Recaps

Li Changshou explored the Heavenly Dao’s imprints and witnessed Pangu God’s creation of the Primordial World, learning how Senior Lang and Hongjun Daoist had been present at its beginning. The final imprint revealed Pangu God’s choice to disperse himself so later beings could freely follow their own paths, leaving Li Changshou overwhelmed with sorrow.

• Li Changshou discovered an imprint of Senior Lang speaking with Pangu God in the Chaos Sea and learned that Pangu was cultivating the Great Daos before creating Heaven and Earth.
• Li Changshou witnessed Pangu God form the Heaven-Opening Axe and battle the Chaos Gods and Demons, freeing true spirits as he advanced.
• Li Changshou saw Pangu God spare Hongjun and then begin creating Heaven and Earth, confirming that Senior Lang and Hongjun had witnessed the event.
• Li Changshou watched Pangu God explain to Senior Lang that he would disperse his consciousness so the new world’s beings could choose their own paths.
• Li Changshou witnessed Pangu God’s body transform into parts of the world and saw the Three Pure Ones emerge before the imprint ended.

After decades of secluded cultivation, Li Changshou returned from Xuandu City and shared part of his past with Yunxiao while Kunpeng plotted to lure him into the Chaos Sea. Back at Taibai Palace, Li Changshou prepared to oversee the Shang Tribe’s founding, while Ling'e misunderstood his mention of visiting his hometown as a sign of marriage plans.

• Li Changshou emerged from seventy or eighty years of cultivation in Xuandu City, thanked Yunxiao and the others for guarding him, and learned that the Three Realms had remained largely peaceful.
• Li Changshou refused the Universe Ruler, warned Great Mage not to engage with Kunpeng, and said he had an eighty percent chance of handling the danger tied to Kunpeng’s possessions.
• Li Changshou inspected the Three Realms on his journey back, then played Go with Yunxiao and told her that he had been a mortal in another life before joking that he would explain more after marriage.
• Kunpeng, frustrated that Li Changshou had not come to the Chaos Sea, prepared a scheme involving summoned female figures to exploit what he suspected was Li Changshou’s weakness.
• Three months later, Li Changshou watched Yang Jian’s battles at Taibai Palace and set out to oversee the Shang Tribe’s founding, while Ling'e imagined names for their future children after he mentioned visiting his hometown.

Li Changshou arranged Heavenly Court’s auspicious signs for the founding of Shang Kingdom and watched Tang Tian Yi receive the mandate of Heaven. As he prepared to greet Jiu Jiu, an inner demon approached her, but the Seven Emotions Girl pulled it out before he could intervene.

• Li Changshou sent a Heavenly General to summon Princess Longji and spoke with Dong Mugong about Western Teachings’ efforts against the Immortal Alliance and Heavenly Court.
• Princess Longji joined Quan Tong, Ao Yi, Bian Zhuang, and Li Changshou as the Heavenly Court procession departed to bless Shang Kingdom’s founding ceremony.
• Li Changshou and Kong Xuan created celestial signs as Tang Tian Yi completed the Heaven-worship ceremony and received a Human Emperor Seal from Longji.
• The founding ceremony brought Shang Kingdom under Heavenly Dao’s protection, strengthened Human Race Destiny, and established Heavenly Court’s influence over the mortal world.
• Outside the capital, Jiu Jiu lamented that she could not see Li Changshou, while the Seven Emotions Girl teased her about her feelings.
• An inner demon crept toward Jiu Jiu, but the Seven Emotions Girl noticed it and dragged the shadow out before Li Changshou could act.

Li Changshou captured Mei Wenhua, a Heavenly Demon sent by Kunpeng, and used an illusion shaped by Seven Emotions to make her doubt her nature. The experiment unexpectedly transformed Mei Wenhua into a radiant Spirit Body who vowed to save the other Heavenly Demons.

