Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ming forced Taoist Lu Ya to surrender the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger, then helped the Interception Sect confront the Chan Sect over Ma Yuan’s death. The Chan Sect retreated after Jiang Ming seized Guangchengzi’s Heaven-Flipping Seal, which he wanted because of its connection to Buzhou Mountain and Pangu.

• Jiang Ming used This Treasure Is Destined for Me to take Taoist Lu Ya’s Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger and let Taoist Lu Ya and Taoist Randeng flee.
• The Golden Spirit Holy Mother arrived and demanded that Guangchengzi answer for Ma Yuan’s death, while Jiang Ming accused the Chan Sect of killing Ma Yuan without cause.
• Taoist Randeng offered compensation, but Jiang Ming declared that the Interception Sect would take Guangchengzi’s Heaven-Flipping Seal for Ma Yuan.
• Jiang Ming used the Treasure-Seizing Coins and Seven-Colored Divine Light to seize the Heaven-Flipping Seal and store it in his Inner Heaven and Earth.
• Zhao Gongming used the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls to pin down Guangchengzi, Yuding Zhenren, and Juliusun as Taoist Randeng fled with them.

Jiang Ming brought Hou Yi’s Primordial Spirit from the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger to Empress Houtu in the Netherworld so she could use merit to lessen his karmic burden. Houtu began cleansing him, while Zhao Gongming and the Golden Spirit Holy Mother watched.

• Jiang Ming released Shiji and heard how Ma Yuan had died saving her, then warned the group that the Western Teachings might have schemed behind the affair.
• Jiang Ming explained that Hou Yi’s Primordial Spirit had been refined into the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger and took it to Empress Houtu with Zhao Gongming and the Golden Spirit Holy Mother.
• Jiang Ming released Hou Yi, who calmly thanked him and knelt before Houtu, calling her “Mother.”
• Houtu comforted Hou Yi, telling him that shooting down the Nine Golden Crows had not been wrong, despite the suffering and separation from Heng’e that followed.
• Houtu used her merit power to wear away the karmic power covering Hou Yi as Zhao Gongming and the Golden Spirit Holy Mother watched.

Jiang Ming used merit to help Hou Yi and urged him to serve Great Shang, while Yuanshi Tianzun warned his disciples against acting rashly during the growing calamity. Meanwhile, Jiang Ming’s reforms strengthened Great Shang, and Kong Xuan began developing romantic feelings for him.

• Jiang Ming used merit to dissolve the karmic power on Hou Yi and suggested that Hou Yi go to Great Shang to gain merit and fortune.
• Yuanshi Tianzun told Guangchengzi, Yuding Zhenren, Juliusun, and Taoist Randeng to remain cautious as the karmic tribulation intensified.
• Jiang Ming’s clone established a twelve-animal zodiac calendar, and Jiang Ming appeased the dissatisfied Kong Xuan by drinking and playing chess with him and naming the queen a True Phoenix Maiden.
• Kong Xuan began wondering whether to choose a female form and blushed when he thought about Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Ming’s reforms tripled Great Shang’s population over ten years, improved children’s constitutions, and spread cultivation and health practices among the people.
• Jiang Ming laid iron rails in a Taiji Eight Trigrams pattern to stabilize Great Shang’s fortune, while ten nearby feudal lords submitted and surrendered their military authority.

Jiang Ming built Great Shang into a powerful empire with immortal commanders while the Jade Emperor waited for its foretold collapse. Over ten years, Jiang Ming also worked to regain Nuwa’s favor, and the Jade Emperor still could not see through the tribulation shrouding Great Shang.

• The Jade Emperor watched Great Shang prosper and waited for the dynasty’s remaining eighteen years of fortune to run out, but the karmic tribulation concealed its true state.
• Jiang Ming summoned renowned commanders, raised their cultivation, and organized them into ten armies, with generals such as Xiang Yu, Li Cunxiao, Ran Min, and Cao Cao serving Great Shang.
• Jiang Ming assigned Lü Bu to serve under Kong Xuan and planned to expand the number of army marshals to twenty.
• Nuwa had sent the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb to hasten Great Shang’s downfall after King Zhou angered her, but Jiang Ming visited the Nuwa Temple each month to repent and offered her games and stories.
• Nuwa’s anger had eased after accepting Jiang Ming’s gifts, and her great merit made her one of the strongest Saints and a favorite of the Heavenly Dao.

Jiang Ming spent the years preparing Great Shang for the coming karmic tribulation while cultivating on Three Immortals Island and advancing his plans for the wider world. He secretly began training Son Goku before his birth, hoping to claim the three great born rebels for himself.

• Jiang Ming planned to wait eighteen years before starting a war beyond Great Shang, while developing technology, gathering heroes, and preparing to march toward Spirit Mountain.
• Jiang Ming sent Shen Gongbao undercover into the Marquis of the West's faction as a Gold Secret Agent and promised him merit power if the faction fell.
• Jiang Ming created literary, martial, and other Dao cultivation methods, completed his second round of Dao Severing, and helped the Three Xiao Sisters and his disciples advance.
• Jiang Ming secretly named the unborn Son Goku and taught him the Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Transformations and Heavenly Dipper Thirty-Six Transformations.
• Jiang Ming recognized Son Goku's karmic connection to Nuwa and resolved to claim him along with the other two great born rebels.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter argues that the apparent victors of the ancient conflicts ultimately “lost” because the Three Realms remained unstable and impossible to govern completely.
• The Jade Emperor’s authority is shown to be limited:
  • During Sun Goku’s rebellion, he had to summon Tathagata Buddha because the Heavenly Court’s own forces—including members of the Interception Sect—were unwilling to act decisively.
  • The Netherworld was divided among the Witch, Buddhist, and Asura factions.
  • The Human World was plagued by disorder, demons, and monsters.
  • Heaven Beyond Heaven remained vulnerable to Chaos beasts because the damage caused by the War of the Witches and Demons had never been fully repaired.
• The surviving ancient powers continued to pay for past destruction. Nuwa could only partially mend the heavens, while the Ancestral Dragon, Origin Phoenix, Primordial Qilin, and surviving Ancestral Witches had to use their bodies to seal the disasters they had helped create.
• After twenty years of development, Great Shang underwent a massive transformation:
  • Jiang Ming cultivated and appointed a new generation of capable officials.
  • Remaining feudal lords were crushed or forced to surrender.
  • The ten great marshals were expanded into fifteen, and former Great Shang veterans were incorporated into a larger army.
  • The Marquis of the West’s faction capitulated after repeated losses caused by Shen Gongbao.
• Great Shang evolved into a technologically advanced cultivation civilization. Firearms, cannons, missiles, nuclear weapons, mecha, computers, and other technologies were enhanced with talismans, formations, and cultivation principles.
• Even ordinary pistols became powerful enough to threaten mid-level cultivators. Jiang Ming also recruited talents from other fictional civilizations, including Tony Stark, offering them immortality in exchange for joining Great Shang.
• Jiang Ming expects rapid future development because he has gathered more than a thousand exceptional talents from various worlds. He also predicts that he will complete the Three Corpses Severing process within two years and break through to the Hongmeng Great Dao Saint realm, allowing him to claim Heavenly Emperor authority independent of the Heavenly Dao.
• Powerful demons began joining Jiang Ming’s forces under Kong Xuan. The unruly ones were placed under Kong Xuan’s command, with the Golden-Winged Roc Eagle assisting him. The Mount Mei Seven Monsters are cited as examples of demons brought into service.
• Jiang Ming continued sending Nuwa new games. Her favorite became a Primordial Wilderness version of Honor of Kings, which she played with Jiang Ming and the Three Xiao Sisters. Jiang Ming also planned to explore more advanced civilization-based gameplay and eventually investigate Chaos beyond the Primordial Wilderness.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming grows from a political and military reformer into the architect of a new technological-cultivation civilization. His authority becomes increasingly absolute as he eliminates opposition, recruits talent from other worlds, and integrates ancient demons into his system.
• The Jade Emperor is portrayed as powerful in title but weak in practical control. His dependence on Tathagata and inability to govern the Three Realms reveal the limits of his authority.
• Nuwa is shown in a lighter, more relaxed role. Despite her ancient status and responsibility for repairing the heavens, she enjoys Jiang Ming’s games and regularly plays with him and the Three Xiao Sisters.
• Kong Xuan develops into the commander responsible for managing and disciplining the recruited Demon Race forces.
• Shen Gongbao continues to serve as an effective agent of Jiang Ming, using schemes to weaken the Marquis of the West’s faction.
• Former Great Shang heroes, including Grand Preceptor Wen, gradually abandon their resistance to Jiang Ming after witnessing the overwhelming power of the technological era.
• Tony Stark and other imported talents accept reincarnation and service under Great Shang because Jiang Ming can offer them immortality.
• The recruited demons, including the Mount Mei Seven Monsters, are forced to adapt from independent monsters into subordinate divine beast generals.

