Chapter Summaries

After Shen Gongbao’s True Spirit entered the Investiture of the Gods List, Guang Chengzi visited Biyou Palace to return Holy Mother of Fire Spirit’s Golden Cloud Crown and explain her death. Tongtian Sect Master let Guang Chengzi leave, but Saint Mother Guiling attacked him outside, and Guang Chengzi prepared to counter.

• Jiang Ziya sensed Shen Gongbao had entered the list and grieved, while Duobao gathered Jie Sect disciples to confront the Chan Sect.
• Guang Chengzi arrived alone at Biyou Palace with the Golden Cloud Crown and was surrounded by Duobao and the Jie Sect disciples.
• Guang Chengzi told Tongtian Sect Master that Holy Mother of Fire Spirit had died while opposing Heaven’s mandate, and returned her crown.
• Tongtian Sect Master accepted the crown and dismissed Guang Chengzi, saying Holy Mother of Fire Spirit had brought calamity upon herself by leaving the mountain.
• Saint Mother Guiling attacked Guang Chengzi outside the palace, and after several exchanges he spotted an opening and raised his left hand to strike.

Tongtian Sect Master declared that the Jie Sect and Chan Sect would settle their conflict at Luoyi when Qin seized the Nine Cauldrons, and ordered preparations for the decisive battle. Concerned that Bei Ming might interfere, Tongtian secretly went to Great Void Palace to meet him.

• Guang Chengzi struck Saint Mother Guiling with Fan Tian Yin, then fled into Biyou Palace as Jie Sect disciples pursued him.
• Duobao urged Tongtian to respond to the Chan Sect’s insults and attacks, and Tongtian recognized that the sects’ long-running conflict had reached its breaking point.
• Tongtian ordered Guang Chengzi to tell Yuanshi that they would fight at Luoyi when Qin seized the Nine Cauldrons, and Guang Chengzi departed.
• Tongtian ordered Duobao to organize the Jie Sect disciples for battle, planned to use the Zhuxian Sword Formation and Ten Thousand Immortals Array, and sent Saint Mother Wudang to bring Clouds back from Changping.
• Tongtian worried that Bei Ming could disrupt his plan to defeat the Chan Sect, so he secretly traveled to the outskirts of the Changbai Mountain Range, where Bei Ming sensed his arrival.

Tongtian visited Bei Ming at Great Void Palace to seek the Literary Sect’s neutrality in his planned contest against Yuanshi at Luoyi. Bei Ming promised not to interfere in the Saints’ struggle as long as they did not personally oppress his disciples, and Tongtian returned to Golden Turtle Island confident in his coming battle.

• Beiming sent Xiong Jun to welcome Tongtian and escort him into Great Void Palace.
• Tongtian told Beiming that he had arranged a contest with the Chan Sect at Luoyi, with the Human Race’s Nine Cauldrons at stake.
• Tongtian explained that the Warring States turmoil involved Beiming’s disciples and asked him to stay out of the contest between Tongtian and Yuanshi.
• Beiming agreed to remain neutral in the Saints’ contest but said his disciples would continue through the tribulation and warned against Saints oppressing them.
• Tongtian thanked Beiming, departed for Golden Turtle Island, and felt confident about facing Yuanshi.

Tongtian believed Yuanshi could gather no more than Laozi to challenge him, while Yuanshi planned to recruit allies and break the Zhuxian Sword Formation. Yuanshi viewed the coming conflict as a way to suppress the Jie Sect and reshape the balance among the Saints after Bei Ming departed.

• Tongtian concluded that Bei Ming, Nüwa, and the West would stay out of the conflict, leaving Yuanshi with at most Laozi as an ally.
• Guang Chengzi reported Tongtian's declaration of war and the Nine Cauldrons wager at Luoyi to Yuanshi Tianzun.
• Yuanshi decided to unite with Laozi and the Literary Sect to break the Zhuxian Sword Formation and suppress the Jie Sect.
• Yuanshi reasoned that Bei Ming would not let the formation fall into an outsider's hands because Ling Yan was expected to inherit his standing.
• Yuanshi planned to use the conflict to restrain Tongtian's disciples and prepare for a future in which the Three Pure Ones regained dominance.