• Mei Wenhua recalled how she infiltrated the Primordial World to approach Grand White Gold Star before Li Changshou seized her.
• Li Changshou questioned Mei Wenhua inside a Seven Emotions Illusionary Realm, making her wonder whether she was truly a Heavenly Demon.
• Jiu Jiu waited outside the array as Ao Yi reprimanded Bian Zhuang for staring at her, while Quan Tong arrived to speak with Li Changshou.
• Mei Wenhua underwent a sudden transformation as white light purified the black aura around her and the Power of Heavenly Dao stabilized her new form.
• Mei Wenhua declared that she would save the other Heavenly Demons from deception, leaving Li Changshou and the gathered immortals stunned.

Li Changshou discovered that his persuasion had transformed the heavenly demon Mei Wenhua into a Heavenly Dao-protected spiritual being whose heart held compassion for the Outer Realm Demons. He arranged for Kong Xuan to assist the Great Mage at Xuandu City, then decided to take Mei Wenhua to Huoyun Cave to consult the Human Race's Ancient Sages.

• Li Changshou explained how Mei Wenhua's self-denial under the Power of Seven Emotions had caused the Primordial World to assimilate her, while Little Ai confirmed that the heavenly demon's heart held sincere Good Thoughts.
• Li Changshou and Quan Tong arranged for the Heavenly Court to guard Shang Kingdom so Kong Xuan could go to Xuandu City and help the Great Mage.
• Li Changshou asked Grand Pure Sage for permission to send Kong Xuan, and Grand Pure Sage sent her two Nine-Revolutions Spirit Pills.
• Li Changshou gave Kong Xuan a jade talisman containing He-Dream-Connect and several games to take to Xuandu City.
• Little Ai shattered Mei Wenhua's Dao heart, revealing her wish to free the Outer Realm Demons from the Heavenly Demon Venerable's control.
• Li Changshou decided to take Mei Wenhua to Huoyun Cave so the Human Race's Ancient Sages could consider how to resolve the Outer Realm Demons.

Li Changshou brought Mei Wenhua, a transformed Heavenly Demon, to Huoyun Cave in hopes that she could suppress Suiren Clan’s Demonic Qi, while confiding in Jiu Jiu about his feelings for Ling'e. Kunpeng learned that Mei Wenhua’s nature had been reversed and began rousing other forces as Li Changshou discussed a plan to lure him near Xuandu City.

• Li Changshou protected the weeping Mei Wenhua and traveled toward Huoyun Cave, intending to ask the Human Emperors whether she could help Suiren Clan.
• While escorting Jiu Jiu toward Lin Tian Hall, Li Changshou admitted that he feared changing his relationship with Ling'e and considered sending her to Nuwa Palace to gain distance and perspective.
• Jiu Jiu urged Li Changshou to act decisively toward Ling'e, and he thanked her before turning his attention back to Huoyun Cave.
• The Heavenly Demon Venerable told Kunpeng that Mei Wenhua’s Dao had been reversed, and Kunpeng ordered the remaining three Pseudo-Spirits to act quickly.
• Kunpeng decided to wake the escapees who had avoided the Great Tribulation, while Li Changshou, Emperor Da Yu, Emperor Xuanyuan, and the Fuxi Clan discussed luring Kunpeng near Xuandu City and capturing him.

Li Changshou and the retired Human Emperors devised a scheme to lure Kunpeng with a fabricated ninth strand of Primordial Violet Qi, then discussed whether Mei Wenhua could help ease Suiren Clan’s demonic affliction. The chapter leaves the Dao Ancestor watching their conversation and wondering whether Li Changshou had guessed something important.

• Li Changshou met with Fuxi Clan, Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, and Emperor Da Yu in Huoyun Cave to discuss how to trap Kunpeng, whose greed and caution made him difficult to lure.
• Fuxi Clan and Li Changshou proposed spreading a false rumor that a ninth strand of Primordial Violet Qi remained in the Purple Cloud Palace, using the Human Emperors and the Heavenly Court to make the bait convincing.
• Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan agreed to help spread the rumor through his family, while the group considered how to keep Kunpeng from escaping with his extreme speed.
• Li Changshou learned that Suiren Clan’s repeated suppression of demonic energy was draining his origin, then presented Mei Wenhua and explained how he had reversed her demonic transformation.
• The Human Emperors agreed to gather their fellows to discuss whether Mei Wenhua could help Suiren Clan, while the Dao Ancestor watched Li Changshou through a Heavenly Dao display and wondered if he had guessed the truth.