Significant Themes

• The consequences of past actions: The ancient races and factions must personally contain the disasters created by their earlier wars and ambitions.
• The limits of political authority: Titles such as Heavenly Emperor mean little when subordinates refuse to obey and competing factions control different realms.
• Modernization and historical inevitability: Jiang Ming’s technological reforms make old political structures and traditional opposition increasingly irrelevant.
• The fusion of civilizations: Cultivation, advanced science, extraterrestrial knowledge, and technology from fictional worlds are combined into a new social and military system.
• Power through talent and integration: Jiang Ming expands his strength not only through conquest but also by recruiting experts, immortals, demons, and scientific geniuses.
• Immortality as temptation: Even outsiders who might resist political submission are drawn in by Jiang Ming’s promise of eternal life.
• Lightheartedness amid cosmic conflict: Gaming with Nuwa and the Three Xiao Sisters contrasts with the chapter’s larger themes of war, political collapse, technological transformation, and impending conflict with Chaos.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Nuwa maintain a playful relationship through the games he sends her, with Nuwa frequently inviting others to play.
• Jiang Ming, Nuwa, and the Three Xiao Sisters form a recurring gaming group, especially for the Primordial Wilderness version of Honor of Kings.
• Jiang Ming and the Jade Emperor are indirectly contrasted: the Jade Emperor struggles to control a fractured realm, while Jiang Ming steadily consolidates power through organization and technological superiority.
• Jiang Ming and the former Great Shang elites move from opposition to reluctant acceptance as the old guard realizes it cannot resist the new era.
• Jiang Ming and Kong Xuan operate as commander and enforcer, with Jiang Ming assigning troublesome demons to Kong Xuan for discipline.
• Kong Xuan and the Golden-Winged Roc Eagle work together to control the recruited demons.
• Jiang Ming and the imported talents, including Tony Stark, interact through a bargain: loyalty and service to Great Shang in exchange for reincarnation and immortality.

Jiang Ming prepared Great Shang to lead the coming karmic tribulation, believing the dynasty could become its weapon against the forces that threatened the Human Race. He strengthened ties with Nuwa and the Interception Sect while warning several of its disciples that their sect’s corrupt members could bring disaster upon it.

• Jiang Ming planned to spend Great Shang’s fortune on further development and eventually unleash the karmic tribulation through a powerful campaign against demons, monsters, ghosts, fiends, and hostile races.
• Jiang Ming realized that Great Shang’s growing strength also benefited Nuwa, and that the Human Race had allies in the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and the Interception Sect.
• Interception Sect disciples and leaders visited Three Immortals Island, and several prominent disciples gave Jiang Ming Spirit Treasures.
• Jiang Ming warned Golden Spirit Holy Mother and Holy Mother Wudang that evil members of the Interception Sect could endanger the sect when the karmic tribulation arrived.
• Jiang Ming resolved to keep strengthening Great Shang because he could not predict how the coming conflict would unfold, even with Saints involved.

After years of preparing Great Shang for war, Jiang Ming declared himself emperor and launched armies to expand the realm, hoping to advance along the Imperial Emperor Dao. His forces began conquering territories in multiple directions, leaving the campaign underway.

• Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Holy Mother Wudang, and Zhao Gongming acted on Jiang Ming’s warning by disciplining corrupt Interception Sect disciples.
• Jiang Ming entered the Three Corpses Severing realm, while Qiongxiao completed Evil Corpse Severing; over the following years, Great Shang developed and prepared its armies for war.
• Kong Xuan became Jiang Ming’s empress and commander-in-chief, and Jiang Ming cultivated with Kong Xuan and the Three Xiao Sisters.
• Jiang Ming swore to unite and defend the realm, claimed the imperial title, and ordered his twenty marshals to lead Great Shang’s armies outward.
• Jiang Ming spent his accumulated merit power to raise seven commanders to Quasi-Saint strength, then sent Kong Xuan’s army west with Nezha, Yang Jian, Lei Zhenzi, and the Six-Eared Macaque as vanguard generals.
• The western army bypassed the Quicksand River and continued its advance, while the other armies crossed the Four Seas aboard flying fleets and began campaigns in other directions.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Great Shang’s twenty armies launch a massive campaign across the Earth Immortal Realm, using coordinated military formations and advanced weapons—including aircraft, artillery, and mecha—to overwhelm opposing forces.
• Over half a month, Great Shang’s territory expands fivefold. The accumulating Merit Fortune, Human Dao Fortune, and Dynastic Fortune condense into visible True Dragon and True Phoenix manifestations around Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Ming begins a decisive breakthrough along the Imperial Emperor Dao, seeking to become the Human Dao Human Emperor and a Hongmeng Great Dao Saint.
• The Jade Emperor realizes that Jiang Ming has been secretly cultivating the same Imperial Emperor Dao and now threatens his position. Unable to attack Jiang Ming directly during the breakthrough without risking karmic backlash, the Jade Emperor intervenes indirectly.
• Heavenly soldiers and generals, led by Marshal Tianpeng, descend into the Lower Realm and disguise themselves as demons and bandits to obstruct Great Shang’s armies. Buddhist figures from the Western Teachings adopt the same tactic.
• Jiang Ming responds by treating all disguised opponents as genuine enemies and ordering their slaughter when possible.
• To protect Great Shang’s fallen soldiers, Jiang Ming has Jiang Ziya activate the God-Sealing List, ensuring that those who die in the campaign can still receive a place and reward rather than perishing meaninglessly.
• Jiang Ming assigns Shen Gongbao to recruit Immortals and Gods into Great Shang’s cause, offering Merit Power as compensation. After another two months of warfare, Great Shang’s territory doubles again.
• Jiang Ming successfully breaks through into the Primordial Grand Dao Saint Realm. His breakthrough disrupts the balance among the Six Saints and awakens Hongjun Dao Ancestor from his seclusion in Zixiao Palace.
• The Jade Emperor realizes that he has lost the struggle over the Imperial Emperor Dao: unless he can kill Jiang Ming, he can no longer use that path to reach the Great Dao Saint Realm.
• Jiang Ming’s breakthrough greatly strengthens the Human Dao. Humanity’s position rises above Heaven and Earth, improving the innate talents and physical vitality of future human births. Great Shang’s soldiers also receive breakthrough benefits, with many advancing by an entire realm.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates strategic clarity, ruthlessness, and determination. He accepts that the Human Race’s survival requires war and commits fully to becoming the Human Dao Human Emperor. His successful breakthrough confirms his growing supremacy and establishes him as a direct rival to the Jade Emperor.
• Jade Emperor: Shifts from passive observer to indirect opponent. He recognizes Jiang Ming as a genuine threat but is forced to avoid direct interference because of the risks posed by the Karmic Tribulation.
• Jiang Ziya: Becomes responsible for managing the God-Sealing List, supporting Jiang Ming’s campaign by preserving the value of the soldiers’ sacrifices.
• Shen Gongbao: Uses his connections and influence among Immortals and Gods to recruit powerful allies for Great Shang.
• Nuwa: Benefits from the Human Race’s expansion and Jiang Ming’s success, receiving immense merit as the race’s Holy Mother.
• Hongjun Dao Ancestor: Awakens after sensing Jiang Ming’s emergence as a new Hongmeng Great Dao Saint and identifies him as a major variable in the current age.

