Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Six-Eared Macaque’s Choice, the Copycat Effect”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Six-Eared Macaque chooses the most difficult cultivation route: simultaneously cultivating his primordial spirit, physical body, and laws.
• Dijiang approves of his resolve and gives him the Ninefold Mysterious Technique, a supreme body-tempering method inherited from Pangu. The technique promises an indestructible, saintly body but involves extreme physical suffering.
• Six-Eared Macaque immediately begins cultivating inside Pangu Hall.
• A thousand years later, Zhu Jiuyin’s Dao lecture at Mount Buzhou ends with millions of beings begging to become disciples. They have been inspired by Six-Eared Macaque’s successful entry into the Pangu Orthodox Lineage.
• Zhu Jiuyin recognizes that most petitioners are opportunists seeking shortcuts rather than sincere seekers of the Dao, so he refuses them.
• Over the following tens of thousands of years, beings repeatedly imitate Six-Eared Macaque by kneeling, kowtowing, and even injuring themselves to appear sincere. The ancestral witches see through their schemes and reject them.
• Zhu Rong and Gonggong complain to Dijiang that the mass begging has disrupted the purpose of their Dao teachings.
• Dijiang establishes a strict rule: disciples will be accepted only according to destiny and temperament. Those who linger, form crowds, or continue begging after lectures will have their cultivation crippled and be expelled from Mount Buzhou.
• The new decree restores order, allowing the beings attending the lectures to focus on comprehending the Dao.
• Meanwhile, Six-Eared Macaque reaches the first major trial of the Ninefold Mysterious Technique. The method repeatedly destroys and rebuilds his flesh, bones, and meridians, causing immense agony.
• Zhu Rong fears that Six-Eared Macaque may not survive the process because he lacks the Pangu bloodline’s protection, and asks whether Dijiang should intervene.

Character Developments

• Six-Eared Macaque demonstrates pride, determination, and a willingness to endure hardship. His choice reveals that he values the strongest possible path over safety or convenience.
• Dijiang acts as a supportive but demanding master. He respects Six-Eared Macaque’s autonomy, grants him the powerful technique, and later takes responsibility for the unintended consequences of accepting him as a disciple.
• Zhu Jiuyin and the other ancestral witches remain discerning and protective of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage. They distinguish genuine seekers from opportunists and refuse to reward manipulative behavior.
• Zhu Rong and Gonggong become frustrated by the disruptive “copycat” discipleship movement, though Zhu Rong also shows concern for Six-Eared Macaque’s survival.
• The beings attending the Dao lectures are portrayed as increasingly opportunistic, attempting to imitate Six-Eared Macaque rather than genuinely pursue cultivation.

Significant Themes

• The difficulty of true cultivation: The strongest paths require exceptional endurance and sacrifice, as shown by Six-Eared Macaque’s brutal body-tempering process.
• Individual choice and responsibility: Dijiang allows his disciple to choose his own path but must later manage the consequences of that decision.
• Imitation versus genuine sincerity: Six-Eared Macaque’s authentic determination inspires countless beings, but they copy only his outward actions—kneeling and bleeding—without possessing his inner resolve.
• Merit, destiny, and temperament: Membership in the Pangu Orthodox Lineage cannot be obtained through performance, persistence, or manipulation; true qualification depends on innate affinity and character.
• Order versus opportunism: The ancestral witches’ teachings are nearly undermined by beings seeking shortcuts, prompting Dijiang to impose rules to preserve the integrity of Dao transmission.

Character Interactions

• Six-Eared Macaque and Dijiang: Their master-disciple relationship is founded on trust. Dijiang honors his disciple’s ambitious choice, while Six-Eared Macaque vows not to disappoint him.
• Zhu Jiuyin and the petitioners: Zhu Jiuyin sees through the crowd’s motives and rejects them without hesitation.
• The ancestral witches and Dijiang: Zhu Rong and Gonggong openly criticize the consequences of his decision to accept Six-Eared Macaque, forcing Dijiang to acknowledge the problem and establish new regulations.
• Zhu Rong and Six-Eared Macaque: Zhu Rong observes the monkey’s painful cultivation and, despite earlier doubts about his ambition, becomes concerned that the technique may kill him. The chapter ends with Zhu Rong asking whether Dijiang should help.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Six-Eared Macaque completes the first turn of the Ninefold Mysterious Technique. The reconstruction process nearly destroys his body, but he refuses to give up, forcing out his remaining potential and successfully rebuilding his meridians, bones, and flesh.
• After completing the technique, Six Ears becomes several times stronger and formally thanks Dijiang. Dijiang praises his endurance and talent but warns him not to become arrogant, emphasizing that the later stages will be even more difficult.
• The Ancestral Witches recognize Six Ears’ exceptional potential, steadfast temperament, and comprehension.
• Nearly thirty thousand years pass after Hongjun’s first sermon. The Primordial World remains outwardly peaceful, though powerful factions develop rapidly:
  • Innate sacred beings cultivate in seclusion after hearing Hongjun’s teachings.
  • The Three Pure Ones deepen their cultivation on Kunlun Mountain.
  • Di Jun and Taiyi expand their forces from the Sun Star.
  • Nuwa and Fuxi advance their understanding of creation and the Eight Trigrams.
• Mount Buzhou’s Spirit-Gathering Formation undergoes enormous growth under the Ancestral Witches’ guidance. Its population produces tens of thousands of Primordial Unity Golden Immortals and more than a dozen Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.
• As Hongjun’s second sermon approaches, Dijiang predicts that Hongjun will teach the Dao of Quasi-Saints and that the balance of power in the Primordial World will change.
• Rather than attend Hongjun’s sermon, Dijiang announces that the Twelve Ancestral Witches will publicly expound the Primordial Origin Great Dao to all members of the Mount Buzhou lineage who have reached the Peak Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Realm.
• The announcement causes widespread excitement, and countless cultivators rush toward Pangu Hall.
• Zhu Jiuyin realizes that Dijiang intends to compete with Hongjun for influence and providence. Dijiang explains that the Ancestral Witches’ Law-Proving Path offers a broader and more accessible alternative to Hongjun’s Dao of Three-Corpse Severing.

Character Developments

• Six-Eared Macaque: Proves his determination, endurance, and loyalty by surviving the painful first reconstruction of the Ninefold Mysterious Technique. His physical foundation and combat potential improve dramatically, marking the beginning of his rise.
• Dijiang: Demonstrates a strict but principled approach to teaching. He refuses to protect Six Ears from necessary hardship, believing true cultivators must endure trials themselves. He also reveals a strategic vision for challenging Hongjun’s growing influence.
• The Ancestral Witches: Continue developing Mount Buzhou’s forces and become confident enough to teach a profound Dao that may rival Hongjun’s. Several, including Zhu Rong and Zhu Jiuyin, openly acknowledge Six Ears’ promise.
• The wider factions: The Three Pure Ones, Di Jun and Taiyi, Nuwa and Fuxi, and other innate sacred beings all make significant progress during the thirty-thousand-year period, preparing for an impending shift in the world’s power structure.

Significant Themes

• Endurance and self-reliance: Cultivation requires facing suffering personally rather than depending permanently on protection from stronger figures.
• Teacher and disciple ideals: Dijiang’s harsh guidance reflects the belief that disciples of the Pangu lineage must be tempered through real trials.
• Competing paths to power: Hongjun’s Dao of Three-Corpse Severing is contrasted with the Ancestral Witches’ Law-Proving Path, which emphasizes tangible mastery of laws and physical strength.
• Expansion of influence: Sermons and teachings are presented not only as spiritual instruction but also as a means of gathering providence and shaping the future balance of the Primordial World.
• Rising tension beneath apparent peace: Although the world seems calm, major factions are consolidating strength, making conflict and competition increasingly inevitable.

Character Interactions

• Dijiang refuses Six Ears’ request for protection, insisting that the disciple must endure the reconstruction process himself.
• Six Ears survives, bows before Dijiang, and receives both praise and a warning against complacency.
• Zhu Rong and Zhu Jiuyin discuss Six Ears’ potential and recognize Dijiang’s ability to identify talent.
• The Ancestral Witches debate whether to attend Hongjun’s upcoming sermon, but Dijiang decisively rejects the idea.
• Zhu Jiuyin identifies Dijiang’s plan to challenge Hongjun indirectly, while Dijiang clarifies that the Ancestral Witches are competing through their own teachings and cultivation path rather than openly confronting him.

Summary of “The Second Sermon, Laozi’s Three Questions”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The second sermon begins at Violet Firmament Palace, where the three thousand cultivators return with far greater anticipation than before. They hope to learn the path to the Quasi-Saint and Sage realms.
• Hongjun is displeased that the Twelve Ancestral Witches remain absent, interpreting their continued refusal to attend as deliberate opposition to his Dao.
• Hongjun explains that there are three methods of proving the Dao:
  1. Force-Proving Dao—breaking Heaven’s Way through overwhelming power and perseverance.
  2. Three-Corpse Severing—severing the corpses of good, evil, and obsession, then uniting them to attain Sagehood.
  3. Merit-Proving Dao—accumulating immense merit and receiving Heaven’s Way’s assistance.
• Laozi asks three pointed questions about the Twelve Ancestral Witches:
  • What realm have they reached?
  • Which path do they follow?
  • Which is stronger, Force-Proving Dao or Three-Corpse Severing?
• Hongjun reveals that the Twelve Ancestral Witches have already reached the Quasi-Saint Realm and follow the Force-Proving Dao.
• When Laozi asks which path is superior, Hongjun avoids a direct answer, contrasting his own survival and Sagehood through Three-Corpse Severing with Pangu’s death while pursuing Force-Proving Dao.
• Laozi understands the implication: Force-Proving Dao may be powerful, but it appears to lead to destruction, while Three-Corpse Severing has successfully produced a living Sage.
• Hongjun then begins teaching the Three-Corpse Severing method, and the audience becomes deeply absorbed in his sermon.
• At the same time, on Mount Buzhou, Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches begin teaching the Law Dao to a large gathering of powerful beings.
• Their teachings emphasize mastering laws directly, relying on no external treasures or Heaven’s Way, and condensing an individual Law Dao Fruit once a law is perfected.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches explain their respective laws—including Space, Time, Flame, and Water—in succession. Their teachings inspire breakthroughs among the audience and greatly increase their accumulated fortune.

