Recaps

Li Changshou uncovered a rumor about Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huoling, traced it to Ksitigarbha and Diting’s meddling, and devised a staged counterattack. He left the Three Teachings’ leaders to enact the first steps while secretly preparing to constrain Ksitigarbha.

• Daoist Duobao and Zhao Gongming told Li Changshou that a rumor claimed Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huoling were together, though Golden Light Holy Mother was the one he had sheltered.
• Li Changshou asked the Great Mage to investigate Ksitigarbha and learned that Ksitigarbha’s mount, Diting, could hear thoughts across the Three Realms.
• The Great Mage brought True Person Huang Long to Luofu Cave, where Huang Long swore he had not spread the rumor and the group confirmed the supposed relationship was false.
• Li Changshou concluded that Ksitigarbha and Diting had fabricated the rumor, then asked the Jade Emperor how much Power of Heavenly Dao he could command.
• Li Changshou proposed a staged public scandal to pressure the Western Sect, and True Person Huang Long and Holy Mother Huoling left Luofu Cave acting outraged and distraught.
• Li Changshou secretly planned to use the affair to restrict Ksitigarbha’s future schemes, while a Paper Daoist followed True Person Huang Long to observe Chan Teaching.

Li Changshou used True Person Huang Long’s grievance to drive Chan Teaching and Jie Teaching toward a confrontation, while Ksitigarbha realized that someone had turned his rumor scheme into a dangerous open plot. The two groups of immortals faced one another in Central Divine Continent, leaving Ksitigarbha unable to intervene and hoping they would not fight.

• Li Changshou warned Ling'e to keep thoughts about him secret, then noticed Youqin Xuanya and her master leaving the mountain with several elders and stewards.
• Following Li Changshou’s instructions, True Person Huang Long drew Chi Jingzi’s attention and described how Jie Teaching had accused him of spreading rumors about Holy Mother Huoling and Zhao Gongming.
• Chi Jingzi gathered Chan Teaching’s immortals, and Guang Chengzi agreed to confront Jie Teaching; Randeng joined them and fueled their anger.
• Daoist Duobao led a large group of Jie Teaching immortals to meet the Chan Teaching party, and both sides stopped their clouds and prepared for battle.
• At Spirit Mountain, Ksitigarbha realized that an unknown schemer had escalated his rumor plot and feared the Saints would expose him if the two teachings fought.

Li Changshou orchestrated a staged confrontation between the Chan and Jie Teachings, which turned into a joint investigation of the rumors against Huo Ling. The Heavenly Emperor’s Virtue stele exposed a Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus as the source, and the Daoist immortals prepared to confront the Western Sect at Spirit Mountain.

• Li Changshou had Guang Chengzi and Daoist Duobao stage an escalating dispute, then steer the two teachings toward reconciliation and suspicion of a deliberate plot.
• True Person Huang Long denied spreading the rumors, and Zhao Gongming agreed that someone had tried to sow discord within the Daoist Sect.
• Grand Master Xuandu brought out the Heavenly Emperor’s Virtue stele and invited the immortals to use it to trace the rumors to their source.
• The stele revealed a Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus behind a water curtain, shocking the Daoist immortals and alarming the observers at Spirit Mountain.
• Grand Master Xuandu called for the junior disciples, while the Jie Teaching immortals followed their leaders toward Spirit Mountain; Li Changshou watched as the Taiji Diagram protected him from being traced.

Ksitigarbha waited nervously for his teacher while the Western Sect scrambled to respond to the Daoist Sect’s approach over rumors that threatened to spark a conflict. Li Changshou’s strategy guided the confrontation at Spirit Mountain, where a Western Sect Daoist accepted responsibility but was then pressed to swear that he had acted alone.