Significant Themes

• Humanity’s rise against Heaven: The chapter portrays the Human Dao’s transformation from the weakest of the three great paths into the dominant force.
• The struggle of Great Daos: The conflict is no longer merely military or political; Jiang Ming and the Jade Emperor are competing over the same fundamental Dao.
• War as a means of survival and ascension: Jiang Ming views conquest as necessary to preserve the Human Race and achieve the power needed to resist its enemies.
• Fate, karma, and indirect conflict: The Karmic Tribulation prevents the Jade Emperor from attacking directly, forcing Heaven and the Western Teachings to rely on deception and proxies.
• Merit and sacrifice: The God-Sealing List ensures that death in the campaign can lead to continued existence and reward, making the soldiers’ sacrifices part of Great Shang’s larger rise.
• Empowerment through collective strength: Jiang Ming’s breakthrough is supported not only by his own cultivation but also by the armies, territory, fortune, allies, and growing Human Dao.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming acts through Jiang Ziya, instructing him to use the God-Sealing List to protect fallen soldiers.
• He commands Shen Gongbao to recruit Immortals and Gods, offering Merit Power in exchange for their allegiance.
• The Jade Emperor opposes Jiang Ming indirectly by sending Heavenly forces to obstruct Great Shang rather than confronting him personally.
• Heavenly and Buddhist forces cooperate in disguising themselves as monsters, creating battlefield obstacles for Jiang Ming’s armies.
• Nuwa, the Three Sovereigns, and the Five Emperors support Jiang Ming’s rise, providing hidden political and spiritual backing.
• Jiang Ming’s breakthrough affects the entire divine hierarchy, alarming the Six Saints, awakening Hongjun, and permanently weakening the Jade Emperor’s prospects for advancement.

Chapter Summary: The Fall of Daoist Zhunti

Key Plot Points and Events

• Great Shang’s military campaign produces a surge of power: thirteen new Daluo Golden Immortals and four Quasi-Saints emerge among the army.
• Kong Xuan breaks through to become a Human Dao Saint. After Jiang Ming appoints the Three Xiao Sisters as Human Emperors, Yunxiao also becomes a Human Dao Saint.
• Great Shang now possesses three Saints—Jiang Ming, Kong Xuan, and Yunxiao—with Nuwa and potentially Tongtian as additional allies.
• Jiang Ming distributes twenty Acquired Supreme Treasures, including copies of famous treasures such as the Five-Element Vajra Bracelet, Mountains and Rivers Society Cauldron, Acquired Taiji Diagram, and Acquired Eight Trigrams Diagram.
• The army advances to Spirit Mountain, placing the Western Teachings under siege. The Jade Emperor recalls Heaven’s forces after realizing that half of the 300,000 soldiers sent to Earth have been killed.
• Marshal Tianpeng dies, reincarnates as a pig, and joins Great Shang after discovering that the dynasty honors pigs as a totem. He is mysteriously spared from the God-Sealing List.
• Great Shang destroys numerous demons, bandits, and hostile forces. The Western Teachings suffer catastrophic losses: three Quasi-Saints, eleven commanders, dozens of Taiyi Golden Immortals, hundreds of Golden Immortals, and over ten thousand weaker cultivators are killed.
• Mosquito Daoist attempts to annihilate the army by transforming into 100,000 mosquitoes, but Kong Xuan suppresses and destroys them using her Five-Colored Divine Light.
• Daoist Zhunti attempts to capture Kong Xuan, but she becomes a Human Dao Saint at the critical moment. Jiang Ming then appears, captures Zhunti, and refines him into the Innate Supreme Treasure known as the Bodhi Tree.
• Three days later, the Heavenly Dao signals the unprecedented death of a Saint through red snow. Zhunti’s fall sends shockwaves through the cultivation world.
• Jieyin Daoist flees to Zixiao Palace and begs Hongjun to avenge Zhunti.
• The chapter reveals that several major Chan Sect figures—Guangchengzi, Yuding Zhenren, and Juliusun—have also fallen and entered the God-Sealing List, deepening Yuanshi Tianzun’s confusion about the changing course of the calamity.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming consolidates his status as the central power of the Karmic Tribulation. His growing army, alliances, treasures, and ability to kill Saints make him a threat even to the Heavenly Dao.
• Kong Xuan rises from a powerful cultivator to a Human Dao Saint. Her mastery of the Five-Colored Divine Light allows her to defeat Mosquito Daoist and resist Zhunti’s attempt to capture her.
• Yunxiao also becomes a Human Dao Saint after being appointed a Human Emperor, greatly strengthening Great Shang’s defenses.
• Marshal Tianpeng is reborn as a pig and willingly joins Great Shang, adding a humorous but politically significant new ally.
• Daoist Zhunti shifts from observer and would-be predator to victim. His attempt to seize Kong Xuan ends with his own death and transformation into Jiang Ming’s treasure.
• Jieyin Daoist becomes fearful and desperate after Zhunti’s death, abandoning his previous confidence in the Western Teachings’ victory.
• Yuanshi Tianzun is left bewildered as disciples supposedly following Heaven’s mandate are killed, while Jiang Ming’s rebellion continues to succeed.

Significant Themes

• Defiance of Heaven: Jiang Ming’s success challenges the established belief that Heaven’s mandate determines victory. His rebellion demonstrates that destiny can be overturned by sufficient power and will.
• The collapse of old power structures: The Heavenly Court, Western Teachings, Chan Sect, and Interception Sect all lose influence as Great Shang rises.
• Transformation through calamity: The Karmic Tribulation strengthens Jiang Ming’s allies while destroying former powers, turning the disaster into an opportunity for Great Shang.
• The vulnerability of Saints: Zhunti’s death overturns the idea that Saints are immortal and indestructible, proving that even the highest beings can be defeated.
• Power through alliances and merit: Jiang Ming combines military expansion, Merit Power, Human Dao authority, rebellious figures, and powerful treasures to build an order outside Heaven’s control.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming elevates the Three Xiao Sisters, enabling Yunxiao’s transformation into a Human Dao Saint.
• Jiang Ming supports Kong Xuan, provides her with the Five-Element Vajra Bracelet, and personally intervenes when Zhunti targets her.
• Kong Xuan defeats Mosquito Daoist and indirectly precipitates Zhunti’s confrontation with Jiang Ming.
• Zhunti attempts to capture Kong Xuan but is instead seized and killed by Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Ming refines Zhunti into the Bodhi Tree, turning a former enemy into a treasure that can aid Dao comprehension and unleash Nine-Colored Divine Light.
• Jieyin appeals to Hongjun for justice, revealing the Western Teachings’ fear and desperation.
• The fall of major Chan Sect immortals leaves Yuanshi Tianzun questioning the reliability of Heaven’s supposed mandate.

After Jiang Ming killed Daoist Zhunti, the Saints gathered in Zixiao Palace to consider the new Great Dao Saint and the danger he posed. Dao Ancestor Hongjun told them to avoid involvement and wait three years for the Karmic Tribulation to unfold.