Laozi agreed to help Yuanshi Tianzun break Tongtian’s Zhuxian Sword Formation, so Yuanshi went to seek Bei Ming’s support. Bei Ming refused to receive him, leaving Yuanshi uncertain whether he could gather the four Saints needed to break the formation.

• Laozi judged that the Zhuxian Sword Formation opposed Heaven’s momentum and agreed to warn Tongtian by helping Yuanshi.
• Yuanshi Tianzun traveled to Changbai Mountain, knowing he would likely have to pay Bei Ming a high price for his help.
• Bei Ming instructed Xiong Jun to tell Yuanshi that he was in seclusion and would not see visitors.
• Yuanshi suspected Bei Ming was using seclusion as a pretext to wait for events to unfold and intervene when it suited him.
• Yuanshi asked Xiong Jun to pass on that he had an important matter concerning the Primordial Wilderness, then left.

Yuanshi Tianzun visited Nüwa at Creation Palace to ask her to help break Tongtian’s Zhuxian Sword Formation, warning that the Chan Sect faced a dire battle against the Jie Sect. Nüwa withheld her answer and asked whether he had secured any other allies.

• Yuanshi Tianzun arrived at Mount Qixi and was escorted by the Colorful Phoenix Boy Attendant to meet Nüwa.
• Yuanshi described the mortal war, Tongtian’s challenge, and the threat posed by the Zhuxian Sword Formation and the Ten Thousand Immortals Array.
• Nüwa recognized that Yuanshi’s request could create a karmic debt useful to her plans concerning Fuxi and the Three Pure Ones.
• Yuanshi promised to repay Nüwa’s karmic debt if she helped the Saints break the Zhuxian Sword Formation.
• Nüwa asked Yuanshi whether he had found any other assistance.

Yuanshi secured Nüwa’s promise to help break Tongtian’s Zhuxian Sword Formation, then went to Mount Sumeru to recruit Jieyin. Jieyin agreed in principle but demanded three conditions, beginning with permission to convert Jie Sect disciples and a future favor from Yuanshi.

• Yuanshi told Nüwa that Laozi had agreed to help, while Beiming remained in seclusion, and Nüwa promised to join the effort when the formation was set up outside Luoyi City.
• Yuanshi traveled to the West and met Jieyin at Mount Sumeru, where Jieyin pretended not to know why he had come.
• Yuanshi explained Tongtian’s plan to deploy the Zhuxian Sword Formation and his need for another Saint to help break it.
• Jieyin agreed to assist Yuanshi, then demanded permission to convert Jie Sect disciples without Chan Sect interference and one future favor from Yuanshi.

Jieyin agreed to help Yuanshi Tianzun break the Immortal-Slaying Formation in exchange for three conditions. On the Changping battlefield, Yun Biao severely wounded Zhao Gongming and struck down Qiongxiao, while Lan Sheng trapped Clouds and Bixiao in an illusion domain.

• Jieyin set three conditions for joining the assault on the Immortal-Slaying Formation, and Yuanshi Tianzun accepted them before returning to Jade Void Palace.
• Jiang Ziya continued using the Dingtou Qijianshu against Zhao Gongming as Zhao Gongming fought Yun Biao on the Changping battlefield.
• Yun Biao exploited Zhao Gongming's faltering aura to pierce his chest with the Jinfeng Sword and send him crashing into a crater.
• Qiongxiao rushed to reinforce Zhao Gongming, but Yun Biao broke her sword, wounded her, and trapped the Golden Dragon Scissors with the Golden Forbidden Bell.
• Lan Sheng blocked Clouds and Bixiao with an illusion domain, while Clouds used the Yin Yang Two Forms Lamp to shield them from its illusions.

Clouds tried to rescue Zhao Gongming while Lan Sheng trapped her in a dream-illusion, but a Quasi-Saint’s arrival halted the fighting. Suyao appeared between the sides, greeting Zhao Gongming and Sanxiao as old friends.