Character Developments

• Hongjun becomes increasingly wary and resentful of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, recognizing their growing influence and independence from his teachings.
• Laozi demonstrates exceptional intelligence and political subtlety. His three questions force Hongjun into revealing information without openly challenging him. Laozi correctly interprets Hongjun’s evasive answer and appears to favor Three-Corpse Severing.
• Yuanshi Tianzun reacts with arrogance and contempt toward the Ancestral Witches, viewing Force-Proving Dao as a foolish dead end and expecting to surpass them through Three-Corpse Severing.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches, led by Dijiang, establish themselves as powerful teachers rather than merely powerful warriors. They confidently promote a Dao independent of Heaven’s Way and external support.
• Dijiang emerges as a charismatic and authoritative leader whose explanation of Space Law reflects the Witches’ confidence in self-reliance and personal strength.

Significant Themes

• Competing paths to transcendence: The chapter contrasts Hongjun’s Three-Corpse Severing and Heaven-aligned methods with the Ancestral Witches’ self-reliant Law Dao.
• Dependence versus self-reliance: Hongjun’s path requires an Innate Spirit Treasure and connection to Heaven’s Way, while the Law Dao urges cultivators to return all power to themselves.
• Perception and interpretation: Laozi’s questions show how truth can be extracted from carefully controlled answers. Hongjun never openly admits that Force-Proving Dao is superior, but his comparison with Pangu reveals his position.
• Authority and ideological rivalry: The chapter establishes a growing conflict between Hongjun’s influence in Violet Firmament Palace and the Ancestral Witches’ rival spiritual movement on Mount Buzhou.
• Power and legitimacy: The Ancestral Witches gain fortune not only from their strength but also from the recognition and gratitude of those they teach, suggesting that influence itself can become a source of power.

Character Interactions

• Laozi and Hongjun: Laozi respectfully questions Hongjun but strategically corners him into disclosing the Witches’ realm and cultivation method. Hongjun answers cautiously, recognizing the danger of the questions.
• Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun: Although they do not directly converse, both appear to draw the same conclusion from Hongjun’s answer: Three-Corpse Severing seems safer and more viable than Force-Proving Dao. Yuanshi, however, responds with greater arrogance.
• Hongjun and the Twelve Ancestral Witches: Their relationship is defined by silent ideological opposition. Hongjun sees their absence as defiance, while the Witches openly teach a path that rejects reliance on Heaven’s Way.
• Dijiang and the Mount Buzhou cultivators: Dijiang acts as a teacher and leader, presenting the Law Dao in a way that inspires admiration, enlightenment, and immediate breakthroughs among his listeners.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches as a group: Each contributes a distinct law, but their teachings converge on the shared principle that true strength comes from mastering one’s own Dao rather than borrowing power from external sources.

Chapter Summary: “Sweep Squad, Set Out Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The living beings’ growing devotion to the Law Dao causes a major surge in fortune for Dijiang and the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
• The Fortune Golden Dragon above Pangu Hall expands dramatically, displaying twelve law patterns.
• This fortune directly advances the witches’ cultivation:
  • Dijiang breaks through from the Mid- to the Late-Primordial Golden Immortal stage.
  • The other Ancestral Witches, including Zhu Jiuyin, Houtu, and Zhu Rong, advance from the early stage to the Mid-Primordial Golden Immortal stage.
• Three thousand years later, Hongjun concludes his second sermon at Violet Firmament Palace. He announces that his next sermon, thirty thousand years later, will explain the Sage Dao and be his final sermon.
• The three thousand attendees gain deep insight into Three-Corpse Severing. Many Peak Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals return home to enter seclusion and attempt to become Quasi-Saints.
• The Three Pure Ones, Di Jun and Taiyi, Nuwa and Fuxi, Zhen Yuanzi and Red Cloud, the Nether River Ancestor, and many other powerful figures begin preparing for breakthroughs.
• Dijiang realizes that the Primordial World is about to enter an age filled with Quasi-Saints. Since Three-Corpse Severing requires Innate Spirit Treasures as anchors, he decides to seize available treasures before the other powers can obtain them.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches split into four groups and secretly sweep across the Primordial World:
  • Dijiang, Houtu, and Xuanming head east.
  • Zhu Jiuyin, Zhu Rong, and Tian Wu head south.
  • Gonggong, Jumang, and Ru Shou search the central regions.
  • Qiang Liang, Xi Zi, and She Bishi head north.
  • They avoid the west because it is considered barren and dangerous.
• Near the Eastern Sea, Dijiang takes the Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure Vast Sea Divine Pearl from a Peak Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal rogue cultivator.
• Dijiang determines that the water-element pearl is suited for Gonggong and leaves without engaging in a prolonged fight.
• The other groups also begin finding treasures. Zhu Jiuyin’s mastery of Time Foresight allows him to predict where treasures will appear and identify traces of those who have passed through an area.

Character Developments

• Dijiang becomes even stronger and remains the strategic leader of the Ancestral Witches. Despite his breakthrough, he warns the others not to become arrogant and emphasizes that future progress will require great comprehension and long-term cultivation.
• The Ancestral Witches gain confidence from their rapid advancement but accept Dijiang’s warning and maintain discipline.
• Zhu Rong remains enthusiastic and battle-hungry, celebrating his increased strength and eagerly supporting the treasure-hunting expedition.
• Zhu Jiuyin develops his Time Law further, gaining the ability to glimpse the future of a region and use that knowledge to locate treasures.
• The Three Pure Ones and other great powers become highly motivated to reach the Quasi-Saint Realm, viewing the coming period as a major contest for power and resources.
• The rogue cultivator represents the vulnerable independent experts of the Primordial World: despite reaching the Peak Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal stage, he is helpless before Dijiang and loses the treasure he intended to use for corpse severing.

Significant Themes

• Fortune and cultivation: Collective faith in the Law Dao directly strengthens its founders, showing how belief and accumulated fortune can accelerate cultivation.
• The race for advancement: Hongjun’s sermon creates widespread competition, as countless experts rush to obtain Spirit Treasures and become Quasi-Saints.
• Strategic preparation: Rather than waiting for rivals to grow stronger, Dijiang acts proactively and gathers resources before the coming power shift.
• Strength and restraint: The Ancestral Witches possess overwhelming power but follow Dijiang’s command to avoid unnecessary battles, emphasizing practical strength over reckless aggression.
• The approaching era of conflict: The continent’s temporary silence conceals a brewing storm, with major forces preparing for a new age dominated by Quasi-Saints.

Character Interactions

• Dijiang and the Ancestral Witches discuss the limits of their cultivation and agree that they must remain diligent.
• The Three Pure Ones discuss the profundity of Three-Corpse Severing and express confidence that their Pangu heritage and treasures will help them break through.
• Tongtian reveals his hostility toward the Twelve Ancestral Witches, hoping that reaching the Quasi-Saint Realm will allow him to challenge them.
• Zhu Jiuyin informs Dijiang that the Primordial World’s fortune is fluctuating and that many experts have entered seclusion.
• Dijiang explains his plan to exploit the period of seclusion by taking the Innate Spirit Treasures needed by their rivals.
• At the Eastern Sea, Dijiang completely overwhelms the rogue cultivator through his Late-Primordial Golden Immortal pressure, takes the Vast Sea Divine Pearl, and departs without giving the defeated cultivator a chance to resist.

Chapter Summary: “Harvest”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In the Ten Thousand Mountains, the Myriad Poisons Ancestor attacks an azure-robed female cultivator to seize an Innate Venom Dragon Grass. Although both are Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, the Ancestor overwhelms her and prepares to kill her with his White Bone Banner.
• Zhu Jiuyin, Zhu Rong, and Tian Wu arrive at the critical moment. Zhu Jiuyin freezes time, immobilizing the Ancestor and his vengeful souls, while Zhu Rong destroys the White Bone Banner with Southern Bright Flame.
• Terrified by the trio’s Primordial Origin Realm power, the Myriad Poisons Ancestor abandons the treasure and flees. The rescued cultivator offers the Venom Dragon Grass to her saviors, who accept it for She Bishi.
• Zhu Jiuyin uses his Time Law and limited foresight to detect treasures and conflicts across the Primordial World. He predicts the imminent appearance of a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, prompting the trio to depart immediately.
• Elsewhere, the other Ancestral Witches plunder treasures throughout the world:
  • Gonggong, Jumang, and Ru Shou defeat numerous Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals and claim a wood-element treasure.
  • Qiang Liang, Xi Zi, and She Bishi overwhelm cultivators in a Thunder Marsh and seize a large pool of Innate Thunder Fluid.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches rapidly gain a fearsome reputation as “killing gods” and “executioners.” Most cultivators retreat rather than challenge them, while those who resist are killed.
• The four groups return to Mount Buzhou and unload their enormous haul of spiritual treasures, roots, and divine metals. Dijiang declares that these resources will make the Mount Buzhou lineage surpass every other faction.
• Dijiang also predicts that several experts who heard the Dao in Violet Firmament Palace will soon sever corpses and advance to the Quasi-Saint realm.

Character Developments

• Zhu Jiuyin demonstrates the overwhelming power and utility of the Time Law, using time-freezing in combat and time-based foresight to locate treasures.
• Zhu Rong remains aggressive and confident, easily destroying a powerful acquired Spirit Treasure with Southern Bright Flame. He also displays envy and admiration toward Zhu Jiuyin’s abilities.
• Tian Wu is enthusiastic about treasure hunting and eagerly supports the group’s rapid expansion.
• Myriad Poisons Ancestor shifts instantly from arrogance and murderous intent to terror and submission once faced with opponents far beyond his level.
• The azure-robed cultivator moves from near-death desperation to gratitude, willingly offering the treasure after being rescued.
• Dijiang acts as the leader and strategist, evaluating the spoils and emphasizing the long-term strength they provide to the Mount Buzhou faction.

Significant Themes

• Power determines possession: Treasures belong to whoever has the strength to defend or seize them, while weaker cultivators are easily dispossessed.
• The rise of the Ancestral Witches: Their coordinated plundering marks a major expansion of influence and establishes them as one of the Primordial World’s most feared forces.
• Treasure accumulation and faction-building: The witches are not merely collecting valuables; they are gathering the resources needed to build a superior lineage and power base.
• The inevitability of changing eras: Dijiang’s prediction of widespread Quasi-Saint breakthroughs foreshadows increasing competition and upheaval among the world’s strongest experts.
• Fate, time, and opportunity: Zhu Jiuyin’s foresight allows the witches to exploit events before others can react, giving them a major advantage in the struggle for resources.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhu Jiuyin, Zhu Rong, and Tian Wu cooperate seamlessly in rescuing the female cultivator and claiming the Venom Dragon Grass.
• Zhu Rong admires but envies Zhu Jiuyin’s predictive abilities, while Tian Wu eagerly urges him to search for more treasures.
• The witches act competitively but cooperatively when returning their spoils, each group displaying its achievements before Dijiang.
• Dijiang’s approval unifies the group’s efforts and reframes their harvest as a foundation for the future dominance of Mount Buzhou.

