Xuantian with the Chan Sect and Yuanshi Tianzun, but Xuantian invoked the Investiture Cataclysm and attacked him with his Dragon Head Crutch.

Xuantian defeated Randeng and claimed the Qiankun Ruler, while Randeng escaped through his coffin-based divine power. Xuantian spared Cihang and returned to the Qin army camp, leaving Cihang to hurry back to Kunlun Mountain with news of the defeat.

• Randeng offered the Qiankun Ruler to defend himself, but Xuantian recognized their karmic connection and challenged him to a future contest over cultivation.
• Xuantian badly wounded Randeng, who fled toward Kunlun Mountain while Cihang watched without daring to intervene.
• Xuantian used the Dinghai Divine Pearls to trap Randeng, who unleashed his Burial of Ten Thousand Spirits divine power.
• Xuantian combined the Dinghai Divine Pearls and Dragon Head Crutch to swallow Randeng, then recovered the Qiankun Ruler and a coffin board after Randeng escaped to Lingjiu Mountain.
• Xuantian refined the Qiankun Ruler, considered giving the coffin board to Moyuan, and allowed Cihang to leave unharmed.
• Xuantian returned to the Qin army camp, and Cihang hurried back to Kunlun Mountain to report to his master.

Xuantian helped Bai Qi devise a plan to flood Yan City, then used spirit turtles to rescue the Chu civilians caught in the flood. Bai Qi went on to conquer Ying Capital and much of Chu, and Qin enfeoffed him as Lord Wu'an.

• Randeng escaped to Yuanjue Cave with his Dao foundation damaged, then went to Jade Void Palace to ask Yuanshi Tianzun for help recovering the Lingjiu Lamp.
• Bai Qi proposed diverting the Yan River to flood Yan City, and Xuantian approved the plan while warning that the city’s inhabitants would suffer.
• Bai Qi’s army breached its dam and flooded Yan City, while Xuantian summoned spirit turtles to carry drowning Chu civilians to safety.
• Bai Qi captured Xiling, cut off Ying Capital from Wu Commandery, and later captured Ying Capital and burned the tombs of Chu’s former kings.
• Bai Qi’s army continued its advance through Chu, and Qin made Ying Nan Commandery and enfeoffed Bai Qi as Lord Wu'an.

After Zhao accepted Shangdang and prepared to face Qin at Changping, Zhao Gongming answered Zhao State’s plea by leading Jie Sect Outer Sect Disciples to the battlefield. On Golden Turtle Island, Duobao and the other personal disciples discussed the expedition, with Duobao indifferent to the likely deaths of hundreds of disciples.

• Bai Qi’s victories expanded Qin’s power, while Ying Ji used Fan Ju’s counsel to remove Wei Ran and other maternal relatives from the court’s influence.
• After Feng Ting offered Shangdang to Zhao, King Xiaocheng sent Lian Po to defend Changping as Qin mobilized forces and supplies for war.
• Zhao Gongming received Zhao State’s plea, recalled his promise to Zhao Yong, and decided to go to Changping to meet the Literary Sect and the Chan Sect.
• Zhao Gongming led several hundred Jie Sect Outer Sect Disciples toward the Changping battlefield.
• Saint Mother Wudang told Duobao that Zhao Gongming had taken the disciples to Changping, and Duobao said their deaths might help fill the Investiture of the Gods List and benefit the Jie Sect.

Duobao prepared the Jie Sect for a possible war by sending Jin Ling to the Heavenly Court and ordering the senior disciples to drill the Ten Thousand Immortals Array. Meanwhile, Shen Gongbao lured more Jie Sect members toward Changping, and Randeng appealed to Yuanshi Tianzun after Mystic Turtle took his treasures; Yuanshi remained unimpressed.