• Bixiao nearly succumbed to Lan Sheng’s illusions, so Clouds pulled her into the Nahaipot to protect her.
• Clouds asked Lan Sheng to let her take Zhao Gongming away, but Lan Sheng refused and continued blocking her with illusions.
• Clouds used the Yin Yang Two Forms Lamp to burn away the illusions and force open a path, while Yun Biao advanced on Qiongxiao and Zhao Gongming tried to shield her.
• A vast pressure descended over Changping, halting the battle and dissolving Lan Sheng’s illusions.
• Clouds reached Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao as Suyao appeared between the sides and greeted them as old friends.

Clouds tried to take Zhao Gongming and her sisters back to Golden Turtle Island, but Lei Li revealed that Lu Ya’s Dingtou Qijianshu had weakened Zhao Gongming during his duel with Yun Biao. Suyao warned that Tongtian had ordered the Jie Sect to fight the Chan Sect at Luoyi, and Lan Sheng briefly triggered the illusion planted in Bixiao before releasing her.

• Clouds released Bixiao and explained to Suyao that the sisters had come only to rescue Zhao Gongming and take him home.
• Lei Li arrived with the Dingtou Qijianshu and Zhao Gongming’s straw effigy, exposing Lu Ya’s curse as the cause of Zhao Gongming’s weakened state.
• Suyao warned Zhao Gongming and the Sanxiao that Tongtian had ordered the Jie Sect to fight at Luoyi, making it difficult for them to avoid the battle.
• Bixiao boasted about the Jie Sect’s strength, and Lan Sheng triggered the illusion he had planted in her during their earlier confrontation.
• Clouds prepared to intervene, but Suyao asked to handle the matter, and Lan Sheng withdrew the illusion, leaving Bixiao confused about what had happened.

Suyao trapped Zhao Gongming and the Sanxiao in his Star Realm, then returned to prepare for the final battle while leaving Yun Biao to settle Bai Qi’s affairs. At Changping, pressure and rumors pushed King Xiaocheng of Zhao to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo and order an offensive against Qin.

• Suyao used his Star Realm to isolate Zhao Gongming, Clouds, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao from the outside world.
• Suyao told Yun Biao to handle Bai Qi’s aftermath and ordered Lan Sheng and Wang Du back to Shuangyun Mountain Range for final preparations.
• Yun Biao told Jiang Ziya that Zhao Gongming and his three sworn sisters would no longer hinder the Qin army’s advance.
• Qin spies spread rumors in Handan that Lian Po feared Qin and that Zhao Kuo could win a decisive victory.
• King Xiaocheng of Zhao appointed Zhao Kuo commander-in-chief at Changping in Lian Po’s place and ordered him to attack the Qin army.

Wudang failed to bring Clouds back from Changping after learning Suyao had taken her away, and Tongtian accepted that Clouds was not in immediate danger. He ordered Jie Sect’s immortals to prepare for an all-out march to Luoyi, while Jin Ling returned from the Heavenly Court to join them.

• Bai Qi took command of the Qin army at Changping as Yun Biao went to meet Wudang outside the camp.
• Wudang learned that Suyao had taken Clouds, Qiongxiao, Bixiao, and Zhao Gongming away to discuss the Dao, so she returned to Golden Turtle Island without Clouds.
• Tongtian divined that Clouds was not in danger of her life and chose not to send more disciples to retrieve her.
• Tongtian ordered Jie Sect’s disciples to prepare their treasures and equipment and set out for Luoyi to confront Chan Sect.
• Duobao questioned Jin Ling about leaving her post in the Heavenly Court, and Jin Ling insisted she would obey Tongtian’s command and join the battle.

Duobao worried that the Jie Sect’s full commitment to the Investiture Cataclysm could lead to devastating losses, but its immortals marched to Luoyi and deployed the Ten Thousand Immortals Array. Meanwhile, Bai Qi left Qin after falling out of favor, and Qin prepared to seize the Nine Cauldrons as the feudal lords watched the looming clash between the Jie and Chan Sects.