• Dao Ancestor Hongjun confirmed that Zhunti had truly fallen and that his debt to the Heavenly Dao had been erased.
• Daoist Jieyin, Yuanshi Tianzun, Supreme Pure Laozi, and Holy Mother Nüwa arrived at Zixiao Palace, where Jieyin blamed Nuwa's Human Race for Zhunti's death.
• Nuwa rebuked Jieyin and revealed that Jiang Ming's breakthrough and the flourishing Human Dao had raised her cultivation to Great Perfection.
• Daoist Jieyin tried to persuade the other Saints to join forces against Jiang Ming, while Nuwa and Sect Master Tongtian opposed acting against him and Yuanshi Tianzun and Supreme Pure Laozi considered the possibility.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun declared that the Karmic Tribulation would last three days, or three years in the Human World, and ordered the Saints to avoid reckless involvement until it ended.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter explains that Hongjun Dao Ancestor had once intended to reserve future Saint positions for the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and Hongyun. Hongyun’s death after offending Demon Master Kun Peng caused his Primordial Purple Qi—actually a fragment of Heavenly Dao authority—to be lost.
• Jiang Ming, as a Great Dao Saint, killed Daoist Zhunti by forcibly removing the portion of Heavenly Dao authority fused with him. This rendered Zhunti’s supposed immortality useless.
• The Zixiao Palace meeting ends quickly. Yuanshi Tianzun and Supreme Pure Laozi attempt to rebuild ties with Sect Master Tongtian and invite him, Nuwa, and Jieyin to discuss their alliance.
• Nuwa refuses immediately, while Tongtian also rejects the invitation. He resents being ignored when the others did not need him and approached only after Zhunti’s death changed the balance of power.
• Tongtian recalls how Western Teachings repeatedly bullied his disciple Duobao Taoist by stealing treasures from him. He therefore feels little sympathy for Zhunti’s death, especially after learning that Zhunti had tried to take Kong Xuan as a mount and was killed by the Human Emperor.
• The chapter highlights the growing strength of Great Shang: Kong Xuan has become a Human Dao Saint, Yunxiao has also ascended to Sainthood, and the nation’s National Fortune is flourishing.
• After Tongtian leaves, Laozi, Yuanshi, and Jieyin depart together to discuss unknown plans.
• Nuwa informs Jiang Ming of the meeting. Jiang Ming visits Wa Emperor Palace with Kong Xuan and Yunxiao, emphasizing that they are now one family and allies.
• Jiang Ming and Nuwa agree that Tongtian may be won over. Jiang Ming plans to have Nuwa help him meet Tongtian, while also preparing to contact Yuanshi Tianzun and Daode Tianzun.
• Jiang Ming intends to keep all factions uncertain about his true position, “muddying the waters” so he can benefit from the ensuing conflict.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming is revealed as increasingly confident and politically calculating. He is no longer merely reacting to events; he plans to manipulate the alliances surrounding the Karmic Tribulation. His power and status are now sufficient for Nuwa to treat him as an equal Saint.
• Nuwa has fully accepted Jiang Ming and abandoned her former resentment toward the Human Emperor. She is impressed that a descendant of humanity has risen to such a high level and is willing to help him recruit Tongtian.
• Sect Master Tongtian openly breaks from his former relationship with the other Three Pure Ones. His resentment over past betrayals and Western Teachings’ mistreatment of his disciples makes him unwilling to join their alliance.
• Yunxiao receives major recognition by becoming a Human Dao Saint, bringing pride and deep emotion to Tongtian. Her growing status also strengthens Jiang Ming and Great Shang.
• Kong Xuan is established as a formidable Human Dao Saint who helped defeat Zhunti.
• Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun remain politically cautious. Yuanshi shows frustration with Tongtian’s refusal, while Laozi conceals his thoughts and intentions.

Significant Themes

• The nature of Sainthood and immortality: Saints survive through their connection to fragments of Heavenly Dao authority, but Jiang Ming’s Great Dao power allows him to sever that connection and kill a Saint permanently.
• Betrayal and political hypocrisy: Tongtian resents being treated as expendable and then sought out when useful. His refusal reflects the lasting damage caused by the God-Sealing List dispute and the Three Pure Ones’ fractured brotherhood.
• The rise of Human Dao: Great Shang, Kong Xuan, Yunxiao, and Jiang Ming represent the growing power of humanity and Human Dao in opposition to older divine and sectarian authorities.
• Alliance-building and strategic ambiguity: Rather than committing openly to one faction, Jiang Ming plans to cultivate multiple relationships and exploit uncertainty during the Karmic Tribulation.
• Justice and consequences: Zhunti’s death is portrayed as the result of his arrogance and mistreatment of others, particularly his attempt to take Kong Xuan as a mount and his past bullying of Interception Sect disciples.

Important Character Interactions

• Tongtian and Laozi/Yuanshi: Their failed invitation reveals that Tongtian no longer considers himself part of their brotherly alliance.
• Tongtian and Zhunti: Though they do not interact directly in the chapter, Tongtian’s memories of Zhunti’s oppression of Duobao explain his hostility toward Western Teachings.
• Nuwa and Jiang Ming: Their conversation marks a shift from former tension to mutual respect and cooperation. Nuwa now calls Jiang Ming a fellow Saint and agrees to support his political efforts.
• Jiang Ming, Kong Xuan, and Yunxiao: Jiang Ming brings both empresses to Nuwa to publicly establish their unity as a family and a powerful Human Dao faction.
• Jiang Ming and Tongtian: Their future meeting is presented as a key diplomatic opportunity, since Tongtian’s independence and power could significantly alter the balance among the Saints.

Summary: “Changes Under Three Years of Karmic Tribulation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming visits each Saint except Daoist Jieyin, playing Go with them and defeating every opponent. Fearing Jiang Ming will kill him, Jieyin hides at Yuanshi Tianzun’s side for three years.
• During the same period, Great Shang wages expansive wars across Southern Jambudvipa, Western Ox Continent, and Eastern Victory Divine Continent.
• The twenty Great Shang armies overwhelm their enemies. Demon races either surrender and join Great Shang—some becoming members of the Twelve Zodiac Divine Beasts—or are killed and transported to the rear as research materials.
• Great Shang approaches Spirit Mountain in the west and crushes the fragmented kingdoms and immortal sects of Eastern Victory Divine Continent. Those who surrender become subordinate kingdoms under Jiang Ming’s system of enfeoffed kingship.
• Jiang Ming’s forces continue developing advanced weapons, armor, infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, and logistics. Historical talents are dispatched to organize conquered territories, build roads and railways, establish waterways, and stabilize the rear.
• Three years later, Great Shang has become stronger rather than weakened by war. Its people enjoy better living conditions, food security, property protection, and legal equality.
• The God-Sealing process continues, with many demons and monsters who die fighting for Great Shang gaining the possibility of being placed on the God-Sealing List.
• Although three years have passed and many powerful demons—including Daluo Golden Immortals—have died, Jiang Ming realizes the Karmic Tribulation is not over. Daoist Zhunti was only the first “blade”; two more major waves of deaths are still required.
• Jiang Ming continues absorbing the Demon Race’s remaining Fortune into the Human Race, aiming to build the strongest Human dynasty in history.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming grows dramatically stronger, reaching the minor attainment realm of Great Dao Saint after breaking through two realms. He becomes increasingly confident and ruthless, acting decisively against all resistance.
• As Human Emperor, Jiang Ming reshapes Great Shang’s political structure through enfeoffed kingship and strict rule of law. His authority is so absolute that even Saints fear opposing him.
• Daoist Jieyin is reduced to a state of extreme fear, abandoning his sanctuary and hiding with Yuanshi Tianzun to avoid Jiang Ming.
• Yunxiao and Kong Xuan become Human Dao Saints through Jiang Ming’s use of imperial Fortune and Merit. Rather than weakening the Karmic Tribulation, their advancement causes it to intensify.
• Great Shang’s soldiers, officials, nobles, and ministers rapidly improve their cultivation through Fortune, Merit, and constant warfare. Veteran soldiers advance to Earth Immortal-level strength and become comparable to heavenly troops.
• The Jade Emperor grows concerned that the soldiers dying for Great Shang—and later entering the God-Sealing List—may dominate the future Heavenly Court, threatening his authority.
• Ordinary people, scholars, martial artists, and allied demons and dragons all gain new opportunities under Great Shang’s expanding civilization.

