Chapter Summaries

Wutian Buddha seized the Great Thunderclap Temple after defeating its defenders, while Tathagata Buddha departed in accordance with the karmic tribulation. Jiang Ming followed Tathagata’s reincarnation, absorbed his merit lotus, and became his elder twin brother, setting his plan in motion.

• Black Robe and the Nine-Tailed Scorpion Spirit demanded Spirit Mountain’s surrender, and Black Robe swallowed the Four Great Vajra Guardians.
• Wutian Buddha defeated Tang Sanzang, while Guanyin Bodhisattva urged him to find Wukong and warned him that the tribulation could not be avoided.
• Tathagata Buddha told Wutian that his severed Good Corpse left him with a weakness, then vanished after reciting his final vow.
• Wutian subdued the gods and Buddhas at the Great Thunderclap Temple, while Jiang Ming followed Tathagata to his reincarnation.
• Jiang Ming absorbed Tathagata’s Ninth-Rank Innate Merit Golden Lotus and became the elder twin brother of the infant Tathagata.

Jiang Ming was born as Tathagata’s reincarnation during the Karmic Tribulation and began cultivating in secret, intending to use his infant body and the tribulation’s fortune to grow rapidly. Meanwhile, Wutian seized Spirit Mountain and began replacing the Three Realms’ gods and Buddhas with demons and monsters.

• Wutian took the throne at Spirit Mountain, while Jiang Ming was born with a Twelve-Petaled Golden Merit Lotus between his brows.
• Jiang Ming recognized the newborn’s fortune and began studying Sect Master Tongtian’s methods, including the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.
• At the Great Thunderclap Temple, Tang Sanzang and Guanyin Bodhisattva refused to submit to Wutian, while Kasyapa and Ananda joined him.
• Wutian seized the three flowers and five qi of the resisting Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, killed many monks, and plunged Spirit Mountain into darkness.
• Wutian forged a treasure to disguise demons and monsters as gods and Buddhas as he began replacing the rulers of the Three Realms.
• Jiang Ming sealed his former cultivation, preserved his innate qi, absorbed the Karmic Tribulation’s aura, and planned to become an Earth Immortal at one month old, a Heavenly Immortal at one hundred days, and a Golden Immortal at one year.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Eighteen years pass as Jiang Ming cultivates in secret, advancing from infancy to the Early-Stage Daluo Golden Immortal realm by age eighteen.
• Although fate appears to have arranged White Lotus Flower as one of his destined romantic partners, Jiang Ming severs their marriage thread, determined not to become entangled in romantic karma.
• His action unexpectedly activates two powerful nine-star Fate Patterns associated with attracting women. Because he cannot currently break their seal, the connection with White Lotus Flower remains unavoidable.
• While taking a rare walk, Jiang Ming encounters the corrupt young master of the Hu Family attempting to abduct a woman.
• Jiang Ming intervenes despite his page’s warning that the young master is protected by his father’s influence. He reveals an imperial Death-Exemption Plaque and identifies himself as Qiao Ling, the youngest top scholar of Great Song.
• Terrified by the plaque and Jiang Ming’s authority, the Hu Family playboy kneels. Jiang Ming orders the guards to break the legs of the young man’s lackeys and investigates his crimes.
• After confirming the young master’s wrongdoing, Jiang Ming has both him and his magistrate father imprisoned. He also contacts his teacher, the Eight Worthy Prince, ensuring that the Hu Family will face serious consequences.
• White Lotus Flower becomes deeply impressed by Jiang Ming. After investigating him, she learns that he is the renowned top scholar whose poems and lyrics have become famous throughout the kingdom.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Grows from a reincarnated infant into a powerful cultivator and exceptionally accomplished scholar. He rejects passive submission to fate, especially its attempts to arrange romantic relationships, but still acts decisively against injustice. His pride, authority, and unwillingness to tolerate humiliation become increasingly clear.
• White Lotus Flower: Initially a stranger involved in a forced-abduction incident, she develops admiration for Jiang Ming after witnessing his courage, status, and ability to punish corruption.
• Hu Family’s young master: Revealed as an arrogant and abusive playboy who relies on his father’s authority. His confidence collapses when confronted with imperial power.
• Jiang Ming’s page and guards: The page worries about the danger of confronting the Hu Family, while the hidden guards demonstrate their loyalty and effectiveness by enforcing Jiang Ming’s orders.
• Jiang Ming’s Fate Patterns: His romantic Fate Patterns act independently of his wishes, forcing him into an unwanted connection with White Lotus Flower despite his attempt to sever their marriage thread.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus free will: Jiang Ming attempts to resist destiny by cutting his marriage thread, but his Fate Patterns continue to shape events beyond his control.
• Power and authority: Jiang Ming combines supernatural strength, scholarly prestige, imperial favor, and political connections to confront entrenched corruption.
• Justice and moral responsibility: He believes that witnessing wrongdoing requires intervention, especially when the victim is powerless.
• Identity and hidden power: Jiang Ming conceals his cultivation while living among mortals, using his scholarly achievements and imperial symbols as substitutes for openly displaying his true strength.
• Pride and the Dao heart: Jiang Ming refuses to endure humiliation merely to appear ordinary, believing that suppressing his nature and allowing injustice would damage his spiritual resolve.
• Beauty, status, and admiration: White Lotus Flower’s interest is sparked not only by Jiang Ming’s appearance but also by his reputation, accomplishments, and commanding conduct.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming directly confronts the Hu Family’s young master, turning the confrontation from a threat of violence into a display of imperial authority.
• He rebukes the young master’s lackeys, orders his guards to punish them, and then personally takes responsibility for investigating the family’s crimes.
• White Lotus Flower observes Jiang Ming’s defense of the abducted woman and later investigates his identity, discovering his fame as a top scholar.
• Jiang Ming’s connection with White Lotus Flower is shaped less by mutual choice than by the revived Fate Patterns that bind them together.

