Chapter Summaries

Li Changshou helped Old Daoist Qi Yuan host Fox maiden Xiao Lan, then received a summons from the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor revealed that he wanted to suppress his memories and experience mortal life, and Li Changshou had to consider how to make the excursion safe.

• Old Daoist Qi Yuan recovered his composure, and Li Changshou arranged tea while Qi Yuan spoke with Fox maiden Xiao Lan.
• Li Changshou and the others hosted Xiao Lan at a gathering, where she danced as Qi Yuan watched with mixed feelings.
• Li Changshou inspected the Dragon Palaces, the Western Continent, the Sea Eyes, and the Northern Continent before receiving the Jade Emperor's summons.
• The Jade Emperor told Li Changshou that he wanted to use the Underworld Reincarnation Disk to suppress his memories and experience mortal life.
• Li Changshou warned the Jade Emperor that Heavenly Court could be endangered if he went into reincarnation without protection.
• The Jade Emperor explained that he hoped seeing mortal women would make him more devoted to his junior sister, and Li Changshou began considering a safe way to help.

Li Changshou arranged for the Jade Emperor’s divine soul to undergo a secret reincarnation so he could experience mortal life, then brought it to the Underworld Officialdom to arrange the process. After the Yan Jun agreed to help and began drafting an ordinary life for him, Li Changshou headed toward the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk to seek Empress Houtu’s approval.

• The Jade Emperor accepted Li Changshou’s plan to send a wisp of his divine soul into a dreamlike reincarnation while his main body slept and remained available for emergencies.
• Li Changshou watched Old Daoist Qi Yuan reject Xiao Lan’s advances while agreeing to become her friend, then left with Ao Yi and three thousand Celestial River Navy soldiers for the Netherworld.
• At Fengdu City, Li Changshou met with the Ten Palace Yan Jun and revealed that the soul he wanted them to reincarnate belonged to the Jade Emperor.
• The Yan Jun agreed to keep the matter secret and arrange the reincarnation, while Li Changshou explained the Jade Emperor’s request for an ordinary life with a beautiful younger sister.
• King Qin Guang said Empress Houtu needed to approve the reincarnation, so Ox-Head and Horse-Face escorted Li Changshou toward the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk as the Yan Jun drafted the Jade Emperor’s life script.

Li Changshou escorted a wisp of the Jade Emperor’s divine soul into reincarnation, earning merit for the Netherworld officials despite Empress Houtu’s unsettling treatment of his Paper Daoist. After returning to the Heavenly Court, he learned that the Queen Mother had summoned him to Jade Lake and was angry.

• Li Changshou asked Ox-Head and Horse-Face about Empress Houtu, then lost contact with his Paper Daoist after it was drawn into her sealed realm.
• Empress Houtu sent Li Changshou’s battered Paper Daoist back, and the Kings of Yama later emerged to say she had approved the reincarnation.
• Li Changshou read the life arranged for the Jade Emperor, then sent the Jade Emperor’s divine soul through the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk.
• The Heavenly Dao granted merit to the ten Kings of Yama as auspicious signs appeared across the Netherworld and Southern Buzhou.
• Li Changshou returned to the Heavenly Court and learned from Longji that the Queen Mother had summoned him to Jade Lake in anger.

After the Jade Emperor’s mortal reincarnation became public, Li Changshou let the Queen Mother punish him to protect the Jade Emperor’s confidence and strengthen her authority. The Queen Mother decided to reincarnate as the Jade Emperor’s childhood sweetheart and share his mortal tribulation, while Li Changshou arranged their rebirths through the Netherworld.

• Li Changshou received Heavenly Dao merit and realized that the Jade Emperor’s descent to the mortal world had caused auspicious signs visible across the Three Realms.
• The Queen Mother confronted Li Changshou and Dong Mugong, then ordered Li Changshou to receive twenty lashes of the thunder whip; he accepted the punishment and staged his weakness afterward.
• The Queen Mother learned that the Jade Emperor’s true body remained safe and resolved to undergo a mortal tribulation alongside him, ordering Li Changshou to arrange their reincarnations as childhood sweethearts.
• The Queen Mother decreed that her mortal self would share the Jade Emperor’s hardships and remain faithful to him, while Longji was told to cultivate in peace.
• Three days later, Li Changshou and the Ten Palace Yan Jun sent the Jade Emperor’s reincarnated soul into the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, and the Heavenly Dao bestowed further merit.