Significant Themes

• War as a means of civilization-building: Great Shang’s conquest does not exhaust it; military victories provide resources, territory, talent, and Fortune that make the empire stronger.
• Adaptation of governance: Jiang Ming rejects blindly copying modern systems, instead adopting enfeoffed kingship and law-based administration suited to a world where individual cultivation determines power.
• The fusion of technology and cultivation: Advanced weapons, storage treasures, demon hawks, Dragon Clan transport, and immortal abilities combine into an unprecedented military and logistical system.
• Social reform and improved living standards: Jiang Ming transforms Great Shang from a slave society into a more ordered state where commoners have legal protection, food security, property rights, and opportunities for advancement.
• The cyclical and escalating nature of karmic conflict: The Karmic Tribulation demands further deaths despite Great Shang’s victories, suggesting that political and military success cannot prevent a larger cosmic catastrophe.
• Centralization of Fortune: Jiang Ming seeks to absorb the Fortune of the Demon Race into the Human Race, making the rise of Great Shang both a political conquest and a cosmic struggle for destiny.
• Creation of new paths of cultivation: Literary Dao and Martial Dao spread among the population, showing Jiang Ming’s attempt to reshape society and create lasting alternatives to traditional immortal cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming’s Go matches with the Saints serve as silent confrontations, allowing him to demonstrate dominance without revealing his intentions.
• Jieyin’s decision to cling to Yuanshi Tianzun highlights the Saints’ fear of Jiang Ming and their dependence on one another for protection.
• Jiang Ming’s relationship with Great Shang’s soldiers and people is portrayed through empowerment: his Fortune, laws, technologies, and institutions raise their strength and living standards.
• His cultivation support for Yunxiao and Kong Xuan strengthens his allies but also provokes a stronger response from the Karmic Tribulation.
• The Jade Emperor’s concern over the God-Sealing List reveals a growing political conflict between Great Shang’s future power and Heavenly Court’s traditional authority.
• Jiang Ming’s interactions with conquered peoples are uncompromising: those who surrender are incorporated into the empire, while those who resist are destroyed.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The Karmic Tribulation continues to intensify. Even Hongjun Dao Ancestor cannot suppress it without suffering severe backlash, because the Tribulation represents part of the Heavenly Dao’s laws.
• Jiang Ming understands that the Tribulation originated from the destruction caused by the Three Clans War between the Ancestral Dragon, Origin Phoenix, and Primordial Qilin. He realizes it will not end until the current chaos of the Primordial Wilderness is brought under control.
• Jiang Ming’s larger objective is to unify the Earth Immortal Realm and establish the Three Realms: the Heavenly Court, Netherworld, and Human World. Afterward, he intends to expand into Heaven Beyond Heaven and eventually challenge the boundless Chaos.
• The God-Sealing List, created after the Jade Emperor appealed to Hongjun for help managing the unruly realms, triggered the present Karmic Tribulation.
• Great Shang has exploited the Tribulation to expand rapidly. Jiang Ming’s forces have advanced for three years with relatively few losses, while many Interception Sect disciples voluntarily joined Great Shang in exchange for genuine Merit.
• Yunxiao has become a Human Dao Saint, while many other Interception Sect disciples have advanced dramatically. In contrast, the Chan Sect’s Twelve Golden Immortals regret supporting Great Zhou, the Western Teachings, and various demons and monsters.
• Zhunti’s death effectively broke much of the opposition. Since Great Shang’s army became too powerful to resist, most enemies now flee rather than fight.
• The army is divided across the four continents: Kong Xuan leads the campaign in the Western Ox Continent; Yunxiao, Bixiao, Qiongxiao, and Zhao Gongming oversee the Eastern Victory Divine Continent; Jiang Ming commands the Southern Jambudvipa campaign.
• Northern Reed Continent remains the final major region. Its poisonous environment, demonic aura, and dangerous inhabitants make it difficult even for cultivators to enter. The Western Teachings avoided developing it and instead pursued the richer Southern Jambudvipa.
• As Great Shang advances, enemies flee into Southern Jambudvipa or overseas. The army continues forward without slowing down.
• Jieyin becomes increasingly anxious that Jiang Ming will soon reach Spirit Mountain and attack the foundation of the Western Teachings. He has waited three years for Hongjun to intervene, but the Tribulation has only grown stronger, making direct action extremely dangerous.
• The Human Race, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and Houtu Empress all receive major benefits. Human leaders gain cultivation breakthroughs, while Houtu accumulates immense Merit from the countless dead souls Jiang Ming sends into the Bridge of Helplessness and reincarnation.

2. Character Developments

• Jiang Ming grows more confident and aggressive, using the Karmic Tribulation as both a weapon and a means of consolidating power. He is portrayed as determined to impose order on the Primordial Wilderness through overwhelming force.
• Jieyin changes from a detached observer into a deeply worried and helpless figure. He had hoped Hongjun would eliminate Jiang Ming, but now fears that the Western Teachings may soon be directly attacked.
• Hongjun Dao Ancestor is shown to be constrained rather than omnipotent. He cannot interfere freely with the Karmic Tribulation without suffering its backlash.
• The Jade Emperor is presented sympathetically: his inability to govern the Heavenly Court resulted from the defiance of the Demon Race, Dragon Clan, Human Race, and the Three Teachings.
• Yunxiao rises to the level of a Human Dao Saint, becoming a symbol of the enormous rewards gained by those who support Great Shang.
• The Chan Sect’s Twelve Golden Immortals experience regret after realizing that their master’s prediction of Great Shang’s defeat was wrong and that they chose the losing side.
• Houtu Empress benefits greatly from Jiang Ming’s victories, as the enormous number of deaths expands her Merit through the Netherworld’s reincarnation system.

3. Significant Themes

• Order versus chaos: Jiang Ming believes the Primordial Wilderness must be unified because its fragmented powers have made effective governance impossible.
• The consequences of past destruction: The Three Clans War permanently damaged the world and created the Karmic Tribulation, showing how ancient conflicts continue to shape the present.
• Power and inevitability: The Karmic Tribulation has become an unstoppable force. Gods, Buddhas, demons, and monsters who oppose it are destroyed, making resistance seem futile.
• The rewards of allegiance: Supporting Great Shang brings concrete benefits, including Merit, protection, and rapid cultivation breakthroughs. This encourages more factions to switch sides.
• Strategic miscalculation: The Chan Sect and Western Teachings trusted predictions that Great Shang would fall, but their mistaken alliance leaves them defeated and regretful.
• Death as both destruction and opportunity: Although countless beings die, their deaths also generate Merit for Houtu and strengthen the Netherworld’s reincarnation system.
• The limits of authority: Even beings such as Hongjun and the Jade Emperor cannot simply impose their will when confronted by larger forces, laws, or political resistance.

4. Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Hongjun: Jiang Ming’s rise directly challenges Hongjun’s authority, but Hongjun cannot act openly because the Karmic Tribulation would punish him.
• Jiang Ming and the Interception Sect: Jiang Ming offers the sect members voluntary allegiance, tangible Merit, and opportunities for advancement rather than coercion. Their successful cooperation strengthens Great Shang.
• Jiang Ming and the opposing factions: His army crushes the combined resistance of the Chan Sect, Western Teachings, demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters. Zhunti’s death marks the collapse of organized opposition.
• Jieyin and Hongjun: Jieyin waits in Jade Void Palace for Hongjun to repeat his former intervention against Luo Hou, but Hongjun never acts, leaving Jieyin increasingly desperate.
• Jieyin and Jiang Ming: Although they have not yet directly confronted one another, Jieyin fears Jiang Ming’s imminent arrival at Spirit Mountain and the possible destruction of the Western Teachings.
• Jiang Ming and Houtu: Jiang Ming’s handling of the dead indirectly empowers Houtu by sending vast numbers of souls through the Bridge of Helplessness and reincarnation.
• The Jade Emperor and the various realms: His earlier inability to control the Demon Race, Dragon Clan, Three Teachings, and Human Race explains why the God-Sealing List and the ensuing Tribulation became necessary.