Jiang Ming drew White Lotus Flower away from banditry and involved her in plans to improve life in North Lake Commandery. Three years after his agricultural and trade reforms began, the region was thriving, and White Lotus Flower had come to admire him deeply.

• White Lotus Flower killed the Hu father and son after taking them from prison, then sent a subordinate to invite Jiang Ming to meet her late at night; he refused to protect her reputation.
• White Lotus Flower accepted Jiang Ming’s invitation to his grandfather’s sixtieth birthday banquet, where they became friendlier and he invited her to discuss a business venture.
• Jiang Ming put White Lotus Flower and her bandits to work in new ventures, hired poor people, and introduced high-yield crops, raising living standards across North Lake Commandery.
• Over the following year, North Lake Commandery became a major trade center as sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and jujube trees spread through the region.
• White Lotus Flower came to admire Jiang Ming for achieving the kind of work she had once hoped to do: helping many people live better lives.

Jiang Ming agreed to go with Son Goku to Spirit Mountain after Zhu Bajie tried to kill him, while Son Goku grew suspicious of the mission and Zhu Bajie’s motives. Wutian prepared for their arrival, and Jiang Ming left his life in the Great Song behind before traveling with White Lotus Flower.

• Zhu Bajie tried to kill Jiang Ming, but White Lotus Flower stopped him as the local people defended Jiang Ming and Ling'er.
• Jiang Ming agreed to go to Spirit Mountain, while Son Goku questioned whether Ling'er was truly Wutian’s reincarnation.
• Wutian learned that Son Goku had found the spirit child and ordered the Three Realms’ demons and monsters to stay concealed.
• Jiang Ming left letters and provisions for his parents and arranged for his marquis title to pass to his father before departing with White Lotus Flower.
• Son Goku delayed the journey and told Zhu Bajie that he suspected they had fallen into a trap and were being manipulated.

Chapter Summary: When Your Song Ends, Mine Begins

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming, Son Goku, Zhu Bajie, and White Lotus Flower discuss the identity of Ling’er and the emergence of Wutian. Jiang Ming reflects on his former self, who once overthrew the divine order and replaced the gods and immortals with demons and monsters, but ultimately failed because his followers were incompetent.
• Son Goku concludes that Ling’er is not Wutian’s reincarnated demon child. Her kind nature and righteous actions contradict the usual behavior of demon reincarnations, and ordinary people’s improved lives further convince him that Jiang Ming is not evil.
• Son Goku devises a plan to bring a false “Ling’er” to Spirit Mountain. Wutian immediately recognizes that the supposed captive is only a set of Jiang Ming’s clothes.
• During their confrontation, Son Goku explains how he saw through the deception: his Fiery Golden Eyes, the Golden-Winged Roc’s suspicious behavior, the illusions surrounding their journey, and Ling’er’s unmistakably compassionate nature all revealed the truth.
• In exchange for answering Son Goku’s question, Wutian reveals that the mysterious figure they have been searching for is Tathagata Buddha’s reincarnation.
• Son Goku then demands to see Wutian’s true form. Spirit Mountain transforms into a demonic realm, confirming that Tathagata and Wutian are one and the same.
• Wutian offers Son Goku anything he desires if he joins him, but instead confines him and Zhu Bajie in Vulture Cave under the guard of the Six Spirit Generals. These generals are resurrected tree spirits whom Tathagata rebuilt using the Black Lotus after Son Goku killed them during the pilgrimage.
• Son Goku explains that escape is impossible because Spirit Mountain is saturated with Tathagata’s Buddhist power. Zhu Bajie attempts to break free but is immediately repelled and injured.
• Wutian plans to release Son Goku later so he can use him to locate Tathagata’s reincarnated spirit child. However, Black Robe and another demon group begin searching independently, targeting the Qiao Family residence.
• Jiang Ming’s long-prepared defensive formation activates near North Lake Commandery, instantly killing every demon accompanying Black Robe and severely injuring Black Robe himself. The White Bone Demon arrives afterward and concludes that Tathagata’s reincarnation has already left, since he would not endanger innocent people.

Character Developments

• Son Goku demonstrates exceptional intelligence, skepticism, and moral judgment. He no longer blindly trusts Buddhist authority and independently determines that Ling’er and Jiang Ming are not evil.
• Jiang Ming is shown as strategic and deeply prepared. His past identity as a ruthless revolutionary is contrasted with his present efforts to protect himself and manipulate events from behind the scenes.
• Wutian/Tathagata is revealed as a master manipulator who has secretly rebuilt fallen demons, cultivated powerful servants, and planned to use Son Goku to find the reincarnated spirit child.
• Zhu Bajie continues his convincing disguise and comic role, but his anxiety becomes genuine when the group is imprisoned. His failed escape emphasizes the overwhelming power of Spirit Mountain.
• White Lotus Flower remains openly critical of Zhu Bajie and perceptive about the situation, while her sudden departure hints that she may be cooperating with the larger deception.
• Black Robe suffers a major setback, surviving Jiang Ming’s formation only through his own strength.
• White Bone Demon becomes more cautious after witnessing the formation’s destructive power.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus reality: False captives, disguises, illusions, reincarnations, and Wutian’s transformation all emphasize the difficulty of knowing what is true.
• Moral judgment beyond labels: Son Goku judges Ling’er and Jiang Ming by their actions rather than accepting the official claim that they are demonic.
• The danger of flawed revolutions: Jiang Ming’s former self successfully overthrew the old order but failed because his replacement leaders were incapable of governing.
• Manipulation and free will: Wutian attempts to control both demons and heroes, offering rewards while secretly arranging events to serve his own plans.
• Preparation versus overwhelming power: Wutian dominates Spirit Mountain, but Jiang Ming’s long-term planning allows a single formation to destroy an entire demon force.