Li Changshou struggled with his doubts about the Heavenly Dao after seeing the suffering of Suiren Clan, while Ling'e comforted him on Lesser Qiong Peak. He continued preparing a trap for Kunpeng, and the chapter ended with the awakened Suiren Clan asking who he was.

• Ling'e sat by the lake imagining a life close to Li Changshou until he appeared, weary and troubled, and asked her to stay with him.
• Li Changshou told Ling'e that seeing Suiren Clan suffering under demonic erosion and Heavenly Dao suppression had shaken him; Ling'e urged him to remember his ambition to change the world for the weak.
• Li Changshou spent three days before his master's Spirit Tablet while Mei Wenhua purified Suiren Clan, who eventually awakened and rose from the magma lake.
• Li Changshou returned to his hidden chamber and refined his plan to lure and deal with Kunpeng, using the ninth strand of Primordial Violet Qi as bait.
• Suiren Clan spoke to Li Changshou's Paper Daoist, and Li Changshou greeted him as a Taiqing disciple and human Qi Refiner.

Li Changshou met Suiren Clan in Huoyun Cave and discussed the Human Race, the Heavenly Court, and plans against Kunpeng. After Emperor Xuanyuan requested a divine post for Bai Jian and revealed why Suiren Clan remained in the world, Li Changshou learned where three other Heavenly Demons were hiding.

• Li Changshou met Suiren Clan beneath the lake and learned that the Human Emperor relied on Demonic Qi to survive, though Mei Wenhua's ability to tame Outer Realm Demons eased his condition.
• Li Changshou discussed the Jade Emperor and the Human Race's place in the world with Suiren Clan, Emperor Xuanyuan, and Emperor Da Yu, then began planning the scheme against Kunpeng with the retired Human Emperors.
• At the Reincarnation Pagoda, Maitreya discussed Heavenly Dao and Spirit Mountain with Ksitigarbha, then left while vowing to settle his personal grievance with Li Changshou.
• Emperor Xuanyuan asked Li Changshou to secure Bai Jian a divine post, and Li Changshou promised to raise the request with the Jade Emperor.
• Emperor Xuanyuan told Li Changshou that Suiren Clan remained ready to defend the Human Race if the Heavenly Dao threatened it again.
• Li Changshou asked Mei Wenhua to locate the other Heavenly Demons, and she identified the directions of Mei Bing, Mei Qing, and Mei Xian.

Li Changshou prepared his plans to eliminate Kunpeng, warned Lin Tian Hall about the Outer Realm Demons, and recruited Lord Tongtian to join the ambush. Lord Tongtian agreed to help, but asked to use Kunpeng’s speed to pursue the Chaos Bell.

• Li Changshou brought Mei Wenhua to the Heavenly Court, placed her under surveillance in Taibai Palace, and then discussed the Kunpeng matter with the Jade Emperor.
• Jiu Jiu returned safely to Lin Tian Hall, where Bai Ze warned the leaders that Outer Realm Demons served Kunpeng and gave them protective jade talismans.
• Li Changshou consulted Taishang Laojun about improving Jin Peng’s speed and organized five teams to pursue and intercept Kunpeng.
• Li Changshou visited Biyou Palace and asked Lord Tongtian to personally help ambush Kunpeng.
• Lord Tongtian agreed to join the plan on the condition that he could use Kunpeng’s speed to help catch the Chaos Bell, and Li Changshou accepted.

Li Changshou prepared for the coming confrontation with Kunpeng, refined Jin Peng’s flight-enhancing Saddle Gear, and sent Bian Zhuang to handle secret errands. During a field test in the Chaos Sea, Jin Peng discovered a mysterious realm resembling Kunpeng’s cave mansion, and Li Changshou ordered him to observe it cautiously.

• Li Changshou expanded his preparations for directing Lord Tongtian and considered using Bian Zhuang to carry out confidential tasks.
• Lingzhu Zi worried that Li Changshou no longer valued him, but Li Changshou declined to give him an assignment when Bian Zhuang arrived with a secret message.
• Li Changshou tested Laojun’s Saddle Gear on Jin Peng in the Chaos Sea and found that it greatly increased Jin Peng’s speed, though it consumed valuable materials.
• Jin Peng asked to test all the gear together, then reported finding a distant realm with complete Dao-law fluctuations and a layout resembling Kunpeng’s cave mansion.
• Li Changshou told Jin Peng not to investigate the realm and ordered him to watch it from afar, flee at any sign of movement, and avoid fighting.