• Ksitigarbha stayed silent and trusted his teacher to protect him as the Daoist Sect’s immortals advanced toward Spirit Mountain.
• The Western Sect’s leaders agreed to pass the blame, and one of them used soul-seizing to turn a middle-aged Daoist into a proxy.
• Li Changshou advised Grand Master Xuandu and the other leaders to use the confrontation to intimidate the Western Sect while adapting to its response.
• The Daoist Sect arrived at Spirit Mountain, and Duobao and Zhao Gongming accused the Western Sect of spreading rumors to sow division.
• A middle-aged Daoist claimed responsibility, and Duobao demanded that he swear an oath to prove he had acted alone.

The Dao Sect confronted Spirit Mountain over the rumor against Zhao Gongming, and Grand Master Xuandu seized the scapegoat before he could self-destruct. Saint Zhunti intervened, settled the karma, and ordered Spirit Mountain sealed for a thousand years as the Dao Sect withdrew.

• Zhao Gongming and the Dao Sect Immortals stood together and demanded that the middle-aged Daoist prove his innocence with a Heavenly Dao Oath.
• Ksitigarbha and an old Daoist manipulated the captive into denouncing the Dao Sect and attempting to self-destruct, but Grand Master Xuandu stopped him and brought him before Zhao Gongming.
• The Dao Sect and Spirit Mountain argued over responsibility as Zhao Gongming questioned the captive, while Li Changshou warned that a Saint might appear.
• Saint Zhunti's Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree clashed with Grand Master Xuandu's Taiji Diagram, and the two treasures briefly held each other in check.
• Grand Master Xuandu pressed Saint Zhunti to address the risk of future rumors, and Zhunti ordered Spirit Mountain sealed for one thousand years.
• Saint Zhunti erased the captive and the scroll while declaring the karma settled; the Dao Sect Immortals saluted the Saint and left Spirit Mountain.

After the Three Teachings forced the Western Teachings to retreat from Spirit Mountain, Li Changshou assessed the consequences and identified Yu Ding as a hidden powerhouse. Back at Du Xian Sect, he warned Ji Wuyou about True Lord Du'e’s role in spreading rumors, then realized that Junior Sister Youqin’s mission to deal with a Peacock Demon might be more than a minor matter.

• Ksitigarbha ordered Diting to monitor the Daoist immortals, and Diting reported that the Three Teachings’ senior brothers had led the affair without the Heavenly Court Water God’s involvement.
• At Luofu Cave, Li Changshou told the Great Mage, Daoist Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and True Person Huang Long that Ksitigarbha and Diting had likely been behind the Western Teachings’ scheme.
• Li Changshou reviewed the expedition’s costs and benefits, then marked Yu Ding as a concealed expert whose Eight-Nine Profound Technique might be useful for training others.
• Li Changshou warned Ji Wuyou that True Lord Du'e had appeared on the Heavenly Emperor’s Virtue Tablet as a link in the spread of rumors, and Ji Wuyou resolved to inform his Master.
• Ji Wuyou told Li Changshou that Junior Sister Youqin and several elders had gone to the Youqin Kingdom to deal with a Peacock Demon that was killing mortals; Li Changshou stopped in surprise at the news.

Li Changshou watched Du Xian Sect and Youqin Xuanya defeat a Peacock Demon, only for Kong Xuan to arrive and demand that the number of people she had killed be settled. After Kong Xuan returned captured humans in compensation and revealed his complicated connection to the Great Mage, Li Changshou learned that Kong Xuan had not yet decided whether he belonged to Yin or Yang.

• Li Changshou observed from underground as Youqin Xuanya and Du Xian Sect Elders fought the Peacock Demon, while he considered the Immortal Dao's influence over mortal kingdoms.
• Youqin Xuanya nearly killed the Peacock Demon, but a newcomer used green light to snatch it away and transform it into a young girl.
• The newcomer summoned Li Changshou from underground, identified himself as Kong Xuan, and said he would settle his niece's killings by saving the same number of people.
• Youqin Xuanya challenged Kong Xuan's claim that killing and saving people could offset each other, but Li Changshou urged her not to provoke him.
• Kong Xuan returned with Iron Cages holding hundreds of humans and said they were tenfold compensation for the people his niece had eaten.
• Kong Xuan asked what the Great Mage had said about him, then remarked that he had yet to decide whether he belonged to Yin or Yang.