Chapter Summary: Human Emperor Banner

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Great Shang army continues its conquest, sweeping across Western Ox Continent and Eastern Victory Divine Continent over three years before reaching the borders of Northern Reed Continent.
• Northern Reed Continent is far more dangerous than the other regions. It is covered in poisonous miasma, deathly energy, and ancient monsters capable of killing even Daluo Golden Immortals or threatening Quasi-Saints.
• Great Shang deploys over one million specialized robots in three divisions. These machines are equipped with advanced technology, spiritual formations, talismans, Spirit Stones, Immortal Stones, and nuclear reactors.
• The mechanical forces include scouts, combat units, wolf-shaped vanguards, transport and support machines, powerful Transformer-like Mechas, and a giant Flying Saucer Mecha.
• Kong Xuan and Yunxiao lead Quasi-Saints into Northern Reed Continent to supervise the robots, gather combat data, and study their effectiveness. The main army remains outside to intercept anything driven out of the continent.
• Jiang Ming personally refines the Human Emperor Banner, a top-tier Acquired Supreme Treasure. Its pole is secretly made from the Nine Heavens God-Slaying Spear, giving the weapon immense and ominous power.
• The Human Emperor Banner absorbs the continent’s miasma, corpse energy, resentment, baleful energy, poisonous gas, and other accumulated impurities. Jiang Ming uses these forces to nourish the banner’s internal world rather than purify them.
• Dangerous creatures such as God-Slaying Gu, Great Firmament Corpse Gu, and Brain-Eating Gu are captured and transferred into the banner, where they can survive in a new environment.
• As the banner absorbs Northern Reed Continent’s accumulated corruption, an artifact spirit is born from a Black Lotus. It has three heads and six arms, rides Xiangliu, carries a hammer and sickle, and is completely devoted to Jiang Ming.
• The artifact spirit is born at the Golden Immortal level, marking it as an extraordinary existence with the potential to become a Chaos Demon God.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming has advanced to the Great Dao Saint Completion Realm. He is increasingly confident and strategic, using the Karmic Tribulation to strengthen Great Shang while destroying hostile forces.
• He demonstrates both technological and mystical innovation by combining robotics, formations, talismans, advanced weapons, and supreme treasures.
• Jiang Ming also shows a long-term interest in transforming Northern Reed Continent rather than merely destroying it. He hopes to absorb surviving races, especially the Ancient Witch Race, into the Human Race to improve its Martial Dao potential.
• Kong Xuan and Yunxiao act as commanders and observers, supporting the mechanical invasion while collecting information for Great Shang’s researchers.
• The newly born Human Emperor Banner artifact spirit immediately establishes Jiang Ming as its central faith and master, suggesting it may become one of his most powerful future allies.

Significant Themes

• Opportunity within catastrophe: The Karmic Tribulation is presented not only as a disaster but also as a chance for those capable of exploiting it to rise in power.
• Integration of technology and cultivation: Great Shang’s strength comes from combining modern machinery and weaponry with Immortal-era formations, talismans, and spiritual energy.
• Transformation rather than destruction: Jiang Ming converts Northern Reed Continent’s poisonous and death-filled environment into nourishment for a new world, reflecting his ambition to repurpose even the most corrupted resources.
• Expansion of the Human Race: The potential integration of Witch Race bloodlines emphasizes Jiang Ming’s effort to strengthen humanity through assimilation and development.
• Birth of powerful new life: The artifact spirit’s emergence illustrates how extreme environments and accumulated energy can give rise to new, potentially world-shaking beings.
• Control over chaos and evil: Although the Human Emperor Banner resembles a weapon of the Demon Dao, Jiang Ming intends to wield its destructive power for the expansion of Great Shang.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming works indirectly with Kong Xuan and Yunxiao, entrusting them with overseeing the mechanical forces and documenting their performance.
• The Flying Saucer Mecha embodies the cooperation of several powerful figures: Jiang Ming provides causal-law protections, Kong Xuan adds the Five-Colored Divine Light, and Yunxiao contributes the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation.
• Jiang Ming’s relationship with the artifact spirit begins immediately as one of master and absolute believer. Its unwavering faith confirms his influence over the new entity.
• The Great Shang army, its scientific researchers, cultivators, and mechanical forces operate as a unified system, blending military conquest with experimentation and resource collection.

Chapter Summary: “Hongjun Dao Ancestor’s Scheme”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming’s absorption of Northern Reed Continent’s miasma, poison, and other harmful energies allows the deity within his Human Emperor Banner to evolve rapidly into a Quasi-Saint-level existence.
• The Saints realize that Jiang Ming has transformed the Human Emperor Banner into a powerful weapon. Its deity soon reaches the perfected Quasi-Saint realm as Great Shang’s forces continue purifying and conquering Northern Reed Continent.
• After Jiang Ming killed Daoist Zhunti, he acquired Zhunti’s powerful treasures, including the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree, Blessing Divine Pestle, and Six-Root Purifying Bamboo. Combined with the Human Emperor Banner, Jiang Ming’s arsenal has become exceptionally formidable.
• With two-thirds of Northern Reed Continent conquered within a year and the land’s original frozen, forest-covered environment revealed, the other Saints become eager to claim a share of the coming merit.
• Yuanshi Tianzun, Jieyin Daoist, Taiqing Daode Tianzun, and their disciples arrive under the pretense of helping Great Shang eliminate the remaining demons. Jiang Ming recognizes that they are attempting to seize the opportunity and rejects their involvement.
• Nuwa and Sect Master Tongtian openly side with Jiang Ming. Kong Xuan and Yunxiao also support him, giving Jiang Ming’s faction considerable strength.
• When negotiations fail, the Saints agree to fight in Heaven Beyond Heaven rather than damage Northern Reed Continent or the Primordial Wilderness. Jiang Ming leaves an incarnation behind to ensure that Great Shang’s mechanical forces continue their work and that no one steals the fruits of his labor.
• Upon entering Chaos, Jiang Ming discovers that Hongjun Dao Ancestor is waiting. Hongjun invokes Heavenly Dao and declares that King Zhou has violated its order, banishing Jiang Ming to Chaos and forbidding him from returning to the Primordial Wilderness.
• The decree causes the entire world to reject Jiang Ming. His return would mean opposing the Primordial Wilderness’s Heavenly Dao and the remnants of Pangu’s power.
• Yuanshi explains that Heavenly Dao Saints and Human Dao Saints are weakened in Chaos, while Merit Saints are also affected, making the exile a serious strategic move.
• Jiang Ming angrily points out that Hongjun’s action could drive him to ally with Chaos Beasts and Chaos Heavenly Demons against the Three Realms. Nuwa and Tongtian are stunned by the extremity of Hongjun’s scheme.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly powerful and strategically cautious. He personally oversees the purification of Northern Reed Continent, refines the Human Emperor Banner into a growing weapon, and leaves an incarnation behind to protect his interests while confronting the Saints.
• Human Emperor Banner deity evolves from an acquired deity into a perfected Quasi-Saint-level entity, demonstrating extraordinary growth potential and becoming one of Jiang Ming’s major advantages.
• Nuwa and Tongtian openly support Jiang Ming rather than remaining neutral. Their alliance strengthens his position against Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Taiqing.
• Yuanshi Tianzun, Jieyin Daoist, and Taiqing Daode Tianzun reveal their willingness to interfere directly in Jiang Ming’s opportunity. Their claim of helping Great Shang is exposed as an attempt to obtain merit and influence.
• Hongjun Dao Ancestor escalates the conflict from a dispute among Saints into a direct confrontation between Jiang Ming and Heavenly Dao. His decision to exile Jiang Ming shows that he views Jiang Ming’s growing influence as a threat serious enough to warrant extreme measures.
• Jiang Ming and Hongjun have not previously fought directly, making Hongjun’s intervention especially shocking. Jiang Ming believes he has strengthened humanity without truly challenging Hongjun, yet Hongjun still chooses to suppress him.
• Kong Xuan and Yunxiao remain important allies, accompanying Jiang Ming into the confrontation and reinforcing the strength of the Human Dao faction.