Chapter Summary: Yuanshi Severed a Corpse, Di Jun and Taiyi's Towering Ambitions

Key Plot Points and Events

• The ancestral witches discuss the possibility that powerful cultivators who previously coveted Mount Buzhou’s gourd vine may return after breaking through via the Three-Corpse Severing path.
• Dijiang shifts their focus from personal conflicts to expanding Mount Buzhou’s influence. He proposes enlarging their Dao sermons and rewarding worthy listeners with unused low- and mid-grade innate Spirit Treasures and acquired treasures.
• News of the sermons and rewards spreads throughout the Primordial World. Rogue cultivators, lesser demons, and weakened clans flock to Mount Buzhou, causing its population and accumulated fortune to increase dramatically. The Fortune Golden Dragon above the mountain grows to a scale comparable to the great clans at their peak.
• At Kunlun Mountain, Yuanshi Tianzun successfully severs his Evil Corpse and enters the Quasi-Saint realm. His confidence and pride surge, and he immediately decides to confront the ancestral witches to avenge their past conflict and prove the superiority of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage.
• Laozi warns Yuanshi not to act alone, suggesting that the Three Pure Ones wait until all three have broken through. Yuanshi ignores him and travels alone to Mount Buzhou.
• On the Sun Star, Taiyi also severs his Evil Corpse and becomes a Quasi-Saint. Di Jun expects to sever his Good Corpse within a hundred years. Together, they plan to return to Mount Buzhou, regain their lost dignity, recruit the ancestral witches into their future faction, and establish the strongest power in the Primordial World.
• Dijiang senses Yuanshi’s arrival. Recognizing that Yuanshi intends to establish his prestige, the ancestral witches decide to meet him directly and accept the challenge.

Character Developments

• Dijiang demonstrates strategic maturity. Rather than focusing on revenge, he recognizes the importance of preaching, gathering followers, accumulating fortune, and creating a visible lineage around Mount Buzhou.
• The ancestral witches become more politically and institutionally minded. Their rewards create loyalty and karmic connections, transforming Mount Buzhou from a powerful territory into the center of an expanding faction.
• Yuanshi Tianzun undergoes a major power increase after severing his Evil Corpse, but his newfound strength intensifies his arrogance. He becomes convinced that he can defeat all twelve ancestral witches alone.
• Laozi remains cautious and pragmatic, recognizing the danger of Yuanshi’s impulsive decision.
• Taiyi becomes a Quasi-Saint and displays intense battle ambition. He and Di Jun begin envisioning a large-scale political power rather than merely seeking revenge.
• Di Jun is portrayed as patient and calculating, waiting for his own breakthrough while planning the future rise of his faction.
• Gonggong and Zhu Rong remain eager for confrontation, viewing Yuanshi’s arrival as an opportunity to retaliate for their earlier conflict.

Significant Themes

• Power versus strategy: Breakthroughs increase individual strength, but Dijiang emphasizes that long-term influence depends on followers, fortune, and organization.
• The importance of preaching and inheritance: Mount Buzhou’s Dao sermons allow the ancestral witches to cultivate a broader ideological and spiritual lineage.
• Karma and political influence: By granting Spirit Treasures, the witches create bonds of obligation and turn recipients into representatives of Mount Buzhou.
• Arrogance after advancement: Yuanshi’s breakthrough gives him confidence but also causes him to underestimate his opponents.
• The rise of competing factions: Mount Buzhou, the Three Pure Ones, and Di Jun and Taiyi are all moving toward the formation of major powers that will reshape the Primordial World.
• Pangu Orthodox Lineage: Yuanshi’s desire to claim the title of “true” Pangu successor reveals the ideological conflict underlying the coming confrontation.

Character Interactions

• The ancestral witches collectively support Dijiang’s plan to expand Dao preaching and distribute treasures.
• Dijiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and the others debate the threat posed by Quasi-Saints, with Zhu Jiuyin offering a measured warning about the strength of corpse-severing cultivators.
• Laozi attempts to restrain Yuanshi, but Yuanshi dismisses his concerns and insists on acting alone.
• Taiyi congratulates himself on his breakthrough while encouraging Di Jun to advance quickly so they can confront Mount Buzhou together.
• Upon sensing Yuanshi’s arrival, Gonggong and Zhu Rong eagerly volunteer to fight him, while Dijiang calmly decides that all the ancestral witches should personally receive their “guest.”
• The chapter ends with the ancestral witches going out to meet Yuanshi, setting up an imminent clash between the newly advanced Quasi-Saint and the forces of Mount Buzhou.

Chapter Summary: “Arrogant Yuanshi, Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At Mount Buzhou, countless beings cultivate within the Spirit-Gathering Formation until Yuanshi Tianzun arrives, releasing the overwhelming pressure of an Early Quasi-Saint.
• Yuanshi insults the creatures inhabiting Mount Buzhou, calling them impure and unworthy of remaining in what he considers Pangu’s sacred land. His pressure injures many low-level cultivators.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches emerge from Pangu Hall and confront him. Zhu Rong mocks Yuanshi for relying on an external object to sever his Evil Corpse and attain the Quasi-Saint realm.
• Enraged, Yuanshi attacks with Jade Clarity Divine Thunder. Qiang Liang effortlessly absorbs the lightning through his Law of Lightning, humiliating Yuanshi.
• Zhu Rong then attacks Yuanshi directly. Although Yuanshi blocks the blow with Jade Clarity Immortal Radiance, the force sends him staggering backward and leaves him shocked by Zhu Rong’s overwhelming physical strength.
• Gonggong further taunts Yuanshi, prompting him to summon his severed Evil Corpse, the Jade Pure Daoist. The two prepare to fight Zhu Rong together.
• Dijiang stops Zhu Rong from taking the battle alone, joking that the other Ancestral Witches should also have the chance to “play” with Yuanshi.
• When Yuanshi threatens to fight to the death, Dijiang decides to answer Yuanshi’s claim of being Pangu’s true Orthodox Lineage by using the formation inherited from Pangu.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches take their positions and activate the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation. Their powers and laws merge, causing heaven and earth to change color as an enormous, terrifying phantom begins to materialize above Mount Buzhou.

Character Developments

• Yuanshi Tianzun is portrayed as arrogant, elitist, and obsessed with his status as Pangu’s Orthodox Lineage. His confidence turns into rage and humiliation when his attacks fail and the Ancestral Witches treat him with contempt.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches display complete unity and overwhelming confidence. They are not intimidated by Yuanshi’s Quasi-Saint cultivation and openly ridicule both his methods and his self-proclaimed superiority.
• Zhu Rong is shown as aggressive, fearless, and physically powerful, overpowering Yuanshi despite lacking a severed corpse.
• Qiang Liang demonstrates exceptional mastery of lightning, neutralizing Yuanshi’s divine thunder with ease.
• Dijiang acts as the calm and strategic leader. Rather than allowing an individual duel, he chooses to use the collective power of the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation to settle the dispute decisively.

Significant Themes

• Pride versus true strength: Yuanshi believes his Quasi-Saint realm proves his superiority, but the Witches’ physical power, laws, and unity expose the limits of his cultivation.
• Legitimacy and inheritance: The conflict centers on who represents Pangu’s true legacy. Dijiang challenges Yuanshi’s claim by invoking the formation directly inherited from Pangu.
• Unity and collective power: The Ancestral Witches’ greatest advantage is their cooperation. Their combined formation represents a power far beyond their individual realms.
• Contempt and prejudice: Yuanshi’s disdain for other beings reveals his rigid, hierarchical worldview, while the Witches respond by humiliating him and rejecting his supposed authority.
• Humiliation and retaliation: Yuanshi’s previous defeat by the Witches fuels his current attack, but his repeated failures deepen his anger and desperation.

Character Interactions

• Yuanshi insults the beings of Mount Buzhou, prompting Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches to intervene.
• Zhu Rong directly challenges Yuanshi’s Dao and mocks his reliance on an external object.
• Qiang Liang humiliates Yuanshi by swallowing his divine thunder and dismissing it as weak.
• Zhu Rong’s punch forces Yuanshi to recognize that the Witches’ strength exceeds his expectations.
• Gonggong and the other Witches repeatedly taunt Yuanshi, treating the supposedly mighty Quasi-Saint as a target for amusement.
• Yuanshi summons the Jade Pure Daoist to gain numerical superiority, but Dijiang counters by uniting all twelve Ancestral Witches in the formation.
• The chapter ends with the Witches preparing to demonstrate the true power of Pangu’s legacy against Yuanshi and his Evil Corpse.

Chapter Summary: “Extorting Hongjun”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Twelve Ancestral Witches activate the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation, summoning a gigantic Pangu Phantom. Its overwhelming pressure shakes the entire Primordial Wilderness Continent and forces countless beings, including Quasi-Saints, to kneel.
• Hongjun senses the formation from Violet Firmament Palace and is shocked. Through deduction, he discovers that the target is Yuanshi Tianzun, whose reckless actions have provoked the Witch Clan.
• Yuanshi, believing his recent breakthrough to the early Quasi-Saint realm would establish his prestige, is completely overwhelmed by the Pangu Phantom. His power collapses, he is forced to kneel, and even his severed evil corpse, Jade Pure Daoist, is pinned down.
• Dijiang declares that Yuanshi should kneel at Mount Buzhou for one hundred thousand years as punishment and prepares to suppress him completely.
• Hongjun intervenes at the last moment, using his Sage pressure to neutralize the Pangu Phantom’s aura. He asks Dijiang to spare Yuanshi for his sake.
• Dijiang reveals that the formation was not truly intended to kill Yuanshi, but to force Hongjun to appear. He refuses to let Hongjun dismiss the matter with a simple request for mercy and demands compensation for the injuries and humiliation caused by Yuanshi.
• Dijiang specifically asks for a Spirit Treasure suited to Gonggong’s Water Law cultivation. Hongjun agrees and offers the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, explaining that the complete set of thirty-six would form a top-grade innate Spirit Treasure.