Li Changshou helped Youqin Xuanya reflect on her confrontation with Kong Xuan, teaching her to protect her sense of justice by judging the situation and choosing her methods. He then prepared to investigate the Wu Tribe’s infertility in the Netherworld, with Zhao Dezhu and Princess Longji joining him.

• After Kong Xuan departed, Li Changshou considered the expert’s attitude toward humanity and returned to counsel Youqin Xuanya.
• Li Changshou used an egg-and-stone example and a Mind Seal Mantra to teach Youqin Xuanya to uphold her convictions without endangering herself and others.
• Youqin Xuanya emerged from meditation more thoughtful, apologized to the Du Xian Sect elders for nearly placing them in danger, and set out to meet her master.
• At the Water God’s Mansion, Li Changshou decided not to speak to the Great Mage about Kong Xuan and left to report to the Jade Emperor.
• Li Changshou and the Jade Emperor discussed the Wu Tribe’s infertility; Li Changshou concluded that the cause was likely poison or an enemy’s interference and planned to investigate the Netherworld.
• The Jade Emperor assigned Zhao Dezhu to accompany Li Changshou, then agreed to let Princess Longji join the trip after Li Changshou reminded him of his promise to her.

Li Changshou brought Zhao Dezhu, Longji, and Ao Yi to inspect the Netherworld while discussing plans to recruit and train Heavenly Court soldiers. The Netherworld prepared an extravagant welcome, leaving the group to face a chilling procession of dancers and flower-bearing spirits.

• Li Changshou proposed a Heavenly Soldier Reserve Hall and presented Zhao Dezhu with plans for recruiting and training Heavenly Court troops.
• Li Changshou accepted Longji as his student, gave her a military-strategy treatise, and invited her to accompany him and Zhao Dezhu to the Netherworld.
• Li Changshou persuaded Ao Yi to leave the Dragon Clan tribute delegation briefly and join them on a trip to clear his mind.
• Li Changshou warned Ox-Head and Horse-Face that Zhao Dezhu would inspect the Netherworld, prompting them to prepare an elaborate reception.
• Ox-Head welcomed the group with drums, a Wu Tribe dance, and greeting stones before leading them out in an ox cart.
• The group encountered a procession of eerie Netherworld spirits scattering Lycoris radiata flowers as Ox-Head proudly presented the reception.

Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu visited the Netherworld, where they found no irregularities in the Wu Tribe’s reincarnation records despite the tribe’s declining births. After learning how true spirits entered fetuses, Li Changshou took Wu Tribe witnesses to investigate the cause in the Northern Continent, while a fairy on Three Immortal Island briefly mistook an arriving visitor for someone else.

• Li Changshou stopped Ox-Head and Horse-Face’s elaborate welcome and asked them to take him and Zhao Dezhu to the Netherworld’s officials.
• Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu discussed the Underworld’s shortcomings as they traveled through Fengdu City, and Ao Yi went ahead to meet Dragon Clan souls.
• Li Changshou met five of the Ten Palace Yan Jun and asked whether the Netherworld needed Heavenly Court assistance; the Yan Jun listed several problems before turning to his second matter.
• Li Changshou told the Yan Jun that the Wu Tribe was struggling to reproduce and asked whether reincarnation had been disrupted, prompting them to search their records.
• The Yan Jun found no gaps in Wu Tribe reincarnations and explained that true spirits usually entered a fetus after it had already begun developing.
• Li Changshou recruited six Wu Tribe witnesses to accompany him to the Northern Continent, while a white-robed fairy on Three Immortal Island briefly reacted to a visitor before returning to meditation.

Li Changshou investigated why Wu Tribe women across Northern Julu Continent kept losing their pregnancies and discovered that the cause might be a blood-glowing earth vein beneath their lands. He and Zhao Dezhu entered the underground rift to follow it and find whoever was behind the scheme.