Li Changshou led a large group of immortals to a hidden Chaos Sea stronghold filled with ancient fugitives, suspecting it was one of Kunpeng’s bases. He sealed the stronghold and fought its occupants alone to test his combat strength, leaving the encirclement closing around him as the battle continued.

• Jin Peng discovered a hidden stronghold in the Chaos Sea, and Li Changshou gathered Jie Teaching, Chan Teaching, Heavenly Court, and Human Race allies to investigate it.
• Daoist Duobao secretly examined the cave mansion and revealed more than a dozen ancient fugitives inside, including Jiu Ying.
• Li Changshou asked the immortals to encircle the stronghold, handed command to Daoist Duobao, and entered alone with the Lesser God-Slaying Spear.
• Li Changshou used the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda to trap the fugitives and fought them with the Eight-Nine Profound Technique.
• Li Changshou killed several enemies and gradually improved his fighting technique while the immortals tightened their encirclement around the pagoda.

Li Changshou subdued the demons who had entered the Primordial Wilderness, but the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife unexpectedly turned on him. After capturing the survivors, he and the immortals struggled to interrogate them until the Jie Teaching fairies used their own methods to make several demons agree to talk.

• Li Changshou fought the demons beneath the Xuanhuang Pagoda and used the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife, which abruptly attacked him before he sealed it away.
• Li Changshou used the Taiji Diagram to bind the remaining demons, then brought them and the gourd into the void for questioning.
• Bai Ze recognized Marshal Jiu Ying, but the captured demons refused to share information about Kunpeng or the Chaos Sea.
• After the other immortals failed to get answers, Yunxiao used the Primordial Golden Dou to strip three demons of their cultivation, while Holy Mother Jinling killed one and frightened others into offering information.
• Holy Mother Guiling and Holy Mother Wudang also confronted their captives, and the Jie Teaching fairies left several demons ready to reveal what they knew.

Li Changshou recruited Dao Sect experts for a plan to lure and capture Kunpeng with fabricated Primordial Violet Qi, then began assigning secret preparations across the Heavenly Court and allied factions. The chapter ended with him ordering Bai Ze to dismantle Yi’s Spirit Fragment or destroy it if it remained unresponsive.

• After the Dao Sect experts discussed Kunpeng’s threat, Li Changshou revealed his plan to lure Kunpeng with a forged strand of Primordial Violet Qi and gained their support.
• Li Changshou explained the risks and timing of the operation, while the experts agreed to participate and Lord Tongtian’s support helped bolster the plan.
• Li Changshou asked True Person Huang Long to deliver a prepared letter to Guang Chengzi and urged him not to let factional discord divide the Daoist sects.
• At Taibai Palace, Li Changshou sent Jin Peng to meet Mei Bing, Mei Qing, and Mei Xian, and assigned Bian Zhuang and Ao Yi to gather information and prepare channels for spreading news.
• Li Changshou sent Lingzhu Zi to invite Fairy Heng'e for a drink, then brought Bai Ze aside and ordered him to dismantle Yi’s Spirit Fragment or destroy it if it did not respond.

Li Changshou used Heng'e’s memories and Xiong Lingli’s Wu Tribe dance to restore Great Witch Yi’s consciousness, securing his agreement to lend the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife. He then advanced his plan to lure Kunpeng by spreading rumors that a ninth strand of Primordial Violet Qi would appear, leaving the great powers mobilizing as he prepared for Xuandu City.