• Duobao questioned how many Jie Sect disciples had returned from the Heavenly Court and worried that the sect could suffer severe losses, but Saint Mother Jin Ling said its advantage was overwhelming.
• Duobao, Saint Mother Jin Ling, Saint Mother Wudang, and Saint Mother Guiling led the Jie Sect’s immortals toward Luoyi as Bai Qi defeated Zhao at Changping, where Zhao Kuo died and four hundred thousand troops surrendered.
• Yun Biao took responsibility for the surrendered Zhao soldiers, while Bai Qi later refused to lead Qin’s troubled attack on Handan and was demoted and exiled by Ying Ji.
• Yun Biao urged Bai Qi to leave Qin and return to the mountain, and Bai Qi agreed to go with his master.
• After Qin’s further victories over Han and Zhao, King Nan of Zhou secretly sought an alliance against Qin; Qin marched toward Luoyi to destroy Zhou’s authority and claim the Nine Cauldrons.
• The Jie Sect arrived at Luoyi and erected the Ten Thousand Immortals Array, while the feudal lords watched and considered exploiting any Qin setback.

As the Ten Thousand Immortals Array threatened the Luoyi front line, forces from the Chan Sect, Western Religion, Literary Sect, and Mount Qixi moved toward the coming battle. Bei Ming refined the Six Souls Banner to target Ling Shang, while the Twelve Golden Immortals approached the array and were challenged by Ma Sui.

• Jiang Ziya reported the Ten Thousand Immortals Array to Yuanshi Tianzun, who ordered the Twelve Golden Immortals to go to Luoyi.
• Zhunti sent Randeng back to join the Chan Sect forces, while the Western Religion planned to exploit the battle for the Luck of both sects.
• Ling Yan led the Literary Sect disciples toward Luoyi, and Nüwa ordered Kong Xuan to join them and help break the array.
• Bei Ming poured Disaster Qi and Luck into the Six Souls Banner, inscribing Ling Shang's name to weaken him if he entered the Primordial Wilderness.
• The Twelve Golden Immortals examined the Ten Thousand Immortals Array, and Ma Sui appeared to challenge them to a fight.

Kong Xuan arrived at the Reed Canopy ahead of the Literary Sect, and Ling Yan joined the gathering as the sect’s forces reached the battlefield. Ling Yan removed Ma Sui’s golden hoop from Huanglong Zhenren, while Duobao Daoist emerged from the Ten Thousand Immortals Array to greet her before the armies clashed.

• Ma Sui defeated Huanglong Zhenren with a golden hoop that caused him intense pain, then retreated into the Ten Thousand Immortals Array.
• Kong Xuan arrived under Saint Nüwa’s decree and waited for the Literary Sect’s forces rather than enter the Chan Sect’s canopy.
• Ling Yan arrived with the Literary Sect, and Kong Xuan greeted her and pledged to follow her orders.
• Huanglong Zhenren asked Ling Yan for help, and she used Five Elements Divine Light to remove the golden hoop.
• Duobao Daoist led the Jie Sect’s disciples out of the array and spoke to Ling Yan about their past meeting and their present conflict.

Ling Yan and Duobao exchanged words before the Jie Sect withdrew into the Ten Thousand Immortals Array, leaving the allied forces to prepare for the coming contest. Ling Yan declined the Chan Sect's offer to camp together and established a separate Literary Sect camp, while Chijingzi questioned whether the Literary Sect was friend or foe.

• Ling Yan told Duobao that the conflict between the sects had grown from accumulated struggles over Luck, teachings, and principles.
• Duobao recalled his past defeat to Ling Yan and challenged her to face him in the Ten Thousand Immortals Array.
• Duobao led Jin Ling, Wudang, Gui Ling, and the Seven Immortals in Attendance in a fierce salute before the Jie Sect withdrew into the array.
• Juliusun mocked the Jie Sect, and Guang Chengzi invited Ling Yan and the Literary Sect to rest with the Chan Sect and plan how to break the array.
• Ling Yan declined Guang Chengzi's invitation and created a protected camp for Kong Xuan, Suyao, Moyuan, Wukong, and the Literary Sect disciples.
• Chijingzi privately warned Guang Chengzi that the Literary Sect's aloofness made it difficult to know whether they were allies or enemies.