Significant Themes

• Competition over merit and opportunity: Once Jiang Ming demonstrates that Northern Reed Continent can truly be resolved, the other Saints attempt to claim part of the reward.
• Political struggle among divine powers: The conflict is not merely about combat but about control of territory, merit, disciples, and the future balance between Heavenly Dao and Human Dao.
• Growth through transformation: The Human Emperor Banner’s evolution reflects Jiang Ming’s ability to turn dangerous forces and conquered territory into sources of strength.
• Betrayal and hypocrisy: The rival Saints disguise their attempt to seize Jiang Ming’s opportunity as assistance, while Tongtian’s blunt honesty contrasts with their indirect approach.
• Heavenly Dao versus individual power: Hongjun uses the authority of the entire Primordial Wilderness to suppress Jiang Ming, showing that even a Great Dao Saint can be constrained by the world’s laws.
• Escalation toward cosmic conflict: By banishing Jiang Ming, Hongjun risks pushing him toward the Chaos forces that once threatened the Three Realms, suggesting that the struggle may soon expand beyond the Primordial Wilderness.

Chapter Summary: “Openly Repairing the Plank Road, Secretly Crossing at Chencang”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming’s enemies believe they have delayed him long enough to force him out of the Primordial Wilderness. However, his avatar releases tens of millions of powerful mechanical armies, rapidly conquering the remaining third of Northern Reed Continent.
• With the Human Emperor Banner absorbing all miasma, poison, corpse qi, baleful qi, and resentment, Northern Reed Continent is fully pacified in less than six days—only half an hour in Heaven Beyond Heaven due to the difference in time flow.
• The immense Merit generated by this achievement transforms the Evil Gods within the Human Emperor Banner into Merit Deities, upgrading the banner into an Innate Merit Supreme Treasure.
• Jiang Ming uses the Merit to elevate the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors into Human Dao Saints, Houtu Empress into an Earth Dao Saint, and several others into Merit Saints. This greatly strengthens the Human Race’s Fortune and gives it powerful new protectors.
• Jiang Ming’s avatar completes the pacification of Southern Jambudvipa and advances to the perfect-completion stage of Great Dao Saint. His true body in Heaven Beyond Heaven reaches the same level.
• In secret, Jiang Ming’s Evil Corpse takes control of the Netherworld while everyone’s attention is focused elsewhere. He removes Ksitigarbha King Bodhisattva, destroys Western Teachings’ influence, kills several compromised Hell Kings, and places nearly all Netherworld authority under Houtu Empress.
• Jiang Ming then attacks the Blood Sea and begins refining it with the Karmic Fire Red Lotus, cutting off Minghe Ancestor’s source of power and threatening to destroy him. This serves as repayment for Minghe’s past killing of Hongyun, one of Jiang Ming’s former incarnations.
• By the chapter’s end, Jiang Ming’s plan has succeeded completely. The Human Race has gained unprecedented strength, the Netherworld has been reorganized, and his opponents have lost the Merit they hoped to seize.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming is revealed to be exceptionally calculating and prepared. His apparent delay is merely a distraction while his avatars and Evil Corpse execute separate plans. He prioritizes strengthening the Human Race over personally retaining all the Merit.
• The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors finally achieve sainthood after their long contributions and hardships, becoming genuine pillars of the Human Race.
• Houtu Empress becomes an Earth Dao Saint and gains control over nearly the entire Netherworld, causing the Earth Dao to flourish.
• The Evil Gods of the Human Emperor Banner are transformed into Merit Deities, marking their complete redemption and greatly increasing the weapon’s power.
• Minghe Ancestor is weakened by old Dao injuries and is now threatened with the destruction of the Blood Sea, the foundation of his immortality. His past crimes have returned upon him.
• Hongjun Dao Ancestor is impressed and surprised by Jiang Ming’s generosity and strategy, recognizing that Jiang Ming has created a new balance of power that cannot easily be suppressed.
• Yuanshi Tianzun reacts with fury, while Jieyin Daoist is devastated at losing the enormous Merit he expected to obtain. Taiqing Daode Tianzun remains unreadable.

Significant Themes

• Strategic deception: The chapter embodies the idea of “repairing the plank road openly while secretly crossing at Chencang.” Jiang Ming draws attention to one objective while secretly completing several others.
• Selflessness versus ambition: Rather than keeping the Merit for himself, Jiang Ming distributes it to create Saints who can protect the Human Race independently.
• Retributive karma: Jiang Ming’s assault on Minghe represents justice for Hongyun’s murder and the return of past actions upon their perpetrator.
• The rise of the Human Race: The Human Race is no longer merely defending the Primordial Wilderness. With its new Saints and Fortune, it is preparing to pursue the Starry Sea and the greater Chaos.
• Breaking free from old power structures: Jiang Ming’s actions undermine the Western Teachings, reinforce Houtu’s authority, and prevent the established Saints from monopolizing power.
• Unresolved cosmic mysteries: Jiang Ming intends to explore the Chaos beyond the Primordial Wilderness, including Pangu’s purpose in creating the world and the reasons the Chaos Demon Gods opposed him.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming’s maneuvering directly frustrates Yuanshi Tianzun, Jieyin Daoist, and Taiqing Daode Tianzun, who had hoped to seize Merit from his achievements.
• Houtu Empress benefits from Jiang Ming’s secret intervention in the Netherworld, allowing her to consolidate Earth Dao authority.
• Jiang Ming forcibly removes Ksitigarbha King Bodhisattva and dismantles Western Teachings’ power in the underworld.
• Jiang Ming confronts Minghe Ancestor indirectly but decisively by refining the Blood Sea, threatening Minghe’s survival without giving him an opportunity to escape.
• Hongjun Dao Ancestor recognizes that Jiang Ming’s actions have made it impossible to openly attack the Human Race without appearing unjustified.

Chapter Summary: “Pangu Body”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Karmic Tribulation concludes with Jiang Ming being driven out of the Primordial Wilderness. The Netherworld falls under the control of surviving Witch Race forces, while the Human Race unifies the Human World.
• Jiang Ming leaves behind a clone to continue ruling as Human Emperor. The Four Major Continents are divided among various kings and nobles, while Northern Reed Continent begins rebuilding under a new, Earth-inspired governmental system.
• Before departing, Jiang Ming entrusts Kong Xuan, Yunxiao, and Nuwa with protecting the Human Race and his allies.
• Jiang Ming forcibly captures Jieyin Daoist, intending to use him as a guide through Chaos. Although Hongjun Dao Ancestor briefly acknowledges Jiang Ming’s emergence, he does not intervene to rescue Jieyin.
• Jieyin reluctantly submits and agrees to accompany Jiang Ming. Taiqing Daode Tianzun and Nuwa also volunteer to explore Chaos, while Sect Master Tongtian remains behind initially but supports the arrangement. Yuanshi Tianzun is the only veteran Saint who stays in the Primordial Wilderness.
• Jiang Ming leads Jieyin, Nuwa, Taiqing, and Tongtian into Chaos. Kong Xuan and Yunxiao remain behind to help rebuild the Human Race and strengthen their newly attained Human Dao Saint cultivation.
• In Chaos, the group encounters a terrifying, directionless realm filled with Chaos rivers, seas, meteorite fields, insects, beasts, and immense Primordial Chaos Qi. They speculate that Demon Master Kun Peng may still be alive.
• Jiang Ming recognizes that Nuwa, Taiqing, and Tongtian have each cultivated their own Great Dao and possess the potential to become Great Dao Saints. With Jiang Ming protecting them, all three successfully break through within ten years.
• Their increased strength gives the group a better chance of surviving encounters with Chaos Demon Gods. They continue their search for surviving or newly born Demon Gods and investigate whether Pangu truly died after creating the world.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates overwhelming physical strength through his completed Pangu Body, resisting an attack formed from the Heavenly Dao. He becomes more confident and dominant, taking responsibility for protecting his people while expanding his ambitions beyond the Primordial Wilderness.
• Jieyin Daoist: Shifts from reluctant observer to submissive companion after being captured. His inferiority becomes painfully clear when the others attain Great Dao Saint status, causing him to regret focusing on Merit cultivation rather than pursuing a higher Dao.
• Nuwa: Shows ambition and courage by entering Chaos and pursuing a breakthrough. With Jiang Ming’s protection, she becomes a Great Dao Saint.
• Taiqing Daode Tianzun and Tongtian: Reveal that they have long been preparing to cultivate their individual Great Daos. Their confidence in breaking through grows after Jiang Ming’s arrival, and they successfully reach Great Dao Saint realms.
• Hongjun Dao Ancestor: Acknowledges Jiang Ming as an extraordinary younger figure but remains detached, neither opposing his departure nor attempting to recover Jieyin.
• Kong Xuan and Yunxiao: Stay behind to guide the Human Race’s recovery and continue developing as Human Dao Saints.
• Yuanshi Tianzun: Distinguishes himself from the others by choosing to remain in the Primordial Wilderness.