Character Developments

• Yuanshi Tianzun suffers a severe blow to his pride. His confidence in his Quasi-Saint strength disappears when he is effortlessly crushed by the Pangu Phantom, leaving him terrified, humiliated, and dependent on Hongjun for rescue.
• Hongjun demonstrates both his immense authority and his political vulnerability. Although he is displeased by the Witch Clan’s extortion, he cannot allow Yuanshi to die because Yuanshi is essential to his future Arcane Gate and Sage-position plans.
• Dijiang displays strategic cunning rather than simple aggression. He uses Yuanshi’s crisis as bait to summon Hongjun, test his reaction, and obtain valuable treasures for the Witch Clan.
• Gonggong gains importance indirectly, as his need for Water Law-related treasures becomes the basis for the Witch Clan’s demand.

Significant Themes

• Power and humiliation: Yuanshi’s status as a Pangu Orthodox heir and Quasi-Saint becomes meaningless before the superior might of the Pangu Phantom.
• Political manipulation: Dijiang turns a military confrontation into a negotiation, exploiting Hongjun’s need to protect Yuanshi.
• Karma and compensation: Hongjun’s attempt to end the conflict is rejected because Yuanshi’s actions created consequences that cannot simply be erased by authority.
• Pride versus practicality: Yuanshi’s arrogance leads to disaster, while Hongjun is forced to compromise his dignity and resources to preserve his larger plan.
• Strategic restraint: The Witches reveal that their ultimate goal was not destruction but leverage, showing careful planning behind their seemingly excessive display of force.

Character Interactions

• Yuanshi and Dijiang: Yuanshi curses Dijiang after being forced to kneel, but Dijiang coldly dismisses his status and orders him to reflect on his actions.
• Yuanshi and Hongjun: Yuanshi tearfully appeals to Hongjun as his only hope, while Hongjun views him with frustration but intervenes because of his importance.
• Hongjun and Dijiang: Their exchange is outwardly restrained but deeply confrontational. Hongjun asks for mercy, while Dijiang mocks his authority and demands tangible compensation.
• Hongjun and the Witch Clan: Hongjun’s offer of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls marks the beginning of a negotiated settlement, with the Witch Clan successfully turning the confrontation into an opportunity to acquire powerful treasures.

Chapter Summary: “Hongjun’s Request”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hongjun compensates the Twelve Ancestral Witches with twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. Combined with the twelve pearls Gonggong already possessed, they complete the Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure—the thirty-six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls.
• Although the compensation settles Yuanshi Tianzun’s crime of harming Mount Buzhou’s inhabitants, Dijiang refuses to release him immediately. He demands an additional “emotional damages” payment for Yuanshi’s insults toward the Pangu Orthodox Lineage.
• Dijiang asks for a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure suitable for She Bishi’s Poison Law. Hongjun reluctantly provides the Myriad Poisons Pearl, a treasure formed from primordial poisonous essence.
• Once both treasures are handed over, Dijiang releases Yuanshi. Humiliated and frightened, Yuanshi flees to Kunlun Mountain without making any further threats.
• Hongjun then invites the Twelve Ancestral Witches to attend the third and final lecture at Violet Firmament Palace in thirty thousand years.
• Dijiang accepts in principle but demands the Pangu Banner as the price for their attendance. Hongjun immediately recognizes that Dijiang wants to gather the three Heaven-Opening Treasures: the Taiji Diagram, the Pangu Banner, and the Chaos Bell.
• The chapter ends with Hongjun considering the exchange worthwhile because he needs the witches’ Pangu Fortune for his plan to merge with Heaven’s Way.

Character Developments

• Dijiang becomes even more assertive and calculating. He exploits Hongjun’s need for the witches’ cooperation, repeatedly increasing his demands while remaining confident that the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation protects them.
• Hongjun displays patience and strategic restraint. Though angered by Dijiang’s greed, he repeatedly compromises because preserving relations with the Ancestral Witches is important to his future fusion with Heaven’s Way.
• Yuanshi Tianzun suffers a severe loss of dignity. Forced to kneel before the witches and then flee in silence, he is left deeply traumatized and resentful.
• Gonggong is delighted when the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls are completed, gaining a full Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure.
• She Bishi is indirectly strengthened through the acquisition of the Myriad Poisons Pearl, which perfectly suits his cultivation of the Poison Law.

Significant Themes

• Power backed by strength: The witches are able to negotiate so aggressively because their formation and Pangu Phantom can suppress even a Quasi-Saint like Yuanshi and force Hongjun to compromise.
• Political calculation and hidden agendas: Hongjun’s gifts are not acts of simple generosity; he is investing in the witches because their Pangu Fortune is necessary for his Heaven’s Way plan.
• Humiliation and face: Yuanshi’s punishment emphasizes the importance of reputation and dignity among powerful cultivators. His public defeat is almost as damaging as the physical consequences.
• The tension between law cultivation and orthodox Dao teaching: Dijiang questions whether Hongjun’s Three-Corpse Severing teachings can benefit cultivators who follow the laws directly, while Hongjun argues that all paths ultimately lead toward the same Great Dao.
• Accumulation of ultimate power: Dijiang’s demand for the Pangu Banner reveals his ambition to reunite the three Heaven-Opening Treasures and greatly enhance the Pangu Phantom.

Character Interactions

• Dijiang and Hongjun: Their exchange is a tense negotiation disguised as polite conversation. Dijiang continually tests Hongjun’s limits, while Hongjun suppresses his anger and gives ground for strategic reasons.
• Dijiang and Yuanshi: Dijiang treats Yuanshi with mockery and authority, forcing him to pay for both his actions and insults before dismissing him.
• Hongjun and Yuanshi: Hongjun intervenes indirectly by providing compensation, but his willingness to make Yuanshi pay shows that even Yuanshi’s teacher cannot simply override the witches’ demands.
• Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches: The other witches are stunned by Dijiang’s increasingly bold demands, especially his request for the Pangu Banner, but they ultimately follow his lead.
• Hongjun and the Twelve Ancestral Witches: Hongjun formally invites them into his larger plan, while Dijiang recognizes the invitation as an attempt to secure their Pangu Fortune and uses it as leverage to demand an even greater treasure.

Chapter Summary: “Raising the Price on the Spot”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hongjun offers to lend Dijiang the Pangu Banner for one Yuanhui if the Twelve Ancestral Witches attend the third sermon at Violet Firmament Palace from beginning to end.
• Dijiang sees through Hongjun’s hidden motives and refuses to accept a temporary loan. He demands the Pangu Banner outright, then raises the price by requiring an additional Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure or Spirit Root.
• Though angered, Hongjun agrees to give the Pangu Banner and a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure—but only after the sermon ends. He then leaves immediately.
• The Ancestor Witches celebrate their successful bargaining, especially because the Pangu Banner will strengthen their Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation.
• Dijiang warns them that Hongjun’s willingness to surrender such valuable treasures proves he is confident he can suppress the Pangu Phantom after merging with the Dao. He predicts that the third sermon is likely a trap.
• Despite the danger, Dijiang decides they must attend and intends to gain even more benefits from the gathering. The witches return to Pangu Hall to prepare through seclusion.
• During the thirty-thousand-year interval, many powerful cultivators break through into the Quasi-Saint Realm. Meanwhile, the Spirit-Gathering Formation at Mount Buzhou produces over one hundred Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals and hundreds of thousands of Grand Unity Golden Immortals, greatly increasing the witches’ forces.
• When Violet Firmament Palace opens, the Twelve Ancestral Witches travel through Primordial Chaos and arrive before the gathered three thousand guests.
• Their appearance shocks the other cultivators, who fear their reputation for powerful battles and aggressive treasure-seizing.
• Yuanshi Tianzun becomes enraged upon seeing them, especially Dijiang, but Laozi restrains him and reminds him not to cause trouble in Hongjun’s sacred palace.
• Zhu Rong deliberately mocks Yuanshi about his past humiliation, provoking him into nearly attacking. Hongjun intervenes by opening the palace gates and suppressing Yuanshi’s aura, ordering everyone to enter because the sermon is about to begin.

Character Developments

• Dijiang demonstrates sharp political judgment and negotiation skill. He recognizes Hongjun’s attempt to retain control over the Pangu Banner and successfully turns the situation to his advantage, gaining an additional treasure.
• Dijiang also shows strategic caution. Although confident and ambitious, he understands that Hongjun’s generosity conceals a dangerous plan.
• Hongjun is portrayed as calculating and increasingly frustrated. He repeatedly compromises because he needs the witches to attend, but his willingness to pay such a high price reveals his confidence in his future power.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches become more united and self-assured. Their expanding army and improved formation make them a major force rather than merely a group of individual combatants.
• Yuanshi Tianzun remains resentful and prideful, unable to let go of his earlier humiliation by the witches. His anger nearly causes him to violate the sanctity of Violet Firmament Palace.
• Laozi acts as the calmer and more politically aware elder brother, restraining Yuanshi from acting recklessly.
• Zhu Rong continues to embody the group’s aggressive and provocative side, intentionally escalating tensions with Yuanshi.

Significant Themes

• Negotiation and leverage: Dijiang exploits Hongjun’s need for the witches’ cooperation, showing that power comes not only from strength but also from controlling the terms of an agreement.
• Hidden motives and mistrust: Neither side truly trusts the other. Hongjun’s offer is treated as part of a larger scheme, while Dijiang accepts the deal only while preparing for betrayal.
• Rising power and preparation: The rapid advancement of the Primordial World’s great powers and the growth of the witches’ army establish that the coming conflict will involve increasingly powerful factions.
• Pride and humiliation: Yuanshi’s enduring anger demonstrates how personal shame and wounded pride can drive dangerous behavior.
• Risk versus opportunity: Dijiang knows the sermon is probably a trap but still chooses to attend because the potential rewards—and the chance to improve the witches’ position—are too valuable to abandon.
• Factional tension: The arrival of the witches at Violet Firmament Palace immediately disrupts the fragile peace among the major powers, foreshadowing future confrontations.