Zhunti visited Ling Yan’s Literary Sect camp at Luoyi and offered the Western Religion’s support against the Jie Sect. After Zhunti glossed over their past conflict at Golden Vegetarian Mountain, Ling Yan accepted his offer to follow her command as the allied army prepared to face the Jie Sect’s formations.

• Guang Chengzi told the Chan Sect members to return to the Reed Canopy and await the Saint’s arrival, while Randeng rejoined the Chan Sect and Lu Ya entered its camp as a Rogue Cultivator.
• Zhunti arrived at Luoyi with Western Religion disciples and sent Yao Shi, Maitreya, and Mahasthamaprapta to visit the Chan Sect while he went to the Literary Sect camp.
• Ling Yan agreed to receive Zhunti, and Moyuan escorted him into the Literary Sect’s Central Army Main Tent.
• Zhunti claimed that he and Ling Yan had joined forces at Golden Vegetarian Mountain, but Kong Xuan challenged his account of the battle.
• Zhunti defended his past conduct by praising Ling Yan and claiming he had acted out of compassion, and Ling Yan ended the dispute and invited him to speak.
• Zhunti offered the Western Religion’s support and said it would follow Ling Yan’s commands to help break the Jie Sect’s formations.

Ling Yan and the other Literary Sect disciples discussed how far Zhunti and the Western Religion could go against the Jie Sect in the Ten Thousand Immortals Array. Ling Yan left the alliance’s limits unresolved and declared that it would end once the Zhuxian Sword Formation was broken.

• Suyao questioned why peak Quasi-Saint Zhunti would accept the Literary Sect’s lead, and Zhunti pledged that the Western Religion would follow Ling Yan’s decisions.
• Ling Yan said the Literary Sect would support the Chan Sect from the side, while Zhunti tested whether they would oppose the Western Religion using special methods against Jie Sect disciples.
• After Ling Yan warned Zhunti not to overstep, he left the main camp, and Moyuan suspected he planned to take a large number of Jie Sect disciples.
• Suyao argued that the Western Religion’s drive to revive the West made it useful to the Primordial Wilderness, and that delivering Jie Sect disciples to the West could help them survive the tribulation.
• Ling Yan said the Western Religion’s actions needed limits, then declared that the temporary alliance against the Jie Sect would end once the Zhuxian Sword Formation was shattered.

Wukong and Ling Yan awaited the Saints as the forces on the Luoyi battlefield prepared for the Zhuxian Sword Formation’s decisive battle. Tongtian then deployed the formation, leaving the four Saints poised to challenge him.

• Wukong celebrated that breaking the Zhuxian Formation would let the factions settle the Luoyi battlefield, while Ling Yan said they were ready and needed only the Saints to arrive.
• Yao Shi and Maitreya reported that the Chan Sect had treated the Western Religion with contempt and seated Lu Ya above them.
• Zhunti explained that Lu Ya was the tenth Golden Crow and advised his disciples not to pry into his origins, while suggesting they might recruit him to the West.
• Tongtian learned that the Western Religion and Kong Xuan had joined the conflict, recognized that four Saints could now break his formation, and resolved to fight rather than retreat.
• Tongtian summoned the Zhuxian Formation Diagram and set the four swords in place, filling the sky over Luoyi with killing intent and sword energy.

Tongtian confronted Yuanshi, Nüwa, Jieyin, and Laozi as they gathered to break the Zhuxian Sword Formation. Laozi proposed that the disciples settle the conflict in a martial contest, with the defeated joining the Investiture of the Gods List.

• Tongtian arrived at Luoyi with the Zhuxian Sword Formation, and the Jie Sect disciples bowed to him.
• Yuanshi, Laozi, Nüwa, and Jieyin arrived with the allied forces, and Tongtian accused Yuanshi of joining with outsiders against his own brother.
• Yuanshi defended his actions as obedience to Heaven and challenged Tongtian to let the saints break the formation.
• Tongtian appealed to Laozi to uphold the bond between the Three Pure Ones, but Laozi urged him to withdraw the formation and lay down his weapons.
• Laozi suggested a Luoyi martial contest in which disciples of the various religions would settle their causes and effects, with the defeated entering the Investiture of the Gods List.