While Li Changshou and Dong Mugong managed the Heavenly Court during the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother’s mortal tribulations, Qi Yuan told Xiao Lan that the person she loved had only been impersonating him. After Xiao Lan left, Qi Yuan warned Li Changshou to treat others’ lives and karma with reverence, and a fairy appeared as Li pondered his words.

• Li Changshou and Dong Mugong agreed to take turns presiding over the Hall of Brightness while the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother underwent mortal tribulations.
• Li Changshou watched as Qi Yuan met Xiao Lan, who had returned to visit him at the Du Xian Sect.
• Qi Yuan told Xiao Lan that the person she had fallen for was an expert who had taken Qi Yuan’s appearance, and she left in confusion.
• Li Changshou revealed himself after Xiao Lan departed, and Qi Yuan walked with him through the rain.
• Qi Yuan cautioned Li Changshou that his power could make him careless about others’ lives and karma, and Li Changshou stood in the clearing rain to reflect.
• A fairy appeared beneath a nearby tree and asked Li Changshou whether Qi Yuan had reprimanded him.

After Yunxiao comforted Li Changshou, he considered how to strengthen himself and investigate the Netherworld, but an urgent summons revealed that Hong Lin Kingdom was under attack. A mysterious Dao rhythm told him to go, suggesting the crisis was connected to the Shang Kingdom.

• Yunxiao listened as Li Changshou explained his dealings with the fox woman and his master's tragic past, then comforted him with a lap pillow.
• Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak, rewarded Xiong Lingli with strength-enhancing pills, and pondered protecting Zhao Gongming and Three Immortal Island by investigating the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
• An urgent bell summoned Du Xian Sect's leaders to discuss Hong Lin Kingdom, whose border had been breached by two Eastern Continent tribes and whose defending stewards had been captured.
• Sect Master Ji Wuyou organized an expedition to Hong Lin Kingdom, including Youqin Xuanya, and Li Changshou decided to send a Golden Immortal Paper Daoist to watch over her.
• A Dao rhythm told Li Changshou to go, leading him to suspect that the Hong Lin Kingdom crisis was tied to the Shang Kingdom.

Li Changshou watched Hong Lin Kingdom’s capital fall and prepared Du Xian Sect for the approaching conflict, while Youqin Xuanya rushed toward the kingdom despite her sect’s defeat and the enemy’s overwhelming force. As the Daoist Wei Immortal Sect hunted the Youqin Clan, Li Changshou secretly captured the ruler’s soul and left vengeance to Youqin.

• Li Changshou discovered that two tribes backed by the Daoist Wei Immortal Sect were overrunning Hong Lin Kingdom and arranged reinforcements for Du Xian Sect.
• After learning that Hong Lin Kingdom’s capital had fallen, Youqin Xuanya resolved to help, and Jiu Jiu and Jiu Yiyi accompanied her south.
• The enemy intercepted and captured the Du Xian Sect immortals sent ahead, then announced that Hong Lin Kingdom’s ruler was dead and demanded that Du Xian Sect yield the territory.
• Youqin Xuanya left Jiu Jiu and Jiu Yiyi and flew alone toward the capital, slipping past the enemy with an unnoticed trace of Wind Escape Dao resonance.
• Li Changshou captured the ruler’s soul as a masked female True Immortal ordered the Youqin Clan hunted throughout the palace.

Li Changshou secretly aided Youqin Xuanya as she fought through Hong Lin Kingdom to save her family, then answered her desperate call when she and her relatives were cornered. He arrived in the open, surrounded the city with talismans, and singled out the masked woman as his target.

• Li Changshou discovered that Youqin Xuanya's father had accumulated heavy karmic sin by remaining Sovereign past his Heavenly Mandate, and he secretly helped the Queen and other women escape the palace.
• Youqin Xuanya arrived at Hong Lin Kingdom, refused Li Changshou's offer to plan a safe rescue, and charged into the city to protect her family.
• Li Changshou secretly strengthened Youqin Xuanya as she fought the enemy cultivators and the masked woman, who confessed to orchestrating the kingdom's fall and killing Youqin Xuanya's father.
• Youqin Xuanya reached her mother and sister-in-law, but the masked woman injured her and unleashed poisonous insects; as Youqin Xuanya's strength failed, she discovered her sister-in-law was pregnant.
• Youqin Xuanya cried for help, and Li Changshou appeared beside her, fed her pills, filled the sky with talismans, and ordered everyone except the masked woman to seal their cultivation and meditate.