Important Character Interactions

• White Lotus Flower insults Zhu Bajie, and he angrily reveals that he heard her.
• Son Goku and Jiang Ming separately question the truth about Wutian, Ling’er, and the supposed demon child.
• Son Goku directly challenges Wutian, first forcing him to reveal Tathagata’s identity and then demanding to see his true form.
• Wutian attempts to recruit Son Goku, but instead confines him with Zhu Bajie.
• Zhu Bajie’s failed escape reinforces Son Goku’s understanding of Spirit Mountain’s power.
• Black Robe reports the formation’s failure to the White Bone Demon, who decides not to risk entering the protected area.

Son Goku exposed the Six-Eared Macaque, defeated him, and used his disguise to lure Wutian’s forces into a trap while protecting Jiang Ming and Ling'er. Black Robe escaped after battling Son Goku, and Son Goku set out to find his fellow pilgrims as Jiang Ming waited for the chance to advance his cultivation.

• Son Goku recognized that Zhu Bajie was actually the Six-Eared Macaque and explained the clues that had given him away.
• The Six-Eared Macaque revealed himself, fought Son Goku, and was killed again after a hundred exchanges.
• Son Goku disguised himself as Zhu Bajie and tricked Black Robe and the other demons into believing he had been defeated.
• Son Goku ambushed the demons, protected Ling'er inside a Demon-Subduing Vajra Circle, and fought Black Robe until Black Robe escaped using a Black Lotus avatar.
• Jin Chanzi and Third Prince Nezha arrived, while Son Goku planned to find his fellow pilgrims and Jiang Ming continued waiting for an opportunity to cultivate.

Son Goku left Jiang Ming and White Lotus Flower at the Donghua Emperor’s sanctuary before departing to rescue people and seek allies. Over three months, Biyou Fairy fell in love with Jiang Ming and underwent extraordinary changes to her talents and cultivation, reaching Peak Golden Immortal.

• Son Goku brought Jiang Ming and White Lotus Flower to Mount Donghua and asked the Donghua Emperor to shelter them while he went to rescue people with his allies.
• The Donghua Emperor agreed to host them and assigned his youngest disciple, Biyou Fairy, to look after them.
• White Lotus Flower devoted herself to cultivation, leaving Biyou Fairy to spend more time with Jiang Ming.
• Biyou Fairy fell in love with Jiang Ming, while their destined romance caused her physique, heart, and abilities to transform.
• After three months, Biyou Fairy had reached Peak Golden Immortal and was approaching the point where she could attempt a breakthrough to Taiyi Golden Immortal.

During three years on Mount Donghua, Jiang Ming reached perfected Daluo Golden Immortal while White Lotus Flower and Biyou Fairy advanced to perfected Taiyi Golden Immortal and competed in cultivation. The Donghua Emperor warned Biyou that she and Ling'er had no future, but she refused to give up, while Jiang Ming continued pursuing his larger plan.

• Jiang Ming cultivated Sect Master Tongtian's lineage and used this world's methods to work around a bottleneck in his Great Freedom Dao Scripture.
• White Lotus Flower and Biyou Fairy both reached perfected Taiyi Golden Immortal and began competing to outdo each other.
• The Donghua Emperor spoke with Biyou Fairy about her feelings for Ling'er and warned that they were destined to have no future together.
• Biyou Fairy told the Donghua Emperor she would choose Ling'er over cultivation and would not give her up, even if it meant dying.
• Jiang Ming continued treating Biyou Fairy and White Lotus Flower as honored guests, keeping his distance while he worked toward reclaiming what belonged to him.

Jiang Ming traveled with Biyou Fairy and White Lotus Flower, helping them grow stronger before deliberately allowing Wutian to capture him. Imprisoned in Lingxiao Palace, he studied Wutian’s black lotus and waited for Son Goku’s rescue, planning to merge with Wutian when he was defeated.

• Jiang Ming left Mount Donghua with White Lotus Flower, and Biyou Fairy followed despite her master’s wishes.
• Jiang Ming, Biyou Fairy, and White Lotus Flower traveled for a year, slaying demons as both women advanced to early-stage Daluo Golden Immortal.
• After four more years, Jiang Ming reached the Quasi-Saint realm, severed his good corpse, and deliberately revealed himself at Flower Fruit Mountain.
• Jiang Ming let Wutian capture him and told Biyou Fairy and White Lotus Flower to find Son Goku and ask him to come to the rescue.
• Wutian failed to refine Jiang Ming for six months because the Twelve-Petaled Golden Merit Lotus and seventeen sariras protected him.
• Wutian imprisoned Jiang Ming in Lingxiao Palace, where Jiang Ming studied the Twelve-Petaled Black Lotus of World Destruction and waited for Son Goku to defeat Wutian.

Jiang Ming completed severing his Three Corpses while Wutian’s control over events weakened and the final confrontation began. As Son Goku battled Wutian, White Lotus Flower and Biyou Fairy reunited with Jiang Ming, who stood close to achieving his plan.