• Duobao ordered Jin Ling to return to the Heavenly Court and commanded Wudang, Guiling, and Clouds to prepare the Ten Thousand Immortals Array.
• Shen Gongbao persuaded the Holy Mother of Fire Spirit, Yuyi Xian, Ma Yuan the Immortal of One Qi, and the Four Generals of the Mo Family to head toward the battlefield.
• Yuanshi Tianzun's calculations had already placed Shen Gongbao's movements within his plans, while King Ying Ji grew wary as Bai Qi's fame and achievements surpassed Wang He's.
• Jiang Ziya invited the Twelve Golden Immortals to assist at Changping, while Randeng went to Jade Void Palace to complain that Mystic Turtle had seized his Spirit Treasure and wounded him.
• Randeng asked Yuanshi Tianzun to punish Mystic Turtle and recover the Lingjiu Lamp and Qiankun Ruler, but Yuanshi looked on with disgust and recalled that Randeng could leave the Chan Sect whenever he wished.

Randeng was sent by Yuanshi to the Changping battlefield rather than receiving help with his losses, and decided to seek Zhunti instead. As the Qin-Zhao war intensified, Lu Ya arrived at the Qin camp claiming to be a rogue cultivator offering aid, leaving the Chan Sect and Literary Sect suspicious of his motives.

• Yuanshi refused Randeng's request for Spirit Treasures and ordered him to assist the Twelve Golden Immortals at Changping; Randeng resolved to find Zhunti.
• Maitreya's followers influenced several states, deepening rivalries and weakening the states that might have restrained Qin.
• Qin forces broke through Kongcang Ridge and killed more than fifty Jie Sect disciples, prompting Lian Po to withdraw to the Dan River defenses.
• Zhao Gongming reorganized the Jie Sect forces and ordered the Seven Heavenly Lords to deploy seven formations outside the second defense line.
• Lu Ya entered the Qin army's main tent and introduced himself as a rogue cultivator who had come to help, prompting the assembled sect members to question his purpose.

The Chan Sect and Literary Sect agreed on separate roles in attacking the Jie Sect’s defenses, with Yun Biao taking on Zhao Gongming and the Yuxu disciples targeting the Ten Jue Formation. After Zhao Jiang captured and killed a Chan Sect pawn instead of activating his formation, Guang Chengzi abandoned the sacrificial tactic and ordered a forceful assault.

• Sun Wukong said the Literary Sect had not come to fight the Jie Sect, and Lei Li threatened Chijingzi when the Chan immortals challenged their neutrality.
• Yun Biao claimed Zhao Gongming as his opponent, while Guang Chengzi assigned the Twelve Golden Immortals to break the Ten Jue Formation and other allies to clear the Jie Sect’s remaining forces.
• Holy Mother of Fire Spirit told the Seven Heavenly Lords to capture cannon fodder in the formations and kill them outside, and Zhao Jiang followed that plan against Qiao Kun.
• Zhao Jiang beheaded Qiao Kun before the armies, preventing his death inside the formation from disrupting its momentum.
• Huanglong Zhenren warned Guang Chengzi that the Jie Sect’s new tactic made their formations harder to break, so Guang Chengzi ordered the Yuxu disciples to attack by force in three groups.
• Taiyi Zhenren urged Yun Biao to defeat Zhao Gongming swiftly as the Chan Sect launched its general assault on the Ten Jue Formation.

Yun Biao drew Zhao Gongming away while the Chan Sect attacked several Ten Jue formations. The Chan Sect destroyed the Earthly Blazing, Golden Light, and Blood Transformation Formations, and Lu Ya entered the Blazing Flame Formation as the fighting continued.

• Yun Biao challenged Zhao Gongming, who left the Jie Sect forces to fight him in the sky.
• Guang Chengzi divided the Chan Sect immortals among several formations, while the Jie Sect disciples moved to defend them and Yao Bin began cursing Jiang Shang in the Luo Po Formation.
• Juliusun, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Cihang killed Zhao Jiang and broke the Earthly Blazing Formation, forcing Yuyi Xian to flee.
• Guang Chengzi and the other Chan Sect immortals shattered the Golden Light Formation’s mirrors, killing Holy Mother Jinguang and sending Holy Mother of Fire Spirit onto the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Chijingzi killed Lord Sun in the Blood Transformation Formation, and Qingxu Moral True Monarch saved Huanglong Zhenren by killing Ma Yuan.
• Lu Ya entered the Blazing Flame Formation, where Lord Bai’s fires posed no threat to him.

Lu Ya and the Twelve Golden Immortals destroyed the Ten Jue Formation, while the Jie Sect’s defenders and Ten Heavenly Lords were killed. Back at the Qin camp, Chijingzi examined a straw effigy bearing Jiang Ziya’s name, and Lu Ya suggested returning the curse against the Jie Sect.