Li Changshou used the crisis in Hong Lin Kingdom to distinguish his Du Xian Sect identity from the Heavenly Court Water God, while Du Xian Sect confronted Daoist Wei Immortal Sect over its attack. The Water God arrived with Human Teaching treasures as Randeng approached, and another powerful figure was heading toward the Eastern Continent.

• Li Changshou subdued the attackers, kept the armored woman alive as a potential scapegoat, and told Youqin Xuanya to recover while he managed the aftermath.
• Ji Wuyou and Wang Fugui arrived, confronted True Lord Daoyu, and waited as both sects gathered more than seven hundred immortals; Ji Wuyou refused to yield Hong Lin Kingdom.
• Daoist Wei Zi arrived and urged Du Xian Sect to withdraw, but Ji Wuyou called for a Human Teaching expert to support them.
• Li Changshou appeared as the Heavenly Court Water God and challenged Daoist Wei Zi, who revealed that he had summoned Randeng.
• A Taiji Diagram delivered a Small Pagoda and Bronze Ruler to the Water God as Randeng approached, while a Five-Colored Divine Light sped toward the Eastern Continent.

Li Changshou confronted Randeng over a scheme against Du Xian Sect, provoking him into a fight with Kong Xuan while twisting the clash into a public humiliation. The battle ended with Randeng stripped of his treasures and frozen by Zhao Gongming, whose newly arrived treasure appeared to have broken.

• Li Changshou ignored Randeng's questions, then accused him of scheming against Du Xian Sect and questioned his loyalty to Chan Teachings.
• Kong Xuan arrived and taunted Randeng, who attacked him with his Universe Ruler; Kong Xuan caught the weapon with his Five-Colored Divine Light.
• Li Changshou struck Randeng's Spirit Coffin Treasure Lamp with his own Universe Ruler while Kong Xuan pressed the attack and took Randeng's Glazed Pagoda.
• Zhao Gongming arrived and froze Randeng beneath the power of twenty-four stars, then discovered that his treasure had broken and would not obey him.

Li Changshou, Zhao Gongming, and Kong Xuan overwhelmed Randeng, then settled the dispute with Chan Teaching after Saint Yuanshi sent Immortal Nanjixian to retrieve him. Li Changshou arranged a heavenly mandate for the child of Hong Lin Kingdom’s princess, and Kong Xuan agreed to protect the new nation.

• Kong Xuan pinned Randeng with the Five-Colored Divine Light while Zhao Gongming restrained him with the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, and Li Changshou and Zhao Gongming secretly took some of Randeng’s treasures and materials.
• Li Changshou and Zhao Gongming persuaded Kong Xuan to spare Randeng, then declared Randeng had attacked first and asked Saint Yuanshi to judge the matter.
• Saint Yuanshi sent Immortal Nanjixian to free and escort Randeng back to Jade Void Palace, and Li Changshou arranged for Daoist Wei Immortal Sect to restrain the tribes and spare Hong Lin Kingdom’s royal bloodline.
• Li Changshou’s true body and Paper Daoist separated, and the Water God invited Youqin Xuanya to consider serving the Heavenly Court, but she said she would ask her master first.
• Li Changshou granted the unborn child of Hong Lin Kingdom’s princess a mandate to found a new nation under three covenants, and Kong Xuan agreed to protect it for a hundred years.
• Li Changshou, Kong Xuan, and Zhao Gongming departed to drink together, while Youqin Xuanya wondered what she could do in the Heavenly Court.

Li Changshou drank with Zhao Gongming and Kong Xuan, discussing the Chan and Jie Teachings and Zhao Gongming’s failed courtship of Golden Light Holy Mother. Li Changshou prepared a plan for their separation, while Kong Xuan’s curiosity about relationships turned toward Xuandu.

• Zhao Gongming laughed about Randeng’s defeat, and Li Changshou explained how Randeng had worsened the conflict between the Chan and Jie Teachings.
• Zhao Gongming confessed that he and Golden Light Holy Mother were not suited to be Dao companions, then described their awkward travels and what he hoped for in a partner.
• Li Changshou argued that love and attachment could preserve one’s true self against the Dao, prompting Kong Xuan to ponder his own place within yin and yang.
• Kong Xuan asked to secretly observe Li Changshou and Yunxiao together, and Zhao Gongming nearly revealed that the Jie Teaching had two people from the first batch of humans.
• Li Changshou presented a plan for Zhao Gongming and Golden Light Holy Mother to separate, then reminded Zhao Gongming that Duobao could uncover their private affairs.
• In Tushita Palace, Xuandu put away the Taiji Diagram and wondered why the wind had begun making a clamor.