• Wutian captured Son Goku after their fight, but could not extract the sixteen Sariras or persuade him to join his side.
• Jiang Ming recovered most of Wutian’s cultivated Dao laws, understood why Wutian had failed to become a Saint, and severed his Evil Corpse.
• Zhu Bajie crossed the weak water and rescued Son Goku from the Dark Source, frustrating Wutian’s scheme.
• Jiang Ming completed severing his Self Corpse as the others stormed Lingxiao Palace, and he sensed White Lotus Flower and Biyou Fairy had reached Quasi-Saint.
• Wutian began an all-out battle with Son Goku, who drew on the sixteen Sariras and his own Bone-less Sarira.
• White Lotus Flower and Biyou Fairy reunited with Jiang Ming and called him their husband, seeking the answer he had promised them.

Jiang Ming intervened just as Son Goku prepared to sacrifice himself, suppressed Wutian, and revealed that Wutian was his own past-life self. After merging with him, Jiang Ming broke through the Heavenly Dao’s limits and became a Hongmeng Great Dao Saint, leaving the Three Realms as its seventh Saint.

• Son Goku and Wutian fought evenly, but Wutian said that his thirty-three-year term would begin if Tathagata did not return before the deadline.
• Zhen Yuanzi revealed that Son Goku was the seventeenth Sarira, the Bone-less Sarira, and Son Goku chose to sacrifice himself to stop Wutian.
• Jiang Ming removed the Twelve-Petaled Black Lotus, suppressed Wutian with the Golden Merit Lotus, and told Son Goku he no longer needed to die.
• Wutian tried to seize Jiang Ming’s body, but Jiang Ming’s Dao resonance revealed their shared identity and caused Wutian to merge willingly with him.
• Jiang Ming broke through the Heavenly Dao’s shackles, entered Chaos, and became a Hongmeng Great Dao Saint.

Chapter Summary: Turns Out I Was a Villain

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Jiang Ming’s breakthrough, his Good Corpse manifests as Tathagata Buddha, allowing him to stabilize the Buddhist School and establish the world as a secure stronghold.
• Jiang Ming distributes titles and rewards based on merit:
  • Zhu Bajie becomes Wooden Golden Lotus Buddha.
  • Sha Wujing becomes Golden-Body Radiant King Buddha.
  • Little White Dragon becomes Golden-Body Guangli Dragon Ancestor Buddha.
  • White Lotus Flower becomes White Lotus Holy Mother Bodhisattva.
  • Biyou Fairy becomes Bilüo Bodhisattva.
  • Sun Wukong becomes Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Fighting Venerable King Buddha.
• With Jiang Ming’s rise to sainthood, the Buddhist School becomes one of the strongest forces in the Three Realms. He leaves his Good Corpse behind to guard the world.
• Jiang Ming spends ten peaceful years traveling with Baguio Fairy and White Lotus Flower before preparing to leave. Both women leave behind Good Corpses to serve as Bodhisattvas and maintain their influence.
• Inside Jiang Ming’s Inner Heaven and Earth, Tathagata’s reincarnated body grows into an overly amorous young man involved with six heavenly beauties. Jiang Ming decides to send him and his companions to another world to spread Buddhism and aid living beings.
• Jiang Ming gives himself a hundred years to comprehend and complete the Great Freedom Dao Scripture, especially its Beyond Sacrificial Dao section, while also preparing to resolve his accumulated karmic debts.
• His newly awakened memories reveal his true history:
  • He was originally an Earthling who transmigrated into the ancient Primordial Universe.
  • To survive persecution by the Primordial Ancestral Dragon, Origin Phoenix, and Primordial Qilin, he created the Demonic Dao and became Demon Ancestor Luo Hou.
  • He later became a hidden schemer and was eventually defeated and killed by Hongjun, who sought to control the Heavenly Dao and transcend the universe.
  • His next incarnation was Kinnara Bodhisattva, who eventually became Wutian Buddha.
• Jiang Ming also discovers that, during a lifetime in the Shrouding the Heavens Trilogy World, he reached Beyond Sacrificial Dao but died and underwent Dao Transformation. Although he tried to prevent his demonic nature from harming others, his residual aura contaminated ten Strange Ancestors, making him the source of all evil.
• He resolves to return to the Shrouding the Heavens world, face Shi Hao and Ye Fan, and settle his unfinished relationships. Afterwards, he plans to conclude the affairs of the Red-Haired Monster World, break through the Great Freedom Dao Scripture, and finally return to the original Primordial Universe to settle his karma with Hongjun and his former life.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming fully establishes himself as a Saint and leader of the Buddhist School, demonstrating both immense power and political authority.
• His recovered memories radically change his understanding of himself. He realizes that he was not simply a heroic Buddhist figure but also Demon Ancestor Luo Hou and the origin of immense suffering in another world.
• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly self-aware and conflicted. Though he believes he acted out of necessity to survive, he recognizes that his actions made him a genuine disaster from the perspective of Heaven, Earth, and ordinary beings.
• Baguio Fairy and White Lotus Flower advance to the middle stage of the Quasi-Saint realm and sever both their Good and Evil Corpses, placing them among the strongest beings across the heavens.
• Tathagata’s reincarnated body develops into a carefree and romantic young man, behaving without the discipline expected of a Buddhist figure.
• Hongjun is revealed as the ultimate schemer of Jiang Ming’s original universe, though even his attempt to control the Heavenly Dao ultimately trapped him.