• Li Changshou invited Heng'e to Taibai Palace and asked her to help awaken Great Witch Yi’s spirit, which had been sealed inside the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife.
• Heng'e’s prayer dance failed to move Great Witch Yi, but Xiong Lingli’s Wu Tribe dance revived his consciousness and reminded him of his wife, Iron Hammer.
• Great Witch Yi agreed to let Li Changshou use the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife in exchange for freedom and a chance at reincarnation in a thousand years.
• Li Changshou began spreading rumors that a ninth strand of Primordial Violet Qi would appear, hoping to deter lesser Qi Refiners and keep the great powers focused on the coming conflict.
• Strange signs and rumors stirred Huoyun Cave and the wider Primordial Wilderness, while Li Changshou confirmed that Kunpeng had heard the news and accelerated the division of the Heavenly Demons.
• Li Changshou prepared to go to Xuandu City to arrange formations, unaware that a greater force was enclosing him and the world.

Li Changshou and the Heavenly Court set a trap involving a supposed Primordial Violet Qi to draw Kunpeng out, while rumors spread across the Primordial Wilderness. The chapter ended with Kunpeng deciding to go to the Primordial Wilderness despite suspecting a trap.

• True Lord Du'e listened as Qi Refiners speculated that the ninth strand of Primordial Violet Qi would appear and might be destined for Taibai Star Lord, then left with Zheng Lun as their remarks stirred further rumors.
• Li Changshou met Youqin Xuanya, gave her Paper Daoist Incarnations and a protective jade pendant, and encouraged her to follow her convictions while serving in the Heavenly Court.
• Li Changshou and Quan Tong observed the staged phenomena near Huoyun Cave, then traveled with Bai Ze and the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird toward Xuandu City.
• Li Changshou told Quan Tong that the transformed heavenly demons could serve as a backup lure to force Kunpeng to rescue the Heavenly Demon Venerable in the Chaos Sea.
• At Spirit Mountain, Daoist Wen Jing and the others received orders to spread claims that the Primordial Violet Qi was part of a Heavenly Court scheme.
• Kunpeng heard a warning that the invitation might be a trap but decided that this was his final chance and that he would go to the Primordial Wilderness.

Li Changshou spent years arranging a trap at Xuandu City while rumors about a ninth strand of Primordial Violet Qi drew experts across the Primordial Wilderness. When his plan lured Kunpeng toward a fake strand, the real Primordial Violet Qi suddenly appeared and headed for Xuandu City as well.

• Li Changshou and the Dao Sect experts strengthened Xuandu City's defenses while Maitreya's move in the Southern Sea reached Li Changshou through his Paper Daoist.
• Li Changshou used rumors, Heavenly Court denials, and Grand Master Xuandu's demon-battle broadcasts to direct attention toward Huoyun Cave and Xuandu City over the following years.
• Li Changshou and Quan Tong waited in hiding as the planned disturbance began at Huoyun Cave, where a fake Primordial Violet Qi burst apart and violet light appeared to flee toward Xuandu City.
• Li Changshou explained that another fake strand had been released by Jin Peng, and Zhao Gongming, Holy Mother Jinling, and Holy Mother Wudang pursued it to make Kunpeng believe it was real.
• A genuine Sphere of Light containing Primordial Violet Qi appeared from a tranquil void and sped toward Xuandu City, prompting two Western Teaching elders and the gaunt old Daoist at Taiqing Temple to vanish toward it.
• A great figure in the Chaos Sea watched the real strand's appearance and wondered when Little Geng Geng would begin, while the chapter left Li Changshou's trap and Kunpeng's response unresolved.

Li Changshou’s trap for Kunpeng unraveled when a genuine Primordial Violet Qi appeared and flew toward him, forcing him to improvise as Kunpeng attacked Xuandu City. He survived the beast’s strike, while Lord Tongtian was held off by Jieyin and Zhunti, and Yunxiao charged at Kunpeng with the Qingping Sword.

• The genuine Primordial Violet Qi appeared in Xuandu City, drawing dozens of Primordial Wilderness experts into a fight as Li Changshou realized the Dao Ancestor might be testing him.
• Li Changshou revealed himself and let the violet qi pursue him, drawing the experts’ attacks while searching for Kunpeng and activating the Five-Elements Yin-Yang Grand Array.
• Kunpeng emerged and swallowed nearly half of Xuandu City, but Lord Tongtian arrived to intercept him and was blocked by Zhunti and Jieyin.
• Li Changshou’s allies attacked Kunpeng, while he secretly told Zhao Gongming he was safe and asked him to stop Yunxiao and Lord Tongtian from being injured.
• Yunxiao seized the Qingping Sword and rushed toward Kunpeng, and Zhao Gongming hesitated to stop her as she charged with fierce killing intent.