Li Changshou reflected on the approaching Investiture of the Gods calamity and sought reassurance from Teacher Taiqing about whether the Heavenly Dao could influence his choices. After helping Youqin Xuanya take her family’s souls toward the Netherworld, he was left pondering Teacher’s cryptic warning that the Heavenly Court was of utmost importance.

• Li Changshou realized Jian Di’s unborn child, Qi, would become the ancestor of the Shang Kingdom, and considered whether he could change the Investiture of the Gods calamity or would need to prepare to rescue Fairy Yunxiao.
• Youqin Xuanya’s mother led the surviving Hong Lin royal family and more than a hundred thousand followers out of the capital, laying the earliest foundations of the Shang Kingdom.
• Youqin Xuanya chose to return to Du Xian Sect, and Li Changshou took her toward the Netherworld with the souls of her father and the loyal guards.
• Youqin Xuanya explained that she had killed Yuan Qing’s cousin but chose not to pursue the remaining members of the Youqin Clan, prompting Li Changshou to admire her changed outlook.
• Zhao Gongming hurried off to discuss a breakup celebration with Golden Light Holy Mother, while Li Changshou placed the Universe Ruler and Pagoda Grandpa before the Taiji Portrait and questioned Teacher Taiqing.
• Teacher Taiqing told Li Changshou that he had changed things, that he need not doubt the Dao, and that the Heavenly Court was of utmost importance, leaving Li Changshou uncertain about the meaning.

Li Changshou and Youqin Xuanya went to the Netherworld to arrange leniency for her father, who was sentenced to suffer in the Eighteen Levels of Hell before reincarnation. As they left, Li Changshou received a mysterious vision of a chained woman pleading for help.

• Ox-Head and Horse-Face welcomed Li Changshou and Youqin Xuanya to Fengdu City after recognizing Li Changshou and receiving his seasonings.
• Li Changshou persuaded Ox-Head and Horse-Face to let Youqin Xuanya’s father endure less suffering and watch him enter the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
• The Great Judge sentenced the Lord of Hong Lin Kingdom to three thousand years of suffering after listing his many crimes.
• Youqin Xuanya knelt to bid farewell as her father accepted his fate and was lowered into the abyss.
• Li Changshou saw a vision of a chained woman who silently pleaded, “Save me.”

Li Changshou discovered that the sorrowful woman who had pleaded for help in the Netherworld was Houtu’s Seven Emotions Incarnation, Sorrow. Empress Nuwa explained that Houtu was burdened by the emotions left behind by reincarnating souls, and hinted that Li Changshou might be able to help her.

• Li Changshou sent Youqin Xuanya back to the sect, then investigated the woman’s identity and reported the matter to Zhao Gongming and Golden Light Holy Mother.
• Zhao Gongming identified the woman in Li Changshou’s portrait as Houtu, and Li Changshou confirmed her identity with the Dragon Palace.
• The Great Mage used the Taiji Diagram to investigate, found no problem with the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, and accompanied Li Changshou to the Holy Mother Palace.
• Li Changshou told Empress Nuwa what he had seen, and she explained that reincarnating souls left traces of their seven emotions inside the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, overwhelming Houtu over time.
• Empress Nuwa revealed that Sorrow, Hatred, and Desire had emerged as Houtu’s Seven Emotions Incarnations, and warned that the emergence of all seven could shatter Houtu’s will.
• Empress Nuwa suggested that Li Changshou might have ideas capable of helping Houtu and promised great merit if he could resolve the crisis.

Li Changshou and Grand Master Xuandu went to the Netherworld to investigate Houtu’s suffering and encountered her Sorrow Incarnation beneath the Eighteen Levels of Hell. The incarnation rejected their attempts to help, leaving Li Changshou to retreat without finding a solution.

• Grand Master Xuandu gave Li Changshou the Xuanhuang Pagoda, then took back the Taiji Diagram after Li Changshou mentioned asking Kong Xuan for help.
• Li Changshou pondered Houtu’s Seven Emotions Incarnations as he and Grand Master Xuandu visited Golden Ao Island, where Zhao Gongming and Golden Light Holy Mother announced they would return to being ordinary fellow disciples.
• Li Changshou and Grand Master Xuandu left the gathering and went to Fengdu City, where Li Changshou persuaded the Ten Palace Yan Jun to reveal Houtu’s circumstances.
• King Qin Guang and King Chu Jiang led Li Changshou and Grand Master Xuandu through the Eighteen Levels of Hell to meet Houtu’s Sorrow Incarnation.
• The Sorrow Incarnation lamented that existence was meaningless and refused Li Changshou’s attempts to engage her, so Li Changshou retreated.