Significant Themes

• The duality of good and evil: Jiang Ming’s Good Corpse and Buddhist identity contrast sharply with his past as Demon Ancestor Luo Hou and the source of evil.
• Moral ambiguity and survival: Jiang Ming believes he became a villain because survival left him no alternative, raising questions about whether necessity excuses destructive actions.
• Identity and reincarnation: The chapter reframes Jiang Ming’s life as a chain of incarnations, roles, and suppressed memories rather than a single continuous identity.
• Karma and accountability: Despite achieving sainthood, Jiang Ming cannot escape the consequences of his past. His future journey is centered on confronting former enemies, disciples, brothers, and worlds harmed by him.
• Power and transcendence: Jiang Ming continues pursuing higher cultivation, but spiritual advancement does not erase emotional guilt or moral responsibility.
• The contrast between public honor and private truth: Jiang Ming is publicly revered as a Buddha and Saint while privately recognizing that his history includes manipulation, destruction, and villainy.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming formally rewards Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, Little White Dragon, and Sun Wukong, strengthening their loyalty and recognizing their contributions.
• He privately informs White Lotus Flower and Biyou Fairy that the new Tathagata is merely his Good Corpse, allowing them to understand the true situation while accepting their public Buddhist titles.
• Jiang Ming spends ten years traveling romantically with Baguio Fairy and White Lotus Flower, showing a gentler and more intimate side of his personality.
• He reflects uneasily on Tathagata’s romantic entanglements with six women in his Inner Heaven and Earth.
• Jiang Ming worries about confronting his disciple Shi Hao and brother Ye Fan, fearing their reaction when they learn that he was connected to the origin of evil.
• His past conflict with Hongjun remains the central unresolved karmic relationship of his original life, while his actions toward the Primordial clans define the villainous legacy he must eventually confront.

Chapter Summary: Searching for the Nine Heavens God-Slaying Spear

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming returns to the Red-Haired Monster World and discovers that the Strange Ancestor and Strange Plateau have already been destroyed by Flower Powder Empress, the Empress, Willow God, Shi Hao, Ye Fan, and other allies.
• Empowered by Jiang Ming’s Fate Pattern, the women have broken through from Immortal Emperor to Sacrificial Dao. Their strength has become so great that the Red-Haired Monster World can barely withstand them.
• Jiang Ming brings twenty powerful beings to his own controlled world, where his Good Corpse has become a Great Dao Saint. He then begins preparing for revenge and a further breakthrough, aiming to cultivate the Great Freedom Dao Scripture to the level of Pangu creating heaven and earth.
• His immediate objective is to locate the Primordial Universe where he was once defeated and recover his lost Nine Heavens God-Slaying Spear. The spear, once wielded by Demon Ancestor Luo Hou, is an Innate Supreme Treasure with immense killing power, second only to the Pangu Axe.
• Jiang Ming also considers searching for the Twelve-Petaled Red Lotus of Karmic Fire and the Twelve-Petaled White Lotus of World Purification.
• He enters a powerful parallel Primordial Universe in secret, seals his cultivation, and assumes the identity of an ordinary person to avoid detection by the universe’s Saints and Dao Ancestors.
• He discovers that the main fragments of the God-Slaying Spear are in this universe and that he was once its final Human King: King Zhou of Great Shang.
• The chapter revisits the beginning of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity. As King Zhou, Jiang Ming has just written a poem at Nuwa’s temple that insults and objectifies the goddess.
• His ministers encourage him rather than warning him, while another minister points out the seriousness of desecrating Nuwa.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Gains clarity about his past. He realizes that his former decision to die when reaching Beyond Sacrificial Dao was made to preserve the Red-Haired Monster World, meaning he did not betray it as he once believed. His sense of guilt is replaced by confidence that his actions were justified. However, he remains driven by resentment toward Hongjun, whom he believes manipulated his life and caused Luo Hou’s downfall.
• Jiang Ming as King Zhou: He confronts the consequences of one of his former incarnations. Although he understands that the poem and the resulting calamity were influenced by overwhelming karmic forces, he recognizes that the damage has already been done.
• Flower Powder Empress, the Empress, Willow God, and the other female Immortal Kings: Their breakthroughs establish them as Sacrificial Dao experts and demonstrate the effects of Jiang Ming’s Fate Pattern.
• Hongjun: Though absent from the immediate events, he is portrayed from Jiang Ming’s perspective as a hypocritical schemer who orchestrated Luo Hou’s defeat.
• Nuwa and the Saints: Their future involvement in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity is foreshadowed, especially Nuwa’s anger and the later conflict among the six Saints.

Significant Themes

• Fate, reincarnation, and self-understanding: Jiang Ming’s recovered memories force him to reinterpret his past lives and recognize that his actions were often shaped by larger karmic arrangements.
• Sacrifice and responsibility: His death beyond Sacrificial Dao was a deliberate sacrifice to protect an entire world, emphasizing the cost of preserving others.
• Revenge and power: Recovering the God-Slaying Spear and reaching a higher realm are essential parts of Jiang Ming’s plan to confront those who manipulated and defeated him.
• Karma and inevitability: The poem at Nuwa’s temple acts as the trigger for a massive calamity, but Jiang Ming suggests that the wider Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had already been arranged and was using him as its fuse.
• The decline of the Human Race: The chapter highlights the transition from the era of Human Kings—who could use heavenly merit to attain immortality—to the era of Sons of Heaven and the Dharma-Ending Era, in which humanity’s path to cultivation becomes increasingly restricted.
• The instability of cosmic order: The Investiture of the Gods Calamity is presented as a conflict powerful enough to involve multiple Saints and threaten to return the Primordial Wilderness to chaos.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming reunites with his powerful companions after they independently defeat the Strange Ancestor, then takes them away to prevent the Red-Haired Monster World from collapsing under their combined strength.
• He relies on his Good Corpse to maintain order in the world where he relocates them.
• As King Zhou, Jiang Ming interacts with his sycophantic ministers, who praise his insulting poem and encourage him to display it publicly.
• A more conscientious minister warns him that insulting Nuwa may constitute desecration and bring disastrous consequences.
• The chapter also establishes future conflicts involving Nuwa, the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb, Hongjun, and the other Saints, whose actions will drive the coming Investiture of the Gods Calamity.