• Lu Ya killed Xiao Zhen, Xiao Sheng, Cao Bao, and Lord Bai while breaking the Blazing Flame Formation.
• Guang Chengzi led the Twelve Golden Immortals to break the Luo Po, Red Water, and Hongsha formations after Lu Ya refused to help further.
• The Ten Jue Formation was destroyed, and the Ten Heavenly Lords and most defending Jie Sect disciples were killed.
• Chijingzi found a straw effigy bearing Jiang Shang’s name at the Luo Po Formation and identified it as Yao Bin’s attempted soul curse against Jiang Ziya.
• Guang Chengzi warned the immortals not to underestimate Jie Sect’s strongest members and led them back to the Qin army camp.
• Chijingzi examined the effigy in Jiang Ziya’s tent, and Lu Ya proposed repaying the Jie Sect with a curse of their own.

Lu Ya proposed that Jiang Ziya use the Dingtou Qijianshu to kill Zhao Gongming, and Jiang Ziya accepted the dangerous task. While the duel between Yun Biao and Zhao Gongming continued, Yang Jian killed Zhao Gongming’s disciples, and Wukong pursued Yuan Hong, the Tongbei Yuanhou.

• Lu Ya explained the Dingtou Qijianshu and said that Jiang Ziya’s heavenly mandate allowed him to bear its risks and curse Zhao Gongming.
• Jiang Ziya agreed to perform the curse, and the immortals warned that the plan had to remain secret from the Literary Sect.
• Under Lu Ya’s guidance, Jiang Ziya secretly began the twenty-one-day ritual while Yun Biao and Zhao Gongming continued fighting in the sky.
• Yang Jian stopped Chen Jiugong and Yao Shaosi from reaching Zhao Gongming, killed them, and their True Spirits were taken by the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Wukong and Lei Li pursued Yuan Hong after Wukong detected the Tongbei Yuanhou’s Same Origin aura near the battlefield.

Wukong killed Yuan Hong and left to refine his origin, while Shen Gongbao learned that Zhao Gongming was being targeted by a twenty-one-day curse and plotted to draw the Jie Sect’s inner disciples into the war. He persuaded Yuyi Xian to carry him to Golden Turtle Island to seek help from the Sanxiao and Duobao.

• Wukong killed Yuan Hong, collected his origin, and headed to Wind Sleep Mountain to borrow Moyuan’s cauldron.
• Shen Gongbao saw the Jie Sect’s defeat and learned from Jiang Ziya that Lu Ya’s Dingtou Qijianshu would take twenty-one days to kill Zhao Gongming.
• Shen Gongbao planned to use Zhao Gongming’s peril and Holy Mother of Fire Spirit’s death to provoke the Sanxiao and Duobao into joining the conflict.
• Shen Gongbao encountered Yuyi Xian and told him about Zhao Gongming’s curse and Holy Mother of Fire Spirit’s death.
• Yuyi Xian agreed to carry Shen Gongbao to Golden Turtle Island, transformed into a Golden-Winged Great Peng, and let him climb onto his back.

Shen Gongbao persuaded the Sanxiao to rush to Changping to rescue Zhao Gongming, then went to report the battlefield losses to Duobao. Jin Chanzi accused Shen Gongbao of being a Chan Sect spy, and Duobao killed him before ordering the Inner Sect Disciples to pay their respects to Master.

• Shen Gongbao reached Golden Turtle Island and told Clouds, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao that Zhao Gongming was endangered by Yun Biao and the Dingtou Qijianshu.
• Clouds decided that the Sanxiao would go to Changping to bring Zhao Gongming safely back to Golden Turtle Island, while Shen Gongbao went to report to Duobao.
• Shen Gongbao found Jin Chanzi and described the battlefield losses, but Jin Chanzi accused him of luring Jie Sect disciples to their deaths and struck him down.
• Jin Chanzi took Shen Gongbao to Duobao and reported the battle news, including Holy Mother of Fire Spirit's death.
• Duobao killed Shen Gongbao in anger and ordered Jin Chanzi to gather the Inner Sect Disciples to pay their respects to Master.