Li Changshou and Grand Master Xuandu entered the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk to learn about Houtu and her Seven Emotions Incarnation. After seeing Houtu’s memories and confronting her evil incarnation, they discovered that another incarnation had escaped its suppression just as they reached Houtu’s hall.

• Li Changshou persuaded Grand Master Xuandu to enter the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk with him, and the two used the Taiji Diagram to get inside safely.
• They followed Houtu’s memories through the mist and learned that Grand Master Xuandu had once helped Houtu defeat Ancestor Minghe on Grand Pure One Laozi’s orders.
• Li Changshou and Grand Master Xuandu crossed Houtu’s Heart Platform, evaded attacks from her evil incarnation, and found King Chu Jiang and King Qin Guang under her control.
• The evil incarnation led them toward Houtu’s hall, but Li Changshou realized her anger and submission were too obvious for her to be acting alone.
• Grand Master Xuandu found an opened Longevity Lock as pink mist and decadent music filled the hall, revealing that another incarnation had escaped suppression.

Li Changshou resisted the Incarnation of Desire’s assault by drawing on his overwhelming need for stability and using bizarre paintings to break her Heart’s Desire attack. He found her true form, while the freed Wicked Thought Girl began transforming under a surge of black aura.

• The Incarnation of Desire’s pink mist drove King Chu Jiang and King Qin Guang into a frenzy, while the Great Mage fell asleep and left Li Changshou to face her.
• The Incarnation of Desire tried to tempt Li Changshou with power, but discovered that his strongest desire was stability, which she could not stir without empowering him.
• Li Changshou asked to meet Empress Houtu, but the Incarnation of Desire entered him and forced Heart’s Desire upon him, also affecting the Wicked Thought Girl.
• Li Changshou used paintings to resist the assault, weakened the Incarnation of Desire, and pressed his Sword Finger to her brow to enter her starry inner world.
• The Wicked Thought Girl tore apart her Eternal Life Lock, and black aura surged toward her.

Grand Master Xuandu woke to find Li Changshou battling Houtu’s Incarnations of Desire and Malice, then helped him escape and calm two possessed Yama Kings at Tear Lake. Li Changshou recounted reaching the sorrow-bound Houtu and learning how to help her, then asked the Grand Master to recruit more Daoist experts for the coming operation.

• Grand Master Xuandu awoke, subdued King Chu Jiang and King Qin Guang, and fought Houtu’s Incarnation of Malice while Li Changshou escaped with the Incarnation of Desire.
• Grand Master Xuandu and Li Changshou brought the two Yama Kings to Tear Lake, where Little Ai’s sorrow made them stop fighting and weep.
• Li Changshou told the Grand Master that he had entered the Incarnation of Desire’s mind and found Houtu trapped by her Seven Emotions.
• Li Changshou recalled that asking Houtu for help awakened her, allowing him to explain the Netherworld’s situation and receive a way to resolve it.
• Li Changshou asked the Grand Master to recruit Daoist experts, and the Grand Master agreed that they should prepare for the operation.

Li Changshou assembled experts from the Jie and Chan Teachings to help Empress Houtu suppress the Seven Emotions Incarnations in the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk. The group entered Tear Lake and discovered that even its strongest members were vulnerable to the sorrow incarnation’s influence.

• Grand Master Xuandu advised Li Changshou to recruit experts with sound Dao Hearts, and Li Changshou planned the operation for three days later.
• Li Changshou summoned the Jie Teaching’s Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and Holy Mother Jinling, who agreed to help and sent Golden Light Holy Mother to spread a separate order among Jie Teaching sects.
• Li Changshou invited Yunxiao, who joined the mission and traveled to the Netherworld.
• Grand Master Xuandu arrived with Guang Chengzi, True Lord Taiyi, and True Lord Yu Ding, and the assembled experts descended beneath the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
• At Tear Lake, the experts encountered the sorrow incarnation Little Ai, whose words affected nearly everyone; True Lord Taiyi collapsed in tears, and Duobao lamented that their happiness had faded.