• Zhao Gongming confided in Qiongxiao and Bixiao about his feelings for Junior Sister Jinguang, and Qiongxiao persuaded him to take her out despite Yunxiao's instructions.
• Li Changshou traveled to Northern Julu Continent with Zhao Dezhu, Ao Yi, Longji, Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Wu Tribe experts to investigate the tribe's abnormal reincarnation and pregnancy problems.
• Li Changshou confirmed that many recently married Wu Tribe women had unknowingly miscarried, suggesting someone was secretly inducing the losses.
• Li Changshou tested local food, water, materials, and formations, then concluded that an earth-vein formation could explain the problem across the Northern Continent.
• Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu found the bloody-glowing earth vein beneath the four major Wu Tribe clans and set off to follow it.

Li Changshou and the Jade Emperor’s incarnation, Zhao Dezhu, traced a corrupted earth vein to an underground Demon Race stronghold that was stealing the Wu Tribe’s unborn children. After discovering the trapped true spirits inside a treasured sword, Li Changshou chose to try to free them and proposed using the opportunity to strike a major blow against the Demon Race.

• Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu followed a spliced earth vein south and found a hidden formation protecting an underground demon mountain.
• Li Changshou slipped into the stronghold, planted Spirit Explosion Paper Daoists, and investigated the altar while Zhao Dezhu helped uncover its secrets.
• Li Changshou determined that the altar drew the Wu Tribe’s unborn children through the earth veins and trapped their true spirits in a sword above a pool.
• Zhao Dezhu used the Power of Heavenly Dao to reveal three old demons guarding the sword and its trapped spirits.
• Li Changshou decided to try to seize the sword and release the true spirits, then urged Zhao Dezhu to use the opportunity to proclaim the Heavenly Court’s might against the Demon Race.

Li Changshou devised a plan to lure Demon Race reinforcements to Yaosheng Mountain before taking the Witch Soul Sword and striking them with a Great Spirit Explosion. He began the operation by disguising Ao Yi as Ke Le’er to draw several demon kings into defending her, while mobilizing Paper Daoists and preparing to intervene himself.

• Li Changshou and the Jade Emperor planned to lure Demon Race reinforcements to Yaosheng Mountain, seize the Witch Soul Sword, and attack with minimal losses while establishing the Heavenly Court's justification.
• Li Changshou questioned a captured demon, learned about Yaosheng Mountain and its six demon kings, then disguised himself as a patrol demon and infiltrated Rhino Great King's cave.
• Li Changshou sent Ao Yi to settle the Wu Tribe members, then had him disguise himself as Ke Le’er and stage a rescue scene to provoke the demon kings into opposing a Heavenly Court general.
• Rhino Great King and four other demon kings arrived, each became infatuated with Ke Le’er, and they drove off Li Changshou's staged Heavenly Court general before following her into the forest.
• Li Changshou mobilized Paper Daoist forces from across the wilderness, summoned the Xuanhuang Pagoda, and prepared to serve as a backup while the next act began.

Li Changshou staged a series of Heavenly Court defeats to draw the Demon Race forces out, then joined Zhao Dezhu in seizing the Human Extermination Sword and destroying Yaosheng Mountain with spirit explosions. He saved the trapped Wu Tribe spirits by sheltering them in a river, but realized he had accidentally created the Mother-Child River.

• Li Changshou used Ke Le'er and staged three apparent Heavenly Court defeats, encouraging Demon Kings and ancient demons to gather at Yaosheng Mountain.
• Dong Mugong deployed three hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers, while Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu entered the underground formation and seized the Human Extermination Sword.
• Daoist Lu Ya attacked Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu, but Li Changshou triggered the spirit explosions that destroyed Yaosheng Mountain as Lu Ya escaped grievously injured.
• Li Changshou discovered that the sword's restrictions were destroying the Wu Tribe spirits within it, then used the Taiqing Water Virtue Chapter and his Water God power to preserve them in a river.
• Li Changshou established rules for the river so women who touched its water could conceive the spirits, then realized he had created the Mother-Child River.