Important Character Interactions

• Dijiang and Hongjun: Their negotiation is the chapter’s central conflict. Dijiang rejects Hongjun’s conditions, raises the price, and forces him to concede.
• Dijiang and the other Ancestor Witches: Dijiang leads confidently, while the others admire his success and trust his judgment about the dangers ahead.
• Yuanshi and Laozi: Laozi restrains Yuanshi and prevents him from attacking, emphasizing the difference between Laozi’s composure and Yuanshi’s impulsive resentment.
• Zhu Rong and Yuanshi: Zhu Rong’s taunt about Yuanshi’s injured knees reopens an old humiliation and nearly triggers a fight.
• Hongjun and the gathered cultivators: Hongjun reasserts his authority by suppressing Yuanshi’s aura and forcing all factions to enter the palace peacefully for the sermon.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The three thousand cultivators gather in Violet Firmament Palace for Hongjun’s third and final lecture. The Twelve Ancestral Witches deliberately sit at the back because their goal is not to learn Hongjun’s Dao, but to collect the treasures he promised them.
• Hongjun announces that he will explain both the Sage’s Path and the path of the Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.
• He describes Sages as beings who endure all calamities, remain untouched by karma, and exist alongside Heaven and the Dao. His declaration that “beneath a Sage, all are ants” deeply impacts the assembled cultivators.
• Hongjun’s lecture lasts three thousand years and is extremely profound. Most cultivators struggle to understand it, while the Twelve Ancestral Witches ignore it entirely and sleep through the lecture because they cultivate laws and reject the Sage’s method of submitting to Heaven’s Way.
• After the lecture, Hongjun declares that his merit is complete and that he will soon merge with the Dao. Before doing so, he distributes seven strands of Primordial Purple Qi, the foundation for becoming a Heavenly Dao Sage.
• The Three Pure Ones receive the first three strands and are named Hongjun’s personal disciples.
• Nuwa receives the fourth strand and becomes Hongjun’s final personal disciple.
• Jieyin and Zhunti receive the fifth and sixth strands as registered disciples, with Hongjun predicting that they will establish a separate path in the future.
• The final strand goes to Red Cloud, supposedly because he is “fated” to receive it. This immediately provokes jealousy and murderous intent among the other cultivators, especially Kunpeng, who believes Red Cloud’s earlier surrender of his seat cost him the opportunity.
• Hongjun then asks the Twelve Ancestral Witches whether they object to being excluded from the Sage Seats. Dijiang dismisses the Sage path as useless to them and reminds Hongjun of their prior agreement.
• Hongjun fulfills his promise by giving them the Pangu Banner and the Creation Pearl, two supreme treasures. The other cultivators are shocked and envious, realizing the Witches were invited with treasures as compensation.
• Dijiang promotes an alternative cultivation route: cultivating the laws directly and following the Primordial Origin path, rather than severing the Three Corpses and relying on the Sage’s Path.
• Hongjun dismisses everyone except the six disciples seated on the golden prayer mats and announces that the treasures he collected during his travels have been placed on Treasure-Dividing Rock for the fated individuals to claim.

2. Character Developments

• Hongjun reveals his authority and long-term plans more openly. Having completed his merit, he prepares to merge with Heaven’s Way and establish the future order of the Primordial World.
• The Three Pure Ones become Hongjun’s personal disciples and gain the opportunity to pursue Sagehood, greatly increasing their status and prospects.
• Nuwa receives special recognition as Hongjun’s final disciple, with a prophecy that she will accomplish great merit in the future.
• Jieyin and Zhunti are acknowledged for their perseverance and wisdom and are positioned to create a distinct spiritual tradition.
• Red Cloud gains the final Primordial Purple Qi but becomes dangerously exposed to the greed of the surrounding cultivators.
• Kunpeng develops even stronger resentment toward Red Cloud, believing Red Cloud’s past actions deprived him of a Sage Seat.
• Dijiang and the Ancestral Witches remain confident and independent. They reject Hongjun’s cultivation system, prioritize their own Law Dao, and successfully obtain two extraordinary treasures without competing for Sagehood.
• Zhu Rong openly complains about Hongjun’s lecture, reinforcing the Witches’ contempt for the Sage’s Path, while Dijiang calmly suppresses him and maintains their composure.

3. Significant Themes

• Competing cultivation philosophies: The chapter contrasts Hongjun’s Heavenly Dao Sage system with the Ancestral Witches’ Law Dao and Primordial Origin path. One emphasizes aligning with Heaven’s Way, while the other emphasizes self-reliance and gathering power within oneself.
• Power and hierarchy: The statement that “beneath a Sage, all are ants” establishes Sagehood as the supreme status sought by nearly every cultivator.
• Fate versus competition: Hongjun claims the final Primordial Purple Qi goes to the “fated,” but the distribution also reveals favoritism, political arrangements, and the danger of possessing power.
• Jealousy and hidden conflict: Red Cloud’s reward immediately creates hostility, suggesting that the Primordial Purple Qi will become a source of future struggle.
• Independence from established authority: The Witches demonstrate that rejecting Hongjun’s path does not mean lacking ambition or power; they possess their own route and are compensated with treasures equal to or greater than the rewards given to the disciples.
• The cost of enlightenment: Although Sagehood appears glorious, Hongjun’s path requires submission to Heaven’s Way, which the Witches view as limiting compared with cultivating one’s own laws.

4. Character Interactions

• Hongjun silently observes the Witches’ presence and is relieved that they have attended, despite their unruly nature and previous extortion of treasures from him.
• The Ancestral Witches mock or ignore Hongjun’s teachings, creating a humorous contrast with the anxious, highly focused cultivators at the front.
• Hongjun formally elevates the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti, establishing a teacher-disciple hierarchy.
• Red Cloud celebrates his reward without realizing that the surrounding cultivators, particularly Kunpeng, now view him as a target.
• Dijiang confronts Hongjun indirectly by dismissing the Sage Seats and demanding the promised treasures. Hongjun honors the agreement but clearly reacts with displeasure.
• Dijiang then challenges the other cultivators’ assumptions by inviting anyone dissatisfied with the Sage’s Path to learn the Witches’ Law Dao at Mount Buzhou.
• The chapter ends with Hongjun separating the chosen disciples from the rest and directing the remaining cultivators toward the treasure distribution, setting up further competition.

Chapter Summary: “Hauling Away the Entire Treasure-Dividing Rock—They Struck It Rich!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Hongjun declares that “those fated to them shall obtain them,” Dijiang realizes the statement can be exploited.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches immediately leave Violet Firmament Palace and discover the Treasure-Dividing Rock, which holds thousands of Innate Spirit Treasures protected by a Heaven’s Way restriction.
• Dijiang orders the Twelve Witches to form the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation. Their Pangu Phantom smashes through Hongjun’s restriction with a single blow.
• Rather than taking only individual treasures, the Witches seize the entire Treasure-Dividing Rock and every treasure upon it, then flee toward the Primordial Wilderness Continent.
• The other cultivators arrive too late and are left empty-handed. They resentfully blame Hongjun, since Dijiang technically fulfilled Hongjun’s own rule by obtaining the treasures through his strength.
• Hongjun is furious but cannot openly intervene without appearing to break his promise and risking conflict with the Twelve Ancestral Witches before merging with the Dao.
• He closes Violet Firmament Palace and dismisses the disappointed cultivators.
• Inside the palace, Hongjun distributes his remaining Spirit Treasures among his six disciples: Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti.
• The chapter ends at Mount Buzhou, where the enormous Treasure-Dividing Rock crashes down before Pangu Hall and the Ancestral Witches celebrate their unprecedented haul.

Character Developments

• Dijiang demonstrates boldness, opportunism, and decisive leadership. He interprets Hongjun’s words literally and acts before anyone else can react.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches cooperate flawlessly, using their combined formation and Pangu’s power to overcome Hongjun’s restriction. Their behavior reinforces their fearlessness and aggressive unity.
• Hongjun suffers a rare loss of composure. His carefully planned distribution of treasures is overturned, but he is forced to remain outwardly calm because of his own declaration and his impending Dao fusion.
• Yuanshi Tianzun reveals his possessiveness and resentment. He publicly demands punishment for the Witches, but his real anger comes from losing treasures he expected to receive.
• The Three Pure Ones are significantly weakened by the theft, especially because major treasures such as the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, and the Four Swords of Immortal Execution are already in Dijiang’s possession.
• Tongtian is pleased with the treasures Hongjun gives him, while Yuanshi remains disappointed that he does not receive the Pangu Banner.

Significant Themes

• Clever exploitation of rules: Dijiang turns Hongjun’s vague promise into an opportunity to claim everything.
• Strength and initiative: The treasures go not to those passively awaiting fate, but to the faction powerful and daring enough to seize them.
• Loss of authority and control: Hongjun’s inability to reclaim the Treasure-Dividing Rock exposes the limits of his authority.
• Factional imbalance: The Witches’ success dramatically strengthens them while weakening the Arcane Gate and the Three Pure Ones.
• Greed and resentment: The other cultivators’ outrage highlights how deeply they expected to benefit from Hongjun’s treasure distribution.

Important Character Interactions

• Dijiang and the Twelve Witches: Dijiang commands, and the others immediately follow, showing their unity and trust in his leadership.
• The Witches and Hongjun: Their theft directly challenges Hongjun’s authority, yet Hongjun cannot punish them without contradicting his own words.
• The great powers and Hongjun: The disappointed cultivators glare at Hongjun in resentment, silently holding him responsible for the loophole.
• Yuanshi and Hongjun: Yuanshi demands that Hongjun punish the Witches, but Hongjun dismisses the issue and proceeds with the planned distribution.
• Hongjun and his six disciples: Hongjun compensates the disciples with the treasures still available, though the rewards are far less than what the Three Pure Ones might have obtained from the Treasure-Dividing Rock.

Chapter Summary: “Take Up Some Side Hustles”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After taking the entire stock of Innate Spirit Treasures from Treasure-Dividing Rock, Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches celebrate their success. Their haul includes thousands of treasures, among them several Supreme-Grade treasures such as the Violet Lightning Hammer and Primordial Golden Dipper.
• Dijiang decides that the Twelve Ancestral Witches will first select the highest-grade treasures for themselves. The remaining treasures will be placed in Mount Buzhou’s treasury and used to reward disciples, Dao students, and other talented beings.
• He plans to use the treasures to strengthen Mount Buzhou’s influence, attract more followers, and establish a deeper foundation for their lineage.
• Dijiang gives the emptied Treasure-Dividing Rock to Zhu Rong and orders him to learn artifact refinement, despite Zhu Rong having no experience in the field.
• Recognizing that the Ancestral Witches lack expertise in supporting disciplines, Dijiang assigns each brother a side path:
  • Zhu Rong: artifact refinement
  • Jumang: alchemy
  • Zhu Jiuyin: formations
  • Dijiang: development of the previously unknown Talisman Dao
• The Ancestral Witches enter seclusion to cultivate their laws while studying these disciplines.