Jiang Ming took control as King Zhou, rejected Fei Zhong and You Hun’s push to demand Su Daji, recovered the shaft of his Nine Heavens God-Slaying Spear, and advanced to Taiyi Golden Immortal. He discovered that his restored system could summon generals and ministers using dynastic fortune, and began considering whom to summon.

• Jiang Ming rejected Fei Zhong and You Hun’s suggestion that he demand Su Daji, then sent the two ministers out of the hall.
• Jiang Ming retrieved the missing shaft of the Nine Heavens God-Slaying Spear from the royal treasury and decided not to reassemble it yet.
• Jiang Ming cultivated for three days and advanced to Taiyi Golden Immortal through the imperial emperor Dao.
• Jiang Ming refused to demand Su Daji and calmly dismissed warnings that feudal lords were spreading rumors about him.
• Jiang Ming discovered that his system had recovered and could summon renowned generals and worthy ministers in exchange for dynastic fortune.
• The system reported that Jiang Ming had 87,456 dynastic fortune points and warned that spending them could affect the dynasty’s national fortune.

Chapter Summary: “Prelude to a Grand Undertaking”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming spends his accumulated Dynastic Fortune Points to summon historical figures, beginning with Zhuge Liang, who is reborn inside the corpse of a deceased Heavenly Immortal in Jiang Ming’s Inner Heaven and Earth.
• Zhuge Liang pledges lifelong loyalty to Jiang Ming and requests time to resolve the memories and unfinished matters inherited from his new body. Jiang Ming grants him five days.
• Jiang Ming discovers that summoned figures awaken in the bodies of recently deceased cultivators:
  • Civil officials generally receive Heavenly Immortal bodies.
  • Military figures such as Huo Qubing and Bai Qi awaken in Taiyi Golden Immortal bodies.
• Jiang Ming exchanges for numerous renowned strategists, ministers, and generals, including Han Xin, Guan Zhong, Zhang Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Yue Fei, Wei Qing, Li Mu, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Liu Ji.
• He spends more than forty thousand points, though he stops to avoid destabilizing his dynasty’s fortune and potentially causing Great Shang to collapse.
• Over the next half month, eight summoned historical figures secretly gather around Jiang Ming. He plans to train them in Great Shang’s institutions before gradually placing them in the imperial court.
• Jiang Ming also resumes cultivating according to this world’s system, intending to adapt to its laws, deceive the heavens, and strengthen his Great Freedom Dao Scripture.
• Treacherous ministers You Hun and Fei Zhong introduce three supposedly talented beauties. Jiang Ming recognizes them as the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb: the Nine-Tailed Fox, Nine-Headed Pheasant, and Jade Pipa spirits.
• Rather than being deceived, Jiang Ming immediately suppresses and soul-controls the three demons, turning them into unwilling but useful servants.
• Jiang Ming begins planning a vast transformation of Great Shang through population growth, economic development, technology, immortal cultivation, and advanced weapons. He intends to expand beyond Southern Jambudvipa and eventually challenge the wider world.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly ambitious and pragmatic. He intends to exploit his system fully by combining historical talent, cultivation, technology, and the resources of his Inner Heaven and Earth.
• He demonstrates growing confidence in challenging both heavenly forces and powerful beings such as Nuwa.
• Zhuge Liang begins his service as Jiang Ming’s chief strategist, reborn with a Heavenly Immortal body and deeply grateful for his second chance.
• The summoned historical figures are positioned to become the foundation of a new administrative and military structure for Great Shang.
• The Three Demons, despite their great innate potential and Golden Immortal cultivation, lose their independence after Jiang Ming uses soul techniques to control them.

Significant Themes

• The fusion of history and cultivation: Famous human figures are reincarnated into immortal bodies, allowing historical talent to operate within a supernatural world.
• State-building and modernization: Jiang Ming seeks to strengthen Great Shang through capable officials, military power, agriculture, technology, population growth, and economic reform.
• Control versus loyalty: Jiang Ming does not merely recruit talent; he ensures obedience through absolute authority or, in the demons’ case, direct soul control.
• Defiance of destiny and heaven: Jiang Ming deliberately challenges the forces behind the great calamity, hoping either to overcome heaven’s plans or turn the crisis into an opportunity.
• Pragmatism over morality: Jiang Ming is willing to use coercion, manipulation, and soul control if they serve the survival and growth of his dynasty.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming communicates directly with Zhuge Liang as the “voice of heaven” within the Inner Heaven and Earth, formally appointing him as strategist.
• Zhuge Liang responds with humility and vows to serve Jiang Ming until death.
• Jiang Ming interacts indirectly with Huo Qubing and the other summoned figures through the system, arranging their rebirth and future service.
• You Hun and Fei Zhong attempt to present the Three Demons as beautiful, capable women, likely expecting them to influence Jiang Ming; instead, Jiang Ming sees through the plot and reverses the power dynamic.
• Jiang Ming treats the demons as controlled assets, intending to use them as guards and monitors within his court and harem rather than allowing them to act independently.

Jiang Ming strengthened Chaoge with agricultural and scientific projects while testing Jiang Ziya’s loyalty and reforming the court. After two years of preparation, he purged corrupt ministers and subdued defiant feudal lords, leaving his three-year plan underway and his own cultivation at perfected Taiyi Golden Immortal.