The author addressed readers about Senior Brother’s success, upcoming adaptations and publication, and the pressures of writing while asking for continued support. The chapter ended with an urgent appeal for monthly votes after the book fell from second place in the rankings.

• The author said Senior Brother’s average subscriptions had risen from 24,400 to 62,400 since going premium nearly four months earlier.
• The author announced that Senior Brother’s full rights had been sold and that a simplified Chinese publication was finalized, with comic and animated adaptations expected.
• The author recalled predictions that the book would collapse before one hundred or two hundred chapters and thanked readers for supporting it.
• The author explained that he wanted to compete in the monthly rankings but would not sacrifice story quality or disrupt readers’ experience to write faster.
• The author asked readers to keep voting for Senior Brother and said the book had been overtaken after reaching second place and building a lead of more than a thousand votes.

After the Battle of Yaosheng Mountain, exhausted Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak and fell asleep under the Heaven and Earth Yellow Pagoda’s protection, while Ling'e secretly kissed him. The Jade Emperor rewarded him for his victory, and a messenger from Empress Nuwa arrived at the Heavenly Court seeking him.

• Li Changshou crossed the North Sea with Ao Yi, reflected on his gains from the battle, and arranged for Ox-Head and Horse-Face to rejoin him.
• Li Changshou showed the Wu Tribe’s Great Witch Sacrifices the Human Extermination Sword and explained the Demon Race’s scheme, then declined their offer of a reward.
• Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak, where exhaustion overcame him; Ling'e found him asleep and kissed him before fleeing in embarrassment.
• Dong Mugong told the Jade Emperor that Li Changshou needed leave to recover, and the Jade Emperor granted him double merit salary for a thousand years and other rewards.
• Bian Zhuang stopped a fairy at the Middle Heavenly Gate and learned she had come from the Holy Mother Palace under Empress Nuwa’s orders to invite the Water God.

Bian Zhuang escorted Empress Nuwa’s messenger to the Water God, while Li Changshou and Grand Master Xuandu traveled with her to Holy Mother Palace. Empress Nuwa dismissed Xuandu and began questioning Li Changshou, opening with a pointed question about why Ke Zhen'e’s younger sister was named Ke Le'er instead of Han Xiaoying.

• Bian Zhuang recognized the messenger’s authority and detoured past Tushita Palace to alert others before taking her to the Water God’s Mansion.
• Grand Master Xuandu startled Li Changshou awake, triggering his mountain’s traps and weapons before escorting him to meet the messenger.
• Li Changshou disguised his true appearance and joined the messenger and Xuandu on a cloud boat bound for Holy Mother Palace.
• Dong Mugong delivered gifts from the Jade Emperor for Empress Nuwa, and the party traveled beyond the Five Continents to her palace.
• Empress Nuwa sent Xuandu away so she could speak with Li Changshou alone, explained that she had not summoned him over the Demon Race, and asked why Ke Zhen'e’s younger sister was called Ke Le'er rather than Han Xiaoying.

Li Changshou tried to understand why Empress Nuwa tested him with references to Han Xiaoying, a famous poem, and a nursery rhyme, while concealing his past-life origins. He concluded that Nuwa might be searching for an earlier person who had brought Blue Star culture into the Primordial Wilderness, and then she appeared in the main hall.

• Empress Nuwa asked Li Changshou whether he knew Han Xiaoying, and he explained that Ke Zhen'e was a name he had chosen for a scheme at Yaosheng Mountain.
• Nuwa asked Li Changshou to continue a line about the Yellow River, and he offered a version based on the river's course through the Southern Continent.
• Nuwa supplied the line's original continuation, and Li Changshou recognized it as poetry from his previous life.
• Nuwa hummed “Twinkle, twinkle, little star,” then sent Li Changshou to the front hall while saying she would question him further later.
• Li Changshou reasoned that Nuwa might be investigating an earlier person who had introduced Blue Star culture to her, rather than sharing his own origins.
• Grand Master Xuandu warned Li Changshou not to repeat something he had said, and Empress Nuwa appeared in the main hall.