Character Developments

• Dijiang becomes more strategic and forward-thinking. Rather than relying only on overwhelming combat strength, he seeks to expand Mount Buzhou’s influence through treasures, disciples, specialized knowledge, and new cultivation methods.
• Zhu Rong is forced to move beyond his strengths in flame and combat and begin learning artifact refinement.
• Zhu Jiuyin and the other Ancestral Witches recognize that their cultivation has reached a bottleneck and accept the value of studying side paths to gain new insights into the laws.
• Di Jun abandons his earlier ambition of subduing the Ancestral Witches after witnessing the terrifying power of their Pangu True Body. He instead turns toward building his own faction and accumulating fortune.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi, initially shocked and fearful of the Witches’ strength, supports Di Jun’s plan to gather living beings and establish a powerful race.

Significant Themes

• Strategic development beyond raw strength: The Witches realize that combat power alone is insufficient and begin cultivating alchemy, formations, artifact refinement, and talismans.
• Resources as a means of influence: The stolen treasures are not merely personal weapons; they become tools for rewarding talent, recruiting followers, and expanding Mount Buzhou’s authority.
• Adaptation in the face of overwhelming power: Di Jun and Taiyi acknowledge that they cannot currently challenge the Witches directly, so they pursue an alternative path based on organization and accumulated fortune.
• Competition between emerging factions: Mount Buzhou and Di Jun’s developing force begin to follow separate routes, setting the stage for future rivalry.
• Innovation and foresight: Dijiang’s attempt to create Talisman Dao suggests that discovering an entirely new discipline may give the Witches an advantage over established powers.

Character Interactions

• The Ancestral Witches enthusiastically praise Dijiang’s decisions and cooperate in dividing and recording the treasures.
• Dijiang teases and pressures Zhu Rong into learning artifact refinement, telling him that even destroying the Treasure-Dividing Rock would be acceptable practice.
• Dijiang persuades the others that studying side paths can help them overcome cultivation bottlenecks, and they willingly accept their assignments.
• Di Jun and Taiyi discuss the threat posed by the Pangu True Body. Their former plan to control the Witches collapses, but Di Jun redirects Taiyi’s concern into a plan to gather followers and establish a race.
• Over the following one hundred thousand years, most major cultivators advance into the Quasi-Saint Realm. Di Jun and Taiyi gather more than half the world’s living beings, while some beings leave Mount Buzhou because its leaders remain in seclusion and stop giving Dao lectures.

Chapter Summary: Progress in Talismans

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mount Buzhou continues to accept beings who sincerely seek the Dao while allowing those loyal to Di Jun’s faction to leave freely. Although its population no longer grows rapidly, the remaining cultivators are highly devoted and cohesive, strengthening the faction’s overall quality.
• Dijiang spends one hundred thousand years studying the Talisman Dao. He progresses from basic Five-Elements Talismans to more advanced Law Talismans, but repeatedly fails to seal Primordial Golden Immortal-level law power into ordinary talisman paper.
• Zhu Rong arrives after yet another failed attempt at artifact refinement, revealing that he has destroyed thousands of furnaces without successfully creating even a low-grade Acquired Spirit Treasure.
• Dijiang realizes that Zhu Rong’s failed refinement has produced exceptionally durable metal, naturally resistant to the Flame Law. He determines that similarly tempered materials could serve as superior talisman paper.
• Using the improved materials supplied by Zhu Rong, Dijiang finally creates a Primordial Origin-tier Space Severing Talisman. When tested, it slices through a million-zhang barren mountain with a spatial fissure, demonstrating power equivalent to a full-force strike from a Mid-Primordial Golden Immortal.
• Dijiang explains that such powerful talismans cannot be mass-produced because they consume rare materials and enormous amounts of his Primordial Spirit power. However, he has created tens of thousands of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal-level talismans containing various laws, including the Five Elements, lightning, wind, and rain.
• He orders Zhu Jiuyin to distribute these talismans among the Dao Protector Army commanders and the most loyal Mount Buzhou cultivators, greatly increasing the faction’s defensive and offensive strength.
• The chapter ends with a world-shaking announcement: Hongjun merges with the Dao, becoming Heaven’s Way while retaining a distinction between himself and the Dao. He declares that he will not emerge again as long as the great tide of fate remains unchanged.

Character Developments

• Dijiang demonstrates exceptional patience, insight, and inventiveness. His failed experiments lead him to combine the Talisman Dao with Zhu Rong’s artifact-refinement methods, resulting in a major breakthrough.
• Zhu Rong remains impulsive and explosive, repeatedly destroying furnaces through poor control of his flames. Despite his failures, his tempered materials become crucial to Dijiang’s success, giving him an unexpected contribution to the Talisman Dao.
• Gonggong has successfully strengthened his Sea-Calming Divine Pearl by integrating the Water Law, but avoids artifact refinement because he considers it tedious and difficult. His teasing of Zhu Rong highlights their familiar rivalry.
• Qiang Liang reacts with surprise to the power of the completed talisman, representing the astonishment of the other Ancestral Witches.
• Zhu Jiuyin is entrusted with distributing the talismans, reflecting Dijiang’s confidence in his judgment and loyalty.
• Hongjun undergoes the chapter’s largest transformation by merging with the Dao and becoming the embodiment of Heaven’s Way, effectively withdrawing from direct activity in the world.

Significant Themes

• Innovation through failure: Zhu Rong’s repeated failures are not entirely wasted; the materials produced through his failed refinements become the foundation for Dijiang’s breakthrough.
• The fusion of different cultivation paths: Dijiang advances the Talisman Dao by incorporating principles from artifact refinement, showing how separate disciplines can complement one another.
• Quality over quantity: Mount Buzhou’s strength comes increasingly from the loyalty, faith, and capability of its members rather than sheer numbers.
• Preparation and strategic power: The mass production of Zenith Heaven-level talismans gives the faction a major military advantage, while the single Primordial Origin-tier talisman serves as a powerful trump card.
• The rise of Heaven’s Way: Hongjun’s merging with the Dao marks a major cosmic development and signals a shift in the balance of power and the structure of the Primordial World.

Character Interactions

• Dijiang criticizes Zhu Rong’s lack of patience, while Zhu Rong responds defensively and challenges Gonggong to refine an artifact himself.
• Gonggong boasts about improving his Sea-Calming Divine Pearl and mocks Zhu Rong’s failures, intensifying their sibling-like quarrel.
• Dijiang ends the argument and turns Zhu Rong’s failed material into a productive discovery, redirecting the brothers’ conflict toward cooperation.
• The Ancestral Witches collectively marvel at the destructive power of the Space Severing Talisman.
• Zhu Rong enthusiastically suggests mass-producing the talismans, while Dijiang explains their limitations and outlines a more practical distribution plan.

Chapter Summary: “Establishing the Witch Cult!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hongjun successfully joins with the Heavenly Way, causing the laws and heavenly secrets of the Primordial World to become clearer and more orderly.
• Hongjun declares that “the great course shall not be altered” and that he will not personally emerge, implying that Heaven’s Way now restricts his direct intervention.
• Dijiang and the other Ancestral Witches realize this limitation creates an opportunity. They conclude that the six beings who received Primordial Purple Qi—the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti—will soon become Sages, potentially disrupting the balance of power.
• To strengthen Mount Buzhou’s forces, Dijiang orders more frequent sermons and opens the Law Stele Grove, allowing Taiyi Golden Immortals to study laws left behind at the Great Firmament level.
• On the Sun Star, Di Jun and Taiyi decide to formally establish a faction after gathering nearly sixty percent of the Primordial World’s living beings.
• Di Jun establishes the Demon Clan, claiming all creatures born from fur, horns, moisture, eggs, plants, stones, and similar origins. Heaven’s Way acknowledges the declaration, granting immense Merit and Fortune.
• The resulting Fortune empowers Di Jun and Taiyi: Di Jun severs his Evil Corpse, Taiyi severs his Good Corpse, and both advance to the late Quasi-Saint realm.
• The Demon Clan’s rise alarms the Three Pure Ones and the Ancestral Witches. Yuanshi dismisses the new clan, while Laozi and Tongtian acknowledge its growing power.
• Dijiang rejects the Demon Clan’s claim to unite all races and argues that the Demon Clan’s members are burdened by violence and karmic sin, unlike Mount Buzhou’s Dao-seeking cultivators.
• In response, Dijiang gives Mount Buzhou an official identity and declares the establishment of the Witch Cult, open to all who enter Mount Buzhou to cultivate the Law Grand Dao.

Character Developments

• Dijiang becomes more strategic and politically proactive. Rather than confronting Hongjun directly, he takes advantage of Heaven’s restrictions and builds Mount Buzhou’s influence through education, cultivation resources, and institutional organization.
• Zhu Jiuyin demonstrates his understanding of the consequences of Hongjun’s union with Heaven’s Way, emphasizing that Hongjun is now effectively invincible within the Primordial World unless the Witches reach the Primordial Origin Great Firmament Realm.
• Di Jun reveals strong ambition and leadership by uniting the world’s races under the Demon Clan and using Fortune to advance his cultivation.
• Taiyi acts as Di Jun’s loyal counterpart, helping organize the Demon Clan and advancing alongside him.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches shift from a relatively independent group into the foundation of a formal religious and cultivation-based institution.

Significant Themes

• Power and political balance: Hongjun’s ascension and the coming age of Sages motivate every major faction to increase its strength before the new hierarchy is established.
• Institution-building: Both the Demon Clan and Witch Cult represent attempts to transform scattered forces into organized powers with shared identities and sources of Fortune.
• Heavenly restriction versus personal ambition: Hongjun gains overwhelming authority but is bound by Heaven’s Way, showing that supreme power also comes with limitations.
• Competing paths of cultivation: The Demon Clan seeks influence through mass unification and Fortune, while the Witch Cult emphasizes learning, law comprehension, and pursuit of the Dao.
• Legitimacy and ideological conflict: Di Jun claims to unite all races for their protection, whereas Dijiang questions whether a force built around combat and karmic burden can truly represent the Primordial World.