Significant Themes

• Ambition beyond established power systems: The chapter contrasts the limited paths of Merit and Heavenly Dao Saints with the greater freedom and potential of Great Dao cultivation.
• Strength and transformation: Jiang Ming’s Pangu Body symbolizes his rise to a level approaching the ancient creator, while the breakthroughs of Nuwa, Taiqing, and Tongtian mark a new stage in their development.
• Freedom versus submission: Jieyin’s forced departure and dependence on Jiang Ming highlight the vulnerability of those controlled by stronger powers.
• Exploration of the unknown: Chaos is portrayed as an existentially dangerous realm without time or direction, representing both terrifying uncertainty and the possibility of discovering greater truths.
• The mystery of Pangu: The group questions whether Pangu truly died, suggesting that his apparent death may conceal a deeper secret.
• Rebuilding and responsibility: While Jiang Ming pursues exploration, his allies remain behind to stabilize the Human World, balancing personal advancement with protection of their people.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming dominates Jieyin during their initial confrontation, treating him as both a captive and a necessary guide. Jieyin’s desperation contrasts with Jiang Ming’s calm authority.
• Hongjun’s brief praise of Jiang Ming establishes a cautious acknowledgment between the two powerful figures, though Hongjun refuses to intervene.
• Jiang Ming agrees to Tongtian’s request that Yunxiao watch over the Interception Sect, though he makes the decision on her behalf.
• Nuwa, Taiqing, and Tongtian unite with Jiang Ming out of shared curiosity and ambition, relying on his promise to protect their Dao during their breakthroughs.
• Jieyin silently compares himself with the others and realizes that his former companions have surpassed him, leaving him humiliated and questioning the value of his past cultivation.

Chapter Summary: Pangu Creates Heaven and Earth

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming discovers a massive breach in Chaos near the place where the Primal Chaos Fortune Azure Lotus once bloomed. The breach continuously devours Primordial Chaos Qi and threatens to drain the entire Chaos universe within a hundred thousand years.
• Sensing that something important connected to him lies inside, Jiang Ming enters the breach. He instructs his companions to wait for him and notify Hongjun Dao Ancestor that Chaos itself is in danger.
• The breach transports Jiang Ming into another Chaos universe, where he awakens as a naturally born Chaos Heavenly Demon. He is being nurtured inside a twenty-four-grade Black Lotus and possesses the Primal Chaos God-Slaying Spear.
• Although he originally expects to become a Hongmeng Origin Great Dao Saint, his cultivation is sealed by the laws of this universe. He is currently only a half-step Hongmeng Great Dao Saint.
• Jiang Ming’s awakening is interrupted when Pangu’s axe strikes the Black Lotus. Twelve of its twenty-four grades are destroyed, while the God-Slaying Spear protects Jiang Ming from the remaining force.
• His subordinates explain that Pangu, awakened from the thirty-six-grade Primal Chaos Azure Lotus Dao Embryo, began creating heaven and earth. The immense disturbance destroyed the Dao Platforms of many sleeping Chaos Demon Gods, causing them to attack Pangu.
• Jiang Ming realizes that Pangu’s actions destroyed his own Dao platform and ruined his chance to advance directly. He also understands the origin of his future hatred of the Primordial Wilderness and why, as Demon Ancestor Luo Hou, he later schemes against it.
• Rather than join the battle, Jiang Ming orders his forces to hide and collect the fragments of destroyed Supreme Treasures. His faction takes advantage of the chaos while the other Demon Gods fight Pangu.
• Pangu overwhelms the attacking Demon Gods with simple but devastating axe strikes, shattering their treasures and killing them one after another. Their bodies crash into the newly forming Primordial Wilderness.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Awakens to his true identity as a Chaos Heavenly Demon with mastery over the Dao of Slaughter, Dao of Destruction, and Heavenly Demon Dao. He shifts from confusion to strategic restraint, choosing survival, recovery, and gathering resources over revenge or reckless combat.
• Pangu: Is portrayed as overwhelmingly powerful and single-minded. He creates heaven and earth with such force that he destroys the sleeping Demon Gods’ Dao Platforms and provokes their collective assault.
• The Heart Demon God: Appears as one of Jiang Ming’s current subordinates. His later role as a Chaos Demon God and Jiang Ming’s ally is foreshadowed, as is his interest in manipulating the hearts of living beings.
• The Chaos Heavenly Demons: Remain loyal to Jiang Ming. Some obey his orders, while others cleverly gather additional treasure fragments to help him rebuild his power.
• Other Chaos Demon Gods: Driven by fury after losing their Dao Platforms, they attack Pangu despite the enormous danger. Powerful figures such as the Time, Space, and Karma Chaos Demon Gods lead the assault.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and the origins of hatred: Jiang Ming’s future hostility toward the Primordial Wilderness is revealed to stem from Pangu’s destruction of his cultivation opportunity.
• Cause and effect across reincarnations: Past events explain later conflicts, including Luo Hou’s schemes during the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation.
• Survival versus confrontation: Jiang Ming recognizes that he is currently too weak to fight Pangu and chooses patience and preparation instead of joining a doomed battle.
• Creation through destruction: Pangu’s creation of heaven and earth is simultaneously an act of cosmic birth and catastrophic destruction for the Chaos Demon Gods.
• Power and opportunity: The destruction of Jiang Ming’s Dao Platform demonstrates how quickly a major breakthrough can be lost, while the treasure fragments offer him a new route to rebuild his strength.
• Strategic opportunism: While others risk everything in battle, Jiang Ming’s faction quietly gathers resources, turning the disaster into a potential advantage.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming communicates with his Heavenly Demon subordinates, especially the horned Demon and the Heart Demon God, who explain the situation and ask whether they should attack Pangu.
• Jiang Ming rejects direct confrontation and orders his followers to hide and collect treasure fragments.
• His subordinates respond with obedience and initiative, helping him gather both the remains of his Black Lotus and other shattered Chaos treasures.
• The Chaos Demon Gods collectively attack Pangu, but Pangu responds with repeated axe strikes, destroying their treasures and killing them as Jiang Ming watches from a distance.

Jiang Ming watched the Primordial Wilderness take shape and resolved to protect it from the Dragon-Han Tribulation while seeking a path beyond the primordial Grand Dao Saint realm. He seized powerful treasures, eliminated the Heart Demon King, and spread storybooks warning the living beings of future calamities.

• Jiang Ming watched Pangu battle the Chaos Demon Gods for three million years and reached the primordial Grand Dao Saint realm.
• Jiang Ming resolved to guard the Primordial Wilderness and prevent the Dragon-Han Tribulation from beginning.
• Jiang Ming took the Chaos Pearl, Heaven-Earth Xuanhuang Cauldron, and Ten-Thousand-Li Mountains and Rivers Seal before their destined owners awakened, then killed the Heart Demon King.
• Jiang Ming spread illustrated storybooks describing the Creation Tribulation, Ferocious Beast Tribulation, Dragon-Han Tribulation, Dao-Demon Tribulation, and Witch-Demon Tribulation as warnings to the Primordial Wilderness's inhabitants.