Li Changshou met Empress Nuwa, who exposed that he came from another world and trapped him in her private pavilion. She spared him on the condition that he write stories for her, and their conversation revealed more about the Primordial Wilderness’s hidden past.

• Empress Nuwa told Li Changshou that she had promised to protect Lu Ya, but would allow the Heavenly Court to kill him if he obstructed its affairs again.
• Nuwa tricked Li Changshou with a brocade box and isolated him from Grand Master Xuandu, then revealed that she knew he came from elsewhere.
• Nuwa summoned Li Changshou to her pavilion and demanded that he write original stories in exchange for not punishing him for deceiving her.
• Li Changshou learned that an unknown person had manipulated Nuwa and the War of the Ancients in an attempt to become a Sage, but had been erased.
• Nuwa told Li Changshou that Kunpeng remained alive at the edge of the Chaos Sea and that she protected Lu Ya because she had been close friends with his mother.

After receiving a trove of treasure materials from Nuwa, Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak and reconsidered his path, deciding to strengthen his own foundations rather than rely on protection alone. A month later, he began revising the peak’s defenses, while the Demon Race debated how to answer the Heavenly Court’s attack and resolved to appeal to Nuwa.

• Nuwa rewarded Li Changshou with rare Five Elements materials after he supplied her with comics, and the Great Mage escorted him back toward the Du Xian Sect.
• Li Changshou secluded himself in a hidden chamber on Lesser Qiong Peak and reflected on the Heavenly Dao, the Sages, and the need to establish a path of his own.
• After a month of recovery, Li Changshou told Ling'e he would keep Lesser Qiong Peak in place for now and planned extensive changes to its formations and surroundings.
• Ling'e admitted she had sentenced herself to copy the Steady Character Scripture and asked Li Changshou whether she could become pregnant; he reassured her that holding hands and kissing could not cause it.
• More than three hundred Demon Kings, ancient experts, and Demon Race Elders failed to devise a counterattack, until an old woman urged them to ask Nuwa to punish Li Changshou.

Li Changshou finished fortifying Lesser Qiong Peak and arranged for his master, Qi Yuan, to become a mountain god in the Heavenly Court, shielding him with the Water God’s influence. Qi Yuan returned to the sect bewildered but protected, while the Matchmaker began checking his marriage fate.

• Qi Yuan woke to find Li Changshou’s Paper Daoists renovating Lesser Qiong Peak, and Ling'e reassured him that the work had official approval and was meant to protect the peak.
• After a month of seclusion, Qi Yuan found the peak concealed by illusion techniques, and Li Changshou gave him a talisman and invited him to register as a Heavenly Court mountain god.
• Li Changshou accompanied Qi Yuan to the Eastern Heavenly Gate, where Longji escorted Qi Yuan through the Heavenly Court’s procedures and helped him obtain a mountain deity post covering the area around Du Xian Sect.
• Dong Mugong, acting on the Jade Emperor’s orders, escorted Qi Yuan back toward his jurisdiction with Heavenly Soldiers and Generals before Qi Yuan returned to Lesser Qiong Peak.
• Li Changshou revealed to Qi Yuan that he was the Water God and told him to carry the talisman and consult him before going out; Qi Yuan struggled to make sense of the revelation.
• The Matchmaker went to the Back Hall to check Qi Yuan’s marriage fate and consider arranging a match if he found an opportunity.

Li Changshou reviewed his preparations for the Investiture of the Gods and planned how to save people without drawing the Heavenly Dao’s wrath. Meanwhile, Zhao Gongming uncovered a secret meeting between Western Sect members and demon experts, then staged a collapse to infiltrate their gathering.