Important Character Interactions

• Dijiang, Zhu Rong, Zhu Jiuyin, and Houtu discuss Hongjun’s new status and identify the restrictions placed upon him.
• Di Jun and Taiyi coordinate the creation of the Demon Clan, with Taiyi carrying out Di Jun’s orders.
• The Three Pure Ones debate the Demon Clan’s legitimacy: Yuanshi insults it, while Laozi and Tongtian take a more cautious view.
• The Ancestral Witches collectively recognize the Demon Clan as a rival and support Dijiang’s decision to establish the Witch Cult in response.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dijiang formally declares the establishment of the Witch Cult at Mount Buzhou. Heaven’s Way acknowledges the oath, and the faith and fortune of hundreds of billions of beings gather into a Pangu Phantom before splitting into golden light and entering the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
• The Ancestral Witches receive a major cultivation boost:
  • Dijiang approaches the Peak Primordial Golden Immortal stage.
  • Zhu Jiuyin, Zhu Rong, Gonggong, and the others advance to the verge of the Late-Primordial Golden Immortal stage.
• The beings gathered at Mount Buzhou officially become Witch Cult disciples, giving them a faction and a sense of belonging.
• The Demon Court reacts angrily. Di Jun and Taiyi view the Witch Cult as a direct challenge and fear that it will attract the independent cultivators and races they hoped to recruit. Di Jun orders increased surveillance of Mount Buzhou and faster expansion of the Demon Clan.
• The Three Pure Ones discuss the new faction:
  • Yuanshi dismisses the Witch Cult as illegitimate because the Witches do not revere the Dao Ancestor or Heaven’s Way.
  • Laozi points out that Heaven’s Way has clearly recognized the Witch Cult.
  • Tongtian expresses eagerness to test himself against the Ancestral Witches.
• The Primordial World becomes divided between two major powers:
  • The Demon Clan, based on the Sun Star, seeks authority and control over all races and beings.
  • The Witch Cult, based at Mount Buzhou, focuses on cultivating the Law Grand Dao and offers teachings and treasures to those with sufficient talent and dedication.
• Over the next hundred thousand years, the Witch Cult expands rapidly. It develops thousands of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal disciples and countless Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
• Six-Eared Macaque, Dijiang’s disciple, breaks through to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage and demonstrates progress in both the Ninefold Mysterious Technique and Space Law.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches also advance to the Late-Primordial Golden Immortal stage. When Zhu Rong and Gonggong report that Demon Clan members have been harassing Witch Cult disciples and encroaching near Mount Buzhou, Dijiang decides the Demon Clan needs to be punished.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Dijiang becomes more powerful and confident after receiving the Witch Cult’s fortune. He remains primarily focused on strengthening the Witches and pursuing a higher realm, rather than treating the Demon Clan as an equal threat. However, reports of repeated provocations finally provoke him into action.
• Di Jun grows suspicious and defensive. He interprets the Witch Cult’s formation as a deliberate attempt to steal the Demon Clan’s future followers and begins actively competing for control of the Primordial World.
• Taiyi reacts with open anger and hostility toward Dijiang, immediately viewing the Witch Cult as a rival faction.
• Yuanshi Tianzun displays arrogance and confidence in the Three Pure Ones’ eventual rise to sainthood, believing the Witches cannot threaten their status without Primordial Purple Qi.
• Laozi acts as the more cautious and rational voice, recognizing that Heaven’s Way’s acknowledgment gives the Witch Cult genuine legitimacy.
• Tongtian is eager for battle and shows interest in personally challenging the Ancestral Witches.
• Six-Eared Macaque proves himself a talented disciple by reaching the Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage within a hundred thousand years. Dijiang praises him but reminds him that true advancement begins only after condensing a Law Dao Fruit.
• Zhu Rong and Gonggong become increasingly impatient with the Demon Clan’s behavior and urge Dijiang to respond militarily.

Significant Themes

• Factional division: The world enters an era of polarization, with beings choosing between the Demon Clan’s pursuit of power and the Witch Cult’s pursuit of the Dao.
• Faith and fortune: The chapter emphasizes how collective belief and Heaven’s Way’s recognition can directly strengthen leaders and entire factions.
• Authority versus enlightenment: The Demon Clan represents hierarchy, political control, and expansion, while the Witch Cult represents personal cultivation, comprehension, and freedom in pursuing the Law Grand Dao.
• Pangu’s legacy: The Pangu Phantom and the rivalry over the “Pangu Orthodox Lineage” show the growing importance of claiming legitimacy as Pangu’s successors.
• Restraint before conflict: Although the two factions are increasingly hostile, a full-scale war has not yet begun because Di Jun fears the Witches’ power and Dijiang is initially uninterested in confrontation.
• The consequences of provocation: The Demon Clan’s harassment of Witch Cult disciples eventually pushes Dijiang from passive indifference toward taking direct action.

Important Character Interactions

• Dijiang’s declaration is answered by Heaven’s Way and accepted by the masses at Mount Buzhou.
• Di Jun and Taiyi discuss the threat posed by the Witch Cult and coordinate the Demon Clan’s response.
• Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian debate the legitimacy and future of the Witch Cult.
• Dijiang mentors Six-Eared Macaque, praising his breakthrough while setting higher expectations for his cultivation.
• Zhu Rong and Gonggong confront Dijiang about the Demon Clan’s provocations, prompting Dijiang’s final decision: the Demon Clan has misbehaved and must be taught a lesson.

Chapter Summary: “Conflict”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dijiang responds to the Demon Race’s territorial expansion by ordering the Witch Cult to actively oppose Demon Race oppression rather than attack the Sun Star directly.
• He permits Witch Cult disciples to travel freely, distribute powerful talismans, and use communication jade tokens to request reinforcements.
• Dijiang emphasizes that they may severely injure Demon Race forces but must not slaughter indiscriminately, since excessive killing creates karmic debt that could damage the Witch Cult’s fortune and contribute to a future tribulation.
• The Witch Cult disciples immediately leave Mount Buzhou and begin confronting Demon Race armies throughout the Primordial World.
• At Qingqiu Mountain, a Demon Race army attempts to force the peaceful Nine-Tailed Fox Clan into submission. Its commander attacks the clan’s protective formation, nearly destroying it.
• Three Witch Cult disciples—Chen Xiao, Yun Lin, and Kong Chen—arrive through a spatial rift and block the attack.
• Chen Xiao shatters the commander’s strike, then uses one of Dijiang’s talismans to unleash a Space Severing attack powerful enough to kill the early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal commander outright.
• The remaining Demon Race soldiers flee, but Yun Lin and Kong Chen pursue and destroy the army. The grateful Qingqiu Fox Clan agrees to seek protection at Mount Buzhou.
• Similar interventions occur across the Primordial World. Over several hundred years, Witch Cult disciples badly disrupt the Demon Race’s conquest, injuring or killing many commanders and Demon Race kings while stopping short of indiscriminate slaughter.
• The Demon Race’s expansion is forced to halt, and news of the Witch Cult’s campaign eventually reaches Di Jun.

Character Developments

• Dijiang demonstrates strategic foresight and restraint. He retaliates against the Demon Race while protecting the Witch Cult’s long-term fortune by limiting unnecessary bloodshed.
• Qiang Liang and the other ancestral witches eagerly embrace the chance to confront the Demon Race, revealing their strong battle instincts and loyalty to Dijiang’s command.
• Chen Xiao, Yun Lin, and Kong Chen prove that Witch Cult disciples can challenge stronger opponents through physical cultivation, law comprehension, teamwork, and Dijiang’s talismans.
• The Qingqiu Fox Clan leader shifts from despair in the face of annihilation to gratitude and willingness to join or seek refuge with the Witch Cult.
• The Demon Race commander becomes increasingly humiliated and enraged when the supposedly weaker Witch Cult disciples resist him, ultimately dying to Chen Xiao’s talisman.
• Di Jun is positioned as the next major responder, learning that his campaign has been obstructed by Dijiang’s decree.

Significant Themes

• Resistance against tyranny: The Witch Cult presents itself as a force that protects weaker clans from forced submission and Demon Race domination.
• Power versus restraint: Although the Witch Cult possesses overwhelming destructive power, Dijiang insists that victory must not become pointless slaughter.
• Karmic consequences and political fortune: The chapter links personal actions, accumulated karmic debt, and the long-term survival and advancement of an entire faction.
• Strength through preparation: The disciples’ success comes not only from cultivation but also from Dijiang’s planning, the Law Stele Grove, body tempering, and carefully prepared talismans.
• Growing factional conflict: The Witch Cult’s intervention transforms the Demon Race’s expansion into an open strategic confrontation between Dijiang and Di Jun.

Character Interactions

• Dijiang gives the ancestral witches their orders, balancing Qiang Liang’s eagerness for direct violence with a warning against excessive killing.
• The Demon Race commander threatens the Qingqiu Fox Clan, while the clan leader pleads for the survival of her people.
• Chen Xiao, Yun Lin, and Kong Chen intervene as a united group, openly identifying themselves as Witch Cult disciples and confronting the commander.
• Chen Xiao defeats the commander with Dijiang’s talisman, while Yun Lin and Kong Chen eliminate the fleeing army.
• The Qingqiu leader thanks the three disciples and accepts the Witch Cult’s offer of protection, illustrating the growing trust and support the Witch Cult gains among oppressed clans.
• The chapter ends by setting up Di Jun’s reaction to Dijiang’s increasingly successful campaign against the Demon Race.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• News arrives that Witch Cult disciples have repeatedly blocked the Demon Race’s expansion, enraging Taiyi. He wants to confront Dijiang at Mount Buzhou and demand justice.
• Di Jun stops him, reminding Taiyi that the Ancestral Witches possess the terrifying Pangu Phantom, the Pangu Banner, and potentially other hidden treasures. A direct confrontation could lead to disaster.
• Di Jun observes that the Witch Cult has only injured Demon Race leaders and commanders rather than massacring them, interpreting this as a warning rather than a declaration of total war.
• He orders the Demon Race to withdraw its expanding forces, adopt a defensive posture, and avoid provoking Witch Cult disciples. His priority is to gain time to consolidate resources, increase the Demon Race’s strength, and develop a countermeasure against the Pangu Phantom.
• Di Jun uses the River Map and Luo Writing to deduce the Demon Race’s future and search for a way to break the stalemate.
• At Pangu Hall, Zhu Jiuyin reports that the Demon Race has retreated and is avoiding conflict. Dijiang recognizes Di Jun’s restraint and intelligence.
• Dijiang refuses to halt the Witch Cult’s activities, ordering its disciples to continue traveling, training, and expanding their influence—while warning them not to initiate conflicts or slaughter innocents.
• Dijiang notices Di Jun searching the skies around Mount Buzhou and realizes that Di Jun is likely seeking the Heavenly Court. He explains that establishing it could grant the Demon Race Heaven’s merit, strengthen its fortune, and legitimize its rule.
• Zhu Rong reacts angrily and proposes that the Witch Cult find the Heavenly Court first, allowing Dijiang to become the Heavenly Emperor and the Ancestral Witches to rule the Primordial World.