Li Changshou fought Kunpeng from inside its body while Yunxiao and the Dao Sect experts attacked from outside, but Kunpeng escaped in the form of a giant fish. Yunxiao pursued it until Li Changshou burst free, and she collapsed into his arms, telling him she was there.

• Yunxiao and the Dao Sect experts wounded Kunpeng while Li Changshou fought his way through its body toward its Primordial Spirit.
• Li Changshou poisoned Kunpeng’s blood, confronted its Primordial Spirit, and battled it with the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife and his treasures.
• Kunpeng sacrificed most of its magical power to escape as a giant fish, and Yunxiao chased after it with the Qingping Sword despite exhausting herself.
• Yunxiao repeatedly struck the Kun Fish until Li Changshou burst out of its back, then she lost consciousness in his arms and whispered, “I’m here.”

Yunxiao recovered in Kunpeng’s hidden lair as Li Changshou explained his confrontation with Kunpeng and uncovered a secret chamber in the Kun Fish’s heart. Inside, they found a message from Senior Lang meant for a fellow townsman, along with an ark whose purpose left Li Changshou wondering whether Kunpeng himself was the vessel.

• Yunxiao awoke in Kunpeng’s lair, reunited with Li Changshou, and learned that Kunpeng had absorbed the Primordial Violet Qi into his Primordial Spirit.
• Li Changshou questioned Kunpeng about Senior Lang, then inferred that Lang’s secret chamber was hidden inside Kunpeng’s heart meridian.
• Li Changshou and Yunxiao reached the sealed stone door, which recognized Li Changshou’s human race aura and tested him with questions from his past life.
• Li Changshou answered enough questions to open the door and read Senior Lang’s farewell message, which mentioned gifts, Pangu Origin Essence Blood, a disciple, and an ark.
• Li Changshou decided to scout the treasure vault with Paper Daoists and wondered whether Kunpeng was the ark Senior Lang had left behind.

Li Changshou discovered that Senior Lang had secretly turned Kunpeng into the unconscious control system of a transformed ark and claimed the ark as its new master. As Li Changshou and Yunxiao remained lost in the Chaos Sea, three Sages gathered at Xuandu City, where Laozi intervened against Jieyin and Zhunti before vanishing.

• Paper Daoist found Senior Lang’s records explaining that Kunpeng’s Second Nascent Soul was a control system that had made Kunpeng Senior Lang’s puppet.
• Li Changshou used the jade talisman and shouted the activation phrase, triggering Kunpeng’s transformation into an enormous armored ark and gaining the option to become its master.
• Li Changshou questioned the ark’s system, then reflected on Senior Lang’s resistance to Heaven and prepared to destroy the ark if it proved dangerous.
• Outside Xuandu City, Bai Ze, Holy Mother Jinling, Daoist Duobao, and others worried that Li Changshou and Yunxiao were missing in the Chaos Sea.
• Lord Tongtian faced Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti, then Laozi appeared and halted the three Sages’ clashing Great Daos before Jieyin and Zhunti departed.

Li Changshou spent decades in the Chaos Sea studying Kunpeng and Senior Lang’s safeguards, then used Primordial Violet Qi to show Yunxiao a vision of Zhao Gongming’s coming calamity. The two returned toward the Primordial Wilderness with the danger still unresolved and the vision weighing on them.

• Li Changshou investigated Kunpeng’s Primordial Spirit and worried that the Dao Ancestor had arranged for Primordial Violet Qi to make Kunpeng a tool of Heavenly Dao.
• Pagoda Grandpa told Li Changshou that his teacher had visited, and Li Changshou continued studying Kunpeng with Yunxiao over the following decades.
• Bai Ze reassured the Dao Sect immortals that Li Changshou and Yunxiao were safe, while the Heavenly Court publicly praised their pursuit of Kunpeng.
• Li Changshou discovered that Primordial Violet Qi could be fused with Kunpeng’s ark control instead of its personality, making it a key to the Gate of Heavenly Dao.
• After Yunxiao took control of Kunpeng for the return journey, Li Changshou showed her a vision of Zhao Gongming badly wounded amid a battlefield.
• Yunxiao and Li Changshou feared that Heavenly Dao might steer events toward Zhao Gongming’s calamity, and Li Changshou repeated Zhao Gongming’s furious curses from the vision.