• Jiang Ming assigned his officials and generals to posts around Chaoge and accelerated farming, animal husbandry, and scientific research.
• Jiang Ming welcomed Jiang Ziya at the Recruitment Hall and sent him to meet Guan Zhong, whose administration and agricultural results impressed him.
• Jiang Ziya chose to wait three years before deciding whether to oppose Jiang Ming, while Jiang Ming taught his consorts cultivation and managed his court.
• Jiang Ming beheaded Fei Zhong, You Hun, and several of their allies, then promoted Liu Ji, Zhuge Liang, and Guan Zhong to fill the vacancies.
• Jiang Ming sent the Five Tiger Generals and Taiyi Golden Immortals under Zhuge Liang to crush rebellious feudal lords, while Lü Bu advanced to Daluo Golden Immortal and Jiang Ming reached perfected Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Chapter Summary: “Blood-Winged Black Mosquito”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming arranges the marriage of Bo Yikao and Su Daji, allowing the lovers to become openly married. He feels no jealousy because the Daji he once possessed was actually the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, not Su Daji herself.
• Jiang Ming reflects that his former actions were influenced by the Karmic Tribulation. He no longer feels attached to Su Daji, especially since his Fate Pattern never bound her to him. Instead, it connected him to the Three Demon Immortals of Xuanyuan Tomb, particularly the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.
• Two years later, Shen Gongbao arrives in Chaoge carrying a strong aura of Karmic Tribulation. He secretly contacts Jiang Ming’s three demon consorts, intending to elevate Daji to queen, make her control the harem, and use her recommendation to become Imperial Preceptor.
• Jiang Ming exposes Shen Gongbao’s scheme indirectly through Jiang Ziya. Because Jiang Ziya opposes Shen Gongbao’s crooked plans, the two begin fighting.
• Xiang Yu arrives with Guan Zhong’s group and intervenes. Jiang Ming had recently summoned Xiang Yu into the body of a deceased Daluo Golden Immortal.
• Xiang Yu reveals that the original owner of his body was killed by the Blood-Winged Black Mosquito, a terrifying Quasi-Saint who drained his blood essence and devoured his Primordial Spirit.
• Jiang Ming explains that the Blood-Winged Black Mosquito is a primordial creature from the Netherworld Blood Sea who now serves the Western Teachings. She can split into countless mosquito incarnations and is responsible for many horrifying deaths.
• Following Jiang Ming’s instructions, Xiang Yu beats Shen Gongbao severely, preventing him from pursuing his corrupt political scheme. Despite Shen Gongbao’s Heaven-Opening Pearl, he is overwhelmed by Xiang Yu’s superior cultivation and weapon.
• Jiang Ming had provided Xiang Yu with a powerful replica of the Heavenly Halberd of the Great Firmament. Though technically an Acquired Spirit Treasure, it surpasses the original Innate Spirit Treasure because of Jiang Ming’s superior refinement.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Becomes more detached from his past relationship with Daji and focuses on larger political and cultivation matters. He continues manipulating events from behind the scenes, protecting his allies and guiding the fate of Chaoge.
• Shen Gongbao: Is portrayed as arrogant, scheming, and willing to use the harem and political intrigue to gain power. His hostility toward Jiang Ziya deepens, but his plan is disrupted and he is physically defeated.
• Jiang Ziya: Remains principled and cooperative with Jiang Ming’s faction. He works within the government under Guan Zhong and opposes Shen Gongbao’s underhanded methods.
• Xiang Yu: Quickly adapts to his new body and inherited memories. Though shaken by the original body’s gruesome death, he acts decisively on Jiang Ming’s orders and demonstrates overwhelming martial strength.
• Blood-Winged Black Mosquito: Emerges as a major threat: a vicious Quasi-Saint and primordial monster capable of creating countless incarnations and annihilating powerful immortals.
• Daji and the Three Demon Immortals: Their fate is shown to be tied to Jiang Ming rather than Shen Gongbao’s intended manipulation. Jiang Ming’s control over their soul origins protects them from exploitation.

Significant Themes

• Fate and karmic influence: Jiang Ming recognizes that the Karmic Tribulation affected his former choices, suggesting that individuals may be pushed toward actions by larger cosmic forces.
• Political manipulation versus legitimate service: Shen Gongbao seeks power through secret alliances and corruption, while Jiang Ming directs allies toward official and more acceptable roles.
• Power and cultivation hierarchy: The battle demonstrates that cultivation level, equipment, and the skill of the user matter more than whether a weapon is technically Innate or Acquired.
• Control and protection: Jiang Ming’s soul bindings are framed as both a form of control and a means of shielding the Three Demon Immortals from outside manipulation.
• The brutality of the Primordial Wilderness: Even powerful Daluo Golden Immortals can be killed instantly by superior beings, emphasizing the danger and instability of this universe.
• Loyalty and ideological conflict: Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao’s opposing personalities and political choices make their conflict inevitable, despite their shared origins in the Chan Sect.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Daji/Su Daji: Jiang Ming distinguishes between the human Su Daji and the fox spirit who possessed her, freeing himself emotionally from the past.
• Shen Gongbao and the Three Demon Immortals: Shen Gongbao attempts to recruit and manipulate them for his political ambitions, unaware that Jiang Ming has already bound their souls and secured their loyalty.
• Shen Gongbao and Jiang Ziya: Their conflicting methods lead directly to a fight, with Jiang Ziya working openly and Shen Gongbao relying on schemes.
• Xiang Yu and Shen Gongbao: Xiang Yu acts as Jiang Ming’s enforcer, defeating Shen Gongbao and warning him away from crooked methods.
• Jiang Ming and Xiang Yu: Jiang Ming equips and directs Xiang Yu, giving him a superior halberd replica and assigning him to stop Shen Gongbao’s plot.