Character Developments

• Taiyi: His confidence and aggression are checked by Di Jun’s reminder of the Pangu Phantom. Though still frustrated, he accepts the order to restrain the Demon Race and recognizes the danger of acting recklessly.
• Di Jun: Demonstrates political wisdom, patience, and strategic foresight. Rather than retaliating emotionally, he chooses temporary retreat, resource consolidation, and long-term planning. His search for the Heavenly Court reveals his ambition to secure the Demon Race’s dominance through both power and heavenly legitimacy.
• Dijiang: Shows confidence in the Witch Cult’s advantage but also restraint and pragmatism. He understands that Di Jun is avoiding war because the timing is unfavorable. He seeks to expand Witch Cult influence without appearing tyrannical.
• Zhu Jiuyin: Acts as an informant and strategist, using his mastery of time-related insight to monitor the Demon Race’s movements.
• Zhu Rong: Remains hot-tempered and aggressive, eager to confront the Demon Race and later proposing that the Witches seize the Heavenly Court.
• Houtu: Shows a more moderate perspective by suggesting that the Witch Cult should also restrain its disciples after the Demon Race’s concession.

Significant Themes

• Patience versus impulsiveness: Taiyi and Zhu Rong favor immediate confrontation, while Di Jun and Dijiang emphasize timing, preparation, and long-term advantage.
• Strategic restraint: Both factions avoid a full-scale war, recognizing that an untimely conflict could weaken them or benefit their rival.
• Power and legitimacy: The Heavenly Court represents more than territory; it offers heavenly merit, political authority, and increased fortune. Control of it could determine which faction dominates the Primordial World.
• Rivalry beneath temporary peace: The Demon Race’s retreat does not end the conflict. Both sides continue strengthening themselves and expanding influence while preparing for a future struggle.
• Rule through force versus virtue: Dijiang instructs the Witch Cult to win followers through reason and virtue rather than indiscriminate violence, suggesting that moral legitimacy is another form of power.

Character Interactions

• Di Jun firmly restrains Taiyi, replacing his brother’s desire for revenge with a strategy of patience and preparation.
• Taiyi’s respect for Di Jun ultimately overcomes his anger, though he leaves reluctantly.
• Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin analyze the Demon Race’s retreat, while Zhu Rong advocates confrontation and Houtu encourages moderation.
• Dijiang’s discovery of Di Jun’s search for the Heavenly Court shifts the chapter’s focus from border conflict to a larger contest over heavenly authority and rulership.

Chapter Summary: “To Fight or Not to Fight”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhu Rong proposes that the ancestral witches seize the Heavenly Court and rule the Primordial World.
• The other ancestral witches—especially Gonggong, Jumang, and Houtu—show varying degrees of support. They believe their Pangu lineage gives them the right and responsibility to govern the world.
• Dijiang initially hesitates, concerned that taking the Heavenly Court would disrupt the balance between the Witch and Demon races and provoke Hongjun, who has merged with the Heavenly Way.
• He explains that Hongjun likely wants the two races to fight until both are destroyed, thereby reducing the Primordial World’s karmic burden and strengthening Heaven’s Way.
• Zhu Jiuyin challenges Dijiang’s excessive caution. He argues that, as Pangu’s descendants, the ancestral witches should not fear Hongjun or Heaven’s Way. If they seize the Heavenly Court first and install Dijiang as Heavenly Emperor, they would possess legitimate authority that even Hongjun could not openly oppose.
• Zhu Jiuyin further reminds Dijiang that the witches possess the Twelve Capitals Divine Baleful Formation and Pangu Hall, giving them the strength to resist even Hongjun if necessary.
• His words awaken Dijiang’s courage and confidence. Dijiang realizes that while the overall course of the Primordial World may be fixed, the identity of its ruler can still be changed.
• Dijiang abandons his hesitation and orders the ancestral witches to march to the Nine Heavens and seize the Heavenly Court.

Character Developments

• Dijiang: Moves from cautious, strategic hesitation to bold determination. He recognizes that his fear of Hongjun and reliance on past-life knowledge have weakened his Dao-heart. He resolves to act with the pride and fearlessness expected of Pangu’s descendants.
• Zhu Jiuyin: Displays unusual boldness and insight. He identifies Dijiang’s true concern and persuades him that legitimacy, strength, and their Pangu heritage can counter Hongjun’s influence.
• Zhu Rong: Remains aggressive and ambitious, openly eager for war and conquest. His enthusiasm reflects the ancestral witches’ growing confidence.
• Gonggong and Jumang: Support the plan for practical and ideological reasons—greater authority, accumulated Fortune, and improved chances of breaking through to higher cultivation realms.
• Houtu: Quietly agrees with the plan because she hopes the witches could establish a peaceful and orderly world, though her motivation is more compassionate than ambitious.
• The ancestral witches collectively: Shift from looking to Dijiang for a cautious strategy to openly embracing their own ambitions and accepting the risks of confrontation.

Significant Themes

• Ambition versus caution: The chapter weighs the desire to rule against the dangers of provoking a Sage and Heaven’s Way.
• Free will within destiny: Dijiang realizes that even if the broad historical pattern is difficult to change, important details—such as who controls the Heavenly Court—remain alterable.
• Pride in one’s lineage: The witches’ confidence comes from their identity as Pangu’s Orthodox Lineage and their belief that they are the rightful heirs of the Primordial World.
• Cultivation of the heart: Dijiang learns that excessive fear and hesitation can obstruct cultivation. A clear, fearless mind is necessary for pursuing the highest Dao.
• Legitimacy and authority: Possession of the Heavenly Court and the title of Heavenly Emperor could grant the witches righteous standing, making it harder for Hongjun to interfere openly.
• Unity and collective decision-making: Dijiang respects his siblings’ independence rather than deciding for them, strengthening their unity and shared commitment.

Important Character Interactions

• Dijiang and the ancestral witches: Dijiang asks for their genuine opinions instead of imposing his usual cautious judgment, revealing both his leadership and his respect for their autonomy.
• Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin: Zhu Jiuyin directly confronts Dijiang’s fears and restores his confidence. Their exchange is the chapter’s turning point.
• Dijiang and Houtu: Houtu’s silent agreement highlights the contrast between the group’s ambitions and her desire to protect ordinary living beings.
• Dijiang and Zhu Rong: Zhu Rong’s fiery enthusiasm reinforces the chapter’s transition from debate to action, culminating in the decision to attack the Heavenly Court.

Chapter Summary: “One Step Ahead”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The Twelve Ancestral Witches leave Pangu Hall and race toward the Nine Heavens, eager to seize the Heavenly Court before the Demon Race.
• Upon reaching the boundary of the starry sky, Dijiang uses his mastery of the Space Law to tear through layers of hidden spatial barriers.
• He discovers a passage leading to the concealed Thirty-Three Heavens, where the Heavenly Court is located.
• At the same time, Di Jun finally completes a deduction he has worked on for one hundred thousand years. Using the River Map and Luo Writing, he locates the Heavenly Court, which he believes will complete the Demon Race’s providence and help him reach Quasi-Saint Perfection.
• Di Jun summons Taiyi and the Demon Race army, then leads them to the Thirty-Three Heavens.
• However, when they arrive, the Twelve Ancestral Witches are already standing before the Southern Heavenly Gate, having claimed the Heavenly Court first.
• A confrontation follows. Taiyi angrily insists that Heaven’s Way intended the Heavenly Court for the Demon Race, while the Witches mock the Demon Race’s claim and invoke the principle of “first come, first served.”
• Dijiang declares that the Heavenly Court now belongs to the Witches and warns that any attempt to fight will provoke the Twelve Ancestral Witches’ Pangu True Body.
• Although Taiyi wants to battle, Di Jun recognizes that the Demon Race cannot withstand the Pangu True Body without suffering catastrophic losses.
• Di Jun suppresses his anger, retreats with the Demon Race army, and vows to remember the humiliation. The Witches celebrate their victory.

2. Character Developments

• Dijiang demonstrates his powerful Space Law abilities and his confidence as the leader of the Ancestral Witches. He takes control of the confrontation and speaks with absolute certainty, knowing the Demon Race fears the Pangu True Body.
• Di Jun is shown as ambitious, patient, and highly intelligent, having spent one hundred thousand years locating the Heavenly Court. His triumph turns to humiliation when he discovers the Witches arrived first, but he ultimately shows restraint and strategic judgment by refusing to start a disastrous war.
• Taiyi reacts emotionally and aggressively to the Witches’ provocation. He wants to fight immediately, but Di Jun’s command forces him to withdraw.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches act with unity and confidence. Their eagerness to mock Di Jun and their delight at defeating the Demon Race reveal their growing boldness and rivalry with their enemies.
• Gonggong and Zhu Rong serve as particularly provocative figures, taunting the Demon Race and treating the confrontation almost humorously.

3. Significant Themes

• Strategic advantage and timing: The chapter’s central idea is that arriving “one step ahead” can determine ownership of a major opportunity.
• Power versus prudence: Although the Demon Race has immense numbers and powerful treasures, Di Jun understands that raw force cannot overcome the Pangu True Body. Wise restraint prevails over emotional retaliation.
• Humiliation and rivalry: Di Jun’s defeat intensifies the hostility between the Demon Race and the Witches. The loss is especially painful because the Heavenly Court was tied to the Demon Race’s destiny and Di Jun’s personal advancement.
• Claiming destiny: Both factions believe the Heavenly Court is connected to their providence. Its possession represents not merely territory but authority, legitimacy, and future supremacy.
• Strength through unity: The Witches’ combined power gives them confidence, while the Demon Race’s numerical superiority is rendered ineffective by the threat of their opponents’ ultimate technique.

4. Character Interactions

• Dijiang and the Ancestral Witches: Dijiang leads the group and uses his spatial abilities to uncover the Heavenly Court. The others support him and share in the triumph.
• Dijiang and Di Jun: Their confrontation is the chapter’s central interaction. Dijiang speaks from a position of overwhelming confidence, while Di Jun is forced to endure the insult and back down.
• Taiyi and the Witches: Taiyi responds furiously to their taunts and prepares to fight, but the Witches’ confidence—and the threat of the Pangu True Body—prevents him from acting.
• Di Jun and Taiyi: Taiyi urges direct confrontation, but Di Jun decisively rebukes him and chooses retreat, demonstrating that Di Jun remains the more calculating leader.
• The Witches and the Demon Race army: The Witches mock the entire invading army, while the Demon Race is forced to withdraw in disgrace. Their laughter at the end emphasizes the Witches’ complete psychological victory.