After returning from the Chaos Sea, Li Changshou discovered that Western Teachings had exploited his absence to destabilize the Heavenly Court and impersonate him. He began organizing a response while warning Zhao Gongming about a possible future calamity, then received an urgent summons to Purple Cloud Palace over the Primordial Violet Qi.

• Zhao Gongming tested Li Changshou’s identity when he and Yunxiao arrived, then explained that an impostor had caused three major disasters during Li Changshou’s absence.
• Li Changshou surveyed the Five Continents and found conflicts raging, Heavenly Court weakened, and the Sea God Cult’s temples destroyed as Western Teachings’ influence grew.
• Li Changshou urged Zhao Gongming to move to Three Immortal Island until the Investiture of the Gods calamity passed, but Zhao Gongming chose instead to enter secluded cultivation in Luofu Cave.
• Li Changshou contacted the Jade Emperor and Wood Duke, learned that Taiqing had badly injured Saint Zhunti, and began arranging Heavenly Court’s recovery and retaliation.
• As Li Changshou entered the Five Continents with Yunxiao and Zhao Gongming, his Dao heart warned him to hurry to Purple Cloud Palace and explain the loss of the Primordial Violet Qi.

Li Changshou hurried to Purple Heaven Palace to answer for refusing the Primordial Violet Qi and sparing Kunpeng, then persuaded Dao Ancestor Hongjun that he had acted to protect the Dao Sect. Hongjun let him go and promised him freedom after he helped establish order in the Three Realms, but his final question left Li Changshou wary.

• Li Changshou left Yunxiao on Three Immortal Island and flew toward Purple Heaven Palace, where Quan Tong offered to accompany him and urged him not to contradict Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
• On Three Immortal Island, Yunxiao warned the island’s cultivators to avoid leaving during the tribulation, while Zhao Gongming abruptly departed for Biyou Palace after hearing that Jin Ling had taken a handsome male disciple.
• Li Changshou entered Purple Heaven Palace, waited three hours, and told Hongjun that he had protected the Primordial Violet Qi from the Devil Ancestor’s generals and spared Kunpeng because of his promise to Tong Tian.
• When Li Changshou claimed Tong Tian’s help had raised his chances of trapping Kunpeng from ninety-seven to ninety-eight percent, Hongjun struck him with purple lightning, then healed him and questioned why he had not brought Kunpeng back.
• Hongjun spoke of the return of Li Changshou’s fellow townsman, promised to free Li Changshou from restraint after the Heavenly Court established order in the Three Realms, and told him to complete the Investiture of the Gods.
• As Li Changshou was leaving, Hongjun asked whether that was how Li Changshou saw him; Li Changshou said Hongjun had frightened him and left the palace wary.

Li Changshou returned from the Chaos Sea, considered the Dao Ancestor’s warning, and resumed planning against Maitreya and the Western Teachings. The Heavenly Court sounded an emergency summons, and its generals prepared for battle as Li Changshou’s return renewed Youqin Xuanya’s spirits.

• Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak and told Ling'e that Kunpeng was defeated, while declining to send her to cultivate at Holy Mother Palace.
• Li Changshou asked Ling'e and Longji to chronicle events from his absence, then sent his Paper Daoist to confer with the Heavenly Court.
• Li Changshou visited Ksitigarbha and deduced that Maitreya had impersonated him, warning that he would make the Western Teachings pay for Maitreya’s actions.
• Ksitigarbha cautioned Li Changshou against blaming the Western Teachings for Maitreya, but Li Changshou said he would restrict Maitreya’s movements and departed.
• The Heavenly Court summoned its generals, and Youqin Xuanya saw that Li Changshou had returned.
• Dong Mugong gathered the generals, and the Jade Emperor ordered them to prepare for battle as the Heavenly Court declared its resolve to establish order.