• Li Changshou reflected on his strengthened defenses at Lesser Qiong Peak, his plans to protect the Daoist sects, and the limits of opposing the Heavenly Dao.
• Li Changshou considered sending Ling'e out to gain experience and studied his plan for calculating how much he could alter events during the Investiture of the Gods.
• Qiongxiao tried to push Zhao Gongming into overcoming his hesitation about Junior Sister Jinguang by bringing him to Tianya Pavilion, but he left without accepting her plan.
• Zhao Gongming detected two Spirit Mountain old Daoists meeting with demon experts, listened to their conversation, and summoned Qiongxiao to follow them.
• Zhao Gongming approached the meeting island and pretended his old injury had flared up, collapsing in front of the young Daoist and the two old Daoists.

Li Changshou learned that the Western Teachings and ancient Demon Race had secretly met to scheme against the Heavenly Court, then discovered Ksitigarbha had been involved in the encounter with Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao. He urged them to pursue Ksitigarbha and destroy his divine soul.

• Ksitigarbha and Dilong escaped with two fellow disciples after Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao confronted them, and Ksitigarbha resolved to keep scheming against the Daoist schools.
• Li Changshou and Jiu Wu secretly observed Li Jing receiving warm care from an elderly couple at Du Xian Sect.
• Bian Zhuang told Li Changshou that Western Teachings disciples and ancient Demon Kings had met at a Tianya Pavilion branch to discuss harming him and sowing discord.
• Li Changshou used an agreed ocarina signal to contact Daoist Wen Jing, who understood that Spirit Mountain would suspend communication for another hundred years.
• Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao visited Li Changshou and confirmed that the Western Teachings had met with ancient demons; Qiongxiao identified their white-robed opponent as Ksitigarbha.
• Li Changshou urged Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao to pursue Ksitigarbha and destroy his divine soul.

Li Changshou, Zhao Gongming, and Qiongxiao pursued Ksitigarbha but encountered Kong Xuan, whose Five-Colored Divine Light clashed with Zhao Gongming’s Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. After they reconciled and visited Kong Xuan’s hidden island, he asked Li Changshou to help the Phoenix Clan, and Li Changshou agreed to consider it.

• Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao helped Li Changshou track Ksitigarbha’s trail through the Southern Sea.
• Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao fought Kong Xuan until Li Changshou stopped the clash and learned that Ksitigarbha had already left the Five Continents.
• Li Changshou calmed Zhao Gongming and Kong Xuan, and Kong Xuan invited them to his hidden island.
• Kong Xuan explained that he sensed an opportunity for the Phoenix Clan, and Zhao Gongming and Qiongxiao described Li Changshou’s influence and connections.
• Kong Xuan asked Li Changshou to help the Phoenix Clan, and Li Changshou promised to consider his request and help wholeheartedly.

Li Changshou helped Kong Xuan devise a plan for the Phoenix Clan to gain a foothold by protecting the future human sovereign and becoming his totem. Afterward, he helped Zhao Gongming pursue Golden Light Holy Mother, only to be caught watching their meeting alongside a crowd of Jie Teaching immortals when Yunxiao’s warning presence made the spectators tremble.

• Kong Xuan explained that the Phoenix Clan needed to preserve its bloodline and recover Destiny, and Li Changshou proposed that it protect the future human sovereign and become his totem.
• Kong Xuan agreed to Li Changshou’s conditions: he would not interfere excessively when the dynasty fell and would aid endangered Heavenly Court soldiers and generals.
• Li Changshou, Zhao Gongming, and Qiongxiao left Peacock Island, and Zhao Gongming decided to try becoming Dao companions with Golden Light Holy Mother.
• Qiongxiao went ahead to sound out Golden Light Holy Mother while Li Changshou prepared a scroll of advice for Zhao Gongming.
• Zhao Gongming met Golden Light Holy Mother at Ao Yi’s cultivation grounds as Duobao and Jie Teaching immortals watched from hidden earthen caves, and Li Changshou was pulled into a viewing spot.
• Li Changshou prepared to escape when he feared Yunxiao might discover the spectators, but her soft snort made the Jie Teaching immortals tremble.