Jiang Ming strengthened Great Shang and advanced his cultivation while trying to win Nuwa’s favor through monthly visits and confessions. Nuwa recognized the karmic tribulation gathering around Great Shang and decided to avoid its dangers, even as she wondered whether it had clouded her own judgment.

• Jiang Ming planned to recruit powerful allies, cultivate Nezha and Lei Zhenzi, and meet Zhao Gongming after reaching Daluo Golden Immortal.
• Over three years, Jiang Ming governed Great Shang, improved agriculture and industry, expanded the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and reached early-stage Daluo Golden Immortal.
• Jiang Ming visited the Nuwa Temple each month to apologize and describe his plans for the Human Race.
• Nuwa sensed that the karmic tribulation centered on Great Shang and decided to warn the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to stay out of it.
• Nuwa abandoned the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb to their fate and questioned whether the tribulation had affected her anger toward Jiang Ming.

Chapter Summary: “Kong Xuan”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming identifies Kong Xuan, commander of Three Mountains Pass, as a powerful general capable of strengthening Great Shang.
• Kong Xuan is an ancient primordial being and the first Peacock, currently in an uncommitted form because his yin and yang energies have not yet separated.
• His main goal is to save his mother, Origin Phoenix, who is burdened by immense karmic sin after the ancient conflict that nearly destroyed the Primordial Wilderness.
• Jiang Ming plans to recruit Kong Xuan fully into Great Shang and eventually locate Kong Xuan’s younger brother, the Golden-Winged Roc Eagle, who is believed to be on Penglai Immortal Island.
• Jiang Ming summons Kong Xuan and appoints him Grand General Protector of the Nation, granting him the noble title Marquis Who Stabilizes the Nation.
• He also entrusts Kong Xuan with guarding the Research Academy, which contains Great Shang’s important technological achievements, while allowing him to retain command of Three Mountains Pass.
• These appointments dramatically increase Kong Xuan’s Fortune and Merit—far exceeding what he could normally accumulate over many years.
• Jiang Ming advises Kong Xuan to retreat if he ever faces an unbeatable enemy, emphasizing survival over reckless heroism.
• Kong Xuan leaves deeply moved and plans to visit Origin Phoenix at Immortal Volcano, using his newly acquired Fortune and Merit to ease her karmic burden.
• Jiang Ming reflects that Great Shang’s rising Fortune contradicts predictions of its imminent collapse. He believes the dynasty will continue growing stronger, especially as new civilizations and technologies arrive.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates political intelligence and strategic foresight. Rather than relying only on coercion, he wins Kong Xuan’s loyalty by recognizing his abilities, rewarding him generously, and giving him responsibilities aligned with his goals. Jiang Ming also reveals his pragmatic approach to recruiting supernatural beings: he accepts those with manageable karmic burdens but intends to eliminate truly evil demons rather than empower them.
• Kong Xuan: Develops from a powerful but emotionally distant official into a grateful and loyal supporter of Jiang Ming. His primary motivation remains rescuing Origin Phoenix, and Jiang Ming’s generous appointments give him the means to pursue that goal. Kong Xuan is also established as an extremely powerful primordial being who will later possess the Five-Colored Divine Light.
• Origin Phoenix: Though absent from the chapter, she remains central to Kong Xuan’s motivations. Her karmic punishment from the ancient Primordial Wilderness conflicts has made her dependent on Kong Xuan’s accumulation of Fortune and Merit.
• The Winged Pair Bird: Gains a minor but meaningful role as a Heavenly Immortal who has joined Great Shang and serves as Jiang Ming’s royal envoy.

Significant Themes

• Fortune and Merit as political and spiritual power: Great Shang’s Dynastic Fortune is not merely symbolic; it helps immortals survive tribulations, cleanse karmic burdens, and advance their cultivation.
• Recognition of talent: Jiang Ming strengthens his dynasty by identifying extraordinary individuals and giving them positions worthy of their abilities.
• Loyalty through mutual benefit: Kong Xuan’s allegiance is secured because Great Shang directly advances his personal mission to save his mother.
• Pragmatic governance: Jiang Ming balances recruitment with moral limits. He is willing to use powerful beings but refuses to genuinely cultivate monsters who have committed unforgivable atrocities.
• Survival over pride: Jiang Ming’s warning that Kong Xuan should flee from impossible battles reflects a practical philosophy focused on preserving strength for the future.
• Changing civilizations and technological progress: The Research Academy represents Great Shang’s modernization, while the coming arrival of outside civilizations suggests that the world is entering a period of immense transformation.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Kong Xuan: Their meeting establishes a relationship based on trust, reward, and strategic cooperation. Jiang Ming praises Kong Xuan’s abilities and grants him unprecedented authority, while Kong Xuan responds with sincere gratitude and loyalty.
• Kong Xuan and Origin Phoenix: Their relationship remains the emotional core of Kong Xuan’s actions. His service and accumulation of Merit are ultimately devoted to reducing her suffering.
• Jiang Ming and the Winged Pair Bird: Jiang Ming uses her as an envoy, illustrating how former demon immortals are being integrated into the structure of Great Shang.
• Jiang Ming and Great Shang’s supernatural recruits: His policies reveal that allegiance is encouraged through access to Fortune, Merit, official positions, and protection, but tempered by strict judgment of past crimes.